Micah, or The End of Magic.

[Palustris]

Chapter 1.

Sowton.

The village of Sowston lies on the edge of the Dark Forest. The people of the village were pig breeders. Their animals spent as much time as possible in the clearings in the forest. Once a year, the pigs were rounded up and sent off to the market in the city, except for the boar and the breeding sows.

The Village of Sowton bred pigs.

One year, the villagers made the mistake of not inviting a witch named Magrib. She was so annoyed by this that she put a spell on the villagers, which turned them into pigs. They would have stayed that way until the time the pigs were due to be rounded up.

However, Magrib wanted to be the next Witch of the Dark Forest, so she boasted about her evil deed to a very good man called Eddo. He found a way to remove the spell. Verity Small reverted to human form and gave birth to a son at the exact moment the spell was broken. They gave him the name Micah.

He grew up in the village, being told how lucky the people had been to be rescued from the spell. He was fascinated by the thought of being able to do magic and spent as much time as he could trying his best to cast a spell.

The villagers continued breeding pigs. Like every other child in the village, Micah spent much of his time watching over the pigs as they foraged among the trees. He grew to hate the pigs.

When he was old enough, he left the village and went looking for a way to be able to cast spells. He kept himself alive by getting jobs as a casual farm labourer.

He wandered up into the hills and found a ruined town. In a tumbledown tower, he found a strange leather box. It was about two of his hands long, one of his hands wide, and half of his hand deep. What made it strange was that the leather looked as if it had been made from something like a snake. The material had scales.

The Snakeskin Box.

Whatever had been in the box had long since turned to dust. Micah emptied it out and put it in his pack. It was ideal for keeping his few treasured possessions. He put his razor and a pair of scissors in it, along with the few coins he got paid for working.
A little later, he chanced upon the village of Othermoor. Wandering around the edge of the village, he found a clearing in the forest where there had been a bonfire. It struck him as being very odd.

The fire had happened a long time before he got there, yet the forest had not yet begun to reclaim the land. There was no grass or trees growing in the ashes. The fire must have been very hot for there to be nothing growing. Micah kicked at the ashes. He found a gold chain with a large jewel.

Micah picked up the gold chain and examined the large jewel. It was a deep red colour and seemed to be glowing slightly in the dim light of the clearing. He had never seen anything like it before.

As he held the chain in his hand, he felt a strange sensation wash over him. It was as if the jewel was pulsing with energy, almost as if it were alive.

The jewel on a gold chain.

He opened his pack, concerned, and placed the jewel inside. Even then, he could still feel it. He took it out again and stood deep in thought. Then an idea struck him. He opened the box, put the jewel inside, and closed the lid.

The strange sensation vanished instantly. He kicked some more of the ashes about, but there did not seem to be anything more to find. He picked up his pack and continued his journey.

The next village was only a few miles along the edge of the forest. He was offered work by Dulcie Wokeham, who made ale for the villagers. Ale had to be brewed every few days, as it went sour very quickly if left undrunk. Dulcie had damaged her back and needed someone to do the heavy lifting of the pots she used. Micah was glad of the job, as she also offered him somewhere to sleep.

Not being used to working with hot pans, Micah managed to scald his fingers. Dulcie looked at his red fingers and shook her head. "Not too badly damaged," she said. "I have an ointment that will help." She gently wiped it over his hand.

Micah’s bandaged hand.

She smiled. "You are lucky," she said. "Not only do I make the ale for the village, I also make the lotions, potions, and ointments that they need." While they were talking, one of the villagers knocked on Dulcie's door.
He showed her a large wart on the side of his hand. "Can you do something about this?" he asked. "Only I keep catching it and making it bleed." She sat the man down at the table and took a leaf from a pot of herbs. She covered the wart with the leaf and muttered some strange sounding words. She removed the leaf and threw it into the fire. To Micah's astonishment, the wart had disappeared. The man muttered his gratitude and put a small coin on the table before leaving.

"What kind of herb is that?" Micah blurted out.

Dulcie laughed. "It is just a dandelion leaf, it does nothing. It is only to conceal the wart's disappearance."

"Then you must have used magic," Micah said.

Dulcie nodded. "It is a very simple little spell," she said.

"Then you must be a witch," Micah accused.

"No, no, no!" exclaimed Dulcie. "Don't say that." She looked around nervously. "There is only one witch, Calizone. She gets very angry if anyone else claims to be a witch."

"But you used magic to remove the wart?" said Micah.

"Calizone does not mind if we use simple little spells like that, as it saves her having to put up with a constant stream of visitors wanting small things like removing a wart." Dulcie told him.

"I see," Micah said, nodding. "Are there any more people like you who can do magic like that?"

Dulcie nodded. "Yes, most villages have someone like me. Wasn't there one in your village?"

Micah shook his head. "The only one in my home who wants to do magic is me, and try as I might, I do not seem to be able to."

He sighed and continued, "So, if you are not a witch, how come you can do magic?"

Dulcie felt sorry for this scruffy little man who seemed so eager to learn about magic. "I can only tell you what I know," she said. "As far as I understand, there are two kinds of magic, small and great. Great magic is what the witches of the Dark Forest do. "You have to be really good at magic to practice it."

"What do you mean by great magic?" asked a puzzled Micah.

"Big spells, like putting a princess to sleep for a hundred years or turning a whole set of villagers into pigs. Those kinds of spells take a lot of power to do. They also only last for a certain length of time, like a year and a day, or one hundred years, or whatever. They also have to have a way of being broken. So the princess one was broken when the prince kissed her." Dulcie said.

"The spell on my village was broken when all the food that the pigs were eating was turned to stone," said Micah excitedly. "So, what about small magic?"

"That is what people like me do. The spells are tiny and work right away," smiled Dulcie.

"If you are not witches, then what are you?" asked Micah. "And what were the words you muttered over the man's hand?"

Dulcie shrugged her shoulders. "Some people call us hedge witches, but I prefer the name charmers."

"And what were the words you muttered over the man's hand?" asked Micah.

Dulcie shrugged her shoulders. "The words are just nonsense I made up to help me concentrate."

Micah was a little disappointed. He had hoped that the words were a spell that he could try for himself. "Are there any men who can do small magic?" he asked.

"There could be," Dulcie said slowly. "But I have never met one, and us charmers meet up once a year at the big market in the capital."

Micah sighed again. Then he looked at Dulcie carefully. "So, you use your magic to help people, but if you wanted to, could you do nasty things with it?"

Dulcie frowned. "Yes, I suppose I could put the wart on someone or turn the ale sour, but why would I? The people here are my friends and neighbours, and there would be no point in being horrible to them, and I am sure that the Witch of the Dark Forest would come calling if the villagers here went and complained about me."

"I just wondered," Micah said, blowing on his painful finger tips.
"Now," said Dulcie. "There is enough of the ointment for you for the next few days. I will wrap some of it in some leaves for you. Put it in your pack. Oh, and here is your payment for the work you have done."

Micah tried to open his pack, but his fingers were too sore to manage the straps. Dulcie undid them for him.

"There is a box in there," said Micah. "If you open it, you can put the money and the ointment in it for safety."

Dulcie reached out and touched the box. She gave a squeal of pain and snatched her hand away. She sat down on a nearby stool.

Dulcie sat down and clenched her fists.

"What's the matter?" Micah inquired.

Dulcie clenched her fists. "The box," she said. "It is like sticking my hand inside a patch of really strong nettles. I can't touch it."

Micah shook his head. "I don’t understand. I have no trouble touching it."

Dulcie thought for a few moments, then she said, "I remember from stories I heard a long time ago that there are some things that people who do magic cannot touch. The box must be made of something like that."

"Well, I can't do magic, so the box doesn't bother me," Micah said, nodding his head. “That is good to know. Anyone who cannot touch the box must be a magic user.”

"I will see if I can make your hand heal quicker," said Dulcie. "Then you can deal with your pack."

Micah held out his hands. Dulcie took hold of them gently and muttered some strange-sounding words. They both looked at his reddened fingers. Nothing happened. Dulcie tried again. Again, nothing happened. Micah's fingers stayed red.

"Odd," said Dulcie. "That spell has always worked before." "I hope that box has not made it so I cannot do magic anymore."

She dropped Micah's hands and went over to a lamp. She muttered something. The lamp did not light up. She tried again. The lamp still did not light up. She frowned in concentration and muttered the word fiercely. The lamp lit up. "I have never had to work that hard on that spell before," she said. "Your box seems to have taken away some of my power. You had better pack your things and leave before you do any more harm."

Despite the pain, Micah slipped the money into the box. He did not notice that, as he opened it, the jewel inside glowed faintly red for a moment. There was a split second of the odd sensation again, almost too brief for him to notice. "I am sorry," he said. "I did not mean to harm you."

"Well, " said Dulcie. "Either your box or you have done something to my power, so please just go."

He shouldered his pack and left, deep in thought.

[Palustris]

Chapter Two.

Deserted places.

Micah walked down the road, feeling sad and confused. He had always thought people who did magic were bad, like Magrib. But Dulcie was a good person and she did magic. He also couldn't understand how the box would make Dulcie lose her powers. He had a lot of questions in his head.

After a while, he came to a farmhouse. But there was no one around and there were no animals. This was strange because usually when Micah came to a farm looking for work, dogs would bark at him. He knocked on the door, but no one answered. He knocked again, harder. The door opened. He looked inside and shouted, "Hello, the house!" Still no answer.

He came to a farmhouse.

Micah went in cautiously. He found himself in the kitchen. It was very quiet. He walked over to the big oven on the wall. It was cold. Micah knew that the fire in an oven should never go out.

Through another door, he found the dairy. On the table, there was cheese and old bread. Micah realised that the house had been abandoned for some time. He felt sad thinking about the family that used to live there, now gone.

He looked around the rest of the house, but it was completely empty. He decided to make himself at home and ate the cheese and bread. He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right about the place. It looked like the family had left in a hurry, but not so much of a hurry that they didn't have time to pack up their important stuff.
There were no farm carts in the yard, so they must have hitched up their horses and cows and loaded their belongings. They had time to gather their hens and ducks too. If they had pigs, they would have let them go into the forest to fend for themselves.

A cat came and rubbed itself on Micah's legs, making him jump. He petted the cat and gave it a piece of cheese. The cat ate it, purred, and went back outside. Micah smiled. There would be plenty of mice in the barn to keep the cat fed.

Micah took the box out of his pack while eating. His fingers still hurt, but he managed it. He opened the box and took out the jewel. It glowed red for a minute before fading. He felt the strange sensation in his chest again. He put the jewel away and put the box back in his pack. He put the rest of the bread and cheese in the pack and fastened the straps. There was a pump in the yard, so he filled his water bottle before looking around again.

It felt so strange that he decided not to spend the night there. He set off down the road. The road was still close to the edge of the forest.

After a few miles, he came to a signpost. A man was sitting against it. As Micah got closer, the man stood up. He leaned on a thick walking stick and hobbled over to Micah. "You can't go any further," the man said. "No one can get into Bilton."

You can’t go any further.

"What do you mean?" Micah asked, confused. "The road looks open to me."

The man wiped his nose on his sleeve and said, "Well, you can try if you want, but don't blame me if you get hurt."

Micah took a few steps down the road and walked into an invisible barrier. He stepped back and felt the air in front of him. There was definitely something there, even though he couldn't see it.

"Told you so,” said the man. "But it doesn't matter much because there's no one there. It's just me. Everyone else has left. My name is Brean."

"What happened?" Micah asked, curious and a little worried. "Is it the plague?"

"No," Brean answered. "A couple of weeks ago, the witch came with an army of wraiths."

"Wraiths?" Micah interrupted. "I thought they were just made up to scare children."

"So did we," Brean said. "But the witch brought them, and it was during the day. They wore strange armour. I've never seen anything like it. The wraiths rounded up everyone in the village and made them pack their belongings and leave. When the mayor tried to argue, a wraith stuck a sword in him, and he fell down. The witch made the wraiths throw his body into the well. She said that people had one day to leave, or they would all be treated the same way."

Brean drank some more of Micah's water. "One brave man asked where they were supposed to go. The witch told the villagers to go to King Rolan's palace and tell him that they were a present from the Witch of the Dark Forest."

"Calizone," Micah muttered.

Brean nodded.

"So why are you still here?" Micah asked.

Brean pointed to his leg. "I was left behind. I thought the witch was going to have me killed, but instead she just laughed and said that I could be a sign for anyone who came along. Then she put a spell on the village so that no one could get in. She put one on me too. It stops me from going anywhere but a few paces away from the sign. If it wasn't for a farmer and his family who came by, I would have died of hunger."

"A spell," Micah said. He thought about something Dulcie had said about great magic. He went back to Brean. "Spells like that have to have a way of being removed," he said. "Did Calizone say anything about the spell?"

Brean grabbed Micah's arm excitedly. "Yes, yes! She said the spell would be lifted by a small man whose mother was a pig."

Micah smiled. "Well, my name is Small and my mother was under a spell that turned her into a pig for a while, so I guess it's up to me to remove the spell." He walked back up to where he had been stopped before. He pushed at the invisible wall. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing. He went back to Brean. "Are you sure that's all Calizone said?" he asked.

Brean nodded. Micah scratched his head. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do this," he said. "I've never dealt with magic before." Then he had an idea. "I wonder," he said to himself.

He took the box out of his pack and opened it, even though his fingers hurt. The jewel shone brighter than it ever had before. Both Micah and Brean stared at it with their mouths open. The shine lasted for a few minutes, then gradually faded. The strange sensation Micah had felt before when the jewel glowed was so strong that he sat down on the road. It felt as if a hand was pushing against his chest.

Brean rushed over. "Are you all right?" Micah nodded and stood up. "Let's see if that's done the trick." They walked up to where the barrier had been. There was nothing there. Micah walked on into the village.

Brean followed him. "Thank-you, thank-you, you have got rid of the spell on the village and on me too."

"It is getting dark," said Micah. "Is there an inn where I can find a bed?"

Brean led the way through the village to an inn. The doors were wide open.

The inn doors were wide open.

Micah tried the ale from a jug on the bar. It was definitely stale. He tried some out of the barrel behind the bar. That, too, was off. "Ah, well," he said. "You can't have everything." He found the kitchen. The landlord had taken any perishable food with him, but there was a fine, big side of bacon hanging up in the pantry. Micah cut himself a big slice and a smaller one for Brean. It took a few moments to find a frying pan and light a fire. Soon, they were enjoying a hot meal.

Micah opened up the box again. This time the jewel did nothing more than glow faintly, so he closed the box, put it back in his pack. He wandered upstairs and found a made-up bed. Carefully, he barred the door and made sure that the shutters were firmly locked. The thought of wraiths made him feel very nervous. He had very little sleep that night.

[Palustris]

Chapter 3.

Elsewhere.

Jek lived deep in the shadiest part of the Dark Forest, where the trees grew so thickly overhead that no sunlight penetrated to the forest floor. His people shunned the light, which they found painful.

They went into the lighter parts of the forest at night to gather the nuts, berries, herbs, roots and mushrooms on which they lived. The forest was fruitful and life was very pleasant. No humans ventured that deep into the darkness, so Jek's people were not disturbed. They did not hunt the animals either, so the wild boars, deer and birds were not scared away.
Jek’s people did not write anything down, but instead they had storytellers. The storytellers remembered everything that had happened to the tribe. They passed on the tribe’s history to the next generation.

During the day, in the time between foraging and sleeping, the storytellers entertained the people with stories of their past. Jek knew from this that his family had not always lived in the Dark Forest. They had begun life in the caves in the distant mountains.

He had listened in horror to the story of how the Dark Forest had been attacked by evil creatures. These beings hated all life, and everywhere they went, they destroyed everything. When they had passed by, even the very soil was empty of creatures. The tribe had fled deeper and deeper into the trees, but still, the fear of these evil things had stayed with them.

After much discussion, they had decided to return to the caves of their ancestors. Sadly, humans had cut down the trees in the valleys near the mountains. The tribe had to cross open land.

They had travelled at night and tried to stay hidden during the day. To their dismay, humans lit fires at night, and even the small amount of light from those fires was painful to the tribe.

They had tried to explain to the humans that they were only passing through, but neither side understood the other's language. The flickering shadows cast by the tribe frightened the humans, who then built up the fires to give even more light.

There was a split between the tribes. Jek's people had decided to return to the Dark Forest. The rest of the people had carried on. The storytellers did not know if those people had survived. Not one of them had ever returned from the caves.

The evil beings had eventually been driven away by a human female. She had built herself a cottage in the forest and lived there. No one knew if the cottage was still there or what happened to the human.

However, there was a problem. Jek’s family was dying. He watched as his grandparents just faded away. They did not seem to be ill and none of the usual herbs that the tribe used for medicine helped. It was very odd. The older members of the tribe seemed to just get faint. Then for a while they stayed the same for a while, then they got fainter still. This went on until they disappeared. No one knew what to do.

In desperation, Jek decided that, as the human female had helped the tribe with the evil beings, perhaps she would be able to help them now. He had no idea how long humans lived, so he hoped that she would still be there and willing to do something. Without saying where he was going or what he hoped to achieve, Jek set out.

Jek set out through the forest.

The stories that he had heard all his life led him to believe that the humans' cottage was somewhere to the west of his home and that there was a road through the forest that went close to it.
He made his way through the trees at night and spent the day in the darkest shade that he could find. Eventually, he found the road. The trees and bushes alongside it were thick enough to give him the shade he needed during the day.

He kept very still and hidden when parties of humans rode past. The humans made so much noise that he had no difficulty in burrowing deeper into the shade so as not to be seen. The amount of noise they made amazed him, and he wondered why they were so loud. His people moved in total silence when they went out into the forest to look for food.

On the third night, he saw a light through the trees. Gingerly, he crept as close as he dared. The light was coming from a cottage among the trees.

Calizone’s Cottage.

He waited until the light went out, then carefully knocked on the window. Nothing happened. So, plucking up his courage, he knocked again, louder. The window was flung open. From inside, a woman's voice said something. Jek could not understand the words, but he did understand the tone of voice. She sounded angry.

He took a deep breath and called out. "Please, I mean you no harm, but I need help." The window was slammed shut and a moment later, the front door of the cottage was opened.

The woman came out. Again, she spoke. Jek could not understand what she said, but from the tone of her voice, she was asking him a question.

He repeated his plea for help and feeling very uncomfortable, he moved to where he thought the woman would be able to see him. He heard her sharp intake of breath. She spoke again, then waved her hands in front of her face. Jek stepped back, deeper into the shadows.

"You should be able to understand me now," she said.

"Please," said Jek. "I mean you no harm, but I need help."

"You are a long way from your home in the mountains," said the woman. "I don't remember ever seeing a wraith in this part of the world."

Jek was confused. "What is a wraith?" he asked.
"You are," replied the woman. "Aren't you?"

Jek shook his head. "I have never heard of wraiths and I have never been to the mountains. My people live in the deepest part of the forest."

"Well, well, well, "said the woman. "I knew that there were supposed to be wraiths in the forest, but I never expected to have one knocking at my door."

"Please," said Jek. "Are you the Witch of the Dark Forest?"

The woman nodded. "I am Calizone, and you are?"

"I am Jek and I need your help."

"You had better come inside then," said Calizone. "The fire has gone out, so it is dark in there." She turned around and went inside.

Jek hesitated. He had never been inside a human's house before.

"Do hurry up,” ordered Calizone. "I won't hurt you. I have always wanted to meet one of the forest wraiths."

Jek went inside.

Calizone closed the door behind him. "Sit down," ordered Calizone.

Jek sat down on the floor.

Calizone shook her head. "Not on the floor, take a chair."

Jek stood up and Calizone showed him what she meant by a chair. Carefully, he sat down.

"Are you as sensitive to light as your mountain brethren?" Calizone asked. "Only humans prefer to be able to see who or what they are talking to."

"The light is painful," said Jek carefully. He felt very nervous about being shut in.

"I think I can help you there," said Calizone. She got up and went across the room, muttering to herself as she avoided the table in the middle of the floor. A few minutes later, she returned. "This will not harm you," she said. And it ought to keep you safe from the light."

She wrapped a cloth around Jek, which covered him from head to foot. He shuddered. The cloth felt very odd. He wriggled.

"Keep still," snapped Calizone. "I know that the cloth is not pleasant to the touch, but it will keep you safe. I am going to light a lamp now, so don't be afraid."

Jek shrank back and watched as Calizone waved her hands. Nothing happened. "Drat," muttered Calizone and she waved her hands again, more firmly. The lamp on the table lit up.

Under the cloth, Jek could see the light. but it was dim enough not to be a problem.

"I knew this stuff would come in handy," sniffed Calizone. "Now who are you and what do you want with the Witch of the Dark Forest?"

"Our storytellers say that many, many winters ago, you saved the forest and my people from two evil beings that were destroying the world." Jek began.

Calizone sniffed. "Not me," she said. "But, yes, a witch did that."
"We did not know how long humans live," said Jek. "Now my people are dying and we do not know why."

"Disease, or what?" asked Calizone.

"It is the older ones. They do not seem ill, they just gradually fade away until they are not there anymore," said Jek.

Calizone did not answer, instead, she stood up and walked around the room. She went and looked out of the window at the darkness. Then, as if she had come to a sudden decision, she turned back to Jek.

"Did you notice how hard it was for me to use magic to light the lamp?" she asked.
Jek shook his head. "I have never seen a lamp lit before, so I don't know how hard it is usually." he said, feeling a bit puzzled by the question.

"No, of course not," said Calizone. "Silly of me." She sighed. "It is one of the first magic spells that anyone who wants to do magic learns. It is usually as easy as snapping one’s fingers. But at the moment, it is taking a lot more effort than it ought to. The spell I used to make it so that we could understand each other is fairly simple too, but it took a real effort to make it work. What you tell me confirms what I have feared. Something is draining the magic out of the world."

"But we don’t do magic," protested Jek.
"No, I know. But you are magic. It is not easy to explain, but there is a difference between things that are magic and things which do magic. Your people and some other creatures are magic. Witches like me do magic."

"So? I don't understand," said Jek.

"You, your people, the others of your kind in the mountain caves, the Fire Demon in the far south, the Ice Queen in the frozen north and the Dragons only exist because they are magic. Take away the magic and you cease to exist. And as I said, something is draining the magic from the world," explained Calizone.

"Dragons?" puzzled Jek.

"Great big fire-breathing lizards," said Calizone.
Jek leapt to his feet. "Fire!" he squeaked.

"Don't worry," soothed Calizone. "They live on an island out in the sea and never leave it, or very, very rarely leave it.”

Jek sat down. "So my people are disappearing because they are magic and there is less magic now?"

Calizone nodded. “You are not the first visitor I have had worrying about magic. The Fire Demon from the far south of the world sent me a message to say that the heat in his kingdom was cooling down. The Ice Queen from the frozen north told me that the ice is melting in her country.”

“Where is the magic going?” asked Jek.

Calizone shook her head. “I don’t know, and the worry is that if it all goes, then the world is going to be a very different place. What is really odd is that it does not appear to be disappearing little by little. It goes and then stops. It is almost like someone opens a door and the magic drains out through it and then they shut the door and the magic stops going for a while.”

[Palustris]

Chapter 4

More Deserted Places.

Next morning Micah left the Inn. Brean was sat by the village well. "I would not drink this water," he warned. "The mayor's body is still in there."

"There was a pump in the Inn yard so I filled my bottle from that. What are you going to do now?" asked Micah.

“This was my home, so, I think I will stay here and warn anyone who comes about the poisoned water in the well.”

“Well,” said Micah, “I am going to keep going. Take care.”

He marched off down the road. After he had gone a few miles, it suddenly struck him that there was no one else on the road. “This is very odd,” he thought. “This is the main road, there ought to be carts and horses and people using it.”

He came to another Farm by the side of the road. Like the Farm before Bilton it was deserted. The people here had locked the doors so he could not look inside.

He reached a Farmhouse.

He stood for a moment and scratched his head. He looked in the outbuildings, but there was no sign of any people or animals. He shrugged his shoulders and carried on along the road.

He thought that he saw a figure standing in a field. It seemed to be waving to him. However, when he came close to it he saw that it was just a Scarecrow and the movement was its ragged clothes flapping in the breeze.

“Well, you didn’t leave, did you?” he said. The scarecrow did not answer.

The Scarecrow did not answer.

By mid-afternoon Micah had still seen nobody else on the road. In the distance there was a village. The was a milestone by the side of the road. A very ragged man was sat on it.

“Hello,” said Micah.
The man jumped up and fled without saying a word. He disappeared into the bushes by the side of the road.

“I won’t’ harm you,” shouted Micah.

The man did not re-appear.

“What village is this?” shouted Micah.

The man still did not come out of the bushes, but he did shout back. “Siddley. But no one can get in. Go away. I ain’t done nothing.”

From the noises Micah guessed that the man was moving even deeper into the bushes.

The ragged man ran away.

Micah shook his head and carried on towards the village. As before something stopped him. He opened his box and took out the jewel. For a few seconds it sone bright red, then it faded. Once again he had the strange feeling that a heavy hand was pushing against his chest. Micah put the jewel back into the box and walked on into the village.

It was deserted. There was not even a barking dog. All the houses were closed up. Micah tried a few doors, but they were all locked. There was an inn by the road side. He wandered all the way round it, but there did not seem to be anyway of getting in. There was a pump so he filled his bottle with water.

“Looks like I am going hungry,” he said to a magpie which was sat on the corner of the stable watching his every move.

On the way out of the village he found a set of stocks. Pinned to them was a piece of paper. He peered at it. Someone had obviously left a note, but who the note was for and who had written it, Micah did not know. He had never learned to read.

He was about to leave when the ragged man crept up to him.

“I ain’t done nothing,” he said. “Calizone said that no one could get into the village. She put a spell on it. She made everyone pack up their things and leave. I hid in the bushes and watched them go.”

“Where did she tell them to go?” asked Micah.

“Don’t know,” said the ragged man. “I was hiding. I ain’t done nothing.”

“I don’t suppose you can read either,” said Micah.

The ragged man shook his head. “They think I’m daft,” he said. “But I hid. They had to go. But I hid. I aint done nothing.”

“Well, the spell has gone now so you can get into the village if you want,” said Micah.

The ragged man shook his head. “The wraiths may come back. I hide. I ain’t done nothing.”

“Wraiths?” said Micah looking round.

“She brought them with her. They chased to people. They stuck swords in anyone who did not go fast enough. I hid.” The man licked his lips and looked nervously round. “Not stopping here with Wraiths.”

“Probably sensible,” agreed Micah.

The ragged man sat down on the steps outside the inn. He trailed his fingers in the dust tracing patterns, curves, and lines, using his index finger as a makeshift brush. “No one takes any notice of me,” he said. “The boys throw stones at me.” He giggled. “I hid. They had to leave. I stopped here.”

A gust of wind blew across the drawing in the dust and it disappeared.

“I aint done nothing,” the ragged man said.

“No,” said Micah. “I don’t suppose you ever did.”

The ragged man stood up. He turned round slowly and pointed at all the houses in the village. He giggled, “This all mine now,” he said. “They went. I hid. All mine now. You leave. This is my village now.”

Micah sighed. “I am going,” he said. “You take care.”

“I ain’t done nothing,” said the ragged man.

Micah turned and walked away. There was a shed by the side of the road. He pushed open the door. Inside there was a few bales of straw. Micah put his pack down. “Better than nothing,” he said. “At least I have somewhere to sleep even if there is no food.”
 

[Palustris]

Chapter 5.

A dragon calls.

Jek would not stay in Calizone’s cottage when daybreak came. He went off into the Forest to look for shelter for the day and to find something to eat.

Calizone sat at her table and looked through all the diaries left behind by all the other witches of the Dark Forest. There was nothing in any of them that explained what was going on with the magic.

Around mid-morning, the rooks in the trees around the cottage began cawing and flapping their wings. Calizone put the books away and went to the door. The rooks were her sentries. They warned her of any visitors. No one could sneak up on Calizone’s cottage while the rooks were nesting in the trees.

For a minute or so, her cottage changed into a ruin, then it turned back into the comfortable home that she knew. She shivered. The magic had suddenly gone from the world.

There was a tremendous gust of wind and a voice from above shouted. “Look out. I am about to fall.”

Calizone looked up. Above her, flapping wildly, was a dragon.

It landed with a thud on the path outside the cottage.

The dragon landed clumsily on the path.

Calizone carefully went to her gate. The dragon stood in the lane with a puzzled expression on its face.

“Sorry about that,” it said. “For a moment, I lost the ability to fly. I don’t remember that ever happening before.”

“There is something going wrong with magic,” said Calizone.

“Don’t I know it,” said the dragon. It hauled itself to its feet. “Hello,” it said. “We meet again.”

Calizone frowned. “Have we met before?”

“Yes, “said the dragon. “A long time ago. I said then that I never wanted to have anything to do with humans ever again, but here I am.”

Calizone thought for a moment. “Das,” she said. “That was your name.”

The dragon nodded.

“Sorry,” said Calizone. “I did not recognise you. You have grown a lot since then.”

“You haven’t changed,” said Das. “Except you look a bit older.”
“Thank-you,” said Calizone, huffily. “I remember you now. You must have a good reason for leaving the islands and coming here.”

“I was ordered to come and talk to you by the Queen of the Dragons herself. I would have preferred not to, but when the Queen says to do something, one has no choice but to obey.”

“So,” said Calizone. “Why did the Queen send you here?”

“There is something going wrong with magic,” he said. “As you know, dragons fly by magic and it is magic that keeps us safe on our islands. No human can ever reach them. Well, they did not used to be able to reach them. Yesterday, a fishing boat with four humans in it landed on Royal Dragons Island. You can imagine the fuss that caused. Apparently, they had been blown off course and did not mean to land, but that should not have been possible.”

“Yes,” said Calizone. “I can see that humans on the island would be rather upsetting.”

Das grinned. “I wish I had been there to see it,” he said. “I am told that the first thing that anyone saw was a human person walking up the beach. As you know, royal dragons spend most of their time asleep, so when one of them opened his eyes and saw a human, he panicked and screamed. That, of course, woke up every other dragon. Not knowing what had happened, they all took to the sky.”
“That must have been an awe-inspiring sight,” said Calizone.

“Indeed,” said Das. “The poor humans immediately threw themselves to the ground and covered their heads with their hands and screamed in terror.”

The fishermen cowered.

He giggled. “Not that covering their heads with their hands would have done them much good if the dragons had decided to breathe fire on them. Fortunately for the fishermen, the Queen took charge and made everyone land again, well away from the fishermen. She tried to explain to the poor humans that they would not be harmed, but they were so terrified that she could not make herself understood.”

Calizone nodded. “Humans are easily scared. And let’s face it, it is not every day that you walk up a beach and are immediately surrounded by dragons.”

“And screaming dragons at that,” smiled Das.

“So, what happened?” Calizone asked.

Das went on with his tale. “The Queen shepherded the men back to their boat and pushed it out into the sea. That is when the next problem occurred. As you know, the islands are protected by a spell that stops any humans from landing on them. The spell has another effect, any humans on the island cannot get off.”

“Oh!” was all that Calizone could think of to say. “Are the men still on the island then?”

“They would be,” said Das. “Except that while the Queen was trying to push the boat out to sea, the magic stopped working again and suddenly she managed to push the fishing boat well away from the island. Before it could float back, the magic came back again, and the spell worked again. The boat was a mile away, as it should be.”

“Good,” said Calizone. “But why has the Queen sent you to me?”

“She said that the only person she knows who could mess up the magic like that is you. She wanted to know what you were doing.” said Das.

“I wish I knew what was happening,” said Calizone. “It is certainly not something that I am doing. I had a wraith here last night, and his people are dying because of the way the magic is behaving.

“Well, you had better find out quickly,” said Das. “The dragons are rather angry about it and are threatening to leave the island and burn the world. It took all the Queen’s power to stop them. She sent me to warn you that if any more humans land on the islands, she will not be able to stop the rest of them from attacking the world.”

“If I knew what was doing it, I would deal with it,” said Calizone grimly. “It is not just dragons and wraiths that are at risk, the whole world is in grave danger. And not just from dragon fire either.”

“I had better go back and tell the Queen that it is not you causing the problem,” said Das.

He tried to lift himself into the air, but nothing happened. He tried again and again, but he did not fly.

"It looks like I am stopping here for a while,” he said.

“You are very welcome,” said Calizone. She went back into her cottage and carried on going through the old diaries, looking for an answer to the problem with the magic.

That evening, as it grew darker, Jek crept back up to the cottage. Calizone let him in and she wrapped the cloth around him again. He was very worried about Das, but Calizone explained that Das was a sea dragon and ate seaweed, not wraiths or humans for that matter.

They had not sat for long when Calizone felt the magic stop again. “It has happened again,” she said.
Jek shook his head. “I felt nothing,” he said.

Calizone frowned. “I am sure it stopped.” She went outside. Das was curled up under the trees. “It happened again,” he said.

Calizone sighed and went back inside. “Are you sure that you felt nothing?” she asked Jek.

He shook his head. “Not a thing and I have felt it every other time it has happened.”

Calizone sat down at the table and said nothing. Jek started to speak, but she waved him to silence.
She clicked her fingers. “I think I know what it is,” she said excitedly. “That cloth protects whoever is wrapped in it from magic spells. I wonder if it stops any magic inside it from getting out as well.”

“If that was true, it would help my people survive,” said Jek. “If there was enough of the cloth to cover them all.”

Calizone shook her head. “It is just a guess. I must test it to see if I am right. May I have the cloth for a moment?”

Tek handed it over. Calizone wrapped it around her hand and pointed at the fireplace. Nothing happened. She frowned and pointed at the fireplace again. Nothing happened. She unwrapped her hand and pointed at the fire place. The wood burst into flame. Tek shielded his eyes from the sudden light.

The fire burst into flames.

“Sorry,” said Calizone. She pointed at the fireplace again, and the fire went out. She gave the cloth to Jek and he wrapped it around himself.
“I, we, have been very fortunate,” said Calizone. “This cloth has been in the cottage for a long time and no one seemed to know what it did or why it was kept. When I found out, I made it my business to find the rest of the roll of it. There should be a dress made from it waiting for me in Barford. I had it made when it seemed likely that I would be fighting a battle of magic with another witch.”

“So, you at least should be safe,” said Tek, “but no one else.”

Calizone shook her head. “No, it means that I can deal with whatever is doing this to magic in safety. I will send someone to search for any more of it for you and your people.”


Jek would not stay in Calizone’s cottage when daybreak came. He went off into the Forest to look for shelter for the day and to find something to eat.

[Palustris]

Chapter 6.

Second Sight.

Early next morning, Micah set out again. He walked for quite a long time without seeing anyone. Hungry and tired, he sat down on a handy milestone for a rest.

In the distance, he heard the faint jingling of the horse's harness. Before long, a gaily painted wagon came along the road. It stopped next to him.

A gaily painted wagon.

“Good morning,” called the driver. “Not many people about today?”

“Good morning to you too,” replied Micah. “You are the first travellers I have seen for days.”

“And the villages and farms are empty too,” said the man. “My wife and I usually manage to pick up some work at various places along the road.”

“The Witch of the Dark Forest has forced everyone to leave and go to King Rolan’s palace. Anyone who argued was killed by one of her army of wraiths.” Micah told him.

“That makes life difficult,” said the man.

“Very,” said Micah. “I don’t suppose you have any food you can spare, only I have not eaten since yesterday morning. I can pay.”

“No problem,” said the man as he jumped down from the wagon. “I am sure we can spare you a crust or two. And this is as good a place as any to let the horse rest. My name is Josiah Lee.”

“Micah Small,” said Micah shaking the man's outstretched hand.

A woman came from the rear of the wagon. “This is my wife, Grace,” said Josiah.

She smiled, but did not speak. It did not take long for Josiah to unpack a small stove from inside the wagon. He filled it with twigs and soon had a fire going. A kettle was placed on top of the stove, and before long, steam was coming from the spout.

The ‘crust or two’ turned out to be rabbit stew, heated up on the stove and washed down with a hot drink. Micah’s protests that he could not pay for his meal were waved away.

“I have been in need of help myself,” said Josiah. “I usually get work at the farms along the road here. Fence mending in winter, sheep shearing in late spring, harvesting. Whatever needs doing, I can do it. What about you?”

“I come from Sowton,” said Micah. “So the only animal I know anything about is the pig and I never want to see another one of them.”

Josiah laughed. “Grace here does fortune-telling. She could probably tell you what you should do to earn your daily bread.”

Grace Lee was a fortune teller.

“Fortune telling?” Micah was puzzled.

Grace smiled. “It is not really, I just have what some people call ‘second sight.’ I can look at a person or a thing and tell you all about them or it. So, people pay me to tell them what they already know about themselves if they really thought about it.”

“Magic?” asked Micah.

Grace shook her head. “No, at least I don’t think so.”

“I can find out if it is magic,” said Micah. “People who use magic cannot touch the box in my pack.”

“Interesting,” said Grace. “I have always wondered if my ability was magic.”
Micah took out the box from his pack and handed it to Grace. She took it and looked closely at it.

“It doesn’t hurt you?” asked Micah.

“No, not in the least,” said Grace.

“Then your ‘second sight’ is not magic,” said Micah. He reached out for the box.

Grace did not immediately hand it over, instead, she turned it around in her hands and stared at it.

“Do you know what this box is made from?” Grace asked.

Micah shook his head. “No, why?”

Grace handed it back. “That is dragon skin,” she said. “I have never seen anything made from dragon skin before. It is very, very old as well.”

“Dragon skin,” squeaked Micah.

Grace nodded. “If you let me hold it again, I could probably tell you more about it.”

Micah handed it over again.

Grace nodded. “This was made from the chest of a very old and sick dragon. He was killed a long time ago by a man called George.” She shuddered and handed Micah the box. “That is all I can tell you about it.” She said, “Except to say that it is very, very rare and probably very valuable.”

“Oh!” said Micah. “I did not know.”

“It is not something I would want to own,” said Grace. “Dragons may not be very happy to find a piece of one of their kind made into a box.”

Micah hesitated, then he opened the box. The jewel glowed a faint red for a moment, then stopped. “What can you tell me about this?” Micah asked.

Grace stepped back. “That is the most evil thing I have ever seen,” she said. “Please put it away.”

Micah closed the Dragon Box lid. “I did not know it was evil,” he said.

Grace reached out and touched Micah’s face gently. She frowned. “You are the first person I have ever met who I cannot scry.”

“Scry?” Micah was puzzled.

“That is what it is called when I use my second sight to look at someone,” said Grace. “But when I did it to you, I got nothing. You are invisible.”

“Be that as it may, “said Josiah. “We cannot stand here all day, we need to get to Wilford before night falls. Even if it is empty like the other villages, it will be safer than camping on the side of the road. You are very welcome to travel with us.”

Wilford was a village of narrow alleys.

Wilford was as empty as the other villages. Once again, Micah had to use the jewel to remove the spell before they could enter. Unlike the other villages, Wilford had much narrower streets. They left their wagon and explored the empty alleys.

At the top of one of the alleys, they found a set of pillories. Josiah laughed. “Once upon a time, travellers like me were often put in them just for being different. King Rolan put a stop to that.”

Pinned to the Pillory was a note. Micah picked it up. “There was a note like this in the other villages.”

“What does it say?” asked Josiah.

“No idea,” said Micah. He handed the note to Grace.

“We can’t read either,” she said.

“I wonder why Calizone is doing this,” said Micah.

Grace frowned. “This note was not written by Calizone. The name I get from it is Magalan.”

“So, who is Magalan then?” Micah said.

Josiah and Grace both shook their heads. “It is not a name I have ever heard before,” said Grace. “But she is the one who wrote this note.”

Micah put the note back where he had found it.

The note was pinned to the Pillory.

“I think we had better go and see what Calizone has to say about someone else claiming to be the Witch of the Dark Forest,” said Josiah. “The road through the forest starts a couple of miles out of the village. But first, we had better find somewhere to spend the night. There is a decent inn on the main road.”

The inn was locked up. Josiah winked at Micah and took a set of tools from his pocket. After a few seconds of fiddling with the lock, the door was open. “You didn’t see that,” he said.

The oven was cold, but there was some stale bread and a big cheese wheel in the larder. The beer must have only been made recently, as it was still drinkable.

Early next morning, they set off for Calizone’s cottage. Micah insisted that they pay for the food and drink and the beds.

[Palustris]

Chapter 7.

Calizone’s Cottage.

As Josiah had said, the road into the Dark Forest began a few miles from the village.

They stopped at the crossroad. “Do you really want to go and talk to Calizone?” Grace asked.

Micah nodded. “All my life I have wanted to be able to do magic, but for some reason I can’t. And I really would like to know what happens to me when I open the dragon skin box and the jewel gleams red. It feels like a big hand pushing against my chest. I think Calizone is probably the only person who can explain it all.”

Grace nodded. “She is not always very helpful, though,” she warned.

“You do not need to come with me,” said Micah.

“Oh, I think we do,” said Josiah. “There is no work to be had if all the people have been ordered out of the villages and farms. I need to earn a living.”

“And there might be a reward in it for telling Calizone about someone claiming to be the Witch of the Dark Forest,” said Grace.

The start of the road into the Dark Forest.

They made good time through the forest. The road was well maintained.

“It is very peculiar that there are no other people on the road,” said Josiah. “We have been this way before, and there are almost always people driving, riding, or walking along it.”

When they came to a small path, they tied the horse to a tree and walked. The rooks, which nested in the tall trees by the cottage, flew up into the sky, making their usual racket.

“No one sneaks up on Calizone,” said Josiah.

Micah took a deep breath and knocked on the cottage door. He stepped back when it was opened by a tall woman in a long black dress.
“What?” she said.

“Are you Calizone?” Micah stammered.

“Obviously,” said the woman. “And this is not the time for me to deal with travellers like you, so be off with you.” She began to shut the door.

“There is someone claiming to be the Witch of the Dark Forest,” said Micah before the door was fully closed.

It swung open again. “Well?” said Calizone.

“We found a note on the pillory in Wilford. Grace here has second sight, and when she looked at the note, she saw that it was written by someone called Magalan. We thought that you ought to know,” said Micah.

Calizone sniffed. “I already know about her,” she said. “You have wasted your time.”

Micah persisted, “I wanted to show you this as well.” He took out the dragon skin box and opened it. The jewel glowed redder than it had ever done before. The force of the pressure on his chest knocked Micah to the ground. The lid of the box snapped shut.

Calizone took a deep breath. “Where did you get that? Do you know how dangerous and evil that thing is?””
“I am sorry,” said Micah as he scrambled to his feet. “I did not know it was evil.”

“You and your friends had better come in and explain,” ordered Calizone.

“I’ll try, said Micah, once he was inside. “I was born in Sowton at exactly the same moment when the spell on the people was lifted.”

“I remember that,” said Calizone. “That was Magrib’s spell.” She blew rudely through her lips. “Not a very good spell either, but go on.”

“I grew up wanting to be able to do magic,” said Micah. “But try as I might, I can’t. So I left home to see if I could learn how to do it from people who could. I went to a place called Othermoor. In a wood nearby, I found where there had been a fire. This jewel was buried under the ashes. I thought that it might come in handy if I needed money.”

Calizone held up a hand. “Othermoor,” she said. “That name rings a bell. Sit there and don’t open that box again.”

She went to a bookcase and took down a thin notebook. Carefully, she thumbed through it. “Ah, yes,” she said. “I thought I had seen it recently.”

The Diary

She came back to the table. “That jewel belonged to a witch called, well, never mind her name. She disappeared, and her diary only turned up on the shelf here many years later. She used that jewel to take over other creatures’ bodies.”

“How did it end up in a fire in a wood then?” Grace asked.

“Even more important is why it is behaving the way it is now. For some reason, it is sucking all the magic out of the world,” said Calizone.

She looked at the dragon skin box and her eyes opened wide. “Where did you get that from?” she demanded.

“I found it in a ruined tower in the hills near Sowton,” said Micah. “Grace says that it came from a dragon that was killed by someone called George.”

“I wondered if they had made more than one chest from his skin,” muttered Calizone. “Put it on the table,” she ordered.

“Magic users cannot touch it,” said Micah.

“I know,” said Calizone. She drummed her fingers on the table and appeared deep in thought. After a good five minutes of silence, she stood up. “This won’t hurt you,” she said and she pointed at Micah.

Nothing happened

She scowled and pointed again.

Nothing happened.

She pointed at Josiah. He clutched his head and said, “Ow!” in a loud voice.

Calizone nodded and turned to Grace. She stepped back in alarm.

“Don’t be silly,” snapped Calizone. “If I wanted to harm you, there is nothing you could do about it. Now, have you tried your second sight on this man?”

Grace nodded.

“And?” asked Calizone impatiently.
“I cannot read him,” admitted Grace. “He is just not there.”

Calizone turned to Micah. “When the jewel glowed red, what happened to you to make you fall over?”

“It felt like a huge hand was pushing against my chest,” said Micah. “The more magic there is in a place, the stronger the pushing feels.”

“This is fascinating,” said Calizone. “And if it were not so important, I would love to spend time investigating what is happening.”

“I don’t understand what is going on,” said Micah. “All I wanted to be able to do was magic. Not major stuff like you do,” he hastened to add, “just small things like the hedge witches do.”

Calizone laughed unpleasantly. “I am glad you did not want to become a magician, or I might have had to deal with you at some point. There is only room for one major magic user in the world and that is me.”

“So, why can’t he do magic?” asked Josiah.

Calizone did not answer right away. She tapped her teeth with a fingernail. “I think, no, I am positive, that he is the exact opposite of a magic user. He is not a magician. He is an anti-magician, for want of a better term.”
“But,” protested Micah. He shook his head. “I still do not understand. I can touch the box, which shows that I am not a magic user, so why do I get that strange feeling when the jewel glows?”

Calizone went to a cupboard and took out a piece of black cloth. “Open the box and quickly wrap the jewel in this,” she ordered.

Micah did as he was told.

“Now open the box and put the cloth with the jewel in it on the table, but don’t let the cloth slip,” ordered Calizone.

The cloth with the jewel inside.

Micah carefully handed over the wrapped jewel.

Calizone very carefully slipped her hand into the cloth. She frowned in concentration and did not speak or move for some time. Then she nodded. “I see,” she said. Then to Micah, she said, “Carefully put the cloth back in the box. Take the jewel out of it and close the box. The cloth is far too valuable to leave it in the box with that monstrous thing.”

When Micah had done all that, Calizone nodded. “Good,” she said. “First things first, there is a dragon asleep in the woods out there.”

“Dragon!” squeaked Josiah.

“Yes,” snapped Calizone. “Take this box and give it to him. Tell him that it is to be taken to the Dragon's islands and kept safe and unopened for as long as dragons exist. He will understand when he sees that the box is made from dragon skin.”

“Me?” said Josiah. “With a dragon?”

“Yes,” said Calizone. “Don’t worry. Das is harmless. The only way he would hurt you is if he trod on you by accident.” She smiled, not pleasantly. “So, stay away from his feet. Now go.”

Josiah had no choice, he went outside.

[Palustris]

Chapter 8.

Explanations.

“The safest place for that jewel is in that box with the dragons. They will not open it and no one will be able to use the jewel ever again.”

“But what is it?” asked Micah. “Why does it need to be hidden away like that?”

“I will try to explain,” said Calizone. “The jewel is only half of a spell. The other half is a special paste that needs to be spread on the thing that the old witch wanted to change places with. I think that the heat from the fire has probably damaged the jewel. It now sucks in as much magic as it can when it is out in the open and tries to put it into you, Micah.”

“Why me though?” Micah asked.

“Because you were the one who found it. The jewel thinks you are its owner, “answered Calizone. “I am only guessing some of this, you understand. Anyway, once the jewel had filled itself up with magic, it tried to put it into you. That was the hand you felt on your chest.”

Micah nodded.

“As you are the opposite of a magic user, the magic could not go into you, so it was destroyed. If you had carried on using the jewel, then eventually all the magic in the world would have gone.” Calizone looked very grim.

“Would it really matter if all the magic disappeared?” asked Grace.

“Of course it would,” snapped Calizone. She sighed. “If you let me continue, I will explain.”

Grace sniffed. “Sorry,” she said.

Calizone glared at her. “Don’t try my patience too far,” she said. She walked up and down the room. She came back to the table. “Sit down and listen carefully.”

They sat.

“This world needs magic like people need air. Without it, the dragons, the wraiths, the Ice Queen, the Fire Demon and me would not exist. I suppose the world could manage without them, but there is something far more necessary to this world.

Not far from here, there is a gateway between this world and another. That gateway is kept closed by magic. It has to be kept shut, or this world and the other one would be destroyed.”

The gate between the worlds.

“Many, many years ago, there were two evil beings in this world. They wanted to destroy all life. Wherever they went, everything died, even the tiny creatures in the soil.

Fortunately for us, the first Witch of the Dark Forest discovered the gate between the worlds. In the other world, there were two evil beings as well. Somehow, she found out that the evil beings had less power if they were brought out of their own world into the other world. The act of going through the gate somehow changed them.

Since then, both sets of evil beings have tried to get back to their own world. The magic of the gate stops them. If that magic goes, then those evil things will be free to return. They would destroy all life both here and in the other world too.”

“I did not mean to destroy magic,” said Micah. He was almost in tears. “I just wanted to be able to do magic myself. I thought that by using the jewel to get rid of the spells that Magalan had put on those villages and their people, I was helping.”

Calizone nodded. “I believe you.” Then she laughed. "Actually, you have done very well in some ways.”

Micah frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“Each time you undid one of Magalan’s spells, it caused her a great amount of pain,” said Calizone. “She deserved every bit of pain that you gave her.”

The cottage door opened and Josiah came back in. “I have just had the most fascinating chat with a real live dragon,” he said excitedly. “Who would have believed it?”

“Das is a good storyteller,” said Calizone.

Grace giggled. “My husband becoming friends with a dragon. I never read that in your fortune,” she said.

Micah sat down at the table and put his head in his hands. “It is over then. What happens to me now?”

Calizone nodded. “Part of it is over, yes, but you have saved this world from a lot of trouble. If you had not found the jewel, someone else might have and done even more harm.”
“But all I ever wanted to do was magic and now it seems that will never happen,” said Micah, sadly.

“That may not be true,” said Calizone slowly. “When the first witch went through the gate into the other world, she lost all her magic powers, but as soon as she returned, they came back. I am wondering what would happen if you went through the gate into the other world, your anti-magic might change so that you could do magic.”

Micah looked up. “You think so?”

Calizone shrugged her shoulders. There is only one way to find out.”

Micah jumped to his feet.

“Slow down,” said Calizone. It may not be as simple as that. There has to be a balance between the worlds. If something goes in from this side, something has to come out from that side. And if you did go through the gate, you would never be able to come back without losing your magic powers, if you got them.”

Micah nodded. “I understand, but if that is the only way, then that is what I will have to do.”

He gave a rueful grin. “It is not as if I have lots of friends or family in this world and I certainly don’t want to go back to pig herding in Sowton.”

“We can but try,” said Calizone. She waved her hand and muttered some strange-sounding words. “That will stop anyone taking any notice of us when we reach the gate.”

She led them along a narrow path until they reached a hedge in which there was a wooden door. She opened it, just enough for Micah to slip through.

“Good bye,” said Grace.

“Good luck,” said Josiah.

Calizone pulled the gate shut again.

“We wait now,” said Calizone. “Something will have to come through to keep the worlds equal.

Half an hour passed before the door opened a little. A hand appeared and dropped a large piece of meat at Calizone's feet.

Josiah gasped. “I hope that is not all that is left of Micah,” he said.

Grace bent down and gently touched the flesh. “No,” she said. “It is not Micah. It is a piece of pork.” She laughed, “Fitting in a way as he hated pigs so much.”

The door opened again, just a fraction. From the other world, Micah shouted, “It has worked. I can do magic. The people here say that the meat should be enough to keep the worlds equal. Thank-you, thank-you.” With that, the door was closed again.

“Well,” said Calizone, “That solves two problems. I don’t have to deal with someone who cannot be touched by magic and the worlds are in balance.”

She led Grace and Josiah back to her cottage. They collected their horse and went off down the forest road.

Calizone watched them go, then she went into the woods to where Das was still resting.

“I think that the magic problem has been solved,” she told him. “The man who was killing it has gone to the other world.”

“Is he able to do magic there?” asked Das.

“Yes,” said Calizone. “I wonder how long it will take him to learn that the more ability one has to use magic, the harder it is to actually use it.”

“It is a dangerous gift,” agreed Das. "Now, if you don’t mind, I will take this box back to the Islands and give the Queen the good news.”

“Just remember that the box must never be opened or removed from Dragon safekeeping,” warned Calizone.

She watched as Das lifted off and flew away.

That evening, Jek came to the cottage.

Calizone explained what had been happening. “You may go back to your people,” she said “There should not be any more fading away now.”

“That is good news,” said Jek. “My people will be pleased and I can tell them that we have brothers living in the mountains as we used to do many years ago.”
Calizone nodded. “Perhaps one day when this Magalan problem is over, you may be able to go to the mountains yourself.”

“Perhaps,” said Jek

Calizone watched Jek make his way into the trees. “Now to deal with Magalan,“ she said.

[Palustris]

Few bits need looking at. Not happy with the way Josiah and Grace just disappear from the story so I may have to alter the ending to give them some more story time.
Grace's second sight is something I want to explore in more detail too.

[Miss Piggin]

Really good story though Pal. I enjoyed it, but it would be nice to have a bit more!

[peonymad]

Agree with Miss P.

[Palustris]

I have to be a bit careful in that this story takes place about 20 years before The Shadow and a short time before The Golden Acorn and The Music Box. It also to some extent follows on from The Ragdoll and Seven Came to Dinner. I agree that it is a bit short so a good long think is needed. Micah could well be the magician who helps in Wirl's End.
Not decided how Grace got her second sight. She cannot be using magic as she could touch the Dragon skin, so she must actually be magic herself.
Interesting.