Pat grinned, "Good job Ott."
Fiosrach, "Very nice rotation."
Raven moved closer. "Is it ok if I get closer?" She moved right up to the dirt devil, her hair not moving a bit. Which just proved that no wind was involved. She reached out and put her hand into the dirt devil. She quickly pulled it out. "That was interesting."
"I have never seen a human do this." Fiosrach said, "Only my kind." He moved closer, rubbing against my leg as he moved.
I felt a surge of magic, it felt like someone had thrown me into a river of earth magic. Suddenly Raven screamed as the dirt devil seemed to bulge and swell. It stretched into the sky reaching above the roof of our rooms. It swelled out until it filled the entire courtyard. I suddenly could not see anything and felt like I was being blasted by sand.
I jumped backwards tripping over Fiosrach and falling to the ground. Suddenly the dirt devil died, leaving behind a fine dusting on every surface.
Raven turned to me. Dirt coated her and her hair was no longer straight. In fact her hair looked like a black puff. "Why did you do that!" She yelled at me. She stormed over to me and stood over me.
Pat, Fiosrach, and I looked at her. Pat started snickering, Fiosrach did too sounding like distant thunder, I could not help myself. I started laughing.
"It is not funny!" A dangerous look came into her eyes.
I calmed myself. "I did not mean to do that. It just happened."
Stain's voice came from the courtyard door. He was leaning on the frame, breathless. "No, it is not funny and it did not just happen. I felt the surge of magic from inside." He expression was confused. "What happened here... exactly?" His tone made it obvious he wanted to know and he was not going to wait.
I explained what happened with my dirt devil.
He thought for a moment. "And you only used a little magic?"
"Yes. But then I felt a massive surge of earth energy pour through me." I was confused. "I have no clue where it came from."
Stain paced back and forth. He suddenly stopped and looked at Fiosrach. "And this surge happened when Fiosrach brushed past you?"
"Yes. But so what?" I shook my head. "I did not lose my concentration."
Stain grinned. He moved into the stall with Tag and pulled out a shovel. He proceeded to dig two small holes in the courtyard. He now motioned me over to the first hole. "Think you could fill this with water Ott?"
I looked at the hole and grabbed a bucket. Stain shook his head and grinned again. "With earth magic please?"
Oh. I looked at the hole and raised my hand over it. My earth magic dripped into the hole and water slowly filled the hole to the brim.
Stain nodded. "Good. Now please step over to the other hole." He motioned to Fiosrach. "Would you join Ott please? And please lean against his leg."
Fiosrach looked at Stain with an expression that could only be described as curious. But he complied. I could feel his warmth through my pants.
"Now, Ott. Please fill this hole with water also." Stain stepped back and grinned.
I shook my head and raised my hand over the hole again. Magic did not drip from my hand this time, it poured off in such a torrent that my arm shook. The hole filled up so fast with water that it blasted out of the hole and soaked all of us but Stain. I cut off the spell. Water dripping was the only sound in the courtyard. I looked around and saw the same expression on everyone's face except Stain. Shock and confusion. As one we looked at Stain, who was grinning so much that it frustrated us.
"What just happened?" I asked Stain, my voice showing my frustration.
Stain's grin grew. He looked at Fiosrach, "Did you feel a drain my friend?"
Fiosrach's head snapped up. He looked at Stain and then his jaw dropped. "I did that time. I just did not think anything about it." He looked up at me. "What just happened?" His confusion became clear.
Stain motioned all of us towards the stairs. "Why not get you all dry and I'll explain what I think happened."
About an hour later we all sat down in the common room. Stain had been talking to Ing.
"Well. What happened?" Raven was obviously still upset.
Stain looked at her and grinned. "Something that I have never heard of yet it makes perfect sense." He looked at Fiosrach. "Let me ask you a question. Did your elders ever tell you what happens if a mage puts an earth spell on a building that is protected by a gargoyle?"
Fiosrach looked at Stain. He thought for a moment and smirked. "The spell becomes stronger and more powerful. This is due to the presence of the gargoyle." He looked at me.
Stain grinned. "That is what I learned also." He leaned back and looked at me.
I thought about this for a moment. It clicked. My head snapped to Fiosrach. My breath caught in my throat.
Raven looked at all of us in disgust. "Could someone fill in the girl? I have no idea what that has to do with today!" Her frustration was obvious.
Stain made a motion for me to explain.
I took a deep breath. "It means that when Fiosrach leaned against me, the thing he is protecting, his magic amplified my spell. Since it was an earth spell." The thought hurt my head but the evidence was undeniable.
Raven leaned back and looked at me. "So what?"
Stain shook his head and leaned forward. "That means that any earth spell Ott can learn will be amplified as long as Fiosrach is touching him." He chuckled. "That also means Ott and Fiosrach together may be capable of more earth magic than any mage in existence." His grin became darker, sneakier. "Maybe ever."
We all sat there for a few moments.
"Let's eat! I am starved!" Brooke broke the silence as she joined the table. Noticing all of our expressions she asked, "What did I miss?"
Water everywhere
I woke up the next morning with a groan. I had worked all morning on learning those three spells and then still had to go practice sword craft with MaPaine. He had taught me a few tricks with the sword that most people would not be expecting, like using the grip to break their wrist or the flat of the blade to dislocate their hips. Either move pretty much removed an enemy from the fight. But this also meant I was sore and tired the next morning.
I opened my eyes to see a few pairs looking back at me. Cracklecord, Pat, and Fiosrach were all leaning over me.
"Good morning sleepy head!" They all snickered at once.
"What is going on?" I grumbled. I had never enjoyed being up early.
They all disappeared from view and I could hear them move into the outer room. I could hear other voices asking if I was up and moving yet. Sounded like Stain and Brooke. Time to get up I guess. I struggled out of bed and splashed some water on my face to dispel the last of my sleep. I put on some fresh clothes and walked out of my room. Seemed like I was the last one up and around. Seeing a bowl of food on the table I grabbed a seat and dug in.
I realized that it had gotten quiet after a minute. I stopped eating and looked around. Stunned and amused faces met my gaze.
"What?" I wiped my face thinking I had something on it.
"Wow!" This came from Raven. She looked stunned yet impressed.
"What is going on with you guys?" I felt very self conscious at the moment.
"We were just admiring the quantity of food that a growing young man can consume and how fast he can do it." Stain's voice was strangled with laughter.
The room exploded with laughter at Stain's statement. I blushed furiously. I looked down and realized I had eaten the entire bowl of food and could not remember what all had been in it. I started chuckling at myself.
"At least I have a good appetite." I looked around the room. "I am a growing young man as you say." This just seemed to set them off even more.
After a few minutes everyone had settled down. I took the time to notice everyone else looked like they were wearing traveling clothes. The rest of the rooms looked like they had already been emptied.
Stain noticed me looking around and smirked. "As soon as you feel full enough we would like to get the rest of the your stu
ff loaded and head out. The rest of the stuff is loaded, all that is left is the few things in your room." He leaned back and enjoyed my discomfort.
"I will only be a few minutes." I murmured as I went back into my room. In truth it might not even take that long. Most of the things the different mages had given me were in the magical bag I received that first night. The rest of my stuff was basically still packed except for some clothes and my weapons MaPaine had given me. These I put into the appropriate sacks and baskets. In a few minutes my room was clear of anything of mine. I carried all my containers out to the outer room where the boys were waiting to haul them down.
Stain smiled at me. "After you left for your lessons I gave Brooke a brief explanation of what happened yesterday. She agrees that our suspicions are close to what actually occurred based on her knowledge of lore." His eyes twinkled at this announcement.
I looked at Brooke and saw that she was measuring me with those eyes of hers.
She stood up. "I feel that you should know how dangerous this ability is." She walked up to me and leaned in close. "No one outside of this room needs to know about it. Otherwise there will be great troubles ahead." She walked away from me and headed down the stairs. Raven looked at me and then rushed after her.
"Well, that was interesting." Stain's look said he did not expect that kind of reaction from the minstrel.
"So are we going or not?" Cracklecord seemed anxious. She was moving from foot to foot. Her tail glowed like a lit ember.
Pat snickered, "Not very patient are you?"
Cracklecord glared at him. "I am not real enthusiastic about the next leg of the journey. I am a creature of fire. We do not like deeper water."
That sounded interesting. "The next leg of our journey? So you are continuing with us?" I had worried about if she was going to keep traveling with us.
Cracklecord's face split into a lop sided grin. "But of course I am going with you. I would not miss this adventure." Some of her anxiety seemed to settle.
Pat snickered again. "Even if you have to go to the great lake?" He was obviously poking a sore spot.
"I will be fine. Whereas you will have to fly for miles to find a tree to perch in and mock everyone." Her grin became much sneakier. "You will be much closer to me my sarcastic friend." Suddenly a small ember jumped up behind Pat and singed him on the tail. He jumped and whirled around.
"Blast it! Stop doing that!" He cried. I guess this was not the first time she had singed Pat's tail. I grinned.
Cracklecord snickered. "Do not tease if you cannot deal with the repercussions."
Stain shook his head. "Pat, I do believe she will keep doing that until you give it a rest." He stood up. "Let's get loaded and head down to the docks."
We walked down the stairs and Tag waited in the courtyard. He was loaded down with all of our stuff on his back. Not just mine and Stain's but Brooke's and Raven's also. So we were headed down to the docks. But where from there?
Before I could ask Stain about what our destination was some guards walked into the courtyard led by MaPaine.
"Time to go!" Stain called out. Everyone moved around getting last minute things done. After a few moments everyone seemed ready to leave. "Let us get out of here."
As we all filed out the guards took positions around Tag. Everyone followed them with no real care or mind towards order. Stain stood by the gate making sure everyone was there. I stopped and waited with him. When everyone else had passed he grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me through the gate.
We walked side by side for a few moments before I could pull my thoughts together.
"Stain?" I wanted to make sure I had his attention before asking about our destination.
"Yes Ott?" Stain seemed to be distracted.
"Stain. Where are we going?" I guess that was the best I was going to get.
"Hm?" Stain's attention still seemed to be distracted. "Why to the docks."
I sighed. Evidently it was a fairly loud sigh because it finally got Stain's attention. He snapped his head up and looked at me.
"What's wrong?" Stain looked at me in concern. "That was an awfully large sigh."
I stopped and looked at Stain. "I just wanted to know what our next destination was going to be. But all anyone says is the docks."
Stain stopped and grinned. "Why my impatient apprentice, we are heading down to the docks to meet a boat. Then we will ride that boat down the river and end up in the great lake." He said that like it answered my question.
"And what then?" I could not hold in my frustration.
This caused Stain's grin to grow. "Well, to the only place worth going on the great lake. Trojna's Rest."
***
I looked up from my musings. Stain had named our destination yet refused to provide any further information. He only responded with, "Too many ears, too much information." I was frustrated.
The docks. How to describe them? A large mass of piers and buildings that seemed to float above the water surrounded by noise and the smell of so many things that the only way to describe it was foul. People moving boxes, animals, and other items everywhere. The noise was incredible.
"Captain!" Stain's voice sounded out, filled with cheer.
I suddenly realized that Stain had slowly moved towards the front of our group. I really could not see him around Tag and the guards. Voices floated back to me but I could not quite make out what was being said. Suddenly everyone started moving forward again. I followed the guards down a long pier and we suddenly broke free of the mass of humanity that filled the rest of the docks. A hand reached out and grabbed my arm.
"King's Dock boy. Back where you come from or I throw you into the water." A burly guard had grabbed me. He was obviously stationed at this dock to keep anyone out.
I stepped back, a little out of his reach. "I am Stain's apprentice." I pointed at Stain who was walking down the dock oblivious to my situation.
"Likely story boy." The guard stepped in front of me. "The king's mage has no apprentice." His arrogance made me mad. I finally looked him in the face. He was an older man, full of himself. The smirk he wore was testament to that.
I smirked right back, "Then why can I do this?" I called on my earth magic and created a dirt devil around the guard. He stepped back and stared at me.
"A trick with earth magic does not prove you are his apprentice. Just that you have a little skill." His smirk was a little dusty yet still in place.
Okay, now he was making me frustrated. The others were nearing the end of the dock where a barge was tied up. I thought about it a second. Was it really worth the trouble of messing with the guard just to catch up with the group? I decided it was not.
"Sir, I am Stain's apprentice and my master will be very upset if I do not join him on the barge." I tried to use a reasonable tone.
The guard's smirk shrunk just a hair. "Now son, I cannot leave my post." He looked down the dock. "If you are Stain's apprentice he will send someone back for you. Now you just wait right here for a bit." He moved to the side and sat back down in his guard shack. That explained why I did not see him until he grabbed my arm.
I sighed. His tone made it clear that this was the only way I was getting past him. "Look, I am sorry about the dirt devil. I just do not want to get left behind." I felt embarrassed for trying to intimidate one of the king's guard.
The guard laughed. "Takes more than a little dirt to upset me son." He looked at me. His eyes suddenly took on the that look that I associated with a mage. After a moment they cleared and then widened completely. His mouth dropped open and he jumped up and grabbed his sword. "Come with me!" He grabbed my arm again and started after the group. He practically dragged me down the dock.
"Stain! You misbegotten son of a turnip!" He suddenly shouted. "Get your old hide out here! You have misplaced something valuable!" We were suddenly pushing past everyone.
Stain's head popped above the dock, "Son of a what?!".
The guard swung me around next to him. "Yo
u lost your apprentice. Seems as if you cannot keep up with your valuables." The guard suddenly had an enormous amount of humor in his voice.
Stain looked up and broke out laughing, "Sanderson, what are you doing as a King's guard?" He hoisted himself up onto the dock and wrapped his arms around the guard.
"Oh, that." Sanderson's smirk broke into full bloom. "Keeping an eye out for troublemakers like the King's mage and his new apprentice."
Stain's eyes cut over to me and back to Sanderson. "So, did you get a good look at my apprentice?" He placed an odd emphasis when he said look. What was going on here? Sanderson seemed to be some kind of mage, Stain knew this and seemed to attach some form of importance to how the guard looked at me.
"Yes, yes I did." Sanderson suddenly swung me forward. "This boy right here just about burned my sight right out." He stepped back and motioned to the group as a whole. "I think I will just let your little party go on about their business. You take care of yourself Stain." He turned and looked at me again. "Learn your lessons well son. Your master knows the right of it." With that he walked back to his post.
The dock was silent for a moment. "Seers! They think they know everything!" Stain's voice was full of irony. "Alright apprentice of mine. What sets our friend there apart from regular folks and mages? That is what I want you to figure out as we get loaded." He motioned me onto the barge. "That should keep you out of trouble just a bit longer." A handful of snickers met this last statement.
I rolled my eyes and stepped onto the barge. Suddenly the world flipped over. My head struck the deck. A mountain of a man stood above me. "Boy does not seem to know his etiquette." The same grizzled voice rang out. A hand reached down and picked me up clear off the deck. "Every time you meet a new ship you ask permission to board boy." The grizzle was hurting my head. The world spun as he stood me on my feet. "Now, do you have a question to ask the captain of this vessel?" The man leaned in close. The smell of oil and wood rising from him.
I shook my head, trying to get my brain settled. "Permission to board Sir?" I slurred this, evidently my tongue was tied from the hit I took. I cleared my throat. "Sorry, permission to come aboard Sir?" That was better.
The Wandering Apprentice Page 22