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Authors: David D. Friedman
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Ellen thought for a moment. "It must have been an accident, but I think Alys got what she deserved."
"What do you mean?"
"The stuck amulet case was her doing; I saw it. Before she put the cap back on she sprinkled something onto it and said something under her breath. I suspect it was the spell Magister Bertram told us about two days ago as a simple example of a union of similar materials. She probably got the powder from one of her older admirers with access to lab supplies. She must have been practicing it by trying it out on master Dur."
"Why didn't it work?"
"It did." Ellen was smiling.
"Not for long. He got it loose with almost no trouble at all. Just a couple of taps."
"It wasn't the taps, it was the anvil. The spell depends on the similarity of one piece of silver to another. The amulet and the top both tried to identify with the iron, so the spell collapsed. But I don't know why Alys was doing it. Did she think the jeweler would give her a discount if there seemed to be something wrong with it?"
Mari shook her head. "I expect she was just trying to play a joke on the old man. After he gave up trying to open it she would have said the counterspell and left him wondering why it hadn't opened for him. She's mischievous, but I don't think she would cheat someone."
"Well, the joke didn't end up being on him then," Ellen said. “I wonder if it was an accident. He must have been dealing with students from the college for a long time, maybe guessed what was going on years ago and asked one of the magisters how to counter such tricks, then amused himself by turning the tables on students like Alys. That's why I wonder—but I don't see how he could have … ."
"Were the sapphires another trick?"
Ellen nodded. "Last week in Simon’s language class, remember? One of the names we had to memorize was the true name of sapphire. She must have gotten someone to teach her an illusion spell. With that and the true name it would be easy to make the stones look different, at least for a while. I expect by now the spell has worn off and Master Dur, if he's had another look, is relieved."
"And if he's used to students doing pranks …?"
"He might have suspected what she was up to. He's probably at least as good as you are at guessing what customers can and can't afford to buy; it's how he makes his living, after all. But unless he happened to have a friendly fire mage in the next room, I don't see how he could have made her hair catch fire. Accidents do happen. Now, show me what you bought."
Chapter 8
Coelus handed back the papers and gestured Ellen to the chair. “One careless mistake, two places where there is a more elegant solution than the one you found. I have marked them. See if you can improve your answer. One place where you found a more elegant solution than anyone I’m aware of ever has. I marked that too.
“The question is what to do with you beyond lectures at the College. I will be happy to continue teaching you what I can. In particular, I would like to work through Olver’s first treatise with you. It is a tantalizing piece of work, a signpost to the future of magical theory, and I’d be happy to have your view of it.
“But doing problems I set, reading treatises that I assign, is not enough. It is time for you to start on your own work, learning things I cannot teach you because I do not know them.
“Independent research is for select third year students. You are not yet at the end of your first year but, at the level of pure theory, you already understand more than half my colleagues. There is much you can still learn, but less and less left that I can teach you. At your age I too was a student, but it did not stop me from starting my real work. There is no reason you should not do the same.
“You do not wish to help me with my project. I do not agree with your reasons but I accept them. So you should have a project of your own, and perhaps more than one.”
“What sort of project,
"What do you mean?"
"The stuck amulet case was her doing; I saw it. Before she put the cap back on she sprinkled something onto it and said something under her breath. I suspect it was the spell Magister Bertram told us about two days ago as a simple example of a union of similar materials. She probably got the powder from one of her older admirers with access to lab supplies. She must have been practicing it by trying it out on master Dur."
"Why didn't it work?"
"It did." Ellen was smiling.
"Not for long. He got it loose with almost no trouble at all. Just a couple of taps."
"It wasn't the taps, it was the anvil. The spell depends on the similarity of one piece of silver to another. The amulet and the top both tried to identify with the iron, so the spell collapsed. But I don't know why Alys was doing it. Did she think the jeweler would give her a discount if there seemed to be something wrong with it?"
Mari shook her head. "I expect she was just trying to play a joke on the old man. After he gave up trying to open it she would have said the counterspell and left him wondering why it hadn't opened for him. She's mischievous, but I don't think she would cheat someone."
"Well, the joke didn't end up being on him then," Ellen said. “I wonder if it was an accident. He must have been dealing with students from the college for a long time, maybe guessed what was going on years ago and asked one of the magisters how to counter such tricks, then amused himself by turning the tables on students like Alys. That's why I wonder—but I don't see how he could have … ."
"Were the sapphires another trick?"
Ellen nodded. "Last week in Simon’s language class, remember? One of the names we had to memorize was the true name of sapphire. She must have gotten someone to teach her an illusion spell. With that and the true name it would be easy to make the stones look different, at least for a while. I expect by now the spell has worn off and Master Dur, if he's had another look, is relieved."
"And if he's used to students doing pranks …?"
"He might have suspected what she was up to. He's probably at least as good as you are at guessing what customers can and can't afford to buy; it's how he makes his living, after all. But unless he happened to have a friendly fire mage in the next room, I don't see how he could have made her hair catch fire. Accidents do happen. Now, show me what you bought."
Chapter 8
Coelus handed back the papers and gestured Ellen to the chair. “One careless mistake, two places where there is a more elegant solution than the one you found. I have marked them. See if you can improve your answer. One place where you found a more elegant solution than anyone I’m aware of ever has. I marked that too.
“The question is what to do with you beyond lectures at the College. I will be happy to continue teaching you what I can. In particular, I would like to work through Olver’s first treatise with you. It is a tantalizing piece of work, a signpost to the future of magical theory, and I’d be happy to have your view of it.
“But doing problems I set, reading treatises that I assign, is not enough. It is time for you to start on your own work, learning things I cannot teach you because I do not know them.
“Independent research is for select third year students. You are not yet at the end of your first year but, at the level of pure theory, you already understand more than half my colleagues. There is much you can still learn, but less and less left that I can teach you. At your age I too was a student, but it did not stop me from starting my real work. There is no reason you should not do the same.
“You do not wish to help me with my project. I do not agree with your reasons but I accept them. So you should have a project of your own, and perhaps more than one.”
“What sort of project,
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