![]() “What? How?” The noblewoman stammers, shaking visibly.ĭraken steps forward, bowing the way he’s seen in plays and assumes is proper etiquette in the circles these nonsensical nobles run in. ![]() The lady stifles a shriek with a trembling fist as all color drains from her face. There appears to be an emergency in the house of the magical nature.” “Presenting, Draken Crowe apprentice to the wizard Blackard Hood and his trio of assistants. “What’s this?” The lady stands from her chair so fast that her massive wig falls sideways.ĭraken begins to step forward but the pikeman’s extended arm shoves him back. Keeping up with the pikeman’s long goosesteps is more difficult that he imagined it would be and by the time they close on the lady of the house the boy has broken a sweat. Draken turns to his crew waving them forward. “Follow me quickly.” The pikeman says, breaking into a brisk march. There is possibly a runaway spell loose in your master’s home.” “Draken Crowe, apprentice to the wizard Blackard Hood. “Young master mage, please state your name and the purpose of your visit that I might announce you.” Ignoring the snickering from behind him, Draken dusts off his cloak and stares the pikeman in the eyes. The guard clears his throat as Draken cowers. Intimidating does not describe the gilded manor’s atmosphere.Ī pikeman levels his long blade at Draken causing him to leap back three feet, falling over as he lets out a girlish scream. He confidently strides up the walkway to the nearest house, waving his friends to follow and hoping they don’t notice his stiff and nervous gait. “What we’re looking for will be in one of these houses.” “It’ll be fine, you’re my assistants.” Draken says. “That doesn’t mean they won’t whip his friends.” Lily grumbles, scratching at a scab on her arm. “Have you ever heard of an apprentice mage being whipped?” Look what i’m wearing.” He preens in his apprentice cloak. “Good, no one’s getting whipped, were here on legit business. “I don’t wanna get whipped!”ĭraken smacks his friend hard across the face. “These nobles don’t even wait for a trial, they just strip you down and beat you themselves,” Jacob wimpers. “We are operating way out of our territory, boss.” Warren says, voice trembling. Tall, spike edged fences surround each small palace and each walkway is universally flanked by guards in custom livery. Towering hedge sculptures and stone monuments dominate the vast lawns. Children laugh and run through gardens as someone plays scales on a piano. Surrounding them on all sides are Imposing homes set apart by acres of stunningly green land.īirds sing in the trees, dogs bark in the distance. Gone are the tightly packed buildings of the inner city, replaced by an unsettling sense of space. Cool spray mists into the hot summer air. “Are we where I think we are?” Lily asks as they stop by a fountain at the center of a broad cobblestone street. Attuned to his body language, Draken’s crew sprints the moment he does, following one step behind each sharp turn. The compass needle suddenly spins, pointing west. “Sounds like your in deep shit again.” Jacob chimes in. This job’s the only way to avoid something worse.” The kind where if I wasn’t in this cloak I just might end up dancing at the end of a rope. “I was in one kind of trouble now i’m in a different kind. “We all hear you sounding like you're being tortured to death and run to help and when we get here you wanna do a job?”ĭraken shrugs. Throwing the apprentice cloak over his shoulders he pushes past Jacob out into the sunny street. “You all heard my voice?” Draken asks, looking past Warren to Lily and a widely grinning Jacob. “You were screaming for help like you were dying. “I heard your voice in my head.” Warren says. “Thank gods your alive!” Warren shouts as Draken tries to squirm out from his moist embrace. “You better not have hurt him, you magic bastard!”ĭraken, recognizing his friend’s voice throws open the door and is instantly wrapped in long arms attached to a tall, sweaty teenage minstrel. “Your apprentice cloak, you’ll need to wear it if you expect to get into wealthy people’s houses unopposed.” ” He hands Draken a silken cloak emblazoned with stars. From there you may need to search several houses for it. It’s not incredibly precise but it should lead you to the general area where the golem is. “The magicyte compass is loaded with a sample of the clay. Hood already has a few things laid out on the coffee table. “You got some way to track this thing?” He asks, all business. ‘Track and grab, find the golem and snatch it without getting caught.’ ‘ It’s just another job, ’ he tells himself. The sobbing stops as he pushes the bad feelings to that dark corner of his mind he never wants to visit. A few deep breaths brings him back under control. ” Draken stammers, pulling the reins on his galloping emotions.
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