Vegenrage: The Magic User (3 page)

“They are surprisingly powerful and cunning. The elves blessed and then enchanted a small group of the Glaborster dwarves so they could learn and create their own magic. I have had a watchful eye on them from far away, and they are talented. This trade has benefited the dwarves greatly as well as the elves. The dwarves gained the magic class of Dagi while the elves gained incredible metals to tip their arrows and forge fantastic swords with. The most incredible trade was that of the Octagemerwell.”

“I remember reading of that. The Octagemerwell, if I remember correctly, was a three-pound perfect octagon a deep-green emerald extracted from deep in the earth by the dwarves. The elves granted magic to the dwarves in trade for this jewel. My books say the Octagemerwell is the heart of Fargloin and it possesses all elven magic knowledge of all the elves in all the realms. This can’t be true, is it?”

“It is true, and I am going to steal it. When I have the Octagemerwell and you have the Snow Gold Trinket, we will be at a new level of magical power. So pick your three hundred troops and the ten best fighters you have well. When I return, we take Arglon and King Trialani and send them into history.”

“You never stop amazing me. You go get the Octagemerwell, and when you return, my humanors and I will be ready.”

Cloakenstrike walks toward the bookshelf and vanishes.

CHAPTER 3
The Bottle

Logantrance looks at Robert. “You mean to tell me you have read all these books? All of them? Just to read all the words in these books would take years. There are at least sixteen different languages here. To process the words, understand their meaning, and make applicable use of the magic take centuries, and you tell me you have read and understood all this in a few short months.”

“Well, I did not actually read them all. I just kind of absorbed them. As far as the magic part, it just comes naturally to me. I just think it, and it happens.”

“You just think it, and it happens. All right, let’s try something advanced that won’t draw any attention to you.” Logantrance looks around the book-covered walls. “Ah, here we go.” He extends his right hand, and a thick brown book floats to his hand.

“Do you know what this book is?”

“Yes, that is a book on transformation written by the great wizard Ledgehorn of the ancient Drachen clan. The language is Shaumanee, the realm is the Krinston Realm. Actually, the title of the book is
The Beasts of Kronton
.”

Logantrance looks from the book at Robert, discouraged since he did not even face the book toward him. “Yes! Yes, that is correct,” Logantrance says in a shallow voice. He opens the book and reads from it. “Hilerriyam Sringling Toputomus Skrangin.”

“Oh yes, the Grizenlorm.” Robert starts to grow. His legs grow taller and change, his feet become those of the wolf, and his legs grow tall and slender yet very muscular, about four and a half feet high. A long whiplike tail grows from the rear, and the hips thicken like that of a bear all the way up the back, stomach, and chest. The arms grow long and slender to match the legs, with very intimidating, sharp claws. The head forms like a werewolf with a very long, extended mouth housing terrifying teeth. It has deep dark-brown eyes and high pointed ears on each side of its head. This is actually a terrifying-looking creature, and chills run through Logantrance’s spine. “OK! OK!”

The Grizenlorm transforms back into Robert. Logantrance sends the book back to its resting place and looks at Robert, truly astonished. “You are the truest, purest magic user I have ever seen. You didn’t even have to say the words. You may very well be more powerful right now than I. This may be a case where the student teaches the teacher. Well then …” Logantrance says sadly, knowing Robert is at a very advanced use of magic and its power and will need very little teaching from him, if any at all. “Someone with your ability needs to gather the tools of the magic user. It is time for your first quest. Are you ready for adventure?”

“Yes, I am ready.”

“I thought you would say that. It is time for you to see my home. I think further testing your magic is unnecessary. I can feel your magical strength, and it is unique. I have prepared a world in the mirror image of its own over the past two millenniums with powerful tools. I had thought it would be six or seven centuries at least before you would be ready, but I see and feel you are ready.” Logantrance pulls a book from his Bag of Holding and holds it out to Robert. “Show me how you read.”

Robert takes the book from Logantrance and looks at it. It is a hard-covered white book with golden cusps at the corners. It is mildly thick with a brown binding held secure by three golden clasps. There is no writing on the cover. It is plain white, as is the back of the book. Robert puts his right hand on the top of the book and closes his eyes. He opens his eyes almost immediately, looking at Logantrance. “This is your home and the only entrance to it.”

“I would’ve said that. There are two, maybe three, beings in all the realms outside of me that can read this book. I guess there are four. Your magical prowess is clear. I have one last test for you.” Logantrance retrieves his book from Robert and replaces it in his Bag of Holding.

“What is my test?”

“Meet me at my home, and you will have traveled dimensionally. This is your last test before.” Logantrance walks and vanishes.

Robert looks around his home. He keeps the temperature a very comfortable seventy-five degrees so he can be very comfortable wearing just his very thin, soft leather pants, which tie up the groin with a leather stitch forming
X
s, and the knotted lace hangs down. He wears soft black slippers and no shirt. Robert stands five feet ten inches tall, with a lean, slender body. He has long curly salt-and-pepper-colored hair forming ringlets growing down his back, and he has piercing deep-brown eyes, making him an unmistakable presence.

Robert has made some modifications to his home. There is now a dresser at the front of his home off to the left side, with six drawers for clothes and a big mirror that sits the width of the dresser on top of it and rises high enough so he can see himself. He motions toward the dresser, and the top left drawer opens. A brown T-shirt floats out, and the drawer closes. The T-shirt floats over to Robert, and he puts it on. There are two black soft-soled suede boots to the left of the dresser with long laces that tie up the front. He raises his left foot, and the left boot floats over and laces itself, fitting snugly on his left foot. He does the same with his right foot. He snaps his fingers, and the soft soles become hard rubber that he can comfortably run in. He looks around and says, “OK, journey on.” He walks a few steps and vanishes.

Robert appears right beside Logantrance. There is heavy vegetation all around like that of a tropical rain forest. The vegetation grows thick right up to a rock mountain that grows tall and steep. There is an entrance in the rock face just big enough for a tall man to walk through. There is a torch on either side of the entrance, illuminating it. The sky and forest are dark. The only light comes from the torches.

“So this is Richterblen Realm?”

“This, Robert, is my home. Come, I want to show you something very special just for you.” Logantrance leads the way into the entrance. Every so often he waves his hands in front of him, lighting torches. The corridor has a soft earth floor with cement brick lining the walls. As Logantrance waves his hands, the corridor shifts and changes, forming new passages to the right and left. After a long walk, they enter a dark room. Logantrance claps his hands, and the room lights up with soft white light. This is a long rectangular room with wooden benches lining the walls and a long, narrow wooden table running down the center of the room with a walkway down each side of the table. This room looks very old. There are spiderwebs and very large tarantula-sized spiders with abnormally long legs everywhere. When the light hits the room, the webs recede to the walls and the spiders crawl into little holes in the walls and disappear.

“What’s with all the spiders?”

“They are the protectors of my laboratory.”

“Oh, nice.” Robert looks around, excited as he loves to explore old items and antiques, and there are all kinds of old and unique objects in this room. “Wow, look at all this stuff. This is so cool.” Robert walks around, looking at all the neat objects, and picks up a very old broken wand.

“Leave that, Robert. What you want to see is in here.” Logantrance claps his hands, and a small part of the back wall pushes back like a swinging door, exposing a small room. He claps his hands again, and the soft light illuminates the room, sending the webs and spiders to their homes in the walls and ceiling. Logantrance enters the room followed by Robert. This is a small square room with a mound of earth in the center of the room about four and a half feet high. Sitting on the mound is a large bottle—a large bottle like the one you would see with a balsa wood boat inside—however, this bottle sits upright, and the glass cannot be seen through. It is dark, and its contents are unknown. The top of the bottle has a cork in it, sealed with what seems to be red wax.

“Robert, can you tell me what is in this bottle?”

Robert reaches for the bottle.

“
A ba! Ba! Ba! Ba! Ba!
Robert, please do not touch it.”

Robert looks at Logantrance. “OK.” Robert holds his hands around the bottle, careful not to touch it. He looks at Logantrance and closes his eyes and concentrates. A few moments later, he pulls back his hands and looks at Logantrance. “You have a protective spell on this bottle,” he says, smiling. “No, I don’t know what is in it. It would take me a little while, but I could probably penetrate the protective spell.”

“No! No, please don’t. This is a very special bottle, the only one of its kind in existence and one of my most prized possessions. Inside this bottle is an actual world—the world of Kronton, created and populated by myself, with a little help. I have gathered all the beings of Kronton and put them in this bottle without them knowing it. The most powerful here may know something is not right, but most think nothing has changed. The world in the bottle is the mirror of the actual world. The actual world of Kronton still exists in its natural state and will be repopulated by its inhabitants, but when they return, possibly a millennium later, the actual time on the real world will be one blink of an eyelash. Even the best of us are not all good, but it was to serve the greater good. Please sit with me.”

Two chairs form beside the mound, and the two men sit. “Robert, in your studies, or should I say absorption of knowledge, you have heard of Blethstole.”

“Of course, Blethstole, the great black dragon of the Mirrimya Mountains in the Darnsack Realm. Blethstole the bringer of death to all. My books say that a millennium ago Blethstole disappeared, just vanished without a trace. It’s said that the white mare Gwithen, the female white dragon, still mourns and will sleep until the return of Blethstole. You gotta love the way love transcends even the greatest of beasts and draws enemies to become lovers.”

“Blethstole is in this bottle.”

Robert laughs. “Blethstole’s toenail would not fit in this bottle.”

“What else do you know of Blethstole?”

“Well, the black dragons are immune to all charm, and it is said that anyone who can pluck a scale from Blethstole and affix it to their clothing also becomes immune to all charms.”

“Correct. You must pluck a scale from Blethstole.”

Robert laughs. “Pluck a scale from Blethstole? I’m not crazy. I don’t want to be decayed in seconds by his Breath of Decadence.”

“No, this is why you need the Staff of Barrier Breath.”

“Wow, this is intense, Logantrance. The Staff of Barrier Breath is held by the warlock Xanorax, and he has been unheard from for over seven hundred years. He has probably been pulled to the depths of hell by Satan himself. He surely will rise someday.”

“He is in this bottle.”

“Logantrance, if you have put Xanorax and Blethstole in this bottle, plus whole landscapes of different realms, or better yet a whole world, there is no way I am nearly as powerful as you. I have no idea how you could’ve done this.”

“I have worked on this bottle for six thousand years now. I spent over three thousand years learning the magic it took to make this happen, and you have learned most of this magic in a few short months. You will quickly know all I know plus more.”

“So what else is in this bottle?”

“Alluradaloni.”

“Alluradaloni, the witch of seduction? Any man that looks upon her sees the woman of all his desire and is seduced by her of course, then she steals the man’s life, giving her eternal life. My books say no man has ever evaded her seduction or escaped her trance once eyes have been laid upon her. There were over two books of all the treasure and abilities she has stolen from men and women. She only gets stronger. That’s one witch I am just fine leaving alone.”

“Well, Robert, the over two books of magical items and abilities she possesses, just imagine if they were yours.”

“I think I see where this is going. I need the Staff of Barrier Breath from Xanorax in order to pluck a scale from Blethstole so I can steal all the magical items from Alluradaloni?”

“Well, yes, you need the staff to get the dragon scale so you can face Alluradaloni. Of all the magical items she possesses, you really need the Cloak of Concealment. Without this, you will not be able to travel because very soon everyone will know who you are and where you are, and this will be too dangerous even for you. You need this cloak also. Once in the bottle, the only way out is with the use of the Rose Unbar Key. Fortunately, Alluradaloni does not know what it is used for in this case.”

“So what am I supposed to do? Go in this bottle and kill all these people? I’m sure they are not just going to give me these items.”

“Well, Robert, your methods are your own. You have to figure out how and by what means to accomplish your goals. I’m sure you will do the right thing.”

“Well, I’m ready. How do I get in?”

Logantrance laughs. “Slow down, Robert, your enthusiasm is contagious, but there is one more very important possession you must acquire from Alluradaloni. She has a Bag of Holding, and there are very few of these in existence. She may have this on her person, or she may not. It is very important that you acquire this as well.”

“I read about this. She stole the life of Swallgrace, gaining all his magical powers and weapons, including Behaggen, the talking Bag of Holding. I was sorry to hear of the loss of your teacher, Logantrance.”

“Yes, well, I have learned from his mistake. Swallgrace was much like you, very excitable and ready to take on all challenges in the snap of a finger. He thought his magic would always protect him against all adversaries, and Alluradaloni stole his life, his power, and all his magical items. Swallgrace inadvertently taught me the wisdom of patience and the power of thorough planning. All of Swallgrace’s magical items are within Behaggen, and the magical bag will not let just anyone retrieve its contents.”

“So how do you know it will not let Alluradaloni access to the contents?”

“Swallgrace was my teacher for two and a half thousand years, and I know the presence of him and his magic. I can feel Behaggen, and I know he is on the world of Wherlerria. That is the world in the bottle. If Alluradaloni had retrieved any of Swallgrace’s items, I would have felt it. I am sure Alluradaloni has not even attempted to gain access into Behaggen, because if Behaggen does not allow access to a being that tries to retrieve an item, he consumes them and they are gone forever.”