The Magykal Papers (14 page)

We will spend this week in the Pyramid Library and on a field trip to the Manuscriptorium. You will also have an afternoon free to browse in the smaller bookshops along Wizard Way to see what
Charms
you can find.

Questions to be answered by the end of the week and handed in on Friday 5:00
P.M
.
latest
:

• 1. Where can you find
  Charms?
  Almost anywhere because people lose them. But usually in
  Magyk
  Magyk books tucked in a folded corner of the page.
  
• 2. What is a
  Charm?
  A
  Charm
  is a small object that contains the
  Magyk
  Magyk imprint of the Spell and has the Spell written on it.
  
• 3. Give seven examples of materials used to make
  CHARMS.
  Cheese, parchment, diamonds, stone, haddock, silver, toast.
  
• 4. Do you always need the
  Charm
  to successfully complete a Spell?
  No, but you will need it for the first time.
  
• 5. What is the most popular
  Charm
  in the Castle?
  A parchment pink heart true-love
  Charm—yuck.
  
• 6. How many
  Charms
  are in the Pyramid Library?
  More than a million.
  
• 7. Have you written a thank-you note to the Manuscriptorium for allowing you to see their rare and
  UNSTABLE CHARM
  collection?
  Yes. I gave it to the boy at the desk. He is really nice.
  

A
Haddock is
not
used for
CHARMS
. Were you trying to be funny?
CHARMS
are a serious business, Septimus. Also,
“
yuck” is not a suitable comment to be made in your homework. Apart from that you did well. And I am impressed with the
CHARM
you tracked down in Bertie’s Book Heaven. I have never seen such an ancient and perfect scarab
SAFECHARM
before. Well done. In fact, on consideration, this is worth an A.

PAPERS FROM THE
P
ALACE

THE
Palace

HOW TO GET THERE:
From the river, land at the Palace Landing Stage. From the Castle, head south down Wizard Way; you can’t miss the huge Palace Gate at the end of the Way.

WHO LIVES THERE:
The Princess and her parents, Silas and Sarah Heap. Maxie the wolfhound and Ethel the duck. Merrin Meredith (unofficially). Numerous Palace ghosts.

WHAT YOU’LL FIND THERE:
The ancient seat of the Castle Queens.

WHY YOU’D GO THERE:
To visit the Princess or the Heaps, or to sneakily find a little attic room to live in.

WHY YOU WOULDN’T:
The Palace is haunted and can be spooky. Some people find Silas Heap a little annoying.

So You Want to Visit the Palace

(
OR WELCOME TO MY HOME
)

A PAMPHLET BY SILAS HEAP

T
HE
P
ALACE
has not always been a place that just anyone can visit, but times have changed. My wife, Sarah, and I now welcome all on our guided tours.

The Palace Gate is open from 6:00
A.M.
to 12:00 midnight. Please remember that we have a very Ancient ghost, Gudrun the Gate—oops, sorry, Gudrun the
Great—
on gate duty. It is polite to ask her permission to enter, but she will always give it. Once through the Gate, stop for a moment to admire this beautiful building. We believe the Palace to be one of the most ancient buildings in the Castle. It is constructed from the mellow yellow stone used in the olden times. The long, low lines of the building, with its ancient crenellations and turrets at each end, are like nothing else you will see in the Castle.

Proceed up the drive, past the well-tended lawns (courtesy of Billy Pot and his new mowing machine), and approach the wide plank bridge that crosses the ornamental Moat. Please
do not
dabble your fingers in the water. We have been trying to get rid of the infestation of snapping turtles, which were introduced by the Supreme Custodian in the Bad Old Days. We thought we had been successful but, after an unfortunate incident with an umbrella, it seems not.

Walk across the bridge and please announce yourself to the attendant on duty at the door. All tours meet up in the entrance hall and
must
wait for their tour guide to collect them.

Your tour will start at the Long Walk. This is one of the wonders of the Palace—a mile-long corridor that traverses the center of the Palace like a backbone. We’ve been told the Walk was once filled with paintings of past Queens, statues, treasures and trophies from all over the world. But since the Supreme Custodian sold the Palace’s treasures to pay for his extravagant banquets, nothing has been the same. A Mr. Milo Banda—previous consort to our dear departed Queen Cerys—has sought to replace these treasures during his extensive trips to the Far Countries, but in my opinion the quality of the objects that can now be found scattered along the Long Walk is vastly inferior. The man has no taste.

Please note that on your tour we will not be visiting the Throne Room. My daughter, the Princess Jenna, has decided that she wishes the room to remain locked until the day she herself becomes Queen. This is out of respect to the memory of her mother, who was murdered in that very room, with the Princess Jenna herself only by chance escaping with her life.

You may notice that most of the rooms are at present unoccupied. While in the past the Palace was a busy place full of servants, we are no longer in the fortunate position of being able to continue this due to the raiding of the royal coffers in the Bad Old Days. We do hope one day to be able to return the Palace to its previous glory, but this may take some time.

But the Palace is not totally empty. My wife, myself and the Princess Jenna all live here, not forgetting our four-legged friend, Maxie, and Ethel, our duck. We also have two resident staff members—the cook and the housekeeper—and our volunteer door attendants all have rooms at their disposal here.

We wish to extend a warm welcome to all and invite everyone to visit our beautiful Palace. Details and prices of tours are posted on the gates. The Palace is a place for
all
the people of the Castle. We hope you will stop by!

Silas Heap

N.B. If you wish to contribute to the Palace Restoration Fund, please use the box by the Palace Gate for your donation. No money is left overnight.

A MIDWINTER FEAST GREETING

Dear Friends,

How quickly the time flies! Last MidWinter Feast was a little fraught and we apologize for not being in touch.

I know you will all be thrilled to hear that our youngest son, Septimus, whom we thought dead, is alive! Silas is sending out a pamphlet telling you how this wonderful thing came to be, but you can all imagine how happy we are to have our little Septimus with us once more.

Unfortunately, just before we were reunited, our Septimus was taken on as ExtraOrdinary Apprentice, and so he now lives at the Wizard Tower with Madam Marcia Overstrand. We do not see as much of him as we would like, but it is wonderful to know he is there. He is a very talented boy and excels at
Magyk
.

You may have heard that our lovely daughter, Jenna, has turned out to be the Princess. We always knew she was special, but it is still amazing to think that the little bundle that Silas found in the snow the night the Queen was assassinated is the true Princess.

All our boys are doing well, although Simon is having a little rebellion at the moment. He recently kidnapped Jenna and tried to kill Septimus, but we feel it was all a misunderstanding; he is a good boy, really. If you see him, please ask him to write his mother.

Sam, Edd, Erik and Jo-Jo are in the Forest learning Forest skills and becoming independent young men. We are very proud of them and hope that they will take time out of their busy lives to visit soon.

Nicko now has an Apprenticeship with Jannit Maarten at the renowned Castle Boatyard. We are told that he is a gifted boatbuilder and excelling at his Apprenticeship.

Please note our new address. After twenty-five years in the Ramblings, the Heaps have picked up sticks and moved into the Palace. There are many empty rooms, so please come visit us.

We hope your year has been as exciting as ours has been! We trust that next years’ Heap Update won ’t be nearly as full of adventure, but you never know. Since we left the Ramblings life has been full of surprises!

With all good MidWinter wishes,
Your friends,