115 The Enchanter Bonus chapter

Several days had passed since the horrific incident in Säravast. The smoke and soot that had filled the air was now gone, but had left its mark on the royal palace, the pure white marble was now sullied with streaks of black that ran down the tall ramparts like mournful tears. The recognizable smell of burnt wood was everywhere, carried on the winter wind throughout the entire city. The once boisterous city was now deeply wounded, the citizens traumatized from the violence of the riots, and then by the forceful peacekeeping of the Morganian soldiers.

Thousands of refugees were currently clearing the burnt-out noble district under the watchful eye of Morganian soldiers. Men and women both, were working tirelessly to clean up the still warm debris. No one spoke as they worked, fearful of being sent to the camps that had been erected just inside the city walls. Although they were all citizens of the Kingdom of Morgania, the inhabitants of Säravast did not feel any connection with the refugees that had flooded the city. Almost all of them placed the blame on the refugees for the violent riots and had demanded that the kingdom be more proactive in handling the overwhelming number of displaced citizens.

The kingdom's answer was to hastily construct camps that would house the so far homeless refugees. The buildings that housed the refugees were poorly constructed, the drifting snow easily finding its way inside with very little effort. For risk of repeating what had just passed, no fires were permitted within the camps, forcing those inside to huddle together for warmth. Surrounding the camps were palisade walls ten feet high, with small towers that housed guards that kept a watchful eye over the camps all hours of the day.

Of course, no one was 'forced' to stay inside the camps. If one didn't want to be crammed inside the much too small area and to sleep piled together like pinguins; they were more than welcome to leave the relative safety behind the city's walls, risking freezing to death or being eaten alive by the ever-increasing population of monsters outside.

Professor Kal was currently strolling by one such camp, the clear blue skies and pleasurable warm winter sun were utterly spoiled by the awful smell that clambered over the wooden, spiked walls. Although he detested the smell, it was almost impossible to avoid; there were just too many refugees. Many of the camps were placed within the already forsaken slums of the city, but it was impossible to fit all of them in that already overpopulated area, thus, they were forced to make use of any open space that was available to them.

Leaving the smell far behind him, Professor Kal continued on to his destination. He was currently on his way to purchase a few pieces of much needed equipment. He had spent the previous days since returning to the inn desperately attempting to access his broken storage ring, but had met nothing but failure. All of his many magical tools and equipment were locked away within the enchanted accessory. He had a few things that he didn't squirrel away back inside his hidden laboratory, but nothing that could help him in his task.

So, he was forced to seek out someone to make him the tools he needed, or at least had the materials available so that he could make them himself. He was on his way to talk to an enchanter. The enchanter was supposedly the most proficient enchanter in the entire kingdom, having worked on the many enchanted items possessed by the royal family, as well as the trinkets possessed by the highest of nobility.

Following the directions he received from one of the guests staying at the inn, Professor Kal turned down yet another nearly empty street. Although the soldiers were still heavily patrolling the streets, they were no longer rounding people up on sight. Still, the memories of the violent response to the riots were fresh in everyone's minds, the fear keeping most from wondering the city unless absolutely necessary. Adding to that were reports of a handful of monsters left over from the incident still roaming the maze of streets making up the city, having yet to be subjugated by the teams of adventurers and knights hunting them down.

Finally, Professor Kal arrived at his destination. In front of him was a rather small one-story building. Professor Kal scanned the wrought iron fence surrounding the miniature building, barely visible arrays were finely etched on each iron bar making up the fence. His eyes followed the elegant flow of mana between each meticulously carved array, finding them to be well made, almost on par with the ones he had seen in the church. Pleased to see that the enchanter could at least pass for competent, Professor Kal made his way past the iron gate and up to the ornate, iron door.

A rather irate looking bull glared at him from the door, the pointed tips of its horns protruded from the metal and a large ring pierced its septum. Grabbing the bull's nose ring while appreciating the remarkably realistic bust, Professor Kal proceeded to strike the door with the knocker. The clang of metal on metal echoed off the surrounding buildings, the noise amplified by the unusual silence of the surrounding area. After a few moments, he struck the door once more.

After several knocks on the heavy door, a panel slid open, revealing a pair of dark brown eyes staring up at him, and in a gruff voice, the pair of eyes spoke. "What do you want? How'd you get passed the gate?"

With a bright smile, Professor Kal knelt down to speak directly at the eyes' owner, "I'm hoping to have some tools crafted. Can you help me with that?"

"Maybe, if we were open." The eyes said as they narrowed, "Now get on out of here!"

With that harsh rebuttal, the panel forcefully slid shut with a clang, leaving Professor Kal kneeling there, his beaming smile now replaced with a deep scowl. The only consolation is that he was now certain he had the right place, now he only needed to get inside. Once again, he began to bang on the door with the bull's nose ring, the heavy iron door rattling in its frame.

Muffled curses came from behind the door, the words drowned out by the incessant banging. The closed panel violently slid back open, allowing the curses to flow without obstruction.

"Are you tired of living!" A deep, surly voice bellowed from the open panel, "Get out of here before you really piss me off!"

"What was that?" Professor Kal shouted out, still banging on the door with gusto. "I can't hear you!"

More curses flowed outside, causing the Professor's smile to return to his face. The panel slammed shut and a mechanical clicking sound could be heard coming from the closed door. Assured in his victory over the small statured gate keeper, Professor Kal stopped knocking and waited for the door to open.

As he waited, he noticed the dull grey eyes of the bull carved into the iron door began to take on an ominous crimson glow. The mechanical ticking continued from the door as the glowing eyes grew more intense. Just as his smile was once again replaced by an angry scowl, the bull staring at him with enraged eyes belched forth a river of mana infused flames that completely engulfed his entire body.

The magical flames continued to gush from the door, consuming everything in their path. The panel slid open for a third time, rumbling laughter spilling out and mixing with the cacophony of the swirling flames. "Ha Ha! That's what ya get, ya arse! I'll let ya cook a bit longer before I go get the broom!"