"You ruined my hair!"
Tala Merikk glanced up from her black book and swept her gaze over Marudi, specifically his orange, spiky hair. "Looks just the same to me, now go away."
He glared at her. "It's not growing. It hasn't been growing since you did that spell on it two months ago!"
Tala shrugged. "I told you there might be consequences."
"But it's not growing!" he wailed.
"So what? I think it's cute. Now go...away."
He obeyed her, sniffling in his unhappiness. Tala rolled her eyes and returned to her book.
Marudi, meanwhile, stole a kerchief off the kitchen table and wrapped it around his head in a valiant attempt to hide his hair.
"Sita, I don't get it," Tala protested. "Why would anyone want to make themselves sick?"
Immediately, words appeared on the blank page in Tala's book, written in a sharp, spiky handwriting. -To avoid someone. To get out of doing something. There are many reasons. There is a counterspell to heal oneself, which also does not work on others.-
"So, next time I'm ill, I can just snap my fingers and be well again?" That idea had merit. It was quickly dashed when Sita wrote back.
-No, you have to say the words, then snap them. Besides, it's a counterspell. It doesn't work unless used after the illness spell, and even then only counters the effects of the illness spell, not any natural illnesses.-
Tala shut the book and shoved it into the pocket of her skirt, then slipped her sandals on. It was best she went after Marudi and tried to fix his hair. It wasn't likely that any of the people he played with would be able to do anything, especially as one of Marudi's friends was Tala's brother, and he probably wouldn't speak to her unless she apologized and tried to redeem herself.
"They're all absolutely useless," she muttered to herself as she stepped into the sunlight, blinking. It was still mid-spring, and looked as though this summer would be the hottest Tala had experienced in her thirteen years. Her pale skin burned easily; she would definitely be spending a great deal of time talking to Sita, this year.
She was nearly run over by two young boys, one chasing the other and brandishing a wooden sword. "By the goddess, I will defeat you!" the sword-wielder yelled.
"The goddess will protect me!" the other boy shouted back.
Tala shook her head and stepped into the dusty road, glancing around for any sight of Marudi or one of his friends. There were several other youths fighting. The woodsmith must be doing a roaring trade lately, what with this crazy game that everyone seemed to be playing.
A simply dressed blonde boy slipped out of the shadows and attempted to run past, but Tala grabbed the back of his shirt. "Dery, just the man I was looking for," she said, voice dripping with sweetness.
"Oh, flip it," the ten-year-old muttered. "Let me down, Talarine." When she obeyed, he straightened his collar. "Now you've ruined our escape attempt," he informed her.
"Right. Where's Marudi?"
Dery blinked innocently. "What makes you think I know?"
"Because you know everything, Dery."
The boy sighed. "He's in the dungeons, setting the rest of our team free. I'm supposed to be the diversion. Now we'll be under maximum security and I'll have to revise the whole plan to incorporate the loss of our most powerful asset - our thief."
Tala smirked. "Dungeons? Since when does the game have dungeons?"
"Since fifteen days ago, when we turned the inn into a fortress," Dery said promptly. "The storage rooms really do look like cells, Tala."
"Yes, I get it, the game runs your pathetic little lives. I've got to get Marudi - "
"He doesn't speak to non-players during the game."
Tala rolled her eyes. "All right, I'm playing, then. Am I the first mage in the game?"
"No, just the first mage who's actually a mage."
He dove back into the bushes as a girl wielding a wooden sword ran by. "She's not on our team," Dery said, voice muffled. "You know everybody on our team, so just...go rescue them. Unless Mar already managed. See you there."
Tala trotted off down the street, muttering to herself as she went. At least she hadn't made a permanent arrangement to play the stupid game, right? It was just until she placated Marudi, then she could return to the coolness and safety of her house...
She met up with Dery again in the back of the inn, outside the cellar doors, which were chained up. "The team in charge of the fortress did that," the blonde boy said. "To keep us out. Mar must've gone in the front, which doesn't bode well."
Tala took out her book and flipped to the back, pretending to look at an index, even though there wasn't one. "Let's see, I need that acid spell..."
Sita complied immediately. -Ioradatle ak sinawan-
Tala quickly memorized this, then flipped to a different page. She wasn't quite sure why she always did this in front of others - pretended that her black book was just an ordinary spellbook - but it didn't make much difference. She touched the lock and repeated the words, then yanked her hand back before it could burn.
The lock crackled as it melted in response to the acid, and Tala yank the remnant off. Dery, giving her an impressed look, helped to quietly remove the chains and slip inside.
They pulled the doors shut again and wrapped the chains around the handles on the inside. "That will hold them for a little while in case anyone discovers the break-in," Tala whispered. "I cannot believe I'm doing this...why would anyone want to sneak around like this all the time?"
"We only sneak around when we're not winning."
They crept down the corridor. There was a boy standing guard at the bottom of the stairs. He seemed to be playing with a fake knife at the moment, and the intruders were able to get around the corner without being seen.
"Do the adults know that people are being held captive down here?" Tala asked.
"Oh, sure. In fact, it was Innkeeper Vidan's idea. They're set free for breaks, so it's not like they're being starved..."
The corridor was lined with storage rooms. They had bars across the openings instead of doors and were locked with simple iron padlocks, which had presumably been used to keep others away from the products within, before the cellar had been turned into a dungeon. Tala sighed and dropped to her knees in front of the first cell, which contained barrels of ale and five children she didn't recognize. Dery crept off to find his friends, while Tala used her acid spell. This time, she wasn't quick enough, and her fingers came away red and aching. She stuck them in her mouth to cool them and used her good hand to pull the lock off, motioning for the former "captives" to follow her.
She freed two more cells full of young people before coming to the one containing her brother, Saydin, and two of his friends. He looked shocked to see her, but had the sense not to speak as she performed her acid spell - carefully, so as not to hurt herself further. She began to feel dizzy and hoped that she wouldn't have to do any more spells.
"Where's Marudi?" Dery asked.
Saydin shrugged. "Haven't seen him. Tala, what're you doing here?"
Before she could answer, there was a shout from the area of the stairs. "Guess who we caught tryin' to break in?" a voice called.
"Don't have to guess," Tala muttered. She pushed through the sea of escapees, pulling out her book. "Simple stun spell, five minute effects." Receiving her answer, she stepped into plain sight, pointed at the guard, and chanted, "Ak cadasta malwen!"
He fell forward, quite unable to move, and Tala performed the spell on the boy holding Marudi. She swayed and had to lean against the wall for balance. Goddess, she would never be a real mage if she felt like this after such easy spells!
Marudi shook free of his captor and ran over to her. "Tala, that was cool, and oh! You freed everybody!"
"Well, there are some people still in cells, but I got who I came for," she muttered. "All right, people, let's move out."
They followed her back to the outer doors. She removed the chains, pushed the doors open, and climbed out.
The children immediately ran off in several directions, silent. Well, there was hope for them yet, Tala reflected. At least they knew not to advertise their freedom to the entire world. She shook her head. All that magic must have done something to her mind - she really didn't care what went on in their precious game, so she shouldn't be worrying about it.
Her brother hugged her as soon as he'd extracted himself from the cellar. "Are you going to join our team, Tal?" he asked her eagerly.
She squirmed out of her arms. "Of course not! I just wanted to see about Marudi's hair, before he decides to steal everything we own to repay me."
Marudi grinned and adjusted the kerchief on his head. "Don't worry about it! After that - well, I'd guess we must be winning now. Since you're on our team, I mean. For now."
Tala stuffed the book into her pocket. "I'll be sunburnt unless I go back now," she informed them. "I don't see how playing at being heroes is ever going to help any of you, but you don't listen to me, so...I'll just be going now, shall I?" She walked off, stumbling every now and then.
Dery grinned. "Got to hand it to you, Saydin. Your sister's quite a character. You know, I'll bet she's famous some day. And a real mage, too."
Saydin sighed. "Do you know how hard it is to be accepted into that magic university place? She'll never get in unless she does something really spectacular."
"So let's make a plan."
They heard running footsteps below. "The guards woke up," Marudi cried. "Make plans for Tala later, now run!"
The five members of the team scattered as the guards and their reinforcements scrambled up the stairs, plans to help Tala flying from their minds in the thrill of the chase.
They won the game that day, and in their exhilaration at being in control of the "fortress," not one of them remembered that they all would have been imprisoned below it if it weren't for Tala.
* * *
Tala was absently studying a Fireball spell the next day when Sita cut in. -Hey, magelet. You ready to get into that university?-
"I've been ready for four years," Tala told the book. "But you know I'm not good enough."
-Talarine Merikk, you are brilliant. You get spells right the first time you say them. Your pronunciation is the best I've ever heard. So you're not as strong as most people - you make up for it with your knowledge of linguistics.-
"Thanks, but strength is what matters."
-I've found a way for you to get that strength.-
Tala blinked and leaned closer. "A spell?"
-Not exactly. Read this.-
Words appeared on the page, written in flowing cursive. The Ytur Staff is the single most powerful magical artifact in the land of Khammiron. The mage who wields it is unstoppable. In the year 1208, the Staff vanished after the cataclysmic Battle of the Gods. It is thought to be buried in the temple of the Goddess, but none have ventured into the Northlands to retrieve it. The temple is guarded by creatures of legend, and the only hope of entrance is with the use of the very Staff that lays hidden within.
"I see," Tala said after a moment. "So, I can't get in, because I don't have the Staff, and I can't get the Staff because I can't get in. That was very useful, Sita."
-I have faith in you. I believe that you could enter, with a little help.-
"Oh, really? And who will I find to help me?"
* * *
"You want me to do what?"
Tala rolled her eyes. "Come to the Northlands with - "
"I heard you." Dery ran a hand through his blonde hair. "The Northlands, eh? You know they're forbidden to all but the trained elite of the King's Guard. If we're caught..."
"But we won't be." Tala tapped her foot impatiently. "You've got a plan for everything. Come up with one to get us into that temple."
"Just the two of us? What about your brother?"
She snorted. "Saydin won't let me leave, so I'm not telling him. And you won't either, or I'll turn you into a bug and squash you."
"I won't tell." The ten-year-old bit his lip. "Let's take Marudi. He's the closest to a fighter we have who won't tell Saydin."
"Fine, invite him. I don't care. Just be ready to leave at sunrise tomorrow."
"Sunrise? Tala, what about school? And my family? We can't just up and leave - "
"You don't need school, your family will understand, Marudi doesn't attend school, and he doesn't have a family. We can 'just up and leave.'"
Dery said nothing more, just turned and disappeared down an alley. Tala nodded in satisfaction and turned around, nearly crashing into a miniature army that was marching toward the inn.
"Ridiculous game," she muttered.