Jack Dragon's Puddle
1
Jack Dragon smiled as he finished the last trick of the night. A bow and a cloud of smoke allowed him to step behind the curtain, appearing to vanish into thin air. He liked to mix real magic with fake magic so no one could tell which was which.
Jack began packing his equipment with practiced ease. He had thought about expanding his act, even talked to Wojohowitz about ideas for new tricks. The main objection was the hiring of a new assistant to help him. Jack didn't know if he wanted a new presence on stage with him.
Most magicians had assistants, but Jack had refused to think about it, until the thought of expanding his show got in his mind.
The club had emptied by the time Jack had finished storing everything away. He stepped out on the stage to survey the empty seats. It would be a simple job for him to expand the audience chamber while keeping the outside dimensions. Would people want to see the type of thing he envisioned?
He wished he could decide what to do. He knew the idea of sharing the spotlight was what was clouding his usually decisive mind. He had been a solo act for far too long to train someone to help him.
Jack stood on the stage staring at nothing until a thin man walked down to the front row, a cloth cap in hand. Long, bony fingers clutched the tweed hat as the dim lights reflected off his bald head.
"Excuse me," the thin man said. "I'm looking for Jack Dragon, the magician. Are you he?"
"I'm Dragon," Jack said, shaking off his reverie. "What can I do for you?"
"There's a puddle on my property that I need fixed," the thin man said. "Old Wojo says you're the man who can do it."
"A puddle?," Jack asked, trying not to smile.
"It ate my dog," the stranger said. "Swallowed him up."
"Let's start from the beginning," Jack said. "Who are you?"
"I'm Stace Craven," the bald man said. "I own a small place just outside of town. I've got some vegetables and some animals that I use to supplement my pension. One day, almost a week ago, a puddle about the size of a kid's pool took over a piece of my lot. It won't dry up, just sits there reflecting my face when I look at it."
Jack nodded. Church Hill had been in a dry spell for a few months. A small body of water would have dried up in the first few days after it was formed.
"How does your dog fit in?," Jack asked.
"I let her roam loose when I am home so there wouldn't be any accidents. She started nosing around the pond, then she fell in. I tried to grab her but she sank out of sight before I could do it. I poked the puddle with a pole, but I couldn't find my dog anywhere."
"I got the general picture," Jack said. "I guess that diving into the water is the best thing you could do"
"That's right," said the thin man. "No telling what might happen while we plan to rescue the poor beast."
"Go somewhere other than where you live for right now," Jack said. "I'll look into your problem, and let you know. I'll try to get your dog back from the thing. No promises."
"Thank you," said Craven. "I really appreciate this."
"Don't thank me yet," said Jack. "I might not be able to get your dog back because I don't know what I will be dealing with at the moment."
"I'll stay at the Motel Six down the road from the place,"said Craven. "This is the address of my house. I just want to get my dog back."
"I'll let you know what I can do."
2
Jack Dragon dressed in his usual black suit and sunglasses after his morning routine. He enjoyed the short drive out of Church Hill proper to the small farm Craven owned. He hoped this was just a prank call.
Once he checked the older man's story out, he could have lunch at the Fox Inn, and go home to relax before the show that night.
Jack found the address easily enough. He pulled into the short driveway, parking to one side on the gravel lane. He heard a dog barking, but didn't see it anywhere. He frowned as he drew a symbol on the lens of his dark glasses.
Maybe this wouldn't be as simple as he had first thought.
Jack looked around carefully, frowning at the soft whispers of vapor he saw in the vegetable patch away from where he had parked his car. He walked toward the dancing light slowly. He was sure that it was an emanation from some other world touching his.
Jack wondered what was really going on as he approached the edge of the thing. His experiences with other places had been usually bad across the board. He didn't think this was going to be any different in any viable way.
The pool was an irregular oval of greasy liquid that looked like mixed oil and water. Lettuce crept to the edge of the small lake, their leaves were a grainy brown. Something moved in the lake while Jack watched. It seemed to be a fish, but it wasn't anything that the magician was familiar with from his studies.
Barking told Jack that Craven's dog was still alive in there somewhere.
He had to go in whether he wanted to, or not.
Jack wrote a symbol on the edge of the pool. He wrote the same symbol on his jacket with his finger. If he needed a quick escape, he just had to activate his escape spell, and he would be right where he had written the mark in the muddy ground.
Jack wrote another symbol on the palm of his hand. That would keep anything noxious out of system until he cleared out of the other dimension. Parasites could easily spread from contact.
Jack would have to check the dog out before he returned it to the farmer.
Jack stepped into the rainbow pool, wrinkling his nose at the smell of it. He wrote a symbol on his face as he sank below the glittering surface. This had the look of a trap to him. He couldn't think of any enemies who were this indirect.
Most used the massive attack with summoned creatures, or some kind of equivalent. Sending a character to drag him to the scene with a lost dog story just didn't match those that he had matched wits in the past.
Jack sank through the glowing water to the bottom of the strange pool. He looked around before he started toward a small castle squatting in a coral mass. The barking came from the network of barnacles.
At least the water provided some way for the animal to breathe.
Jack pushed off from the silty sea bottom, aiming for the coral cage. The strange water was thicker than what he was used to dealing with. He had to pull himself along almost. The rainbow shifted ahead as two guards appeared in front of him. He paused as the pair approached with their weapons drawn and ready.
Jack relaxed, hoping this might be the one thing he needed to find out what was going on. The guards were simple elemental constructs to make the water around him live to carry out their duties until they were dismissed. He knew that they wouldn't see the simple workings he had done, but their creator would.
Jack held up his hands to show that he was unarmed. The flowing spell things gestured for the magician to proceed to the main gate of the castle ahead. He nodded, moving slowly forward with simple kicking and arm pulls. They were taking him to see their leader which is what he wanted.
He was here to talk first. He didn't want a duel if he could avoid it. He also didn't expect things to go as peacefully as he wanted. Opening and maintaining an extradimensional aperture spoke of nothing but trouble.
Jack settled in the cobbled courtyard beyond the simple portcullis. Other guards sprang into being around him. He nodded as the two guards that had appeared first motioned him toward a wooden door in the castle wall. He swam over, pausing as the door opened to allow him inside the main building. He stepped inside, wary of an attack from the piscine soldiers with their hard water tridents.
The guards led Jack to a massive room somewhere in the middle of the building. Golden doors swung open to allow him into that area. He paused at the encrusted throne at the far end of the room. He wrote a symbol on his glasses to prepare for any defense that might be ready to spring close.
His own house in the suburbs had such features to keep thieves of every stripe away from the things he had collected.
"Welcome," said the owner of the throne.
3
"I was asked to return the dog that you have caged up outside," Jack said, keeping his hands clear for use in case he needed them. The gestures he used to channel his spellcraft demanded it.
"Does it belong to you?," the Puddle Queen asked, gesturing languidly with the tips of her right hand.
"No," said Jack. "I have been contracted to act as an agent for the farmer where your dimension opened an intersection into my dimension. I hope to conclude this peacefully."
"You hope much for a violation of the justice of my realm," said the Puddle Queen. "This dog, as you call it, attacked my subjects most grievously."
"I don't believe such an attack would have happened if your realm had not opened up where the dog lives," said Jack. "All I would like is for the animal to be returned to its owner without further harm to any other party."
"You demand much for a lackey," said the queen.
"I am asking," said Jack. "I am aware that you possess great power, and command your subjects absolutely. I only wish to retrieve that which does not belong here, and close off the path between our two worlds."
"What if I would like to keep the animal?," said the puddle queen. "That would please me I think."
"Then I would still have to seal the portal from intrusions from either side of the portal," said Jack.
"I doubt you will be able to do that in my dudgeon," said the Queen, gesturing with her hand.
Liquid hands grabbed Jack's arms. He was of two minds. He could allow himself to be escorted to the dudgeon, then examine it long enough to escape it, grab the dog, and cross back to his own plane. Or he could unleash his magic in the throne room, disrupting countless enchantments around him, fight his way to the dog, and then cross over.
He decided to avoid violence and depend on stealth.
Jack followed docilely where the guards led him. The altered lens in his sunglasses pointed out weak spots he could break through when he needed to. He decided to make his break when he actually saw the cell waiting for him.
It was a five by six by three cell with no windows, no furniture, and a solid door. Flowing script decorated the floor of the room. The writing would prevent Jack from using his magic to escape, and the lock had the glow of enchantment which would prevent him using his lockpicking skills.
Time to make a break.
Jack stepped to the edge of the door frame. He waited for the guard to try and push him into the dudgeon. A smelly hand touched the back of his jacket as he expected. He turned, hands grabbing the liquid arm just below the elbow. The magician kept turning, pulling the guard with his move. His grip let go at the end of the move. The guard slammed against the floor inside the cell, and seemed stunned by the impact.
The other guard stabbed out with the wavy weapon in his hand, aiming for Jack's face. The wizard ducked under the move, trapping the extended arm with his own. His finger wrote a glowing symbol on the liquid man's face before the walking spell could draw back from his touch. The creation froze in place.
Jack shoved the frozen guard on top on the one still getting to its feet. Both went down on impact. The wizard closed the door, using his own key to lock it tight.
Now for the dog.
4
Jack made a letter gesture to render him invisible as he wandered the castle. He had no intention of fighting a duel when he didn't need to. His objective was just a few yards outside the thick walls of the castle. A spell would fix that soon enough.
Jack knew that he was lucky that the Queen only kept constructs in her castle. Guard animals would detect, and pursue, him faster than the living liquid he had encountered so far. At least he knew that this was a real mission, and not a trap laid by his one of his enemies.
All he had to do now was free the dog and leave.
Jack found a set of stairs leading into a tower. He floated to the top, pleased to see windows he could swim through in the look out room. He saw the dog, snapping at its coral cage below. It barked stridently as it paced the enclosure. Shallow holes marked where it had tried to dig out between its bouts of anger.
Jack dropped down beside the cage. He shushed the dog as it ran forward, barking and snapping at him. Apparently it wasn't as friendly as the farmer believed. One finger wrote on the coral. Fiery letters sliced the material like a saw. A section fell away. The dog paddled out and headed for daylight as fast as it could work its paws.
Jack swam after the dog, eyes on the castle. He didn't expect the puddle queen to sit back and let him close the door between their two worlds. She was bound to do something.
Liquid guards appeared on the threshold of the castle. They flowed after the fugitives with their wavy swords drawn and ready for use. They were a lot faster than the magician and the happy canine.
Jack wrote on the liquid, glowing letters turning this world's atmosphere into something he could use. The symbols expanded outward, forming a bubble of clear air. The sphere floated upwards faster than he could swim, overtaking the dog in a few moments. It barked happily as it dropped on the bottom of the thing.
The guards fell behind as the light from the hole in the watery sky pierced the path of Jack's retreat. The sunbeams narrowed as the edges of the portal shrunk. Jack wrote on the wall of the bubble to urge more speed.
He didn't want to be trapped at the mercy of the puddle queen with a canine hostage in the way.
The bubble wedged in the closing portal, holding it open with its body. Jack pierced the skin of the pearl with a finger. He stepped on solid ground, pulling the dog with him with a hand on its collar.
"Looks like we're free and clear, buddy," Jack said, readying his close portal spell.
"Not yet," said a voice through the purple pool at his feet.
The Puddle Queen burst from the small opening, towering like a geyser in front of the magician. Taloned hands reached for him as red light glowed in her eyes. Spell workings dripped from the fangs cutting her once exotic lips.
Jack raised his hands, writing a shield in place. A strategy had already floated in his mind as he waited for the queen to make her move. All he needed to do was reach the symbol he had already drawn at the edge of the otherworldly pool.
"You will return with me, wizard," said the Puddle Queen. "I will use the puny magic at your command to expand my realm into others."
"I fear that I have to refuse your kind invitation," said Jack. "I object to the loss of freedom that serving you would mean. I must say good bye."
"Then I must take you by force," said the Queen, spreading her arms to channel her purple atmosphere at Jack. It turned into a giant hand at the end of that tendril as it reached for the magician in a blink of an eye.
Jack let his conjured wall take the brunt of the grab, not liking the way the energized symbol groaned and cracked under the pressure. He had to counter this before it put him in trouble he couldn't get out of.
Jack wrote on the side of the protective surface, altering it with the symbol when it was finished. He hoped what he was doing would buy him enough time to close the rift.
The protective area absorbed the water, growing as it fed on the purple liquid. It rolled forward, eating the stuff as fast as it could extend its reach to suck up more. The sponge rolled into the lavender woman in her black dress. Both fell into the open portal, the sponge restrained to simply lapping its prey instead of a full gallop into the other world.
Jack saw his chance, and took it. He rushed forward to where he had drawn the symbol earlier. He wrote over it with his finger, changing the magic with a set of fiery strokes. The new symbol stretched around the portal in a series of links. The ring chain shrank the rift to nothing as soon as it locked together on the other side of the circle.
Jack breathed a sigh of relief as he erased the sponge, and the liquid it had sucked up. He didn't know how well the Queen could use her element, but he wasn't willing to give her an opening now that he was rid of her for the moment. The dog barked as it frolicked on the ground, rubbing its back on the dry ground to scratch a sudden itch.
Jack needed to hand the dog over to Stace Craven, then he could head home and get a nap before the first show at the Magic Hat. Things had worked out handily for him, but he knew things would be different the next time he ran into the Puddle Queen. She had his measure, just like he had hers. Opening another door wouldn't be that hard now that she knew what to do and how to do it.
Finding him would be that easy with her ability.
Jack hoped their next meeting would have the same conclusion as far as he was concerned.
epilogue
Jack Dragon concluded his act, grinning slightly as Wojohowitz held Craven's dog by its collar, as it sat in the chair next to him at the back of the club. The manager and the dog got along all right despite the differences in their outlook and general temperament.
Jack had not found Craven at the hotel near his farm. After the battle with the Queen, the farm had changed into a fallow, uninhabitable mess devoid of life. He hoped the farmer showed soon. He had no interest in keeping a dog around.
The audience filed out of the massive room as Wojohowitz walked the dog down a side aisle. Jack wasn't sure which one was actually pulling the other, and tried to keep his amusement away from his face.
"Nice dog," the dour manager said, handing the animal up to the magician with a slight strain of his arms. "But I'm not keeping it in the club. Neither are you."
"I'm not," said Jack, letting the canine drop to the stage. "I couldn't find the owner before I had to put on the show. As soon as I put my things away, I'll track him down and turn the dog over."
"Good," said the manager, turning to walk away. "You're not pet owner material."
"Shows that much?," Jack muttered. He bent down and scratched behind the dog's floppy ears. He knew his friend was right. He didn't even have an interest in finding out what breed the dog happened to be.
"I'm here," Stace Craven said from the door after the last member of the audience left. "Thank you for getting my dog for me from Alluria. I appreciate it more than I can tell you."
"You haven't been straight with me," Jack said.
The dog broke from Jack's grip, jumped down from the stage. Its stubby legs carried it with flying ears to the waiting arms of its master. It jumped in the arms of Craven, tongue hanging down from its open jaws.
"Thanks, Jack," Craven said. Then the two of them faded away.