Witches Abroad

"He's an old softy really," said Na

Greebo turned upon Gra

"Anyway," said Na

"Not cats like him, they're not."

"You're just not a cat person, Esme," said Na

Jason Ogg pulled Magrat aside.

"Our Gran read to me in the almanac where there's all these fearsome wild beasts in foreign parts," he whispered. "Huge hairy things that leap out on travellers, it said. I'd hate to think what'd happen if they leapt out on mum and Gra

Magrat looked up into his big red face.

"You will see no harm comes to them, won't you," said Jason.

"Don't you worry," she said, hoping that he needn't. "I'll do my best."

Jason nodded. "Only it said in the almanac that some of them were nearly extinct anyway," he said.

The sun was well up when the three witches spiralled into the sky. They had been delayed for a while because of the intractability of Gra

When it rose, eventually, it was to a chorus of cheers.

The tiny kingdom of Lancre occupied little more than a wide ledge cut into the side of the Ramtop mountains. Behind it, knife-edge peaks and dark winding valleys climbed into the massive backbone of the central ranges.

In front, the land dropped abruptly to the Sto plains, a blue haze of woodlands, a broader expanse of ocean and, somewhere in the middle of it all, a brown smudge known as Ankh-Morpork.

A skylark sang, or at least started to sing. The rising point of Gra

"I ain't going any higher," she said.

"If we go high enough we might be able to see where we're going," said Magrat.

"You said you looked at Desiderata's maps," said Gra

"It looks different from up here, though," said Magrat. "More... sticking up. But I think we go... that way."

"You sure?"

Which was the wrong question to ask a witch. Especially if the person doing the asking was Gra

"Positive," said Magrat.

Na

"There's a lot of big mountains that way," she said.

They rose tier on tier, speckled with snow, trailing endless pe

"There's passes and things through them," said Magrat uncertainly.

"Bound to be," said Na

You can use two mirrors like this, if you know the way of it: you set them so that they reflect each other. For if images can steal a bit of you, then images of images can amplify you, feeding you back on yourself, giving you power...

And your image extends forever, in reflections of reflections of reflections, and every image is the same, all the way around the curve of light.

Except that it isn't.

Mirrors contain infinity.

Infinity contains more things than you think.

Everything, for a start.

Including hunger.

Because there's a million billion images and only one soul to go around.

Mirrors give plenty, but they take away lots.

Mountains unfolded to reveal more mountains. Clouds gathered, heavy and grey.

"I'm sure we're going the right way," said Magrat. Freezing rock stretched away. The witches flew along a maze of twisty little canyons, all alike.

"Yeah," said Gra

"Well, you won't let me fly high enough," said Magrat.

"It's going to snow like blazes in a minute," said Na

It was early evening. Light was draining out of the high valleys like custard.

"I thought... there'd be villages and things," said Magrat, "where we could buy interesting native produce and seek shelter in rude huts."

"You wouldn't even get trolls up here," said Gra

The three broomsticks glided down into a bare valley, a mere notch in the mountain side.

"And it's bloody cold," said Na

Gra

"Hmm," she said.

A few snow crystals landed on her hat.

"Well, well," she said.

"What're you doing, Gra

"Cogitatin'."

Gra

"Up here?" said Na

"I reckon."

" ‘S a bit high for ‘em, ain't it?"

"Little devils get everywhere. Had one come up in my kitchen once," said Gra

"They're buggers for that," said Na

"Would you mind telling me," said Magrat, "what you're doing? What's so interesting about heaps of stones?"

The snow was falling faster now.

"They ain't stones, they're spoil," said Gra

Then she stood back, hit the rock sharply with her broomstick, and spake thusly:

"Open up, you little sods!"

Na

"There's people catching their death of cold out here!" she added.

Nothing happened for a while. Then a section of rock swung in a few inches. Magrat saw the glint of a suspicious eye.

"Yes?"

"Dwarfs?" said Magrat.

Gra

"My name," she said, "is Gra

She straightened up again, her face glowing with self-satisfaction.

"Who's that, then?" said a voice from somewhere below the eye. Gra

Na

"We must be more'n fifty miles away from home," she said. "They might not have heard of you in these parts."

Gra

"I ain't blaming you," she said, "but I know you'll have a King in there, so just you go and tell him Gra

"He's very busy," said the voice. "We've just had a bit of trouble."

"Then I'm sure he don't want any more," said Gra

The invisible speaker appeared to give this some consideration.

"We put writing on the door," it said sulkily. "In invisible runes. It's really expensive, getting proper invisible runes done."

"I don't go around readin' doors," said Gra

The speaker hesitated.

"Weatherwax, did you say?"

"Yes. With a W. As in "witch"."

The door slammed. When it was shut, there was barely a visible crack in the rock.

The snow was falling fast now. Gra

"That's foreigners for you," she said, to the frozen world in general.

"I don't think you can call dwarfs foreigners," said Na

"Don't see why not," said Gra