Minka's Talent
In the valley below they could see a small village, apparently of wizards due
to the Chinese Fireball tied to the largest visible building. They hurried down the
slope and before long had followed a brick path that led them into the center of the
town, if you could call it a town. There were hardly any people around, only a few
scattered around a large square in the center of the road. The buildings were all held
up by magic, though they looked as if they would collapse from the sound of a pin
drop. The dusty brick square was surrounded by several run down shops, and the
scene reminded Tom of pictures he had seen of an American Cowboy town in
muggle books he had read at the orphanage long ago.
"This looks like a ghost town to me," whispered Minka in his ear.
"Let's just see if they can provide us with any form of transportation so we
can get out of here fast. This doesn't look like a friendly lot.
"Over there!" said Minka pointing to the right. A small shop named
"Quentin's Cave: Everything concerning wizard transportation" sat gloomily alone.
"That should be perfect," said Tom as they stepped inside the shabby shop.
Lanterns burned in the corners, and large, tattered curtains covered the
windows creating a dark atmosphere. The small room was packed with hundreds of
odd shaped boxes, and smelled strongly of perfume. A short, pale wizard emerged
from the back of the room grinning widely that he had customers.
"Welcome to Quentin's cave!" he said. His voice was slow and deep, yet it
had a whine to it. "I'm Quentin! It's nice to have you here. We normally never have
any customers."
"Where are we anyway?" asked Tom curiously.
"You mean you don't know?" said Quentin shocked.
They both shook their heads.
"No wonder you're here. You're lost. Probably only came to ask me for
directions," said Quentin, depressed. "Well, this town's called Savahrelli. We named
it after our own dragon on the other side of town. Right now, you're in Italy, maybe
fifty or so miles from Rome."
"Really!" said Minka excitedly.
"Actually," began Tom, "We did come here looking for transportation,
but…"
"Well, well, well," interrupted Quentin grinning. He turned around towards
the wall and started chanting to himself excitedly, "We have business my sweet!"
Then as if this didn't matter at all, he turned back to the amused pair with a serious
expression. "What can I help you with?"
"We need to get to Egypt, Cairo if possible," said Tom quickly, wanting to
get away from this strange town as soon as he could.
"Egypt, eh? Well, well, well…I might have something for you, but it will cost
you…" he said grinning widely and exposing a polished, golden tooth. "You'll have
to cross the high seas of the Mediterranean you know. That indeed is a perilous
money, I…I mean journey. But for a price, I can give you the best."
"Will you help us already…sir?" said Minka impatiently. She added the "sir"
for politeness.
"Patience is a virtue," he cooed, as he flashed them his fake, salesman smile.
"Now, let us see…I have broomsticks, but let me warn you that they are now illegal
to sell…"
"Illegal?" blurted out Tom in astonishment.
"That's right. This year's MAGIC has banned the selling of broomsticks in
Italy. It's because of all the muggle sightings in the last year; they're getting out of
control all over the country!" said Quentin.
"What is MAGIC?" asked Minka confused.
This time Tom answered before Quentin. He wanted to show off his
knowledge in front of Minka.
"The Magical Associated Government's International Conference," he said
slowly, so she had a chance to comprehend what he was saying. "It takes place once
a year in different cities around the world. Basically a council of sorcerers (more
honorable title then wizard) meets to change or abolish laws to regulate the actions of
wizards all over the planet. They want to keep the muggles from knowing we exist."
"It's rubbish I tell you!" shouted Quentin angrily, abandoning his proper
salesmanship behaviors. "I side with the American Realists. They think wizards and
Muggles can learn to live together peacefully. But those bloody European Extremists
are constantly covering up magical activity as if wizards didn't even exist! Muggles
are just as important as we are."
If Tom hadn't intended to purchase something successfully from this man, he
would have cursed him on the spot. Muggles are just as important as wizards? Was
this man insane? Tom hated muggles ever since his muggle father had abandoned
him. He had lived with horrible muggles his entire youth in the orphanage, and the
first thing he would do when he became Lord Voldemort would be to remove them
from existence. Instead of cursing Quentin, Tom simply put a charm on him, that
reduced him back to his greasy salesman self. He wanted to get his transportation
and leave.
For a moment, Quentin stood speechless as he recovered from the charm's
effect, but in no time he had regressed back to his toothy smile.
"Where were we…" he asked himself. "Ah, yes! I have broomsticks, flying
chariots…"
"Too big," snapped Tom.
"Levitation Potions…" continued Quentin.
"Not effective enough," complained Tom.
"I have hippogriffs," he suggested.
"No," said Tom defiantly. He needed something small, comfortable, and
efficient.
"What about a magic carpet?" said Quentin.
Tom paused to think.
"Perfect," said Tom.
Quentin looked relieved.
"Well then, today is your lucky day! I just received some shipments of the
newest model from Cairo last week. It's called the Sphinx 540 and it has incredible
features," Quentin sounded like a bad commercial. "Extra padding, made from
glowing threads for night use, invisibility, tremendous speed, and plenty of room for
the two of you! Do we have a deal then?"
"Yes!" shouted Tom and Minka together. They both couldn't wait to leave
the presence of this painfully annoying man.
"I'll go ring it up!" said Quentin excitedly as he hurried out of sight.
"Tom," said Minka slowly.
"Yes," said Tom.
"We forgot something. Something very important," she said hesitantly.
"What is it then?" he said curiously.
"How are we supposed to pay for this? Magic Carpets can cost up to a
thousand galleons!" she said panicking.
Tom had forgotten all about this. Without money, they couldn't buy the
carpet. Without the carpet they wouldn't reach Egypt. And if they didn't reach
Egypt, then Tom could never complete his task. They were just going to have to
escape without paying. It was the only way…
Quentin returned from the back room carrying an enormous colorful carpet
with shining golden fringes all around.
"Here you are," said Quentin happily. "Two thousand galleons please."
Tom and Minka looked at each other in distress.
"Distract him," muttered Tom under his breath.
Minka suddenly fell over some wooden statues and crashed into a pile of
sealed boxes. The sound of breaking glass filled the room for a few moments as
crates toppled on to the floor.
"My dear!" shouted Quentin. "What have you done?"
He darted over to her and began stacking the boxes back up. Tom saw Minka
wink at him, and he knew this was his only chance. He drew his wand and turned to
Quentin.
"Stupefy!" he shouted.
A blast of white light shot from his wand and was devoured by the now
motionless salesman. He grabbed Minka, the enormous carpet, and ran out of the
dark shop and back into the sunlight.
As their eyes adjusted to the light, a horrible scene visualized before them.
The once deserted square was now surrounded by many burly wizards who were
staring at them menacingly. They were slowly closing in, and Tom and Minka both
drew their wands for protection.
The largest man (around seven feet tall) stopped, and all the others followed.
"So…you foreigners think you can just come into our village, steal precious
merchandise and run away? No one leaves Savahrelli once they've broken the peace.
You'll have do deal with us first," he said grinning. The other men grunted in
agreement.
"Well if that's the way it goes, you'd better draw your wands before we blow
you to smithereens!" Tom shouted, casting a stunning spell with his wand. Nothing
happened.
"Oh, there's something I forgot to tell you," said the man grinning. "This
square is enchanted. No magic works here. You'll just have to fight with your
hands."
Tom was panicking. Ever since he was a child at the orphanage, he had
always been beaten up by the older kids. His only strength was with his wand, and
his puny, flimsy structure couldn't match the strength of twenty grown men. What
would Minka think of his cowardice? To his surprise, Minka had already stepped
forward towards the men, and had begun to roll up her sleeves.
"You want to fight, boys?" she spat at them. "Then come and get me!!"
"Minka, what are you doing?" whispered Tom from behind her in disbelief.
The men had begun to laugh, and like hungry jackals they began to close in
on her as if they were savages.
"Minka!" Tom screamed. What if they killed her?
But suddenly, he saw the most incredible scene. Minka was beating those oafs
single handedly! Every second another huge man was knocked onto the floor by
some force from inside. There were still too many men surrounding Minka to see
exactly what was going on, but soon he could see her. Yes! She was kicking them,
three at a time. Hitting them with her fists. Tom ran over to help her, but was spotted
by the seven-foot man and began to run away as the man chased him. He was
trapped in a corner with no escape! Then the man suddenly wore a dazed look and
fell over sideways. Minka stood behind him grinning.
"You're incredible!" Tom panted.
"Not really," she said blushing. "Seventeen years in the slums of Paris can
make you pretty tough."
Tom glanced over her shoulder at the square. It was completely motionless;
not one living thing stood.
"Are they… dead?" asked Tom.
"No, just knocked out. They'll wake up soon so we'd better be going," she
said, as she walked back into the square's center and unraveled the magic carpet.
Tom followed cautiously. They finished opening the rug until it stretched out
twelve feet in each direction. As if someone had pressed an imaginary button, the
carpet's surface became smooth and raised a couple of feet off the ground.
"Ladies first," said Tom grinning.
"Alright Prince Charming," said Minka rolling her eyes.
She hopped on to the shimmering carpet followed closely by Tom. They
soared in to the air and glided off into the sunset, as their magical carpet disappeared
in to the clouds.
1
Rise of the Dark Lord
In the valley below they could see a small village, apparently of wizards due
to the Chinese Fireball tied to the largest visible building. They hurried down the
slope and before long had followed a brick path that led them into the center of the
town, if you could call it a town. There were hardly any people around, only a few
scattered around a large square in the center of the road. The buildings were all held
up by magic, though they looked as if they would collapse from the sound of a pin
drop. The dusty brick square was surrounded by several run down shops, and the
scene reminded Tom of pictures he had seen of an American Cowboy town in
muggle books he had read at the orphanage long ago.
"This looks like a ghost town to me," whispered Minka in his ear.
"Let's just see if they can provide us with any form of transportation so we
can get out of here fast. This doesn't look like a friendly lot.
"Over there!" said Minka pointing to the right. A small shop named
"Quentin's Cave: Everything concerning wizard transportation" sat gloomily alone.
"That should be perfect," said Tom as they stepped inside the shabby shop.
Lanterns burned in the corners, and large, tattered curtains covered the
windows creating a dark atmosphere. The small room was packed with hundreds of
odd shaped boxes, and smelled strongly of perfume. A short, pale wizard emerged
from the back of the room grinning widely that he had customers.
"Welcome to Quentin's cave!" he said. His voice was slow and deep, yet it
had a whine to it. "I'm Quentin! It's nice to have you here. We normally never have
any customers."
"Where are we anyway?" asked Tom curiously.
"You mean you don't know?" said Quentin shocked.
They both shook their heads.
"No wonder you're here. You're lost. Probably only came to ask me for
directions," said Quentin, depressed. "Well, this town's called Savahrelli. We named
it after our own dragon on the other side of town. Right now, you're in Italy, maybe
fifty or so miles from Rome."
"Really!" said Minka excitedly.
"Actually," began Tom, "We did come here looking for transportation,
but…"
"Well, well, well," interrupted Quentin grinning. He turned around towards
the wall and started chanting to himself excitedly, "We have business my sweet!"
Then as if this didn't matter at all, he turned back to the amused pair with a serious
expression. "What can I help you with?"
"We need to get to Egypt, Cairo if possible," said Tom quickly, wanting to
get away from this strange town as soon as he could.
"Egypt, eh? Well, well, well…I might have something for you, but it will cost
you…" he said grinning widely and exposing a polished, golden tooth. "You'll have
to cross the high seas of the Mediterranean you know. That indeed is a perilous
money, I…I mean journey. But for a price, I can give you the best."
"Will you help us already…sir?" said Minka impatiently. She added the "sir"
for politeness.
"Patience is a virtue," he cooed, as he flashed them his fake, salesman smile.
"Now, let us see…I have broomsticks, but let me warn you that they are now illegal
to sell…"
"Illegal?" blurted out Tom in astonishment.
"That's right. This year's MAGIC has banned the selling of broomsticks in
Italy. It's because of all the muggle sightings in the last year; they're getting out of
control all over the country!" said Quentin.
"What is MAGIC?" asked Minka confused.
This time Tom answered before Quentin. He wanted to show off his
knowledge in front of Minka.
"The Magical Associated Government's International Conference," he said
slowly, so she had a chance to comprehend what he was saying. "It takes place once
a year in different cities around the world. Basically a council of sorcerers (more
honorable title then wizard) meets to change or abolish laws to regulate the actions of
wizards all over the planet. They want to keep the muggles from knowing we exist."
"It's rubbish I tell you!" shouted Quentin angrily, abandoning his proper
salesmanship behaviors. "I side with the American Realists. They think wizards and
Muggles can learn to live together peacefully. But those bloody European Extremists
are constantly covering up magical activity as if wizards didn't even exist! Muggles
are just as important as we are."
If Tom hadn't intended to purchase something successfully from this man, he
would have cursed him on the spot. Muggles are just as important as wizards? Was
this man insane? Tom hated muggles ever since his muggle father had abandoned
him. He had lived with horrible muggles his entire youth in the orphanage, and the
first thing he would do when he became Lord Voldemort would be to remove them
from existence. Instead of cursing Quentin, Tom simply put a charm on him, that
reduced him back to his greasy salesman self. He wanted to get his transportation
and leave.
For a moment, Quentin stood speechless as he recovered from the charm's
effect, but in no time he had regressed back to his toothy smile.
"Where were we…" he asked himself. "Ah, yes! I have broomsticks, flying
chariots…"
"Too big," snapped Tom.
"Levitation Potions…" continued Quentin.
"Not effective enough," complained Tom.
"I have hippogriffs," he suggested.
"No," said Tom defiantly. He needed something small, comfortable, and
efficient.
"What about a magic carpet?" said Quentin.
Tom paused to think.
"Perfect," said Tom.
Quentin looked relieved.
"Well then, today is your lucky day! I just received some shipments of the
newest model from Cairo last week. It's called the Sphinx 540 and it has incredible
features," Quentin sounded like a bad commercial. "Extra padding, made from
glowing threads for night use, invisibility, tremendous speed, and plenty of room for
the two of you! Do we have a deal then?"
"Yes!" shouted Tom and Minka together. They both couldn't wait to leave
the presence of this painfully annoying man.
"I'll go ring it up!" said Quentin excitedly as he hurried out of sight.
"Tom," said Minka slowly.
"Yes," said Tom.
"We forgot something. Something very important," she said hesitantly.
"What is it then?" he said curiously.
"How are we supposed to pay for this? Magic Carpets can cost up to a
thousand galleons!" she said panicking.
Tom had forgotten all about this. Without money, they couldn't buy the
carpet. Without the carpet they wouldn't reach Egypt. And if they didn't reach
Egypt, then Tom could never complete his task. They were just going to have to
escape without paying. It was the only way…
Quentin returned from the back room carrying an enormous colorful carpet
with shining golden fringes all around.
"Here you are," said Quentin happily. "Two thousand galleons please."
Tom and Minka looked at each other in distress.
"Distract him," muttered Tom under his breath.
Minka suddenly fell over some wooden statues and crashed into a pile of
sealed boxes. The sound of breaking glass filled the room for a few moments as
crates toppled on to the floor.
"My dear!" shouted Quentin. "What have you done?"
He darted over to her and began stacking the boxes back up. Tom saw Minka
wink at him, and he knew this was his only chance. He drew his wand and turned to
Quentin.
"Stupefy!" he shouted.
A blast of white light shot from his wand and was devoured by the now
motionless salesman. He grabbed Minka, the enormous carpet, and ran out of the
dark shop and back into the sunlight.
As their eyes adjusted to the light, a horrible scene visualized before them.
The once deserted square was now surrounded by many burly wizards who were
staring at them menacingly. They were slowly closing in, and Tom and Minka both
drew their wands for protection.
The largest man (around seven feet tall) stopped, and all the others followed.
"So…you foreigners think you can just come into our village, steal precious
merchandise and run away? No one leaves Savahrelli once they've broken the peace.
You'll have do deal with us first," he said grinning. The other men grunted in
agreement.
"Well if that's the way it goes, you'd better draw your wands before we blow
you to smithereens!" Tom shouted, casting a stunning spell with his wand. Nothing
happened.
"Oh, there's something I forgot to tell you," said the man grinning. "This
square is enchanted. No magic works here. You'll just have to fight with your
hands."
Tom was panicking. Ever since he was a child at the orphanage, he had
always been beaten up by the older kids. His only strength was with his wand, and
his puny, flimsy structure couldn't match the strength of twenty grown men. What
would Minka think of his cowardice? To his surprise, Minka had already stepped
forward towards the men, and had begun to roll up her sleeves.
"You want to fight, boys?" she spat at them. "Then come and get me!!"
"Minka, what are you doing?" whispered Tom from behind her in disbelief.
The men had begun to laugh, and like hungry jackals they began to close in
on her as if they were savages.
"Minka!" Tom screamed. What if they killed her?
But suddenly, he saw the most incredible scene. Minka was beating those oafs
single handedly! Every second another huge man was knocked onto the floor by
some force from inside. There were still too many men surrounding Minka to see
exactly what was going on, but soon he could see her. Yes! She was kicking them,
three at a time. Hitting them with her fists. Tom ran over to help her, but was spotted
by the seven-foot man and began to run away as the man chased him. He was
trapped in a corner with no escape! Then the man suddenly wore a dazed look and
fell over sideways. Minka stood behind him grinning.
"You're incredible!" Tom panted.
"Not really," she said blushing. "Seventeen years in the slums of Paris can
make you pretty tough."
Tom glanced over her shoulder at the square. It was completely motionless;
not one living thing stood.
"Are they… dead?" asked Tom.
"No, just knocked out. They'll wake up soon so we'd better be going," she
said, as she walked back into the square's center and unraveled the magic carpet.
Tom followed cautiously. They finished opening the rug until it stretched out
twelve feet in each direction. As if someone had pressed an imaginary button, the
carpet's surface became smooth and raised a couple of feet off the ground.
"Ladies first," said Tom grinning.
"Alright Prince Charming," said Minka rolling her eyes.
She hopped on to the shimmering carpet followed closely by Tom. They
soared in to the air and glided off into the sunset, as their magical carpet disappeared
in to the clouds.
1
Rise of the Dark Lord