Foster, Dean - Spellsinger 04 - The Moment Of The Magician

THB MOMENT OF THE MAOJCUUV 89

you he can do it himself. I've had more than enough

of such doings. Never again."

"Don't you mean 'nevermore'?" Jon-Tom asked

him.

Pandro eyed him oddly for a moment before bow-

ing a last time. Then he left, closing the heavy

wooden door behind him.

"Hope for the better rather than for the worst,"

said Jon-Tom after the raven had taken his leave.

*TU start packing our supplies."

Clothahump coughed softly. "What do you mean

*our* supplies, my boy?"

Jon-Tom hailed in mid-stride. "Now, wait a minute.

What about all that business about your being

'courageous, brave, and bold'?"

"Dear me, is that what he said?" Clothahump was

studying the ceiling. "I thought certain he said

'courageous, brave, and old.' Because that is an accu-

rate description. In any case, I'm certainly not about

to leave my work here to embark on some long hike

simply to salve the injured feelings of a deposed

wizard. As 1 said, this hardly sounds to me like a

crisis"

"No crisis, eh? Some evil sorcerer from another

world throws a colleague of yours out of office and is

scheming to take over an entire city with who-knows-

what eventual aims in mind, and you don't call that a

crisis?"

"It's not my city, and I'm not the one who's been

deposed. As for Opiode the Sly's being a colleague.

I've never worked with him and know of him only by

reputation."

/ "That's one hell of a cold attitude."

"I would rather say realistic. However, I did say I

would send help, and so I shall. You are so con-

vinced that this Markus the Ineluctable is from your

world that I wouldn't think of putting off the day of

Alan Dean Poster

60

that meeting by so much as an hour. I would only

slow you down, my boy." He indicated the duar

Jon-Tbm cradled against his side.

"You can handle anything that comes before you.

You now know enough of this land and have mastered

sufficient of your spellsinging skills to extricate your-

self from any minor difficulties." He grinned. "Should

this Markus turn out to be as belligerent as Opiode

feels, you can always threaten him with a bouquet.'*

Jen-Torn gave the wizard a sour look. "What would

I do without your confidence and support?"

"Oh, I support you, my boy, I support you. Your

talent is developing nicely. I merely try to keep a

close watch on the diameter of your head, lest in a

dangerous moment of overconfidence it grow too

large.

"Opiode desires speed in this matter and so do

you. I would be an encumbrance to you both. I am

quite confident of your ability to manage this matter

on your own."

"What if he's not from my world?" wondered

Jon-Tom, suddenly thoughtful. "What if he is some

strange demonic being in human guise? That raven's

description of his attire and his attitude, those don't

make him sound much like an old friend from back

home"

"Then you must deal with him as the circum-

stances dictate," the wizard told him firmly. "I can't

wet-nurse you through maturity."

"I'm already mature."

"Then act like it." He winced. "Besides, my arthri-

tis is acting up."

"Funny how your arthritis always seems to act up

whenever there's a long journey to be taken."

"Yes, it is peculiar, isn't it?" Clothahump admitted

without batting an eye. He lumbered toward his

bedroom, peered through the doorway. "Ah! Sorbl

THE MOMENT Of THK XAOICIAW 61

has excavated my bed. I can hear him shearing away

in there. Presumably he is not so drunk that he has

cut off either of his wings." He raised his voice.

"Sorbll How are you managing in there, you useless

befeathered sot?"

"I am tired. Master," came the faint reply from

somewhere deep within the thorny brambles. "These

vines are tough." A pause, then, "Can't you just

magic them away?"

"Perhaps I could, but I did not acquire an appren-

tice so that I might engage in menial labor. Besides,

a little exercise is good for the system, especially

when that system is overloaded with ethyl molecules."

"With what. Master?"

"Liquorish magical symbols."

"Not me, Masteri I would never—I"

Clothahump closed the door to the rosebush-ridden

bedroom, shutting off Sorbl's too-emphatic protesta-

tions of innocence. He turned back to jon-Tom,

peered up at him over steepled lingers.

"Opiode has a reputation for exaggeration, my

boy, and all salamanders are notoriously paranoid. I

know that you will enjoy the journey to Quasequa. It

will be a long but pleasant trip. The city itself is

rumored to be most beautiful, constructed on a

series of islands out in the middle of a body of water

called the Lake of Sorrowful Pearls. If 1 were a hun-

dred years younger, I would not hesitate to accompa-

ny you."

jon-Tbm was nodding knowingly. "Sounds delightful.

In fact, it sounds a lot like our recent relaxing

vacation jaunt to distant Snarken."

Clothahump shifted his eyes away from the tall

youth- "Ah, any excursion can be dogged by unforeseen

bad luck." He cleared his throat self-consciously. "This

time you will encounter no oceans to cross, no mo-

rose moors to traverse. Merely shallow tropical lakes

03 Alan Dean Footer

and lagoons, such as the one on which Quasequa

itself is constructed. A land of moderate tempera-

tures and quiet beauty. A veritable paradise com-

pared to these cold Bellwoods. Often's the time I've

thought of traveling there with an eye toward retir-

ing in such a place."

"You'll never retire. You like your reputation too

much."

"No, 1 mean it, my boy. Someday I will consider

it seriously. Perhaps when I turn three hundred."

"When you hit three hundred 1 hope I won't be

around to see it."

"Yes, your unquenchable desire to return home.

Perhaps this Markus the Ineluctable will turn out to

be helpful."

"You're just trying to make me feel better about

going off without you, but you're right. I'd go

anywhere, under any conditions, if I thought there

was a chance I could get a little closer to home."

"And what of Opiode's concerns?"

"Maybe he exaggerates, just like you say. If this

Markus is from my own world, I'm sure that if the

two of us can get together and chat for a while, he'll

be as happy to see me as I will be to see him, and we

can work something out"

"And if he's not of your world, and Opiode does

not exaggerate?"

Jen-Tom took a deep breath. "In that case, I've got

my duar. If it comes to a battle of sorceral skills, I

think I can handle anything." Except my own mistakes,

he added silently to himself-

"Good for you, my boy! That's the spirit! Main-

tain that attitude and I'm sure you'll have things in

Quasequa sorted out in no time."

Jon-Tom looked uncertain. "There is one drawback.

I can't make a journey like that all by myself. Oh, I

understand if you don't feel up to coming along or

TBK MOMENT Of THK SSAQSCZAM

63

don't feel it's necessary, or whatever. But I won't risk

a trip like this all by my lonesome. I know that flier

wouldn't have guided me. Not his job, and fliers get

bored having to hang back with us land-bound types.

That much I've learned. What about making use of

public transportation systems along the way?"

"A good thought, except that there aren't any, my

boy. There is no commerce between the Bellwoods