The Third Sign

by Scott D. Muller

  “Pleasurable?” he echoed, emphasizing each syllable, while rubbing his chin.

  “Will you reconsider?”

  Merl stroked his beard while he considered her proposal; it seemed that there was no way for him to lose. Perhaps it was a fool’s errand, but he appeared to have nothing at risk.

  He chuckled to himself, having to admit that she had gotten his curiosity fired up. If what she offered could be proven, he would have validation for the years of work he had spent trying to ferret out and decipher the tome he had found in the ruins of an ancient city buried deep in the hidden cave. While the limestone had covered, and in some cases encapsulated, much of the ruins, enough remained to fill a book with questions. Surely, that was worth a few minutes of his time.

  He had to admit to himself that he had made little progress lately and had run into sections of the tome he could neither decipher nor even fathom an approach to point him in the right direction. He was stumped, plain and simple.

  “Not dangerous, illegal or immoral you say?” he said, out loud, just to hear how it sounded.

  “Maybe just a little immoral, depending on how strong your faith is,” she replied with an elfish grin. “The church would probably not approve.”

  “Really!” he said dryly. “Which church?”

  She cast her eyes down and added, “Seriously, I need your help. I’m afraid I have got myself into a bit of a predicament. There is no one else who’s as uniquely qualified as you.”

  “All right, I’ll consider your request,” Merl said, shaking a finger at her, “if you show me your proof, and convince me of what you have promised, but I caution you, do not try to play me for the fool.”

  Merl lowered his hand and leaned back in his chair trying to control his temper. He had been down this road with her before. She had hinted at truths, but never provided him with enough information to either deny or confirm. It was infuriating and he wanted no part of it. He drummed his fingers.

  Lady To’paz curtly agreed to the terms. She rolled up her sleeves, sat forward in her chair and extended her hand. Before long, a flame danced in the palm of her hand.

  “Bah! So you have learned a little magic, good for you. But you’re wasting your time if you came all this way just to show me a parlor trick,” Merl replied, not impressed at all.

  He extended his hand and made three flames that were of all different colors. Then he made them dance on his finger tips. “You should go ...”

  To’paz realized that she was in for more work than she had thought. She cursed herself for being unprepared and not having a better idea of how far he had progressed in his own craft. She had heard rumors, but she tended to discount things she didn’t actually see for herself. Things that sounded too good to be true usually were.

  She motioned to a bucket in the corner and it slid across the floor, stopping in front of her feet. She reached down, scooped out a handful of water in the shape of a globe, and handed it to Merl, muttering the first words to her spell.

  Merl laughed, rolling it from hand to hand and then turned it to a puff of steam in an instant.

  “Very nice!” he said, nodding his head in approval. “Excellent control of air to move the bucket and using the water to attract to itself was clever, and far more difficult than using air to hold the shape as is customary.”

  He reached his hand toward a gold goblet on the table across the room, and with a flick of his wrist, it was sped to her hand, but stopped mid-flight and spun while hovering above the ground. He let it hang there before motioning it on. The goblet finished its journey to her hand.

  “Now cover it,” he bade her.

  She looked blankly at him.

  “Go ahead,” he said, waving his hand at her.

  She did as she was told and covered it with her hand, and a few seconds after, she felt movement. She removed her hand and a small sparrow flew out of the goblet.

  “I see you have become more competent in your magic over the years,” she put forth. “Translocation of living things is fairly challenging.”

  “Indeed!” Merl smirked. “Let us stop the parlor tricks and get down to serious magic.”

  He cracked his knuckles in anticipation and leaned closer. “I grow weary of these games.”

  “Very well,” a frustrated To’paz agreed, with no idea what to do next.

  Well?” he said impatiently.

  To’paz wrapped him in a huge hard cushion of air then turned the air into stone, pulling the material from the dirt covering the floor. Merl lifted an eyebrow and in a wink, the stone melted into a puddle at his feet and then flowed along the floor before coalescing into a good-sized stone, which he bent over and picked up. He tossed it to To’paz who could barely hold it and dropped it to the floor where it made a resounding thud.

  That was the foundation of magic, things could change shape, you could alter appearances, but you couldn’t break the laws of science. Turn a big rock into a fluffy pillow, it still weighed as much as a rock. That was why it was so seldom done. It was like attempting to make gold from iron or brass, it was absurd! Now, making yourself look like another! That could be useful, just like making a sheep look like a shepherd’s dog. You could change its attributes, like color, smell, temperature. However, the three laws, you just couldn’t violate.

  First, you can’t make something of nothing, which seems like common sense but so many people fail to understand this simple concept. Second, dead is dead. Finally, you can’t create mass or destroy it. So, there you go. If you blast a rock, you get little bits of rock, the size of sand, or dust. Once it’s dead, you can make it walk, talk, eat and drink, but it won’t really be living, just look like it. Finally, you can’t make a mountain out of a molehill. It takes lots of dirt and rock, and all that material has to come from somewhere, even if you scour the sands of a vast desert like the Poison Waste.

  She supposed that there really was a fourth law, although nobody talked about it, at least not in the open. She shuddered when she thought about it and quickly put it out of her mind. She needed to focus, and not think about theoretical magic and such.

  To’paz thought for a second about the limitations of the craft as Merl understood it. She knew he couldn’t be doing real magic because the Zylliac was no longer able to function in this realm. Its link had been severed. She wondered where Merl got the energy he used in his spells; she saw no container on his being that could store magic. Even more bothersome, she couldn’t sense the magic he was using at all. She couldn’t even see the threads she knew he must have been weaving. It was infuriating. Maybe she needed to alter her perspective.

  She hadn’t thought this all the way through. She had falsely hoped that she would get him to agree to help her without having to demonstrate so many ‘tricks’. She thought about summoning a demon, but the magic was gone here, so she had to think of something else.

  She knew she couldn’t violate any of the basic laws of earth and science. She couldn’t make gold from wood. She scowled, straining her brain trying to think of what she could do to demonstrate her prowess. It was a lot harder than she had imagined it to be. The magic of the ages was powerful, but she could ill afford to use all of her stored magic trying to convince him to help.

  She got up and paced a little.

  “Is this going to take long? I have work to do,” he said, eyeing the stack of papers on the table.

  She went to the table, leaned over and searched for an item she could use to make her case. She brought back an apple and a handed it to Merl.

  “What am I supposed to do with this?” he asked, mildly irritated, and tossed the apple back at her.

  She was playing him for a fool! He wasn’t about to take much more of this. He had warned her.

  To’paz waived her hand and the apple returned to the mage and levitated in front of his face.

  “Cast your best wards and you most potent guards,” she said, handing him the apple.

  “Bah!” Merl said, as he snatched the apple.
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  He guessed it wouldn’t hurt to play along with her, for now, but his patience was wearing thin. He brought the apple to his mouth and took a huge bite. He reached deep inside and prepared a series of wards and protections.

  “This had better be good,” he said snidely.

  What could she do? Nothing he concluded, as his interest in this game began to fade. This was a waste of his time.

  She looked him in the eye. “Do you like apples?”

  Merl stared at her, his ire rising.

  “Well, do you?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

  “Yes, I do,” he replied, trying to figure out where she was going with this. He watched her weave what he assumed was a spell with her fingers, although he could sense no attack.

  “Do you like apples,” she asked again.

  “You already know the answer,” he said, angrily tossing the apple core to the corner of the room. A mouse scurried out of a hole in the stone and gnawed off a big chunk before scurrying back to its home when Merl sent a lightning spark its way. The mouse squeaked loudly and there was a ting of burnt fur smell in the air.

  “Please, tell me again,” she asked, with just a hint of a smile.

  “No, I don’t like apples,” he heard himself say.

  “What was that?” she asked, with a grin. “Can you speak up?”

  “No,” he repeated loudly. He shook his head. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t say yes!

  “What kind of trickery is this?” he asked angrily. “It isn’t possible to take away free will, especially when one is guarded.”

  “It is a simple spell, and yet your wards are still in place and your protections should have prevented it, should they not?” To’paz said confidently.

  Merl stared despondently. He didn’t know how she did it, but she was correct, he hadn’t noticed any change. His wards were still in place and his protections too, he had checked them twice. He was befuddled.

  “So what else can you make me do?” he grunted.

  “What would you like me to make you do?” she asked, leaning close.

  “Can you make me dance like a chicken?” he said in jest, because it was the first thing that popped into his mind.

  “I can try,” she said, weaving her spell.

  Before he could change his mind, Merl shot to his feet with the most confounded expression on his face. He tucked his hands under his arms and began clucking and dancing around.

  “Make it stop,” he yelled. “Please?”

  To’paz was laughing so loud she cried. She clutched at her aching stomach.

  “Please!” he panted.

  To’paz dismissed the spell as she laughed out loud, trying to catch her breath.

  “You find this amusing?” he asked indignantly, straightening his robe and tightening his belt.

  “I rather do,” she giggled, wiping the tears from her eyes.

  Merl scoffed and straightened his clothes, “It’s not! Not in the least bit if you ask me.”

  “Oh, Merl, you should have seen yourself!” she sighed, with a laugh.

  “I was ... acting like a berserker ...” he said, sprouting a toothy grin, finally seeing the humor in it. “But if you ever tell anyone, I’ll ...”

  “You worry too much, dear sir, and you should know me well enough to know I won’t. On a serious note, do you remember I told you that the ancients had control over the forces of life? Making one do something that they wish not to do, is such a small thing is it not?”

  Merl stared blankly, trying to recall the discussion.

  “Well, I think I just changed your perception of what is and what is not—magic.”

  Merl just sat there, mouth agape. Shocked, he stood up and quickly began to pace. He was muttering to himself, shaking his head back and forth and then turned to To’paz and looked her in the eye and muttered some more.

  He put his finger to his temple, “Amazing! Inconceivable! Molding and controlling the elements, bah, anyone can do that, but forcing me to cluck like a chicken when my wards are in place ...”

  She smiled to herself. It had taken her longer than she had hoped, but she believed she had finally convinced the stubborn mage that she was not an ordinary sorceress.

  “Where did you ever learn…?” Merl asked, his voice trembling with anticipation.

  He looked down at the half-eaten apple in the corner and began to pace again. He looked at the apple and shook his head as he replayed the entire incident in his head. He saw the mouse scurry out to take another bite of the apple and with the twist of his wrist, the mouse was enclosed in a bubble of air. The bubble floated over to a grate and released. To’paz watched the creature fall through the grate and heard it squeak as it fell. A soft splash, actually more of a ‘ker-plunk,’ sounded when it hit the water.

  “Impossible!” he shouted, turning to face her. “It cannot be done. You’ve clouded my mind, I’m seeing hallucinations.”

  She took another sip of her tea, which was getting a little cool. She thought about warming it up, but fought the urge and instead, conserved her magic.

  He shook his finger at her. “You’ve cast a glamour on me, that’s what you’ve done.”

  “Oh, Merl! No, I didn’t you buffoon. It’s not that complicated or sinister. Simply put, I am that which you have always hoped to prove exists.”

  “Eh?”

  “I am one of the ancients mentioned in the tome. I’m a very old sorceress,” the Lady To’paz said, looking him straight into his eyes. “I’m ... very, very old ...”

  “But that’s impossible! I know you!”

  “You know little about me!”

  “There is no proof. I sense no magic; I would have sensed your magic if you were a sorceresses of that caliber.”

  Her brow arched, “Would you? I don’t sense yours.”

  “No, it is impossible, it would be impossible to hide that kind of magic in plain sight. Beside, those you talk of only reside in legend, in ancient writs, if they ever lived at all,” he said, waving his arms. “I’ve decided that the book is full of fairy tales!”

  His mind was going in every direction, thinking of all the possibilities. He was going mad, daft. This challenged all his understanding and knowledge of the limits and uses of magic.

  “Well,” she said. “We do exist!” She put her hands on her hips and stared him down. “Don’t you think it a touch strange that I haven’t aged at all since we last parted?”

  Merl stared at her. She had a point; she looked the spitting image she did those many years ago.

  “Isn’t it?” she asked. “After all, twenty-six years is a long time, and you are getting a little long in the tooth. I notice you favor your left leg. I see a hint of gray even with that spell you cast to keep from aging, which isn’t very good by the way! You can still do better.”

  “Wha-wh-hold on. How did you know about the spell?”

  “It’s actually obvious—you have aged, but not as much as you should have. You seem five, maybe six years older, maybe even ten. How long have you been working on the spell?”

  “Fifteen years, maybe twenty years, I’ve lost track. I keep refining it you know, but it’s hard to tell if it’s working better or not. Guess I’ll find out in another twenty years,” he said grimly. “It works well on mice though.”

  “I guess you will.”

  Merl stared for a while, considering the possibilities of what she was saying. If she was an ancient and she could read the tomes, then she could explain about the writings.

  “So then, the writings in the tome I found are what? Fact?” Merl asked chagrinned.

  She shook her head vigorously, “Actually, it’s history, ancient history, written mostly in High Torren, the language of the ancient elves.”

  “History? Elves?” Merl questioned, his mouth dropping open. “History of what exactly?”

  “History from a great battle fought many generations ago when my brother was a young man,” To’paz explained.

  �
��And this Torren you speak of, you can read it? Wait ... you said brother?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “I see. And you’ve known this all along?”

  She hung her head and stood silent.

  Merl sat very still while he tried to calm his anger. To’paz could see him seething. She didn’t blame him for getting choleric. She would be too!

  “Continue!” he barked.

  “It’s a recollection of a battle against Dark Magi. Hundreds of thousands died in that war, wizards, dwarves, elves, men by the thousands of score. We all paid a very heavy price to rid the world of the dark taint. The final decision, made by all magical beings, was to withdraw from everyday society and hide who they were, thus not tempting fate again. Too much power is—intoxicating. It corrupts.”

  Merl’s eyes narrowed, “How old did you say you were?”

  To’paz let his question hang in the air.

  “Let me tell you a story,” she offered.

  Merl sighed and slumped down in his chair. He wasn’t sure whether to be excited, frightened or angry. She had known! All this time, all these years—she had known.

  “Comfortable? This will take some time. Would you like some tea?” she asked, walking over to the fire.

  She used the poker to hook the crane and move it out of the flame. She picked up the potholder, wrapped it around the handle, lifted the copper kettle from its hook, and returned to the table with the hot kettle.

  Merl watched her pour the hot water into a mug that had been sitting on the table. “No, I’ll pass.”

  She rummaged in her pouch, which she had pulled free of her tunic, and drop some leaves into the hot liquid. She returned the kettle to the fire and nestled down on the big chair with her drink, slowly stirring it with a stick, and blowing across the mug to cool the bubbling liquid.

  “Where shall I begin—my name I suppose? My real name is To’paz Kandor’a and I am a sorceress. I was born a little over twelve hundred years ago in Havenhold, deep in the Winseer Mountains adjacent a border realm called Three Rivers, far to the north of here. We affectionately call it the Keep. It is my home.”