A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos) (18 page)

 Monsters can't talk.

The two novices put their heads together to bypass the
birds. Since they couldn't approach without losing a finger, their best plan
involved waiting. One hour later, their bottles were as full as when they
arrived. It was so frustrating. Eric wanted to club them, but reconsidered. He
was smart enough not to kill the golden goose even if all it laid was smelly
white goo.

“You two will
never
finish that way,” their mentor
drawled, “Your teammate has the right idea.”

He marked his place, got up, and showed them.

Their teammate was bent over a bird nest and steadily
scooping poop. She had the resident bird pinned with one hand and shoveled its
waste with the other. Two levels of shit stirring created an awful cloud of
stink. The boys held their noses, but Tiza worked unbothered. She already had
one bottle filled. Basilard pointed to a nest with snapping little birds in it.
Nolien looked from the nest to his sergeant in confusion and snobbery.

“You want me to stick my hand in there!?” Basilard nodded. “That's
crazy!”

“It's part of the mission,” Basilard said. He held Nolien's
gaze until the healer knelt down and reached into the nest.

“OWW!”

“Is there blood?” Basilard asked, pulling his book back out.

“No . . .”

“Then there's no problem,” Basilard said as he sat down.

“How come
we
don't get gloves for this?” Nolien
complained. “Or shovels or noseplugs?”

“I bought these gloves myself,” Basilard said without
looking up. “About the other two: the guild subsidizes your room, board,
equipment,
and
the supplies for their upkeep. You want specialized
accessories too?” Nolien went back to collecting poop and cuts in silence.

Eric winced in sympathetic pain before glancing down at his
own nest. The birds were sleeping. With any luck, he could reach in and grab
the poop without waking them. If he had that kind of luck, he wouldn't be here
in the first place. Just as he touched the poop, his hand brushed one of the
birds. It awoke with a start. He screamed and furiously shook his hand, but it
squeezed tighter.

“You're too timid!” Tiza grabbed the bird and pried its beak
open. Eric sucked his thumb as Tiza returned the bird to its the nest. “Pin
with one hand, scoop with the other.” After pouring the poop into Eric's
bottle, she shoved it into his chest. “Got it, Dimwit?” He nodded meekly. Tiza
sighed in annoyance before going back to her own nest.

Nolien yelled as another bird bit him. “Having some
problems, Tenderfoot?”

“Just razor beaks, Milady,” Nolien called back. Tiza threw a
glob of poop at him. He dodged.

“Nice to see the team bonding so soon,” Basilard muttered as
he turned a page.

It was slow going, but with Tiza's method, Eric's bottles
filled little by little. He gagged at both the touch and smell, but it was
progress. Nolien didn't watch Tiza's demonstration so all he accomplished was
angering the birds.

The team arrived at midmorning and it was now early
afternoon. Eric was tired, hungry, and somewhat nauseous. There was a reason
Basilard told them not to eat breakfast. Tiza, on the other hand, worked
steadily: pin, scoop, dump, repeat.
Where does that girl get her energy?

“Wow, I didn't think any of you would finish this quickly,”
Basilard said.

“It was nothing,” Tiza said with a falsely modest wave. “The
boys are just squeamish. I thought only tents were like that.” Eric thought he
saw Nolien twitch, but it could have been a bird pooping on him. “Not me! I can
do anything!”

“Well then . . .” Basilard finally put his book away. “You
should have energy left for training.”

“Bring it on!”

 Eric stared in amazement.
Wherever she gets all that
energy, I want it
. He settled for lunch—right after he washed his hands.

When the sun went down, the boys still hadn't finished, but
Eric was proud of what he'd done. It was more than Nolien did.
At this rate,
I won't finish last!
His teammate had more cuts than full bottles.

Basilard sheathed his sword. “That's enough for today; good
job.”

Tiza looked up from her sprawled position. “But . . . I can
. . .go on.”

“Even I need a break sometimes,” Basilard said. “Everyone
does.”

“But—”

“You're taking a break. That's an order.”

“Eric,” Nolien whispered. “Why do you think Tiza is in such
a hurry to get stronger?” Eric's older brother said it was impossible to figure
out girls, so he never tried. He said as much to Nolien. “Yes, but everything
has
some
reason, right?”

“Maybe she just likes fighting,” Eric said. It was far too
late and he was far too tired to deal with something as complex as a girl.

The four of them set up camp; Nolien pitched the tents
because Tiza insisted on getting firewood. Basilard warded the camp and
assigned Eric to fire starting.

“You said we'd be fighting monsters,” Tiza said as she
dropped her load of dead wood. “But all we've done is collect poop.”

“Oh, you'll get your monster soon enough,” Basilard said. “Eric,
what are you doing?”

 Eric stopped clanging the rocks he found in order to
answer. “Trying to make a spark.”

“Why aren't you using a spell?” Basilard asked. “A simple
fire one was in that book I gave you.”

Eric blushed and resumed clanging. “I haven't . . .figured
it out yet.” A part of him argued that it wasn't his fault; elemental spells
are more complicated than mana bolts. A larger part of him said he was an idiot
for failing a “simple spell.”

Basilard said he'd help him with it later and started the
fire himself. All he had to do was look at the wood to get a roaring blaze. It
did little to soothe Eric's ego. The food in his mouth turned to ash as his
most recent failure played itself over and over in his mind.
Idiot
!
I'm supposed to be a professional mage and I tried to start a fire with
sparks
!
His dreams that night were filled of similar failures because he didn't know “simple
spells.”

They woke up the next day to the sound of rain. It drizzled
outside their tents. The forest floor was mud with it. Eric sighed before
dragging himself out of bed to get wet, muddy, and recaked with poop. The rain
reminded him of his last day on Threa.
Nothing's changed. A loser is a loser
even in a magical fantasy world . . .

 He squatted at a nest and brought out a bottle and the rain
fell on him. Then Nolien approached. The healer was remarkably dry and casually
commented on the change in weather. From there, he moved to other equally
pointless topics.
He's trying to ask for advice without actually asking.
A wonderful feeling bloomed in Eric's heart; someone was coming to
him
for
help. Even though he was tired, damp, and smelly, right now he was superior! He
decided to play along.

Finally, Nolien tired of playing. “Why do you have so many
more full than I do?” The sentence was ripped from his mouth with a crow bar.

“Tiza gave me some pointers yesterday. That's why she's
already done.”

“Oh? What is that I hear?” Tiza said as she sauntered over.
Her clothes were soaked from a branch dropping its load on her. Water dripped
from her grime-streaked hair. “Does someone need help from the lily-handed
lady
of the team?”

Nolien blushed and looked away. “Well . . .err . . .yes . .
.I . . .I do.”

The smirk on Tiza's face was similar to that of a tiger cornering
its prey. Eric was glad it wasn't directed at him. “It's
rude
to address
someone without eye contact.”

“I . . . I can't.”

“Why not?”

“I can't!”

 “Well then I gue—”

 “ROAAAACK!”

Tiza spun to the sound, eyes bright with excitement. “What
was that?!”

“That would be your monster,” Nolien said dryly.

A bird much bigger than the kind they had been messing with
the past two days stalked the trees. Eric remembered it from his studies. It
was called a “Cecri,” and the book warned its reader to hide as soon as they
saw one.
So this is why they hire mercenaries to collect poop
.

Cecri stood on two legs and dwarfed Threan cars. Its feet
were long talons, but it was the sharp beak that caught Eric's attention. These
natural blades were so strong and finely honed that they were used as weapons
in Tariatla's antiquity. Cecri were dangerous carnivores and this one spotted
them.

“We should get the sergeant!” Nolien said, “We can't handle
something like this.”
“Are you kidding?” Tiza asked. Her sword and shield were already drawn. “This
is what I've been waiting for!

“But—” Nolien protested.

“Too late!” Tiza shouted happily. “Here it comes!”

 Nolien groaned and reached for his staff. Eric pulled out
his own, despite how much his hands shook. He was determined not to freeze and
let his teammates do the fighting for him. The battle mage took a deep breath
and prepared the barrier Tiza would need.

Tiza meet the huge monster's charge head on. With a yell,
she slashed its stomach, but was parried by its talons. The beak came down on
her and a screen of solid light intercepted it. Eric grimaced at the impact and
fell to his knees; his barrier dimpled and broke. Nolien's, however, gave Tiza
enough time to plunge her sword in the monster's leg. It reared in pain and
tried to rake her with its other leg, but Tiza dodged and stabbed that one too.
The Cecri squawked in pain and fell backwards.

Tiza lunged to finish it off, but the Cecri spat gooey
liquid at her. Caught off guard, she took it full in the face and screamed in
surprise. While she furiously rubbed the gunk out of her eyes, the monster
stood on its injured legs and struck with both beak and talon. Nolien blocked
the beak but Eric failed to stop the talon. It tore through his wall and struck
her shield, lifting her off the ground and throwing her across the clearing. Her
head collided with a tree and she went limp.

“Eric!” Nolien yelled as he ran. “Keep that thing busy!”

 I have to fight this thing . . .alone!?
Eric shook
his head and steadied himself. He pointed his staff at the monster and
concentrated. By channeling his mana through his staff, he could create a bolt
far stronger than any he threw at Laharg. With a mental yell, he released the
gathered energy at the monster.

 The Cecri was knocked off balance and squawked in
confusion. It turned from the fallen Tiza and towards the new irritant. Nolien
used the distraction to chant a healing spell. Eric fired another bolt and sent
its head reeling. Feeling confident, he met the monster's eyes.

 Cold fear hit him like a tidal wave. He froze. Couldn't
move, couldn't think; helpless. Forced to watch that murderous beak come
slashing down—

--and clang on a barrier. Eric blinked and the fear was
gone. A sigh of relief shook his frame and his legs gave out. Nolien's staff glowed
faintly as he channeled his power through it. Tiza sat next to him, shaking her
head. The monster continued to peck and slash the barrier, squawking in
confusion when it couldn't reach its prey. The screen of light cracked under
the pressure.

Tiza jumped on the monster's back and stabbed it. The Cecri
let out a piercing shriek and all three dropped their weapons to cover their
ears. The monster shook Tiza off its back and she dropped to the mud. It
harpooned her. She rolled aside.

 Eric looked for his staff, but to his dismay, he saw three.
The bird's shriek scrambled his mind. The Cecri stepped on Tiza's stomach to
hold her in place. Eric lunged for a staff and grabbed air. In horror, he
looked to the monster in time to see it strike.

“To protect this friend of mine, make that monster blind!
Dark Eye!” Darkness shot from Nolien's staff and covered the monster's face. It
stopped an inch from Tiza's neck and squawked in confusion. Tiza was again
forgotten in favor of its lost sight. Tiza wiggled from under its talon and
scurried to her feet.
Is that how spells work?
Eric retrieved his staff
and improvised a spell.

“From its toe to its head make that monster dead! Death
Spell!”

Nothing happened except the monster heard him and darted in
his direction. A mana bolt knocked it off balance. It ran toward Nolien and he
ran to a new hiding place.

“Attack!”

Eric nodded and fired his own bolt. It changed course again
and Tiza fired a bolt from her sword. The monster stopped and lumbered for her.
She ran and Nolien fired a second time. They continued their guerrilla attacks
until the monster was exhausted.

“Tiza!” Nolien shouted. “Coup de grace!”

Sword first, she charged, but slipped on a patch of mud. Her
scream of surprise alerted the Cecri. It whirled to face her, talon raised.
There was a sickening crunch of bone and a spray of blood when her sword
slashed its foot. It shrieked in fury and jabbed with its beak. Tiza
sidestepped and plunged her sword into its chest.

 Screams and blood flew through the air as the giant bird
writhed in its death throes. Tiza jumped back to avoid its beak and talons. At
last, it collapsed to the grass, blood pouring out of its wound and mixing with
the mud. Its eyes glazed over.

The three novices stood panting. They looked from the dead
monster to each other and fell on their butts; exhilarated and exhausted.

“Now
that . . .
” Tiza started after several moments. “.
. . Was MUCH more fun than collecting bird poop!” Her shout broke Eric's trance
and he threw up. “What's the matter!?” Tiza shouted, her cheeks flushed. “Haven't
you ever seen
guts
before?”

Nolien fixed a look on her. “You do realize we could have
died, don't you?”

“Of course! That's what makes it fun!”

“Adrenaline junkie,” Nolien muttered.