Wizard of Jatte, Rowan Erlking [latest novels to read .TXT] 📗

darker, realizing that was exactly what he had just done. “Oh, I didn’t—”

“It’s all right,” she said, with a teasing smirk. “If I can’t call you Wizard, how shall I address you then?”

Thinking for only a second, Theissen answered. “Carpenterson. Or perhaps just Carpenter. That is my given trade.”

She nodded. “Alright then, young master carpenter. Where are you off to first?”

He looked to the empty lot. Nodding to himself, he walked down. “I think I ought to fix this first. I did promise my friends a home, and for now this ought to do.”

“But it’s nothing but rocks.” The eldest daughter said coming to his side with a gesture to the ruined home.

Grinning at her, Theissen walked down the steps more boldly. “For now.”

Beckoning her down with him, he discovered that all the animals that had followed him into the house were now following him back out again. The locals watched, awe and amazement on all their faces. But then it has been a while since they had seen a wizard in action. Theissen turned with a smile to the daughter and said, “Do you want to see a wizard at work?”

She blushed.

He then skipped over the road, which had now become considerably busier now that the cracks were gone from it. Hopping to the opposite curb, he bent down and set his palm to the cobbles. There were still many holes and cracks in it as a result of the crashing home.

Closing his eyes to block out all distraction, Theissen felt into the rubble for the flow within. There were a great number of layers there, layers that needed to be sorted out. Stone. Wood. Pieces of old rubbish and whatnot. Yet he could feel each of separately. Grinning to himself, Theissen slowly made the stone move to one side, the wood to the other, and the rubbish in between pull to the roadside where he was standing. Then he moved the debris faster.

Like they had the night before, a crowd gathered to watch him. The merchant’s wife and eldest daughter stood just behind Theissen while he sorted out every piece of the wizard’s home. The man’s bones he sorted to the side where Theissen gently let them alone so he could have them properly buried. He also unearthed lots of junk. Some of it were crushed pots, pieces of a watch, picture frames, books, crumbled chunks of wood from cabinets and many, many shards of glass. Piles of things formed all around him until the lot emptied. What was left was a rather deep hole in the ground which contained a wine cellar, a pantry, and an open courtyard in the back. The heaps of rock and wood almost filled the road.

“You can’t just leave that there,” one passerby said with a snide grunt while tromping off.

Theissen rose up from his haunches, looking back at the man. “No kidding. And you thought I was?”

Shaking his head, Theissen then walked over to the edge of the large hole, peering down at the crumbled stairway where he saw all the leftovers of what probably had been a decent storage room. “I think I’m going to need some new wood.”

“You mean building material?” one onlooker asked, coming over from across the road. It was a man, solidly dressed, with strong hands.

Turning, Theissen nodded to him. “Yes. I’m going to have to make a new framework. I can only build so much with the stone. That wood over there is useless.”

“Can’t you just fix it with your magic?” a rubberneck from within the crowd asked.

Not knowing whom to reply to, Theissen answered to the crowd generally. “Magic isn’t like that. The nature of this wood is rotten. I can’t change the nature of things, only move it around.”

“Why not?” another person called out.

The dog barked at him. Theissen patted the dog’s head. It had been panting happily next to him, quite pleased perhaps that it was among magic again. “Because, that would be making demons. And the last thing I want is demonic wood in a house I plan to live in.”

He walked from the pit.

Gesturing to the old wood, Theissen said, “If anybody wants this wood, he can take it. I don’t need it.”

The people just stared at it, though. Perhaps they were thinking it was cursed because magic had moved it or that it was part of a wizard’s house. However, one man nodded to Theissen and quickly gathered an armload, nodding also to the boy with him. “Thank you, much.”

Only a few others followed suit. Mostly though, the people still stood by to watch Theissen as if he were a circus performer.

Theissen had already turned towards the rocks, examining them as he mentally calculated how much stone and wood would be required for such a project. He had never built a house before, after all.  

“You said you needed wood for construction? Building material.” It was the same man who had brought it up before.

Theissen nodded to him again. “I sure do. Do you know of any place I can get some? —at a reasonable price of course.”

The man extended his hand. “I’m Timons the Millman. I work at a lot where they provide for building and even supply for carpenters. I hear you’re also a carpenter.”

This was good news. Practically clasping the man’s hand with too much glee, Theissen grinned. “You are? That’s wonderful! I mean, I am. I am a carpenter! And I would love to get to know anyone in the wood industry better.”

Grinning back at him, the Millman had to make some effort to get his hand back. “So, do you want to come with me and discuss wood prices? I assume you aren’t a novice at that if you really are a Lumen Carpenter.”

Hoping it was not too good to be true, Theissen walked with him. He waved to the merchant’s wife and her daughter.

“I’ll be back!” Then he paused, staring at all the junk on the sidewalk. “Oh wait!”

He dashed back to the curb, set his hand on the stone, and let every last piece of junk sink back under the ground. It all emerged into the pit again. He also shifted the rock off the road and into his yard to clear the way. Only the wood remained on the side where anyone could take it.

“Okay. Now I can go with you.” Theissen hopped to his feet again to join the millman on the road.

*

It was midday before Theissen returned to the inn where he had left the former molemen and birdmen. Nearly all of them were pacing the road with worry, mostly wondering if he had left them for good. Theobold practically flew to his side when he saw him. Waggling a finger at Theissen to chastise him, he was also glad though he was surprised he was seeing Theissen grinning so much.

“I found us one home!” Theissen declared. He nodded to the rest of them who had practically surrounded him on the street.

“And pets,” someone in the caravan murmured. The dog had followed Theissen all the way, along with a few cats. The cats were rubbing up against Theissen’s legs, purring manically.

Ignoring him, Theissen started at once into describing what had happened the night before. He especially went in detail over how they were going to build their house in the lot where the old wizard lived along the road towards Serjiev.

“And I was thinking, what if we opened our own inn there?” His smile was infectious, but so far no one quite believed what he was saying.

“An inn?” Karo repeated. “But what about our—”

“Oh, we’ll still do that,” Theissen said, gesturing up the hill again. “I intend to investigate another free lot we can convert into a home. It is closer to the city center.”

“You don’t mean that tower, do you?” Teppan asked, glancing back to his companions.

“We asked about it,” said Ronen with a nod. “And you can’t believe the things people said.”

“That it’s cursed?” Theissen replied, lifting his eyebrows in a smirk. “Don’t worry. I can handle that. You forget, I’m a wizard.”

“You’re admitting it?” Dobbis snorted.

The ex-birdmen behind him chuckled.

Theissen shot him a glare. But then it vanished as he shrugged. “Yeah. I guess so. After all, the other house comes with a catch. I have to register as a wizard to claim the lot.”

The group grinned, satisfied at last. This was proof Theissen was not ducking out of their bargain. He was finally living up to their expectations.

“So, we go now to claim it. Today we’ll have a home built. I already ordered fresh wood, which we’ll have to pay for, but we’re getting it at a reasonable price.” He pointed towards a far road. “If we cut through that route a friend showed me, we can save time from going up and down hills. Now get your stuff and we’ll—”

“There he is. See I told you he’d come back.”

Across the way, the woman with red hair who owned the establishment pointed her long painted fingernail at Theissen. One man stood next to her in black robes and red sash. Theissen recognized the man’s robes with red sash and writing on it. They were magician’s robes. The man himself looked about the age of his father. His beard was thin and long with gold and silver beads in it weighing it down into two extended braids. His stare grew narrow and fixed on Theissen’s face.

“That’s a wizard?” the magician replied with incredulity. He let out a snort and shook his head at the woman. “Are you sure?”

“Who’s that?” Theobold stepped to Theissen’s side. The muscles in Theissen’s neck and jaw had immediately tensed up.

“One of the magicians, I think.” Theissen drew in a breath and then gestured to the others to hurry on. “Get your things. I’ll deal with her, and him.”

The others scattered except for Karo who scowled at Theissen. “How can we? You buried the stuff in the stable floor.”

Theissen blinked, then chuckled. “Sorry. I’ll go do that first.”

He walked towards the stable.

“You there.” The magician called out to him.

Theissen turned his head. “Pardon?”

“This woman here says you threatened her.” The magician walked down the steps of the inn to where Theissen stood.

Nudging Karo to go on, Theissen just shrugged and crouched down to touch the ground. The former moleman nodded then rushed inside the barn.

Theobold remained at Theissen’s side, glaring at the magician. His feathers ruffled underneath his long white robe.

“I didn’t exactly threaten her. She was being difficult. She was charging my friends way too much,” Theissen replied.

“Didn’t exactly? She says you used magic and threatened to block her inn from getting business. How is that not exactly?” A stern look settled on the magician’s face, a look that would have made Theissen feel guilty had the man been his father. However, there was something of an odor about the magician that reminded him of the magician of his hometown. The stink was not demonic, but there were definite swirls of animosity.

Sure that he had unearthed all the stones and jewels from the stable floor, hearing the former molemen scramble to get it all back into their carts, Theissen straightened up and squared his shoulders. “It isn’t exactly a threat because we paid her a fair fee and…” He glanced at the spiteful looks of the woman. “Her threats were worse.”

The stink of animosity seemed to grow. “What did you do just there?”

Theissen blinked at him. “Pardon?”

“I will not pardon you! I saw you bend down for no reason and then get up again.” The magician’s voice rose in pitch. “What did you just do?”

Still giving him a blank look, Theissen could still hear his traveling companions working at loading the carts. He had to give them more time.

Dobbis tapped him on the shoulder with a whisper in his ear that their feathers were also stuck in the ground and he wanted them back. Nodding, Theissen crouched down again, lifting those up also.

The magician shoved Theissen back immediately, knocking him