While they waited, Gresh thought over the situation.

It only took a few minutes to collect several half-burned bits of grass and twig from the floor of the cave and to gather a few reasonably cooperative spriggans—one of them freshly emerged from the mirror.

“Now,” Gresh told the spriggans, “we are going to try a few things. If they work, then I want to make an offer to you and all the spriggans in the World that I think is very fair, and which I very much hope you’ll accept.”

Gresh turned to look at the spriggan that had crept up behind him. “Then I’m right?” he asked.

The spriggan turned up an empty hand. “Not know,” it said. “But sounds right.”

“Don’t turn back—esku!” Gresh shouted, as he sprinkled red powder on the mirror.

It flashed gold.

“How will you know whether that worked?” Karanissa asked.

There was a golden flash, and the man, woman, and dragon stared down at the little mirror.

It remained a mirror, a round piece of silvered glass about the size of a man’s hand. It did not transform into a gateway, portal, dragon, spriggan, or monster of any sort.

“It would appear,” Karanissa said, staring at it, “that it has never mastered anything more powerful than itself.”

“Oh,” the dragon that had once been an ordinary wizard named Tobas of Telven said. “Perhaps I misjudged.”

“All right, we’ll go back to our flying carpet,” Gresh announced. “Just make way, and we’ll go.”

The spriggans looked at one another and squeaked a few questions back and forth, but then a path gradually opened. Gresh took Karanissa’s hand and led her through the gap and across the meadow, toward the carpet.

Her fingers were warm and delicate; he was careful not to squeeze them.

“You are not going anywhere with her without us,” Alorria said, sitting herself down on the carpet, Alris the Younger in her arms. She was wearing a white tunic and green skirt that did not go well with the rich reds and blues of the carpet, and the baby was wrapped in white bunting and a green blanket.

For their second day of searching Gresh insisted on an earlier start and told Tobas to start just to the west of the ruined town. He also stuck a long-handled net through his belt before departure and added a few snares to the items already in his little shoulder-pack.

“Help help help help help!” a squeaky voice shrieked. “A crazy man is grabbing for me!”

“Come out where I can see you!” Gresh shouted.

“No! You’re grabbing!”

Gresh stopped and straightened up as best he could in the middle of the thicket. “No grabbing,” he said. “Just talk.”