Wizard's Bane

Chapter One

Darkness covered the city, flowing down the streets and collecting in the alleys. Silence sat heavily on the sleeping town, buildings swathed in thick fog while orange light pooled in liquid puddles under the occasional street lamp.  

The town drunk stumbled down a cobbled road, his head spinning from the pots of ale he'd guzzled in the pub. Reaching the nearest alley, he slumped against the wall, slid to the ground, threw his head back and began singing loudly off-key. A brief flash of light a few feet further down the alley startled him and he peered into the darkness. "Who's der?" he slurred, trying to make out anything in the inky blackness. No answer was forthcoming however, so he shrugged and went back to singing.

The reason for the flash stood silently several feet away, his eyes adjusting to the sudden darkness. He wrinkled his nose at the putrid smell of rotting garbage and tried not to throw up. 

Wonderful, he thought sourly. A backwater planet in the middle of nowhere and where do I materialize? In the middle of their garbage dump! He closed his eyes and settled his nerves. Well, it could be worse I guess. I wonder just how primitive these people are.

He picked his way slowly through the darkened alley, avoiding the larger concentrations of refuse. By the time he reached the street, the drunk was happily snoring in the stupor produced by the ale.  

Well at least, he thought as he inspected the drunk, I look like they do… physically.

He pulled the drunk’s tattered cloak aside, studied the man’s ratty attire and frowned. I'll never fit in dressed like this, he thought, glancing down at the seamless black jumpsuit he wore. 

He dropped the cloak, stood and gazed around the street. The fog drifted past swirling in the faint breeze. No other signs of life were evident.

Satisfied things were relatively safe, the man stepped out of the alley and turned left, making his way up the deserted street. He hugged the rough brick wall of the buildings and tried to stay well out of the light as he made his way past silent storefronts. 

The buildings ended and the street turned into a lane running out into open land. The man stopped, sighed and turned around.

Better and better, he thought, shaking his head. Backwater planet, primitive culture, local inhabitants who appear to have the civility of poorly bred pigs and now this. When I get my hands on the idiot who opened that warp… He stared at the few buildings visible through the fog and started back up the street. Maybe it's bigger if I go the other way, I need clothes. Light spilled out of a doorway a few feet ahead of him and he froze.  

A couple strolled out waving behind at a crowded, smoke filled room and wandered off down the street arm in arm.

The man waited until they were lost in the fog before breathing a silent sigh of relief. Clothes, he reminded himself. And food. And sleep. Retribution later. After my powers come back. He glanced around and continued up the street. 

The alley came in sight and he spotted a dark figure bent over the drunk. The figure drew a knife from a sheath and cut the strings of the drunk's pouch.

The man narrowed his eyes. Trained reflexes took over and he advanced, little more than a shadow, as the thief opened the pouch and began rummaging through it.  

The man stepped forward, one hand around the thief's throat, the other grasping the knife hand. In a single fluid motio