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Catriona tried and failed to shake the dream that kept replaying in her mind since she had awakened two hours beforehand. Again she saw the terrible image of a young man tied to a tree and struggling to break free. The branches of the tree grew thick roots, slithering down the helpless body and planting themselves in the soil. Inch by inch, the growth consumed him until he disappeared from view. The look of horror on the man’s face as the roots enveloped him haunted her.
Why had she dreamt of such a tree? Nothing like it grew inside the walls of Maskil and she had never read about it in the many books forced upon her during her lessons. She wondered if one truly existed.
Catriona shook her head to release the images. She had to concentrate. The supply list and the few coins she owned were in a small satchel belted around her waist. She hoped the coins were enough to buy all she needed to work the Sight Visitation spell. Stepping into Forest Bakery and Herbs Shop, a small bell rang overhead. A woman wearing a neat dress looked up from the other side of the counter.
“Good morning, dear,” she said with a smile.
“Good morning.” Catriona smiled back at the dwarf. She wished another shop in Maskil sold the quality herbs needed for the incantation but none did. She tried to frequent shops operated by humans, but today, she needed the proper herbs. Sari always spoke highly of this shop, and to make the Sight Visitation spell work, she needed quality herbs.
Walking down the aisle, Catriona pulled the list from her satchel. “Whole seed from the yellow rattle grass, eyebright, fennel,” she mumbled to herself. She scanned the labels of the sacks, bottles and packages. There were so many.
“Do you need help, dear?” The shop owner had come around the counter.
“Oh, I—I don’t know. I’m only looking for a few items,” Catriona stammered, looking down at the dwarf.
“What is it you need?”
“Yellow rattle grass. I mean, whole seed from yellow rattle grass,” said Catriona. “Do you have it?”
“Yes, we do. We have whole seed in packets of three sizes. My mate gathers it to the south, along the Shulie River. How much do you need?”
Catriona checked her list. “A teaspoon.”
“The small packet will do then.” The owner pulled a packet from the shelf. “Anything else?” She waited for Catriona to check the list.
“Fennel. I need about a tablespoon of fennel root.”
“Spring or autumn root?”
Catriona bit her lip. The scroll didn’t say. Then she remembered what Sari had said, autumn roots were stronger. Sight Visitation was a strong incantation; it must need the strength of autumn roots. “Autumn root, please.” She beamed, proud of herself for remembering the fact.
“Mum!” A voice from the back interrupted the two. They looked up to see a male dwarf enter the shop. Catriona recognised the plain blue uniform he wore as that of a regular soldier in the Lords’ Army.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were with a customer.” The young man nodded at Catriona.
“I’ll be with you in a minute, dear,” the owner said to her son.
“I have to go.” He pointed towards the door. “All ranks have been summoned to the castle.” He spoke as if he did this every day. “I’ll probably miss the evening ration.”
“Go then. It’s your duty.” As he turned to leave, she added, “Bronwyn, please, be careful. We never know when matters are serious or seriously exaggerated.”
Her son’s smiled lit up his face. “Of course, Mum.” He gave a little wave and left.
The shop owner helped select the rest of the ingredients on the list. Thankfully, Catriona had enough coins to pay for the items. On the way home, she wondered about the commotion at the castle and why all the soldiers had been summoned. She had visited the castle several times, but had only reached as far as the foyer and the Throne Room. Her father worked as a cartographer for the lords, but she was prohibited to enter his work space. Not that she wanted to. She had no use for maps.
She wondered if the evil wizard, Lindrum, was involved in the fuss at the castle. But how could he be? He had to be dead; after all, he was only human, not an elf who could live four hundred years. Still, her curiosity piqued. Why had the soldiers been summoned to Aruam Castle?
When she arrived home, she found the dwelling empty. This gave her plenty of space to work the incantation without interruptions. She took the stairs to her room two at a time. Once inside, she tossed her shawl and satchel on the bed and went to her work table. She laid each ingredient on the wooden surface and aligned them in the order they appeared in the incantation recipe.
“Whoops! I almost forgot about oil of green olive.” She went downstairs to the kitchen and got one cup of oil. Back in her room, she continued measuring and aligning the ingredients until everything was ready.
Catriona paused and looked at the many dishes in front of her. If she mixed them correctly, she’d work her first worthy spell. Steadying her hand, she carefully picked up the oil of green olive and poured it into the wooden bowl. She stirred it three times with a wooden spoon, like the recipe instructed. This is like baking a cake, she thought.
Next, she picked up the fennel. “Fennel grounded to a rough powder using a white agate pestle in a clay mortar. Huh? What’s so special about crushing it with a stone? I’ll use the back of a spoon. That’ll do.”
She held the small dish in her hand and crushed the fennel root with the utensil. When she was done, she admired her work. “Looks great.” She added this to the oil in the bowl.
For almost a half an hour, Catriona added, stirred and crushed until all the ingredients were mixed together. She stared at the finished concoction. I hope this works. If it doesn’t, what a mess to clean up.
Following the directions on the scroll, she made a circle with the mixture in the centre of the room. The recipe instructed her to us the entire potion—except one tablespoon—to make the vision circle. Once completed, she sat cross-legged in the ring. The tablespoon of mixture and the scroll lay in front of her.
“Rub the remaining potion on the palm of the hands,” read Catriona. She poured the mixture into one hand and then gently rubbed it onto both palms. It felt sticky and warm. She continued reading from the scroll. “Concentrate on a person or place you would like to see. Well, now, this is the difficult part. What or who should I spy on?” She giggled thinking about the possibilities.
“Wouldn’t it be incredible if I could envision Lindrum? I could tell everybody the old man was dead if I see his grave.” Lindrum, she thought. Would she really be able to see him? Surely he must be long gone. Expired. As she thought, she continued to rub her hands together. The potion warmed her palms.
“It’s silly, but I wonder what he looked like.” No, she thought, there were better people and things to see than an old man who terrorized Maskil so many years ago. Still, she wondered if he still lived? For a moment, her thoughts consumed her as she pondered what vision she wanted to see and if Lindrum remained alive.
Her hands became painfully hot, and she stopped rubbing them. “Ouch!” She looked at her palms and saw a yellow light begin to glow. It grew until it covered both hands and flooded into the air.
“It’s working! I have to think of something quick.” She could hardly sit still knowing she had performed the difficult spell. Now, she had to think of what vision she wanted to see. As she tried to think of a person or place, she noticed walls taking shape in the yellow light that now stretched from the floor to the ceiling.
Looking deeper into the image, the walls became clearer. They were black stone. Off to the left, two figures faced each other. She sat back, wondering whom she was watching. The middle-aged man in the long black robe held a white staff in his hand. The picture became sharp enough for her to see a red-stoned ring on his out-stretched hand. He spoke to the person in front of him…no, gave them orders.
She looked at the other person: a woman in a flowing green dress and short black cape. Her
blonde hair whirled around her face as if the wind came from every direction.
Catriona gasped and cried out, “It’s Sari!”
Suddenly, the sound of wind filled the small bedroom and the two figures in the image looked at Catriona.
“Sari!” she cried. The breeze blew her hair about her face as she watched her teacher.
“Catriona! Close the vision!” commanded Sari.
The robed man grinned at the intruder. The sparkle in his dark eyes terrified Catriona.
“You must close the vision, Catriona! Now!” repeated Sari.
Catriona didn’t know what to do. How do I close the vision? She stared at her hands. Maybe if I wipe the potion from my palms, it’ll close. She stood and looked around for a piece of cloth to clean her hands. When she tried to walk out of the circle, she found her feet stuck to the floor. Small items in her room took flight and whirl around her.
Panic stricken, she tried in vain to move her feet as wicked laughter filled her ears. She looked up and the man in the robe pointed his staff at her. An unknown force attempted to draw her into the vision. In desperation, she struggled to remove the potion from her palms by rubbing her hands against her dress, but it wouldn’t come off.
She looked to Sari for help, but her teacher had problems of her own. Three large men dressed in armour surrounded her. The sorceress made circular motions with her hands and Catriona believed she attempted to cast a spell.
The unknown force drew Catriona deeper into the vision. The wind increased and the coolness from the stone room made her skin tingle. She could do nothing to stop her body from entering. She screamed with terror as her feet lifted off the floor.
All at once, her bedroom door flew open, and Rod dashed in. He took one look at his sister floating towards the vision and threw himself at her. Catriona flew against her dresser and dropped to the floor. When she looked up, she saw her brother standing in the Sight Visitation circle with his sword drawn.
The robed man stopped laughing and stared with deep-seeded interest at Rod. He whirled his staff above his head then pointed it directly at the boy. A flash of red light appeared and in an instant flung Rod into the vision. His sword fell to the bedroom floor.
Catriona screamed. “Rod! No! Let him go! Rod!”
The mysterious man grasped the boy in front of him, smiling a cynical smile. Then he glanced at Catriona, gave a wave with his staff and the vision disintegrated.
“No!” screamed Catriona in agony. She ran to the circle and picked up the sword. Looking around her feet, she noticed the potion on the floor disappearing. The potion on her hands had also vanished. She couldn’t reopen the vision.
Catriona dropped the sword and ran from the room. She needed the lords’ help. She raced through the streets of Maskil, taking the shortest path to Aruam Castle. Out of breath, she dashed through the front doors and looked for the passage to the Throne Room.
A castle guard stepped in front of her and she came to an abrupt stop. “State your name and business.”
“I need help,” she breathed. “A man took my brother. I need to see the lords.”
“Who took your brother?” The guard spoke calmly.
“I don’t know!” She searched her mind. Who was he? “He’s about 40 or 50. Human! He wore a black robe and had a magical staff! Sari was with him! She’ll know who he is!” If she escapes. What if she doesn’t?
“Where did you see him?” asked the guard.
“My bedroom! In a vision!” she cried. “I cast a Sight Visitation spell revealing this man in a dungeon or castle! I had to think of a place to visit, but I must have made a mistake!” Then it came to her. She had been thinking of someone: Lindrum. Impossible! But who else could it have been? “I think it was Lindrum,” she sobbed, dropping to her knees. “Oh, my great goodness. I think Lindrum captured my brother.”
A great pain filled her chest. The commotion in the castle foyer became unbearable. It blurred her vision so she couldn’t see, swelled her nose so breath could scarcely pass and throbbed in her ears until she believed the pressure would make her head explode.
Lindrum had captured Rod because of her spell. She’d never see him again. The pain grew intolerable and Catriona collapsed to the ground.