“Thank you, peasant boy, for apprehending my new slave.” The fat manpraised, though the words bounced of occupied ears,Apple didnotevenhear his wordsor notice that the man now stood before him.


    “Oh, come now, Master Henderson. No need to praise that lout. In fact, I saw him put a filthy hand of his on your new toy. You would notpraise a maid who dirtied your new vasewith her common fingersnow would you Master Henderson.” The robe manasked hiscompanion, as he also now stood beside the fat man known as Master Henderson.


    “Youare quite right, my Lord. I must have been spending too much time among the commoners these days. Made me a little soft, I believe so.”


    “Think nothing of it, Master Henderson.” He remarkedas he placed his palm on top of Master Henderson’s shoulder.


    “I shall, my Lord. Thank you for insightful words. However, I do believe this peasant at leastdeserves tobe forgotten from our minds. Let us grab the girl and be on our way.”


    “As you wish, Master Henderson. I am merelyyourguardian and aidin this scene.”


    “Youaretoo modest, my Lord. Were it not for you, who knows if I would have been able to capture my prize?”


    “True enough,”the robed man causally agreed. “You do, however, at least have the assistance of the city guards.”


    “Ah yes, I had forgotten about them. Guards! Grab the girl and let us be on our way.” He ordered with a snap of his fingers. Almost immediately, Apple felt the presence of two heavy sounding men walk past him. He was notsure when they arrived, they had most likely been with the two richer men since the beginning,Apple wassimplytoo preoccupied with the flashy robeand what itforetoldto notice.


    “Get on out of ‘ere lad. Go find an apothecary or someone to tend to that hand of yours.”One of the guards commandedApple.


    Apple was almost too scared to move. He had actually forgotten the pain and bleedinghe suffered,even though he had been staring at his hand throughout the whole conversation between the men. He was too afraid to look up. Terrified of locking gaze with the robed man. There was good chance the man was capable enough to see what most could not see, behind theboringgrey of Apple’s pupils.


    Deciding it would be worst to stay, he slowlyrose wherehe kneltandshuffledaway, never once raising his head.


    “Wait!” A man cried. Apple looked back:“You forgot your walking stick.” The guard who told him to leave said, as he held Apple’s staff in his hand.


    Apple cursed internally. How could he forget something soimportant?Worst of all, by forgetting it, he had drawn attention to it.


    “Thank you, Sir.” Apple mumbled as he took his staff from the unusually thoughtful guard. Not many people would inform someone about their forgetting of a stick.Perhapshe just hated litter.


    “No problem, lad. Surprisingly heavy for a stick, it is. Feels like I’m holding an iron club inmyhand.” Apple nodded in response and took off in his previous direction, before anyone more conversation could start.


    “Halt.” Aloud nasally voice commanded.


    “Whatisthe matter, my Lord?” The fat man asked, confused at his companion’s manner.


    “Forgive me, Master Henderson, I have not walked upon the common streets of Pier in quite some time.Enlighten me, Master Henderson, is it the new fashion for commonersto hold such long sticksbetwixttheir fingers?” The robed man asked, trying to meet Apple’s gazeeven thoughApple still had his lowered.


    “No, my Lord. This is the only such case I have witnessed aman holding a branch. Perhaps a crude walking stick?”Master Hendersonsuggested.


    “A walkingstick?” He hummed, with his long fingers placed upon his chin, stroking hiselgentclefted chin. “Surely not. Thisloutof foul smell has neither stumbled, groaned, wobbled, or so much as limped. Nay, he may have walked away with the knotted back of fear but I detected no pain nor deformity in his steps...Tell me, boy, why do you carry such a large twig?”


    It feltas ifhailwascrashing downonto Apples forehead. Ice cold droplets of fear trickled down his face and nestled in his stubble. What should he do? What could he do?


    “It is as the Master suggested, My lord. Tis a walking stick and nothing more. I had aches from my travels, but I’m almost better, my Lord.” Apple explained, doing his best to prevent his voice from cracking.


    “I see...Humour me then, boy, why is the top of your stick so tightly wrapped in twine? Why did the guardsman say it was so unusually heavy? Why is it that walking stick of yours has such a queer aura?”


    Theairbecame heavy.It seemed all the moisture in Apple’s mouth was now raining down his body.


    He stared at the robed man twenty feet in front of him, still doing his best to not directly meet his stare. It had occurred to him that his catalyst would give off a queer aura, Apple just assumedand hopedthe aura would be so weak that only magicians intentionally looking for it would see it.Itwould seem thisparticularmagicianwas. Apple’s staffgave of anauraakin to thefading warmth of charcoal, the polished stick, held in the robed man''s fingers was more akin to a fresh flame.


    Just before Apple could come up with an excuse, the girl held in one of the guard''s arms awoke with a furious intensity. As soon as her eyelids loosened, she howled andflailed,thrashinghersmall body.


    “Fuck!” The guard holding her cursed as he tried to constrict her limbs. A poor action on his part. As soon as he had successfullylockedherbehind her back,herhead lungedupwardsand bit down on his nose. He screamed.


    All eyes were now on the scene of a grown man spinning around wildly while apainfullyskinny girl held onto his nosewith her teeth, like a fish on a hook. Never one to waste a spontaneous distraction, Apple sprinted away from the group of people.


    “Get her off me!Get her off me!” The guard begged, while the other guard was trying to do just so.


    “My lord, can you do something?” The fat man asked, still doing his best to be polite while he was obviously panicked.


    If the robed manhad heard him, he did not show it. His small blue eyes were focussed upon the fleeing fruit.


    “Potiagingwyminumgar,wordenveltaiondfligen!”The robed man bellowed, withthe wand in his hand pointed directly at Apple.


    Apple was fortunate the robed man casted his spell so loudly, while volume does help cast spells, it also makes it incredible obvious to fellow magicians what they are casting. Even to Apple’s barely trained ears, he easily recognised the basic air spell: wind arrow. As soon as he heard the loud overlapping echo of an incantation, Apple began his own. “Potiaginwordenbarraastyterond...“ Before whispering the final word, he spun on his heel, aiming his staff at the robed man. “Cingo.” He flourished, with thefinal word of the spell being declared.


    The twine bound around his staff was torn to shreds by an invisible force as soon as the last word left his lips. A breath before theinvisiblearrowwas about to strikeApple, his spell activated. Wind wall. Another basic air spell that was a must for all magicians to learn.


    From the tip of his amber came a raging spiral of wind. A spiral large enough to cover Applefrom head to knees in a shieldof gales.The wind arrow wastornapart by the raging current and instead of seriously injuring Applethe attack was only left witha gustof airstrong enough to wobble his hat.


    “Well, well, well.Whatbringsa sorcerer to my humble city?” The robed man asked with mock politeness.


    “Oh, you know...Seagulls.” Apple replied as his spell came to its end.


    “Seagulls?” He repeated inconfusion.


    “Yes, seagulls. Big white birds with yellow beaks. You must be spending too much time in your cosy manner, mylordif you have yet to witness the sight of a majestic gull.” Apple replied, his confidence returning after managing to block the fellow magicians attack fairly easily.


    “What the bloody abyss are you talking about?”The robed man spat.


    “You got wax in your ears? Gulls, good Sir, gulls.Nature’smischievousflyingpaupers.”


    “My Lord! I do not wish to interrupt, but the girl has escaped.” The fat manmoaned, interrupting the two magic wielder’sseeminglymundane conversation.


    “Silence fool!” The robed man roared. “I care not for the newtargetof your perversions. I have a much more urgent matter at hand.


    “Oh my, I’m flattered.” Applerepliedwith aflamboyantbow to further show hisappreciationfor the compliment.


    “What happened to the cowering lout from a moment ago?Donottell me that this newfound boldness comes from blocking such a novice spell?” He chuckled.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    “Well, I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was a bit ofaconfidencebooster.”


    The robed man smirked grotesquely, his lips forming deep black creases. “It appears that Iam being underestimated. Allow me torectifythat.” He continued to speak but Apple could no longer hear the man’s words. He once again aimed his wand at Apple. It seemed a fight was inevitable. Unfortunately for Apple, the robed man was now being smart enough to make his incantation unknown.


    Unsure on what to do, Apple castedwind wall once more and prepared himself.


    Instead ofanotherwind arrow, this time a wild stream of redand orangegushed from the ruby at the tip of the man’s wand.


    Apple’s wall held true, but it required a lot more power this time around to shred the torrent of embers. Any fire he managed to divert from himself was quickly replaced by moreand moreflames. He could feel the heat singe the tip of his hair. The fresh bite wound on his hand began to cauterise and sizzle.


    “Youare looking a little flush, sorcerer. Where did all that confidence of yours go?” The robed man taunted, as fire continued to pour from hiswand.


    “Flush, me?” Apple gasped. “I’ve hadbaths warmer than this.”


    His foe laughed,“Iwouldbe more inclined to believe your retort if I couldnothear your pained breaths and smell the succulent smell of cooking meat. Itisunfortunate that my flames are growing solarge.Pity they arenow hiding thatdespaired face Iamcertainyouaremaking.”The robed man moanedwith pleasure as his spellcontinuedto attempt to engulf Apple in arighteousfire.


    Apple was about to make a wittyretortbut decided heshould focus all of his energypreventinghimself from burning to deathinstead. He was managing to ward of the fire so far but he doubted he could do it for much longer.Thewind element was not exactly a great way to block fire, it had a bag habit offeeding the flamesmaking thembigger.Applewas also extremely venerable right now. If a guardsman was stillskulkingaround all it would take is for him to leisurely approach from Apple’s side andcausallyplace their spearsin between his ribs. It was times like this when he wished he had put more effort into learning multi-casting, or just casting in general.


    “You know, Iam only using a fraction of my power.” The robed man boasted as he continued his onslaught.


    Apple ignored hiswords; his eyeshowevercould not help but roll at his foe’s constant need to pat himself on the back. He also continued to pour more and more of hisdwimmerinto his windshield, yet eventhat could only be a short-term solution. Apple doubted he would be able to win a battle of“whohoststhe mostdwimmer”. A memory flashed in his mind of the first time hisdwimmermagnitude was measured. Such pityinglookshis mentorhadgivinhim.


    “I can feel your shield weakening, sorcerer. Itwould appear thatour bout is coming to its – SHIT!” The robed man wailed. The seemingly never-endingbreath offlamesendedsuddenlywith only a brief curse as a warning.


    Apple was unsureas towhy the magicianhadstopped his spell,it did not matter,he wasnotgoing to miss this opportunity. With the elements still under his control, he flungthem backat his opponent. “Thro, thro, thro! Opotiagan,flienerondfest.” He chimed.Thevortexin front of him, engulfed in flames,began to shrink insize. Once it was only the width of a melondiditcatapultforwardin a haze of twirling inferno.“Thro, thro, thro.”Applecontinued to mutter, as the spell darted forward with an increasing speed.


    It appeared to Apple that his opponent was not coming up with any rebuttalto this attack. A surprising victory just winds away; Apple was curious as to what was preoccupying the robed man.


    His silk-covered back was facing away from Apple and he appeared to be stomping furiously. Even more curious,and slightly insulted, Apple craned his head to the side to try and get a glimpse of what was stealing the man’s attention.


    The girl! Her body laid still upon the ground oncemore. Thistimehowevershe was under the barrage of a heavy lookingblackboot.


    Apple cancelled his spell instinctively. The fire tornado lost its shape, rapidly becoming dilutedinthe air. Only fluttering wisps landed on his foes silk robe. Afraid of hitting the girl if he used another spell, Apple charged at the man. Running with an animalistic pace, he erased the gap between them in the timeit took for him to take along-painedbreath.


    His advisory noticed his silhouette too late. As he turned to face the sorcerer, Apple struck him in the face with his oversized catalyst.Themagicianand his gaudy robe collapsed to the ground with awetcrackingboom.Henowlaid directly beside the girl he himself had renderedpronejust a moment ago.


    Apple stood over the potbellied man. Noticing his eyes still flickered, he drew his hatchet and prepared for the final blow. Sadly, as he was about to make an overhead swing, the whizzing of an arrowdarting past his earforced him to refocus his attention.


    “Kill him! Kill the sorcerer!” The fat man screamed. It seemed he had gone and broughtreinforcements while they were battling.There had to be at least a dozen guards surrounding the man, some of them holdingaccusedbows.


    “What an annoying pig.” Apple said to himself. Not risking the time, it would take to kill the unconscious magician, Apple dropped his axe and scoped the girl intohis arm. He at least made sure to step on the robed man’s face as he fled from the guards.


    Applesawall too clearlyand heardall too well thearrows flytowardshim as he sprinted away. It wasa good thing guardsmando nottypicallyget to practice with bowsveryoften. As Apple thought that, he felt a sharp sting on his arm and saw the arrowthattore a slit into his leather coatdart past.


    “After him you curs! He’s running away with my new toy!” Apple heard Henderson oink in the distance. That man had a surprisingly powerful voicewhen he was angry.


    The downpour of arrows thankfully came to an end when Apple began to weave through more densely populated areasofPier. He wasnotintentionally using bystanders as meat shield anddeterrentsforthe guards, he just didnotknow the city well enough to slip through its hidden cracks.


    While he had so far managed to outmanoeuvre the guards,Applestill needed to figure out a destination. He could not outrun them forever. But where could he go? He had incurred the wrath of the local magician and a wealthy pervert. He could hide in the woods but if the guards mount horses while he runs through open plains, hewould be slaughtered in an instant.


    Apple did notknow anywhere he could use as sanctuary. A temple? Hewouldrather die than rely on that accused shape. First things first;he needed to lose the guards – fast. His lungs and legs burned from the extra weight he was carrying.


    While he still pondered hisfuturesafe house,Applemerged with the hive ofpeopleand weaved through itsanatomy. Using every ounce ofdexterity,he possessedhe danced through the masses of bodies, almost managing to never touch a single soul. However, he lacked enough skill to not whack the occasional person with his staff oraccidentallyslap them withthe limp legs that protruded from the frail creature in his arms.


    He could still hear the thundering of guardsfortunatelytheyweregraduallybecomingmuffled by the swarm of soft bodies andthenimble distancebetween them.


    Unfortunately, the mass of humans ended quicker than Apple expected. He was now in a street with only a few scraps offolkresiding in it. The guards will soon be upon himonce again.


    "Acrack!”Hismind cheered; anarrow gap between two buildings.


    A narrow gap indeed. A width so small, Apple had no choice but to awkwardly shimmy between it sideways.


    He found himself on another street once he made it through the open-air tunnel. He could no longer see any guards, but itstill was notgood enough. He needed more and more distancebetween them. Apple continued to sneak through the crevices of the city. Some so long that almost no light could penetrate,othersso narrow his nose scraped across the jagged wooden wall in front of him,withthe girl he clutched tightlyin his arm, her limbsgrating against the roughness of the walls.


    Sixalleyways laterandApple finally found shelter. A tiny house, barely held together by rotted wood. Its ugliness and the invasion of moss and grass that infected itmade Apple confident it was uninhabited. As he drew closer, his eyes began to water from the scent of urine of variouscreatures andfreshness.


    Freeing his left hand, he placed it upon the damp wooden door and pushed.Atfirst itrefused to budgebut asApple began to apply more and moreforit finally creakedopenwith a horrendous stiffness.


    Just enough light entered through the cut square holes in thehut’swalls for Apple to see. Though there was nothing worth seeing, apart from a broken chair and table, the odd patch of moss, the building was barren.


    Apple walked to the corner of the room and placed his coat on the ground. He then gently placed the still unconscious body in his grip onto the leather coat. Apple whispered a quick spell and the amber of his staff glowed softly with an orange tint. He slowly hovered the light over thegirl''sbody, inspecting the lit areas with a scholarly mind.


    Apple, at this moment, had only now realised the girl was completely naked. He suddenly felt uncomfortable but it quickly disappeared when he remembered he was currently looking at a mere child. A child covered in many, many injuries.


    Two bloated eyes the colour of stained velvet. Swollen lips caked in dried blood. Her features almost completely hidden under the hills of blues, blacks,and reds.“That must have been one heavy boot the robed man wore.”


    Apple was unsure on what to do. He had very little healing knowledge and also had his own wounds to tend to, one of which was inflicted by her. What if she wakes up and bites himagain?This strange girl had bitten every single person who had touched herso far. Rightnow,she had proven herself to be nothing more than a beast in Apple’s eyes. A beast that saved his life, however. Apple wondered if that was intentional or just a fortunate coincidence ofher feral personality.


    After staring at her grotesque face for several more seconds, Apple sighed heavenly. He retrieved a piece of cloth from his pocket and aimed his staff aboveit. After half a minute of silent spell casting, small lumps of ice trickled from the air in front of his staff’s heart and landed on the cloth. Once he hadcreatedadecently sized pile of ice, he sealed the cloth around the frozen water and place ituponthe girl’s face – quickly making he wasnot blocking any airways.


    With that done, Apple inspected her body foranysigns of broken bones. He gently applied pressure ontoher rips but could feel nothing out of place. He also received the same verdict for her arms andlegs,thatwas good newsatleast. Apple had no ideahowto mend broken bones. He also saw nofreshcuts on her skin, Apple was glad he didnothave to put his sewing skills to the test.“She was one lucky girl... Probably,”Applethought.


    With herneeds satisfied for now, Apple began to tend to himself.


    He was actually shocked to find that the robed man’s flames had indeed cauterised the puncture wounds on his hand. Not botheringto use another piece of cloth, Apple rained icy hail upon his hand, numbing it from the hotscratching that had been assaulting it.


    Now noticing just how cold it was in the damp room now that his hand no longer screamedat him, Apple wrapped his coat around the girls shivering body and casted a spell.


    Acrimson orbthe size of aman’scurled fist floated around the room. Applewilleditto movewith his mind, makingitoccupy the corner of the room theybothresidedin. Apple basked in its warmth as it buzzed past his body. With nothing to do right now, Apple used the glowingorbasa tool to train his magic control.He made it spin, pulsate, dart backwards and forwards. A boring game indeed yet it was just enough to distract him from the pain in his body anddrynessof his mouth.


    Twenty minutes past and theorbeventually vanished. Its master’s head slumped forward and the faint sound of snoringbegan to start. Exhausted from the battle andall of therunning, Applefell into a deep slumberwhile he sat crossed legged next to the girl who had saved himandnowhe himself had saved.