Out of the difficult trance, he’d conjured a sight mirror to find it was no longer white, but distorted in image. It was clear night had fallen, but the change gave hope he would exact his vengeance and return the humiliation. He immediately began trying to locate the area and with much help by a group of teachers and students they narrowed the search to a known forbidden island, one said to be untouched for thousands of years.
He contacted the empress and notified her of the situation and did her bidding by bringing two lesser sorcerers to passively learn where this rogue mage lived and await further instruction. He bought passage from a boat captain in Miot within an hour after Jumping to Vlara and sailed to passively document so as to not be seen by the wanted mage. The only certainty was when the island came into view a few hours ago he used seeker thread and it moved due the vicinity between himself and the object of his obsession. The former magister knew he’d found the one.
“I hope he tastes good.” The lion partner rumbled.
“You may have his remains when I’ve ripped his spirit out in the most agonizing way.” The magister replied.
The captain got a chill from those words to the air, but he suspected he talked to the beast. He backed away grumbling under his breath “Last time I take on a mage. Creepy bastards…” But before he got far the lion’s sharp hearing didn’t let the words pass. The captain was attacked from behind. Thick fangs pierced the man’s throat before he died when the lion didn’t relent with an unbreakable bite force. Then with a violent twist the longtime captain had his neck broken before getting devoured by the hungry Familiar.
The crew watched, terror-stricken by the unprovoked display. Before they could defend their lost captain they heard from the bearded sorcerer “One word and I’ll kill every one of you before the word leaves your lips. Whoever the new captain is better know his place.” All the while they heard the lion ripping the flesh of their captain and eating him before their very eyes on deck.
Nothing could be done besides compliance, if they didn’t wish for death this night. Since they wanted to return to their families they sailed on as directed.
Little did they know, it wouldn’t happen. When the mages got what they wanted they’d covered their tracks and didn’t leave witnesses.
“Finally! I think that’ll do it!” Cage hollered from inside his finished home in the late afternoon hour. He stepped outside, soaked with sweat on the third day. Daku rose from his place in the shade and padded over curiously, wanting to see the final results instead of progress. He met Cage’s eye and could see he was exhausted, but the thrill of completion gave a needed, if temporary, boost. Cage then said “I’m going to go take a shower. Can I ask you to go retrieve the family?”
“I shall return soon and will enjoy everything as they will.” He walked over to the edge of the cliff before dropping over and soaring lazily over the trees.
Cage walked inside to take his first hot shower since arriving in this world as Megdline came outside from her cedar home on the other side of the stream. She smiled, knowing that no student to her knowledge had made such an exquisite first home in so short a time. She glided over and looked around with a dropped jaw.
It took just a few short minutes for Daku to find the fires of the tribe and angle himself accordingly. Someone noticed his raw magnificence and alerted the horde who all became excited with his presence. He landed lightly despite his large size. He’d chosen such to carry the rest of his new flock, safely. Daku appreciated the humans not assaulting him with questions till he folded his great wings to settle along his side.
“Is he finished finally?” Sean asked first.
“Indeed he is.” His eyes locked with Brooke, Meeka and Rena, who all stood nearest. “Grab your belongings. We leave for our nest immediately.”
The three females all excitedly rushed for their tent where they already had their bags packed and ready to go. Sean checked the knife clasped to his forearm sheathe before climbing up when Rena brought his pack over.
While the four climbed up onto his back, Daku said to the tribe “Cage also wished to remind everyone of tomorrow’s training session. He wants the whole tribe to come, no exceptions. He wants to show off his house and has said that each family will also get one in time, once you chose where you intend to live that is. Once you see what he is offering, you will not hesitate, I assure you. Until tomorrow, farewell.”
A pat on his neck came from Meeka and he took it as a sign to go. He turned to the water as the tribe backed away. He fluffed his wings as he sprinted before leaping into the air and flying.
“How is it, Daku?” Rena asked when she noticed her mother’s eyes slammed shut due to a lingering fear of heights.
“I honestly do not know. I wish to be just as surprised of our new roost. I did not want to lie so I avoided his work as much as possible, but the tree from the outside is welcoming and very beautiful as far as trees grow. I want to see it completed as you would, Cub.”
“Then hurry, I want to see Dad and what he’s done!” She excitedly said.
“Be patient. You waited three days, you can wait a few minutes.”
“Says you!” She pouted adorably as both Daku and Sean laughed at the false expression. She couldn’t hold it for more than a few seconds.
In just a few minutes the afternoon light revealed the glorious waterfall and two trees where there were none four days prior. Only grass had grown before then. The two were nothing alike, but the oddly shape trees were magnificent to behold. It was clear the west building, that was separated by the waterfall’s constant supply from the mountain, was some kind of large cedar by the reddish bark and thick, stem-like evergreen leaves. The leaves encircled the entirety of the cone shaped tree, but when they flew closer they saw an arched gap near the base in the direction facing the sheer cliff. It had grown nearly a hundred feet away from the edge. The tree looked fatter around the bottom where it resembled something somewhat like a bare breast. Dim light seemed to emanate from an obvious opening, but little else could be determined other than it was a large tree.
The same couldn’t be said for the one on the river’s other side.
This tree was three times the size of the other and the bark was a brownish grey. It was a bulging monster clearly not naturally intended, but breathtaking nonetheless. It had a large entrance, big enough for the currently sized Daku to enter comfortably. Even the largest horse would find the entrance roomy. Oval openings over twenty feet up became smaller doorways that led to the balcony of a second floor that encircled the entire tree with a safety railing to prevent falling down the twenty feet to the ground. The tree looked like a nearly perfect cylinder with round edges having a diameter of over a hundred feet in any given direction. Thick leaves created an intricate canopy of bright green. Along the top were three arched struts sprouting from the roof-like top where roots could be seen growing around the bases. The braces stood to either side and back as Daku lazily flew around the enormous tree dwelling to intentionally show off the exterior. Genuine silence is all he could hear from those on his back.
On the dark, eastern side of the tree shone an inner light coming through a window opening. Atop the tree house stood a canopy of limbs and leaves taller and grander than any tree the forest of the island had ever seen.
Around the roots of the house were an abundance of flowers gathered and magically grown from the paradise below. One large section away from the estate sat a plot dedicated to a medicinal herb garden. With so many things to take in, words alone couldn’t articulate the restructured oak and the beauty surrounding it.
As Daku came down for a careful landing, Frill stepped out through the large arch entrance. Megdline followed after to nearly fall over in laughter from her friends’ expressions. His stop jarred them back into reality.
“Dad made this?” Rena asked, dumbstruck.
“Your dad, grew this.” Megdline clarified. Daku lowered himself to allow the passengers off. “His power and ability to adapt sti
ll ceases to amaze me.”
Then the warlock himself exited the house and shook his mane of wet hair from the shower. “Shower works great, Granny… Oh, you made it!” He noticed the others and beamed. “Come in everyone. Welcome to our new home.”
Bringing the bags, the rest of his family approached with evident awe for even a blind man to clearly see. Frill hissed a laugh which caused Megdline to lose her restraint and joined him. The burst finally broke the other’s reverie. “What?” Sean asked and was told “Your faces… you should have seen them!” She laughed.
“Come inside, all of you.” Cage turned around to reenter the house.
Compared to the outside, the inside was like an artist’s masterpiece to a two year olds finger-painting.
Passing through the entrance they found a pocket door which he showed can be opened and closed by touching it. It had a locking system only accessible from the inside. No lock pick could ever fit through the near seamless crack and reach the locking bolt.
Beyond the pocket door waited an exquisitely designed dining room. The front room was enormous, about sixty feet long by thirty wide. The floor was flat and spotless. Artificial wood rings gave the floor character since the rapid growth would have made a single uniform color. Naturally the seasons would have made rings over many years. The walls were all beige with striking veins of dark lines. Very few things had straight edges, of those were beautifully crafted chairs and a table which could seat forty without seeming crammed. Walls were all curved delicately for a reason. Cornered walls wouldn’t work for a living tree. Off to the left sat a fireplace of odd design. The simplicity is what made the room so inviting rather than ostentatious. Above the table floated an orb of light which bathed the phenomenal room in a peaceful way. Just above the orb spun some odd windmill facing down as it attached somehow to the ceiling.
“As you can see I grew the table straight from the floor and the chairs came from the modified branches of this very tree. Over there is a fireplace and sofa where we can all relax whenever we want, but I’ve yet to make the cushions. It’s comfortable, but not as it will be soon. And I can see you wondering what that spinning device is, it is a ceiling fan. Doesn’t it feel nice?” He smiled at the rotating object even Megdline didn’t understand till he explained. The cool air circulating felt great on a hot body.
Rena sat her bag down and walked over to the low burning fire and rubbed her hand over the warm sculpted frame and exclaimed “Dad, this is wood! Do you want to burn us alive?”
“Relax, Kiddo. practically everything in this house is made of wood. I know you won’t understand this, but I’ll explain it anyway.” He approached and rubbed his hand over the fireplace. “Yes, you’d be right that fire burns wood and this is a tree, but I made the wood all around the fireplace, the wall and floor so dense that even your knife cannot cut it let alone burn because of a fire.”
Rena wished to test such a claim as she drew her sharp knife and tried cutting, but the wood held no matter the pressure. “So Dad, does this mean you made wood compact till it is hard as stone?”
“Very good, Kiddo. You’ve been listening to me! So do not worry about a fire because I did the same to every fireplace in our bedrooms, yours and Sean’s included.” He rubbed her head and it made her smile at being praised. “Come, there is more to see and explain.” Over with the others Cage said “Sean, see that little lever beside the door?” He nodded and walked over to one of two nubs sticking out of the wall with a thin vertical line below it. “No the one beside it. That one turns off the fan… that’s the one. Pull it down.”
Most screamed as the light vanished, plunging the room in mild darkness. Thanks to open windows and the fire, they didn’t go blind entirely. “Now flick it back up.” There came another barely audible click as the orb reappeared above the table, near the ceiling. “Did I just do magic?” Sean asked.
“No, Buddy. Actually those are called light switches back on Earth. Not only has this tree been shaped by magic, so too can it do magic. Every single room has one of those which turns on an orb of light.”
“Where does it come from, Dad?” Rena asked.
“The orb comes on because of a little power taken from all of us, the tree itself and all the nearby plants and animals. There are little stones that take mana from each of us. It is so little we do not even notice it. The gems are in the walls so no one but I know where they are. The crystals do many things thanks to you. But I must say that you need to turn the light switch off whenever you leave a room so magic won’t be overused.”
“What else can our home do?” Rena pressed as everyone listened.
“Many, many things.” He smiled. “You never need to worry about bugs, rats or snakes coming inside because there is a spell which pushes them away all the time. Birds can land, but that is all. I will teach you later a few words which can make this house nearly impenetrable long enough for help to arrive. There will be much to remember and not to be used lightly. First though, I need to show off the new house.” She nodded. “Follow me.”
Cage led them to a door to the right, adjacent to the fireplace which led to an ornate kitchen. “This is the oven and stove top. Put wood in the oven, but if you need to use the stove I have a sliding lever which allows the fire to heat up any pan. We’ll need more supplies, like knives, pots and pans, but our normal supplies will work for awhile. This prep table is like the fireplaces so it can be used as a cutting board. I’ve grown a cabinet so we can store plates and drinks right here in the wall.” He reached over to a knob and slid the cabinet door aside. “And here is an empty spice rack we’ll need to stock later. In the next room is a pantry, but this is my favorite creation.” He moved to a flat cornered, rectangular box rising from the ground. As he slid it open a blast of cold air rushed out. “This is a freezer and will keep anything we want cold so food doesn’t spoil. Food can last many more weeks this way than commonly used to preserve food.”
“Feels like Winter, Love.” Brooke said as she put her arm into the frigid box.
“That’s the whole point. I know you’ve learned raw food lasts longer in ice and snow than anything would in the summer.” From the look of her expression, she fully understood. “It is the same application. It also makes ice if we desire a cold drink on a hot day. We need to close it though or it will take more mana to keep the temperature down. Wood is a great insulator.” He shut the icebox.
Leaving the kitchen, Daku had to back away from the arched entrance as Cage finished the tour of the house. He first led to a door on the far side of the room. “This will be my study and if I’m inside with the door shut, a tiny red orb will hover by the handle. Do not disturb me unless there is trouble. It means I’m doing magic and that room has the most defenses of the entire house so if there is a mistake, nothing bad will result… Over here is the ground floor’s head where anyone can relieve themselves… this is a sink with running hot and cold water… I’ll answer how later, alright? We will always wash our hands before a meal… here by the fireplace you see the stairs…” He led the way up the winding stairwell wider than his outstretched arms by well over a foot. Before that he flipped the switch to show the stairs light up if the small windows don’t allow light through. At the top he showed the second floor. “These five doors lead to the bedrooms. I’m already keyed to all of them, but now I need for Daku, Brooke and Meeka to quickly touch all five bulges in the doors.” They did so and as they touched the bulges the door automatically slid open for a moment before closing. He explained to simply touch it twice quickly will keep it open indefinitely. “I put a tiny speck of a crystal in the bulge to open to the specific person who’s allowed. Alright, kids, you do it now too.”
“Is our room the bigger one with the central bed?” Brooke asked.
“Yep, now only we can step through those bedroom doors. They will stay sealed unless we are there to open them. Also I’ve designed an air flow system to take advantage of the wind to cool the house during summer and can seal it to
retain heat for winter. The other four rooms are the exact same though. Each one has a personal shower and bathtub, a toilet and sink. The master bedroom has a tub more than big enough to share a bath together.”
“Good, then you’ll uphold our agreement.” Brooke wryly winked, remembering her first hot bath in the Blazing Trail Inn at Castle Emroc.
“Cage, Frill and I will visit in the morning. I need to go add a few things to my home now. My husband will like some of these ideas you have.” Megdline looked thrilled at all these new methods, ready to add a few of his ideas to every home she has. She departed with excitement as she descended the stairs.
Cage walked to the central door and tapped his palm over the bulge twice to open the door. “Now to explain the rooms.” He looked over his shoulder to make sure his family followed. “Loves, go lay down on the bed.” They moved over to the spacious oval bed grown two feet high from the hardwood floor. It didn’t have a sheet, but he learned a trick on how to make the encased mattress. The surprise on their face when they sat was all he had hoped. “What you’re feeling is actually one large oak leaf filled with dry moss. There are no bugs allowed in this house so lay back and feel the goodness.” When they fell back they both moaned, never laying on anything so comfortable before with the ideal softness to firmness ratio. The children and even Daku crawled comfortably onto the bed. “Told you Daku I found a way to make a leaf strong enough to not be scratched and still be flexible.”
“I stand corrected.” Daku apologized while laying down and sighing.
“Dad, does my room have a bed like this?” Sean asked in hope.
“Sure does. It’s how I’ll make the cushion for the downstairs sofa… Now get up.” It was so comfortable they groaned in protest. “As to where the water comes from, it comes from the stream that runs alongside us. I had to design a way for the tree to pump water, filter it like I do all the time and put it into two hollow places above our very heads. One stays cold while the other is magically heated to a less than scalding degree and any fires we are using also serve to heat the hot water supply. There is enough water to bathe every villager, every other day if needed. To keep the wood from rotting, all waterlines and tanks have been similarly reinforced like the fireplaces.” He opened a side door to a grand bathroom. Everything grew out of wood, including the showerhead, tub and even a set of tooth brushes he created. He had five already made with a tiny imbedded crystal that will spin the bristles at a high interval for no more than three minutes because of power limitations. He held them in a hand first before saying “Love’s, step inside the tub.” The pair easily passed and carefully stood in the recess with two steps. “Use the levers like the sink in the kitchen. Water will spray from that showerhead so be ready. Do not open the valve saying ‘Hot’ all the way. Adjust it to your liking.”
Laugh of Destruction (Book 3 of the Death Incarnate Saga) Page 21
