The Sorcerer's Quest by Rain Oxford

could see multiple events at once. I knew once the competitions began
that the tents would close to cut out the sound. People who were local and
recognized my family by the emblem on my robe gave me lots of space. Others
spotted Merlin and decided that something on the opposite end of the event was
desperately interesting.
    Traders traveled the world and were well-respected,
but some focused on trading magical items. Since wizards and sorcerers were
basically stationary, they were not typically targets of traders. Thus, they
focused on the novelty of magic, and there were no better examples of that than
the tournaments of seers, shapeshifters, and magicians.
    Traders usually followed these tournaments all year,
but people had to be careful when buying from them since some were not part of
the guild. It was dangerous buying from a private trader, because they could
steal something potentially lethal and sell it to someone else without proper
instructions. This was particularly worrisome when it came to curses and
grimoires.
    And they knew how to display their wares. Lightning
struck the ground right in front of me, but I ignored it. They could sell
enough magic to make anyone feel like a wizard or sorcerer, yet I was only
interested in finding something that could help me defeat Magnus.
    Still, I couldn’t stop myself from pausing at several
tents to observe random people hearing about their fame and fortunes, even if
it wasn’t true. After all, no one paid to hear they were going to die soon or
lose all their riches. The competitions themselves were much bolder. A seer
once told a person he was going to die in a horrific and terrible way before
the end of the day. He had a heart attack from fear and died.
    When I told Merlin, his demeanor soured. He really
didn’t like seers.
    Because there were so many people, I didn’t sense that
I was being followed until I felt a gentle tug on my sleeve. I turned and
jumped back to avoid the sharp horn of a unicorn… again. “What are you doing
here?” I asked, realizing as I said it that it was the same unicorn from the
other village. The unicorn tossed his head and nickered.
    “ He came for you. He must think you need his help ,”
Merlin said. “ Would you care to explain what you did to make this unicorn
like you so much ?”
    “I didn’t do anything. Please go away! I don’t need
any help.” The unicorn tossed his head again and pranced away. I continued
walking without another word to Merlin.
    “Can I interest you in a leash for your wolf?” a
trader asked, stopping in front of me so suddenly that I had to brace myself on
Merlin. Since Merlin advanced on the man with a vicious snarl on his face, it
looked like I was just trying to hold Merlin back.
    “Have you ever tried to put a leash on a wolf?” I
asked.
    With his eyes wide, he looked like he wanted to bolt.
“No. I’ve never even seen a real wolf.”
    “That’s because the people who try to leash wolves
are eaten.” The words were barely out of my mouth before he vanished into the
crowd.
    I stopped at an information booth and studied the
schedule. There were mostly shows going on, none of which were helpful, and the
traders rotated throughout the grounds. I considered looking for some explosive
powders, but that stuff had a history of exploding in its owner’s pockets.
Besides, I definitely didn’t think I could blow the wizard up.
    “What about an invisibility spell?” I asked, turning
to Merlin. Only, the wolf wasn’t there. “Merlin?” I called, glancing around.
When he didn’t immediately appear, I turned back to the charts that were nailed
all over the walls of the booth. I wasn’t terribly worried; Merlin was a wolf
with wizard knowledge, so he was certainly safe. Plus, if he wasn’t, he could
talk in my head. As for me, it wasn’t my first time at places like this.
Therefore, I wasn’t worried.
    That was, until I heard two very familiar voices.
    I turned and my heart dropped into my