The Rossem Project

Departure - Part 5

     The next few weeks passed like a dream.

     The two adults didn't know how long they would be away, settling Derrin into the University, but to be on the safe side they were planning for an absence of several weeks and so had a lot of loose ends to tie up and preparations to make. Thomas wrote a letter to the University's enrolment secretary, which was carried out of the valley by one of the Waykeepers. The letter was addressed to the wizard Lamaniss, a wizard they'd met briefly during the Fourth Shadowwar and who was now living in the rebuilt outer circle of Fort Battleaxe. It came with a short note asking him to teleport it to Lexandria valley, but a reply came back a couple of weeks later from a member of Lamaniss’s household telling them that the wizard was out of the city at the moment. The letter would be forwarded to another wizard in Tatria, who would teleport it on to its destination. The letter added that enrolment was only a formality in any case, and that hopeful applicants who just turned up and who measured up to the University's standards were simply slotted in to the beginners' class, no matter what time of year they arrived, no matter whether or not they'd sent notice of their coming. The letter excited Thomas and Lirenna considerably, and convinced them that everything was going according to plan.

     A couple of days later another letter arrived, delivered by one of the Queen's own messengers and carrying the Royal Seal. The messenger, arriving on the back of one of the snow white mares from the Queen's own stables, brought a crowd of neighbours with him, all burning with curiosity to know how her Majesty had responded to the wizards' request, and they gathered around impatiently as Thomas broke the seal and unrolled the fine, white paper with trembling fingers. Lirenna pressed up against him and they read the letter together, and the shriek of delight she uttered was all the answer the crowd needed. The shouting and cheering was heard all the way to the town below, and the messenger returned to the palace brushing crumbs of blackberry pie from his immaculately crisp and clean uniform.

     The remaining preparations took just a few days to complete. The two wizards finished a few uncompleted tasks, tying up loose ends and making sure they weren't leaving any unsatisfied customers behind them. They packed up some changes of clothing, a good supply of spell components and their traveling spellbooks; small books about the size of a pocket diary that contained copies of all their favourite, most frequently used spells. The elaborate, highly stylised pictograms of the magical writing were small and difficult to read ( although not as difficult as they'd been to write!), and both wizards preferred to use their ordinary, full sized spellbooks whenever possible, but the huge, heavy tomes were almost impossible to carry around whereas the traveling spellbooks, each with its own protective leather case, fitted easily into a pocket. Oh well, thought Thomas as he carefully turned the delicate, almost transparently thin pages and squinted at the tiny writing. It'll only be for a few days. A couple of weeks at most. Just long enough to get him settled in.

     That done, it only remained to find someone to look after the house while they were away. Feed the animals, including a fat and docile unicorn whose stump of a horn was continually trimmed as it grew to make a powder for their magical potions. Weed the herb garden in which grew plants the neighbours had been warned not to touch (a bottle of antidote sat next to the window in the kitchen. There were always people who'd prod and poke the highly poisonous plants anyway. Particularly children.) and perhaps run a duster around the shelves every now and then.

     Mistress Gammon promised she'd see to it, and that she'd send a couple of her daughters over to fill in on the days she couldn't spare the time. In Haven, people popped into each others houses all the time and were trusted to treat the place as they would their own homes. The wizards' house was unusual in that it had a door that could be locked, the door to their magical laboratory, and even that was for the protection of visitors, not because they were worried about anything being taken. That door wasn't just locked, though. It was also sealed closed with magic spells so that any non-wizard who wanted to enter would have to break a hole in the wall.