We Was Wizards - Chapter 5
We Was Wizards is a comedic fantasy set in a universe where roughly 80% of the population can use magic, and the other 20% cannot. To catch up on the story so far, see the previous chapters below:
https://steemit.com/fiction/@stormthegates/we-was-wizards-chapter-1-novella
https://steemit.com/writing/@stormthegates/we-was-wizards-chapter-2
https://steemit.com/writing/@stormthegates/we-was-wizards-chapter-3
https://steemit.com/writing/@stormthegates/we-was-wizards-chapter-4
“Well,” I started, “Since they ain’t blue and red lights everywhere and we ain’t been shocked and burned and iced to death, I’m guessin’ the mages ain’t detected your little stash of magic items. But I don’t want to be around here when they do, so see ya.” I finished and then started to turn toward the door. I have to admit, after what I had seen I was a little reluctant to leave.
“It’s fine, Daniel. I wouldn’t put you in any danger.” He responded. “There are magic dampeners all over this building.”
A chill ran down my spine. This was some serious shit. Even Googling ‘magical dampener’ is enough to put you on a hundred government watchlists. It’s like a magic item that hides other magic items—people have used them to sneak wands past TSA and into courtrooms and shit.
At the same time, if what that old sorcerer had said was true, that would mean I had been lied to my whole life.
Even in school they told us that you had to be born a mage: “Magic is hereditary. A person with at least one mage parent will be able to cast spells. But, don’t worry—”, they would always add, “you can lead just as fulfilling a life. You just need to find what you’re passionate about.”
Well, in that moment, I finally knew what my passion was. I was gonna become a wizard.
“Come on, Daniel.” Rufus said, bringing me out of my thoughts, “It’s time to meet the council.”
“You mean your poker buddies?” I asked.
“Yes, actually. And a few other gentlemen you haven’t had a chance to meet yet. Now come on.” He walked over to a cracked, brown door with only the top hinge still connected to the wall and a brass knob that was layin’ on the floor about three feet away.
The rusty hinge whined as he stuck his finger in the knob hole and tilted the door up so it could fit through the opening in the wall. Rufus pushed it open with a loud creak. He flicked on a light switch—which didn’t seem to make much of a difference—then grabbed onto the railing and started down the stairs, each step groanin' under his weight.
I poked my head through the doorway. It looked like some Silent Hill shit, or the basement from a Paranormal Activity movie—old and dark with one dim, yellow light bulb hanging overhead. The stairs were cracked and janky, but I took one look at the splintery railing and decided I would take my chances. As I made my way down the stairs, I told the old man, “Y’all need to hire a contractor or something.”
I breathed a small sigh of relief when I reached the bottom of the stairs, not loud enough for the old man to hear. Besides, he was busy standing in front of a red door, riflin' through the unnecessary amount of pockets of varyin' sizes on his robe.
Eventually he made a noise like "Aha!" and pulled up his robe to reveal jeans that looked faded even in the poor lightin'. He pulled a key from one of the pockets and unlocked the door. As he opened it and stepped through, I was surprised to hear decent music coming from inside. 'All Along The Watchtower' by Hendrix.
I stepped inside through a haze of smoke. When my vision cleared, I saw a room full of niggas in silly-ass robes, just like the one Rufus wore, except all different colors. Four of them were sittin' at a table throwin' dice. The other two were chillin' on a couch watching some bullshit that you couldn't even hear over the music.
They were laughin', talkin' shit and havin' a good time--until they noticed me and Rufus. One by one they stopped talkin', and when the last fool had finally quit yappin', they all seemed to stand up and move toward us at once. It was creepy as fuck.
"Welcome," said some fat nigga in a blue robe with a bald head and glasses, "to the council of sages!". He had a voice that was slightly too high for someone of his size, but sort of melodic. "My name's Matthew. Let me introduce you to the rest of the guys."
The sages took turns stepping forward and shaking my hand while discount CeeLo Green introduced them. "That's Bill, Chewy, David--", The obese man's voice dropped to a whisper for just a moment. "Don't call that nigga Dave." He warned.
The two fools from the couch took their time saunterin' over. That's when I noticed the one on the right wasn't wearin' a robe, just some normal lookin' clothes with brands I hadn't seen before. I ain't never heard of no Bufu.
"This fool right here is Big Tim," he said, gesturin' to the guy on the left, then to the guy on the right. "And this is Demarcus. He's from another dimension."
"Greetings Hound," said Demarcus.