Spirits and Spells

  Tansy could tell from Matt’s voice that he was annoyed he and Denise had not been invited to the group’s first attempt at the game. Of course, he had never noticed that Travis was jealous of him. But that was Matt. His emotional obliviousness was one of the reasons Tansy had broken up with him to begin with.

  “We only played for about an hour,” said Derek scornfully. “Then Lydia went berserk and we had to stop.”

  “For heaven’s sake, give her a break,” snapped Tansy. “She has a lot of imagination. That’s what makes her such a great player. She’s just got more of it than she can handle.”

  A moment of awkward silence settled over the table, broken when Travis cleared his throat. The five adventurers looked at him expectantly.

  “All right, here’s the background,” he said, reading from the first manual. “We are powerful magic users, witches and wizards who have been exiled to the world of Quarmix by Mormekull, a mighty wizard who resented our abilities.

  “For the hundreds of years we have been trapped here, we have been planning our escape. During this time we have practiced our magic, honed our skills, increased our power.

  “Recently we discovered a new source of magic on this world. Now our strength is greater than ever—nearly great enough to enable us to break the spells that hold us here, so we can return at last to Earth.

  “But our enemy, Mormekull, has learned that our powers are growing. He fears we will break free, so he has prepared this house as a trap for us.”

  “What kind of a trap?” asked Matt.

  Travis shot him an impatient glance. Tansy squirmed in her seat, fearing a clash between the two boys. But Travis went right on.

  “The house is a gateway between the two worlds. It was through this very place that Mormekull first expelled us from Earth.

  “Now he is playing a desperate game. Four objects of power are all we need to break the spell and return home. Mormekull has hidden them in the house to lure us back here. If we find them before dawn, he loses, and we are free.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” said Matt. “If he already has us in exile, why is he giving us a chance to escape?”

  Travis smiled. “He is taking this chance because if we fail in our quest he can be rid of us forever. As I said, the house is a trap. It was sealed against our leaving when we entered it.”

  At that moment the wind slammed against the shutters, closing them over the windows with a bang. Jenny shrieked. Even Travis looked startled. But he went on.

  “If we can break the magical barriers, we can leave the house and be free. But if we fail, we are doomed. Because this house dies at dawn—along with everyone still in it.”

  The words had barely left his lips when a crack of thunder rattled the room.

  Jenny jumped again.

  Tansy shivered.

  Travis laughed.

  The game had begun.

  3

  CLUES

  As Travis’s laugh died away, a moment of tense silence settled over the library. Jenny twisted a strand of her long blond hair around her finger, looking as though she was about to cry.

  Suddenly Denise laughed. “Well, I’d say we’re off to a good start! Come on, Trav—what’s next?

  Tansy relaxed. For a moment she had felt something eerie in the room. Nothing she could put her finger on. Just a sense that all was not right. Denise’s cheerful laughter had banished the feeling.

  Travis was speaking again. “I have to assign your roles. Matt, you will be the wizard Wathek—”

  “Hey! Don’t we get to create our own characters?”

  “No. The directions are specific. They give the name of each player.”

  “But that’s not the way gaming works,” said Matt with a frown. “Making up my own character is one of the things I like best.”

  Denise looked troubled, too. But she put a hand on Matt’s arm. “Let’s play it by the rules the first time. We can always change it the next time through. That’s the other good thing about gaming. You can change the rules to suit yourself.”

  “Well, all right,” said Matt, none too graciously. “Go on, Travis.”

  “I’m not Travis. I am Karno, the Master Mage.”

  “What?”

  Travis sighed. “That’s my role in the game. That’s one of the neat things about Spirits and Spells. The game leader gets a character, too. My character is pretty interesting, I think. I know where everything is, but Mormekull has put a spell on me so I can’t tell anyone. I can only speak in riddles, to give you clues. We’ll get to that in a minute. Now Matt … Wathek … you have the power to become invisible. You can see spirits, and cast spells of fire and illusion.”

  Matt nodded, apparently satisfied.

  “Tansy, your character is named Theoni.”

  Tansy took out the small notepad she had brought with her. She always had trouble keeping these things straight at first.

  “You are an enchantress who can communicate with spirits. You can compell the truth from anyone except me. You have third-level spells for fire and freezing.”

  Tansy scribbled furiously in the notepad.

  Travis continued assigning roles and powers. Derek was a wizard named Diaz, who had unusual physical strength. He could sense falsehood and had the power of temporary binding.

  “You can stop anyone, or anything,” Travis told him. “But only for a brief time. The duration depends on the strength of your foe.”

  Turning to Denise, he said, “Your name will be Niana.”

  “Hey, I like that! I think I’ll use it from now on. It’s a lot classier than Denise.”

  Tansy smiled. It was a typical Denise reaction.

  “You are a healer,” continued Travis, “with a song for sleep and soothing. You have spells for frost and flight.”

  “All right!”

  “Come on, Travis,” said Jenny. “Tell me who I am.”

  Tansy’s smile grew broader. Clearly Jenny was getting into the spirit of the game. That would make the evening go more smoothly.

  “Your name is Gwynhafra,” said Travis, “and … what’s the matter?”

  Jenny shook her head. “Nothing. It just spooked me for a second. I mean, my name is Gwynhafra.”

  Travis looked totally mystified.

  “Jennifer and Gwynhafra are different versions of the same name,” Jenny explained, embarrassed. “That’s all.”

  “Oh. Well, you have spells for destroying illusions and opening locks.”

  “Good. I like those.”

  “Now, for the first part of the game, you have to locate the objects of power.”

  Picking up the slender game book, he began to read in low, solemn tones:

  “A sword, a stave, a rod, a ring;

  These emblems of the wizard king

  If found before the morning hour

  Will free you from the house’s power.

  Find them and your freedom cherish.

  Failure means that all shall perish!”

  Another crack of thunder. Rain began to patter at the windows.

  “What’s a stave?” asked Jenny.

  “A stick,” said Travis. “Think of it as a staff, if you want to.”

  Jenny nodded, satisfied.

  “Okay,” said Matt. “How do we find these things?”

  Travis smiled. “That’s what’s going to make this game so interesting. The things are really here.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Derek.

  “Yesterday I hid a rod, a ring, a sword, and a stave somewhere in the house. All you have to do is find them.”

  The five players all began talking at the same time. Finally Jenny stood to make herself heard above the chaos. “You have got to be kidding, Travis! I am not going to go wandering around this place looking for some piece of junk.”

  “Wait a minute. Wait a minute!” yelled Travis. “Jenny, I put you and Derek together when I set this up, because I knew you’d be nervous.”

  “I think it’s a fantastic i
dea,” said Denise as Jenny sat down again. “Come on, you guys. Where’s your sense of adventure? That’s what gaming is all about. This is just one step closer to making it real. Travis went to a lot of trouble. Let’s give it a try.”

  “I’m willing,” said Derek.

  “Sounds good to me,” said Matt.

  “Tansy?” Travis looked at her anxiously. Tansy knew that if she took Jenny’s side, it would probably end things. She bit her lip. She didn’t really want to go wandering around this old place any more than Jenny did. But if she refused, it would hurt Travis’s feelings. In fact, they would probably have a colossal fight if she let him down now.

  “I’m in,” she said, trying to mask her reluctance with a lightness of voice.

  Travis smiled at her, and she was suddenly glad she had gone along with the idea.

  “Okay, here’s how it works. I’ll give you guys clues, and you have to figure out where the objects of power are hidden. It’s just like playing on paper, except that you actually go look. If you have questions, you’ll have to come back here to ask me. But I tried to leave some extra clues around to help you out.”

  “Oh, and one more thing.” Travis gave them a sly grin. “The treasures are guarded.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Matt.

  “It’s just like any game,” said Travis casually. “Treasures are always protected by something or other.”

  “Travis, what are you up to?” demanded Derek.

  “Trying to set up some fun!” said Travis. His voice sounded hurt. “Do you want to play or not?”

  The players eyed him suspiciously. A sense of uneasiness seemed to fill the room. Jenny reached out to touch Derek’s shoulder.

  But no one got up to leave.

  “All right, here are your assignments,” said Travis. “First Theoni. Theoni? Hey, Theoni—are you there?”

  With a start, Tansy remembered that Theoni was her name for the evening.

  “You will be seeking the ring,” said Travis. “Here is your clue:

  “Closest to heaven, farthest from help,

  The wizard’s ring lies hidden.

  You’ll need its power to escape,

  So to find it now you’re bidden

  Face what life has left behind;

  Fear not what seems forbidden.”

  Tansy copied the clue carefully into her notepad.

  “Denise, you’ll be looking for the rod,” continued Travis.

  “Call me Niana. And what do you mean by a rod?”

  “It’s kind of like a magic wand, only bigger,” said Travis.

  He gave the others their assignments, all of which were in rhyme. A moment of silence followed as the players concentrated on working out the meaning of their clues.

  Tansy read her clue over several times. The first line had struck her when Travis was reading it aloud. “Closest to heaven” could mean the ring was somehow near goodness. Perhaps it was hidden in a family Bible. But then why would it be “farthest from help?” That didn’t make any sense.

  “Closest to heaven” could also mean “high in the sky.” Well, in the Gulbrandsen place, the spot closest to heaven was the attic.

  Of course! That would take her farthest from help, and it fit perfectly with the line about “Face what life has left behind.” The attic would undoubtedly be filled with the leavings of a lifetime, all the things the Gulbrandsens had collected but never used.

  It would probably be very spooky, too.

  Tansy frowned. She heard a chair scrape and saw Derek and Jenny get up and head into the hallway. Together. She felt a slight pang. She wished she didn’t have to do this on her own.

  She glanced at Denise. The dark-haired girl was examining the paper where she had written her own clue. Her brow was wrinkled in concentration, but she didn’t show the slightest sign of fear.

  Tansy set her jaw. If Denise could do it, so could she. But that dippy Derek had better not try anything funny. She was feeling skittish enough as it was.

  Picking up her flashlight, she said, “Well, I’ll see you in a little while, Travis. I hope.”

  “Call me Karno,” said Travis. Then he smiled and added, “Good luck, Theoni. Holler if you need me.”

  She stopped. Narrowing her eyes, she asked, “Are you expecting me to holler?”

  Travis looked so genuinely innocent she was almost sorry to have been so suspicious.

  “No! I was just trying to be nice. See what it gets me?”

  “I’m sorry, Travis. Karno! I guess I’m kind of nervous.”

  “Well, that’s part of the fun.”

  “Yeah,” said Tansy. “Fun.”

  She walked out of the library.

  The hall was long and dark. She shone the light first to her left, then to her right, where she spotted a stairway. She started toward it.

  Another crack of thunder made her jump, and for a moment she considered turning back.

  “Come on, Theoni—get a grip,” she whispered to herself. She grimaced. If she didn’t watch it, she’d end up standing here all night, arguing with herself.

  She headed up the stairs.

  The third floor of the Gulbrandsen house was quiet and still. The hall was uncarpeted, and dust lay thick over everything. She wondered how to get to the attic. Shining her flashlight down the hall, she caught her breath. Footprints! Then she realized they had to be Travis’s, and relaxed.

  Well, this would make things easy. All she had to do was follow them. She wondered if he had been careless enough to leave tracks all the way to the ring. Maybe he had swept up after himself farther along to obliterate them. Or maybe not. Tidiness had never been his specialty.

  Feeling smug, Tansy followed the footprints along the hall. Aha! Here was the stairway to the attic.

  She sighed. The footprints stopped. The steps had been swept clean. She was going to have to work a little harder than she had thought.

  She played her flashlight beam up the stairs. At the top was a door, held shut with an old-fashioned latch.

  Tansy took a deep breath and started up the stairs.

  4

  THE DEPTHS

  Derek and Jenny stood at the top of the main stairway, the curving one they had first climbed from the foyer. They watched as Tansy moved to the other end of the hall and disappeared up the next flight of stairs.

  Jenny shivered. “I don’t know how she can do it.”

  “Do what?”

  “Go looking for that ring on her own. I’d be petrified.”

  “That’s why you’re with me,” said Derek with a smirk.

  “And I’m still petrified.” She aimed her flashlight down the stairs and shuddered.

  “Come on, Jen—I’ll be right beside you all the time.”

  “Why do you think I’m so scared!”

  Derek scowled. “Thanks a lot!”

  “Oh, Derek—you know I’m kidding. But I still don’t like it here.”

  “Look, Travis assigned us together to keep you from getting into a panic. What more do you want?”

  “To go home.”

  “Forget it. We’re playing out the game.”

  She sighed. “All right, O fearless one—what do we do next?”

  “Did you write down the clue?”

  Jenny flipped her golden hair over her shoulder. “Of course!”

  She took out her pad and read:

  “Mighty powers has the sword

  That once was stolen from dragon’s hoard;

  Stolen once, now lost again,

  Hidden from the eyes of men,

  It’s guarded by the earth—and more.

  Seek it now to earn your score.”

  She frowned. “What’s all that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, it’s pretty clear we have to find a sword—a magical sword, which makes sense, considering the game. It was held by a dragon for a long time, then someone stole it from the dragon. Now it’s been hidden again, ‘deep from the eyes of men.’” Derek smiled. “Hec
k, this is almost too easy. It has to be in the cellar.”

  “In the cellar? Oh, Derek, I don’t think I want to go into the cellar of this place. Besides, what does that line about ‘guarded by the earth—and more’ mean?”

  “That just reinforces that the sword is hidden in the cellar. Cellar—guarded by the earth. Get it?”

  Jenny frowned. “I’m not stupid, Derek. I got the part about the earth. It’s the ‘and more’ that has me worried.”

  Derek paused. “Hmmmm. That’s a good point. Travis may have a little surprise planned for us. I wonder if he’s planted some friends down there to try to give us a scare.”

  Jenny stopped in her tracks. “God, I hope not.”

  “Oh, I do,” said Derek eagerly. “Two can play at that game, you know.” He grabbed Jenny’s hand and pulled her after him. “Come on. We’ve got to find the cellar door.”

  They continued down the stairs together, their flashlights cutting a path through the gloom. When they reached the bottom, Jenny swung her beam around the spacious foyer. “Which way now?” she whispered.

  “Let’s try over there,” said Derek, pointing to their left. “Looks like a pretty big room.”

  As they passed through the door, Jenny again played her light around the room.

  Derek let out a low whistle. “Did I say big? This place is like a cavern!”

  At the far end of the room loomed a huge fireplace. Its chimney, made of gray stone, took up half the wall. The wall to their right, the front wall of the house, had a row of windows masked by dark floor-to-ceiling draperies, thick and heavy. Ghostly, misshapen forms were scattered across the room—the furniture, covered by protective sheets.

  “No cellar door here,” said Derek after Jenny had played her beam across all four walls. “Just that arch in the back wall.”

  Moving slowly, they threaded their way among the shrouded pieces of furniture. The arch led into a dining room. A long table stretched before them. Several large paintings hung on the walls.

  To the left was another door.

  It led to a vast, gloomy kitchen.

  “I’ll bet the cellar door is in here somewhere,” said Jenny, getting caught up in the search in spite of herself. “It would make sense, in a fancy place like this. After all, they wouldn’t have it leading out of the living room.”