The Sorcerer's Apprentice (novel)

The Sorcerer's Apprentice was the twelfth novel in the Virgin Missing Adventures series. It was written by Christopher Bulis. It featured the First Doctor, Susan Foreman, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.

Publisher's summary

 * "There’s no such thing as magic," the Doctor said.

But the land of Elbyon might just prove him to be wrong. It is a place, populated by creatures of fantasy, where myth and legend rule. Elves and dwarves live in harmony with mankind, wizards wield arcane powers and armoured knights battle monstrous dragons.

Yet it seems that Elbyon has secrets to hide. The TARDIS crew find a relic from the thirtieth century hidden in the woods. Whose sinister manipulations are threatening the stability of a once peaceful lane? And what part does the planet play in a conflict that may save an Empire, yet doom a galaxy?

To solve these puzzles, and save his companions, the Doctor must learn to use the sorcery whose very existence he doubts.

Plot
The Doctor, Susan Foreman, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton arrive in a deserted forest, where they follow a path, which leads to a demolished village. Fearing danger, they return to the TARDIS, to find a dragon, which injures Barbara. They are saved by Sir Bron of Westhold who slaughters the beast. He offers to take them to Fluxford for rest.

On arrival in the great city, they meet up with Edmund Palbury preparing for his marriage to Princess Melissa. They enter the palace and are given rooms. After settling in, the TARDIS crew meet up with the Wizard of the court, Gramling, who politely offers to help open the blue box. He cannot enter under suspicious circumstances.

The new arrivals are asked to attend a meal, ordered by the King and Queen in celebration of their daughters marriage. There, the TARDIS crew meet up with many other new faces, including, Sir Peridor, Kilvenny Odoyle and the Princess herself. The meal is interrupted rudely by a mysterious figure known as Marton Dhal. He asks for Princess Melissa to come forth so that he may marry her. Edmund is furious, but before he can do anything, Dhal disappears.

In the night, there is a sudden attack and while the guards prepare themselves for battle, Apemen have already infiltrated the castle. Princess Melissa is taken and Susan as well. Edmund demands a retribution in order to save his fiance, and so a debate begins organising a wise way in order to tackle the problem. The TARDIS crew then hear of Merlin's Helm, a machine that could save them from Dhal's powers. They then decide to send two parties. One straight to Dhal, and another to find Merlin's Helm in the Shadow Isles.

Up in space above Avalon, Admiral Nyborg is amassing an army to land on the planet, however they have been suffering faults. Finally, he manages to send a successful party down, but miraculously. Inside, Captain Shannon, Lieutenant Monadno, Jen Komati and Ivanov crash land on the planet.

The Doctor and Ian decide to join the quest to find Merlin's Helm. Along with them, they have Kilvenny Odoyle, Sir Bron, Thurguld the Dwarf and Alammar the Elf. They travel to the docks to find their seventh companion, Captain Tristram and his crew on the Merrow. Using the sea, they travel towards the Shadow Isles, colliding with creatures and terrors of all kinds until they finally arrive. Along the way the find a crash landed ship, which contains the off-worlders. They bring them on board, but are reluctant to trust them.

Susan and Princess Melissa are trapped in the Black Tower where Dhal only brings them out of their cell in order to show them the work of his Dragons as they wreak havoc across the land. While in his laboratory of sorts, Susan manages to steal two vials, which she hopes contain acid.

Disembarking the ship, the seven companions realise that the off-worlders have already left to reach Merlin's Helm. Climbing up the many steps, they find Monadno blocking their way. Thurguld is shot, but Alammar fire two arrows at Monadno, killing him. They finally reach the remains of Prydwen (Merlin's ship) and find Captain Shannon and Ivanov inside. When Ivanov places the Helm on his head, he is overwhelmed by his power and loses control. There is an eruption and everyone escapes, Sir Bron grabbing the Helm on his way out. Believing that Shannon died, they leave, however, he is still alive and sends a message to Nyborg in space.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Susan Foreman
 * Ian Chesterton
 * Barbara Wright

Avalonians

 * Sir Bron
 * Gramling
 * Edmund
 * Mellisa
 * Kilvenny Odoyle
 * Marton Dhal
 * Anni Glassfeather
 * Sir Stephan
 * Harding

Earth Empire

 * Captain Shannon
 * Lieutenant Modando
 * Ivanov
 * Jen Komati
 * Admiral Nyborg

Culture

 * Body beppling is a fad.

The Doctor

 * The Doctor palms an egg to demonstrate "magic".
 * He dresses up like a wizard (as seen on the cover).
 * He has visited Ireland.

The Doctor's items

 * The Doctor uses his sapphire ring to create "magic" spells.

Foods and beverages

 * Susan tells Ian that she cannot get drunk (whilst drinking wine) unless she wants to.

Individuals

 * Susan performs a simple spell.
 * Susan uses Princess Mellisa's hair to escape from a high tower.
 * Ian fights a dragon, stabbing it with a lance.
 * Marton Dhal is an evil wizard who was Gramling's apprentice. He has an army that includes dragons and winged apes.

Time Lords

 * Susan has yet to pass the "first maturation" and therefore needs a few hours sleep.

Governments

 * The fall of the Earth Empire is mentioned.
 * The Special Services Directorate is concerned with the security of the Earth Empire and was formed after the Imperial Landsknechte collapsed.

TARDISes

 * The TARDIS has a force field that protects the doors and filters the outside air when the doors are open.
 * The Doctor asks Susan to check the radiation counter and Ian sees that she makes sure, commenting, "We don't want a repeat of what happened on Skaro".

Vehicles

 * Barbara flies on a broomstick with a witch.

Continuity

 * The story begins literally two minutes after the events of TV: Marco Polo. Ian is described as wearing the same outfit that he wore in the preceding story.
 * The body beppling reaction and city riots occurred in PROSE: Original Sin.
 * PROSE: The Dark Path makes mention of events in this novel.
 * Ian refers to the radiation poisoning which the travellers suffered on Skaro. (TV: The Daleks)
 * Prior to their arrival in 1963, the Doctor and Susan met Harry Houdini in the United States. Houdini taught the Doctor how to perform sleight-of-hand tricks. (TV: Planet of the Spiders, AUDIO: The Wrath of the Iceni, AUDIO: Nevermore)
 * The Doctor refers to the fall of the Earth Empire in the late 30th century. (TV: The Mutants)