to the Guild of Argos Magi.”
The connection swelled with power and then all of the threads snapped into the small geode ship like a frog’s tongue. For a moment the ship and geode glowed with a faint white radiance. Then everything returned to normal.
The Council Magi each stepped down in turn, touching their right hand to the small ship still floating in front of Lebuin. They then each touched Lebuin and offered congratulations or wise-sounding advice.
Councilor Nillo was last, and he plucked the ship from the air. “Congratulations, boy! You finally managed to get out of this place. You’d think after more than twenty years you’d be stark raving mad. I look forward to hearing what you’re planning for your Journeyman quest. You can tell me in the morning. I expect you’ll be leaving tomorrow or the day after at the latest.” He laughed and moved on as the procession of other Magi lined up to congratulate him.
Lebuin stood there, trying to recover from the final pull of whatever that incantation had been. It wasn’t until the half Magi had congratulated him that Nillo’s words sank in. I have to leave on a quest by tomorrow! What quest? What was he talking about? Lebuin wondered if he had misheard it; then he realized many of the Magi congratulating him on the badge were also wishing him a safe journey.
Then Magus Cune was before him, with that smirk. He congratulated Lebuin quite loudly, then leaned in close and said softly, “To make things more interesting, I placed a rather large bet with a less-than-upstanding but influential friend of mine that you could complete the quest.” Then he turned, laughing, and walked away.
As the rest of the Magi and apprentices congratulated him, he realized that he didn’t know a single Journeyman Magi who had ever stayed at the Guildhouse before being made a Magus. As he realized he would have to go out into the world for something as yet unknown, Cune’s parting words fully registered. Lords of Light, what just happened?
Chapter 3
Forest for the Trees
B IRDS SANG IN THE DISTANCE as Ticca moved carefully along the game trail. The traps needed to be checked every day to prevent any accidental miss causing unneeded grief. The next trap came into view; it had been tripped, yet was empty. Ticca paused, listening to the sounds of the forest for anything out of place. Her hearing identified many animals living and dying in the pattern of the woods. Sensing nothing out of place, she approached the trap cautiously.
Scrapes on the tree bark told the story. Laughing, her bell-like voice moved off through the forest. Most animals didn’t even bother to pause to listen. She moved in more confidently. A bear had helped itself to the bait meant to attract the large red squirrels she needed to harvest. Examining the marks on the tree told her it was a half-grown cub. Well now I have a saboteur. Not the first bear to learn it’s a tasty treat.
Enjoying the late afternoon warmth and filtered sun, she went about moving, fixing, and resetting the trap. From her large pouch she pulled a leaf-wrapped package containing the squirrel bait made of sweet nuts mixed with seeds and sweet resin. Putting the remaining bait away she jumped the twenty feet to the forest floor. Looking around a second time for bear’s signs, she fished in her pouch for the small vial of grizzly musk. Her hand didn’t find it so she was forced to pull the pouch around, holding it open with one hand while peering in and looking more vigorously. Finally she found it wedged at the bottom under her notebook. I don’t use this too often but is sure is handy to have . Opening the vial, she carefully applied a few dabs of the musk on the base of the traps’ new tree and rubbed it into the tree bark hard using the bearskin leather cloth she carried for this purpose. That should warn off my little friend from climbing.
Running through the trapping checklist in her head, she reassured herself she had
The connection swelled with power and then all of the threads snapped into the small geode ship like a frog’s tongue. For a moment the ship and geode glowed with a faint white radiance. Then everything returned to normal.
The Council Magi each stepped down in turn, touching their right hand to the small ship still floating in front of Lebuin. They then each touched Lebuin and offered congratulations or wise-sounding advice.
Councilor Nillo was last, and he plucked the ship from the air. “Congratulations, boy! You finally managed to get out of this place. You’d think after more than twenty years you’d be stark raving mad. I look forward to hearing what you’re planning for your Journeyman quest. You can tell me in the morning. I expect you’ll be leaving tomorrow or the day after at the latest.” He laughed and moved on as the procession of other Magi lined up to congratulate him.
Lebuin stood there, trying to recover from the final pull of whatever that incantation had been. It wasn’t until the half Magi had congratulated him that Nillo’s words sank in. I have to leave on a quest by tomorrow! What quest? What was he talking about? Lebuin wondered if he had misheard it; then he realized many of the Magi congratulating him on the badge were also wishing him a safe journey.
Then Magus Cune was before him, with that smirk. He congratulated Lebuin quite loudly, then leaned in close and said softly, “To make things more interesting, I placed a rather large bet with a less-than-upstanding but influential friend of mine that you could complete the quest.” Then he turned, laughing, and walked away.
As the rest of the Magi and apprentices congratulated him, he realized that he didn’t know a single Journeyman Magi who had ever stayed at the Guildhouse before being made a Magus. As he realized he would have to go out into the world for something as yet unknown, Cune’s parting words fully registered. Lords of Light, what just happened?
Chapter 3
Forest for the Trees
B IRDS SANG IN THE DISTANCE as Ticca moved carefully along the game trail. The traps needed to be checked every day to prevent any accidental miss causing unneeded grief. The next trap came into view; it had been tripped, yet was empty. Ticca paused, listening to the sounds of the forest for anything out of place. Her hearing identified many animals living and dying in the pattern of the woods. Sensing nothing out of place, she approached the trap cautiously.
Scrapes on the tree bark told the story. Laughing, her bell-like voice moved off through the forest. Most animals didn’t even bother to pause to listen. She moved in more confidently. A bear had helped itself to the bait meant to attract the large red squirrels she needed to harvest. Examining the marks on the tree told her it was a half-grown cub. Well now I have a saboteur. Not the first bear to learn it’s a tasty treat.
Enjoying the late afternoon warmth and filtered sun, she went about moving, fixing, and resetting the trap. From her large pouch she pulled a leaf-wrapped package containing the squirrel bait made of sweet nuts mixed with seeds and sweet resin. Putting the remaining bait away she jumped the twenty feet to the forest floor. Looking around a second time for bear’s signs, she fished in her pouch for the small vial of grizzly musk. Her hand didn’t find it so she was forced to pull the pouch around, holding it open with one hand while peering in and looking more vigorously. Finally she found it wedged at the bottom under her notebook. I don’t use this too often but is sure is handy to have . Opening the vial, she carefully applied a few dabs of the musk on the base of the traps’ new tree and rubbed it into the tree bark hard using the bearskin leather cloth she carried for this purpose. That should warn off my little friend from climbing.
Running through the trapping checklist in her head, she reassured herself she had
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