After a rather long tedious afternoon in the saddle, Leo could feel the pain and stiffness in his legs getting worse. Despite the sun beaming down on them, he felt surprisingly cool in his black robe, and wondered if it perhaps had any kind of imbued magic in it, as the ranger’s gear did. He looked over and behind to the two warrior apprentices and wondered if any of their clothing was magical, or perhaps even their weapons; another question for later he thought, as he winced once more in pain.
As the camp was finally made for them to stop for the night, Leo had to wait for Samuel to once more help him down from the horse, before he limped his way to where the others were sat. As she had promised earlier, Kindra handed him a small glass jar, “Here rub this on to your legs,” she told him, “It will help a great deal, although it smells a bit at first,” she added.
Leo did not wait, such was the discomfort he was feeling he opened his robe, and dropped his trousers, immediately hearing the snidely comments of Sasha, “Aww… What are you doing?” you snapped. Leo ignored them, although he did try and cover up a little as he opened the jar of ointment. As Kindra had told him, the smell was quite strong, but that did not stop him dipping his fingers in, and after removing a big blob of some yellowish coloured gel, and rubbed it in where his legs hurt most. He was surprised the relief was almost immediate, although the more the pain receded the more he became aware of the smell; something else soon commented on by Sasha.
With his legs finally feeling like they could move without too much pain, Leo walked, albeit a little gingerly, down to the brook by which they were camping. Making sure he was away from where the horses were drinking, he thought it best to wash his hands free of any of the pungent gel. Once achieved, he headed back to where the others were sat, whilst the soldiers were once more left to preparing them food.
Leo looked at both sets of people, and after a slight conflict of issues, decided to return to his fellow guild members. He was already feeling a little bit left out from the group and as a result did not want to alienate himself any further. Sasha naturally seemed to want to make his life miserable by immediately commenting that he should sit away from her, as she did not want to endure the smell. “Oh give him a break Sasha,” Ruben told her in Leo’s defence.
“If I didn’t know any different I’d say a certain female ranger has a crush on our young sorcerer,” Samuel added, much to the amusement of the others.
Leo naturally ignored the remark, although it seemed to put Sasha on the defensive, “Do not be ridiculous. I mean look at him,” she said, ”He looks about ten, and stinks,” she added, glaring his way. Leo was quite used to name calling and verbal abuse from his step-family, so just shrugged and sat beside Kindra, although he did glance over Sasha’s direction before he did so. He could see her face redden, but whether that was through embarrassment or rage he was unsure.
After a meal of camp stew, and a few slices of bread, Leo felt really content with his fill. He leaned back, looking up at the darkening sky, thinking he might try and get an early night’s sleep, when he noticed Ruben standing over him. “I understand you have a book, given to you by Daron?” the man said. Leo just nodded his reply. “I am to make sure you read it… but only after your practices…come on get up,” the ranger said poking Leo with the toe end of his boot.
“Practice?” Leo said as he struggled back to his feet. “I understand your shielding needs work,” Ruben said gesturing for them to walk just a few yards from the group. “Oh great we have a ten-year old sorcerer who cannot shield us,” he heard the now common snide remark from Sasha, as he stepped away. He noticed Ruben look back at her, and although no words were said, Sasha did not speak any further.
After asking Samuel if he minded helping, the large warrior apprentice gladly accepted, and joined Leo and Ruben whilst the others watched on. With a large stick in hand rather than his sword, Leo stepped back slightly as Samuel prepared to lunge forward. “Right Leo, Daron tells me your shielding needs practice, so Samuel will attack on my call, so let us see what you’ve got.” Leo nodded his understanding although he was not sure he would do so well, especially as so many were watching him. Moreover, he knew Sasha in particular was waiting for him to fail, which rather than inspire him, only succeeded in making him even more nervous.
Chapter 19.
Leo waited for Ruben’s signal, which eventually came, and Samuel immediately leapt forward, moving far quicker than he thought possible for a man that size. Leo was caught by surprise and despite attempting to throw up a protective shield as he had been taught, felt panicked and failed miserably, and ended up getting a whack with the stick for his failure.
Thankfully Samuel immediately stepped back, and had not hit him with any great force, almost as if the warrior had expected him to fail. Unsurprisingly Leo heard Sasha’s mocking remarks, but tried his best to ignore them and not let her get to him. “Come on try again,” Ruben asked, “Just try and keep calm Leo,” Samuel added trying his best to encourage him.
After nodding he was ready once more, Ruben gave the signal to Samuel, who after just double-checking with Leo, lunged forward once more. Holding the large stick in place of a sword, the warrior apprentice suddenly froze in place, as his hands were forced down at his side, and the weapon he was holding dropped to the ground. “How’s that?” Leo asked, feeling very smug with his own achievements, turning to the others to await their applause.
After a few seconds he realised no praise was forthcoming, and could only hear the muffled cries of the warrior still entrapped by his force of magical energy. “Did I do wrong?” He asked releasing the warrior, and looking up towards Ruben.
“Not quite what I had in mind Leo, and it’s not particularly nice to do something like that to your friends,” Ruben eventually replied.
Leo’s head dropped, as he apologised to Samuel first, before doing likewise to the ranger taking his training session. “It was how Daron showed me to defend against a single attacker, without hurting him,” he added a little glumly.
Samuel, surprisingly, was about the only one that did not seem bothered by the incident, “And you did it well, Leo. Remind me not to pick a fight with you,” the warrior chuckled patting Leo firmly on the back.
“How are we supposed to have any protection when our sorcerer cannot even protect himself,” came the now familiar comment from Sasha, which was thankfully for Leo, quickly hushed down by the others.
Ruben decided it was probably best to leave the training for today, if only to stop Leo looking less capable than he already did. "No…Please, I can do this I know I can,” he said asking for Samuel to try one more time. The large warrior shrugged, “I don’t mind,” he said, “Although I would prefer it if you didn’t shield me this time,” he added with a wry smile. Leo nodded, taking several deep breaths, trying to prepare himself.
This time, before Ruben gave any signal, Leo decided he would pre-empt the call and focus a shield up before the attack, that way giving him a little longer to concentrate. His gaze flickered from the warrior to the ranger, waiting for the latter to show any sign he was about to signal the start. Leo waited for Ruben to check everybody was ready before concentrating as best he could under the circumstances, allowing just a small trickle of his power to reach his fingertips.
The barrier of energy was up and shimmering in all its grandeur as Ruben’s arm came down, giving the signal for Samuel to make his attack forward. However, the warrior could already see the glimmering light of the shield and did little more than poke it gently with the stick in his hand. Leo was beginning to think they were all going to tell him he had done something wrong again, but Samuel threw the stick to the ground and clapped, “Nice one Leo,” the warrior said with a smile.
Feeling quite pleased with himself, Leo returned to the small group, and sat himself down beside Samuel, and took the small book from the pocket of his robe. As the light of day was all but faded away, Leo hoped the small fire they sat near would help him see the pages within, but despite
his best efforts he found it all but impossible. After moving the book nearer to his face, and then moving it further away, and even leaning in closer to the flames, he was about to give up, when he remembered one of his earlier lessons.
He shook his head, more to himself for being so dumb sometimes, as he held out his palm, concentrating as a small globe of light manifested. He glanced just ever so slightly up, to see if anyone else was watching, hoping in some small way that he might have impressed them, only to catch a glimpse of Sasha staring at him. He instantly cast his gaze back towards the small book in his other hand, hoping she did not think he was staring again.
With the small glow of light pulsing ever so slightly in one palm, and his book held in the other, he read the first page of the introduction. The way the words were written indicated that the book was probably very old, as it often used words he was not familiar with. He thought about asking someone else what they meant, only to think that might make him look a little stupid, so thought better of it. From those he could understand he guessed the book was some kind of tuition manual for sorcerers, and thought it might be interesting to read on, although a new problem now existed. With both his hands in use, he was unsure on how he was going to turn the page, and looked up to see Sasha once more staring straight back at him. He thought to ask her if she would not mind doing it for him, but thought better of it, deciding instead to place the book down and do it himself.
After reading the second and third pages, Leo realised he was not actually taking anything in, as something else was playing on his mind; Sasha. He was confused as to why she was always so mean to him, as far as he recalled he had not done anything to offend her, and yet she seemed intent on taking every opportunity to run him down. With his mind preoccupied with thoughts of Sasha, Leo closed his book up and placed it back inside the pocket within his robe. He stared at the globe of light in his other hand for a few moments, realising he had managed to keep that there without actually concentrating, before letting it dissipate away with a small modicum of self-satisfaction.
As the darkness took hold, and the only light now being given by the slither of a moon, and the small fire they had in camp, Leo watched as Ruben and Sasha geared up, and still on foot, made their way from camp. “Where are they going?” Leo asked no one in particular, “Should we not go with them,” he added getting to his feet. “We would only slow them down Leo, leave them be,” He heard Kenton say.
“But shouldn’t we be with them? I mean what if they make contact with the enemy?” he asked, confused as to why the others were not sharing his concerns.
“Relax, It’s what they do,” Samuel added to proceedings, “They are just going to scout the area, they will be back in a while,” he added. Leo decided to do as was asked and settled back down, although he found himself unable to rest properly as he constantly looked out blindly into the dark night, awaiting the two rangers to return.
Next thing Leo became aware of, was the sound of chatter, and was shocked on opening his eyes to see it was almost light again. “Good Morning Sleepyhead,” Ruben said on noticing him awake. “I take it you slept well,” he added with a smile. Leo took a few seconds to gather his thoughts, as it dawned on him, that he must have fallen asleep, and remained so all night long. “Did Sasha make it back alright as well,” he asked without really thinking why. Ruben grinned, “She did, don’t worry. In fact, she has just moved ahead of us to scout the surrounding area,” the ranger added.
Leo sat up, feeling a little sheepish that everyone else in camp was already awake and up and about. “Sorry,” he said a little timidly. “What for?” Ruben asked handing him a bowl of what Leo presumed to be some kind of porridge. “I feel a bit silly, sleeping when everyone is ready,” he said taking the offer.
“Don’t be daft, you were obviously tired, and we have another long day ahead, so there is no harm in having a little rest. Besides, it’s still very early,” Ruben said.
Leo sat and ate his porridge as quickly as possible, worrying that he was holding all the others up, despite the ranger telling him otherwise. When he went to stand, his legs felt a little stiff, but thanks to the lotion given to him by Kindra, they were not anything like as bad as he thought they would be. After washing his bowl in the stream water, he splashed the cool liquid up into his face, as much to wake him up, as to wash, before joining the others back in the group. He handed the bowl back to one of the soldiers, who looked surprised at it being clean. The soldier looked barely older than he did, and Leo duly introduced himself, offering a hand of friendship. Only the young soldier appeared a little apprehensive about accepting it, although after looking around eventually did, albeit very quickly, “Brad,” the man said before turning away, taking the bowl with him.
Leo stood a little puzzled at the behaviour, and wondered why these young soldiers, who were putting their lives on the line every bit as much as he was, appeared to be treated differently. This was something to which he was going to find an answer to, and headed off with purpose back towards Ruben.
He found the ranger preparing his horse, checking the tautness of some of the straps, “Ruben…” he asked trying to think of what he was going to say. The Ranger acknowledged him but carried on with what he was doing, much to Leo’s annoyance. “Why do you lot from the guild treat the soldiers…well differently,” he added not being able to think of another word to use. The ranger turned and looked at him, as if puzzled by the question, “How do you mean?” Leo sighed a little, as he tried to think of another way of putting it. “Do you mean why are they doing the bulk of the work, whilst we sit around?” Ruben added before Leo could think of another way. “Well, yes pretty much. I just don’t understand why it is us and them,” Leo replied pointing over to where the soldiers were packing up the camp.
He waited patiently whilst Ruben finished checking the straps on his horse, for the man to give him an answer. “I suppose, it is just the way of things Leo, Guild members or those who have studied there are held in higher regard than mere soldiers.”
Leo was a little surprised by the reply, “Surely we are a team, I mean, I understand we need a leader, but shouldn’t we all be working together?”
Ruben shrugged, “I know what you’re saying Leo, but it is what it is,” the ranger told him.
“Well I think it is wrong,” Leo said feeling a little annoyed, “They are putting their lives on the line every bit as much as we are,” he added turning away and heading for his own horse. Ruben paused, as if thinking about what was said for a moment or two, before shaking his head with a smile, and continuing with his checks.
Although Samuel had readied Leo’s horse for him, which was fortunate, being as he was not really sure which straps went where and how tight they should be, Leo made a point of going over to help the soldiers pack away the last of the camp items. It was clear the young soldiers he was aiding were as puzzled about his actions as Samuel and Kenton, who stood and watched him for a while thinking it amusing.
After they were once more on their way, Leo glanced up and down the line a few times, to see if Sasha had returned, worried that something may have happened to her. “Will she be able to find us now we’re moving away from camp?” he asked Ruben.
The ranger laughed a little, “Worried about her are we?” he chuckled, “Don’t you worry about Sasha, she’ll be fine, she is more than capable of looking after herself,” he added putting Leo’s mind at ease.
Chapter 20.
Leo and his group had travelled for three days, zig-zagging south and east, across farms and wild meadows, looking for any sign of the enemy. Each day had followed the same routine as the previous ones, whereby they would ride a few hours, take breaks, with Ruben and Sasha moving ahead every now and then, just to scout the local area. Each time they returned, the same result came back, that neither had spotted any sign of any Belarians.
Each evening Leo was made to practice his shielding techniques, albeit with very limited success. He found it more difficult to conc
entrate when he knew the others were watching, judging him almost, especially Sasha, who even now, still seemed to take great delight every time he failed. If only they could see his offensive skills, he thought, then they would see how good he was, although for some reason Ruben never asked him to do any.
The only thing of any success Leo had achieved, was the small globe of light in his palm, which he now found he could maintain without thinking about it, making it appear and disappear at will. He had now read the first chapter in the book that Daron had given to him, although if truth were told, he actually understood very little of what it was saying. If he had read it correctly, it was trying to teach how a magician could manipulate his or her energy bolts to move differently. He knew his energy blasts always travelled in straight lines, and could not comprehend as to how or why you would want to bend them around corners. Of course he may have misunderstood the entire chapter, and made the entire thing up, something he would have to check with Daron, if he ever returned that was.
The Apprentice Sorcerer: The Caldronian Guild Page 16
