Castle Addlebrained

Outside the spooky, mysterious castle the sky was filled with ominous, black clouds. Two menacing dragons swooped and lifted, spewing flames upon the rocky, scorched ground. There was only one way into the castle, set on the end of a small peninsula, a narrow bridge over jagged, rocky outcroppings that offered no cover from the eyes flying overhead. The dark, murky waters around the peninsula swirled with movement; large mutated sea creatures watched and waited for unwary visitors to become their next meal. Not that anyone desired to visit the castle or the evil wizard who lived within.

At least, that’s the impression everyone seemed to have, an evil wizard living in his enchanted castle. What else would they think when one spring day the coast was flowering and green, the crystal waters abundant with fish, but the next day there’s a rocky and barren peninsula jutting out into turbid, oily water filled with hideous sea creatures that feasted on anything they could get their scaly tentacles around. The normally blue and sunny sky was now gone for miles around the castle. It never rained, there was no wind, and the black clouds hung over the castle every day. Sometimes, a thick fog would settle upon the ground, and when it did, some of the mutated creatures from the sea would venture over the jagged rocky ground, looking for anything they could creep upon and feast upon.

Shortly after the castle mystically appeared, the two dragons showed up. They never ventured far from the castle, a few miles in any direction looking for man or beast to feed on, but never so far that they couldn’t see and guard the castle, except if they spotted food in the distance, perhaps a mounted rider, or a stray sheep or goat. Then, one or the other, but never both at once, would climb high into the sky, then like an arrow, shoot down upon their prey. They had hit horse and rider so hard with these dives, that both horse and rider left their shoes and boots behind.

No one knew who the wizard was or where he came from, and no one knew why he had come. All they knew is it was best to give a wide path to the castle, both on land and by sea. As long as you didn’t get too near, you were pretty safe. As for traveling, travel the roads early or late, hanging tight to cover, and chances are, the dragons wouldn’t notice you. But, just in case, everyone who knew traveled did so with both eyes watching the sky.

Inside the castle, a lone figure moved around. Most every window was glowing with light, but there was only the one wizard who dwell in the castle, usually busy working on some magic potion or reading tomes of spells and curses. Other than the wizard, the only other residents were a few mice and rats that scurried around the walls and hid among the shadows. His familiar was often present, a supernatural entity or spirit that often took animal form, ready to assist him in his practice of magic.

If you were to look closer at the wizard, you may be surprised to see he was not ancient like most of his kind. In fact, he was actually quite young, although one could never guess the age of a wizard. He wore the traditional, dark, flowing robes that many wizards are seen in. On his, small white starts seemed to flicker and shine. It was difficult to tell if they moved with the robe, or if they moved on their own. He had a crooked piece of willow about four feet long with a glowing red crystal on the top. Often he would use this much like a walking stick, but on occasion he would call upon the powers within for some spell or magical display.

The castle was dank and musty, filled with rooms and doorways. The wizard new where most of the doors would take you, but not all of them. He did know, you wanted a good spell of protection as well as a spell of return with you before stepping through these unknown doors. Once, shortly after the castle had appeared, he stepped through a door with no spell of defense, and was almost eaten by a huge crocodile. Even though he had been in the castle, when he stepped through the door, he stepped right into a huge swamp. Luckily, the door was still open, and he had not gone fully through it. When the crocodile lunged for him, he jumped back, landing safely back inside the castle.

On another occasion, he had woken during the night, hungry from not stopping his work to eat any dinner. He went to the kitchen and conjured up a sandwich, some chips, dip, and a six pack of beer. Then, he went back to his study and read a bit while he munched on his late night meal. By the time he finished, he was very tired, very full, and needing to use the water closet very bad. Back then, he didn’t use magical candles, so he was in the habit of blowing them out when not in use; candles where difficult to come by and costly. In the dark room, he opened the wrong door and stepped through.

He had learned his lesson after the crocodile, so he had a few defensive spells memorized all the time now, but he had not yet learned any return spells and had not grabbed his crystal staff, which had GPS, Global Positioning Spells, installed. Of course, he didn’t think he needed anything, being pretty sure which of the hundreds of doors within the castle, he needed. See, each room of the castle had ten or more doors, many of which just went to another place in the castle. Some of these doors were magical, so you could go to rooms on different floors and it was very convenient, but other magic doors could take you to faraway places. This was the case on this night.

The wizard, in the dark castle, opened the door next to the water closet by mistake and stepped through. The bright light forced him to cover his eyes as he fell through space and time and landed on a very sandy beach in Australia. Of course, no one knew were Australia even was yet, and it took him quite some time to get back home. It was lucky that no one lived there yet, except for the Aboriginal Australians who wore little to nothing. Being late at night when the wizard went for his snack, he didn’t bother putting his robes on and was dressed in only his navy blue boxers with the little yellow lightning bolts on them and his bright orange, fussy, bedroom slippers.

He may have never gotten back home if it hadn’t been for the mishap with the crocodile. He remembered going back through the door when he jumped back from the crocodile. That time, he had one foot in the doorway still and it had not gone shut. This time he had stepped right through the door and into the sky above the beach. He had fallen about ten feet onto the sand and the door had gone shut, so he could not see it. He marked where he landed with rocks, forming an arrow that pointed back towards the door. He couldn’t see it, but he knew it was there.

Next, he spent a few days building a ladder out of bamboo and vines. It took quite a while, because he had to hide every time he seen any natives. He didn’t know if they would do him harm or not, and he did not want to use a defensive spell on them and cause them harm. As it turned out, they went further out of their way to avoid him, calling him something that translated into, “white devil”.

Once the ladder was done he had to prop it up so he could climb and search for the door. He would climb up and start searching with his fingers, feeling for any irregularity in the air that might mark the door. Once he could not reach any further, he would climb down and move the ladder over just a bit and start again. By the time he finally located the door, a month had gone by. He had been lucky to land where he did, there was drinkable water nearby, and he found many crabs along the shore at night, a tasty but rather crunchy meal.

Once the door was located, he had to try and find a way to open it. There was no handle or latch on this side, and it was worthless trying to poke anything into the cracks and pry it open, after all, on this side, it was made of air. On the fourth day of trying to open the damn thing, he heard slight scratching sounds on the other side and called out to his familiar. Familiars are spirit creatures that take on animal form, assisting wizards with their magic. He was sure the scratching grew louder and soon there was a tapping on the door.

“Filbert, it is I, Marty. I went through the wrong door and I am stuck on this side. Can you open the door?” At first there was nothing, no answer, just silence. Then an outline appeared in the sky in front of him the outline of a door in bright blue energy. Slowly the door became solid, glowing with the same blue energy. Carefully, Marty used a dry stick to pry at the crack between the now visible door and the glowing doorframe. Then wham! The door magically flew open and knocked Marty right over. Both wizard and ladder landed in the sand. Marty could hear laughter, and as he turned and looked, a dozen naked natives were pointing at him and laughing, calling him doofus and white devil, in their own language, of course.

Marty couldn’t understand them until he returned home and looked up the translation in his magical translations book, but he knew he was being laughed at. He got up and thought about charging at them, but they had spears, he had nothing. Instead, he flipped them the bird, then set up his ladder and hustled up and threw the open door. To the natives, the door was not visible. They turned and ran when he vanished from the top of the ladder. Just to be safe, however, Marty pulled the ladder up and through with him before closing the door. He didn’t want any naked natives climbing up and getting into the castle.

That was the thing about Marty, he wasn’t evil, not by intent, and he despised hurting anyone. He was in general, a good guy and had good intentions. The thing is, even though the intent was good, the results weren’t always good at all. It was like a game of roulette, never knowing when a bad spell would be cast in place of the good spell he intended.

How can a wizard not know what kind of spell he’s casting? Why, when he’s cursed, of course. And Marty was. To better understand this, we should look closer at Marty and how he ended up here.

Marty was born in the village of Green Shade, quite near Middle Brook Castle. He was just a mere 163 years ago, not so old for a wizard, but a good two lifetimes for us common folk. Right from the start, things were not the best for Marty, starting with how his dear mother conceived him.

Mable, Marty’s mother, worked at the castle by day, and then would travel home each evening by royal coach. The village was just five miles from the castle, but the royal family was kind and set the coach out morning and evening to provide for the villagers that had work or business at the castle keep. Green Shades was a prosperous village located in a natural clearing, three miles into the Big Wood, a mature and large forest. Middle Brook Castle was five miles south, on a large island in the middle of Red Rock River.

The river created a natural mote around the castle, and being very deep here by the island, as well as loaded with powerful undercurrents, the only way to or from the castle was by an enchanted bridge. Some wizard of the past had conjured up the bridge, which only materialized each morning and each evening. This kept the castle very safe, but it also meant that coming or going from the castle was only possible twice a day, for two hours each morning and two hours each evening.

Mable worked at the castle stables, tending the royal horses. One night a foal was born but the little filly wasn’t doing very well. Instead of leaving right away for the coach home, Mable stayed and tended the mare and the filly. Sometime around midnight, the filly stood and began feeding, making both mare and Mable quite happy. Being so late, there was no way for Mable to get home, and she would not bother the palace residence this late at night, so she made herself comfortable on a pile of soft hay, and slept out in the open, under the stars.

Sometime after she fell asleep, Marty’s father, Dillrod, arrived and found Mable sleeping peacefully in the hay. Dillrod was not a man, but an Incubus, a male demon that specifically looks for sleeping women and preys upon them for sexual activities. Mabel of course woke when the cold touch of the Incubus touched her warm skin, but it had cast a spell upon her and she was helpless to move, to speak, to do anything until after it had its pleasures.

As the sky began to lighten in the east, Dillrod knew he had to return to his own domain or be vanquished by the sun. He stood and told Mable she was now with child, and she would give the child the name Dillard, Dillrodson. But Mable refused, when the spell on her was lifted, she told Dillrod she would never give her child a demon’s name. This angered Dillrod, and he put a curse upon her unborn child. Knowing the child would be endowed with some of the demons magical abilities, the curse would randomly alter magic spells. “Your child, if not named as I have told you, will be cursed with a spell of random chaos. It will have magical power, but it will never know when one of the magical spells will misfire and create evil chaos. Woman, you will do as I say, or your child will suffer for your insolence.”

The sun was just about to come over the horizon when Dillrod reached down and put his slimy hands upon Mable’s stomach and recited some ancient incarnation. Then it stood, and sneered, “It is done.”

Mable pointed behind the demon and said, “So are you, behold the sun dipshit!”

The demon turned, and even as it did, the sun broke the horizon and Dillard shrieked in agony as he burst into flames and then was gone. Nothing but a scorched bit of ground and some vile ashes remained. His shriek, however, woke everyone, all the way to Green Shade. Queen Elsa and her guards arrived soon after hearing the shrieking demon and found Mable, who told them all that had taken place.

Queen Elsa was impressed that Mable had stayed to care for the mare and her filly, and provided for her and her unborn child. She had the royal wizard, Moldark the Mighty, search for a spell that would reverse the curse, and did all she could for her loyal servant. Now, at this time, Queen Elsa was also with child, in her seven month. Her husband, King William the Brave, was off on some crusade and was supposed to have returned by now.

Both Queen Elsa and Mable gave birth on the same day. Mable’s child had grown fast, since he was spawned by a demon, and was full term when he was born. True to her word, she refused the demon’s request and named the child Marty. Since he had no earthly father’s name to take, he was given his mother’s. It was common practice to take the father’s first name, add son to it, and it would become the child’s surname. In Marty’s case, it was his mother’s name used, hence he was Marty Mableson, not quite a wizard’s name.

Later that week, when Mable, with child present, was visited by the Queen, she stated simply, “My Queen, congratulations on the birth of Princess Rainie, oh how I wish the King would return.”

And, so powerful was the magic within Marty, he did! No more had she spoken the words when the king materialized. But, not right there, no he materialized about three hundred yards away, right in the middle of Red Rock River, where the strong undercurrents soon pulled him deep under the water. He was found later that day, washed up ashore about a quarter mile downstream just past the rapids, battered and drown.

Since Mable had told the queen everything, including the curse Dillrod had put upon her unborn child, the queen was understanding and did not seek vengeance on either Mable or Marty. But, the foul incident did set the queen into a foul mood for the rest of her life. She no longer used the title, Queen Elsa the Elegant, from that day forward she was known as, Queen Elsa the Bear-Headed.

Years passed and Marty grew, went to school, and lived much as any normal boy. He had learned early to refrain from using magic, since every now and then, one of his spells would end in disaster. Instead he used his mind and learned quite fast. He learned so fast, that the royal wizard, Moldark the Mighty, was impressed. Moldark of course knew Marty and had been trying for years to find a cure for his curse, but nothing he had was powerful enough to neutralize a demon’s curse. He did find, in an ancient tome, some information about demon curses that included a special spell that could lift the curse. The problem was, it was a very difficult spell, it required a lot of energy from a very powerful wizard, and it must be cast by the one cursed.

Because Marty was very smart and learned very fast, Moldark thought that Marty may one day be powerful enough to use this spell, but it would take years of training him. After speaking with Elsa the Bear-Headed, and with Mable, Moldark’s request to train young Marty was approved. Marty became Moldark’s apprentice. Things went well, and the two became very close. Marty not only could read a spell once and have it memorized, but he possessed ample power to perform spells and magic years beyond his training. Even so, Moldark had to be careful, for every once in a while, even the most simple spell, one Marty had mastered for quite some time, would be cursed and go awry.  One time it was a simple spell of fire, one Marty had long ago mastered and used daily. On this day, however, instead of the logs in the fireplace bursting into flames, half the Big Wood burst into flames. The entire forest would have been lost, including the village of Green Shade, but Moldark was in the Big Wood, looking for magical ferns and mushrooms when the fire exploded near where he was. He knew instantly what had happened, and he countered the spell with a spell of his own, the spell of the Monsoons. Heavy rain instantly poured from the sky and soon had the fire out.

Moldark had known that Marty’s magic was too powerful for even him to cancel, so he used alternative spells to counter Marty’s cursed spells. Even with the might of Moldark, half the forest had burned before his rain could smother the fires. Yes, Marty was very powerful, but he needed to grow even more powerful to invoke the spell that would free him from the demon’s curse. If he tried and was not strong enough, Marty would himself would be transformed into a demon!

When Marty was about sixteen, he had another mishap that changed the course of his life. He still attended school, but Moldark had suggested that Marty attend the royal school, not the public one in Green Shades. Marty had already completed every class that was available in his own high school, but there was more available through the royal school, including college classes. Queen Elsa approved the request and soon Marty was attending classes with Princess Rainie and a few of the noble children. Marty was quite taken in by Rainie, and found her, like everyone else, to be quite beautiful. Rainie also seemed to have a huge crush on Marty.

Some of the other kids where a bit jealous, but they knew that Marty, although only sixteen, was a powerful mage and had the ability to turn them into frogs, toads, or even slugs. And, he could transform them for an hour, a day, a year, or forever, so they didn’t mess with him. That left Marty and Rainie lots of time, because the other kids were all afraid to get very close to Princess Rainie since her mom was Elsa the Bear-Headed. They knew and understood that the queen was as temperamental and as dangerous as any bear, even worse.

Although neither Marty nor Rainie were old enough to date, back in these days you had to be at least twenty-five to go out on a date, they became good friends and were very close. Marty often walked Rainie home from school, carried her books, and even held her hand. Once, in the shadows of the castle gate, Rainie even gave him a quick kiss.

The incident took place on Rainie’s seventeenth birthday. It was a Saturday so no school, and since wizards work every day, Marty was doing his lessons for Moldark. He asked if he could use his magic to conjure up a surprise birthday present for Rainie, and Moldark thought it an excellent idea. “Nothing too complicated, Marty.” He had said.

“No, nothing too complicated, or to fancy. I would like to just conjure up a big bouquet of flowers for the princess, and have them delivered to her.” Marty responded.

“Ah, a wonderful idea, my boy. But, I want you to use a spell of transport and deliver the flowers to the castle with magic. It is your lesson for the day, and will be good practice.” Moldark said as he left the room.

Marty concentrated on the spell and it worked just fine, a beautiful bouquet of flowers formed in his ready hand. He put them down, closed his eyes, and again cast his spell. This time the flowers again formed out of thin air, but this time on the table across the room. He repeated this again, and again the spell worked so fine. Ready now, Marty tried to decide what kind of flowers he wanted for Rainie. He finally decided on a bouquet of common wildflowers, such as you could find growing along the banks of the river. He then took his flowers and sent them along a beam he created in his mind, to Rainie at the castle. The image vanished, and Marty knew, it was done.

He sent a mental message to Moldark, informing him it was done. Moldark transported both himself and Marty to the castle. A message came to Marty, “When we arrive, and the princess sees us, sing Happy Birthday.”

A second later they were there, but they never got to sing. Luckily they had gone or the princess would have suffocated under the flour. Yes, flour, not flowers had arrived. The curse had struck again. Not just a bunch of flour, but a ton of flour had filled the princess’s room. Together the two wizards dug and found Rainie. She was gasping, but still breathing, covered in the white powder. Just as they pulled her free, the queen stepped in. Moldark took the queen aside and explained the whole thing, and how it was even his idea for Marty to send the flowers, but the queen had already decided.

For the safety of all, Marty must leave the area, must leave the island, and must return to Green Shade. “It’s not personal, Marty. It’s not you, it’s the damned curse.”

They didn’t argue it, there was no use; everyone knew how bear-headed the queen was.

Mable was happy to have her son back home again, even though she visited him often while he lived with Moldark. And, Moldark still came and helped Marty with his lessons. For Moldark, it wasn’t any more difficult than to chant a few lines and he was at Mable’s home, ready to work with Marty. And, since Moldark and Mable seemed to have some kind of thing going, they would often go for a walk into the Big Wood while Marty practiced and studied. Moldark could have just as easily arrived while Mable was working, but they had their thing and he always showed up when she was home.

Marty enjoyed being back home, too. But, he missed the schooling and even more, he missed Rainie. The queen had told him, “You can no longer spend time with the princess. I’m sorry, Marty, it’s not you, it’s that damn curse. But, because of it, you endanger my daughter, and I can’t have that.”

Marty understood, and he didn’t want to cause anyone any harm, so he hand wrote a long note to Rainie explaining why it had to be this way. He had the queen give the note to Rainie for him, knowing the Bear-Headed would read it and see that Marty would cut all ties with Rainie.

Over the last few years, Moldark and Mable had made their thing more public, and a year ago, they had wed. Moldark now lived with them full time, and just travelled to the castle for work each day. He would wait for Mable to give Marty a list of chores, then he would give him a lesson plan for the day, then together they would transport to the castle for work for the day. Marty was happy for his mom, and he really liked having Moldark around all the time. He wasn’t a father, but he was the closest thing Marty had to one.

Both Mable and Moldark had taken the day off for Marty’s birthday, he was twenty-one. Moldark put on a big party for him, giving him lots of presents and letting him drink wine, since he was now legal age. Mable had given her son his scepter, the polished willow rod with the red crystal. She had spent a large sum for the magical crystal on top, and knew it was very powerful, just what her son would need one day when he attempted the spell to free him of the curse.

Moldark had given Marty a whole library of magical tomes. “Every wizard needs his own library, and this has every book my own does. I know you will continue to add to it, and one day, you will have the largest library of magic in the world.”

They laughed and played games, drank wine and enjoyed the afternoon. By evening, both Mable and Moldark were pretty drunk and went to bed. Marty was still having fun, and drank the last bottle of wine while he looked through his many books of magic. Then, he took his magic staff and looked it over. His mother had picked the willow and polished it, then purchased a magic crystal from a mail-order magic store in some distant city. When it arrived, she, with the help of Moldark, mounted the crystal on top. It was very beautiful, and the red crystal pulsed with inner energy.

Marty should have known it wasn’t the best idea to use the powerful crystal without reading the instructions that had come with it, but he had been drinking and wasn’t thinking the most clear. It wasn’t anything big he wanted to do, just use his new gift to conjure up another bottle or two of wine. He looked through a couple of books, found a good spell for some great wine, took the staff and spoke the words. A big, bright flash of red light pulsed from the crystal, then nothing. Marty looked all over the small house, but no wine. He thought about trying it again, but decided it best not to, since it didn’t work the first time. Instead, he took out the instructions and settled into the recliner by the fireplace to read and learn how to use this magnificent crystal.

Within minutes, a mob was forming outside. They yelled and cursed and woke Moldark and Mable. Moldark went out to see what had angered them. When he came in, he hung his head and said, “They want Marty. It seems he has turned the river to wine. No fish, no fresh water, the town is doomed and they want Marty to pay.”

Without another word, he looked at Marty. Marty confessed what he had done, and then together, as the mob grew bigger and angrier, Moldark and Marty found a spell to set things right again. “Marty, you will have to use the crystal and perform the spell, for I am not a strong enough wizard to counter your magic. Let’s hope the curse is done with you for a while.”

Marty chanted the words and waved the staff in the air. The red glow began to grow bigger and brighter, then a huge blinding flash shot out. Then dark. All around them it was dark, outside it was dark; everything was dark. It was so dark the mob outside had to feel their way back home. Moldark, with the use of magic went to the river and then returned. “It worked, the river is fine again. I think the darkness is just a side effect of the power you conjured, Marty, and will fade soon. Look at the window, it is already growing gray. We must send you someplace safe before the mob returns.”

Mable and Moldark talked for a few minutes, and Mable began to cry. “Yes, it is the best thing, there will be no forgiveness from the mob.”

Together they informed Marty of their plans. “We must send you away, before the mob returns. Even if we stopped them from hanging and burning you, they will inform the queen, if she has not already found out, and she will banish you from the kingdom, or worse.”

Marty understood. It wasn’t how he had wanted his birthday to end, but he knew they were right. He quickly gathered up all his stuff and then nodded to Moldark. Then he ran to his mother and hugged her tight, “I love you, mom, and I will forever. Moldark, you have been the best teacher and father, I will remember all you have taught me. Please, take care of my mother, and perhaps one day, after the curse is lifted, we will meet again.”

“Yes, the curse. I almost forgot. Moldark ran to the trunk in the hallway and dug through it, tossing miscellaneous magic stuff here and there as he dug and searched. Then he stood, holding a crystal ball in his hands. The globe was black and had not even the slightest flicker of life in it. But when he handed it to Marty, a spark lit deep within the ball.

“I thought so. My magic is not strong enough to activate the crystal ball, but yours is, Marty. It can do many things, and you will find many spells in the tomes that you can use this ball for. But, you cannot use it until it glows white when you hold it. Only when it’s white is it working fully. Also, this is what you will need to lift the curse of the demon, Dillrod. When your power is strong enough to lift the curse, the ball will glow bright white, and with it in your hands, recite the chant that will free you forever from his curse. Now, stand with your belongings and I will send you to a special place where you can continue to learn and grow more powerful."

Marty did as he was told, and Moldark chanted and conjured, then a flash from his hands and Marty was in the kitchen with all his stuff. “I don’t have the power to transport you, Marty.” Moldark said, then added. “You have become too powerful of a wizard for my magic to work on you. Quickly, you must use a spell of your own and flee. I hear the mob outside and it’s growing larger by the minute.”

Marty hastily dug into the tome closest to hand. He found a spell that would transport him to a distant land. With an added word, it would transport all of his stuff as well. “Stand clear and I will go, he thundered above the yelling of the mob. Then with a clap of his hands he was gone, as was everything from the kitchen, including the sink, the cupboards, the stove, everything.

Marty looked around. He was sitting in a bunch of freshly blooming flowers looking at the sea. It was a very beautiful coast and he liked it. Around him he seen all his stuff, including everything from his mom’s kitchen. “Oops I think I said the wrong word. Oh well, Moldark can conjure her up a complete remodel, that kitchen needed one. I guess I have a pretty good start on my own kitchen, I just need one. In fact, I need a house. He looked around and every direction was perfect for a place to build. “But, it’s so beautiful I don’t want to build upon any of it.” Marty said quietly to himself. All wizards talk to themselves, you know.

Sitting in the grass, Marty looked through some of his tomes and found the perfect spell. “I will create a small peninsula here and put my home upon it.” He used the staff and recited the spell, just as he had learned it as he read.

A flash of red light pulsed from the crystal and blinded Marty for a minute. When he opened his eyes he was in his new home, all his stuff was there, and he quickly went to the window. “That damn curse!” Marty mumbled.

He was in his home, very nice inside, but outside he could see the turbid waters around him, the barren, rocky ground, and part of the sinister looking castle he had created. He thought about removing it all and starting over, but he knew from the past that trying to remove a cursed spell only made it worse. “No, it’s not worth the trouble or worth taking a chance of making things even worse, this is home and I’ll have to just make the most of it.”

Marty did make the most of it. In the first few weeks he learned where many of the doors went to, some he marked because of the danger beyond them, like the crocodile filled swamp and the one that went to Australia. He spent the first few days setting up his library and furnishing his home. Most of the spells he used worked fine, some of them, though, were cursed. One of the earlier spells was a simple spell to create sentries for his castle. He didn’t know the locals, but when they happened upon what he had done to their coast, he knew they would be mad. He didn’t want them charging in on him with ill content in their hearts.

Sure, he could easily use magic to send them away, but Marty was a nice guy and didn’t want to hurt anyone. No, it would be better to have sentries and just seal the castle, maybe cast a spell or two that would frighten the bejesus out of them and keep them from returning. So, Marty looked and searched. He finally found a great spell that would create a pair of giant hawks to guard his castle. They would screech out a warning if anyone dared get close, they could live off the land, and they would be terrific pets. He reread the spell, two hawks, about the size of eagles, male and female, that would serve Marty as he directed them. “Just what the doctor ordered,” he mumbled to himself. Not only do all wizards talk to themselves, they also mumble most of the time.

Marty needed to name the hawks as he used the spell so he took a minute and thought of a couple of nice names, Rosco for the male, Jojo for the female. He chanted and waved his arms like a bird, then he ducked and strutted. To anyone looking in, it would have looked like he was dancing the funky chicken, but less than a minute later, he clapped his hands and a load thunder boomed outside the window. Marty hurried to look at his beautiful fouls. To his surprise two large dragons circled outside the window. “Rosco? Jojo?”

They came and perched upon the roof of the tower and answered within his mind, “Your wish, Master Marty?”

“Um, just kind of keep an eye out and guard the place, okay? And if anyone or anything approaches with evil in their hearts, scare them away.”

“If they won’t scare at the sight of us, they won’t scare, Master. What then?”

“Yeah, your right. Um, for one thing, don’t call me master, I prefer we be friends not master and servants. I’ll let you decide what the best way to guard the castle is.”

“It is as you wish, M-my friend. And if we become hungry, may we hunt?”

“Yes, but you must stay within a couple of miles of the castle. If game becomes to scarce, please let me know and I will conjure up more.”

The two dragons lifted into the sky. Marty looked at the direction they flew and seen the huge mob gathering along the narrow road that led to the castle. He began to search for a spell of protection but when the dragons neared the mass of people, they let out a stream of fire and scorched the road in front of them. They also scorched a few people who had wondered a bit too far ahead. These ran to the sides of the road and jumped into the murky water. By the road, the water was shallow and everyone seen the hideous thing that surfaced and grabbed the people with scaly tentacles and pulled them into it’s fanged, gapping jaws before diving deep into the black water.

That was enough to send the crowed back, running for cover. Those few who ran too slowly were eaten by Rosco and Jojo. The crowed vanished, and no one ever neared the castle again. Although Marty didn’t like to harm anyone, he didn’t feel bad over Rosco and Jojo eating a few people who got too close. It was what dragons did, and everyone knew that. Besides, they could easily have burned the entire mob and snacked on them for a couple of days. No, Marty wasn’t upset at all, they were good dragons to spare so many.

Years passed and Marty never left the safety of the castle. He knew that his mom, the queen, and Rainie had all grown old and died, it was the way of the world. But he was a wizard and would live for many lifetimes yet. He sent a message once, to his mom, to let her know he was all right and doing well. He wrote it by hand, and trusted a small spell of delivery to get it to her. Two days later Moldark sent a message back telling him that he should not send anything, the curse had struck again. The letter had arrived, but it was no longer a simple sheet of paper. Instead what arrived was a huge sheet of paper, three feet thick and a quarter mile square. It had crushed half the village, killing ten folk and injuring another twenty-six. They had to use saws to cut it up and clear it away. The only good thing from his note, was his mom knew he was alive and doing well, and the half of the village that had survived had fuel for their fires to last a few years. This was good since half the forest had burned, and was still growing back.

Marty was lonely living alone in the big castle, so he used a spell to call upon a familiar to join with him and be his friend. He read and studied for many days and nights, eager to find his own familiar. He had read of grand creatures, of tigers, lions, and even bears. Hawks and eagles, and even mystical unicorns had served as familiars, living in a plain outside this world, but able to cross over only when their partnered wizard called for them. There was one specific familiar for each wizard, and Marty longed for his.

When he was ready to call for his familiar, he cast a series of small spells until one cursed one showed up. “We got the curse out of the way, it’s safe to call you now, Filbert.” He mumbled, then lifted his hands and waved them over his head as he chanted and called the name the now glowing crystal ball had revealed as his familiar. It didn’t glow bright, but it was enough he could look inside and see things.

“Filbert, it is I, the wizard Marty calling for you across the space of worlds, come my friend. Come now!”

The room shook and a black crack formed in the air in front of Marty that reached to the floor where it was the widest. A horse could easily passed through the fissure in space and time, but what came through, Marty’s familiar, was a fourteen inch long mud turtle, named Filbert. It took about ten minutes for the slow moving creature to emerge into Marty’s world. It may not have been a gallant phoenix, but Marty didn’t mind, it was after all, his own familiar, and he loved it as his dearest friend, even if he did often have to carry it with him because it moved so damn slow.

One other message arrived, when his mother died. He was holding the crystal ball, like he did everyday as he waited for his strength to grow strong enough to lift the curse and set him free. He had finally gotten it to glow fully, but it was a gray glow, far from bright white. While the ball glowed, a message appeared within it. “Marty, it is I, Moldark. I don’t know if you have mastered the crystal ball yet or not, but I believe you either have or will soon. I send this message to wish you well and to inform you that your dear mother has passed away. She outlived many, but today her time has come and she has crossed to the next plain.”

The words formed in the ball and floated to the surface as Marty watched. He not only read the message, but heard it as well, in his head. The news made Marty cry, and when the first of his tears landed upon the crystal ball, it flashed brighter, turning from gray to a dull yellow, then it increased until he was holding a bright yellow ball. The tears he shed for his mother had strengthened him greatly, not just out of love, but because he held no ill for anyone over the way life had gone. Marty knew then how to master the ball, with love and kindness, and with compassion for all living things.

He set out to study even harder, to remove evil spells from his library, and to vow never to use his magic for anything evil. He dedicated his life to only good magic, and he studied every day, and had for the last one hundred years. Of course, the curse still would cause evil and Marty knew that, but he also knew that it was this curse upon his goodness that would one day turn the crystal ball a bright white, and on that day, he would chant the spell he knew so well, and he would be free. At one hundred and sixty three he had a subdued hue of white glowing and could use the magic globe for many things. “At this rate, you’ll have bright white by the time you’re a chipper two hundred, my boy.” He muttered to himself with a smile. Wizards always mutter to themselves, you know.