A Roll of the Die - 1. Inception
Copyright© 2026 by Michael Loucks
Day 9
The contact from Kranos happened exactly four hours later when the iPhone rang.
"We agree," Matthias said after answering.
"Good," Kranos replied. "The device needs ten crystals."
"Miriam, as Miri, discharged eight of her crystals to aid our infiltration of your compound."
"There are ten charged crystals in each of the locked boxes on the table in the room with you. I will give you the combination, but if you betray me, I will kill Miriam."
"We opened all of the boxes and discharged the crystals," Matthias declared.
"You young people are meddling with powers you cannot even begin to comprehend!"
Matthias almost laughed out loud at what was, in effect, a 'meddling kids' Scooby-Doo reference.
"Miriam will need to sleep for eight hours to charge her crystals."
"I will contact you in nine," Kranos said. "No duplicity or betrayal, or Miriam dies and Miri with her!"
"I understand. Make it ten hours; Miriam returned to Fulham. I'll go immediately to have her sleep."
"Ten hours, then," Kranos agreed. "But no more delays."
The call ended, so Matthias returned the iPhone to the hollowed-out book, then lay down to nap until his friends returned. Miri arrived first and woke him to say all was arranged, and that a messenger had ridden all night from Haven to report that the Commander of the King's Guard had been arrested and charged with Prince Alfred's murder.
At Matthias' suggestion, Miri went to Kranos' bedchamber to sleep, and as the others returned reporting success, they all found places to sleep. Matthias was the last to retire, using his bedroll in Kranos' lab.
Four hours later, all of them, except Miri, assembled in the lab, together with six members of the City Guard, who had orders issued by the Lord Mayor to arrest Kranos. Lisette traveled to Fulham to collect the lock-picking tool and returned about an hour later.
Matthias went to check on the young boy and girl, going upstairs first. When he unlocked the door to the room, he heard a soft whimper. He stepped into the room to find a slight girl with long straight black hair and dark brown eyes cowering in fear.
"Who are you?!" she asked, sounding frightened.
"Matthias of Langford," he replied. "And you?"
"Zoë."
"Why are you here?"
"My parents are dead, and my uncle sold me to the wizard as a concubine to gain his favor."
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen," she replied.
"How long have you been here?"
"Five years," Zoë said. "But he did not touch me until two years ago."
"You are no longer his possession," Matthias declared firmly. "Do you have a place to go?"
"No, and nobody to go to."
"I'll give you money. Gather your things, go to Fulham, and ask Katherine at the Soaring Falcon to feed you. My friends and I will return later and help you."
"Thank you, Sir Matthias!" Zoë exclaimed happily.
"Just Matthias," he replied. "I am no Knight!"
"And yet, you are my savior! My knight in shining armor! I shall be forever in your debt!"
"Go quickly, please."
Matthias gave her a dozen copper coins, then left her room and returned to the basement to check on the young boy, whose name was Lucas. The boy's face showed recognition and surprise.
"You are no longer indentured to Kranos," Matthias declared. "I will free you. Do you have a place to go?"
"As I told you, my father is dead and my mother was sold to a brothel."
"In Fulham?"
"No, in Haven. I can apprentice myself, as I can read and write, and know how to act as a manservant or butler. I can care for myself if I have some money."
Matthias gave Lucas all the silver and copper coins he had with him.
"I was to go to the laboratory and help Kranos return," he said. "I need to activate the device."
"We have that under control."
Lucas left, and Matthias rejoined his friends to wait for enough time to pass so that Miri's crystals were recharged. When the time came, he asked everyone to leave, and a few minutes later, the iPhone rang.
"Miri is ready," Matthias said. "What do we do?"
"Remove the fractured crystals from the device and replace them with charged ones," Kranos instructed. "Red will do. Once that is completed, depress the bar on the top of the device, but do not touch any other controls."
"And then?"
"I will arrive, and the crystals will shatter."
"I'll do it now," Matthias declared.
"Good," Kranos agreed.
The call disconnected, and Matthias secreted the phone in the hollowed-out book, then called for Miri. Together, they replaced the ten shattered crystals in the device's receptacles with fully charged ones, then Matthias called for the rest of his companions and the City Guardsmen. Once everyone was in place, Miri prepared to cast an anti-magic field with two purple stones, and Matthias pressed the bar.
The crystals pulsed, a strange mist appeared, then a bright flash occurred. Immediately after the flash, all ten crystals shattered, and Kranos appeared. Miri quickly cast the spell she had readied, then she and Matthias stepped back. The Sergeant of the guard stepped up to Kranos.
"Kranos the Arcane, I place you under arrest for the murder of Prince Alfred!"