Nicodemus sat beside the fire purposely ignoring the magician. A warm bank of coals heated the modest upstairs room of the Traveler’s Inn. Corwin watched with amusement as the black cat cleaned his fur. He has no need to do that, I’ve not seen a smudge of dirt on him nor even a whisker out of place, thought the magician. Yet all the while the familiar was grooming himself, it kept one inky paw on a small field mouse.
The mouse lay still in its captor’s grasp. Corwin bent down gingerly and took the creature in both hands. “There, there, my little fellow, we’ll not be seeing that mean old cat any longer.” Nicodemus took offense at the words and launched himself upon the bed, where he proceeded to claw the magician’s cloak.
Corwin was too busy to notice. He carefully held the mouse in one hand and uncorked the small vial with his teeth. Setting the vial carefully on the nightstand, he produced a small glass rod from his robes. Touching the rod to the bottle, he then placed a small drop on the mouse’s nose. The creature hesistated but Corwin managed to coax a bit into its mouth. Setting the rod down, he watched and waited.
A few seconds passed and the magician was relieved the mouse did not die. Not poison…
Holding the mouse closer to the lamp, Corwin saw it fade quickly from sight and then back again. That’s it…
The magician stoppered the bottle and placed it in the dresser. He set the mouse in a stone crock, donated by the innkeeper. The mouse did circles for a bit as Corwin observed him still. Grabbing a generous slice of cheese and some bread sopped in ale, he placed them in the crock. “Eat well, little friend. You’ve done me a great service. Nicodemus prefers smoked fish.”
The black cat perked up his ears at that and leapt off the bed to follow the magician into the common room.
Game notes–Corwin the magician lacks any type of identifying spell. He needs to write the spell KNOW in his spellbook, but hasn’t come acrossed it yet. This is a Pits & Perils spell for identifying magical items. Until then, he would rather not test an unknown potion on himself. It also helps to have a familiar that is a first class mouser.
More to come….
Damn Elf Press 