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                TO HELL AND BACK

 Chapter 3 - Work Ethics and Why They're Seldom Adhered To

    Original Concept by Steven Scougall, 1999
          This part by Kristen Smirnov
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When one thinks of masters of the arcane arts, many a mental image comes
to mind. Impressive, awe-inspiring sorts of images that make you glad
you aren't on their bad side, where there is a good deal of activity
that uses variations on the word "smite." Real wrath-of-God stuff.

However, since Treisel Arrayarli was still a good ways from becoming an
actual master, he was not smiting anyone. Rather, he was painfully
adjusting his position on a hard wooden seat, trying to figure out how
to set himself and the rest of his party into motion.

"Come on, Simon," he pleaded with the donkey Opie had provided. "We need
to be going."

Simon, however, did not agree with the assessment, and simply responded
with a baleful look. That response wasn't terribly surprising, for
lugging two failed university students, a demon, and a cart load of
cargo half-way across a continent had not been terribly high on his "to
do" list this morning. He snorted.

Tao looked at Treisel tentatively. "You know how to work one of these
things?"

He shrugged, and tried flicking the reins again, with similar success.
"This is all they did in the stories. But they had real animals, not
that little runt."

Simon glared at Treisel. Treisel fought down the urge to glare back.

"May I try?"

"Uh...sure." Treisel watched as Wajissabequahze leaned forward,
inspected the donkey's posterior for a long moment, and then, with a
great demonstration of skill in horsemanship, gained by millennia of
existence, poked him in the butt with his pitchfork. Simon instantly
shot forward, his loud braying a complaint against these hostile working
conditions.

Initially straining his unimpressive bulk against the leather of his
harness, Simon snorted in disgust at his lot in life. After inertia had
been overcome and the cart began to roll down the cobblestone street,
the donkey seemed a tad less irritable. It may just have been a trick of
the light, though.

Treisel tried to keep a firm hand on the reins while he gritted his
teeth. The cobblestone lumps' passage under the wooden wheels were
bouncing the three of them around like dice in a leather cup. More
importantly, though, he tried to look like he was in control, since the
other two kept looking for him to plan the course of action. Even though
Tao was the one who had accepted this new job, and it was her and Waj's
needs that were driving them onward, he somehow ended up in charge. He
wasn't entirely sure that he liked the position.

In the back, Tao and Waj sat on the cargo bags, desperately clutching
the sides of the wagon. Looked like the shocks on the back axle were
just as bad. None of them was exactly sure what packages were in the
bags - five of them, around the size of Trei's laundry bag back at the
university after he hadn't done the wash for a couple of weeks. They
were soft, though, and provided a good cushion for the people - or
demons, as the case might be - riding in the rear. A faint musky, though
not unpleasant, smell hung over them and refused to disperse even in the
open air. 

Actually, they were quite a lot like Treisel's laundry.

Not that any of them particularly cared what they were hauling. It
looked to be easy work, it paid moderately well, and paid their travel
fees. If Treisel still been in school, this would have been an ideal way
to spend his summer.

Once they reached the outskirts of town, the cobblestones gave way to a
pitted dirt road, edged with the occasional weed too stubborn to die.
Even with its ruts, it was a far smoother ride than they'd felt so far,
and all three breathed a sigh of relief. Simon still looked annoyed.

With a happy sigh, Tao threw herself back against the pile of bags,
staring up at the blue sky overhead. "This is nice."
Treisel glanced at her over his shoulder, and smiled. "Yeah, it is.
Maybe we can get away from all that insanity for a while, huh?"

"Mmm-hmm. Just you, and me, out on the open...." A hot blush spread
across Tao's cheeks as her brain caught up with her mouth. "I mean...we
won't have to worry about anything happening like the thing with
what's-his-face. Hunter."

Waj peered at the map Opie had given them, his hulking crimson form a
striking contrast to the thin parchment that was their only guide to
Hasbro. "There sure are a lot of towns along the way. Think any of them
would have information on a Hell entrance?"

With a careless shrug, Treisel smiled. "Sure, why not? I bet they will."
Even if life wasn't currently what he'd planned on, things were falling
into place to make it a smooth ride. They had transportation, money in
their pockets, and a purpose in life. 

It should be noted that Treisel had not always paid quite the attention
to his undergraduate classes that he should have. If so, he would have
known not to venture into the realm of ironic questions, for they seldom
lead to anything pleasant. 

The wind at my back, gold in my pouch... Treisel smiled, making himself
purposefully cheerful for the first time in a week. What could possibly
go wrong?

*  *  *  *  *

"Sir?"

"What is it, Neville?"

"There's someone here to see you."

Chancellor Feyluck Hatstring yawned, rolling his eyes as he did. Ever
since Death had dropped by, the intern had been rather jumpy about
announcing visitors post-haste. Even when it was quite clearly marked on
the boy's organizer that this was Hatstring's Recuperation and
Meditation Period (as shortened to fit in Neville's book: "nap time"),
he would barge in.

"Well, who is it?"

"I...she wouldn't give her name, sir."

Of course she wouldn't. That would make things too easy. "Does she look
like someone along the lines of, oh, say, Death?"

Neville shook his head. "She looks pretty normal."

"So you really had no real reason to interrupt my, ah, meditation?"

Paling at the sure prospect of his intern position getting revoked, the
young man swallowed. "Sorry, sir."

"Oh, for the love of...just show her in. And stop calling me sir. Or at
least throw a 'Chancellor Hatstring' in there every now and then for
variety."

"Yes, Chancellor Hatstring."

A few moments later, a slight young woman entered the office, feet
silent on the plush carpeting. White-blonde hair was pulled into a loose
bun on the top of her head, wisps falling around her face in a quite
becoming way. An ivory linen dress came to her knees, the fit tailored
but quite demure. In the back of Hatstring's mind, he decided she
couldn't possibly be a student. None of them could even work the buttons
on their flies properly.

With a slight upturn of her lips, the woman extended one slender hand.
"Chancellor. I was hoping I would get to meet with you today."

He took the hand, giving it a firm handshake perfected by countless
hours at patrons' dinners and new student orientations. "What is this in
regards to? As you can see, I'm a very busy man."

She smirked at the pillow on his desk, but didn't comment. "Of course.
I'll make this short. Are you cooperating with Death?"

"I...pardon me?"

"Death visited you several days ago in regards to a former student of
yours. Tao Feymu. Perhaps he mentioned a 'Them' or 'They.'"

It was not a happy feeling that was settling into the Chancellor's
stomach. "What business do you have with Death? Besides the obvious,
naturally." If she was one of Them, er, They, then she would be Not
Happy.

The woman smiled at him; for a moment, a fraction of a moment, her eyes
were white spheres, lacking the elements of sight. Just as quickly, the
pale green and black circles returned, but Hatstring shook his head
quickly to clear his obviously muddled thoughts. Then, with one swift
motion, she reached into a leather satchel hanging by her side-

Had that always been there? Feyluck asked himself, feeling a bit dazed. 

-and pulled out a handful of something, laying it on his desk. For a
moment, he expected to see some item from the Occult, some strange rune
or shrunken skull. Instead, he saw money. A lot of it. Gold coins
spilled out of the pouch she'd laid, their surfaces intricately molded.

Feyluck peered closer at them, in spite of himself. When he made out the
surface pattern, an audible gasp escaped his lips. "Where did you get
these?"

"You really don't need to worry about that; money is money. This should
pay for Tao."

"She won't be returning for some time, though...her tuition's paid,
anyways."

"I believe you misunderstand me, Hatstring. This is an incentive for you
to keep her under wraps; where she is, what she did when she was here,
anything."

He frowned as his view of the situation took a massive 180, even though
his head was swimming at the prospect of all that money. "I thought
bribes were supposed to be done with a bit more secrecy."

"And magic is supposed to be done with chanting, but it makes things
much easier if you just cut to the chase, eh? Feymu's a special girl;
she needs to get her feet wet out in the world."

"And all I have to do is not tell anyone anything?"

"And all you have to do is not tell anyone anything."

"Even Them?"

"Even Them."

With great ceremony, Feyluck picked up one of the gold pieces, inspected
the symbol on it, a symbol only one who'd been exposed to as much
magical knowledge and history such as him would recognize, and nodded.
"Miss...I think we have a deal."

And she smiled.

*  *  *  *  *

Magical truism #253: It's never a good thing when you make a deal with
the mysterious stranger and they smile.

*  *  *  *  *

Treisel staggered under the the bag as he slung it over his shoulder,
the grey canvas cylinder an impossibly heavy dead weight. Knees bent
almost double, he hobbled over to the rough-hewn door. A problem
suddenly presented itself: how to knock with both hands occupied. After
an attempt at kicking it resulted in him nearly toppling over backwards,
he decided on bonking it with his head.

This didn't quite have the intended effect.

"Oh, hi there Trei," Waj said to the figure currently knocked out on the
ground. "Why didn't you just yell?"

Slinging the boy and his cargo over his shoulders, Waj returned through
the back door of the inn, having to duck under the low beam of the
entrance. He walked up the stairs, down the hall, around the corner, and
into the tiny corner room the innkeeper had offered them. He did hope
the accommodations didn't have anything to do with the hood of his robe
slipping down after he'd sneezed during their arrival. 

Tao poked her head out of the door leading to the adjacent room (her
face when the innkeeper asked if she and Treisel would be staying
together was quite a sight). "Oh, is Trei alright?"

Waj plunked the boy down on the bed, then tossed the bag on top of the
four others. "Yeah, looks like it. He should come to in a second."

As if on cue, Trei's eyes blinked open, and he groaned, clutching his
head to emphasize his pain. Waj's broad face peered down at him. "You
okay? You gotta take care of yourself, you know. I can't get back home
without you."

"Nice to know I'm needed. Ow. Did we get everything important out of the
cart?"

Waj nodded. "Yep."

*  *  *  *  *

Down in the alley doubling as the inn's stable, Simon glared at the
world in general, and especially the part of the world that his driver
had recently passed through. 

Then he stopped that, and instead started to glare at the part of the
world that was now raining on him. 

It didn't seem to notice.

*  *  *  *  *

Later that evening, the trio sat in the corner room, studying the map.
They had started their journey at the blue dot, were headed for the head
dot, and were currently at the dent made by Treisel's fingernail. Tao
peered down at the dent. "It doesn't look like we've moved at ALL."

Ignoring the complaint, Treisel trailed his finger along the path marked
out for them by Opie, making sure to follow all the twists and turns of
the marked way. He boggled once he reached the end and calculated how
long it would take. "This has to be a mistake."

"What does, Trei?"

"This route! It's five times as long as it needs to be! If we just cut
across some of the places instead of going around, we could be there in
a fraction of the time."

Tao looked at the boy hesitantly. "And just what would that save us?"
She was still thinking about why Opie had hired them: everyone else
running the route was now off it, by fear or, well, death.

"I figure the marked route would take us nearly four months, what with
the transportation he gave us."

"Four months?!" Tao blurted, staring at him. "He made it sound like a
short run!"

"Well, it would be if we took the shortcuts!"

Waj hesitantly raised one clawed hand. "Might he have marked it that way
to avoid trouble spots other groups had run into? Besides, we all knows
what happened the last time you tried to take a shortcut on something."

Treisel glared at him. "Yes, thank you very much for bringing that up,
Waj. As I was saying...if we took these alternate routes, we could be
there in, oh, three weeks! And he thinks we'll take longer, so that's
what he'll be paying us!"

A dilemma was occurring in Tao's mind at the moment. Get there faster,
get more money, possibly get her head chopped off OR get there slower,
wind up with less money after they paid for room and board along the
way, but keep her head intact. Well, when she put it that way, there was
really only one choice...

"Please, Tao. Just trust me on this." And then Treisel smiled at her.

Okay. So the one choice was the other one. "Sure, Trei. Let's go your
way." A part of her mind was kicking itself for falling for such a cheap
trick as a smile, but another part was happy she wasn't making waves. 

Waj shrugged. "So long as I get back to Hell, I don't care. Besides, I
can take care of myself. Don't like to fight if I don't have to, but
I'll do all right." His eyes suddenly widened, as if remembering
something important. "Oh, Treisel! Have you given any more thought to
attending Neifllem?"

Though silent, Tao flickered a disapproving gaze at Waj, then quickly
directing it at Treisel upon his reply. "Actually, I have. Sounds kind
of interesting; I mean, I've got to get my degree somewhere. This is
fine and good for the moment, but I'm a sorcerer...well, I'm gonna be. I
don't want to spend my life as a courier." He paused. "I don't have to
die first or sell my soul or anything to attend?"

"Err...I don't think so. No, no, I'm sure you wouldn't. There's nothing
about the living attending Neifllem in the university handbook - I
helped write part of it, you know."

Treisel and Tao didn't, but they "Ah'd" anyways.

"The part about noise levels in the dormitory rooms. A lot of professors
helped put it together, but I landed that section. What was I saying?
Oh, right...they'd have to create a rule in your case, but I'm sure they
wouldn't decide to kill you. And if they did, you could always appeal."

"That's...very comforting, Waj."

Face deadly serious, Tao turned to Treisel. "Listen to me. I want you to
think this over before you go committing to anything, all right? Just
because some demon tries to talk you into something is no reason to
listen to him! In fact, it might be a good reason not to!"

"Hey," Waj slowly interjected, staring at the girl. "What brought all
this on?"

"I just want Trei to be safe, and I don't think dragging him down to
Hell with you is the way to go about that. Look, you don't seem like the
flesh-shredding type of guy and all, but Hell is where humans summon
demons from when they want to do something unspeakably horrible, not
where they want to have their diploma from."

Treisel frowned. "Tao, it's not that big of deal. A school is a school."

"Then why not go to another university up here?"

"Okay, a school isn't a school. Look, you want to be a researcher, and
that's fine, but I need to go to a place where I can really learn
something."

An icy chill fell across the room. "You know I didn't start off wanting
to be a researcher."

Oh no, Treisel thought to himself. Nothing like suddenly swerving into
Bad Territory. "I'm sorry, Tao. I know you've got it worse, and you've
suffered more, and you've got bigger problems."

She sighed at his rote recitation of the situation. "Yeah, thanks." How
could someone so cute sometimes be such a complete jerk?

Feeling the tension in the room, Waj clapped one meaty hand on each of
the two's shoulders. "C'mon, let's not fight. We've got a long way to
go, yet, and if you two are fighting, that will make it harder.
Remember? Finding an entrance to hell for me, a cure for Tao?"

"Right. I haven't forgotten, believe me. Wouldn't have even if you
didn't keep reminding me."

*  *  *  *  *

While this cheerful exchange was going on, Sven the innkeeper was
polishing glasses. When a new figure darkened the door, he looked up,
turning his swarthy girth with a soft grunt. "Looking for a room?"

The cloaked person - whether it was male or female was impossible to say
- walked up to him, then tilted their head slightly, as if hearing some
distant noise. "You have a girl staying here, and a demon."

Sven blinked at the statement. "Err, yes. You know them?"

Thin lips could be seen curling in a smile, a highly unpleasant
expression. "I know of them. Interesting, the two traveling together.
They did not expect this."

"The girl and the demon didn't expect to be traveling together? They
arrived together, though."

A tinkling laugh came from within the cloak's folds. "Not them, Them.
His presence should facilitate things nicely, if they manage to stick
together."

Sven furrowed his forehead, the two tufts of grey hair that attempted to
masquerade as normal eyebrows coming together as one. "Do you want a
room...er...Sir?"

A stare was his reply. 

"Erm....Ma'am?"

"No. I think that will be all. Thank you."

"You're...." Sven trailed off as the figure strode out the door,
disappearing into the night's depths. "Welcome."

*  *  *  *  *

It had stopped raining, which meant Simon managed to fall asleep. Simon
was asleep, which meant he didn't notice a cloaked figure approaching
the wagon. The cloaked figure then deposited something in the wagon,
which probably meant that something would happen to the wagon's
occupants in the days to come.

Then a dog barked, which meant Simon woke up and couldn't quite fall
back asleep.

Cause and effect is a nasty thing.

*  *  *  *  *

Back in the room, things had relaxed a bit. Treisel had hopped down to
the common room to fetch Waj a drink - the demon had made the good point
that the nice innkeeper probably didn't want to see him again -  and
returned with one for himself, as well. Smaller, of course, for he
couldn't down the stuff like Waj could. Tao had declined the offer,
saying enough strange things happened to her when she was sober. 

So, Treisel and Waj sat back with their beers, Tao idly paged through a
book on the history of beast lore, and all was good with the world. Yes,
there was still disagreement over Trei's future university career, his
tendency to overlook Tao's troubles, and, yes, there was that smell from
the bags, but, all in, all, things were good.

Until all hell broke loose. Metaphorically speaking, of course, for Waj
wasn't lucky enough to have his problems solved that easily.

*EE-YAH*

Tao clutched her ears at the painful sound. "What IS that?"

*EE-YAH*

"It sounds like Simmons."

"Simon."

*EE-YAH*

"Thank you, Waj."

"You're welcome." 

*EE-YAH*

"Argh. I'm going to bed."

"Night, Tao."

*EE-YAH*

"Good night, Treisel."

*EE-YAAAAAH*

*  *  *  *  * 

Lurien was a bit of an anomaly. Centuries ago, it was a center for magic
studies, with a grand university that surpassed even the department at
Great Zinnonthian University. Magic items that could level cities were
casually tossed into a storeroom with countless others; the librarians
of the hold had given up trying to organize everything after the first
ten thousand. Sure, that meant the work-study students who were assigned
to try and stem the increasing flow of chaos in the room often
disappeared in a flash of hellish light and a painful wail, but, on the
other hand, it gave the librarians longer coffee breaks.

After this had gone on for some time, the chancellor of the university
called for order. With no small amount of complaining, the librarians
set to test all the new artifacts one by one. They put them up on nice
orderly shelves with nice orderly labels and didn't take the time to
drink their nice, orderly coffee, thank you VERY much.

This lead to a minor problem.

Nearly everyone in Lurien had innate magical talent; those who didn't
either became bums, street sweepers, or entered a typing pool. The best
of the latter often ended up as librarians at the university. They were
thankful for their good fortune, but always bitter than everyone around
them had the skills they lacked. 

The first slip-up was minor: everyone within a mile was turned into a
newt. Luckily, the library itself was that large, so only the librarians
and work study students were affected. Besides, they got better.

The second slip-up garnered more notice. However, no one in the city
really minded being able to fly, save those who were buzzing about when
the spell wore off a month later. And their opinions didn't matter much
after that.

It was the third mistake that really landed them in trouble. Had it been
a good spell that lasted for ten years, they might have earned
themselves hefty raises. Had it been a mildly annoying spell, they might
simply have been returned to the typing pool from whence they came.
However, being rendered impotent for ten years put everyone into a bit
of a tizzy. In particular, Governor Priapus was upset, but he had a
tendency to get up in the air over everything.

By the end of the sixth year, folks in Lurien had convinced themselves
that magic was more trouble than it was worth. Far, far more trouble
than it was worth, said Governor Priapus, who decided measures had to be
taken to prevent something like this from ever happening again.

The study and use of magic, books on the subject, and mentioning it in
public were all outlawed. Using magic in your home was outlawed too, of
course, but people did so anyways. Priapus soon figured this out, and
began digging even further at the roots of this evil, nasty, wicked,
really naughty thing.

Towards the end, one couldn't even have a name that started with the
letter of a type of magic or famous practitioner. Folks were left to
pick between N, X, and Q for their new monikers; someone once began to
point out that their nation was founded by the great sorcerer Nalueir,
but people hit him with flounders until he quieted up.

This tale has little to do with Treisel, Tao, and Waj's journey. Or it
wouldn't have, rather, if Treisel hadn't heard that passing through
Lurien and the pass beyond was a shortcut through the mountains that
stood between them and Hasbro. Or if they had known that the use of
magic was strictly forbidden, that the entrance of magical creatures
into the country was strictly forbidden, and that the residents carried
with them four hundred years of pent-up magical energy that was just
waiting for a release.

They were not aware of any of these facts.

The poor sods.

*  *  *  *  *

Xamil Nesbeth, the gatesman of Lurien Keep, was having a good day. The
wife had made him a nice roast beef sandwich for lunch, the son had made
first string on the fencing squad, and the owners of that sheep weren't
going to sue. The sky was blue, the clouds were white, and his glasses
were rose-tinted.

A traveler came to the gate, who looked to be a salesman. Xamil let him
through with a cheery wave, and began humming a merry tune. Salesmen
were good, for they encouraged commerce. Lurien was an advanced nation,
one that understood the value of a gold piece. One that didn't waste
time with the silly superstitions that all those other nations mucked
around with. Besides, magic wasn't real. Everybody knew that.

Seeing another cart in the distance, he changed his happy tune to a
gate-lifting tune. Up went the gate, smooth as could be. Advanced ways
of rendering the hog fat that oiled it, you know. Progress was a
marvelous thing.

As the cart rolled to a stop by the gate, he stepped out, broad face
split by a welcoming grin. "Howdy there, folks. You look to be here for
business...?"

The young man nodded. Xamil liked the cut of his jaw; the boy looked
like he knew the value of hard work. Next to him on the driver's seat
was a sweet-looking, if slightly plain, young girl. She looked like a
worker, too. Behind them, in the cargo, rested a hulking figure covered
in heavy woolen robes. Xamil's grin dropped just a bit. "Your friend
back there...he here for business, too?"

The figure raised one hand and waved at him, revealing a skin tone of
shocking crimson. Xamil boggled. "Are you okay?"

"He's...ah...sunburned. That's why he's wearing the robes. They itch
like crazy, but what are you gonna do, right?"

Slowly, Xamil nodded at the boy, waving for the three to come through.
The girl turned to smile at him, and suddenly Xamil felt rather
peculiar. Like he had to sneeze and remember how to ride a bicycle all
at the same time. 

Watching the trio ride off, he slowly returned to his seat inside the
gatehouse, trying to shake off the buzzing sensation in his head.
Dutifully, he lowered the gate, rhythmically turning the giant wheel.
Then he stopped to look at the wheel, put two and two together, and
promptly fainted.

The handle, once solid iron, was now a dripping pile of slag. Xamil
wasn't sure how he'd melted it, only that he had. It was quite
unexplainable, and the unexplainable wasn't welcome in Lurien.

Xamil Nesbeth, the gatesman of Lurien Keep, was now having a bad day. 

*  *  *  *  *

"'Sunburned'?" Tao asked Treisel.

He shrugged. "He bought it. And whatever works, right?"

"Hmmm. That should be your motto." The words weren't as harsh as they
might be, for Tao's earlier bad mood had faded. After all, it wasn't
Treisel's fault if he sometimes acted before he thought. Or that he had
just a slight - very slight, mind you - tendency to put his troubles
above those of others. No, that was alright. Because he still looked
awfully cute when he smiled.

Tao Feymu wasn't actually one of those flighty girls who could be bought
with a wink and a smile. But she could, on occasion, do a mighty fine
impression of one.

Waj harrumphed. "I don't know if this is such a good idea after all,
Trei. This place is a lot bigger than it looked on the map, and I
shouldn't be around too many people. You humans don't seem to be able to
handle much stress."

With a dismissive shrug, Treisel turned his attention back to the road.
This single shortcut would save them nearly three weeks of travel, for
the Poularni Pass lay just beyond the city. That pass cut straight
through the heart of the Kyridam Mountains, which Opie's travel plans
had had them going completely around. 

He soon pulled Simon over to one side of the broad avenue, tying the
reins to the nearest hitching post. "My stomach's telling me it's
lunchtime, guys, and that place looks to be as good as any." The two
nodded, and, after sliding on Simon's feed bag, walked into the nearby
pub.

See? Simon doesn't always get the shaft.

*  *  *  *  *

One hour and several helpings later, the three were full. Treisel tilted
his chair back and patted his bulging stomach, groaning. "They sure do
know how to cook in this place."

Tao and Waj nodded, the latter taking care to make sure his hood stayed
in place. "Sure beats cafeteria food, huh, Trei?"

He paused, then grinned. "Sure does. Hell, who needs that dumb
university, anyways? I think we're doing pretty good out on our own! In
fact, if dear old Chancellor Hatluck Feystring asked me to come back,
you know what I'd say? I'd say...NO!"

"Waj?"

"Yes, Tao?"

"How many refills did Treisel get on his drink?"

"Two, I think."

"Ah."

A sudden noise from the kitchen drew their attention, and all three,
along with the rest of the patrons, perked up to see what was going on.
A comely young cook ran out of the swinging door, patting her smoking
apron. "Get out! There's a fire!"

"A fire?" Treisel smirked, and rolled up his sleeves. "Graduate degree
in magic or no, I can handle a little kitchen fire." With that, he
proceeded through the door.

The cook blinked at Tao, who was staying safely away from the range of
Treisel's magic. "What did he say?"

"Don't worry, Treisel really can handle it. Even if he is a little
drunk."

"No, that's not what I-"

"WATER!"

All the patrons of the pub ran to gawk through the serving window at the
sight before them. Treisel stood there, eyes closed, clothing
undisturbed. Around him, though, waters rushed like a mountain stream,
circling and flowing around their source. A fine mist drifted out into
the common room, a fog that the watchers instinctively shied away from.
After a minute of this, the waters collected over Treisel, forming a
great rippling sphere. He opened his eyes, and the sphere vanished in a
flash of light, leaving only the mists. The fire was gone, the counters
only slightly damp.

It was then that the people started screaming.

"MAGIC!"

"He's a demon!"

"He'll kill us all!"

"MAGIC! He used MAGIC!"

"We're gonna die! We're all gonna die!"

"I've wasted my life!"

"MAGIC!"

Tao and Waj glanced at each other in the midst of all this commotion.
"Told you humans couldn't handle stress," Waj noted.

Tao frowned. "I think we should be leaving. Now." Sneaking towards the
kitchen, she tried to think of a way to get Treisel, now the focus of
everyone's attention, back out to the cart. She needed to draw attention
away from Treisel, then. How to do it, how to do it....

As she weaved her way through the howling masses, a way suddenly
presented itself. While passing by the people, she felt a familiar
tickle; it was the sensation one got when a high-level spell was cast
nearby. Anyone with even moderate training in the mystic arts could
sense it, but she'd never heard of it appearing without a spell being
cast.

Suddenly, for the second time in as many days, all hell broke loose. 

The residents of Lurien had magic in their blood, literally. Plain,
old-fashioned, human magic. The concept, though, had been abhorrent to
them for so long that they'd erased the knowledge from their mind over
the past four centuries. Occasionally, someone would recall some arcane
spell, but they'd chalk the feeling up to bad turnips and shake it off. 

When two dozen people, though, simultaneously remember their magical
heritage, and begin casting spells without any control over it, it's a
bit harder to shake off. When said spells are instantly warped into even
more terrifying creations by the same person who inadvertently
originated them, it's worse. Much worse.

The pub had turned in a very short amount of time from a place with a
minor emergency to a madhouse to a screaming mass of people convinced
they were watching the Apocalypse. Not only that, but the end had
started with them. And arrived with those three newcomers.

The people of Lurien were scared.

The people of Lurien were mad.

And the people of Lurien knew who to blame.


--------------------


Author's Notes:

Wai! My first-ever Impro chapter...I am no longer an ImproVirgin! (And
now that you've got what you want from me, you'll probably never call,
let alone make time for just cuddling. Bastards.) This was oodles o'
fun, even if I did sign up to write this thing during finals prep. Come
on, say it with me...."Masochism is fun!" 

Anyways, there ya go. My first Impro chapter. Whee. I was a bit hesitant
to do an overly large number of things in this chapter, since I'm not
practiced with the whole "Don't screw later authors over" concept yet.
But then David Tai, my fabulous pre-reader, gave me a good solid kick in
the butt and told me to do more. So I did. Thanks, David. Here's hoping
I can do the same for you one day. <Readies her booting shoes>

As for the "Tao's aura affecting the Luriens" thing...the magic they had
waiting in their blood/souls/whatever would be the same as the kind of
cast magic that Tao affects. Or, at least, I figured as much, so I went
with it.

So. There ya go. I didn't get to do as much with this as I would've
liked, but, then, I didn't get to not deal with finals. Which I also
would have liked. Hopefully this wasn't an awful first shot, and, if it
was...too bad. Later authors still have to deal with all I screwed up.
Nyah. ^_^

Man. These were some long author's notes.

Kristen Smirnov
kristen@smirnov.net
http://www.smirnov.net/