Hamilton Swoop, Wizard of Green Ridge by L. Stewart Hearl

possible?"
    Hamilton removed the folded, mummified Obsidian from the sack. He sat the body on the floor. “Say hello to Obsidian."
    Diamond stared at the desiccated remains and dropped back into his chair. “This ... is ... Obsidian?"
    "In the flesh, or at least what's left of it. So, unless you know how to break the lock spell, I'll be taking my leave now."
    "Wait, please wait.” exclaimed Diamond in desperation.
    Hamilton sat back down. “Do you have the power to remove the spell?"
    "I ... ah ... no. But permit me to consult our Archivist, Runemaster Argus. I will have him search the records. I'm sure he can find a way to break the spell. It must have been recorded."
    "You have a Runemaster?” Hamilton rose and retrieved the paper containing the transcribed runes from the box he had brought. “Give him this. Maybe he can make something out of it. In the meantime, I'll return to the inn. Notify me if you find a solution.” He handed the sheet to Diamond. “If I don't hear from you within the week, I shall return to Green Ridge. Oh, incidentally, I've billed my room to the Guild."
    Diamond's mouth fell open then snapped shut. “You'll hear from us soon."
    "Us? Well all of you can take your time. I like the inn."
    Diamond pulled a cord hanging from the wall behind him. There was an almost immediate knock on the door. “Enter."
    Thalia opened the door, entered and stood next to Hamilton.
    "Acolyte Thalia, have the carriage brought around. Master Citrine will be returning to the inn. Then locate Runemaster Argus and send him to me."
    [Back to Table of Contents]

CHAPTER 4
* * * *
    So, Old Man, what happened? Are you going to save the day?
    "Seems unlikely, cat. The Guild is now under the control of a kid who does magic tricks for a living. I should just pack up and go home."
    And give up all this good food and comfort? Must we?
    "No, but I should. I've a shop to run but I've agreed to stay for a week. I doubt that they will come up with anything. Anyway, I'd like to see that Thalia again."
    She's way too young for you. Way too young. Besides, she's afraid of you.
    "Afraid of me?"
    I can sense these things.
    "Sounds to me like kitty is jealous."
    Don't be silly. Why should I be jealous? Whiskers jumped up on the couch and kneaded the cushion next to Hamilton with her front claws. What are you going to do now?
    "I thought I'd do a bit of investigating. See what I can find out about this Thermite."
    Before you go could you just, well, scratch behind my left ear? Oh, that's perfect. Umm, great.
    "Anything else?"
    How about getting me some food before you go out? Some more of that lovely fish would be nice.
    Hamilton gave Whiskers a final scratch between her shoulder blades. “Wait for dinner, cat.” He got up, donned his coat, and headed down to the lobby.
    Thackeray stood behind the counter and Roscoe was seated by the front door. Roscoe rose as Hamilton approached. “May I be of service, Master Citrine?"
    "Roscoe, have you ever seen the dragon?"
    "Once, from a distance, sir."
    "What did it look like?"
    "It was huge. Almost 100 feet long, sir. Its body was quite thick. Its tail was long and thin. It had 4 transparent wings. I only noticed the wings when it lighted on a house and squashed it."
    "It had ... four wings?"
    "Yes, sir, four wings. I drew some pictures of the dragon, sir. Permit me to retrieve them."
    Hamilton gestured approval and Roscoe ran to a cabinet next to Thackeray's counter. A moment later, he returned with several pieces of paper which he offered to Hamilton.
    He examined the sketches. Though the boy was certainly no artist, the charcoal sketches showed a creature that looked nothing like the pictures of dragons he had seen in the histories. All the dragons he had read about were basically reptiles. But these pictures showed a dragon that looked like an overgrown swamp needle. It was obvious that thing was some kind of giant insect. “This thing breathes fire?"
    "I have not seen it breathe fire,