Rick Cook: The Wizardry Quested

In spite of himself Wiz grinned. "And there are a dozen eyewitnesses to each death, no doubt." He took a pull on his mug of tea.

"Folk are bolting their doors strong tonight," the stocky woman agreed. "Fact is, I’ve never seen them so frightened. It will put a damper on this year’s fair, I’ll tell you."

Moira stood up suddenly. Then I am going back to the fair."

Wiz spewed tea all over the table. "What?"

Moira reached for her cloak. "I said I am going back. The people need reassurance."

"You’re sick and you’re going to bed."

"People need my help and I am well enough for that"

Wiz started to protest, realized this was another one of those arguments he wasn’t going to win and changed course.

"Then I’m going with you," he said grimly.

"How much reassurance is there if I am in the company of the mightiest wizard of the North? No, if this is to be effective you must not come."

"Look, we don’t know what that thing was or what it can do. I’m not going to let you go down there alone."

Moira put her cloak down on the table and turned to face him. That ’thing’ is gone."

"And what happens if you nearly pass out like you did this morning? That’ll be a lot of reassurance for everyone."

"I will manage."

"You’ll manage better with the proper company, My Lady," Shauna said, looking closely at Moira. "No, not you," she added before Wiz could open his mouth. "I’m the one to go with her."

Wiz had the feeling he’d just missed something important and an even stronger feeling that the situation was getting out of control.

"Still, I’m not sure it’s safe."

"As safe as anywhere," Moira retorted.

Arianne nodded. Three of the Mighty have examined the rest of the fair and found nothing more. This thing harmed no one and I have alerted the Watchers in the castle. With them on guard it will not be able to sneak close again. Meanwhile, Bal-Simba has summoned the Council of the North to meet to consider what more is to be done."

"Besides, Fluffy will protect us!" Ian said.

Wiz raised his eyebrows and looked past the boy at the twenty-foot dragon standing behind him. The dragon’s tongue was lolling out and he was panting like a particularly dumb dog.

Fluffy was a very young dragon, hardly older than Ian. Like all immature dragons he was not very smart. But unlike most of them he was more or less a house pet- a circumstance that aroused considerable comment in the Wizards’ Keep and even more among the townsfolk.

Fluffy had attached himself to the programmers as a housecat-sized hatchling. When Ian was born, the two became inseparable. Originally the programmers had called him Little Red Dragon, or LRD for short. But Ian insisted his name was Fluffy and, wildly inappropriate as the monicker was, it stuck.

If there was trouble the dragon was only likely to make it worse, but separating Ian and Fluffy made them both mope, so if Ian went to the fair it was a foregone conclusion that Fluffy was going too. The prospect did nothing to raise Wiz’s enthusiasm for the expedition.

Danny, meanwhile, had grasped the critical point "Us?" he demanded of his son.

"Who said anything about you going?"

"Shauna’s going," Ian said. "You always said we should stay close to Shauna, especially if there’s trouble."

While Danny was at a loss over the eight-year-old’s logic, Shauna’s daughter saw her opportunity and moved in for the kill. Caitlin was a couple of years older than Ian, with a mop of jet-black hair, apple cheeks and great dark eyes. She had her Ph.D. in cute with advanced graduate work in wheedling.

"We want to go to the fair," Caitlin protested.

Danny tried for a compromise. "You can go to the fair tomorrow when it’s open." Tomorrow’s too late, " Ian protested " Everything will be up by then." Wiz wasn’t sure why it was more interesting to watch the booths go up than to see them once they were up and open, but that was clearly the general opinion. Even Fluffy managed to droop sadly at what he’d be missing.

"All right, then I’m going too," Danny said.

"You would be almost as bad as Wiz," Moira told him. "You had best stay here as well."

June stood close behind her son with a hand on his shoulder. "I go too." Which figured, since June was as protective of Ian as a mother tiger is of her cub. Danny looked over at June and Ian and scowled, but he nodded.

"Well, all right but you stay close, you hear?" And then, as Caitlin and Ian cheered, Shauna added: "And keep that creature on the leash!"

Ian had obviously been anticipating victory because he had the dragons collar and braided leather leash tucked in his belt.

Fluffy drooped his head so Ian could attach his collar. In fact the leash was strictly for show. Fluffy wouldn’t allow anyone but Ian to lead him and there was no way the boy could have held the dragon against his will. As it was Fluffy had a tendency to jerk Ian off his feet with a casual toss of his head. But the sight of the leash made townsfolk slightly more comfortable around the dragon and Fluffy seemed to understand that the leash meant he was to be on his best behavior. Besides, Ian was inordinately proud of his job "controlling" Fluffy.

"Okay," Wiz said to his wife. "You won’t take me and you won’t take Danny. What about Jerry?"

Moira raised an eyebrow and looked over at Arianne. The tall woman stroked her chin in thought. "Appropriate enough," she said finally.

"I dunno," the big programmer demurred. "I’ve got this homicidal screen saver I’m working on."

Caitlin tugged on his arm and looked up at him with enormous dark eyes.

"Please, Unca Jerry. It won’t be any fun without you. Please come." Jerry suddenly found he was not at all immune to the wiles of a little girl. In fact, like most men without children of their own, he could be twisted around a tiny pinky almost without effort.

"Sure," he sighed. "I’ll go back with you. That way the kids can see what’s going on."

Wiz looked down at the dark stain of spilled tea on his shirt. "Well, darling," he sighed, "at least keep your eyes open and yell at the first sign of trouble. I think that thing was after you."

Arianne looked at him closely. "Can you be sure it is aimed at Moira?"

"I don’t like the way it looked at her."

"You said it seemed to be surveying the crowd."

"Yeah, but:" Wiz lapsed into an unhappy silence.

"Oh, don’t brood love," Moira said. "It is perfectly safe and I will have Jerry with me should need arise."

"Plus two kids," Wiz added. There was an insistent whuff over his shoulder. "And a dragon."

"Shauna and June will be along as well," Moira countered.

That carried some weight, Wiz had to admit. Shauna could keep the lads under control and June was likely to be at least some help. Danny’s wife was strange and half wild from growing up in an elf hill, but she was no one to trifle with. On one memorable occasion Wiz had seen her take out three fully armed hobgoblins with the knife she always carried.

"Well, I still don’t like it."

Moira reached out and put her hand on his arm. "Pooh. You heard Arianne. There is no danger now. But the townsfolk must be reassured, so it needs to be done."

"We’ve got to do something about this Calvinist sense of duty of yours," Wiz said as Moira picked up her cloak