Of Heroes and Magic Mishaps

Chapter One

Anwendar stepped out of the building into Virinova's bright afternoon sun. His shoulders sagged with relief as he left the oppressive dust filled heat behind. He wiped his brow, then tugged forward a strand of hair, carefully arranging it so it followed the curve but didn't cover the scar that split his right brow. Though the incident that had given him the scar still brought heat to his cheeks, it gave him an odd sense of pride. No one else had gotten hurt and losing an outpost served the academy right. They shouldn't have rejected him. Again.

A weight pressing against his back moments before Cos appeared on his shoulder. The squirrel-shaped creature strained his neck, then looped his spindly tail over Anwendar's ear.

"Don't mope," Cos said. He'd gone pilfering fruit again. Anwendar sniffed. Grape. His familiar sure had expensive taste.

"I'm not," he said as he reached up to flick the offending tail. "Out of my ear."

Cos complied but only by pulling his tail back a fraction of an inch. "Sure. Must be mistaking joy for your woe-is-me-face. My mistake."

Anwendar grimaced. "No woe but there might be murderous rage in the near future."

"That bad?"

"You wouldn't believe it. They're accusing each other of fraudulent trades that haven't happened yet."

Worse yet, lunch had come and gone while a bunch of stuffy old merchants yelled at each other across a table. Oh, how he'd wanted to put them all in the corner until they learned to play nice. They'd come to no conclusion, of course. That would require many more accusations and insults. Tomorrow. He sighed. One day, he'd be just like them.

A man in sweat-stained clothing pulled a cart, laden with wood and various tools, past them. Its wheels threw up clouds of dust with every turn, no doubt staining Anwendar's cuffs and boots. He smiled.

"Think it's weird that I'll miss all the loose dirt when we go back home?"

Cos huffed, his breath hot against Anwendar's cheek. "No weirder than anything else you do, Wend." He tapped his master's cheek with one of his curved claws. "Like stand in the blazing sun ."Seriously, Wend, there's a very nice patch of shade just across the street. My skin's pulling taut and cracking already."

"Sorry." Anwendar didn't mind the heat--liked it even--but, despite the jovial tone, he knew the truth in Cos' words. With his thick but pale skin, the familiar just wasn't made for life in Hazing where temperatures ran between warm and hot. Another sign that his summoning had been somewhat accidental.

"Back to the Inn?" Cos asked hopefully.

"Not yet, I'm afraid," Anwendar said. It was bad enough that he had to start every day in Virinova with negotiations, but he'd be damned, if he ended them with those, too. No, he had other plans. Other indoors plans. Still, he felt a twinge of guilt as he turned left, away from nearby relief for Cos and toward the road to the edge of town. After a moment, he reached up to remove the band he'd used to keep his hair somewhat presentable throughout the morning. Where he was going, he didn't need to pretend. "I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do."

Cos sighed as he settled in closer to Anwendar's neck. "I hate you. At least bleach it already."

"You find me one Hazer who's hair is lighter than mine and I'll do it." It was the same challenge Anwendar issued every time Cos made that demand. So far, the familiar hadn't managed and Anwendar doubted he ever would. A few dozen generations of interbreeding hadn't been enough to give Anwendar a shot at Hazing's signature deep black hair. His ancestor's insistence to keep bringing fresh Reaches blood back into the lineage might have something to do with that.