Warren the Wizard Ch. 04

Jr. enacted his spell while Mortimer was concentrating on his father. A large rock hit Mortimer in the head from the side and he dropped like the proverbial rock, out cold. Jr and his father quickly moved to tie Mortimer up and gag him so he couldn't recite any spells. They also blindfolded him because he couldn't attack what he couldn't see.

When they saw both of their leaders so easily subdued the remaining men quickly ran away, some of them dropping the clubs they were wielding. Most kept their knives in their hands as they ran, however.

Warren said, "Some of you pick Mortimer up and bring him with us. See if we need to do anything for any of these other men before we go. We'll see what's in the Mayor's office before we try to find the third bad wizard."

Brenda quickly moved to check Kincaid while Gloria began checking some of the other down men. Kincaid and the three who dropped with him were dead. Two of the men that attacked while Jr and Warren were busy with Mortimer were still alive but badly injured. Gloria headed over to Warren to see what he wanted to do with them when Milt solved the problem for her. He pulled his knife and quickly slit their throats before joining them. He said, "None of them made it Sire. Shall we move on?"

Warren looked at him for a moment, smiled, and said, "Thank you Milt. Shall we go," and headed down the street.

When they entered the Mayor's office they found a pigsty. There was trash, bottles and rotting food strewn all over. There was a body laying just outside the back door and several men and women locked in the city's jail cells. Most of them showed obvious signs of being beaten. The women had been raped as well, or at least used hard for sex. They would verify the rape part after they cared for the injuries and fed them.

After seeing the state of the prisoners and the office Warren stalked back into the office where Milt and the men were holding Mortimer. He grabbed Mortimer and slammed him against a wall. "You asshole," he said. "I knew you were trash when I kicked you out of the school but I never thought you'd stoop to this level of barbarism. How could you possible justify treating people like this?"

Mortimer looked toward Warren's voice and sneered. Warren reached out and none too gently, took off the gag. Mortimer licked his lips and said, "Oh, get over it old man. They're nothing but peasants. What difference does it make? They're here to serve those of us who have the will to take what we deserve. We're Wizards for God's sake! You never had to guts to take control, always preaching about what we could do for the sakes of them. That's not how the world works.

"So, now you have me. Big deal. I'll just start over after you leave. This time I'll wait longer before I move but one day soon, I'll have a kingdom!"

"Mort, what am I going to do with you?" Warren turned away and said, "Milt, you and the men find out where he got his spells. I think we need to visit with his new Master. I've had enough of his mouth."

"Yes Sire."

Warren and the women walked out of the room. Soon they heard Mortimer scream. His screams continued for several minutes. With an oath, Warren stood and headed for the main room. Brenda and Gloria grabbed his arms and Gloria said, "Warren. Please, you know we need to know. I know you hate to hear this but if he won't tell us voluntarily, what other way do we have to get the information?"

The sounds continued through the late afternoon and into the night. From time to time Warren heard voices in the background. He finally drifted off to sleep well after dark with the questioning still proceeding.

The whole group was present the next morning for breakfast. It didn't appear as if anyone got much good rest during the night. Finally, Warren asked, "Did you get anything from him? How badly did you injure him?"

Milt looked at the women and said, "Yes, Sire. I think we got all we need from him. He claims he found an old wizard's tomb and managed to raid it. He came away with some gold, enchanted items and a small library. He swore he taught himself the spells from the books he found."

"That seems ... You know, he just might have done that. I noticed his and Kincaids spells were poorly executed and rather underwhelming."

Gloria said, "My Husband, it is possible. Many wizards are laid to rest with their prized possessions. A great number of them prepare their tombs well before their death, putting their best treasure inside to await their return. When they feel death is upon them, they enter their tombs to die so they can go to the afterlife with some possessions. Of course, if they die before they get back to the tomb, say because someone else aids in their early demise, the tombs remain empty of their body, waiting to be found."

"OK, you know best about things like this. Now, how is Mortimer?"

Everyone looked guilty, many looking down or anywhere except toward Warren. Finally, Gloria said, "My Husband. I'm afraid poor Mortimer isn't with us any longer. It seems he managed to escape from this reality. Perhaps he's learned his lesson and will be a better person in his next incarnation."

"What, he escaped? How could you let him... OH! Well, did you manage to find out about the third wizard before he left us?"

"Oh, we know what happened to him. That was the body just outside the back door. From the looks of things, he upset Mortimer or Kincaid. There was scorch marks and small little holes all over his body."

"Ok, fine. Do we know where Mortimer's plunder is and where the tomb can be found?"

"Yes. He said his plunder is in his room on the top floor and we have general directions to the tomb. It's surprisingly close to home. It may even be a tomb prepared by the wizard we found in our house."

"OK, great. Let's finish up here and head back home."

It took them most of the rest of the day to take care of the business associated with the errant young wizards and reassure the local people that they had no intention of just taking over. They found some of the more influential citizens and charged them with returning the stolen property if they could find the original owners. Warren made sure they realized he WOULD check back to verify proper handling of the property. That which was not returnable was to be converted to community use or sold and the money used for the community.

Warren and his crew did take all the items associated with magic with them when they departed, however. On the way home they intended to go by the location of the Wizard's tomb or library or whatever it was. From the information they received from good old Mortimer, they weren't sure what he had actually found or even the exact location.