Mercenary sorceress supreme Riss Cobalt's very first adventure after setting out on her own at the age of fourteen.
Remember: if you like the story, check out my book Kismet and Tell
The Sorceress Shuffle:
An Early Adventure in Sorcery
Hello, readers! My name is Marissa Cobalt. I’m a fourteen-year-old sorceress, just starting out on the way to making my name famous. And I’m sure that my blue hair will help in that regard. I’m fairly certain that no one else in the entire world of Andor has blue hair… Uh, well, anyway, this story you are about to read is my very first real adventure. I hope you enjoy it.
The boat pulled into the dock that early afternoon. As the crew set about tying the ship down, I stood at the railing and stared at the big city before me. I had left my home at the tower of my dear foster father, the Sorcerer Althor, only a mere month ago. Most of that time – about three weeks, give or take a few days - had been spent on this ship, The Ysalass, crossing the Incara Ocean. And now here I was, at the port city of Liston, on the other side of the world, ready to start a new life and to make a name for myself.
A young sailor approached me warily. “Miss Marissa?” he said tentatively.
I couldn’t help a wry smile. A few days after we’d set sail, some of the sailors had tried to get rather…familiar…with me. A toned-down Dagger Bolt spell followed by the threat of use of stronger magic quickly dismissed any such ideas from their heads, and word quickly spread amongst the ship’s crew and other passengers that they’d better not mess with the blue-haired sorceress. Heh. I was already becoming famous.
“Yes, Jeen?” I asked.
“It’s safe for you to disembark now, Miss Marissa.”
“Ah. Thank you, Jeen.”
He gave me a short bow, then left.
I hadn’t any possessions except the clothes I wore – a pair of sturdy, black-dyed cotton pants, a white cotton shirt, a slightly used pair of leather boots, and a little brown cloak - so I quickly made my way off the ship and into the city of Liston.
Aftering pawning a few magical items from the magic pocket inside my cloak so that I’d have some money (I’d spent all I had to book passage on The Ysalass and come here), I found a little tavern to have dinner in. I was just about to enjoy my first spoonful of the beef stew special when a someone sat down at my table. I set the spoon down and looked at the person.
It was a middle-aged man, ruggedly handsome, with dirty blonde hair and beard. His light-blue eyes held a troubled look, emphasized by the frown on his face.
“Yes?” I asked, my blue eyes narrowing threateningly. I didn’t like having my meal interrupted.
“You’re Miss Marissa Cobalt, right?” he said. “The sorceress?”
“Yes. That’s me. How’d you know?”
“Well, I overheard the crew of The Ysalass talking about you, and thought you might could help me with a problem I’m having. I’ll even pay you for your trouble. Whatever price you name.”
“Really???” I said, my eyes now widening with the prospect of earning some money. Here’s a way of earning some money that I hadn’t thought of before. A problem-solver for hire.
“Yes.”
“All right, then! What’s the problem?”
“My name is Wulf Kaiyer. I work for Lord Tillager as an advisor.”
“That so?” I said, my attention wavering as the aroma of my stew wafted up towards me.
“Yes. Well, he’s throwing a ball tonight. A certain someone wasn’t invited, which is sure to make him upset. I’m afraid he’ll crash the ball and do something rather… disastrous.”
“Mmm-hmmmm?” I said through a spoonful of beef stew. See, my food was getting cold, and I wanted to enjoy it while I could. So I ate some while he explained. He didn’t even seem to notice.
“So, Miss Marissa,” he continued, “this is where you come in. I’d like you to go to the ball and make sure that this person doesn’t cause any mayhem.”
I swallowed another spoonful of stew and looked him in the eyes. “Sounds interesting. Who’s this ‘certain someone’ you’re worried about?”
“He goes by the name Diablerio. He claims to be a sorcerer of great power.”
“Diablerio? Hmm…I take it from his name that he uses his ‘great power’ not for good. And he probably dresses the part, too.”
“That is correct.”
“So I shouldn’t have any trouble identifying him if he shows. All right, then. You got a deal.”
“Great! Ummm…how much do you want for this, Miss Marissa?”
“Oh! Uh….” I thought for a minute. I had no idea what to charge. I’d never been hired like this before. “How about 30 gold pieces?”
Wulf’s eyes widened, but whether it was because he found the price too high or too low, I had no idea. “Sounds fair, Miss Marissa,” he said. “You’ll get paid after the ball.”
“All right.”
“I’ll arrange for a gown to be provided for you, so you’ll have something appropriate to wear. Come to the castle about half past six, so you can get ready for the ball. The ball is to start at seven o’clock.”
True to my word, I arrived at the castle promptly at half past six o’clock that evening. The doorman promptly escorted me to a bedroom, where a handmaiden proceeded to dress me for the ball in lovely red velvet ballgown and to put my long blue hair up but leaving a few strands hanging down in curls. Then I was escorted to the ballroom, arriving just as a clock chimed the hour.
Music was already playing from the orchestra platform at the back of the huge room when I walked in. The assembled guests all danced gleefully to the jovial music, their outfits a rainbow of colors. As much fun as the dancing looked, I was, however, instantly drawn to the buffet table set aside out of the way of the dance floor. I stood by the table and watched the dancers as I munched on crackers and cheese and sipped a glass of red wine.
Half an hour into the party, I felt my hair stand on end, warning me of the presence of strong magic. Then the doubledoors suddenly slammed open. The music stopped, and the dancers halted. All eyes turned to the door.
In the doorway stood a tall, broad man in a black sorcerer’s robe. He looked to be about thirty or so. He had long, dark-brown hair, and a scar down his right cheek. And he had a frown of anger on his face that would make even a Demon cringe in fear.
I knew instantly who he was. He was that Diablerio character Wulf mentioned. The guy I was hired to stop from causing chaos at the party. I gulped. It seemed I had my work cut out for me. Perhaps I should have asked for more than 30 gold pieces??
“How dare I not be invited to this party?!” he called out in a loud bellow.
A man in his late fifties, with salt-and-pepper hair and wearing clothes of royal purple, stepped forward. I gathered he was the Lord Tillager Wulf said he worked for. “You were not invited,” he said, standing and facing the man proudly, “because you were not wanted. This was to be a joyous occasion, and we did not want your nefarious presence to ruin it.”
“Nefarious?” Diablerio said, his eyes blazing with hatred. “Nefarious?! I’ll show you nefarious, you worthless weaklings!”
With that, Diablerio raised his hands towards the crowd and began chanting a spell.
I set my glass of wine down and stepped away from the buffet table.
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, DIABLERIO!” I called out suddenly.
“HUH?” was the collective reply from the crowd as everyone turned to me with looks of surprise on their faces, including Diablerio.
I had even surprised myself, because I didn’t even have a plan yet. Well, somehow, I had to take charge of the situation I had created. So…
“What gives you the right to go around terrorizing these innocent people?” I asked as I walked towards him with what I hoped was a purposeful gait.
“And who are you, young lady?” he asked as he eyed me appraisingly. “And what makes you think you can order ME around?”
“I am Marissa Cobalt, sorceress supreme,” I said, putting as much bravado as I could into my reply. I stopped in front of him and crossed my arms as I looked up at him with what I hoped was a look of disdain. “And I make it my business to put a stop to evil where ever I come across it. And you, sir, are evil.”
He had the gall to laugh right in my face.
My eyes narrowed and I growled. “How DARE you laugh at me!” I yelled, and followed up with an uppercut punch to the jaw that sent him staggering back.
Diablerio stared at me in shock as he rubbed his jaw. The crowd behind me cheered me.
“Heh heh heh,” he said with a small smile on his face as he stepped back up. “It seems you’re stronger than you look, little girl. I like that. And I like your spunk. Dance with me.”
My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. “EHHHH???” I said, quite thunderstruck.
Diablerio grabbed my hand and dragged me out onto the dance floor. The guests at the ball made way for us by standing back against the wall. Diablerio motioned to the orchestra, and music began playing. He then led us in a dance across the floor.
“I’ve long wanted to meet someone who could match my personality,” Diablerio said softly into my ear as we danced.
“Oh?” I managed to say through my shock.
“Yes. And here she finally is. And she’s beautiful. And she’s a sorceress as well.”
“Oh, do you mean me?”
“Of course I mean you! I have a proposition for you.”
Uh-oh! I thought. “What kind of proposition?”
“Actually, it’s more of a proposal. Marry me. Then we can pool our power together and rule Liston, and eventually the world!”
I swallowed hard. “But…but I’m only fourteen!”
“I don’t care.”
“But I do! I’m not ready to get married yet!” I brought our dance to a halt and looked him hard in the eyes. “And I DEFINITELY would NOT marry a power-hungry lunatic like you!”
Diablerio growled and pushed me away. The orchestra stopped playing. “So be it, miss ‘sorceress supreme’! Let’s see just how great you really are!”
He jumped back and lauched a Lightning Arrow at me. I quickly raised a magic shield about me.
“You’ll have to do better than that!” I said as the Arrow dispersed across the shield harmlessly. Then I quickly cast a spell of my own. “Flame Darts!” I called out, and little spurts of flame flew from my fingers towards Diablerio.
The darts struck Diablerio’s own magic shield. “Ha ha ha! Nice try! FIREBALL!”
A ball of flame flew directly at me, and I quickly raised another shield. The Fireball struck the shield and dispersed.
“Not too bad,” I said. “But see if you can block THIS with a shield!” I quickly chanted, then dropped to my knees. I placed a hand palm-down on the ground. “Ground Split!” I called out. The ground shook, and a crack formed and quickly spread out from my hand in Diablerio’s direction.
Diablerio stared in wide-eyed shock at the crack spreading out at him. “How…how could someone as young as you master such a difficult spell?” he asked. Then, the crack was under him. He lost his footing and fell in, his cry echoing up out of the deep crevase. Then the crack closed up without a trace.
I stood up and wiped my hands clean. “Serves you right for angering me and trying to take advantage of me,” I said to the spot where Diablerio had stood.
I turned to face the crowd. They stared at me in awe. As I walked towards them, they shied away from me, leaving me a clear path to the door.
I walked out and down the hall, where I met Wulf Kaiyer. He held a leather bag in his hand.
“Ah, Miss Marissa! There you are!”
“Hello, Master Kaiyer,” I said. “Diablerio has been taken care of. He’ll cause no trouble anymore.”
“Good, good. Well, here’s your payment, Miss Marissa.” He handed me the leather bag. “Thirty gold pieces, as agreed. You may return to the bedroom and change back into you clothes now.”
Having changed back into my own clothes, I was escorted from the castle. As I walked back down the street, looking for an inn to stay at overnight, I came across some citizens. Why they were out at night, I didn’t know. Probably heading for a tavern or something. They gave me a curious look, then quickly headed off in the other direction. My keen hearing picked up a couple of hurried phrases. “Look, it’s HER!” and “Keep away from her! Don’t make her mad!”
Seems I’m developing a reputation all ready, I thought with a wry smile as I watched them run. Now, where’s that inn?
Across the Forling is the fourth book in the fifteen book series, The Adventures of Lord Belmundus, a remarkable tale of others worlds, strange customs, beauty and warfare; and, in its grips, lands a young celebrity, who has the chaps to play the man
The Didaniyisgi is the second book in the fifteen book series, The Adventures of Lord Belmundus, a remarkable tale of others worlds, strange customs, beauty and warfare; and, in its grips, lands a young celebrity, who has the chaps to play the many p
