They put me under guard in a small room in the Council Headquarters, off the hallway to the big tent. It wasn’t really a holding cell, with its comfy chairs, padded benches, refreshments, and paintings. A waiting room. They put me in a fucking waiting room. The worst thing was that I couldn’t hear anything. As soon as the door closed, all sound just stopped. The silence was eerie, as I couldn’t even hear the guards outside the door.

  I tried staring at the paintings, but quickly got bored with it. Art has never been the biggest thing for me, and the circumstances distracted me too much from giving the pieces proper consideration. I finally sat down and pulled out my only spell book and flipped it open to where I had left off. I had hoped to find something in it that would give me a clue how to upgrade the spell. Two of the sections, one on spell size and the other on poison intensity, jumped out at me and I focused on the words.

  A polite knock came from the door. It startled me and I slammed the book shut. The guard poked her head in. “They are ready for you, sir. Please come with me.” I put my book away and followed the tall woman down the hall that led to the large tent connected to the headquarters. The guard stopped before the entrance and motioned for me to go through. It had a shimmer, like a soap bubble, that prevented me from seeing or hearing anything on the other side of it. I stepped through what felt like a sheet of ice-cold water into the large space of the tent and the noise that was blocked by it.

  The sound of the council members arguing washed over me and I took in the area. The tent flaps that had been open when we had arrived were now closed. Most of the chairs and benches had been stacked on the far wall and the dais had tables with the twenty members of the council seated behind them. I noticed four empty chairs among them and wondered about the missing members. I recognized the faces of the Earth born council members who had questioned me earlier, seated among twelve unknown faces. Harper and Juan sat at a table to the center-right in front of the raised platform. There was an enclosure of shiny metal, an open gate facing me, smack dab in the middle of the area in front of the Council. I realized this resembled a trial and they would judge me. I had suspected as much. But to see it so blatantly laid out was a kick in the stomach.

  A strict looking man sitting in the center of the group banged a gavel. “Order! Representatives, we must have order! Will the prisoner please step forward?” Next to the man sat Meghan, and she put a hand on his arm and said something I couldn’t hear. “What? Oh, right. Young man, against my better judgement, you are not a prisoner. However, because of the conflict we find ourselves in, and the nature of your class, I would ask that you allow yourself to be enclosed in the cage you see there. It will nullify your magic and allow us to converse without worry.”

  I looked sharply to Juan, and he nodded his head. His judgement was good, and I had come to trust it. The door clanged loudly behind me, causing me to flinch before I sat down in the simple wooden chair provided. The cage’s color turned from silver to a greenish-black, as if it had suddenly become tarnished. There was a pressure that hadn’t been there before. It was not unpleasant, but I bet it would be after a while.

  The chairman of the council, because what else would he be, smiled when the door closed. It was not what I would call a friendly smile, and that got me worried. “Now that you are no longer a threat, would you state your name for the Council?”

  I looked curiously at the man, but complied. “My name’s Finn.”

  “Your full name, please.”

  It was going to be like that? It was a fucking trial. “Finnegan Walsh. Mr. Chairman, I presume? May I speak?” I knew my Robert’s Rules of Order like the back of my hand, and I was going to use them to my advantage. In college, before my dad passed, I took part in the parliamentary debate club and really enjoyed it. They had given me a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order, and I spent way too much time studying it.

  The chairman nodded. “You may, and it would be appropriate to refer to me as Chairman or Chairman Stin. As it is customary to allow an individual called before this body an introductory statement, you can speak for ten minutes if you need such time.”

  I smiled. This was a game I knew how to play. “Thank you, Chairman Stin. And thank you, members of the council. Since time is of the essence, I will attempt to be brief. I am not your enemy, nor do I want your power or position. I have no belief that I deserve anything more than I have or I can earn. There is no question, based on my treatment, that you all have been informed of my class. Yes, I am a Mage. But only out of ignorance.”

  I looked at the faces of the council members, one by one. “I doubt there is anyone here that couldn’t put me in my place, but having heard stories of mages, it is quite understandable why I am being treated as a hostile or a monster. Where I come from, there are two types of people we put in cages. Those we fear and despise, and those that are found to have harmed society in some fashion. People often mistake the first for the second because of widespread bias and fear of those who are different.”

  “Racism is prevalent despite the fact that there are only humans on Earth versus the many races of people here. It has been so bad that several groups of people have generational trauma and fear. Just because they are different. I look around this room and see such variety that would cause apoplexy in many people that look similar to me. It is not right, but it is going to take generations to change.”

  I took a moment to gather my thoughts. I knew I wasn’t getting through to most of them. There were some thoughtful faces among both the native representatives and the Earth born, but it wasn’t enough. The hate and fear inspired by mages was several generations instilled and reinforced. They saw a monster in me instead of a man. And the novelty of a friendly, non-threatening monster wore off quicker than a new writing genre.

  “And keeping with the spirit of keeping this brief, I have the riddle quest. As long as I do not make a deal with the demon that has been corrupting mages all these centuries, I’ll continue to follow through with it. This quest will open a way home for me and I guess for all the other people from my world. All I want is two things. And one of them is to go home to my family, to my life. Believe me, if I never have to see the faces in this room ever again, I would live a happy life. If I could live without ever hearing about magic or wizards or fucking dragons, I would sleep easy at night. Thank you for giving me the time to speak.”

  My words were greeted by silence. It wasn’t a win, but at least I had said what I had wanted to say. Plus, given them something moral to chew on. If I got another chance to speak, I might try the emotional approach, as that works too well back at home.

  “Thank you, Finnegan Walsh. Thank you for your… insightful and enlightening words. We have several questions for you, primarily about some things you spoke of in your opening statement. As the chairman of this august body, I would like to start the questioning. Finn, may I call you Finn?” At my assent, he continued. “Finn, you mentioned you received the riddle quest. What proof do you have of this?”

  “I have no idea. All I know is that the Voice gave me the quest.”

  “And Finn, do you know what the voice is?”

  “An annoying busybody that leaves me alone when I have questions and corrects people on pronunciation when irritated?” I replied, letting my mouth get ahead of my brain.

  Chairman Stin banged his gavel. “I will not tolerate that tone, Mage. You will show respect to me and the rest of the council members. Do you understand, Mage?”

  Oh fuck, I had made a big mistake. I had gotten cocky, thinking that I had made some in roads with Stin. And now he was letting me know how wrong I was. My confidence shaken, I answered his question. “Yes, I do. And no, I don’t know what the Voice is.”

  “And if I have a choice in it, you will never know. I’ve heard enough. Is there any other Council members that would like to ask questions?”

  For the next hour, I found myself in the position of many individuals called before a congressional hearing back home: having to sit there while several members monologued, with maybe asking a quick question. Mostly, they used my presence as a point of contention and a pivot to put forth a point about things like class registration and regulation. I sort of zoned out, like when watching congress at home. I made one mistake, and they dismissed me as irrelevant. And likely it meant we wouldn’t get any help.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  At that point, I didn’t think I cared. With or without the added muscle and warm bodies, I was going to move forward with getting past the mercenaries. It didn’t matter if I was stronger or had a high enough level. I had something that all the other people from earth, something all the previous mages lacked. I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing, and I was going to do it, anyway. My studies had fallen by the wayside when I let my grief rule me instead of dealing with it. The focus that I now had would allow me to get the needed power through perseverance and study.

  When the council dismissed me, I was properly polite. Whether they helped me now did not change the needed niceties. I could show respect. There were some people up there that deserved respect. I respected the old woman, Meghan, much more than I did that idiot Stin. When I exited the tent into the Headquarters, the guard stopped me.

  “I’ve been asked to keep you in the waiting room until after the Council has finished their deliberations. Would you please come with me?” she asked.

  I looked at the hand on my arm and the tension in how she held herself. “Of course I will. Please lead the way,” I said pleasantly. She visibly relaxed, taking me down the hall to the room where I would spend even more time.

  The other guard waited by the door, holding it open for me. “Let us know if you need anything,” he said.

  “Thank you, I will,” I replied. As the door shut behind me, a worrying realization hit me. The guards knew I was a Mage. That meant the whole fucking camp would know as soon as they were off duty. I didn’t have much time. We would need to leave as soon as possible. And I couldn’t do anything that would threaten the guards. And that included casting my mind reading spell. Even though it was level 2, every person I had cast it on had noticed. I’m pretty sure that GB noticed, and she’s a horse.

  When I opened my spell book to where I had left off, it glowed brightly. I squinted my eyes. “What the—” I gasped. The glow diminished. I closed the book and looked at the fancier cover in surprise. I opened it to the title page. Book of Poisonous Shot, Level 2. Holy shit, it worked! I need to get more of these books!

  Twenty minutes later, the guards opened the door, letting in Meghan with Mary on her arm. They both appeared tired, but the way the old woman was walking, the entire session had been much more exhausting for her than it had been for me. I stood up, offering her my seat.

  “Thank you, young man,” she sighed as she eased into the chair. I moved to the bench by the door so Mary could sit with her sister.

  “After how I was treated in there, I wasn’t expecting any visitors,” I said dryly.

  “Yes, well, the cage was just a precaution required by Snit and three other representatives. And after your outburst, you were lucky to be let out of the cage. I agree with you, by the way. But Snit is an adherent to the school of thought that the Voice is a higher being deserving of our respect. Despite not being one of the gods.”

  “Even some among our ranks believe this is true,” Mary chimed in.

  “Then they should respect my decision to follow the direction of the Voice.”

  “It’s not that simple, Finn. You’re a mage. Nathasian priests from the Empire are preaching in most of the Twelve Kingdoms. They are preaching against you, telling the horror stories of past mages. This makes the whole thing fresh in people’s minds, and the Council Members that represent the kingdoms constantly hearing about civil unrest related to word of a Mage walking the lands again. People are afraid, and fear puts them on edge.”

  I stopped myself from asking an idiotic question. “Is Juan getting the men he needs? Am I to be detained?” I asked instead.

  “On the force he requested? Yes, and no. As to your freedom, General Venegas is taking complete responsibility and you will be released into his custody. It was the best we could do, considering,” Meghan said softly. “But that’s not why I’m here.” She pulled out a book and handed it to me.

  *********************************

  “This is bullshit!” I snapped. I rode with Juan at the head of the group of thirty soldiers under his command. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to the old lady. I needed another spell.”

  “It’s a very useful spell. Most of your spells are offensive spells, meant for attack. You have very little in the way of support or defense. Councilwoman Meghan did you a huge favor by giving you this.” Juan handed the book back to me, and I quickly zapped it into my backpack.

  “Oh, she did! And I was very polite and grateful. I thanked her so much that I thought her sister was going to cause a tree to grow through me. Or a badger to bite my ankles off,” I said.

  “So what’s the problem, Finn? It’s a good spell,” he asked.

  I mumbled my answer under my breath.

  “What was that?”

  “I thought it would let me fly,” I grumbled.

  Juan’s amusement started off small as he absorbed what I said and blossomed into him throwing his head back in raucous laughter. Some soldiers riding closer to us and had heard everything and joined him in enjoying my consternation.

  “What was I supposed to think? The name implies flight! How was I supposed to know it was a shield spell? It’s called Phantom Wing for fuck’s sake.”

  My loud exclamation increased the laughter. I settled into my saddle to brood.

  The soldiers Juan had wheedled out of the Council, the 303rd Chinchillas, were a tenth of what he had asked for. Fortunately, they allowed him to choose what unit he took with him. He chose special operations men and women, led by one Captain Rebecca Clarke. These were the chaos makers, the ones that worked behind enemy lines to destroy supply lines, take out messengers, steal food and gear.

  All the Earth born chosen were former military and were the kind of people that were off-book, black-ops soldiers that dressed how they wanted, with beards and shit. None of them were human anymore. Then there were the natives, that were a mixed group of everything from human to races I hadn’t seen yet. It was a scary mix to have at one’s back.

  But one thing I noticed is that not one of them gave a brask ass about my being a Mage. It was refreshing to not have to worry about being hanged by people outside of the friends I had made here. But I doubted they would be enough to get us over the chasm bridge alive.

  Captain Rebecca was another of Juan’s former trainees and was, for all intents and purposes, a tech geek. One that had been in the Navy and claimed to never have been a member of the Special Forces, despite the way she held herself. She was a level 51 Spellsword and was a very bubbly Dark Elf. Despite knowing that she was likely in her thirties or forties, her apparent age was around 17 years. My brother Sean would have been smitten within minutes of talking with her.

  The day was cloudy and threatened rain. We were making good time up the pass, and I really hoped we could be at the main messenger camp at the top or on our way down before the rain started. Something my dad had said about the unpredictability of mountain weather suddenly came to mind as the rain started to drop.

  A light drizzle accompanied us up the pass, dampening my mood. I was grateful for the hood on my poncho and the warmth it provided. Harper and Jerseil caught up with us halfway up the western slope of the pass, with extra supplies. The two were all smiles and laughter, unphased by the dreary weather.

  I knew intellectually the ride up the pass did not take much longer than four hours, but I was not feeling it. My poor attitude and brooding likely did not help matters. The old woman gave me a good spell and I should not let my ruined expectation tarnish that. What was it she said? Mary and I hunted down the mage that almost killed me. I don’t want to hunt down another, so make this count. She had pulled up her shirt to show me the scars. I think that vulnerable reveal scared me more than her words.

  The spell used on the council member many years prior must have had properties that prevented healing. The basic healing potions that existed in this world were so good that even when I had taken one with those quills in my body, the puncture wounds had healed with no blemish. I had to wonder what kind of spell, what kind of damage type could do that. Whatever the spell was, I wanted nothing to do with it.

  When we arrived at the top, the messenger camp was abuzz with activity. Word had gone ahead of us, and they were preparing to house and feed us before we went down the other side. The drizzling rain made it more difficult for them, as they had tents for the overflow from the barracks. I vowed not to drink so much this time.

  “Hey, it’s the songbird!” cried a messenger. “Come to serenade us with your sweet, sweet singing?” The laughter followed and behind me, Harper loudly explained my drunken vocals to Captain Rebecca and the soldiers under her command. This led to even more laughter. I groaned. This was not something I would live down. After dinner, though, I had a few drinks with the enlisted.

  It was not a repeat of last time. I woke up feeling mostly refreshed and found all of the strike force in the mess hall when I entered. None of them looked hungover despite the amount of alcohol I saw them inhale before I went to bed. I grabbed my food and sat among them, listening to their talk about mostly normal things. I paid little attention, having most of my mind on what we were going to face in the next few days.

  “… No, no! There were three of them and they were all sisters! And not the related kind. Who thought women of the cloth would be into that?”

  “I’m telling you, Marax’s brew is smoother and has that full body…”

  “… And it was the cinch! She never found out who did it. But…”

  As I got up to leave, one sergeant got my attention. “Yo, Mage! We mount up in 20, make sure you’re ready!”

  “Thanks!” I waved with faked cheerfulness, my decent mood ruined once again. I felt uncertain eyes on me. Messengers and soldiers stationed here who had drank and talked with me the night before now looked ill. I hurried out, trying to act as normal as possible. At least we would leave soon. On another fucking adventure. Hurray for me.