Wizard of Jatte - Rowan Erlking (year 2 reading books txt) 📗

belief. “Really? Then wouldn’t they request that at the gates?”

A constable shoved Theobold back with a meaty hand. “Don’t get smart.”

“Yes,” the magistrate said with a nod to that pet thug. “I operate under different rules. If you want to leave Dhilia, you pay a toll.”

The other merchants now passed by un-harassed. It was clear only they were being stopped mostly based on the load they were carrying. Everyone else was pittance in comparison to the caravan.

“Hey!” Theissen shouted from behind. “What’s holding us up?”

With a mild flap, Theobold feathers ruffled under his cloak. He cast a look to the others. “A man up here. He says we have to pay a toll to leave Dhilia City.”

“A toll?” Theissen stomped past the others in the group. “That’s nonsense! If there was a toll we would have paid at the gate.”

“That’s what I said.” Theobold turned around and met Theissen with a nod towards the constables. “But they don’t seem to believe me.”

The magistrate eyed Theissen shrewdly, walking over to him. “Are you the owner of this operation?”

Theissen shook his head with a puzzled expression. He gazed over the few yards left to the gate then examined the thugs barring their way. He slowly drew in an understanding breath, taking in their situation. He let it out again. “No. I’m not. We’re just friends traveling together.”

“Then you each pay a toll,” a constable said.

Still shaking his head, Theissen regarded the man with a smirk before glancing up at to the building tops and then the air around him.

“No. We won’t.”

“What did you say?” The magistrate shoved the end of his walking stick into Theissen’s chest, painfully forcing him back into one of the carts.

A serene smile materialized on Theissen’s face as he gently pushed the stick from his chest.

“I said,” the stick broke up into sawdust particles as he nudged it out of the way, “We won’t be paying you.”

Only the stub of the stick was left, leaving the wolf’s head in the magistrate’s hand as if it had been decapitated.

It took a minute for the magistrate to get his bearings. In the mean time, Theissen gestured for their group to continue towards the far gates as planned, staring down the constables in their way.

“You! Stop there!” A constable jumped at him.

Ducking first to avoid the blow, then with a narrow focused look on the stones beneath them, Theissen upturned the pavement, tossing the thugs off their feet, some against the buildings at the side. The moment after when the way was clear, he smoothed the stones back down so that the molemen’s carts could roll over them unobstructed. He glared at the constables as they scrambled to their feet, blocking their way to his companions. One of them swiped at Theobold with his clenched fist, but the birdman just flapped up onto the air and landed onto a nearby roof.

“A demon!” Someone shouted.

Screams echoed after like a ripple of stink on the wind.

Theissen rolled his eyes towards his friend. “Theobold. Did you have to do that in town?”

Theobold just shrugged, peering down from his perch. Already people were throwing things at him to drive him off. Theissen noticed that none of the anti-demon wards on the buildings did anything to the birdman, though Theissen could see their magic was still intact to ward off some kind of demonic creature. It was clear that some demon wards were indeed demon specific.

“Hey! Watch that!” Theobold shouted back at the stirred up crowd on the street that had nearly hit him with a rotten lettuce head.

“You’d better fly on ahead!” Theissen called over to him, up-heaving yet another set of paving stones to throw off the thugs on the road.

Nodding to him, Theobold launched off the rooftop. On his broad white wings, he soared overhead past the gates. He landed just outside the large doors on the road, calling out through cupped hands for the others to hurry.

“You can’t leave without paying a toll!” The magistrate shouted, clipping Theissen on the side of the head with what was left of his cane.

His ear throbbed. Theissen spun around and stirred up a large gust of wind, surrounding him. He blew the carts and his fellows towards the gates. It also threw everything else around him as far away from himself as possible.

The winds whirled in a vast vortex, tearing up the stones, throwing the curtains, tossing the people, chickens, baskets, packages, buckets, cartons, and all other things along the road where he stood in a ring. Then, in a wisp, the wind swirled off into nothingness. Standing in the center of the debris-strewn road, Theissen gazed petulantly at the mess, dusting his cloak off. Then he started towards the gates once more.

“You’re a monster.” The magistrate hissed, pointing as his thugs gathered around in terror. Most of the people cowered in their corners staring at Theissen in the same way.

But Theissen shook his head, gestured to a water trough that was still standing. He waved up at the water. It condensed in a cloud. Then, it floated as he beckoned it over to the group of thugs, raining down on them with their own personal thunderstorm.

“No. I’m a wizard,” he said with a smirk. “You are the monster.”

Sopping, the thugs scattered, or tried to dart off from the cloud. The magistrate scrambled through the nearest door, screaming.

Once they were off the street, Theissen gave the mess a glance and sighed. Already he could hear the others in his group call for him from outside the gate, but he walked over to every overturned and broken trough and bucket on the road. He mended each with a touch. He even reassembled the eggs he had inadvertently smashed in the chaos. Those he set gently back into the basket.

Someone whimpered at the side, cradling their wrist.

“Is it broken?” Theissen walked over to him.

The man screamed. “Get away from me! Don’t get near me!”

Theissen halted for a second, but then just shook his head. “Quit being such a coward. I have no intention of hurting you.”

He took hold of the man’s arm. He could feel that it was cracked, but not a clean break. With a gentle twist, he mended the bone and then let go.

“There. Now keep out of the way next time.”

Theissen went back to fixing things.

“But…” The man just puzzled over his healed arm, and then at Theissen who smoothed the road out again. He used a small wind to set the little things back to right. He even mended the broken glass in two windows. “…you’re a wizard.”

Blinking with mild amusement, Theissen’s smile returned. “That I am.”

“But wizards are—”

“Are what? Have you ever met another wizard before?” Theissen stopped cleaning up. More people were creeping out to stare at him. It was clear to most he was not going to hurt them.

The healed man shook his head. “No. But everyone knows wizards are evil.”

To that that, Theissen painfully laughed. Yet it turned towards amusement. Tears were even rolled down his cheeks. “Everyone knows? For goodness sake, what books are people reading that says that?”

“Children’s stories,” one woman said, approaching him as she picked up her basket of eggs. “They all say it.”

“Have you ever met a wizard before?” Theissen asked her, trying to control his grin.

She shook her head also. “No. But I heard there was one in Jattereen City.”

Theissen raised his eyebrows. “Really? In Jattereen?”

He looked towards the highway where his friends were waiting.

“We’re planning on going to Jattereen. Maybe I can meet him.”

“Are you really a wizard, and not a magician?” one man asked, inching in closer.

Turning with a look, Theissen asked dryly, “Why? Are you assuming that magicians are automatically good, and wizards must be evil?”

The man withdrew a fraction. Watching Theissen with care, he said, “Magicians are here for the greater good. Anyone can study to be a magician. Wizards are mysterious. No one can just become a wizard.”

Regarding that for a moment, Theissen decided that he really ought to hurry on. The others outside the gate were getting restless. Theobold looked tempted to fly back to drag him out of the city if necessary.

“Look,” Theissen said with a tone of impatience, now heading towards the gate. “Wizards are people, just like you—”

“Not just like,” someone murmured.

“—with feelings and with hard things to consider.” Theissen gave that man a hard look. “I was born a wizard. I was raised a carpenter. To me, I am both.

“And as for wizards being evil, that is hokum and nonsense. Magicians spread those lies out of jealousy. The same goes for witches. They aren’t evil. They are herbal magic users, and some of them are quite handy to have around.”

The people gasped. However, Theissen had had enough of making explanations. He marched down the road.

“Hey! Wait!” The man whose arm was healed followed after him. “Why do you travel with a demon?”

Turning with a frank look, Theissen replied, “Theobold? The birdman? Oh, he saved my life once. Besides, all those people there used to be demon once. I cured them.”

The crowd gasped. Theissen turned and continued on his way.

“I have nothing to fear from a demon. It’s normal humans I worry about.”

When he joined his group at the gate, the people on that city road continued to watch Theissen’s group proceeded together out of their city limits towards the open land again.

“What does a wizard have to worry about with normal humans?” someone asked.

“I don’t know,” said the man rubbing where his arm was perfectly healed.

Chapter Thirty-Four: What Could Worry a Wizard

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

The expanse between Dhilia City and Jattereen City was filled with plains and farming villages. They were as unlike the squalor of the villages on the West Coast as the land was different from the sea. Bounty was everywhere, even making Lumen Village look like a little podunk place where ignorant hicks lived rather than the center of artisans it was for the west. This highway did not need any manner of smoothing to make their trip go faster. The road was obviously well maintained by the Jatte army.

Their caravan stopped in some villages along the way to offer minor work in trade for food and lodging. But mostly they stuck to the highway. Theissen stirred a wind to help push them along, and to ease their burden if at least a little. And though Karo went out and purchased two donkeys along the way to help pull the carts, the animals he got were stubborn beasts. Theissen had to urge them with magic to pull their loads. Half the time the former molemen pushed the carts as usual.

“You have to get them to trust you first,” Theissen said to the former moleman. He patted one of the donkey’s necks as they walked. Everyone stared at him with envy, wishing they could influence animals as easily as Theissen could. “Even without magic, I can get them to do as I want, you know.”

Theobold sighed dramatically, wishing to fly off again to scout. Those days, Theissen had him act as the rearward while he led the donkeys in the front. As they journeyed, the birdman grew more discontent, especially with how Theissen continued to talk to them like they hadn’t a clue how to handle human life. A