The Odd Wizard

Message from the author: Thanks so much for your patience, I've taken you critiques into account and hopefully this chapter is better than the last. Sorry for it taking so long as between work, and school starting up again it's been hard to work on this. Hopefully you guys enjoy it!

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Mia's room is on the east side of the house so she's the first to wake up to the morning sun. She stretches and smells herself. She stinks badly. She desperately needs a shower. She gets up and looks through the cabinets in the room, finding a white towel, embroidered with a Best Eastern logo on it. She takes the towel and some low rise jeans and a red v-neck shirt she had gotten last night and made her way to the bathroom. She gets her clothes off before looking into the shower. It was a simple system. Two knobs, one marked hot, one marked cold. She turns the hot knob and feels the water for a bit, ice cold. She shakes her head, turning off the hot knob and turning on the cold knob, thinking that the knobs had gotten flipped when it was installed. She feels the water again and once again ice cold. She sighs softly, turning off the water again. She wraps herself in the towel, looking down at herself. It is barely covered enough to be considered decent but it would have to do, the clothes she had stripped off were too dirty to put back on, maybe too dirty to save in the washer. She steps out of the bathroom. She opens Adrian's door, but much to her surprise he isn't in there. She looks down the hall and she sees the basement door is open. She comes up to the door and pushes it very softly. It creaks open, it is dark and quiet down there. She takes a deep breath, holding onto the towel and making her way down the stairs.

She makes it to the bottom of the stairs to find a dark basement. All the walls were covered in shelves full of books, bins and boxes. On top of one shelf is a bleached human skull, and all around it was assorted books that she couldn't make out the spines of, but they were well worn and cracked, like someone there is a voracious reader. Her eyes track around the room before moving inwards towards a large workbench. It was dirty, beakers, vials, stand alone Bunsen burners that had run out of propane, papers and journals, and right on the close end to her, sitting right in the middle, was a lump of leather. The shape of it tells her that it is Adrian fast asleep on the workbench. She takes a couple steps closer, seeing that he was holding a braided copper wire that had a few charms in it in his left hand, his right laid under his head.

"Well, the apprentice finally makes her way down here, and he knows how to choose them," A voice rang out, a proper British accent, "You've known him for less than a week and you're already giving him the bath towel treatment. How risqué," the voice cooed

Mia's head whips around trying to find the source of the voice, then her eyes spots it. The bleached skull on the shelf had two little motes of blue light coming from the eye sockets. She gets a chill down her spine and pulls the towel tighter around herself. Was it because it was cold in this basement or was it because she was talking to a skull she couldn't tell. She asks, "Who are you?"

The skull, its jaw moving in the mimicry of how a skull would move if it were alive and talking, answers, "Well, I am a spirit of air and knowledge, but you mortals are all about names so you can just call me Bob."

"Bob," she parrots, "Is that like your actual name?"

"No, darling. Us spirits of air and knowledge don't have names, but when we find ourselves under the supervision of a mortal mage, be it a wizard, sorcerer, warlock, or witch. We usually take a name suited for the dialect. For this area, it's Bob," Bob responds.

"Bob?" She once again repeats. She thinks about the name. The skull takes a name suited for the dialect where it is. That only drew more questions. She looks back at the skull and asks, "So if you were in Mexico, would your name be Juan?"

Bob rattles his teeth together and the motes of light turn into bright little pinpoints. They then suddenly flare back out and he says, "No I believe the air and knowledge spirits over there go by Alejandro this millennia."

Mia looks at the skull confused, but decides it was best not to think about that any more. She asks, "So are you a skull? Like a ghost haunting a shell?"

"No, I'm not the skull. Mister sleepy wizard down there just has a knack for the theatrics and gave this vessel to me to inhabit. My true form is non-corporeal."

"Non-corpore- what?"

"Non-corporeal. Not physical. Not real," The skull growls out, "Do they not teach you vocabulary in school anymore?"

"So you are a ghost?"

"No, ghosts are spirits of the dead that have not moved on from their mortal lives. They are nowhere near as smart as me. I am currently living."

Mia nods, starting to comprehend this thing. She asks, "Alright Bob, how long have you lived for?"

Bob chatters his teeth again, apparently that was his way of thinking. He finally says, "I'm nearly 1266 years old. Plus or minus a few years due to calendar changes and time spent in Faerûn."

"Faerûn?"

"Land of the Fae. Adrian calls it the fay-wilds, others call it the land of fairy but don't say that to any fay worth their weight in salt. Just kinda don't call any fay fairy. It's just incredibly rude."

"How so?"

"It'd be like calling you mortals, monkeys. It's just not a very polite word to say."

"Well if you're just a spirit in a skull why don't you come out here and show me your true form?"

The skull then yawns, somehow, and says, "No can do. You ain't my boss and my boss is currently asleep. As should I."

"Well Bob, then why is the water all cold? Is the water heater out in this place?" Mia asks, crossing her arms.

"Oh, the water. I'm sorry but I don't worry myself about things so mundane, here let me wake up my boss. You can ask him," The skull responds, before turning to look down at the sleeping form of Adrian. The skull shouts, "Adrian! Boss! Wake up, your apprentice is here."

Adrian jumps in his sleep, sitting up before his eyes open. He looks around, seeing the shadowy form of Mia before haphazardly waving his right hand around and the basement lights up with dozens of candles. He was wearing the clothes from yesterday, but had added a heavy leather coat over the top of them to stave off the chills in the basement. He yawns and says, "Good morning Mia. What are you doing in a towel?" His mind didn't seem to be all caught up just yet and likewise wasn't reacting correctly to seeing Mia in the towel.

"The water is cold," Mia states, crossing her arms again.

"Yeah, it's always cold," Adrian responds, still groggy.

"Why?"

"Well you see. Hot water heaters have tiny, sensitive, and crucial electrical components that make sure the propane gas in the tank doesn't get too hot. The magic coating this house would cause those components to fail. I'd prefer to not have a 50 gallon bomb next to my house."

Mia stops and thinks about that for a moment before saying, "That means no hot showers?"

"Right. No hot water unless you boil it yourself."

"No hot water unless I boil it myself? I wouldn't even be able to take a warm bath like that!"

"Welcome to the curse of being a wizard."

"Aren't you a wizard? Wouldn't I be considered a witch?"

Bob chimes in, "Not quite. Wizards are purveyors of the magic arts. They usually run politics and study magic for their entire lives. They most often are the most power magic wielders. Witches deal with the more medical use of magic. Think like potion and elixir makers. Take raw ingredients, infuse them with magic, and get a desired outcome."

Mia grew silent again. It didn't take long for her to figure out her next question, "Everyone has been calling me a warlock. What is that?"

Adrian tries to speak but he is cut off by Bob, "A warlock is a person who uses their magic to control power around them and onto others. They usually come in the killing type, destroying those who seek to stop their reigns."

"Don't wardens use magic to kill warlocks?"

Adrian spoke up saying, "Not exactly. Most of the time wardens will only alter the magic the warlock is using and their magic kills them. Magic that warlocks tend to gravitate towards are very fragile and one misplaced stone can cause a spell to go haywire and kill their caster."

"So they don't use magic to kill them on a technicality?"

"The Council loves their technicalities."

Mia had choice words about this Council and their technicalities but she just makes a sigh and says, "So no hot showers because you're high and mighty in the magic department."

"As are you," Adrian says with a coy smile, "Enjoy."

Mia stomps back upstairs, the news of no hot showers blessing her skin and hair already soured her day. She walks back to the bathroom, deciding that a cold shower is better than no shower, and steps in taking the quickest shower that she could.

While she showers the phone rings, and Adrian comes up the stairs to answer it. She listens in on his part of the conversation.

"Adrian. Lieutenant Barrios, nice to hear from you again. Alright, who are our victims? Ezequiel Madrigosa. Lily Heartgold, also known as Miss Heart. Anything I can work with? Oh. Great. Yeah I see. I'll report back to you soon," Adrian then hung up the phone, putting it back on the hook before swearing softly under his breath.

He then goes to make breakfast, humming and cursing under his breath as he did. She gets out, getting her clothes on and coming out to the main living area. She looks at him and says, "Who was that on the phone?"

"Lieutenant Barrios. We've got ID's on our two victims. She's handed off to me to interrogate their employers," He says, not looking away from the pan he has at the stove.

"Why is that," She asks?

"Because of their connections. One's working for the local big shot gang here. The other works at a brothel run by a vampire."

"A brothel run by a vampire?"

"Yeah, real mean one at that."

"So a gang member and a vampire fuck at a hotel and they both end up dead?"

"Incorrect. A gang member and a prostitute fuck at a hotel and both end up dead. Prostitute isn't a vampire."

"But the brothel-"

"Is run by a vampire. It's bad practice to put a vampire with a mortal in an exchange like that. You're just asking for the police to go sniffing where they shouldn't."

"And why isn't the lieutenant interrogating these people?"

"Can't be seen with them. They're organized crime, and the media would have a field day with that. On top of that, the brothel being run by a vampire is just not the place for mundane mortals should go."

"Because the vampire would eat them?"

"Because the vampire would eat them," Adrian confirms, letting the pan rest as he comes over to Mia, handing her the braided copper that she had spotted earlier, "Here, put this on your left wrist. It'll let you go in and out of the house freely."

She takes the bracelet and eyes it with suspicion. She looks up to him, "That's it? Not like a voodoo tracking device or a magic shock collar?"

"Nope, I want to show that I can trust you. Don't make me regret it," He says calmly.

She takes a moment, eyeing the bracelet as he walks back to the pan. She then tries the trick that he showed her yesterday, closing her eyes and trying to feel out the bracelet's energies. It took a moment, but she could feel a bit of dormant magic. It made sense that it was dormant since she wasn't next to the door. Surprisingly she didn't feel anything else, no buzz of the electrical power the door had, nothing. She sighs, deciding that even though she didn't really know what to be looking for it would be best to put the bracelet on. At least she could leave without any issues now.

"Oh yeah, just make sure to take it off when you shower or cover it up if it's raining," Adrian says nonchalantly.

"Why's that," She asks?

"Water washes away magic, and it tarnishes brass. If you run it under water you'll wash away the magic and you'll be stuck either inside or outside the house until you learn my wards," Adrian answers.

She nods, putting the thought away. Adrian slides over a plate of food, a couple eggs and bacon, and says, "Eat up, we've got a big day ahead of us."

He didn't need to tell her twice as she immediately goes for the food, eating with a fevor that even surprises her. Has she really put off eating that long that her body was ravenous over such simple foods? She didn't bother answering that right now.

Within about half an hour all of breakfast was eaten between the two of them, Adrian gets up and grabs a silver candelabra from a low cabinet, placing it down in front of her with a heavy metal thud. There are three black candles on it, at each one of the posts.

He instructs, "This is a focus tester. Reach out with your magic, and focus on the candles. If you do it right the candles will light up. You lose focus, they'll go out. You understand?"

Mia nods, looking at the candles and just like Adrian had said the candles lit by themselves, a steady black flame coming from the tips of each of the candles.

Adrian continues, "Focus is a wizard's biggest hurdle, and greatest asset. Many spells require an amount of focus to keep them running. Many of those spells can be catastrophic if you break your focus."

Mia nods a little bit in response, but she doesn't say anything. Even the nodding of her head made the black flames waver a little bit. Focusing on these candles was like holding onto a wet fishing line. It was quite slippery but if she kept a strong enough grip the line wouldn't move.

Adrian watches her for a little bit longer before exiting the room, going to his room to change into more suitable clothes and collect his materials for the day. He takes a silver necklace, a pendant of a snowflake hanging from the middle of it, and puts it on. He switches out his dirty clothes with a clean black v neck tee shirt and a comfortable fitting pair of light blue jeans. He comes back out and grabs the leather coat he was wearing before. He collects a bit of white chalk, some of the copper wire he was working with earlier, a clove of garlic from the kitchen, a small J frame revolver from the drawer in the kitchen, and a handful of.32 special rounds. He checks the revolver, loads 6 rounds into it, before closing it and tucking it in the inside pocket of the leather jacket.

Mia focuses on the candle but tries her best to follow what Adrian was doing and when he took the gun out, the candle flames flickered with her emotions. Why would a wizard need a gun? She notices the flames were about to go out and she quickly focuses on them again. She would have to trust it isn't to shoot her if she gets out of line, but part of her mind knew that if she were to go too far out of line again that he might shoot her to protect himself. She banishes those thoughts. She promises herself that she wouldn't do that stuff again. She has power like no other, and just like the saying goes in the super hero movies, great power brings great responsibility. As she focuses back on the candles, she feels a little tinge in the air, like she had just barely heard a whisper of something, then the candles shift, not by much, but just enough to make her focus waver for a moment. She focuses back on it, holding it with an iron grip. She wouldn't let her focus slip. She needs to prove that she was better than that. She feels the feeling again, but this time it was slightly stronger, like a tingle of someone brushing a feather across her nerves. The candles slide a good foot across the counter, but she follows them as she had anticipated it's movement. Right away she felt it again, but this one was much bigger and she couldn't ignore it. The candles flew across the room, hitting the stone wall and falling over. Her concentration breaks, making the flames go out.

She turns to complain to Adrian but her words catch in her throat as she sees him, a genuine smile across his face. He looks good smiling, as little creases on his face become more defined. He has worry lines and crow's feet showing years of worry and torment, but also old smile lines. The look of him reminds her of her father who was proud of her no matter what she did.

"I'm glad that I don't have to teach you how to hold focus or when to drop focus," Adrian compliments before heading over to the candles and picking it up.

"Wait so I was supposed to drop my focus?" She asks, getting up out of her seat.

He nods, "Sometimes it's best to drop a spell if it means you don't get hurt by something else."

Mia took that information and thought about it, stewing it over. She nods in understanding saying, "Sometimes dropping my spell is the best thing to do because I don't know what's going to hit me while I do."

He nods and says, "And spells take a while to get started up under most circumstances. Most times it's easier to just shoot the thing you don't like than to cast a spell on it."

"Is that why you have that gun," She asks?

He nods and says, "Exactly, plus if someone mortal starts trying to take my life, I'd rather deal with the mortal police than Gordon and his magical police."

Just the mention of Gordon makes her shudder. She had just accidentally killed someone about a month back now, and she was almost killed for it. She frowns and asks, "So why did they decide to not kill me then? Why rehabilitation?"

"I don't claim to know what the White Council believes or thinks, but they have been trying to rehabilitate those who have made mistakes more often recently. Maybe magic is on the downward turn and they want to keep their magic practitioners up. It's not like the White Council is dying any time soon."

She looks at him confused and asks, "Why do you say that?"

"Us magic users have much longer life spans than normal people. I've known plenty to live for close to 500 years."

"500 years! No way. How old are you?"

Adrian seems to think about it for a bit before saying, "I believe I'm about 40 years old. 42 exactly."

Mia stares at him in awe. He was about as old as some of her old professors but looked only a few years older than her. She says, "Bullshit! You don't look any older than me."

He smiles at her, "I can assure you that I am, and I can assure you that you'll look like what you look like now for probably another century or two. Of course that's assuming you don't get your block knocked."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well assuming that you don't fuck up a spell and blow yourself up, or do something that pisses off the council you should be fine. Wizards have many enemies though, mortal and immortal."

Mia takes a moment before nodding and she asks, "Aren't we just going to be interrogating some people? Why are you taking your gun with you?"

"We've gotta talk to a vampire lord and a gang leader. I'd be stupid to not be carrying some sort of contingency plan on me, even several," Adrian responds, going to a wooden cane holder that didn't have many canes on it. It has an umbrella, a puffy coat hanging on one of the pegs, and a golden and white staff that, as he grabs it, has a blue iridescent shine to it. Adrian looks to her and cocks his head to the side, signaling her to follow him.

Mia jumps up and moves up to his side. He walks them to the door and nods to her, to test her bracelet. She puts her hand out to the door. As she does she felt the door's power but when her hand touched the door the power recedes and now it was an ordinary door. The bracelet works. She lets a deep breath out and opens the door for the two. They then get into the truck and Adrian drives them back into the city.

"So when talking to a vampire, what should we be bringing for these contingency plans," Mia asks looking at Adrian.