Magic Tricks: Part 2

Part 2 for Magic Tricks completes the journey of Eric who meets a new friend in town as well as pursues the person who messed up his groups magic tricks. At first he thinks it was his friend's brother, but soon finds out differently.

At least it was their last act, Eric told himself. He scanned the crowd for the boys. People were everywhere, selling things at tables all across the courtyard. It was almost impossible to pick out any one person. Leaving his belongings behind on the stage, he set about finding the boys that had disappeared.

"Eric! Where are you going? We need to pack up first!" It was Damien shouting from the stage. Even though he was only a few steps away it was still difficult hearing him. It was either that or he had better trim the hair out of his ears again. Without answering back he scrambled through the crowd and eventually made his way down one of the alleys he suspected they might have retreated too.

It was darker here, and colder. A slow wind blew through the alley as if warning that danger might be lurking. He learned to trust the wind and his senses in general. Reaching around his back, he pulled the staff from his robes and proceeded down the alley. Those damn kids would get it for sure! He tried tracking them down by following the many footprints on the ground. He almost lost track of the set he was following until it picked up again straight down the alley, and to a dead end. He glanced high above and discovered a small bridge crossing between the two buildings. On the bottom of the bridge were several inscriptions that formed a rather pretty insignia to the shop next door which also had the same insignia on the wall of the shop. Either it was a fur trader or they dealt with potions. The signs sometimes were hard to tell apart with such age.

The situation didn't look good. Now what was he to do? He must have taken a wrong turn or simply was following the wrong tracks. He took a step further and almost tripped over the hole he hadn't seen a moment ago. After regaining his footing he looked down, right into a deep tunnel that led down into the sewers. Barrels and old furniture surrounded the hole, almost making it impossible to see it unless you were watching your feet while walking. Peering closer he noticed a strange yellowish glow coming from somewhere deep within the earth, possibly a light source shining against what looked like a strange mist rolling about. A small ladder straddled the side and went down as far as the glow penetrated the mist. Mist was gathering at the bottom, making it almost impossible to discern anything more from this distance. "Please tell me they didn't go down there". He repeated to himself, over and over.

"Don't just stand outside my door unless ye intend to buy something!" A deep and commanding voice came from behind him.

The door to the shop had opened and a large human wrapped in all sorts of furs stood there peering down at him. Strange that he hadn't noticed this person near the courtyard before. Eric was familiar with most of the folk in this area. The shop owner was clearing a Barbarian of some sort, probably one of the descendants from way up north.

"I came from the towns square in search of two kids that I tracked to this alley. They didn't come visit you by any chance?"

The fur trader smiled in a broad smile that showed three golden teeth, and two missing ones front out in front. He also had fangs! "You'll find them down there in the sewers." As Eric had feared, the barbarian tradesman pointed directly at the hole. Why would they go down into the sewers? No one ever goes down there unless they are looking for trouble. For hundreds of years it was infested with monsters and vial creatures of all sorts.

He starred at the hole for the longest time until he found the nerve to peer back down into it. Pausing for breath, he reached down and was about to step onto the ladder when the fur trader grabbed his arm. The fur trader then ran back into his house and after what sounded like a bunch of bottles falling over; the trader came back out wearing a greenish stone talisman. It looked moldy with a worn chain and a picture of two skeleton heads partially overlapping.

"You'll want to take this with you if you're thinking about going down there." The trader held out the talisman. Eric reached for it, but it was pulled back at the last moment. He looked up at the tradesman in confusion.

"It isn't free fool! Give me fifteen copper and it's yours."

Frowning he stuffed his hands in his pockets and searched for any gold he had. He left most of it behind at the stage, discovering just enough left in his spare pockets. A good thing he knew some magic as that helped out his carrying capacity tremendously. The trader took it, counting every last piece and then gave Eric the talisman. Eric promptly put it around his neck and stuffed it in his robes. Then he had second thoughts about it.

"What does it do exactly?" He asked the trader.

"The skeletons on the front ward of most types of undead, which is the main type monsters what you will encounter down there. It's my suggestion you make your little adventure as short as possible."

Most types? Without bothering to inquire further he proceeded down into the depths of the old Qeynos sewers. It was years since anyone had adventured down here, and those that did sometimes didn't make it back. Outside of Qeynos it was dangerous. Under Qeynos it was dangerous. Just about the only safe haven he knew of was his home on the other side of town.

Finally reaching the bottom, he took out his torch and lit it. The strange glow he had seen at the top permeated everything down here. The source appeared to be farther down the only tunnel leading under the dead end in the alley above. Following the tunnel, he had to stop several times due to skeleton bones and other debris on the floor. It was hard enough to see with the low lighting, but the mist was making it all that much harder. He came to a point in the tunnel where the walls began to widen and then a vast room opened up ahead of him. He walked to the center of it and turned completely around. The place was absolutely immense! So immense that something had to be wrong. On the one side of the cavern was the tunnel he had come from, and on the opposite end was what appeared to be a huge castle that extended from one side of the cavern to the other.

No monsters appeared while he was walking around. Not chancing his good fortune, he still took as little time as possible investigating the mass of it all. Mist rolled up and around pillars that supported the castle. Gargoyles and various undead creatures were engraved in the castles rock face. The place was clearly impossible in its entirety. The entire structure had to be at least three or four stories tall. No buildings in Qeynos were that tall except for the city square buildings. Besides, this would have breached the ground above. Something wasn't quite right.

After rubbing his chin in confusion he began walking towards the castles gate, trying his best to avoid looking at the two large stone creatures that guarded the entrance. He raised his hand and reached to grab a hold of the large rings on the doors. He almost stumbled forward as his hand passed right through the doors. Of course! It was all one massive illusion. Perhaps the townsfolk from years ago "sealed" the entrances using this method. He had never seen an illusion of such intricacy before.

Closing his eyes he walked slowly forward, expecting to walk away with a bloody nose. After several paces he stopped and cracked one eyelid open. Another corridor appeared before him; however this time there was little to no mist. Only a strange creature flapping in the air hovered at the end of the corridor. With so many illusions, how was he to tell what was real or not?

He got his answer soon enough. The creature swirled in the air and then came screaming towards him, literally. The noise was terribly deafening. Throwing himself to the ground, he felt the creatures wings flap over head as it screamed down the corridor he walked from. After the wind died down he looked up in the direction that the creature fled and discovered a plain corridor all the way to the entrance into the sewers. The entire system was an illusion!

He walked to the end of the corridor where he first discovered the creature hovering in the air. A fork in the road gave him two choices. Should he go left or right? Taking chance and the side he uses to hold his staff, he turned left and came to a ramp leading down to another part of the sewers. The smell wasn't so bad before, but now it was absolutely terrible. Wafts of wrenching smoke and mist came from the lower level and threatened to smother him. His exposed skin started to itch.

The ramp was slicker than it appeared from up top. He took one step forward and his entire body flung backwards onto the ground. The air was knocked out of him as his back hit the ramp, causing him to slide down at an accelerating rate. After several seconds and an alarming increase in speed he slid to a stop at the bottom of the ramp. His robes tangled under his body, trapping him and keeping him from getting up.

He looked up, watching in horror as two more of those flying creatures came screaming towards him. He closed his eyes in fear and felt the wind swirl overhead as they beat there wings. He opened his eyes just in time to see them flying over and once again disappear down the corridor he had come from. Working his way loose from his robes, he noticed the presents they had both dropped from above as they had passed overhead.

After discarding his robe he continued to search out the tunnels and open areas of the sewers. He only encountered a few other skeletons that he easily dispatched. From time to time he had to turn back and find other ways due to pools of liquid that hissed when he stepped on them.

Turning another corridor he stopped in his tracks as he viewed a completely blank wall. Another dead-end! Or was it one he had passed before? This place was one huge maze and he felt that he would never get out of it. He should have asked the fur trader if the guy had any direction sensing talismans handy. He looked at the wall again. Was that water pouring out from the floor? He suddenly had an idea. This entire place was one huge maze and the entrances, or at least the one he entered from was blocked by an illusion. What if this was one of those illusions? Testing his idea he put one hand up to the wall. He expected it to pass through, but instead his hand met cold wet stone. Damn! He swore to himself. This infernal place was going to kill him, not by the creatures that infested it, but by his pure stupidity!

He was so angry he grabbed his staff and swung it towards the wall in a wide arc. As the staff passed through the wall without resistance, his body was pulled with it. Twirling through the air he screamed as the wall met his face and then passed right threw it. Continuing to spin, he felt himself falling farther and farther until he splashed head first into a deep pool of freezing water. Throwing his staff aside he looked around and found the edge of the sink hole he was in. Grasping the edges, he attempted to pull himself up and out of the pool, but was dragged down by the weight of his clothes.

Then a hand reached down from somewhere above. He looked up and discovered that it was Bentley! He eagerly grabbed the hand and let Bentley help him up and out of the pool. Taking a look around, he discovered that he had fallen an entire level down through some hole in the corridor above. Dripping with water he attempted to shake himself as dry as best as he could. It was rather difficult under the circumstances.

They were soon joined by someone else that Eric had recognized from the crowd at the town square. It was one of Bentley's brothers, the one that disappeared along with Bentley.

"What in are you doing down here!"

The boy's both looked at each other. Bentley spoke up. "At the town square, while we were watching the show we noticed someone casting spells. We suspected they were trying to harm you. We asked him what he was doing. He gave us an ugly smirk and then retreated through the crowd.

"We went after him and were lead down here into the sewers. I didn't want to go but Bentley here insisted on it." The other boy gave Bentley a nudge and told him they would get into trouble.

"I insisted on it because it was the right thing to do, coward!"

It looked as if both the boys were about to launch at each other when Eric thrust his staff in between them. "Where did this person go that you followed down here?"

The boys looked at each other. Bentley's brother turned towards Eric with a worried look on his face. "We're not sure. The last we saw of him was when we escaped from the prison."

Prison? Eric was about to inquire, and then all of a sudden a voice from behind, scared him so badly he almost slipped and fell back into the water again.

"You're looking for me I presume." Eric turned and came face to face with an Iksar! But it couldn't be. They only had places in children stories and ancient myth. The scales from the Iksar's tail scrapped the floor, making this illusion all too real.

Before they could act, the Iksar threw up its hands and started chanting. Eric realized what was happening but it was already too late. His eyes began to blur and his stomach felt queasy. Then something strange happened. He swore he heard a noise, a scream, and then he felt his senses returning to him. Looking around, he stared wide eyed at the large fish splashing in the pond! The fish seemed confused for a moment, then righted itself and swam away far below the water line into the murky darkness below. He looked around for the boys. Bentley was standing roughly where the Iksar was before. He had somewhat of a shocked face on him as he too starred down into the water.

"What happened here?! I could tell he was preparing a teleport spell and then... this!"

Bentley stood back from the water as he watched the ripples die down.

"I too could tell what he was preparing. I lunged for him and in the process tripped over his tale. He not only knocked me down but I apparently caused him to lose his balance and fall into the water."

His brother pointed at the small pond. "It turned into that fish and then swam down into the water."

Marveling in their good fortune, he insisted they get away from the immediate area as quickly as possible.

"We almost forgot! There was something else that we found down here too while looking for that person." Bentley ran past him and slid around a corner down yet another corridor. Eric followed after Bentley's brother ran past.

They arrived at a large room with several rows of cages. The ceiling was so low here he almost had to duck. The lighting was fairly poor as well with only two torches on this end and one in the back. This was obviously the prison Bentley mentioned earlier. They walked down almost half way and stopped at a cage on the right. There was lady in the cage! She was beautiful even despite the current conditions. She didn't respond at first until he coughed from all the fumes that pooled in the room.

"Get away from this place while you can!" She yelled at them. "I'm never going to get out of here." Sobbing, she sat down on the muddy ground, she covered her eyes and cried.

Eric noticed Bentley returning from down the hall with a set of keys.

"This was that creature's home. It can change its shape and appear as anything. When it stuck us down here by the lady I noticed the keys on the wall at the end." Bentley flipped through them until he found the one he wanted and then inserted it in the lock. It didn't budge at first until the boy gave the door a good kick. The door protested and then squealed open. The lady came rushing out and immediately hugged Eric.

He blushed. "I'm sorry ma'am. Who are you and what are you doing down here?" Then he thought of something else, turning to the boys. "And how did you get out of the cage before?"

The boys both looked at each other. "We insisted on going to the bathroom, away from the lady. He let us out foolishly enough. We had him running after us for quite awhile!" They smiled at each other. "That was until you came along. We were searching for an exit to get help and then heard this loud splash around the corner.

At the time we thought we had lost the creature." Bentley's brother replied.

Eric felt a warm pair of hands over his shoulders "Don't you think its best we get out of here? That thing might be back at any moment, and frankly I'm tired of the smell down here. It's awful!" The lady buried her nose in the back of his robe. Considering he was drenched he didn't see how it was helping any.

"Do you live in town? I have never seen your face before." He turned around and glanced into those bright green eyes of hers. He feared he might be starring too much so he turned away.

"I do indeed. I am the wife of Sire Stormily, the keep owner outside of town and also the owner of the Stag and Barrel tavern. You can call me Ms. Purdue." She made a small bow. He could only help but smile, and stare even longer. He didn't bother asking how she was caught and dragged down here. At the moment they all decided it was best they leave with haste.

After several hours of searching and dispatching various other monsters, several which were killed by Ms. Purdue herself, they found another entrance which came out right next to the tavern near his home. He instructed the boys to return home immediately. Then he offered Ms. Purdue a drink at Stag and Barrel, which she kindly refused.

"Mr., I have a husband who is worried sick by now. What if he saw me at the tavern drinking with you! He'd get the wrong impression for sure." She smiled and led him away towards the center of town. Along the way he showed her some magic tricks that drew a crowd behind them.