(A/N: Okay, here's the deal. I have the end of the story written. Don't worry, there are still quite a few chapters to come (I hope:-D), but I came up with the perfect ending. Now, do you want me to post it so those people who, like me, like to know how a story ends before they read it can see? Tell me in reviews of something, 'kay?)
Disclaimer: The idea of wild magic belongs to the wonderful Tamora Pierce. But, I've probably totally changed it in my story, so it's really mine.
Chapter Five
Eckerd didn't come back until dusk of the next day. Jander and Pa'das sat around a fire. Jander was roasting squirrel shish-ke-bob again. When he saw Eckerd, he grinned.
"Only had to pack a few things?" He motioned for Eckerd to sit down.
Eckerd grinned sheepishly. "It took longer than I thought. My bag was lost and I had to find it."
"Ah, of course, the bag," Jander said gravely, but with laughter in his eyes. "And then you couldn't decide what to bring or leave."
Pa'das was completely lost. She had no idea why a bag was so important. They could be bought almost anywhere for real cheap. Jander noted her confusion.
"It's an extra-dimensional bag," he explained, handing over the shish-ke-bob. "Do you want any?" he asked Eckerd, but Eckerd shook his head.
Pa'das nodded with a grin. "How could you lose something as useful as that?"
Jander laughed and answered before Eckerd could. "The real question," he said with a grin thrown towards Eckerd, "is how could he have found it again after losing it? Going into Eckerd's tower is like going into a bottomless pit. If you lose something in that mess, you'll never find it again."
"Hey!" Eckerd protested, laughing. "At least I know where everything is!"
Jander snorted at that statement. He didn't believe it for an instant, even though it was a claim Eckerd made frequently. There were probably millions of things in Eckerd's tower that he had forgotten were there. Jander wouldn't have been surprised if there were the skeletons of a couple of guests Eckerd had forgotten about who got lost trying to find there way out. In fact, Jander could picture the old bones in some forgotten corner, the skin already rotted away, and only the last tattered vestiges of clothing hanging off the white bone. Cobwebs spun from the surface of the bones hung all around the. Jander quickly banished the thoughts from his head with a shudder. He would have given himself nightmares - if vampires could dream.
"Was it hard to find someone to look after your tower?" he asked.
Eckerd grinned a huge grin and reached into his pack. He pulled out a three-foot long replica of his tower - at least, Jander thought it was a replica. It was perfect down to every tiny detail. Eckerd loved the idea of the scary, evil tower of an evil sorcerer, and built his tower to match the idea. He had even fashioned a spell to keep the spooky clouds circling the tips of the tower with flashes of lightning lighting up the bottom. Of course, everyone who knew Eckerd also knew that it was merely a façade, because he liked the image it gave. Eckerd was probably the farthest from evil a person could possibly get. The model in his hands was a perfect replica of his tower and the surrounding grounds. Both Jander and Pa'das wondered who had done it for him. They soon got their answer.
"I figured out how to shrink it. This is my tower with everything in it. With just a word and a few gestures, it will be back to life-sized." Jander and Pa'das could plainly see that Eckerd was proud of his accomplishment. And he had every reason to be. If what he said was true, and everything inside the tower was shrunk, too… that was indeed a major accomplishment. Provided, of course, Eckerd really could reverse the spell.
"If you could do that, then why did you need the bag?" Pa'das asked, amazed.
"Why, to carry it, of course! This thing is heavy, but in the bag it hardly weighs a thing! One of the benefits of having an extra-dimensional bag."
Jander, too, was amazed. Even if he couldn't return the tower to its original size (and Jander had no doubt in his mind that he could), his friend was much more powerful than he had thought. And, of course, the shrunken tower would come in a lot of handy.
Eckerd grinned. "Too bad Scronof is going to have to find someone else to show guests to their rooms. He'll actually have to pay the person, now!"
It had been a long-standing friendly feud between Eckerd and Scronof, the owner of the Nogard Inn, whether Eckerd should be paid for his erratic work or not. Whenever he was at the bar, and someone came in looking for a room, Scronof always had Eckerd show them there. Of course, he never paid Eckerd for his escort service, no matter how much Eckerd argued for the money. And, of course, although Eckerd would always lead the person to their room, he would never let Scronof off without an argument for payment. Recalling this, Jander realized how much he had missed those friendly spats when he left.
"Oh horror of horrors," Jander said, "that Scronof would actually have to give up a little more money."
Jander and Eckerd stayed up late into the night, talking and catching up on everything that had happened with the other. Pa'das listened for a while, but soon got bored and went to sleep. She didn't understand half of the stories they were telling, since they consisted mostly of inside jokes. She checked on Korrieana, who had fallen asleep nestled in Soorefina's furry side, and went to sleep in her own bedroll.
A long while later, Jander finally realized how late it was.
"You ought to sleep," he told Eckerd. "We're probably going to try and leave early tomorrow."
"Why? Are you expected somewhere?" Eckerd realized how bad that sounded as soon as the words left his mouth and inwardly winced. "What I meant was, I would have thought that, traveling with nowhere in particular to go, you could set your own, leisurely pace."
"Pa'das likes to keep on the move," Jander said. With good reason, he thought to himself, remembering Sarrasor.
"That reminds me. I wanted to say this when she was asleep and couldn't hear. Do you realize that magic fairly oozes out of her? And the flow gets stronger and weaker at random moments in time?" That was another of Eckerd's many, rare talents - he could sense others who had magic, and how much magic they had. Eckerd had lots of rare talents. It was rumored that he was the seventh son of the seventh son of a god. Of course, it was Eckerd himself who started the rumor….
Jander nodded carefully. He was torn between the loyalties of his two friends, knowing what Eckerd's next question was likely to be. He wasn't disappointed.
"Well? It's not normal magic, you know."
Jander hesitated, afraid to offend either of his dearest friends. He knew without a doubt the Pa'das would be absolutely furious with him if he told anything to Eckerd. She had put an enormous amount of trust in him, and Jander didn't want to make her think that trust was misplaced. On the other hand, Eckerd might become mad at him for withholding information. They were more than close enough to have absolute trust in each other. But, Eckerd would understand, Jander finally decided.
"She'll tell you if she wishes," he finally said, gently to take the sting out of his words.
Eckerd nodded. "Fair enough. Some with magic do not wish it to be revealed to others." Jander smiled with relief. He should have known better than to doubt his friend. "But what is it about her magic?" he mumbled to himself, and then shook his head, as if to clear himself of any thoughts of it. "Well, goodnight then Jander."
"Goodnight Eckerd. I can't put into words how glad I am you found us."
"I know. I feel the same way."
After Eckerd was asleep, Jander still sat by the fire, lost in thought. He was the last one up. Even Soorefina was asleep with Korrieana by her side. Of course, Jander had no doubt that she was ready to jump up in and instant, should anything threatening come their way.
Talking to Eckerd had made him remember something - in all the time Jander had known him, Eckerd had been studying a little-known type of magic. Wild magic. He was probably the only expert on it in all of Faerûn. Wild magic seemed similar to what Pa'das could do. Jander pondered over whether or not they were the same. He knew Eckerd would love to learn about wild magic from one who had it. Jander also knew that Pa'das would rather die than tell anyone else her secret. She knew she could trust him, at least to keep a secret, yet she wouldn't have told him if she hadn't trapped herself into it. Of course, that made sense seeing as how he was a vampire - who would trust anything to a vampire.
Jander banished his self-pity before it could take hold on him. Undoubtedly there were things Eckerd could tell Pa'das that she didn't know. If she even had the wild magic. Jander resolved to talk to her about it tomorrow if he could get her away from Eckerd for a bit. But he would definitely talk with her about it next time he had her alone. He was sure it would take a burden off her shoulders if she found one other person she could trust. Even if Eckerd had not been studying this wild magic, Jander was sure Pa'das could trust her secret with him. After all, he was a friend to a vampire. That either showed that he had a very open heart or a very foolish mind. In Jander's case, he liked to think that it meant that Eckerd had an open heart.
Jander shook off his thoughts and stretched. He had sated himself when he caught the squirrel he made Pa'das for dinner, draining the blood from other squirrels and tossing the carcasses to Soorefina. She didn't mind eating the bloodless meat. Jander cast his gaze around the edges of the clearing, making sure there were no threats about. After seeing that his friends were safe, he settled down to get what rest a vampire could. Of course, like Soorefina, he was ready to jump awake the moment the slightest threat presented itself to his friends.