"Well Pat. I think you might have the makings of a good teacher, either that or you just understand Ott extremely well." Stain's voice sounded muffled.
"I would say that Ott has the makings of a fine mage." Cracklecord chuckled. She sounded muffled also.
"Open your eyes Ott." Pat called out.
I opened my eyes. I could not see anything. It almost looked like I was in a cave. "Pat! What's going on?" I was starting to feel slightly scared.
"Let go of the idea of a shield." Pat sounded like he was laughing.
I let go of the shield. The pressure disappeared. A cloud of dust seemed to swirl around me and shrink down into me. Light! I could see everyone.
"What happened? What did I do wrong?" I must have messed up because they all had smirks on their faces.
"Ott, you did not fail. You made a shield of earth." Pat pointed out.
"Then what is so funny? And why could I not see anything?" I was so confused.
"Well, you made a shield. Only you made it so strong that not even light could penetrate it." Stain commented.
"That was a shield?" Now that was interesting. "How do I make a shield that I can see through?"
"You focus." Cracklecord quipped.
"What do you mean focus? I was focusing." I was a little frustrated. Evidently I did not understand what the word focus meant.
"You wanted a shield, but you did not focus on how that shield would behave." Stain said. "You have to think about what you want the shield to do. Do you want the shield to block magic, objects, people, or light? You have to consider what you want and how you want it to happen."
"Ok, let me see if I get this right. I have to feel a strong emotion to generate magic energy, focus on what I want the magic to do, and how it has to be done. That is when I will be able to successfully do magic?" I think I had that all correct.
"Sounds right." Pat said.
"Yep." Cracklecord chipped in.
"That would be a good way to think of the process." Stain stated. "Now, let’s work on your focus." He grinned at me.
An hour later I could make a shield of earth that could block out all magic energy but allow me to see my surroundings.
"Ok, let's have a little fun." Stain called out. He picked up a handful of pebbles. "These pebbles are related to earth magic. However, they are not charged with magic. This means they are basically inert magically." He tossed a pebble at my shield. It shot straight through the barrier and landed at my feet.
"How did it get through the shield?" I was surprised.
"What did you design your shield to do?" Stain asked.
"To block earth magic. Wait. If the pebble is magically inert then the shield will not block it?" My voice had risen a little.
"Correct. Now watch this." He tossed another pebble towards me. It hit the shield and fell to the ground. "I charged that pebble with a little earth magic. That is why it stopped."
"So what now?" I had no idea where he was going with the pebbles.
"Now, protect yourself!" He proceeded to throw pebbles at me. Some missed me, but a lot struck me in the legs.
"OW! Those hurt." I yelled at him.
"Do not complain. Change your shield to block them." He picked up another handful of pebbles. "Pat, Cracklecord, Want to help?" They both picked up pebbles and started to throw them from three separate directions.
Pebbles were flying all around me. Suddenly I realized what I needed to do. I changed my focus and made my shield block physical objects. The pebbles started to bounce off like the charged one had. They continued to throw pebbles at me even though the shield blocked all of them. I could feel little bruises on my legs from where the pebbles had hit. When were they going to stop.
"Are you going to stop any time soon?" I asked Stain.
"Nope, you have something else to learn." Stain grinned and threw more pebbles.
I started to develop a headache behind my eyes. My vision blurred.
"Stain! Something is wrong!" I was getting scared now.
Suddenly I could not breath. Everything went black. I passed out. Just great.
***
"Ott! Wake up!" A voice rang in my head. Why were they yelling? What had happened? The last thing I remembered was holding a shield to keep out pebbles as Stain, Pat, and Cracklecord threw them at me. I could not remember anything else after that.
"Ott! I know you are awake, now open your eyes." Stains voice sounded a little annoyed. I guess it was time to open my eyes. Sounded easy, but it was not real easy. My eyes finally opened. It felt like they had been closed for years.
"There you are. We have been waiting for you." He leaned back and I could see that Pat and Cracklecord were sitting on either side of him.
"About time you woke up. I have been bored. Have not had anyone that I could throw pebbles at without them doing something back." Pat said calmly. There were smoky circles on his scales.
"I told you, salamanders are reactionary creatures." Stain was chuckling under his breath.
"Hey, I warned you. You throw pebbles at me I throw fireballs back." Cracklecord stated. "It is not my fault you have no impulse control."
"How do you feel Ott?" Stain asked.
"My head hurts and I am really tired." I still did not know why.
"What is the last thing you remember?" Stain was handing me a cup of water.
"I was holding my shield against the pebbles. Then I guess I passed out. That is all I remember. Why did I pass out?" I was confused.
"Well, you have run against an important principle. Your shield blocked out all physical objects. Air is physical. You ran out of good air and passed out." Stain smiled. "It is a lesson you learn pretty quick. Also, if you are unconscious you cannot perform magic. Hence, the shield failing."
"Ok, so how do I fix that?" I did not understand.
"I want you to think about it. You have to figure out the solution." Stain sat back and drank from his cup.
I thought about it for a few minutes. How do you make a shield that will block objects like pebbles while letting air through?
"Does a shield of air block air?" I asked. "I mean one that is set to block physical objects."
"No. If you have an air shield set to block objects air still flows through it. But how would you have a shield of earth that would allow you to pass air through?" Stain smiled. "That is the problem I want you to figure out."
"Well, only two things come to mind. If I made a shield of earth mixed with air. Or if I allowed for a gap in the shield somewhere that allowed air to flow through. But that would leave a hole that might allow other things through." That is all that came to mind. Maybe something else was possible. I did not understand much about magic yet.
"Those two ideas are very valid. There are a few more advanced ways: an air stone for example. However, with you being able to control both earth and air, the easiest solution would be to make a shield of earth that has an element of air. Let's give that a try." He motioned me to stand up. "Make a shield that is equally earth and air magic."
I stood up. I felt ready to try this. I braced myself and reached for the energy I could feel inside me. I pushed out both earth and air. A bubble of brown earth magic and white air magic spun out from me. They seemed to rub together and try to mix.
"Good, that is a very good shield. Notice how the two magic’s push against each other. Earth and air do not mix but also do not oppose each other." Stain grinned. "Now, make sure that you block for physical objects."
He motioned to Pat and Cracklecord. "Let's throw stuff at Ott again." They all grabbed pebbles and started throwing them at me. I quickly changed the shield to block for physical objects. They continued throwing objects but some pebbles seemed to spark.
"Why are some pebbles sparking?" I watched more sparking off the shield.
"Those are ones that are charged with different magic’s. They are reacting with the magic of the shield." Stain grinned. "Are you getting dizzy? Any light-headedness?"
"Nope. I f
eel fine." I really did.
"Ok. I think you have got this one down." He stopped throwing pebbles. "I want you to add water magic to the shield."
I focused on the magic and focused on water magic joining the earth and air shield. A swirl of blue swelled out from me and joined the brown and air shield.
"Good. Notice how it takes more focus to make the three magic’s work together. That is the nature of magic. However you can make it happen because you have all the affinities." Stain was looking at the shield. "Now add fire to the mix."
I focused again and pulled on the fire magic. A swirl of orange flowed out to the shield. Holding the shield was getting a little hard, taking much more focus.
"Nice. It is still a little rough, but I believe it would block most magical attacks. Let's check the blocking of physical attacks." Stain started throwing pebbles again. This time some pebbles seemed to dent the shield a little.
"Well, I think that with a little practice you will not have any problem." Stain stopped throwing pebbles and dropped the rest. "I think it might be time for dinner."
I noticed that it had started getting dark. Food sounded good.
We got dinner put together and all sat around the fire.
I thought while I ate. If I had known how to shield back in the cabin I would never have been hurt. Which brought back to mind the attack. "Stain, do you have any idea of who it was that attacked us at the cabin?"
Stain stopped eating for a moment and looked at me. "I have no idea. But I do know that they were looking for you and the only reason I can think for them to want you is your magical ability." He looked upset at this.
"What would they want with me?" I had no idea what they would want with me.
Stain sighed, "Well no matter how good a person you are there are some things they could do with you. Perhaps even force you to do." He grinned. "I am glad that I arrived when I did. I want to get some use from you first."
I shook my head and grinned. "So if they were after me, my dad is safe?" I had worried about him being in Sunnybrook.
"He should be fine. Plus simply by being in Sunnybrook he should be safer." Stain seemed positive.
I ate a few bites and thought. Then I asked Stain, "What about me? Will I be safe on the road?"
Stain grinned, "Protected by the King's own mage, a massive cranky packshell, a fire salamander, and a dragonet... I think we can say you should be fine. Plus you are now aware of being a mage."
A comfortable silence developed over the next couple of minutes.
"So. It looks like you have learned how to shield. Shielding is a very important skill. I want you to practice it constantly until you can shield automatically." Stain had finished his food. "After we get to Haver's Town you will start learning more magic. But until then I want you to focus on your shields. Now, there are some mage abilities that are needed by most mages, for you they are necessary. These abilities are not innate and few mages have them automatically. There are ways to gain these abilities. The first is beast tongue. It is pretty much what it sounds like. It gives the mage the ability to talk the same language as animals. This is useful for working with animals in sending messages, having animals help the mage, and acquiring items. The second ability is mage sight. It also is pretty simple. It gives the mage the ability to see magical energy that normally is invisible to the naked eye. This is extremely handy during magical attacks." He paused for a minute.
"How do I gain these abilities?" Ok, I will admit I was curious about them. Be able to talk to animals and see magic. Sounded good to me.
"To gain the ability of beast tongue you have to drink a potion. I will have to make the potion. In order to gain the ability of mage sight you have to find and eat a specific set of plants in a specific order." Stain grinned "But tonight we sleep. Tomorrow we worry about the rest of things." He stood and walked to his tent.
Pat looked up, "I think I will go to bed also. I have used a lot of energy today." He walked to our tent and disappeared into the depths of its shadows.
"I think I will settle down too." Cracklecord climbed into the fire. "Could you put a few more pieces of wood on the fire Ott?"
I placed more wood in the fire so it burned better. I sat for a while looking into the flames.
"Ott. Go to bed. Trust me you have worked hard today and need your sleep." Cracklecord's voice came from the depths of the flames.
I did as she instructed and went to bed. So many things had happened today I figured my mind would run in circles all night. Evidently my mind had other ideas as I fell asleep as soon as I laid down.
***
"Lunch time!" Stain called out. We gathered around Tag and passed out food. Some Stain and I had foraged from along the trail. The rest from baskets on Tag's back.
"So, how is the shielding going?" Pat asked. He asked this with a smirk on his face.
"Fine. I think I am doing ok." I said this because they had been throwing pebbles at me all day. The minute it seemed like they were out of ammunition and it was safe to drop my shield more pebbles would fly in from another direction.
"How many times have you been hit this morning?" Cracklecord asked.
"Maybe 20 times? Something like that." I was a little frustrated I had been hit at all.
"Well, your shielding seems to be progressing nicely." Stain pronounced. "Especially considering most people take a week to progress this far. I have had some learn faster, but none with more than one magic." He looked at me and grinned.
"I think his shielding is doing well, I worry about when he is asleep." Pat motioned with a piece of sausage.
I had not thought about that. What do mages do when they are asleep?
"I think I will explain that tonight and Ott can start to learn another skill tonight." Stain looked thoughtful.
"What about him waiting to learn new spells?" Cracklecord interjected.
"This will be an application of skill, not really a spell." Stain pointedly told her.
Wait, another skill? What in the world is he talking about?
"But no questions for now. I have two things I want Ott to do between now and tonight." He stood up and handed me a vial. "Thanks to Pat I was able to make this while you packed this morning. Drink it quickly and do not spill or spit any."
I opened the vial and sniffed at the thick liquid inside. It smelled like moldy blood. I really did not want to drink this.
"What is it? And do I really need to drink it?" The thought made lunch sit heavily in my stomach.
"Oh, quit being a baby and drink it. All of you have at one time or another." Pat huffed at me, little plumes of steam coming from him.
Fine. I put the vial to my lips and sucked down the liquid. It tasted worse than it smelled and seemed to quiver down my throat. I coughed and hacked but did not lose any of the liquid.
"Now! You have beast tongue." Stain seemed pleased. "Most of my other apprentices had to try twice at least to choke it down."
"Took me about three times." Cracklecord shivered. "Especially since it has dragonet blood in it."
Blood! I had just drank blood. Wait! She said dragonet blood. That meant I had just drank Pat's blood! I gagged but nothing came up. I looked at Pat and he snickered.
"Yep. You just drank a potion with some of my blood in it. Deal with it my friend." Pat laughed even harder.
"So, can he understand me now?" A voice I did not recognize spoke. It was a slow, deep, soft voice. I looked around to see who had walked up on us. No other travelers had appeared.
"Who was that?" I wondered out loud. I looked around. Only me, Pat, Cracklecord, Stain, and Tag were in the clearing.
"Me." That slow voice answered.
Everyone had a massive smile on their face. I could hear each of them chuckling deep in their chest.
"Who?" What was going on?
"Over here Ott." Tag moved his head into my view. "I guess he can hear me if he is wondering who's voice that was."
I stared at Tag. "That was you? I did not r
ealize the potion worked that fast." I was dumbfounded.
"Yep. As soon as you get past the gagging it works." Stain spoke around his chuckles. "Now, let me properly introduce you to each other. Ott, this is my companion and packshell, Tag. Tag, this is my apprentice in all things, healing and magic, Ott."
"Nice to finally meet you Ott. I think you are an interesting person. Thanks for the food by the way." Tag seemed to smile.
"No problem Tag. I figured that you were carrying everything and a little treat would make things easier." I was talking to a packshell. This was beyond odd.
"Ok. Let me explain a few things." Stain stood in his lecture pose. "When a mage or anyone else for that matter, gains beast tongue there are a few things you must understand. There are going to be a few exceptional creatures who can carry on a conversation just like anyone else. Tag is an example of this. He is as intelligent as the rest of us. However, ones like him are the exception. Most animals will have a limited range of conversation and some will only know a few words. Also, this means that you need to determine if any animal that you approach is one that is gifted with high intelligence or not. If it is, enlist them to be an ally. If not, do not get too attached."
"Most animals are pretty boring." Tag spoke this drily. "I rarely get to converse with others."
"Ok. We need to keep going if we want to make our next campsite before dark." Stain stood up. "Ott, I have here a list of plants that I want you to harvest. The part you need to collect is listed beside each plant." He handed me a small tablet with a list on it. "Do not do anything but harvest those pieces. Do not worry about shielding, I think you could use a break."
We all stood up and started walking down the trail. I looked at the list on the tablet. Four plants, one part of each plant. This did not seem like it would be too hard. I started looking to either side of the path for any of the plants. All I saw were bushes and trees. The plants were all ones that would grow under deadwood, in cracks of rocks, from tree limbs, or in water.
"Stain, I will have to leave the trail to gather these." I pointed out. So far we had stayed on or near the trail.
The Wandering Apprentice Page 11
