A Coursing Passage (A Life of Magic Book 3) (13 page)

The next day I woke up to the sound of a wagon being driven into our campsite. I arose and looked out of my tent. Simon was just parking our new wagon beside Tulips wagon. Sitting side by side you could see the difference in size quite easily. Ours sat slightly higher and was slightly wider. Simon worked to unhook his team and then left. I went out and looked at the wagon. Raven, Stain, and Tulip were already talking about changes that needed to be made, things that had to be built. Amelia, Robert, and Ruth came over before too long to look at the wagon. They entered into the discussion about what plans were being made. Soon paper was pulled out and lists of materials, supplies, and ideas were being written down. I left them to it long enough to fetch some food and to check on Mophar.

"How are you feeling?" I asked the lemur.

He looked up at me and rolled his eyes, "I feel better now that my legs are facing the right direction." He dryly delivered this comment.

I sat down and offered him a bit of fruit. "So, did you see who did this to you?"

He carefully took the fruit and ate it. "I saw no faces. They wore masks. But if I ever smell them again I should be able to place them."

I nodded, "Let me know if you do. We need to know who our enemies might be." I stood up. "So all you need is a hook in the new wagon?"

Mophar grinned, "And someplace to store fruit." I smiled at that comment.

Walking back to the group I found that only Raven and Stain remained. "Where did the rest go?"

Stain grinned as he worked on some medications, "Tulip claimed she was going to find out who dared to attack our campsite. I fear for any who get in her way." Raven grinned at this. "Ruth was taking lists of things needed for the wagon to different merchants. She knows the best ones for the high quality items. We can expect deliveries to start showing up over the next couple of days. We are going to be busy. Robert is locating craftsmen to come modify the wagon. He knows some who will do the changes we need. Amelia is going shopping for food for everyone. We were all getting low so she decided to just get everyone some stuff. Plus she is going to get some orders placed with those same merchants for food that will store well on the road."

Raven motioned me to sit, "How is Mophar doing?"

I sat down and grinned, "He is feeling better. He did not see any faces. But he can identify them by smell if he has to do so."

Stain nodded, "We need to keep that a secret. Even from our friends."

Raven and I both frowned. Stain saw and frowned himself, "There is no telling who is an enemy or a spy. I trust Tulip, Ruth, Amelia, and Robert. However, I also know that anyone could be against us for whatever reason." He looked around, "I think we need to be careful about letting anyone see any of us work magic. Yesterday was an emergency, from now on we need to focus on only using magic if we need it at the moment. Also we need those shielding amulets, to hide our abilities."

Raven nodded, "Ott's going to have to make mine, right?"

Stain agreed, "For it to be effective, then most likely." He stretched, "Let us talk on lighter things. What colors are you two wanting to paint the wagon? Amelia is wanting to mix the colors soon. It needs a coat to protect it from the weather and sunlight."

I looked at Raven, "I think we need a green at least. If we are going to work as healers that only makes sense."

Raven nodded, "I was wondering if purple signified anything, like green and healers?"

Stain sat a moment and thought, "Not that I know of, but we need to ask Tulip. Were you thinking of something?"

She grinned, "What if we put a base coat of purple and then someone painted a dark green vines growing all around the wagon?"

I looked at the wagon and smiled, "That would be very attractive."

Stain considered it a bit longer, "I think the idea has merit. Perhaps we can work that out somehow. When Tulip gets back we can talk to her."

We sat there a while, working through broken items. Repairing what we could, salvaging materials where things were destroyed. Finally I had to stand up.

"I think I want to walk around a bit, take a look at other wagons for ideas." I addressed this to Stain.

He agreed, "Take Raven with you. You both will notice different things and might find better ideas this way."

I pulled Raven to her feet and we set off around the campsite. There were three main types of wagons that we saw during our walk. The first type was like the merchant wagon. Made for hauling large amounts of goods. The second type was like Tulip's and now our wagon. Large barrel shapes laid on one side. A third one could be seen around the camp. It was much smaller and lacked much in the way of covers. Usually just a fabric hoop covering a flat bed. These seemed to be small merchants or tinkers. They had items for sale or offered services. One man offered to sharpen anything that had a blade and a sharp edge. A woman sat weaving baskets, a wagon full of reeds and finished baskets at her back. At times we stopped and discussed the benefits of something we noticed on a wagon. We would ask the owner what the purpose was and how well it worked. Sometimes the owner shared the information willingly, others they gave short, annoyed replies. We finally felt we had looked at quite a few wagons and had a better idea of what we desired for our wagon. We walked back towards the campsite and ran into Mort leading the four goats to our site.

"Why hello you two!" Mort called out. "I was just on my way to your campsite. Shall we walk together?" He continued walking slowly, allowing the four goats to look around as they followed him. Occasionally a goat would ask a question and Mort would answer. Much like a father answers a child asking questions about the world around them. We finally entered our campsite, Mort pulled a large set of leather and metal from a massive sack that he had been carrying. He pulled it out and straightened it up. It ended up being the pulling harness needed to hook the goats to the wagon. While working he gave brief comments to each goat. He eventually hooked up the goats and showed us how the harness worked. "Make sure to always check with them about how it feels. It might look perfect to you, however you are not pulling this wagon." He unhooked the goats and led them off to the side. He then showed us that there was a chest located under the wagon for the harness. Coming back to the fire he sat down and proceeded to tell us about how to handle goats as opposed to donkeys. "A treat is always nice. Also talk to them while you are working around or with them. It makes them feel better."

Stain asked, "What about food for them?"

Mort smiled widely, "They will eat on the road most times. The rest of the time just a hay and some treats. They survive pretty well. They will need slightly more water than your friend the turtle." He looked around, "I heard you had a little excitement after leaving my place last night." He paused , "Any ideas who might have done it?"

Stain replied, "Not yet, however I think we will after Tulip returns."

Mort nodded, "Mind if I stay until she appears?"

Raven responded, "Please, we would enjoy it very much."

Mort grinned broadly and soon was sharing tales about goats that had us laughing at their antics.

***

"Well, I know a bit more. However, I think I mainly just have more questions." Tulip sat down by the fire. She looked very frustrated.

"What happened?" Stain handed her a drink.

She took a long gulp of juice and sat there a moment. "Evidently there is some opposition to my being the vine for Raven and Ott. Most of them just feel that it is an unwise idea. There are some who feel neither should be in grafted Some are just unsettled. But all claim that not anyone of the people could have done such a horrid act." She looked disgusted at this.

Raven sat back, "All people are capable of horrid acts, they just need the right push." You could tell by her expression she knew from experience.

I sat beside her and put my arm around her shoulders. "It will be okay. We just need to be more careful."

Stain leaned forward, "Any ideas about what we need to keep an eye out for?" He addressed this to Tulip.

Tulip threw her hands up, "Just more of the same. That is all I can tell you." She huffed to herself. "People are stupid."

Ruth sat down and grinned, "You are just realizing this fact?"

Tulip threw a wad of leaves at Ruth, "No, I am just amazed that even the smartest people have such tragic moments of stupidity."

Robert walked up and nodded, "We have noticed this also. It is sad." He sat down. "On a different note, my task has borne fruit. There will be a few craftsmen coming to work on the wagon over the next few days. Windows, storage, and the stove will all be installed tomorrow. They will want to ask you questions about details before they get started, however, once they know what you want they will work quickly."

Amelia walked up, dusty and tired. Yet she looked pleased with herself. "I have food. Also there will be deliveries for the wagon in three days time. I figured by then most of the storage construction will be complete." She dropped down beside Robert. "I am tired." She handed over a large basket. Opening it up we discovered it was full of excellent cheeses, meats, and pickled produce. We passed this all around and ate quietly. Everyone taking time to think on the next thing that needed to be done.

"The painting needs to be done the day after tomorrow. Most of the main changes to the structure of the wagon will be complete. Painting before then means having to go back and fix anything that was messed up." Amelia grinned. "What colors are you two doing for the outside of the wagon? And will there be a design?"

Raven smiled, "We discussed a purple background with green vines and leaves."

Amelia looked thoughtful for a moment and then smiled, "I will have to check, but I believe that is a unique design. It should be allowed. What about the inside?"

I smiled at this one, "I was thinking about what if we painted the inside ceiling like a bright sunny day with some clouds. Maybe make the lower surfaces look like grass and rocks?"

Amelia's eye's sparkled at this. "I know who we need to do the painting. I will find her tomorrow. She will be delighted to do something more creative."

Raven nodded, "I think that would be best. My painting ability is limited to putting one color on one wall. I like the cloudy sky idea."

"One of the craftsman will be bringing some different stoves and heaters around for you to pick out. Most vent out the same way, but he wants you to pick which one to use. They all have their positives and negatives." Robert stated this calmly. "I would suggest you listen well and then discuss it at length. The wrong one could destroy your wagon or make cooking on it impossible due to the heat it puts out."

I nodded, "I guess the next week or so will be a lot of decisions."

Raven poked me in the side, "But of course. We have to get this right." She grinned and I knew she teased me.

"What about the rest of today?" I asked Stain. "What do we need to do?"

Stain smiled, "I believe that we are going to finish putting our camp back together and then putting a few protections around it. Also you need to make those masking amulets for us three."

Tulip nodded and pulled out a sheet of paper, "Here is the spell."

Stain took the paper, pulled out another sheet, and laid it on the first. A small wisp of magic curled around the paper and the blank sheet copied the spell. He handed me a copy and looked at his. "This is easy enough. It just requires an amulet for each of us." He looked up, "Robert, could you provide such a thing?"

Robert nodded, "Tulip mentioned the need for that. I have three set aside, one with a purple gem, another with a green gem, the final one holds a black stone."

Stain nodded, "Those should be fine. Ott will enchant them for us, otherwise they might not work against all magics and mages, especially Raven's."

Robert grinned, "I will go get the amulets." He stood up and pulled Amelia to her feet. They walked arm in arm from the camp and off to Robert's campsite.

Ruth watched them go, "They have been working hard, it is nice to pull them away from all of that and let them help others."

Tulip grinned, "They are a good pair of kids. You should be proud."

Grinning broadly Ruth replied, "Well of course I am proud."

"When we are ready for the protections to be laid should I get you two ladies?" Stain posed this question.

Tulip nodded, "I am going to go take a nap for a bit of time. Wake me when you are ready." She stood and went to her wagon.

Ruth stood also, "I have a few things to do, then I will come back and help where I can." She followed the same path out of the campsite as Robert and Amelia did earlier.

Stain looked over at Raven and me. "Let us work on the rest of this gear, perhaps we can salvage some of it." He pulled more stuff from a pile and worked on it. Once it was fixed or he established it was beyond repair he put it in the right pile. We spent the rest of afternoon working our way through all the broken items. When we were done Stain stood and stretched. "Robert should be back before too long. Work on it with him and get the spell enchanted correctly. Ruth, Tulip, and myself will be putting protections up around the campsite." He headed to his tent. "I will be out in a few moments, if Ruth shows up slightly early."