Lawrence Watt-Evans - The Spriggan Mirror

“What we need is to chase them away,” Karanissa said.

“Any ideas on that?”

She turned up an empty palm. “Nothing comes to mind.”

“No witchcraft you can use?”

“Not with so many.”

“No chase spriggans! You go!”

“Go away! Go away!”

“Maybe a spell? Wizardry, or some sorcery from your pack?”

Gresh looked at the couple on the carpet, still happily playing with the baby, oblivious to what was happening to their companions. He tried to think what spells might be useful, and how he might get Tobas’s attention. Why didn’t the wizard look up? Was that baby of his that fascinating? He was supposed to be helping Gresh get the mirror, not counting his daughter’s toes for the hundredth time.

Or there were the powders and potions in his own pack; would any of those help? He reviewed what he had brought.

Lirrim’s Rectification and Javan’s Restorative were counterspells and would be of no use here-though they might be very important once he had the mirror. Javan’s Geas would force someone not to do something; if it worked on spriggans he could command at least a dozen of them not to interfere with him and Karanissa while they retrieved the mirror, but he didn’t have anywhere near enough powder to affect a mob of this size.

And that assumed it worked on spriggans at all, which was by no means a certainty.

The Spell of Reversal had no obvious application, and its exact effects could sometimes be hard to predict.

The Protective Bubble would shield them from any attacks by the spriggans, but they would not be able to reach the mirror through it; magic could pass through it, in theory, but only in severely weakened form, so Karanissa’s witchcraft, which had already proven inadequate for pulling the mirror out of the cave past the spriggans, would not be much use. The Spell of Retarded Time could slow down everything except the person drinking the potion, and he could use that to escape if things turned nasty, or to give himself time to prepare something, but he could not see just how to apply that effectively in the present situation. And Karanissa would need a dose, as well; his supply was not unlimited.

That left the Spell of the Revealed Power.

“What’s the biggest thing you’ve ever defeated?” he asked Karanissa quietly, hoping the spriggans wouldn’t overhear, despite their big pointed ears.

“What? Why?”

“What’s the biggest thing you’ve ever defeated?” Gresh repeated. “Or mastered somehow? Have you ever killed a wolf, perhaps? You did say you’d spent time in these mountains.”

She lowered her voice still further. “Yes, but I never encountered a wolf, and even if I had, I wouldn’t have killed it. I’m a witch; I can soothe animals. I can hear you even if you don’t talk aloud at all-just shape the words in your mind.”

Gresh was not entirely sure how to do that, but he could and did reduce his voice to an inaudible murmur. “Soothing a wolf would count as defeating it; have you ever done that? Even a tame one?”

“No.”

“Do you have anything in your bag that’s been used to defeat a large beast, or a monster of some sort?”

“Gresh, what are you talking about?” He barely saw her lips move, but the words seemed very clear-obviously, she could use her witchcraft to speak as well as hear. “I’m a witch, not a hunter. Why would I have fought monsters?”

“I was just looking for some way to use this spell I brought.”

“What spell?”

“The Spell of the Revealed Power,” he whispered. “It’s a transformation. It turns anyone or anything into an exact replica of the most powerful thing it’s ever built, defeated, destroyed, mastered, or otherwise demonstrated power over. A knife that’s killed a wolf becomes the wolf, a hammer that’s smashed a wall-or built one-becomes a wall, and so on. Have you had any children? As I understand it, a mother of five would become five grown people-she would disappear as herself until the spell is reversed, but she would be all five of her children in the prime of their lives. But I’m not sure. She might just become the strongest of the five.”

“I’ve never had any children,” Karanissa said, and Gresh thought she sounded annoyed at the question. “Just what are you planning to do with this spell? Why are you asking?”

“I’m trying to think of some way to use it to chase away the spriggans so we can get that mirror out of the cave.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “Well, I don’t have any triumphs or conquests that would be any use, so far as I can recall, but of course Tobas killed a dragon once. Would that help?”

Gresh blinked and looked at her. Then he turned and looked at Tobas, who had finally looked up from the baby to see what was taking so long.

“How big a dragon?” he asked silently.

“All right, we’ll go back to our flying carpet,” Gresh announced. “Just make way, and we’ll go.”

The spriggans looked at one another and squeaked a few questions back and forth, but then a path gradually opened. Gresh took Karanissa’s hand and led her through the gap and across the meadow, toward the carpet.

Her fingers were warm and delicate; he was careful not to squeeze them.

They were soon clear of the main mass of spriggans. Even so, others were scattered along their route, forming loose lines along either side. Gresh was aware of dozens of bulging little eyes watching him as he released the witch’s hand, unslung his pack, and loosened the drawstring.

Karanissa said nothing. She did not need to ask any questions about his intentions; he was sure she was still sensing his thoughts, even if he was no longer trying to put them into words.

“What happened?” Tobas called, getting to his feet as they neared the carpet. “Did you get the mirror?”

“No,” Gresh said, pulling the box of prepared powders from his pack. “The spriggans don’t want it moved, and in case you haven’t noticed, there are hundreds of them guarding it.”

“Oh. Then what do… what are you doing?”

Gresh had slung his pack back on his shoulder and opened the box and was pulling out a jar of sparkling blue powder. “You killed a dragon once, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything? I doubt the spriggans are going to be impressed by my adventures.”

Gresh pulled the cork from the jar. “You did it, right? All by yourself? There isn’t a magic sword or anything involved?”

“Yes, I did it, with a spell, but I still don’t…oh, no. What’s that powder?”

“The Spell of the Revealed Power,” Gresh said, spilling powder into the palm of one hand. “I think you should step away from the carpet.” He managed to push the cork back in place without spilling the powder from his hand.

Tobas did more than step away; he turned and ran, eastward across the meadow toward the drop-off into the trees. Spriggans scattered from his path, squealing in fright.

With a muttered curse, Gresh closed his fist around the precious powder and called, “Come back here!” He dropped the jar back into the box, hastily closed it up, and thrust it back into his pack, all while continuing toward the fleeing wizard.

Tobas stopped and turned. “Gresh, I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Do you have a better one? A dragon can chase away the spriggans, and then Karanissa and I can get the mirror out of the cave, and we can get this over with.”

A few spriggans yelped and shrieked, as if in confirmation, and Gresh wished he had been a little more circumspect. He had just removed any doubt the spriggans might have had about his intentions.

That made it all the more urgent to get this done quickly. They really didn’t have time for a long argument, or a careful discussion of every option. There might already be spriggans hauling that mirror out of the cave, and if they did get it away, it would probably not be so easy to find next time. The spriggans would know he wanted to take it from them and wouldn’t answer his questions. They already had the idea of hiding it in a hole humans wouldn’t fit in; the next one might be completely inaccessible. He had to act immediately.