Hemlock And The Wizard Tower (Book 1) (24 page)

Safreon, in recent years, had become increasin
gly
conscious of the political landscape in the City. 
Within the past year
, he had detected a
growing
rift between the Elites and the Wizard Guild
.  The disagreement seemed to be centered around the use of magical spells by people who were not members of the Wizard
Guild.  The Wizard Guild had recently reclassified a number of types of magic from the unregulated class of "lesser magic
,
" to the regulated class of "greater magic
.
"  This had met with some grumbling from the Elites
,
some of whom
were
accomplished magic users
,
but
did
not
want
the reclusive life of a guild w
izard.

He
was
primarily
concerned with the
welfare of the
Warrens.  Few in the Warrens practiced the spells that were reclassified as greater magic by the Guild, with th
e exception of himself.  The newly
restricted spell types included divination and illusion.  The Elites
were now
required to purchase potions from the Wizard Guild
in order
to achieve these
widely used
spell effects.  Safreon
was
concerned that that could increase the price for
the
lesser potions, which
were
in widespread use in the Warrens.

Safreon
, who had moved into position on the roof near the Merchant’s apartment,
saw
lights flicker and dim through a glass skylight that he knew
was
above the
bedroom
of his target.  He had been on this roof for
several nights over the past few weeks
watching the patterns of the merchant and his neighbors.  He
knew
that t
he M
erchant would
next take to his bed, which was very close to
the skylight.  Safreon
was
sure that the skylight was magically warded, so he had brought along some potions that he had distilled
with a purpose of
dispel
ling
the magic
al wards
. 

He
had taken
great pains to conceal his magical activities from the Wizard Guild. 
The wizards had
frequently swept neighborhoods in an attempt to detect unauthorized magic use.  Safreon had grown skilled at using the powerful artifact which he possessed, the Wand of the Imperator, to conceal his magical and alchemical activities.  So far it had been successful.  The same dweomer which he was currently using to conceal his physical presence
also had the property of dampening the emission of magical energies.  Despite these protections,
he
was still worried
that
some
Wizard Guild agents
might happen
to be scanning in the Merchant's neighborhood that night.
  He was on edge because of that constant danger.

He
drew
a piece of charcoal from his pocket and
began
to sketch out a pattern of glyphs around the
Merchant’s
skylight.  Once he had done this, and after a check of his surroundings, he
drew
out a potion from his cloak, uncorked it, and skillfully poured a black liquid along
the lines of
a graceful curve which he had drawn at intervals around the window.  There
was
a fetid odor in the ai
r from the liquid, and the glyph pattern that he had drawn
slowly
bega
n to glow and pulsate. 

Safreon
was able to
perceive the flow of magical energy from th
e skylight into the glyph that
he had drawn
, because the brightness of the glyph increased
.  A
fter a minute or two, the glyph
seemed to be glowing steadily and
had not increased
in brilliance any
further
.  Satisfied
that the magical wards were neutralized
, Safreon moved
toward the skylight
and
threw
a handful of
sand from the rooftop over the glyph
.  As the sand
fell, the energy from the glyph
dissipated with a soft crackling sound. 

This
was
the riskiest part of the operation for Safreon.  If the Merchant
or a neighbor
heard those
crackling noises
, he
would be
compromised.  As it
was
, however, the Merchant
did
not seem to stir, and Safreon
was
able to cast a minor spell to unlatch t
he window from the inside, as he
watched the Merchant, seemingly sound in sleep, below. 

Once this
was
complete, Safreon gently opened the skylight and cast a minor sleep spell on the Merchant. 
Safreon knew that this spell
would keep
the Merchant
asleep all evening and
well
into the
next morning, so he didn't have to worry about the
risk
of
being in the same place with the unsuspecting man, should he
, if left awake,
uncharacteristically decide to attend the
impending
Senate meeting.

Safreon tied a rope to a nearby chimney and lowered himself into the
Merchant’s
apartment.  It
was
finely furnished with a dramatic interior that opened up onto a
three
story foyer.

He looked at the sleeping Merchant. 

Something stirred in
side
him
in
that
moment;
something that had lain dormant for many months.  His posture changed
gradually
: his back straightened and his jaw thrust upward.  Safreon
had
a vision o
f himself assuming this man's identity permanently.  Certainly, there would
be social and magical challenges
to be faced while posing as the Merchant
, but Safreon
knew
that he was cunning enough to pull
off the deception
.  Safreon reflected on his years of self
-
sacrifice and service to the City.  Had it been enough?  Could he set aside th
e
vow of service that he had made many years ago, a vow made in repentance for what he
had
considered to be a mortal sin?

Safreon
r
ecoiled from these surprising feelings.  It wasn't that he
was
s
urprised at having the feelings,
it was just that they always seemed to
wash
over him without any forewarning.

He
thought about what he had done prior to making
his vow, and the self-loathing that
he felt
in reaction to his memories
quickly overpowered
his
selfish feelings.  His shoulders
slumped and drooped
forward subtl
y.  Safreon knew that he had passed the test.  He knew that he would remain Safreon: rogue, outlaw w
izard,
and crusader for the Warrens
.

Safreon locate
d the Merchant's linen closet.   The Merchant
was a rich man and there
were
at least
forty
fine robes in the closet
.  Safreon
took
one
,
folded it
,
and
placed
it under his cloak.  He then went to the bedside and rolled the
sleeping
Merchant onto his back.

Studying the man's features, Safreon
took
a small vial from his pocket and drank it as he placed one hand on the man's face. 
Safreon experienced a
wracking pain
and then
he
gasped
and almost dropped to his knees; he was
restrained
from falling to the floor in agony
only by
his knowledge of
the
spell
's need for hi
m to maintain contact with the M
erchant's face.

Soon the pain subsided and Safreon walked to a dressing table to behold his
image in the mirror.  It was
quite different than it had been moments before.

Satisfied with the success of the transformation, Safreon began to inspect the Merchant’s dressing table.

He
didn't see
any gold in evidence, and he
didn't care
to look for it, being fairly well supplied in that department of late. 

His mission complete, Safreon
climbed up the rope
,
closed the
skylight
and latched it magically from without.  He
then obscured the charcoal glyph
with
some kicks with
his boots
,
and
then
made for street level and the safety of the Warrens.  He
intended to
return to the Elite district at first light
wearing the robes
that
he had taken
,
and fully in the guise of the slumbering Merchant.

…

The
morning
after Safreon’s transformation
,
the wizard
Gwineval
(who had not yet met Safreon and had known nothing of the latter’s recent actions) was marching in an earnest procession.  Gwineval was participating in a ritual that the wizards observed of marching in unison to their monthly meeting with the Senate.  Gwineval privately thought that the tradition was a bit overblown.  Still, he was forced to concede to himself that there was a certain spectacle to the proceedings. 

The wizards all
strode
along
a
gently winding thoroughfare which surrounded Hemisphere Lake
.  The lake lay at the center of the C
ity. 
Gwineval always wondered about the shape of the Lake, from which it took its name.  He knew that
Hemisphere Lake
was
fed by a small
river which flowed out of the mountains in the e
ast.  Nobody
was
exactly sure where that water
flowed
from, given the unique
geography of the
lands that surrounded the City.

As he marched, Gwineval looked at the L
ake
’s shoreline beside him, which was roughly rounded on the e
ast
ern
sid
e that bordered the Elite district.
He then gazed across the Lake to the western shore, which looked uncannily straight, as if it had been enthralled by the looming shape of the
Wizard Tower
, which could be seen rising
above
it.

The w
izards
continued to walk
a southerly course around the eastern side of the lake
until the winding thoroughfare met a straight road which ran directly east and into the heart of the
Elite district
.
The procession then turned and advanced down the straight road toward the Senate building, which was visible some distance ahead of the wizards.

Gwineval always dreaded these meetings with the Senate
.  He had no taste for political
intrigue
, but h
is status as the leader of the Fifth C
ircle of
wizards
made his participation in these meetings mandatory.

Gwineval was an uncomfortable participant in the silent marching.  His mind began to wander, and he reflected on his surroundings.

He took note of
the ornate olive robes worn by the seven council w
izards
that he marched amongst.  His eye then moved to the
ring of
red robed, First Circle combat w
izards
that surrounded and escorted the olive robed council wizards
.