Magic Trickery

By Chris Mitchell

"I have never understood the allure of magic. Of course, I am unusual in this regard, which is why those without magical powers tend to try to control those that do.

The Foss affair illustrated this perfectly. The royal decree that set the whole affair in motion was proof enough, but what followed showed once and for all that some things are better left unrestricted." -Thadrick Clant

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chris Mitchell
• Release date: Dec 2, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301104550

Chris Mitchell

Chris Mitchell is a resident of Conyers, GA, where he has lived most of his life. When not writing down his ideas for fantasy and science fiction, he enjoys reading other novels or online comics, playing a few video games, or occasional oddball escapades.

Book preview

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Magic Trickery

A Thadrick Clant Novel

Chris Mitchell

Copyright © 2012 Chris Mitchell

Cover Art by Chris Mitchell

Smashwords Edition

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This e-book is a work of fiction. Assuming that the author was not influenced in any manner by his own experiences, then logically it follows that all characters, places, and events within are entirely fictitious, and any similarities to real places, events, or persons (living or dead) are purely coincidental. If you believe that assumption is invalid, you may safely disregard this disclaimer.

Smashwords Edition License Notes:

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this e-book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this e-book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: In which I serve herb tea to a guest

Chapter 2: In which I arrange for some road work

Chapter 3: In which I visit my client's house

Chapter 4: In which I receive a small package

Chapter 5: In which I need my clothing washed

Chapter 6: In which I speak with an older woman

Chapter 7: In which I provide free food to a hungry woman

Chapter 8: In which I listen to two men talking about me

Chapter 9: In which I stay awake all night

Chapter 10: In which I read two letters

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Chapter 1: In which I serve herb tea to a guest

* * * * *

As with the majority of my side affairs, this one began with a visitor to my office. It was a rather quiet evening when he arrived. I had stayed there late, finishing counting up the gold I'd made from my latest marks. Like the rest, they had come to my small office, supposedly an investment service, to find ways to expand their fortunes. Naturally, the person whose fortune would expand by the greatest amount was mine.

Originally, it had seemed, that the longer I continued to deceive people out of their gold, the more certain I became of the obvious conclusion: that there was a reversed relationship between how much money a person possessed and how much intelligence they had. Of course, once I acquired a fairly considerable amount of wealth myself, I had to revise that theory.

I then concluded that too much wine and other fine foods clouded the judgment. It was fortunate that I had long ago sworn off such luxuries. One had to maintain physical condition, after all. Too many wealthy people I had seen come in looking like they wore through horses in the same way children tend to wear through clothes. Such behavior was what I had come to expect from my usual customers.

However, I could tell he was not like my usual customers. Thin and cloaked, he strode up to my desk, face shadowed in the dim light of the candles I preferred to work with. His weary stance told me he probably ought to have sought an inn at this hour, but apparently he saw business with me as more important. Unluckily for him, there was one little problem.

I'm closed, I pointed out.

Are you Mister Clant? he asked bluntly, ignoring what I said, Thadrick Clant?

I see my reputation precedes me, I commented, How unfortunate. So do tell why you are here.

It's...my sister, the man looked down.

Your sister? I was naturally cautious.

She's... the man shook. It took me a moment to realize he was weeping. That was definitely not what I had expected. I'd never been the sentimental type, and so for the most part I didn't normally get so upset over matters. Still, it was obvious the man was feeling that way, and I doubted he would be able to explain anything in his current state.

Let's go to my house, and discuss this over some drinks, I suggested.

Okay, he said thickly through his tears, and followed me out.

* * * * *

As a noble, there were many advantages to living in one of the more wealthy districts in the city. The people here expected and got a certain degree of privacy from outside intrusions. As long as you had the gold, such things were possible. And I had long since acquired the gold, much of it from my current neighbors. Not that they knew, of course.

Thus it was quite a simple matter to take the man to my small villa, walled and enclosed. The guards did nothing to stop me as I walked. After all, I was their superior, and it was their duty to treat me as such. They were correct in this, but for all the wrong reasons. Either way, it served my purposes that they treated me with such respect.

Once the two of us were situated in my parlor, I quietly poured some herb tea. Bitter stuff, but I'd found it to be very helpful when trying to calm down. I hoped it would be equally helpful in granting clarity to the man. He certainly needed it.

Now, I knew that me serving him might strike him as odd, but I unfortunately had no choice. The previous maids I had hired had all taken offense at my main line of work once they learned the truth of it. Each and every time, this led them to quit their jobs. It was unfortunate, and the consequence was that I ended up doing mundane tasks such as cleaning and cooking myself.

I watched closely as the man sipped at the tea. He wrinkled his nose at the taste, but he was beginning to look improved. Not that it amounted to much, given how ragged and haggard he looked to begin with. Clearly he was not the wealthiest man I'd ever dealt with, that much was obvious. That raised an important issue, but it could wait for later.

So, I leaned forward, What seems to be the issue?

I'm...a wizard, the man said, My name is Arden Foss.

I had to raise an eyebrow at that one. Your typical wizard, at least one associated with the guild, did not normally go around wearing such plain clothes. Wizardry was status, and the guild members made sure to flaunt it with their rich orange robes. For one of them not to would be like me actually giving away money. Neither was going to happen any time soon.

That left the possibility that this man was not associated with the guild. Which in and of itself was highly illegal, due to royal decree. If such a rogue wizard was discovered, the guild could call the guard in on them if they so wished. Which, due to their vanity - and probably a few well-placed bribes - they tended not to do.

So, I'll assume you're not with the guild then, I phrased the question as a statement. One of the oldest tricks in negotiation, and it never failed me in the past.

Yes, Foss said slowly, They've been trying to get me to join. Recently, they...they took my sister hostage.

And you want me to figure out a way to free her, I concluded, my interest rising.

That's part of it, he looked down, I'd also like to arrange for both of us to leave Osmentor after the rescue.

That made a certain amount of sense, and wasn't unreasonable. After all, the wizards' guild, like many of the other organizations that were rooted in the city, did not enjoy accepting failure. Of course, neither did I, but I at least possessed enough level of skill to prevent failure in the first place. Most people, sadly, lacked such skill.

However, now was the time for, in any case involving me, both literally and figuratively the money question. How much can I expect in payment?

I have...a valuable jeweled ring, Foss said slowly, clearly hesitant, It's a family heirloom.

I sat and pondered for a moment. Personally, I had always preferred payments in the form of solid coins. There was something intrinsically more honest about that method. But jewelry was worth a fair amount to the right person, and it was far better than many of the other financial workers I had seen. They somehow thought that small pieces of papers, with formal writing, could substitute for real money. Utter ridiculousness, I had always thought.

But a ring...if I pawned it correctly, I should get a fair payment out of this. And if it turned out to be a fake, well, I'd be all too willing to sell it as genuine. Deception was a part of life after all. One had to be prepared for any sort of trickery.

Very well, I told him, Return here in two days and I shall discuss our plans then. I knew the wizards' guild would not do anything truly untoward to their hostage, as was the case with all such hostage situations. That was the great flaw in any such plan, and one I intended to exploit. For now, it gave us room to prepare correctly for dealing with them.

Are you sure? Foss asked. Clearly he was not as experienced in these matters as I was. I mean, they could-

Calm yourself, I commanded, standing up straight. My considerable height has always had an intimidating effect on people, and I took full advantage of it. They will not harm her, for they need her for their plans to capture you. So we have time.

Okay, Foss looked down. Judging from his posture, he likely didn't believe me completely, but he really had no choice. He needed my assistance, and there was no one else qualified as me to provide help with a matter like this.

Take...take care, he spoke, standing up again and headed for the door. I saw no need to waste time or effort with further formalities, so I simply nodded at his back as he exited. Some things were just understood without words.

* * * * *

The next day went by with no surprises. I received the normal visits from customers wanting either some news on their money, or seeking a new method of investment. Both were welcomed warmly, for any visitors meant likely that I would be able to make more gold.

My scheme was simplicity itself, in that on the surface it indeed seemed to be honest. I did invest the money as per my explanations, ensuring that there would be returns. However, the deceit entered when I misreported the profits made as being lesser, and kept the spare gold for myself. All it took were a few well-placed bribes, to falsely report any relevant information should my customers become curious, and I was the wealthier for it.

In the evening, I made some inquiries as to the truthfulness of Arden Foss. To my rather pleasant surprise, every fact matched up. The man had built a quiet but honest reputation for making a living with various jobs with his magic. He also apparently was rather attached to his sister, almost always taking her along on such jobs. While I did not really understand why he was so attached, it explained his great grief over the situation.

I fully expected the second day, except for the evening visit from Foss, to proceed much as the previous one had. Initially, that seemed to be the case. I didn't have quite as much business, but I had learned to appreciate the slower days when they came. One takes relaxation when one can get it.

To my surprise, a rather portly man strode in, wearing very familiar robes. Clearly the wizards' guild had actually obtained a grain of competence, because one of them was here now. This affair was suddenly quite curious, and potentially dangerous. For those who knew me, of course, they would understand that this was the sort of situation that I enjoyed.

Did a skinny poor man visit you? the older man said, clearly treating me as if I were some sort of bumpkin. While my origins might indicate such, I was no fool, and the notion rather offended me.

You'll have to be more specific, I replied, keeping my face and voice neutral. As surprising as it sounds, a calm tone is far more infuriating than an angry one, particularly to the arrogant. And given his position, I expected him to be quite infuriated.

I was correct. Don't play stupid, the man snapped, We know who visited you two days ago.

Yes, because the business of investors and the business of wizards has ever been one and the same, I glanced up, Now, unless you have actual business with me, you are blocking my light, and I do have to finish up these papers.

The man we're speaking of is a wanted fugitive, wanted for breach of unauthorized use of wizardry, the man spoke, calming slightly. I could still hear the faint trembles of anger in his voice, however. Now tell us what you were doing seeing him.

He had inquired about selling me a ring, I spoke truthfully. Of course, I didn't mention the service I was providing as payment for said ring. Unless this ring magically happens to cast horrific curses upon the general populace, I do not see how it is relevant.

What did he tell you? the wizard demanded, voice rising higher.

The only thing of significance was his name, which was Arden Foss, I said, again speaking the truth. If he had some magical means of detecting a lie, it would not work. My own investigations would remain a secret, at least for now.

Very well, the man shook his head, his thick hair shifting, Mister...Clant, was it?

That would be my name, I nodded. As if the sign outside had not proclaimed this to the world. I suppose it confirmed the wizard's general lack of awareness, an error he would no doubt soon pay a harsh price for.

If you see the man again, let us know. Without a word, the robed man strode out of my office. That he didn't wait for an answer suited me just fine, as I had no desire to break my running streak of honesty just yet. For now, I had said one other thing that had been true: I really did need to finish filling out the paperwork. Bureaucracy - and the paperwork associated with it - could be a demon to deal with.

* * * * *

I returned to my house, still overly amused by my confrontation with the wizard. There was no doubt in my mind that they