Wizard's Alley Read online

  “Now leave before I change my mind.” I watched as the two henchmen helped their boss from my alley.

  He had called me “Priest,” which I was not. I went back into my hide and took off the priest's clothes I had borrowed.

  “Return.” The priest's clothes and all of the wooden balls returned to the places I had borrowed them from. I stood in my small clothes, looking at my outer clothes. My anger still burned hot. I had a feeling this was only the first of the troubles that would come my way. The Red and Blue memories were stirring within me.

  I stood with my legs wide and arms outstretched: “Come to me,” I commanded.

  My whole body glowed purple with gold runes and tattoos showing through my skin. The pile of loot from the night of the battle glowed. Everything levitated—half blue, half red. It pulsated and then turned completely purple. The enchanted jewelry, rings, and necklace came and adorned me. The pieces of their clothing and cloaks joined with mine and became one. The new clothes came and fitted themselves to me perfectly. Everything had a subtle purple hue to it. The four pieces of the two wizards’ staffs and my staff came together as well. It had a large purple stone at its head. I could feel power pulsating down into and from the very marrow of my being.

  Everything about me felt different, yet somehow the same. And I now wore more than I used to. I put the purple-stoned staff in the inside pocket of my enhanced cloak, and it dropped out of sight. I stared. I had not thought about it; it seemed like the normal thing to do.

  “Staff.” The staff appeared back in my hand. I shrugged and put it back in the cloak's pocket. I felt tired, so I lay on the ground and closed my eyes. I felt myself sinking into the earth as I fell asleep and dreamed.

  The dreams were not mine and of places I had never been. After a time, the strangeness of them passed. I accepted them and slept easier. I don't know how long I slept, but when I awoke, I was rested and refreshed.

  It was dark outside, and all my wards were asleep. As was my habit, I began practicing my dance. Although, this time it was different. Everything around me slowed. The purple aura surrounded, intertwined, and engulfed me. My cloak flared and moved with me, never hampering my movements. It seemed to hide my moves, then move out of the way when I’d strike. The harder I pushed myself, the better I felt. And when I finished, I was levitating, and six small magic shields orbited me in a universal pattern.

  I lowered myself to the ground. The magic shields faded, becoming part of my purple aura. It quieted and then faded away. I couldn't walk around like this all the time; I liked my anonymity.

  “Hide.” I now wore plain dark clothes and a dark hooded cloak. I also bore my plain low boots and walking staff.

  Dawn was just breaking, and I was hungry. I went to the nearby bakery and bought bread, meat, and cheese. I stepped around the corner and into a wall. I relaxed and ate breakfast.

  My mind was still on the encounter with the three men. I didn't think they would let this go. They really couldn't, not if they wanted to maintain control over everyone else through fear. I needed to ensure they heeded my warning. If not, I'd have to kill them next time. And if I did that, someone new would surely take their place. I needed to do something different.

  I thought about the man at the inn. What was it he had said? “Expand your business, but don't shear the sheep too close.”

  I may have to go into business myself. First, I'd have to find out who the boss of this area is. Once I knew that, I would see what I had to do to keep him away from my alley.

  I went underground and walked to the wall of my alley. I watched the people coming and going about their daily lives. There wasn't a lot going on in this section of the district, so I moved to the other end of the block and watched from there for a while.

  Finally, I saw someone I recognized. It was the bigger ones who had always chased me. They didn't seem as big to me as they used to. I dropped into the ground and walked along underneath them. They seemed to walk in circles around the area. I guess they were on the prowl looking for someone they could steal from.

  They finally left the district, but I continued to follow them. A few blocks over, in the next district, they turned down an alley. There were some bullyboys outside a rundown building, and they let the bigger ones inside. I went up into the wall, as they went to the front room and waited to be called.

  Once they were called, they went into a back room. The boss, or at least someone higher than they were, was sitting at a desk.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “No sign of him,” the big boy answered.

  The boss raised his eyes. “He dresses as a priest; how hard can it be to find him?”

  “We've been looking everywhere in that area for him. We have the alley he lives in being watched, and there has been no sign of him.”

  “What about that kid you said lived there, any sign of him?”

  “None. He may have moved on when the priest moved in.”

  The boss nodded, “Keep looking; I want him found. Do nothing; just report back to me when you find him.”

  They took that as their dismissal: “Yes, sir,” they said, and left.

  I sat pondering this new information. They were looking for me—probably for retribution. I wondered if there is a different boss in my home district, and if he knew someone was encroaching on his territory. I needed to find out who and where the other boss was.

  ***

  It took me a few days, but I found the boss, or underboss, of my home district. I could just kill the other boss and all his men, or I could drop some information around and let them kill each other. I liked that idea better; that would weaken both sides.

  I made sure they passed information that a gang from the other district was moving in on his territory. He naturally sent men to see if the rumors were true, and they found their men badly beaten in a side alley.

  That was all it took. He went in force the next time. I had supplied the location of the others hideout. When the fighting started, I sealed all the escape exits to ensure both sides lost men. Before they completely overran the place, I took all the gold they had in their strong box. The other gang would get the blame if anyone cared about looking. The outside district gang did not survive, and the remaining gang was badly weakened. That should keep them occupied for a while.

  My alley was once again at peace. And so it went. The days became weeks, and the weeks became months. I studied the priests’ art of dance, with and without weapons, and their meditation techniques. I also studied how they used their mind to control objects and the surrounding environment. Every night, I danced until I was exhausted.

  One evening I noticed my wards were lined up imitating me, so I slowed my dance and stayed with simple moves they could follow. From then on, every night, we danced together. I'd start slow and easy, then progress all the way through the dances. We all became better and better.

  After a time, I started introducing weapons—mostly the staff. They all started carrying homemade staffs, so we started staff dancing. During the day, they would staff dance with each other. I noticed their staffs weren't very good, so I held out my hand to look at one of them. He gave it to me, and I stood it up beside him.

  “Staff.” The staff suddenly became the perfect size for him.

  The others, seeing what I had done, lined up to have their staffs made new. I made everyone a new staff that fit them perfectly. They seemed to practice even harder to prove they were worthy of the gift I’d given them.

  One day, I was sitting in my hide watching the priests. I thought it would do my wards good to watch the priests too, but they could not see through walls like me. I considered the problem. I knew what I wanted to happen, but not how to make it happen. I looked at the wall facing my alley and fixed my mind on what I wanted.

  “View.” Just like that, I could now see my alley through the wall.

  I went outside and looked at the wall to see if I could see into my hide room. I could not. I stuck my head back into
my hide, and I could still see through the wall. I watched for a while as the children came and went. I waved at them, but they did not see me. I looked through the view area.

  “Close.” I could no longer see through the wall.

  I turned toward the temple side of the wall. “View.” I could now see through the wall, but they did not appear to see me. I watched for a while.

  “Close.” Once again, I could not see through the wall anymore.

  I went outside my hide and down to the big flat place in the wall. All my wards came to see what I was doing. I turned to them. "Sit," I said, and they all sat down.

  “View.” They could now see through the wall.

  "Observe and learn," I encouraged, stepping out of the way.

  After an hour, I changed the view to where the priests were staff dancing. We all watched. This became our new routine. We'd watch the priests a few hours in the morning, then they would staff dance with each other. While they staff danced, I would work on my magic, meditation, levitation, and practice with stone. At night, we would all staff dance together.

  I noticed, as we watched the view of the priests training, they had a water fountain on their side of the wall. After we finished viewing the morning's practice, I closed the view.

  I walked to the entrance of my alley and stood there looking at it as a whole. The buildings opposite of the temple wall were burnt-out husks that were falling in. I knew what I wanted to do, but I had to talk to some people before I could do it.

  The next morning I went to a solicitor. The solicitor himself greeted me. He was young and just starting his career. He and his father had had a falling out, so he’d gone out on his own. I was wearing what I thought of as my “finery"—which was the cloak and clothes with the purple hues.

  “Please come in, Sir Wizard. May I offer you something to drink?”

  “No, thank you,” I answered.

  We sat down. “How may I serve, Sir Wizard?” he asked.

  “I am interested in buying some buildings. I'd like you to represent me in this matter.”

  “Of course, sir, I can do that. Where are the buildings located, and who owns them?”

  I told him where the buildings were. “I have no idea who owns them,” I said, “which is one reason why I am here.”

  “That is not a problem; I can find out. How much are you wanting to offer for the properties?”

  “Not a lot. They are burnt-out husks on the alley side, so I want them as cheap as possible.”

  “Do you want me to draw blood or just get you a good deal?”

  “Just a good deal will be satisfactory.”

  I reached into my shoulder bag. “Small purse,” I thought, and a small purse of gold came into my hand. I set the small purse on his desk.

  “This should be enough to get you started.”

  He opened the purse and looked inside: “It is, Sir Wizard. What name will you want the paperwork done in?”

  I had considered this the night before. A name came to mind, and with it what seemed a chuckle. “Hue Magenta,” I said.

  He nodded and made a note. “Check back with me in three days; I will have something for you then.”

  I stood nodding. “In three days then.” We shook hands, and I left.

  I cut through an alley, exited the other end, and was back in my common walkabout clothes.

  ***

  It took a week for my solicitor to complete the deal. The gold from the other district had more than covered the purchase price of the buildings fronting my alley. He also made new rental agreements for my renters, but I didn't raise anyone's rent.

  I stood looking at my newly acquired buildings from my alley side. I saw in my mind what I wanted to happen, but I would have to wait until dark to make it so. I ate at an inn and then returned to my hide. What I had in mind would take a lot of energy. I also had to keep in mind not to use too much energy at one time, leaving me vulnerable to attack. I sank into the earth and rested.

  ***

  Once it was dark, I began. I looked at the good walls on the alley side of the burnt buildings.

  “Remain strong,” I thought, looking to the wall of the burnt-out building that fronted the main street at my alley's entrance.

  “Remain strong.” I looked at all the burnt wood and broken stone that belonged to the ruined building. Then, I thought of the ruined buildings a few blocks away.

  “Be removed.” All the rubble and debris vanished from my alley and reappeared at the other site.

  I now had an open area that was one building wide and six buildings long to work with. The buildings here were three stories high. I kept the vision of what I wanted firmly in my mind.

  “Stone-lined basement.” One formed, turning the dirt into stone.

  “Stone floor.” A whole ground floor over the basement became stone.

  “Stone support columns.” Twelve-foot columns grew out of the ground.

  “Wooden support cross beams.” Twelve by twelve wooden beams grew out of the wooden beams from the attached buildings. They became the framework of the new building. I left the center two ground floors open for gatherings and to practice dancing. I was patterning my building design after the priests' temple. I extended the basement under the alley's street all the way to the temple wall.

  “Equipped bath house with heated water.” It was now in the extended basement, along with an area to wash clothes.

  “Equipped kitchen and dining area with tables and benches.” That became the second story with a tiled floor.

  “Furnished dormitory with polished hardwood floors.” The third story became equipped with sleeping mats, linens, and blankets. Both stories had lots of windows to let light in.

  I was feeling the strain of all I was doing, so I fell down into the earth. There was power there. I tapped into it, and my strength was refreshed. I turned toward my alley's entrance.

  “Wall with an arched opening and an iron gate.” A wall extended across the alleyway, three stories tall. An archway opened, and an iron gate filled it. I went to the other end of my alley and raised the same wall and gate.

  “Water fountain.” At that end of the alley, on the temple wall, a water fountain formed with flowing water—cold and clean.

  “Cobblestone street.” We instantly had one.

  “Drain.” The fountain now had a drain in our cobblestone street. I looked to my hide, made it bigger, and extended it to fill the wall all the way to my alley entrance.

  That was enough for one night. I was feeling the strain, even though I had tapped into the earth's power. I went into my hide and lay down, sinking into the earth to sleep. I slept until late afternoon the next day. When I woke, I was starving. I walked to the first inn I came to and ate a large meal. I felt better when finished.

  I then returned to my alley and walked out onto our training dance floor; all eyes were on me. I turned to face them, and they fell into their training formation and bowed like they had seen the priest do toward their training master. I returned their bow.

  My eyes glazed over as I concentrated. In front of each of my wards appeared a new set of clothes. "I have made us a training area and a home, but it is not free. You must respect it, keep it clean, and respect each other. You must respect yourself by keeping yourself, your clothes, and your equipment clean and in good repair. In the basement under us is a bathhouse and laundry. Bathe and clean everything daily. Do these things, and you honor and show me respect. Now, go change clothes and explore your new home; our dance starts in one hour." We bowed to each other, and they left to do as instructed. I smiled.

  “Torch lights.” Iron torch light holders grew out of the stone columns, each with torches lit in them. That night, and every night after, we danced by torchlight for two hours. After the first two hours, it was torches out, and I continued to dance in the dark.

  Chapter 5

  I sat studying the book of magic I had taken from the tinker. I needed to find more books about magic, but from what I had
seen, they were not that easy to come by. I needed to read more books; I wanted to learn more about many topics.

  Something was wrong. I felt one of my wards running toward our alley. She was full of fear, but she was not being chased. I met her at the gate.

  "Master Wizard," she said, almost out of breath, “my mother has fallen and is badly hurt. Would you come help her? Please, Master Wizard."

  "Take me to her."

  I had to trot to keep up with her. We arrived and her mother was lying where she had fallen from a window ledge. She had been washing windows.

  "Where are you hurt?" I asked.

  "My side, arm, and leg,” she said through gritted teeth. I looked inside her. She had broken ribs, a broken arm, and a broken leg.

  "Lay still." I had done nothing like this before. I didn’t know of healing, but I had to do something; she was in pain. Her daughter was holding her hand, crying, and a crowd had gathered to see what was happening.

  None of the broken bones had come through the skin. They were still straight, which was a good thing. I wouldn’t know where to begin if they were not. I visualized what I wanted and started with her ribs.

  “Mend.” Her ribs mended, and she seemed to breathe easier. I repeated the process on her arm and leg.

  “Lie still for a bit and relax. How is the pain?”

  “It's getting better; thank you, Master Wizard. I think I'd like to sit up, please.” We sat her up. She was breathing much easier. “I think I'd like to stand now.”

  “Take it slow.” I helped her up. "You may be sore, but I've healed your broken bones.”

  I looked up at the window from where she had fallen. "That's kind of a dangerous job, is it not?"

  "I need the work," she said.

  “I can understand that, but still.” Looking back up at the window ledge, I had a thought. “Can you cook?"

  "I can."

  "We need a cook; would you work for me? The pay is room and board, and a half silver a week." Her daughter was grinning from ear to ear, nodding her head.