Note to Archer’s Aim readers: what follows is a short treatise from Wishton Ackford from my Reformed Mage book where he reveals a little about his interactions with magic as someone who possesses no magical abilities.

As someone with a predominant background in writing, investigations often prove challenging for one such as I. Too frequently, I find myself in dangers for which I never prepared as a younger man. It’s true the streets and taverns of Cal Rindon can hold their own threats at times, but these are not as unpredictable as they are with my newest chosen profession.

Being out of work taught me much about taking care of myself since I lived in places where crime and threat went hand-in-hand. But that environment was relatively short-lived compared to the rest of my life and the several years of investigatory work with my partner Mandlefred Mandeheim. Cutthroats can be avoided in any number of ways, even fought off if necessary, but a destructive spell is not so easy to avoid. Likewise avoiding some of the other nefarious characters with whom we interact challenged me in the beginning of the business partnership.

Manny taught me new skills of avoiding contact and escaping conflict. Unfortunately, many of these skills were learned on the job in dangerous conditions. One might think one deserves hazard pay from these frequent encounters, so we do charge clients for risk and danger involved.

My first learning curve was how to stay out of the way when magic comes along. But this is not so easy in some circumstances. Magical traps with curses of all kinds can often be set off and may have lethal effects. Manny is a top-notch mage with skill at disarming these many traps but care must still be taken. Of course, I came into possession of a fleer gun with which I can provide myself a modicum of self-defense when conflict arises. This is too often the case during our investigations and can occur at a moments notice. I’ve learned to keep my hand in my pocket and ready with the fleer gun based on circumstances but those are not always predictable.

My training has been besed on Manny’s spy-craft which he learned from his many years performing that job with the Imperial espionage service nicknamed the “sniffers”. Manny taught me how to create quick disguises to throw off pursuit as well as recognizing individuals who may be following me or laying traps for us. But when I first began I knew little of investigation and the other skills necessary which I have described. Experience has taught me much and I’m all the wiser for it as well as more circumspect with my actions. Unexpected magic attacks from the shadows is now a common occurrence for me, but I’ve found the work rewarding and steady.

Danger is ever present one investigates criminal troubles and there are few indicators of the surprises which lurk seemingly at every corner. Even common criminals can catch you unaware. With Manny along on the cases and the training he’s provided me, as well as learning from experience about magic, I’m far better prepared than when I began to meet all the challenges which all too often arise in this business. The real eye-opener has been how much magical crime goes on in Cal Rindon and, I suppose, and other locales. The other non-magic users in the world are seemingly oblivious to the many dangers around them. But then, the Imperial government has taken many steps to quell much of the criminal activity which can be done with magic.

Thanks for reading today and I hope you enjoyed a little deeper foray into Wish’s world and his adventures with Manny in their investigations. Your reactions and thoughts are welcome and please feel free to share the post as you like. I hope to release the first book of the series later in the year if work progresses well in the next month or so.