28: Pranks

The soft bed was much more welcome than the cot I had slept in at Cloud Ruler Temple. I awoke before dawn and sat down at the breakfast table. There wasn’t much on it, and I wasn’t really that hungry, but I ate a bundle of grapes before heading out into the dawn. I wrapped up in my robe and pushed out into the cold.

I don’t know why I enjoy these early morning walks so much. Perhaps it’s the fresh air or the stillness of the city, but I always enjoy a good walk. Not even the sub-zero temperatures could keep me away from the quiet streets. I prayed at the temple and spent a good bit of time warming myself inside, but soon I was back out in the streets, greeting anyone I met in the streets. Not a great diversity of people, of course, mostly guards and beggars, but I think a friendly face helped make their day a little better. It’s the small things that make the world better after all.

I returned to the Mages’ Guild and sat down with Volanaro and a woman I did not know at the breakfast table. My walk had worked up an appetite, and as I ate I listened to Volanaro and the woman talk. She was sitting at the head of the table, so I kind of assumed she was the Guild Head, but I couldn’t be sure. My assumption was soon proved correct as Volanaro addressed her as Headmistress. They were in heated conversation about something, though the details were a bit foggy to me. It sounded like one of the Guild Members had disappeared, but I didn’t catch the name of the mage or the circumstances of the disappearance.

Their conversation concluded, and Volanaro bid us both farewell. As he left, I noticed something rather odd: When he passed by the Guild Head he turned and smiled devilishly at her. She didn’t notice, but I could see him practically skipping with joy. I finished my breakfast and asked her about the disappearance.

“Oh, it’s just that one of our mages, J’Skar, has disappeared. Literally. Volanaro thinks that a spell might have backfired or something.”

“Can I help in any way?”

“Oh no, I couldn’t impose such a thing on a perfect stranger. Especially without reimbursement.”

“Well alright… How about this: I find J’Skar, and you give me a recommendation to the Arcane University.”

“Hmm, an interesting proposal.” She thought about it for a second, then smiled and said “Alright, it sounds like a fair deal. I need J’Skar back, after all. It would look terrible if someone important visited and one of my mages was gone! You might want to check with the other mages, see if they found anything.”

I spoke with a few mages, but all of them had seen nothing. I wasn’t too surprised of course. After all, J’Slkar had DISAPPEARED. Obviously he would be hard to see. I was beginning to lose hope, but then I spoke to a woman in the back room. She was purifying something in an Alembic, and when I spoke she did not take her eyes off of her work. I asked her about J’Skar and she sighed. She looked at me and said “Go bother Volanaro, it was HIS idea!”

I was a bit taken aback by this. I didn’t know what she meant, but I had an idea that it was linked to Volanaro’s smirk at the Guildhall Headmistress. Volanaro had left a while back, so I decided to make some more potions instead of searching the city for him. A few hours later he came back, still smirking slightly. I followed him down into the living quarters, intending to ask him about J’Skar. I jogged up behind him and asked him a rather pointed question.

“Where’s J’Skar?” He jumped a little, but when he turned around and saw me he smiled.

“J’Skar? Hmm, let me think…” He looked around for eavesdroppers before leaning in and whispering in my ear, “Can you keep a secret?” He smiled at me and I nodded. “He’s right behind you!” I felt a scaly hand grasp the back of my head and Volanaro burst out laughing. I twisted around and hit the hand off of my head, but I could not see anything there! Volanaro continued laughing, but when my hand closed onto the hilt of my axe he stopped abruptly.

“Oh come now, Will! Can’t you take a joke?” Suddenly it all made sense! I turned toward Volanaro.

“Ah, so YOU made J’Skar invisible. It was all a practical joke you were playing on the…” He held up his hand and smiled.

“On Jeanne, yes. We (meaning J’Skar and I) feel that Jeanne isn’t properly… qualified for her position. She’s only head of the Guild Hall because she buttered up people in high places. We’re just trying to rectify the mistake that was made. But now I’m afraid the jig is up, eh J’Skar?” The emptiness behind me growled in agreement. “Nevertheless, we are not finished with Jeanne. Not even close.” He grinned devilishly. “I would ask your help in this next prank, if you would be willing to assist.”

I thought about it for a moment. So long as no one got hurt in the process I was fine with it. Plus, if what Volanaro said about Jeanne’s “friends in high places” was true, then I would love to pass out some healthy justice.

“Alright, what do we do?”