Advent Of Darkness. Gary Caplan

"With these samples, I can begin to prepare the elixir. Stop by here again in the morning tomorrow. The amnoxillin elixir will be ready by then."

      "We shall, Master Balminewe. My thanks for your cooperation," replied Ragan. Then to Gideon, he said, "Now, let us attend to your shoes. They should be ready by now."

      When they reached the shoemaker's shop, they found him busy, so they waited a few minutes. Finally, the shoemaker was able to attend to them. "I'm here to pick up my shoes," stated Gideon.

      "Ahh, yes," answered the shoemaker. "Just a moment, please, I will get your wyvern-hide boots with the slip-proof bracing straps." The shoemaker went to the back of his shop and came out a moment later, brandishing two magnificent brown boots, whose texture slightly resembled a cross between cowhide and alligator skin.

      Gideon took off his sneakers and put the boots on. They were extremely comfortable, and they looked good too.

      "Well," he asked, "and how do I look now?"

      Ragan studied him carefully and then replied, "I must admit, Master Gideon, that you don't look at all bad. It must be the shoes. In fact, you could pass for a lord."

      Gideon smiled modestly. "You think so?" he asked.

      "A little, but I think that it's all in your attitude, which by the way, I think is quite amiable. Continue proceeding in this course, and I foresee only greatness in your future. Mark my words," finished Ragan.

      Again, Gideon smiled. He had been on this new world only a short time, but during that time, he had made influential friends and, unfortunately, influential enemies. He liked this world more each day. On Earth, he was a normal fellow; sure, he was doing quite well in graduate school and would be finishing his PhD in another year. He was considered the best student on the university's martial arts team. However, here on this world, he was important in some way, and his new friends made him feel important. That made him glow deep inside with a fire of passion and adventure that could not be suppressed.

      Ragan thought Gideon should get a sorcerous device of some kind for protection and, perhaps, one to augment his natural abilities. He made a reference to the fact that part of the way to Tetherin was still a wild region. The two went back to where the artificer's guilds made sorcerously imbued devices. Ragan even suggested that they could go visit the master artificer Tain Ironfoot's forge again if he wanted. Gideon decided to stop in a few of the other shops and stores and look around. In one, an elven artificer was busy arranging some cloaks he had recently enchanted.

      "Do you have any protective cloaks?" asked Ragan.

      "Yes, I have three. I have recently completed their enchantments," replied the elf. "It took me a week to make each since I had handsewn the fibers."

      Gideon looked at the elf. He noticed that he was tall, almost as tall as Ragan, and wore a combination of robes and vestments with arcane symbols in Manya, indicating his craft and station as a senior master wizard and a specialist of crafting sorcerous devices of several types. "What do they protect against?" asked Gideon.

      "This one," stated the master crafter proudly, "is thrice enchanted and will offer protection from basic to intermediate levels of spellweavings. It is made of blue-dyed wool. The second is doubly enchanted with general protection and will protect the wearer from fire and frost directed at his person. It will also maintain your warmth against temperature extremes. It is made from wool dyed medium gray. And finally, I have a greenish-gray cloak that is doubly enchanted for protection and will allow its wearer to blend into his surroundings, acting to prevent detection. If you have the time, I am qualified to fill an order enchanted to your specifications."

      Gideon said, "No need. I've already decided I'll take the greenish-gray one."

      "An excellent choice, sir," said the craft master. "The price is twelve thousand gold sovereigns."

      "Come now," said Ragan. "We will pay you eleven thousand two hundred gold sovereigns."

      "Eleven thousand four hundred, good Tauri, if you please," countered the artificer.

      "Oh, very well. The cloak is of excellent quality," admitted Ragan. "Eleven thousand four accepted."

      Gideon paid him from his borrowed coin purse. Ragan noted that he was able to count the coins and bars by himself and understood the monetary values. It seemed someone had given him an education in money.

      The artificer helped Gideon put on the cloak to wear. It covered a voluminous area and had deep pockets sewn inside. As they left the shop and headed down the street, Gideon asked about the people who made these sorcerous devices. Ragan said, "Every artificer here is a highly trained senior master wizard or high adept and has had, in addition, advanced education and skills in a specialty. In this case, artificery is the creating, imbuing, and enchanting of sorcerous weapons, armor, and other devices."

      "The master enchanters are another sorcerous specialty branch that devises miscellaneous enchanted devices. Even though they are full-fledged masters or senior masters, however, these crafters are not as likely as me to get involved in a duel arcane as it is, or go on quite as many dangerous outland excursions. The only exception for these crafters is a quest for various special materials for their crafting. It takes a daring and bold personality to risk one's life by traveling to distant and unfriendly lands, especially during these times." Ragan and Gideon moved down the street, and Ragan gave Gideon a tour of Mindon from his nostalgic point of view. Because of Gideon's interest, Ragan even discussed some basic spellweaving theory and the importance of names. At the end of the long day, Glade Gilding met up with the two, and all three went into their inn for the evening meal. Gideon came away with a sense that Ragan was quite ancient in years, but he did not inquire about his age, thinking that it would not be polite.

      The next day, Ragan, along with Master Gilding and Gideon, got up early and visited Balminewe. The group entered the house and was escorted into Balminewe's office. He had the amnoxillin in a large glass vial that was sitting next to what looked like a type of microscope.

      "I must administer one dose into your system directly, and you will have to take the rest of the elixir orally from the vial in two portions. Take one of the doses this evening and one in the morning. I was able to tailor the dose. You will not need as much as is usual for someone from another world. During my analysis, I found that you already seem to have some of the necessary natural protections as if you had an elven ancestor," said Master Balminewe. Glade stood to the side and looked as if he wanted to ask Ragan a question but contained the desire.

      Master Balminewe removed a needle that was attached to a glass tube with a plunger. "Now, I have to apply a small tourniquet to expose your arm veins." Balminewe cleaned an area of skin and then inserted the needle in Gideon's arm and into a prominent vein. "Do not worry. I have done these sorts of injections for other processes on many before you." He rubbed a salve over the injection site. Gideon felt a warm sensation and saw the wound rapidly disappear.

      "Thanks, Master Balminewe," replied Gideon. "Uh, would you clarify what this elixir will do for me again?"

      "To be brief," said Balminewe, "the amnoxillin will modify and strengthen the digestive system. Essentially, it is used for those visitors with less capable physiologic defense systems. It will inoculate you with multiple resistance to our planoi. Since you appear to be a man and come from another world, you may pose a hazard to the other menfolk you meet here, and you could make one of my people a temporary carrier who might infect a few humans or others indirectly. Ragan indicated that he has limited your exposure to others and has used protective energies upon you. Oh, one more thing, this elixir will also act as a laxative, so your system is cleaned out."

      Glade looked at Ragan quizzically, wondering what he had gotten himself involved in.

      "Thank you again," said Ragan, and the group left Balminewe's estate and proceeded to the southwestern section of the large city, where the transportation skyships docked between flights. On the way out, Glade asked Ragan a question in his people's dialect. "Tauri Ragan, is Master Gideon not from Illúmaril?" Ragan looked at Glade and realized he could not tell a falsehood, so he decided to give a partial answer in the woodland dialect as Gideon was looking at the pretty ladies walking in