Rumplestiltskin finishes the tale and lets it proceed to the leader. "And that," Rumplestiltskin says, "is why I take children away."

Laughter erupts through the crowd.

"You are more than welcome to try to take mine," Loki calls out. "But you would likely lose your hand."

There's more laughter.

You draw closer to the edge, in line now with the leader and the podium. Why are you here, I wonder. It's a question that has bothered me. You were vetted of course. So many told me I could trust you, but I am slow to trust, and I am wondering if you are pulling a trick all your own.

The leader shushes everyone and accepts the vermillion tome. "Enough then, all. But do bear in mind that terrifying children are becoming more effective once again. You can all bear that in mind for your future endeavors. And now...is it true that our own Sun Wukong is among us this night?"

A robed figure rises and gives a polite nod as he removes his hood. Beneath his black robe are cobalt robes of fine silk with intricate designs along the hem.

"We are pleased that the reports of your imprisonment in the Buddha's hand were exaggerated," the leader says.

"They were not exaggerated," Sun Wukong says. He approaches the podium and waits to speak until he removes his own book. It has begun to glow a deep sunset orange. "My skills were underestimated."

There's obviously a good story in there, I'm certain. But knowing the Monkey King, he won't be sharing it until he has smoothed out all the details to perfect dramatic presentation.

"Nonetheless, it is good to have you with us. Present the offering," the leader says.

Sun Wukong stretches out his hand. This book glows beautiful orange as if the very sun is captured within its pages. The smells of a marketplace and fresh straw waft out as the book turns slowly.

"I took this from the mind of a writer by the name of James Fry after my escape. Hear this tale and enjoy it fully."

Torryn the Astounding - @mercerbear09

Torryn took one last look around the raised platform near the crossing of Manor Road and Market Street. Then he stepped down from driving his wagon with his female assistant and his two backstage helpers.

Manor Road and Market Street? he thought. How long did that take to come up with? He had performed in a number of towns, been thrown out of about one in every ten. Distinctive towns with distinctive names could be read, allowing Torryn to get a sense of the type of audience to expect. However, when the prime performing location was the corner of a generic looking town with generic sounding street names, all that told him to avoid his most impressive, reason-defying tricks here without additional interest roused. What a pity. I had a couple of new ones I was going to try out. Unfortunately, generic people would only tolerate a certain amount of imagination. Too much, and they threw you out for not giving them the same entertainment everyone else gave them.

Torryn braced himself for what was going to be a challenging series regardless. The turnover in his assistants was getting ridiculous. He had had to recruit five new ones in the past ten weeks. He hated starting over, but the show had to go on. Back to help out...what was this new girl's name? Dehlilah? No, she's probably in jail. Genie? No, she wanted to be a wife, not a showman. He mentally clapped his hands together as he realized her name. Jasmine.

"Jasmine, let's make sure we have everything before we start setting up."

"Ok. What do we need again?"

"The boxes are numbered by the order they go in the show. One is the first box of props and so on. Looking at this town, let's use boxes 1-4, 9, 11, and 15. And the chest marked 'party mugs.'"

"Right. May I grab the first four and set them out, or do you want the tent set up first?"

At least this girl is polite. Unlike the one assistant who just started moving things without making sure we actually needed them first. "Let's get the tent set up first." He turned to his other companions, Hook and Finn. "Hey layabouts," he jeered with a crooked grin, "where is the tent?"

"Walking on its legs to your mother's house," Finn responded with a carefree grin. "It's right here."

"Hook, how are you coming with the animals?"

Hook looked up from holding the donkey's reins. "First I need to water the donkey and the goats, then I'll make sure you animals are ready to go."

"What about the doves?" Jasmine called over.

"Right here...somewhere..." Hook looked around as if he could not quite remember where he had put the crate of doves. He moved slowly, expectantly, and carefully at first. He picked up his pace the more he looked for them.

"Uuhhhh...I don't know. They were here somewhere."

"How about right behind you!" Torryn announced as Jasmine dropped a crate from above Hook's head and crashed into the ground behind him. Hook jumped back with surprise, then playfully glared at Torryn and Jasmine, who were both laughing at their comrade's surprise.

***

As Torryn and crew entered their second hour of setting up for their show, early onlookers gathered around. Finn, the designated front man, soon set up a rope so that the crew could keep moving decorations into place. The decorations mainly consisted of two booths and a place to keep all of the immediate show needs. Most of the decorations were for show, so that the audience would not be able to guess what type of show they were going to get. What's the point of a surprise if some people see it early and spoil it? Torryn thought to himself as Finn set up the brightly multi-colored facade around the base of the platform.

Finally the show was ready. The platform, which normally must have been used for stocks, was now decorated with yellows, blues, reds and grays. A facade covered the front of the platform to discourage the curious from climbing under the show. Ribbons streamed from the ends of the platform to whatever nearby structures were available. One stretched to the crossing sign. One connected to another merchant's stall, with the owner's permission, of course. Even though Torryn had to guarantee front row seats to the merchant in exchange, Torryn was confident that the added publicity would only help.

Torryn gathered a small handkerchief and tied it to a walking stick. He drew his big, floppy, pointed hat down to his eyes and merged into the crowd.

With confident style, Finn stepped onto the platform and motioned for the crowd to quiet down. "A few announcements before we begin. Be aware that one of the crew may come by with a bag periodically during the show. If you are enjoying the show and wish to encourage Torryn the Astounding, please leave a gift in the bag. Liquids and food may be thrown from the audience. Nothing too hot please."

The crowd chuckled at the apparent joke. Finn continued. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Travelers and townsfolk. My lord mayor Esmeralda and her husband, Feben. Captain Forsin and his wife. Boys and girls. Welcome, and prepare your minds, for the Torryn Effect!"

His voice boomed on the last words as the air above the stage sparkled with small fire sticks that Jasmine had lit while Finn was making his introductions. At that moment, a figure in a big, floppy hat with a sagging point entered the stage. He was shrouded by a layer of fog that was simultaneously rising as Finn exited the stage. As the fog reached its thickest, the figure caught on fire, highlighting his humanoid form and hat.

Suddenly, an arrow flew from a nearby rooftop and pierced the figure in the heart. Another missed the figure and a third arrow pierced the pointy hat. The crowd gasped and looked around, somewhat confused. The figure then fell to the ground, still afire.

Torryn, who had been hiding in the crowd to surprise and reassure the audience, looked in the direction the arrows had come from. A hooded figure was scrambling down the side of the barn roof and attempting to sneak near the group of buildings about 50 feet away from the barn. Now that wasn't part of the act!

Torryn maneuvered through the crowd to hide his presence while he hunted the hooded figure. Apparently the guards all had the same idea. How unfortunate that everyone else was trying to capture the hooded figure without tending to "him" on stage. Either they weren't fooled by the straw man in a pointed hat trick, or they didn't care enough to make sure he wasn't dead. No matter. Until the guards have this person in custody, I'll make sure Hook, Finn, and Jasmine are safe.

As Torryn approached the stage, he saw Finn lying unconscious near the closest facade. On the stage, the fog was beginning to clear, revealing another hooded figure with a sword in hand, standing over the straw man, staring at his handywork more confused than satisfied. Torryn ducked backstage to check on Jasmine. Alarm was more distant, more cerebral than emotional. Please don't let her be dead already, he prayed to no god in particular.

As he slipped to where Jasmine was supposed to be stationed for the show, a high-pitched, yet condescending male voice called out, "Torryn! Torryn, you piece of yak bowel, where are you?"

So he's here for me. That makes things simpler. Torryn grabbed the crate of doves and cracked the door open slightly, securing it with a small stick that just barely rested on the crate door. Once that was set, he moved to the bowl of magic ice that had fueled the fog earlier and used the last remaining ice to enchant a broom. Incar Seigun, Torryn whispered to activate the spell, hoping that the figure would not hear him.

The hooded figure stopped, then changed his direction. Once he got close to the dove cage, Torryn blew into his hand and guided the wind to knock the stick loose, releasing the doves. As the figure jumped in surprise, Torryn struck him with the ice broom. The figure went down and curled up with his legs tucked under him, more from the sudden cold than from the blow, which would have barely killed a spider.

The figure's eyes flashed before he jumped to his feet and grabbed one of his daggers. Torryn could see a bandolier of daggers on the figure, as well as a short sword about 10 feet away from him. The figure thrust one dagger at Torryn while reaching for another. Torryn dodged the thrust and muttered another incantation. The figure looked at his hand and roared with rage at the piece of bread he was now holding where his dagger was just a moment ago.

Torryn thrust the figure's own dagger at him to get some space. The figure leaned back, then lunged forward almost in time with Torryn's attempted escape. Torryn ran to circle the facade where he could signal help with the figure almost within arm's reach of him.

As Torryn dashed out of the backstage tent, a figure leapt at him from the outside, missing Torryn but tackling his pursuer. Torryn looked behind him to see Hook wrestling with the hooded figure. Torryn stopped in his tracks and muttered another spell. Before he could finish the spell, Hook was on his back with deep gashed in his arms. As the figure gained the upper hand, a strong gust of wind pushed him off of Hook and knocked the dagger out of his hand. The figure rolled into a ready position in one smooth motion. As he jumped over Hook, Torryn cast another spell, this time turning a piece of rope up his sleeve into a stinging plant root. The throw fell short of the incoming attacker.

The figure, seeing no obstacle between him and his target, threw one of his daggers at Torryn. Torryn had no time to react before the dagger lodged itself into his shoulder. He fell back from the impact, his arm and chest on fire with the pain.

The figure slowly made his way toward Torryn. "You deserve much worse, Torryn," the figure said as he spat the name. "However, I am going to kill you before anyone interrupts us. This is for Eleador!"

As he grabbed Torryn's hand and prepared to land the killing blow, a yell forced him to start up. Jasmine was running toward them with the figure's shortsword.

The figure smirked. He stepped up and charged at Jasmine. While Jasmine had no formal sword training, she seemed to know which end was supposed to go into an enemy. She feinted, then swung at her assailant. The figure, having drawn a dagger in each hand, stayed just out of reach, using one of his daggers to make up the difference when Jasmine's strikes got too close.

He's toying with her, tiring her out. Torryn could barely put the sentence together in his head, much less warn Jasmine. He could see Hook get up and use his arms as shields to keep Jasmine from getting flanked. However, Hook was tiring, being both unused to this type of activity and loss of blood. Jasmine pushed Hook aside and launched furious blows at the figure, whose hood had fallen back to reveal long, straw-textured hair and pointed ears. An elf.

Torryn tried to form the words to cast a spell, but the pain and blood loss were catching up with him.

Jasmine was now between Torryn and the elf figure. She brought the sword in a high arc to chop the elf in half. As her blow came down, the elf moved under her sword, parried it away from him, and spun around, burying the dagger in the middle of Jasmine's back.

"Noooooo!" Torryn screamed.

The elf smirked at Torryn, almost as if to make sure that he could see Torryn watching Jasmine fall before his impending death. This hesitation kept the elf from seeing Finn rushing up to Jasmine and grabbing the sword. Finn roared a charge and prepared to thrust the sword into the elf.

As the elf turned to face his new attacker, Torryn pulled himself up and finished another incantation. The ground behind the elf bubbled just enough for the elf to lose his footing and fall down.

Finn's charge carried him past the elf, but allowed him to see a squad of city guards marching quickly toward their location. The elf recovered, saw the incoming guards, and ran around the stage, putting it between him and the guards. Torryn lost consciousness just after losing sight of the elf's retreat.

***

Torryn awoke sometime after daybreak the next day in a large open hall with bandages around his wounds and next to three more beds. All three had bodies in them, but none of them were moving. A middle-aged woman rushed over to him with a bowl of water, towels, and another bowl of presumably magical healing ingredients.

"What about my friends?"

"Just rest yourself now. You almost scared the entire town with that show. And then you almost got killed. You can worry about your friends when you are feeling better. Town magistrate will want to question you about the man who attacked you soon. Try to focus on what happened."

"I can't until I know how my friends are."

"Just rest. You'll need your strength to answer the magistrate's questions."

"But –" Torryn started.

"Rest. You'll have a lot to discuss."

Torryn frowned, though even he had to admit that rest was probably much needed. "Why do you care so much about the magistrate's questions?"

"I wouldn't be a good wife to him if I didn't help my patients remember what he needs to know, now would I? Now, try to focus on why this person would try to attack you."

"I can't focus on that when my friends could be dead! Please tell me how they are."

The woman gave an exasperated sigh. "Very well. The one who had the sword when the guards found you is fine. He just insisted on sleeping in the same room as you other three, once your belongings were secured. Took him half the night to do it, once we got him out of here."

"What about the others?"

"The other man suffered some wounds on his arms. We are working on healing him. The girl has yet to wake, but she still lives. Here comes the magistrate now. Remember all you can."

The magistrate, an older man with a chin-length gray beard and a belly too large for the rest of him, walked into the room with two city guards and a young woman. She seemed younger than the woman he was talking to but older than Jasmine. The woman sat by one of the other beds as the magistrate brought a stool over to Torryn's bed.

"Young man, my name is Magistrate Cornwallis, and this is my wife, Illyene. Are you feeling well enough to answer some questions about last night?"

"I will tell you what I remember."

"Excellent. First, are you a traveling magician?"

"Yes."

"How long have you been a magician?"

Torryn paused to consider the question. "About three harvests. Although at times it seems longer than that."

"Do you have any enemies?"

"Not unless you count the people who don't like my shows. Nobody that would try to kill me."

"Why would someone try to kill you?"

"I don't remember. The man, no elf, who attacked me said he was doing this for someone..."

"Excuse me, did you say, 'elf'?"

"I think so, did I? Yes, I think so. Anyway, he said that this was for somebody named..."

"Hold on. Why do you think it was an elf? Did an elf take your lunch money as a child?"

"Huh? No. Uuhh...I saw...something. Ears!! The attacker had pointy ears!"

"Is that all you saw?"

"I know I saw him with his hood down, but all I remember is the pointy ears."

"All right. Again, would anyone want to kill you?"

Torryn struggled to remember. "No."

Anybody blame you for someone else's death?"

There was a question Torryn did not want to answer. Aside from the almost guaranteed wave of complaints accusing him of everything from being boring to stealing the brass bell from the temple of an anti-metallurgy cult. That would be impressive. And fun to do. "Not that I can think of."

"An old assistant maybe hold a grudge?"

Ok, this guy is getting closer. Maybe I should just tell him. But what if he suspects me of killing him and puts me in jail to 'protect me'? "I don't know. Sir, I'm getting tired again. I think I need more rest."

"If you insist. I can stop by later. Get some rest young man."

Magistrate Cornwalis left the hall and Torryn's sight. Torryn reflected on some of the questions. That was weird. Did he think I have a prejudice against elves? That kind of stuff isn't a problem in most areas.

Fortunately he had been able to avoid going into detail about any past assistants. A fair number of people wanting to apprentice as a magician were elves, but only one name came to mind whose unfortunate end with Torryn might give somebody reason to kill him. Eleador. This last bit of treachery was only a continuation, and the games would soon begin again.