Captive Magics

28 - Copycats

A/N: Skip this chapter if you're busy, if you've got deals to make and projects to move. Nowt 'appens. But if you've time to waste on these frivolous and airy words...then read on, Macduff.

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Truth be told, despite all they had learned of Avarti in their school days at Lembitt's, neither of them really knew much about it in detail. Lissy knew an unsettling amount about how their college of sorcery worked and Leander had gained several opportunities to observe Avartians from the lines of war, but how did normal Avartians dress? What did they spend their days doing? It was surprisingly difficult to find books on the subject.

Lissy had a plan, and it involved a copying spell. And a lot of blank books.

"Is this legal?" Leander asked anxiously. He was carrying a huge trunk rammed with paper from top to bottom, which was compounding his discomfort about the whole thing. Lissy peered around the corner and replied in a mild voice, "I don't think so. No. Probably not." She beckoned him with one finger and hurried away. Leander followed her to a small door, behind which was a plain set of stairs.

"You can put that down now. Thank you," she told him with a small smile, and craned her head to hear if there was anyone above in the stairwell.

"That," panted Leander, "is heavy. Do I have to carry it up there?"

"Not to worry," Lissy told him, and muttered something over the trunk. It rose pompously into the air – Leander had a vision of some swathed official like Arthur picking up the hem of his robes to cross the street. He looked across at Lissy, feeling immensely put out. "Well it had to be carried in here didn't it? Would you notice someone floating a trunk through the streets?" she asked, seeing his expression.

"Of course. But this is where the Grand Mage works. It wouldn't be surprising."

"It would to one of his sorcerers, it's terrible form doing that sort of thing in public," she told him, looking slightly scandalised at the idea. When he rolled his eyes as she directed the trunk up the stairs her tongue darted out in return.

There were very few servants around the Grand Mage's office: a single junior magician was responsible for all the cleaning early every morning before anyone else arrived for work. No servants were ever needed. It was testament to Lissy's skills that the cleaning magician had to re-spell his mops and brooms every day and she did not, but all magicians could light the lamps and fires, and suspicion surrounding the war meant nobody in the Grand Mage's office was keen to have additional low-paid staff around who might be tempted by a bribe. Despite all their security, however, Arthur, in one spectacular lapse, had either forgotten or not dared to ask Lissy for her badge of office back.

There was one thing Leander had not considered before they arrived, and had he done so he would have been considerably less tense: the guard spells and unpleasant magical traps he had heard of in fairy tales as a child were not in use here, if they even existed at all. Lissy's new and well-practiced trick was more than adequate for the one obstacle in their way.

"Don't look so nervous, it's fine," she told him as they made their way down a green-panelled hallway.

"I keep thinking of Caroline's face if I ended up in jail," he replied, twisting his head to look behind. There was enough room for he, she and the floating trunk to move abreast down the corridor, but he felt it would be more appropriate if they were sneaking less casually.