Anagha Baheti

“Sir, I found this man wandering in the town square. He says you called for him.”

The man in question was a tall, lanky fellow with an impossibly light skin. He wore a red tunic and brown pants. A brown belt rested unevenly around his hips, full of pockets holding potions of various kinds. The deepest pocket, the one reserved for the grimoire, had the biggest bulge I had seen. Colourful tattoos ran from his fingers to his elbows, though I struggled to find a pattern in them.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir.” He said with a smile. “My name is Justin. I am here to answer your call for help.”

“Thank you for coming, Mage Justin. If you would follow me to my temporary home, we could talk about the problem.”

I thanked the villager and sent him on his way. When Justin and I reached home, I shared with him all the information I had collected over the last two months.

Twice in the last two months I had attacked the tyrant, and twice he had won. I only survived because I disappeared into the village before he could capture me. His soldiers had searched the village thoroughly, but the villagers had become very good at hiding me.

Armed with all the information, Justin and I got to planning. We spoke at length about strategy. I wanted to talk about his strongest spells, but the Oath of Mages forbade me from asking. He could share with me if he wished. He didn’t.

A few hours later, we had what I thought was a solid plan. Knowing what I now know, we should have kept thinking. The plan was quite simple. I would challenge the tyrant as I had done the last three times while Justin would stay hidden nearby. At the first opportunity, he would strike with a deadly spell.

I gave him a stone that would let us hear each other and he gave me one health potion and one vial of acid. We set off towards the castle. The city had grown around a hill, so the castle was an upward climb. An hour later, we were close to the gate. We gave ourselves a few moments to catch our breath. Then, Justin crept away from me and hid into some nearby bushes.

“I am in position” I heard Justin through the stone in my ear.

“Let’s pray for victory.” I whispered back.

I took a deep breath and walked right up to the castle gates. The guards saw me but didn’t move from their posts.

“Call your king. Tell the tyrant I come to liberate this city of his tyranny. Tell him I challenge him for his throne.” I loudly proclaimed.

“Yes, yes, we are well verse with your routine.” Said the guard, tossing a coin towards someone behind the wall. They were making wagers on me. I had never been so humiliated. It stung.

An hour or so later, the tyrant king walked out of the gates. He pulled his grimoire out of his belt and mimed a spell.

“I have had enough of your nonsense, Mage. Today, you die.”

In response, I opened my grimoire.

He released a flame that crashed against my shield. It cracked, but didn’t break. I released a thunder spell which the tyrant easily dodged. He sent a wave of magma my way, and I had no choice but to fly. I cursed under my breath. Hoisting myself in the air drained my magic at alarming rates, but I had no choice. The ground beneath my feet scorched as it merged into the pool of lava. I knew I didn’t have long, but I was stuck. The longer I sustained two spells, the faster my magic would drain, but I hadn’t had enough practice with the flight spell to move in any direction. Staying in one place wasn’t safe. I needed to do something quickly. Why wasn’t Justin attacking?