Despite several years of study, Kilisha, an aspiring young apprentice
wizard, has much to learn. After gathering ingredients for a lesson,
she returns home to find her master, Ithanalin the Wise, transformed
into a statue. A tax collector interrupted Ithanalin while working on
a spell, a magic mirror tells her, with the result that the wizard's
soul has been distributed among the various household objects. "The
dish had run away with the spoon" is literally the case here, as all
the furnishings have become animated and escaped out the door. In her
efforts to track down the runaway objects and restore her petrified
master to his former self, a quest that will eventually take her to
the Overlord of Ethshar's fortress, Kilisha first tries to involve the
Wizards' Guild, but ultimately must rely on the few spells she knows
and her master's spell book-as well as her own imagination, initiative
and ingenuity.