The Nasty One

"So here is the man responsible for the death of five of my guards." said the king-knight of Vintel, a small town in the western forests.

"They were mere nuisances, Royal One." a tall, barrel-chested man with long dark hair and drooping mustaches spoke. In spite of the fact that he was standing in front of the man who ruled the town the man was armed and wearing dark plate mail. "They thought it was funny to bad-mouth me when all I was looking for is a place to settle for the time being. And when I mentioned this is not the way to treat one like me they drew steel and I had to take their lives in self-defense." the man spoke in a deep voice.

"Self-defense! Who gives you the right to kill my guards?" the king-knight asked in a haughty voice. "I don't give a damn about your guards, I kill anyone who threatens me!" the man suddenly yelled in a voice clearly angered.

"And for all I care, I would not shed a tear when your whole damn town got wiped out. All I need is a place to stay for a while and my life will be none of your concern. Got that?"

People who were attending the king-knight's audience all looked shocked and waited in anticipation for they knew this would mean trouble.

"Now who are you?" the king-knight asked.

"People call me the Nasty One, and that is all you need to know."

"What is your real name?" the king-knight demanded.

"That is none of your damn business!" came the harsh reply.

"And what would keep me from imprisoning you for killing my guards, entering this room armed and insulting me?"

"Lack of power to do so."

Now the king-knight looked up worried. This man meant everything he said and he had witnessed how the man had

cut his guards down to size accurately with his two-handed sword, wielding it as if it were just a small parrying dagger. This man was strong and dangerous, still he seemed to be harmless unless one was looking for harm. Though the man lacked any type of respect for a man in such a high position as the king-knight and certainly lacked proper manners he could be one the king-knight might call upon when he was needed. As an experienced veteran, the king-knight knew a good fighter as he saw one.

"I will grant you shelter, Nasty One, in exchange for..."

"No favours!" the man cut him off with something that sounded like a command.

"Very well. In that case you may rent an apartment for

the sum of four goldweights a week. The apartment available is... the one with the white rooftop at the end of the road left. With it you..."

"Here's money for the next three months, I 'll see you around."

The man dropped a small pouch clearly filled with money in front of the king-knight's feet and turned his heels to stomp out of the hall of audience.

Nobody even thought of standing in his way.

"I have never seen you in this state before, Lord Reigh-

ward."

This came from one of the men around the large round table, the Knights' Assembly. The king-knight shook his head in a sad way.

"I could choose between letting my men and probably myself be butchered by this man or just give him what he wants. You saw yourself he paid generously and quickly, I say we give him a chance."

"You are afraid of the man! He bluffed you out of your boots!" another knight said, pointing an accusing finger at the king-knight.

"But then again at least he is straight to the point, unlike the corrupt politicians we drove out of the government. I think this man means no trouble to anyone who does not come looking for trouble."

"You take a risk allowing this man in the town, Lord Reighward." a young knight said, looking around to see if any of the other knights agreed with him.

"I am not taking a risk here. On the contrary, I think I would have taken a greater risk when I would have refused him in the town, thus giving him a reason to start a fight in which he and many brave men would have been killed. Skilled fighters are hard to find in this area except for the knighthood, and the knighthood doesn't get many new worthy members nowadays. We will undertake nothing against this man unless he gives us reason to."

"But milord, he has already given us reason to! He openly insulted you, and therefore the entire Assembly, shows in no way that he accepts our authority and still resides here now. He doesn't really look friendly and it seems as if he is up to no good. Maybe he is one who escaped from justice somewhere as it is obvious that he had committed many crimes in days past. We should ask the other knight-towns if they have any kind of information about this man, because we have to bring him to justice if he is indeed a convict."

"Sir Chrinthal, we have no proof whatsoever to expose him as a criminal. The man may cast a dark aura around himself but that doesn't mean he's a criminal. Now he paid for three months-five months I should say counting his money fairly- and it looks more like he's a warrior in rest for now, probably just finished with a war or an adventure. He did not come to this town to harm us or any other citizen of Vintel."

"How can you say so, Lord? What tells you he is not a spy maybe even an assassin sent by the politicians?"

"Sir Reonald, please don't put any stamps on this man. Now if you were a spy, would you enter the town killing five guards only to step up to me and insult me? Aren't spies supposed to be somewhat more... undercover?"

"I guess they are. So we are to allow him and his rather barbaric manners in this peaceful town?"

"It seems we have no other choice, pray the gods we did the right thing."

"Item Nasty One closed, on to the next one please."

"And nobody is to get a key to this house but me."

The locksmith obeyed silently and concentrated on his work. This stranger may be an unfriendly and even a weird one but he had good money and he even got a nice tip. "You do a good job, Short One. Here you go." the Nasty One had said to the short locksmith.

"That's quite all-right, Nasty One. It's what the people expect of me. Everybody has his trade, I guess." the man said hesitantly and quickly looked up to see if the Nasty One approved of his comments. The man just nodded and put his leather pack in a chest. "And I want a heavy lock on this one, too. It is important. Only one key."

"There are special safety deposit chests in the Bank of Knights, if you want. If you can't trust knights, you can't trust anybody." the locksmith suggested.

"A lock on this one. I don't trust anybody."

"Very well..." . The locksmith installed a heavy lock on the iron chest and assured the man that the key he gave was the only key that would fit in that lock.

The Nasty One closed the door and locked it, then took the lock in his hands and rattled it. When it didn't budge at all he grunted in satisfaction and uttered a compliment to the locksmith, who was silently hoping for yet another bonus.

"How can one trust nobody and live with that?" the locksmith wondered aloud.

"I've lived with it for thirty-two years, so it seems to work." the Nasty One shrugged. "Saved me a couple of times as well. I would have been a head shorter if I had trusted some people who wanted me to trust them."

The locksmith, a good-humoured man who had always been of the curious type, looked at the big man.

"You're a warrior, right? A sell-sword perhaps?"

"I am one who does as he pleases. I kill those who annoy me, not for mere payment but for other reasons. You can't call me an ordinary sell-sword just for picking up a few coins in the process." the Nasty One answered mysteriously.

"So you are not one to pick up a job as a bodyguard or an assassin."

"Not quite, unless I am really low on money. No, even then I think my pride would stop me from doing that kind of work. Then I'd rather be a locksmith."

The man ignored the insult of his trade and found the Nasty One looking at him.

"Quite inquisitive, are you? Did that Royal One already send out people to spy on me?"

"No, Nasty One, not at all. As far as I know anyway, and I happen to be one who knows a lot about what's going on in this town, so if he sent anybody I would find out sooner or later. If you wish I can inform you about..."

"No, I don't care a thing about what's going on in this town, as long as they leave me alone."

"Then what did you come here for?"

"More questions?" the Nasty One asked,raising one eyebrow.

"Just personal curiosity, Nasty One, I assure you."

"You realise how little that means to me, since I told you I don't trust anyone.".

"And I don't care about that, Nasty One. I know."

The locksmith, done with his work, left the house.

The Nasty One sat down and smiled.

It took only a few hours before a lone man entered a small and secret meeting room.

"Greetings Theonarth." a voice spoke.

"Greetings, prime minister. I suppose you have all heard about that strange man who entered the town today?"

"We have heard something about the man who calls himself the Nasty One. I suppose you have more for us."

The other smartly dressed men in the benches nodded in agreement. "Aye, tell us all you know."

"Alas, little I have for you. All I know that this is a strange man nobody has ever heard of. Nobody could tell me more about his former whereabouts, nobody seems to know his real name nor his origins. All we know is that he is heavily armed and seems to know how to handle his weapons quite well as he had no trouble with the town guards who tried to stop him from entering this town. They drew their swords and in a matter of seconds five guards fell never to rise again. The strange sign on his breast plate is unknown to the people I have spoken to. The sword he uses seems to contain magic. He seems to have no particular goal in this town as far as we know. We do know he is not one hired by the knights as he just went to the king-knight and gave him a big mouth as if he were powerless. He even challenged the king-knight who had no response to that and even allowed him to stay in town. The people who have witnessed the audience with the king-knight told me that he would not accept a residence as a gift and he would not bargain about favours. So we can be positively sure that this Nasty One is not a mere pawn hired by the Knights' Assembly in order to undertake any type of action against us."

"Does he have power over the king-knight?" the prime minister asked. The minister shrugged.

"For all we know he just does not respect the king-knight and does not recognise him as a superior. From what my sources have seen from the king-knight he seems to be quite afraid of the Nasty One. And I must say he is quite an imposing man. He looks dangerous and after what we have seen he definitely is just as dangerous as he looks."

"The king-knight might do anything he says after some time." a minister suggested.

"But what will the Nasty One tell him to do then?"

"Maybe when we can get through to him, he will tell the king-knight to do as we tell him."

"You want to use the Nasty One for a coup?" the prime minister asked, shaking his head.

"I believe this man is totally independent, he cannot be controlled by anybody."

"That remains to be seen. All we have seen is that he can wield his sword quite well. We do not know how vulnerable he is to sorcery."

"My dear Renain, we have no means of sorcery at hand."

"Money can buy a lot, and our coffers are still full. Remember we know a sorcerer who can be hired. If we can hire him to put a spell on the Nasty One he will be ours."

"I think we want to react a little too fast. I think we first have to know some more about this person, for if we make our move unprepared he might actually become an enemy and I have a gut feeling that we do not want this person to be our enemy." the prime minister spoke.

Though the politicians had been driven out of the government by the knights they were still there, for the knights' honour had kept them from banishing them. And so the politicians were still there, plotting the downfall of the Knights' Assembly in secrecy.

"So how are we going to find out more about him?" a minister asked.

"I happen to know the locksmith spent time with him today to make some new locks on the apartment he has rented. He does not seem to be the trusting type of man. And the locksmith is well-known as one who is always up to date with the latest gossip and he has probably talked to the Nasty One to find out more about him. And the locksmith is easy to persuade when it comes to talking too much."

"Then go ahead, buy him a few drinks and he will tell you everything he knows. He might have something of interest. Council dismissed, go out there and keep your eyes and ears open for everything concerning the Nasty One. He must be ours for certain."

"I am looking for the Nasty One." declared a tall woman.

"The Nasty One? He hasn't been here for a fortnight, at least not that I know." the innkeeper replied.

"Damn, that's the third time he escaped me. I have to find him. Any clue where he went?"

"Away from all the damn business, he said. He said he needed some time to rest. What does he escape you for, if I may ask?"

"Nothing, it's just that I'm looking for him. I have news for him."

"If he returns I can tell him the news, if that's what you want." the innkeeper offered, a bit curious.

The woman merely laughed. "It's quite private, thank you. Where did he go?"

"I only know that he left through the western gate, people saw him ride uphill over there."

The woman ruffled a hand through her long red locks and studied the inn.

"Well, then I will try to follow him. Thanks for your information." she said and with that she gave the keep a coin and left the inn.

The town guards dared not say a word when the Nasty One passed through the gates with his sword and some small other weapons.

The Nasty One walked around and finally found what he sought: a small empty field.

He looked around and saw the sun was going down already, but he did not care much about the gate closing when the sun was down. He would enter the town anyway, one way or another.

He drew his sword and started to swing it around in wide arcs, starting slow but steadily speeding up.

He kept on wielding his blade faster and faster until only a blur was to be seen where the man stood with his sword, a twirling pillar of black with a glint of steel around it.

After half an hour of sword practice he put the sword back in its scabbard and reached for a stone lying on the ground, a heavy rock weighing well over a pound.

He weighed the rock in his hand and looked around him. With a satisfied smile he suddenly whistled through his teeth and the shrill sound made a rabbit jump and run. Mercilessly the Nasty One threw his stone and hit the rabbit straight in the head. With a small knife he skinned the rabbit after cutting off the crushed skull with his sword and started to make a small fire to roast the rabbit over.

After dinner he started running large circles and he didn't stop running for an hour, meanwhile making some slashing moves with his sword and somersaulting.

The red-haired woman rode through the woods, sitting still in her saddle comfortably and holding on to the reins with only one hand. In the other hand she held a map which she studied.

"It would be reasonable to believe that he has gone to some town, if the innkeep spoke true. There are some towns around here, I think I have to check them all."

Suddenly she found her road blocked by a band of twenty rough men, all riding on horses.

"Nobody passes this road without paying taxes to Binor." a big man shouted.

"Two silver, madam." a small man said, approaching her slowly and cautiously.

"Well, well. It seems your band has decreased a bit in number, hasn't it?" the woman said sceptically. She had not seen this band of marauders before, she just hoped that the Nasty One had also followed this road. The Nasty One would certainly not pay these rogues, he would butcher them first.

"What do you know about that man?" the big one demanded.

The woman smiled, her guess had been right.

"I thought as much. The Nasty One will certainly return for the rest of you, especially if you don't move out of the way now. He expects me in the morning and he'll come looking for you." she bluffed. But she soon saw that would backfire as she found herself surrounded by the men.

"I am looking for this man! You know what? I think I will keep you right here, and you will be our bait to catch him! Capture her!" he yelled.

The woman opened a small pouch hanging from her belt and started intoning an attacking spell. But even as one fell from the fireball she saw she could never down all of them.

"You will pay for this, witch!" Binor said with an oath and then bound her.

"I will also gag your mouth, so that you can't cast another spell. And try one thing that even looks like attacking or escaping and I will personally make sure you never cast a spell again!"

"You miserable worm!" she spat before a cloth was stuffed between her teeth and bound around her head.

"Now you will behave." Binor said with a satisfied smile.

Then he caressed her body, clad in auburn leathers.

"Not a bad body, you have. Too bad for the temper. But then again, those women can be the wildest of them all." he said, running his hand over her breasts. Then he cut the laces of her bodice with a knife and bared her body.

"What have we here? I've seen worse on the road." he said with a sneer. All the men laughed now.

"Look at this boss, she's even pretty rich as well!" a man yelled. In his hands he had the contents of her pack: two small darts, a big pouch filled with coins and some maps.

They also found some sheets with the names of the towns in which she had heard the Nasty One had stayed.

"What's this list of towns, witch?"

But of course she couldn't answer as she was still gagged.

"Seems to be of no use to me. Ah, Merthon, that's the town you left before you fell into our hands. Keeping sort of a diary are you? Well, there will be no new town tonight as tonight you will stay with me." Binor continued, his hands now going over her bare body and slowly going down to the laces of her leggings.

With a violent kick she managed to hit the big man in the leg and with an oath he grabbed her and pinned her down.

"I could kill you for that!" he spat.

The woman made an attempt to smile bitterly. He wouldn't kill her; not before he had had his way with her.

After a long and rigorous training the Nasty One went back into town and went straight to his house. He poured himself a goblet of water and sat down in an old chair.

He thought about the events that had brought him here, in this gods-forsaken town.

He was angry.

Here he was, a warrior of renown, sitting in a dull empty house in a dull town governed by stupid knights.

As one who had never known his parents, he had been raised by the Old One, a man who had not only raised the young boy but also taught him the oldest way of survival: the art of fighting.

But the man had known more than just how to wield a sword. The Old One had been a master in a kind of magic barely known in this world: the magic of Body Life.

And the Old One had taught the young boy everything he knew about this rare kind of magic after the boy had shown him he had the physique of a master of the body: slim and muscled, strong and agile.

"This is what you need to survive the Body Life magic, my pupil." the Old One had said.

"To purge your soul into nothingness, to become one totally independent, sovereign, with no need for anything but yourself and your sword. Follow the ways of the Body Life magic and you will have the power to live the way you like it with nobody to stop you. If invincibility is what you want, invincibility is what you get when you are ready to sacrifice the rest of your life for it."

"Fight for what you think is right, fight for your own very life without trouble. Hold your own destiny in the palm of your hand. Live by the sword, and don't die by the sword."

And the Old One had taught him. The Body Life magic was magic all coming from the body, mind and soul. With utter concentration one of this magic could do things faster and more accurate than anybody else. One could remain calm under all circumstances, kill with the precision of a surgeon, act the way he wanted to act with nobody to stop him.

"But Old One, if this magic is so powerful, then why does not everybody want to learn this and why are there only a few ones who control Body Life magic?" the Nasty One had asked.

"Patience, my pupil, and you will find it out by yourself."

And the Nasty One had found out. After five years of hard and rigorous lessons the Old One had called him for the final test.

"Are you able to live by the sword, not to die by the sword?"

The Nasty One had nodded confidentially.

"Are you able to kill without thought?"

"Aye you able to block out emotions?"

"Are you able to execute all the different moves of the Body Life magic?"

Here the Nasty One had nodded hesitantly.

"Are you living your own life the way you want it?"

"No!" he suddenly yelled. "You are controlling my life! You have decided when I wake up, when I train, what I learn, what I must remember and what I must forget. What I am allowed to do and what I am forbidden to do. You gave me these lessons of great value but you made me live my life."

"And I am going to do this as long as I live." the Old One had said with an approving nod.

Then the Nasty One suddenly realised why there were so few ones who could perform Body Life magic: the teacher died by his pupil's sword or the pupil would die by his teacher's.

"I see you are getting the point." the teacher said and prepared for battle. The Nasty One bowed ceremonially and a fight began in that would last for long hours. The physical energy released in beams of magic shook the lands like giant earthquakes. Grass burned away under heavy explosions of energy, an entire mountain was blown up, causing a huge avalanche of snow that wiped out an entire village. In the end there could be only one, both realised, and finally the Nasty One had been the one standing over the decapitated body of his teacher.

"The winner takes it all." he had said and then he had returned to the place he had called home for a vast number of years. He knew what would be waiting for him: two books of wisdom, a few coins, a bracelet and the armour with the insignia of a master in Body Life magic.

After leaving the wooden cabin the Nasty One had bought a horse and started living on his own. He had discovered his senses had become extremely keen and he was now faster than any other living being he had known. Now there was a world waiting for him, but the memory of his dead teacher lying at his feet would always remain inside him.

Even though that had been over five years ago it still angered him. He had declared he had been able to kill without thought and to block out all emotions, so asking the teacher why he had to die had been entirely out of the question.

With a snarl he shrugged. The Old One had been very old and probably knew his time had come. Was it supposed to be an honour to kill your own teacher? The Nasty One considered it a burden that would fill every master of Body Life magic with melancholy and bitterness.

Were all masters Nasty Ones like himself?

The Nasty One did what he thought was right now, and he had an apathy for politics. He would go out and discover the world and fight his way through all who opposed him. He knew nobody had power over him now, he could fight his way out of everything. Good cause, bad cause, it mattered little to him, as there was only one for him now who decided what is right and what is wrong, and that was himself.

Becoming a mercenary had been a disgusting thought, as this would mean he would sell himself and his powers out for causes he didn't pick himself, and the one who would pay him would gain some authority over him. He had never cared about company, since he considered himself the only one he could really rely on. He had trusted a few men and women only to discover that they were not worthy of his trust as they had intended to use him only. Names never meant anything to him, they would only be another burden because he would be supposed to remember them.

Everybody was One for him, like he was himself.

This was something his teacher, who had always called him 'my pupil' , had taught him.

The Nasty One was a name bestowed on him by a late companion he had felt a certain affection for. Later he had used the term for anybody who wanted to know his name.

He had made a lot of gold with small missions he thought were interesting or just, since he knew no fear and thus would do everything he had set his mind on.

And then he failed.

A young woman had been captured and a reward was promised to the one who found her and brought her back alive and well. As a young boy the Nasty One had been taught that one should treat women with respect and so he got livid when he heard out somebody had actually picked up this woman as if she were a worthless chunk of meat. To use for his own pleasure, no doubt.

In his own way he had figured out where the woman would have been held but he found a force of ten to oppose him. After a few seconds of battle only one remained and the Nasty One had grabbed him to interrogate him. The man would not talk but after the Nasty One had disposed of him he found a key on the man. He searched the building, a small tower of rock, and found a locked room. When he opened it, however, he found the room empty. Pieces of cloth were all he found.

Instinctively he sensed that the clothes had belonged to a woman and he knew the woman had been here.

But that was not important; where was she now? It certainly looked like she got away on her own as the man would not have kept the door locked when he would think the woman was already gone.

So the Nasty One had failed: he had killed the kidnappers but he could not return the woman.

And if there was one thing he hated it was failing.

So he decided to gather himself for some time in a small unknown village, one he had found in Vintel.

"So, woman, how do you think this friend of yours is going to find us?" Binor sneered, taking the gag out of her mouth with a sharp tug. Her leather tunic was still open, her full breasts were glistening in the first beams of sunlight.

"The Nasty One has his own way to find me. He possesses great powers none of your punks can match and believe me, he would wipe you all out in a few seconds. He will finish the job he did on you last time and this time none of you will escape. Not when I tell him to kill you all."

"What about letting you die in our stead then? If you speak true he is going to kill us anyway. So what's the reason I would let you live?"

"Your all too masculine hormones perhaps." the woman spat.

"Why you..." Binor started but then a thunderbolt shook the ground while the sky was blue and clear.

Everybody looked up in alarm when they saw a tall lone man standing atop a hill, blue light surrounding the fist in which he held a brilliant sword, a sword they remembered all too well.

In fear the brigands lined up for battle when the Nasty One suddenly took a giant dive in their midst, slashing around with his sword. A few seconds later, he stood atop a mass of bodies.

"One more foul move and the lady dies." Binor threatened, holding a dagger to the woman's throat. Paying no attention to his captive, the big man looked at his foe.

The woman saw this and quietly started working on an intonation that would give the Nasty One the time he needed.

Suddenly the man's wrist began to hiss and with a scream he jerked away his hand. The woman rolled aside to avoid the blade to fall in her unprotected body or throat and when she looked up she saw Binor lying on the ground, the unmistakable sword in his foul heart.

The Nasty One pulled his sword out and casually cleaned it on the big man's cloak. Then he started to look around for eventual loot and he found some money on most of his victims while their leader had a lot of silver and gold in his money pouch.

"Instead of filling your pockets you could do with untying me, Nasty One." the woman spoke.

The man looked up. "How do you know my name, Red One?"

"Guide me to a place where we can talk, then I will explain everything."

"This place is as good as anywhere else, tell me."

"Not amidst the mass of bodies of the ones who captured me when I was looking for you." the woman said, shaking her head about so much indifference.

"Fine with me. Your place or mine?"

A while later they were sitting in the Nasty One's apartment and he poured her some water.

"Don't you have anything stronger than this?"

"I usually don't have guests." the Nasty One shrugged.

"You only drink water then?"

"Of course. It holds no calories, gives the body the fluids it needs while it keeps the mind and the stomach in shape. I do not like the unhealthy stuff like beer and spirits. One who is drunk cannot think clearly and act sharply."

"I know that, of course. I just can't imagine somebody who has not drunk alcohol all his life."

"You just met one, though."

"How did you find me?"

"Instinctively. I saw the encampment on my morning work-out and then I saw you. You have more to tell. How do you know me? Why were you here, so close to my new home? Were you following me? Who sent you, Red One?"

"I will tell you. My name is Griwalda Donthiac, and I was kidnapped some time ago. I am the mayor's daughter in a small town called Nouen. And my father offered a reward for anyone who could find me. Meanwhile I was captured by a sorcerer who wanted to drain my magical energy to add to his own powers. He locked me in a room filled with anti-magic, so he locked the room and cut off my own way to escape. Then suddenly I felt the anti-magic was gone and I used my chance to escape. When I returned home my father told me that a tall man who called himself the Nasty One had sought to free me and when we returned to the tower we saw the bodies of the sorcerer and his guards. So I understood that the anti-magic had disappeared because the sorcerer had died by your hand. So I have tried to find you ever since, to thank you and to hand you the promised reward."

"You!" the Nasty One said, rising.

"Then I did not fail after all! Why didn't you wait for me to bring you back to that town?"

"I could not know you were coming for me, I took the first chance to get out of there in a hurry, thinking the sorcerer had let the spell slip away for a while. How did you kill the sorcerer anyway?"

"Same way I killed his guards and everybody who has ever stood in my way."

"But... he must have fired some spells at you, he must have had some magical defense."

"They do not hinder me."

"Then you have the power to break through magic?"

"I have a special gift that protects me from magic. A gift from the one who made me."

"From your father you mean?"

"From my teacher."

"I see. Where do you come from?"

"A small cabin in the middle of the woods."

"You mean you lived in a shelter in the middle of nowhere all your life?"

"Together with my teacher, aye."

"You must be a man who has missed a lot in life."

"Aye. But also one who gained twice as much."

Not far away a man knocked on the door of the secret meeting room.

"The Nasty One has been joined by a woman." he reported.

"A woman? Could it be any relative?"

"I do not see any similarities between them, nor do they show any kind of affection for each other. As far as we know he does not have any relatives."

"Then what does this woman want?"

"I don't know. I saw them entering the house together and they spent all the time in the living room."

"They might be leaving for the bed room afterward." a minister snickered.

"Maybe, but then I would have seen some more than two people sitting in separated chairs all the time. They seem to be just talking."

"The woman might be a spy for the knights, finding out more about him in an ordinary way. I bet she's trying to find out more about him. Have you left anyone on the spot?"

"Aye, sub-minister Khanthor is there."

"I thought I missed him. So, do you think this woman may be a threat to our plan?"

"Probably, especially if the knights sent her. We must find out who she is and what she is doing here."

"Lord Reighward, the man known as the Nasty One has entered the town today accompanied by a woman."

"So, who is she?"

"Eh... we dared not ask as she was in his company."

"How could you forsake your duty for this one man?"

"Calm down, Lord Reighward. This one man has already killed five town guards, it is reasonable that their replacements are a little bit afraid of this man. Anything else to report, guard?" the oldest knight asked.

"Aye, sir. A trader has told us about a pile of bodies lying two miles from the southern gate, the one the Nasty One and the woman entered. The trader said it was the band of Binor that has been slaughtered. The men we sent out found the bodies as well as some cut ropes."

"The Nasty One." the youngest knight said, his eyes flashing in excitement. "He has killed the band of marauders on his own and freed a woman they had captured. It is reasonable to believe this was the woman he took with him into town."

"Sounds like a good story. I have seen a little of what this man can do but I will gladly believe he can do more than to kill five knights. How many of Binor's men were killed? And was he also killed himself?"

"Binor, sir? We found his body near the ropes. Apart from him there were twenty-one bodies."

"Twenty-two men killed by a force of one." the king-knight said admiringly. "Any luck in looting the men to support our coffers?"

"No, sir. The bodies had no money on them, just a load of arms. I think the Nasty One has taken the loot."

"Too bad. What did you do with the weapons?"

"There were also some other items like tools and other kinds of normal supplies. We loaded them on a cart and brought them back to the town."

"Good to hear that. I would say the Nasty One cares for money only, he seems to have enough already and he needs no weapons but his sword. If there is nothing else to report you are dismissed."

"Aye, sir! I salute you, sirs!"

With a ritual bow and a click of the heels the man left the room with the large table.

"This man may be independent but he has already ridden us of a plague. When we tried to arrest Binor seven of our men were killed in an ambush. We could find some other useful jobs for him."

"I am not sure whether he will accept these jobs. He seems to kill for living and only if he decides so. I am not sure we can give him assignments as if he were a knight. He is a stubborn man who does as he pleases."

"Well, he seems to do his job when something is wrong. When we can convince him that the politicians are wrong he just might do something against them."

"That's a silly plan, Sir Darok. He will never fall for that."

"But it's always worth a try."

"You have already given me the reward I deserved, I have accepted your gratitude. Then what keeps you here?"

"Don't you like me being here?" the woman asked.

"I did not say that, I just asked you a question. Why is it that you want to be around me? You think they will attack you again?"

"No, I think it is relatively safe now. Unless there are more bands of outlaws on the road. I just wonder what you are like, why you are the way you are. Maybe the two of us can have a good time, learning things from each other."

"Are you sure that it is not sexual lust that keeps you around here, Red One?"

"Pah! What do you know of sexual lust?" the woman snorted.

"No, it is not that. You may be a strong and skilful man but you are not the perfect human being. Neither am I, and I think nobody can be perfect. The two of us could make a good team."

"A team? One who gets caught one time after another and one who has to rescue the other one all of the time?"

"I will take better care of myself, if you can teach me how. Meanwhile you will have noticed that I have powers of my own, the powers of magic."

"So I noticed, and I can sense you have some powers indeed. Yet you are not a powerful sorcerer like the one who caught you."

"I think I want to go back to that tower of his. And I think I would appreciate it if you followed me."

"Follow you? Now why would I do that?"

"Don't tease me, Nasty One. It might very well be possible that I need help from one as strong and skilful as you. I can pay you if that's what you want..."

"I am not a body guard for hire. If I follow you, I will follow you because I want that."

"I ask you, Nasty One, to follow me. I need your help." the woman said, putting all her charms in her words.

The Nasty One snickered. "You don't have to try your female charms on me, Red One. I said I will follow you if I want to follow you. And I will follow you to that tower."

"Oh, thank you, Nasty One."

"Think nothing of it. Where is that tower?"

"Five days riding from here, I think."

"Then we will leave in the morning. I will now leave for my evening practice. You can sleep in my bed if you want, just don't count on finding myself next to you when the sun rises."

"I don't think so." the woman smiled.

It did not last long before somebody knocked on the door of the Nasty One's apartment.

"The Nasty One is not home." a female voice yelled.

"Aye, but I have come for you, milady."

"Who are you?"

"Prime minister Leon, at your service."

"Enter."

An old man entered the house, looking around as he shut the door behind him.

"What do you want from me?" the woman asked suspiciously.

"How do you know who I am and how do you know I'm here?"

"I do not know who you are, milady." the old man said carefully, holding out his hands as if to ward off questions.

"It is what I would like to know, though. I would also like to know what you know about the man called the Nasty One, what your relationship to him is, and what he is up to."

"The Nasty One is up to nothing! The two of us will go to a place that should be none of your business tomorrow. He is currently out for his training, he should be home any minute. Well, I am not sure about that as I don't know how long his evening training sessions last. I am Griwalda Donthiac, daughter of the mayor in Nouen, a town not far from here. The Nasty One has saved me from kidnappers twice, he is not my lover nor am I his. I do not know much about him as I only met him this morning."

"I know the town of Nouen, and I know your father. I used to rule this town until the foul knights took over with much violence. Your father and I used to make trade agreements and ever since the knights took over the trade with Nouen has been halved. Do you happen to know if the Nasty One has struck some kind of deal with the knights?"

"I don't think he would. He does only as he pleases and I do not think he likes the knights. If he likes anybody."

"Good to hear that. Now you know that your family can recover the great amount of money flowing in your city's coffers when the trade agreements with our town are renewed. We can offer you these agreements if you agree to help us."

"How can I be of service to you?" the woman asked.

"To gain the power to make trade agreements, we must be back in the Assembly. We must drive the foul knights who bar the trades between our towns out of the seats of power. And for that, while we might certainly use your political influence, we need one as strong and powerful as the Nasty One."

"I am sorry but I am not his manager. If you want him to help you you will have to ask him in person. And I am not sure whether there is aught you can offer him in return. He does not seem to be concerned with politics."

"That much I noticed. But for your town's sake, I would ask of you to persuade him to help us."

"I am not sure if this will work..."

"The no is what we have, the aye is what we can get."

"I can only tell you that we will be on the road tomorrow and during our voyage I will tell him of your plans. If he agrees with them you will be first to know."

"Good, I count on your cooperation."

With that, the prime minister bowed politely and left the apartment. The woman wove her left hand through her red locks and shook her head.

"Politics! But he is right, after all. My father complained much about the trades with Vintel after the knights took over. Now I remember what he was talking about. If the Nasty One will help me with this he will also help my entire town. Must be a worthy cause for one such as him. Then again, I am sort of selling him out to the politicians. I am sure they care little about Nouen, if they are the politicians I have heard of they are only concerned about their own positions and their income. While I would certainly please my father I am not sure if this is the right way to do it. I must consider this, but I'll sleep on it."

With that she lay down and fell asleep immediately.

When the Nasty One arrived he entered silently, expecting the Red One was asleep already. And indeed she was, he saw as he saw her sleeping form underneath the blankets.

"Then who are you?" he silently asked.

Then he started concentrating, staring into nothingness, trying to get into her mind.

Finally he got through the mystic barriers human beings use to block their minds from outsiders in their own unconsciousness and floated around in her mind.

And what he saw he would never forget.

He saw lights of all colours and shapes flying by, soaring past him with great speed though they were not attacking him. This was highly unusual but could be expected in a mind of a sorceress. He guessed it was just a hint of the power she possessed. He spread his hands to shove the beams away like a curtain and saw what was behind the image of the sorceress: that of the woman he was confronting.

He saw her talk to an old man dressed in gaudy clothes and he could hear every word they said as she remembered them. Now it was his turn to remember the words and then he dug in deeper to find out her feelings about all this.

While it had upset him, he saw the woman had become nervous.

With tinges of magic still floating around, he saw that the Red One had unwillingly been pushed into the void of choice: loyalty or personal gain. But then he saw what shocked him most: the image of himself, embracing the Red One warmly.

They had dropped all their clothes and were lying on a bed that suddenly looked all too familiar. It was the bed she was sleeping in right now.

"And I thought I warned you I wouldn't." the Nasty One smiled.

"Don't you know love? Don't you know humanity? Don't you know mercy, affection, friendship?" suddenly came the woman's accusing voice. The images vanished.

"What is all this talk?" the Nasty One responded.

"You talk of humanity and still you are only here to seek my help! You talk of love even, while seriously considering selling me out to some politicians! You talk of friendship while you're on the verge of betraying me! How can you talk of affection while you are one who wants my company just to insure your own safety when going out to enhance your own powers? And what is mercy when you fall for the first man's glibly talks, a man who plans the downfall of many others at that?"

"I would not want you to work for the politicians! I would want you to help me, myself, and my town." the woman defended herself.

"What do I care about your town? What do I care about your powers?"

"What do you care about me?" came the question that took him by surprise.

"Give me the chance to prove myself. Give me the chance to show you that I would not lie to you. I am eternally in your debt but still I think there is more in this world that you need to learn. You need compassion, friendship, love, concern!"

"For what do I need that?"

"For life." came the bitter reply.

"Look what you have become! I don't know how you managed to become this but you are not a living human being anymore. You have turned into a monster, a beast. A predator. You have no human emotions anymore, if ever you had them. You need to learn how to live, how to enjoy your life."

"Red One, you have met me only this morning. Then how can you say things like these?"

"The fact that I can tell you this much after one day is all the more a shame for you! You have lost all humanity, you live your life in bitter self-pity for one reason or another and now you walk the world like a predator, looking around for people to kill. You are surely a sorry person, if the term person is not insulting humankind."

"Now who do you think you are to say things like that to me? You are starting to annoy me, Red One!" the Nasty One said in a warning voice.

"It is me who is annoyed. With you, that is. And I have a right to be annoyed. Judging people is one of my better qualities, Nasty One, and I see you as one who could be a good man if only he gave a damn about it."

"And I am not concerned about stuff like that, is that what you are trying to say? You really think I should travel around with friends so that they can betray me or that I can stick out my neck time after time to save them? To see they want more than they can take so I can grieve about their deaths? What good is that for, tell me."

"What goal do you have, Nasty One? What do you live for? Is there a thing in your life that gives you strength, determination? Is there a thing in life you enjoy? Spare me the details, I know there is no such thing. You wander around without a goal in your mind. Without something in particular to do. Your goals are only temporary, and while you say you are not for hire it really matters little because all you do is looking around for new small jobs to do, with no big goal in your life. Without anything you can always fall back on. Without anybody you care about, with no real light or interest in your life, you are but an empty shell walking around."

That one hit home, as the Nasty One kept silent for a while.

"Then what should people live for? For weak people who tolerate you only for your powers? For people who seek to use you until you are empty and drop you mercilessly then?"

"I do not say by any means that you should help the politicians, if that's what you're pointing at. While you would certainly help me by that I am not saying you have to help them, for that is not up to me to decide, I'm as far as that."

"You would really be as naive as to believe that that prime minister would really hold on to his promises? Aren't politicians the most untrustworthy people in the entire world? Are politicians not the people who would promise you everything just to achieve their own goals, only to break those promises after you have put them in power?"

"You are a suspicious man, Nasty One. Truth is that one cannot live a full and rich life without company who are worth your trust and care. I know that the years have been long and lonely for you, Nasty One. And when alone, time only ticks by without the great things in life, for those passed by and went to other people instead as there is nothing in terms of happiness that they can give you."

"But where to find company, people who are worthy of my trust and care, people you can easily turn your back on, people who do not just hang around me for my powers. People who can handle themselves, who can fight side to side with one while I do not have to look at them all the time to see if they are not getting themselves into trouble? Those are hard to find."

"Hard to find, maybe. But in me you have found one."

"You, a woman who has fallen in love with me just because I saved her a couple of times? A woman whose gratitude merely turned into some kind of twisted, perverted kind of love?"

"Don't say that!" the woman spat.

"I am more than just a damsel in distress, and I am more than one who fell in love with you because you saved me. I admit that things would have been entirely different without your powers but that does not mean automatically that we can't go on together like partners!"

Suddenly the Nasty One was silent and disappeared.

Outside he had heard some rumours despite his present condition. He was able to quickly transport himself back to consciousness and looked outside. Some knights were running through the streets, making a lot of noise because of their armour. They seemed to be chasing somebody, yelling to each other. Probably some outlaw, the Nasty One thought and sat down again.

This woman was strange, he thought by himself.

Somehow she was right at some points but she had absolutely no right to intrude in his life like that, asking so many moralistic questions.

And of course she had fallen in love with him, he had read her mind clearly enough.

Then again, what harm could it do to let her come along after their visit to that tower? Maybe he could pick up some more things, some magical items he had overlooked the first time. With a shrug he shook off the possibility that he had in fact overlooked some items. What now? Was he trying to find excuses for himself? This was a sensation he had never felt before and he hoped he would never feel it again.

Sure, he was not perfect. But he got far trying, he always said to himself. It is the law of one who controls the Body Life magic: there is always somebody who is better at something. Maybe he was not the most compassionate man in the world, but could he care about that? He was not trained to be a man who would have company surrounding him, friends to share his life with. Friends would only stand in awe if he demonstrated his true powers, the power to change the sight of the world forever. The power to blow up an entire mountain was something he possessed; in fact it would take him little effort to blow up a mountain.

He was trained to be a loner, and that was what he had been for the past years.

But this woman wanted different.

She wanted to be around him.

But because she was in love with him or because she wanted to change him? Maybe because she wanted to change him so that she could love him? The Nasty One couldn't figure out the intentions of the red-haired sorceress and so he decided to allow her around for a while, until he knew exactly what she was up to.

Not that he would have sent her away otherwise, he had promised her he would accompany her to the tower and his honour forbade him to cancel the journey now. For he knew that she would not go to the tower alone, not without him.

There was that sound again. Quick footsteps coming his way. Immediately he shot up. Somebody was in trouble.

Though it was probably an outlaw the Nasty One got interested. Then he spotted a short figure running his way. He concentrated to see in the dark and then he saw a familiar face. He opened his door and hissed:

"Short One, in here."

The locksmith gave it no thought and ran into the house. The Nasty One closed the door behind him and sat back in his chair, not lighting any candle. The locksmith seemed to be able to find his way around quite well despite the darkness as he found another seat without effort. He probably remembered where the chair was from his last visit.

He carefully peeked at the window, then hid himself as he heard the heavy stomps of the town guards pass by.

"I should have known. One who is an expert at making locks is also an expert at picking them. Caught in the act?"

"They never saw me from nearby. I got out just in time and they only heard me. I got myself a nice distance between them in no time but I could not return home at once, I locked my door and opening it would have taken too much time and then they would have caught up on me."

"I gave you good money yesterday. Then what made you play burglar tonight? Gambled too much?"

"No... it is not for me that I try to make money in a more devious way. Though I have little work here I can live from the money I earn as a locksmith. The knights have used my craft for their new dungeons and then you came, asking for my best and heaviest locks for your door and your chest. But I need a lot of money to hire a sorcerer."

"A sorcerer? What do you need a sorcerer for?" the Nasty One asked, raising his eyebrow.

"For this." the locksmith said, raising his right hand.

On his middle finger the Nasty One saw a bright golden ring with a shining black stone on it.

"What kind of ring is that? And why do you need the services of a sorcerer? To remove it? Aye, it is indeed a magical ring and most of those don't go off the finger of people who are not the rightful owner." the Nasty One said with no attempt to hide a smile.

"So you stole a ring and now you can't get it off?"

"No, it is not that! I am smart enough not to break in a sorcerer's residence. But a sorcerer put a curse on me, a curse which he put in this ring. If something happens to me, it happens to everyone in a mile radius. So if I die, I cause the death of hundreds. I have lived as a hermit for a year but then I hurt my shoulder and as a result I saw a young deer fall down in pain. I could not live with the knowledge that an animal so innocent and beautiful would have to live with my pain. So that is when I decided to move back into this peaceful town where few got hurt."

"Then you showed pure lack of responsibility! You almost got caught and the guards might have molested you or even killed you, in the middle of a town! You know what would have happened then, you just explained. Would you have this whole town killed just because you need money?"

"That was one reason why I kept on running. I would not mind spending the night in jail, I have spent more. And because I made the locks in this prison myself, I know how the cells are. But I was afraid something might happen to me on the way, or that the night guards were in a foul mood. And they certainly were! This pair of guards is the meanest in town. So I had to run."

"Well, I think I can help you. I happen to have a sorceress here, she might be able to help you get rid of that ring."

"You have? Where is she?"

"Sleeping over there. And I am sure she will not accept your money."

"Wow. Why would she do that for free?"

"Because I tell her to."

"You control the woman?"

"Not exactly, but I saved her twice and tomorrow I will go out to accompany her on her way to some tower where she can enhance her powers. So I am sure she will do me a favour."

"Well then, I can also accompany you to the tower. After all, she will be more powerful after she has drained the tower and then there is a bigger chance she can help me."

The Nasty One smiled: he was getting company quickly.

"All-right then. You can stay here, though there is no bed available. Unless you want to share the blankets with the sorceress..." he said with a grin.

"No, thanks. I slept today, I prepared for this. And by the way, a spy from the politicians in this town tried to bribe me for information about you. I knew I should have taken the cash, but..."

"That is quite all-right, I know of the intentions of the politicians already. It seems they are trying to use me and my powers for their own game of power. I just ignore them, for that is exactly what politicians are for. Senseless discussions and struggles about power. While they do not even know what true power is."

"I think you do know what power is. Don't you have any powers of sorcery yourself?"

"Only a violent kind of magic. Have you tried hacking off your finger?"

"And then how could I ever work my craft again? I need all my fingers for my delicate work."

"Meaning locksmithing or lockpicking?" The Nasty One said with an enigmatic smile.

"Both." the locksmith grinned.

"I see. Well, there must be another way to remove that ring. But the Red One will see to that tomorrow."

Completely at ease, the locksmith fell back in the deep chair and within moments he was sound asleep.

The Nasty One shook his head and relaxed as well.

The locksmith was there when the sorceress and the Nasty

One mounted horses. The locksmith was just carrying a small knapsack and had a horse of his own.

The guards looked a little jumpy when the Nasty One rode out of town in a steady pace but they did not speak a word, nor did they try anything to stop him and those with him.

As soon as they were out of sight, however, one guard sprinted to the Assembly to report.

"Milord, the Nasty One just left town on horseback, carrying a large bag with some of his possessions. He was followed by the woman who entered town with his yesterday and by the locksmith, a suspect of the burglary reported by the night shift."

"A suspect, you say? Has there been a proper identification?" the king-knight asked.

"No, milord. But fact is that his residence has been empty all night and thus we have reason to believe he spent the night at the Nasty One's apartment. He was seen entering his house again this morning and it appeared just to get some stuff as he went to the stables to fetch his horse just equipped with a knapsack."

"I want a total search of his house for the time he is gone. Any word of how long they will be gone?"

"No, milord. They left through the main gate and did not speak a word. Their equipment, however, is not enough for a long or even permanent leave."

"Right. Then I also want a search of the Nasty One's apartment. As he is a citizen of this town we have a right to search his house as he is a suspect of any kind because it is already known that he killed my town guards. And do it quickly, before he returns. This all goes off the record."

"Off the record? But milord, that would make us act like the politicians!"

"You have no permission to criticise me, guard. You have your orders, now go and spread them."

The guard bowed, clicked his heels and left the audience room.

"It is not tactful to spread orders off the record to the younger ones, milord. They are still full of ideals and their minds are still possessed by knightly heroes. It may be a bit too early to show them how true power should really be handled. After all, the youngster was a bit right about comparing you to the politicians when it comes to handling matters off the record." an older knight said.

"What do you want me to do then? Show the Nasty One we have searched his house? He will kill us for that!"

"Oh, he certainly will. I do not say you should not search the apartment or tell him you did, just don't bother the younger ones with it. Leave it to those who know what life is about."

"Sir Intharh is right. Though we are more honest and open than politicians we cannot be accused of lack of diplomacy."

"It does not matter. Once we can find a clue about who this Nasty One exactly is, what deals he has made with anyone we know or do not know, what weak points he has -if any- and how we can use his powers to our own advantage we finally have the edge over the politicians and we will finally have the power to completely ban them."

"That is right, but we may not stoop to the tactics of our opponents here." the older knight said.

"Sir Ninthan of Waywrecht." the herald suddenly announced.

"Finally, there he is. Let him in."

A short, thin man in knightly armour entered the meeting room and took place at the round table.

"You have a full report?"

"Aye, I have been working on it for quite some time." the man said, looking around comfortably as observing was what he did best. Even though spying was not a quality one should see as knightly and courtly, he called himself the spy-knight and had long years of experience leading a small network of local spies.

"You have kept us waiting for a long time, Ninthan." the king-knight spoke.

"Aye, aye. But I have something here that will make you forgive me for keeping you waiting so long. Listen."

With that, the spy-knight opened a notebook.

"Here, just after dusk, the Nasty One left his house, leaving the red-haired woman, who is Griwalda, daughter of Nouen's mayor and a sorceress, alone in the house."

"The woman is the daughter of Nouen's mayor? Then what is she doing here?" a knight asked.

"Last I heard was that she had been abducted."

"She returned to her town a few days ago and then left. It is assumable that it was the Nasty One who freed her and that she had been looking for him."

"Indeed, my sources in Nouen confirm this. The person who freed her from captivity was known as the Nasty One."

"But then he saved her from Binor and his gang! So he saved her twice? She must be grateful for that." the young knight said.

"Probably fell in love with the man as well, as she spent the night in his apartment."

"So he left her alone. Then what happened? Did you follow the Nasty One or did you hold on to your surveillance of the apartment?"

"We split up but the one who followed the Nasty One lost him soon enough. He returned alive, however. The man could swear that the Nasty One had sensed his presence and thought it was best to flee before the sword would strike mercilessly. Naturally, I killed him for the cowardice. He accepted the punishment without any complaints."

The king-knight nodded. "But if we kill everybody for cowardice in the face of the Nasty One we will end up without any living knight in short time."

"Fair enough, but he neglected a direct order here, and I will not tolerate that. Anyway, what I saw was much more interesting: soon after the Nasty One had left, the woman got a visitor."

"A visitor? Who was that? She was just in town."

"It was the former prime minister."

This statement left the room in silence for a few seconds.

"The guts! What right did he have to visit her?"

"I do not know, but remember she is indeed the daughter of Nouen's mayor. They had a long discussion and just after he left the Nasty One returned. Well, he came half an hour after the former prime minister had left. I had nobody left to follow the former prime minister, you understand."

"I see. So you think that the former prime minister is trying to persuade the woman to help him? Or even to persuade her to talk the Nasty One into helping him?"

"I fear so, aye. But this is not the end of my report. In the middle of the night another person entered the house and stayed there until dawn. He appeared to be..."

"The locksmith. If things go the way they look the woman has tricked the Nasty One into working for the politicians and so they left for some errand, together with the locksmith. Do we know anything about the locksmith's place in this?"

"I happen to know that a politician tried to bribe the locksmith. He wanted him to tell him everything he knew about the Nasty One. The locksmith, however, refused and said he didn't know much as the Nasty One had been very seclusive about himself and the locksmith had just installed some locks."

"Which locks?"

"From what we have seen, a heavy lock on the door and another one on a chest. There is only one key for each lock and the Nasty One has them both."

"He replaced the door lock? He is not allowed to do that, now we have trouble searching his house!" the king-knight said, upset.

"We could always... no, we cannot use the locksmith's expertise here! The damn bastard took the locksmith with him! I bet that locksmith is also the lock pick you talked about earlier, milord. The man entered the Nasty One's apartment, and that fits perfectly in the fact that around that time a burglar was chased and then lost."

"Alas, he has followed the Nasty One to parts unknown to us. I am sure, though, that there are more ways to enter that flat."

"Of course, but we would not want him to notice somebody has been in, would we?"

"Try all you can. If you have to break in, break in. He will never know after all who broke in. It could have been a spy from the politicians as well."

"That remains to be seen, Lord Reighward. Who knows what deal has been struck between her and the politicians? It might very well be the case that he is already on their side. If somebody breaks into his apartment the politicians will inform him that we have done this. After all, they accuse us of everything."

"Like we accuse them." the king-knight said under his breath.

Though it was clearly audible, nobody responded.

"So, how was your talk with the woman, prime minister?"

"Perfect. It appears that she is the daughter of that old mayor in Nouen. Very easy to manipulate, indeed. She is just a naive woman in love with the Nasty One. She is ours and she will do everything to persuade the man to help us."

"Give us a full report." a minister said.

With a smile on his face the prime minister reported about the conversation with the woman, not knowing she was a sorceress and everything but naive.

"So, all we have to do is wait for their return and then we can do business?"

"If the damsel is indeed as persuasive as she believes herself to be she will have the Nasty One on our side soon. She strongly believes that she can have some influence on him and we have no reason to doubt her as she has entered this town at his side and she has spent the night with him. Though you can never know for sure what happened in there last night I think it is safe to say that a woman with a body like hers should have no problem seducing a man to the sin of flesh."

Several politicians chuckled.

"A perfect scheme, prime minister. It is undisputed that we still have chosen the right man for the job of leading us. Your ingenious plan will bring us back to power."

With a glee the prime minister nodded.

They rode quietly for a day, the locksmith wondered why the other two were so quiet. The woman was riding with a blank face, the Nasty One sometimes looked around but most of the time he rode with his eyes closed, concentrating so deeply the locksmith could almost sense it.

Then, for a short instant, the big man started to glow a pale shade of blue and a small beam of light left him through his head. "What the..." the locksmith started but then the flash was gone and the glow had vanished. Meanwhile, the Nasty One had let go of the reins but the horse walked on in the same steady pace nonetheless, as if it was afraid to disobey its master. And the Nasty One did not bump or fall off the beast even though he did not hold on to anything.

Carefully the locksmith looked aside and found himself eye to eye with the sorceress.

"I believe we have not been introduced properly." he said hesitantly. "My name is Jon Man, the locksmith in Vintel."

"Griwalda Donthiac, daughter of the mayor in Nouen. So you are the man who has a problem with that ring?"

"I have, I explained it all to the Nasty One. This ring will not get off my finger and what happens to me happens to everybody within a mile's radius. This happened to me when I was caught by a sorcerer who wanted to hire me as a lock pick. I said I had quit that and wanted to earn my bread like an honest man and this was the kind of man who would not take no for an answer. He handed me the ring and told me to wear it in case I would change my mind. I put it on, a bit naive as I was, and then I walked with a friend and fell. To my surprise, he fell with me. We laughed a lot about that but then later other things started to happen. When I got hurt, other people got hurt. And then I hit a tree and hurt my shoulder. A poor, innocent deer slumped to the ground at the same moment. Then I knew I had to do something to get this ring removed, so I started breaking in houses again to earn enough money to hire the services of a good sorcerer who could help me with this."

"So what you are trying to say is that we should take care of you very well else we will all suffer what you suffer."

"Exactly, that is how it seems to work."

"When we encamp I will try to use my powers to destroy the ring. It may not be entirely safe but I must investigate it before I undertake any type of action. After all, I will be harmed when I harm you. But today we must ride on quickly. The tower must be some five days from Vintel and when we have reached it I might be able to add the sorcerer's power to my own. After all, he kidnapped me to do the same thing to me."

"Kidnapped you? Which sorcerer? The same one who cursed me?"

"I do not know which sorcerer cursed you. But this one

kidnapped me to drain me and then he was killed by the Nasty One, who had gone out to rescue me."

"Ah, so that is the link between the two of you. People in the pub were already guessing last night."

"People in the pub?" the woman asked, surprised.

"Aye, that is the main place for all the news and gossip in town. I happen to be there often, so I am pretty much up to date with the situation in the town. That is why some politician wanted to bribe me to tell more about the Nasty One."

"They approached you as well? A man who called himself the prime minister entered last night and he talked to me. He promised me new trade agreements when I should talk the Nasty One into helping them."

"Those politicians will never change. I can assure you that those trade agreements would be quite forgotten after you would have helped them."

"Can you tell me some more about the town? I hardly know the town and I am not that interested in politics. I do have to know, however, if we are in any danger when he cross one's path."

"Well, this town was built a century ago and now has a small

population of, say, nine hundred. Then the politicians came and they wanted to grow and grow, as their own power would grow with the town's. We paid fair taxes and in turn they arranged things like the watch, the street cleaners, supplies et cetera. But they were also in a band with other towns which were also ruled by politicians and the taxes were raised in order to expand the amount of guards and also to hire people from outside to build new horses and also large, prestigious bungalows for the politicians themselves. Now in a town like this everybody knows each other but people had to raise their prices for normal stuff like food and spirits. So life got more expensive here and because of that things went a bit wrong when it came to trading with the outside. And that resulted in less investments and bigger expenses. Which had to come from the townspeople and so taxes were raised and raised, bringing the town into a vicious cycle. That was when people started to riot and soon large bands of knights entered the town and said they would take care of business. They did not attack the politicians, but in their own way they beat the politicians in their own game: they forced the politicians to write out elections and the knights were voted in the government almost unanimously as nobody wanted the politicians anymore."

"But the prime minister said that the coup went with much violence."

"Well, the violence came after the elections. The politicians would not recognise the results of the elections and claimed the knights had cheated themselves into power. So they started to cause trouble and that was when the knights were forced to keep them in line with the sword and forced the politicians to retreat but they are still in town and will do anything to get back into power. And now they both spy on each other and they will both do anything for power so they will both seek to get the Nasty One as a pawn for their own purposes as they have seen his power, and because he is strong and fearless."

"Is that what you think or what you have heard?"

"I have heard little on the matter, those two parties are damn difficult to intrude for information. They talk to almost nobody and only come with official statements and some rumours to keep the crowd excited. Interest in local politics is extremely high, you understand."

"I understand. So I should totally forget about the promises of that prime minister?"

"Absolutely. He has no power and it would not be the first promise he broke. And certainly not the last one, either. And I think you should never have thought about those promises as all the prime minister wants is the power of the Nasty One and he does not care about you and your father's town. You would not want to abuse one who has saved you from death."

"Certainly not. I must confess I have been considering this but then just to help my father."

"Which is probably exactly the plan of the prime minister, he wanted you to think you would help your father by helping him. It is what politics is all about." the locksmith grinned.

"It seems you know a lot about politics." the woman remarked.

"Of course. I just told you that the people in Vintel are very much interested in politics. And in case you did not notice, I am from Vintel."

"I see. So a lot of people are interested in politics in a town where the politicians are banned."

"Of course, that is the entire point. The knights play their own games of politics, they just never admit it. I must give them they are not as corrupt as the politicians before but they have their own way of dealing with power. You know there are more towns where politicians and knights rule. There is a certain split between the knight-towns and the other towns, which is also the reason why the trade with your town has been cut down. And there is a chance that the knight-towns unite to get all the towns in this area under the reign of the knighthood."

"The knighthood means to conquer other towns?"

"I am not sure whether they will try to use elections again or that they will really enter by the sword. There are some rather nasty talks about it, though."

"I am not sure about all this, my father never told me much and he was always terribly busy with ruling Nouen and I was too busy with learning my own craft: sorcery. My mother died when I was young. I have never known her."

The locksmith could feel there was something she was not telling but he decided against asking now. He would find out later, he knew. The woman would not talk about it now anyway so he decided to be patient, though this was totally against his curious nature.

"So this is the tower. Aye, I recognise this place."

"The bodies have been removed though." the woman noticed.

"Of course, people will start to notice the stench." the Nasty One said with a shrug.

They entered the empty tower and started looking around.

"This place is absolutely empty. I guess somebody has been here plundering this tower before." the locksmith said, lifting up carpets to check if there was anything of value hidden there.

"There has: me." the Nasty One said. "It is not materialistic things we are after here. It is magical power that the Red One needs to add to her own."

"Of course, but... ah, I see. You picked up all the stuff already. So, where to look?"

"It is not something you can look for. It is more something for the Red One. She will probably want to go to the casting chambers. There the magical energy that a sorcerer uses to cast his spells floats around harmlessly, but a sorcerer, either the one who created the energy -or converted normal energy to magical energy I should say- or any other sorcerer can use the magic powers for their own purposes."

"But does this actually give her more spells or just more power to cast spells?"

"Sometimes it just allows the sorcerer, or sorceress in this case, to cast a long ray of spells where she would normally be exhausted. And sometimes it comes as a learning process where the sorceress can learn a lot of new spells or add more power to her present spells. I am not sure whether there is anything here but she will find out soon enough."

"Do you think those new powers will give her the power to release me?"

"I don't know, she may have already. For all I know she may never be able to help you. A great sorcerer of power would not have fallen for that small band of marauders and she did. And the sorcerer who kidnapped her and brought her here to this tower was also not that powerful as he needed ten guards. A powerful sorcerer would never need guards."

"I suppose you killed all those guards and the sorcerer? That must have been pretty hard."

"Not that hard. The guards were too surprised and the Casting One also was not dangerous after he found out that his spells could not hurt me."

"Could not hurt you? How come?"

"I have an item given to me by my teacher, an item that protects me against sorcery."

"That must be a very rare item and its value is so great it cannot be given in mere gold. That makes you dangerous to those who normally do not fear the men of the sword."

"Indeed, and that is what has made me a man to challenge the sorcerers who oppose me."

"I do not think a sorcerer would want to oppose you when he knew you had this item. I bet it's the bracelet you are wearing on your left wrist. Easy to say it is magical since the runes on it are all over the bracelet."

"You were not of mind to steal it, were you?"

"Steal anything from one as powerful as you? I would not dare. And I mean that. I have heard and seen what you can do and I am sure you would find me. And I have a pretty good idea of what you would do to me then. No, thanks."

"Just remember to keep the value of this bracelet between us. Do not let any politician bribe you for telling this. I have a vague idea what they would do then. Or try, at least. And I do not want to be bothered with petty stuff like that."

"I understand full well, Nasty One. Trust me. Oh I forgot... never mind."

"Right."

Meanwhile, the sorceress had located the spellcasting room of which the entrance had been hidden once. She saw to her amusement that the secret door had been blasted open by a powerful force and she knew exactly who had done that.

"You have strange powers at hand, Nasty One." she whispered.

But as soon as she entered the room she found herself unable to say a word. Here the air should have been filled with energy the sorcerers use for their powers, but there was absolutely nothing, the air was as thin as outside. And the book shelves were empty, she could see that books had been standing there because of the dust.

"Nasty One?" she shouted. "What is it, Red One?" came the reply from somewhere underneath her.

"Somebody has been here, another sorcerer. And he has taken the spoils already. Or do you also have the power to absorb energy?"

"If I would have had those powers I would have told you and then we would not have left the town in the first place. What stupid kind of question is that?"

"Oh... sorry... I did not mean to insult you..." the woman uttered softly.

The woman looked around and suddenly her eye fell upon a small sheet of parchment.

"Men, come up here. I found a note."

The two men went up the spiral stairs quickly and also entered the room the woman was standing in. The Nasty One grabbed the sheet and studied it.

"Some arrogant note." he grunted.

"What does it say?" the locksmith inquired.

"Harken, one who ventures here.

I take it you were the one who killed Methahon, the owner of this tower. I take it somebody has come here to drain the tower of its magic energy. You came too late here, as I already did that. In a certain way I owe you, as Methahon was not my friend by far to say the least. But the way you disposed of him, by the sword, upsets me a bit. How did you break through his magic defence? Do you have the key to immunity, the key that we have been looking for all these years? Do you have the key of domination, the key the sorcerers in this world want? Are you the one to defy our powers for you cannot be hurt by them? Because if you are the one we are looking for, then be warned. Surrender the key or face the sorcerers in this world who have more means at hand to get the key, which is so important in our lives. Surrender the key as soon as possible, deliver it to Authon Towers before the moon is full. Or suffer the consequences." the Nasty One read.

"Signed: Miroan the Dark Sorcerer." the woman added.

"You know this man?" the Nasty One asked.

"Every sorcerer or sorceress knows the reputation of this man. He is extremely powerful and feared by friend or foe. He..."

"He is the one who put this ring on me!" the locksmith suddenly exclaimed.

"Are you sure?"

"I would not say it if I was not sure. The name rings a clear bell to me. I am a hundred percent positive about this. Miroan was the name."

"If Miroan is the one who put this curse on you, I am afraid I cannot help you. His powers outclass mine by far. I will try, though."

The sorceress then started working her powers and the room was filled with tense air again. She put her hand on his finger and slowly the ring started to glow. "It... it is getting warm." the locksmith said, a bit nervous.

"Of course, she is trying to heat it. Metal expands when it is heating up. She tries to heat it so that it will grow and then it might slip off your finger. It takes no sorcerer to know that." the Nasty One said.

"It will not heat up." she said after some time.

"My hand sure is. It is starting to hurt."

"Touch the ring. It is still cold. Strange."

"The magic, probably. A smart one will keep the results of something natural from a ring like that. Else one could just heat it and slip it off. So that will never work. Try something different."

"How about that bracelet of yours, Nasty One? Maybe the anti-magic in it will dispel the magic."

"That will be the day. Defeat that sorcerer with the thing he wants. Worth a try."

He ran the bracelet across the ring and across the man's finger but nothing would work.

"In that way, only one thing can help you: the death of the one who did this to you."

"You mean this is the key Miroan was talking about?" the sorceress asked.

"Aye, I have reason to believe so. Because it dispels the magic energy I cannot be hurt by a sorcerer. This makes me a great danger to all sorcerers who can usually keep a good distance between one man and themselves and cast them to death. I can advance, break their most powerful defence and kill them. They are not really looking for the key, they want it just to be certain that nobody can attack them. Or maybe they want it for their own use. A sorcerer who fights another sorcerer has an easy fight when he has the bracelet. And so he could become the only sorcerer in the world if he wanted that. While it is certainly easy to become the most powerful one when he can add the energy from the deceased one every time."

"What are you going to do?"

"The only one thing to do. We will return to that town of ours after I have left a small note for that sorcerer."

"What kind of note?"

"I am not going to look for him, those sorcerers are sometimes hard to find. So I will just tell him where to find me. I am sure he will come because I have what he wants. And he has what I want."

"What do you want then?"

"His life."

"Report then. What have you seen?"

The spy-knight looked around and saw that the full Assembly was present at the large round table.

"The locksmith's house was nothing of interest. Just some tools and private property. The Nasty One's house is pretty empty. I could not open the chest, not even with my best lock picks and false keys. The locksmith is certainly one who knows what he makes. Terrific craftsmanship indeed. He took his pack with him, I guess with some money and items he uses and the rest of the house is empty except for the standard furniture we give in these apartments."

"So what you are trying to say is that we took a great risk for absolutely nothing. There are no clues whatsoever to be found in those residences." the king-knight said, his voice trembling with disappointment and anger.

"Right. Absolutely nothing."

"Then what is our next step?" a knight asked.

"We will have to wait for their return and then I must have a talk with this man."

"If he is willing to talk to you, that is. You are not going to pick him off the streets and bring him in."

"Most certainly not. We must try a different approach here. Our authority does not work here, so we must use a little diplomacy. He does not seem to be interested in politics, nor does he seem to bargain for favours while he is not simply for hire."

"Which leaves us with what?"

"That is something we must find out. And soon, before the politicians are steps ahead of us."

A tall, thin figure dressed in black approached the tower he had visited before. "So somebody has been there. Probably somebody who wanted to see if there was any treasure or energy left. I hope they were the ones who killed Methahon and that they found my note. No, the note is there. Wait, that is something else. Another note. Probably a reply. They will surrender the key to me if they have it."

But when the sorcerer read he raised his brows.

"I don't know who you think you are but you have no right to hurt my friends. You put a ring on one of my companions' finger and you are going to pay for it unless you remove it immediately. And aye, I have the key, the key to your downfall. Come and get it if you dare, I will be around a small town a few days north of here. Do or die. Signed: The Nasty One."

"Nasty One. Where have I heard of that name before?" the sorcerer pondered.

"I don't know who you are, Nasty One. But you have made an enemy for life and you are going to regret it. And then, when I have dealt with you, I will get the key to immunity and I will conquer the power of the universe. You are probably too stupid to see what you have, but I know and I know I must do everything to get it."

"I know it is our duty, but what about the Nasty One? Of course, Jon Man will return by his side and we cannot apprehend him when he has the Nasty One to help him."

The speaker looked up to his fellow, another town guard. He also shook his head.

"Lord Reighward will have our heads if we let him pass."

"And the Nasty One will when we don't."

A long silence followed. Finally the second guard bumped his halberd into the ground.

"We have to let them pass. I will face Lord Reighward any day if that means I get away from the Nasty One. My lordship will understand that we are absolutely powerless against this man. He is powerless himself lest he would have done something about him a long time ago."

"Johan was my friend, and when he gave the Nasty One a big mouth four died with him. One for the fables and the legends, a martyr for all the town guards." the other one said with cynicism in his voice.

"Still the man is a burglar and he has to be brought to justice. We can sneak upon him and catch him while the Nasty One is not there."

"He will be coming for us then. Is that what you want?"

"Nope, but he cannot prove it was us who took him."

"Consider me out. I will not risk my life for some thief."

"Are you forsaking your duties?"

"We have been doing that all the time since the Nasty One entered town."

The threesome finally re-entered the town where they saw the frightened looks on the faces of the town guards.

"So the sorcerer will be coming for us and then you will kill him?" the locksmith asked, ignoring the guards.

"Aye. I am sure he will come since I happen to have the key he seeks. He must be eager enough to bite."

"You think there is more behind this?"

"Maybe, Short One. I would not be surprised if somebody would try to play a trick on me. People have been doing strange things every time they found out I am not for hire."

"What have they done to you then?"

"Still inquisitive. Well, they tried to force me into doing what they wanted me to do. They tried the power of the sword -one tactic that certainly backfired- and of money. They tried to bribe me with everything a material man would give his life for. They tried to seduce me with gorgeous women, promised me land, a kingdom of my own."

"So, why did you reject?" the man asked.

"Pah! What good is money, what good is sexual lust? What good is power and authority you did not claim yourself? Where is the smell, the taste of success when you command people while others really did the work for you? What kind of life would I have, sitting on a throne, ruling peasants? They would probably give me a kingdom as tedious as this town."

"That is a way to look at things." the man said with doubt in his voice. He knew not exactly who this man was and what he was up to but he got a gut feeling that this man could be trusted as a friend. Even if he did not trust anybody him-

self.

The threesome rested in the Nasty One's apartment.

"So there is a big chance you might get hurt. And when you get hurt, we all get hurt. There is something we must do."

"All we can do is sit and wait until the sorcerer comes. I have given him directions of where to find me, I am sure he will come since I have what he wants."

"So all we can do is sit and wait? I do not believe that is something not even you can have peace with. Meanwhile we have to watch every step our friend the locksmith makes. The knights are still looking for him as a burglar, they might pick him up as soon as they spot him and we cannot possibly hold him here forever, especially not since you go out at night." Griwalda said.

"Maybe you should try to get me off the hook with the knights, it would be a big relief knowing that they are no longer after me." Jon added.

The Nasty One slowly nodded.

"Fair enough, I will tell them to withdraw the warrant for your arrest."

He walked outside and quickly enough attracted the attention of a pair of town guards.

"I have a message for your knights." the Nasty One stated.

The guards, one veteran accompanied by a younger knight, hesitantly advanced. The older knight raised his head in dignity. "What is it you have to say, Nasty One?"

"I demand that the warrant for the Short One's arrest be withdrawn. Nobody may hurt him else you will all suffer the consequences."

"Why do you defend a criminal, Nasty One? Why do you threaten us now?" the knight asked.

"It is not me who threatens you here, I am simply warning you. The Short One is cursed by a sorcerer and what happens to him happens to this whole damn town. I have no means at hand to dispel that powerful magic, so I must find the sorcerer who did this and kill him to break the power. This is what I intend to do. So I warn you that nobody should hurt the Short One in the meantime."

"This Short One you are talking about, is he the locksmith Jon Man?"

The Nasty One nodded briefly.

Meanwhile the younger knight stood frozen hearing his partner speak to this feared man so openly.

"This sorcerer you are after, do you have a name on him?"

"Names mean little to me, but the people inside will know his name. He seems to be pretty famous."

"Then could you get either one of them?"

The Nasty One nodded and walked inside, only to come out a few seconds later with the woman.

"The sorcerer is Miroan, one of the world's most powerful sorcerers."

"I remember that name. Can you battle this man?"

"His powers can be neutralised." the Nasty One said calmly.

"Well then, we will go and deliver your message to the Assembly. Is there aught else we should know or is there anything you need?"

After the Nasty One had shaken his head the knight saluted him and turned around to stomp away quickly, followed by his younger partner. "The warrant is withdrawn!" the guard shouted over his shoulder before he turned around a corner. The Nasty One nodded in satisfaction.

"So the word is out now. They will not hurt the Short One. They know the danger now, so he should be safe."

The woman nodded slowly.

"They take your word very easily."

"These are not powerful ones, these will just carry the message to that Royal One. And then we will hear more."

It did not take long for the knight to be allowed in the Assembly when he stated that he had a statement from the Nasty One.

"So he has spoken. What does he want?"

"He wants that the warrant for the locksmith Jon Man's arrest be withdrawn immediately. The locksmith is cursed and anything that will happen to him will happen to the whole town. So it is wisest to leave him be."

"Cursed? How come, Sir Michael?"

"I am not sure, the Nasty One said that a powerful sorcerer known as Miroan -he needed the lady's help for the name as he does not care about names- had bestowed the curse on the locksmith. As for the how and the why, we have no word on this."

"And how do we know he is not lying or joking?"

"The Nasty One seems not to be one who makes jokes about things like that, milord. If about anything."

"You seem to understand the man a bit, Sir Michael."

"Well, he is tough but I think he is not very unfair."

"This man killed five of your colleagues a few days ago. Do you call that not very unfair?"

"There is more to this man than meets the eye, milord. Can I tell him we will delete the warrant from the files?"

"Most certainly, Sir Michael. If he speaks true, and we have no reason to believe he doesn't, this town is in danger. You are dismissed, and you and your partner deserve two days off for bringing us this."

"Thank you, milord. I salute you."

The men bowed, clicked their heels and walked out of the audience room.

"So we have to take this seriously?"

"Of course, the man would not make silly threats like that. We must find a solution here."

"Could we not just banish the locksmith?"

"Who wants to execute that, when the Nasty One is near? He stays at the Nasty One's place so he can be considered an associate of the Nasty One."

"Any news on the man's background yet?"

"Nothing at all. We will have to work on that."

"Then we will continue with that. Meanwhile the message has to be delivered to all the guards that the Nasty One and his company should be left entirely alone, nobody is to interfere in their actions. If they want to kill that sorcerer they go ahead. But I will not allow the knights to get involved with the great danger to be killed over matters that are not of our business."

"Aye."

"But what do we know about the sorcerer who is threatening the locksmith? His name seems to be Miroan and it rings a bell to me. He seems to be pretty powerful as far as I know and it is not known how the Nasty One will eliminate the danger he poses."

"It is not known if the Nasty One has arcane powers himself but Sir Ninthan is right now working on that. Information is what we need in this matter, for now there is little we can do. Meanwhile we must study at the possibilities of helping out the Nasty One as he has to save the town this time and I do not want that one man claims responsibility for saving our town. Think of the riot that would give: one man beating the knighthood for the honour!" the king-knight spoke. "There is little we can do against a powerful sorcerer. We will indeed study at possibilities ourselves." the older knight said, his hands resting on the table.

"Then we will resume debates tomorrow when I am eager to hear your suggestions."

In the small hidden House of politicians, there was also a large debate going on.

"The Nasty One has sent a statement to the knights." the spy master reported.

"A statement? What do you have on this?"

"It is said that he instructed the knights to withdraw the arrest against the locksmith who still resides at his apartment. He claims the locksmith Jon Man is cursed so that whatever happens to him happens to everybody in this town. A powerful sorcerer is said to have bestowed that curse on him and so the Nasty One intends to kill the sorcerer to free the locksmith, who can be seen as an associate of the Nasty One, and he claims to be able to deal with the sorcerer himself as he has means at hand to block the sorcerous powers."

"Block them? I think you understood that wrong. There is no way to block out sorcery except for by means of other sorcery. Do you think the woman is responsible for this?"

"I don't think so. If she would have been powerful enough to block the sorcerer's spells she would have also been powerful enough to battle him herself."

"Maybe using the sorceress is what he intends."

"After analyzing the Nasty One's behaviour, I would not say he would use the woman as his pawn. There must be something else."

"But he has struck a deal with the knights, and that is what must concern us the most." a minister said, banging his fist on the table.

"So far that deal is of no big value. He has commanded the knights to do as he wishes and it is not known if he will now consider himself owing the knights. But there is indeed a danger this will be the start of a series of deals between the knights and the Nasty One. Therefore we must undertake some kind of action to block these bargains with some of our own."

"Already we have found a weak link in the woman, what more can we do?"

"As you will see in our reports under point 423.817B you will see we have considered the possibility of hiring a sorcerer. And now that he needs to battle one sorcerer and has a sorceress at his side who seems to be incapable of doing what he wishes I think it is time to bring in our sorcerer. How far are our negotiations on that, minister of justice?"

"We have one pretty powerful sorcerer who worked for us before. However, he requests a remuneration of two thousand goldweights. Looking at our coffers we can see that this amount can be missed. Contact with the man has already been made and he is ready to receive his instructions. He has given me a small sphere with which I can contact him."

"Two thousand? Outrageous! I demand a debate on this!"

"Easy, councillor. Think of the income we will receive when this plan works! With the Nasty One on our side, we will be back into power in no time. Think of the tax money that will return to our coffers, then two thousand goldweights is but a small investment that will most certainly pay off!"

"I agree, the power is within our reach, now more than ever. There is a chance that he will accept our support in exchange for the power he possesses. And we have all heard what those powers include. More than a sorcerer we can use his power to drive the knights out of the Assembly and out of this town for all I care."

"I want to file a motion that we make it a law that all the knights in this town will be forced to leave town after we have installed ourselves in the Assembly again. They caused a riot last time and after order has been restored we have to treat them as rebellious criminals, with either death or banishment."

"That can wait later, minister of justice. Right now we are concerned with returning to power and for that we need the power of the Nasty One. And so we contact this sorcerer right away."

"I agree. After hearing all the arguments, does the council agree?"

"The council agrees under condition that the money will be restored in case the mission fails. Does the cabinet agree with this?"

"The cabinet agrees. Does the senate agree?"

"The senate agrees unconditionally."

"Then the motion of hiring a sorcerer is hereby accepted and will be executed under motion 472.121A, under the supervision of the minister of justice."

"Contact the sorcerer and instruct him to help the Nasty One to fight the sorcerer." the prime minister instructed.

The sorcerer sat behind his desk, deciphering old scrolls with great magical powers. Suddenly a bright blue sphere started to glow. Annoyed, he picked up the sphere.

"Who calls?"

"Renain, minister of justice in the town of Vintel. I called you before, about the man known as the Nasty One."

"I remember. So, you have news?"

"I have got the leave of my cabinet to hire you. Your mission has been changed a bit, though."

"You mean I don't have to eliminate that mysterious man now?"

"Indeed. You are now to help him."

"Huh?"

"The man has a companion, a short locksmith with the name of Jon Man, who wears a curse. What happens to him happens to everybody in a wide radius around him. You are to battle the sorcerer who bestowed this curse on him."

"Another sorcerer. Do you have a name on this man?"

"Not yet, but I will see to that as soon as possible as our intelligence network is right now working on all the details. The Nasty One is also accompanied by a sorceress but we have reason to believe she could not battle that particular sorcerer. Her name is Griwalda Donthiac."

"I know the woman. She could not defeat a gagged sorcerer with her small powers."

"You are to assist her and the Nasty One any way you can."

"Of course. What is the relationship between the Nasty One and Griwalda?"

"As far as I know there is no serious relationship going on. She stays at his apartment but they sleep separately."

"The man can't be too bright when he rejects such an adorable body. And the locksmith?"

"Nothing that we know."

"The fools. The woman has a body she can make every man dream about."

"Romantic affairs are not part of your assignment, if I may remind you."

"Of course. Well, knowing that Griwalda is around I am sure I will be entertained in this mission."

"You do not work together with them, you work alone."

"That way. Well, I will see what I can do. When must I be there and when will I be informed?"

"You will come tomorrow, I guess you have magical means of transport at hand. Then you will go to the Goblins Inn, the best one in town, and there you will meet somebody who will inform you and bring you totally up to date with the situation as this is one that can change any day. Of course, reservations will be made for you at the inn."

"I see. I will be there tomorrow around dinner time."

"Until tomorrow then, and good luck."

"So, it is Griwalda I am really going to support? That man may be nasty, he cannot be too smart keeping his hands off that gorgeous body. And then why does she stay at his place? Could it be that she is in love with him?

"Because if that is the case, the mission will be entirely different. I will work for that minister but after I am done with that yet unknown sorcerer I will finish off this Nasty One if he stands between me and the woman."

"Even for one who finds true ecstasy in the power, I am only a man of flesh and blood and her flesh would be a welcome addition to my bed. And of course I can give her a little more power. Not that she would overcome mine but just enough to use her as my guide. I heard that Methahon had abducted her to drain her. That would have been a big waste as there is more one can enjoy from her than her energy. And I am sure she has other ways to use her energy, to a man's entertainment for instance.

"Yes, Griwalda, you and I are going to have a good time, and no man, no matter how nasty or powerful, is going to stop me."

"I feel something is coming. It might very well be that sorcerer. I hope he will show up soon, then the matter will be dealt with in no time. He will die and the Short One will be free of his curse. Now I must go out for my evening practice."

The sorceress nodded and continued her studies.

"Don't you have training books? Don't you learn from them?"

"Aye. But most is learned through practice and meditation."

"It must be really difficult to hold on to something without having a book or something like that to remind you of your possibilities."

"It is not too difficult as my daily work-out will constantly remind me of what I can do."

"That must be true." she said but as she looked up the Nasty One was gone.

The locksmith now entered the living room.

"Do you know what I have to do now? I mean, should I go back home or should I stay here?"

"I do not know what the Nasty One decided. He said nothing while you were here so my guess is that he wants you to stay here."

"I am afraid my frequent visits to the pub will have to be suspended for a while."

"You are right there. For the moment you may take no risks. The Nasty One will first find the sorcerer who threatens you and he will kill him. Then you are free to go wherever you want without the fear that you will hurt the innocent by hurting yourself. If you can leave me in peace and quiet now, I must see to my studies."

"Oh, sure."

The locksmith retreated back to the guest room and started checking his lockpicking tools.

Meanwhile the Nasty One sat down on a large rock and rested his head in his lap.

He sensed something was going on and he knew it was no real threat but things could change quickly, he had learned through hard experience.

The woman had brought back memories from his battle with the Dark Body, a battle that had been fought in a wasteland but the area had been destroyed even more after the two had fought there. Physical and arcane energy and manoeuvres had followed each other up at a rapid pace, a pace only a master of Body Life magic could muster.

Wounds had to be ignored for distraction would mean death in this fight. Visions returned to the Nasty One. Visions of the man casting a brilliant red and orange bolt of energy at the Nasty One. The Nasty One had called suit and had fired a light blue bolt of his own. The explosion had thrown off both fighters, tearing open armour and flesh alike and filling the skies with piercing screams of agony. And one of those screams had been the Nasty One's.

"I am leaving this gods-forsaken town. I am going after this man. He deserves to die, and I deserve to kill him."

But still he remained seated on the rock. He knew he had taken some responsibilities upon his shoulder and he knew he had promised the locksmith to help him by killing that sorcerer. And he was not one to break a promise, he knew. He knew he would fight off that sorcerer, a man who held absolutely no power over him, and then he would leave the town and go after the Dark Body. Then he started thinking about his mission. He knew the sorcerer could not possibly hurt himself but he could attack the Short One or the Red One. The sorceress seemed to be pretty vulnerable. He had felt the enigmatic powers she possessed when he crossed her mind and he had seen it was not much compared to other ones he had encountered. No wonder she had been out for the deceased sorcerer's power. And if the Nasty One would kill the man she would not hesitate to go on a small quest to add powers to hers again. And if he had understood everything well -he was always confident he had- this one was one of the most powerful ones in the world. And so the woman would become one of the most powerful ones in the world if she could indeed drain all the powers from the deceased sorcerer he would have to kill to free the locksmith from his ring. Was the woman not playing a game with him? With a snort he shrugged off that idea. It was obvious that the woman was severely in love with him and the fact that she would become more powerful because of him was just a little extra. While she always could use more power for she would not have wanted to go to that tower else. But she was not a politician, she could not help being the daughter of one.

He looked around and raised his head.

"Things will change dramatically because of this, Red One. You will get power, and so much I am not sure you can handle it all. You are not used to deal with power, that is why you do not have it yet. But if needed, I will be there to protect you from yourself."

Then he cursed silently. Though there was no chance anybody could have heard him there was another promise he had made. He would not be held responsible for the woman's acts after she had received all that power from that arch sorcerer. He would live his own life, the way he wanted it. Anybody who had tried to stop him in this had died by his sword. If the woman tried to gain power over him he would be forced to stop her. Though he had respect for women he knew that in turn they had to respect him.

Gaining respect was all he lived for, he realised.

He started concentrating to call upon his powers, and then he started to glow a faint blue. Slowly he rose off the ground and he stopped when he hung four foot above the ground. Then he slowly clasped his hands together and started raising them. The energetic wisps of blue light around his body started to flow to his hands and there it was held converged and when he slowly opened his fingers it shot in a straight bolt from his palms. With a roar he let go of the energy and watched in satisfaction as it shattered a large boulder a good hundred feet away from him. Some splinters came at him but with the utmost precision he caught them between his fingers and then he dropped them nonchalantly.

"I still have it." he said with a smile and sat down again to meditate, slowly rising off the ground again.

"So if I understand everything well you seriously expect me to kill Miroan? You have to be out of your mind! Miroan is one the greatest sorcerers ever and I think that even with my greatest powers I do not have as much as a good chance to get at him, let alone kill him."

"I am sure you will work out something. You have worked for us before and so far you have never disappointed us. You would not want us to lose trust in you, do you?" the prime minister spoke.

"Of course not, but I cannot guarantee you success on this particular mission since the enemy is powerful. This is not like any other job you have given me."

The sorcerer looked at the gathered politicians and they all looked troubled now.

"But I am sure you can work out something. When a straight duel is not enough you have more cunning tricks. If you could catch him off-balance it should be possible to eliminate him, thus helping the Nasty One."

"It is sure easy to talk, but I will take this job. I will do my best, for my own purposes that is. Though this time I cannot guarantee you success I will assure you I will do everything I can and more."

"Then go with our best wishes of luck."

The sorcerer left with some information sheets and before one minister could remark that he had left the door open the door closed due to a small spell.

"He may say he is not powerful but he still sure likes to show off." the prime minister said with a slight smile.

"But he seems to be incapable of completing this mission, then why do you risk two thousand goldweights?" a councillor asked.

"I risk it only partially. I paid half in advance. And if he dies it will be easy to reclaim the amount. So we pay only if he succeeds and if you will look at your notes of yesterday we agreed to pay him if he succeeds."

"Still I demand that we pay only for the gaining of the Nasty One's support. If that man defeats that Miroan he will gain the Nasty One's support but does that mean that he will support us as well?"

"We have reason to believe that that will be the case. After all, right now the sorcerer is but a pawn of ours. We pay him to do what we want and because we want the Nasty One that is what we get through the money we paid the sorcerer."

"I wish to believe that, prime minister. But sure I am still not."

"That will all come in time, dear councillor. I am sure the council will fully agree with me when our ultimate mission is accomplished, when we take back the Assembly."

"I hope he will come with some sound results soon. We need this man, and we always get what we want!"

"Another strange man entered town today, milord. He looks like a sorcerer. He entered a little past noon."

"Who is this man? A sorcerer? What business does he have in this town?"

"He claimed he is looking for work and he would meet somebody here who would help him."

"A sorcerer looking for work? This is a weak excuse. That he might have an appointment here could be true. Where has he gone?"

"As far as I know he has gone to the Goblins Inn and we have not seen him come out. Yet it is known that people of his kind cloak themselves when they want to go places where they do not want to be seen."

"So he is either there or he has gone to a secret meeting place? Could that mean he has gone to the politicians?"

"It is well possible, milord."

"They are going too far. You are dismissed, we will discuss things from here."

The guard clicked his heels and left.

"This is serious." a knight spoke everybody's thoughts.

"They have hired a sorcerer to battle the Nasty One. Though it would not surprise me if he could actually kill the man we also have to beware for the people he is with. The woman seems to be a sorceress, too though I do not know who is more powerful. And the locksmith is in danger."

"The locksmith, of course. The sorcerer may be a threat to Jon Man. He may have devious plans, to use Jon as a sort of hostage for the Nasty One. He will command the Nasty One to overthrow our Assembly so that the politicians can return. We must act at once."

"And how?"

"By hiring another, more powerful sorcerer of course!"

"Hiring another sorcerer? Are you out of your mind, Lord Reighward?"

Every knight in the Assembly looked up as there was only one knight who could speak to their king-knight in such a manner: the old one, the one who had known the king-knight ever since he was a young squire.

"Then, Sir Derghart, do you have another solution?"

"We must find a way to keep the locksmith from harm some other way. I request that you allow me to work on another, less disgracing plan."

"Which is?"

"Try to get the Nasty One on our side the old-fashioned way: by means of friendship."

"You can't possibly ask of me to beg the man for mercy." the king-knight spat.

"Of course not. But there happens to be one in our order who has spoken to the Nasty One in a normal way, a man who seems to understand his kind pretty well. Though he is not a knight of the Assembly but an officer in our Guard order, he is an experienced veteran who just might have a chance to win the genuine trust of the Nasty One. The man is straight and honest, an ideal and loyal knight."

"You must be talking about Sir Michael. I understand this man has some experience with the Nasty One as he is the one who delivered his message here. But is that reason enough to send him on a mission to accompany one as dangerous as the Nasty One?"

"As a matter of fact, Sir Michael has volunteered if a matter with the Nasty One would occur. He is willing to talk to the man."

"I want a vote on this matter as well as of the matter I proposed. If all voted for, both actions will take place as we can't be too careful with all our very lives at stake. My plan is safe and simple, it will only cost us money. But I say we spend the money on it that we made with the trade yesterday with the knight-town of Houden, with the arms of Binor's gang. After all, these weapons we made because of the Nasty One and it is more than fair we spend it on something that involves him." the king-knight spoke.

"My plan is more peaceful even though there is a chance it may fail. But if we fail nothing serious will happen from it. We have nothing to lose here, and Sir Michael is judicious enough not to let matters run out of hand. Of course he can be trusted better than any sorcerer and he will report on a regular basis." Sir Derghart added.

"I think this is great. One plan can fill up the hiatuses in the other one, they can back each other up." the youngest knight spoke.

"Indeed, Sir Benjamin. You prove you are indeed, as your father said, worthy of being the junior member of the Assembly not only because of your name."

"So, first we vote on the plan of hiring the sorcerer as was proposed by yours truly. All for the aye."

"Aye!" it sounded almost unanimously.

"Accepted. Now for the plan of assigning Sir Michael to accompany the Nasty one as was proposed by Sir Derghart."

"Aye!" it sounded again, though not as loud as the last time. "Accepted. Sir Derghart, you are hereby assigned to the completion of your plan. Instruct Sir Michael and see to it he is fully prepared for his task. Sir Ninthan will be instructed to follow the sorcerer in town whenever possible. He will also have to find out more about this man. We need to know everything concerning his powers. Then it is the task of Sir Benjamin's to find a good sorcerer who is worthy of being hired by the knighthood, one who is more powerful than the one in town." the king-knight spoke.

"Sir Michael is off-duty now, we gave him off yesterday. If you dismiss me I will see him at once."

"Should you not call for him?"

"Nay, I will see him in private." Sir Derghart said.

"As you wish. Do not disregard the danger of being espied."

"I will. Milord, gentlemen, I salute you."

"In the name of the knighthood." the others saluted back.

The old knight went out and received his cloak from a servant.

He walked outside and cursed the heavy rainfall.

"Normally he would be found in the Goblins Inn." he muttered to himself and turned left.

He found the knight indeed in the pub and he approached him casually. As it was crowded in the pub and not very unusual that a knight from the Assembly visited the only decent inn in town he did not attract too much attention.

He slowly sat down next to the guard, who was sitting alone quietly sipping on his whisky.

"Sir Michael, how do you do?"

"Not too well, I am a bit concerned with what the Nasty One told me to tell you and the rest of the Assembly. He is in severe trouble, with that Jon Man guy and all. If there was some way I could help him..."

"You can, Sir Michael." Sir Derghart, happy that the guard was in the mood to help already, said.

"How then?"

"It is the entire knighthood who wants to help the Nasty One with this matter that concerns us all. After all, when the locksmith is threatened the whole town is. We happen to know the Nasty One cannot protect the locksmith all of the time, as he goes out at night, alone. We do not know what he is doing when he is out of town but the night shift noticed some explosions in the area where he was supposed to be. But he re-entered town unharmed nonetheless. We need somebody to stay with the locksmith and as you volunteered to spend time with the Nasty One you are the right person for this job."

"I will be happy to do so, Sir. Shall I go to them first thing in the morning?"

"More than fine with me. Be sure to be fit. And be humble and respectful against the Nasty One, he is not the trusting type of man and certainly not one to mess with."

"Certainly not, Sir. I was as far as that."

"Do you think you can handle it?"

"I cannot assure you of my success, Sir. But be sure I will give it my best shot."

The knight nodded and left after finishing his beer.

"That what we have expected all along will soon happen. A knight is approaching this apartment. I recognise him as the one who took my statement. I will dig into his mind and then we will know what he is up to and why he has been sent here."

The Nasty One was sitting cross-legged in the air, two feet above the ground, his eyes staring into nothingness. Both Jon and Griwalda looked at the spectacle and wondered what the Nasty One was doing and how he could find out what the knight was up to. Suddenly Griwalda remembered something.

"So you were in my dreams on purpose! You questioned me in my own mind! You intruded into my brain. How could you?"

The Nasty One did hear her but never showed he did.

"The knight will come here with a proposal to help us with the sorcerer. Though it is the Royal One who sent him, or one of his associates, he comes here voluntarily. He seems to feel a certain degree of understanding, for he is a knight with over thirty years of duty and adventure in the knighthood. He is not idealistic and not selfish, unlike some other ones who call themselves a knight. He is a man of this world and he seems to take this matter at heart genuinely. We have nothing to fear from him nor does he have any particular plans of delivering us into the hands of that Royal One, even though the ones who sent him wish him to do so."

"So this is a man who can be trusted by the two of us." the locksmith said.

"Probably. So far I cannot detect any dark sides to this man. But it is possible that he hides secrets for the moment. Nobody can hold things secret for me forever, not if I want to find out."

"Wow, I wish I could have had those powers of yours." Jon said with a slight smile. He would have known exactly what to find out and whose minds to intrude.

"He will arrive within two minutes."

Then the Nasty One opened his eyes.

"Will we accept this man in our company? It is growing quickly now."

"Four is indeed becoming a large group. What good is the knight anyway?"

"Maybe we should first hear his story." Griwalda supposed.

"I do not need his story, I just read his mind."

"I am talking about personality. The man looked friendly and calm to me when he took your statement the other day. And of course he can be useful to us with some first-hand information about every move the knighthood makes."

"If I would need to know their plans I would intrude into the Royal One's mind." the Nasty One shrugged.

"And that one all the reports from the spies on the politicians."

"The politicians will undoubtedly try to approach the Red One again soon. And in case you forgot, I do not care about politics."

"The knight can be handy. Allow him."

"Fair enough."

To his surprise, the door was open when the knight saw the Nasty One's apartment.

"So you have means to detect me and to know where I am going." he said with a smile, stroking his long grey moustaches. "That is easy. You were here the other day, and now you walk in our direction. It is easy to find out your intentions."

"Then what are my intentions?"

"You are sent here by the Royal One and his men, to join us. To help us deal with the sorcerer, as well as to find out more about us. But you do this out of personal interest and some kind of affection and curiosity. We know you are not intending to make abuse of my powers and you are not coming here to deliver me to the Royal One. You understand full well that I cannot and will not be shoved into a position of the Royal One's pawn. I cannot be hired and will not be used for any goals I do not pick myself, and you understand this."

The knight was stunned. "How come you know more about me than I know about you?"

"I have my own ways to find out everything I want to know."

"Your powers are amazing. Let me first introduce myself. I am Sir Michael Capston of the 3rd Guard Order, thirty years of duty in the knighthood I have lived through, I am sixty-two years of age. I am born and bred in this town and I have helped to defend it for the major part of my life."

"I thought as much. I am Griwalda Donthiac, sorceress. This is Jon Man, locksmith."

"I know mister Man, he has fixed the locks in our dungeons." "Of course, I have met you before. I remember you. You were the one who guided all the convicts in and out while I was working on the locks."

"Indeed, that was me."

"Well then, what are your plans here?"

"There is little we can do. This sorcerer is coming to this town and I will finish him off. I do not know when he will come but I can sense he is on his way."

"I happen to have heard a rumour that one sorcerer has actually entered this town last night. He went to the Goblins Inn and then he retreated to his room and was not seen again. It is possible he has gone somewhere. He said he was coming to look for work, and we fear he is hired by the politicians, possibly to undertake some kind of action against you."

"What would those politicians want to do against me? It is still possible that that sorcerer is the one we are looking for."

"Do you know what that sorcerer looks like?"

"He has short, greying hair, it seems it has been dark. He is built in a sloppy way, with a big belly and bad teeth. He has light grey eyes and a bit of a whining voice."

"Desiderius!" Griwalda suddenly yelled.

"Who is that?" the knight asked.

"He is another sorcerer indeed, one I happen to know. He has been after me for a long time. As a woman, that is."

"A sorcerer who is in love with you, is that what you mean?"

"I do not know if he still harbours feelings for me, it is a few years ago that we last met, in my town."

"This sheds a new light on the case. It is possible that the man is coming for the Red One instead of me. And he needn't be hired by the politicians if he indeed wants to undertake action against my person. He could also see me as a threat for her heart." the Nasty One said with a sneer.

"Possible. Or maybe he is hired and didn't know by then that I was here, too. There are a lot of possibilities here and we will have to find out what he is up to before he interferes with our own matters. I must go to that inn and talk to him. It is important that one like Desiderius does not interfere here."

"I can have him arrested and locked up for a time."

"That would backfire. Desiderius is a crazed person, if you would lock him up for a while he would attack you with his spells as soon as he got out, when you lock him up in a way that he also cannot work his powers. No, that is not a good idea."

"It is never a good idea for people of the sword to fight people of the spells." the Nasty One added.

"I will first go to that inn and talk to him. If that has any result I will tell you. Meanwhile I will keep my eyes open for eventual clues."

"Right. You go, I must go out."

"For your practice again?"

"Something like that. You two stay here." the Nasty One instructed. He took a large bag and walked out. The knight and the locksmith sat down and watched as the other two left. The knight suddenly noticed that the steps of the man were so silent he could hardly hear them.

The Nasty One was back in the woods where he opened his bag. From it he took a large bagpipe and put one of the pipes to his mouth. He started playing a sad, melancholic tune that lasted for minutes. The sound made the animals quiet at once, as they stopped dead in their movements hearing the serene music coming from the bagpipe.

People from far around heard the tune penetrating their minds and they halted a moment to listen. Even the king-knight rushed from his audience room to go to the most upper tower, to see where the music was coming from. And he was surprised to see the musician standing alone in the woods instead of in the middle of the crowded marketplace where normal performers usually played to earn their money. And he was shocked when he recognised the tall man who was playing on that instrument people in these parts had never heard of. "He may be an awesome predator and a formidable fighter, he is also a music genius." the king-knight said in admiration, standing still to listen to the music. And on the marketplace, the other musicians suddenly silenced and listened to the strange sounds coming from a far place.

In the Nasty One's apartment the twosome also sat still and listened.

"What kind of music is this? I have never heard this kind of music before." the locksmith said.

"It is indeed a strange instrument. And how come we hear it all so clear? In its own way it sounds distant." the knight said, closing his eyes to concentrate.

"I have a strange feeling I know who is playing this."

"I feel it, too. The Nasty One. Why is he playing music now? He sure doesn't need the money, so he won't be on the marketplace."

"The sound comes from the other side. It comes from there."

"He usually goes to the woods for his evening practice. He might be there. But then how could we hear it so loud and clear?"

"I don't know. This man has so many unknown powers that I dare not say anything about him." the knight whispered.

The Nasty One did not play to entertain people. Nor did he play because he loved music so much. The ancient bagpipe's music brought himself into a trance to reach the utmost concentration. Right now he was so deeply concentrated that people all around him could sense the concentration and get into a small trance themselves. This way he temporarily cleared his mind from all the unimportant matters he had heard the past few days. He often played on the mystical instrument to keep his soul purged, one requirement of one of his kind. The melody was nothing special, he had given the sound a melody to get into the trance and over the years he had learned to use a melody that worked so well he could call upon his heaviest powers in mere seconds and he knew he would be able to do this for a time. While he played, he closed his eyes automatically to deepen his concentration for the first part, knowing the rest would come by itself. Then he slowly rose a few inches off the ground and hung suspended in the air while his hands were partially hidden in the folds of the bagpipe, playing on in his own unconsciousness.

He had now reached the summit of his concentration, he felt, and he knew that his mind was no longer occupied by petty subjects like sorcerers, red-haired women and other people who wanted to be around him for various reasons.

He saw the short locksmith as a man who was curious but reckless. He would certainly need him to keep him out of trouble, also after this matter with the ring had been resolved. But apart from that the locksmith, who vaguely reminded him of other companions he had travelled with, felt a certain affection for the Nasty One. He did not understand a thing about the man but he was interested in him as a friend.

The red-haired woman was of course an entirely different case. What she felt for the Nasty One was more than mere love or friendship, she felt some kind of responsibility. She wanted to take care of his personal side, learn him some things about the life of what he saw as weaklings. She wanted to learn him how to deal with companions, partners. More than brothers in arms, friends who would do everything to help you. And she wanted him to become one like that himself. What use would it be for him, to become one with others? What good would it do? What would his personal interest be? He understood that that was not one of the things sought when talking about friendship and love. Sacrifice and help for the other one, it would mean. He knew that as many had sought his friendship before only to achieve their very own goals; goals they could only achieve when the Nasty One was there with his powers. It had been the very same thing with the Short One but that had changed. And now there was this old knight, a man of honour and understanding through experience. Almost twice the Nasty One's age, the knight could understand the temper of the youth and he did something to calm down the Nasty One; it had been the knight's very presence that had urged the Nasty One to go and play the bagpipe. He had to do something to clear his mind, as the presence of that calm knight had disturbed something inside him. But now he was clear again, and ready to face the events

as they would happen.

After a long time of playing he finally took the bagpipe out of his mouth and he carefully put it back in his bag. Then he looked up and opened his mouth.

"As my teacher, the Old One, who has taught me what he knew

Invested all his very own life energy in me

Spent his last years just for my sake

Died an unnatural death at my hands

I know that the power is mine

The power to live life the way I want

To live by the sword

Not to die by the sword

To do what pleases myself

Not to work for others

To work for goals worthy of my time and strength

I know the power is achieved by everything I did

And I did it all myself

There is nobody to claim me as his now

I am my own master, and good at my job

The sky is the limit, no restrictions are here

As I am a master of Body Life magic

One who controls the power from deep within

One who can do things other people can only dream about

By the pure and total control of the very own body

With no other component than the own body energy

Draining and restoring the very own life energy

From a body as fit as can be

Clear from the spoils of life

Strengthened by concentration and physical training

I am one with myself

More than any normal human being in this world

More than the most intelligent animal ever seen

More than the universe itself

As I pledge my duties to myself only

Myself is the only person I need to care about

As the ancients require of us I will do

My life is mine to stay

Life is to be lived the way I want it

As is vowed by the masters of Body Life magic."

Having finished his oath, he sighed and dropped down to the grass to feel the aura of the earth, to sense the inner powers of the planet that had created him.

"I don't know what is going on, but I feel totally relaxed while I am on my way to a creepy sorcerer who has come here with dubious intentions. Well, maybe being away from the others brought back the freedom my mind needs."

Griwalda could not know that it was a mere side effect of the Nasty One's music as it soothed not only his own person but also that of everybody who heard it. This way, the entire town was now at ease, and people walked the streets and even the crowded marketplace with unknown nonchalance. Even the king-knight was temporarily relieved of all his worries.

"Would you play by the rules, Nasty One, you could have played for me." he sighed. Now he suddenly saw the beauty of nature as he had never really looked at it closely. The forest, which seemed to be built around one giant oak, was green and healthy, it seemed to breathe like a young fit man to the one who claimed control of this town. He even bothered to take his spyglass to examine the trees closely and he felt delight as he saw a small squirrel darting in the giant oak.

"Oak, sign of power." the king-knight whispered.

And that brought him back to his senses immediately. Gone was the eye of a ranger, gone the attention for the beauty of the forest. Now he saw himself in the highest position in this town, the oak being his equal in the mass of trees that would hinder an eventual army from forming broad and proper lines would they choose to venture a siege on the town.

"I guess if a whole army came for the Nasty One, he would fight them still. This man does not seem to be afraid of anything. I have heard the reports about Binor's gang. The bodies were spread in a way that he had leapt right in the middle of them, twenty-one armed men. I sure hope that Sir Derghart's plan works, because if we really want to get rid of the politicians and their devious schemes we need this man badly."

"You mean you went away just to play the bagpipe? Pardon me for not understanding." Sir Michael said.

"This is more than just music, this is the purging of the mind. I cannot explain the ways to you, but I need this as a sort of ritual to keep myself together."

"Is there any magic involved in this?"

"It's a dead ordinary bagpipe, if that's what you mean. But the trick is the melody, it is like enchanting. One can feel total relaxation when playing, some might even feel it by merely listening."

"Now that you say it, I feel a bit more at ease. But then how come that we all hear it so clear?"

"The music was not that loud, but it is a very distinct sound and when people hear it, with this melody, they sort of automatically listen to it, hooked so to say. And then, when they find the concentration they are normally never able to find, they all hear it loud and clear. You understand that you can hear better if you listen carefully and concentrate on listening. When you are distracted you won't hear things so well. That's just normal. But this melody is to strengthen the concentration and this way you end up in a circle. You concentrate to listen, then the sound enhances your concentration. So you hear it even better. And by hearing it better the melody works even better and deepens your concentration even more. See what I mean?"

"I see. So it is no real sorcery, it is magic from the body itself." the knight said.

"Aye. One reason why my powers are called the Body Life magic."

"What powers? I have heard you have certain powers but I fail to see what these powers are made of. What is this Body Life magic you are talking about?"

Again the Nasty One started explaining, revealing a little bit of his powers to the interested knight.

Then the Nasty One looked up. "Are you asking this so that you can report this to the Royal One?"

"The king-knight you mean? Well, if you allow me..."

"It is not important. I mean the Royal One no harm as long as he means me no harm. He does not need to fear me, he just needs to respect me."

"I have noticed respect is your main goal. Well, I have heard how you have slaughtered the outlaws just outside this town and I certainly respect you for that. It cost us some men when we tried that."

"They were surprised, and then it is quite easy to finish them off."

"But twenty-one of them... you must have some speed."

"Indeed I have."

"A little demonstration perhaps?"

"You see those three daggers you have on your belt?"

"I do not need to see them, I know where they are." the knight said, patting the hilt of one of them.

Then he suddenly heard a series of thuds and when he looked behind him he saw that all his daggers had been taken from his belt and been thrown into a very small target, forming a perfect triangle. And he spotted just a tiny bit of sweat on the Nasty One's forehead showing that he had moved at all, as he seemed to be sitting in his chair still. In real, he had shot out of his chair, taken the daggers from the knight's belt and thrown them at the target and only after that he had sat down again.

"Amazing. How do you do this?" the knight asked.

Suddenly he heard a whoosh and when he looked down he saw the daggers were on his belt again.

"I am impressed." he said with a slight smile.

"It is mainly a point of concentrating on what you are doing. You have to focus your mind on the daggers, where they are and where you want them to end up."

"I see. You moved practically invisible. As if a ghost were doing this. The sweat on your forehead however betrays that you have moved."

"A small inconvenience that can be dealt with."

"You have ways to prevent that as well?"

"Of course, a little bit of powder does the trick."

"Ah,of course. Not everything has to be mystical."

Hesitantly Griwalda entered the inn. "I am looking for the sorcerer Desiderius who is said to reside in this inn." she told the innkeeper.

"Is his name Desiderius? Well the man is..."

Suddenly the keep got a towel thrown to his head from around the corner.

"Now where is that fire ale I ordered? Hurry up. And you should clean up the toilets, they stink terribly. Make me lose my appetite, they do." came a raspy, whining voice.

"It is better to come to talk to him later, mistress. He is... quite intoxicated now and beyond reason."

"This early? Well, then do not tell him I have been here and I will return later."

Suddenly an ugly face came peeking around the corner.

"Hey Griwalda, is that you? Ah gosh indeed it is you. Come and have a seat here, and take a drink, I'm buying. Keep, hurry up with that fire ale!"

"Desiderius, you are a shame for your class. I cannot take you for serious when you are as drunk as you are now."

"Never mind how drunk I am, I am still far more powerful than you, little girl."

"I am not a little girl, you dirty old bag of dirt! What in the name of the goddess are you doing here?"

"Or did you seriously want to battle Miroan alone, or even together with that warrior?"

"You? You could not battle a flea in this state! And I never asked you for help, then what are you doing here? Mind your own business I say. Why did you come here in the first place? Did anybody hire you?"

"It has been a long time since I saw your sorcerous beauty, Griwalda. Keep, bring me another fire ale for this pretty woman. Tankard!"

"No, I do not drink your ordinary ale. We are not all as disgraceful as you are."

"You do not have to bite my nose off straight away, Griwalda. You should at least show a little bit of gratefulness for my help, as you are certainly going to need it."

"I do not need you! We have our own forces and that will be more than enough. You still underestimate me, don't you? We never asked for your help, our party is stacked enough already and while only one is really important here the others are also of value in their own way. Please do me a favour and leave this town at once."

"And who do you think you are to command me, little one? I am still your superior despite what you think. And I have got my mind set on you so whether you like it or not, I am going to help you any way I can."

"You can do more harm than good here, Desiderius. Last thing we need is a wino sorcerer who is trying to destroy everything we fight for. There is only one way you can be of use to me and that is to dissolve in smoke this very second."

"Alas, that is something I would not do, as you will understand fully well."

"You can't go, that's what you mean. You are not here for your own pleasure, you are hired. By the politicians?"

"Who talks about money when all I want is what I deserve, love and respect from a beautiful sorceress?"

The man took a large sip from his tankard and slammed it down solemnly.

"I am not leaving. But I will not be in your way, if that is what you think. Try anything you like, my little beginner. I will work out my own ways to battle Miroan and help you and your cause. Or is it just the presence of that warrior you are here for? Is he your lover?"

"Lover would certainly not be the proper term, he's my partner in this mission and probably many to come. He is a powerful man who could slay you before you would have time to cast your easiest cantrip."

"Partner you say eh? Well I hope that things don't go too far in this partnership, I would hate to see a body like yours spoiled by some big brute."

"Everything would certainly be better for my body that to be touched by an old man who looks more like an orc than a man. Leave now, or suffer the consequences."

"Threatening me, little one? You certainly gained some guts. Or is it the influence of that warrior? What have I ever done of harm to you then? Have I not taught you a thing or two? Where would you have been without me?"

"You know that I do not forget, Desiderius, and that counts on both accounts. I will not forget what you have done, and you know what I am talking about."

"Ah, that worthless piece of meat. He was a waste, not worthy of even being in the same town as you. It served him right to be roasted."

"You will never change, Desiderius, not if you live another hundred years. And as long as I live I will hate everything you stand for."

With that, the woman left the inn, her face reddening quickly until it matched the colour of her hair.

Somehow she felt that she was being followed, but when she looked around she could not see anybody who followed her. Then she knew and she looked in the direction of the apartment. "This is a hopeless case, Nasty One. Let's hope he will not bother us too much."

She could swear she could see the image of his face in her mind, speaking solemn words.

"He won't."

"You have caused quite a riot this afternoon." Jon said with a slight smile. "The whole town knows about your discussion with that man in the Goblins Inn."

"It is almost impossible to deal with this man, especially when he is drunk. And he gets drunk very quickly, he is a pure alcoholic and still he is a sorcerer. He is a disgrace for our class but for one reason or the other he has dedicated himself to our cause while all he can probably do is harm. He is a man who has done many cruel things in his life, not in the least to save me for himself. A man I loved he set ablaze to die in a pillar of flames, just to ensure that I would be his. This does not work, of course, but great was my grief when I found out he did it. And when I went to him he just laughed and said it was the only thing he could do not to see me spoiled my another man not worthy of being around me. And I wanted to give battle to him but he would not let me. He is in some ways my superior, unfortunately, and he waved me away with ease, doing me no serious harm."

"Sounds dangerous." Jon said.

"He can have no power over me. If he stands in my way..."

"He sees you perhaps as another threat, as a man who is out to get her. And that could be a reason for him to stand in our way." Sir Michael said.

"But I have the key, and that is why he cannot harm me."

"He could, perhaps, by harming Jon. You know he hurts everybody within a mile's radius. That should also include you."

"I don't think so. After all, the curse is bestowed upon the Short One by means of sorcery and I am immune to sorcery. So everybody would be harmed but me, I think."

"I have to get this news out, you know." Jon said.

"Why that?" the knight frowned.

"Well, you know there are spies out everywhere, from both the knights -with all due respect but you know there are spying knights, I trust you are not one of them- and the politicians. They could try to get rid of the Nasty One through me. So they all have to know that it won't work that way. I will go to the inn and talk around."

"Very clever, Short One." the Nasty One said with a smile.

"Maybe that sorcerer is even hired by the politicians, as he seems to want to get involved in this. And I do not believe he does that simply for you, as it is really for me. So maybe the politicians think they can gain your friendship by sending somebody to help you."

"A bit like the knights sent him." Griwalda said with a sneer.

"Indeed, like they sent me. With the difference that my personal interest in this is a bit different than the sorcerer's. I really would like to be of help to you with no second reasons from my part."

"Though there are second reasons for the ones who sent you."

"But you cannot possibly compare the knights to the politicians here, milady. I was sent out to release the tension between the knights and the Nasty One a bit. As you know, I have seen a lot in this world and I think I know a bit of how this man works and feels. The Assembly feared for a while that the Nasty One had come to act against them, as he certainly made a brutal entrance here. And I think there is no need to see each other like enemies. All we are here for is to uphold law and order in this town."

"The prime minister said you had taken over power with much violence." Griwalda recalled.

The knight smiled. "Of course the former prime minister would say things like that. But you can ask mister Jon here that we gained control of the Assembly by fair elections. The politicians were corrupt and shut out many other towns they did not seem to like, like the other knight-towns. We exposed their corruption and forced them to write out elections, in which the town voted against them. After the elections, which were supervised by ambassadors from various neutral towns who saw to it that everything went fairly, the politicians vetoed the outcome of the elections and wanted to maintain their position. And that was indeed where we needed the power of the sword to drive them out."

"Double-checking my story are you?" Jon asked smiling.

"Just some first-hand information, it's always more reliable. Though I would not think you'd lie to her."

"That is true beyond doubt. I apologise for having a wrong opinion about the knighthood, Sir Michael."

"That's quite all-right, lass. The truth will always be there to correct the lie."

"This talk of politics annoys me. You know just as well as I do, Calm One, that some knights like the Royal One can be as corrupt as any politician. You talk of the politicians who cut off trade with the knight-towns, while the knights cut down trade with other towns that are ruled by politicians. There are good and bad people everywhere, even in the knighthood." the Nasty One suddenly said.

"True enough, I could tell you things the king-knight was thinking of to deal with you, so to say. But there are others in the Assembly who think a bit more like myself, like Sir Derghart, and they are always there to correct him."

"I think there are also fair politicians, like my father. He is an honest mayor and I know he is not corrupt. Even politicians are not all of the same mould." Griwalda said.

"My father used to be sub-minister of intelligence." Jon added.

"Second spy-master, we call that." Sir Michael said.

"Or second spy-knight, I guess." Jon retorted.

"What happened to your father?"

"He retired and moved to another town. What about you, Sir Michael, do you have no family waiting for you?"

"I have two fine sons, and they are both squires now, and they are in training at Fort Vioris. My twin daughters are both married to known knights. My wife died in childbirth of my daughters. I have learned to live on my own."

"As have we all, I guess. So what we are really doing is trying to make a team out of loners." the Nasty One snickered.

"Pretty much so. Well, I could use the company. I have been training young guards for a few years and though the youths are good company all they do is respect you and your every bold move as they are too unexperienced to really speak up to senior knights."

"I go to the Goblins Inn now. Is there anything I should do in case I face that Desiderius?"

"Aye. Stay out of his way and don't try to bother his smell too much. He was already drunk when I faced him and by now he will be dead drunk. And don't try to talk to him."

"Understood. Until later."

The enigmatic room in which Miroan the sorcerer sat was filled with lights of all kind. Speaking out loud in the arcane language of sorcery he focused his powers at the town he saw in the marble-sized sphere he held in the palm of his left hand. He was trying to detect the presence of known and unknown powers is his sight.

Then he found something and he stared as the flights of swirling colours swam by, until the sight became too much for him. With a shriek he let go of the sphere just before it exploded. A hastily erected force field protected the sorcerer from serious harm from the shreds of crystal.

With an oath he composed himself and he sat down in a luxurious chair coated with the same dark velvet that he used to dress in, thinking about what he had seen.

What seemed to be a haphazard mix of moving beams of various colours told him everything he needed to know about the town he had seen and the people behind its walls.

It had been no surprise to him to find the presence of a pretty weak sorcerer or sorceress, but the presence of a second one, considerably more powerful, disturbed him. It was highly unusual that two people of the will were in the same town, especially when talking about a town this small. Were they building a front against him? And the third thing he had noticed was one vague dark spot where he should have sensed the presence of a normal human being. The nonentity was one thing the sorcerer feared above all, and he had a good idea what this black spot meant: it was somebody who could not be detected through sorcery, somebody who blocked out all kinds of sorcery around him. And Miroan knew damn well what that meant: the bearer of the key was there.

He had sought to intimidate the bearer of the key into surrendering the key of immunity to him, but he had seen that had backfired as the bearer came with bluff of his own, showing that he would by no means give the key voluntarily. This also showed that the bearer was confident to say the least, while he hinted to have some powers of his own to counteract the now worthless powers of the sorcerer.

He had not given Miroan his name; he had merely referred to himself as the Nasty One.

And then Miroan looked up, rose and walked to a small secretaire in the corner of the room. From a vase he retrieved a small bronze key and he opened the middle drawer of the secretaire after whispering the word that would break the magical lock that was also on it. One error in the word or even the intonation would have blown up the entire secretaire, he knew, but he made no mistakes and opened the drawer.

Inside he found what he had been looking for: a small metal box, also locked. He took the box from the drawer which closed automatically and then he intoned another spell. Now he walked carefully to the other corner of the room where he opened a big chest. He took out a book and opened it. It was a fake book and carefully hidden inside it was a small silver key, which only revealed itself after a word of command had been spoken. For with the key he could open the box, after another word of command to dispel that magic lock, and in the box was his most precious secret possession: a small book.

He opened it carefully and started reading what he had read before, hoping to find a hidden clue between the lines.

"And so the item was created that would hold the power of sorcery at bay. The key to immunity against sorcery of the most ancient and powerful type. Naturally, it would protect the bearer from any kind of lesser sorcery as well, as it was created as the masterpiece of the Great Unknown, the sorcerer who abhorred sorcery when he knew it would mean the end of his life.

"And when he had finished the key, in a shape that is not to be told here or anywhere else, he handed it to the master.

`Master, you have the power to deal with normal people. Here I give you the power to deal with sorcerers as well, as this is the key to immunity. Be sure to hand it over only to a master like yourself, one you can trust will not abuse the powers of the key. It is your and any other master's duty to keep this key from people who would abuse its powers. Pledge your life to it that the key never ends up in the hands of another sorcerer, as this would cause the world to fall into the evil hands of one who can withstand the danger of the rivals, thus creating an unnatural superiority that will degenerate the value of life itself, the life where you get your powers from. When things go wrong, it is the task of the masters to correct that wrong, as this is your function in the universe. So behold this item, and use it to keep the balance.'

And the master took the key and nodded his head.

`As you wish, Great Unknown, the power is now mine and never will this key end up in the possession of another sorcerer for I foresee the danger he would pose should he control an item as powerful as this. I also know what I can do with this but I pledge my life to its safety and good use. And after me, another master will hold this key, and he will hold it committing the same vows to you as I just did. And you know the rules of the masters: in the end there can be only one. And that one will still hold this key, I swear. And would anything threaten the one who holds the key, he will sooner destroy the item than to surrender it to a sorcerer or any other person, for that matter.'

The Great Unknown nodded and left.

"And the master was holding the key in his hands, then put it in the position where it would stay for the rest of his life and the lives of all the masters after him. As we witness the lives of many, we can assure you that the key is still in possession of a master else this book would have been destroyed like the rest of the world by a power-hungry sorcerer."

"So they would expect that once I have that key I would willingly destroy the world? How naive. I would only rid the world of anybody who would not serve me or my purposes. The rest of the world will live. And of course I would have powers so huge that not even the gods themselves could not compete with me, and I will rule."

"Yet here there is this problem with that master. If the book is correct, and everything indeed went the way it was supposed to go, then this Nasty One is a master. But what kind of master? What powers does he have?"

He read the text over again.

"The value of life itself, the life where you get your powers from. What good is that? You cannot extract powers from something dead. So what kind of life does this master get his powers from?"

He rose and walked to a shelf filled with books of any kind. "Then I will just check out all the titles of a master, and see what kind of master this man is."

He took a large arcane encyclopedia and held in it his hands.

"If he could only reveal himself to me, he could tell me more himself before I destroyed him. But as long as he holds the key, I cannot destroy him." he muttered before he opened the encyclopedia and started reading.

"So what we now have coming is quite messy, if I may say so. There is no real proof that indeed this sorcerer is hired by the politicians but he must be considered a nuisance anyway. And then there is that Miroan who is also a threat for us. And if that is not enough you never know what the politicians are up to, if Desiderius is not their man."

"You're right Sir Michael, things are getting out of hand."

"And I really came here because this seemed to be a quiet town, perfect for a period of rest." the Nasty One said with a tired smile.

"It was. You see what happens, Nasty: where you show up trouble comes along. You entered town a few days ago and one thing leads to another." Jon said.

"I guess you are right. But then again people are always able to find me to solve their problems. And I have one bad habit and that is my habit of making causes mine."

"A bit bitter to call that a bad habit, Nasty One. It is after all doing the right thing." Griwalda said.

"The right thing for you, perhaps, but I am not sure if committing my life to save others is what I want. I have vowed to live my own life the way I want to live."

"And since you are taking these responsibilities it can only be that you actually enjoy taking them else you would have never taken them in the first place. And I can see you would not be a man to break promises."

"That is correct. No matter how many sorcerers we face, I can deal with them. I will start with that annoying drunk in the inn, since even the Calm One considers him a nuisance. At least I know where he is and so it should not be too hard to get him."

"You would just go out and kill the man?"

"He does not really intend to buy me a drink, either."

"When he's drunk, he's crazy enough to do that, you know."

"So now you are defending the man?"

"I am not. But I think just killing him would be a fell thing to do while all he offered was helping us, though we don't need and certainly don't want his help."

"You are making a point here, Red One. Good, then I will go to him and tell him to leave or suffer the consequences."

"That will only result in killing him anyway. He will start taunting you and his words will insult you gravely. Take it from me, when he is drunk there is no reasoning with him."

"And yet you feel strange about me because I do not drink."

"A small booze does not harm, Nasty One. Drinking excessively, that is something else."

"One who does not drink will never be tempted to drink excessively, will he?"

"Quite right. But we are drifting off here. You know what I think? I think it is best for me to go to the Assembly and see if they can deal with this sorcerer a more proper way. After all, they do expect me to report to them."

"What do you think those knights can do? He is a sorcerer and they are sometimes a bit above the law." Jon said.

"Point. But at least we have a chance to hear from our spies as they will certainly have more information about this sorcerer. And maybe they have heard things about the other one, Miroan."

"Point."

The knight rose, putting on his armour again.

"I have taken the liberty of sharpening your sword. It was quite dull." the Nasty One said.

"You did? I thought it was perfectly sharp."

The knight took out his longsword and studied it.

"But when you look real closely, you will see that a sword is always dull, no matter how sharp it looks from a small distance. A big sword like that could never be as sharp as this small knife here."

"Of course not, that blade is much thinner."

"But now your sword will do for a while. Have you ever been able to do this with a sword?"

With that, the Nasty One dropped a tomato on the edge of his own sword and when it connected it split in half accurately without being crushed.

"How do you do that?" the locksmith asked, amazed.

"A sharp sword does the trick."

"And you also did this to my sword?"

"Approximately. The inferior quality of the steel hindered me a lot but I could make it a bit sharper than it was."

"And I just sharpened it last week."

"Not well enough."

"What sharpening stone do you use?"

"You do not want to know. Now go to the Royal One."

The knight saluted and left the apartment.

"Trouble is indeed everywhere, Nasty One. First you have a rather unpleasant encounter with the town guards when you enter the town, then the outlaws robbed me, then a prime minister tries to bribe me and Jon, then one powerful sorcerer wants you, then a second one comes with unknown but dangerous plans. Where is this going to end?"

"Where it usually ends. A massacre." he replied coldly.

"Have you ever looked further than bloodshed?" she asked, a bit offended.

"Not many times. It is usually the only solution."

"You can be such a brute sometimes!"

"And maybe he is right. But I think there must be some other way to get out of this. While Miroan certainly must die."

"Are you also beginning to think like him? You are in no position to kill him, the least of us all."

"I know, but face it: we cannot convince that Miroan to remove this curse. And if we must believe you we cannot talk Desiderius into leaving town without any harm done. Does this old bastard still have an eye on you despite everything?"

"He does, and that is the horrible thing. He knows I despise everything he stands for and yet he is fully convinced I will once surrender to his greasy arms gratefully."

"Well then, then there seems to be no other way for him, either. I say that Nasty should go out there and do his job, it's the best way to get it over with."

"While he has not really done anything against us? That is outrageous. I cannot but vote against this."

"There is some truth in both your words. But for now I will give the Drunk One the benefit of the doubt."

"For the time being, I guess."

"For now, as I said."

"There is no need to hurry over this, Sir Michael. As a matter of fact, the sorcerer is probably hired by the politicians and it is up to us to deal with him then. And we have already taken steps against him. We have called the politicians' bluff and we have hired the powers of..."

"Not another sorcerer!" Sir Michael cried out.

"Indeed, another sorcerer. Does that displease you, Sir Michael?"

"Displease me? It screws up everything!" the knight shouted.

"Compose yourself a bit, Sir Michael. You are standing before the Assembly here."

"I know where I am, though I can sparsely believe it! We were just working out a plan to get rid of the sorcerer and then you come with a third sorcerer, casting away all the credibility I had gained for the knighthood. I do not know who is responsible for this very wrong type of action but I just want to let him know he made a major mistake here."

The Assembly suddenly fell silent and Sir Michael could feel the tension in the room. And he felt the cold eyes of the king-knight upon him.

"I am serious! Call back this sorcerer, he would only make things worse! I understand how he works, and we have means to deal with the sorcery at hand. There is no way we could make mistakes here, as things will go all well."

"Sir Michael, you are overreacting. You should mind your own position and watch your behaviour here." the king-knight said in an icy tone.

"My behaviour is not very important, my lordship. It is the behaviour of the Assembly that should be watched. The Nasty One has the power to destroy us all while he is not a bad lad. Would the Assembly attack him or hinder him in his own actions he could see that wrong and end up on the other side of the street, and that is the last thing you want. You sent me to get the Nasty One on our side and with actions like these you will only have him on the opposite side!"

"Easy, Sir Michael." Sir Derghart now said.

"I have told my lordship about this possibility and still he agreed to this and with him a majority, no matter how small or big, of the Assembly."

"But then I was not in action yet, and I know more about the Nasty One than all of you together. I strongly advise against this as I would not want to witness the consequences."

"Is this a threat, Sir Michael?" the king-knight demanded, anger filling his throat.

"Of course this is no threat, my lordship. I wish you and everybody in the knighthood no harm, as the gods are my witnesses. I only tell you that I know more about this man and I know the threat he can pose even if he would not pose it. If you force him to, he will act against you and I cannot allow to see this lest I have done everything to prevent this. For thirty long years I have served in the knighthood and I know when things go dire. If you do not withdraw the sorcerer, I think there is going to be a pandemonium of the likes we have never seen before in this small town. Because now two sorcerers are already against us, though one is trying to help us as well. One small sorceress is on our side and with a fourth one I think it will be more than we can possibly handle. You would not want to make this a fine resort for sorcerers, would you?"

"I still say we banish the Nasty One." an austere knight said.

"Then go to him and tell him you banish him. I can tell you what will happen, and so can we probably all. The Nasty One is here and we have to deal with this, one way or the other. Sir Derghart has instructed me to spend time with this man and spend time with this man I shall. I have learned more about his ways. He has power nobody has ever seen the likes of. And who wants to stay out of trouble better does as he pleases."

"We will not be oppressed by this man!"

"The Nasty One is not an oppressor. He just wishes to be left to his own devices. I am sure he will see the sorcerer as an insult."

"Tell me more about these powers then."

"He calls himself a master of Body Life magic. The master of a certain kind of magic that all comes from the inner self. By deep concentration he is able to move faster than any normal mortal. I asked him for a small demonstration when we were both sitting in chairs, some two yards between us. I had not finished my sentence when the three daggers I wore on my belt were in a target behind me, lined up perfectly."

"Which means? Sorcery moved them from your belt?"

"Nay, no way of sorcery. He has, as a matter of fact, moved out of his chair, taken the daggers from my belt and thrown them at this target so fast I could not follow his moves and all I saw was himself sitting in his chair, the sweat on his forehead the only witness that he had moved at all."

The knights seemed to be impressed.

"Then there is of course the matter with the bagpipe. He seems to play just for his own sake but with it he sort of enthrals a crowd I dare not guess the size of."

"We all heard the mystic tune he played. And indeed it is most amazing. Yet I have never heard of anything called Body Life magic, and I will have to study on this."

"It seems there is little that has been written about this, as this kind of people seems to be very equivocal about themselves and their skills."

"We will take this into consideration, as we will take your request of cancelling the services of the sorcerer. You are dismissed."

The knight saluted again and turned around.

The king-knight looked at the leaving knight intensely.

"He comes quite quickly with his judgment of the situation. Do you think he might be a bit too eager?"

"It is thinkable that he has actually befriended the Nasty One or the other way around. He would not want him to come to harm."

"While the best way to deal with this man is to have him eliminated. If the sorcerer we hired fails in killing that Miroan he can be of use to us: he can kill the Nasty One."

"We have not decided about anything concerning this." Sir Derghart warned."I would not have this man's blood shed after we have tried to help him. It would make us hypocrites of the worst kind. Aye, even worse than the politicians."

"Sir Derghart!" the king-knight said in a warning voice.

"I know what I say, and I mean it. We must decide whether we want to help this man or to eliminate him. We cannot first do one thing, then the other. It would make the people revolt, and that is not what we want. We do not want early elections bestowed upon us when the politicians can make it public that we killed the Nasty One. And when we fail he will kill us all like he killed five guards and twenty-two outlaws just outside the town."

"Sir Derghart, you seem to have forgotten that we are talking about a criminal here, as he has indeed killed five town guards. When we kill him, we can say that we have brought a criminal to justice."

"Bring him to justice after publicly allowing him to hire one of our apartments, for which he paid for a few months as the whole town knows? That's ridiculous."

"There is some truth in your words, Sir Derghart. But we have to admit that we have been forced into that position because we could not get a grip on this man. And now we can there is nothing or nobody to stop us."

"Sir Michael."

"If Sir Michael disobeys our orders he will be cast out of the knighthood, is that clear?"

"It would be very unwise to cast out one who has served us for thirty years."a knight said.

"Will everybody stop!" Sir Derghart shouted, grabbing the king-knight's hammer and slamming it on the table. "We started with an update on Sir Michael's mission, we have learned more about the Nasty One's powers and the man is doing his job very well just as I expected. The man has even given him a demonstration of his powers and he has even revealed the source. While we have also heard more about our own plans, how one who knows the man thinks they are unwise. But are we talking about this? Listen to yourselves, we are discussing whether we would cast out a man who has been in the knighthood longer than most of you! Outrageous!"

Slowly, silence fell upon the Assembly, as the knights were thinking it all over.

"Desiderius the sorcerer is doing an excellent job."

"How can you say that, prime minister? He is messing up in the worst way possible! He has revealed himself, he has transgressed all the rules and he even got himself dead drunk in the Goblins Inn tonight! On top of that, he met the red-haired sorceress who knows who he is, as we knew. They have had a conflict when the man was intoxicated. The whole town knows about the discussion they have had! It is a surprise to me that the Nasty One has not come yet to the inn to kill the sorcerer! Then what are you talking about him doing an excellent job?"

"May I hand you a copy of our spies in the Assembly? He has caused a fray inside there, and the knights were planning to hire a sorcerer to fight Desiderius. But then the knight who infiltrated in the Nasty One's company came and caused a major riot when he heard this. He insulted the entire Assembly and especially the king-knight, who was very angry to say the least. And when he left a discussion began so hot and loud the likes of which they have never heard inside and outside the Assembly. The guards of the great gates downstairs could hear them shout all the way through the night."

"Still I wish to issue a debate over the usefulness of the one we paid two thousand goldweights. It is nice to hear that his presence caused a riot in the Assembly but that is not what he was hired for. We will cause the riots there until we are back in our own seats. Meanwhile all Desiderius has done himself is: blowing his cover, drinking in excess, making a complete fool out of himself and not doing one thing he is supposed to do. We demand that the prime minister himself will go to have a talk with this man - preferably when he is sober."

"I disagree here." the prime minister said.

"The man has just arrived and is probably preparing for whatever needs to be done. And if he wants to be drunk while doing that, so be it as he has probably never been different and still we have his reputation as a powerful sorcerer. It is very well possible that he can work best when under the influence of alcohol. Then so be it, I repeat, and let him work on in order to prove himself."

"I seriously doubt he will prove himself, prime minister. I say we give him two more days before he release him of his duty, of course with the return of our money."

"Two days is what he will get, starting tomorrow. You are absolutely right that we must see more from him than his ability to drink a lot of fire ale. I will notify him."

minister Renain said.

"Unless anybody else present here would wish to speak his mind on this issue, we agree with the proposal of minister Renain." the prime minister said, and when no hands were raised, he banged his hammer on the table.

"It is totally crazy. It is chaos they will create."

The knight was still shaking his head about the events that had transpired the other day.

"We have then four sorcerers to deal with, one of which is on our side. Unfortunately, she is also the least powerful. And all she may hope is to reap from the spoils. So we have one man who wants me, one man who wants the other and is sent by the politicians, and a third one who also wants the first one but who is sent by the knights to counteract the move from the politicians."

"It all makes no sense, Nasty One. Why do they want to intervene? Why do they not sit back while we handle our matters?" the woman asked, her hands pointing at the sky as if to blame the gods for it.

"While I handle your matters, you mean. Well, it all came down to saving the Short One and with him the rest of this town including the two of you, the Royal One and all those politicians. Perhaps they will not take any chance, after all I have done they do not believe in my powers. They think a sorcerer can only be defeated by another, more powerful one."

"But isn't it true that one master of Body Life magic can only be defeated by another, more powerful one?"

"Would this be true, things would be entirely different. Sometimes it has occurred that a sorcerer killed a master or a Dark Body. I happen to be the one who holds the key, so this ill fate cannot befall me."

"I can imagine people would want a sorcerer to take care of a man of your like." the knight said cautiously.

"And our number never increases. In the end, there can be only one."

"I heard as much. So what you are trying to say is that your class is threatened by extinction?"

"Indeed it is, by inner fights as well as alien interventions like from sorcerers. Though we have our own natural resistance against sorcery of the will, because of our pure minds and strong physiques, we are not resistant against sorcery of the energy, as this energy counters our own. The total number of present masters and Dark Bodies is unknown but it could be finished at any time."

"Would it not be better then if this final fight ritual was cancelled, just to guarantee the continuation of all that knowledge?" Griwalda asked.

"Probably. But it would be against the rules as it is a bit more than a mere ritual. It is choosing the right to live your own life the way you want it."

"I know, but could the teacher and pupil not just split? Then the teacher would not be in his way again."

"He would always be present in mind, though. While his mind would always be with the pupil."

"The ways are mystic and unknown to us. Still I remember the stories about the race of powerful giants. They fought each other for the ultimate power, and in the end they were all dead."

"It is a common story. Same will happen to the human race. They always fight, and they kill faster than they breed."

"I agree, but there will be humans long after the last master has died."

"No!" the Nasty One suddenly yelled, obviously unnerved.

"The Ultimate One will receive the highest reward in order to rebuild a class of masters, to see to it that the class will not die down. It seems to have happened before, and I am sure it will happen again. The Ultimate One still lives, and he will until he is alone with one more. Then those will clash and the Ultimate One will take his seat, no matter if it is the old or the new Ultimate One."

"You mean you have a sort of god as a leader?" Jon asked, puzzled.

"Not a god, he is. The last survivor would be a term some more appropriate. He is granted life by those who control the universe, his task being to create more like himself. But as time stands not still new powers are being discovered every now and then and the Ultimate One has to stay up to date while there is a chance his old-fashioned ways might not be enough."

"So you say that every master who lives today would have a fair chance to defeat this Ultimate One?"

"Maybe, yet the Ultimate One cannot be found nor will he step forward for battle unless he knows he is facing the sole survivor of the world."

"The only master left, I take it you mean."

The Nasty One nodded shortly.

"And then the Ultimate One must learn others the ways while he has a right to live through it?"

"Exactly. A burden few wish to live through. Apart from being immortal and withdrawn from life."

"Then how does he spend his days?"

"Don't ask me, only the Ultimate One can answer that question and never has one cared to tell his successor."

"How many times has a battle between the old Ultimate One and a new candidate occurred?"

"Only twice, says the legend. But it is well over a thousand years ago that it last happened."

"So there is a chance it might happen soon again."

"This is all speculation as there is no telling how many new pupils the Ultimate One has created. We have more important things on our minds,like the present." he said.

"Do you never dream of becoming the Ultimate One?"

"No. I think it would be a nightmare."

"I still don't understand the way you think, but then again I will never understand lest I learn your ways. And since you don't take pupils, I think I will never understand."

"You will not, I agree."

"Is that why you once said that there is always somebody who is better at something?"

"Did I tell you that? Well, it is a fact."

"So some people might actually be hunting down other masters."

"There might be hunters, indeed. But I don't think so because we all know that there is always somebody who is better. And hunting is seeking your own doom."

"True enough. As you said, we have other things on our minds. But what can we do? All we can do for now is to find one sorcerer, ignore the second one and hope the third one will not show up."

"There is an easy way to dispose of the second one but you will not agree with this." the Nasty One shrugged.

"As for the first one, he will show up soon enough."

"Will your words in the Assembly not affect your position here?" Jon asked the knight.

"I don't care much, since I told it as it is and they all know that is the truth. If they will undertake action against me they must know deep down inside that they are doing the wrong thing while the code of the knighthood hinders the procedures to terminate my membership of the knighthood because I am on a mission."

"Your code works strange, but then again people like to talk about everything, and knights are in real not much more than politicians carrying a sword."

"That holds true for some, but not for all of us. We are not all of the same mould, mind you."

"I must go out, you three stay here."

With that, the Nasty One stomped away.

"But seriously, we expect you to do a better job. You have to gather your powers and seek out this Miroan and kill him. This is why you are hired, not for harassing the woman and drinking yourself under the table. If you are not capable of doing what we pay you for we will withdraw your payment. Understand that?"

The sorcerer laughed an ugly laugh.

"You fools are not capable of refusing me the payment I have a right to as I would certainly turn you all into toads if I got the slightest hint you would not pay me. But fair enough, I am currently trying to seek out Miroan though I have told you before it could be too much for me to handle as Miroan is one of the most powerful sorcerers in the entire world. I might need the woman's help for that, meaning I can add her powers to my own, and then I have a chance. And I would rather do that in a peaceful way."

"You call this a peaceful way? You insulted her in the open, giving the whole town stories to tell."

"I did not do such a thing, I merely offered her a drink. She refused and ran out, that's all."

"That may be all to you but it is not all to us. She will never cooperate with you now."

"Look, if I get it right she wants this same man dead. And when I can convince her the only way to do it is to do it together I am sure she will cooperate. It is the way it usually goes."

"She seems to be more likely to cooperate with the Nasty One though."

"The Nasty One is no sorcerer and he can't fight Miroan with or without Griwalda. I will stick to the original plan and rid the world of this Nasty One first. I can show him who can be real nasty."

"I think it would be unwise to attack him, Desiderius. Our main goal is to achieve the Nasty One's support, not his death. And you should realise this man is not just another warrior. He cut down a handful of guards without blinking, in just a few seconds. He jumped in the middle of twenty-one armed marauders and killed them all, within seconds again. His speed is far from natural, and we think he is a being from another plane of existence. We did not hire you to die trying to kill him."

"And if I would,you would be quick to take your money back would you not?" the sorcerer smiled. The minister frowned. "And right about that, I would have done the same but then even faster. Well then, I will gather my powers. But for that I must leave for a couple of days. Don't worry, I will be back soon again."

"And pray that you return in time, for we would not have the Nasty One lying down at Miroan's feet before you return."

"Be positive of that, I keep an eye on the woman and when Miroan would be near her I would see him."

"And what would you do if he came here by surprise?"

"Drink another fire ale on Griwalda's passing."

"Do not fool me, just be there in time."

"You will see, minister. Desiderius always does what he gets paid for. It's a reason why my fee is so high."

"Lord Reighward, a man is here to see you."

"Who? The one I asked for? Dressed in crimson robes he is?"

"Aye, milord. He represents the Sorcerers Council and his name is Antharion."

"Do you think this is a wise decision, Lord Reighward? After hearing what Sir Michael said?"

"Sir Michael is a man of the sword, he does not comprehend sorcery nor politics. And a sorcerer can only be defeated by a better one. Sir Michael is on the verge of becoming a renegade knight, he must watch his steps while we see to it that the sorcerers are driven from this town."

"You speak true words, Lord Reighward. Swords and sorcery always clash when both are in the same vicinity. And in a town ruled by swords, sorcery should be kept at bay. The Council believes you are right seeking our help because now one sorcerer is in town while a second one will be on his way." the robed man spoke upon his entrance.

"As a matter of fact, a third one is there, too. She is a woman who poses no threat to anybody as she is friendly to the threatened ones. We do not believe, however, that she stands a chance against the powerful men who threaten her associates."

"Could you give me some names, Lord Reighward?"

"Of course. The woman who should be on your side is named Griwalda Donthiac. The sorcerer who threatens to destroy one man and this way the whole town because he has bestowed a curse on this man is Miroan. The third one, the one hired by the politicians, is a drunken sot named Desiderius."

"Pah, Desiderius would indeed be at his best when he is hired. He is a cheap sell-out but dangerous, especially when he is under the influence of alcohol. In some enigmatic way the booze seems to enhance his powers and concentration where other men would fall out of concentration when drunk. He looks like a joke but he is far from that. In fact, he is a great threat when drunk. Miroan, on the other hand, is always a huge threat as even we in the Council even fear him. He is dark and mysterious and his powers cannot be appraised. We always fear that he has more up his sleeve as he has killed many, only to add their powers to his. I have hardly ever heard of the woman, though."

"She is a daughter of a mayor in a small town from here, Nouen. Her powers cannot be seen as great as she could not even prevent being caught by a band of marauders. Though it is only fair to say that it was a formidable band."

"Then how did she escape?"

"The band was ousted by a force of one, a formidable man known only as the Nasty One."

"Nasty One! Is he here? Is he the one threatened? I do not believe that."

"You know him?"

"Of course I know him. Well, when he is here you need not my services, milord, for he can easily deal with those men himself. He has done a few tasks for the Council a few years ago, together with his old man. He works for good, killing the oppressors. And even Miroan will fall when he encounters the Nasty One, as he holds the power to destroy men of the will."

"His old man? His father, you mean?"

"No, his teacher. He would teach him how to act, how to perform manoeuvres no normal mortal could ever perform. They had a kind of magic of their own, calling it Body Life magic, if I recall correctly. After his master had died the Nasty One, whom we had always known as The Pupil as the old man always called him, travelled around the realms and became a big bad fighter with a noble heart. The loss of his master shocked him deeply, and it explains his behaviour even as we speak. You should not be too hard on him, Lord Reighward, for he is a man made by the cruel world we live in. And if you would treat him badly, he could retaliate with cold-blooded murder for he cares little about this."

"So you don't know his real name, either?"

"I fear the Nasty One is his real name as the old man explained to me that names say little to those who master or train in the Body Life magic. He said something like 'just another burden to remember' or something."

"That sounds familiar, indeed."

"But it is good to know he is in town, I might just visit him. Could you tell me where to find him?"

The king-knight gave him some directions.

"Do not worry about hiring me, Lord Reighward, for I do not see the need to be hired for this now that I know who is in town. The Nasty One will deal with his own problems and he can do that better than anybody else. If that is all, I will be gone."

"Dismissed." the king-knight said, bowing sourly.

"Well, things are finally on a roll now." Griwalda said.

"For the better or the worse. How?" Sir Michael asked.

"I sense the power of sorcery coming this way. One of them is coming at us."

"Where?" asked the Nasty One.

"Somewhere... I cannot give you a location, I just feel the power coming at us. Don't you feel it?"

The Nasty One nodded quietly, his fingers around the grip of his sword.

"It could be the man the king-knight sent. He might want to do a bit more than attacking as he should be good. I think the king-knight, Lord Reighward, may make the mistake of not heeding my words but he would not hire somebody to dispose of us, I do not believe this."

Suddenly a flash blinded the people in the room and a lot of smoke rose out of thin air. When the smoke cleared, they could see the Nasty One holding a man in crimson robes, one hand behind his back while his mouth was covered by the large and hard hand of the Nasty One. Then suddenly he let go of the man and looked him in the eye. "Wise One!" he said in sudden recognition.

"A somewhat friendlier name we have here." Jon said smiling, though he was able to live with the nickname "Short One".

"Aye Nasty One. It has been a long time indeed."

"I knew the king-knight would act wise, indeed. He would not hire a drunk renegade such as Desiderius. Instead he sent for a representant from the Council." Sir Michael said.

"Though I said I would not work for him since I know who is in this town and my services would be very unnecessary as the Nasty One can deal with foul sorcerers much better than myself. It is good to see you alive and well, Nasty One, as it has been a number of years since you and your master appeared before the Council. I trust you still have what has made your master so important."

"If you mean this, aye."

"Appeared before the Council? Is that not only for other sorcerers? Or is his Body Life magic also seen as some kind of latent sorcery?"

"No, my fair lady, he came along when his master was asked to do something for the council as one man had stepped out of line here and threatened to attempt to destroy the council, while we all can imagine what something like that could result in: the destruction of the world. This man had created some powerful items of sorcery and with it I must admit that indeed he would have had a fair chance of killing thousands of people trying to bring down the Council. He aided his master in a task not to be taken lightly. They destroyed the man's residence and the hidden items. When the sorcerer saw this he would attack but he never had a chance to do so."

"I take it he is very dead." Jon said.

"Sure. The two of us had to intrude in a maze of magical guarding systems, but we knew where they were as our senses told us where they were. We could avoid or neutralise the dangers and then we saw the weapons the man had created with dark sorcery and alchemy. They were giant beast-like machines easily the size of four of these apartments. They were filled with powerful items that would explode would they hit the ground, and the explosions would have wiped out entire towns with ease as the items, large egg-like cocoons, were loaded with sorcery."

"How could you neutralise them?"

"Easy. My master struck them. Normally they would have exploded upon impact but he struck them with the hand that held the bracelet and so the sorcery was neutralised at once and nothing happened."

"Then how come that he could not remove my cursed ring when he touched it with the bracelet?"

"It should be connected to your body, its anti-magic would have to flow within you as it flows within the Nasty One. It would take the bracelet to remove your curse, I think."

"Well then, why doesn't he take off the bracelet and let Jon wear it?"

"Alas, this would cause Jon and everybody else, including the Nasty One, to explode. This is an item that cannot be taken from the living, the bracelet I mean. This is a holy artifact, at least it is something like that as it holds powers so great it could help destroy the world when in the wrong hands. There should be a secret book about this all but we do not know where it is, probably in some sorcerer's possession. The bracelet, known as the key to immunity, was handed to a master of Body Life magic and has gone from dead hand to living hand. This is not an item one should borrow to his friends, else the danger exists that some befriended one can be too fond of the item and use it for wrong goals."

"Like I would give it to the Red One so that she can destroy those sorcerers and then she would absorb their powers and run off with the bracelet."

"I would not possibly do such kind of thing!" Griwalda objected.

"True enough, I was just giving an example." the Nasty One said with an affectionate smile.

"But then why give it to people who are so powerful and who really are dangerous enough to wipe sorcery off the world if they wanted to? I mean, this master and the Nasty One himself could probably wipe out the Council if they wanted to."

"And that is something I would never do." the Nasty One now said.

"Just giving an example." Griwalda said. The men grinned. "No, the masters of Body Life magic are trusted heavily by the Council. They have a feeling for responsibility like nobody else -aye, even more than knights- and they know what this world is like and what it would have been without sorcery. While they can and will destroy wayward sorcerers they would never turn against the Council unless we give them reason to. And we of course are careful enough not to. We know that we can never down this man, and we will never try as the balance of the world would be at stake then. We trust a master of Body Life magic more than anybody else, especially when it's an accepted duty."

"But the duty was accepted by his predecessors, not by him!"

"Ah, but the masters have a right feeling about promises made by predecessors. It is tradition and values they live on. Those of his side would never break a vow."

"Of his side?"

"Did he never tell you that there are dark masters of Body Life magic as well, the so-called Dark Bodies?"

"Oh, you mean that. What happens when a teacher suspects his pupil to become a Dark Body?"

"It has happened, and the teachers are not allowed to slay the pupils before the final test. But then the master gives the bracelet to a fellow master, and he will be the one burdened with carrying it."

"You know quite a lot about these men, Sir..."

"No Sir, just Antharion, at your service."

"Sir Michael Capston, at yours."

"Jon Man, locksmith."

"Griwalda Donthiac, neophyte sorceress."

"Well met, all of you. I heard about you, Griwalda. You seem to lack the power, but I have been told that is because you could not dedicate yourself to your studies."

"How do you know that?"

"Ah, I am in the Sorcerers Council as you know. And we stay up to date with all man and women of the will, even the neophytes. After all, one day you may reach true power. I also heard that you were kidnapped to be drained. I take it it was the Nasty One who saved you."

"Indeed, he killed Methahon by the sword."

"Was it Methahon? Well, just another dark-minded outcast. We can sure miss those, though evil is needed in the world."

"Why is that?" Jon asked.

"The universe is a balance. When there is no evil, there cannot be good. When there would be no dark, there would be no light."

"I am not sure I can understand that."

"When you do not live you cannot die." the Nasty One added helpfully.

"Something like that, aye. Where did you learn that one?" the sorcerer asked with a smile.

"Nowhere, just made it up on the spot."

"A bit like that. Or I guess you could say: with no thieves there would be no locksmiths."

"That is indeed the way you keep your trade alive." Sir Michael grinned broadly.

"Something like that. Then what would happen if the world would be one big place with no evil?"

"That is not realistic, mister Man. Every man, no matter how good he is supposed to be, has a certain evil side in himself and some can suppress those feelings more than others. When there would be no evil, then how could man live? It would not be possible to eat meat, since somebody has to slaughter the animals and as it is, it takes a certain degree of blood thirst for that. No evil means really no blood thirst, no lust of power, no bad moods, no darkness, no arrogance, no dominance... this is unimaginable!"

"I guess you are right. They say we all are a little crazy, and we are also all a little evil. But don't tell the knights as they could kill you for that." Jon laughed and they all laughed with him, even Sir Michael.

"By the way Nasty One, before you go out to kill Desiderius, I would like it if you would give me a chance to bring him before the Council as we have more peaceful matters at hand. Maybe the Council can correct him."

"I doubt it, but go ahead. Hacking up sorcerers is not my favourite hobby anyway."

The sorcerer greeted the company and left the house.

"You say you never trust anybody. Then how about this Wise One, even as you seem to respect him?" Jon inquired.

"I never trust anybody fully. As wise as he is, he is still a sorcerer and even the Red One is hungry for power. But I can trust people to a certain extent, only never too much."

"It's always better than not at all, I say. Do you think he has any success in dealing with that drunk?"

"Nope, but it buys us some time when the Drunk One knows that the Wise One is here. If the Wise One is not powerful enough he has the whole Council behind him and that is enough to threaten everybody, even the one who plots against me."

"Miroan."

"Aye."

"Why do you never use names even as you remember them all?"

"I remember them sometimes as I hear them often and we have talked about little else than him. I do not use names as I have never done this, and old habits die hard."

"I still think it's strange to shun names, but I guess you can live with it."

"Aye. And many other things."

"One of the Body Life magic. Is any member aware about this eerie kind of magic that kills so many people in so little time?" The prime minister looked around the House to see if any of its members raised a hand.

"I thought as much. Anyway, the Nasty One has declared to be one of the rare ones who master this particular type of magic. We need more information on this, that is for sure. But what we have already heard is that this one cannot be fought by another master to gain control over him. A clash between two masters of his kind of magic can only result in death of one of them, the other one continuing to live his life in nobody's service."

"And what we have heard from our reports, this could also explain why the Nasty One was so hard against the king- knight when it came to trading favours. He is not for hire and he cannot be controlled."

"Still a knight is spending much time with him, talking. He seems to be a spy for the knights who is trying to infiltrate in his gang to gain some kind of control over the Nasty One. Where we try sorcery, they will try to use a fake friendship."

"I wish a debate over the danger we face when the knight can indeed befriend the Nasty One." a councillor said.

"Why is it that those knights always stoop to the lowest levels trying to beat us?"

"It is the foul nature of those who claim fairness and candour. This way they try the same as we do but then with the danger for one of their own members as this will not cost them any money, the knight is a pawn of the king-knight and will willingly sacrifice himself for the cause. Do we have more on this knight?"

"His name is Sir Michael, senior guard of the Third Order. He has spent a vast number of years in the knighthood and can be called a wise old man."

"Old, he is? So they're trying to weaken the Nasty One's heart with old men."

"Is he has a heart, that is." the defence minister nodded.

"Rumour goes that an unknown man has been invited to the Assembly for parley. We do not know aught about him nor do we know his and the king-knight's intentions. But all these strange people coming in and going out really upset me."

"I fully agree with this, my eminence. We have sent somebody to look after this strange man, I expect him to come with a full report after he is finished."

"Or has been finished."

"Don't say bad things about my spy, councillor. As was stated in point 217.962A to D, the hiring of spies is my personal responsibility and you cannot judge their jobs as you have not studied seriously on the matter. My spies do not get caught!"

"Easy, my eminence. I was not calling your spies incapable of their job, I was merely suggesting that there are people of power in this town who can see through disguises and hiding places."

"You suggest this newcomer is yet another sorcerer?"

"Maybe it is the one who has been looking for the Nasty One, the one our man is supposed to take care of."

"He is gone now. However, I think this is a silly suggestion as the man has spoken to the king-knight. Were he the one to nail the Nasty One, he would not go to the one who sent one of his men to join the Nasty One."

"Miroan is a man of great power, but he can also be considered a cunning man. Maybe he is fooling the king-knight into cooperating. After all, the Nasty One did kill his guards and the king-knight would not be happy with that, not even talking about the public humiliation he suffered at the Nasty One's hands."

"Then we would expect the king-knight to withdraw his pawn from the board, else it would be too dangerous for him."

"That is indeed expected. Or it can be a quick matter when the Nasty One finds out who he really is and kills him."

"So far it is all hypothetic that the sorcerer who joined him is indeed Miroan, the one who is after him. There are lots of other sorcerers in the world, either free or bound in the Sorcerers Council."

"With so many people of the will in town, it would not surprise me to see a man from the Council here, now that you mention it." a fat commissioner said, looking into nothingness as he considered this latest suggestion.

"But he would not be welcome here, then. A man of the Sorcerers Council would be in the way of both Desiderius and Miroan."

Suddenly a man entered. "Ah, sub-minister, we have been expecting you."

"Not for this, I guess, my eminence. Yet another stranger has entered town today. He first went to see the king-knight and then he went to the Nasty One. And believe it or not, the man is also said to be a sorcerer."

"We were just thinking one might come or be there. But you say this man just entered town?"

"This afternoon, aye."

"What does he want and who is he?"

"I do not know yet what he wants. I left a Private on the spot to keep an eye on him while I am trying to find out what has been discussed between the king-knight and him. His robes, however, indicate that he is from the Council."

"What a coincidence, we were just suggesting the Council might want to look at the situation here with all those sorcerers coming and going."

"Proves my theory, though."

"Indeed. Well-stated, commissioner Ralph."

"What made you leave a Private on the spot? If I recall the contents of document 5A3.7Y correctly, the Privates are hired only to preserve war and to spy in times of war."

"That priority, indeed. But the situation with the Nasty One is running out of hand and we need many spies now, so I think using the Privates is only proper." the prime minister explained calmly.

"We thank you for your report, sub-minister, but wish you to go back to your spot at once for we cannot miss a heartbeat on this situation here."

The sub-minister bowed slightly and left in a hurry.

"Well then, the man who is sent by the Sorcerers Council is probably the same man who was rumoured to have been invited to the Assembly. That was easily solved. Remaining matter is what has been discussed and what is going to happen now. But I trust the sub-minister and the Privates here, they will come with a report soon enough."

"Is this the way it is always going to be, with spies and their masters running in and out? What have they got to do with politics then?" a younger politician, in his forties, asked.

"Fraction leader Reynold, I know you are new to the House but I can safely tell you this is not the way things are supposed to happen. Especially you, as an elect candidate from the Extremist Party, should know that this is an extraordinary situation which also happens to be the biggest chance we are going to get in some time to overthrow the knights. After we are all back in the Assembly we will work on our own departments only and unless you want to be made minister of intelligence you will have no spies storming in your department."

"I wish I had my department back." the minister of intelligence sighed. "I have insufficient room for all my paperwork, as my ministry comes with many top secret documents, you understand. Many old documents have been seized by the knights but the new stack is piling up fast."

"Just another reason, my dear minister, to deal with this matter quickly. Spur on your men to handle this matter quickly. The sooner we have the Nasty One on our side, the sooner you will have your department back. With probably all the information gathered by the knights."

The minister looked in glee at that prospect.

"Either our party is becoming too big for this town or this town is becoming too small for us."

"What do you mean, Short One?"

"I mean, it started with you, then came Griwalda, then me, and now the knight and the sorcerer are here. Meanwhile we are all forming a huge target for anybody who would like to get at us. And beside that we are constantly under the eyes of spies from both the knights and the politicians."

"You spotted them, too?" the Nasty One smiled.

"Aye. The man there from the politicians, standing right there in the shadows, seeming to talk to that vendor, he is a Private. One of the special spying forces the politicians have hired for extreme times. We seem to have some importance that they hire the Privates for us."

"What do these Privates want and what will they do? After all, if they are too much of a bother..."

"They are harmless. All they do is spying and we really have nothing to hide, have we?"

"Not really, if somebody wants to know of our plans he can just enter and ask me. But they don't seem to have the guts for that, do they?"

"They avoid you as much as possible. I guess your stormy entrance accomplished that. They all fear you like their worst nightmare."

"It is what I have been for many, you cannot blame them." the Nasty One said with a bitter smile.

"Is the knighthood's spy gone? I thought he was standing right over there, near the corner."

"He is currently in that apartment, where a lady of pleasure resides. He keeps an eye on us occasionally, through those pink curtains."

"A costly rent then. I wonder if he can declare the bills for his expenses during duty." Jon grinned.

The Nasty One chuckled. For Jon it had been the first time since he had actually heard the Nasty One chuckle.

"You know that the woman who... works there has two grown daughters who are also sometimes forced to work for her. I cannot understand why one would see her instead as she is old, fat and ugly." Jon could not resist to relate to his eminent supply of town gossip.

"I bet the woman would not know who is the father of any of those daughters."

"Probably not. But what do you say about my plan? I mean..."

"Your plan to leave town. Well, I am in no hurry and I am sure I paid the rent for some time. If we move now, our main target, that sorcerer, will not be able to find me and as long as we postpone his killing, you are in danger and when matters are piling up it has always been best to deal with the first matters first."

"You are right about that. Yet if this Miroan would have spotted where you are, and I am sure a sorcerer with his reputation could easily find you, especially with the directions you gave him, and if he really wants to nail you, he would have shown up a great deal earlier don't you think?" "It can be that he is afraid. Yet we have no means at hand to start the chase the other way around as we have no clue of where we can find him."

"We do. At least I think so. The man who showed up today, the one you call Wise One. Antharion his name was, I believe. He is a man from the Council, he might know where to find Miroan."

"I do not believe that is one from the Council."

"Antharion you mean?"

"No, of course not. I mean the one who is after us, and who we are after."

"Still the Council seems to keep track of all the sorcerers, or men of the will as they call themselves. We could try to ask him, you know."

"He stayed in town, I will see him tomorrow if he does not come here first. Then I will indeed ask him."

"Are you not late for your evening training?"

"Indeed I am. You know the security measures. And in case something happens, press this button and I will be there in a few seconds."

"Some kind of alarm system?"

"Indeed. Guard it carefully, I want it back when I return."

"Bet on that. Have a good training."

"Oh, be sure of that."

"The taxes are late this month."

On a small throne sat a big, strong man wearing a black band in his hair. In the middle of the band a jewel was embedded.

"So far things are not going as wrong as it may look to you, master Maels. From all but one the taxes are in this month and the profit is enormous now."

"It is the one not here I am worried for. It is nothing for Binor to be late with his quota. And of course it is out of the question that he started for his own as he is too wise to revolt against me. I have always paid them well and they know the troops I have behind me. The couriers have always been in time and now they are late. While we know the road they ride is clear from marauders that are not under my supervision."

"You fear something has happened to him and his men."

"I fear that. It has been once that the knights of Vintel tried to catch them but they were killed after a first-class ambush. Some ran but they probably passed on the message that it was very unwise to try again."

Before the man stood seventeen men, all heavily armed and guarded by their men. All in all, more than a hundred were standing in the large room in the middle of a cave.

"Binor is not coming back." a voice came. They all turned around and saw a man who appeared to be in a deplorable state, sitting on a stool he had apparently conjured up with him. With his elbow he was leaning on a table as if he were sitting on a bar. The guards drew steel but the man waved them away with an empty hand.

"What do you know man? Who are you? What do you know of Binor and what happened to him?"

"First give me some ale. Fire ale, if you have it."

"Fire ale?"

"Come on, I know you have fire ale. Of your private stock, that is. And bring it quickly."

"You will first introduce yourself, man, and then we will talk."

"My name is Desiderius the sorcerer. Fire ale, now!" he said, his voice obviously agitated.

"Better give him what he wants, master Maels. This is Desiderius the drunk sorcerer, if he is who he claims to be, and I have no reason to doubt his story..." a man started but then he fell down, hit in the head by a beam of magic.

"And don't you ever dare to call me drunk again!" the sorcerer said in a warning voice.

Some man had been quick enough to fetch the man a tankard of ale and satisfied, the sorcerer took a swallow.

"That's better. Now as I said, Binor is not coming back. He is dead, very dead. And so is his gang."

"The knights of Vintel?" Maels asked, his hand involuntarily going to the short sword on his side.

"The knights are not strong enough. No, it was one man. One single man killed them all."

"A sorcerer. I should have known. You! You killed them! Why..." "Why would I bother? Indeed, I can think of no reason. It is not of myself I am talking, nor am I referring to any other man of the will. I am talking about a fighter. A big, mean, nasty fighter. He seems to have no name, or at least he does not want to give anybody his name. He is simply known as the Nasty One."

"Are you trying to tell me that one man was responsible for the death of so many trained men? Who is this man? How did he kill them?"

"From what I have heard in a place called the Goblins Inn in Vintel, his men were poorly trained as the Nasty One jumped among their midst and started slashing around. He killed them all by the sword."

"I don't believe you. It is impossible that Binor and his men would let themselves be slaughtered by a force of one. There must be more to this story, pray tell."

"You know what they say Maels, everybody has his price."

"I have already lost enough money when Binor will never again show up with this month's road taxes. What do you want then?"

"The normal fee for my services. Two thousand goldweights of the West."

"Outrageous!" Maels yelled. Desiderius merely grinned.

"It is an expense you are forced to sacrifice if you ever want Binor's murderer."

"You will not kill him for me, I will do that myself."

"True enough, but you need to know more about him as there is more to him than meets the eye. You see, this man is so fast, strong and skilled that it is almost incredible. From what I have heard, he is a master of Body Life magic and this means he is a fighter like no other."

"I will pay the price, Desiderius, and then you will bring me to him."

"Go ahead, pay."

Filled with reluctance Binor ordered his men to count the money. When it was finally put into one sack Desiderius weighed it in his hand. "Count better. Two short."

"Two short? Are you positive?"

"Believe me. I am a man of the will and many more times I have held two thousand goldweights in my hand."

"Give him those two."

Desiderius added the coins to his sack and then waved at it. Before the men's eyes, it disappeared.

"Whoa, where did that go?"

"To my personal vault, of course. Now the Nasty One is in Vintel, as you might have expected. Sorcery does not harm him, so I can only lead you to him."

"How do you know all this? What were you doing in Vintel?"

"Trying to find Miroan, to kill him. Well, I will make you a better deal."

Suddenly the sack appeared again.

"Help me kill Miroan and you can have this one back."

"Kill a sorcerer? How do you expect me to do that?"

"You will, of course, cause the distraction I need."

"And what is in it for you then?"

"We both seek to slay one. My share will be his power as it will leave him upon his death. While you will get the murderer of Binor. And I happen to know you would do a great deal for that."

"How did you get all this information, sorcerer?"

"Quite easily, but my sources are not yours. I will be back in two days, be ready to go to Vintel by then."

"You bet I will. Vintel will surrender the Nasty One to me or face siege upon their town."

"It is what I was hoping to hear. Two days."

And with that the sorcerer was gone, taking the tankard, partially still filled with his favoured fire ale, with him. Maels dismissed the men under orders of staying alert and preparing for a siege.

"Why all this trouble to get Binor's killer? More men have died in his service." another gang leader asked around.

"Binor was his brother." an underling whispered back.

"So there you are. I have been looking for you, Miroan."

"Councillor Antharion! What brings you to my tower? Uninvited, I might add."

"You know darn well why I am here, Miroan. You have brought yourself into a whole heap of trouble and in the name of the Council I am ordering you to cut it off."

"The Council, as you will know, holds no power over me. So to hear you are referring to my matters with the Nasty One, and I am not going to cut it off, as you put it. He threatened me and people do not threaten me. Not even you, councillor. Let the Council mind its own business and do not interfere with mine." The tall sorcerer rose into a casting stance.

"You need not fire your will at me, Miroan, as I have come for parley only. You know the item the Nasty One holds, and we do not really approve of its using to slay the men of the will, even if they are wayward members."

"You did use one of his kind a while back. Nine years now since you sent out that assassin holding the key, seeking to destroy Avragghthon? Was it this same man?"

"As a matter of fact, that man was his master while he was there himself, too, following his master in order to gain experience in practice. And he beat his master, proved himself to be even better than the old bloke. And we all know the danger Avragghthon posed, and we know that even though your powers are great you would have been no match for the man, even without those great dangerous metal monsters he had created."

"I am fully aware of this, and this is the reason I have not attacked yet. I am preparing for my master plan, a plan that cannot fail me. This will bring the Nasty One down and then indeed, the key will fall into my hands."

"You know the results of that? It would destroy the world!"

"It is the reason it should be kept from people like ourselves, aye. But I know more than all of you together, I know how to use it in a better way. And I am sure I am the only one alive to know all this."

"Do not underestimate the lore and legacy of those who use the soul instead of the will, Miroan, for it might become your doom."

"You would like that, would you not? And you would be the first to usurp my powers when I am gone. Now begone, unless you want to match the wills."

"Do never forget that you were warned, Miroan."

And then the sorcerer was gone, leaving the other one in thoughts.

"Why would the Council warn me? Ah, it is just an excuse. They want to talk me into giving up the opportunity of not one but several lifetimes. They fear I will succeed, and that I will get the key. And then the world, the universe will be mine and mine only. I must check on my plan, nothing may go wrong from this point on."

Miroan checked on his equipment and then saw to his dismay that the book about the key, which he had been reading over again when the Councillor had entered, was missing.

"You bloody, sneaky..." he started out, then he screamed in fury as he swore bloody revenge on the trickster, the con, the...

"I have been looking for you, Wise One."

"I thought as much. I have visited Miroan, to warn him. And when talking to him my eye fell on the book he had been reading. It is a book about the history of the bracelet you are wearing, Nasty One."

"That is not important, he may ask all he wants to know before he dies... but where did you visit him?"

"In his tower. He was quite surprised to see me."

"And he will be even more surprised when he sees me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you are going to tell me exactly where I can find this man. I want him dead, as dead as he wants me. And I always get my man."

"I just warned him to call it all off."

"He would be a bit too late with that. My patience has long run out in this case. Where is he?"

"Very well, I have no means whatsoever to stop you. He can be found in a tower a hundred miles to the north-northeast of here. Here it should be. If you will, I can give you a teleport to get you there."

"That would mean I would have to take the bracelet off and that is something I will not do."

"I forgot all about it, to be honest. Well then, how will you go there then travelling so that he cannot see you coming, how can you prevent that he will build up a defence against you?"

"Apart from the fact that I will tear down every defence he can ever prepare for me, I have means at hand. I will be back tomorrow."

"Can you take me with you?" Griwalda suddenly asked.

"Know what you begin with, woman, it may be more than you can handle." Antharion warned.

"I am aware of the powers released, Wise One. And I am aware of the woman's intents. But do not worry, I will see to it that she handles it well."

"Not everybody can handle power like that, Nasty One. And she is not used to power at all. Once she has it, she might not know how to deal with it... she might be put to a stop then."

"As I said, Wise One, it will be my responsibility."

"Now why is that? You are not my babysitter, you know."

"Aye, but you were the one who kept on nagging about going around as partners. I guess it will be my task then to hold you in line."

"So you agree with this?"

"Of course. Everything is better than you getting me to rescue you time and time again." the Nasty One said with a smile that looked the slightest bit affectionate.

"I think I would want to be there when the man who gave me this curse got wiped off the face of the world." Jon said.

"And then I guess the Calm One wants to go as well, if it were only to be complete. Well then, the Wise One must go then and he must teleport you all to the scene. I will go by my own means -just as fast, I assure you- and we will meet there."

"Do you intend to go right away?"

"Tomorrow will be fine, then I have a full day of reading. This booklet may prove to be interesting, I must read it first."

"As a matter of fact, I would like to read it, too." Antharion said with a slight hint of objection in his voice.

"When this is all over we will all have time enough, Wise One. And the key is my responsibility, all you should know about it is that one of you may never have it."

"And I know that. Fair enough, I shall wait."

"If we need to be of any help, we will have to study and relax today, councillor."

"It is what we will do, my dear. There is one more small thing to be settled, then. I wish you to join me for that."

"Private sorcerers business?" Sir Michael asked.

"Something like that, aye."

"So while the Nasty One already promised that he would keep an eye on me, you want to be the extra eye?"

"Aye." the sorcerer said, then smiled about the funny interpretation of the word.

"It is usual that this happens when, through an odd-fluke most of the time, a novice gets great power. The Nasty One will be able to handle your person as it deals with the powers unleashed, but you need somebody who knows a lot about the power of the will. I will not be your partner, as the Nasty One will be, I will be your guide."

"But... you seem to have a high position in the Council. Does that not interfere?"

"What would a council of sorcerers be when the matters were not all about sorcery? We are no politicians, mind you."

"Ah, but..."

"No buts here, it is no threat, just a humble proposition. You will be powerful, Griwalda, possibly even more powerful than myself or any other member of the council except for the High Sorcerer, of course. You will have no matters when the Nasty One kills Miroan, you are the parasite who reaps from the spoils. It is not a pleasant prospect but it is the truth, as we all seek to gain power."

"Then you will also be after the power? Will you be in my way then?"

"Of course not, this I promise you. To say it in popular words: you may have him."

"And I thank you for that. It is not for nothing the Nasty One calls you wise."

"It is indeed a great plan, Desiderius, we all owe you an apology because we underestimated you. This plan with the siege and everything will have the nice side-effect that we can make a scandal out of this and we can possible let it as far as driving ourselves into the position the knights came into by trickery: we will force them to write out new general elections, just after they scandalise themselves by not being able to prevent one from laying siege on this town. The knights will be locked in their places by a band of marauders, that must be enough to get the people to believe that we will make everything right."

"I wish to have one small thing settled." the sorcerer said.

"More fire ale? Coming right up."

"Would also be nice, though I still have some. Problem is, I needed to bribe the leader, a pompous man calling himself master Maels."

"How much?". "Two thousand goldweights. And I know that is my entire defrayment and I am not a volunteer. I did what had to be done, and I wish to declare the bill."

"Two thousand more? You must be out of your mind!" a prime councillor said, jumping out of his seat.

"It is indeed a large sum again, Desiderius. Are you not lying to us? This way you would indeed be doubling your fee."

"You can ask this Maels what I paid him to lay siege on this town, to ask for the Nasty One. And he will tell the truth. I can even organise a cross-examination with him being put in a trance so that he cannot lie to anybody, if that is your wish."

"That will not be necessary, Desiderius. We will provide the money, of course. In terms of a double-check, we pay you half now and half when the troops are standing in front of the gates."

"Fine with me, they will be here in a week or so." the man said confidently.

The thought of leaving the real action to men with swords while cashing in twice was one Desiderius would cherish passionately.

"You and I, we have to talk." came a dark voice.

"Now who..." asked Miroan, quickly rising out of his chair to see who now had avoided all his magical traps and could have entered his private study in the top of a tower in the middle of nowhere. He saw a big man and took a casting stance even though he had a vague feeling this would not help him much as that man could be only one.

"It is the Nasty One. And you are standing in my way."

"What do you want?"

"I want you to release the curse you put on this man."

Suddenly the locksmith was also in the room.

"And why would I do that? And what makes you bring him here?"

"You would do that because I ask it of you. Would you really be stubborn you will face the single consequence: your death. So release the man now."

"I know the curse I put on this man. Now why would I not just kill him?"

"Because it will destroy yourself. The curse you put on him is one not even your own powers can protect you against. It is good I have the key, else it would even destroy me. But now the two of you are the only ones who get hurt."

Jon looked up at the big man behind him.

"Do what needs to be done, Nasty One. Just be sure the rest is protected." he said with a stern look on his face.

"The rest is in a safe position, far from here. This is your last warning, Robed One. Release the man."

"Give me the key and you will have it. Surrender the key!"

"Make me." the Nasty One shrugged and suddenly he pinched Jon hard, thus also hurting the sorcerer who was about to intone a spell. The spell ruined, the sorcerer was in panic as the Nasty One was on top of him. A warding gem at his belt that would have electrocuted all who dared touch him did not help here as the Nasty One's bracelet dispelled all the powers that Miroan could call upon.

"Remove the curse!" the Nasty One shouted in his face.

"Never!" Miroan said, almost certain that would be the last word he would ever speak.

"Then die."

And with a sound that sickened the short locksmith the Nasty One smashed the sorcerer's skull with something hard, probably his fist. There was a tingling in the air and the Nasty One called upon the sorcerers and the knight.

"It is as I thought. He would not listen." he said simply, pointing at the gruesomely mutilated body.

"Did you have to beat him up that bad?"

"Just one stroke, that is all I did. You had better burn his body before somebody starts thinking of raising him. Hey, what is that?"

"Automatic disintegration. Many evil sorcerers of power do this, as they do not want to be raised. In a moment, dust will be all that remains of him."

"And his robes. Now then, you work your powers to get his, I will check this place for loot."

"I am sure you will find some, Miroan was an evil man who loved to have a lot of treasure, mostly to buy rare items and spell components with."

"Then I hope he did not buy much lately, since I have no use for spell components. You can have those, of course."

The Nasty One disappeared suddenly and the four were left alone in the room.

"I don't like this room. It is so... evil."

"Evil is indeed in the air, but that will be gone soon. Too bad we cannot make it a cosy room but we will be gone after this. Now then, Griwalda, do you know how to do this?"

"I do. Desiderius taught me this."

She started intoning a long spell, waving her hands in an awkward pattern, drawing figures in the air. Slowly mist engulfed her and then the others in the room. Then all the mist seemed to thicken and slowly it all poured into her through the pores of her skin, her ears and her mouth.

Then the room was clear and Jon immediately noticed the sun broke through.

"Now then, you created good weather, too." he said smiling.

"That is a mere coincidence, some nice timing from the elements."

"How do you feel now?" Antharion inquired.

"I feel... strange. Something, it must be the energy, is burning in me. Like something I have to fight to control."

"That is what you must, through study."

"Then what do I study?"

"What do you study? Well, you could start with the books over there. Miroan's spellbooks, now yours."

"So many of them?"

"Aye, he was powerful and knew a great variety of spells. Now you have his power, you must also acquire his skills. Only then can you fully take benefit of the powers you acquired now."

"So we have to take all this home."

"Aye. If you still call the Nasty One's apartment home, that is. And because he is your sponsor, I take it you do."

"For the time being, aye."

Then the Nasty One returned with a full pack. "That much?"

"All gold and jewellery, he was rich indeed. Well, it makes it a profitable trip for me, too. Are you done here?"

"Aye, I guess we are. I just have to pack these books over here."

"His spellbooks, of course. Well then, get busy with it. I haven't got all day, my afternoon practice is waiting for me and I sense more is to befall us. We have to get back home in time."

"Then what were you thinking of? Think the politicians will undertake action? Or the knights, for that matter?"

"It does matter. I expect nothing from the knights. They sent the Calm One, they talked to the Wise One and now they know they should do nothing. I think the Drunk One will see that we are gone, and that is why we cannot be gone too long."

"Last I heard was that Desiderius left the town."

"People of the will can enter and leave as they wish, they do not need to pass the gates necessarily." Antharion said.

"So we have now no longer a neophyte, have we? We now have two powerful sorcerers!" Jon said cheerfully.

"Aye, though she does not know yet how to control and use her newfound powers. But she will learn fast, as I believe she has talent enough. It was dedication she always lacked and though she got her powers in a rather cheap way I think it is what she needs to get some dedication for her profession. Now she can do a little bit more than street show illusions, and I hope she realises that."

"I do, councillor. And I will work hard to learn fast. I must control these powers, get used to the fact that they are part of me now and that they will be something I must deal with, not to let it overcome me."

"That is indeed the danger that comes with this, and you will work hard to prevent the power mastering you. We have learned in history that not everybody can handle powers this great, it takes a special person for that. That is why I warned you in the first place when you were thinking of usurping the powers of one of the world's greatest sorcerers."

"But I will pledge to the council, to stay in line and do whatever it takes to help the men of the will and the council itself."

"It is good to hear that, lady Griwalda. At least then Miroan's powers went to a good cause."

"Get those books, I want to go home." the Nasty One cut off the discussion.

"He may be a powerful warrior, a party animal he will never be." Jon said with a smile.

Even the old knight chuckled at this.

"We have decided to lay siege on the town. What do you think about this?"

"Excellent, just as I planned. Though I must tell you that you should not harm the politicians in that town."

"As far as I know the knights rule there."

"Sure they do, Maels. But there are politicians in that town just waiting for the new elections."

"And are those ever going to come with those knights in the powerful seats?"

"Of course, they came there through democracy, they will fall through democracy. Not that it really matters to you and me, it is just that I am faintly acquainted with some of the politicians. They mean you no harm, and at the moment they don't even give a damn about their town."

"I will not attack the town directly. After all, I have no need for its sacking - except for the loot, that is. All I want is the man responsible for my brother's death. And I will have those knights hand him over to me by means of threatening with besieging their town. I know it is a small town with a few hundred defenders and I have more than a thousand men at my disposal."

"All these outlaws who collect road taxes, a thousand?"

"Aye, our network is large. And of course there are the special troops which come into action when people revolt against our men."

"I see. Well, the more the better in this case. When will you move?"

"When we move, sorcerer, you will move with us. Tomorrow, that is. We can be there in four or five days, depending on the weather."

"A total waste of time. If you give me a day of preparation I can create a dimensional portal that will bring you right to the place where you want to be."

"We cannot come there with small amounts at the same time, we have to come all together."

"Of course, I'm no fool! The portal will teleport you to a hidden place near the town where you can make camp and prepare the siege."

"It sounds like a good plan, Desiderius. Go work on it. The sooner we are there the better, as there is nothing better than a surprising siege."

"Though some fire ale right now would come close."

"You really should consider claiming Miroan's tower for yourself. After all, so much magic is yet hidden there and this has been the place where he has studied for all those years."

"I am not sure if this is good, I mean he has been there for so many years as you say..."

"It is not haunted, I assure you. His spirit has gone to the place all spirits go to. And with the powers you have also unleashed more than enough power of the will to break all the magic locks in the tower. I can accompany you to the tower to make sure it is all safe."

"If you would, it would be my pleasure, councillor Antharion."

"We shall be gone then. Until soon."

"Oh, are you not going to stay there right away?"

"Of course not, I must wait for you, remember? And you have some unfinished business to take care of."

"That Drunk One. He can't be too much of a bother. I think I must go see those politicians and give them a piece of my mind. Short One, can you tell me where to find them?"

"I think I can. By the way Nasty, I do not know how to thank you properly for saving my life and all those around me."

"I know you are grateful, that will be enough. At least you no longer need to pick locks to save money to hire a sorcerer, and you can return to earning your money honestly."

"Sure. And all the money I did make in the meantime I still have now, it is mine to spend."

"Have a good life with it, Short One."

"Oh, you bet I will. But we are talking like if we seen the last of each other. And that is certainly not true unless you had plans to leave."

"Not me. I came here for rest in the first place. And right now you will bring me to the politicians."

"Right, let's go."

"But still I am not sure if this is going to work. As the sub-minister told, Desiderius has struck a deal with those outlaws. Apart from the fact that they are outlaws, the man himself is not one we should trust. Is it coincidence that he bribed that man for exactly his own salary? What does he have in mind?"

"I do not agree with your relentless suspicion, prime commissioner. The man is..."

Suddenly the door banged open and the doorman who had served as a guard crashed through, his mouth foaming with frenzy and blood.

"I know that you are not used to speaking it, politicians, yet it is what I demand. The truth, and nothing but the truth. Now!"

A towering figure appeared in the doorway, sword drawn.

"You have been spying on us, you have tried to talk the Red One into selling me out, you have hired a sorcerer to fight the one I was going to kill and you have undoubtedly been plotting various schemes against me."

"We would not plot against you, Nasty One." prime minister Leon said calmly. "On the contrary, we have done everything we can to help you in your hard tasks."

"Your help was not asked and definitely not needed, I can take care of my own business better than any sorcerer or politician can. I happen to hate politics! And if you intend to go on with this, I am going to hate politicians, too. And people do not want to be hated by me."

The members of the House were shocked to see the Nasty One, the man about whom they had talked about for so long, advancing, closing in on them, sword drawn, face severe. The prime minister seemed to be the only one who could keep his composure.

"Look, Nasty One, you entered this town killing five town guards. This way you already got a bad name with the knights and especially the king-knight. Then you clashed with the king-knight and I am sure he is even now plotting against you. The fact that he managed to get a spy in your house is just more evidence. We are the natural opponents of the knights and so we seek to help everybody who is against them."

"I am not against the knights." the Nasty One said. Several politicians gasped at this statement.

"I have no problem with members of the knighthood and the Calm One is not a spy even if he was sent as one. So I am not in need of your help and it is my demand that you stop any activities concerning me. I do not want to see any of your spies near my apartment or I will return to this place. And then, more than this will happen."

A statue at the other side of the room suddenly lost its head as it clattered to the floor. When they all looked back, the Nasty One was gone.

"Everything has been for nothing! We will never get him on our side now! I do not believe he can be convinced."

"Four thousand goldweights thrown away, for a goal that can never be achieved!"

"He has fallen for the knights, now he is threatening us!"

"I told you that hiring a sorcerer would backfire!"

"I knew something like this would happen!"

Not even the constant hammering could silence the crowd at once. When the prime minister finally regained control of the House, he raised his hands.

"Do not worry, dear men. Remember the ace we have in our sleeve, an ace delivered to us by Desiderius. After all, the Nasty One says he has no problem with the knighthood. But think of the trouble he will have when the knighthood will want to deliver him to the troops that will be besieging this town soon. They will destroy the town when they do not get him, and then the knights will acquiesce seeing this is the only way to save the town they think is theirs."

"But that will not bring the Nasty One to us."

"He need not specifically be with us, as long as he is against the knights, as it all comes down to the same thing: the fall of the knighthood."

"Hear, hear." came some murmurs of approvement.

"Of course I must remind you that all that is said here is to be held within these doors. To avoid any kind of leaking of this precious information, I advise you to all go home and to bed when this session ends. Do not go to the Goblins Inn or any other public place. Not even the Old Wheel."

Several chuckled hearing the name of the brothel, some others bowed, thus betraying they sometimes went there. Actually, it was quite common that politicians went there, even the married ones. After all, they knew that visiting a prostitute had nothing to do with cheating on their wives, this was business as they paid for it. Such was their

lifestyle.

But still tonight would hold no such pleasures as they all realised the importance of secrecy this time.

Of course, secrecy was well-known to them as this was the way they had 'governed' the town for a long time now. But soon, they knew, things would shift to their favour.

They had paid good money for a sorcerer they had underestimated for a long time, but even the most experienced politician admired the master plan Desiderius had come up with.

"You have many feelings, Nasty One. But take it from an old knight that we sometimes also have gut feelings. This Desiderius has been gone for some time now and I don't like it a bit. I would not be surprised if he had not given up yet while I simply cannot believe that the politicians would fall for threats, even ones as big as you deal them. We have tried to use threats for all the time we have been in the Assembly and they are still here and doing what they do best so I don't think one man will make much of a change, even if one is as mighty and nasty as you are."

"Though the trick with the statue might have been a good one." Jon said. The Nasty One nodded in thoughts.

"It is late enough. Time for evening practice."

"When are you going to play the bagpipe again?"

"Not for a good while. I am finally glad I am rid of that sorcerer, now at last you are safe and the Red One is safe."

"You still intend to be her guard?"

"When she learns how to control the powers she possesses, she does not need somebody to protect her from others. But aye, I will be her guard. As she needs somebody to protect her from herself."

With these words the Nasty One left, his sword hanging in a scabbard across his back.

A large white gap in what had been a black hole. A large clearance where great evil had once been. The Nasty One was satisfied, for now he really realised what that sorcerer had been up to. He understood everything about the man and his dangerous schemes now. Getting the key was just a part of the great plan that would lead him to victory against the rest of the world. He had really believed that he could rule the universe without destroying it as the balance that held life in its palm would certainly be disturbed when one man would gain power over it, as that man would have his mind looking at one side.

But when he looked deeper into the white gap, he saw a small eye of red slowly approaching, and he knew who that was: it was the woman, who had inherited the man's powers.

Fortunately, this usually did not go with inheriting the man's ideals and plans. But this woman had been weak, very weak indeed, due to lack of dedication. And while the Wise One would keep an eye on her in the name of the Council he himself would be a key factor for her success as a woman of the good will.

Then suddenly the image disappeared to the Nasty One as he slowly let the mass of thoughts leave his body as if it were a real mass with gravity. With this he sank a little bit into the ground as suddenly new images came to his mind. He saw large black bugs and beetles creeping all over the realms, slowly but steadily surrounding one small spot.

It took him a while to understand this enigmatic vision but soon he knew enough: there were more enemies, and these would gather themselves and then threaten him and those with him together. While the Nasty One was not concerned at all about his own life -that happened only in fights with Dark Bodies- he was concerned about those with him.

Maybe I should leave this town, he thought by himself.

Leave it all behind, the black holes, the bugs, and of course that political battle of power fought by two hordes of talkers, disgusting men who liked to hold people in thrall while they did not know the true meaning of power, even if they thought they did.

They think they have power, the Nasty One almost murmured, slowly rising from the small pit he had created by the gravity of his thoughts. Slowly he started to glow a faint blue again and he seemed to grow. He drew his sword which started to glow with him. The light became more intense and suddenly the Nasty One rocketed into the air, holding his sword up. With the speed of sound he soared over the area, for there was something he could not comprehend: where did the beetles and the bugs come from?

Who were they, and what did they want?

And then all of a sudden, he knew the answer.

I should have killed that Drunk One, he thought by himself.

I am sure he is behind all this. Certainly, after killing the first sorcerer, he knew that the Drunk One would be no match for him. And the Drunk One had realised just that, so he sought allies. Not a bad thought, in fact. But not wise, either, as the only wise thought was to give it all up and run away as fast as he could.

Aye, he should have run, as unlikeable as it was.

And the Nasty One would kill upon sight now when he saw him as there was one thing he hated: being chased.

"Bring as many allies as you want, Drunk One. I will see to it that you will not much longer drink your alcohol."

He slowly descended and then suddenly dove at a pheasant, sword point down. Like a hawk he caught his prey and he took his time to prepare dinner.

"They may be coming, but I am as ready as ever." he said to himself, carefully roasting the meat over a fire he had built and lit with the energy coming from his body.

"How come I never actually see you sleep? You are awake in the morning and in the night. Do you never sleep?"

"Of course I sleep, Short One. Not very long, that is all. I suffice with three or four hours. Are the Red One and the Wise One back yet?"

"Aye, they returned from the tower when you were gone, she should still be sleeping over there. Hey, where has she gone?"

"She is not here. Are you sure she slept here last night?"

"Of course I am. Why, you think she has been sleeping with that sorcerer?"

"That is none of my concern, I just want to know where she is."

"I can tell you that." Sir Michael said, coming in for the first time without knocking.

"They are together on the battlements."

"On the battlements? Why, are we under siege?" Jon said, hoping to make a good joke. But then he saw the severe face of the knight. "Are we, then?"

"Beetles and bugs." the Nasty One spoke to their amazement.

"After seeing that the power of sorcery could not harm me they are trying to get me with an army of beetles and bugs."

"They are human all-right. Why beetles and bugs?"

"That is the ease I will crush them with."

"You think they are coming for you then?"

"Of course. Everything that has transpired here the last couple of weeks has been about me. I am used to it, as horrid as that may sound. Who are these ones? People hired by those politicians?"

"We have no identification on them yet. I suggest you follow me to the battlements to see who they are and what they want."

"I have a vague feeling the Drunk One is there, with them."

"That Desiderius? Could well be possible. You should take a look."

"I am coming. This is starting to annoy me gravely."

Before they climbed on the battlements the king-knight, now dressed in full armour, cautiously tapped the Nasty One on his plated chest.

"I think it is best you do not show yourself, Nasty One. Not until we know who they are and what they want."

"It is something I was going to find out myself. Why should I stay out of this when it is probably me they want?"

"I have no need for a massacre here. Sir Michael has warned me of your capabilities of causing an onslaught, and it would be unwise to start the fighting at once."

"They are not coming here for the good beer, you know. Then they would not bring siege engines with them."

"Lord Reighward, they have only beset the western side, the citizens can flee through the east gate if they want."

"It is not needed to evacuate the town. We can handle this." the king-knight said with a surprising assurance in his voice.

"Where does this sudden optimism come from? I hope you are not counting on me, since I am not yours to command and I came here only to find the Red One and to see who dares to threaten me this time."

"I have a feeling that sorcerer is behind this, at least one of those who threatened you."

"That can only be the one who drained the innkeeper from his fire ale since the other one is no more, I saw to that with the help of the one you wanted to hire, an old associate of mine."

"You killed him?"

"Aye. And do not forget to treat the Red One with respect, as she now has powers the Wise One can even dream about."

"I thought as much. So it is Desiderius you think?"

"I am not sure. This looks like an army of marauders, not experienced mercenaries. They wear no uniform except for some."

"You surely have keen eyes that you can see all this. Do you recognise the uniforms?"

The Nasty One shook his head.

Then suddenly one man from the group stepped forward and put a device to his mouth that would enhance his voice.

"Knights of Vintel, the choice is yours! Either you hand over to us the man known as the Nasty One, of whom we are positive he is in your town, or face our siege and make us sack your town!"

"Identify yourself, villain!" the king-knight yelled. Two men with shields were ready to protect their lord from a sudden range assault while all the knights held their swords and spears in their hands.

"Ny name is master Maels, central head of the tax control organisation."

"Tax organisation? More politics?"

"You have no right to call your organisation thus! You are outlaws, robbing the innocent!" the king-knight defied.

"The name does not matter, it is what we want. Surrender or face the perils of siege!"

"So who is this?" the Nasty One asked behind the battlements. "Remember that band of marauders you butchered to rescue her? I bet that was part of this large army." Jon said.

"Now what? Are you going to confront them?" Sir Michael asked.

"Most certainly." the Nasty One said and drew his sword, then shoved the king-knight aside unceremoniously.

"I am the Nasty One and it is me you seem to want. Know then that besieging this town is not the way, annoying bugs!" his voice thundered over the town and the fields where the enemies had gathered themselves, setting up camp between the trees.

"The Royal One here holds no power over me. In fact, nobody holds power over me. If you want to sack this town that is fine with me, but if it is me you want then try something else as this will not work with me. I summon you to leave now, with all your nine hundred and twenty-three men, or fifty of them will die each night that you are still around here."

"Is that a threat?" Maels asked hesitantly.

"It is a promise. Now leave." the Nasty One said. Suddenly Maels shouted something and no less that thirty arrows were aimed and fired directly at the Nasty One, who seemed to be unmoving. Many shouted but they were all surprised as they heard the enormous gasp from the people outside the gates as the Nasty One still stood there, unblinking, holding thirty arrows in his hands.

"It is a nice offer, but I do not use bows. Now leave."

And with that he descended.

"I am no longer surprised that he could catch all those arrows." Sir Michael said to one of his pupils, watching the tall man leave. "But how could he have counted them so fast?"

"So he coldly comes up and tells us to leave. Now who does he think he is, and, what is more, who is he?"

"As I told you, a master of a certain type of magic called Body Life Magic. They fear nobody except themselves and are said to be capable of massive onslaught."

"So he can make true of his threats?"

"I am not sure. But I think it is wisest to strike right now, before they can organise a good defence. After all, that is what an attack is all about. When you will really lay calm siege on this town they may be able to call upon others in the knighthood, as there are more towns in this area that are ruled by the knighthood. I speak of Wainthar, Gunwed, Castalon, Sword Peaks, Mergrith and Nuythas, all towns within a few days reach of this town."

"So many? You should have told me in the first place, man! And I see sorcerers there, if my eyes do not betray me."

"You are right. But do not worry about them, I will take care of those."

"Then I will give the command to attack at once."

"Finally a wise decision." the sorcerer said with a satisfied smile on my face. "Oh, only one more thing."

"Coming right up." Maels said, ordering a servant to bring some more of the notorious fire ale.

"We need you in defending this town, Nasty One. If your count is accurate they will outnumber us approximately four to one."

"My count is precise, unless the sorcerer is there, too. Then there are nine hundred and twenty-four. But you can hold the battlements and I think that trained knights should be able to defend the walls against some ruffians."

"So you will not help us?" the king-knight asked. The reports from Sir Michael had indicated that one could talk to this man, if it were only on a fighter's base.

"Hail! The knighthood has brought an army upon our town! They will not listen to the marauders who demand only the stranger who has raised their ire!" came a sudden voice from within the walls.

"The politicians. I feared as much. They will try everything to attack us." the king-knight sighed.

"I know. Even if it takes employing an army of marauders, as they put it."

"You mean they have caused this?"

"I have strong suspicions about them. I have had a few small confrontations with them as you will undoubtedly have heard from your spies. They did hire the sorcerer who is probably with these men, and one thing leads to another."

"What makes you think the sorcerer is there in the first place while you have not detected his presence?"

"It is only logical to assume. The sorcerer leaves and out of nowhere they come. Looks like the sorcerer told that Gaudy One that I had killed that small band, so to hear part of his large mob. So he aroused their anger on purpose, maybe even suggested that they should lay siege on this town."

"It makes sense, indeed. Maybe you should ask the sorcerers to seek him out." Jon suggested.

"What is that there?"

"The sign to attack. Wait, I will deal with this in a minute." the Nasty One said calmly. He climbed onto the battlements again, for all the attackers to see. Remembering full well how the man had caught thirty arrows shot at him at the same time they halted in hesitation and watched in awe as the man raised his arms to the sky, then put his hands together in front of him. Around his hands, a concentration of blue energy started to shape itself into a large ball of light blue fire and with a roar he let go of it, pushing it just in front of the attackers. This caused a large explosion which blew up the first lines and made a large pit in the ground where it had struck, soil raining down on the men.

The men suddenly retreated in haste, fear of this man in their eyes. And not even master Maels could encourage them now, promising the heaviest punishments for deserters.

"We cannot fight this man, master Maels. He kills without thought and with powers we have never seen." his second man said.

"Crap! Charge! I command this!"

"We have to wait, master Maels. Even the Nasty One should need sleep. We should strike at night."

"And what about his promise to strike at night?" Desiderius sneered.

"We hope we can prevent this. We will stay on guard, on the double or triple."

"Here goes a big army, retreating for one man." the sorcerer's mocking voice continued.

"Then you stop him, in the name of the gods!"

"I have not the power to deal with him."

"Neither have we!"

"It is your brother." the sorcerer shrugged.

"We need you to seek out the Drunk One. We have reason to believe he is behind all this." the Nasty One said matter-of-factly to the two sorcerers.

"We believe this, too, but have been unable to detect him. But we did detect spells of warding around one tent."

"Which one? The one with the gaudy banners?"

"Aye, that one."

"I will check out on that one. Right back. I am going to end this for once and for all. Where is the Royal One?"

"I am right here, Nasty One." the king-knight said in a voice of respect, as he had learned the Nasty One liked that.

"As for your small game of politics, you can arrest the politicians if you want. They are behind this, now that we know the sorcerer they hired is there. And of course for the fake propaganda you just heard."

"What are you going to do then?"

"Just watch, if you can."

The attackers were still outside, standing, awaiting new commands. They would certainly not charge again as long as that man was in sight but they would not retreat to their camps. Slowly they started to move the siege towers but they knew that would not work here.

"Oh Nasty One, can you do aught else but kill?" Griwalda asked.

"Now why that?"

"You could keep Desiderius alive, for there are some people who have questions."

"Is he the right one for that? Ever tried to question a sorcerer?"

"We have little choice. That Maels, the Gaudy One, is a man who would really rather die than talk and we have to build some evidence against the politicians."

"Is it not that you still owe this Drunk One?"

"Not after what he has done to me."

"Is it not that men of the will can free themselves from imprisonment?"

"Aye, unless we can create a field of anti-magic, like the one Methahon put on the room I was being held in."

"I will see if there is a chance to keep him alive. I cannot guarantee you this, however."

And with that the Nasty One closed his eyes to deepen his concentration. Everybody stepped back for they felt the power surging into his body. The now-familiar glow returned but with an intensity they had never seen before. Now the Nasty One seemed not only to be surrounded by the blue fire, but he seemed to be ablaze. He even seemed to struggle to retain control of it and then suddenly they all turned away from the sight as the Nasty One was changing into a grotesque monster, a shape that seemed to come right out of his body even though it was twenty times bigger than the man himself had been.

"He told me about it once. It is called the Inner Dragon, the single most powerful action one can undertake. It multiplies his attacking strength a hundredfold to even a thousandfold. We should seek shelter." Jon warned.

"I am not going to miss one second of this." Sir Michael shook his head. The others were also still standing. The crowd below shrieked in panic as the dragon dove down and released a beam of energy that was indeed so many times more powerful than the small blow he had dealt earlier. The foundations of the houses in the town shook violently, trees snapped like so many dead twigs, the grass was scorched in mere seconds as the fire hit the ground. The blow took many lives and splintered the mighty siege engines with ease. The blue dragon attacked again with ferocity. People fled in terror as the merciless creature from their nightmares swooped over again, taking many lives each time with blasts of unknown origin.

Surprisingly, the well-guarded tent still stood.

"This be not a man, this be a monster!" a man yelled outside before perishing in the flames. Maels felt his blood crawling from under his skin as he heard the shrieks of death outside. Desiderius took a nonchalant gulp from his flagon of fire ale.

"Everything is destroyed except this tent upon which I laid protection. Nothing can happen here else we would have been long dead. We will wait the storm."

"And then what? I have good reason to believe all my men are dead or horribly wounded!"

"So what? Well, we failed, that's all. At least we are alive."

"And that is all there is. This expedition has cost me close to everything I had."

"Except for the fact that you no longer need to pay anyone and that all the treasure is yours."

"That is indeed a fact. Unless you intend on double-crossing me." Maels said, looking at the drunk sorcerer with suspicion. "Now you think I need your lousy money? Well, as a matter of fact I could use some. You suggest I dispose of you? You give me a nice plan, Maels. With your men gone, there is nobody to stop me."

Maels suddenly drew a dagger and threw it in one fluid motion. Moments before it struck the unprepared sorcerer he saw the green liquid on the tip. Poison! With hatred in his eyes the sorcerer took a last gulp and pointed at Maels who suddenly stiffened and dropped dead. Raising his flagon to his mouth, the sorcerer found himself unable to breathe and died, holding on to the flagon of fire ale even in death. Just then, the tent flap opened and a tall man shook his head with a smile.

"But do not blame me, I did everything I could to keep you alive."

Still shaking his head, he started searching through the chests of treasury to claim his part: all of it.

"So we have nobody to question. You killed them all... in five minutes or so." the king-knight said, awe in his voice as he overlooked the mass of bodies and scorched lands.

"It is not even that unusual." the Nasty One said.

The king-knight looked up in horror as he heard the indifference in the big man's voice.

"Still publication of what we know will be enough to end the plotting of the politicians. This time we have them."

"Little it matters to me."

"I know, but for us it is important. Is it all over now?"

"It should be. But there is a more important task, the description of which I cannot give you. I will be leaving town tomorrow, together with my companions. And we will not be back for some time, if ever."

"Then what should we do with your apartment? You paid for five months."

"Then leave it as it is for the next five months. If you have not heard from either one of us in that time it is safe to say that I will not be returning. My life is one of constant travel."

"I understand. From one massacre to another."

"Most of the time, aye. I came here trying to avoid things like that but to no avail, as usual."

"In case something happens, is there a possibility we can contact you?"

"I think not. But I will keep a small eye on this town now and then, and if anything happens I will notice. And with me I have a man who has lived in this town for long years, they will want to stay in touch with what happens here."

"So it is the same procedure again. You kill and leave."

"With one difference. This time I do not go alone."

"And is that important?"

"Could be. Time will tell."

While the many knights were busy to clean up the mess, building large pyres and mass-graves for the fallen outlaws, the Nasty One started packing. Calmly he packed his bag and crammed his many belongings in it.

"You would not want a horse to pack? During your short stay you made a lot of money."

"I will get even more. I have found information about this band of outlaws, and I know where their vault is. It will be filled with road taxes, and I think the treasure will be immeasurable."

"What do you do with all that money then? It will be enough to start a kingdom of your own would you be interested in that. I know, you are not." Jon said.

"I donate most of it to charity. The church collects money to help the poor. And though most of the clergy is as corrupt as the politicians I happen to know some really good priests who do everything to help the poor."

"If all your adventures are so filled with gaining riches there must be few poor people left." Sir Michael regarded.

"True enough, but it is difficult to fight poverty. The rich keep people poor on purpose, to get themselves even richer."

"Do you also donate to the knighthood?"

"To this band of corrupt semi-politicians so that they can pay their spies? No way."

"Just a thought. The knighthood has its good sides. And I think that the king-knight may have learned a harsh lesson here. Now he will understand what playing too much with politics can lead to."

"So far he was the luckiest. I did not kill him, he did not have to pay me anything and he even did not have to pay the Wise One."

"Money is not everything." Sir Michael said softly.

"It is the only thing." grinned Jon.

"I am going to miss this town." he said then.

"The inn, the gossip, the politics... "

"I did not demand that you go with us, it was just a question."

"Fair enough, but I would not want to miss anything. I think it can work out perfectly. As we know, we have all been loners and being with friends can only be good."

"Though I will not have much time now I am a dedicated woman of the will. I need much time for my studies, especially for the initial studies about controlling the power I now possess."

"Could you still use the powers from that Desiderius?"

"I would never want his powers. Apart from the fact that I owed a bit to him, his energy is perverted by alcohol and would I absorb that I may also start to need liquor to control it well."

"As a matter of fact, Desiderius took the drinks because he could not control the powers he had acquired. He drank to dim the powers within him, to make everything looking a bit more rudimentary. This way he could think of powerful spells as being simple ones and though it is a rare and dangerous way, he could deal with it quite well. It is everything but advisable, though." Antharion spoke.

"I will not take to drinking, thank you. It would have been difficult with an anti-alcohol man such as the Nasty One."

"That, too. But you have seen what kind of a man he has become. He was a disgrace for all who control the will."

"Certainly. Though in his own way he was a genius. A perverted one but a genius nonetheless."

"I will not deny it, though I hope he has not set an example for anybody."

"I have my obligation here, in the knighthood. It is really a pity I cannot come with you." Sir Michael said.

"Do not worry, we will know where to find you should we need you."

"Not much need of an old fighter when the Nasty One is there."

"True, Sir Michael, but I was talking more about a friend than about a man of the sword."

"And I thank you for that, lady Griwalda. Be certain that your new tower will be visited by me if you allow me."

"Any time, Sir Michael." the sorceress said with dignity.

"I will be leaving then, I bid you all farewell."

With this, the knight brandished his sword in salute and turned his heels.

"You do not have many belongings here, Griwalda." Antharion noticed as the woman packed her small knapsack.

"I did not come here with intentions to stay long. I have been tracing the Nasty One to thank him for saving me from Methahon and to get to know him a bit better. And now that I do I do not regret it, however frightening he may be some times."

"As long as nobody gives me reason to, I am not frightening." he objected.

"Says a man who just slaughtered over nine hundred in a few minutes time, a man who can turn into a dragon of light."

Jon said with a grin.

"The inner dragon is not something I like to use, yet I thought it was better at this time. I have given them all the warnings, all the opportunities to flee and live. They chose to stay and fight, and I thought the inner dragon was the quickest and least painful way to deal death here."

"I can imagine that. But that beam... does that all come from your body?"

"Aye. It is the reason I am very tired now. It is all my own life energy that I throw at them. I must rest for some time now."

"I guess you are able to fire only one blast like that in some days."

"One day, to be exact. My training allows me to rest deeper than normal people. That is also why I only need a few hours of sleep where a healthy human needs eight hours. Only this way can I regain enough life energy to do it again if need be in one day. I am, however, still able to do some lesser actions."

"Still? Then you did not fire all your energy into that beam?"

"Of course not, this was just a fraction of it. I hold more even, and I know how to concentrate the power so I need to use less than normal. And it has been some time ago already so I already restored some energy."

"Impressive. If I would unleash that much power by the will it would take me weeks to recover, if I can even do this in one time."

"It would surprise me if you could. It takes a good body to host a good soul or a strong will. And sorcerers are usually quite skinny."

"So you mean that with a stronger body one can host more power? This goes against all theories of sorcery." Antharion said, looking up in surprise.

"It is perfectly logical, though. It is the base of my class. A fit mind in a fit body. You cannot cast your spells well when you are already exhausted."

"True enough."

"And that is temporary fitness, the fitness of a day. This way sorcerers who are in a bad condition can cast less spells than totally fit ones."

"It all makes sense. Problem is that a fit sorcerer will be less powerful as it takes a lot of time to stay fit. While we need this time already for our studies which give us our real powers. We keep only our mind fit, by study and meditation."

"It is easier to meditate when in a good physical shape."

"Is it? I have never heard of that."

"You should really shape up and try. It works."

"There is a world of difference between our skills, Nasty One, but there are similarities."

"Of course. We both draw the strength from our bodies. Only you draw it from the will and I draw it from the soul."

"Where do you draw the line?" Griwalda asked.

"Now that is something you should have known as it is elementary. The will is something you can control from day to day, something you can strengthen temporarily. The soul needs a process of pure cleansing before it can be used but when it is used, it is always there for you while you must struggle to get your will doing what you need of it."

"But how can you have a purged soul when killing so damn much? It is hard to imagine." Jon said.

"It is the training that comes with it. These people have never really meant anything to me. I knew that they were coming, as in my soul I saw beetles and bugs trying to sneak in. And that is how I crushed them, like bugs."

"Ah, now I understand why you said that. So it would hurt you more than when you would kill or hurt somebody you did know or even felt affection for?"

The Nasty One nodded silently.

"And then? Then you play the bagpipe?"

"In a case as heavy as that, the bagpipe, which is really an instrument to relieve the soul, not to purge it, is only the first preparation. Then I must reach the state of pure nothingness, to bathe in a blankness not known to others, who are not trained in the Body Life magic."

"A procedure difficult to understand and for us seemingly impossible to learn." Antharion said.

"I am all set. We will leave tomorrow at dawn, right?"

"Fine with me." the Nasty One said and lay down on his bed, realising it had been only the second time he had lain there since the sorceress had occupied the bed the other times.

It was early when the five horses left the town. To their surprise they saw a row of knights waiting for them at the gates. Immediately they saw Sir Michael, the king-knight and the other members of the Assembly and understood it was a line of honour. The knights all saluted when they rode by and they rode by slowly, bringing silent salutes to Sir Michael and the king-knight.

"What is this all for?"

"Probably for defeating the enemies that laid siege upon the town. But then again, they would never have come if it weren't for you so that does not matter much. But of course you also rid the town of the secret power of the politicians, and I know the king-knight will be very grateful for that as they constantly plotted to undermine his authority."

"The knights have been not much better. Through some other ways that show similarities they have also tried to gain me for their side. The prime minister approached you with means of fake friendship, the Calm One is sent by the knights but came with real friendship. The politicians hire a sorcerer first to help me but then to destroy me and the knights also want to hire a sorcerer, but fortunately they get a wise one rather than that Drunk One. It all comes down to the same thing: they want to use my powers to get rid of each other. It is just that the knights made some better choices but now they know that only I decide where I stand and I will not be influenced, by anybody."

He took one more look at the town where he had brought some turbulence and then spurred his horse. Even though his horse was packed the most, they had trouble following him as the animal was almost as fit as its master.

"Why in such a hurry? Eager to leave that town?" Antharion asked, amused.

"I hate delay on the road."

"We could have used other means to get there, if you are really in a hurry."

"Of course not, I have my horse and I will not abandon it. It has served me well for three years."

"It looks indeed as fit as one might expect when such a fit man has been its master for years. The animal is fit and fast, and I do not doubt that it has an excellent condition." said Jon, observing the animal.

"But can it also turn itself into a dragon?"

All laughed loudly. Then suddenly the Nasty One rose his hand and they all silenced. Automatically the horses stopped, and they watched as the animals sniffed in the air, pointing their ears backwards.

"What is it?"

"Boars. A whole herd of them coming from there." he pointed in the direction they were headed.

"Any chance of crossing them?"

"Aye, a big one."

"What are we going to do? Slay them?"

"That will probably not be needed. It is senseless to kill more animals than you need to eat."

"So easy with killing hundreds of men and then so social with wildlife?"

"Why not? They do not threaten us, at least not as dangerously as men would."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"There they are." he pointed and descended.

In a commanding stance he waited for the boars, nine in total as was usual for their packs. They came to a dead halt when they saw the man standing on the road. The leader of the pack trotted over to the Nasty One where he stared at him with pitch black eyes. This went on for three minutes, then the boar snorted and turned around. With a horrible sound he communicated with the others and then the beasts ran on, curving around the party.

"How did you do that?" Griwalda asked.

"It is what you or the Wise One could have done. A mere contest of wills. You only need the courage to stand in front of them, as they feed on fear. Some of these wild boars have even been known as man-eaters."

"You know a lot about the woods and its inhabitants."

"Of course, it is where I have lived all my life."

"We will be there in a few days. I am looking forward to actually install myself in my new tower - our new tower, I should say, for it would have never been mine if it were not for you."

"Fine with me. I will take the biggest sleeping room." the Nasty One said with a rare grin.

The three of them were sitting in what they had decorated as the living room: a room richly furnitured with soft sofas and luxurious chairs.

"So I bought you the weight set, Short One, but why did you want it?"

"I have thought long about what you have told us about physical training. Though I may be short, I believe that strength is not one of your training's main points, neither is height."

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"Right. And so I decided to work a bit on my condition. I did not want the weight set to really grow stronger, but my muscles are now tired after some light work and that is not the way it is supposed to be, I guess."

"You are right. You would become my pupil then? You know I do not take pupils."

"I am not talking about Body Life magic, Nasty One. I would not become a man who has to kill his teacher in the end. Your ways are a bit too cruel for me. But there is nothing wrong with shaping up."

The Nasty One looked at the short man with his sleek dark hair falling on his shoulders and those penetrating light blue eyes, always looking around curiously, hoping to pick up something new. More a thief than a warrior, the Nasty One thought with a smile. But he saw that even the Short One had changed. Gone was the cheerful sparkle in the man's eyes. Gone the curl of joy in the corners of his mouth. Aye, the Short One had learned a harsh lesson from the various encounters in the small town. And he had even not changed like the woman, who was now suddenly very powerful. But she had had little time to relax for the past few weeks had been weeks of hard study to deal with the powers she had obtained, the powers of one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world. It had not been easy to control her newfound strength but the Wise One had helped her through patiently. She had drawn the strength to continue from both the Wise One and the Nasty One, who realised she saw him not only as a friend or even lover but also as an example when it came to persistence. He also helped her with some physical training for exhaustion would bring a better condition and she would be the first one to learn to combine sorcery with a good physique.

He himself also had a lot to do. There was this book the Wise One had found in this tower, the one he had taken from the sorcerer when he was still alive. The book told a lot about men like himself, about the origins of the bracelet and much more. Then the Wise One had brought him a book about Body Life magic, an ancient book that required great care else the pages would crumble. The language it was written in was difficult to decipher but this gave him a great insight in his class. This book contained more information than even his master could have given him and he was determined to memorise the whole book before putting it away. Then he suddenly found something in the book and frowned.

"The Lost Move?" he asked aloud.

"What lost move?"asked Jon.

"That is what I am trying to discover. The book writes about the Lost Move, the move that has not been taught for long years. It seems to equal the Inner Dragon in power while it does not take half as much energy from the performer. The bad thing about it is that it is twice as dangerous."

"What danger is there then?"

"Well, you can understand that when performing the Inner Dragon, there is a danger. After all, I do nothing else than to set myself ablaze with the power that is normally within my body. The power unleashed is then wild and free and must be mastered before it can be used. Mastering the power is more difficult than it seems, as it is in fact nothing more than raw strength that has been released from the body that used to control it. It must be controlled again, outside the body, and there is the chance that it will not be mastered and backfire in the struggle."

"I am not sure I understand all this but what you are trying to say is that you can be killed by your own inner strength that you have brought out."

"Exactly."

"Sounds dangerous, indeed. A bit like pushing the will in order to cast a spell. When you miscast a spell the results are equally dangerous."

"Aye. And though few ever do it, it is possible to retire from sorcery.There is no retiring from Body Life magic as the energy burns within the body."

"Are you finally at ease now?" Jon asked.

"As much as I will ever be, I guess. The town was just too mixed up in its own affairs, and many there were. It was only logical that problems would follow me there. But here in this confined tower I think there must be a way to rest undisturbed."

"And what do you do then? You are obviously used to... to do something! Just sitting lazily seems to be nothing for you."

"True enough, but resting is important, something one should not neglect. You owe it to the body that serves you so well, I always say."

"But then, what will you do? You and Antharion will guide her until she has full control over her newfound skills and power, and what then?"

"I hate to plan things for the far future, as there has always been something that came in between."

"I understand. So now you wait until something happens, then you will go into action again."

"And do not forget that I have something to do right now. I must be there when she studies her new powers."

"You are not a sorcerer, then what can you do?"

"As you know, sorcery is a way of the will. And while I cannot control sorcery, I can influence the will. When her will runs out of hand, I can be there to correct her."

"And what about Antharion then?"

"He is more involved when the actual learning process starts because he is a man of the will. But the man also has a difficult task, as he is trying to learn the woman more than he himself knows. She will grow to be more powerful than he is, and for the Wise One this is difficult. After all, how can one teach another more than he knows himself? Yet this is the task that is bestowed upon the Wise One."

"Speaking of whom, where is he now?"

"Waiting for you in the casting chamber."

"How do you... ah, I will never understand that. I will go to him then. Are you also coming?"

"I will be there when I am needed."

Griwalda left the room in a steady pace, looking calmly from the outside but the Nasty One could see right through that and saw how nervous she was. He had not bothered to tell her she was getting a bit too nervous to control the powers she now possessed but when she would need them he would be there, knowing exactly what to do.

He looked around and saw that the Short One was sitting in the chair, his eyes closed, trying to concentrate.

As one who could feel concentration at once he smiled and clapped in his hands. The locksmith jumped and opened his eyes.

"Not that way. Just the way you sit is very wrong. It is not comfortable enough, you are trying to force it."

"Force it? Should I relax more then?" Jon asked.

"No, that is not possible in this position. What would happen if you would fall asleep in this position?"

"I would have a heck of a pain in the muscles when I wake up. I get your point. It must be a position I can sleep in. But I saw you sit in this position as well and you seem to be fine in it."

"That is because my physique is a bit different. Apart from my strength and all, I am a good two heads taller than you are and my limbs are also taller. That is why I can sit well in that position. You should try to separate your legs a bit more, bend the knees a bit less. Put your feet like this underneath your knees and relax. It is not a natural position now but you will learn it to be natural."

"I guess so. So like this? It hurts a little."

"Of course, I told you it would not feel natural right now. You will get used to it."

"And now? Close my eyes?"

"No, that is not needed now. Just look at that small column there. Focus on it, stare if needed."

Slowly Jon started to concentrate and the Nasty One felt it deepen and deepen.

"Not bad for a first time." he murmured to himself.

Then suddenly Antharion came down.

"Nasty One, could you stop your exercise? Your concentration is penetrating the walls and disturbing ours."

"I... it is not me, as you see. It is him."

"Mister Man? Then does he have concealed powers?"

"I do not know. This is the first time I see him trying to concentrate. Or feel him, I should say. He is able to do it very well, though. What this means I cannot say."

"It is well possible that he has the potential to become one of us."

"Or of us, for that matter. It is something I would find out."

"But you do not take pupils, you say."

"And with a good reason. Of all people, I would not want to engage him in a fight to the death after I had taught him everything."

"Maybe then our ways should be better for him."

"That is not true. You cannot say it is better for him only. It would be best for the two of us, because we can both stay alive this way."

"It may not be what he wants, though. He must decide himself."

"Not all options are open. It is obvious that he wants to become one like me. He is trying to concentrate plus he is working on his physique."

"But that could also be because you explained that things can go better with a good physique."

"Also possible, but learning to concentrate is something we do first, while you first do other things, like learning how to read runes. He has never attempted to read runes, as far as I know."

"So you think he is trying to be a master of Body Life magic?"

"I am not sure. He might just be trying to improve his own abilities and he considers my ways a handy help."

"This is an interesting case. Would we find out more about this?"

"He knows I do not take pupils and as I know no other master there is no way he can learn our ways. For now I see no need to find out what he wants. When one has a problem one must first try to solve it himself."

"True enough. I will go back upstairs, Griwalda is waiting for me. Could you wake him from his concentration?"

"Easy enough."

Antharion left and the Nasty One clapped in his hands again.

And no matter how deep one's concentration could be, the Nasty One knew how to break it with a simple clap in his hands. Naturally, it was more than a normal hand clap, known only to ones like himself and mind manipulators.

"Not good?" Jon asked, not realising he had been in a deep trance for fifteen minutes.

"Surprisingly good. Shocking good, I should say. The Wise One even came down telling me to stop concentrating because it was disturbing their concentration."

"And I... did all this?"

"Aye. Had you focused your will on something I am afraid it would have happened."

"Is this then... a talent? Something I have had in me all the time?"

"Possibly. After all, your trade is one that requires a lot of concentration, both in installing locks and picking them. You also need keen senses, especially when you want to check if locks are trapped or something."

"Right, I needed that when I took on that trapped chest in the casting chamber. It was close to impossible but I did it nonetheless."

"And well. None of the contents were destroyed."

Jon looked proud, compliments from the Nasty One were sparse. "But why are you trying to concentrate now? Do you want to become a sorcerer, or a master in Body Life magic?"

"Not for now, I know you don't take pupils. But I am only trying to become better in everything, and you explained a few times how physical training and the ability to concentrate can enhance your skills."

"True enough. But the way you could deepen your concentration really impressed me."

"Well, when they are not busy up there I can try it again."

"You should try. It cannot hurt. Now I must continue with this book. That man had a lot of information about me and my class, I did not know there was so much documentation about it and I have discovered some new things - or rather forgotten things, I should say."

"So you even have something for yourself, instead of just helping out others."

"Finally something I deserve, indeed."

Jon looked as the Nasty One's eyes went to the pages again.

Then he walked at the window and looked outside. Free of the curse, he had found life a bit different. Where he should have been less concerned with the world around him because he could not hurt anybody by hurting himself, his concern grew daily and he wished there was something he could do to help. But apart from the many locks in the tower that he had picked when they had raided it these individuals did not really need him. He was used to being the news and gossip source in the town, but these people did not care for gossip nor was there anybody to gossip about.

So he had decided that he would measure up to his friends one way or the other. He counted them as his friends and he wanted to be more than a burden to them. And he did not aspire to learn the ways of the Body Life magic nor would he become a sorcerer. He was thinking of ways to be of use to his friends in a way they did not master themselves.

Then suddenly he knew it. With a smile on his face he turned around and relaxed in the chair he had declared his.

"I am glad that man has left now. He caused a lot of commotion here."

"But he also rid us of the politicians for once and for all. And of Binor's gang. We rule undisputed now."

"That is true beyond doubt, Sir Michael. Do you think he will ever return?"

The knight who had been installed as an Assembly member because of his efforts shook his head.

"I do not think so. He left with the woman and the man, even with the sorcerer you invited, to that tower and I think he will make that his habitat for a while at least. From what we have learned from him he is used to travelling around." Suddenly there was a lot of commotion downstairs and the lords all rose, swords drawn. Then the door banged open and a towering figure appeared in the doorway. Behind him they could see the terribly mutilated bodies of the guards.

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"Who do I want, is the proper question. I want the Nasty One. I know he is here. Give him to me or follow your men in death."

"Now who are you to make threats like that?" the king-knight demanded haughtily but then he saw the dark blue insignia on the man's black armour that looked all too familiar, even as this sign cast more darkness around the man as the Nasty One's which had been light.

"Names matter little to me."

"Oh no, not another one!" Sir Benjamin groaned.

"Aye, I am a master of Body Life magic. Like the Nasty One, so now I know you know him. Like you know how little I care about life and death. So, where is he?"

"He left a few weeks ago, together with two sorcerers and a locksmith. He would travel to parts unknown with them."

"You are lying, man! And I hate it when people lie to me."

"The tower! He went to a tower that belonged to a sorcerer he killed! The sorcerer was called Miroan." Sir Michael tried to save himself desperately.

But it was too late, the man started glowing a bright orange and the onslaught had begun.

"I will teach the people in this town to mess with me!" the man shouted.

As the aura of death became so intense it was almost visible to everybody, fear crept into the hearts of the people in the small town. They fled in panic as death would come swiftly to those who tarried.

Suddenly the Nasty One rose in alarm.

"I must go." was all he said and then he was gone.

"What...?" was all Griwalda could say. Then Jon also rose.

"Vintel. It is burning."

"How do you know?"

"I can sense it. Something has happened. And Nasty is going to find out what. But I fear the worst."

"We must follow him, then." Antharion said and he started concentrating.

"Wait, take me with you!" Jon shouted but he saw Griwalda nodding and soon they were all there.

And it was as they feared: the town was burning.

They found themselves bathing in blood, not one building was standing. Even the powerful fort that had harboured the Knights' Assembly had fallen. Bodies were everywhere, and not one living being could be spotted.

"Vernon! No!" Jon shouted as he saw the body of a man he had known for some time.

"And even Little Bert! No, who could have done such a thing! William Rat, the innkeeper of the Goblins Inn! And dear Ianna! The whole inn is downed!"

Jon cried over the bodies of the people he had known, and the sorcerers stood indecisively. Then they found one lone man, standing atop the ruins of the fort. "Nasty One!" Griwalda shouted and ran at him.

Automatically she flung into his arms, weeping in shock. The Nasty One, not used to physical contact, just held her close and tried to comfort her. Then he slowly pointed down. "One alive. Barely, but alive. There. Oh no, Calm One!"

He lifted some heavy boulders effortlessly, lifting only the ones that covered the barely moving body of Sir Michael.

"Calm One, what happened?"

"The Dark Body happened." was all the knight could say in a harsh, rasping breath. "He came...for you...and then he..." the knight gurgled and then his eyes started into nothing as he died.

"No, not Sir Michael!" Griwalda cried, still clinging to the Nasty One's body, feeling the heat radiating through the coat of arms and the black leather.

"Aye, also Sir Michael. And as far as I can see he hung in the longest, as he saw it as his last duty to inform us. He stayed alive just to tell us." the Nasty One said, his head bowed in respect for the dead.

"The Dark Body? What Dark Body?"

"I told him once, though he cannot have known everything. The Dark Body I did not finish off. But it can also be another Dark Body, since I do not know how many are alive."

"A Dark Body... wiped out this entire town?"

"The Calm One said he came for me, and he reacted when they did or did not tell him where I was."

They both kept silent for some time, and the only sounds heard were the bitter cries of Jon, who discovered more and more bodies of people he had known all his life.

"You know, when I first came into this town I said I would not give a damn when this whole town got wiped out. And now it actually has been."

"And you do give a damn, is that what you are trying to say?"

"I grieve for the Calm One, and that Royal One was not the worst man in town, either."

"Then you have learned compassion, though you paid a bitter price for it."

"Always. Every time I learn something there is a price to pay for it, and never has it been sweet."

Now she could hear a tremor in the voice she had never heard quavering before.

"You need not hide your emotions for me, Nasty One, if for anyone." she said though she could barely hide her own emotions of shock and disgust seeing the massacre that was even more appalling to her than the field of brigands that had fallen at the hands of the man she held in her arms now.

She looked into his eyes and saw him looking in the distance with a look of steel. Not a hint of tears was there, though she would have expected those now more than ever.

No, a highly emotional one he would never become, but though he did not show it, this upset him greatly.

"What to do now?" she wondered silently.

"First I must bury this town. I do not know if anybody told the Dark Body where I was. He is not lurking in the distance to see if I have come here, I would have sensed that. How did you know anyway that I was here?"

"Jon told us so. He told us Vintel was burning."

"That explains much."

"What does it explain then?"

"Later. You go back home and take the other two with you. I must bury this town, as I said, and then I will try to come back home as well, though I cannot say for sure that I am coming home as there is no way to tell when the Dark Body will show up. Not even the Short One can tell. Oh, and do your best to comfort him, it is important that he gets no nervous breakdown since he has a newly developed skill that requires his full concentration. Put him to sleep with your will if needed. He needs a healing rest though it will also be possible that he gets feverish nightmares then. Calm him down any way you can. Go now." he instructed.

She nodded hesitantly and moved away from his arms, slowly letting go of him but seeing the impatience in his eyes now.

When the other three were gone the Nasty One started concentrating again, levitating into the air. With slow moves of his hands he spread his energy over the remains of the town. Then the ground started shaking in an area that included the town but not much ground outside it and slowly it started sinking into the ground which covered it at once. The tremors lasted and when the Nasty One was finished there was empty plain ground where the small but proud town of Vintel had once stood.

"Rest well and quiet, town." he said softly and then he turned around. He scanned the area but did not find any sign of human life, nor did he detect the presence of the Dark Body that he expected. Then he suddenly raised his finger in thought. "What if they told him where I was? They are in great danger!"

And immediately he started concentrating again to teleport himself away, back to the tower.

"How is he now?" he asked, standing over the sleeping body of the locksmith.

"He rests, but uneasily." Griwalda said.

"Then I need to work on him." the Nasty One said and soon he started to glow the now well-known blue radiance. With the palm of his left hand he moved over the head of the man, spreading the radiance over his head.

"What are you doing?"

"It is what you should call a spell of calm. I have my own way to accomplish that."

"Something like the bagpipe."

"That is mainly for myself, and it would not help him while asleep. No, this is the only thing I can do for him."

"What about those newly developed skills you were talking about?"

"He really amazes me. Already we knew that he was able to deepen his concentration like one of our kinds. And he knew he could not become a master of Body Life magic as I would not teach him, he did not want to become a sorcerer as you are one and so is the Wise One, even though he will leave when he is finished. So he sought to use his ability to concentrate for other ends and he found one. He could be considered a seer."

"Jon Man, clairvoyant?" Griwalda asked, not believing what the Nasty One was telling her.

"Aye. Of course this is also one of the side effects one can have when in a trance and now he knows how to get into a trance quite easily. But not like me or you, but in one of his trances he found the ability to see things. There have been times when he went into a trance for a long time and I suppose he was seeing things then. And you told me he could tell you exactly what was going on. If he can only see things as they happen, or if he is prescient as well, I cannot tell. We should ask when he awakes, though that will not be for some time."

"Is he hurt then or is it only mentally?"

"Definitely mentally, I cannot tell about any other damage he has taken seeing so much death. But being shaken this bad can harm his new sight, and if that is so he will be shaken even more because he has developed this skill only to be of use to us, and if that would be taken away from him he will see himself as a cipher again. And more than one man has got a trauma from considering himself a good-for-nothing."

"I know that. It is the reason I started to learn sorcery." "It is the reason why almost everybody starts to learn something."

"With almost everybody I guess you mean excluding yourself." "Do not forget I had no choice in the matter, it was my master who decided I should learn his ways."

"And do you regret this?"

"I don't know. I have been on dangerous roads but that is because I choose the roads I walk to be dangerous. I do not know life like a standard peasant, living happily with wife and children. They seem to enjoy their life as I enjoy mine. Aye, I enjoy life, as hard and bitter as it may be. This is the life I have lived for so long, I would be bored to death playing peasant."

"I did not say you should become a peasant." Griwalda smiled.

"But I could not be satisfied living like you. I mean, you tell me you learned sorcery to be something, and now you are a great and powerful sorceress. And if not, you will be soon. But you got your power through luck, not because you worked so hard for it."

"I see what you mean. But I must work hard to control all the powers, and you know that."

"Of course, I do not want to discourage you."

"Then do you not take with you the wisdom and knowledge of people you killed?"

"Of course, if possible. But you did not kill the sorcerer."

"It cannot be turned back now, so we will have to live with it." she grinned and the Nasty One nodded. "This Dark Body... you say that you are the only one who is immune to sorcery with this bracelet. So if I should see him I should have a chance to kill him?"

"Maybe. But remember he is powerful and fast. Do not forget the speed we possess."

"Of course. But while you distract him, in the middle of a fight, I could intervene and kill him when I catch him off-guard?"

"It is nothing I would like."

"Oh, forget about the warrior's code! I know you have a score to settle with this man, but do not forget we all want to avenge the death of Sir Michael. And lots of others when talking about Jon. You saw his foresight but maybe he can do more with that trance of his."

"Well possible. He might be a psychokinetic."

"You want this Dark Body, Nasty One. But we all want him, do not forget that."

The Nasty One nodded slowly, swallowing his objections.

"By the way, would you die the Dark Body would take the bracelet. And you said it may never fall into the hands of a Dark Body. You said a master would then give it to another master should he suspect that a pupil might turn dark. But then again, you said that it cannot be taken from a living body because it would cause an explosion then. How about that?"

"Extreme circumstances. It requires some special rituals, and it does not go without danger."

"Then what if a master dies at the hands of a Dark Body?"

"Would be a great danger but there is a way the other masters get a hint of this and they have the obligation to chase down the Dark Body and kill him to reclaim the key. So the Dark Body who would take it and use it would be doomed." "Then who provides this information?" she asked but at the same moment she knew.

"The Ultimate One. He appears to masters sometimes, if things go dire."

"How many times has he appeared to you?"

"Never. But the key has always been in my possession after my master died. And if he had, I would not have told you, as we are forbidden to talk about it."

"Are you also forbidden to talk about him?"

"Not the general stuff. Would we know secret stuff about him we would indeed be forbidden to talk about it, especially to outsiders."

"I understand. Will you look after him? I must return to my studies."

"Do not worry, he will be safe. You will be called when needed but I doubt if that this will be something I cannot handle."

With a nod the woman left to meet Antharion who had not spoken a word since they had left for the destroyed town. But they knew he had absorbed everything with a shock and he had his own problems and he handled them his own way. They knew he was powerful but only human after all, and his age and status would almost forbid him to call upon others to help him through a hard period.

The sorcerer sat down at the desk of the casting chamber, and he looked up when he saw the woman.

"I am cancelling the studies for today, Griwalda. All this has upset me too much, I must confess."

"As it has us all, Antharion, even the Nasty One."

"Aye. It must be something when he shows emotions. How is Jon now?"

"He rests, the Nasty One has used some kind of calm spell on him and he seems to be sleeping restfully now."

"Should we not start building protection around this tower in case this Dark Body is coming?"

"Would be adequate, aye. We will start right away."

And so they started laying spells of protection around the tower, working together to personalise the protection so that it would harm anyone but the four inhabitants of the tower. A neat system prevented anybody from entering unnoticed and they found out that the stone structure itself already had loads of protective spells laid upon its walls as ancient as the building itself. They even strengthened the protective spells laid upon the walls and after hours of long work of inspecting and casting they were satisfied. They would have a defence ready in case the Dark Body should come, though if he really wanted in, they knew, he would. And they knew that it would take all their strength, including the Nasty One's and eventually the locksmith's, to discard the danger the Dark Body could pose.

"How do you prepare for a fight with a Dark Body?" Jon asked.

"Simply by doing nothing. I preserve my strength for the encounter as I know it cannot be long. He is out to get me, else he would never have bothered to wipe out the town. And he is someone I will never avoid, not when he is indeed the one I am thinking of."

"How could you know? I mean, there must be other Dark Bodies."

"Aye, but there is only one who knows me, one I have a score to settle with."

"And he will think the same about you. Aye, you are right. It must be him."

"You do the best you can, Nasty One. And more, if possible. What did you find out about that lost move you were talking about?"

"The Lost Move. It says here that the move is simplicity itself, so simple one would not think of it. That is always the tricky stuff, I know it."

"Why then is it called the lost move? Is it a move that everybody can make, but then a bit faster? And what makes me feel that you interpret the word move a bit different than we do?"

"Because you are right, Short One. We all move, but we do some moves nobody else does. In total, there are one hundred and six moves, plus this lost one. It mentions something that looks simple and yet completely suicidal though it is not that dangerous unless one counters it in style."

"And what happens when one counters it in style? Then you get a great collision."

"A collision is what I had last time. We both used the Inner Dragon combined with a Dragon's Maw and the collision threw us both away."

"From what you told me, the Inner Dragon enhances your normal powers a hundredfold or even a thousandfold. And then you fire a blast like that? That must have been what you have done when you killed that army."

"Indeed, though that was a weak blast."

"A weak blast killed nine hundred. I can hardly imagine what a powerful blast would be like then." Jon said.

"But what could be more powerful then than a collision like the one you told about?"

"A collision of the body!" Griwalda suddenly said.

"Like when you are both in the Inner Dragon and come straight at each other at great speed. When you would collide head-to-head the impact will be great."

"That might be an explanation. Physical contact. But then I think it will not be enough. The power of the Inner Dragon is no explanation as there is a move and then there is a move you can do also using the Inner Dragon. There must be a move that does all that harm even without the Inner Dragon. That is why it is said to be more powerful even than the Inner Dragon."

"I think this is not a matter of power or strength, I think it is more a matter of speed."

"You are right, Red One. I must study on this matter, for it may be crucial that I discover the lost move in time." Suddenly they heard a shrill sound, like a bird call coming from a horrendous type of bird. The high, whining noise continued until the Nasty One rose.

"What is that then? Another music instrument?"

"Something like that. Like the bagpipe, this instrument bears a message. But while the bagpipe talks of peace and quiet, this talks of battle. The Dark Body has arrived and could not use any element of surprise upon his entrance because you laid spells of protection everywhere. So he openly declares that he has arrived, and he challenges me for battle."

"No, he is too early! We are not prepared!" Griwalda said, holding up her hand.

"It seems I have little choice. Remember we talked about this. I do not know if he is more powerful than me, but we may be stronger than him."

"We get the message. Best of luck."

"That is the smallest factor in this, I guess." the Nasty One said and then he was gone.

"At last, we meet again."

"It should have come to this sooner or later anyway."

"Indeed, there was no way to avoid this."

"Let us make it a good fight then, as the gods are our witnesses."

The two masters of Body Life magic stood facing each other with a good hundred yards distance, yet they could hear each other perfectly well.

Slowly they drew their swords and performed the rituals required to forget about everything else. The Nasty One finished this a little earlier yet he did not use the time given as this was a matter of honour. Then he snorted. What good was honour when life itself was at stake? But right then the Dark Body also rose and they both started concentrating.

For a spectator it was obvious who was who, as the Nasty One glowed his normal light blue and the Dark Body was surrounded by a hellish mixture of orange and red.

The choice of colour, after all, was personal and did not matter.

Then the two men slowly changed into horrible creatures of death as both called upon the Inner Dragon. For long minutes they both strived to control the heaviest of moves and they clashed in a blur of colours. Paw to paw, eye to eye they fought with all their speed and ferocity, striking at each other and hoping that finally one blow might hit home.

But, as was usual with masters of Body Life magic, they could sense each other's intents and so every blow was either dodged or blocked. Then the Dark Body took distance and called upon the Skydance, the ability to fly. The Nasty One also followed him into the sky where they fought on, the limit of altitude no longer a bother. Then the Dark Body suddenly put his hands together and formed a Dragon's Maw, a move that could only be dodged with a fast Mass Gravity that caused the Nasty One to drop to the ground, creating a deep pit. He rose at once and fired a Dragon's Maw of his own. Quickly it was now the Dark Body who found a good alternative in the Hawk Rise as he shot into the grey skies. As was expected, he then dove at the Nasty One with great speed, also calling upon Mass Gravity to go even faster. The Nasty One had not counted on the latest move and got hit in the stomach, getting launched into the woods in the process. But still this great blast could not be felt as he called

upon his concentration to ignore the pain.

"Shall I tell you something? I discovered the Lost Move!" he yelled at his foe.

"The Lost Move? How did you find out? What is it?"

Meanwhile they fought on, but they talked in voices like they were merely sitting around a table. Men like them had the ability to stay calm under all circumstances. "It is something man should have found out a long time ago."

"I know, it has always been said that it was simplicity itself. Then what?"

"It is something a couple of friends of mine found out. It is the master technique of the well-trained body: speed."

"Speed? I am afraid I cannot follow you. Of course we are fast, but that does not make speed a move."

"Experience it then, it will be your death." the Nasty One said, blocking a beam of energy coming from the Dark Body by splintering it with seemingly eight hands, using the Spider Web.

"You do well on your minors, Nasty One, but how are your major moves?" the Dark Body asked, daring.

Now the Nasty One extended his hands and a maze of energy formed around his body, causing hundreds of small but powerful blue beams to speed at the Dark Body. Hurriedly he also called upon the Spider Web but this was not good enough as some beams got through and sizzled their way into his body. The Dark Body screamed in anguish but did not fall.

"Do not question my major moves, Dark One. I have been in the pits, I have had the final test."

"Then what are the pits good for, Light One?"

"You mean you have not spent four days in the pits?"

"Of course not, I had taken the final test, so to say, long before that. My master was a nuisance, a rigid man who always denied me the pleasures of life. And I killed him, learning the rest from the books myself."

"You read the books without really finishing? Pah, I have always known that Dark Bodies are not true masters!"

"How can you call me no true master then, when all you ever learned was to obey your master. Even though you killed him as the last obligation, he is your master still. I am my own master. That is what I call a true master."

With that the Dark Body used the Invisible Hand to attack from close range and the Nasty One had to call upon the Spider Web once more to block all the moves. Now the Dark Body also called upon that one and the result was an exchange of hundreds of blows within a few seconds, both fighters desperately trying to get through once more.

Then the Nasty One suddenly darted out of range and surprised the Dark Body with a Dragon's Maw that connected full force. The Dark Body was launched into the air where the Nasty One followed him, not allowing to escape a second time. But then the Dark Body could suddenly halt his flight with the Deep Freeze, turned around and did the Rotating Feet, a series of kicks while he rotated his body. The Nasty One could dive under him and deliver a fast uppercut in the man's groin and as a result the Dark Body shot upwards with a ragged howl of pain, only to dive again. And this time he connected with a Hawk Dive but he only got a glancing blow that threw them both off-balance.

Then the sky suddenly turned to fire around the two of them and it was the Dark Body who felt the effect of the extreme heat.

"Alien intervention!" he shouted but he had no time to discover the source.

"So you have help, Light One?"

"Indeed. Why do things difficult when it can be done in a more easy way?" the Nasty One sneered before spreading his hands again to release more energy from his body. "You Light Bodies have always been low. Where has the honour of battle gone then, or is that something you have never learned?"

"What I have learned is that one is stronger when one is not alone. Company need not be a weakness, it may be a strength, both physically and mentally. I know that when you die your body will rot away, eaten by the vultures. And should I die in this fight, I have friends who will give me a decent burial. And no matter what happens, they stand by my side." "It is against the rules!" the Dark Body shouted, releasing a blast that would have killed hundreds of normal humans. But the Nasty One could dodge it again and answered with some Rotating Feet of his own, knocking the Dark Body down again. But when he closed in, the Dark Body countered with the Fist of Fire, a fast uppercut with the force of nature behind it. The ground shook as the Nasty One fell down.

Then suddenly the Dark Body darted away as now he was aware of the alien intervention and he could feel a wave of magic coming their way again.

To his surprise, he saw that he could not approach the Nasty One anymore as a circle of sorcery was around him.

"You cannot keep this up." the Dark Body said, holding his sword in both hands, ready to finish the battle.

"The Light One is going to die."

"Keep it up, he cannot approach now. We must give Nasty some time to recover. After what he has taken it is a true miracle he is still standing, while the same goes for his opponent."

"They have their own ways to deal with pain. Antharion must go out and find a healer quickly. For when this battle is over he must break his concentration and then he will feel the pain." Griwalda said, fighting to keep her heat field around the Nasty One. Then they saw the Nasty One rising again.

Slowly he drew his sword and looked at his waiting foe.

"I am ready. Where were we again?"

"Shall I tell you something? I love this battle!" the Dark Body shouted, taunting.

"Aye, it has been a long time since I had a good fight." the Nasty One nodded in acknowledgement.

"Still it would have been better had it been one on one."

"That is what you think." the Nasty One roared and spat out a Snakebite, a small tongue of fire.

The Dark Body flinched and countered with a Whiplash, a small bolt of energy he threw at the Nasty One who could barely avoid it.

"Seems like I am the better dodger, Dark One. While our powers seem to be about equal. And that means I am stronger."

"That remains to be seen!" the Dark Body shouted and attacked once more, calling upon on the Worm Slither to tackle the Nasty One hard. When the Nasty One rose at once, he tried it again but now the Nasty One jumped away and countered with the Surge, flying horizontally through the air and catching the Dark Body in his hands, dragging him along and smashing him against a tree, shattering the tree in the process.

Then suddenly the Dark Body was gone, and instinctively the Nasty One turned around and delivered a fast kick. But his leg was blocked by the Dark Body who used the Teleport to get behind him and then the leg was swept away, turning the Nasty One around and around. He took a Skydance just in time else the Dark Body would have dealt him a blow that might have been fatal.

Now it was time for the swords and metal clashed with a ringing sound and they both manoeuvred back and forth, on the ground, into the air, and at a time even in a small nearby lake.

"You may be equal in fighting, perhaps even better at dodging, but you know there is always something better at something. And I happen to be your master in willpower. While I must have missed your Lost Move, what about a contest of willpower?" the Dark Body challenged.

The heat radiating from their bodies quickly dried their soaked leathers, light seemed to glow from the insignias on their breasts.

The Nasty One nodded shortly and started concentrating.

Now they were standing close to each other, so close one might want to grab the sword again. But then the other one would anticipate the move and they would go back to fighting.

And indeed, they had both noticed that a fight like this could go on almost forever. A battle of the will, a more dangerous type of battle, might give the outcome. As they fought on in their minds, standing perfectly still in utter concentration, both tried to gain control over the other one's mind.

Both intruded each other's mind, and they knew the horrors that would come would give one an advantage in the rest of the battle. But none had even thought of the short locksmith who watched the battle change, the man who felt the bitterness he had felt when he saw the bloody massacre the Dark Body had caused when he killed the town the locksmith had always called his.

"And now it is my turn." he said with a grim face.

Suddenly the tower disappeared from sight, and the Dark Body prepared to battle the Nasty One in his mind. But to his utter surprise the attack from the Nasty One did not come.

Instead, he saw a large field of upturned ground. Underneath

it, he could sense the presence of a large amount of corpses. This was the town I destroyed, he realised, and then suddenly the ground started to shake. To the man's horror slim, bony hands shot out of the ground and surrounded his ankles.

With all his powers he tried to break free but nothing would work here. Now this was highly unusual since the Body Life magic would normally be as effective against the dead as it would have been against the living. But the bony hands froze his ankles and unwillingly the Dark Body gave up his resistance. Then suddenly a complete corpse rose out of the ground, the rat-like face almost intact.

"What did I ever do to you?" the sepulchral voice of the late innkeeper asked demandingly.

"What did I ever do to you?" came another voice, this time coming from the severely burned head of what had been a woman.

"What did I ever do to you?" came a third voice, that of an old man.

"Yes, tell us! What did we ever do to you?"

The voices sounded hollow and demanding, even though they seemed to come from underneath the surface.

The Dark Body grasped for his sword but found it gone.

"What you ever did? You stole my sword! Give me back my sword so I can splinter your bones with it!"

"It is not our bones that are hurt, it is our souls." came a child's voice now.

"Your sword we took now, but why did you kill us? What did we ever do to you?"

The Dark Body started to hate that question.

"Why would I care about you?" he asked now, trying to shout but finding himself unable to speak more than a whisper.

The battle must have taken most of his powers.

"Why would you even bother to kill them, aye. But I have been straight with you. I told you what you wanted to know. What have I ever done to you?" now came a voice coming from the armoured body of Sir Michael.

"You should have left us out of your fight with the Nasty One. We were just having a debate about the possibility of hiring you, you know. But we see you took the task we wanted you for already. And then you kill us! You would have received more than proper payment, and proper payment is what you will receive now." the dead prime minister, dressed in a prisoner's shirt, spoke calmly as ever.

"After all, what did I ever do to you?"

"Stop asking that question!" the Dark Body whispered in vain, but he knew they would not stop and now all the bodies began their chanting again, repeating the question that drove him crazy.

"Yeah, what did you ever do to them?" asked a nonchalant voice that suddenly sounded all too living.

The Dark Body turned around and saw the Nasty One, sitting comfortably in a luxurious chair.

"Your doing, of course. This is all fake. I should have known. Let us go back to real fighting then."

But the Nasty One shook his head.

"It is what I could do now. I would wake up, draw my sword and take your head off. You see, I am not behind all this rabble, you created it yourself. You destroyed that town for no reason and created a nightmare that goes underneath your hard shell of ruthlessness. There was even no need to feel your energy. You are trapped within your own nightmare. Suffer."

The Nasty One rose, turned away from the Dark Body who now began to feel the chill on his ankles where the hands still held on.

Now he was able to scream, and scream in pain he did.

"So you feel pain." came the voice of the king-knight, hollow and sepulchral just like the other voices.

"We have felt pain."

And suddenly he saw the king-knight, seemingly alive.

And then there was a sword that cut off his head.

The king-knight fell down and over him stood a second knight who was also attacked and killed by that sword, the sword the Dark Body recognised as his own. More knights came, and more knights fell by the sword.

Then came the energy and a vendor came into the Dark Body's view. The vendor suddenly felt a beam penetrate him and with a horrible scream he died.

Followed the innkeeper, his cook, his barmaids, the prisoners, under them the politicians who died as the tower caved in and large boulders splattered their heads. Retired adventurers, town guards, prostitutes... they all appeared in front of the Dark Body, showing him how they died in that terrible onslaught. And the Dark Body was now fully frozen into place, he could not close his eyes or even avert them from the horrible view as one had died in more anguish than the other one. A woman, heavy with child, with her man trying to protect her as heavy rocks fell on them.

His eyes and his mouth wide open, the Dark Body continued the scream of terror and revulsion but nobody seemed to bother as they continued their acts.

So petrified the Dark Body was, seeing that something that had never even touched his soul was hurting him deeply now, that he always welcomed the numbness when he collapsed.

At last the bony hands let go of the ankles as the man hit the ground hard, the ground that suddenly felt all too familiar again.

As he regained consciousness, he heard an unknown voice. "That was for Sir Michael."

The Dark Body was standing alone where he had stood before he had focused his will upon the Nasty One's. But the Nasty One had succeeded in bailing out before he could, and this was highly unusual as they should have woken up at the same time. Then he realised the nonchalance with which the Nasty One had walked off and he knew he had seen all this because of somebody else. But nevertheless it had drained him terribly and he suddenly dove into the air to avoid a coming blast. He now remembered what he was into and knew he had formed a good target standing there but to his surprise no attack had come.

Where had the Nasty One gone to?

Had he run off? Suddenly a bright blue missile came at him while he was still rising and with a precise timing the bolt hit him. And then it came out that it had not been a bolt but the Nasty One himself who had launched himself at the rising Dark Body, calculating precisely the speed the Dark Body was rising at and measuring the point where they would cross.

And he had timed it perfectly, as he caught the Dark Body full in the stomach. Holding his sword blade horizontally, he split the Dark Body in two and descended slowly, watching as the two halves of his enemy dropped to the ground with sickening thuds. Blood flooded freely from the split corpse and the guts also drooled out.

Then the Nasty One looked at his hand, and saw it was only bleeding a little from the point where he had held the sharp edge of the sword. But most of his hand had been protected by a small dull strip on the back-hand side of the blade. The Nasty One had never understood why this spot had been dull and more than once had he been tempted to sharpen it. But his master had kept him from doing that. "Use the sword to block, like a staff. Then you can grip it here." he had said.

But it had more use, and now the Nasty One realised why the masters of Body Life magic had always had a dull strip on their swords. Holding the sword, after all, was needed to perform the Lost Move.

"The Lost Move is no longer that. I call it the Torpedo." he spoke to no one in particular.

"The Sharp Missile." a correcting voice suddenly came.

"Who...?" he asked but then he realised who that must have been.

"My time has not come!" the Nasty One shouted.

But there was no response, and the Nasty One now broke his concentration to let all the pain take control of his body and his consciousness.

The last thing he saw was the appearance of three familiar faces bending over him with potions and poultices.

"A battle between two masters of Body Life magic. It is something every man should see once in a lifetime."

Jon looked at the sleeping body of the Nasty One and from there at his two companions.

"Once, aye. Not more times." Griwalda, her face still in shock, said.

"The ravage they caused... it is huge. And then to think they fought most of their battle in the air. Do you think it is coincidental that the thunderstorms now take over?"

"No. All this energy they released in the air, the air has to get rid of now. Thunderstorms are logical." Antharion said.

"It is a storm not even we can control." Griwalda added. "And that means a lot. Body Life magic is awesome."

"Aye. But I admire you for your courage to intervene, Jon. The Dark Body claimed he would be the Nasty One's superior in a contest of the will and though he agreed to the fight after all I think this is because he does not want to be a coward and back down. And I have really underestimated your powers as a mind bender."

"I am surprised, too. I never really expected to be so very powerful that I could easily penetrate into the mind of one as strong as the Dark Body. But he was weakened from the battle, of course. And I used all my energy, it left me pretty tired, too. But my psychokinetic powers have always been there, I guess, I just never utilised them."

"Man and woman of the will, man of the soul and man of the mind. Now we have a team." Antharion smiled.

"We have always had a team. It is just a big advantage that we all have an extra skill. The man of the soul is also a good fighter and hunter, the man of the mind is also a good lock pick, the man of the will is also a scholar and the woman of the will is a very good cook." Jon said, grinning at the last remark that left Griwalda speechless.

"Oh, do not think we do not value your second skill as our own ones, Griwalda. After all, what would we do with all our powers if we had nobody to prepare the food our bodies crave?" Antharion added and now the sorceress smiled.

"Will he be all-right?" she asked, blatant concern in her voice.

"What do we know? This is the first time I am patching up a master of Body Life magic after a battle with a Dark Body." "You are the scholar." she retorted with a grin.

"Well, as far as I can see he is currently in some kind of coma but he is resting comfortably. The fact that he has not woken up for a day and a half while he normally sleeps for a few hours can be explained by the fact that he is not able to concentrate his power as he lost consciousness and of course he has been drained of most of his energy."

"So we have to let him sleep and not try anything, all we can do is wait for time to pass by and let rest do its healing work?"

"That is about all we can do and hope for."

"Then it is what we will do. He has achieved a great feat, ridding the world of the Dark Body, and avenging the destruction of Vintel."

"Though that was probably not in his mind."

"It was in mine. And I fought along."

"And you can be proud of yourself, Jon." Griwalda said.

"But what excites me most is what he said in his fight with the Dark Body. He has learned! He knows that company need not be a burden only, he feels the joy that comes with having people around who care for him as a person, more than a collection of powers. I stayed around him trying to teach him the feelings of a human being. And I succeeded, or so it seems."

"A fact you can also be proud of, Griwalda. I saw him, or the two of you I should say, in the town when you discovered its destruction."

"Do not rush it. She clung to him, and he tried to comfort her a bit. He learned there are feelings in every human being, but we should let him learn to live with them in time."

"Of course not. He will learn through experience, as he has always done. I only hope it will not be so bitter this time."

A world of peace surrounded the warrior of the soul; a world he had seen but for once in his lifetime and that had been when he had endured the gravest test of his training: the pits. Four long days without food or water he had stayed in deep pits full of mystical energies floating around, partially coming from his own hallucinations.

He had learned there to become one with nothingness, to purge his soul utterly in order to become a true master of the Body Life magic. Bathing in pure white light he had been, feeling the nondescript energy go through his entire body and twisting his insides out without seeming to harm.

Now he was back in this world of peace, and he felt this was highly unusual even after encountering a Dark Body. What he had normally felt was the feeling of extreme satisfaction that came with the large victory and the knowledge his late enemy had born with him. Now the knowledge from the Dark One had filled him without much satisfaction, seeing his death only as a duty to the world. But the feeling that dominated his mind was the rare sensation of hearing the immortal watcher speak about the Lost Move. He knew it had been the Ultimate One who had corrected him when he gave the Lost Move a name. No longer was the move lost, the Sharp Missile was now a move accepted within the ranks of masters of the Body Life magic.

But how thin were those ranks now? The Nasty One considered it very strange that the Ultimate One had watched him. Then in mind he shook his head violently. Of course the Ultimate One would have interest in a battle between a master and a Dark Body, for the outcome would once determine the face of the world. With only Dark Bodies in the world, its fate might shift dramatically and the Ultimate One might have to intervene himself.

But now the light had triumphed, and the order was saved, at least for now.

How many were there left then? There was only one who knew the answer and the Ultimate One had not responded to his desperate call. So he assumed that the Ultimate One had merely corrected him for the name, he had not made his presence clear to the Nasty One to call him for the Big Fight. While the Nasty One had no idea how he could ever defeat a man as full of knowledge as the Ultimate One, who had watched all the masters and Dark Bodies all his eternal life, he knew that the Ultimate One would not like his own task, to kill the remaining master in order to create a new generation of the unique class. It would mean he had to teach many pupils to spread the power, pupils he was obliged to release while they could not harm him. What would it be like then, to watch as they wither and die, sometimes by alien intervention, most of the time by the swords of their favoured pupils?

It was a burden the Nasty One would not like to have bestowed upon him, but these days one thing he would always have had considered a burden after another had come, and he had picked them up with the feeling of responsibility, even with some satisfaction.

Aye, he had changed. For the better, some would say. Others would call his new feelings weaknesses. But he had meant everything he had told the Dark One. He knew friendship was not a weakness, it was a strength.

A strength that had manifested itself when he should have been fighting the Dark One in his mind. There the Short One had voluntarily taken over his task, giving him time to stand back and rest. And above that, he had given the Dark One more terror than the Nasty One could have possibly thought of, while there was no way he could get hurt for the Dark Body did not know the Short One so he could never get back at him.

The Nasty One had merely watched, as he had been seen in the dream, as the Short One terrorised the Dark One with the images that had almost given the locksmith a trauma himself.

He had even managed to make the Dark One believe that his powers were gone, and no longer could he be stoic to death and despair. This way he was drained of his strong belief in himself, and with that the very essence of Body Life magic.

All the Nasty One had done was biding his time to strike.

And the time had come, and he had executed the Sharp Missile flawlessly.

The ability to perform the Sharp Missile he could not have developed without his friends. After all, it had been the Red One who had come with the idea that physical contact would have done the trick. And it all made sense, to launch himself at one would result in disaster for the victim, but would the opponent counter in style they would actually split each other in the full length, causing both to die horribly.

And it had been simplicity itself to use the weapon that seemed to be so ceremoniously when one had powers that could destroy people with the wave of a hand: the sword.

The sword was more than something to hold: it was something to deal death with, even if one was as powerful as a master of Body Life magic. The sword was infinitely sharp and could split a hair. Then why would it not split a man with more than a simple blow from a normal sword fighter?

Of course, a human missile was powerful but even more powerful if that human had a sharp edge. The late masters of Body Life magic had known this and had invented the use of the sharp edge of a sword just like sword fighters did.

But they had done more. They had sought the protection and that was why they had installed the dull grip.

"Something I should have known a long while earlier." he mumbled.

It was all so logic, so simple, yet it took his friends to discover the rough details. He had worked it out in a short time and had used the surprise effect on the Dark Body.

And aye, it was more powerful than the Inner Dragon as most masters had learned how to deal with the Inner Dragon while it was not yet known how to defend against the Sharp Missile, except to dodge.

While pondering all this and more, the Nasty One lay on his bed, seemingly in a coma. But then he stretched out and rose.

First thing he saw was the Red One, looking in surprise at the ease with which he rose. He saw love and concern in her face and knew it was genuine.

"Hi there. One heck of a fight eh?" he managed to smile but then he felt some stinging pain. His moves were partially made impossible by some poultices but he felt their healing powers so he decided not to rip them off.

"You are... all-right?" she asked silently.

"As fine as I will ever be, I guess. Thanks for your help, I owe you and the Short One my life, I think. For I am not that certain if I could have defeated the Dark One without you."

"We watched. We heard what you said, and it makes me feel warm inside. To know that you have felt compassion at last..." she spoke, embracing him warmly. Underneath her fine-cut satin robes he could feel the outlines of her warm body.

He could feel her heart beat underneath her breast, the heart that pumped faster when he was near her.

He knew then what she was thinking about, and he knew that this time it was different. It came out of thankfulness for the fact that he was still alive, it was the release of the extreme tension she had felt while watching the battle that could well have ended his life.

He decided to give in then, as new experiences might always strengthen him in mind and body.

Then he scolded himself for looking for excuses and her lips found his.

"So you heard the Ultimate One? That is unique, from what you have told me. Do you think he has taken special interest in you?" Jon asked.

"The Ultimate One has to take special interest in every battle between masters and Dark Bodies. It may also be that our class has almost been extinct and that he sees me as one who might join him for the battle for immortality, the Big Fight as we call it."

"When will that happen then? When you are the only one left? Will he come then at once, after you have killed the second last one?"

"Do not ask me, I can only speculate and read the legends about this. Fact is that the Ultimate One has watched, and that may point to the fact that there are only a few. And there is absolutely no telling how many there are now, as there is only one who knows."

"Are you fully recovered now?"

"In mind I am, and even enriched with the knowledge that passed on from the Dark Body. In body I still suffer a little but that will heal quickly enough."

"So you absorb his energy much like we do?"

"It is not energy I transport, it is more knowledge. When the Dark Body died I could transfer the knowledge he bore to my mind."

"So what did he know that you did not?"

"Much, as we all have our own life experiences. But it is not very important nor is it any help when you face the one who has all the knowledge of masters and Dark Bodies from past and present alike."

"I understand. So you would not go voluntarily to this Big Fight?"

"Nobody will. You call him a god because he is immortal and away from this world while he is allowed to watch it. Just imagine that you are obliged to fight a god. Would you go there with pleasure?"

"Of course not. Many a move you try will be countered because he invented the move himself."

"Well possible, indeed. No, I look up to this fight, and with a darn good reason. But it is not known by any on this plane if this fight will ever come."

"Yet you think of it, and prepare."

"Of course I do. I have to, we all have to. There is always the chance that I defeat a master or a Dark Body and there he stands, waiting for me. If that is the way it goes, then. But right now I would not go, I would enjoy my life, here with you, and go later."

"Er... I think you have little choice in the matter. One does not tell a god or the Ultimate One to wait until you are tired of normal life."

"I am afraid you are right. But there is more to life than pondering about death. I will wait until these minor wounds heal and then I will return to silence."

"You could go out, you know. We enjoy your hunting here but you have been out for almost a week and we are running out of meat." Jon grinned.

The Nasty One cocked his head laughing and looked through the open window. A few seconds later he had a rabbit in his hands.

"This will be enough?"

Far above the world, one lone man looked around to ensure he had been right. He checked the most obscure hamlets and lonesome caves and huts in the middle of the woods for signs of life of one he had created.

But finally, after a search of days, he gave it up, knowing that there was only one left.

And he knew that the one remaining was one who was not ready, not yet.

He would need time to strengthen, time to realise what was going on and what he had done without any possibility of avoiding it. He had created himself as the only living master of Body Life magic in the entire world, and he had no other fate than to try at least to become the new Ultimate One. But like he was not ready for it, he was also not willing. And when one does not want something it is hard to force him, because then there would be a good chance the Nasty One would simply refuse and let himself be killed.

And the Ultimate One had more than enough of being the one who watches everything without doing anything.

This man had a strong will, and he had broken the ban of loneliness that seemed to be part of the masters of Body Life magic. Not without help, of course, but he had even discovered love though he thought little more of it than an obligation to one he owed in an odd way. For him, love was merely a submittance to one who sought love.

But he would learn, would he be given time.

And time he would need, not only to submit to feelings of love and care, but especially to submit to his fate.

So he would be given time, the Ultimate One decided. Time to recover from battle, to experience the new things that would indeed strengthen him in body and mind. For were he to be the new Ultimate One, he would have to create a new kind of masters in his kind and the Ultimate One fully believed that this man would create a class stronger than any other kind of masters and if that needed time, then so be it.

After all, it was only the importance of the Body Life magic that really counted for the Ultimate One.

"But I cannot let you wait too long, Nasty One. Or rather, you cannot let me wait too long for you. As you need to be in your prime when you are strong enough to achieve immortality, I cannot let you live in silence too long.

There is more you will have to do and achieve before you are fully prepared to meet your bizarre destiny, the one I have lived through for almost a thousand years. Achieve your own destiny, release me of mine."

The ancient man, who seemed to be only forty years of age, sat back on his throne and opened a book in which he wrote something.

After all, the wisdom of the ancients was what made mankind subject to the immortal ones.

"So you think you can develop all these powers on your own?" "I am not sure. We have all witnessed what I can do without any help. Maybe it would be wise to have somebody to teach me more about psychokinetic powers but I would not know who to approach."

"But there are more ways to learn than a teacher. Books, experience... seek what you can find!"

"Well... I think I know now what I can. And I am not sure whether the search for power is the right one for me. I see Nasty battle the Dark Body, I see sorcerers killing each other for power everywhere... I have no need for this! I know that I can do a lot when I can even intrude a Dark Body and terrorise him with images that shake my own person. I think there is almost no holding back for me, and I would like to keep it this way. Never do I want to battle anybody for power, nor do I really want to influence good people with evil images. That is also why I left Nasty alone when he was in that coma. I know I can do harm but I am not sure if I can also do good with these powers. And as it seemed, the rest of a couple of days has left him well enough in body and mind. Time was the healer there, and I do not think interference in his busy mind would have done any good at all."

"Always worth the try I say, but there is no need for that now. He is alive and very well, though... he seems to be a bit different than before." Antharion said.

"Of course, a battle like that one must have a great impact on somebody. And though it is probably not the first battle of this magnitude it leaves little of his own inner self."

"Some things in people can never change, but the details become vague sometimes. When I first saw this man in person he was slaughtering some twenty-odd ruffians in a few seconds without pity or mercy, and while I was tied up he first checks for loot on the corpses instead of untying me. Instead of talking to me he intruded into my mind to find out more about me. I considered him to be very evil, conceited, self-centred... but now I think: what is evil? What is conceited? As far as I know, nobody ever had any influence over him except for his late teacher. And now we sort of understand each other, he heeds our advice as we heed his, he even harbours feelings for us, while he has never had feelings for anybody, again except for his teacher. When I stayed at his place in Vintel I made it my task to teach him humanity, and I am proud to say I succeeded."

"And that is a thing to be proud of, Griwalda, and I am sure he is grateful for that. People have done crazy things to get attention, and he has received more negative attention than he really deserved. It is about time that he gets some positive attention as well. And you are just the one to give him that." Antharion spoke.

"But are you thinking about marriage?" Jon asked, curious as always. She giggled nervously.

"He should have heard you. As Antharion said, we must not hurry everything. When talking about marriage just now he would run away as fast as he could."

"We can all imagine what he would think, but I am more curious about what you think. I mean, probably being the first to... you know what I mean..."

She flushed at the remark.

"Well, the four of us need not have secrets. Aye, I love the man as I have always loved him, despite his past behaviour. But in the beginning it was more like love out of pure gratitude and in the weeks gone by I have learned to know him a little and though he is what his name implies I have grown to love him even deeper. But marriage is not something I could imagine with a man like him. After all, you do not really expect him to be a calm and restful husband? He is a man who needs his freedom, and a bond is something that is probably against his whole lifestyle."

"His lifestyle has already changed dramatically. It is up to you to push it, little by little. We do not know how far it will go. If it is something you want you should fight for it. That is his life-style."

"I am not sure... but not now in any way. He needs time, time to learn how to deal with his new self."

"If new self is the proper term." Antharion noted.

"Of course it is. He even admitted to the Dark Body that he has changed because of us. Though things might run a bit different some time from now."

"Why that?" asked Jon.

"Well, I forgot I was... accepting at the time."

"You mean you will become pregnant?" Jon exclaimed.

"Hush, not so loud. There is of course no way of knowing in a period as short as this. In a few weeks all will become clear. But I do not want this. It will look like a way to force him into marriage and the last thing I want is to force him into anything. He has enough on his mind already. And it is not the way."

"Of course not. From what I have seen in the town many marriages break up after some time when this is the base."

"Many other things are transpiring that are much more important than things like marriage no matter if such a thing could exist in my world." suddenly came the voice of the Nasty One who had returned from evening practice.

"Then what is transpiring? More battle?" Jon asked, not at all disturbed by the sudden entrance of the one they were talking about.

The Nasty One just shook his head.

"I can feel it is in the air. And things like this I can feel easily. Something is going to happen, that is for sure. Something I must prepare for. I cannot have the petty things in life to disturb me now."

"Even if this is another life we are talking about?"

"The Red One is not pregnant."

"How can you tell? Or you mean you are..."

"Sterilised? No, that I am not. At least not as far as I know and the Old One never spoke about silly things like that. It would be nonsense to believe that people of my class should have no sexual experiences as most of us have no need for it. We are not monks, but generally we stand above things like that, as you know."

"Then how can you tell I am not pregnant or will not be?"

"The future is not something that is my specialty, you should ask the Short One about that. But do not forget that we feed off our own life energy so we can sense life easily. And I sense no new life in your body."

"That way."

"Though by impulse you took a great risk. Though you now have power and dedication in your trade you should learn a bit more feeling for responsibility in the rest of your life." the Nasty One lectured.

"Ah, don't preach. It does not become you." Jon scolded.

They all smiled and then the Nasty One retreated.

Those had been talking a lot about him, and it had been about something where he did not want to be present, giving them the feeling they could talk freely, while he would not miss a word.

After all, everybody needs to know what is going on, even one who hates gossip.

Suddenly an image came into the room of the Nasty One when he was relaxing in his chair. The Short One was out somewhere and the sorcerers were training.

The Nasty One looked up as he saw the face of a stern man, a man with a stern face, looking at him with stern eyes.

"You know who I am, and you know why I am here."

The statement was cold and unmoving.

The Nasty One instantly remembered that voice and he looked at the face in horror.

"No, I am not ready!" he shouted again.

"I know that is what you think. Yet I know better than that and you are ready now. In case you did not notice, I have given you half a year and a lot has changed. The woman is now with child. You are the first master of the Body Life magic who will be a father. The combination of forces between a sorcerer and a master will prove to be quite interesting. You look shocked, but I know that you know I am speaking true. If for nothing else, I have no reason to lie to you."

"You are a remarkable man, Nasty One. The first master to learn the ways of friendship and compassion, maybe even of love. The one who has learned that company need not be a bother or a weakness, but that it can also be a strength. But deep inside you have known, that this cannot last forever. Long have I searched the world just to find the slightest chance that I had been wrong, and that there would be other descendants from the ones I have created. But no, you are the sole survivor, Nasty One."

"But why pluck me from this life now?" the Nasty One asked demanding.

"What would you be had I the patience to let you live to be an old man? I cannot risk more for your sake. Should something happen to you in the meantime the circle will be broken and I would have to start all over again."

"Start all over again is what you eventually have to do when you defeat me. And how can I ever beat you? You bear all the knowledge of all living and dead masters and Dark Bodies, while I am a thirty-three years old man, who just defeated three Dark Bodies and one master. And despite the fact that I am the one who recovered the Lost Move I can never be a match for you. As my friends put it, you are a god. And how can one of my age ever be a god?"

"How old do you think I was when I became the Ultimate One? Thirty-seven I was! Did you think I liked one bit of it? No I did not! I hated the perspective of sitting around alone, as I am not a god as you well know, and though the gods have given me immortality and allow me to reside in their world, I do not have the powers of a god. I learn and watch the world go by. Oh, of course there have been many wonders I have discovered, my adventures have lasted for ages but when you are immortal even adventuring can be very boring, knowing you can do anything without any risk at all. All know becoming the Ultimate One is a burden, even as it has its good sides."

"But how can I engage you for the Big Fight while I have no idea of what is to come?"

"There is more, much more. Before I die, I will teach you everything I know. Indeed, there is much to know, and we will discuss all this."

"Before you die! How could I ever kill you?"

"You do not understand, do you? There is no such thing as the Big Fight. It is your right to be my successor, it is your duty to give me my rest."

"No Big Fight? But then how come all these tales?"

"Even we have our imagination, Nasty One. And when we do not know what will happen, we start spreading our own ideas of what will happen. And one will certainly believe the other and make this idea not just a legend but part of our lore. Actually, it happened five hundred and seventy-three years ago that one thought a Big Fight would be coming when there was only one left, because I would not give up my godhood without a fight and also because a fight is so logical within our class, as sad as that may be. But you think logical, and you know you would not have a chance to kill me. This is true beyond doubt as I indeed have not lost my touch and I bear too much knowledge, far more than I care to bear. And all this knowledge will be yours."

"How many pupils do I create? How many new masters will there be? What are the rules? Should they be changed or just the same?"

"You have many questions, Nasty One. This is only logical and exactly what I expect. As I said, we will talk first, and we will talk a lot. I can only tell you that you must not forget the powers, and the rest is up to you. We are masters of the Body Life magic, we live life the way we want it. This is something I took over from the Ultimate One before me. And because we do, we make our own rules. There is nobody to stop you, for not even the gods will put a straw in your way. Unless you go too far, of course, but the gods themselves know that we will not do such a thing. I invite you to my realm, Nasty One, and we can talk."

"Give me one day to say farewell to my friends. And how do I get there? How do I travel to the realm of the gods?"

"I give you the power, Nasty One. Come tomorrow when you are ready. And do not forget to bring the books with you."

"And the bracelet?"

"It is on your body, and will be handed to a master of the Body Life magic after he has spent time in the pits. You will choose which one of your pupils is going to be burdened with it. Choose wisely. I will see you tomorrow before evening falls."

Then the image was gone and the Nasty One felt no need to fight his tears.

"You felt it all the time. As unpleasant as it may be, we really suspected it would happen. We have talked too much about it, I guess." Jon said, looking down. "About seven months I have had the pleasure of knowing you, Nasty One." Griwalda uttered.

"And even as I carry your child, which is something I should have foreseen..."

"You know as well as I do that you would not have it any other way. You knew I was going to leave, and you wanted something to remember me by." he stated flatly.

"I am afraid I cannot deny this." she said, falling in his strong arms for one more time.

"I have a world to watch, you have a world to build." he then said, gently letting go of the sorceress who kept on looking at his face with those emerald green eyes.

"You, Antharion, Wise One, have the most to do. While your guiding of her has been finished, the Council must be brought up to date with the current situation. The coming years there will be no Body Life magic in the world and then it will all come down to sorcerers to keep the world going." The sorcerer silently drew back his hood so that his light grey hairs fell out of it. It had not been many times that he had done this, and as a result his face was terribly pale and his dark brown eyes shone brilliantly in it, looking at the Nasty One intently.

"It is an important task that you bestow on me, Nasty One. I do not know where you want to find the people to create new masters, and where you are going to train them. But know that we know safe havens for them would you need them."

"That is something I do not know myself, Wise One. It is something I will find out. I also do not know where to find people to train, or where to train them! I must ask the Ultimate One about that."

Antharion approached slowly and held out his slender hands to grasp the big hands of the man who would rise into godhood.

"I have been honoured to go around with you, Nasty One, and I would have been even if this fate would not be yours."

"I know, Wise One. It has been likewise and never forget that I will be keeping an eye on you in case you are in trouble you cannot deal with yourself."

Then the Nasty One looked at the short locksmith.

"Jon, Short One, beside being a sympathetic fellow from the day that I met you, you have always been one I could rely on. Your psychokinetic powers, which you developed just to help us with something, really defeated the Dark Body. Even the Ultimate One is grateful to you, else there would have been a chance he might have faced the Dark Body instead. But you have proven more than anybody that anything can be done once you focus your mind on it. First you were a good locksmith, and then you realised that was not enough to match our powers. So you started concentrating and now you are clairvoyant, prescient and able to intrude the minds of the strongest people in this world. Your belief in your own powers will make you a man who keeps the world in line, one way or the other."

"And I owe it all to you, Nasty One. If it had not been for you I would still only be a locksmith and prime source of gossip in a gods-forsaken town."

"I know where your heart lies, Short One, and I am not sure if you have chosen wisely. But I happen to know a few things already, and I think it can be well possible. But then the time of pleasure will end, for you will be one who will have to fight for survival."

"Would I be your first pupil, I am ready to sacrifice anything for that. Especially knowing that I need not fight you to the death."

"Aye, but remember that has been an impulsive idea of yours, to become a master yourself. And the powers you possess now are already of no small water even as they are entirely different than the ones you seek. Are you truly not happy with what you are, do you desire more? And have you not always abhorred the lust for power? Is your present class born out of looking for an alternative? I thought you wanted to be different than us."

"Different I am, and different I always will be."

"You will if indeed you live your life the way you want it. I will see what I can do. Right now I am not fully aware of my chances and the extent of my future powers, but I will find out soon. And when I pick my pupils, I will come to see if you are ready."

"And you know that until that day, I will train to be ready when you come, Nasty. Until then."

He also grasped the man's powerful hands and then let go of them, retreating slowly, staring at him as if he was afraid he would ever forget that face.

Then he followed Antharion, out of the room.

As they understood full well that there were two that wanted nothing else than to be alone.

"How will I live without you, Nasty One?"

"You are strong, you have always been strong and if that were not true you have strengthened ever since we met. You will live without me if needed."

"Should I marry? Or would that offend you?"

"Would you really find a man who could make you forget me, I cannot stop you. Though I wonder if that will ever happen." "You are right, that will never happen. You will be in my mind for the rest of my life and if my mind should wander off there is always our child to remind me of you. What name do you have in mind? I know you hate names but our child needs a name. Give me a good name for a boy or a girl."

"Be it a girl, I leave it all up to you as is a good tradition in the western towns. Be it a boy, I want you to name it Desiderius."

"What?" Griwalda shouted out.

"After all, I remember that you told me once that he had killed a lover of yours. If it had not been for his rather disgraceful action you might have been married to that man right now and have had children from him. We would never have met in the first place. None of this would have happened. In some odd way, we owe that Drunk One."

"Some odd way, indeed. As you wish, Nasty One."

Then she looked him in the eyes.

"But would you really have a son carrying that name?"

"I am not sure. But it is that I know that you are carrying a girl-child..."

"You..!" she laughed loudly. She embraced him again, burying her face in his chest.

"Would you have our child to be your pupil?"

"I am afraid this is another story. Our child will probably hold both of our powers. It is why I have a special place for her. But as her powers will surpass those of any other living being, it is important that she is kept in a neutral position, else the scales of balance will topple one way or the other."

"Will she become immortal like you or stay mortal like me?"

"Mortal like you and me when she was... made. At least that is what I think."

"Would you have the power to immortalise her?"

"I do not know all this. Nor do I know if that would be what I would want. Or what you would want. I will be raised into immortality, but I am not raised to create a whole family of gods. Oh, and do not even think of starting to worship me or convince any other living being to do so. I am not a god, I am the Ultimate One. Or at least I will be. No priests will be praying to me, nobody will act in my name but a master of Body Life magic."

"And it is not just Antharion who will prepare the world to live without your class for a while. I myself will take a seat in the Sorcerers Council, as I see no other way to use my heritage of politics and powers as a sorceress."

"Wisely spoken, Griwalda."

"You know that is the first time you pronounce my name?"

"I know, I would not leave you without it."

"I know you have learned what emotions are, Nasty One. But don't get sentimental now."

They both laughed, and then they kept quiet as she ran her hands around his full face, with the hard and long moustaches, stern steel eyes, long dark hair with wild curves that fell over his shoulder, and that hard jaw she had grown to love.

"I will miss you, Nasty One. Please do not try to have me raised into godhood with you, as this is what we both do not want. You know it will be a burden, then do not bestow this burden upon me."

"You know that with you it would be much less a burden for me."

"I know, but it was not meant to be like this. And I know that there is a very important task waiting for you. You will be the creator of people the world is going to deal with for a long time. But you told me you knew not the existence of female masters of Body Life magic, mistresses of Body Life magic so to say. It would suit you to create them as well. Your class has been one of loners, yet the new creator has learned how to be around others, to have compassion and care. Show this to your pupils."

"I will, be sure of that. I hate to be withdrawn from you, and if there is any way I can delay it I will. But I fear that my time has come, and there is indeed a job to do. And as the saying goes, a dirty job it is, but somebody has to do it."

"Right about that. When will you leave?"

"I... I think I will go at once. I will collect my books, and I will be gone. I have said farewell, staying now would burn all of us mentally."

"You really hate delay on the road." she smiled and kissed him one more time, then allowed him to run his hand over her slowly growing belly and kiss her heart. Then he watched as he saw her leave hesitantly but then she straightened her back, looked around one more time and closed the door behind her.

"Deep in your heart lie all the answers, Nasty One."

"I know, but there is a lot of theory I need from you. Or should I study your books all on my own?"

"Of course not, you of all people should know that it is sometimes nice to have company."

"Let us start with the important things. How do I pick my pupils, how do I train them, where do I train them and how many do I train?"

"Picking pupils is a most delicate matter, Nasty One. Indeed you must beware greatly. For you will preferably pick young men who do not really know what they want. You know the age at which you started training but you need not pick small children, because you see when people have the physique to become masters, and your first long years of training were only physical. After all, one cannot start training to ask things of the body until it has grown fully. So most of your pupils will be adolescents. Study them well before you pick them, Nasty One. Would you create a Dark Body, that one will most certainly make his successors Dark Bodies. And they are no real creations of ours, they chose to live their lives in a lie, the lie of being a true master while they have not ended all the lessons. It is our way, the way they call the Light but is in fact neutrality or something more like that, that allows the world to maintain its position in the universe. Aye, we masters of Body Life magic have been created to withstand all the other powers in the world. That was why we could harm sorcerers, that other great power, and that was why they have been able to harm us, except for you. The key is and should be for one man only, as it is a constant reminder for the sorcerers in this world that they, too, can be defeated by others. You have lived the life of one who is invincible. Never did you fail. Your pupils may not hold these same powers. They must be vulnerable to something, as strong as they may be. You have come close to perfection, and your powers, combined with the key, made you a person really too good. Think of it, you were invincible because of your powers, you had your senses that kept you alert at all times, a feeling for responsibility so that you would never fall out of line, you learned compassion and friendship... you have outclassed your own class. And that is why you are the only one remaining, others have battled unnecessarily, died for no cause, fell due to sloppy mistakes. Remember your pupils to strive for perfection even as they can never reach it. Even the gods are not perfect. Aye, even the Ultimate One is not perfect. I have never learned the ways of friendship and compassion, that is your sole claim. You can pass this on to your pupils if you would, or let them walk around alone as did mine. As I told you, you are the one who makes the rules. All I ask of you is: teach them all one hundred and seven Moves."

"Of course, no doubt about that. I would not create incomplete masters, as one can never be a master when incomplete."

"Still then nobody has been a true master for long centuries until you recovered the Lost Move. And I know many have felt like this."

"That is true. But how many? Where?"

"As many as you choose, where you choose. Not in the realm of the gods, you must train them in their own plane. Pick any good spot where you can teach them everything you like. You need not start teaching right away, take your time for it but realise that all that time the world will be without people to hold it in balance. I know you have warned the sorcerers about this, so you will not tarry overly. But if you feel you are not ready to teach them yet, wait. It will be hard, very hard indeed, do never underestimate your job and realise you are the only one who can do it. And do not release them until you are totally convinced they are ready to be released as they will be the first generation of new masters, the ones that will shape the ones after them. Keep up the tradition you think is good, install new things as you see them to be good. The power will be yours."

"But is there a limit of pupils I can teach?"

"There is no limit, Nasty One. Would you have the whole world to be masters, then so be it. Ah, of course that would overturn the balance but it is your decision."

"Then what if I decide to let the teacher die a natural death rather than let himself be killed by his pupil?"

"You know the consequences, even if you could manage to talk them out of that. Or better yet, you could leave that choice to the teacher in every single case. Many will choose the fight after all and they live the way they choose."

"Indeed. Then as the last statement, they can say either they will control the pupil for the rest of his life, like they used to do, or say that they will release the pupil."

"A good thought. I followed the old rules here, thinking it would be unbearable for the teacher."

"My teacher will know what compassion is, he will understand the embitterment he will leave inside the pupil after he has killed the man who has meant so much for him. It has made us bitter men, has it not?"

"Indeed it has. But would that not overcrowd the world with masters?"

"How many did you create?"

"I started with two hundred. So averagely, one fell every five years."

"I will start with a smaller amount then, and see if it grows or diminishes. I can always train new ones if things go wrong. What kept you from training new ones?"

"They would be different as I have learned more during the years. I believed in the fact that there could be only one in the end, and I would not change this. You may if you want, but that will result in prolonging your stay as the Ultimate One. Or would you like that?"

"I am in no position to say that, still being mortal."

"True enough. Would you really become desperate you could remove a few and quicken the process, though that would be a very low act."

"Very low indeed, and I am not sure I would be capable of doing that. After all, you never did this, did you?"

"Many has been the time I was tempted, but no, I never did this. I had too much feeling for tradition."

"I fear I lack this feeling for tradition, Ultimate One. As much as I pledge to our existence, I think renewal is improvement."

"Quite progressive, I see. Be free to do what you like."

"Something I have been thinking about: you told me I must hand over the key to my best pupil. But the key cannot be taken from the living except for that dangerous procedure. What about this?"

"For the key, you will not be mortal, and you can remove it without any problem."

"I brought my books, Ultimate One. Do I also have to pass them on to my pupils?"

"You will write new books for your pupils. These ones you add to my books which will be yours after I am gone. Of course, there are some more than two. Two hundred would come closer. But then again, you have long centuries to read them. In this volume are all your instructions for starting life as an immortal and it also contains the classic way of teaching pupils. Improve what you want, of course, except the Moves. The other volumes are like your books, only far more expanded and it contains ageless wisdom. I have always said that I am not a god, but I am as close to one as one can get. No priests are praying to me, but masters speak their pledge to me. The power we have is to heal and to harm, though our healing powers have rarely been used except for ourselves as we have never been too gregarious. And I don't doubt that is something you will change, too."

"You sound as if you are disapproving of all my changes."

"Don't bother, don't regard my wishes. As I said before I am just a traditionalist, and I am in no position to be in your way now when you want renewal. I teach you the basics of creating, you fill in the details yourself."

"And how do I know when I go too far?"

"Then the gods will intervene before you do it. Even as you will see the lives and intents of everybody you wish to look at, they will see the lives of everybody including you. And when they see you want to go too far they will stop you."

"How? Will they kill me then?"

"They will not kill you, they will merely warn you. Even they will not take away your immortality, which also means invulnerability in this context, but they will call upon your senses not to do this as they will give you insight in the situation. Here in the realm of the gods nobody is aggressive and they all live together in peace. The only battle there is is the everlasting one between good and evil, but you will not be on one of those sides as you are neutral."

"As a man raised into some kind of godhood, do they not know that men can turn from one path to another?"

"Ah, but no longer you will be a man, you will be like one of them, an immortal. And believe me, you will not turn from your path as you see all too well the consequences."

"It all sounds creepy to me." the Nasty One admitted.

"I understand, but you will learn to deal with it. You now stand above all the mortals, be it man, plant or animal. And you will have to learn to accept your fate. Many a man would love to have your status as he will not understand what it really is. Men have idolized godhood for too long, they think it is only a life of good. I can tell you the worries of the gods, how they constantly strive to maintain the balance in this world, with the gods of good looking at the world with concern, hoping to keep everything going well, and the gods of evil, seeking only to enslave its inhabitants. Between them the gods of neutrality stand, knowing that there must be balance between good and evil. And among these, Nasty One, you will stand as the Ultimate One. And you can stand there in full and with pride, as your powers rival those of the gods. What you miss is knowledge and so it is your duty to wipe out their advantage. You must gain all the knowledge that will make you a respected one among the gods. You must fight to make your star shine bright."

"My star?" the Nasty One asked, shaking his head.

"Aye, your star. As you know, the gods all have a star or an entire constellation. And though you will not be a god like the other ones, you will get a star, and it will burn with your intensity."

"Which star do I get then?"

"What do you know of astrology, Nasty One?"

"More than enough. But I have never known that the Ultimate One had a star."

"Nobody knew, since I did not care to tell my pupils. Do you know the bright yellow star, the one between the Bane Nova constellation and the Hero's Nebula?"

"So that is your star. Standing between two powerful forces while seeming to want to be unnoticed."

"It is a bit too bright to be unnoticed, but that is indeed what the astrologists say. I trust the star will now turn a light shade of blue."

"That is within my power then?"

"Of course. With my status I also give you my star. This way the people will know there is a new Ultimate One, others will say there is a new god."

"But I don't want people to call me a god, to worship me."

"And your will is their law, you will not be worshipped. Do never underestimate your powers I repeat, Nasty One."

"How can I underestimate or overestimate what I do not know? I have yet to learn about my powers."

"But you open a new era, Nasty One. Mine has been one of seclusion, yours will be one of companionship. And I know that you have been thinking of taking the woman you care about with you but that will probably not be possible and this is not what she wants. Furthermore, she bears your child and indeed she will start as a mortal child. Yet I fear her powers already, and she must be kept in line."

"You think she will cross the straits then and try to find more for herself?"

"And become a child of evil? No, I do not think so. But as you told the woman, the child will have the powers of the two of you and she will be able to develop both those powers, as she will get the firm will and the strong determination from her parents. But that time will tell, and it may indeed be as you predicted, that she will get a powerful seat in the paths of neutrality. This will be the best for her, I think."

"Time will tell." the Nasty One said pensively.

"But how do I gain the knowledge I need? Is it all in your books?"

"Most of it, aye. The rest will be learned the hard way, through experience. I do not ask of you to get yourself involved right away, as the gods will have to accept first that you are here. They might come to you to talk to you, to hear your advise and to canvass your wisdom. But they know you have an important task, and they will not hinder you when you are creating the new masters of Body Life magic."

"What if I don't like the name, and wish to give it another name?"

"It is only a name, though it is a name that has survived eons. Give it another name if you wish. Like what?"

"I have no name in mind nor do I know if I would give it another name. It was just a question."

"It is all in your power, Nasty One."

"Fine. And do I need to get to work right away?"

"As you choose. But like all of us, you happen to hate delay."

"That is correct. So I am in no need to hurry except for my own need."

"Correct. Time will not run by for you, as you are immortal, invulnerable and forever young."

"When does this start? After I kill you?"

"Indeed. You know what happens when one gains the knowledge of a deceased master or Dark Body. With the knowledge, this time, will come the immortality and the rest."

"That way. By the way, why did you create Dark Bodies? Or if you did not create them, then why did you tolerate them?"

"It was not my intent to create them, as that would have tipped the scales of balance. But then again, good and evil is everywhere, so why should it not be within our ranks? I agree that this way death comes faster for the class, but the Dark Bodies came because my pupils and their descendants chose wrongly. I would not intervene here, as it was really not needed. I am the Ultimate One, and I am not here to deal with small matters."

"You call Dark Bodies small matters?"

"You will learn to see things that now look big to you as small as they really are for those who dwell here. Aye, even Dark Bodies are small as there have been only a few and nobody is a threat when this alone. Would they have posed a threat the true masters would have done something against it. I cannot be there to solve matters they can solve themselves for them."

"I understand. Life is the game of the gods. Just set the stage, leave the dialogue open."

"Correct. You will get the hang of it some day."

"How serious do you take a job when you know it is over?"

"What do you mean, Nasty One?"

"I mean, you know that you will not see the sun rise many more times. Then are you not feeling like: when is he finally done asking questions and stuff like that?"

"Of course not. When one learns to live as long as I did one learns patience as one of the first things. And I know the task given to you like nobody else, and I know that my last task is to instruct and inform you. And even though it is my last task, I know that like many other things in my long life it is one that will shape the face of the world. Would I leave you not properly informed you would not know what to do and this way I would create the enormous possibility for chaos to take over. You know we are the most powerful beings in the world together with the sorcerers. It is only just that sorcerers are concerned with us. You know the man from the Sorcerers Council, he had to stick around with you. He knew you were to be an important man in our class, and that is why the Council kept an eye on you. And that is why you and your master were sent to that sorcerer who threatened to take over the Council. Of course, you have the key, and that was what made you this important. There is good sorcery and there is evil sorcery. And as a fair and impartial judge there is the neutral master of the Body Life magic."

"Are there no neutral sorcerers for that then?"

"Aye, but one from the will has to draw his powers from something strong, neutrality has always been seen as doubt between one side and the other. This way the neutral men and women of the will have never been able to develop strong powers. To keep sorcery in balance, there is the High Sorcerer and the masters of Body Life magic."

"I thought the High Sorcerer was good."

"The High Sorcerer is a man much like me, much like you will be, with the difference that he is mortal even as he lives longer by means of sorcery than other mortals. Actually, contact between myself and the High Sorcerer has been quite common. When I am gone, do not hesitate to go to him for your eventual questions, as he has wisdom on some parts even I cannot match."

"From what I have heard, the High Sorcerer is also an old man who will soon have to choose his successor."

"I know what you are thinking of, Nasty One, but there is only one who can decide who that will be. And realise well that the woman has learned how to deal with great power only half a year ago. You cannot possibly expect the High Sorcerer to give away that much responsibility to a woman who has been among the high ranks for a short time. But the High Sorcerer will step back when he chooses, or when the gods want his long life to end. I advise you strongly not to try and influence him on this point."

"And I heed your words, Ultimate One. It was indeed a crazy thought, and one that would also have influenced my daughter greatly. What would a girl be, being the child of the Ultimate One and the High Sorceress?"

"Indeed, but that is of later concern, Nasty One. That is something for twenty years or so from now. Never forget that the present is always more important than the future as the present gives you the chance to shape the future, and not the other way around."

"It is the teaching of your pupils I would talk about now, Nasty One. You have your own experiences, you know what your master was like. And he set a good example, I wish you follow most of his rules. Furthermore, because you must do more than just train one pupil, I advise you to read my books before starting, as this explains what teaching more than one pupil is like. It comes from my own experiences and the books that the one before me gave me."

"Do you still have the books from your predecessor?"

"Of course I have some of them, though some volumes have been destroyed on purpose. After all, I would not be a copy of him, I would set the example myself. It is something you would not think of now but you will think of it later. After all those long centuries ahead of you there comes a time when you want people to forget me as the Ultimate One as you are the only Ultimate One. As much of a legend as I already am, I would retreat into anonymity."

"I can understand that. Because you have always been a very seclusive one. You would not fit in my example of a man of compassion and companionship."

"Exactly. Now, here is the important part. This book describes all the one hundred and seven Moves in accurate detail. When teaching your pupils the Moves, see to it that you follow the book exactly, else you risk making the slightest mistakes that could easily undo or even reverse the effects. As you are indeed a bit unexperienced though you remember all your Moves, I advise you to learn from this book before you start selecting your pupils. Do not forget that they have to be in a good condition, both physically and mentally, and train them in this until they are perfect."

"I have never met a female one of our kind. Why is that?"

"Men have a stronger physique. And in a company of soldiers you will find only a few women, as their feelings against cold-blooded murder are not as easily forgotten than by men. It is their own choice, since I think a mistress of Body Life magic would prove to be quite interesting. After all, women have more feeling for supple and subtle moves, they will use their brains more than their brawn. Aye, they could be around. You may take female pupils. Too bad I will not live to see that, I would have regarded it with interest."

The talks went on for long days, without rest as there was no need for sleep in the realm of the gods.

Then finally the Nasty One rose, sword in hand, and the Ultimate One also rose to die in his full glory. The sword pierced his heart accurately, and he died with a smile of relief on his face.

Then the air crackled, and the Nasty One was surrounded by a bright yellow bolt of lightning, weaving its way into his body. He shouted in agony as he let his own life energy out of his body. The lightning shifted, twirled, surrounded him and then slowly began to change colour.

First it was a brilliant light green, and then the colour purified and slowly became light blue, the colour of the new Ultimate One.

And with this, slowly one star began to change colour.

It was the day of the Battle of the Star, as the people below called it, when that hardly noticed yellow star between two powerful constellations became light blue.

Three persons in particular stood on the roof of the tower they had lived in for months, knowing.

"It is done, Griwalda. No more he is the Nasty One, that is a name that is to be forgotten." Antharion spoke.

"The Ultimate One has risen to power. He has killed his predecessor and now rules." she said softly.

"And he will create. He will have the power to create! He will be a magnificent creator of many good people." Jon added enthusiastically.

"I will not miss you, N... Ultimate One. Your star will always be with me at night, when I need it most. And even when it has become the first star to become invisible in the light of the day, I will find your star. And I know that from that star you will be looking at me." Griwalda spoke, encircling her two companions around their waists.

"No way! Out it goes."

The Ultimate One was reading his books, the first ones that were to be the most essential ones.

He was fully aware of his own presence, of his state of mind and of the task that lay before him.

The book he was reading was defining all the rules his predecessor had installed, and now he was looking at them, writing a book of his own. After all, he was in charge now, and the world would play by his rules.

Every rule he studied, one he agreed with he copied and one he disagreed with he tore out of the book without ceremony. Then he wrote the new rule on this point in his book. But finally, after this formality had been completed, he shook his head in anger.

"Here I am, with the power of a god, creating new rules. And they have already been broken by me! Here I say that masters should not be alone as a rule, yet here I sit alone! This is ridiculous."

"You would prefer company then?" came a voice behind him.

The Ultimate One turned around, instinctively going for his sword but then he put it back with a shake of his head. He was in the realm of the gods, and nobody would attack him. And certainly not this one, a man of age from the first look, calm and seemingly wise.

"Lorean, people call me the god of knowledge." the man introduced himself, gently extending his left hand.

"Left hand?" the Ultimate asked while shaking it gently.

"Oh, that right hand stuff has been one big joke, coming from a fumble by humankind. After all, offering your hand is a token of friendship, of sharing the soul. Then why offer and shake the hand of power, not the hand of the soul?"

The Ultimate One laughed loudly in comprehension.

"I congratulate you with your presence, Ultimate One. And not before it has happened that one of your kind spoke out the need for company. Your new rules I have studied while you were writing them, because of course I must know everything. And I agree with them. Away with those strict rules that leaves man to live in bitterness! Arrive the era of company and friendship. While you certainly have more power than anybody in the world to kill, you need not make your followers mindless killing machines."

"It is a label put upon me by one of my dearest friends, and I hated it when I heard it first."

"And I can fully understand that."

"Of course. You are the god of knowledge, you should know and understand everything." the Ultimate One said with a slight but friendly sneer.

"Would mankind only understand that even the gods are not perfect. But that is something you understand."

"Indeed I do, it was just a joke."

"If I may ask, could I read your books once? Your rather rigid predecessor always forbade me this, and then I always get the feeling of my knowledge being incomplete."

"Go ahead, any time. For I can see that the wish to gain knowledge is your only goal." the Ultimate One nodded jovially.

"Then you have much to read, but we are in this together then. Though I have a vague suspicion you read a tad faster than I do."

"Everything one learns through experience, Ultimate One. Gain experience and you will know. Strength, condition, knowledge, valour... everything!"

"Then I know who to turn to when I have questions."

"Of course. And do not be afraid to ask them. For the ones around here I am the walking encyclopedia, for it has been my duty to gather knowledge and to pass it on to those who desire it. Though I must tell you I may not tell everything when I think it is something you should not know. Knowledge is something that should be available to everybody, but would you teach a two-years old how to use tinder? It is likely to burn down your house at once."

"I see what you mean, Knowing One."

"Now that was the name your predecessor gave me! Well, you have this thing with names, so I am already used to it. Can I help you with anything?"

"Most certainly. What restricts us from walking the world below as we wish and what are the possible consequences?"

"I expected that question as I know what your intentions are. My answer, and the truth, is: there are no restrictions. We do not prefer to walk among those below us because we do not want to influence them too much. After all, are they not entertaining merely to watch? For you it may be different, as those you have known in your mortal time still walk the lands. The only risk is that when you walk around too long, people will see you and recognise you as a god among the people. And striving for worshippers is not your goal."

"So I may descend, though it is advisable to walk unseen or only seen by those I want to see me."

"That is correct. Though you have your duties, it is said nowhere that you should fulfil them where you are now. Would you write your books there? Then go ahead, nobody will stop you. Would you train them there? Fine, the location is in the middle of nowhere, and such a place suits your needs to train in silence. Would you love your woman there? Again, nobody will stop you. Realise though that you will, ah... inject the power of a god into the woman, and though she will not become a god, she may rise in power among the lesser creatures. Aye, even more than she will already."

"Then you know the future of this woman?"

"Of course I know her future, like I know yours, your child's and everybody else's. But here I advise that you ask me not of this, as you would not like it."

"That bad?"

"Not that bad, that boring when you know everything that will happen. Apart from that you will tell her and she will be living mindlessly walking in the footsteps of her own destiny. And nobody wants that."

"I agree fully with you there."

"You need to learn a lot, young lad. Part of it is in those books, and I always offer you my services when needed."

"I would have been saddened to see that the friendship and compassion I have fought to establish down below would not be up here. Thank you, my friend."

"And that is something your predecessor has never called me." Lorean chuckled.

"He wishes to be forgotten, and you know it. So please stop referring to him."

"I will. The Ultimate One has passed. Long live the Ultimate One."

"Do you think he is happy up there?"

The question came from the short locksmith who now referred to himself as a psychic.

The woman caressed her now steadily growing belly and looked away from the penetrating eyes that looked at her.

It must be twice as hard for her, Jon realised. Not only did she miss the big man, but also the sorcerer who had been her guide. Though Jon had never involved himself much with Antharion he understood she owed him a great deal and missed him as well.

"I am not sure. I have no idea how it is up there, and I know he is watching me, watching us I should say, meaning all three of us. And I am watching him even as I cannot see him. I do not know what his predecessor has taught him, and I do not know if life as the Ultimate One will really be as boring as he always said it would be. After all, all he knew about that came from legends."

"Well, you know him. With a bit of luck, by now he will even have some friends among the gods." Jon smiled.

"But will it ever be the same as here?"

"It will not." came a sudden voice.

"Would it have been my choice, I would live my life here, with you. And I happen to be what I am, and I make the rules. The power is mine, the choice is mine. After all, is my class not made to do as we please?"

It had been a few weeks, but the two friends flung themselves at the Ultimate One as if they had not seen him for ages. "Aye, it is good to be home."

The work had been hard, but the Ultimate One appeared to have great feeling in picking his pupils.

From a sign given by one only the Ultimate One knew, two young men had come to the tower, begging the Ultimate One for enlightenment. They were the sons of Sir Michael Capston, and they had known how much this one had meant for their father. Even though the town of Vintel had been buried by a fate unknown to the populace, they had heard some things. And so they volunteered, abandoning the ways of the sometimes unscrupulous knighthood to learn the ways of those pure in mind and soul.

And because they had already been fit and hard-training squires in the well-known fort Vioris it was easy to adjust their bodies to perfection.

More adolescents came, seemingly from out of nowhere, but the Ultimate One had called them in mystic ways and they came.

Being watched closely by the gods themselves as well as the Sorcerers Council, the Nasty One taught them all he could teach them, and saw to his satisfaction that the group worked as one, helping each other as much as they could, encouraging each other to go on. This came from all the pupils, especially the two former squires who already had great feeling for friendship and compassion. They possessed the patience to learn new things and they learned enthusiastically, knowing this was also the best way to honour their father's name.

Among the first group also two girls could be found: two young girls who had come from wealthy families, who had excellent physiques but would fall into laziness because they were supposed to marry somebody and do nothing.

These girls did not share the intentions of their parents and had run away eagerly when the Ultimate One called them to make something of their lives.

While the days were long and the lessons were harsh, the nights, in the company of the woman he loved, were warm.

This novel is (C) 1994, 1995 TMB Produkties. All rights reserved. None of the contents may be reproduced in any way without prior consent of the author and official signed contracts for any kind of publishing.