he had an actual reason to hate me.
The Chancellor pushed Estan away and urged an old man in monk’s robes forward. The man carried a silver headed walking stick which he seemed to need.
“Wizard Jeram Wist of Notton.”
Another round of applause, along with a few catcalls. Someone shouted ‘Go home old man.’
Wist stepped back as soon as the applause stopped. The Chancellor indicated the small man in black should step forward. He looked like a ninja straight out of the movies to me, complete with curved sword He walked like a ninja too.
“Bob.” The Chancellor said and a roar of approval rang out. It looked like this guy must be the favorite, though I wondered at the shortness of his introduction. Still, it was an easy name to remember.
It was me or the girl next. She was dressed like an Amazon might be dressed for a porn film. She was young, blonde, blue eyed and exuding sex appeal like it was going out of fashion. The short sword sheathed on her back just reinforced the image. She was smiling at me in a very come hither way. The competition was looking up.
“Wizard Lana d’Fallon, from Willdone.” The Chancellor proclaimed to whistles and a scattering of obscene suggestions. The Chancellor chose to ignore the latter.
I stepped forward as Lana turned and stepped into me. Her breasts pressed against my chest and I felt a hand squeezing my buttock.
“Apologies, my mistake,” she said as she gave me an outrageous wink.
I surreptitiously adjusted my jeans, which had become over-tight.
The Chancellor glared at me as I stepped up to stand by him.
“Our last nomination, the infamous murderer, Wizard Jake Morrissey of Valhalla.”
There were loud boos from the crowd. It didn’t look like I had any supporters.
When the crowd quieted we followed the Chancellor to the edge of the box. Two hundred feet below us was a small lake and beyond that a jungle. The lake and jungle were enclosed by a high boundary wall with a diameter of about half a mile.
He waved a large old fashioned looking key in the air.
“The first trial is to recover a golden key like this one from the jungle below. There are five such keys and they have been carefully hidden. The applicants will be judged on the time taken to recover a key, among other things.”
“What other things?” Lana asked.
“That is for us to know, young lady,” the Chancellor said, clearly irritated by the interruption.
He waited to see if any of the rest of us were going to interrupt him. We all decided against it.
“The contest ground is set with traps for the unwary and there are dangerous creatures below. Your time starts now.”
17. Transformations
As the crowd roared with anticipation Lana hopped into the arena, and Bob and Estan flew across the lake towards the jungle, I ignored them and used my magic sight to investigate the key the Chancellor still held aloft. Esmeralda claims I’ve learned nothing in the last few years, but I have acquired a strong sense of caution and something about this trial seemed wrong.
The key was solid metal, but giving off a lot of magical energy. When I looked closer, zooming in to look at its surface, I saw runes. A purple aura surrounded it. It was a distinctive magical object. And why was he still holding it up like that anyway?
I stepped closer to the edge of the balcony where Jeram stood. He seemed equally reluctant to join the competition.
“Wizard Morrissey, I have heard much about you.”
“Was any of it good?”
He laughed. “I am sure some of it was good. But you must give me time to remember them if you want a list.”
“You don’t seem eager to join the trial?”
Jeram surveyed the arena. “Best to look before you leap.”
I nodded.
I turned my attention to the jungle below. The five keys were easy to spot on the magical plane because of the large amounts of energy they were giving off. The one Estan had chosen was twenty feet underwater in the middle of the
The Chancellor pushed Estan away and urged an old man in monk’s robes forward. The man carried a silver headed walking stick which he seemed to need.
“Wizard Jeram Wist of Notton.”
Another round of applause, along with a few catcalls. Someone shouted ‘Go home old man.’
Wist stepped back as soon as the applause stopped. The Chancellor indicated the small man in black should step forward. He looked like a ninja straight out of the movies to me, complete with curved sword He walked like a ninja too.
“Bob.” The Chancellor said and a roar of approval rang out. It looked like this guy must be the favorite, though I wondered at the shortness of his introduction. Still, it was an easy name to remember.
It was me or the girl next. She was dressed like an Amazon might be dressed for a porn film. She was young, blonde, blue eyed and exuding sex appeal like it was going out of fashion. The short sword sheathed on her back just reinforced the image. She was smiling at me in a very come hither way. The competition was looking up.
“Wizard Lana d’Fallon, from Willdone.” The Chancellor proclaimed to whistles and a scattering of obscene suggestions. The Chancellor chose to ignore the latter.
I stepped forward as Lana turned and stepped into me. Her breasts pressed against my chest and I felt a hand squeezing my buttock.
“Apologies, my mistake,” she said as she gave me an outrageous wink.
I surreptitiously adjusted my jeans, which had become over-tight.
The Chancellor glared at me as I stepped up to stand by him.
“Our last nomination, the infamous murderer, Wizard Jake Morrissey of Valhalla.”
There were loud boos from the crowd. It didn’t look like I had any supporters.
When the crowd quieted we followed the Chancellor to the edge of the box. Two hundred feet below us was a small lake and beyond that a jungle. The lake and jungle were enclosed by a high boundary wall with a diameter of about half a mile.
He waved a large old fashioned looking key in the air.
“The first trial is to recover a golden key like this one from the jungle below. There are five such keys and they have been carefully hidden. The applicants will be judged on the time taken to recover a key, among other things.”
“What other things?” Lana asked.
“That is for us to know, young lady,” the Chancellor said, clearly irritated by the interruption.
He waited to see if any of the rest of us were going to interrupt him. We all decided against it.
“The contest ground is set with traps for the unwary and there are dangerous creatures below. Your time starts now.”
17. Transformations
As the crowd roared with anticipation Lana hopped into the arena, and Bob and Estan flew across the lake towards the jungle, I ignored them and used my magic sight to investigate the key the Chancellor still held aloft. Esmeralda claims I’ve learned nothing in the last few years, but I have acquired a strong sense of caution and something about this trial seemed wrong.
The key was solid metal, but giving off a lot of magical energy. When I looked closer, zooming in to look at its surface, I saw runes. A purple aura surrounded it. It was a distinctive magical object. And why was he still holding it up like that anyway?
I stepped closer to the edge of the balcony where Jeram stood. He seemed equally reluctant to join the competition.
“Wizard Morrissey, I have heard much about you.”
“Was any of it good?”
He laughed. “I am sure some of it was good. But you must give me time to remember them if you want a list.”
“You don’t seem eager to join the trial?”
Jeram surveyed the arena. “Best to look before you leap.”
I nodded.
I turned my attention to the jungle below. The five keys were easy to spot on the magical plane because of the large amounts of energy they were giving off. The one Estan had chosen was twenty feet underwater in the middle of the
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