The Orphan Wars (Book One) (8 page)

"I ha
ve no doubt that we'll find Mana Potions," replied Jaida.  "I am sure we will find many other items that will be of use to you as well."

"So where exactly should we head off to now?" questioned Nemeth.

"I believe that the best course of action would be for us to head east towards the town of Norfall," replied Jaida. "That is the closest town where we can get supplies."

"Are you forgetting my money problems?" questioned Nemeth.

"Usually when you defeat monsters, they will drop some form of treasure," said Jaida.  "I can also sense when there is any treasure that is nearby.  This includes treasure that is buried beneath the ground.  So again, there is no need to worry about money.  Please take your sword out and get ready to head for Norfall."

Nemeth quickly reached for his sword
and pulled it from its sheath.  Tears began to fall from Nemeth's eyes.

"What's wrong master?" questioned Jaida.

"The first thing I yelled when I came to the surface from the underground tunnel was the word freedom!" cried Nemeth.  "For a moment I felt like I was no longer a slave.  I felt like I was just a normal boy.  But those feelings no longer exist inside of me.  In the very short time I've known you Jaida; you've been calling me master.  But the reality is that you're the master and I'm your slave."

"I am sorry that you feel that way," replied Jaida.  "I was human once a very long time ago.
  But my own story is quite long, so I shall wait for another time to tell it to you.  Please know that I can no longer feel the full range of emotions that humans can in my current form.  Just know that what you are feeling now is something you can overcome.  Once you have defeated Terazhul and saved your friends…"

"I'll be right back where I started," interrupted Nemeth.  "If the spell reverses itself as quickly as you say it does, then the academy
will resume operations very quickly.  I am sure that security will be heightened as well.  I can envision it now.  I'll be forced to continue as a fourth year student and be expected to work myself to the breaking point to become ranked number one again.  Or maybe I won't even get the chance to become a fourth year student and I'll be forced to become Prince Bogdan's bodyguard."

"No, not at all," replied Jaida.  "You
'll be known as a hero for what you've done…at least at Lord Dragomir's Academy.  But I'm sure the story will spread throughout the surrounding lands…maybe even throughout all of Tyraneus.  But we will never know the outcome unless we hurry up and head towards Norfall now.  We'll have to travel through the Marika Hills to get there.  You're in the real world now so be prepared for anything.  Now are you ready to pull yourself together and get going?"

Nemeth wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded his head in agreement.  Nemeth and Jaida began their journey towards Norfall by
heading east through the Marika Hills.

At the top of one of the hills, a lone
Blood Wolf could be seen ripping into the flesh of a dead Annamite Deer.  The Blood Wolf was startled by the presence of Nemeth and focused his attention away from the deer onto him.

"
I can detect the threat scores and threat levels that different creatures possess," said Jaida.  "It's another power that Guardian Spirits possess.  I can gather more data about different creatures as you grow more experienced.  This Blood Wolf's overall threat score is only 550 out of a possible 1,000,000 points. The overall threat level to you is extremely low.  Nonetheless, this is your chance to show that you have what it takes to survive in the real world.  Let's see what you can do against it."

The Blood Wolf
began to charge at Nemeth, dripping fresh deer blood from his mouth.  Nemeth braced himself and delivered a forward trust with his sword directly in between the eyes of the wolf.  The tip of Nemeth's wooden sword caused the wolf's skull to fracture from the blow.  The Blood Wolf toppled onto its side.  Nemeth kneeled down next to the wolf and gazed into its sorrowful eyes. The wolf let out a low growling noise to express its pain for a short time.

"You stupid filthy animal!" yelled Nemeth.  "I would have left you alone to dine on your venison but y
ou had to go and challenge me.  Now look at you, just lying there helpless.  One thrust of my sword and you've been taken out."

The Blood Wolf
died moments later.  The wolf's body emitted dark blue smoke into the air and then vanished.  There was no corpse remaining.  Appearing where the wolf's dead body previously was were 2 gold coins and 4 silver coins.  Nemeth promptly retrieved the coins and put them in his pocket.

"Excellent job master!" exclaimed Jaida.

"Did you expect anything less of me?" laughed Nemeth.  "I know someone out there is listening to me besides you Jaida, so I'm going to say this.  Whether it is men, monsters or the gods themselves, I will never be defeated!"

Nemeth and Jaida c
ontinued their travels through the Marika Hills.  They came across what appeared to be a small brick house with smoke coming from the chimney.  A sign in front of the house read "Madame Magica's Potion Shop."  Nemeth tightened his grip on his sword.

"I remember this place…
" said Nemeth with hesitation in his voice.  "This is the very place that caused us to get in a lot of trouble and have the Freedom Tunnel blocked off by the professors.  Almost a year ago, a group of kids from Lord Dragomir's Academy decided to venture out on our own through the Freedom Tunnel.  We ran around the Marika Hills and we found this place.  We saw that it was a potion shop and we thought it might have some exciting new potions that we had never seen in class before.  We also figured that that the owner was lonely and would enjoy our company.  When we went inside, she asked us what we would like to buy.  We told her that we were just wandering students from Lord Dragomir's Academy and we didn't have any money.  We politely asked her if she could give us a demonstration of how some of her potions worked.  She seemed more than happy to do so.  After asking us to all to make our way fully inside, she shut the door and closed all the windows.  She said that it needed to be as dark as possible to show us the full effects of her potions."

"What happened next?" asked Jaida.

Nemeth's eyes widened and he took a couple of deep breaths.  Nemeth gripped his sword even tighter.

"
Well we expected some sort of magic show," continued Nemeth.  "She decided to just throw vials filled with Stone Curse Potion at us instead!  Maybe that was her sick idea of a magic show.  There were only five of us from the academy in the shop.  Aria, Bastilone and I were there along with a boy named Yusip and a girl named Trinifi.  We headed for the door but it was locked.  Bastilone used his strength to break the lock and managed to open the door.  Aria and I made it out safely with Bastilone.  We ran back to the academy before Madame Magica could turn us to stone.  Yusip and Trinifi weren't so lucky.  They were turned to stone.  Fortunately, the effects of the Stone Curse potion didn't last long.  Both Yusip and Trinifi returned back to the dorms a short time later.  They told us that Madame Magica let them go but warned them never to come back otherwise they would be killed."

"Why would this Madame Magica do such a thing when you were being polite?" asked Jaida.

Nemeth's face began to show more and more signs of anger and stress, as if telling the story to Jaida were making him relive the experience completely.

"
Well, I believe I know why she did that," answered Nemeth.  "There was a rumor going around school that years ago one of the female professors that taught how to create and use potions was fired by Professor Phantas for not living up to his high standards.  She was not given another position at the school and was forced to leave.  I don't know what her original name was but she supposedly changed her name to Madame Magica.  She supposedly then opened up this potion shop outside of the school in order to compete with the potion shops inside of the academy."

"This Madame Magica sounds like she could be a big threat," replied Jaida.  "I w
ill detect her threat levels if you want me to."

"
No, that won't be necessary," said Nemeth.  "Well, at least not at first.  Oh but before I go on a rampage…is there any way that you can hide Jaida?  I'd like to speak with her alone at first.  I think she will be suspicious if she sees a Guardian Spirit floating around."

"Yes master," replied Jaida.  "Anytime you need me to hide, I can vanish inside your body.  You just have to tell me.
  If you need to summon me, just call for me and I will reappear.  It's just that simple.  If I sense that you are in extreme danger, I will be forced to show myself to protect you from harm.  Like I told you before, I will not have you die on my watch.  Oh and if you think that if she sees me she'll freak out, what do you think she'll think of a boy carrying a sword with drops of wolf blood on it?  Please sheath it before it going inside!  With that said, I'm going to hide.  Good luck master."

Jaida vanished inside of Nemeth's body
through the insignia of The Great Phoenix D'hal Natar, causing him to glow for a few seconds.  Nemeth walked up to the potion shop and knocked on the door.  Nemeth cleared his throat and tried to deepen his voice.

"Hey, I'm a cu
stomer looking for some potions," said Nemeth in a deep voice.  "I really hope that you are open today.  I heard you create some of the best potions in all of Tyraneus.  Plus, I've got plenty of money to spend!"

"Why ye
s of course we are open!" replied a high pitched voice.  "Come in!  Come right in and make yourself at home!  There's no reason to be shy!"

The door to the potion shop magically opened.  Nemeth proceeded to make his way inside.
  A foul stench filled the air.  Nemeth looked around and saw an assortment of potions lined up on various tables.  Each potion had a small card in front of it indicating what type of potion it was, what it did and its price.  Nemeth made a quick mental note of as many potions as possible.  Madame Magica was standing in the back of the shop next to a large cauldron.  The cauldron appeared to be boiling some sort of liquid.  Madame Magica looked with great curiosity at Nemeth.

"You look very familiar boy," said Madame Magica.  "Have you shopped here before?"

Nemeth looked directly at her wrinkled face and tried not to laugh.

"No, no, no, this is the first
time I've ever been here before," replied Nemeth.  "I'm in need of potions that will help me defeat Terazhul.  He attacked the Serend Lake region inside of Lord Dragomir's Academy.  He cast some sort of Forestial Corruption spell and now it is spreading across the land causing mass chaos.  Nobody is safe from Terazhul's spell, not even you."

"Lord Dragomir
's Academy?" said Madame Magica with a surprised tone.  "And those clothes you are wearing…yes, yes, crimson and gold."

"
I've got gold and silver coins to pay for the potions!" begged Nemeth.  "You're an expert at creating potions.  Please tell me what potions would be good to stop Terazhul.  I don't have much time left to stop him."

"GET OUT OF MY SHOP NOW BOY!" bellowed Madame Magica.  "I do not sell any of my potions to anyone
associated with Lord Dragomir's Academy.  You knew that before coming in here.  Now you're trying to trick me into selling you potions by making up a story about you needing to stop some creature named Terazhul."

"
I'm not making up any stories," said Nemeth.  "What I told you is the truth."

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE!" bellowed Madame Magica.  "GET OUT NOW BEFORE I HAVE TO HURT YOU!"

"I don't understand why you want me to leave," said Nemeth in a sarcastic tone.  "My money is as good as anyone else's.  I'll leave but I'd like to make a few adjustments to your marketing plan.  First, I'd like to make some changes to your pricing."

Nemeth
became very enraged.  He quickly took out his sword and with all of his might swung it at one of the nearby legs of a table.  The table leg broke off causing several potions on the table to fall off and crash onto the ground.  The potions that still remained on the table were shaking from the force of the blow.

"Whoops, did I break something?" questioned Nemeth in a sarcastic tone.  "
Tell me, is that, is that, um, going to cost me more money now?"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING BOY!!!???" bellowed Madame Magica.

Nemeth quickly grabbed a green colored potion from the table and threw it at Madame Magica, shattering it on her left leg.  She let out a loud scream and started holding her left leg.  He quickly grabbed yet another potion from the table.  This potion was blue in color.  He threw the potion at Madame Magica causing it to shatter on the same leg.  Nemeth pointed at another potion on the table.

"
Hey tell me what potion this is?" asked Nemeth.  "Nah, don't answer that.  Just shut the hell up!  I already know what this potion is called.  It's called MY POTION.  I hereby declare that all prices in here are slashed to zero!"

Nemeth pointed at yet another potion on the table
.

"
THIS ONE IS MINE TOO!" shouted Nemeth.  "ALL OF THESE POTIONS ARE NOW MINE!"

Nemeth calmed down slightly
and looked at the long, grotesque nose of Madame Magica.

"This is what you get for turning two of my friends to stone
," said Nemeth.  "This is what happens when you threaten to kill innocent children who wanted nothing more than to keep you company.  Now do you remember me you ugly witch?  You stupid ugly witch with a horrible fake name!  I mean come on seriously, do you think anyone really believes your name is Madame Magica!!!???"

Mada
me Magica was sitting on the floor which was now covered with broken glass from the shattered potion containers.  She was still holding her left leg trying to ease the pain.  Nemeth walked over to Madame Magica and held his sword over her body ready to strike at any time.  He looked at Madame Magica's leg and determined that he must have hit her with an Acid Potion and a Frost Potion.  He noticed that there was a broom behind her.  He identified it to be the Escoba Retama X model, one of the best flying brooms ever created.

"Don't even
think about touching that broom!" commanded Nemeth.  "It will be the biggest mistake of your life if you do!"

Madame
Magica ignored Nemeth's command and hopped onto the Escoba Retama X and suddenly flew into the fireplace and shot upward through the chimney to the outside of the shop.  Nemeth swung his sword but he missed the witch by a longshot.

"Hey Jaida, come on out!" shouted Nemeth.  "I got Madame Magica to leave
the shop.  Hopefully she doesn't come back."

Nemeth's body started
to glow and Jaida reappeared.

"I have a feeling she will
be waiting outside for you and will be ready to attack," replied Jaida.  "Let's finish gathering what you need and get out of here."

Nemeth began examining the other tables to see what would be worth taking on his journey.  Nemeth noticed that there an item for sale called The Infinite Backpack.  It was priced at 5,000 gold coins.  The card in front of the item described it as
a magically infused backpack that allowed you to carry as many items as possible.  This is exactly what he needed to swipe all of the potions in the shop.

"Jaida, come and take a look at this backpack," said Nemeth.  "It's called the Infinite Backpack. 
It claims that it can carry as many items as possible.  It sounds like a hoax to me but I might as well give it a try.  Do you have any clue how this backpack works?"

"Let's start by placing one of the potions inside and s
ee what happens," answered Jaida.  "Make sure the potion's container is sealed at the top."

Nemeth took a nearby Mana Potion and placed it inside the Infinite Backpack.  Nemeth peered inside the opening of the Infinite Backpack.  He saw a swirling vortex
composed of a wide spectrum of different colors.  He could see the Mana Potion at a greatly reduced size rotating slowly in the vortex in a clockwise direction.