foresee this.'
'It is a possibility,' Ursault admitted, 'but only one of many.'
The younger man sniffed. 'A cube, fifty paces on all sides. I could manage more, but the smaller the arena, the swifter my victory.'
'As you wish.' Ursault smiled faintly. 'And in defiance of the rules, you may take your spellfilcher gem into the arena with you.'
He did not point out that the man was intending to do precisely that, but the meaning was there all the same. Landish's face flushed at this gentle rebuke, but he spun around and began to stalk off his portion of the arena. Ursault did the same. A translucent, faintly glowing red cube began to take shape around them, growing on all sides as they moved farther apart.
'Just let him rob you and be done with it,' muttered Gnarling. 'That'll serve him right and fair.'
Landish began to mumble the words of a spell. A brilliant golden flame erupted from the ground before him. Bright droplets turned into insects-deadly magical fire gnats whose touch could raise blisters and whose bite could set living flesh aflame.
A faint blue mist surrounded the older wizard as the glowing insects swarmed in. Each one met the aura with a faint, sharp sizzle and flared out of existence.
Tremors shook the ground as invisible fingers of necromantic magic reached deep into the soil. The clearing stirred, and small puffs of dirt and sod exploded upward as long-dead bones fought their way into the light. The older wizard countered with a quick gesture, then he clapped his hands sharply together. A thunderous rumble echoed through the clearing and the old bones shattered to dust.
On the battle raged, and each spell Landish cast was anticipated and countered. The young man's thin, wolfish face contorted with rage, and he hurled his remaining spells one after another, so quickly that spell and counter-spell seemed to follow each other as quickly as two sword masters' thrusts and parries.
So intent was Gnarfling on the battle that he did not at first notice the glowing gem on the Adept's hand. A large amethyst, brilliant purple, was taking on light and power with each of Ursault's counterspells.
'The spellfilcher gem,' he muttered, cursing Landish as a cheat and coward.
The light intensified until it filled the arena and spilled out into the clearing. Finally Ursault collapsed, falling to one knee and drawing in long, ragged breaths. As Landish has promised, the process of taking his magic from him had not been easy or painless.
The Adept stood triumphant in the eerie light. The hand bearing the glowing gem was fisted and held high, and his eyes shone with the bright, multifaceted dream that was his future.
Gnarfling eased Mirabella from his arms and went over to haul the old wizard slowly, painfully to his feet.
'You shoulda thrown the fight,' he grumbled.
'And willingly pass this curse to another, even such a man as this?' Ursault shook his head.
'You knew he was going to win, though.'
'It was a possibility. One of many.'
With Gnarfling's help, the wizard made his way over to Mirabella. After a moment he shook his head. 'She needs more help than I can give her.'
The short man sat back on his heels and considered the tangled tale Ursault had told earlier. 'If that and if this,' he mused.
He leaped to his feet, went to the hencoop and kicked it resoundingly. Half a dozen hens exploded from it, squawking in protest. One old biddy scurried into the field.
Landish's howl of protest cut through the clearing like a machete. Even before he looked up, Gnarfling knew what he would see.
The small form of a kestrel circled against the clouds. Within moments the hawk went into a diving stoop, tempted by the plump, slow-moving meal below.
The rumble of horses' hooves turned thunderous as the hunting party burst from the forest and onto the old corduroy path. Gnarfling blinked in surprise at the size of the entourage: at least six wizards, plus squires and a plain-faced young woman in simple tunic and trews. That would be the greenmage.
Her gaze fell upon the old woman, and she let out a small cry. A bolt of lightning sizzled toward her-and was stopped just short of a strike by an answering bolt flaring from one of the mounted wizards. The hunters spurred their horses toward Landish. They dismounted and began to circle the young adept.
'You didn't mention the other wizards,' Gnarfling said.
Ursault smiled faintly. 'Knowledge is not quite the same as wisdom. It is not necessary, or wise, to speak of everything you know.'
But Landish had not yet acquired this wisdom. He advanced swiftly, his hand fisted and his spellfilcher ring held out to capture the first spell flung at him.
'The first of many,' Ursault observed. He sighed in resignation.
'What's going to happen?' Gnarfling asked. He suddenly seemed to hear his own words, and grimaced. 'Sorry. Old habit.'
'The only thing that could happen,' the wizard replied. 'The ability to recognize several possible futures does not grant a corresponding ability to avoid them.
Gnarfling responded with a nod and an evil grin. When several powerful wizards were concerned, one possible future apiece seemed more than enough to ensure the Adept's thorough and messy demise.
The battle that followed was swift, but violent enough to meet Gnarfling's expectations. When all that remained of Landish the Adept was a smoking, greasy circle on the blasted clearing, the greenmage came up and took Gnarfling's hands between hers.
'The same blight,' she murmured, her brows pulled down in a deep frown. 'It is a necromantic spell, but not one I have seen before.'
'Are you not Suzza Indoulur, niece to Lord Basel of Halar?' asked Ursault.
Her eyes widened, and she responded with a nod.
'Your name is spoken as a capable greenmage, but did I not also hear that you are studying for the priesthood of Azuth?'
'News travels swiftly through this forest,' she said cautiously.
'The herbal potions and prayer spells of Constandia of Azuth against the leprous blight may prove efficacious,' suggested Ursault. 'Even a novice priestess might be granted such a spell. I believe I saw some wild priestcap flowers just off the path. Shall I gather some for you?'
She considered this, nodded, then set to work. In short order Mirabella was sitting comfortably, sipping a steaming herbal brew as the greenmage gently smoothed priestcap ointment over the old woman's face. Gnarfling was grinning like a gargoyle and flexing his ten pink fingers, which were longer and more dexterous than they'd been before Landish's spell and Suzza's healing ministrations.
'I can make more ointment for your legs, if you like,' the greenmage offered. Her gaze fell on his stunned face, and she added hurriedly, 'I mean no offense. I just thought you might like your legs to match the rest of you. Everything else seems just fine. That is, a man as handsome of face and form… What I meant to say was…' She trailed off a second time, her lips folded tightly together and her face blooming a vivid pink.
Her confusion suggested other possibilities, even more wondrous than the prospect of looking as other men. 'Might not hurt to even things out a mite,' he said casually. 'Kind of you to offer.'
The greenmage sent him a tentative smile and set to work with a wooden bowl and pestle. She scooped the ointment into a small pot and pointed to a curving mark carved into the pottery.
'This is my family sigil. Trace it with one finger and repeat the words I will give you, and it will bring you to our estates near Halar. I would like to see you again to make sure the cure is progressing.'
'And if it doesn't?' asked Gnarfling, gesturing to his stubby limbs.
The greenmage's soft smile didn't falter. 'Even then.'
She spoke a short, strange word and had Gnarfling repeat it. When she was satisfied with his pronunciation, she rose in one swift, surprisingly graceful move and strode to the impatient band of wizards. Her father's squire handed her the kestrel, and she tied the little hawk's jesses to her saddle pommel. They rode off without a backward glance, their horses clattering over the rough corduroy path.
Gnarfling watched them go, and for the first time, his future seemed bright with possibilities. He turned to his
