The Wandering Apprentice

by Matthew Mitchell

  The next day I awoke and helped cook with breakfast. She dismissed me to the deck with a chuckle. "Have fun Ott."

  As I walked up on deck a sight met my eyes that convinced me that Stain played dirty. All the crew were surrounding the hold lid. Each and every one held a trident. Stain and the Captain stood off to the side. Both were smirking at my reaction to this situation. Pat, Mophar, and Fiosrach rested in the rigging.

  "Well Ott. Let's see how your skills have developed." Stain motioned me towards the hold lid. The crew chuckled and opened a path to the lid. "I think the challenge might provide the motivation you need."

  I slowly walked to the center of the circle. I looked around and saw that the crew seemed calm and ready to follow orders.

  Stain's voice suddenly called out, "Go!" and the crew all jumped forward swinging their tridents towards me.

  I focused and cast the spell. A few of the tridents fell to the deck but most kept coming. I cast the spell again and a few more stopped yet even more continued. Suddenly all the tridents stopped just hand-lengths from me.

  "Stop!" Stain's voice cried out again. The crew fell back. Stain approached and nodded. "I know what the problem is now. You are hesitating without even realizing that you are doing it." He motioned someone forward. Raven and Suzie walked up. "You are afraid that you will hurt someone and that is making you not fully apply the spell."

  I realized that Stain was right. I was worried that I would hurt someone. Magic seemed so much more powerful than even a trident. Even against all the crew. I nodded. "That makes sense. How do we deal with that Stain?" I was at a loss.

  Stain smiled and handed both Suzie and Raven a handful of rings. "Please pass these around to everyone attacking." He turned back to me. "All of the rings are safe-guard rings. The spell is much like a shield but it focuses on preventing harm of any kind to the wearer. So, if the sailor goes flying he will simply bounce slightly, no harm done." Stain leaned in close. "You have to be able to accept that you will cause harm to those who wish harm upon you. But since you know these people that is what is hampering you."

  Both girls walked back with the spare rings. "Ladies, if you would both join the crew. Let's make this a little more interesting." Raven and Suzie smirked and put on a ring each. They then joined the circle of crew.

  "Now Ott, either you will succeed in stopping the attack or the tridents will push you around. Your shields will keep them from touching your body but with this many people your shields will also allow them to move you as they desire. Like kids pushing around a bucket." Stain's smile turned dark. "I imagine the ladies would not mind tossing you overboard just for the fun of it. So I suggest you try harder" With that he walked off.

  Suddenly the circle of crew seemed much more dangerous. Going overboard would not hurt anything but my pride. I did not want to give them that satisfaction. I looked around and saw the grins on Raven and Suzie. No doubt in my mind, they would throw me overboard if they could. Time to focus.

  "Go!" Stain's voice cried out once more.

  I focused on the makers mark. It was a circle with an island. The island had a building called a lighthouse in the middle. A platform at the top of the lighthouse held a huge fire. I focused until my surroundings faded to only the sound of feet advancing across the hold lid was all I heard. I cast the spell pouring all my will into making the tridents repel from the water. Knowing that this time I would not fail. I could not fail.

  Sounds of bodies going overboard, cries of fear, and gasps of astonishment brought my head up. I was surrounded by crew members just as before. However they now were tumbled to the ground. Some were hanging from the rigging. Others were pulling their mates back into the boat. Not a single trident could be seen.

  Stain stood near the Captain looking up with a grin. I looked up above the boat. A circle of tridents floated above the boat. All at the same level, just above the masts.

  "Well Ott. I think you have it now." Stain's voice was strained. I looked at him. He was laughing! "You just needed the right motivation. Now, slowly release the spell so that the tridents do not fall suddenly."

  That would be bad. With the image of the crew pinned by the falling tridents I slowly release the energy in the spell until their tridents stood on the deck. Each crew member had stood and taken back their tridents as I released the spell completely.

  "Good job Ott!" The Captain called out. "Very entertaining to see." He grinned and went into his cabin.

  Stain approached me and nodded. "Yes it was. I have only seen one mage disarm that many tridents that effectively in battle, and he was a water battle mage." He grinned. "By the way, I asked for volunteers for today. They all knew what could happen. Do not worry about them holding it against you."

  He handed me a piece of paper. "A new spell to learn. No more trident work after today. Work on your sword work. We reach Trojna's Rest in a week." With that he walked off.

  ***

  The spell that Stain had given me seemed to use all aspects of water magic that Stain had taught me. The basic premise was that water magic could be used to manipulate objects that had an affinity for other families of magic. After working with the spell for a day I realized that Suzie used something similar to strengthen the wood of the boat. She used water magic to add strength to sails also. While wood and cloth interacted with water they did not do so easily. Wood floated and cloth sank. They did not have any kind of affinity with water yet Suzie was using water magic to make the wood of the boat stronger and the sails tougher. I mentioned my observations to Stain. Which is why I was sitting in the galley trying to make a wooden spoon stronger. So far all I had done is given myself a headache.

  "Ok... what are you doing with one of my old spoons?" The cook asked as she came into the galley. "That one is so beat up it is not much good for much, maybe whacking the occasional sailor who tries to steal a roll."

  I sighed. "Well I am trying to learn a new spell that Stain gave me. It increases the strength of objects using only water magic, even if the object does not have an affinity for water." I held up the spoon. "Wood does not like water. So I figured I would try this spoon. Small is better when trying. Less strain."

  The cook laughed. "Then you do not have a headache?" She handed me a roll. "Even mage apprentices need food to work." She also took the spoon from my hand. "Well you are wrong about one thing. Wood does have an affinity for water."

  I shook my head. "Wood has an affinity for earth. That is where a tree grows." That was my understanding anyway.

  She chuckled. "A tree might grow in earth but it grows by pulling up water from the ground. The lines in the wood are all the little channels the tree uses to move the water. See, look here." She put the spoon right up to my face.

  This close I could see all the lines. They did look like tubes but they were solid.

  "They are solid, how could water move up those lines." This was not making any sense.

  "Well that is one of those mysteries is it not? But that is what happens. The tree drinks water at the roots and moves it up into the leaves. So maybe you should change how you are thinking. Seems as if you are coming at it from the wrong direction." She handed the spoon back. "Now.... I am going to make a stew. You, out of the galley." She shooed me up on deck.

  I found a place to sit and watch the bank roll by. A few more days until we reached Trojna's Rest. I wanted to have this spell learned by then but it eluded me. Trees lined the bank. Lots of them. I looked closely with my mage sight. Sure enough I could see water traveling up the trees and slowly escaping through the leaves into the air. But a tree's trunk was solid. I looked at the spoon in my hand. It seemed solid. I brought it right up to my face and tried to focus as close as I could. Slowly little pockets in the wood became visible. I kept looking and finally it started to make sense. The water did not just flow up the tree. The tree worked to move the water. It had to do with how the tree was built. I turned my mage sight onto the spoon and realized that the spoon did not seem very stout. Every
time I had tried the spell I had applied it to the spoon with the thought that it was solid, like rock. Thinking about the little pockets, the way water worked through the wood I slowly applied water magic not to the wood but to the pockets, along the lines. I poured the magic into the spoon like pouring water into a container of sand. Slowly and carefully. After a few minutes the water magic seemed to flow out of the edges of the spoon, just like water will flow out of a pond when it is full. I stopped the water magic.

  Looking at the spoon with my mage sight it was swollen with water magic, just like a rag would be with water. The spoon felt heavier. Not a lot but just more solid. I tried to bend it and found that it was still flexible yet there was a strength there that it did not have before. I stood up and turned around. Stain was standing right behind me.

  "I believe you understand the nature of the spell now. But you have learned another lesson. Even those who you do not know to be mages might have an insight into how magic might affect the world around you. Do not discount their insights." He took the spoon, "Ah. This is well done. I would suggest you return it to the cook. She will be quite happy to have a spoon of this strength back in her galley. Now... practice. I believe you can ask Suzie for some other material that will provide some variety." Returning the spoon he turned and walked to the hold. As he descended I realized something. My mage sight was still active and that everything around me flowed with water magic just like the spoon. Suzie must have worked very hard to infuse this much magic into the ship. This explained why the ship never seemed to have any problems. My appreciation for what she could do increased. She obviously took the care of the ship very seriously. Well.. time to find Suzie and see what materials she could provide for me to practice with. Perhaps she could even provide some advice since she seemed pretty proficient with this spell.

  I eventually found Suzie below decks. She was working on a few pieces of rope, turning them into a net of some sort.

  "Hey Suzie. Stain told me to find you and see if you could set me up with some materials to use in a spell." I sat down beside her. Raven was a few feet away trying to tie rope like Suzie. She was failing horribly, turning out a knot instead of a net.

  Raven's head snapped up and her expression was complicated. Irritation, a smirk, perhaps even surprise. "What trouble are you getting into now Ott?" Her comment was slightly snide.

  I looked at her and down at the wad of rope. "Less than you at the moment. I am following my master's orders. Trying to learn my craft. All of that kind of stuff."

  She rolled her eyes and huffed. Tossing the rope ball aside she pulled out a curved knife and started sharpening it. "That does not mean you are not getting into trouble."

  Suzie rolled her eyes at Raven. "Sure Ott. What are you working on?"

  I held the spoon out to Suzie. "More of this." Raven looked at the spoon and laughed.

  Suzie shushed Raven. "Ott... How long did it take you to load this much water magic into this spoon?" Raven's laugh died.

  I thought about it. "Perhaps maybe five minutes. Maybe less. Why?"

  Suzie's eyes went wide. She shook her head and grinned. "Ott I knew since our dual you were strong but I really had no idea." She held the spoon up. "To load a wooden spoon with this much water magic I would have to work at least an hour and afterwards I would need a nap." She handed the spoon back to me and smiled. "You look like you are ready for almost anything much less needing a nap."

  Wait. Did Suzie just flirt with me? She had not seemed to be interested in me the whole time we had been on board the boat. Raven's expression showed that she seemed to agree that Suzie meant something more than just what her words meant.

  "Here, start with this net." Suzie stood up and handed me the net she had just finished. "It needs to be fully charged. It will take more magic than the spoon but I think you can do it easy. I will go get a few other little things I have been waiting to charge. Maybe you can help me out while getting some practice." She walked up the ladder to the deck. From the sound of it she was headed to the Captain's cabin.

  "Be careful there Ott." Raven's voice was calm and quiet. "You would not want to get involved with someone without your master's approval. That's an easy way to lose your position or get punished."

  My head snapped to Raven. Her expression was fairly blank yet I could see that she was haunted by something. "What do you mean? Did something happen to you?"

  Raven looked at me with those deep, dark eyes full of emotion. "Yes and no. It is a long story Ott. Let's just say you need to be careful that neither of you step out of bounds here. I cannot leave her side except if she is going to the Captain's cabin, I am not allowed there. So I will keep an eye on the two of you. But I would talk to your master. I am sure he has some input on the matter." With that she went back to sharpening her blades, her expression blank.

  I sat there and contemplated what she said. Obviously at some point Raven had crossed paths with this kind of problem and come out the poorer. Interesting. But she had a point. I would not want to do anything to displease Stain or cause problems. I needed to talk to him about this soon. The sound of Suzie returning distracted me from my thoughts.

  "Okay, here are a few things for you to work on. All of this needs to be fully charged with pure water magic." Suzie walked into the hold carrying a large basket overflowing with rope, cloth, and bits of wood. She sat it down in front of me and sat opposite. "I will pull stuff out since it is kind of a tangle. I keep meaning to get this done but other stuff keeps coming up." She blushed a little. "Thanks for helping Ott." With that she handed me a small mass of cloth. "Do not worry about what each thing is, just fill it with magic." She pulled out a few small objects, like gems but whitish. "I am going to work on these river pearls. They can hold water magic and since they have an affinity for it they hold a lot more and are easier for me to fill. Less resistance."

  I took the cloth and looked at it much like I had looked at the spoon. I could see that it also was made up of lots of little gaps, places to hold the magic. I relaxed my muscles and focused my mind. I released water magic into the cloth.

  "Whoa!" Suzie breathed. "That's intense Ott."

  Her comment broke my concentration and I looked up. Her face was in awe and her eyes slightly unfocused. She was using her mage sight. I looked at Raven and realized she was rubbing the hairs on her arm and neck. They seemed to be standing on end. She noticed my attention.

  "I can feel something too. How much magic did you just use?" Her voice was hesitant.

  "Enough that the bag is fully charged already." Suzie's voice whispered. She shook her head and her eyes focused. "Sorry, I was using my mage sight and when you lit up I was surprised." She blushed and grinned. "You are like the moon when it is just above the water on the horizon, impossible to ignore." She lowered her head and focused back on the pearls.

  Her description was beautiful and frightening. I looked at Raven and her jaw had dropped just a little. She was looking at Suzie. "I have never heard magic described that way." Her head turned to me. "Seems as if you are something special Ott." She smirked but this smirk was softer, more gentle than the one she usually turned my way. She also turned her attention back to her work.

  What was that all about? Did I really light up that much when using magic? And what was with Raven? She acted as if she actually liked being near me instead of the usual disdain she obviously held for me. I pondered these things for a moment and then moved to another object. Might as well get my practice done. Answers to all my questions would just have to wait.

  After a while Suzie leaned back. "So tell me about this attack and chase." She smiled deviously when Raven and I looked surprised. "What? You think being the Captain's daughter is only about working hard? I hear things."

  Raven and I exchanged looks. Raven shrugged. "Might as well tell her. I bet she knows the gist of it already."

  I took a deep breath and explained about the attack at the cabin and then the chasing through Haver's Town.

  She ha
d leaned forward during my story. Leaning back again she closed her eyes and then said, "Well it is obvious that someone of power is after you and what you can do." She looked at me with those deep eyes. "And I think they want you bad enough that you should always be on the lookout for trouble."

  Raven chuckled, "Like he will not find it anyway."

  We all chuckled at that bit of wisdom and got back to work, each of us to our task.

  ***

  The next morning I woke up feeling as if I was a towel that had just been washed and wrung out. Evidently charging a basketful of items with water magic was a good workout. I had not felt this way since first working with MaPaine. I rolled out of my hammock and made my way to the galley. The cook made it clear that I was to keep helping her even if I was taking on new chores. Her words were along the lines of turning me into a decent cook even if it killed me. I had to chuckle. At least I enjoyed cooking. Getting to make all sorts of food out of various ingredients was almost a magic. When I reached the galley Stain was there already.

  "Good morning Ott!" He called out. "When the cook has you all sorted out come find me on deck." He stood up and left the galley. Evidently he had risen early and already eaten his fill.

  "Ott! If you want to eat come give me a hand!" The cook stuck her head out of the cooking area. "I am making eggs and bacon with left over biscuits. The Captain got me some fresh stuff from that last hamlet we passed."

  I grinned. It was always good to get fresh stuff in the kitchen, cook taught me new things. Plus I was hungry. My stomach made sure to let me know that.

  An hour later stuffed and satisfied I made my way to the deck. I found Stain sitting in the front part of the boat with his feet trailing in the cold water.

  "Sit down Ott. We need to talk." His tone suggested that this was going to be a serious talk. I sat down beside him and let my feet drag in the water. "Ott, when I took you on as an apprentice there were some things I took on as a responsibility. One of those is that I would stand in place for your father in matters of romance and marriage." My head snapped around to him. I could see him grinning. "Yes Ott. I might be an old man by anyone's definition but I am still pretty observant. I have noticed a few things and I feel we need to talk." He made a small motion with his hand and a thin shield swirled out from him to surround both of us. "I think privacy is needed just now. No one will be able to hear what we say for now." He looked at me and grinned. "So, Suzie seems to have taken a small fancy to you. What do you think about that Ott?"