2. In Which the Plot is Explained and There Is a Long Discussion

"It certainly seems so," Daystar answered Telemain's exclamation.

"Is that who those guys were?" the prince--Olemer--asked to no one in particular. I certainly didn't bother to answer.

I heard Morwen come in behind us. "Did I hear something about wizards?" and everyone, except of course me, jumped, not having heard her approach.

"Daystar says the wizards are responsible for the abnormal phenomena occurring in the northern reaches of the Forest. And yet we haven't observed any zones of magical drainage, which the spell enacted on the focus should prevent regardless."

"That's why I came to you; I hoped you could explain this. You see, the northern border has always moved around a lot--more than the other borders. From something Olemer overheard the wizards saying, it sounds as if some magic is being left behind every time the border moves."

Overheard indeed. I bet the wizards knew he could hear them; they just assumed he wouldn't understand.

"What did you overhear?" Morwen put in.

"I don't remember word-for-word...something about leftover magic at the boundary they could use, or maybe it was odor-leaving magic as a ruse..." Olemer's voice trailed off uncertainly.

And the wizards were right.

Telemain spoke again, "It sounds to me as if the locational transition of the Forest's termination has abandoned residual substance beyond the current boundaries, and the wizards are collecting it, thus preventing it from returning to its former territory."

I rolled my eyes, Daystar said, "Uuuuhhh..." and Olemer just stared blankly. Morwen kindly translated for us.

"What he means is that the border moves north, and when it comes back south, it leaves some magic behind, which the wizards suck up. But once it's in their staffs it can't get back to the Forest. That's why the Forest has been acting strangely--it's running out of magic."

"Shouldn't the Sword prevent that?" I asked, trying not to sound too interested in the answer.

"Not once the magic is outside the Forest. Then it's not exactly part of the Forest and the Sword can't protect it."

"Exactly," agreed Telemain. "So we'll have to install an additional enchantment securing the border from further substance leakage, which will require the permission of the northern ruler. The spell will entail certain binding charms on his side of the border. I suggest we speak to him immediately."

"That might be difficult," Daystar warned.

"Why?" an unusually short comment on Telemain's part.

"Because my father's dead and the wizards are in control." That was from Olemer.

"It just gets better," I muttered.

Fiddlesticks poked his head through the doorway. "What gets better?"

"Listen and find out, birdbrain." Olemer looked at me quizzically.

"I was speaking to Fiddlesticks," I explained. "Please continue."

"Well, I was supposed to be crowned two days after my father's funeral, but the wizards came to the ceremony and said they had an objection. They said I couldn't be king because I didn't have the Royal Stick."

"The Royal Stick?" Fiddlesticks and I asked simultaneously, but of course no one noticed him. Not so lucky me. Dratted tuna potion! You'd think it would be Fiddlesticks in this mess!

Anyway, the prince looked offended and said, "Yes. It's supposed to show if you're really royalty or not, but it's been lost for over a century."

"So they challenged your claim to the throne when your father and grandfather and so on didn't have it either? And your people agree with this?" Morwen used her most disapproving voice.

"They said there was no proof that any of my family was royalty and that the kingdom might have been ruled by usurpers for a century. 'Our regrets,' they said, 'that we hadn't heard of this earlier. We could have saved you from years of deceit.' So now I've lost my father's kingdom and I have no idea where to find the Royal Stick. I've been searching for three months already." He sounded so truly despondent that I actually felt sorry for him.

Daystar spoke up again. "Telemain, could you set up the spell without permission? That way there would be no reason for the wizards to keep Olemer's kingdom and he could get it back."

"I don't think so. It's an extremely complex charm and would take a length of time, maybe a month. And even if we settled for a partial binding until Olemer regains the throne, the people are suspicious now. The truth is, he might not succeed in regaining his rightful place without the Royal Stick, and then the partial binding would decompose, leaving us no better off than before."

"So let's get the Royal Stick." Everyone turned to stare at me.

"You know, you're right," Morwen agreed. "It's the simplest solution, which is usually the best."

And that is how I got myself involved in the quest for the Royal...Stick. Yeah.