Trail of the Gods_ The Morcyth Saga Book Four - Brian S. Pratt [46]
Chapter Nine
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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