The Adventures of Quin and Makhabesh
Background
For some bizarre reason, many fountain pen ink reviewers write pangrams as sample text. Pangrams are useful for learning to type, but they're somewhat absurd for demonstrating fountain pen writing - it's not as if the fountain pen will write differently depending on the letter of the alphabet. Anywho, it's a common practice.
So, when I started doing ink reviews, I decided to have fun with these pangrams. One of these pangrams is "The five boxing wizards jump quickly." Eventually, this morphed into stories about "the fifth wizard", who was given a name by the user "yazeh" on the Fountain Pen Network.
Characters
Quintus / Quint / Quin - the fifth wizard
Makhabesh - a male sphinx (emphasis on the first syllable, second emphasis on the last syllable, with the "ah" between them de-stressed; the "kh" is a "hard h" - sort of like clearing your throat; both "a" characters are pronounced like "ah"; also, the consonant-vowel grouping is unusual: MAKH - abesh - with a pause / break before the "abesh", rather than the more common grouping of: ma kha besh)
The other wizards: Primus (in charge), Secundus, Tertius, and Quartus
Marsell, the Oily Sorcerer of Bicbiro (Bicbiro is a city) (For you non-fountain pen people, ballpoints use oil-based ink. See this Wikipedia page about Marcel Bich for more.)
Enketa - Makhabesh's sister
Mom - Makhabesh's mother
The Story (and links to corresponding reviews)
Part 1: Quintus, the Fifth Wizard
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Long after the other four wizards went home, Quintus’ patience finally paid off. On the right foot of the sphinx of black quartz, the largest toe showed a slight abnormality. That toe had to be the way inside, and in time, Quintus would unlock its secret.
57 Robert Oster Astorquiza Rot
Quintus stood before his wardrobe staring at a virtual sea of black robes. With a sudden grin, he whispered a secret spell, then pulled out a single blood-red robe.
Clad in his blood-red robe, Quintus returned to the mystery of the Sphinx’s toe. The glyphs indicated the toe had to be pushed and pulled at the same time. A clear impossibility. But impossibilities were why magic existed in the first place.
Poor, exhausted Quintus flopped down onto the sand. All his efforts to both push and pull the Sphinx’s toe had failed. And yet, he was sure there had to be a way...
Quintus sat in the sand, pondering pushing and pulling. Push one part and pull another? But the toe seemed whole. Which part should he push, and which pull? Compression? Tear it apart? But in which direction or in what sequence? "Well," he said, "there was only one thing to do: try!"
Quintus laughed hysterically as his twin spells pushed the sphinx’s toe out from the inside and pulled it out from the outside. It’s possible he was suffering from sleep deprivation.
As night fell in the desert, Quintus conjured an orb of light, straightened his back, and told the butterflies in his stomach there was no need to flutter about so nervously. "No need at all," he whispered as he stepped into the gap left by the sphinx’s push-pulled toe.
While Quintus toiled upward in the night, the other four wizards slept safely in their beds: one with a lazy dog at his feet, another with a quick brown fox at his back, the third with a box of five dozen liquor jugs hidden under his bed, and the fourth dreamt of waltzing zebras.
On and on Quintus trudged - along narrow passageways and up quartz staircases. Clearly the sphinx was larger inside than out. Just at the edge of his vision, something blinked! "Gaaaaaaah," Quintus screamed.
As echos Quintus’ scream faded, a voice came from the darkness: "What a strange greeting. Still, one must be polite." Quintus moved his light closer. "Gaaaaaaah!" the creature screamed. After Quintus’ heart returned to his chest, his eyes beheld a tiny sphinx, no longer than his forearm.
After their morning ablutions, each of the four wizards asked each of the other wizards whether they’d seen Quintus since they left the desert. How many times was Quintus asked about? (Leave a comment.)
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Quintus blinked at the tiny sphinx. "I’m Quintus," he said. "Nice to meet you," the sphinx answered. "I’m Makhabesh. I don’t suppose you know the way out of this trap?"
After a dozen confirmations that no one had seen Quintus since they had left the desert, Primus announced that they would undertake a search and rescue operation - immediately after breakfast.
"Trap?" Quintus asked. "But I worked hard to get in here." Makhabesh nodded sagely. "That's how they got me - a mysterious set of glyphs around the sculpture's left eye. Took me days to figure it out. But when I returned to leave, they eye was sealed tight."
The four wizards stood staring at tracks in the sand. "Well," said Tertius, "he managed to get the toe out." Secundus pointed where smaller tracks disappeared between two toes. "He must have gone inside." Quartus scratched his head. "But why pull the toe back after him?"
Quintus and Makhabesh raced down quartz stairs and along narrow passageways, following the orb of light bouncing ahead of them and praying they weren't too late.
Primus shook his head. "Quintus wouldn't pull it back." Unless he had something to hide from us. "First we figure out what spell he used!" Then I have to figure out if I want my troublesome fifth wizard back.
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Quintus nearly smashed into the inside of the sphinx's toe (the big sphinx, not Makhabesh). His own footprints appeared to come from under a quartz wall. "Nooooooo!" he cried. "The good news," Makhabesh said, "is that there's a very nice cafe right about where this thing's stomach is supposed to be."
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"We've got it," Secundus and Tertius shouted in unison. The four wizards watched as the toe pulled slowly away from the rest of the sphinx. When it cleared the other toes, a faint cry came from deep within, "Wait for me!"
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Quintus and Makhabesh were had just topped the first set of stairs on their way to the cafe when light appeared behind them. Makhabesh took wing and disappeared back the way they'd come like a dart. "Wait for me!" Quintus cried.
Makhabesh flew as fast as he ever had, twisting to squeeze through the narrow gap and out into the sunlight. "Free!" he yelled, soaring into the blinding light. And suddenly he was so overtaken with a fit of hysterical laughter that he had to land before he crashed.
As the other four wizards stared at the tiny laughing sphinx, Quintus tumbled out into the sunlight. "Thank," he gasped, "the inky stars!" At the sound of his voice, Makhabesh flew up and perched unsteadily on Quintus' shoulder. "So," Makhabesh said, "when do we go in and rescue the others?"
"Go in?" Quintus shouted. "It's a trap!" Makhabesh patted Quintus' shoulder with one paw. "Sure, but now we know it's a trap, can't you five use your magic to prop the door open?" The other four wizards continued to stare.
"What others?" Primus finally asked. "Well," Makhabesh said, "there's the archeologist and his assistant, and the couple on their honeymoon, and the other couple celebrating their retirement. Then there's the treasure hunters - we could leave them inside. And there's a history professor who won't stop talking, and that guy in the corner muttering to himself..."
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[Two days later...] Armed with their staffs, potions, and spells, the others left Secundus and Tertius at the entrance, just in case, and set off into the sphinx-trap. "Maybe before we do the rescue part, we could get one of their bacon cheeseburgers," Makhabesh suggested. "Mmmm."
After getting six cheeseburgers to go (a request which made the server suspicious), Primus pounded his staff against the floor three times, cleared his throat, and announced, "We're here to rescue you! The right forepaw-" A fireball flew from one corner of the cafe - straight at Primus.
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"Noooo!" Quartus yelled, thrusting his staff into the path of the fireball! Primus ducked as the fireball split. Quintus set his staff and cast a shielding spell around himself, Quartus, and Primus. Trapped patrons screamed and scattered. And Makhabesh flew right into the face of the fellow muttering in the corner, and began to claw his eyes out.
"My eyes! My eyes!" cried the muttering fellow from the corner. "Sieze him!" Primus ordered. Quartus and Quintus dragged the enemy into the light. "Gaaah!" shouted the three wizards in unison. "It's Marsell, the Oily Sorcerer of Bicbiro!"
While the three wizards bound Marsell and stripped him of his magical paraphernalia, Makhabesh directed his fellow trap-ees toward the big sphinx's right forepaw. Suddenly, all light vanished, there was a bang, a flash, smoke, and when the wizards re-conjured their orb-lights, Marsell was gone!
After a moody trip home, Makhabesh took a flight around the wizards' keep while they held a private meeting. Later he found Quintus turning circles in his room, staring at his belongings as if he didn't recognize them. When Makhabesh flew into view, Quintus sagged into the nearest chair. "They're kicking me out," he said.
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"I'll claw their eyes out!" Quintus flicked a hand and the door swung shut. "There's no point." Suddenly he stood and pulled a pack from his wardrobe. Makhabesh watched in fascination as far too many things disappeared into the pack. "No more laundry," Quintus muttered. "No more dishes. No more ... just no more." He looked up with a grin.
Part 2: The Oily Adventure
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As they left the keep, Makhabesh snarling at anyone who stared, Quintus said, "I'll need a new name." "Why?" "Quintus is for the fifth wizard. That's not me anymore." "What's your real name?" "A wizard never reveals his true name - too dangerous." "All righty then. Quint it is!" Makhabesh announced. "Unless you prefer Percival? Bertram? Horace...?"
"You should ditch the robe," Makhabesh said as they left the city. "Wizards always wear robes." "That's why you should ditch it." Quint - without the "us" - hmm'ed for a while before saying, "Quin." Makhabesh glanced at him sideways. "What?" "I think I like Quin better than Quint." "Uh-huh. Well, Quin, I'm thinking you should ditch the robe."
Makhabesh followed as Quin turned off the road and stopped at a circle of flat stones embedded in the ground. "What's this?" he asked. "It's a portal," Quin said. "We're going to use it to travel to the portal near Bicbiro." "What!?"
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Quin and Makhabesh stared at the distant walls of Bicbiro. Makhabesh turned his head this way and that, looking sideways at the oozing, undulating walls. "What is that?" he finally asked. "Those are the oily walls of Bicbiro, designed to keep out intruders." Makhabesh shivered as a chill ran up his spine, and nearly fell from Quin's shoulder. "Ow! Get your claws out of me."
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"Why are we doing this?" Makhabesh asked. "We're going to track down Marsell and take him back to the Wizards' Council for trial." Makhabesh nodded. "Trial for...?" "Don't you see? He was fifth wizard before me, when I was just an apprentice. He broke his oath, turned to forbidden sorcery, used his magic to trap people in that sphinx...."
When Quin finally finished telling Makhabesh about Marsell's crimes, and the plan to track down and capture the Oily Sorcerer before the world was condemned to live under his oily rule, Makhabesh slapped a paw against Quin's chest. "This is why I left home! Well, this and my mother kicked me out. Told me to go find a pretty sphinxette and start my own pride. But mostly this!" Quin nodded knowingly.
Fortunately, Quin had long since ditched the robe - or put it in his pack anyway. The guards of Bicbiro never would have admitted a foreign wizard. But they didn't bat an eye at the bespectacled "historian" planning to write a comprehensive treatise on the rise of the Bicbiro "empire".
Once he'd secured a room in a respectable, but modest inn of Bicbiro's university district, Quin opened his pack. Makhabesh scrambled tumbling out as if his tail had been set alight by the Oily Sorcerer himself. "I am never going in there again!" he proclaimed, shaking himself as if trying to dry his fur.
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As they entered the university library to establish Quin's cover, the librarian looked askance at Makhabesh. "A sphinx?" Her nose twitched up as the corners of her mouth turned down. "He's an excellent assistant," Quin said. "The wings, you see." Makhabesh snarled quietly. "He should be with his own kind," she replied. Makhabesh grinned. "Clearly you've never met my mother."
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After a month of dividing their time between the library and exploring the city, Quin and Makhabesh came up with two plans. One involved pizza, the other, cheeseburgers. Both involved bacon.
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While Quin and Makhabesh argued over the last piece of bacon, Bicbiro secret police stormed into the restaurant. "Fly!" Quin urged as he cast a smoke screen spell. Makhabesh clawed the face of the first officer before flying over their heads toward the door. Behind his smoke screen, Quin rushed for the kitchen.
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Makhabesh clawed his way through three more officers before soaring up as fast as he could. An oily ball flew past him. He dove and veered as the ball exploded into an oily web. He veered again as one edge of the web struck the tip of his left wing. He rounded the nearest corner, then dove into the first alley he saw, scurrying behind a dumpster and trying to shake the oil from his feathers.
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Quin raced into the kitchen. He cast a shielding spell across the doorway as cooks and servers shouted at him. Ignoring them, he weaved through them toward what he hoped was the back door. Behind him, police shouted orders. A cook swung a skillet, clipping Quin's shoulder. He stumbled toward a door marked "EXIT".
Makhabesh held his breath as a troop of secret police stomped past the alley, all looking skyward. As soon as they were past, he took wing in the other direction, slightly off balance because of the oil on his feathers. He had to get back to help Quin.
Quin pushed the door open and ran straight into a squad of secret police. He had no chance to cast a spell. An oily ball struck his chest and exploded into an oily web. In the same instant, a hood dropped over his head. Fly, Makhabesh! he thought. Escape!
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Makhabesh watched from behind a sooty chimney as the secret police dragged Quin away, hooded and wrapped in oily strands. He started to growl, but stopped himself before the sound grew loud enough for anyone to hear. He flew carefully from one hiding place to the next, following as they dragged Quin away.
After seeing where they took Quin, Makhabesh flew as fast as he could back to the inn. After a thorough check for secret police, he flew to the unlocked window of their room, pushed it open, and dove inside. He found Quin's pack still in the bottom of the wardrobe. He opened it, grit his teeth, climbed inside, and pulled it closed.
Meanwhile, back at the wizard's keep: "Did he not consider who would have to do all the chores when he kicked Quintus out?" Quartus asked. "Pffff," Tertius replied. "What does he care? He knew
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Meanwhile, on the plains beyond the desert: "No Mom, no one's seen Makhabesh since he went to find his fortune," Enketa said, rolling her eyes. Mom growled. "I swear that brother of yours has gotten himself in trouble again. If I have to rescue him one more time, I'll pluck out his wing feathers."
By the time the guards shoved Quin into a chair, he'd lost all track of how they'd gotten there, and given up on working magic - the oily web kept his magic completely suppressed. "Where are the others?" Marsell's voice demanded. "Primus wouldn't have sent just you." "Primus kicked me out," Quin answered. The hood was yanked from his head and Quin squinted at the sudden light.
Marsell's narrowed eyes bored into Quin's. "Why did you come here?" Quin's mind raced for ways to take advantage of the situation. "Just exploring my options." Marsell leaned back in his chair. "Looking for options, eh?" Quin didn't bother trying to hide his nervousness - it fit. "Now that I've lost my mentors, I need to find something new..."
Makhabesh tried to relax as a guard stomped along with Quin's pack over his shoulder. They went up and down and seemingly all around before pausing. A door opened. Makhabesh held his breath as he heard Quin say, "So the oily magic is easier?" Makhabesh almost growled.
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Makhabesh, inside Quin's pack, was dropped into a corner at Marsell's instruction. As his stomach flipped over, Makhabesh listened to what sounded like Quin deciding to switch sides and take up oily sorcery! "So you're saying my magic can go further before I have to rest?" Quin asked.
While Quin and Marsell yammered on about oily sorcery, Makhabesh carefully and quietly explored the contents of Quin's pack by the dim light that filtered in through the top. Most of it appeared mundane or too mysterious to handle. Then he found a fountain pen, already filled with ink, and a blank notebook.
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The two wizards were still yammering, and Makhabesh was giving up on his plans to rescue Quin. Which meant he would probably die trapped in an oily web. And if he was going to die, it might be a good idea to write out his will and a letter to his mother. So he uncapped the fountain pen and began to write in the language of the sphinxes - Riddlese.
Quin was sure he had Marsell believing his interest. Oily sorcery certainly did seem to have some appeals, especially for basic needs, but it was so oily... It took all the art out of magic. "Well," Marsell said, "while you ponder that, let's just see what's in this pack, shall we?"
As Marsell started shifting and removing things from Quin's pack, Makhabesh crouched behind the full-length mirror, quickly scribbling the end of his letter: "I wish you were here, Mom. Actually, I wish the whole family were here."
Marsell pulled the mirror from Quin's pack. He glanced back and cocked an eyebrow. "And what does this do?" he asked. Quin tried to look embarrassed. "It shows me how I look in various robes," he lied, offering a sheepish grin. I sure hope Makhabesh has done his part.
"What's happening!?" Enketa cried as she, Mom, and others were pulled by some unseen force into a strange, dark place. Makhabesh's jaw dropped. "Mom!" More and more of his family began to pop into the pack. Light suddenly shone from above. Marsell shouted. Makhabesh grinned, clipped the fountain pen on the chain with his spider pendant, and gripped the notebook in one paw.
Quin jerked to his feet as Makhabesh and more than a dozen other sphinxes flew out of his pack. "Guards!" Marsell shouted. Makhabesh went straight for Marsell's eyes. One of the sphinxes roared - it had to be Makhabesh's mom. Quin lunged for the mirror stand. The door crashed open. Guards stood gaping in the doorway. Sphinxes were clawing and growling everywhere. Quin pressed his fingers into one of raised images on the mirror's stand.
The mirror rippled into a portal back to Quin's old room at the wizard's keep. "Through the mirror portal!" Quin shouted. Makhabesh grabbed the front of Marsell's shirt and flapped with all his might. "Help me, Mom!" In moments Makhabesh and half a dozen other sphinxes were through the mirror, pulling and pushing Marsell with them.
Part 3: You Tell Me
Not to ruin the tension or anything, but we all know Quin and Makhabesh will survive - they're the title characters, after all! So, if you have an idea for what they should do next, where they should go, or who they should encounter, please feel free to leave me a comment on YouTube under any of the review videos (or on FPN, reddit, or Instagram). The back of my brain always appreciates fresh input.
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