Alliance for Antrim
Page 22
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A few hours passed after reaching the Public Road. The road’s surface was well-trodden but also lined with ruts, so it made for a bumpy wagon ride. The wagon itself was little more than a rectangular box set on an axle, clearly designed to haul cargo other than people. There was just enough room in the back of the wagon for the three members of the newfound “Alliance for Antrim,” but there was no comfortable position for Nevin. Anson and Orris made no complaints, one of the benefits of their smaller size and weight.
Nevin wished that someone had thought of loading the wagon with straw first. He eyed two parcels made up of blankets neatly tied with coarse twine; Orris said they contained spare clothing, food and other articles, but to Nevin they would pass for cushions. When his discomfort final exceeded the need for politeness, Nevin reached for the parcels without asking and positioned one under his legs and the other behind his back. This arrangement improved his comfort enough that he eventually dozed off.
After some time, Nevin awoke as the wagon came to a stop and voices rose in conversation. They had pulled alongside another group that was also traveling the road by wagon. There appeared to be about ten family members, the youngest children riding in the wagon nestled around their mother. The children took fearful notice of Nevin as he stretched out his arms and stood up in the wagon, which made him appear especially gigantic and threatening. Some of the children screamed, prompting the father and older boys to brandish wooden staffs and take defensive postures to protect their family from what might be some kind of ogre. Anson ordered Faldon to quickly stir the horses into motion and be off before they came to blows.
Two hours later, there was a similar incident when they stopped by the side of the road for a rest. They were met by some travelers heading in the opposite direction, a group made up of a farmer and three sons sharing two horses by riding double. At first approach, the travelers reacted with some apprehension, but this changed when they saw Nevin lying in the wagon. They quickly galloped off with a mocking plea for rescue from the “troll.”
As the troupe finished a portion of bread and jam, they mutually agreed that taking the Public Road was posing some problems they would rather avoid. Faldon knew of an alternate northwesterly route that would take them through more hilly and wooded country. It would be more difficult for the horses, but Faldon thought they could handle it. They all agreed to take the detour.
The change in itinerary turned out to benefit Nevin as the route was far less rutted, plus they often had to slow down to account for patches of woods and shallow creeks. The less bumpy ride allowed for some conversation among the comrades. About an hour before dusk, they decided to stop near a small brook that provided clean water and a pleasant setting for a night’s camp.
Nevin appreciated the quiet and peacefulness of the campsite because it gave him some private time to adjust to all that had happened. His life as a Lecturer at Hempstead College seemed far away in both time and place, almost as if it was another person’s life. Bartram’s rebuke had also made him aware of his intellectual chauvinism, so he wanted to keep an open mind about the scientific plausibility of things that were actually happening. Besides, it would be interesting to see how useful his scientific knowledge would be in a place alleged to have spellcasting and no technology.
Nevin also thought a lot about the deliverance spell he had experienced. It was fascinating how it resembled a physics experiment that could be formulated like an equation. He wondered what other spells there were and whether they suggested similar properties. When he had a chance, he wanted to learn more about spellcasting from Anson. For now, he still tried to believe there was a viable explanation for what appeared to be magic, whether it was science as he knew it or not.
Faldon made a ring out of large rocks and started a small campfire from some dry, downed wood that Orris had gathered. Anson prepared a meal of bread, carrots, peanuts and strips of jerked beef. Faldon and Orris eagerly ate the jerky, which Nevin also found tasty. Nevin kept eyeing Anson’s uneaten share of the jerky. Finally, he leaned over and coyly asked, “Say, Anson. . .you going to eat your share of that meat?”
“I don’t eat flesh, Sir Nevin.”With a straight face, he added, “But you may have these extra pieces, since I assume you wish to maintain your large size.”
Nevin huffed at the jest but eagerly snapped up the remaining pieces of meat, savoring the taste. It was all delicious. By the time they finished eating, it was quite dark with only a slim crescent of a waning moon.
Faldon left the campsite to look after the horses. Orris had fallen asleep for the night, worn out from the combined travail of traveling and recovering from his injury. Anson sat on his bedroll, resting his back against a tree. Nevin sat down next to him and used this opportunity to question him about spellcasting.
Anson was hesitant at first to answer Nevin’s questions because he was trained not to divulge the secrets of spellwork. However, Nevin was obviously not a common person, so he allowed the conversation and even taught him the words for the somnolence spell.
Nevin easily memorized the words to the new spell and mulled over them. “Do you think it would be all right if I tried out this spell on Faldon?”
Since it was not a dangerous spell, Anson assented with a word of warning. “If you wish to try it, Sir Nevin, you must contain the force of your mind. This spell does not require much to be effective, so you have to be careful you do not focus too much of your mind’s energy.”
Nevin was gleeful to experiment with a new spell. He agreed to take it easy, which he assumed meant something like a lessened intensity of focused concentration, sort of like solving an easy quadratic equation. He cleared his mind, looked over at Faldon who was currying one of the horses, and uttered the words to the spell. Nothing happened. Nevin repeated the spell two more times, even accentuating the recommended hand gestures, but Faldon kept currying the horses. Frustrated at his lack of success, Nevin grew annoyed while Anson found the situation more and more amusing. Anson tried to contain himself but finally burst out laughing so hard that his sides hurt.
Completely puzzled, Nevin asked his mage friend, “What’s so funny?Did I get the words wrong?”
“No, not really. You missed Faldon and put both horses asleep on their feet. We will need a switch to get them awake.”
Nevin was chagrined, but he was not going to give up. He turned his attention to Faldon and tried the spell again. This time, he accidentally changed one of the words and the last thing he remembered before awakening in the morning was another peal of laughter from Anson. In the morning, he would be doubly chagrined when he learned that he had put himself to sleep. He would later rationalize the incident as something called “self-hypnosis.”
Anson’s sides still hurt as he covered up the sleeping sage with a blanket. He stoked the campfire and added the largest pieces of firewood, carefully placing them to bank the coals so they would have hot embers in the morning. Before the mage would retire for the night, he would take a little stroll around the area.
After tending the fire, Anson casually went a short distance and started to walk a circle around the camp. After completing half the circumference, he heard a rustling noise. He stopped in his tracks, listening for a further clue to the source of the noise. Another rustle suggested someone had taken a step or two on dry leaves. Anson froze in position and quickly canted a spell of indifference. After what seemed like several minutes, he sensed someone approach very close by. Anson remained perfectly still until a creature much larger than himself, as tall as Nevin and more massive, walked directly up to him. Anson shut his eyes in fear as the creature brushed by him without paying notice. The creature stopped and looked around as if it was confused, then moved on. In its trail, the creature left a strong musky odor. Anson knew there were creatures in the land he had never seen, some who might be large and potentially dangerous like a troll. This one, though, did not seem aggressive or bent on harm. If they were trespassing on this creatur
e’s territory, it had a right to check them out.
After several more minutes, Anson opened his eyes and quietly returned to the campsite. He built up the fire to provide more light and potential discouragement to any more nocturnal visitors. He took guard duty for half the night, then woke Faldon to replace him. Anson asked him to keep the fire burning brightly and wake Orris in two hours to stand watch for the balance of the night. He saw no reason to tell anyone about the night visitor.