The great wizard's mission

A muscular fellow, just over 30 years of age, with a padlock-style beard and carrying a huge wooden staff in his hands; led the way down the main street of Varden City, with sure steps and a clear course. Passersby turned away at the sight of him and the ladies looked at him with a certain longing and desire. It was as if he was the owner of the place and a rising movie star, both at the same time. The man was closely followed by a group of young men, who seemed expectant, as they watched the store windows around them with some enthusiasm. None of these young men were over 15 years of age and all wore long gray robes, without exception. After a brief stroll, the group reached the foot of a strange tower that had a majestic spire roof and was undoubtedly the tallest building in this city. It could be said that it was a structure that deserved to be admired by all the inhabitants of the place. But, this construction was nothing compared to that distant white tower, whose size was at least three times bigger than this one and which was located several kilometers away from the city, inside the depths of the immense forest. The burly fellow raised his eyes in the direction of that distant tower and could not help but stare at its glowing tip for a moment. "I really hate that damned green light that attracts birds and idiots alike." He grumbled, inwardly, as he looked away with some noticeable distaste. "Master Xian Is something wrong?" asked one of the young girls following him, as she noticed the grimace of displeasure on her master's face. This girl had beautiful blonde hair, an enviable figure, and a face that looked as if it had been carved by the gods themselves. She would undoubtedly be considered a total beauty, by all those lucky enough to have the chance to see her. "Brenda, don't worry, it's nothing. I simply want to remind everyone to avoid looking directly towards the tip of the great ivory tower." Explained, Master Xian. "You have warned us about this before, Master Xian. But I don't understand, why on earth can't we do such a thing?" Asked a young man, with disheveled hair and a magnificent bearing, while keeping his brow slightly furrowed. The other novices in the group also stopped their ears, as they searched for an answer that would satisfy them. The green light shining from the top of that distant tower was truly beautiful and soothing. All the young people in the group loved being able to observe it more closely, on each of their few visits to Varden City. "I'm sorry, Konnan. The reason for this is not something I can share with any of you right now. But you will eventually find out, in the future, when you succeed in obtaining the title of Official Wizard. For now, just try to listen to me. This is for your own good" said the master. And then, he knocked three times on the wooden door of the tower in front of him. A small boy, who was accompanied by two muscular escorts, greeted them with a wide, and noticeably forced, smile on his face. "Grand Wizard Omar Xian, I have been expecting you. It is truly an honor to be able to receive you in person at my humble town hall." Said the old man, in a very correct and courteous tone. But, anyone who could appreciate the small details, could notice a sly look on his face. "Likewise, Baron de Varden" Replied Omar Xian, as he entered the tower with full resolution. "Oh, haha! Now I do believe that those rumors must be true that say that prestigious magicians don't pay much attention to what happens outside their magical laboratories, because the experiments they conduct are of extreme importance to them." blurted out the old man with a shrewd smile on his face, which amply displayed his yellowish teeth. "Baron de Varden, what do you mean by these words?" Asked Omar, with a frown. "It's nothing important, haha! It's just that the king has extended my domain to beyond the territory of the eastern mines and promoted me to earl during the past month." explained the old man, in a proud and haughty tone that did not match his humble words. "Congratulations on your promotion, Count of Varden" Said Omar Xian, without changing his facial expression in the slightest, as he nodded his head. "Hehe! Yes, it was quite a surprise. But we mustn't worry about these minor details now. I know your time is valuable, so let's get right to the point of this meeting." The old man feigned modesty, as he led Omar and the novices into a luxurious drawing room, decorated with fine wooden furniture, oil paintings, and a striking red long-pile carpet. The group sat around a long table, while servants served them reddish tea; which gave off an unmistakable smell of strawberries. "Before we begin the meeting, I want you to know that I have always had a bit of admiration for your person. Despite not coming from any noble house, nor having any powerful backing behind you, and you managed to become the youngest Grand Wizard of the last two decades. This is certainly a fascinating achievement for someone from such a humble background" Commented the earl, in a tone that pretended to be flattering. Omar nodded his head slightly while looking unperturbed. He was already used to hearing sarcastic comments like this, which actually indicated that he had only been promoted from Official Wizard to a Grand Wizard, just because he had the favor of the academy's archmage. But, deep down, he didn't care what the nobles of this realm thought. For someone like Omar Xian, these fellows were just a good source of income and nothing more. "I have been told that you have fantastic and effective methods when it comes to finding a person's whereabouts is this so?" Asked the earl, genuinely intrigued. "I know a few tricks" Replied Omar, dryly, as he nodded his head slightly. "That's fantastic! I'm looking for a young criminal who recently escaped from the city jail and my men have lost track of him. The reason I hired you, is to find her as soon as possible and bring her to me." Explained the old man, raising his cup with reddish liquid inside. Omar Xian frowned and asked: "Is the young lady in question a powerful Official Mage?" "No, nothing like that. She is a very ordinary girl, with nothing mentionable to add, and whose only notable quality is her facility for lying and deceiving others." Stated the earl, as he slowly blew on his tea to cool it. "Excuse me, but you're telling me that he requested a class A mission to find a missing girl who is totally ordinary?" asked Omar, with an increasingly frown on his face, as the earl continued to nod his head. "And he even specified that he needed a Grand Wizard for this mission, using my name as a preference, but now I'm not so sure about this. Many official mages specialize in quests and even a few apprentice mages do, but I don't think someone of my caliber is really needed here. Don't take this the wrong way, Count, but this would only be a D or C class mission at most, and you could have saved yourself quite a bit of money by just explaining the situation properly when placing the order with Celestine Academy." Blurted out Omar, somewhat annoyed at being called in for such a menial job. He hadn't gotten to become one of the few great wizards at the prestigious academy, to simply look for a random girl. "While the girl is perfectly normal, the mission to find her is not. In fact, if I had the option to ask for an S-class mission, I wouldn't hesitate to do so. But I can only tell you one thing Mr. Xian, finding this young lady and bringing her to me discreetly, is a matter of enormous importance to me. This is the main reason why I summoned you here today so that I could tell you in person how important this matter is to me." Explained the count, in a solemn tone. "Well, you have already paid a more than generous sum of money for this. So I have no reason to refuse the easy job, simply tell me all the information you have about the young lady and I will do everything in my power to find her." "I happen to have a painting of the girl. That's her." The count pointed with his finger to an oil painting, which was on a nearby wall. And the group moved closer to see it in detail. The colors were vivid and the picture appeared to have been painted recently, possibly, by some respectable artist of great skill. "Brown hair, honey-colored eyes, gentle face, quite beautiful no doubt, about 16 or 17 years of age perhaps, and her dress has the characteristic style worn by high nobility south of the continent.” Omar analyzed, somewhat perplexed, as the girl's face seemed slightly familiar to him. But, although he tried hard to remember for a moment, he could not discover exactly where he knew her from. The Grand Wizard, asked: "Do you have any of her belongings or previous clues that I can use in this quest?" The count beckoned to the butler and he left the room with light steps. Within seconds, he returned with a wooden box in his hands. Opening the box and showing its contents, he explained: "This comb is hers and she always used to use it before. We've had it stored in this airtight box for days now, awaiting your arrival." "If this is all you have of hers, you'd better close the box at once; before you disperse her scent any further." Cut in Omar. And then he finished his tea in one sip and said: "Where was she last seen, and how long ago?" "It was two days ago, she left Varden City through the south gate and headed, on horseback, in the direction of the Celestine Academy territories. My men followed her there but did not dare to enter the dense forest, because, as you know, the academy is considered a city-state and we did not want to generate an unnecessary diplomatic problem, between the Kingdom of Arcadia and the Celestine Academy." Explained the count, pretending great rectitude and respect for the rules. "Or maybe, your men didn't want to risk being roasted by a Fireball." Blurted Omar Xian, with a slight smile. And then, he added: "Since it's probably within the grounds of Celestine Academy, it's probably already been found by one of the novices, apprentices, or official wizards there. But, it would help me if you could tell me the girl's name and the reason why you are searching so hard for her." The earl frowned sharply, for the first time in the entire conversation, and stated: "Her name is Alinna, and the reason is private." "Alinna alone? Without a last name?" retorted Omar, trying to hide his concerns; so that they would not be visible to the earl. "Only Alinna." Affirmed the Earl of Varden, with a certain grimace of discomfort on his face. "Alright, we're leaving now and I'll bring you news soon." Sentenced Omar, heading towards the exit of the hall abruptly. The wizard novices looked at each other, confused, not understanding the reason for the sudden end of the meeting and the early departure. Some hadn't even started drinking their tea yet! But they reacted quickly and, after bowing slightly in front of the count, followed their master with light steps. "Does this old man really think that I spend my time locked in an arcane laboratory all day long and know nothing about what's going on the mainland? Or that I'm so dumb that I can't make the connections from the little clues he showed me?" Thought Omar, somewhat annoyed at being underestimated, as he walked out of the tower with big steps. "Master Did something happen?" Asked young Brenda, in her weak, sweet voice. "Don't worry, it's nothing important" Replied Omar, in a neutral and confident tone of voice. But, since leaving the tower, his frown had barely loosened and he couldn't help but make relations in his mind, about the possible brutal plot he was getting himself right into. "Her name is Alinna... And her image in that painting is so similar to that empress.... I've never seen her in person, but if my suspicions are true, she's very similar to her late mother. Damn! What am I getting myself into, I'm hunting the true successor of the greatest empire on the continent!"