Excerpt: The Game Board

This was coming together rather nicely. Fabrizia Carlotti stepped across the street to admire her work. She had never worked on such an immense canvas before. Usually she preferred to work with stone. But she had put her chisel aside for a greater good.

This city was filled with color on its walls. Other murals had cropped up all over the city, painted by budding artisans and civic leaders. She'd learned that before, the city had been overrun with street graffiti and vandalism, so they'd hit on this unique way to beautify the city of Brotherly Love. She had always encouraged such work before, but always from a distance. This was the first time she had acted. She was concerned it might not be her last.

"Is this okay, Signora Carlotti?" Her young student pointed at his part of the wall with a green paintbrush. Alonzo worked on the forest on the bottom of her masterpiece. He was one of her better discoveries in the local schools. He preferred to use cans of spray paint for his art, but she had focused his energies more productively. He’d taken immediately to the project, even suggesting characters he remembered from his childhood. He called her “signora” like she was some eccentric Italian artisan. "Should I add more trees?"

"No, that should be enough," Fabrizia said. "Why don’t you take a break, Alonzo? You’ve been working all day." Alonzo was one of her hardest working members of her crew. She didn’t want to tire him out.

Nadia put the finishing touches on the castle, giving the stone turrets a fantastical look, but with a dash of menace. Even Camelot had a darker side.

Elisa called down. "Do you want the paper in the book to be white or off-white?"

"What do you think, Cassandra?" Fabrizia asked her main student.

"I was thinking it would look like old parchment," Elisa explained.

"The white would show up better though," Cassandra said, "especially with all the browns of the castle. We need the extra contrast."

Elisa sighed. "It was just a thought."

"But a good thought. Keep thinking that way. I do want you to use your creativity." Fabrizia pointed to the long sliver between the two halves of the wall. "You might touch up the river, Cassandra. I want there to be a distinct border between the forest and castle." Cassandra scampered to work, picking up paint cans of blue and silver. Her black braided hair was coiled up in a brightly patterned head wrap, her only concession to her African heritage. Cassandra, on the other hand, was a treasure, gifted in many of the arts. She could paint, she could weave, and she could drum. Fabrizia wished she could have found such a student in happier times.

Fabrizia spent as much time coordinating her charges as she did actually painting. This was the price she paid for taking charge of this little expedition. Her guild wondered why she didn't want a more senior role. She might rate a master's status, but a journeyman did the majority of the work. She'd rather hide in her workshop, surrounded by her work, than be stuck in some back room, going over paperwork. She was quite happy where she was, actively creating artwork for all to see. She liked seeing the reactions of the people on the street, how the children pointed out their favorites. Some of parents were less enthusiastic. One even dragged their priest out to see the monstrosity going up near their congregation. The poor fellow had looked very put upon. He apologized profusely for causing so much fuss. Some people needed to be reminded of what they were missing.

Fabrizia wasn't sure this would work. She created other works of art around the country, after they'd tracked down the missing students. Two students lived in this city, so she thought a visual reminder might help. But this picture might be too subtle, the imagery too generic. She was concerned her message would get lost. She might not wield magic like some of the castle sorcerers, but art had its own magic. She hadn't traveled this far to fail.