Mentor-mage/ Chapter two: Proposition.

Author note: 

This is the second chapter of the remake of an idea by the same name that I posted yesterday. Go back and read the first chapter of the remake that I posted a few minutes ago first. (Not the one with gecko, a different one)

For the sake of easy reading, this story will be shortened to Mentor-mage and added to the title of the post, while the same will be done to death knight.

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I could almost smell the opportunity that lay before me. While the old man’s act and preparation had been subpar, his acting had been superb. With the right guidance, ergo my guidance, he could make it big… All he needed was a little expertise.

Determined to recruit this rare talent, I hurriedly ran down the alley I had seen him go into, dodging left and right to avoid ramming into the buildings on either side. After a few minutes, just as I was starting to fear I had lost him, I heard the old man’s voice.

“To think the people here are so jaded as not to accept my gift… such a tragedy.” I heard him mumble, breathing heavily to recover the energy he had spent in his escape.

I saw that moment as my time to strike and approached him from around the corner.

I found him leaning against a nearby wall, one hand resting on a wooden cane to support his weight. He was red in the face due to his lack of exercise. We would need to work on that. All charlatans needed to be good at running. It came as a job requirement.

Seeing me come up to him, he looked down at me with eyes that spoke of hesitant curiosity.

“What is it that you are looking for, child? I am afraid I have no food to give you.”

“I’m not here for food, old man. Instead, I’m much more interested in the opportunity you represent…” I began conspiratorially.

His face lit up like a Christmas tree, and not two seconds passed and he had restarted his routine from earlier. He pulled out the same red vial, and began chanting.

“Aha! So you are interested in this Millenia-destroying-ultima-grandiose healing potion, are you? Let me tell you…”

I cut him off with a lazy shake of my head.

“I’m not here for that, old fart. Don’t you know you need to sue a demonstration if you want to get anything sold to a bum? They only believe what they see, after all.”

“…Demonstration? But that would be a waste of the potion!” he shot back, affronted.

I released a long, drawn-out sigh. “Let me level with you, old man. We both know you scooped up that ‘potion’ from the nearest creek and added some tomato juice. Props to you for keeping up your act this long, but you have to see this proposition for what it is!”

Though his face deformed from one of confusion to one of indignant surprise, I continued my proposal.

“Face the music. You’re not a good salesman. I, on the other hand, could sell dog food to a cat, if I wanted to. On top of that, I know these people. They’re desperate. Stage a tiny light show, call it magic, blame it on the potion and voila~.You’ll get sales, trust me. When they catch on, we can just skip town and keep going somewhere else.”

Throughout my explanation, his face had turned as red as a tomato. Now that I had finished, the old man looked ready to explode with the fury of a thousand suns.

“Listen here, child! While I find it a tragedy that you feel the need to even think of such an act, I cannot stand such an insult, no matter your age! My potion is very, very real, and I made it to help out the locals as an act of charity. Please do not deface my efforts with your baseless assumptions!”

I stared at him, incredulous. Did this old crackpot truly believe his own lies?! I had met many fools in both lifetimes, but this was a first!

Truthfully, his sanctimonious speech had stabbed at one of my own insecurities. Because of that, I couldn’t hold back my own furious retort.

“Come off of your high horse, codger! Do you truly want me to believe that you’re one of them!” I said, pointing in the direction of the richer districts. “One of those fools that grew up with everything handed to them, that frolicked on the plains while the rest of us crawl in the mud?! I make sacrifices every day to survive! You dare tell me you’re any different?! As if you’re some kind of exalted mage, wearing that get-up! Your robe looks like someone barfed it up, and even I could’ve made prettier stars than that!”

Unfortunately, neither of us was calming down. My retort, especially the part about his robe, had only infuriated him more. So much so, that he looked just about done with this conversation.

When he raised his cane to walk away though, I was reminded of my past life. I hadn’t had a good relationship with my mother at the time, in part because of her addiction. As a result, my first instinct when I saw him lifting his cane was to raise my hands in defense and cower.

When, after a few seconds, no hit had come, I peeked through my fingers. The old man was still there, but had a horrified look on his face, which was as white as a sheet. My actions had taken all the wind out of his sails, but now he didn’t know what to do.

Still confused, he whirled around and walked off at a brisk pace. He wasn’t even using his cane anymore! Before I could react, he turned a corner into another alley. U chased after him, but when I turned that same corner… he wasn’t there anymore. I supposed he had just managed to lose me in the network of alleys.

I sighed, frustrated with myself. I hadn’t wanted to get mad at that guy, even if he was being an idiot. Even worse… I had sworn never to be afraid like that again. Out of instinct, though… Fuck.

Feeling bitter and disappointed, I headed back to the abandoned house where I slept. The sun still hung high in the sky, but the opportunity would have to wait till tomorrow. I didn’t feel up to it anymore.

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The next day, things returned to normal. I resumed my routine, scouting out various shops, and places to steal from throughout the district, pickpocketed any fool that wandered too close to the shade that the nearby houses provided, and stole some more food from the next bakery in line.

Talks of the ‘mad mage’ were still going on in some places, but people were quickly forgetting about him. All kinds of things happened in the slums every day, after all.

The next few days passed similarly, with no changes. Slowly, though, I was starting to feel my energy wane. My heart wasn’t in it the way it was before. But, seeing no other option, I continued my routine.

Another week passed.

Even since meeting that self-righteous charlatan, I had felt like shit. Struggling to survive was one thing, but seeing a ray of hope appear, only for it to be squashed at the last second was demotivating like nothing else. Furthermore, I had no idea how to deal with these negative feelings.

I had always been hungry. Hungry for more money, a higher status. No amount of setbacks had ever kept me down long, yet this one meeting seemed to be the clincher.

I tried to forget that old man, but the fear, anger, and disappointment I had felt remained fresh in my mind.

That was why, when the old man reappeared two weeks after our initial meeting, my first reaction was to avoid him. But I couldn’t. Because he was waiting right near the exit of the house I was camping out at. I could see his beard and the little twirl a the end through a crack in the thatched roof. He wasn’t carrying any weapons, as far as I could tell, but something was off about his robe. It was still low quality, but it was now blueish instead of purple, and the yellow embroidered stars were far more uniform this time.

Either I confronted him, or I remained stuck inside. Neither were attractive options.

I took a moment to gather my courage. That fear had just been a fluke. It wouldn’t come out a second time, I knew. I wouldn’t let it.

I pulled a small dagger I had pickpocketed from under my pillow and crawled down the support beam to the bottom floor. Then, with a sudden lurch, I shoved the door open and pointed the knife at the familiar old man.

“What do you want?!” I shouted more loudly than I had intended. “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll cut your bead off?”

My threat startled him, but I could see the ghost of a smile appear on his lips, even though his beard covered most of it.

“Not the beard, I beg you!” he pleaded half-heartedly. He raised his hands in surrender. “Calm, child. I’m not here to hurt you. I would never.”

For some reason, I believed him when he said that.

“Instead, I am here to inform you that I have had… a change of heart, so to speak. I think you could make for a great business partner.” The old man proposed, though he sounded like he was laughing about something internally. I recognized that tone. It was the tone my teachers always used when they indulged my behavior.

He was hiding something. But what… Did he think to use me as a demonstration, while keeping most of the profits to himself? That was the most likely option, but not something I would let happen. Oh well. If he accepted some initial cooperation, the details could be established later. For now, I would take his deal, though I decided to keep my guard up.

“All right, I accept. Don’t think I’ll let you run with all the profits, though…” I threatened, jabbing my dagger into an imagined enemy as a demonstration.

“I wouldn’t dare. Not when you have me at your mercy.” He said kindly, an inviting smile hidden beneath his bushy beard.

“Before we finalize our cooperation, however, I need you to do something.”

“…Do something? Do what?” I asked suspiciously, squinting at him.

The old man pulled a rag out of one of his wide sleeves and handed it to me. Cautiously, I accepted the rag but kept my weapon trained on him. With one hand, I unfolded the rag, finding a drawing that depicted a few strange circles.

“What’s this?” I eventually asked.

“That,” the old man began, “Is a mana circle. Mages use them to store mana inside their bodies. There are many mana circles, yet this is the simplest one. You mentioned putting on a light show to ‘enthrall’ the people, a few weeks ago. What better way to put on a light show than through magic?” he finished jovially.

I looked at the old piece of paper, gob-smacked. This was it? This was the key to magic? A few circles? No f*cking way.

“First of all, where did you get this? Secondly, will I blow up if I practice this? Thirdly, why would I trust you enough to use this?”

The old man held up a single hand to slow me down.

“Hold on there, child. One question at a time. I got it by chance at some point, but found out that I didn’t have the affinity necessary to practice it to its full potential. I don’t know if it’s safe, but I’ve been practicing for years with no issues. Third, if you can’t make the light show you talked about yourself, what value do you offer to the business? For all I know, you have no talent and are, therefore, useless to me. This is a requirement. Take it or leave it.”

Crap. He made some good arguments there.

“So you want me to use a little magic to fool the people we intend to scam…” the old man winced a little at my summary, but nodded anyway. “What assures you that I won’t just run off and become a successful mage after learning this?”

“Hah! You probably don’t know this, but all spells are tied to mana circles in some way. This circle requires a unique approach that only I know. Run away, and you can forget about ever learning any new spells.”

I frowned. That hadn’t sounded like an empty boast, unfortunately, which made this mana circle a double-edged sword. Either I tried this one and became at the old man’s mercy, or I waited for a better opportunity, if one ever came. Shit. I didn’t think I could handle having my hope crushed a second time. Here it was, that opportunity. One that would grant me both wealth and a little magic, if it succeeded. I couldn’t leave it lying by the wayside, I had to take it.

And so I did.

“All right.” I sighed. “How do I use these… ‘circles’, you speak off.”

“Oh, that’s simple.” The old man chuckled. “Take a good look at them, memorised the pattern. Now draw it in your head, over and over again.”

I did as instructed, drawing the strange, interconnecting circles in my head. This was the simplest one? It felt like I was drawing a detailed map from memory.

“Now close your eyes.” The old man said. I didn’t even think to keep my guard up, too giddy at the idea of magic, and did so.

“The final step: drink this.”

Suddenly, the red vial with snake-oil was shoved into my mouth.

“Mmmphpmm” I tried to struggle, but to no avail. The old man didn’t look like he was trying to hurt me though. Instead, he looked concerned, even as he force-fed me his hand-made mixture. It tasted like strawberries.

“Keep drawing the pattern! Keep drawing it!” The old man shouted, but his voice was starting to fade, as if it was disappearing in the distance.

Reluctantly, I closed my eyes and drew as many of the circles as I remembered, even as my mind turned to much. Then, once the pattern was completed and started to shine brightly in my mind, I blacked out.