Chapter XIV

It was with considerably less ceremony that the Wild Abandon left the Port of Xarnip that morning. For Clayton, however, it was a much happier occasion. Finally, for the first time in eleven years, he would get to talk to his son. And there really wasn't any other choice - he was the only person on the boat who spoke Human. So he was a bit surprised when his son addressed him in Xarnipi.
But of course. He should have expect Human-proper would only be a second language to his son, raised in this backwater as he had been. I should have taken him with me, he thought, not for the first time in the eleven years since he'd fled his wife's wrath on the back of a stolen attack whale.
"Good Morning, son," he replied in his son's native language. His brief conversation with his wife the previous night had been the first time he'd used his Xarnipi in nearly eight years, but he had a good memory and it was coming back pretty easily.
"Mornin' Dad," said Brandon.
There was a pause. What do you say after eleven years? thought Clay.
"Oh," he said finally, "I brought you something!"
This had been his Ice-breaking plan for years. In the old days, every time Clayton had come home he'd brought a gift from wherever he'd been. He headed towards the hold, explaining as he went.
"I didn't know what kind of powers you'd manifest," he said, as he opened the door to the hold, "Sorcerer powers can be finicky. So I wasn't sure what to get you. You know, wouldn't want an invisibility cape if you could do it on your own,"
"I turn people into animals," said Brandon, with a strange mix of confusion pride.
"Oh, Transmogrifier, eh?" replied Clayton, clapping him on the shoulder. He stopped and sat down on a box, "Takin' after your old Grandma! She used to turn me into all kinds of useful things. Why I remember once, during my mercenary days, I needed to infiltrate a Goblin camp, and - Say.... You could go into business with me! Been a long time since I had a good transmogrifier at my side! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Come."
He led his somewhat perplexed son through the dank hold until he came to a large box.
"Here it is," he said. He took the top off of the box, bent down and pulled out a small,smooth silver egg. He handed it carefully to his son, who looked it over with confusion.
"What is it?" he finally asked.
"It's a nullifier," said his father. "That little egg can render the most powerful wizard into nothing more than an old man with a stick. You see, it contains a tiny chunk of oblivium,"
Brandon laughed. "Nice one, dad," he said. "Seriously, what does it do?"
"I'm serious," Insisted Clayton, "It has chunk of oblivium in it strong enough to nullify all the magic in a ten-foot radius. Right now it's effects are being suppressed by the silver in the shell. But it's thin. You can break it by throwing it down really hard or smashing it, and then you'll have an approximately twenty-foot radius circle inside which no one can use any magic. Like plopping down a chunk of the badlands right in the middle of Erilliance,"
"Wow," said Brandon, surveying the small metal egg,"Thanks," he continued, mesmerized,"If this is really oblivium, it must be worth..."
"Hey," said his father, "I have eleven years of birthdays to make up for! Speaking of which, we've got a lot to catch up on. You want something to eat?"
"Sure," answered Brandon.
"C'mon," said Clay, "I'll show you the mess. I hope you like Banannas!"

*Sorry it sucks. I just gotta keep writing.