In The Blood

Chapter 2:Meeting the gang

I put on my black cloack and recite the incantation that opens the secret panel behind one of the tapestries in my room. The ancient piece of artwork was a gift from my stepfather on my 12th birthday. It was found on an abandoned castle near the border with the country of Khi'h, when the royal evictors went to claim it for themselves. The tapestry depicts a hunting scene, with noblemen on top of skyrays pursuing a golden dragon. It used to be common for noblemen to go hunting dragons, until 300 years ago, when they suddenly disappeared along with the birds and many other animals of the realm. It's a sad reminder of better times. What I like the most about the scene though is the almost invisible figure of a raven haired woman on the left corner of the picture. She's floating without the help of a skyray or any other animal for that matter, and if I didn't know better, I would say that she is a mage, just like me. But that's impossible, right?

I shrug, and lift the heavy tapestry. The tiny black hole that awaits for me softly lights up. After years of coming and going through it I have made some modifications. When i first found the small tunnel, it had been lying behind one of the heavy wooden closets that adorned the room, forgotten and in a deplorable state. Cobwebs and critters galore ran back and forth from the distant entrance to my end of the path. It was dark as a dire wolf's mouth, and the smell of rotten meat almost made me seal it again. But something compelled me to explore it. So I went in, a tiny 10 year old creeping into a dark hole on the wall, without knowledge of  where it led to. It could have bloody well led to a dead end, or it could have closed behind me and leave me to find an exit.

Luckily it didn't. As I went down into the abyss the stench became unbearable. After 5 minutes of excruciating torture to my nose, I found the source of the smell: the decomposing carcass of a king rat. By the dull light that filtered through the cobblestone ceiling and the undisturbed film of dust around the body It was clear that the huge monster had been there for a while. I was scared, but I kept on walking, and after half an hour I found the exit. It was a tiny door that led into a tavern. As I heard the rumbling and the brawling of the men I quickly scurried into the street. Tiny kid as I was, the rough and burly intoxicated men didn't even notice me as I ran out of the tavern. The brightness of the two full moons shone throughout the night, lighting up the streets with a soft and motherly glow. In the distance, the soft noises of the waves and the salty smell of the ocean invited those who heard it to take a stroll around the beach. "So this is freedom" I thought. I breathed in the salty and musky air of the town. I liked it.

I started walking around the sleeping town, calmly taking on the wind eroded buildings, the cobblestone streets and sidewalks, the tiny lights that illuminated those shops still open. I was so distracted by the lovely scene that I didn't see a boy around my age floating down the street in a hurry. He didn't notice me either, and in a flurry of papers and tangled herbs we collided.
His name was Marcus, and he was the son of the owner of the tavern (talk about coincidences). He was a tanned little boy with honey colored eyes and brownish red hair, his tiny hands moving nervously in his pockets. Many nightly visits later, we became friends. He was the first human being apart from my father that accepted that I could do magic. He was also a mage, but he couldn't afford the pricy tax to enter a magic school. So, like many of the kids from the poorer parts of the city, he studied with a retired palace mage. He offered to take me there to study, but it was pretty clear from the start that the only way I would be able to polish my natural skills was by suddenly sprouting a set of manly parts.
One day, Marcus came up with the Idea of me dressing like a guy. A couple of pennies in the pocket of the tailor and a few weeks of posture, language and attitude classes with Marcus and I was ready to go. We were just missing a name. So as to not confuse myself we decided to keep mine with a slight variation. Instead of the girly Louise, my name would change to its masculine form: Louis. And that was how I started going out almost every night, enjoying the life of young Louis as if it was truly my own.

With what I learnt during the 9 years I have been going to Master Pious's learning house I remodeled the tunnel. The once dirty hole and its inhabitants had been cleaned and polished with my magic, Not a single spec of dust or insect in sight. The darkness problem was solved by enchanting tiny orb stones into giving a warm yellowish glow when the door of the tunnel was opened, and when they sensed motion. The king rat's corpse was quickly cleaned away, and on the cavity where it used to reside I formed a warm and cozy library, where I stored my magic books and tools. As i grew up I also altered the height and width of the stone walls to make it a little less cramped, and installed a small cart propelled by magic energy to move faster through the tunnel.

I grab the handle of the cart and with the flicker of a hand set it into motion. The woodstone artifact moves at a dizzying speed, almost making me loose the piece of parchment I clutch next to my chest. As it comes to a halt I jump down and crouch through the door. Inside the tavern The noises of the drunken sailors and willing maids fill the room. Saucy songs, sad ballads and belching galore make the air a bit charged, but nothing that I can't handle.

On the corner of the room I see Marcus waving at me. He's sitting with the guys on our usual table. Marcus's brother Theo is talking with Whynn, the leader of our group. Big, loud and extremely handsome he makes half of the girls in town (and some in the high part of the city) swoon at the sole mention of his name. The fact that he is a mage and has impossibly deep green eyes does help too. Next to Whynn and engrossed in a game of chess is Aldor. Quiet, intelligent and cold as ice, he is the brains of our group. He dwells in the more complicated types of magic, ice filigrees being his specialty. On the other side of the board Bear is struggling with Aldor's strategy. With his forte being his insane strength and powerful earth magic its no surprise that he has difficulties in the intellectual plane. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore him, but he can be quite headstrong and learns a bit slower than the rest of us. Theo is ruffling his little brother's hair, in a very maleish display of afection. He is smaller than Marcus by half a head, but he is still the eldest of the two.

I plop down next to Bear, and take a look at the board. Aldor is smashing him to pieces, with half of the whites still in the board and just 6 black pieces on top of it. But Bear still has his Queen and a horse aside from several pawns. I crawl next to him and as I point to the board I whisper into his ear "Put the pawn in there, Aldor will move his horse next to it. When that happens grab the Queen and put her in the square next to the bishop. You'll make a check mate." He smiles, and follows the instructions. Sure enough, Aldor puts the horse next to Bear's pawn, and the checkmate happens. "Damn Louis! You really have to stop helping Bear with our matches!" Aldor exclaims. I know that he is joking, but I still feel a bit uncomfortable. I have known Aldor since I was 12, but he has always been a mystery to me. It's difficult to tell what he is thinking. His dark blue hair is tied on a really long braid, and combined with his black clothing the effect is striking. His ice blue eyes look even bigger in his  face, and his pale skin gives him the overall look of a night elf, a raze of mythical creatures that are said to roam the night when the moons are full. He knows that he is handsome, and when he dresses like this it means only one thing: tonight he is out for some fun.
I smirk at him and laugh a bit. "It ain't my fault that your strategy is see through, seriously man! I could beat you any day of the week with my eyes closed"
Aldor looks at me with an unusual gentleness in his eyes and winks at me. "Naaa, I would rather you used your energy for other endeavors tonight" as if on queue, the others fall into a deep silence and look at me. That's when I remember the piece of parchment gently placed next to my chest.