Hidden Magic

By A.G. Wedgeworth

Tilli worked her way up from a life of poverty to become the first female servant to a Master E’rudite, but it wasn’t enough. She had deep aspirations to become the first of her kind to become an actual E’rudite. For years, she did everything she could to achieve this personal quest to succeed where none of her kind had ever reached before.

Finally, her opportunity came. All she needed to do was complete one final task for her master before he would begin training her. She simply had to deliver Runestones to a secluded location and then return without anyone else knowing the exact placement. However, in order to complete the mission she must face her worst fears and sentence her friends to death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A.G. Wedgeworth
• Release date: Jan 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9781736970430

A.G. Wedgeworth

Playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the 70’s and 80’s, Anthony G. Wedgeworth made notes for a new realm for 40 years. During this time he developed all new species, 5000 years of evolution & migration of creatures and civilizations, and 2 unique magical clans that are frequently at odds. The 12 published stories in this new realm have characteristics of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and the Dark Crystal. Follow Anthony on Facebook to find out more about this Epic Fantasy Adventure.Bio: The author of this series, Anthony G. Wedgeworth, grew up with learning disabilities and was frequently placed in special classes while being told he was either lazy or stupid. In high school it was discovered that he had severe dyslexia, but the school systems didn’t know how to teach students with such issues. Fighting this challenge, Anthony went on to become an Industrial Engineering Manager, VP of Engineering, and President of various companies. He has owned his own companies and is currently part owner and President of a large Wisconsin based Personal Care company specializing in providing services to Developmentally Disabled, Frail/Elderly/Dementia, brain trauma individuals, and many more who have special needs.

Book preview

Hidden Magic

Tilli of Kingsfoot, Book 1

A.G. Wedgeworth

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Anthony G. Wedgeworth

Copyright © 2024 by Anthony G. Wedgeworth

Written by A.G. Wedgeworth

Front Cover Artwork by Jason Longstreet

Illustrations by Steve Ott

Editing by Deborah Murrell

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Altered Creatures

Epic Fantasy Adventures

Historical Date unknown

Series: Tilli of Kingsfoot

Book 6, Revision 3.0

Hidden Magic

www.AlteredCreatures.com

Contents

MAP

CAST

Prologue: The War Was Over

1.Surviving the Storm

2.Meeting Goothr

3.Del’Unday Village

4.A Company of Three

5.Taken Away

6.Fishing for Answers

7.The Snow Storm

8.Over the River

9.Starlight, Starbright

10.The War Room

11.Secluded Valley

12.Welcome Home

13.E’rudite Temple

14.Things Have Changed

15.Home Sweet Home

16.Leaving on a Quest

17.Kee to the Temple

18.River Challenges

19.Energy Harmonics

20.Facing Her Past

21.Addressing the Issue

22.Revealing His Hand

23.Spirit Peak

24.Returning as Planned

25.The Unexpected Outcome

26.Power of Friendship

27.Captured

28.The War Continues

29.Loose Ends

30.Karma

More Stories

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Prologue: The War Was Over

Several decades had passed since the legendary Mountain King had stopped the invasion of the Notarians. The final battle prevented countless generations from becoming slaves to the supreme beings, but the vacuum of power caused other unforeseen events. The E’rudites and the Alchemists began to struggle for control over how future civilizations would evolve.

E’rudites had learned how to tap into the energy and harmonics of all things. It was a technique learned from the supreme Notarians, which took years to acquire and decades to master. Few had such powers, for it took great discipline to obtain them and even greater self-control to ensure the powers were properly utilized. They were very selective as to who they would take on as apprentices. They foresaw the danger of the masses having such power.

Alchemists discovered that the combining of various components in specific orders also tapped into these greater powers. These spells could be written down and then taught to others without a lengthy education. This allowed a greater portion of civilization to have access to magic with minimal training. The techniques spread like wildfire.

The E’rudite and Alchemist War had devastated cities and those living within them. They unleashed spells and powers against one another while those in the middle became homeless and searched for safety. After decades of relentless fighting, it ended with an ultimate battle in the Govi Glade. Ruptures in time and space appeared as enormous semi-transparent orbs, which would cause the glade to be a location to avoid at all costs. Those who strolled amidst the minefield of giant floating bubbles risked the loss of limb or life, while a few were transported away and never seen again.

The temporal spheres had been used as a passageway to exile enemies. Used properly, the Govi Glade could become a powerful ally. Not respecting its powers only led to a death sentence for the foolish.

The battle in the glade ended with Schullis claiming victory for the E’rudites over the Alchemists. But then the unexpected happened. The demon Ergrauth arrived. Both mortal armies were already exhausted from the battle and neither wished to confront the demon and his warriors, so they all retreated from the Govi Glade before risking any more casualties.

A few surviving Alchemists stayed nearby and roamed the surrounding forest with their armies of Altered Creatures in search of a way to regroup after their loss in the war. However, they were without resources, unlike the E’rudites, who took refuge in their fully stocked temple in a distant hidden mountain valley.

The E’rudites had won the Govi Glade battle, but they had not beaten all of those defiant to the new leadership. There was still work to be done, and they hunted down and eliminated anyone who would potentially launch another resistance against the new E’rudite leader, Schullis.

Chapter one

Surviving the Storm

Tilli practically tripped over her own feet as she raced through the dark forest while lightning blasted overhead and thunder shook her to her soul. Leaping over fallen branches and ducking under those still clinging to their trunks, the young Num’s long blonde ponytail slapped from side to side like an eel’s tail as she ran for her life.

The war between the Alchemists and the E’rudites had ended, but the residual magic festered in the nearby Govi Glade, and the Altered Creatures had been left behind to survive on their own. It had been weeks since the end of the battle and the deformed beasts were starving. They would eat anything they found, and it appeared one of them had found Tilli.

Lightning flashed in the nearby glade, exposing the giant floating spheres of magic as they slowly bounced off of one another and transformed everything else in their paths. As dangerous as the forest was, not even the Altered Creatures were foolish enough to enter the Govi Glade.

Just out of Tilli’s visual range, the sounds of growling and snapping twigs followed her through the thick, dark forest until a series of lightning strikes gave her a clear view of the assailant emerging from the brush. It was a grotesque assemblage of various creatures that should have never been blended into a single beast. It couldn’t have evolved without the magic of Irluk and her Alchemists. Tilli saw the beast’s open mouth, bearing sharp crooked teeth. She continued to run from the four-legged creature, but the underbrush gave the creature the advantage.

Leaping, the creature landed on her back, knocking her to the ground before tumbling off to her side. Rolling back up to its feet, the beast jumped at her again before she regained her bearings.

A blast of lightning sparked across the sky as the odd collection of creature elements moved as one. The mouth of a crocodile was mounted upon the head of a large bird which connected to the body of a boar with the legs of a giant rat. Raising a claw in the air, it prepared to slice through the soft skin of Tilli’s neck.

Desperate to stay alive, she used anything at her disposal. Reaching out and grabbing a broken branch, Tilli swung it at the creature, knocking the attacker off her body in a single blow. Rising to her knees, she gave a second blow to the creature before it had the opportunity to attack again.

Screaming in pain, the deformed creature limped off into the forest before the young Num swung a third time.

Tilli kept the stick up high, ready for another attack, as sheets of rain pounded upon her. Breathing hard, she searched the forest for new dangers. Branches and leaves were moving from the wind and rain, and her vision was limited because of the darkness and the downpour. She failed to fight off tears, yet they did not stem from the most recent attack upon her. They were the ultimate results of being lost and alone for weeks in unfamiliar lands, waiting for her master to return for her. She could handle finding berries and roots to prevent starvation. She was capable of finding ways to keep herself warm and dry at night in her temporary shelter. She was even able to fend off the dozens of creatures that had attempted to take her life. But to do all those tasks alone, without knowing if anyone was ever returning for her, caused her emotions to burst forth as she sat in the torrential rain.

The feeling of being abandoned was an old wound that had been reopened, one that flooded her thoughts with her family and childhood. The pain was too deep to ignore.

As the chilly rain soaked the shivering young Num, she pulled a satchel from her back, opened it, and took out several flat hexagonal Runestones. Each had a large crystal mounted in the center and some gems mounted near the edges.

Each time the lightning flashed, Tilli glanced at the raised ridge patterns on the stones in order to find the one she needed. Stay focused. First, I need some protection from this rain and then I must warm up, she told herself as she wiped the tears from her face, a gesture which seemed pointless as the rain continued to saturate her hair and face.

They’re not yours, screeched a small voice from behind a nearby bush. Stepping forward, a small red-tipped black dragon stepped forward. Its yard-long, thin body could have been mistaken for a snake if it hadn’t been for the limbs and wings. Those Runestones belong to Irluk, not you.

Dropping the stones back into the satchel, Tilli tossed the bag over her shoulder before lifting the stick again for protection. Mel’tayn, your master has been banished from these lands. Irluk is no more.

She will return, and when she does, I will present her Runestones back to her. The black dragon approached her with calculated movements as he studied Tilli’s body language.

Lifting herself back onto her feet, Tilli made a run for safety. She was much larger than the dragon, but still wished to avoid the claws and teeth of Irluk’s well-trained servant. Unfortunately, while dashing over brush and around fallen trees, she underestimated how wet and slippery the ground had become. Before she knew it, she had slipped. She slid out of the forest and rolled to a stop several yards inside the Govi Glade.

The remnants of the Alchemist and E’rudite war floated about within this swath of land. Large spheres emerged unexpectedly out of the grasslands and up into the air. At varying heights, they all eventually arced, hit their apex, and returned to the depths of the glade. Everything touched by these objects would manifest a new reality for a different time, according to the individual magical orb. Young tree limbs might be brushed and become decades older and tenfold as thick. Summer grass would become covered with feet of winter snowfall or a layer of ashes caused by a forest fire that took place sometime in the future. Time and space were in flux in the Govi Glade, leaving Tilli in an extremely dangerous position.

Rising, Tilli stepped forward as a distant lightning strike gave her a glimpse of the dragon entering the glade. She stepped to the side to avoid being in his line of sight, while still heading back to the forest. It was then that she felt the ground shake under her weight. Leaping backward, she narrowly avoided losing her foot to an emerging sphere.

The glade’s tall grass was parting in a line heading toward her, and she knew it was Irluk’s servant. Taking the chance, she ran through the magical minefield to avoid him. It wasn’t long before she tripped over the detached legs of a creature whose body had been removed from this time in history. The war was still fresh, and the floating magical orbs were slowly removing the dead who blanketed the glade.

Back on her feet, she didn’t have the time to search for more dead soldiers to avoid. Instead, she bolted through the glade in an effort to find a safe way back to the forest. However, the small dragon continued to keep pace with her while blocking her exit back into the forest.

Snapping her head about, she searched for options each time the lightning flashed. Between them, Tilli was running blind in the dark and eventually ran unexpectedly into the large stomach of a massive hairy creature. Bouncing back a few feet onto her rump, she found herself looking up at a giant being silhouetted against the electrical storm blasting in the distance. Her initial shock from the surprise allowed the slow-moving creature to grab her, lift her into the air, and then place her back onto her feet.

Truth be said. Truth be heard. The giant sloth-like creature nodded. He was a gathler from the Ov’Unday clan. I am Pruva. His speech was painfully slow for her liking, considering the dangerous situation.

While unsure of his intentions, Tilli still felt more comfortable with Pruva than alone with Mel’tayn. I’m Tilli. She didn’t have time for longer introductions. We have to get out of this glade before we’re killed!

Pruva studied a large metal device, which hung from his neck by a thin chain. The odd object appeared to have hundreds of thin layers of gyroscopes, all spinning in their own directions and speeds, as a glow radiated from the center. Turning a few dials, the gathler nodded to himself before taking a large step to his left. Just as he slid his large body sideways, a sphere emerged from the very ground he had been standing on before rising overhead.

Tilli was shocked as she stared at the perpetually moving device. We have to get back into the forest. Can you lead us?

I can. He replied in words still far too slow for her.

Then do so!

He slowly lowered his eyes and studied his device.

We don’t have time for this! She was too nervous to wait much longer. We need to move!

She received a grin and a nod for a reply.

Impatient to get going, Tilli searched for an opening in the spheres and took it. Running through the tall grass, she once again tripped on a body part from another fallen soldier. This time it was one of the E’rudites she knew from the temple she had lived in. The war’s casualties were far greater than she had realized.

Stepping the final few feet out of the glade, Tilli spun about to rest her back against a tree as she sighed with relief. She then watched the giant sloth slowly make his own calculated way to the edge while tinkering with the object hanging from his neck. But his slow exit came with a price. The little black dragon had time to get into position for his attack.

Leaping out of the glade’s tall grass, the dragon grabbed the satchel of Runestones and pulled with all his might to rip it off her arm. They’re not yours! Realizing she had a firm grip on it, Mel’tayn lashed out at the satchel’s straps in order to break them.

I never said they were mine! Tilli yelled over the thunder. But they aren’t yours either!

He clawed again at the straps. They’re Irluk’s!

Leaning away from him, she pulled the satchel as hard as she could. They were hers, but now they must be given to the Mountain King! Out of the corner of her eye she could see Pruva approach and tower over them as they continued to fight for the Runestones. Pruva! Stop him from stealing these!

I am here to observe, not to interfere.

Frustrated by his answer, she instinctively scowled at him.

Taking the opportunity, the dragon reached out with his claw and scratched Tilli’s right arm, causing her to release her grip on the satchel. The wet fabric jerked free of her other hand, sending the dragon backward into the undergrowth. No! Tilli immediately scampered to her feet to follow him. Half leaping and half tripping, she stumbled far enough to grab the dragon’s tail before it disappeared under a bush.

Before she knew it, she was wrestling around the wet forest floor with the red-tipped black dragon, while lightning continued to flash overhead. The satchel swapped hands repeatedly during the tussle. Each time Tilli looked up for help from Pruva, she could see he was pleasantly observing the entertainment before him.

A slip in the mud by Tilli eventually gave Mel’tayn the access to her neck that he needed. Reaching out with his sharp teeth, he opened his jaw wide enough to dig deep into her throat.

Expecting to feel sharp teeth upon her neck, Tilli heard an unexpected thud, as the dragon was knocked off her body and sent deep into the woods. Safe from Mel’tayn, Tilli immediately reached out in search of the satchel of stones. She had no idea what happened, but it was successful in ridding her of the dragon. All she needed now was her stones back.

You are smaller than me, so I must protect you, said a new deep voice in the darkness.

Waiting for lightning to flash when she truly wanted it seemed to take forever, but once it did, fear ran down her spine. Standing over her was a fearsome blothrud: one of the warriors of the Del’Unday. Razor-sharp teeth extended from the mouth of a dragon head, which was mounted upon a massive human body. He held out dangerous claws at the end of his muscular arms and stood firmly on two thick wolf legs. blothruds were designed to be the ultimate killer.

Tilli found it difficult for her to see his expression in the dark conditions. Thank you. Her voice was hesitant and shaky.

The blothrud grabbed her satchel with one hand and picked Tilli up with the other. Goothr doesn’t think you should be out here.

Panicking, she attempted to free herself as she reached for her items in his other hand. Let go! Give those back!

I will take you home for dinner. The brawny creature nodded his head to approve his own comment.

Help! Tilli yelled out to Pruva, who was nearby. He’s going to eat me! she screamed as thunder pounded the forest once again.

Pruva stood in the pouring rain watching the incident unfold. He was almost as tall as the fierce-looking blothrud, but was much wider, heavier, and slower than the new arrival, who was designed for fighting. Squinting at the battle-ready creature, he leaned a bit forward and said, Do you have shelter?

The blothrud nodded his reply.

Excellent. I can observe from there.

Goothr lives this way. Follow me.

Tilli couldn’t believe her situation was real. She was being taken away to be eaten while her only potential ally planned to watch. Help! Kicking and screaming, she was desperate for any assistance, even from Mel’tayn, but the noise of the storm overpowered the Num’s little voice.

Following Tilli, who was tucked under the blothrud’s arm, Pruva grinned and winked at her. This should be entertaining.

Chapter two

Meeting Goothr

Rain continued to drench the blothrud, gathler, and Num as the three entered a small village. The dirt-packed streets and paths had become muddy trails with small streams running down them. Homes had been made of clay blocks and grass roofs. None had been kept up over the years. In fact, the entire village appeared to have been neglected for the past decade.

Various Del’Unday species lurked about in doorways, waiting for the rain to stop. Some stood on all four legs, while others were only on two. Some had characteristics of common animals such as wolves or large cats, while others were unique in shape. Upon entering the village, Tilli saw only a few blothruds. Regardless, they appeared homeless, injured, or undernourished. All three of these challenges applied to some.

Stooping forward, the blothrud carrying Tilli entered a door to a small home which shared three of its four walls with other homes. The gathler, Pruva, followed him. Once inside, he set Tilli upon one of the two beds and closed the door behind Pruva.

The room became instantly dark, and Tilli heard the two large creatures scuffling about. She didn’t know what their plans were until a glow emanated from the center of Pruva’s gyroscope, which he was using to see in the darkness. It was just enough light to see each other and the furniture, but failed to be a proper lantern, which would have illuminated all the walls and ceiling.

Searching for her escape route, Tilli quickly realized the front door was her only exit. "Is this where