5. Brats, Books, and Hunters #3
"It happened before you were born, two years after the previous guardian's passing, when the priestess was very old. No blood spilled in the chapel, but it was not for lack of effort." He remembered it all too clearly.
"It will not happen again, most honored Pazniku." He bowed low indeed.
"Good." He raised his right hand, fingers curved. "Go with the blessing of the Great God and the Lady we all serve. May the Defender, the first Hunter, be with you and guide you on your Hunt."
"Amén." Ladislu crossed himself once again and strode off to the armory.
As he did, two shadows detached themselves from the darkness behind the building and approached with cautious steps. "Anno?"
Florian and Leopold bowed. "Sir, Salrou overheard two thaumatology students at the university discussing summonings.
A new video game, based on books from the Eastern Land, holds that only benevolent beings can be summoned by pattern spells alone.
" Florian's expression grew troubled, as well it should.
His Familiar nodded and gestured with one paw. "Sir, Salrou is concerned that we may face more summoned entities in the dark of the year, as expansions are added to the game. It releases tomorrow."
"He asked if Familiars can sense the difference between a summoning and accidental breach at a distance." The older Hunter fell silent.
Arthur considered. "Of what I have observed or have discussed with Rings and Pasaru, distance blurs traces, unless the breach or summoning is so great that all around can discern the difference."
"The Terrible Hunt. Anno, Maistru." Rasi gestured "strong agreement."
Cahway nodded and licked his muzzle. "It might be possible, if the mage is in a full trance at the time of the planar opening, for the Familiar to sense the difference through his mage and pass word.
Perhaps." His choice of words implied grave danger for the mage and Familiar.
Deeply entranced magic workers were helpless against physical attack, save for one such as Draku who held sufficient power to cast and lock very strong physical shields that remained even when he was unaware.
"Thank you. Your words bring clarity. And a warning." Key null and Familiar bowed and departed.
He considered the night. Life had been ... not easier before video games, no, but perhaps more predictable? Or did the passing of time soften the edges of the past?
His elder brother, Skender, joined him in the dining chamber of the main house after the others departed. "Ladislu wishes to propose something to the full council?" the senior Hunter began without preamble once both had given thanks.
"Anno. Two puppies went after each other in the armory, with other Hunters and a Familiar present."
Dark clouds gathered in his brother's countenance. "Discipline was maintained?"
"Yes, without bloodshed. When staves did not suffice, they did pushups while listening to the chapter on the last Turkish war from the great history. All of the chapter, read with deliberation and care." He took a bite and waited.
Skender scowled, then relaxed and almost smiled. "That is the longest chapter after the very first, is it not?"
"You recall correctly. And it was fitting for the cause of the dispute. Once the brats collapsed, they were ordered home without getting food or cleaning up." The sausage tasted ... Dried fruit, that was it. A white sausage with dried fruit, for the transition from summer to autumn.
"My lady did not make the kraut, and it likely is time and past. Itzaak showing them the hand quenched Hunting folly for the rest of that year." He leaned back in his chair and studied his beer glass. "Did we do anything so foolish?"
"We" brothers or their generation? He sampled the kraut. Flavorful but not fiery. Did he dare? Skender seemed relaxed, but appearances could deceive. Another bite of sausage, then, "The Hairy Pig Hunt, when," he switched to English, "a swine time was had by all."
His elder brother's eyes half closed as he searched his memory. Arthur finished the kraut and buttered a slice of warm, thick farm bread with chopped nuts in it. A small spoon of gooseberry preserves joined the butter.
Skender's eyes flew open. "Lady of Night have mercy, now I remember." He made a warding off gesture toward Arthur, but smiled. "How long did it take to get the stench out of our boots?"
"Very long. The sausage had greater savor that year than before or since."
"Indeed." He shook his head and finished his beer. "St. Anthony save us from the like."
"Amén."
Surely not. He read, then reread the official notice from the distributer. He set the notice on his desk, turned to the computer and found their website. He parsed the Czech with some help from a dictionary.
Yes, they were. He leaned back in the chair and contemplated the change in cost as compared to the income from sales. How many of the last batch had sold thus far? He set his reading glasses down on the desk beside the notice, stood, and went into the main shop.
Mistress Lestrang nodded as he entered but continued sorting receipts.
One of their regular customers, Tanner, browsed the jewelry wall, as did a young woman.
He went to the CD display and studied the rows.
Nox Gothica and Aurochs' Ghost had both sold out, but would arrive today, if all went as promised.
Two of the compilation sets had been replaced in the wrong order, so he moved those back where they belonged, along with a Bat Bhoys anniversary collection.
Hmmm. Surely that was not correct. He counted once more.
None of the albums from the Czech distributer had sold since restocking.
How curious. Was there a charm spell of some kind on the CDs, discouraging sales?
They had been moving briskly up to this point.
He removed one from the shelf and studied the cover art.
It did not appear particularly malign, even though the color combination failed to please his eye.
"Remember to pay for those before you leave, miss."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
He turned and saw the unfamiliar young lady backing away from Tanner and the jewelry wall, one hand in her pocket, the other clutching her purse.
"You removed two packets from that peg and slipped them into your pocket. I just didn't want you to forget to pay." The man nodded to Arthur.
Mistress Lestrang moved from behind the counter. The young woman gulped, hand still in pocket, and whipped her head back and forth, as if trying to decide which posed the greatest threat.
"May I help you find something?" Mistress Lestrang asked.
A headshake, then "Uh, no, that is, ah, nah. I'm good." He smelled fear and panic pouring off of the woman and shifted his weight.
The hand emerged from her pocket and threw something at the jewelry wall. Silver cast a shield around the regular customer, and a second around the thrown object. He flowed forward and grabbed the young woman's hand.
"Fiat purus," be clean, Silver commanded, and the object on the floor pulsed, then flashed as the spell shattered.
The young woman gasped and sagged to the floor, collapsing and whimpering. He released his grip as she dropped, and moved away from her as Silver withdrew the shields.
"Not smart," Silver told the would-be thief. She picked up the object and showed him the charm carrier. "A rather nasty dissuasion and an illusion of a fire, sir."
"I wonder if she's the one who got banned from Black Circle Two for trying to fake an ID. Had a gal put on the list for being under 25 on a play-party night." The man sounded thoughtful. "Joker was working the door and caught the glamour being cast."
"My head," the woman on the floor moaned. "Not supposed to hurt. Uuuuugh." She dropped three jewelry packets onto the floor and started crawling toward the front entry.
He lifted her to her feet and encouraged her out. "You are banned. Do not return." The woman staggered off, hand on her head.
"She tied the spell to herself, sir. You don't do that." Silver returned to the counter and rang up the customer. Master Tay, her Familiar, emerged from behind the counter and walked toward the workroom, then darted under the bottom shelf of the books. He emerged with ...
After he dealt with the now-deceased mouse, Arthur made a note regarding the lack of CD sales.
A quick search through the band gossip sites did not reveal anything of note concerning the groups.
Fads passed, and he would not order more from that distributer or those groups until the current order sold.
Tay had returned to the shop by the time he finished his task. "... was it the book or the game?" the lemur asked his mage as she entered receipts into the ledger.
"Book, I suspect, one of the new romance series about the wandering were-dragons.
Ashtan says that in the stories, all spells need to remain tied to the caster for them to work properly.
He skimmed the books so Art didn't have to.
" She shook her head, one hand on the miniature top hat affixed to the black veil over her hair.
Which series was that? Oh, yes, that one.
Half the book was story, and the other half lore, save that the lore section repeated almost verbatim in each volume.
Too expensive for the amount of story, and shifter-romances had faded in popularity, so he had not stocked any of them. "Take a break, Mistress Lestrang."
"Yes, sir." She dipped a small curtsey and hurried to the workroom, Familiar trotting ahead. He caught a whiff of fatigue as she passed. Would she ever cease hurting herself?
The big redheaded mage and Lukaz-the-younger both came in later that afternoon. "I don't know, sir," Lukaz was saying as he opened the door. "The game play sounds very complicated."
"If you've read the novels, you do better, is what I heard, but I'm not into gaming."