The only exception is my hairless daughter. Shoogar is planning to consecrate her soon. She will have a secret name of her own.
Shoogar is frantically busy these days. He can deconsecrate, bleed and reconsecrate a housetree in almost no time at all. And it costs the nest owner only a spell token. It was lucky that Shoogar discovered that housetree bleeding is a good way to ward off the demons. He resells the housetree blood to the clothmakers for less than one chip per tree load — which is eminently fair of him.
Because of Shoogar’s increased status I have had to take on extra apprentices. I have more than ten now, and they carve more chips in a day than can possibly be redeemed by any one magician. Many of the villagers no longer seem to regard the redemption of the spells as necessary. They trade the chips like lightweight, valuable, indestructible goods.
But others still value the chips well enough to keep Shoogar constantly busy. There is cloth to be blessed, looms to be consecrated, housetrees to be unblessed, bled and blessed again, fertility spells and name givings — and always he must watch out for his apprentices who are getting better and better in their attempts to kill him.
“Run and chant, run and chant,” he complains. “Never a time to rest! And do you know, Lant, they are still trading Purple’s chips at four for one! Why? Purple is gone!”
“But his magic lingers on. It clings to the chips and makes them lucky.”
Shoogar snorted angrily.
“Besides you do a better, more impressive job for a Purple chip. Or so I have been told,” I added.
“It’s true. It’s because I want Purple’s chips. When I have destroyed the last of them, there will be no sign of him anywhere! And all will be as it was before the mad magician came to us. I will expunge his memory, Lant!”
“I think it is hopeless, Shoogar. The purple-stained chips have spread as far as our new cloth. You will never be able to redeem them all.”
“I can try, Lant. I can try. I drove him out — you saw it yourself — I can drive out his chips.” And he bustled off to his next appointment.
I returned to my carving and staining. It is a lost cause, of course, for Shoogar. Every time he destroys a purple chip, the rest just go up in value because he has made them that much rarer. The people become less willing to part with them every day. But I will have to see what I can do for him.
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The Flying Sorcerers