Theft, Murder, and Crystals Read online

  Cimir slowly nodded at that. “And books?”

  “And books. All the books you’ll ever want,” Samuel said, trying hard to suppress his grin. He didn’t want to be too eager, but at the same time, opportunity had kicked down their door and they’d be swimming in gold in just a few short days. All he needed to do was find the people who wanted to buy. And within a week? They’d all be begging for what he had to sell.

  “I guess I’ll get started,” Cimir said. “What should I create first?”

  “For the first batch, make cleaning spells,” Samuel replied. “Something that animates a broom, gets the dishes to wash themselves, that kind of thing. Our wares will be cheaper than servants and more dignified than doing the work themselves.”

  Cimir nodded and grabbed a handful of crystals. “I have just the spell in mind.”

  “And I’ve got just the customers in mind…” Samuel said. He closed his eyes, to take a nap, while Cimir set about working to create crystals. Dreams of wealth came quickly to his mind and he smiled at that.

  Samuel Goldenwine wasn’t much of a worker bee. Born in Glimmer and raised by a hard working father who had died in a mining accident, Samuel had seen what the effects of hard work were for the lower class. No matter how much they worked, no matter the long hours and the sleepless nights, the poor could never get ahead for themselves. Samuel’s poor father, the only parent in his life, had given up years of his life and for what? A loose boulder buried him well before he had a chance to even take a vacation to the Western Hills of Sorono.

  Samuel wouldn’t make the same mistake as his father. He wouldn’t give his life to countless hours of meaningless work, only meant to sustain him a few more days at a time. And now, thanks to his constant plotting and planning, things were about to come to fruition. Once the first batch of crystals were ready to go, he’d finally have more money than his father would ever make. Maybe then he’d be able to get his father a proper tomb, rather than the small marker on the collapse site.

  Chapter 3:

  The Maelian family was well-off, but not so much that they were unapproachable. They had made quite a fortune in construction but were still composed of hard working men and women who knew they weren’t better than anyone else, just because they had money. They were just the type of people that Samuel was looking for.

  Three weeks had gone by, long enough for everyone to begin to feel the burn of magic’s disappearance. Servants were in short supply and the market was flooded with unemployed workers looking to make an honest wage. Magicians, spell readers and healers were out of the job. Not all of them had the money to flee to a better country, where magic was legal. Many would have to save up and that meant for now, the job market was saturated with desperate people looking for work. Good servants were hard to come by, just as Samuel had predicted. Fortunately, he had the answer to this problem in his satchel.

  He rapped on the door to the elegant manor, a home of impressive architecture, forged with only the strongest of steels. Glimmer’s wealthier districts often had homes formed out of steel that had been long ago warped with magic to create impressive (and impenetrable) buildings. This home was no different, spiraling upwards towards the heavens.

  The door swung open as a short, redheaded woman answered. “What do you want?” she grumbled with the famous Glimmerite hospitality.

  “I’m looking for the head of the household,” Samuel said, taking his hat off and putting it against his chest. “I’ve got quite the product to solve a few of your problems.”

  “You selling medicines or creams?” she asked, closing one eye and leaning forward, inspecting him.

  “No, ma’am, I’m selling magic,” Samuel replied.

  “Feh, magic’s all gone. Didn’t you hear them cowards in the magistrate?” she asked as she shook her head.

  “Their magic is all gone, but I can assure you, my magic still works,” Samuel said, gesturing towards his satchel. “Perhaps a demonstration would be in order?’

  “If I give you a silver, would that be enough to drink yourself to death? Too many magicians wandering around here, pretending like they still can cast a charm or a hex. It’s downright depressing.”

  “I want more than silver, and trust me,” Samuel said as he leaned in close to whisper. “You’ll pay me much more once you see what I can do for you.”

  She paused at that and wrinkled her face. She looked him up and down for a moment and then shrugged. “Well, I’ve nothing to do for the day, come in. I’m Glenda Maelian, my Pa’s in his study.”

  “Samuel Goldenwine,” he said as he bowed to her. “Thank you.”

  He put his hat up on the hat rack as he entered the opulent manor. While the outside was steel, the interior of the walls were colored with a greenish substance. He marveled at it for a moment.

  “What are the walls made out of?”

  “Emerite. Cheap, sturdy and saves you a fortune when it comes to painting,” Glenda said as she escorted him through the house. “We specialize in working with Emerite. Most houses around here like the way it reacts to…well, it used to glow when spells were cast. I guess they won’t be glowing so much anymore.”

  “A real shame,” Samuel said as she led him into the study. The room was adorned with bookshelves and a large, oak desk. Behind the desk was a tall, withered man, an octogenarian really, sitting in a large leather chair. His eyes were shut, and he was concentrating, humming to himself as he gripped a binder in his hands.

  “Pa? A man’s here.”

  “We ain’t hiring,” Jacob Maelian grunted back, refusing to open his eyes.

  “Not looking for a job, sir,” Samuel replied. He looked around the study. “Boy, I must say this room is filthy. Dust everywhere.”

  That got Jacob’s attention. He opened his eyes and grunted a little as he leaned forward. “What’s the state of my study to you?”

  Samuel reached into his satchel and slowly drew out a grey crystal. He held it upwards with a dramatic flair. “Servants are in short supply these days. Lots of people looking for work and lots of rich folks hiring them by the dozen. Why, just this morning, I saw a wagon full of hobos and vagrants being carted to Lord Enirom’s home.”

  “So?” both Jacob and Glenda said in unison.

  Samuel pointed a nearby broom that was propped up against one of the bookshelves. “Why waste money on in-house servants when you could just use a spell or two to keep your house clean.”

  “That’s how it used to be,” Jacob grumbled. “Til the Magistrate decided they wanted to live more than they wanted to be free.”

  “But we are free, sir. We are free to do whatever we like,” Samuel said. He took a deep breath and tried to remember Cimir’s instructions. His hands were trembling a little. He knew how to make a sales pitch, that part was easy. He didn’t quite have a grip on using magical items, despite how many times he had practiced with them.

  He focused and pressed his own energy against the device. It was like imagining that he was reaching for a something without actually touching it. The crystal flashed with a bright purple light. The energy leapt from the crystal towards the broom. The broom came to life immediately, jumping into action by sweeping up the ground. It floated a few inches above the ground, sweeping against the floor, collecting dirt.

  The crystal flashed again, the purple energy flew out of the room. A few seconds later, a dustpan sailed into the study and together the broom and dustpan worked to collect the dirt.

  “What the devil!” Jacob shouted. “That…magic? How? How did you do that?”

  “I, my friend, didn’t do anything,” Samuel said, pointing to the crystal in his hand. “Rather, this powerful little guy did it for me.”

  “Hot damn,” Glenda said, walking forward to inspect the broom. It was working swiftly and efficiently, cleaning the floor with ease. “Looks like you weren’t lying.”

  Samuel grinned as he watched the two’s reaction. They were both in awe of the animation of the broom and dustpan. The
pan knew to fly up to the window and push it open so that it could empty the contents outside, while the broom patiently waited for it to finish.

  “You’re selling this, I presume?” Jacob said. He was grinning now, eyes fully open and alert. “Despite how illegal it is?”

  “Illegal? Says who? Last time I checked, crystals aren’t illegal, right?” Samuel said. “Why you can buy crystals at just about any jewelry shop.”

  “Right,” Jacob chuckled. “And screw the magistrate if they ban these too, right? Not like magic hurts anyone. For ten thousand years we’ve been using it without a problem. Some feral hordes of man-children from the far north come down here and demand we throw it all away? To hell with them. How’s it all work?”

  “Simple enough,” Samuel said as he sat on one of the chairs across from Jacob. “You simply imagine it activating and it does the rest. This crystal here is meant for housework. It’ll respond to simple commands. Clean dishes, wash walls, scrub floors, etc.”

  “And how long does the magic last?”

  “Forever. Provided you give the crystal enough time to rest. That big ole crystal in the sky? These suckers actually are charged by it, believe it or not. Use it once a day and it’ll be fine.”

  “Your price?” Jacob asked as he reached down to slide a desk drawer open. Samuel tried to suppress his grin as he heard the coins in the desk jingling. His heart began to race a little. Now was the hard part, getting them to agree to the price.

  “Ten gold pieces,” Samuel asked.

  “Ten gold?” Jacob repeated, a look of incredulity washed across his face.

  “Well, when you uh,” Samuel coughed a little, “when you factor in how much work this can do over the course of a lifetime, you’d have to realize that you’re really saving money. It might be a lot upfront but – “

  “Kid, you could sell this crap for ten times that price,” Jacob said as he drew out a bag full of coins. “I’m a straight shooter, so I’ll be honest with you. My construction business heavily relies on lifting loads that normal humans can’t move. My guys just use to have a magician on staff who’d wave his wand and give them incredible strength, but now that guy’s living in Milig. Can you do that for me? Give me crystals that make a man strong enough to pick up a boulder?”

  Samuel giggled a little and nodded his head. “We can take custom orders. Anything you need. I mean, within reason. We’re selling utility here, not uh, you know, weapons.”

  “Don’t need weapons, but I do need several tons lifted a day and like hell if I’m going to pay some rockman to do it. I’ll give you a thousand gold for enough crystals for ten guys. And a hundred for this bauble here,” Jacob said as he tossed the bag of coins to Samuel.

  A thousand for ten? Samuel could scarcely believe his ears. Blood rushed to his head as he caught the bag, He looked into the satchel for a moment.

  “What, you don’t think it’s all there?” Jacob asked.

  “No…I just…I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much money,” Samuel replied. He could hardly believe his eyes. Gold pieces, in denominations of 10 or 20, certified by the Bank of Glimmer, were almost spilling out of the bag.

  “I make that in an hour, my friend. Construction for the Glimmer elite is no cheap task. I’m gonna send my guy, Garl, with you. He’ll take the shipment and bring it back to me, okay?” Jacob asked as he nodded to Glenda. She nodded back at him and hastily left the room.

  “It’s not a quick process, maybe a few days?” Samuel said.

  “No problem,” Jacob replied, grinning. He paused for a moment and narrowed his eyebrows. “And uh…I’m guessing I’m not the only person on your list of people to sell these trinkets to?”

  “You were my first stop of the day,” Samuel replied, his hands running through the gold pieces. His first sale and he was already rich.

  “Well, do me a favor and skip anyone working in construction, will ya? And in return, I’ll make sure to send more orders your way,” Jacob said.

  More? This was enough money for Samuel and Cimir to retire on. Samuel was unsure of what to say.

  “Something wrong?” Jacob asked as he frowned a little. “You look hesitant. I’ll pay you double for the order if it keeps you from selling those to Vicmar Construction goons. Vicmar’s a lowballer, I don’t want to have to compete with him. What do you think? Sound fair?”

  A moment of hesitation had suddenly made Samuel even wealthier than he had imagined. He paused for a moment to put together a plan. He ran the numbers in his head. A thousand gold was wealthy for someone living in the Golden district, were bread cost a copper and a draft of ale only two. Housing was maybe a gold a year. But that was in the poorest part of the massive city of Glimmer. “Sir, if I may ask. How much did this house cost?”

  “This place? Around 300,000 gold or so,” Jacob replied. “But that was at cost, since my family put it together themselves.”

  “And is that a lot? For the rich, I mean,” Samuel asked.

  “Nah, this isn’t really the kind of house the wealthy elite tend to buy, those go for maybe ten times as much. This is really just a midrange home.”

  “It’s a deal,” Samuel replied. “I sell construction gear exclusive to you.” He felt like he was floating. His first sales pitch and it had gone beyond anything he had dreamed of. His afternoon plans involved peddling cleaning supplies to bored nobles, but now? Now he was starting to rethink his strategy.

  “Great,” Jacob replied as he stood to his feet. He stretched his hand out and shook Samuel’s. The grip grew tight around Samuel’s hand. “When a man shakes on such business,” Jacob growled, “he makes a bond. If I catch word of you selling to any other construction company, it will be the conclusion of our business, got it?”

  “Of course, sir,” Samuel said, wincing a little. The grip was like iron. The gesture didn’t worry Samuel, however. There was quite a bit of money coming his way. With a few more weeks of deals like this and he’d be employing Jacob to build him a nice big house. “You’re my only construction client.”

  “Good,” Jacob said, clapping Samuel on the back. “I’d hate for a bright young man like you to have to end up somewhere in the foundation of some nice house.”

  What the hell did that mean?

  Chapter 4:

  “Everything’s changing!” Samuel shouted as he burst into the workshop, startling Cimir. He had been in a deep meditation, reflecting on the ways that magic interacted with soap. A flash of inspiration had struck him, but thanks to Samuel’s sudden entrance, the idea was gone.

  “What?” Cimir groggily moaned as he climbed up from the floor and dusted himself off. “Who’s that?” He pointed to a tall, long faced man standing behind Samuel. The man wore an elegant black coat and had a long sword at his side.

  “Oh him? He’s just here to pick up an order, don’t worry about him,” Samuel said. He took out a bag from his satchel and poured the contents onto the table. Hundreds of gold coins poured out onto the table.

  “By the name of Ssskraa!” Cimir gasped. His eyes grew wide as the coins continued to pour until they were all scattered onto the table. “How did you get all of that? Did the Bank of Glimmer leave their safe unlocked?”

  “Better! That construction guy, Maelian’s Construction? Apparently, he took a real hit when magic was thrown out and he wants us to solve the problem.”

  “What is he looking for?”

  “Strength. Enough to lift a ton. He needs enough crystals for ten men to be strong enough to pick up whatever they need at the construction site,” Samuel said as he sank into one of the chairs. He began to sort through the coins, one by one and inspect them. The tall man simply stood off to the side, unmoving and apparently unconcerned with the conversation at hand.

  “Enough crystals? I could do that with one, I suppose,” Cimir mumbled as the rituals came to mind. “Yes, one crystal that affects multiple people. A single flash of energy and they’ll be strong for 12 hours or so. Won’t be easy to cast. Give me a day…�
�� he trailed off as he also mentally counted the coins. “This is a thousand.”

  “And we got another thousand coming after we fulfill the order,” Samuel chuckled. “Oh man, all of our dreams are about to come true.”

  “I thought we were retiring after a thousand,” Cimir replied. He began to fidget a little, running his hands through his hair. “Oh man, you’re not changing the plan?”

  “Look, out here on the streets, a grand is enough to live it up. You can buy cheap brandy, a decent hotel and all the bread and cheese you want. But I realized something. Why they hell are we striving to be successful poor people? Jacob Maelian lives in a house that cost hundreds of thousands, more than we would ever make under the old plan. I say, why not us? Why can’t we get some serious cash? Screw the old plan.”