The Wizard's Misery The Chronicles of the Midlands Book One

Chapter Twenty One

Brandon returned to the Crossroads Inn and since Haverty hadn't yet shown up, the first thing he did was ask for a bath. They had a nice bathing chamber and he luxuriated in a hot bath with plenty of soap. When he was done, he dried off with some fluffy towels and dressed in the only clean clothes he had left. Then he decided to go to the tavern and have a pint of ale while he waited to see if Haverty would return that evening.

The tavern was almost empty as he entered the room but he noticed a few customers sitting at the bar and he took a stool beside them. The bartender poured him some ale from the tap and handed him the mug and Brandon took a sip as he relaxed, enjoying it.

As usual, he started planning what he was going to do. He thought about how he was going to go about finding Jackman when he got to Central City and what he was going to do with him when he found him. "If he's still in Central City, someone should know where he is. Probably the courier network will know something," he thought."I guess I'll arrange for him to be captured and held until everything is over so that he can face murder charges for killing Pete Littleton."

"I need to come up with some way to test how closethe Wizard's Misery needs to be before it activates," he continued thinking as he took another sip of ale. "I guess the best way will be to buy one of those glow rocks that the street vendors sell to children. That way we'll see when it stops glowing and we'll know that it's worked," he decided and satisfied with this plan, he smiled.

He was just finishing his ale when Mrs. Horsley appeared in the doorway directing Haverty to him at the bar and he sat down tiredly. "How are you doing?" Brandon asked and motioned for the bar tender to fill a mug up for his friend.

"I'm doing alright, Sir. Just ready for a hot bath," Haverty said as the bar tender approached him with a mugs of ale for the two of them.

"How did it go on the way to South Port?" Brandon asked curiously.

"It was totally uneventful, Sir. I thought we were being followed until we got there but no one attacked us and we weren't followed when we left," he explained and took a sip his drink.

"I'm not surprised. We were attacked last night and the only way we could've been found was by magic," Brandon explained. "Let's go to the table over there so we can talk," he suggested standing up.

They carried their drinks to a table in the corner of the room and sat down. "Where's Styles?" Brandon asked him curiously.

"He's traveling on to King's Port, Sir. Since we weren't being followed he said he wanted to get home to his wife and kids. So, I told him he could go," he explained holding his mug in both hands.

"Well the stone is still working," Brandon told him quietly, patting the pouch that was tied to his belt. "But, we need to test it to see how close it needs to be."

"So, you took care of Merton, Sir?" Haverty asked looking a little disappointed that he had been left out.

"The girl and I took care of him yesterday," he explained and took another sip of his ale. "It was Beau Jackman who sent the thugs last night so we're going to have to do something about him."

"What are you planning to do, Sir?" Haverty asked with curiosity.

"I'm thinking that we'll capture him and keep him locked up until we've dealt with Maledictor. Then we'll see that he's charged for killing Pete Littleton," he explained. "So, we'll be heading out to Central City in the morning."

"Sir, don't you think it would be better to let the rebels in Central City take care of him? That way we could get on with our plans to deal with Maledictor," Haverty suggested. "The sooner all this is over the better."