Myth conceptions by Robert Asprin

“What is it?” I asked politely.

For a response, she grinned and held whatever it was in front of her. Then she opened her grip and disappeared into thin air.

“Invisibility,” Aahz exclaimed. “A cloak of invisibility!”

“Couldn’t afford one,” came Tanda’s voice from somewhere in front of us. “I had to settle for one of these.”

What “one of these” was, it turned out, was a sheet of invisibility. It was a sheet of stiff material about three feet by seven feet. Tanda had been carrying it rolled up in a tube, and her disappearance had been caused by the sheet unrolling to its full size.

As she and Aahz chatted excitedly about her new find, I had an opportunity to further my knowledge in the field of invisibility.

Invisible sheets, it seems, were made of roughly the same material as invisible cloaks. Since the sheets were carried, not worn, they did not require the flexibility and softness necessary for a cloak. Consequently, they were considerably cheaper than the cloaks.

The effect was sort of like one-way glass. When you were on the right side of an invisible sheet, you could see through it perfectly well to observe whatever or whoever was on the other side. They, however, could not see you.

We were still discussing the potential uses of the new tool when Brockhurst hastened up to our group.

“Hey, boss!” he called. “We’ve got company!”

“Who? Where?” I asked calmly.

“Down on the meadow,” the Imp responded, pointing. “The Gremlin says there’s some kind of group forming out there.”

“What Gremlin?” Aahz snarled.