“Down the
hall, first door on the left.”
M.C. Escher*
#quote
Today I went to
my writer's meeting and did some good ol' fashioned workshoppin'. It
was good fun. Anyway onto the flash fiction!
The Wizard's
Most Dangerous Summoning
The Great
Wizard Edwards had summoned many creatures to deal with. Dragons.
Zombies. Angels. Demons. So many different things, some benign, some
dangerous and crooked. He struck bargains and deals with these beings
for most of all of his life...many times to extend it by many more
years through magic.
Edwards stroked
his thick, wizardly beard, a symbol of many years of surviving spell
craft as he waited for the most recent creature he summoned. He got
his best looking blue robes for this occasion well as pointed hat. He
felt like proper looks would defend himself better while dealing with
this creature he summoned. Unlike other creatures he summoned he
didn't use a summoning circles. It actually took a sequence of well
placed phone calls.
“Come in,”
he said when the creature came to his house at last.
“I expected a
fancier house from a Great Wizard. You prefer to live humbly, or do
you save up all your money on spell components?” Into his house
walked a human. The creature wasn't a goblin or demon. The human
wasn't a wizard. He wore a brown business suit and had skin as black
as oil but the purest whitest teeth the wizard ever saw.
“Well,
welcome Mr. Glass.” The wizard noticed that the man wore incredibly
expensive protective magic charms and artifacts on his suit collar.
“Sir, what's with all the protection?”
Mr. Glass
responded, “You should know by my reputation Edwards that I don't
do business as...clean as my competitors do in any of the thousands
of different products I deal in. I've gotten plenty of enemies. This
is why I've bought so many magical protective items.”
“Of course,”
Edwards replied.
“Now I'm very
curious why you called me here. There are very few times I ever meet
with someone when they won't tell me why. But you're a very powerful
wizard asking a businessman of the non-magical lands for help. What
could you want that you wouldn't be willing to discuss over the
phone?” Mr. Glass had dealt with many dealings like Edwards did.
But he always maintained a strong arm. Little to Edwards knowledge
just outside the house twenty hired wizards waited to protect Mr.
Glass and kill Edwards should the slightest thing go awry.
“My Wizard's
Guild is having trouble and we need your help,” he explained with a
frown.
“Oh? A guild
rivalry. I've heard how intense those can get. How could I influence
something like that? Isn't that just squabbling over spell rights or
something? I hear its pretty much a kind of copyright law.”
“It's much
more complicated than that. Those are some of the daily issues. The
Amber Dragon Guild, the biggest competing guild with us, is trying to
crush my guild. And they're succeeding. They're starting to crush us
in courts and getting more than just spells under their control,
they're buying more and more dragon lands, they're starting to
control the artifact shops. I could go on. What they're doing is
instead of competing directly with us in normal wizard negotiations
they're controlling the business side of magic to get rid of us and
they've already struck deals with so many businesses that I couldn't
go to magic businesses for help.”
“So since
they control the magical world, at least in your area, you need me.
Especially since I can play dirty enough to fight them and all their
dealings.” Mr. Glass smiled.
“Why are you
smiling?”
Mr. Glass
pulled out cellphone. “I do believe I found a wonderful business
opportunity. Excuse me for a moment. I may be able to help you, but I
need to consult with my magic attorney on this. One moment.”
Edwards didn't like the fact that Mr. Glass was bringing what he
thought he would be anonymous to someone else's ear so soon. The
businessman left the building for a few minutes then came back.
“I can help
you. I'll take care of the other guild for you.” Mr. Glass walked
over to a crystal ball Edwards on a nearby table.
“What are
going to do?” Edwards asked. “What did you talk to your attorney
about?”
“Your enemies
are trying to destroy you with money, controlling the business side
of everything as you said. I know business. I have enough money and
skill to crush them no matter who's backing them. It's that simple.”
Edwards grew
suspicious immediately, “What's the catch?” The wizard did deals
with demons with demons before.
“You give me
your guild,” Mr. Glass replied.
“What!?
That's insane! I spent 100 years building that guild from the ground
up! Do you know how magical bargains I've extended my life with to
maintain that control to ensure a legacy?”
The businessman
replied, “Normally a non-wizard has very limited business power in
the magical world. But my attorney told me the way a guild doctrine
is worded 'Any human can be appointed guild head.' and a guild head
has business capabilities. It's my way into the magic world you see.
And I found out from expanding my business into Mars that expanding
your business into other worlds can very profitable.”
“But you're
going to turn my guild into some business agency, not a place of
magical practices! My century of work will be turned inside-out!”
The Great Wizards Edwards yelled.
“You will
either partner with me or you will have no guild at all. Understood?
Besides, I'll expand it so large that I can make a section just as
big as what you had originally for you to play around in. That'll
keep you happy, right?” Mr. Glass smiled.
“Understood.”
Edwards nodded.
“Oh, and will
be doing more than just throwing money at it to solve the problem. I
may do things you won't be comfortable with. Opponents of yours
may...disappear, for example. I will do many things for your guild
you may not like. And if you try to reveal me I will have to make you
disappear as well. Is that understood?”
“Understood.”
Edwards nodded.
“Good doing
business with you Great Wizard Edwards.”
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