The Wizard Meets Basil

As I said, I’ll post excerpts from the Wizard’s stories – the meetings of the Wizard and the protagonists of those stories. Maybe the meeting of the Wizard and his third familiar, as well.

So, here is the first. The Wizard meets Basil, from “The Dragon and the Prince”.

The first bit is from the 1st chapter. That’s why the title is not on top. Have fun!

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No river runs straight, and even this one had many turns – some large some small. But finally, Basil, sitting at the bow, saw the bridge. The time was right, too. The sky was filled with pink and violet hues, the shadows were long. He could say the sun was about to set, although he couldn’t, at the moment, see it.

And the boat crossed under the bridge.

A gentle breeze brought the smell of the woods. Basil took this as an omen.

“You think we’ve entered the Fairy World?”

“No, not really, my dear boy,” an unfamiliar voice replied.

Basil turned around, only to find a young man he had never seen before, standing at the stern, smiling. More smugly, than gently.

Another World?

“What the hell??? Who are you, and where is David?”

“I am a wizard. As for your friend, he is where he was a moment ago. Instead, shouldn’t you be asking where you are?”

“I haven’t moved an inch. And a wizard? Yeah, right! Where is your staff and your pointy hat?”

“You are in a boat, going down a river, yet you say you haven’t moved an inch? But let’s start with something simpler. Is the boat you are sitting in now the same boat you were in a few moments ago?”

Basil gave a quick look at the boat. “Of course it is!”

“My dear boy, I must say, your observation abilities are, at the very least, astonishingly lacking! This is a very different boat. Even more so, this is neither the river you were on, nor the planet on which that river runs. Actually, you are in a different world. Not just a different planet.”

“I get it! This is one of those prank shows, isn’t it? Where is the camera? How did you change places with David, without me noticing?”

“Okay… let’s try again. Look in front of you. What do you see?”

“The setting sun?”

“Indeed. But should you be able to see it? Weren’t you heading east?”

“So what? With so many turns, we can very well be heading west at the moment.”

The Wizard rolled his eyes. “Those mountains must be really short.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Nothing, my dear boy. Humour me, please. Look right above your head, at the sky. What do you see?”

Basil looked up. “The moon?”

“It is, indeed, a moon. It’s called the Elven Moon.”

“Oh, sure! You’ve added a nonsensical name and you’ve convinced me. Right! Where is the camera?”

“The ‘Elven’ name has little value. About that, you are right. There are no elves on this planet. Only legends of elves. Even I don’t know how those legends came to be. What I can understand is that people needed a name to differentiate that moon from… other bright objects in the sky, and probably used ‘Elven’ to make it impressive? But, more importantly, were this your world, should your moon be that high in the sky? And should it be a half-moon?”

“Why not?” The boy was looking around, trying to spot where the crew of the show was.

“Impressive! Your astronomical knowledge is not second to your observation abilities.” The sun had set and the Wizard sat down and lit a lamp. By means of a match. “Now, my boy, look at the eastern horizon. That’s behind my back, for I guess, it would be hard for you to figure that out. The sky, not the land. We’ve established you are not good at astronomy, but do try a lucky guess, if you must, what’s that bright object that rises from there?”

“What bright object?” But then his jaw dropped as he saw it rising. “A second moon?”

“Brilliant, my dear! That’s the Dragon Moon. Unlike the Elven one, its name has an actual meaning. On the day the Dragon Moon is full, just like two days ago, the dragons’ power reaches its peak, while their sanity fades. A dreadful night, until not that many years ago. Still, not one to be taken lightly. But, for better or worse, the dragons now are almost extinct. Almost.”

“Status! Stats! Status window open! Why doesn’t it open?”

“Most probably because this is a real world.”

“But I’m a transmigrator! I gained special powers when I crossed to this world. Didn’t I?”

“And you base this on…? Let me guess. Manga? You haven’t crossed. I brought you here. And you haven’t gained any special powers. Oh, don’t look so disappointed, my dear boy. Okay, okay, I lied. I’ve given you a special power. But not of the kind you’d like. What language do I speak?”

“English.”

“No. And, in fact, you don’t speak English, either. We both speak the local language, but you understand it as if it’s your mother tongue. Don’t you? And please don’t call it ‘human language’. There are plenty of countries on this planet and each has its own language. And all of those countries are populated by humans. You won’t see dwarfs, elves, beast-people, or whatever else you are imagining. But you’ll understand all languages as if they are English, and you’ll even be able to read and write in those languages without ever realising you are using them. But that’s all.”

“And when I go back to my world, will I speak and understand all languages, there, too?”

“No. Unlike me, who – even if I were to cross twice through the same portal – I would still be able to do that, when you return, you’ll be the same Basil you were before coming here. If you take a book from here, although you can read it here, you won’t be able to read it back in your world. Even if you, yourself, write a note, you won’t be able to read it when you go back. Were you to use that thing you call smartphone to type that note, although you’ll be able to read the letters, you won’t be able to understand a word. Recordings will work just the same, but feel free to take photos, if you want. Keep in mind, though, when you run out of battery, there is no electricity here to charge your phone.”

“For someone from this world, you seem to know too many things about my own world!”

“I’m not from this world. Nor am I from yours. Actually, I haven’t ever been there. Places with so little magic and too much technology are not of my liking. But I always investigate thoroughly the worlds I open a portal to. So, yes, I do know many things about your world. Probably more than you know about it.”

“And if I don’t have any special powers, why did you bring me here?”

“To deal with a certain dragon. And to become the crown prince. Others will tell you more about those. We’ve almost reached our destination, so, let me say something more important, and I’ll strongly advise you not to tell anyone what I’m going to tell you right now. Do not trust anyone. And distrust even more the ones you’re supposed to trust the most.”

“Wouldn’t that mean I shouldn’t trust you either?”

The Wizard smiled, amused. “My dear boy, I abducted you from your world and brought you here, against your will, to face a dragon. Should you even consider trusting someone like me?”