Prynn 1.5 (Part 1)

Prynn spent the next eight weeks strapped to the table in the triangular operating room. Ironically, these eight weeks were forever missing from his memory. But it was just as well. Had Prynn been conscious, he would be experiencing perpetual pain and discomfort.

On the ninth week, Dunston woke up Prynn and placed him in a lavishly-furnished bedroom; Prynn needed a few days to completely regain consciousness.

Dunston worked with Prynn over the next couple months, refining the spells he had remembered, and re-teaching him the ones he had not. As far as Dunston could tell, his operation had been a complete success. Even though Prynn kept to himself, Dunston observed that Prynn had regained a considerable amount of power. What concerned him however, was that as the days passed, Prynn´s visage seemed to darken, and his mood became more bitter. After detecting some evil within him, Dunston figured Prynn had led a very dark life, full of pain and misdeeds.

Dunston entertained thoughts of teaching the memory-recovery operation to Prynn, but he felt Prynn would be not able to complete the process on Dunston. Or perhaps more accurately, would have no reason to do so. Accordingly, he decided to place Prynn under his tutelage, hoping to inwardly change the man and his morals. Either way, Dunston saw to it that Prynn would never hurt a good creature again.

***

On the last night he was to remain with Dunston before venturing to the outside world, Prynn sat in his bedroom deep in thought. He recalled all his days up to the last time he was trapped in a sandbox. He suspected his memories went back further than this, but Dunston´s operation had only allowed him to recall this much. "Better than nothing," thought Prynn.

He replayed everything in his head from meeting his first companion Andrew to the last moments when Quercus was slain. He grinned darkly as he remembered his Samurai companion´s sword plunging deeply into the god´s flesh.

Ashitaka. My long-time partner. As a flood of visions from the past invaded his mind, Prynn experienced a peculiar emotion he had never felt before. "What is this awful feeling?" thought the wizard. "Why do I desire to see that do-gooder? Surely something has afflicted my heart, as if it has been pricked by a knife." Prynn suffered these feelings as he recalled memories of other companions: Falaren, Akkaron and even the gnome Grizzo.

Prynn soon drifted off to sleep, replaying his life through his dreams as he knew it up until this day.

***

In the early morning, Dunston sent off Prynn with little in the way of goodbyes.

The plump man gave Prynn a backpack with rations, some gold, and a small jewel.

"I will be watching you through this bauble, so we will remain connected. I don´t like having to split up, but I fear the excessive amount of magic I used during the operation has tipped off Amundi´s servants to my whereabouts. We have been lucky, but it is only a matter of time. I would tell you where to go and what to do, but from what I gather you are quite capable of caring for yourself."

Dunston then handed Prynn a longsword with a sheath. "Take this. You´ll need it. And remember Prynn: No magic!" And with that, Dunston tapped Prynn on the shoulder, and he found himself outside once more. He was standing again in a dark alley, only this time he was wearing luxurious form-fitting black pants and a longshirt instead of a tattered, filthy robe. He carried the sword in its sheath on his belt, his narrow leather backpack, and a new spellbook in his stomach which was given to him by Dunston.

Prynn sauntered out into the street, this time with a confidence evident in his gate. Dunston had been right about one thing: Prynn knew how to take care of himself. He spent the day examining various parts of Caja City, searching for a locale in which to construct a fortress. He sensed danger on the horizon, and his fortified homes of the past had kept him relatively safe from his enemies, which were numerous. After a few hours of disappointment, he was most pleased with his discovery. A quarry of strong rock next to a field just on the outskirts of town would provide suitable material with which to build a tower. The only problem was, the tower needed to be instantly securable once he cast the spell, which was beyond his power. He thought of turning to Dunston for help with the jewel, but immediately dismissed the idea for its foolishness; Dunston had separated them for a reason.

Prynn concluded he would need to set up adequate defenses around the area before building the tower. As he thought of ways to protect his project best, he heard a twig snap behind him. Prynn spun around instinctively, and found himself staring into the bright blue eyes of Amundi not ten feet away. It looked like Amundi, but Prynn had been in the god´s presence before. He guessed that his person was some kind of duplicate.

Prynn sneered at the man, "You are not him."

The man grinned, "You are quick. No, my dear Prynn. I am but a likeness of the Great Master, sent here by him to destroy you."

Prynn laughed darkly. "I know he does not wish me dead. Not yet. Try again."

The duplicate´s grin was instantly replaced with a scowl, but not as practiced as Prynn´s. "So, you have met him. I wonder, did he indulge you of the other experiments he performed on you while he was doing the 'operation?'

Prynn lowered his brows. "What experiments?"

The man laughed boomingly, his bright blue eyes piercing Prynn´s. "Oh? Did he not tell you about the device he buried deep within your head? A pity, really. Perhaps you thought he could be trusted."

"You lie."

The duplicate then unsheathed an impossibly long broadsword, measuring out to the length of two men and just as wide. "There has been a change of plans. I am here to kill you; Amundi requires you no longer."

Prynn readied himself. "We shall see who is to die this day."

As the men sized up one another, a light wind blew a whirlwind of leaves between them. The moment the leaves had passed, the duplicate sprang into action.

The warrior charged Prynn screaming, holding his sword above his head and to the side; as if the giant weapon was made of paper. The wizard stood still, allowing the man to get very close. When he began to swing his sword in a large arc, he cut through nothing but air. Prynn had vanished. Guessing that the wizard had teleported behind him, the warrior swung his sword in a perfect circle; but hit nothing. Looking around anxiously and confused, the man was completely unprepared. "You have fled like a coward, mage!"

"Guess again," uttered Prynn, as he fell from the sky with his longsword pointed at the warrior´s skull. The wizard´s sword struck the top of the warrior´s head directly while his boots planted painfully in his shoulders. To Prynn´s surprise, however, his sword did not penetrate, it merely chipped off a piece of flesh, as if the duplicate´s head was made of solid stone. Prynn had little time to react as the warrior shifted his weight to one foot, grabbed Prynn´s ankle and hurled him with impressive strength nearly 100 feet. Prynn cast a spell in mid-air, allowing him to land gently on his feet like a cat.

Prynn looked at the duplicate´s face; it had begun to crack all over, and pieces of it were falling off.

"What the hell," whispered Prynn as he sheathed his longsword.

The casing fell completely off of the duplicate´s face, revealing another strikingly similar face underneath. The Amundi replica cackled uproariously. "Nice trick wizard, but it will not save your life."

Prynn showed no fear as he replied. "I know you were not sent to kill me. I also know this world was created because of me."

The duplicate sneered. "Is that what 'Dunston' told you? What a fool that man is. He spoke correctly about this sandbox´s purpose, but there is much he did not fill you in on." He let his gargantuan sword fall to the dirt, apparently it did become tiresome after a time. Prynn noted the advantage as the warrior continued.

"Do you honestly believe a servant of Amundi would ever assist you selflessly?"

Prynn started. "What do you mean?"

"Dunston has deceived you from the day you met him," the duplicate said, smiling devilishly. "I must admit that I am surprised by your naivety. Amundi spoke of you so highly."

Prynn laughed. "You are the liar, now. By the way, if you are in fact working alongside Dunston, how is it that you are searching for his dwelling?"

The duplicate´s face contorted slightly, "What are you talking about? Of course we know where..."

Prynn interrupted the man, "You are a terrible liar. When I encountered Dunston, there was an invisible person stalking me. In a city with prohibited magic use and few wizards, the hunter was obviously a servant of your master. If he had known where Dunston lives, he would not have attacked me so determinately."

The duplicate appeared crestfallen. After a few moments his face flushed red with a mixture of embarressment and anger and he screamed at Prynn. "Enough talk! The fact remains, your life is no longer a necessity to Him, and keep in mind that there are worse things than death!"

Prynn smiled faintly at the expression; he had said it to many of his enemies in the past, most of which are now dead.

"Amundi can use your newfound power with or without your body, so I am going to take it away from you. Now, if our pleasant chat is finished, I would like to take your head."

The warrior heaved his sword in the air with an audible grunt, and sped towards Prynn, impossibly fast this time. The wizard suspected the man was tapping into an unseen force for enhanced strength and speed, and he was determined to sever that connection.

***