Magi's Path

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “Older than the empire?” Jenn asked.

  “Yes,” Gregory replied.

  “I think that would fit in with why this is the town we were sent to,” Yukiko said, taking the first stance of their meditation.

  “Lightshield,” Gregory murmured as he matched her.

  “He believes deeply in Aether,” Jenn commented.

  But does he know? The question hung in Gregory’s mind as he moved in the controlled, slow movements of the Peaceful Fist.

  The exercises helped settle Gregory’s mind. As each form flowed smoothly into the next, he found himself in his aether cave. The fire danced as if a gentle breeze was blowing through the area. The flames rose a little higher and formed a Magi Squares problem for him.

  “Thank you,” Gregory said. “Can you give me Empire’s Gambit?”

  The fire wavered a little, then dimmed, before returning to the Magi Squares.

  “Not yet, then?”

  A single flame grew larger briefly.

  “I need to grow a little stronger? I will. This isn’t the extent of what you can do, is it?”

  Again, the flame died down before returning to normal.

  “I look forward to helping you grow and purify,” Gregory said.

  The flame danced and Gregory laughed as he continued the measured steps of his meditation. Giving his attention to the Magi Squares, he worked on them as he continued to move his body.

  ~*~*~

  Meditation came to an end, and Gregory was smiling. He’d solved several of the problems, some quickly, and some with difficulty.

  “That was peaceful,” Yukiko said, having just finished, as well. “The Magi Squares were simple, except for a few difficult ones.”

  “I did well, but not as well as you, I feel, Yuki,” Jenn said.

  “I’m with you, Jenn,” Gregory said. “We have come to expect her to be better with numbers than we are, though.”

  “Entirely,” Jenn nodded.

  Yukiko gave them both a put-upon expression. “If you two are done, we should get back to the inn.”

  “Taking the fun out of it,” Gregory chuckled before grabbing her and giving her a one-armed hug to his side.

  “She has reason,” Jenn snickered softly. “If we had both picked on you, you’d feel the same way she does.”

  “That’s fair,” Gregory conceded. “I do want to see if the war room, or whatever they have at the inn, is going to work for us.”

  “Oh, yes,” Yukiko said, giving Gregory a gentle nudge with her elbow. “Now, come on.”

  It didn’t take them long to get back to the inn, and Gregory looked at the sign above the door with amusement. Aether’s Rest? Well, it was chosen by Lightshield and was used years before I came along.

  The taproom had a few older men in it playing Go, and a middle-aged man standing behind the bar. Yukiko was the one in the lead, so she made it there first.

  “Excuse me, we were hoping to see the room for Empire’s Gambit,” Yukiko said in place of a greeting.

  “The room is still being cleaned and readied,” the man apologized. “I hope to have it ready for you tonight, magi.”

  “We understand,” Yukiko sighed. “We don’t have long before we need to go anyway. Could we get a snack, please?”

  “I’ll let the chef know,” the bartender smiled. “Did you also want something to drink?”

  “Any cold tea would be nice,” Gregory said.

  “I’ll have some brought right over,” the man replied.

  “Thank you, uh…?”

  “Oh, excuse me, magi. I’m Milton Brown.”

  “Thank you, Mister Brown,” Gregory said. “We’ll take a seat by the window.”

  “I’ll have it brought right out.”

  Chapter Six

  Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn were finishing their snack and tea when Dia came down the stairs. Seeing them, she motioned them to follow and made her way for the door. The three of them downed what was left of their tea and went after her.

  “I’ll be taking you to your instructors now,” Dia said when they were outside. “Treat them with as much respect as you do me. Understood?”

  “Yes, Dia,” they replied.

  “Good. We’re going to the smith first,” Dia said, striding away.

  ~*~*~

  The sound of metal on metal was faster than Gregory expected. He’d always thought smithing was about even strikes, but his confusion was cleared up when they found two smithies side by side.

  The first was an open-fronted smithy. The portly man inside was working on a horseshoe. He glanced up as they passed the opening and his hammer stopped moving. Gregory gave the man a nod of hello as they passed, but the smith just stared at them.

  The second smithy was similar to the first, except it had two large doors that could be used to close the smith to everyone. A sign above the doors declared it to be Solid Steel. One door was propped open, and the tall, muscular smith had their back to it as they worked. The steady rhythm of their hammer falls echoed off the walls of the smithy.

  “Excuse us, Smith Micklen? We have arrived,” Dia announced, her voice nearly drowned out by the echoes.

  With a grunt, the person set the hammer down and used their tongs to put the metal back onto the coal. Turning around, they looked over the group with a critical eye.

  Gregory was surprised that the smith was female. She was massive, easily as tall as Gunther and Egil— the two tallest men that Gregory knew— and was as heavily muscled as them. He almost missed the jagged stumps of horns mostly covered by her curly hair.

  “Magus Dia,” the woman greeted them with a deep, chesty voice, “and Apprentices.”

  “Micklen, this is Jenn Bean. She will be the apprentice to learn from you. As I told you previously, her family are accomplished smiths. I’m sure you will want to test her knowledge before letting her touch your smithy, but I have faith she can pass your tests.”

  “I’m honored to be allowed into your smithy, even for a short time,” Jenn said, bowing formally to Micklen.

  Micklen grunted. She looked at the other two, then back to Jenn. “Can you work the bellows?”

  “My grandfather had me do that when I was allowed into his smithy,” Jenn replied. “Tell me what you want, and I will accomplish it.”

  “Steel to orange,” Micklen said, clearly dismissing the others as she turned back to her forge.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Jenn said, going over to the bellows.

  Dia nodded and started to leave. Gregory and Yukiko went to follow, but glanced back at Jenn, who was focused on the forge.

  “She looked happy,” Yukiko said as they trailed Dia.

  “Well, she told us how much she enjoyed smithing before,” Gregory said. “Now, she’ll have a month of it.”

  “It’s always satisfying when one of our students is eager to learn as much as they can,” Dia said.

  “We’re all eager, Dia,” Yukiko said. “We just don’t have the previous love for the work that Jenn does.”

  “She’s right. I’m looking forward to working with the bowyer.”

  “That is gratifying,” Dia smiled. “The leatherworker is next.”

  It didn’t take them long to get to the leatherworker’s shop. The smiths had been along the western edge of town, and the leatherworker was just north of them. The smell of the tannery was just reaching their noses when Dia stopped in front of a building that had a sign declaring it to be Lavox’s Leathers.

  Dia entered the shop, the chime of a bell announcing them. “I’ve brought the apprentice to learn from you, Lavox.”

  The man behind the counter was painfully thin. The top of Lavox’s ear was elongated and slightly pointed. Angled eyes that were slightly enlarged looked over the three of them. “Magus, it is good to see you again. Which of these two is to be my student?” Lavox’s voice was accented in a way that Gregory had never heard before.

  “Yukiko Pettit is your student, and you’ll have more to talk about than just your wor
k. Her father is a merchant who does extensive business along Buldoun’s border.”

  Lavox’s lips twitched at the name of the eastern nation. “It has been a long time since I’ve been near there.”

  “But your voice still carries the accent,” Yukiko said.

  “It does,” Lavox agreed. “I won’t have much to say about Buldoun. I’m sure it has changed since I was there last.”

  “Maybe I could tell you about what it was like over the last few years, if you’d like?”

  “We shall see,” Lavox said. “Is there anything else, Magus?”

  “Not for you. Thank you again, old friend. You will find Yukiko to be a fast learner.”

  “We shall see,” Lavox replied with a shrug.

  “One more stop,” Dia said, opening the door. “Come along, Gregory.”

  Gregory gave Yukiko a smile before he went out the door. Dia followed him out and immediately led the way. Gregory fell into step behind her, wondering who his teacher might be. Jenn has a part eurtik, and Yukiko has an elf or half-elf. I’ll find out soon, I suppose.

  “Gregory, walk beside me, please,” Dia said as she walked.

  “Yes, Dia?” Gregory asked as he matched her pace.

  “How has your magic training been going?”

  Gregory was silent as he tried to decide if he should tell her the truth or tell her what he had given Master Damon. “It’s progressing, but very slowly, Dia. I’ve been able to deliberately trigger small flashes of foresight. When I try for further in the future, I fail and use too much aether.”

  Dia looked at the few townsfolk that were out and about, most of whom got well out of their way. “I see. We wish to help you, but Lightshield has told me repeatedly that your magic is not one for being taught but learning to understand on your own. Even with that, I still wish to help my junior clanmate. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “I don’t believe so, Dia. If I can think of anything, I will tell you.”

  “Very well. Is everything at the inn okay for you and your new wife?”

  Gregory coughed, not looking at Dia. “Have to get used to a bed again. We got used to the sleeping mats. By the time I adjust, it’ll be time to go back to mats.”

  Dia laughed. “If that’s the only thing that jumps out at you, then I will consider everything to be okay. I do have one more question, though— why bowyery?”

  “Because good bows or crossbows have turned a lot of battles,” Gregory replied. “Armor and weapons are vital to anyone with men under them. Knowing what is good and what is not might save the lives of any people that I’m responsible for.”

  Dia’s lips turned up into a bright smile. “And they both feel the same?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s good to hear. We’re here,” Dia said, pausing outside a shop.

  The sign above the door showed a bow and arrow. The name “Brighid’s Bows” was engraved underneath them. The building was better kept than its closest neighbors, an alchemist and a cobbler.

  Dia led him inside, the usual chime of a bell announcing them. “Abrosum, I have brought the apprentice. Gregory Pettit, this is Bryn Abrosum.”

  Gregory bowed formally to Bryn. “An honor, sir.”

  “Hmm. Where do you come from?”

  “Alturis, sir. It’s out on the northwestern fringe.”

  “Ah, a ways away, then. My family is from a small backwater called Paha on the northeastern fringe. Do you know anything about bowyery?”

  “Very little, sir, but I am eager to learn.”

  “Hmm, we’ll have a lot to cover, then. I hope you are quicker than most think fringers are.”

  “I will do my very best, sir.”

  “Bryn is fine,” Bryn chuckled. “I’ll take it from here, Magus. My family thanks you for your patronage. We had thought that the clan had folded, since we’ve not heard a word for nearly twenty years.”

  “We have diminished, but our apprentices have reinvigorated the clan. I shall be attending to other matters, but you know how to reach me, if needed.”

  “I do,” Bryn nodded.

  “Gregory, do your best, and I will see all of you at the inn for dinner.”

  “Yes, Dia,” Gregory replied, turning to bow to her. “We will do the clan proud.”

  “Of that, I do not doubt,” Dia replied before she left him in the shop.

  “Well, looks like we only have a couple of hours today,” Bryn said. “Come on back behind the counter here, and we’ll get started.”

  Gregory stepped behind the counter and took the seat that Bryn motioned to.

  “Let’s start with the basics,” Bryn said. He put a bow, crossbow, arrow, and bolt onto the counter. “Identify each part of these, and why these two,” he touched the arrow and bolt, “are different.”

  “Yes, Bryn. I’ll start with the bow.”

  ~*~*~

  Gregory made it back to the inn just as the sun was sinking behind the horizon. Wonder how the other two did? Gregory thought. I think Bryn was impressed with what I knew, but he’s a hard one to read.

  “Greg!” Jenn called out to him when he was a few feet away from the door to the inn.

  Gregory stopped and leaned against the wall. “How did your day go?”

  “Great!” Jenn beamed. “We should find Yuki, then we can compare notes.”

  “Sounds good to me. Let’s see if she’s back already.”

  Entering the inn, the two of them found Yukiko sitting at a small table. She got to her feet when she saw them. “I was wondering if you two were going to be back soon.”

  “Bath, dinner, and talk?” Gregory asked.

  “Yes, that’s probably for the best,” Yukiko agreed.

  “Let’s find the bathing room,” Jenn said. Instead of moving to the hall, she went to the bar. “Mister Brown, which room is the bath?”

  “Call me Milton. My father goes by Brown. You can’t miss it— it has the water drop above the door,” he called down the bar to her, as he was filling some mugs for the barmaid.

  “Thank you,” Jenn called back.

  “Let’s go,” Yukiko said. “We missed the bath last night and I could use one.”

  The three of them went down the hall together. Dia came out of a room near the end of the hall, her hair still damp. Giving them an amused smile, she went past them. “Enjoy your bath.”

  They were wondering what was so amusing until they reached the door with the water drop painted above it. There was a single room to undress in, with baskets for their clothing. It was not split like the one at the clan hall.

  Gregory looked at the room with a rising trepidation while Yukiko nodded. She went to the sliding door on the far side of the room and looked inside. Jenn stood a handful of feet from Gregory, coming to understand what the bath meant.

  “We’re the only ones here,” Yukiko said. “It’s a mixed-gender bath, as there’s only a single heated pool inside and five spots to rinse beforehand.”

  “Uh...” Gregory murmured, his face starting to heat, “is that normal?”

  “For some inns, it is,” Yukiko said as she undressed. “This or less will likely be the standard when we have troops under our command. This will be good to get you used to mixed bathing.”

  Jenn’s cheeks were as red as Gregory’s, but she started to undress, as well. “It’ll be fine. We’re all adults, and it would happen eventually.”

  Feeling like the one causing problems, Gregory took a deep breath and reached for his obi. He kept his eyes off the women, hoping that it would be less awkward than he feared it was going to be.

  Chapter Seven

  Yukiko was the first one naked. “Jenn, if you get my back when you come in, I’ll get yours.”

  “Yes,” Jenn nodded as she finished stripping. “Be right there.”

  “Greg?” Yukiko called out softly.

  He looked toward her out of reflex. “Yes?” His mouth went dry when he saw her, her pale skin looking as silken as he knew it felt.

&nbs
p; “It’s okay. She’s fine with being seen by you, and I’m fine with her seeing you. Please, dear one, try to accept this?”

  Gregory’s face burned hotter and he exhaled raggedly. “I’m trying, Yuki... I really am. It’s just moving a little faster than I thought it would.”