“That won’t work, then, unless you get into the cave; it’s much too far back to reach from outside.”
“Oh.”
That exchange reminded Gresh of something, though. “Could your wife levitate it out?”
“Who, Alorria? She’s not a wizard…”
“No, your other wife. Karanissa. She’s a witch, and she can levitate. I saw her do it in Ethshar of the Spices.”
“Oh! Oh, of course. I don’t know-she probably could. But I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Well, you have some time to think of a better one on the flight back to the castle.”
Tobas considered that, looked down at the meadow, then asked, “What if the spriggans move the mirror again, now that they know we’re looking for it? What if they hide it somewhere even worse?”
“If we’re quick we can be back here by mid-afternoon. I don’t think they’re organized enough to move it that fast. Besides, where would they find a better hiding place than that cave?”
“You’re probably right,” Tobas agreed. He looked up at the sun, only just past its zenith, then down at the meadow, where there were no signs of organized activity of any kind, but merely dozens of silly little creatures running about aimlessly. “You’re right. If we’re quick.”
“And…?”
“And we should go.” He gestured, and the carpet surged forward, picking up speed. As the wind whipped Gresh’s hair back, the carpet curved its path to the southwest, toward Dwomor Keep, leaving the spriggans, the meadow, the cave, and the mirror behind.
Chapter Sixteen
“You are not going anywhere with her without us,” Alorria said, sitting herself down on the carpet, Alris the Younger in her arms. She was wearing a white tunic and green skirt that did not go well with the rich reds and blues of the carpet, and the baby was wrapped in white bunting and a green blanket.
“Ali, you’re being silly,” Tobas said, hands on his hips. “This is magician business, and we’ll have Gresh with us…”
“You two are not going anywhere without us!” Alorria insisted.
“There are three of us, and we need Karanissa because she’s a witch, not because she’s my wife! We’ll be back by nightfall…”
“Find another witch, then.”
“There isn’t time!”
“Then take Alris and me along!”
“It isn’t safe for a baby!”
“It’s safe enough for the three of you.”
“We’re not babies!”
“I’m not, either, and I can look after Alris while you two do your magic!”
“Ali, get off the carpet.”
“No. Before you try to force me, remember who my father is and where we are.”
“I am not likely to ever forget,” Tobas said.
“Tobas, let her come,” Gresh said. “What are the spriggans going to do? They wouldn’t hurt a baby. We’re wasting time arguing.”
“Kara?” Tobas turned to his other wife, who was standing ready in a simple red dress, holding a bag she had hastily filled with things she thought might be useful in dealing with the spriggans and their enchanted mirror.
“I don’t care, so long as she stays out of the way when I’m working,” the witch replied.
“Fine, then,” Tobas said. “We’ll all go, and Ali and Alris can play with the spriggans while we steal their most precious possession and destroy it.”
“That might actually be a useful distraction,” Gresh said mildly.
“Oh, get on the carpet.”
Moments later all four of the adults were seated, each holding one bag nearby-Gresh had his powders and potions and tools in his small shoulder-pack, Tobas had his grimoire and the ingredients for various spells in a leather valise, Karanissa had assorted herbs and crystals to aid her witchcraft, and Alorria had a large collection of diapers, rags, and other baby supplies, and of course Alris was in her arms. At Tobas’s command the carpet rose smoothly into the air and sailed northeastward from Dwomor Keep.
“We need to do something about these bugs,” Alorria said, as she sheltered her daughter from a swarm of gnats.
“Ali, it’s a flying carpet,” Tobas said, exasperated. “We’ll be above them soon enough.”
Gresh resisted the temptation to say something. He agreed with Alorria, actually, that it wouldn’t be unreasonable to add some sort of protective cover, but he did not want to take sides in a marital squabble-at least, no more than he already had in advising Tobas to let Alorria accompany them. Besides, he did not want to antagonize the wizard who was supposed to be helping him, nor his nominal employer, nor the representative of the Wizards’ Guild, and Tobas happened to be all three of those things.
Finally, he didn’t want to suggest anything because he saw a marketing opportunity and did not want to throw it away. It should be easy to make money selling enclosed flying machines that would be safer and more comfortable than carpets, and he wanted to keep that money in his family. He would build the craft, or maybe hire Akka’s husband Tresen to do it, and then have Dina cast Varrin’s Lesser Propulsion on them. He didn’t want to involve Tobas, as either partner or competitor.
That would all have to wait, though. First they had to get the mirror out of the cave, then smash it. They might need to take it to the no-wizardry area around the ruined village and fallen castle to break it, but that shouldn’t be difficult-it was just across a narrow valley.
So he kept silent and watched the countryside flashing by below them as they swept through the mountains, covering a three-day hike in less than an hour.
Despite the delays caused by gathering Karanissa and her supplies and by Alorria’s insistence on coming, it was not much past mid-afternoon when the carpet settled back onto the grass in the mountain meadow beside the peculiar little cave where the spriggans had hidden the mirror.
Tobas had set it down in the exact spot it had rested in before; the grass was still pressed down from the previous visit. Gresh frowned slightly, as he saw no reason not to have landed right next to the cave, but decided it wasn’t worth arguing about, not with the entire family along. He was afraid that Alorria and Karanissa might take offense at criticism of their husband, or find an excuse to start bickering.
Dozens of spriggans were visible from where Gresh sat, scattered around the meadow and the surrounding terrain, but most were making at least a pretense of hiding, and none made any threatening moves or showed any signs of approaching the carpet.
“It’s over there,” Gresh told Karanissa, pointing, as he got to his feet and slung his pack on his shoulder. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
“We’ll wait here,” Tobas said, staying seated cross-legged where he was. “To watch the carpet.”
Gresh glanced at Alorria, who smiled up at him without moving. “You two go ahead,” she said.
Gresh had thought that Alorria would stay with Tobas-after all, the wizard was the prize for whom the two women were competing. He was reassured to see that he was right and had not misjudged the situation. “As you please,” he said, nodding his head in a faint intimation of a bow. He beckoned to Karanissa. “If you would, please?”
“Of course.” She was already on her feet and followed gracefully as Gresh crossed the meadow.
The two did not hurry; they still had hours before sunset. Gresh was conserving his energy and making contingency plans, while Karanissa was enjoying the gentle breeze and the scattering of wildflowers.
The crack in the rock wall was half-hidden by shadows, and Gresh was not sure he would have found it again immediately if not for the trampled weeds in front of the opening. As it was, he had no trouble in locating it, but he quickly realized that the torch inside had long since burned out, leaving the interior dark and the mirror invisible; all that was left was a faint whiff of smoke.
