Hello there readers! Here is the next installment of The Thaumaturgist for your reading pleasure! I hope you all enjoy! As always, please feel free to leave me a review!

 

 

 

 

 

The Thaumaturgist (Chapter 8)

 

by

 

Elite Shade

 

 

 

 

 

Daso was humming a tuneless song to himself as he finished packing. After working out the finer details with Holst, Daso had then taken Soaria back to the shelter, promising to come visit the little oshel after he was done with the job, and then returned to start finishing up all of the current orders that were still on his docket. It had been a few more busy days in the shop, with Daso taking down new orders, after alerting the customers that he'll be away for a week, before he finally finished up the current set of projects and sent messages to the customers to let them know that they were ready ahead of schedule. After that, Daso then set about installing yet another new upgrade to his security system, just in case. Daso sighed as he placed the last panty and bra set that he was taking with him for the week that he had calculated would be all he needed to build the security system.

"Run system diagnostics," Daso said as he hefted the dark brown leather suitcases and carried them into his garage to load up onto the cart.

"Running," The holographic phoenix chirped in a feminine voice as Daso headed back into the shop and started lifting some crates of supplies and materials he was going to need for the job, his mind occasionally drifting back to what little Soaria had said about wishing to be as beautiful as him when she grew up. Daso stopped and looked in a nearby mirror and stared at his reflection.

"System diagnostics finished," the phoenix said, bringing Daso out of his thoughts and back to reality. "All systems running normally."

"Excellent." Daso said with a smirk, reflecting on the new programs and defenses he had created as a nasty surprise to anyone who would try to break into his shop whilst away... after making Soaria swear to stay at the shelter for the week that he'll be gone.

Soon enough, the last crate was loaded up and secured in the cart, and he was off. Daso smiled to himself as he zipped through the different streets, heading in the direction of the western gate. He slowed the cart to a stop as he approached a long line of vehicles all attempting to leave through the gate one at a time. Each driver was being stopped and questioned by the guards, who were using a series of floating metallic and crystalline spheres to scan their vehicles.

Either they're looking for contraband being smuggled out of the city or looking for someone very specific, Daso thought as he waited in line and watched the guards. Seeing their red uniforms and tri-corn hats brought thoughts of Tietro to Daso's mind. Daso smiled as he thought of the elf, standing there with his long blond hair tied back in a ponytail, his uniform jacket and shirt open, revealing his bare chest--

Where in the hells did THAT come from?! Daso shook his head and blushed furiously, only now realizing that he was feeling warm all over. Daso refocused his attention to the line of carts, wagons, mechanical horses, and hover carriages as the all inched forward. Finally it was Daso's turn.

"Alright miss, if you'll just hand me your identification papers and answer a few questions," one of the guards, and orc, said politely upon walking up to him. Daso once again winced at being referred to as miss, but held his tongue. He had used the time in line to locate all of his proper documents on hand and in order for just this reason, and smiled as he handed them over. The orc guard blushed, his green skin becoming a darker shade of green.

"Thank you Miss Daso," he said.

"I'm afraid that we're going to have to scan your cart for any traces of Luxithium and Gollowmite," the guard apologetically explained as the hovering orbs bagan their scans in perfect synchronization. Daso eyed the scanners and smirked a little.

"Aren't those a little outdated?" Daso asked.

"They're the top of the line scanners produced by the Thaumaturgist's Guild, Miss."

"Figures," Daso said with a snort, noticing the confusion on the guard's face. "I'll bet that they charge your precinct an arm and a leg for them too, don't they?"

"Uh... well... I'm not really in charge of the finances... but there were a few cutbacks made in the budget to get them, yes..."

"And I'd be willing to bet that they don't last longer than a month's worth of usage before they each need to be brought in for repairs."

"...How'd you know?" He asked, looking at Daso with suspicion.

"I'm a Thaumaturgist," Daso said simply, feeling a little irked at the surprised expression on the guard's face. The guard double-checked the documents to confirm what the young lady on the cart had just informed him.

"I see."

"Here," Daso said, handing the guard his card, with all of his shop's contact information on it just as the orbs finished their search, giving a chime that indicated that the cart was contraband free.

"Can you please hurry this up?!" They both turned to see an agitated dwarf on a hover chariot, wearing a bright blue blazer with ruffles and a powdered wig. Daso's eyes quickly spotted a dark gray metal canister partially visible on the underside of the carriage, and smirked again before turning back to the still slightly confused guard.

"I'm a freelancer, not affiliated with the Guild in any way," he said, the spheres beginning their scan of the carriage, passing right by the canister. "And I can build for you scanners that are not only going to be cheaper than what you've got in use right now, but also more durable, have a longer battery life, and will not be thrown off by a simple Noctium smuggling container," Daso said, pointing to the very canister on the carriage. The orc guard was still looking confused, and also appeared to be eyeing Daso's chest, before he got the hint of what he was being told. He narrowed his eyes at the dwarf.

"Thank you, Miss, I shall definitely be passing this to the Chief herself," the orc said, holding up Daso's card in his hand, before pocketing it. "Have a safe trip," he said to Daso, who climbed back up on the cart and started it right back up. Daso drove through the gate, hearing the loud swearing from the dwarf as he was asked to get down and open the canister. Daso turned to see him standing on the ground, hanging his head as he broke the seal on the canister, and the orbs all started flashing red and letting out a wailing alarm.

 

A short while later...

 

Daso sighed happily as he breathed in the fresh morning air. He looked around at the miles and miles of grassland beyond either side of the road. The sky was a clear blue without a single cloud, and the sun was shining brightly, gently warming the cool breeze that was gently caressing Daso's long raven hair. As the cart drove along, Daso decided to reach down and fiddle with a small glowing purple pyramid device with knobs all along it, a series of static and muffled voices and sounds emitting from it, before he finally stopped.

"Once again with the weather report, it's gonna be a nice and long sunshiny next couple of days, followed up with some cloud cover rolling in later on in the week with a small chance of thunderstorms and scattered showers," a male voice said enthusiastically. "And that wraps up the weather report. Up next your top ten newest hits, starting with, Sapphire Sunsets by The Gemstones!" A slow and low piano solo began, playing a few sad notes from the pyramid radio.

"There we go," Daso said aloud, unwrapping his breakfast roll that he bought from a street vendor just before reaching the gate. Enjoying the feeling of travel on a beautiful day, tasting the still warm flakey crust of the roll with a fine citrus jelly filling, while listening as the song started to sound a little more upbeat, now joined with a few other instruments, one Daso knew was a violin, Daso felt relaxed. In the distance, Daso could see a large multi-colored serpentine form gliding through the sky, a sparkling lights trailing behind the end of its tail.

A Nye Wyrm! Daso watched in awe as the flying serpent glided down lower in a circular motion, before shooting straight up into the sky. As the cart continued on its way, Daso eventually came to a halt right where the wyrm had flown over the road. Climbing down, Daso spotted and immediately started to gather up the cast-off scales, the underside of each brightly catching and reflecting the light, and filling up three and a half jars with them, making sure to seal them up tight. Daso then made another cursory glance, wanting to search the nearby grassy fields for more of the scales, but deciding to continue on his way to the fort.

 

Back in Pharanx...

 

Three hooded figures were lurking in the back alley behind Daso's, two keeping watch while the other was mixing a thermos with several different vials of liquid, careful not to spill any.

"Guys, we can still back out of this," one of the two lookouts said nervously. "I've been hearing some rumors about this shop and anyone who tries to break in."

"Shut the hells up, Morley." The one with the thermos said as he screwed on the lid and began to shake it up vigorously. "That giant bug lady is gonna pay us way more than what we could ever make on our usual jobs." the apparent ringleader hissed as he stopped shaking the thermos, and started waking towards the back door of the shop. Up above, there was a loud chirping sound.

"Stupid pigeons," he said as he started to unscrew the thermos lid, a loud and low hiss coming from it along with a glowing blue smoke. He then cocked his arm back, and hurled the open thermos at the back door, looking away and shutting his eyes tightly, not seeing the thermos and all of its contents pause in mid-air, and then hurl itself at the back alley wall behind him. He opened his eyes in time to see a bright blue flash that blinded him just as the smoke ate through and dissolved the back alley wall, the liquid pooling at the ground doing the same to the pavement. He barely had time to regain his still blinded bearings, a loud ringing sound in his ears, as he felt his two cohorts try to drag him away.

"Grecco, you okay?" The one called Morley asked. Before the one named Grecco could answer, however, a loud and authoritative voice rang out behind them.

"FREEZE!" The two who could still see turned slowly, and gulped. At each opening of the back alley were guards, several with their hands resting near their swords or pistols, some clearly ready with spells if any of the three tried to make a run for it through the now gaping hole in the wall.

"Hands behind your heads, and lie down on the ground!" The three complied, as a series of pictures of the three in the act of attempting to break into the shop and destroying the wall behind them fluttered down to the feet of one of the guards, who looked up and smiled at the holographic phoenix, which chirped happily before fading away. Just before the guards cuffed them, everyone heard another loud and angry sounding screech in the distance.

 

Back on the open road...

 

Daso was now traveling across some small hills, the rocky outcropping of the fort finally coming into view. Morning had already given way to noon, which in turn gave way to afternoon. Daso had enjoyed a wrapped sandwich and drink he had packed for himself in his cooler, and was now humming along to a catchy tune on the radio. Along the way he had caught a glimpse at another, much larger, nye wyrm, what had appeared to be a herd of unicorns galloping in the distance, and a lone tree that he suspected was more than it appeared to be, seeing as how it seemed to follow his cart for a while before stopping.

Seeing how close the fort was, Daso shifted gears, and soon the cart was speeding along, racing towards the site. As it got closer, Daso started to see more and more of what Holst was talking about when he had said it had fallen into disrepair. The entire eastern wall had completely collapsed, bringing down a nearby lookout tower with it. Other sections were crumbling away, everything pock-marked with holes, some caused by erosion and natural weathering, others clearly from cannonball, and others still had the scorch marks from explosions around them.

"Here we go," Daso said under his breath as he pulled up to what he came to the conclusion was the portcullis at one point, in front of two heavily armed elves wearing dark brown leather uniforms, each with a crescent moon shape burned onto the right shoulder of the armor, the signature for their mercenary unit.

"Who goes there?" One called out in a gruff voice while the other kept his rifle trained on him. Out of the corner of his eye, Daso noticed a few more riflemen and archers looking out and around the grasslands from atop the walkways along the walls.

"My name is Daso. I'm the Thaumaturgist that Holst hired to help fix this place up and to set up a new security system around it," he said, calmly and evenly. The two guards at the gate exchanged a look, and then one pulled out a red disk. It floated from his hand hovered in the air, broadcasting a holographic image that Holst had taken of Daso the same day he had been hired for the job. Satisfied, the mercenary with the rifle lowered it, and the two stepped aside to let Daso's cart through.

As Daso parked his cart in the courtyard, he looked around. There were hastily built ladders and platforms, all constructed clearly from whatever wood that could be found in and around the fort. Then Daso spotted several other carts nearby, all with lumber, cut stone, and other building supplies, as well as a few filled with boxes of ammunition, and three wagons filled with fresh food supplies.

"The construction crew is holed up in the servants' quarters," a new mercenary, this one also an elf, said as he strode up. In addition to the uniform brown leather armor with the crescent moon on the shoulder, there were also a few badges pinned to his front left breast-pocket.
"My men have taken up residence in the barracks." He smiled gently, and then held out his hand for Daso to take. "I'm Hectalo, retired former general of Atzoria." Daso was surprised as he shook the older-looking elf's hand, having heard of him. Once he was hailed as the hero of Atzoria for his superior strategic planning, as well as for riding to the front lines to fight alongside the soldiers he commanded.

Unfortunately, due to very well known corruption within Atzoria's parliament, all military leaders who opposed certain laws and regulations were retired, and their positions filled by those that the current governing body felt were more in line with their desires. Desires which mainly consisted of taking more territories from the nearby wild lands by force and proclaiming anyone living there that they were now part of the Atzorian empire. This was a decade before the empire was defeated by an alliance of various barbarian tribes who had laid claim to all of those wild lands hundreds of years before.

The tribes did not simply stop at retaking their own lands back though, they had wanted to send a message to the rest of the world about what happens when they are angered. All of Atzoria, all of its territories, and all of its farmlands were razed to the ground. With all of the nobility slaughtered and the last of its army broken and scattered to the wind, Atzoria ceased to be. All in the span of a single month.
Daso looked upon the older elf in awe. His short cropped blonde hair had more than a few streaks of silver. His bright amber eyes showed laugh lines, along with a mostly faded scar beneath his left eye. Like most elves, his cheekbones were high and his overall build was slender, yet wiry.

"So you're our Thaumaturgist?"

"Yes sir!" Daso said, smiling proudly. The general smiled back.

"Good to have you on board then, Miss Daso. I can have one of my men show you to your quarters."

"Thank you sir, but I think I would like to get started as soon as possible on the security system."

The general chuckled and smiled warmly.

"Alright then, we'll leave you to it. Just be on guard though. The bandits we evicted are large in numbers and dead set of retaking this place. Every time that they've attacked had been at night. However, if you see anything strange, don't hesitate to tell either me or one of my men."

"Understood, sir," Daso said. The general nodded back to him before heading off. Daso immediately began to unload a few choice crates, opening them and getting started on assembling a few devices.

 

 

 

 

And there you have it, dear readers! I certainly do hope that you enjoyed the new chapter!