In The Cards

It's strange about memories. The same memories that make you want to dig a deep hole and bury yourself to get away from them, can also be the memories that make your heart sing. Sometimes they can even do both at the same time.

Excerpt from 'Ruminations Of A Master Bard'

The children passed through the open door to find themselves in a very ordinary room compared to the ones they had recently passed through. There was a desk, cluttered with books, papers and quills, as well as a large crystal ball. Bookshelves overflowed with even more heavy volumes, and there were large and wobbly stacks of books all over the floor. A barrel held several magic wands and what seemed to be a stuffed alligator hung from the ceiling. On top of the crystal ball sat a red and horned little creature, with a wide smile that displayed an impressive collection of pointed teeth. "Students!" it said. "Nice students, clever little students to find their way here. And what a good game it all was too. Oh well. I suppose you did make it, so you'll have what you came for." The creature deposited a heavy book titled 'Dream Magic' in Rini's arms and handed Edwin a small mirror with a handle shaped like a dragon.

"What's this?" the small boy asked suspiciously. "And who're you?"

"Me is Nimus, and this is what Master wants. You give to Master, he be happy and help you out. Or maybe you wants to stay here, hmmmm? Play all day? You make up your little minds now, Nimus doesn't have all day. Just tell him if you wants to go back or not. He can send you, yes he can."

The children looked at each other. "I…I would like to stay and play some more," Rini said, her voice hesitant. "But…I think I'd better go back. Gorion will get worried if I don't come home soon."

Edwin nodded. "I…guess I'd better go home too," he said. "It's been fun, but they've probably started looking for me." He looked a little nervously over his shoulder as if he expected somebody to materialize out of empty air behind him. "They won't be happy if I keep them looking when I'm able to get back on my own."

Rini hung her head a little. "So…I guess this is goodbye then?"

"I guess so." Edwin looked equally dejected. Then he suddenly smiled shyly. "Hang on. I've got something for you, now that we're friends and all." The object he held out towards the half-elf girl was a glass marble, about the size of a strawberry. It's outside was frosty white, and looked like it had been covered by a multitude of tiny snowflakes. In the middle a tiny flame burned, flickering red and orange. Rini had never seen anything more beautiful.

"Ooooh!" she breathed. "It's so pretty…is it really for me?"

Edwin nodded. "I've got more at home," he said. "I got a whole bag of them for my last birthday. That one's my favorite though."

"But don't you want to keep it yourself then?"

The boy looked puzzled. "Yes…but…I want you to have it more. I can't really explain it. I…guess I just want you to have it so you'll remember that we're friends." Then he gasped with surprise as the half-elf threw her arms around him in a fierce hug. After a few moments he gathered his wits enough to hug her back.

"Of course we're friends, idiot," the redheaded girl said. "And don't you ever forget it."

"Of course I won't, nitwit," Edwin said affectionately. "And remember, we still want to figure out a way for us to play again. The Dread Wizard and Hell-kitten, right? And I've got lots of great toys back home that I'd like you to see, like my enchanted chess set, or my Wild Wizard figures, or my Monster Manual, or…"

"You ready yet?" asked the imp Nimus, rubbing at his bottom. "Poor Nimus getting very itchy."

Both children wrinkled their noses at this statement. "All right," Rini said. "Send us back then." Edwin nodded his agreement. Softpaws gave an affirmative meow and climbed onto Rini's foot, tugging at her pants with sharp little claws.

"Righty ho! Have fun kiddies, don't forget to write now, hear?" The imp waved his tiny clawed hands and the world dissolved into a multicolored haze.

She was holding onto somebody, their arms wrapped around her. It felt comforting. Safe. Zaerini opened her eyes and stared directly into Edwin's face, only inches away from her own. For a few seconds she wondered why there were feathers all over his robe and chocolate stains on his face. Then her memory slammed back into place like a meteorite striking the ground, and judging from the way the wizard's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open the same thing was happening to him. Bard and wizard sprang apart with a gasp of surprise and shock, and then they both almost fell as their brains tried to readjust to their now unfamiliar adult height.

Zaerini looked wildly about herself. She was back outside the ruin of the school, and the ghost of Ulcaster floated in the air in front of her with a very smug look on his face. Next to him Khalid, Jaheira and Imoen were watching her and Edwin, all of them wearing very strange expressions. As for Edwin, she tried her best not to look him in the face, since that brought up all sorts of strange images and conflicting emotions. Not that it was very difficult to avoid, as the wizard was trying his best to hide inside the cowl of his robe, groaning quietly to himself every time a particularly embarrassing memory hit him. Softpaws sat on the ground, saying nothing, but giving Rini a look that clearly stated 'This is all your fault'.

"Children?" Jaheira asked, and then frowned as both the bard and the wizard winced violently. "What is wrong?"

"Y-y-yes," Khalid went on, a worried look on his kind face. "And why d-do you both l-look like you've been r-r-rolling around in feathers?" He picked one out of Zaerini's red hair and looked at it curiously.

"Yeah!" Imoen said and pointed accusingly at Rini's face. "And isn't that chocolate? You might have saved some for the rest of us, you know."

Jaheira's scowl was deepening by the second. "Feathers…chocolate…just what were you two up to in there?"

"NOTHING!" The word came out as more or less a double scream, not sounding particularly convincing at all.

"Not…exactly nothing I…hope," the ghost of Ulcaster said, his hollow eyes twinkling cheerfully as he stroked his long silver beard. "There…was the small matter…of my book and my…mirror."

"Here," Rini snarled and thrust the requested items at the ghost. "Take them! You old bastard, you knew that was going to happen, didn't you? You might have told us!" She really, really wished it had been possible to kill somebody who was already dead. With every moment she kept remembering more things that she'd said…and done. I'll never be able to look Edwin in the eyes again, she thought.

"I…might have. But then…you would have refused. Couldn't…have that."

"Could you at least show us the courtesy," Edwin said, "of explaining why we just went through all of that?" His voice was wintry cold and the look he gave the ghost was nothing short of murderous. "I would hate to think that it was simply for your…amusement. (I'd like to squeeze him into a quivering heap of ectoplasm. Or force him to animate a stuffed toy for all eternity. Preferably a doll in a frilly dress.)"

"Certainly. This…is the book 'Dream Magic'. It, along with the…Mirror of True Seeing that you…fetched me, will allow me to…summon new students through True Dreams. Soon…the school of Ulcaster will prosper once more. I think…I'll get 47 students to start with. Nice number…magically significant."

"But you're a ghost!" Edwin protested. "How can you possibly be a teacher if you're a ghost?"

"I…will manage. And now for your…reward. Knowledge I promised…and knowledge you shall have."

"I suppose," Rini said, "it would be too much to ask for that you tell me something that's actually useful and not just cryptic."

"Useful it will be," Ulcaster promised. "The Mirror of True Seeing used…in conjunction with the…book…assures that. You may not…recognize the truth of the dream at once…or indeed remember it at first…but once you need it…the knowledge will help you. One dream…for you each…my two little friends. They will come…tonight." He winked and dissolved into mist, leaving only a ghostly chuckle behind.

Somehow, Rini thought, I can't shake the feeling that I've just been had.

The following hour provided both Zaerini and Edwin with a significant amount of torment. Their friends simply wouldn't cease questioning them about what had actually happened inside the school of Ulcaster, and the more they refused to answer the more insistent the questions became. Eventually Edwin declared that the arcane secrets involved would be perilous to anybody who hadn't actually been present.

"Why?" Imoen asked.

"Because I'll Fireball the next person who asks me about it," the Red Wizard hissed with a murderous look on his face. "Does that answer your question?"

Apparently it did. The inquisition ceased as the party made their way out of the mountains and onto the plains surrounding Ulcaster School. Rini kept staring at her own hands, half expecting them to turn back into those of her younger self. Every time she looked at Edwin she remembered something else. And then he said…And then I said…and then…Aaaarrrrgh! Her thoughts spun madly inside her head. She knew she would have to come to terms with what had happened somehow though, if she ever wanted to be able to talk to the wizard again. Once the adventurers found an appropriate campsite in-between some high cliffs she hurried to draw Edwin aside, motioning for him to follow her out of earshot of the others.

"So…" she said, trying to look casual. She didn't succeed very well.

"So…" Edwin replied, staring at his own feet.

"You…remember everything, don't you?"

"I…think so. Er…how about you?"

"I…think so. Yes." The bard held out a small object in the palm of her hand. A glass marble, frosty white but with hidden fire within. "It's strange…" she said. "I'm sure I didn't have this when we went inside that place, and yet I also have memories of having carried it on me since I was eight years old. I never could explain to Gorion where I'd got it, or why I was so attached to it either. I just kept telling him that I'd got it from my 'secret friend'."

Edwin nodded. "I…experienced something similar," he said. "A double set of memories. I seem to recall pestering everybody at home about my 'secret friend'. Yes. I think I even tried to get my mother to divine your whereabouts, but for some strange reason I could never remember your name, and so it wouldn't work."

"Funny. I tried the same with Gorion. I couldn't remember your name either."

"It seems," Edwin said, "that while our present-day bodies were…affected…by the spell, our past selves were somehow drawn forward in time to assume control of them. Very interesting." His voice sounded much calmer now that he could focus on something other than the emotional part of the experience.

"Yes," Zaerini said. "That seems to make sense. And probably we were made to forget each others names by the spell, so we wouldn't affect the present timeline." Concentrating on an intellectual problem was good. Theoretical magic would help her not think of certain other…things. Which was good. Of course it was. And yet…she couldn't forget about laughing herself silly with her friend. Or about falling asleep next to him. Or the way he had looked at her when he gave her his treasured toy. She didn't want to forget those things. Childish of her, no doubt. But somehow…she didn't care. Even if he couldn't possibly be interested in anything other than forgetting the whole thing as soon as possible. She spun the glass marble between her fingers, watching the flickering flame. "You know something?," she asked with a small smile. "I always thought that if I kept this on me always I'd find you again someday. And…I'm glad I did. Dread Wizard."

Rini braced herself, certain that Edwin would retort with some sarcastic comment or other. And so she felt her heart skip a beat with surprise and relief when his mouth quirked upwards as well, his eyes glittering with reluctant amusement. "Actually," he said, "I suppose…so am I. Hell-Kitten."

And night fell over Ulcaster, carrying true dreams with it under its black wings.