Robert Asprin - Myth-ion Improbable

"Nope," she said. "When I needed a map I went to a cartographer's booth on Deva and bought one."

"Same with me," Harold said.

Aahz turned and looked at me. "Guess it's up to you, apprentice."

"Okay," I said, "but don't you think I need a little practice at this spell first?"

Aahz held up the paper. "This is the only piece of magik paper we have. You only get one shot at it."

"No pressure," I said.

"If I didn't believe you could do it," Aahz said, "would I be wanting you to try?"

I didn't think I should remind him he had offered the job to everyone but me to start with. No point in ruining the mood when he was trying to boost my confidence. He did that less often than he complimented me.

"We'll be back shortly," Aahz said to everyone as he mo tioned for me to follow him, "I hope with a map."

"Yeah, me too," I said.

Aahz headed us across the carpet of grass. We had to side step around a pile of cow droppings on the way. I guess that Harold didn't have a man with a golden shovel standing be hind him at night. At the hidden entrance to the skull room Aahz stopped and turned back to Tanda.

"Are we going to be shielded out there?"

"Doing magik?" Tanda asked. "Some, but it might show through."

I didn't like the sound of that. The last thing we needed up here was the posse.

Aahz stopped and thought for a minute. "How about in the back library area?"

"That's so shielded, nothing could get out," Tanda said.

"I agree," Harold said. "It would be much safer to do spells back there."

Aahz indicated I should follow him and again we went around the pile of cow droppings, across the room and through the bathroom to the old library. I had spent so much time in this room already, I really didn't want to be in here again. Aahz pushed the door closed behind him, then laid the empty paper on top of the desk he had sat at last night.

"This is going to work even better in here," he said. "I want you to do this in two parts."

"Give it to me clearly and I'll try."

My mentor nodded. "First, we're going to imprint that ceil ing map on this paper."

I glanced up, then back at Aahz. "Good idea. How do I do that?"

"This part is going to be pretty easy," Aahz said. "Simpler than flying or doing disguise spells."

I nodded. I liked the sound of simple at this point. Since I was only getting one try, simple was the best.

"Open your mind, take in the energy as you have practiced, controlling the flow to a medium level."

"Now?" I asked.

"Now," he said.

I did as he instructed. Since we had been together I had practiced this so much it had become almost second nature to me. I could do it almost instantly when needed. When we first left my old mentor's cabin, Aahz had told me that would happen, but back then it had been so hard to do I didn't believe him.

Now, reaching out with my mind and getting energy was easy, and with this much energy flowing around me, the trick was getting only enough so that I could control what I was doing.

"Got it," I said after a moment. The energy flow was mov ing through me, ready to power anything I told it to.

"Now, in one motion," Aahz said, "without a break, picture the map on the ceiling and then picture the same map on the paper."

I did it, letting the energy help me get a clear image of the ceiling map, then a clear image of the same lines and shapes and words on the magik paper.

I let go of the energy and opened my eyes. "Perfect," Aahz said, actual excitement in his voice. I glanced at the roof. The map was still there. Good, I hadn't harmed it.

Then I looked at the paper, almost afraid of what I might see. The same map was reproduced there, only the lines were much clearer, and there were words on the paper that I didn't remember even seeing on the ceiling. And none of the dust and dirt obscured it either. I couldn't believe it. I had done a new spell perfectly the first time!

"Now don't go getting a swollen head," Aahz said, as if he could read my thoughts. "That was the easy part."

I didn't care. I had done it, and done it right the first time. For the moment that was all that mattered.

"So what's next?"

"We do the same spell with energy lines," Aahz said, "im printing them on this map of the castle."

I knew that was what he was going to want, but doing that meant stepping out of my mind to look down on the energy lines through the entire area. And the last time I had tried that I almost hadn't made it back inside my own mind. Of course, Aahz didn't know I had even tried. I didn't want to tell him because I knew he'd be angry.

"This is" going to take some preparation," Aahz said.

"I'd hoped it would."

He put the map on the floor and had me stand right over it. "See the images there?"

I nodded, staring down at the map I had just created. It was a beautiful thing indeed. "Now, when we start," Aahz said, "I want you to imagine yourself floating above the energy lines, above the castle if you have to, in the same fashion you use to reach out for the energy lines in a spell."

"Okay," I said, still staring down at the map at my feet, "but isn't there a risk I will just float away?" Standing above the map like this, it almost felt as if I was already floating.

"Good question, apprentice," Aahz said. "Just put a string on your foot."

"A what?" I looked up into my mentor's eyes. I could tell he was concerned with me even trying this. I didn't know if the concern was for me, or for what would happen if I failed, but at least he was concerned.

"A string, like a kid's balloon string," he said. "Imagine one tied from the foot of your real body to the foot of your imaginary body as it floats upward. Then when you want to return, just go back down the string."

I nodded. That was such a simple image, even I might be able to handle it.

"When you get a good view of all the flowing energy lines over and through the castle," Aahz said, "just do what you did with this map. Imagine them as you see them; then in one motion imagine them on the paper."

"Okay," I said. "I think I can do that."

"When you're ready," Aahz said, stepping back. "Just do it."

I looked at the map at my feet, putting the image clearly in my head. Then I let myself go.

That is what it actually felt like. I was letting go of what was holding me down. I was floating upward. I checked to make sure I had a string attached to my foot. It was there, so I relaxed and just kept going, floating upward.

I went above the energy line I had used to create the other map, through the roof of the castle, and then stopped, float ing right over the top of the golden castle in the beautiful sunshine.

Below me rivers of blue energy flowed, coming up out of the middle of the castle like a well, splitting and flowing off in dozens of directions over the mountains and valleys.

I let my mind accept all the different levels of energy flow, all the way down into the deepest area of the castle. I could see all the streams, all the different places they branched, and all the places they were tapped.

Then, when I had them all, I held the image, imprinted it on my mind, and then imagined it being overlaid in blue lines on the map at my feet.

It only took an instant. Then, with one last look at the beautiful colors of the energy and the surrounding country side, I tugged on the string attached to my foot and I was back in my body, just like that.

I opened my eyes and glanced at Aahz. My mentor was smiling like he had just won all the riches of the Bazaar at Deva.

"Amazing," he said. "Sometimes you just flat amaze me."

I was afraid to look down, so instead I stepped back.

Aahz picked up the map and held it for me to see. There, in black lines, was the first map of the castle I had done from the ceiling.