Forgotten Mage by D.W. Jackson

three large men wearing the colors of Countess Elisee
arrived. “This creature ate my goods and this boy refuses to pay
for the damages,” the man squawked, pointing his finger at
Bren.
    “Boy, if your creature has damaged this
man’s goods, then you have to pay him for them,” the guard said,
looking at Bren menacingly.
    “I never refused to pay for the damaged
goods,” Bren replied. “I just demanded that he unhand me and prove
the worth of the goods that were damaged.”
    The man let out a loud humph before
leading Bren and the guards to his store. Bren felt more than
slightly nervous when he entered the man’s store as it was much
nicer than he had expected and filled with fine jewels, though none
of them would compare to the ones in the queen’s
collection.
    The store owner laid two rings on the
counter in front of Bren and the guards. Bren picked one up and
looked at it closely. It had a silver band and the facet for the
gem was small so he knew they couldn’t have been very large. “You
said they were priced at fifty gold, what kind of gems did you have
in them?” Bren asked.
    “They each had large diamonds, each
worth thirty gold each easily,” the man replied
confidently.
    “Sir, I know I am young, but I have
spent the entirety of my life looking at fine gems. I may not be
able to tell which ones are of a better grade, but I can tell you
there is no way that a diamond large enough to cost thirty gold
could fit within this facet.”
    “Why you little Thief, are you calling
me a liar? Trying to get out of paying for what your creature did?”
The man accused Bren, his voice raising with each word.
    Bren didn’t know what to do. He didn’t
have the large sum of gold the man was asking for. He knew that he
could sign a receipt of goods to be paid at the palace, but that
would tell his mother where he was at.
    “Sir, may I see your inventory list?”
One of the guards asked after looking at one of the rings for a few
moments. “That should clear up this misunderstanding.”
    “Well I…” the man stuttered, earning
him a scathing glare from the guard. “Right away.”
    It didn’t take long for the man to
return with a long sheet parchment with numerous things written on
it. The guard looked it over as he walked through the store making
mental notes. “I don’t see the rings on the inventory sheet. You
have two rings that I can’t find, but together they only add up to
a gold and four silver so they couldn’t be what you were
describing.” The guard said sternly.
    “They just came in the other day…I
….must not have put them on the inventory sheet yet,” The man
said.
    “If you don’t have some documentation
of the goods, then I can’t make the young lad pay for them can I?”
The guard said, giving Bren a sly wink. “Sir, unless you can prove
the value of the goods we are done here. My advice is that next
time you don’t try to cheat someone out of their gold because they
look too young to know what you are doing,” the Guard continued,
almost laughing as he escorted Bren out of the store.
    “Thank you sir,” Bren said as soon as
they were outside.
    “It was a pleasure son,” the guard said
with a snicker. “That fool is always parading around as if he was
nobility. It felt good to see him squirm to tell you the truth lad.
That aside, you need to keep a better eye on your four legged
friend there,” The guard said, looking over to where Avalanche sat,
now surrounded by children.
    “ I will sir,” Bren
promised, before walking over to Avalanche and giving her a hard
slap on the back of the head. His interest in the market gone, Bren
headed back to the inn to see if Faye was feeling any
better.
    Bren found Faye still in their room
though she was now awake and holding her head firmly between her
knees. “It won’t stop spinning,” She said raising her
head.
    “It was your idea to drink all that
ale,” Bren said trying not to laugh. “Thanks to that, we’re stuck
in the