Chapter sixty-six a

An even more uncertain space

They appeared in a massive storm. The rain drove down on them and they slithered about in a thick layer of mud. Celia looked across at Owen, hopefully. He shook his head. Together they struggled to higher, slightly drier, ground.  The earth beneath them shook, making each of them fall over, several times. It felt like an earthquake that was starting but never reaching its full power. They clung on to each other, half-helping, half-hindering, but they finally found a slightly drier place.

‘This is another simulacrum’ he said, still struggling to stand, ‘this one is even more vague than the ones that came before’

They looked down at the sea of mud; it seemed to be writhing on the ground before them; parts of the earth rose and then fell back, other made shallow depressions in the ground. Clouds swirled through the air and then abruptly dissipated. Rain fell in showers across tiny patches of ground and then was gone.  Owen sniffed the air, chanting as he smelt.

‘This is one forming – it’s more complex than the others but it’s not yet complete’

He dropped down n to his knees and pulled a small paper bag out of his pocket. He filled it with mud, scrabbling with his hands. Celia walked over and stared and him quizzically.

‘I always carry a few bags… Just in case there’s something interesting to collect…’ he said, to her unspoken question.

Celia smiled at him.

‘Of course – just in case…’

He glared at her, mildly wounded by the sarcasm.

‘Like now…’ he muttered.

Celia’s smile disappeared.

‘Good point’ she admitted.

‘Anyway – let’s have a look around’

The area was small, not much larger than a cricket pitch, and chaotic. It took a long time to search it, as it kept shifting around so much.  At one moment they would be walking up a hill and in the next the hill would flatten out and hollow into a depression. There was no vegetation anywhere, not even the false grass that they had seen in the other two spaces. Bit by bit, though, Owen began to get a feel for the magical signature of the place. Finally he sat on a mud-smeared temporary hillock and announced his findings.

‘It’s a space in the process of forming; an embryonic world – but one much more dynamic and powerful than the earlier ones. This looks like it could evolve into something almost real. However, it is so elementary that it has neither end nor beginning and certainly no place’

‘So what are you saying, O?’

He tried to smile optimistically at her, but the result was more grim than gay.

‘I can’t find a way out; and there are still no traces to teleport to’

Celia stopped for a moment, carefully wiped the mud from her eyes, and concentrated hard. For the first time she could sense some shadowy hint of spell traces, but it was too difficult to recognise them; there was no way to use them to blink away.

She shook her head

‘I’m almost there – but they’re too vague’

Owen thought for a moment

‘Who’s the most powerful witch in the coven – not counting you, of course…’

‘Ha, ha’ she said

‘Well, anyway, what’s the answer?’ he asked 

‘Dai’ murmured Celia, without further hesitation, ‘strong and deep’

He nodded his enthusiastic agreement.

‘Very true – now try to find his trace’

She tried, but everything was too vague. She held on to Owen’s arms.

‘We’re doomed aren’t we?’ she moaned

‘Possibly… we have to keep looking. We can’t give up hope yet’

They sat there; looking for a trace of a powerful active mind. But as time went on, their spirits dropped. They were just two stranded souls covered in mud.