The Unsuspecting Mage - Brian S. Pratt [80]
Remembering a special he saw on the Discovery Channel about parasites and how they get into your system and take up housekeeping, he decides he has do something about this.
Miko walks over to where he stands in the water and asks “Are you ready?”
Looking at him in disgust, James replies, “Ready for what? Diarrhea?”
“Diarrhea? What are you talking about?” asks a confused Miko. “No, are you ready to get going?”
“I’m not going anywhere until I can figure out how to get some clean water,” James responds.
Looking at the river, Miko says “The river is clean. Look, you can see all the way to the rocks on the bottom.” In truth, the water was flowing smoothly and the riverbed was clearly visible beneath.
James points upstream, Miko looks in the direction he indicates and sees the people getting out of the water. “They just fouled it, and look,” he says pointing at the people filling water bottles and jugs downstream, “those people down there are unaware of the contamination that may be making its way into their drinking water.”
“Contamination?” asks Miko. “What do you mean?” He looks at James and his expression shows that he doesn’t understand what James is trying to say.
“It’s hard to explain,” James says. “Let’s just say that contamination is something that can make you sick.”
“If you say so,” Miko says uncertainly.
James once again fills the bottle with water from the river, then finds a spot several feet away from the water’s edge and sits down, resting the water bottle on the ground before him. Miko sits opposite him and waits quietly to see what he’s up to.
A minute or so goes by then James begins casting a spell, all the while concentrating on the purity of the water and for the impurities within the water to collect on the sand beside the bottle. Miko watches and is astonished when a wet spot forms on the ground next to the bottle. An almost miniscule lump of brownish goop forms on the wet spot, giving off an unpleasant odor. When James finishes the spell, he brings the bottle up to his nose and sniffs. Seeming to be satisfied he takes a sip and a smile crosses his face. He hands the bottle to Miko who hesitantly brings it to his mouth and takes a small drink. Eyes widening, he says “Never tasted water like that before.” Taking another drink he exclaims, “Best water I ever had!”
“I doubt if anyone around here has had water like this,” remarks James. “That’s the way water where I come from tastes, most of the time anyway.”
James takes a small stick and pokes the brown goop. “This is what was in the water, the stuff that makes you sick,” he explains to Miko. “There are several ways to do this without magic but we don’t have the time or facilities to do it properly.” Taking the bottle from Miko he takes a long drink, emptying it.
James returns to the river and fills the bottle once more, then sits back down and purifies it with his spell. Miko watches in wonder as the brown goop forms once more on the ground.
When he’s finished, he packs the water bottle away and they return to the road, heading south once more.
As the day progresses there are more and more people on the road traveling in both directions. Many are simple farmers going about their daily routines, hardly noticing those around them.
Hours later, Miko suddenly asks, “What’s that smell?” He looks sidelong at James.
“It’s not me you smell,” James informs him, “that’s the sea.” The salty smell of the sea had been growing steadily stronger over the last hour but now is quite noticeable though they still are unable to see it. The terrain has become slightly hilly and for the last several miles James has been expecting to see the sea whenever they crest a hill.
Close to midday they top a rise and there laid out before them, is Cardri. Beyond the city stretched a great expanse of ocean extending