The Guild Hall experiences a magical disruption. The learned Mages deduce that there are simply too many magical artifacts piling up in the storage vaults - the extra thaumic energy that radiates from all of these devices is warping the spells around the Guild Hall. The High Mage has decided that Certainty must escort several wagonloads of the least valuable, least useful artifacts and store them in a warehouse in the distant village of Shpelling. (Yes, the town name is indeed Shpelling). Accompanying Certainty on this mission will be Mage Aurelia - a talented, beautiful mage who just so happens to have an ice-cold personality. Nevertheless, Certainty is glad to take on the assignment; she hopes that proving her worth to the High Mage will demonstrate that she is deserving of that long-sought promotion.

Naturally, the denizens of Shpelling are hostile to the arrival of Certainty and Aurelia. The expected accommodations turn out to be an abandoned carriage house. The food is soaked in garlic (turns out garlic is one of the rare crops that will still grow in Shpelling since a "curse" was laid upon the town). Naturally, relations between Certainty and Aurelia are strained. But this is a cozy novel, so things don't go too terribly wrong. The artifacts are catalogued and stored in the repaired warehouse and all seems well. And then....disaster!