up on the rooftop. “Need some help getting up?”
“I’d prefer you coming down. It’s cold outside and I’m starving. My devout parents decided it was necessary to fast to appease the gods. The idea!”
Talis and Mara spidered their way down the Temple’s beams, and jumped onto the courtyard. Nikulo’s face held a pathetic grin like a sheep dog begging for his fair share of roasted mutton.
“I might have some food, but we’ll need to hunt in the morning.”
“Anything, really.” Nikulo rubbed his now round and protruding belly. The rigors of the trip hadn’t lasted long after he’d returned.
Talis stoked a fire at the hearth in the workroom, and rummaged around until he found some stale bread. Nikulo accepted the gift and crunched sloppily.
“All this sneaking about isn’t going to work for long. You guys got lucky this time, probably because of all the confusion.” Talis picked up a rune from the worktable. “We need to master the portal spell. Then we’ll have the freedom to move around without anyone knowing.”
“Did you have any luck with Mistress Cavares?” Nikulo swung his backpack around and withdrew the Tandria Scroll.
Talis nodded. “I have the missing characters, two from Velletrix, and one from Praellian.”
Nikulo unfurled the Tandria Scroll. “How’d you manage that?”
“Powers of deduction and a bit of innocent trickery.”
They peered over the scroll, and Talis tapped the illustrations of the portal. “Here, the Praellic character meaning to lift . Put them all together, and these are the four characters we need to cast the portal spell. A strong wind and to churn with great force, and to lift and move forward. ”
“Shall we try?” Nikulo traced a finger over the characters.
Mara frowned. “Do you even know how to cast the spell?”
Nikulo stared at Talis. “I was hoping you had an idea… You’re the one with the most elemental magic experience.”
“Me?” Talis didn’t have a clue, he expected that Nikulo knew because he’d already mastered the other spells of the Tandria Scroll.
“You’re kidding, right?” Mara put her hands on her hips. “All this time and neither of you know? Don’t you remember what Aurellia did when he cast the spell?”
“He just kind of raised his hands and the earth started sucking the temple inside the world’s portal,” Talis said.
“Aurellia’s Elders cast preparation spells first,” Nikulo said. “When Aurellia cast the spell, it looked like Light and Shadow Magic combined. At least that’s what I thought.”
“Same here. He did cast both at once.” Talis glanced at the Tandria Scroll.
“Rune Magic.” Mara pointed at a clay tablet.
“What?” Talis said.
“It’s Rune Magic. The answer to casting the spell lies with the runes.”
Nikulo raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”
“Well, look at it this way.” Mara studied Talis’s face. “You said that with Rune Magic you need to inscribe characters onto a tablet, then you cast a binding spell. So inscribe these four characters onto a rune and try binding it. See what happens.”
Talis laughed, feeling like an idiot for not thinking of it sooner. “And I’d just focus on the portal and where I’d like it to go when I cast the binding spell, right?”
Nikulo nodded. “Worth a try.”
Talis selected a clay tablet, making sure it was of perfect proportions, and inscribed the four characters of the portal spell. He glanced at Mara and Nikulo, placed the tablet on the wood floor, and raised his hands to cast the binding spell.
As he closed his eyes, he tried to picture the swirling portal Aurellia had cast at the old Temple of the Sun. The mist and shadows and the light. A terrific agony took hold of Talis’s heart: a feeling like Zagros, Lord of the Underworld, was staring at him with those cold, black eyes, but Talis also felt the sun warming his skin. Twin feelings, opposing forces. He combined those feelings with the image
“I’d prefer you coming down. It’s cold outside and I’m starving. My devout parents decided it was necessary to fast to appease the gods. The idea!”
Talis and Mara spidered their way down the Temple’s beams, and jumped onto the courtyard. Nikulo’s face held a pathetic grin like a sheep dog begging for his fair share of roasted mutton.
“I might have some food, but we’ll need to hunt in the morning.”
“Anything, really.” Nikulo rubbed his now round and protruding belly. The rigors of the trip hadn’t lasted long after he’d returned.
Talis stoked a fire at the hearth in the workroom, and rummaged around until he found some stale bread. Nikulo accepted the gift and crunched sloppily.
“All this sneaking about isn’t going to work for long. You guys got lucky this time, probably because of all the confusion.” Talis picked up a rune from the worktable. “We need to master the portal spell. Then we’ll have the freedom to move around without anyone knowing.”
“Did you have any luck with Mistress Cavares?” Nikulo swung his backpack around and withdrew the Tandria Scroll.
Talis nodded. “I have the missing characters, two from Velletrix, and one from Praellian.”
Nikulo unfurled the Tandria Scroll. “How’d you manage that?”
“Powers of deduction and a bit of innocent trickery.”
They peered over the scroll, and Talis tapped the illustrations of the portal. “Here, the Praellic character meaning to lift . Put them all together, and these are the four characters we need to cast the portal spell. A strong wind and to churn with great force, and to lift and move forward. ”
“Shall we try?” Nikulo traced a finger over the characters.
Mara frowned. “Do you even know how to cast the spell?”
Nikulo stared at Talis. “I was hoping you had an idea… You’re the one with the most elemental magic experience.”
“Me?” Talis didn’t have a clue, he expected that Nikulo knew because he’d already mastered the other spells of the Tandria Scroll.
“You’re kidding, right?” Mara put her hands on her hips. “All this time and neither of you know? Don’t you remember what Aurellia did when he cast the spell?”
“He just kind of raised his hands and the earth started sucking the temple inside the world’s portal,” Talis said.
“Aurellia’s Elders cast preparation spells first,” Nikulo said. “When Aurellia cast the spell, it looked like Light and Shadow Magic combined. At least that’s what I thought.”
“Same here. He did cast both at once.” Talis glanced at the Tandria Scroll.
“Rune Magic.” Mara pointed at a clay tablet.
“What?” Talis said.
“It’s Rune Magic. The answer to casting the spell lies with the runes.”
Nikulo raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”
“Well, look at it this way.” Mara studied Talis’s face. “You said that with Rune Magic you need to inscribe characters onto a tablet, then you cast a binding spell. So inscribe these four characters onto a rune and try binding it. See what happens.”
Talis laughed, feeling like an idiot for not thinking of it sooner. “And I’d just focus on the portal and where I’d like it to go when I cast the binding spell, right?”
Nikulo nodded. “Worth a try.”
Talis selected a clay tablet, making sure it was of perfect proportions, and inscribed the four characters of the portal spell. He glanced at Mara and Nikulo, placed the tablet on the wood floor, and raised his hands to cast the binding spell.
As he closed his eyes, he tried to picture the swirling portal Aurellia had cast at the old Temple of the Sun. The mist and shadows and the light. A terrific agony took hold of Talis’s heart: a feeling like Zagros, Lord of the Underworld, was staring at him with those cold, black eyes, but Talis also felt the sun warming his skin. Twin feelings, opposing forces. He combined those feelings with the image
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