Wrede, Patricia C. - Magician Series 1 - Mairelon the Magician

by Mairelon the Magician [lit]

  "It ain't the nabbing culls I'm worried on," Kim said, scowl-

  ing "It's Laverham " She sfghed "I suppose now I got to tell

  you "

  "Have to I would appreciate it Who is Laverham?"

  Kim took a deep breath and began trying to explain her

  antipathy to Dan Laverham Mairelon waved her to silence

  after a few sentences

  "I'll take your word for it that the man is unpleasant," the

  magician said "But what set you off?"

  "He was at Tom's shop, where I took those flash togs you

  asked me to get nd of He asked a lot of questions, and one

  of his men tried to follow me when I left "

  Mairelon frowned "He had you followed? How far^"

  "Half a block in the wrong direction, I tipped him the dou-

  ble right off"

  "And you're sure it was you he was interested in?"

  72

  Kim shrugged "What else? Laverham's been aching to get

  his rambles on me since before old Mother Tibb stuck her

  spoon in the wall "

  "Who is Mother Tibb^" Mairelon asked

  "She raised me and some others," Kim said shortly "She's

  dead " She didn't want to talk about Mother Tibb Even after

  two years, talking brought back memories of the skinny old

  woman's terrified howls as the constables hauled her off to

  prison, and of the hangman's steady tread and the sickening

  thud as the trapdoors dropped away beneath the feet of his

  line of victims Kim preferred to remember the dubious safety

  and fleeting camaraderie of the earlier years, when she

  thought of Mother Tibb at all

  "I'm sorry," Mairelon said gently He paused "About Lav-

  erham—" He made her describe her brief encounter in as

  much detail as she could remember At last he paused and

  said, "All right, I'll agree that he seems to have been after

  you But if anything else like that happens, or if you mn into

  Laverham or any of his men again, tell me "

  Kim nodded Mairelon turned to the still-glowing silver

  bowl and moved both hands in a swift, complicated gesture

  above it The light gathered around the nm of the bowl, as

  though something were sucking it upward Then, with a faint

  popping noise, the lamp flared into life and the glow of the

  bowl vanished

  Mairelon smiled in satisfaction and began setting the

  wagon to rights The extended lamp hook folded neatly and

  invisibly back into the wall beside the door, the ashes of the

  herbs were thrown outside, and the Saltash Bowl was wiped

  and wrapped in velvet once more Kim watched for a few

  minutes in silence before reminding Mairelon that he had

  promised to explain to her what was really going on

  "So 1 did The story really starts about fifteen years ago,

  when old Lord Saltash died He left a rather large bequest to

  73

  the Royal College of Wizards. You've heard of the Royal Col-

  lege, I trust?"

  "As much as anybody "

  "Mmmm Well, Saltash fancied himself a magician, and

  he'd collected a tremendous number of odds and ends of

  things that he thought ought to be properly investigated. He

  dumped the lot on the College Most of them turned out to

  be quite worthless, but—"

  "That's why you called it the Saltash Bowl'" Kirn said "It

  was part of the mm cull's collection!"

  "Yes, though I wouldn't call Saltash a rum cull The bowl is

  only part of the grouping; there's a silver platter that matches

  it, and four carved balls of different sizes Together, they're

  the key to a very interesting spell."

  "Making people tell the truth," Kirn said, nodding

  "I don't think you realize what that means," Mairelon said

  testily "It's easy enough to bind someone «ot to do things,

  but a spell to force a person to speak, and to speak only the

  truth, without interfering with the ability to answer intel-

  ligently—well, it's remarkable Most control spells are

  obvious; they make the people they're used on act like sleep-

  walkers But the Saltash group—"

  "Alt right'" Kirn said hastily "It's bang-up What next?"

  "The Royal College spent a good deal of time, here and

  there, trying to duplicate the spell on the grouping No one

  ever succeeded, and the Saltash group became a curiosity.

  And then, four years ago, it was stolen "

  Mairelon paused "It was stolen," he repeated, "in such a

  way that it appeared that I was the thief "

  "You were in the Royal College?" Kim asked

  Mairelon blinked, as if he had expected some other re-

  sponse Then he smiled slightly "Yes, I was Under another

  name, you understand "

  "Richard Merrill?"

  74

  "You are a shrewd one Yes, that is my name "

  "But you ain't the sharper who nicked the bowl "

  "No If I hadn't been lucky enough to run into Edward,

  though, I'd have no way of proving it The evidence was

  overwhelming Even my brother Andrew believed it"

  Kim snorted "He's a noodle, then "

  Mairelon's face lost its set look, and he laughed "A sur-

  prisingly apt description, I'm afraid "

  "So why didn't this Edward cove tell anybody that you ain't

  the one who lifted them things?"

  "Those things, Kim, not them things At the time, it

  was convenient to have an excuse for leaving the country

  quickly "

  "How do you mean?" Kim asked suspiciously

  "I was spying on the French," Mairelon said baldly

  "Oh "

  "And there was my pride, too Hubris, the failing of the

  gods I wanted to recover the stolen items myself, you see. I

  thought I'd find out who was behind the theft Someone at

  the College was involved, I'm certain I asked Edward to let

  me try "

  "And that's how you got hold of that bowl?"

  "It took me a year to track it down after the war ended It

  was in a little town in Germany, property of the local Baron

  He'd picked it up as a souvenir of England, and he was in-

  credibly stubborn about selling it "

  Kim thought back to the conversation she'd inadvertently

  overheard "So now you're going to Ranton Hill to find the

  platter part What about the rest of it?"

  "I can use each piece to help find the others, and it gets

  easier the more pieces I have With the bowl and the platter

  together, it won't be hard to locate the four spheres "

  "What about—" Kirn's question was interrupted by a per-

  75

  emptory knock at the door Mairelon lifted an eyebrow in

  amusement and went to open it

  Hunch stood outside, his expression clearly disapproving

  "You've 'ad your hour, Master Richard," he said "And I'd like

  to know where '!s Lordship's sending us off to this time "

  "Essex," Mairelon said, and grinned "Ranton Hill, to be

  precise Did you have any other questions, K-im? Then, if

  you'll excuse us, we had better go and figure out what route

  will get us there with a minimum of delay We can talk more

  in the morning "

  76

  EIGHT

  ^Tf^ T"' or the next five days, it rained Torrential


  JK^^^ 1 downpours alternated with misty drizzle or

  f f bone-chilling showers that made even the best

  roads treacherous going The seldom-frequented lanes used

  by Mairelon's wagon became a sticky quagmire which plas-

  tered the horses and mired the wagon wheels Despite Mair-

  elon's best efforts, their progress slowed to a crawl

  None of them rode, the wagon alone was nearly too heavy

  for the horses to tow along the roads Hunch and Mairelon

  took turns leading the horses, sliding and stumbling through

  cold, oozy mud that sucked at their feet and weighted down

  their boots in inch-thick layers Even Kim sank ankle-deep

  unless she kept to the verge and slid on the slippery wet mats

  of last years grass instead

  By the time they stopped to camp each night, they were all

  exhausted, but Mairelon insisted that Kim continue her

  lessons no matter how tired she was It was easier to agree

  than argue, so Kim applied herself as best she could to arts

  such as reading and legerdemain which could not be conve-

  niently practiced while marching through the rain During

  77

  the day, Mairelon continued her instruction in what Kirn pri-

  vately called "flash talk-" When her voice grew hoarse, he let

  her stop and listen while he recited poetry or plays, or ren-

  dered the same speech over and over in a variety of styles and

  accents.

  They slept in the wagon, though Hunch muttered hatefully

  and chewed his mustache over the arrangement. K-im was not

  really sure whether he was fretting over Mairelon's morals or

  the spoons; by the end of the second day, she no longer

  cared- Sleeping in a place that was even approximately dry

  was far more important than Hunch's disapproval- Mairelon

  appeared as unaware of Hunch's glares as he seemed uncon-

  scious of any impropriety, though Kim did not for a minute

  believe that he was as oblivious as he looked.

  On the sixth morning, Kim followed Hunch out of the

  wagon to find a steady, soaking rain falling from an endless

  sheet of clouds the color of lead. With a snort of disgust, she

  pulled the collar of her cloak tighter around her neck in a

  hopeless effort to keep the water out. The cloak was Mair-

  elon's, and much worn, and she had had to tie it up with a

  length of rope at her waist to keep it from dragging in the

  mud. It made a bulky, awkward garment and she was positive

  that she would slip and end up covered in mud before the

  morning was over

  "Cheer up," Mairelon said as he passed her, heading for the

  horses. "It will stop before noon."

  "Hah," Kim said. She took an injudicious look at the sky,

  which was stilt uniformly leaden, and water dripped down her

  neck. "Owl" she said, and glared after Mairelon. "If you're so

  knowin', why ain't you put a stop to it afore now?"

  "Haven't," Mairelon said absently. "Why haven't I put a stop

  to it before now."

  "All right, why haven't you?" Kim said crossly.

  "Because weather magic is tricky, time-consuming, costly,

  78

  and extremely noticeable," Mairelon replied with commend-

  able patience "I can't afford the time or the energy, and I

  certainly can't afford to be noticed Not until we've gotten

  our hands on the Saltash Platter, at least "

  He continued on and Kim scowled after him. "What's the

  good of traveling with a wizard if you have to get wet in the

  rain like other people?" she muttered,

  Low as her voice was, Hunch heard her. "You'd ought to

  be glad you wasn't left in London!"

  "Why?" Kim demanded. "At least there I could keep

  dry. And 1 wouldn't have to worry about no nabbing culls,

  either-"

  "Any." Mairelon's voice came floating over the heads of

  the horses, "if the two of you have finished exchanging pleas-

  antries, it's time we left. Rear doors, please; Hunch, take

  the right side, the wheel's sunk a little deeper there, I

  think "

  Kim and Hunch took up positions on either side of the

  wagon. "Ready? Now," Mairelon called, and they pushed

  while he urged the horses forward. After a brief struggle, the

  wagon rolled forward and they were on the move again.

  To Kirn's disgust, the rain soon dwindled to a light drizzle.

  By noon it had stopped entirely, and Mairelon was wearing a

  smug expression. Kim was more than a little inclined to snarl

  at him, but in the past few days she had learned that snarling

  at Mairelon did little good He simply smiled and corrected

  her grammar.

  They stopped early that evening, for travel was still muddy

  and exhausting Then, too, they were less than an hour's

  travel from Ranton Hill, even with the mud, and Mairelon

  had not yet decided whether he wanted the wagon to be

  much in evidence when they arrived. With that in mind, he

  had chosen a campsite where a small wood came down to

  79

  meet one side of the road, so that the wagon could be drawn

  in among the trees

  Hunch built a large fire while Mairelon and Kim hauled

  pots and buckets of water from an irrigation ditch on the

  other side of the road When they arrived back at the camp,

  they found that Hunch had already hung the dampest of the

  cloaks and bedding around the m-e, blocking most of the

  heat Hunch accepted the buckets with his most dour expres-

  sion, and Kim and Mairelon retreated at once to the far side

  of the wagon

  "What's got into him?" Kim asked, settling herself onto the

  footboard at the front of the wagon

  "Hunch is merely expressing his desire to continue his own

  activities without distraction from the two of us," Mairelon

  explained, leaning against the wall next to Kim

  "Does that mean he's gom' to start dinner soon^" Kim asked

  hopefully

  "Not soon, I'm afraid First he'll want to get as many things

  cleaned and thoroughly dried as he can Resign yourself to

  scorched bedclothes tonight"

  Kim made a scornful noise "Hunch ain't got no sense

  Dinner's more important than blankets "

  "Don't try to convince him of that," Mairelon said, smiling

  "You won't succeed, and there's nothing to be gained from

  trying Though perhaps I shouldn't be the one to make that

  argument, it's my dignity Hunch is trying to defend, you

  know "

  "Hoi Hunch, worrym' over your dignity? After he's been

  naggin' at you for two days for weann' that cloak instead of

  the one with the patches?"

  "Yes, well, Hunch gets these notions from time to time

  Have you practiced that handkerchief tnck you were having

  trouble with''"

  80

  "I ai—haven't had time," Kim said "1 can't do it at all on

  the move, and we only Just got here "

  "Then practice it now, before the light goes," Mairelon

  said, handing her a handkerchief

  Kim rolled her eyes and spread the handkerchief out on her

  lap She flexed her cold fingers several times, trying to timber

  them up a little, then b
egan carefully folding and rolling the

  linen square as Mairelon had taught her She was only half

  finished when Mairelon's head turned and she heard him mur-

  mur, "Now, 1 wonder who that is?"

  Kim looked up Through the screen of trees she saw a

  coach-and-four making its slow, soggy way up the lane, the

  heads of two postillions were clearly visible above the coach's

  roof Kim blinked in surprise What was a bang-up turnout

  like that doing on a quiet farm lane? And where was it head-

  ing?

  "Exactly what I would like to know," Mairelon said, and

  Kim realized that she had spoken aloud Kim glanced at him

  and saw that he was frowning slightly "And we're not going

  to find out sitting here "

  Without waiting for Kim to respond, Mairelon pushed

  himself away from the wagon, pulled his shapeless, still-damp

  hat farther down on his head, and started bnskly off into the

  trees in the same direction that the coach was traveling Kim

  blinked, then dropped the handkerchief and scrambled after

  him

  The coach passed them a few minutes later Screened by

  the small trees and untnmmed scrub along the edge of the

  woods, Mairelon and Kim studied it Kim could hear loud

  female laughter from the carnage windows, but the curtains

  were drawn and she could not see who was inside The driver