An Apprentice Without Magic, page 35
part #2 of Magic Missing Series
“I have been pardoned, Fork. I wasn’t tried by anyone and wasn’t convicted of doing anything. Your uncle didn’t like the way I did my job, and now look what happened? There is no gold at the Precious Metals Exchange. It’s partly your fault. What you do here is murder, plain and simple.”
“Then let’s get it over with, plain and simple,” Fork said.
“Right,” Bolt said, coming from the same alley. “I will judge you now. I find you wanting Dickey Nail and Sam Smith. I sentence you to death for failing to stop Teri Punch.”
“You mean Banna Plunk. You should read the reports more closely. Even you couldn’t stop her, Minister,” Sam said. “We heard the whole conversation. You are going to kill us, but what about Plunk? She has plenty on you.”
Bolt sneered. “Nothing that will stick. You wait and see. I’m an important man in Baskin.”
“Men are coming from the back!” one of the thugs said.
Sam could see armed constables coming up from their opponents’ rear. Fork’s eyes bulged as he looked over Sam’s shoulder. Sam turned to see more constables. Bolt and Fork were trapped.
“We got wind of your ambush just a few minutes ago,” Dickey said. “Drop your weapons. Even you, Minister.”
“Not until you are killed.” He looked back at his men. “Kill Dickey.”
No one jumped forward. Bolt turned red. “Then I’ll do it myself.”
Sam pulled his sword and wand as Fork also advanced on Dickey. Fork ignored him. The guards looked back and forth between the advancing constables. A few began to run, and that’s all Sam noticed as he slammed his wand into the back of Fork’s knees. He could have run him through, but Sam couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing.
Fork staggered and turned on Sam.
“You freak! I know who you are and what you CAN’T do,” he shouted. He advanced on Sam with shuffling legs. “You deserve to die every bit as much as the noble renegade, Dickey Nail.”
Fork raised his sword and slammed it down on Sam’s. The blow was so hard, it twisted Sam’s wrist, but he clung to the sword. He swung his wand and hit Fork on his left upper arm. The Captain winced and lost focus for a moment, so Sam took advantage, and, even though his wrist protested, he slid the sword through the man’s clothes and into Fork’s chest.
Fork dropped his sword and grasped Sam’s as his eyes rolled up into his head, and he fell over backward. Bolt was having his way with Dickey, who could barely fend off the minister’s blows. His partner favored his good foot too much. Sam looked around for his sword and remembered Fork still clutched it. He picked up Fork’s blade and ran Bolt through the back. He had no qualms this time, or Dickey would be done.
Bolt arched his back and Dickey plunged his sword into the front. The Minister of Justice dropped lifelessly to the ground. Dickey fell back on his rear end as the constables reached them.
“Healer!” Sam shouted.
A constable ran up to him. “Where are you hurt?”
Sam looked at the man, not able to answer the question. “I’m not hurt; he is,” Sam said, pointing to Dickey.
Epilogue
Chapter Forty-Two
~
“A nd the real villain got away,” Lady Keeta said.
“No, he didn’t,” Sam said. “Banna Plunk took her money and ran, but Minister Bolt subverted the law to enable her.”
“He did,” Chief Constable Bentwick said. “He had been sponsoring Fork’s illegal schemes for a few years. We will find out more, now that the man is no longer with us.”
“Not to mention Captain Fork’s activities will cease.”
“His side deals, anyway. A snoop’s job is never done,” Dickey said, “except for yours, I’m sad to say.”
“The king reminded me of my obligation today,” Sam said, pulling out a thick envelope. “But he is a better man than I thought. He gave me a letter of credit that I can use at all the ports. It will help me get established.”
Lady Keeta smiled. “It was the least I could do,” she said, “and since I caught him in a good mood, he did the right thing.”
Antina Mulch presented Sam with a valise filled with books. “These will serve you well. I also took the liberty to have some packages and messages loaded about the ship to send back to my home country. Make Tolloy your final port for a while. I have arranged a scholarship trust in Vaarek. Should you decide to tarry in Tolloy, you can choose the learning institution, since I don’t know what is the best one these days.”
“You all make it harder to leave,” Sam said. He really wanted to show his anger at the king and stamp his feet and pound his fists into infuriating man, but what good would that do? He looked at Dickey and Bentwick, sitting as free men and realized that he didn’t have a choice in the final outcome thanks to Toraltia’s monarch. He suspected the letters of credit were funded by Lady Keeta. At least would always carry the memory of his friends and mentors who picked him up when Cherryton threw him out and helped him survive.
“But you must leave. Think of the adventures you will have and remember you will always have friends here in Baskin,” Winnie said.
Bentwick nodded. “By the way, I had my contacts search Bolt’s estate for Emmy. There was evidence of the dog being there, but she disappeared. I’m sorry, lad.”
Sam nodded. He wasn’t over his separation with Emmy, but she was gone for good now, especially since he was leaving Baskin forever. He forced a smile. “Well, is it time for dinner? I leave early tomorrow.”
Lady Grate nodded and ushered everyone in for a bittersweet send-off for Sam.
~
Sam stood on the pier with a new trunk. Antina had had her own cargo, in Sam’s trust, already stowed away. Tru and Dickey stood by his side.
“If you ever see Harrison Dimple, tell him thanks. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I hadn’t met him,” Sam said. “In fact, I still don’t know what will happen to me.”
Dickey nodded.
The whistle blew, and a mate called for passengers to board. The ship would make Vaarek its last port before heading back to Baskin. Sam didn’t know in which country he would end up. He decided he would visit them all and leave the ship at the one he liked the best on the way back.
“Send me letters when you can,” Tru said. “It’s not like you are heading to Havetta’s bosom.”
“No, it isn’t,” Sam said, “thank Her.”
Dickey thrust a constable token into his hands. “No longer apprentice. You passed when you took out Fork and Minister Bolt. Bentwick agrees. If things change, you’ll always have a position in Baskin as a snoop.”
Sam stared at the token. It was a full constable’s token with the ‘I.D.’ inscribed on it, indicating Investigative Division. Dickey had one just like it. “Thank you. I’d rather still be here as an apprentice.”
Dickey nodded. “I know.” His eyes began to get moist. “Good luck. There aren’t many in this world who have saved my life, and you’ve done it too many times.” He gave Sam a smirk.
The whistle blew again. Sam said goodbye to his friends and lugged his trunk up the gangplank.
“We would have done that, lad,” a sailor said, as Sam reached the deck.
Sam smiled with embarrassment. He went to the railing and waved to Tru and Dickey as a bell rang, and the sails were lowered. The ship began to slip away from the dock. He looked past his well-wishers and saw Winnie Bentwick waving a handkerchief. Behind her was the royal guard who looked on to make sure Sam stayed on the ship.
Everyone kept their positions as the ship left port. Sam ran to the other side of the ship when it turned and waved to everyone until the port disappeared behind the Baskin breakwater.
Sam fidgeted and sat on his trunk, not knowing what to do next. A uniformed sailor stood over him.
“Smith?”
Sam stood. “That’s me, Sam Smith.”
“I’ll show you to your cabin. My name is Jordi Hawker, and I’m the purser on board.”
“What does a purser do?”
Jordi took his blue cap off and rubbed his balding head. “I manage the passengers for the captain and am like her secretary, although Captain Darter doesn’t need much help. I understand you were a snoop’s apprentice?”
Sam nodded.
“You have an unusual ticket that allows you to leave the ship at any port except Baskin, but you will be going all the way to Tolloy?”
Sam nodded again.
“Perhaps you can work with me. I’d like a bit of help, and you might want something to do for the next two or three months. I can pay you if that will help in your decision.”
“Who put you up to this?”
“Chief Constable Bentwick knows Captain Darter. I assume he is a friend?”
Sam smiled, “Friend and mentor.”
Jordi returned Sam’s smile. “Perhaps I can take his place for a bit, then.”
“I’d be happy to think about it,” Sam said.
“Then let’s find your cabin. Don’t worry about your trunk. Delivering it to your cabin is part of your fare.”
~
Sam woke up in the middle of the night. The lantern in his tiny cabin swayed more than at any time during the week he’d been at sea. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and decided to go up on the deck to see what the ocean looked like. The changes in the sea fascinated him.
He staggered along one of the corridors he didn’t frequent often. The ship only had a half-complement of passengers. He heard a dog bark behind one of the doors. Sam didn’t believe his ears.
He had to knock on the door. “Hello, this is the assistant purser,” Sam said. “Is everything all right in there?”
The door cracked open, but Emmy jumped out, knocking Sam down and proceeded to lick his face. Her tail cracked against both sides of the narrow corridor. A face appeared at the opening.
Sam looked up in amazement. “Banna Plunk!”
The End of An Apprentice Without Magic
Character List for the Magic Missing Series
Cherryton
Sam Smith - Son of a blacksmith. Main Character.
Addia Smith (Addy) - Sam’s sister.
Marker Smith (Mark) - Sam’s brother. Two years older than Addy.
Truart Smith (Tru) - Sam’s oldest brother.
Rolph Smith - Sam’s father.
Walbur Scrivener (Wally) - Son of the town’s Lord of the Word,
Gobfort Carter (Gob) - Son of the transportation provider in town.
Harrison Dimple - Traveling healer who lives just outside of Cherryton
Yulla Featherstone - Teacher of Sam’s classes for his first and seventh year
Batchelor Bank - Schoolmaster
Glory Wheeler - Girl in Sam’s fifth year class.
Malora Washjoy - Baker’s wife
Tom Washjoy - Baker
Mountain View
Lennard Lager - Town Lord of Mountain View
Emmy - A Great Sanchian - a valuable hunting dog
Horner’s Rest
Bagbox - ‘lord’ of Horner’s Rest
Milla - healer in Horner’s Rest
Riverville
Magia (Mags) - Healer in Riverville
Faddon Bentwick - Chief Captain of the Constabulary
Rangerfield - Captain and commanding officer of the Riverville fort
Fussel’s Ford
Seedman - part-time constable in Fussel’s Ford
Betti - the local healer in Fussel’s Ford.
Oak Basin
Dantell (and wife) - merchants from Shovel Vale
Hiron Smith - blacksmith friend of Harrisons in Oak Basin
Pensie Smith - Hiron’s wife.
Link Cackle - glassmaker in Oak Basin
Mount Vannon
Tom Elbow - Mount Vannon constabulary clerk
Ionie Plunk Mount Vannon madame
Les Oakbrush - Pollen artist
Harget Temper - renegade constable
Jay Youngbud – miner
General Torrent – leader of a detachment of the royal army
Kennel
Ophie Kenson – village healer
Bowerville
Rassy – the innkeeper
Mountain View Return
Bannon Plunk - Rebellion Leader (aka Banna Plunk)
Baskin
Mark Leadback - fellow apprentice
Dickey Nail - Sam’s partner
Kened Rider - weapons instructor at the Baskin Constabulary.
Antina Mulch - Older female jeweler, inventor, and pollen scholar. From the same country as Banna Plunk
Issak Bolt - Minister of Justice
Target Armstrong - Marine Constable who helps Sam after his run-in with ruffians
Faran Rubble, the butler of Lord Ditch
Harl Plaster - Manager of the Piper Club
Shilla - Manager-Owner of the Piper Club
Mandy - server at the Piper Club
Captain Benjoy Fork - Issak Bolt’s nephew
Lieutenant Happy- works for Fork
Emmer Wicket - Ice Merchant
Target Armstrong - Marine Guard
Sergeant Polite - Lt. Happy’s underling
Lady Keeta Grate - Lady of the court
Gerrold Pincer - paramour of Lady Keeta
Hander Pot - principal at Red Marine Shipping
Jenna Pot - Hander’s daughter
Winnie Bentwick - Chief Constable’s daughter
Minson Mat - Apprentice
Voyage to Tolloy
Jordi Hawker - Purser aboard the Twisting Wind
Captain Addia Darter - Captain of the Twisting Wind
Excerpt from Book Three of the MAGIC MISSING Series
Chapter One
~
S am Smith watched two of his friends and his brother Tru fade into the distance as the ship Twisted Wind proceeded out of the Baskin harbor. He couldn’t stop sighing. All his efforts to become an exemplary apprentice snoop had been blown to bits by the late Issak Bolt. In order to save his snoop partner and Chief Constable Bentwick, Sam accepted the King of Toraltia’s demand of exile.
As the ship began to rise and fall with the waves once out of the harbor, it reminded Sam of the ups and downs of his young, fifteen-year-old life. As much as he might wish, his existence wasn’t a constant disaster. He had learned court speech and had met more interesting people than if he had stayed in Cherryton, his hometown, but since he was on one of his downs, he was leaving those interesting people with each breath of the wind.
“Made your decision yet?”
Sam turned around to look at Jordi Hawker, the ship’s purser. “We’ve barely left the port. How can I make such a decision so quickly?”
“Then perhaps Captain Darter can help you with that. Come with me.”
Sam took another glance at where Baskin would be and followed the purser to the steering deck.
“Is this the boy?” A woman dressed in a uniform said, looking at Jordi. She was tall and well-built, at least that was how Sam perceived her. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a long braided pony tail. He had noticed a few sailors with similar coifs.
“May I introduce Sam Smith, former snoop in the Royal Constabulary.”
Sam bowed. “Please to meet you, uh, Captain.”
Darter waved her hand. “Addia Darter,” she said. “Captain or ma’am will do for now. Faddon Bentwick highly recommended you. Perhaps you can tell me why some evening at my table.”
Sam bowed again. “I would be pleased to do so.” He really wasn’t, but he was scrambling to remember the manners drilled into him by Faran Rubble, a butler of his former acquaintance and Antina Mulch, a Polistian shopkeeper who befriended him.
“He hasn’t made up his mind, yet,” Jordi said.
“His answer is yes. Sam just doesn’t know it yet.” Captain Darter grinned at him. “Better food. Complete run of the ship and a job to relieve the boredom you will surely experience as we proceed south to Tolloy. Try it out. You can always resign.”
The captain had a point. “Better food?” Sam asked.
“You eat with the officers. Passenger food is a step above what the crew get and officers are at least above that.”
“What about the captain?” Sam said.
“A bit above that. You will get more invitations to the captain’s table as an officer,” Darter said. She smiled with so much confidence that Sam wanted to reject her offer, but he had to be honest with himself. He was on his own, and he needed friends and information. He wouldn’t get either confined to his cabin for months on end.
“I suppose I will have to accept.”
“It is voluntary, but you have made the right decision. I’ll have one of our better sailmakers sew up a uniform coat. Without one, you won’t get much respect from the crew. Good day, Assistant Purser.” With that Captain Darter turned to confer with the helmsman laying out navigation instruments on a cork-covered table.
Jordi patted Sam on the shoulder. “Good decision. Let’s get you oriented to the ship and get you measured for your coat.”
Sam didn’t think he’d get any respect from the sailors, coat or no coat. He’d been thrown in with men before. They tolerated teenaged boys, more or less. He spent the rest of the day learning about what made a sailing ship move through the water.
“How is your stomach?” the purser asked.
Sam raised his eyebrows. “Should there be something wrong with it?”
Jordi shook his head. “Some people get seasick and some don’t. If you’re not feeling queasy, you might be one of the lucky ones. When I made my first voyage, I was sick for three weeks until I got used to the roll of the ship.”
Sam shrugged. “I must be lucky,” he said, although he didn’t feel very lucky. His primary focus at this point was to absorb all the newness. His thoughts drifted to Baskin if left alone for any length of time. Perhaps rather than being seasick, Sam was afflicted with a strain of homesickness. He didn’t know which one would be worse.
~
