Chapter 4 Part 2

"Why do I get the feeling that I have been suckered," Ultrecht said as the huge silver dragon soared through the sky.

"Concern yourself not, my friend," the beast said as it caught a thermal updraft. "I fancy the coin. It is, after all, a diamond. I will call our account even. Besides I have enjoyed your company so far. Tell me more of your theory of elemental magic."

Armegon paid little attention to the conversation. He liked the dragon, they called Brandor for short. The two of them had hit it off right from the start. Armegon was pleased to learn that dragons utilized magic in a way that was similar to his own. Brandor had jokingly inquired if Armegon's mother had a fancy for dragon kind.

Armegon, like Ultrecht was amazed that Brandor had agreed to fly them all the way to Allentown and back for nothing more than a diamond cut into the likeness of a coin. The coin had simply fallen out of Ultrecht's purse when they were bargaining. Ultrecht could not even remember where he had gotten it, just that he had never gotten around to having it priced.

The dragon had pounced on the object immediately without waiting to see what else Ultrecht had to offer. Noting dragons' reputation for hoarding valuable items, Armegon had decided to make a few inquiries on the side, when he got to Allentown about the coin.

Late that night, Brandor landed in a meadow and announced that he needed to feed and rest. He suggested that they, the passengers, dismount and build a small fire. He assured them that his presence had just frightened off any wildlife, or possible enemies. He promised to return at dawn.

Ultrecht and Armegon did as they were urged. They also were surprised to find smoked meat, cheese and wine stowed in their packs. The work of either Avery or Nikki, Armegon suspected. Ultrecht preferred to think it was Nikki. "Avery would have given us the smoked meat, but he probably would have included some foul tasting roots as well."

After dinner, the two mages settled down and slept soundly. True to his promise, Brandor returned at sunrise. The equipment was stowed, and the passengers remounted. One great leap later and they were climbing into the morning sky.

Three days later; the benefit of a strong tailwind, found them landing in a field about two hours' walk from Allentown. Brandor bade then a good stay, and promised to meet them in the same place in three days time.

Armegon and Ultrecht had watched the dragon go. Over the time of the flight, they had gotten to know the him quite well. They had learned that the new dragons were fairly different than the ones they were used to. Like the dragons from their home world, these dragons were highly intelligent, and capable of taking on humanoid shape on occasion, though Brandor remarked that it was a very draining process.

Unlike the dragons of their past, however, the dragons of Assile were for the most part good natured and kind. Brandor did admit that there were "less than accommodating" dragons to be found, but they were generally found in the far west and far south. He also mentioned that some lived in the northern frozen areas.

The areas of the Great Deep, which described the land bound by the Eastern Sea and the Orkon mountains above the Calico River, was mostly dragons of his own kind, the Luster Dragons, he had told them. He advised them that only in the vicinity of Aspberg or Freon were they likely to run into bad tempered dragons of the Spectral breed.

By the time the flight had been completed, a warm and possibly mutually beneficial friendship had begun. Armegon and Ultrecht were in high spirits but of grim purpose as they approached the city.

Allentown was an adventure every time it was visited. Ultrecht had developed a deep fondness for the place. The Guild, University, and Archives were to him as a candy shop is to a child. Everywhere he turned there was knowledge to be discovered. Yet for him it was an added bonus. For he, like his companions, had the knowledge and experiences of a whole other world to add to what they could glean from the new one.

Armegon too liked Allentown. As they walked past the rows and rows of tents and temporary peddler stands, he constantly was distracted by one thing or another. At one point, his eye caught a display promising rare and unusual coins. Intrigued, and remembering the dragon's requested fee, he paused to speak with the dealer. A moment passed before the owner came to serve him. The plump middle aged man had red eyes, apparently from weeping.

"Your pardon sir," the man said in a squeaky voice. "My children are in the back and are hungry, and I haven't the money to feed them more than one meal today." He made another show of weeping.

Armegon, having had traveled many a road with Keeneye, thief and con artist, immediately grew suspicious. This man was far too fat to the pauper he made out to be. His suspicion called to his attention the feint aroma of onions from the chubby person. Artificial tears, he surmised.

"Only three hours ago, I was cheated out of a fair profit by a crafty customer," the man continued. "But I must deal my wares to feed my family, so how can I help you?"

"I am seeking a special kind of coin," Armegon said in a low whisper. He made an overly obvious glance at his surroundings. The shop keeper's tears disappeared miraculously.

"What kind of coin?" he asked and leaned closer secretively.

"A diamond," Armegon described the coin Ultrecht had found. "A diamond cut into a coin."

The poker faced salesman broke into a grin. "You and every other inhabitant of this miserable life," he laughed. "A diamond coin! Ha, ha. If I had any of the diamond coins, I would certainly not be peddling these trinkets."

Armegon immediately concluded that Ultrecht had been had. The coin had been very beautiful, but its value, even for a diamond, was not that great. It must be representative of a large amount of gold. "About how much is one worth?"

"Well that really depends on what city the coin is chartered under," the proprietor explained. "I once saw the Ruby Coin of Seron in a museum there," he went on. "It was sold to the city for twenty-five million in the King's gold"

Armegon couldn't even speak for a full minute.

"Sir?" The peddler became nervous. He didn't need the hassle of a customer dying at his stand.

Armegon recovered slowly. "What would a diamond coin from the city of High Branch be worth?"

"High Branch?" The proprietor looked thoughtful. "Well theoretically the coin is a deed for the entire city. If you subtract the values of the city's other noble coins, what is left over from the years' taxes would be yours. And since High Branch is the third largest city in the world, it would reap several hundred million I would guess."

Armegon felt his heart skip a beat. Ultrecht had held hundreds of millions of the economic base currency in his pocket without ever suspecting what it was. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Sir?" The merchant's address snapped him back to life. "I said, 'is there anything else you would like to buy?'"

With detachment, Armegon pointed to a small trinket on the table.

"Ah, an excellent choice," he said. "This is a Western Warrior's Union. The Union has no real monetary value, but it is a recognition piece. With this you will be accepted and a guild member of the Warriors League."

"How did you get it?" Armegon asked as he fished for his purse.

"A gambler who had won it in a game sold it to me for some quick cash."

"How much?"

"Two silvers." Armegon paid the price and left with his trinket. Hundreds of millions: the words echoed through his mind.

Ultrecht had stopped to purchase a roll of parchment while Armegon browsed. He was looking at some ink bottles when Armegon rejoined him. "Did you find anything you liked?" he asked. When no answer came, he glanced back at his companion. Armegon's face was ashen. His eyes were wide and staring as if he had been belted on the nose.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Armegon nodded slowly. "Yeah," he said, "but you won't be." He told Ultrecht of his discovery, and the mage's knees buckled as the realization hit home. Armegon, fortunately was ready for it and caught him.

"Look at it on the bright side," Armegon pointed out. "At least you knew you were getting duped."

They both decided at that point that they needed a meal and several strong drinks, so they made their way to the Guild of the Arts. Ultrecht's membership got them in and his standing was in good order so he charged the meal and room to his account.

Ultrecht also took the trouble to ask the registrar if Mestys, the female warlock who had helped him track down Tyson, was in town. He was shocked to hear that her account had been closed out after her debts were settled by the city's officials following her death. Ultrecht took the news harshly. They had shared many tender moments.

Armegon put a hand on his friend's arm. Ultrecht pulled away weakly and just stared at the ceiling. Armegon asked the elderly lady at the desk. "How did she die?"

"She was murdered," she said sadly. "I am sorry Mr. Ultrecht. I can see that you were friends."

"Can you tell us anything about the incident?" Armegon purposely avoided the word, murder.

"The constable said that the death stroke was done by an assassin who knew anatomy very well. The act was a clean break of the neck. That is the only thing that makes no sense," she added. "One would think that an assassin would attack a warlock from a distance and with a weapon. The constable thinks it was done by hand at close range."

"Tyson," Ultrecht whispered.

Armegon steered Ultrecht into the cafeteria and sat him at a table. He ordered a round of stiff drinks and a light meal. Armegon knew that this Mestys woman had been more than just a friend to Ultrecht, and this visit to Allentown had already had more surprises than they needed. But their time was limited, and they could not afford taking off a day to grieve.

When the food and drink arrived, Armegon ate in silence. There was no reason to disturb Ultrecht's thoughts at the moment. But by the time Armegon had finished Ultrecht was still staring at the plate absently toying with the food.

"Hurry up and eat," Armegon advised. "We only have three days to find a way to break Tyson's hold on Sam. Then we can go get Tyson."

The reaction was immediate. Ultrecht attacked his food, a pasta and beef dish, savagely. Between mouthfuls, he muttered. "He’s mine," Armegon heard at one point. "Tyson and I are going to meet once more, and I’m going to engrave his tombstone with his own blood."

Armegon watched as Ultrecht ate. Revenge was not really the kind of motivation he was used to seeing in Ultrecht. It was true, that they should have never trusted Tyson as far as they had, but Tyson had expertly mixed truth with half truth to create the doubt that had bought him his chance.

After dinner, they checked into their room and changed their clothes. Since Armegon was not a member of any guild, he wore the white sash and gray robe of an apprentice while Ultrecht bore the red sash of a wizard on the black robe of a mage. He explained that the green sashes were worn by warlocks and the blue sashes were worn by sorcerers. Armegon asked what the difference between a wizard and a sorcerer was, and learned that the difference was the source of the magic.

"It’s the same as back home. You would be a sorcerer because your magic comes from within whereas I am a wizard because I manipulate the energies of the environment, but we are both considered magicians instead of warlocks since our magic relies on non-mental components. Warlocks do not have a subdivision."

Armegon wondered if any other "apprentices" could do the magic he could do. Ultrecht assured him that no insult was intended, but that he would be more free to roam around as an apprentice since apprentices were generally ignored as go-betweens for the most part. Armegon found some humor in that, and finished dressing himself.

He put on a simple gray robe while Ultrecht dressed in a black robe with runes of an ancient language from their home world embroidered into the linings of the sleeve cuffs and hem. The neck lining was decorated with the eight symbols of the eight elements. All these were done in the same shade of red as his sash. "Doesn't that draw attention," he said as he indicated the runes and symbols.

"Naw," Ultrecht replied with a hint of a smile. "I tell most people who ask, that it is just for show and to confuse people who are nosing into my business."

Armegon laughed. "You will never change."

When they were dressed appropriately, Armegon followed Ultrecht to the library. They checked in, and Armegon was admitted as Ultrecht's apprentice. "You’ll be expected to wait on me hand and foot," Ultrecht said.

It was an attempt at humor, and Armegon knew it, but the recent loss of Mestys prevented it from being funny. Still Armegon reacted as he was expected to, and he coughed and made a grinding sound with his teeth. "That'll be the day," he said.

The attendant at the reference desk wore the pale yellow robe of a scholar and gave them directions to the area of the library with writings on possession, and mental attacks. They followed the directions and soon located the material they were looking for. "Well here we are," Ultrecht sighed as they faced a corridor lined from floor to ceiling with shelves of books.

"Any ideas as to where to begin?" Armegon asked.

"The beginning?"

Armegon frowned. "I mean do you have any titles or specific subjects to look for."

"Look for imprisonment, and domination." Ultrecht advised. "I don't think possession will have any coverage we can use." He turned and started scanning the books on the left side while Armegon took the right.

After a half hour of searching, they had accumulated about two dozen tomes, scrolls, manuscripts and other various writings. It was apparent that they would be hard pressed to sift through all the information they had gathered in the three days they had. Ultrecht sighed at the pile as he set his stack on a table next to Armegon's and produced some writing materials. He seated himself and took a book from the top of the stack. "Mirrors and the Taming of the Inner Eye by Nostromangia of Keron," he read. "Well I don't know how much this will yield, but we can't afford to skip anything."

Armegon read the title of his first book. The Mind as a Weapon, by Osterman the Psychic of Vermouth. At least that was more promising than Ultrecht's book.

They had read through nine volumes by nightfall and time they had gotten too tired to continue. Ultrecht suggested that they turn in for some sleep. He paid the attendant a tip to watch their table until morning so that they would not have to relocate the volumes, then he led the way back to their room.

Back in their room they quickly reviewed their notes. Armegon had found two books that dealt with the capture and holding of minds and Ultrecht had found three. The notes in the books had been very specific in the procedures to perform the action, but were lacking in how to undo it. "We may have to develop our own remedy," Ultrecht commented as he tossed the notes on a desk in the room. "Few magic users are going to include a set of instructions on how to undo a spell they have published. That is rather self defeating."

"We'll find something," Armegon assured him wearily. "Now turn out the light and go to sleep."