One day in the 1620's, you discover a cave. Deep in the cave, you discover a door. Behind the door, you discover a hall. Deep in the hall is the wizard's house. Lit by candles, a large leather bound book lies on a table. Strange power is coming out of it, and the nearby shelves rustle quietly like leaves in the wind. The book is titled Mage Potens. The dark brown book has old yellow pages, and the text is written in a feather pen. To its right, an ink bottle with a feather quill sits, as if ready to write. You reach to grab the book, but find that you can't. It's enchanted. The quill leaps out of the ink bottle, and a piece of old parchment flutters down from the top of a shelf. The feather starts writing in old English. Thine larcener, your assay hath failed, for aught valuable hath been hidden. Avaunt. Behind you, candles flicker and suddenly go out. The only candles remaining are four candles, in front of the book. Some strange force makes you reach out and grab the quill. The book flips open to an empty page. Suddenly, you feel compelled to write. Without knowing what you are writing, the words fly across the page. You write,
Luran or lordling, hearken now, for thine expiry mayhap be soon. Hath thine corse in thine garth, for thine hath assayed to larcen mine power. Avaunt, thief, avaunt unless thine hath a speck of smart. Thine larcener, if dare you not, leave before thy glim does fade. If dare ye to break my spell, thine shall answer a riddle.
You watch the words fly across the page. Suddenly, you drop the quill. The spell seems to have faded. Suddenly, the rustling gets much louder, and a candle begins to glow. On the wall, you watch with horror as words begin to appear on the wall. The ink scares you. It is scarlet. It reads,
To break thine spell,
and earn thy gold,
you will be rewarded
at least tenfold.
A prefix meaning "Used to be",
Followed by the letter P,
My favorite word for Unity,
The first letter of my word for "near",
First two letters of when score is equal,
The only shortest article.
Now, young plunderer, if you dare,
Speak said word aloud, but if it is dear
To be out of here, then continue with my riddle.
A word for good,
The beginning of the middle,
And then you have your spell.
After you finish reading, the candle starts to flicker. Before it goes out, what is the spell to free you?
Hint:
The spell may not necessarily be English words! The title of the book was Mage Potens.
