Trail of the Gods ms-4

by Brian S. Pratt

  “Lunch!” he hears Ezra calling. Canceling the spell, he puts his mirror down in frustration. He understands better now how the magic is locating it, he just hasn’t come up with a good way to actually counter it. This is harder than I thought.

  As he gets up from the workbench, he realizes he’s quite tired from all the magic he’s been doing. His head aches a little and when he leaves his workshop, he has to shade his eyes to keep the sun from hurting him. Once in the kitchen, he washes up and then takes his place at the table.

  “How’s it going?” asks Jiron.

  “Frustrating,” he replies. “Just when I feel I understand, I realize that I don’t.”

  “I’m sure you’ll get it,” Tersa says encouragingly. “This will just take time.”

  “I know,” replies James. “Just not sure how much time we’ll have.”

  “What do you mean?” she asks.

  “Oh, nothing,” Turning to Illan, he asks, “How’s the training going?”

  Shaking his head, he says, “I doubt if anyone will kill themselves with their sword, but they’ve just had no experience at this sort of thing. A couple are good marksmen with the bows, especially Errin, but they’re hopeless with swords. Given enough time, I’m sure we can shape them up.”

  “It’s only been a few days,” Jiron says.

  “True,” admits Illan.

  “I’m going into town today,” he announces to everyone.

  “I better come with you,” Jiron states.

  “Me, too,” Miko pipes up.

  “Alright,” he agrees. “We’ll leave right after lunch.”

  James is quiet during most of the meal, his mind on the problem with the spells as well as the funds needed for this place. There’re lots of gadgets he could introduce into this world from his own that would turn a profit, like the steam engine or the printing press. But revolutionary ideas like those usually bring turmoil and strife among those trying to control them. This world already has enough to worry about. Maybe his trip into town will bring an idea or two.

  When they finish eating, they go out to the barn and saddle their horses. On the way down the lane, James looks over to the construction site and sees they’ve managed to get the walls to the house up and have begun to finish the roof.

  At the end of the lane, red haired Moyil stands guard, the horn hanging at his side. “Do me a favor,” James says as they approach him.

  “Yes, sir?” he asks.

  “Don’t blow the horn when we return,” he tells him.

  Giving him a nod, he replies, “I won’t sir, promise.”

  “Thank you, Moyil,” he says as he leaves the lane and turns onto the road.

  “You know,” says Jiron, “since we’ve gotten the extra lads, we’ve been bothered by fewer people.”

  “Good,” states James. “They’re a nuisance we can do without.”

  Once in town, they make their way to Alexander’s where he arranges for Roland to be able to withdraw funds. He also withdraws another two hundred golds. Leaving Alexander’s shop, he then heads over to the blacksmith to check on the status of his box.

  They find Kraegan again at the anvil working on some kind of iron bar. When they pull up, one of his apprentices tells him of their arrival. Glancing over to them, he hands the iron bar to his apprentice who continues working the metal while he goes over to greet them.

  “Ah, master blacksmith,” James greets him.

  “Here to see about your box?” he asks.

  “That’s right,” he replies. “Just wondering if it was ready yet?”

  “About two more days,” he says. “All but the interior lining is completed and the man who will be doing that gets back in town this evening. Tomorrow at the earliest, but most likely the day after.”

  “Excellent,” exclaims James. “I appreciate the update and I’ll not keep you from your work any longer. Good day to you.”

  “Good day to you, too,” Kraegan says. Then he returns to where his apprentice is working the bar.

  “Are we heading back now?” asks Miko.

  Shaking his head, James says, “One more stop first.”

  He takes them down to where Burl the chandler’s shop is located and stops in front of it. As he gets down from his horse he sees Mary, Devin’s mother, coming out the door carrying a bundle of goods.

  “Good day, Mary,” he greets her.

  “Why, James,” she says to him, a smile on her face. “It’s so good to see you. How is Devin doing?”

  “He’s taking well to it,” he says. “He seems to be enjoying it.”

  “Good,” she says, almost breathing a sigh of relief. “He’s always been a quiet boy and I was worried about him.”

  “He’s doing fine,” he assures her.

  “He never did much care for the farm,” she says. “Oh, he did well and I believe he would’ve made a good farmer, but his heart never was in it. I remember when you first came to us, his eyes lit up at the things you talked about. And then after you faced the demon, or whatever that was, I knew he’d never again be satisfied with farming.”

  “I’m sorry,” he tells her.

  “Oh, don’t be feeling bad or anything,” she tells him. “I may worry, but that’s a mother’s prerogative. I know a boy must find his own way, maybe this is his. At least with you, he shouldn’t get into any real danger.”

  James glances to Jiron a second then says, “We’ll try to keep him safe.”

  “I know you will,” she says matter-of-factly. “You’re a good man. But I must be off, no telling what the girls have gotten themselves into while I’ve been here in town.”

  “You take care Mary,” he says.

  “You too, James, it was nice seeing you,” she says as she moves past him with her bundle. Down the street, he can see her horse and wagon.

  Feeling better about Devin being out at The Ranch, he proceeds into the chandlery.

  Burl is behind the counter and looks up as the door opens. He breaks into a smile when he sees them walk in through the door. “Welcome,” he greets them.

  “Good day to you Burl,” James replies.

  “What can I get for you today?” he asks.

  “Just looking around,” he tells him.

  “If you need anything, just let me know,” he says.

  “I will,” James assures him.

  As they move through his shop, he looks at the goods and tries to come up with an idea, possibly a variation on what’s already available. He sees bolts of cloth and other items people may want to buy, but nothing really springs to mind. Discouraged, he leaves the shop as Burl’s “Come again” follows him out the door.

  “Didn’t find anything?” Jiron asks him.

  “No,” he replies. Before mounting, a thought suddenly occurs to him. He looks around at the people on the streets and a smile comes to his face. Why didn’t he notice it before? Turning around, he returns to Burl’s store. Ten minutes later he leaves, Jiron and Miko laden with several bundles each.

  “What do you want with all this stuff for anyway?” he asks.

  “You’ll see,” he replies cheerfully. Yes, you’ll definitely see.

  Back at The Ranch, he has them put all the bundles in his room and then asks Tersa to join him there. Before closing his door, he asks Jiron and Miko to leave.

  “Why?” Jiron asks as he’s being escorted out.

  “Because I like surprises,” James replies, shutting the door in his face.

  As he stands at the door with his ear to it, he tries to listen in to what they’re saying inside.

  “That’s not very polite,” admonishes Miko.

  “Neither is shutting the door in my face,” he retorts. “Shhh!” he says to Miko as he tries to hear what’s being said inside. James is talking so softly that he can’t make out the words.

  Suddenly the door opens up and he stumbles into the room, almost colliding with his sister. “Jiron dear, be good enough to bring the bundles to my room. Thank you.”

&nb
sp; He moves aside to allow his sister to pass through the door and then he turns to see James smiling on the bed. “What?” he asks, his smile making him slightly irritated.

  “Oh nothing,” he tells him.

  “What’s going on with my sister?” he asks.

  “Nothing to be worried about, I assure you,” he replies. Then he nods to the bundles sitting on his bed, “Your sister is waiting for these I believe?”

  Giving James an annoyed look, he picks them up and takes them to his sister’s room.

  “Just what are you up to?” Miko asks him from the hallway.

  “Like I said, I like surprises.”

  From the other side of the house, James hears Tersa’s door slam shut and then he sees Jiron stalking into the front room.

  When he sees James looking at him, he says, “She kicked me out!”

  “Why don’t you take Miko and see if you can bring in some meat?” he asks.

  “Alright,” he says. Then to Miko he adds, “Grab that crossbow of yours and we’ll see what we can do.”

  “Okay,” he tells him as he moves to get it.

  James watches him go, I suppose I could’ve told him, but I do like my surprises. This won’t generate a great deal of coins, but it should bring in some.

  Getting up off his bed, he heads back out to his workshop to see about resolving the hiding spell. The rest of the afternoon flies by as he works on it and by the time dinner is almost ready he thinks he may have it. But he is so tired from all he’s done that he decides to wait until morning before attempting it. No sense in taking chances when he is this tired.

  After dinner, Tersa lets him know she’s done. While they’re all in the front room relaxing, he has her bring it out.

  “Finally!” exclaims Jiron.

  They all wait expectantly while she goes to her room to get the big secret. When she returns, she has in her hands, an object. It’s about a foot in height, with two stubby arm and two stubby legs as well as a mouth sewn on and two eyes.

  “What is it?” asks Roland.

  “A teddy bear,” James explains.

  “What’s it for?” he asks.

  “Tersa, give it to Arkie,” he says.

  Bringing it over to where Arkie sits in Ezra’s lap, she holds it out to him.

  They all stare as he looks at it and then tentatively reaches out and grabs hold of it. Brining it closer he looks at it and then hugs it. He finds the soft material Tersa had used for its outer shell feels quite soothing against his skin and the stuffing within is soft and comfy.

  “That’s what it’s for,” he says. “It’s for kids, small kids mostly. Where I come from, every child has many of such things.”

  “You going to sell them?” asks Illan.

  “Delia will, I’m sure,” he says. “Tersa will get a copper each and the rest will go to The Ranch to help keep it going and pay for the supplies.”

  “You’re not going to be able to charge much for them,” Roland says.

  “Probably not,” admits James, “but it’s a start.” He looks to Arkie who has snuggled up with the teddy bear and has a most content look upon his face.

  “Thank you,” Ezra says to him.

  “You’re welcome,” he replies. In a world where every woman can sew, there may not be a great market for this, it’s true. But hopefully, initially, it will sell well. If nothing else, it will bring the children happiness.

  Chapter Nine

  The next morning, Arkie is inseparable from his teddy bear. Wherever he goes, he drags it along behind. “That was a good idea,” states his father as he watches him toddle across the floor. He glances up to James, who has just left his bedroom.

  “He does seem to like it,” he agrees. Moving into the kitchen, Ezra gives him a quick breakfast before he heads out to the forest where the stool marked with the ‘X’ lies. He casts the spell of concealment upon it he worked out last night before dinner.

  Once it’s cast, James returns to the workshop and picks up the mirror lying on his workbench. Concentrating hard, he attempts to locate it. The image settles upon the spot where he knows it to lie but sees a black spot where it should be.

  That’s no good! Whoever is looking will know where it is even if they can’t see it! Canceling the spell he sits back and considers the problem once more. He needs to prevent someone’s magic from even knowing where it is, not just being unable to see it. Maybe warp the magic around it, so whatever spell is cast will pass it by as if it wasn’t even there? Perhaps.

  Excited by the idea, he tries to come up with a way for it to work, keeping in mind that the box will need to be able to absorb magic from the surrounding area in order to sustain the spells. If the magic is unable to be drawn to the box by the crystals due to the effect of the concealing spell, then he’s got a problem.

  He considers the problem and then a thought comes to him. Is there a difference between magic at large in the natural world, and magic that is being manipulated by a mage? Could there be some slight alteration that he can exploit to make this work?

  The difference could be likened to a river and a lake. A river being the force driven by a mage, and the lake being the static magic in every living thing.

  So intent is he in trying to figure this out, that he doesn’t even realize it’s getting close to noon until Ezra sends Miko out to retrieve him for lunch. “But I’ve almost got it!” he exclaims to Miko.

  “She said to get you or we don’t eat, so get you I will,” he says. “It’ll wait a few minutes longer James, you need to keep up your strength.”

  Feeling slightly light headed from the intense concentration he’s been doing all morning, he says, “You may be right. I think I could use a break.”

  “What do you say we go and take a bath after lunch?” he suggests. “You haven’t taken one for several days, that’s not like you.”

  Suddenly feeling quite dirty, he says, “You’re on.” He walks with him back to the house where Miko holds the door open for him.

  With a quick, “Sorry” to everyone, he takes his seat and the meal commences. Afterward, he and Miko, along with Illan and Jiron go out to his bathing pool.

  They settle in and are ten minutes into it when they hear someone approaching. He hears Miko give a short intake of breath and looks up. There stands Errin several feet away and she’s looking in their direction with a smile on her face.

  “Get along with you!” Illan hollers over to her from where he sits naked in the water.

  Giving them all a mischievous grin, she continues with her patrol and soon disappears in the trees. They can hear her begin to whistle a merry tune.

  “She’s got more pluck than any of the others,” Illan tells them.

  “I have to agree,” adds Jiron. “Definitely more dedicated and takes to instruction better than the rest.”

  “Women can be fierce fighters,” comments James. “Why, where I come from they tell of a band of women, Amazons they’re called and…” For the rest of the time they spend in the bathing pool, they argue the various merits and handicaps of having women fight. The consensus seems to be, that though they don’t figure into the armies of this world, they can be good fighters.

  After they get out of the bathing pool, James heads back to his workshop, resolving to figure this whole thing out before going to bed tonight.

  “Need any help?” Miko asks when he sees the direction James is heading.

  “No,” he replies. “Not with this, anyway. Thanks.”

  “Alright,” he says. “Might go and see if I can’t bag some rabbits, Tersa asked me earlier if I could.”

  “Why?” he asks.

  “She said their fur would be good for her teddy bears,” he explains.

  Nodding, James says, “They would at that.” Leaving Miko behind, he makes for his workshop. Good to see she’s taking a real interest in this.

  Entering his workshop he begins working on the problem. It takes him the rest of the evening and almost the entire following day
before he gets it to work. Ezra had sent Miko to fetch him for dinner but he didn’t even bother answering his call, so engrossed was he. She finally relented and allowed everyone else to eat and was mollified by Miko bringing him out a large platter of food to the workshop.

  When exhaustion finally takes him, he falls asleep at his workbench. In the morning when he wakes up, he’s disoriented at first, not realizing where he is. Then he recognizes his workshop and resumes working.

  Just before dinner of the third day, he has everything set. He’s taken one of his crystals that had been charging and places it upon the stool in the woods. The crystal has been infused with spells which he believes will hide the stool from any type of magical searches.

  Holding his breath, he picks up his mirror and lets the magic flow as he concentrates on finding the stool. The mirror remains normal, the image never even so much as flickers.

  Excited, he puts more and more magic into it as he steps up to more intense searching. Still, the mirror remains blank. Finally, he’s putting so much magic into it that his head begins to hurt and his vision starts growing hazy. Suddenly, the image in the mirror begins to shimmer and with a loud crack, the glass in the mirror shatters.

  “Yeah!” he yells as he stands up quickly. But the intense use of the magic has weakened him greatly and his legs fail to hold him. Crashing to the floor he lies there, bruised but smiling. It worked!

  The door to the workshop opens up and Fifer comes in, sword in hand. Seeing James lying on the floor and the shattered mirror on the workbench, he begins to sound the alarm.

  “It’s okay,” James croaks from where he lies on the floor.

  Pausing, Fifer comes closer to hear him better and asks, “What?”

  “Don’t worry,” he tells him. “Everything is alright.”

  “You don’t look alright,” he says, returning his sword to its sheath.

  Jiron rushes into the workshop and Fifer says, “He’s okay.”

  Giving James a cursory glance, he asks, “Do too much again?”