Technomage

Book1

Chapter 1.1 v2

12th day of the 5th month of the year 50143

"Knock, knock," came a knock at the cabin. Without waiting for an answer, the door opened. A steward entered.

The cabin was a small single room. There was a single bed, a table with a chair near the porthole, a closet, and a washstand with a small mirror. One lamp on the ceiling illuminated the whole room.

At the table sat a middle-aged man, of average build and height, with short, dark-cropped hair. He dressed in gray pants, a light-colored shirt, and a leather vest. Mike de Graaf, that was his name, was on his way home.

When the steward walked in, Mike turned to him, and the man bowed.

"Sir, we are arriving at the capital port in half an hour," he informed him.

"All right, thank you," Mike replied with a nod. The steward bowed once more and left, closing the door behind him. A few seconds later, there was a knock on the next cabin.

Soon this long and exhausting ride would be over. And he was glad of that. Mike looked at the clock on the table. It showed 6:50 am. The ship arrived in port a little late. It was originally set to arrive at 7:00 am.

The Litany, the name of the ship, was a cargo and passenger ship. It operated between the capital city of Abern on the Abern River and the city of Rhyne at the mouth of the River Aheron. It took 10 days to travel from Rhyne to the capital city, with all the stops, and through the dangerous coastal waters.

It didn't take long for Mike to get ready. He woke up early and prepared in advance. He did not have much with him - a traveling bag and a small suitcase. Five minutes later, after putting on his gray coat and cap, he went out on deck.

There was heavy fog on the river, and visibility had been no farther than twenty meters. One could not see the riverbank. There was only a gray haze all around. And there was no wind, but because of the humidity, it felt piercingly cold. The temperature was no higher than 7 degrees.

The deck was not very crowded. Passengers were beginning to come on deck. The usual passengers in Litany are merchants and government employees. Merchants accompany their cargo. While government employees travel between cities on their own business. Mike also is a government employee in active service.

"UUUU-UUUU-UUUU," Litany's horn sounded. After a while, an answering "u-u-uuuu" hearing in the distance.

Mooring didn't take longer than ten minutes. The ship arrived in port.

Northern Capital Harbor was one of only two capital ports and the only one that received passengers. The port could accommodate no more than four ships at a time. But usually, ships did not stay in port. Now there was one other ship in port beside the Litany.

A ladder was brought up. Mike, along with the other passengers, went down to the pier and proceeded to the port building. He had to check in and go through security. The port building was tall, three stories high, and had a spacious hallway inside. The waiting area, cafeteria, screening, and registration areas were all here.

Inside, Mike headed to the screening area, which served everyone arriving at the port. The registration area, on the other hand, handled departing passengers. Mike picked out the available officer at the counter. He handed him his documents - his passport and ticket - and then placed his travel bag and suitcase on the scanner.

"Good morning."

"Good morning," a young dark-skinned guy in a military uniform and glasses answered him. He took his passport first. At that moment, Mike felt a small surge of energy emanating from the guy. He touched his glasses and inspected first Mike and then his passport closely. Satisfied with what he saw, the guy put the passport aside, took the ticket, and began to fill out a paper form.

"Are there any prohibited items for import?" He asked.

"Yes, there is an import permit," Mike replied, handing him the document.

The guy was surprised when he heard Mike's answer. And even more, surprised when he read the document. This was not the first time Mike had seen such a reaction. Especially when he was not in uniform, he was often mistaken for a civilian. He was sort of supposed to wear a military uniform, but Mike was more accustomed to civilian clothes. Besides, he stood out much less from the crowd in it. So, the inspector's reaction was not unexpected.

The guy took Mike's passport once more and scanned it carefully. Then he set it aside and put his hand on the scanner. Another surge of energy and the scanner came to life. A strong energy field began to emanate from it. The scanner under Mike's things began to glow with a faint bluish light. After a few seconds, the light changed to a pulsating red. And a small crystal display screen showed the contents of the luggage.

"Wow," the guy whispered as he looked at the screen, then turned to Mike. His eyes widened with surprise. "Sir, I need a confirmation signature from you," he addressed Mike in a slightly shaky voice.

"Sure," Mike answered him. He raised his hand, and at chest level, he began to move it as if trying to draw a picture. The guy felt a small surge of energy. A complex signature slowly began to form in front of Mike's hand. After a dozen seconds, the sign was ready. To ordinary eyes, it looked like a simple glowing sign. But if to look with a magical vision, you can see a complex three-dimensional energy structure.

The inspector sighed in relief when he saw the finished signature. He recognized it immediately.

"Sorry, sir. It's just the job," the guy began to apologize.

"It's okay, I understand," Mike replied.

The guy turned off the scanner, made a mark on the ticket, and stamped it. "Have a good day, sir," he said, holding out his papers.

Mike took his things and went through the frame of the big scanner, and it glowed in a pulsing red light. He turned back to the guy.

The guy looked at the crystal screen of the big scanner.

"It's okay, sir, you can go," he said.

"Thanks," Mike answered him and headed for the exit.

After Mike left, two of his coworkers approached the guy.

"Trouble Dey?" One of them asked. Dey, the guy, the inspector replied.

"No, it's all right."

"So, who was this human?" The other asked him.

"Captain Michael de Graaf," answered Dey.

"De Graaf? Of the same de Graafs?"

"Yes, of the same de Graaf's," answered Dey with an affirmative nod.

"Nonsense," said the first. "He looks like an ordinary human. He's not like us. How can he be one of the..."

"But it's true, I checked his documents well. And the magic signature is correct."

"Yeah, but..."

"Trey, from where were you transferred to us like this?" Interrupted Dey.

"From Ai Tian," he replied.

"Trey, you're new here and don't know much. So, remember this. Even if he has light skin and not similar facial features, he's still got the blood of the de Graaf's in him. Although I agree with you, it all looks weird."

There was a plaza behind the port building, specifically for those arriving and departing. Mike stopped, looking around the plaza. The heavy fog was still making it very difficult to see. The street lamps were already extinguished, as the sky was a light gray. As far as he could see now, there were a dozen horse-drawn and self-propelled carriages in the plaza. It was practically empty. Three of the carriages were public from the capital's regularly scheduled routes. This was indicated by coloring with a brightly highlighted glowing route number and stop names. A few carriages were available for hire, with greenish "free" lights on them. The rest were either not active or private.

There weren't many people in the plaza outside the building. Mike had seen a few of them when he was still on the ship. In one corner of the plaza next to the port building, was a mounted patrol of four men, who were swiftly surveying all who passed by.

The law forbids travel on personal horseback, be it horses or other creatures, in the capital. The only exceptions were patrols or by special permission. It was simpler for carriages and wagons, needing only a license to drive.

One carriage standing in the square looked suspicious to Mike. It was quite far away, at the edge of the plaza, and the fog prevented a detailed view. Two sat in the coachman's seat, hiding their faces with hoods, and one in a hat stood beside the carriage and smoked. Several times, Mike noticed the three men looking in his direction, most likely at him, and talking to each other.

After finishing his survey of the plaza and waiting for a minute, Mike selected one of the available carriages and headed for it.

"Good morning, are you free?" Addressed Mike to the driver, a large, middle-aged man with grayish skin.

"Yes, free," the man replied. "Three silver coins. Not going out of town."

"All right," Mike replied.

"Give me your stuff. And the pay up ahead, too."

He hadn't been in the capital for more than a year. And now he was looking at the changes that had taken place over that time with interest. Unfortunately, there weren't many of them. Most of the changes were in stores. There were many of them on the main streets. Most of the stores had brightly colored signs and banners. At night, the light from them somewhat outshone the street lights, and the streets were flooded with bright, vibrant colors.

Mike didn't like those kinds of streets. The scattered energy from the brightly colored signs was very distracting. Besides, it was also of different types.

Several times he noticed new buildings replacing old ones. Buildings of stone, mostly three to five floors. The law forbids building more than five floors in the capital. The reason was simple - buildings had to be lower than the tops of trees and not interfere with air traffic. There were many trees in the city, both along the roads and between the buildings. And all of them were evergreens about 15 meters in height.

The main streets in the capital are wide stone-paved for two-way traffic with sidewalks on each side and street lighting poles. The side streets are narrower, but also paved with stone.

So, they drove for about twenty minutes. The fog had almost melted by now and was out of the way. Mike sat in the front seat, with his back to the driver, and through the back window, he could see the road behind them. Several times he spotted the same carriage. It seemed to follow them at a fair distance. Mike turned to the driver.

"Dear Sir, stop at the nearest working café. If you wait twenty minutes, you'll get more coins."

The driver thought for a few seconds, then replied.

"All right. There's one cafe nearby. Three silver coins if I have to wait for you."

"Agreed," Mike agreed.

A minute later, they stopped in front of a café.

"Money in advance," the driver told him. Mike handed him the coins and headed for a table in the café.

Usually, the café had tables both inside and outside on the street. And despite the morning, several tables outside were already occupied. A waitress approached Mike.

"What would you like?" She asked.

"A hot coffee without sugar and a muffin," Mike answered her.

"Just a minute, I'll bring it now."

While he was ordering, the carriage that had followed them passed by. The same two hooded men sat in front. The carriage passed the café and turned into the nearest side street.

A couple of minutes later the waitress came in with a coffee and a muffin.

"Here's your order," she said. "That'll be two silver coins."

Mike had a quick breakfast and returned to his carriage.

"Same address," the driver asked.

"Yes, 46 Shadow Street," he told the driver.

"We're at the location," the driver said, stopping the carriage at the mentioned address. Mike picked up his things.

"Have a nice day."

"Have a nice day," the driver replied, jerked the reins, and the carriage moved off.

Mike was alone in the street. Behind him, in the distance, the carriage that had followed him stopped. Quickly turning between the houses, Mike headed down the following street. There was a passageway he knew about. Those who followed him would have to dismount. On the next street, Silent 53, was his house. He only needed to walk a little.

As he approached the house, a mounted capital patrol met him on the street. Four riders carefully surveyed everything as they moved down the street.

Mike turned around, and no one else seemed to be following him. He walked quickly toward the house, a stone two-story building. The house belonged to his de Graaf family, but Mike lived in it alone. Before he left, he had dismissed all the hired servants. To keep the house in order in his absence, the family sometimes sent a housekeeper.

He walked to the door and placed his palm on the scanner on the door. There was an energy surge, a bluish glow under his palm. After a couple of seconds, the glow turned greenish. Mike put the key in the keyhole and opened the door. He was at home.

Two floors. On the first floor is a spacious hallway with stairs to the second floor. To the right of the first-floor living room, kitchen, and dining room. On the left are four servants' quarters. The house accommodated up to eight servants. On the second floor, on the right side, were two bedrooms, a cabinet, and a restroom. The left side also had two bedrooms, a cabinet, and a restroom. But the left side was empty. Mike used the right-wing.

He set down his suitcase and travel bag, went to the window, and looked out onto the street. He didn't see anyone suspicious near the house. Mike walked down the hall, looking into the dining room and kitchen, then into the servants' wing. Everywhere was clean and orderly. He went up to his room on the second floor, to sort out his things.

He went into the cabinet; the windows were curtained, and it was semi-dark. He found the light switch by the door and, concentrating a little, gave it a small pulse. The overhead lights came on at a quarter brightness. The lighting in the house, as throughout the capital, was mostly electric. It is controlled by magical crystals.

There was a fireplace in the corner of the cabinet, and next to it was a stack of wood. Mike decided to light the fireplace.

He quickly lit the fireplace and sat down in the chair next to it.

After half an hour, the room was warm, and Mike felt like he was finally starting to warm up. Then he decided to take care of the correspondence that was on his desk. A lot of it had piled up over the year. Mike spent almost an hour sorting and reading the correspondence. On several letters, he decided to write back immediately.

When he finished, he took the leather briefcase he had in his suitcase and went down to the hall on the first floor. Again, he went to the window and looked out onto the street. The street was already quite lively. Mike stood by the window for a few minutes. Passers-by, a few carriages, but he didn't see anyone suspicious.

In the center of the hallway lay a wide woven carpet. Mike carefully rolled it aside. Underneath it, he could see a huge pentagram drawing inscribed in a ring with various writings nearly three meters in diameter.

Mike pulled out a leather pouch of crystals from his briefcase. Ten round crystals of various shades. He examined them carefully and placed each one in its hole in the floor, five outer and five inner. Then went to the center, where there was another small pentagram, stylized as the face of a demoness with a predatory grin. Sighing heavily, he made a wound on his finger with a penknife, and a few drops fell on the small pentagram. Mike waited for the blood to soak in. And then, he lowered to one knee and placed his palm on the same spot.

"Well, let's get started," Mike said with a sigh.

"Protective field," the energy surged, and the outer five crystals began to glow faintly one by one. Then a faintly flickering protective field appeared around the pentagram.

"Connection," another energy surge, and the inner five crystals in turn began to glow faintly. A few seconds passed, and all the crystals continued to glow faintly.

"Established," Mike said with relief.

"Transfer," all the crystals began to gradually increase their glow. At the same time, Mike's figure began to gradually become transparent until it disappeared altogether. At that moment, the crystals ceased their glow. The protective field fell, and Mike was no longer in the hall.