When he taught for an hour, they all followed his teachings to the letter. He started the basics and none interrupted. “That’s it for today!” He said and got grumbles. They wanted more. “In two days, you will learn more. Kids, I’ll see you tomorrow.” The children got excited.
A simple meal was brought and shared. Cage convened with the elders and explained the situation. In their years, they showed patience and offered insights he sorely needed.
Throughout the training and short conversations Cage had felt magic to find Megdline started a project they talked about when he wasn’t growing his home. She was nearly done manipulating the cliff by creating stairs that zigzagged up the face, even adding a railing. By the time he finished meeting with the elders she had completed the stone stairs, making an easier ascent to their homes.
Cage stood and looked over the whole tribe, their attention turned when they noticed he had something to say. “Granny and I are going to be busy the rest of the day. I know Rena and Sean desperately wish to show off our home. Use the new stairs Granny created and you’re all welcome to check it out, but we’ll be in my study. I’m going to need you all to leave us alone so I may continue learning. We’ll speak tomorrow if you need me to do so, after the children have their practice.” His eyes turned. “Let’s go Daku.”
In about a minute’s time, Daku landed upon the higher ground just outside the new nest where Megdline and Frill patiently waited already in the office. Cage entered with Daku and closed the study’s door, sealing it with magic.
Inside the study Cage sat on one of the two large chairs. They were designed for comfort and to be used for hours. The entire wall had an empty bookshelf to the southern wall where it encircled the door. Every square centimeter was made of wood so compact it was stronger than stone, making the study the most fortified room in the house. A table sat to the western curved wall, which would come in useful later when he began to jot down ideas and other experiments. Unlike other rooms where the space was mostly open, the study had two sections divided by a protective wall. The seating section and the research area. That secondary section was layered with wards to dampen any explosions for a crystal within the wood was specifically placed nearby to safeguard that area. If any spells were to run out of control there is a safety hatch in the wall which would open and launch the spell faster than a bolt of lightning into the sky where it could not endanger lives.
Megdline sat in one of the comforting seats with Frill lounging over the rounded back. Cage went to sit at the other as Daku shrunk so he could lay on the armrest. With all the privacy he could think up and imbue into the room he sighed. Frill’s intelligent golden eyes locked with that of the warlock’s. “Cage, if you and Daku believe danger is near, we believe you. Do you know when this strike is to happen?”
Daku shook his head. “It is unclear, but the more Cage learns the better equipped he’ll be. Time for learning must be more strict. The humans are on the island, safe and well fed so he must dedicate himself without anymore distractions.” Daku met his partner’s gaze. “What spells are you wishing to learn?”
“That part hasn’t changed.” Cage replied before meeting his teacher’s calm grey eyes. “I need to make clothes first. Granny, I must ask, do your robes double as armor?”
“Light armor.” She explained while rolling the staff in her hand casually. “Mage robes can deflect and resist knives and hold off arrows, but swords, axes and blunt objects are another issue. Since you fight up close to any opponents, it is a good idea you chose to learn this topic first. Yes our magic is versatile, but even it has limits and can be bypassed. Our robes aid our protection, if only slightly… Should I teach you the concepts or begin a more direct, hands-on approach?”
“Both would be beneficial. Do you have cotton seeds I can grow?”
She smirked with mirth twinkling in her eyes. “You truly believe my robes, a proper mage’s robes, are made from cotton?” His blank expression said it all and she let out a light laugh. “Dimwit,” She shook her head of black hair in mock disappointment. “my you have so much to learn. A Mage’s robes are actually made by using spider silk slightly augmented by another mage. In Twilight we have spider farms where we harvest the webs and it is usually the second or third class wizards and witches who make all we ever need. Pound for pound, spider webs have more strength than any other natural thread of equal size. The wizards bind and straighten the webs while also removing the sticky substance without weakening the threads. Usually I keep some on me in the event my robes cannot mend back together again. But when I was named to be your teacher I bought several pounds from the farms.” She raised her free hand towards the desk while the topaz began to twinkle and glow as she called upon her vast stores of magic. A bright golden glow appeared atop the desk, a blinding glow. With a pop, the light vanished and atop the desk sat a simple wooden chest about two feet high and three long with a similar width.
Cage stood, opened the clasp and lifted the lid to find two dozen large spools of pure white thread. He picked one up to examine it while saying “On Earth, they were trying to make body armor out of spider silk for the reasons you say, but it was difficult and very expensive. This much would cost a fortune.”
“It is not cheap here either. Thankfully my husband and I are quite wealthy. That much thread cost two thousand gold.” She enjoyed the reaction such knowledge did to him. He immediately took much more care in holding the spool. “We will not need a needle so bring that over and lay it on the ground between us. I will show you the pattern with which to properly begin… I assume you do not wish for a robe?” He nodded. “Well, you will have to get used to it. There are a few styles of robes to chose from.” As he sat the first spool down she conjured five robe styles in lifelike size. “Men usually wear these because they can more easily be used for running and other exercises. And heavier actually. A woman’s robes are more delicate and sensual to accentuate our hips and breasts. Since I’ve seen you fight, I know you prefer to not have your limbs restricted. Of the five, these two” She made three vanish. “in particular will be to your benefit. I’ll show you how to make them split and bind to your legs when they sense you running or with a verbal command, they will become similar to pants.” She clarified and gestured to the illusions. “Choose.” And he did. “Alright, I’ve made this style once before and isn’t too difficult. Now close your eyes and feel how it is done.”
The warlock sat down and sent his magic to brush against the sorceress’s as she magically found the end and began unwinding the spun thread. He opened his eyes for a moment and realized why he needed to use magic, the silk threads were so thin it was difficult to see with the naked eye. With magic he could feel how the entire string was uniform in thickness. He followed along as the thread began to design a complex framework he had never expected, something beyond traditional weaving methods. Megdline went slow at first, making sure he followed along and moved as fast as she dared before losing him in the patterns. Some of the framework crisscrossed while in other places, mostly around the leg area, were places that would barely have the patterns. He soon discovered they were done intentionally, leaving miniscule vertical gaps the eye could not discern. The robe would be truly seamless.
She then said “Stand up.”
His eyes opened to see her staring at him before realizing there was a hollow, hanging robe before him. It wasn’t solid by any means for most threads were vertical, needing to be threaded horizontally. He stood as she asked and moved toward the design. He knew with one wrong move he could completely destroy the thread like any common spider web. He held still with his arms outstretched and closed his eyes to magically feel what she was doing. The robe was designed larger intentionally as she wove the framework to his naked body and tightened it where it was needed until it would later be a comfortable fit.
She had him sit down after the first fitting ended.
Megdline then cut the thread, using half of the spool and fused the two ends together so there w
asn’t a single break in the line. “I will show you how to begin layering. Grab six spools. We’ll need to spin the threads together to thicken the lines just enough to hold together. Take control only when you feel comfortable. I’ll maintain the frame regardless so the original structure doesn’t get bound and we’ll have to start all over again.” She took the new ends from the spools and began by rolling six lines into one before fusing the new end into one of the lower edges and threading the horizontal pattern, moving back and forth between the vertical lines and in the specialized areas she did an odd pass. When she made the first line and came back he sensed how she pressed the line down hard, leaving only the tiniest gaps for the fabric to breathe, but he could understand how it would not only repel water, but also dirt, debris and other fabric ruining things. He focused on how she wove the silk in certain areas and began to fundamentally understand the process. The robe would be thirty layers deep, still making it a tenth of an inch thick, but the patterns added great durability and strength.
“I think I got it.” He said and stole the line which Megdline easily released. He began spinning the line from six spools while threading, weaving and pressing with the same amount of pressure she used to hold it together. She had him go back when he got careless and missed a single twist. He returned and corrected the mistake. He decided to slow down and do it right, but the more he did the pattern, the easier it became. Then he ran out of thread on one and grabbed another spool to get back to work.
“That’s enough for today.” She said.
“What? We’ve only been at this for an…”
“Night has already fallen.” Megdline pointed to an open window of blackness and up at the orb lighting the room. “You’ve done well, but I’m tired and hungry. Bind the thread to the house’s magic and keep it in place until tomorrow.”
Cage did just that, using the gem within the room to hold the cloth in place. His nose wrinkled when he looked down and saw he only made the bottom of the robe up to an inch in height from all the work he had put in. He thought he had done more and the amount he saw was pitiful.
He unlocked the door and opened it to find his family and Zanza’s sitting at the table. “Hey everyone, what’s going on?”
“Finally, we can start dinner.” Meeka said and left the room for the kitchen. Zanza’s five sister-mates got up and followed.
Zanza said “Meeka wants Rin to stay close. He has started a fever and she doesn’t want him far, especially with his side still hurting. My sisters, our children and I want to stay close, particularly after the elders told us of the situation when you left us. Are we welcome here?”
With all eyes on him he said “That’s fine. Rin stand up, Brother.” The man grunted, favoring his side, as he stood. Cage walked up to him and sent his magic into the man to determine “The wound isn’t the cause of the fever. You’re in for one hell of a sick week. It would be best if you did stay close.”
His jaw clenched. “Chief, there is much to do still. Can your magic end this sickness and pain before it gets worse?”
Remembering his first encounter with Megdline and her warning concerning healing he said “I can heal your side, but the sickness will have to run its course. There are reasons why I would make matters worse. Your body must fight it off as it naturally would. I’ll only interfere should the sickness be dire to your life.”
Rin didn’t take long to think. “Then if this sickness is bad as you say it’ll be, please heal my side. I do not wish to cough so much I tear the stitches.”
“Not a good idea.” Megdline said while sitting at the table at Brooke’s behest to join them for the evening meal. The men turned to her. “Young Man, in all my considerable years you need to know that the wound will actually help quicken the sickness’ duration. Your body is already fighting to heal itself. Cage can mend the skin so the stitches wont tear, but it would be beneficial to keep your body fighting as hard as it is.”
Rin truly didn’t like what he was hearing, but he knew he couldn’t talk his way out of this. “Fine. Chief, please do what you can.” Cage nodded and with a thought, cut the stitches, pulled them out and sealed the skin only. The cracked rib and muscle would need to heal in time.
They sat down to a hearty meal. Rena sat with two little girls Rin fathered as well as an older son who sat with Sean. Zanza’s sisters speared the fish cooked at the table and one of the girls shot down a bird of some kind for meat. The meal was full of laughs, especially when one of the girls told the room how Rena showed off the hot showers that became the envy of the whole tribe who now wanted a hot bath. Brooke elaborated on that saying that the whole tribe came up the stone steps Megdline created and saw the house. Most of the tribe took turns in one of the five baths and enjoyed it greatly.
Every family wanted hot water baths now.
Cage couldn’t stop laughing, nor could Daku who played with the children after dinner.
Chapter 8
As expected, Rin’s fever became a strong sickness by the next morning. Sean shared his room with the other boy while Rena entertained in her room. Meeka mixed herbs to help Rin’s recovery, but he could barely get out of bed or hold the medicine down, but it did ease discomfort. Cage learned how to not only make paper out of leaves, but even soft tissues. The waste bin was full of tissue before long and was used for heat when thrown into the fire in their room.
Before he walked down the outside stairs, to the lake, he spent two hours on his robe, relying on the spell he placed last night to hold it still and together. It didn’t move and the magic required was miniscule. He put on another quarter inch before training the children for an hour.
After training physically, Meeka made good on her promise and used some of the square paper Cage made from leaves to teach all the children their letters. Since it was the first day she had them just mimic the letters and had them study the creations. She also asked that they would get used to writing. Even some of the accompanying mothers had wished to learn, especially when hearing the priestess’s willingness to do this.
The rest of Cage’s day consisted of the creation of his robe. The mana drain was nothing to him, but the tediousness and constant repetition bordered on monotony. He had to take a few breaks to keep from making errors. The only one who suffered with him was the dedicated Megdline who didn’t relent and showed tremendous patience which comes from her unknown, mysterious age. Frill and Daku got to the point where they had to leave the constant silence. The good thing that came of the clothes making was he got into an almost Zen state and the repetition became faster and more accurate. There were a few mistakes, but were easily corrected before he got too far along and would have had to go back.
Daku’s trickster personality began to show itself when there was little to do, especially against unsuspecting children over the coming days. He created a sticky mixture of red berries and dumped buckets on whoever he chose randomly. Few were smart enough to escape his wrath. But when retaliation came his way he was always two steps ahead. Only once did he fall victim to a prank, one where the whole village worked together and had created a thick vat of unusable, rotting fish guts. Daku tripped and fell into it and reeked for two whole days and he couldn’t get the smell out of his wings, even by constantly bathing in the ocean.
The Utala found a rhythm of their own as they fished and sparingly hunted game for the coming winter. They smoked the meat while learning more of their home. Thanks to the abundance of salt from the ocean they cured the skins of the hunted animals for clothes.
Every midmorning Cage spent an hour teaching fighting and settling issues he needed to do as chieftain. Thankfully the Utala aren’t petty and settle their disputes on their own, unless they need the chief’s word. Cage even watched over a mating challenge, but the woman’s skills were superior and she won. The man wasn’t disappointed and took honor in her skills. Loss taught more than winning ever did. The man didn’t earn the right to mate with her and as a woman of the Utala, a man only has the right to mate
if he earns it and beats her into submission or makes her yield. Even if the woman is in love, she is bound to fight her hardest and the man must prove he can give her strong babies.
Before Cage knew it, a week had passed. Rin felt slightly better, but still weak. His mates helped out where they could with Brooke and Meeka around the house. The kids were having fun or working to help winter’s preparations. None slacked and Daku’s antics kept everyone from being bored and doing things over and over again. His interruptions actually helped progress. Cage even spent a few hours of the day growing more food for others before focusing on work.
Finally the last thread was sealed and bonded. Nineteen large rolls of spider silk thread ended in a stunningly white robe. It looked exquisite as it continued to be held by magic like a snow white flag with long sleeves. Even Megdline seemed impressed. They stood and she held out the white sash which would belt the robe securely around his waist. He grabbed it and canceled the holding spell to put it on. It felt cool and wonderful. It was the finest fabric he’d ever felt. It was smooth and light as he wrapped it properly before tying the sash together. “It’s perfect, Granny. It’s not tight or restricting in the arms…”
“Wait, before you move your legs” she quickly interrupted. “you need to put spells on it and bind the robe to your diamonds. The splits will rip if you don’t bind them first. You will need to repair them one at a time otherwise and they will wear out and fray like common clothes. You’ve noticed how the thread has been manipulated so there is neither a beginning or end?”
“It is just one long thread.” He nodded.
“Right. My robe is made the same way and as it is a singular thread, it can be bound with conditions. Take a thin stream of magic from a diamond and bind it to a physical thread.” She pushed.
Laugh of Destruction (Book 3 of the Death Incarnate Saga) Page 24
