The Wand-Maker's Debate: Osric's Wand: Book One (6 page)

“Thank you, Kenneth. You did everything you could, my friend. I need to find James and ask him if he remembers anything else.” He hoped that he could learn more by comparing their stories, but he doubted it.

“No, good Sir.” Osric hadn't even noticed James enter behind him. “Sorry if I startled you, but I saw you walk in here from just over there,” he motioned to a tent set up near his cart, “and I got here just in time to hear the story. Every word is exactly as I would put it. Every word, good Sir. I mean, they just showed up and everything went crazy. You do not see unicorns that often, and when you do, you don't see that many. It was like something out of the fire-tellings.” James set a plate of warm food down in front of Osric as he finished speaking. “You must be famished after your nap in the rubble.”

“Thank you, James.” Osric suddenly realized how hungry he was. Dru sprang forth, drawing his coin purse from a pocket to pay for the Contege's meal.

“No need for that, son. I will donate the food to any man that will aid Osric today. I hear rumors of war.” James spoke in hushed tones.

“War?!” Osric gasped.

“Yes, good Sir. I took my cart back to the Dragon Deck to sell for the day, as the messengers for the peace envoys were boarding to leave. Each accused the other factions of causing the walls to fall.” James was pointing his fingers at each man in the room, reenacting the scene he had witnessed. “Each one swore retaliation from their people. Only the messengers were left, you see; everyone else was in the palace when it fell. They were nursing their heads from their own celebrations in the square, and tempers were flaring. The weasel and irua messengers were shouting at those of the elves and humans, and I nearly had my head taken off by an angry lion. It was a good thing the dwarves allowed the humans to represent them for this. If a dwarf were here, there would have been trouble, even if they sent only a messenger. The dragons took off with their passengers before there was bloodshed!” He exclaimed, hammering a fist into his open palm.

The silence that filled the room was palpable as the enormous nature of what had been spoken set in. Osric eyed each man in the room, seeing his own thoughts reflected in their expressions. There had never been a war of the scale it would be, if it happened. Most of the wars of the past had been before wands. The death toll of those wars was great, but relatively small considering magic could not be used effectively. It came down to who had the largest force. The wars that had taken place since wands were created were over quickly. The death toll was minimal, as wand wars were usually ended by a quick strike to the opposing leadership. One side, with clever tactics, could overwhelm the opposition quickly, with very few losses.

A world war would be different; billions could die in such an event. Wands had made magic readily available for the first time in history. Not that they did not have magic already within them, all species did. It was the creation of the wand that made it possible to use magic effectively as a weapon. Since their creation, magic had grown at an exponential rate. With that growth, all sorts of applications had been devised, from the helpful, to the unthinkable. To introduce that kind of force on a worldwide arena would see death on a scope never before imagined. Osric knew he could not dwell on his fears. He hoped there was still time to discover what had happened before that occurred.

“Thank you, James. If you hear anything else, you will be sure to tell me?” Osric asked briskly. He still had to focus. If the culprit was located then the whole disaster could be averted.

Osric consumed the meal James had provided quickly, yet still savoring the man's skill. There was herb crusted fish, roasted potatoes, corn and honey cakes. He didn't know how James prepared such delicious fare on a rickety cart, but Osric was thankful for the ability. While he ate, they talked about what must be done. He explained what had happened in the throne room, when the unicorn collided with him and the pearls started glowing. He sent Dru back to assist with the rescue of survivors, and asked Kenneth to find out who brought in the goblet of pearls. That would free him up to figure out what had happened to him; why he had survived, and the strange event with the wand he was given. He figured he should start with Gus, since the unicorns did not speak. After making the plans, he again thanked James for the meal and information. James promised to keep his ears open and hound all incoming messengers for as much information as he could pry from them, and they all set out on their respective assignments.

Osric followed the path toward the edge of the forest along the east side of the palace grounds. Kenneth had seen Gus casting stabilizing spells along the weakest points of the collapsed palace earlier that day. As he passed by the group of unicorns in the grass, he paused to watch them for a moment. Their white hides glistened in the sunlight, muscles rippling with each graceful movement. They alternated between grazing on the wild berries growing near the path and gazing longingly at the toppled palace walls. As he watched one of the magnificent creatures cross the expanse of grass to another berry bush, it seemed as though the unicorn willed the ground to move under him, rather than walk upon it. The fourth unicorn had saved his life, he was sure of it, but he didn't know why, or how, or what had happened to it afterward.

Osric continued along the path and the sound of someone shouting caught his attention. He veered off into the trees to investigate.

“You're an idiot! You cannot have me arrested for giving away free wands!” Osric recognized Eni, the Wand-Maker, and he assumed the gruff looking prairie dog yelling at him must be Gus. At least he would not have to waste more time finding the maker of his problematic wand.

“Yes, I know, but I can have you arrested for breaking the Eni wands they owned before giving them yours!” Eni stood with his hands on his hips, staring down at Gus with an angry snarl on his face. His barrel chest was straining his tunic as he bent over to poke Gus in the belly, nearly toppling forward with the effort. Gus responded by biting the man's finger.

“Those wands did not belong to you, so you cannot raise the accusation, and I do not hear any of them complaining about a broken piece of refuse.” Before the scene could escalate any further, Osric stepped up and cleared his throat to get their attention.

“Ah, Contege Osric, thank Archana you are here!” Eni exclaimed. “You must do something about this rodent; he is breaking my customer's wands again!” His whining tone reminded Osric of a defiant child. “I made several complaints to the former Vigile Contege before he went missing. I demand action, now!”

The last thing Osric needed right then was Eni pestering him for justice. He put his hand on the man's shoulder and spoke to him reassuringly. “Eni, I am so sorry you have suffered for his actions, you can be sure that I will handle the situation. The rescue efforts could greatly benefit from your expertise, why don't you go assist them at the palace?” Gus paced back and forth angrily, while screaming obscenities at Osric for believing Eni. Osric went to reach for his wand to immobilize and silence the offensive prairie dog, but thought better of it, as he had no idea what would happen if he tried to cast another spell with his new wand. Instead, he reached down and picked Gus up by the scruff of his neck and held him out at arm's length, as he watched Eni depart for the palace with a wide grin on his face. “Wand-Maker Gus, I am taking you into Vigile custody for questioning in the investigation of recent events at the palace. Stop struggling or I will drop you.”

“How dare you! You know very well I had nothing to do with that, put me down!” Gus yelled, disgusted with being handled with such disrespect.

Osric set him briskly back on the ground.

“I am sorry that I had to restrain you, but I needed to get rid of Eni.” Osric looked at him scoldingly. “I do not have time for his complaints. Why were you breaking his wands?”

“Wands?! You call those things wands?” Disbelief filled his voice as Gus protested with passion. “Those were trinkets! Garbage! Half of them were no better than paun droppings!”

“Fine, but why did you have to break them?” Osric was beginning to sense that a reasonable conversation with Gus was unlikely. “Couldn't you have just given them new wands without angering Eni?” Eni was indeed a handful, but hopefully he had prevented him from another outburst about Gus at the next council meeting, if there were any council survivors.

“He is a pompous idiot, and deserved every bit of what I did!” Gus did not want to give an inch.

“Lucky for you, not one of them complained. I have something more important to discuss with you.” Osric looked down at him, hoping that the authority associated with his uniform would encourage Gus to cooperate.

Gus stuck out his small chin in defiance. “Go ahead and arrest me then. Your superiors in the palace will let me out the second we free them. You see, I am somewhat popular among those with authority. Being a world renowned Wand-Maker has something to do with that, I am sure!”

“I would rather question you here than in the dungeon, Gus, and I do not have time for this banter. Let's dispense with the sarcasm. Did Pebble tell you what happened to me in there today?” He asked, pointing at the pile of stone that was once Stanton Palace. He did not want to get into a test of wills. He needed to get some answers from him, and after all, Gus was probably correct about his superiors.

“Well, aren't we grumpy today.”

“I am sorry if I sound rude. I am dealing with much more than a defective wand and have only moments to discuss this before I have to resume my investigation into the sabotage of the palace. My time is short, so if you could please cooperate.”

Gus eyed Osric carefully, and in a short span decided that he had done him a favor when he made Eni stop pestering him, so he would comply with Osric's inquiries. He was tired of arguing anyway.

“Yes, Pebble told me everything. That wand is not defective; you should have known better than to use such a powerful spell. Vaporizing stone, indeed!” Gus looked him right in the eye and said, “Very impressive, though. Don't think that one has been done 'til now, so you can name it.” He took a short pause, then started again. “Trouble is, you did it for your first spell with the wand, and it caused you to go into spasms or something. Pebble thought it was an incredibly long power lock, but I straightened him out on that. I don't know what more I can tell you.” Osric had to keep himself from screaming at the ridiculous accusation that he had intentionally used such a spell to initiate his link with a new wand.

“First of all, I did not attempt to vaporize stone, I lit the tip.” Osric stated through clenched teeth, and Gus rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Then I was locked in, I don't know for how long. All I know is I didn't want it to stop, ever, and it almost killed me.”

“That is absurd, you have no need to feel ashamed boy. Do you think you're the first to make the mistake of using too strong of a spell as a power lock?” Gus tried to dismiss the claims quickly, and Osric would have none of it.

“I am telling you, I lit the tip. Can you just look at the wand and tell me what is wrong with it?” Osric took his new wand out and handed it to Gus.

“Oh, right, because it makes so much more sense that I, greatest Wand-Maker on Archana, gave you a bad wand?” Gus examined it with a concentrated gaze. Then reached behind him and produced another wand, and held it next to Osric's. “No, they are identical! Well, mine is more attractive and has my bolt and yours doesn't, but the magical structure within is every bit the same. Obviously, you messed up, not me.” Gus tossed his own wand to Osric.

“What is this for?” Osric looked at it with surprise.

“Well, if this wand gave you an extensive power lock, so will that one. Go ahead; light the tip, if that is really what happened.” Gus eyed Osric with displeasure. “Go on, boy; show me how
defective
my wands are.”

Osric felt like strangling Gus at that moment. How could someone that small look down their nose at any man? There he was, calling Osric a liar, and talking to him like a child. Osric did not want to endure another power lock that intense. At least, the rational part of him did not want to. Yet Gus was standing there, daring him to do just that.

“Do you have any idea how draining that experience was?” Osric tried to reason with him.

“Well, I can only guess, having never been foolish enough to try a spell such as that, when I knew a power lock was inevitable.” Gus taunted.

“You have no idea what you are asking me to do!”

“Oh, I disagree. The question is whether or not you are willing to repeat your incompetence to prove yourself right.” Gus gave Osric a smirk that dared him to do it.

“If this kills me, I will haunt you for eternity!” Osric knew the only way to end the debate was another power lock. Then, hopefully, he could find some answers.

Osric laid on the ground, expecting the same physical assault he had experienced before. If Gus was right, and the wands were identical, he knew what would happen when he lit the tip. Once he was relatively comfortable, he gave Gus a disdainful look, and lit the tip.

Power coursed through him, and began to build. Osric felt his skin tingle as the flow of magic met the resistance of the wand. The sensation intensified, every nerve coming alive, and the tip of his wand began to glow. Osric smelled the sweet musk of the pine trees, and the muted greens and browns of the forest sharpened. The tingling grew stronger and he knew, any moment, the intensity of the experience would become overwhelming. Osric took a deep breath to prepare himself for the coming strength of it and the power lock stopped.

“Twelve breaths. Now that is a great wand!” Gus had pride in his voice as he reached down and exchanged the two wands.

“I… I don't understand,” Osric desperately searched his memory for an explanation. “I lit the tip! I know I lit the tip!”

“Well, at least we know you are not a complete dolt. You didn't repeat the same mistake.” Gus eyed Osric with an expression of condescending amusement.

“There has to be another reason?”
Archana's bones! Did I light the tip?
The thought crossed his mind briefly that he had accidentally cast a different spell. He shook his head as he stood up, brushing debris from the forest floor from his clothing.