WHERE are we going, Genie?” the young man inquired.
Jéne E. Ilk didn’t give an immediate answer. Instead he grasped the steering wheel of his ship, the building known as The Tavern, and spun the circle around, letting it roll to the left under the applied impetus. He and the other men on the ‘bridge’ of the ‘ship’ were dressed in naval attire, something that had never taken place before.
“Welcome to Halloween,” Jéne E. said. “I mean this world’s equivalent of Halloween.”
“But where are we going?” the young man asked again. “Surely you’re not going to let the planeswalking engine pick a random destination?”
Jéne E. smiled.
“Genie, you can’t be serious?” the young man exclaimed in horror.
“Oh, I wouldn’t do that,” Jéne E. said in the most disarming manner. “No. Today, we’re going to watch good old fashioned gladiatorial massacre between feuding planeswalkers.” He stepped close to a map hung vertically from a frame and pointed at a spot. “Across the Blind Eternities is a world considered by many planeswalkers as neutral ground, the perfect place to settle any disagreements. We’ll get there when we get there.”
The young man asked, “And the point to all this is?”
“Sport. Pure, simple, unadulterated sport. It’s not as if anyone’s going to get killed. These ’walkers are even going to wait for us to arrive before they start ripping at each other.”
“They’re… your acquaintances?”
“You catch fast. Good man. The Magus will be joining them, and that is the main attraction.”
The young man pursed his lips. “Let me see if I understand this. We are going to a fight between planeswalkers, a possibly gruesome fight but obviously nothing more than sport, and the protector of The Tavern, the Magus himself, will partake in this venture.”
“Anything else you want to add?” Jéne E. said as he pulled two large levers.
The young man made the request, “Could I have cookies while I watch?”
“Sure. Ask Tim when you see him.”
* * *
The Tavern arrived late. The other ’walkers were already there by the time the building materialised beside the combat area. The ’walkers took a few seconds off from their idle chatter and their drinks to observe the building’s entrance, then went back to their time-wasting while their waited for the Magus to join them. They didn’t have to wait long. The Magus appeared out of nowhere, walked up to the ’walkers, and the combatants began to take their place, each man standing to form a circle.
Back in the bridge of The Tavern, the young man was alone with a senior officer. He asked the officer where everyone went.
“To the observation deck on second floor,” replied the officer. “You won’t find Genie there, though. He’s got his own private observation post.”
“Is it safe?” the young man continued to ask. “I mean, ’walkers have tremendous power. What if a wayward fireball hits The Tavern, or something?”
The senior officer gently pulled down a toggle. “Shields up. Going to full force.” Then as an afterthought, he said, “You not going to the observation deck?”
“I’ll watch from here.”
The young man took out a pouch from a pocket and produced a sweet from it. He popped it into his mouth and offered one to the officer who agreed to indulge.
>Continued in part 2
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