Wizard of Jatte by Rowan Erlking (librera reader txt) 📕

“Oh…” Theissen looked skyward and numbered those knew for certain had hated him. “…The carnival I escaped from. The magician back home. Lonse Shoemakerson, though he really doesn’t hate me anymore. Um, some apprentice carpenters that worked for our competitor in Liptan Town. Some bandits that live between Brakirs Town and Liptan Town. A gole that I undid the curse from—but he’s dead so he doesn’t count, and uh—”

“Is the list really that long?” The birdman stared with honest shock, going pale.

Theissen shrugged as he nodded. “I’m afraid so. People are threatened by wizards, you know.”

“Come on. It can’t be that bad. You’ve got lots of friends, I’m sure.”

Smiling at him, Theissen patted Theobold on the shoulder. “Counting you and Milrina, I’d say I have two true friends that don’t want anything from me except my friendship…and I don’t even know what’s been going on with her.”

Theobold stared more, this time in dismay. “I don’t believe that.”

Sighing, Theissen merely hung his head. “It’s ok. I’m used to it.”

“No. I don’t believe it,” Theobold insisted this time. “And I’m coming with you to the city center.”

Theissen looked up. “I thought we just decided—”

“No. You just decided. And I am now un-deciding it. You have been walking alone for too long, Theissen. You need an ally.”

However, Theissen chuckled and shook his head. “Well, I’m re-deciding it. I need you to stay here. Having you here is like having an ally watching over my interests, which I really need at this tower right now.”

Sheepishly lowering his eyes, Theobold ruffled his feathers again. “Why do you make me such a pushover? All right. I’ll stay. Just be quick about it over there, or I will hunt you down.”

“I’ll try to be back before lunch.” Theissen turned with a smile, and continued on his way.

Theobold watched him. His smile fell once his friend had gone around the bend, worry returning. Shaking his head, the birdman looked up to the sky, opened his wings again, and pushed off the ground with a wind-sweeping flap. When he looked back, Theissen saw him land in the tower top, turn, and peer down with a wave. A friend indeed. He would see him off on his journey with a lot more faith in him than most.

Going to the city center was easier to say than it was to find. The streets that led up the hill from the tower towards the other part of town were as winding as the streets on the other side, as if the tower itself was hidden from main commerce. He had to take short cuts through the stairs between homes again before he could find a major road. By the time he did find a major road, three hours had passed. But what a sight that road was. There were horses, carts and many, many people bustling about with the essence of what made a city a city.

Weaving around the carts and vendors on the streets, climbing higher up the hill towards the broad building that he hoped was the one he was searching for, Theissen stopped once when he saw a man looking much like the description that Theobold had given him. This man was definitely a foreigner. This man here had a goatee as well as a mustache, but his suit and hat were exactly the same as described. Theissen walked directly up to him.

“Pardon my impertinence, but where are you from?”

The man blinked at Theissen first, then gave a casual shrug as he spoke with an accent. “I am a captain from Angledoli, man. Have you never met an Angledon before?”

Theissen shook his head, his eyes taking in everything about this rosy-cheeked figure. “No sir. I come from the south, in the Pepersin Peninsula. Our nearest neighbors are Tuscon and Mizburg to my reckoning. I’ve heard of Angledoli before though. What are doing in Jatte?”

The Angledon captain replied with a grin, “We are in search of traitors and bandits that may have fled into your country. We’re seeking cooperation from your government to extradite them back to Angledoli.”

Traitors and bandits, huh? Remembering his own trouble with bandits, Theissen gave the man a polite nod. “Well then, good luck.”

“What have you come so far to the east for? If it is not too prying to ask.” The captain’s smile was serene, his manner strong. Yet it made Theissen uneasy, though he did not know why. Very little intimidated the carpenter’s son, except vestiges of the law in the bodies of sheriffs and constables. It was very hard to forget his moments at the court and facing the chopping block.

Keeping his composure, Theissen said, “I’m a journeyman carpenter, mostly seeking a place to set up shop. My brothers have spread out, and it seems that Jattereen is the only place they have yet to influence.”

“You come from a large family, huh?” The captain chortled.

Nodding, Theissen then looked up at the building just behind the foreigner. “Seven children. I’m the fifth. Uh, excuse me, but can you tell me which building is the center where I register?”

Amusement in his laugh and expression, the Angledon captain gestured the building higher up on the hill. “That one over there is the city chamber of commerce. They house all the economic issues.”

“Including land?” Theissen asked.

Giving a nod, the captain said, “Everything is economic these days.”

Theissen snorted to himself and shook his head.

“Over there is the city judicial hall where laws are made and enforced,” The captain pointed the one they were nearest. Then pointing to another building, he said, “And that one is where diplomats and foreign dignitaries such as myself go.”

Blinking at him with surprise, Theissen immediately bowed low. “I am so sorry. I had no idea! My apologies, Captain…uh…”

“Captain Shmiter. Dubois Shmiter of the second legion of Angledoli.”

Theissen scraped low. “It is an honor, Captain Shmiter. I am Theissen Darol Mukumar Carpenterson of Lumen Village. I apologize for my impertinence.” 

His face had gone red. The hotness in his cheeks burned up to his ears, causing them to ring a little. Apparently the visitor at the tower was not just a simple foreigner but also one of the captain’s men.

“Did you say Lumen Village?”

Looking up, Theissen met the captain’s gaze. This time the captain was the one to appear astonished.

“Yes, sir.”

“A son of the carpenter of Lumen Village? The one that made that elegant furniture for Lord Baron Kirsch Rinchant Persillan Landownerson of Scarbrone City?”

Theissen blinked and straightened up. “Yes? Do you know Lord Baron Kirsch?”

The captain suddenly clapped Theissen on the back. “We’re good friends! Well, I’ll be! One of the boys that learned under that genius! Do you take after your father at all? Are you as good as he is?”

Not daring to say that he was the one that finished that furniture order with his magic to keep his father from ruin, Theissen merely forced a smile. “I work hard at it.”

“Excellent!” the captain slapped Theissen hard on the back again. “Are you willing to make equally good furniture for me?”

“I don’t know if Lord Baron Kirsch would approve of equally good,” Theissen said with some pain, remembering that month all too vividly. It had been an agonizing duration of exhaustion. “But I certainly won’t let my customers down if asked to do a reasonable job.”

To that the captain pulled away some. “Well then, I’ll have to draw up an order. In the mean time, you said you were going to register yourself. Let’s do it quick so you can be off to work.”

Glad to be moving on, Theissen gave this man a nod then started up the hill. The captain went with him though, grinning and nodding to others up top. There was something oppressive about him, more now that Theissen knew he was a friend of that vile lord baron who practically cast off his mistress in their town, all just because he discovered she was dying of a disease, one that he had passed on to her. Just the thought of them sharing similar values made Theissen sick. But the foreign man marched Theissen up the stairs to the chamber of commerce building then straight into the front hall. There he stopped.

“I’ll wait for you,” the captain said, nodding to the Jatte military guards as if he was unable to pass them.

Theissen looked up at the guards also, waking by them quickly. They didn’t even look at him. With a shrug, Theissen continued in, facing yet another hall. In it, a large collection of signs pointed in several directions. He read down the list of them.

“Forestry…Fruit…Fielding…Leatherwork…Smiths…Merchants.” He nodded to that. Were they going to register as merchants or as liaisons? He looked for the listing of that and could not find it. Merchants it had to be. There was no association they had to belong to, according to the sign. They just had to register.

He continued to read the list, going over the signs to where carpentry was listed. One guild with five houses. Five competing houses. Theissen frowned. He didn’t want to work under a master carpenter again. He wanted to establish his own house. Could the city handle a sixth house?

He drew in breath, and read the rest of the list. He stopped on a pertinent one.

“Inn-keeping.”

That one had no guild. It was run independently with a regulator that attended to them for tax purposes.

Then his eyes found one unique sign. It was small, red, with gilded letters as if it had been painted or leafed with gold. It said: “Magic.”

Three names were listed as registered magicians for the city along with a few registered herbalists. The one registered wizard’s name had been scratched off as if someone took great joy in gouging that board. Theissen read them aloud.

“Filian Magician, Regetta Magician, and Henren Magician. Henren Magician? No way.”

He rubbed his eyes then blinked at the carving. Henren. It wasn’t a common name, or at least Theissen had never run across another Henren in his journey. He looked at where the magic users had registered. They were all listed to register as a merchant. In fact, all independent businesses were sent to that room. Glancing at the list of herbalists, Theissen made a mental note to go visit them also when he could. Allies would be nice in more than just former demons and one birdman.

Following the sign that indicated for merchants, Theissen found a wide set of stairs. He went up them. At the top, the stairs split to the right and to the left, arching around both sides to a balcony that encircled the open foyer that looked over the stairs. Signs pointed the way from there. He took the right side where he walked up to the landing. Peering down it, he nearly stepped back down. The wall was pocked with doorways. Signs in differing ranges of shabbiness indicated which trades they governed over. The carpentry one was nice and shiny as if the carpenters took care of their own. The man inside even peered up as Theissen walked by.

“Hey!” The man called out.

Theissen paused. He walked backward so he could see him.

“Are you lost? This is the carpentry guild office,” that man said.

Nodding, Theissen glanced about at the nice furniture inside. “I can see that, but I am on an errand for some friends first. I’ll be back.”

With a knowing look, having seen many journeymen come and go, the man waved him off and settled down again to his work. Smirking, Theissen continued to search doors for the independent merchant office.

The office turned out to be a large room with marble tiled floors with plenty of office space. Several registrars worked inside at a number of desks. In the first half of the room, coming from the doors, a line formed, weaving in and around a maze of wooden dividers set up in the shape of a winding snake. It kept