Lana Gilman - The Damn Artefacts

«I am Merlyn, a magician and sorcerer, and I am holding in my hands the legendary sword of Excalibur. It was forged by Lord God…»

«Now please touch the sword with your magic wand once again».

Ted followed Mr. Merlegg’s instruction and the image dissolved in the air.

«You see, you are not expected to know everything by heart. Your job will only deal with activating all these magic objects with your wand. Nevertheless, you’d better know everything about them in advance. I reckon that all this array of knowledge will be gradually memorized by you. I would also like to familiarize you with our magic rooms. People like them very much».

They walked into the first room, the entrance to which was tagged with a sign: «Win the Black Wizard». The room was dark.

«I wonder, if Mr. Merlegg is aware of the fact that it was me who put an end to the Black Wizard?» – thought Ted, but said nothing.

«Please wave your wand, Mr. Spencer».

Once again Ted fulfilled what he had been told by his superior. The room was lit with a feeble and dim light. On the opposite wall a black creature was being assembled out of numerous black sand particles. The creature appeared to be the Black Wizard – a magician with shrewd black eyes, long black hair and dressed in everything black. He was completely different from the real one. The Wizard aimed at Ted with his wand and a red beam came out of it.

«Magana!» – Ted’s reaction was lightning-like, whereas Mr. Merlegg burst into laughter.

«This is not the true magic, Mr. Spencer! The visitors receive a magic wand (not the real one, of course), a list of incantations and, equipped with all this, fight the Wizard. They undoubtedly win all the time».

«That was very plausible,» – replied Ted in embarrassment. He waved his wand, the Wizard fell apart and the light went off.

They proceeded toward the next room, whose sign ran: «Flight of Dragons». With the help of magic the room had been turned into a huge area with a forest, a river and a meadow covered with grass and flowers.

«Where is the dragon?»

«Wave your wand please».

Ted waved his wand and a brownish dragon immediately landed nearby. The dragon knelt down, so that the visitors could climb onto its back.

«He isn’t real, either, is he? Well, the magic here is breath taking, I must admit…»

«Right you are. People feel as if they were riding a real dragon».

«But what if something goes wrong and someone falls down?»

«No worries. A soft landing will be awaiting them».

The sign above the third and the last room ran as follows: «Find Your Way out of the Bewitched Labyrinth».

«We won’t step inside. With the help of your wand you simply activate the Labyrinth: monsters, traps, likewise the other wisdoms. The visitors are supposed to get out of here through all types of obstacles and by means of protecting themselves with fake magic wands. Those who feel they are going to fail will push one of the buttons located on the Labyrinth walls and this discloses the exit for them».

«Sounds quite intriguing».

«Now let’s go on to the archives».

There was a tiny door in the corner of the Magic Department.Mr. Merlegg took Ted right there. The room was overcrowded with scrolls, books, manuscripts. There were a desk and a chair by the window. In the corner there stood a small closet.

«I won’t be capable of discovering anything mysterious in here within the entire month. Maybe the Master is just teasing me and there is no secret at all? As for my predecessor, he probably felt sick and tired wasting his time here and he took off and left for Australia or Africa or another remote place,» – thought Ted.

«Well, here you will spend your time, free from public visits. We have been storing here an enormous array of material, worth being explored. Apart from that, I have one more challenge for you, namely: I want you to catalogue these documents over there. I have asked your predecessor more than once, but…» – Mr. Merlegg made a hopeless gesture. «In this closet here you may keep your personal belongings. You will have to receive visitors wearing a cloak. It is already in the closet. Now allow me to leave you alone. Look around. Our lunch time is between two and three o’clock. There is a nice café nearby around the corner. Highly recommended».

«Thanks a million, sir! I will do my best to meet your expectations».

Mr. Merlegg left and Ted stayed all by himself. He opened up the closet and took the cloak. It was very fancy – black with silver lining. Ted cast a glance at his wrist-watch – two more hours were left before lunch, so he made up his mind to dedicate this time to getting acquainted with the exhibits and showpieces. After lunch he could sit in the archives. Ted would walk around touching the exhibits with his magic wand – various magicians’ and enchantresses’ ghosts emerged and he listened to interesting narrations about these or those magic objects. By two o’clock he had gotten a bad headache and with a light conscience he left and went to look for the café.

The café was pint-sized and cozy. Ted spotted Mr. Merlegg in the company of another two men at the far table. The other two lads seemed to be the Museum collaborators.Mr. Merlegg called him.

«Mr. Spencer, come join us!»

Ted came up.Mr. Merlegg turned to those sitting at the table:

«Allow me to introduce our new co-worker from the Department of Magic History Mr. Ted Spencer.Mr. Spencer, meet our colleagues Mr. Tom Smith and Mr. James Pool».

Ted shook hands with both of them.

«Pleased to meet you, gentlemen».

«Hence, you are also a magician, like the old chap Rod? He used to show us funny tricks with his wand,» – said one of them.

«Yes, I am a magician. Frankly speaking, not that prominent, as the ones, whose exhibits are placed in the Museum, but my fame has yet to come».

Ted waved his wand and the white oil-cloth turned into pink with a golden iridescent pattern. The colleagues laughed. It was clear that having been in the company of Ted’s predecessor, they had already become accustomed to such legerdemain. A waitress came up to their table – a pretty seventeen-year-old girl. The Museum collaborators seemed to be among her permanent clientele.

«Good day, gentlemen. Would you prefer to order your regular meals? Who is this young man?»

«This is our new co-worker from the Magic Department – Ted. Ted, this is Molly».

«Oh, you have succeeded in finding a magician, Mr. Merlegg? I will definitely drop in one of these days».

At that moment she noticed the oil-cloth and smiled at Ted.

«Please resume the previous oil-cloth, even though yours is much more to my liking, to tell you the truth».

Ted waved his wand once again and the oil-cloth returned to its white color. Molly gave a laugh.

After a substantial meal and a pleasant acquaintance Ted came back to the Museum and got absorbed in the archives. He was working until five o’clock p.m. and went home not hastily, at an easy pace. Thus, his first working day was over.

«Not as bad as I thought it would be in the beginning,» – he said to himself.

In the evening Jeff came by to see Ted. The friends hugged each other and Ted showed his possessions to his bosom pal.

«Not bad! Not bad at all! You’re your own boss in here and there’s enough room to bring in a girl».

«Jeff, where are such thoughts from?»

«Why not, dude? We’re eighteen and it’s about time to find girl-friends for ourselves, eh? Well, you’ve found one already».

«Yep, tell me more about the party. What are you going to drink?»

«Is there any beer?»

«I’ve got everything, buddy. I’ve loaded my fridge with food».