Dangerous Cargo
A powerful crystal causes chaos at the docks, only one wizard can contain the reality-bending mayhem.
Photo by Brunno Tozzo on Unsplash
One ship had already been destroyed, the hull swallowed by lapping waves.
Two more were ablaze, smoke drifting on the sea breeze.
Here he was; long baggy robes, staff adorned with gems, oversized pointy hat.
Still no one listened to him.
He’d sealed the crystal in a crate with clear instructions written on the outside:
Do not open without supervision of a magician, grade III or higher.
Judging by the chaos engulfing the dock, someone had ignored him.
He waved his staff, effortlessly moving aside some beams that had once been made from wood but were now strips of liquorice.
A handful of dock workers ran past, he yelled a warning not to touch anything.
“Especially those…”
Before he finished speaking one of the workers tripped on a
shimmering rock.
Where the worker had been sat a small weasel wearing tiny overalls.
Fool, he thought. He’d take care of that later.
First he needed to stop things getting worse.
Bolts of lighting whizzed past
his head, heaps of fresh bread appearing where they struck.
A searing bolt shot towards him. He deflected it with his staff, turning an empty barrel into a pile of sourdough loaves.
He pushed on, working through the carnage.
Thankfully, the boat at the end of the pier was mostly intact.
Floating above was the crystal, its surface shimmering gold.
He stepped on the boat and instantly felt a shift. Up became down, down became sideways, and sideways was a completely unknown concept.
Ignoring the lack of orientation he focused on the crystal ahead.
“Chaos become order!” he yelled, slamming his staff on the deck.
A wave of order rushed outward.
The crystal vibrated, the surface swirled, the shimmering gold turning dull and black.
It fell with a mighty thud to the deck below.
He rapidly scooped up a nearby box and clasped it shut around
the crystal.
Sighing, he looked around at what was left of the dock, “When will people start listening to me?”
