Chapter 18: Sorcery in the Dark

“I still don’t quite understand,” said Alcar, as he hurried along the moonlit streets behind his master, his breath misting in the cold night air. “How did you escape so easily? Why didn’t you leave before? And what about the rest of the dwarves.”

“Ah, dwarves. So easily manipulated.”

“That doesn’t even begin to answer my question, Master Maluhk.”

“Aha!” Maluhk stopped, one finger in the air, and turned towards Alcar. “My young friend – what was condition number one of our arrangement?”

“Umm...” In truth, so much time had gone past since their first meeting that the three conditions of their deal set out by the spellcaster had largely faded from Alcar’s mind. “It was no payment, wasn’t it?”

”No, kid!” snapped Maluhk. “That was condition two. You’re really not covering yourself with glory here, you know?” The sorcerer began walking again. “Well, at least you showed some pluck, and didn’t get yourself killed, I suppose.”

“Right.” Alcar was waiting for a ‘thank you’, but so far that had not been forthcoming.

They turned down a narrow path that was unfamiliar to him; it appeared that Maluhk was more than familiar with this neighborhood, and was making his way confidently back towards the tower.

“Condition one, kid, was that you are not a sorcerer’s apprentice yet. Not until I say so! You managed to set my home on fire, and I haven’t seen you since. That is not a great first day at the office, to be frank. So please, until such time as I see a lot more evidence of your potential, do not call me ‘Master’.”

“I am sorry, sir,” said Alcar, starting to feel a little annoyed at the extent to which he had busted a gut running through the city and risked his life in pursuit of the rescue in exchange for such little praise. “I genuinely thought your life was in danger. I heard screaming, man! I didn’t know you were watching a show. I assumed those little shitbags of dwarves were torturing you.”

Maluhk laughed darkly. “They did seem the type, don’t they? Fortunately, what you saw was only the top level of a much larger complex. Most of the dwarves were beneath the surface. Literally – they prefer the tunnels that can be reached from the basement of the house. It’s a whole thing. And as I say, the negotiations were going well enough from my point of view.“

Now it was Alcar’s turn to stop, hurring ahead of the master sorcerer and putting his hands on his hips to block the last stretch of the path they were on.

“Come on, now!” he said angrily. “You say I haven’t been seen all day. Well, that is because when I came back to make amends for a fire that I didn’t even start – frankly, I was the only apprentice who was actually tidying the books at the time – we saw you being kidnapped. And since then, I haven’t stopped! Me and Etienne and Olynka have been working our assess off to get you back.”

“Hmm,” said the sorcerer, peering at Alcar. “Well – go on.”

“We met up with Lox’aar and Warlik. We knew Warlik from before. They’ve been helping us. But it turned out that Golgrasanna is a spy or an assassin or something. She poisoned us all with something called ogram leaf. She found it in your study. So, after eating that, Lox’aar was in a really bad way, and if it hadn’t been for the dog, Golgrasanna would have killed me. Look – I now have her knife.”

“I did notice the new blade,” murmured Maluhk.

“So, I mean, so... and we didn’t even let Etienne steal your silver. Man, that little guy is a thief.”

At this, Maluhk began to roar with laughter. He stepped forward, put an arm around Alcar’s shoulder, ushering him on. “Come on then, Alcar. I am very interested in your news. But now let me tell you a few things.”

“Okay...”

The pair continued walking.

“I can understand that things seem strange to you. And it’s true that I didn’t expect the dwarves to act so quickly. It seems like my real mistake was underestimating Golgrasanna, however. I thought she genuinely wanted to study with me, and she seemed like by far the strongest candidate... no offense intended. Oh well.”

Alcar frowned. “It’s strange – she told us that she only came to the city because she wanted to learn sorcery. But later she confessed that she had been hired by the dwarves to kill you.”

Maluhk nodded. “I shouldn’t be surprised, in a way. She is of the Zansiti species, and they are known for being capable warriors and good with magic. But at the same time, networks of Zansiti people control much of the crime on the continent of Urbutia and the Islands of Dubasa, too. They’re a massive cartel.”

“I wonder if she ever genuinely considered leaving that...” mused Alcar thoughtfully.

“If, so it sounds like the temptation to go back to her family business was too great.” Maluhk heaved a huge sigh. “As for me, well, of course I knew that I could be in some danger. But once the clan members had taken me to their base, I was confident that I could negotiate my way to a satisfactory deal. I still have their money, after all, and it wouldn’t have been in their own interests to do me any serious harm without securing that. I agreed to strike a compromise if they provided me with food and entertainment. I wanted to keep them guessing. That’s when you found me.”

“I see.” Alcar nodded, impressed at the master sorcerer’s confidence. “Weren’t they pissed that you hit one of the kidnappers with those magical knives?”

“I don’t think it went down particularly well, it’s true. But they must have expected me to fight back. I don’t think I actually killed the dwarf. And young Xavier should live too, despite your crossbow bolt. He’s a decent sort, actually.”

“Hmm...” As they looked ahead, Alcar began to breathe faster, worrying again about Olynka. “Hey, Mast... er, Mister Maluhk – would you be able to use sorcery to find my other companions? I’m really worried about Olynka, Etienne and Warlik.”

“That’s thoughtful of you. Do you know which way they went?”

“No. That’s the trouble. If I had seen them slumped in the street, I’d have helped. But they must have gone a different way.”

“Yes, perhaps. Or...” Without explaining further, Maluhk paused, then walked through a gap between two nearby buildings. This led to a small dark square, and beyond, to a tiny lane. Following this along, the sorcerer conjured up several balls of pale blue light, the largest of which was about the size of a man’s fist. This one he grabbed and held this up in front of him, while the others floated off. “Not far now,” he said.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. Here – catch.”

Maluhk threw the glowing ball of light to Alcar, who lunged forward but missed it. It landed at his feet, and he crouched down and tapped at it as if it might be hot. Maluhk laughed heartily. “Clumsy, as well. I am yet to see any evidence that you have the core attributes to make a good apprentice. But you have guts – I’ll give you that.”

Alcar scowled, and then wrapped his fingers around the glowing ball, raising it up above him.

“Carry it, kid. The light will go out soon.”

“Yeah. I do know a few things about sorcery.”

Malukh, walking on ahead, glanced over his shoulder. “You do? Go on then. Enlighten me.”

“Well, I know that some people can produce things. Like a boot for example, or the knives that you conjured. But they disappear quick. Like this ball, too, I guess.” The ball was still glowing in Alcar’s hand, and he held it high, at arm’s length, to avoid dazzling himself.

“Go on.”

“Well... I also know that a lot of the best sorcerers in the world are here in the Empire. And I know that sorcery is different from witchcraft. Witches brew potions and use herbs and suchlike. Sorcerers...” Alcar tailed off, remembering the large supply of diverse herbs and other substances in Maluhk’s study. “Well, sorcerers use those things too, but they don’t rely on them in the same way.”

“Not bad,” said Maluhk with a nod. “And how do we learn sorcery?”

“By studying hard,” Alcar replied, remembering the big half-orc’s words on the first day they had met. “It’s a science, not an... um... not a talent.”

Maluhk chuckled. “Well, it is a scientific subject, Alcar, but it does require talent, I’m afraid. That’s why I need to check on the potential of those who want to learn with me.”

“Right.”

The lane had now emerged near the entrance to a graveyard. It was especially dark within he area tas there were no houses, no lights, and the glowing blue ball in Alcar’s hand cast a gloomy, eerie light over the nearby fence and the graves beyond. Maluhk paused, and then looked up to the north. “We could go either way around,” he said, “but we need to go past the Black Mackerel. We can ask there if anyone saw your friends.”

He led on, an Alcar hurried after.

“That ball has lasted longer than I expected, by the way,” added Maluhk. “That’s a good sign, as it is picking up on your own power.”

Alcar glanced at it; even as he did so, it fizzled in his hand, collapsed, and disappeared into a rapidly fading cloud of sparks. “Not long enough,” he said to the sorcerer.

“It’s also good to be ambitious.”

Master Maluhk led on past the fence of the graveyard, curving around until the beginning of a familiar residential street was visible up ahead. Two lanterns were on the sides of the buildings immediately before this point, allowing Alcar a much better view of his surroundings.

At this point Maluhk stopped, and turned. “Well, young man – we’re here. Your favorite tavern. Now, what is this about a dog?”