HUNTER OF BOOKS
Gorjon's early wizardry. A short tale from my Molack Magics world.
SOMEWHERE IN THE FORMER JESSIAN EMPIRE
Finder magic led the two brothers to the vault hidden in the dark basement. Gorjon’s recently developed Lock magic got them into the barred mansion and opened the vault’s doors.
Thinner and five finger-widths shorter than Milliam, Gorjon looked to be in his early teens–far too young to develop magical talents. He took the torch from his older brother and whispered. “Your turn.”
Milliam closed his eyes for a long moment then reached into the small space. He removed two leather bags and placed them on the rock floor. The jingling of coins rang from the bags. “Nice distraction. Too bad we can’t keep these.” Milliam’s deep steady voice and athletic body belied the fact he was only a few years older than Gorjon.
Milliam reached in again, pried off a small slate slab from the vault’s bottom, then pulled out a thick book. He leafed through it. “That’s odd. It’s just a Smith Wizard’s collection of enchantments.”
Gorjon peered at the book. “Those enchantments are valuable, aren’t they?” Having started his magical studies ten days earlier, he lacked his brother’s two years of training at Cerwillia, the city of wizards. His limited knowledge of magic, overheard from his family’s conversations, had given him only a vague understanding of wizards’ books.
“More than most books, but there should be enough coin in one of these bags to buy several wizards’ tomes.” Milliam pocketed the book. “Still, my magic says that this is the valuable stolen item that should be taken away from its current keeper.”
They replaced the slate slab and money bags, closed the vault, and snuck out of the building. They crept into the moon-lit courtyard, stopping occasionally to adjust everything to its original condition before they had entered the mansion–minus the book.
***
The brothers had started “rescuing” stolen artifacts a year ago and no one else had yet discovered their escapades. Lawlessness, resulting from the recent fall of the Jessian Empire, created hundreds of hidden caches of stolen artifacts throughout what had once been a prosperous nation.
Upon Milliam’s return from the wizard’s school in Cerwillia, he told his younger brother numerous stories about lost treasures from the Empire. The two decided to recover these items in the hope of restoring advanced civilization to their people. Unfortunately, few in the former empire considered liberating stolen items a noble cause. Many, like their wizard parents, considered all forms of retrieval, even ill-gotten property, as theft.
***
Two days later, free from the eyes of others, the brothers studied their latest prize. Still new at reading magical runes, Gorjon sat at the family desk struggling to interpret the writing on the page. He held the book up with his left hand, his right resting near his note-filled parchment. “What does this rune set mean? I get that it enchants weapons, but all I understand is something about unhealing and destruction?”
Milliam leaned over his younger brother’s shoulder. “Those runes are for causing diseases. Basically, a blade enchanted with this rune set causes an untreatable flesh-eating disease in those cut by it.”
“What?!” Gorjon dropped the book and jumped up from his chair, nearly hitting his brother’s chin. “That’s evil! We should destroy this book! Don’t even try to find the rightful owner for this thing.”
“I already did my Finding, and it looks like we’re the rightful owners, strange as that may sound. But we’re not going to destroy it, at least not yet.” Milliam bent over and picked up the book. “Remember the first enchantment in the book about making steel so nothing would stick to it?”
“I see nothing special about that one.”
“Well, think again. You heard about those valuable old-empire enchanted plows?”
“Yes?”
“No one remembers how the wizards made all the enchantments for those plow blades. This is the missing enchantment that keeps the soil from sticking to the plow blade, making it easier to pull.”
“Oh!” Gorjon sat back down; the scowl on his face smoothed out.
Milliam grinned. “This book is a serious treasure. We just need to find and copy the good enchantments, then we can destroy the rest.”
Gorjon paused in contemplation. The book was valuable. How many other lost books, filled with forgotten knowledge, were out there waiting to be found? He smiled. A worthwhile task that could last a lifetime. His parents wouldn’t approve, of course. They considered wizardry a part of the prim and proper upper class, not a tool to use for gallivanting about the world seeking adventure.
***
Wizard Gorjon grinned at the new letter from “Finder B” he received in his mid-morning delivery. The sender’s cryptic name reminded him again of the turbulent day four years ago when his father learned of the two brothers’ “relic rescues”. His father had sent him to Cerwillia to “redeem” himself but had disowned Millian.
The familiar handwriting, graceful and well ordered, had not changed since the first letter he received. Neither had used their true names in the letters, relying on trusted go-betweens for delivery. Their covert activities required anonymity to ensure success.
Dear Brother Lock,
I am happy to report that I am no closer to restoring our family’s honor with the birth of my daughter. I will follow Rosia’s desire to have our daughter raised as a Wise Woman, like her Equinnan ancestors. While it is sad that our parents consider it a scandal to have both a wise woman and an Equinnan in their family, my Finding says there can be no better path for me.
This marriage is such a joy that I want to Find you a good wife as well. I do not care that the wizard ethics are against it, and most here in the Molack Basin agree with me. The Equinnans say that there can be nothing wrong with using magic to do good. Of course, none of them can imagine the horrors of wizards abusing their powers during the fall of the Empire. They are just too honorable to even contemplate such evil.
However, I am sad to say that it appears there are no relics hidden on the frontier. My talent is useful only for other purposes here. I hope you are having better luck with your searches. We would not want to make our former family any happier, would we?
If you decide to include marriageable women with your search for books, you can find some here in Torith–especially with my help. This place is primitive compared to where we grew up, but the people here are friendlier and more helpful.
People in the Basin appreciate Wizards, though the anti-magic fanaticism in much of the former Empire is starting to grow here. I hear rumors of abductions of young female wizards and even whole wizard families disappearing. Small armies of brigands are roaming the countryside and creating more havoc each year. I fear that the near future will bring more dark times to the Basin folk, so I feel my services will become more needed. If you decide to come, please be very careful and travel with a well-armed group.
It is unfortunate that I need to add that bit of woeful news. Despite these dark times, I think we are still better off than most of the former Empire. There are many good people here fighting to keep the Basin from repeating the Empire’s mistakes. If I have anything to say about it, those people will triumph.
Write back soon. I am eager to hear about your newest find. Please make me a GOOD copy of it this time. That last one was all scribbles, and it took me a day to decipher it! (Actually, it was only a half day. Your writing is improving. Hopefully your social skills are too.)
Sincerely,
Brother Finder
Gorjon continued smiling the rest of that day. Upon finishing his evening dinner, he sat down at his small desk in his apartment and set out his writing materials.
Dear Brother Finder,
I found an old book written near the end of the Empire that is sure to create controversy through the known wizard world, if I can make and distribute many copies of it. I have yet to acquire it since the owner, though not a wizard himself, knows its value well. He is driving a hard bargain–marry his daughter and give him many grandchildren with a good chance of becoming wizards.
I think I will have to accept it, if only to scandalize our family more once they learn of the deal to marry a non-wizard. It helps that the daughter is highly intelligent and good looking, though shy. The father is a minor noble in the area and has three sons. He is looking to increase his prestige with some wizard relatives. I doubt I could find a better bargain.
From what little I have gleaned from the book so far, wizards’ offspring inherit many advantages in life over others, even if they do not become wizards. If it is correct, the girl’s father is onto something big. Fortunately, he is wise enough, (or maybe it is just greed), to keep its contents secret.
Unless I change my mind, I will not need help finding a wife. Contrary to what you may believe, who needs to improve their social skills if they are a wizard?
Fortunately, my talent won’t inflate my head because, sadly, once I settle down with a new family, I must find a reputable profession. I have been thinking of going back to the wizard school and trying my hand at teaching. The more lost books I discover, the more I see how much wizardry knowledge we lost from The Fall. As we discussed before, the leaders in Cerwillia care little about good research to improve wizardry and, if anything, are continuing its decline. With all my rediscoveries, I think I can help turn that around.
No need for you to remind me about my poor public speaking. It will help with my teaching. How, you ask? I recently concluded that most of the Cerwillia head wizards are against teaching too much to the students. My monotone speaking will help disguise all the good skills I can pour into those young impressionable heads. I am certain that is what Wizard Kardot is doing. We all hated his lectures, but he seemed to know the most and I learned more from him than the other four head wizards. He is getting quite old and will need a replacement in a few years. The opportunity may never come again.
Back to this new book I found. It will take some time to make a good copy of it. The owner will not let me take it out of his sight, and obviously he will not let me copy it. It may take a year or longer before I manage it. I may have to make multiple copies before sending one to you, if it is as important as I think it might be.
In the meantime, you will have to be content with my latest discovery I am sending with this letter, Seers and Wise Women. It might be perfect for that Wise Woman school in Torith you described last fall. This is the original which almost met its end two moons ago. I had to use my special skill to rescue it from the ‘Flames of Purity.’ Fortunately, both my special skill and my informant are still unknown to the rest of the world, and those fanatics have yet to learn of my passion for old and rare books.
The next letter I send to you will likely be written by a married man. Hopefully, he will not let marriage turn him as soft as it did his older brother.
Sincerely,
Brother Lock
Gorjon placed another blank parchment on the desk before him and leaned back in his chair. “Whom to write next,” he murmured to himself. “Wizard Kardot or my future father-in-law?”
Love the "rescuing" brothers ;-}