The Rings of Salammis

Closure - Part 3

     After teleporting out of the tower, Seskip had planned to spend a few more hours recovering before making his way to the magic proof cells, but Thomas's warning had given him a new sense of urgency. Privately, he thought the young wizard's theory rather unlikely, but then he'd also initially discounted his theory about felisians being behind the sabotage incidents and he'd turned out to be right about that. The lad had a fine brain on him, there was no doubt about that, so he had to take the warning seriously, no matter how outrageous it might at first appear.

     One interesting consequence if the Gown lad was right was that it didn't matter if they revealed themselves to be from the future. He could simply present himself to the current Head Proctor, reveal himself for who he really was and explain the nature of his mission. His counterpart might release his men and allow them to leave, and there would be no danger of his own world suffering from the leakage of information into the past. Any changes in history would take place in the newly created universe, not the original one. Unfortunately, though, he couldn't act in such a reckless manner until the theory was well and truly proved. Until then, he had to keep his identity secret and be prepared to suffer total memory loss if he was captured and threatened with mind reading spells.

     Tucking his spellbook back in its pouch, therefore, he went looking for a proctor. He found one less than a hundred yards away, watching suspiciously over a group of young men studying textbooks in the shade of a laida tree. The apprentices complicated matters a little, but not much. He just had to make sure they didn't see what he was about to do.

     "Hey!" he hissed from behind a neatly trimmed hedge, where the proctor could see him but the apprentices couldn't. "Hey!"

     The proctor looked round, saw Seskip beckoning to him with a bony finger. He came striding arrogantly over, intending to demand who the hell he thought he was, but as soon as he was out of sight of the apprentices Seskip hit him with a sleep spell.

     A rune sewn into the proctor's robes flared brilliantly as it absorbed the energy of the spell, and then he snarled angrily as he pulled a wand from his belt and aimed it. Seskip ran forward, brushing the wand aside even as it discharged a stream of sticky strands at the spot he'd just left, and he swung his fist hard at the proctor's jaw. An undignified way for a wizard to handle an opponent, but the proctor went down and stayed down so it was just as well. Seskip froze silently for a moment, listening for any sign that the students had overheard the melee, but they were still chatting happily just as before. Satisfied, he grabbed the proctor by the shoulders and dragged him further into the cover of the bushes.

     Acting quickly in case he was discovered, he cast a mind probe spell on the proctor and used it to learn everything he knew about the magic proof cells. Their location, and various details about their security, had changed many times down through the centuries and he didn't know precisely what year it was.

     By the time he'd finished the proctor was beginning to regain consciousness. Seskip removed the man's robes and the shirt beneath, then tore the shirt to strips and used it to tie the proctor up, using the last bit to gag him. The proctor glared furiously at him, and Seskip watched him for a few moments to see if he seemed likely to free himself and how much noise he was capable of making. He decided that the nearby group of apprentices might be able to hear him. He'd have to move them away.

     He studied the proctor closely, then cast a spell on himself. His appearance rippled and shifted until he became the mirror image of the proctor, right down to the uniform and the rune bearing robes. He checked the proctor's bonds one last time, then returned to where the apprentices were gathered.

     His voice was still his own. If he'd been able to hear the proctor talking he could have altered his own voice to match it, but that was now impossible. The students obeyed his command to move along, though, even though they stared in puzzlement and grumbled under their breaths. They hadn't been doing anything wrong! They always sat here! Seskip glared at them until they were well down the path, heading for the fifth year common room, then moved off in the opposite direction.