Hamilton Swoop, Wizard of Green Ridge (10 page)

Hamilton entered the bedroom, but could not see the cat. “What? Where are you?"

Under the bed.

He got down on his knees and looked under the bed. “What?"

Whiskers looked up into the bed frame.
Do you see what I see?

Dark under the bed which made it easy to spot what the cat had discovered. Like the one he had found in the charred remains of the house, this one glowed. Hamilton crawled under the bed and dislodged the cylinder. This one had a blue aura and glowed brighter than the first one.

Thalia entered the room as he was emerging from under the bed. “Isn't that the thing you had at the Guild?"

He stood and than sat down on the bed. “Looks like it, doesn't it? But I don't think it's the same one.” He ran his hand over it. The cylinder's weight was such that it was obvious that it wasn't solid. “This thing's got some kind of a spell on it, but as to what spell...” Then he looked at the cat. “Any ideas?"

No, but it smells funny. Same smell that was in the hall.

"Maybe we should take it to the Guild tomorrow?” asked the girl.

"No. This was put here intentionally and, as the one who left it apparently didn't want us to find it; I don't think leaving it here, even for a day, is such a great idea. Besides, in daylight, I wouldn't have found this thing, but if the room was dark, even under the bed, it would be hard to miss. Is there a clock maker in this part of town?"

"I don't know. I'm not very familiar with this part of Center City."

"Well, then, let's go see if we can find one. Come with me. Whiskers, you stay here and watch the suite."

And what am I supposed to do if someone breaks in? Pee on him?
Her tail twitched in annoyance.

"I doubt that he'll return. If he does, just hide. I'll set wards to protect the place when I leave."

When Hamilton and Thalia arrived in the lobby, the only other one there was Thackeray. They moved to the desk where the manager was writing in a ledger. As they approached, he looked up and smiled. “May I help you, Master Citrine?"

"Perhaps. Is there a clock maker in this part of town?"

"Yes. Go two blocks to the west, make a right on Gavin Way. It's a block or so up on the left side of the street. The shop's called Tempus Fugit. It's got a bright blue sign. Shall I call a carriage?"

"That won't be necessary. The weather looks fine for a change and I need the exercise. Besides, I've got to work off some of that wonderful food you've been serving us."

Thackeray beamed. He rushed from behind his counter and held the door. As Hamilton and Thalia reached the street Thackeray called, “Master Citrine, I'm not sure that the shop is open. Many people have left this part of town since the dragon appeared."

"Only one way to find out,” replied Hamilton over his shoulder as he and Thalia headed west.

Even in the sunshine, there were few people on the street. As they approached the shop Thalia asked, “Why a clock shop? Do you think that this cylinder tells time?"

"Time? No, but I want to see what's inside it. To do that, I'll need some tools and no one has better or more precise tools than a clock maker."

The door of the shop was locked. Behind the glass in the door was a sign that read, “Closed". Beneath the word closed were scrawled the words, “until further notice".

"Too bad,” said Thalia.

"Oh, I don't know. I doubt that the owner would object to us just using some of his tools for a few minutes.” Hamilton withdrew a few small items from his purse and set to work on the lock. One of the tools slipped and he mumbled something under his breath. He tried again and seconds later there was a “click". He turned the handle and the door opened.

"What kind of magic was that?” asked the girl.

Hamilton smiled. “It's a very ancient spell called lockus pickus. You'll find it in the third volume of the Trilogy."

"Really?"

"No. I was kidding. I just broke in. No magic at all.” He looked down at her. “Incidentally, you did well by not simply accepting what I said. I want you to question what you see. If you just take people's word for such, you learn little."

The shop was dark. Hamilton found a light switch by the counter and flipped it. Several lights in the ceiling came on. Then he placed the cylinder on a velvet cushion on the countertop. Beneath the counter were several drawers and within one of the he found the maker's tools. “OK, now maybe we'll find out..."

There was a scream from outside the shop. Other voices yelled as well. It was difficult to hear what was being said. Hamilton was able to make out one word that was repeated several times. Dragon.

"Come on!” he exclaimed. They hurried outside. “I've got to see it!"

On the street, people ran and yelled. Hamilton looked up. There was nothing to be seen. Then, as his gaze lowered toward the street, he saw it. The dragon was less than 500 feet from him, flying less than 50 feet above the street. It was coming directly toward them. He grabbed Thalia's arm shouting, “Run!"

They ran up the street. The dragon dove in their direction. Hamilton's blood sang in his ears as they ran. A block from the maker, there was a narrow alley. Hamilton dove into it dragging Thalia in behind him.

He was panting so hard he could hardly breathe. But, as soon as they made the turn, he stopped and peeked out around the edge of the building, trying to get a glimpse of the dragon. What he saw was the clock maker's shop detonate in a ball of fire. The dragon passed overhead and disappeared over the tops of the buildings.

He turned back to Thalia who was watching the sky. “Did you see it? Did you see it? A real dragon. Wow!"

Hamilton's heart was thundering in his chest as he fought to get his breath back. When he was able to speak again he said, “Yeah, wow,” with somewhat less enthusiasm.

They returned to the site to see what the dragon had done. The maker's shop was engulfed in flames and the two attached buildings were burning as well. Several people had come out of hiding and were watching the fire. Others emerged from buildings and stared. One man was shouting at a woman saying, “Damn it, I told you this part of town ain't safe. We're leaving tomorrow!"

She protested saying, “But the Guildmaster said a wizard was going to kill the dragon."

"See any wizards? Come on. We're leaving before we get incinerated.” They hurried off.

A few minutes later a fire wagon rolled up and did it's best to put out the fire, but nothing they did slowed the flames at the shop. Frustrated, they directed their efforts at the adjoining buildings and had better luck.

Thalia wanted to approach the shop, but Hamilton held her back. Black smoke rose above the burning building. Their view, however, was unobstructed as the wind was at the backs. He looked down at the ground around the shop. There were little blobs of white goo, some burning furiously. For a brief moment, Hamilton thought he spotted the cylinder through the smashed window of the shop before the remains of the roof crashed down on top of it. “We'd better go.".

"But don't you want to retrieve that glowing thing?"

"No."

This time, when they approached the suite's door, there was no glow in response to Hamilton's gesture. In addition, he noted that the wards he had left were undisturbed.

Thalia was still excited by their encounter with the dragon and Whiskers insisted that she tell her everything that happened. When she had finished her description, the cat said,
Looks like you were lucky not to get cooked. Any idea why it attacked a clock shop? Doesn't seem like a likely target.

Hamilton scratched his beard. “I doubt that it was after the clock shop."

"But then why?"

"It's my guess that that cylinder was some kind of lure."

"You mean that if you two hadn't taken it out of here..."

"Then we'd all be well done steak by now? Yes."

"
So you think someone's out to get you?

"Or you,” Hamilton said.

Me? Why would anyone go out of their way to go after me? What did I do? Maybe you shouldn't leave me alone.

"Relax, Whiskers. I don't think anyone's out to get you. They're probably not out to get me either. I think they're more concerned with the things Obsidian left. Probably the Orb."

Whiskers jumped down from Thalia's lap and headed for the bedroom.
Your visitor left something else behind.

"What?"

There's some sand on the bathroom floor. Not much. Must have been stuck in his boots.

Whiskers led the way to the bathroom.

Hamilton looked down at the tiny grains on the black marble floor. “So he was on the sea shore before he came here?"

Whiskers sniffed at the sand.
No, there's no smell of salt.
Whiskers looked up at Hamilton and the girl. She headed for the bathroom door.
If anyone's looking for me, I'll be under the bed.

Thalia brushed cat fur off of her pants. “Do you think someone is using a spell to control the dragon?"

"If they are, they're using a spell that isn't in the Trilogy. Whatever that cylinder is, it isn't any kind of magic I know about.” Hamilton stood and moved to the window. He looked out at the sky. Gathering clouds obscured the setting sun. A shiver ran up his spine. Without turning he said, “Hopefully, the Master Alchemist will be able to shed some light on this tomorrow."

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After breakfast the next morning, Hamilton and the girl went out to the stables to check on Bethesda. Hamilton scratched the gelding behind the ears. He noted the neat stall and the trough with clean water in it. “How they treating you, boy?” he asked the horse. Oats OK?"

What oats? All they've been giving me is hay and it isn't very fresh
.

"That's pretty bad,” Thalia stroked the horse's mane..

Hamilton looked at her. “What?"

"I mean it's bad that they're just giving the horse old hay."

Hamilton looked at Bethesda and then back at Thalia. “You, um, understand Bethesda?"

"What's Bethesda?"

"Bethesda—that's my horse's name. You understand him?"

"Sure. Don't you?"

"No, but then since I got him from the same wizard that owned Whiskers ... You say that they've been feeding him old hay?"

"Uh-huh, and he says it tastes bad."

"Well, at least I can do something about that. Let's find the stableman.” Hamilton glanced about and located a ladder leading to the loft. They climbed up and discovered a room at the back surrounded by bails of stacked hay. The door was closed.

Hamilton banged on the door and a sleepy voice inside said, “What? What? Just a minute. I'm coming.” After a moment, a man emerged from the room looking somewhat disheveled. He finished buttoning his shirt and again asked, “What?"

Hamilton growled, “Remember me?"

"Bay gelding, third stall? Right?"

"And the man who paid you to feed his horse oats, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. I fed your horse oats. So what's the problem?"

"The problem is,” Hamilton's voice raised, “you fed my horse rancid hay, not oats."

"So what? That's all I've got here. Ever since Thermite showed up, business has been real slow. The stock that was s'posed to last a week has lasted a month. What do you expect me to do?"

"Well, since I paid you to feed my horse oats, that's what I expect you to do. You know, it's a bad idea to ignore a request from a wizard."

"Wizard, huh? I've seen wizards. Bunch of malarkey, all that magic stuff. What cha going t’ do, turn me into a toad? Leave me alone.” The stableman turned his back and headed into his room."

"Toad?” Hamilton mumbled to the retreating man's back. “No, I don't do toads, but how about this? If my horse isn't fed oats, and nothing but oats, every scrap of food that you eat is going to taste just like the rotten hay you've been feeding my horse. In addition, if he isn't curried, exercised daily and treated like the finest steed you've ever seen, well, I hope you like the taste of hay because I'll make the spell permanent."

"I'm
so
scared,” laughed the stableman as he closed the door behind him.

Hamilton made a gesture and spoke a few words under his breath. “Enjoy your lunch,” he said to the door.

Hamilton and the girl descended the ladder.

"How could someone be so disrespectful? To treat a great wizard so? It's terrible."

"The Guild doesn't seem to command the same respect that it once did. Still, once that stableman finishes his next meal, I believe that his treatment of Bethesda will improve substantially."

As they passed his horse on the way out, he whispered to it, “Sorry about the bad hay, boy, but your next meal will be oats, I guarantee it."

It's about time someone paid some attention to me.

"Bethesda said ‘Thanks',” replied the girl to the wizard's quizzical expression.

No I didn't,
the horse said.

Mid-afternoon, their carriage arrived at the Guild, and Hamilton, Thalia and Whiskers were ushered into the main hall. Both Hamilton and the cat were glad that his green cloak shed water easily, since the cold rains had returned.

Hamilton gestured to the others in the hall to be seated while he remained standing. “I have discovered a few things since I last saw you.” He glanced about the hall noting that the same number of people were there as the last time he spoke to the group. “Is there still a wizard missing?"

"I have not been able to locate Master Topaz,” replied Diamond.

"He did not answer the summons?"

"No. And we cannot locate him with magic. This is most unusual for a wizard not to answer a summons. We are still investigating."

"Well, moving on, I was privileged, if that is the word, to see your dragon yesterday. Quite impressive. However, I will hold my comments until I have heard from you folks. What can you tell me about Thermite? Master Diamond?"

Diamond cleared his throat, “It first appeared about three months ago. Thermite first started destroying homes on the very outskirts of Center City. It either burns them to the ground or simply lands on them. Because of its weight, the results are about the same. So far, it has destroyed twenty-seven homes, and, most recently, the bank in Norkon. That was its first incursion into the city proper.