Nature Mage (7 page)

“Are you okay?” he asked awkwardly.

“I’m scared, Gaspi,” she whispered tremulously. “I felt so…wrong in that room. So cold.” She shuddered again, and this time not from crying.

“Me too,” Gaspi admitted.

“And they’re going after people with magic, Gasp. That could be us next time.” She paused, and added even more softly: “It could be you.” Even in the dark Gaspi could see her wide eyes glistening with tears, could hear the fear in her voice. Leaning in, he kissed her gently, a kiss she returned with trembling lips.

“I don’t know what to say, Emmy,” he whispered. “I’m frightened too. Once we reach Helioport we should be safe, I think.”

“Lie down with me, Gaspi,” she said. “I don’t want to be alone.” He climbed quietly into her bed, not wanting to wake Jonn or Taurnil, and they lay there quietly, holding each other, until they both drifted off to sleep.

Dawn stirred them all from sleep, and though Jonn gave Gaspi a level look he said nothing about his and Emea’s sleeping arrangement. They packed quietly, and went downstairs to have breakfast before setting off. The innkeeper tried to keep the friendly banter up during their brief meal, and wished them well as they departed, but his façade was clearly strained and they were glad to see the back of the place.

After leaving the boundaries of the village, Jonn stopped them. “Are you three okay?” he asked, his eyes moving from face to face. Gaspi nodded as bravely as he could, Taurnil assenting more convincingly, but Emea had fear written all over her.

“Is this safe, Jonn? I mean, what about the…thing that hunted Harold? If it is looking for magical ability then it might come for us.” Her voice trailed off, and Gaspi put his arm around her.

“I don’t blame you for feeling that way Emmy,” Jonn said gently, “but we can’t let this change anything about our plan. I know you three must be worried about what we heard yesterday. Perhaps whatever killed these villagers is after people with mystical talents, but I don’t think that puts us in danger.” Jonn paused thoughtfully. “If they could sense magical ability, then why go for an old man who sometimes reads the weather when Gaspi is in the area?” he asked rhetorically. “I think we have to assume they find out who has talent the same way we do, by seeing it or hearing about it,” Jonn concluded.

He looked at each of them as this sunk in. “Gaspi still needs training, and we don’t really have a choice. We’re halfway to Helioport now, anyway, and will hit the Great South Road tomorrow. There will be lots of travellers, and we should be safe. So let’s just keep our heads down and carry on with the journey, eh?” He was trying to be upbeat and light-hearted and actually sounded halfway there, but Gaspi could hear the concern in his voice nonetheless.

Emea looked somewhat reassured, however, and after a moment she nodded. “Okay. You’re right. We have to get to Helioport, and there’s no reason to think going back is any safer.” Gaspi fixed her with a searching look. “I’ll be fine. I promise,” she said, smiling bravely at him, and then at Jonn and Taurn.

“That’s my girl!” Jonn said, kissing her on the cheek. As they started to walk, the four travellers spread out, each moving in their own space.

After a moment, Taurnil moved alongside Gaspi, speaking in an undertone. “If something was to attack us Gasp, would you be able to use your magic?”

Gaspi screwed up his face. “I don’t know,” he said truthfully. “Last time it just burst out of me. I don’t think I can just make it happen. And…” he trailed off.

Looking at Taurnil, he said: “And I’m scared. What happened with Jakko and Brock was out of my control - I could have killed them. I never want to feel like that again.” Looking into the distance, he shuddered involuntarily.

“No doubt!” Taurn said. “We’ll just have to hope we don’t meet anything too nasty, then.” The two friends walked on in thoughtful silence.

Aside from a deer bursting out of the undergrowth in front of them, shocking the life out of the three young travellers and giving Jonn a good laugh, nothing eventful happened during the day. In the late afternoon, a movement in the treetops caused Gaspi to look up and see a couple of game birds in the higher branches. On instinct, he whipped out his slingshot and shot a stone right into the body of one of the unfortunate creatures, the other panicking noisily and making its getaway.

“Nice one, Gasp!” Taurnil said with a grin as the plump body flopped to the soil, and for the remaining hours of the day it dangled from Gaspi’s backpack as they walked, promising more filling fare than dried old meat for their supper.

They stopped for the night while there was still enough light to gather wood, and made camp in a copse of trees, where they would be out of sight of anyone roaming the plains at night. After setting Gaspi and Emea the task of starting the fire Jonn told Taurnil it was time for his training to begin, and went into the trees looking for a branch that would become Taurnil’s first staff. Returning with a leafy length of wood, freshly snapped from its trunk, Jonn sat down with his knife to whittle off the leaves and tiny branches, and square off the ends as much as possible.

“Hey, Taurn!” he called when the wood was ready, and hoisted the new staff at him over the clearing. Catching it firmly, Taurnil stood up and twirled it experimentally, flipping it from hand to hand to get used to the weight. With Gaspi and Emea looking on curiously, Jonn began to show Taurnil the basics of martial combat.

“Okay...the first thing is to get your balance,” Jonn said. “You’ll be leading from one foot like a swordsman, using the weight of your body to lend force to the staff. Are you right-handed?” Taurnil nodded. “Then lead with your left foot, and place your right hand above your left on the staff, your hands about eighteen inches from each other.”

“That’s it! Perfect!” said Jonn as Taurnil shifted into position. “Now the staff is the most effective weapon for defence,” he instructed. “Its advantage is speed and reach. You can move it very fast and with great force without much effort, and you can use its length to get beyond the reach of a swordsman. You can use it to disarm an enemy. A quick smack to the opponent’s wrist will make them drop their weapon. Or you can use the end of the staff like a prod, driving into the face or belly while keeping your distance.”

“The staff can also be used for attack, too,” Jonn added, starting to spin his own staff round his head, then bringing it round in a vicious sweep that would have brained any would-be attacker. Jonn slid gracefully from move to move, effortlessly maintaining perfect balance, continuing to talk as he demonstrated.

“You can take out an opponent’s legs,” he said as he snapped out a brutal leg sweep. “Or the arms,” he added, swinging the staff down hard where his imaginary enemy’s torso would be. “Or you can go for the face,” he said, as he thrust the end of his staff at such an angle and speed that any opponent would be lucky to walk away with a face at all. He paused, frozen in position, then turned his head towards Taurnil. “I don’t want you trying to learn attacking moves just yet, Taurnil. The defensive discipline is good enough for now,” he said, as he straightened up. In the light of Jonn’s intense gaze and sudden seriousness, Taurnil didn’t argue.

“Alright - get in position,” Jonn instructed. The second Taurnil had his feet set, Jonn rapped his staff against Taurnil’s wrist, making him drop the staff and jump back holding his arm, a look of injured pride on his face. Gaspi laughed out loud until Emea pinched him hard on the arm, and gave him a look that shut him up.

“Don’t look hurt, Taurnil,” Jonn said. “An enemy won’t ask permission or tell you what they’re going to do. This is your first lesson. Always guard your hands. An experienced opponent will go for them every time. Okay - let’s try again.” Taurnil took his position more warily this time, not taking his eyes off Jonn, a look of mild resentment still smouldering in his eyes. Jonn sprang into motion, going for the wrist again, and Taurnil managed to get one clumsy block in before another painful tap sent his staff to the floor, and left Taurnil nursing his (now bruised) wrist.

Jonn smiled tightly. “Okay, Taurn, I’ll leave your wrist alone for a bit. Let’s work on a few basic blocks.” Gaspi and Emea watched as Jonn taught Taurnil the movement and contours of basic staff technique, showing him how to use his weapon to turn blades away from the body, to open the enemy’s torso to a blow, and to keep an attacker off-balance. Taurnil seemed to be learning pretty well and, as Jonn was leaving his wrists alone, the two watchers became bored and wondered off a little way into the copse.

The sun had almost completely set now, but the light of the fire filtered through the branches enough to colour Emea’s face in warm tones. Gaspi wanted to kiss her again as he had the night of the dance, but what if she didn’t want him to? Neither of them said a word, and the silence threatened to stretch into awkwardness. She was certainly looking at him as if she wanted him to kiss her. She looked sweet and vulnerable and passionate all at the same time, and she kept looking at his mouth.

Just do it
, Gaspi thought to himself, and made himself lean towards her. When she didn‘t pull back he kissed her gently and withdrew, searching her eyes for any sign of alarm. Her eyes were wide, and for a moment he wondered if he‘d done the wrong thing, but then she put a soft hand against his face and returned a longer kiss. Gaspi stopped worrying and let himself thrill in the moment, his right hand tingling painfully with happiness.

Since they’d first kissed at the Feast-Day dance they’d not had time to talk about what had happened, and Gaspi realised he had been a bit uncertain about Emea‘s feelings; that is, until now. The moment felt like it would last forever, but far too soon the sounds of Taurnil’s practice bout stopped and they could hear Jonn calling their names. Releasing Emmy’s hand, Gaspi walked by her side back to the clearing, where Jonn was plucking the bird Gaspi had downed earlier. Looking up at them he caught Gaspi’s eye and smiled ever so slightly, perhaps a little wistfully, before carrying on with what he was doing.

As Jonn cooked the bird, the smell of roasting meat set Gaspi’s taste-buds tingling. The plump creature yielded a surprising amount of meat, and combined with hunks of soft bread it made a filling meal. They settled back as darkness fell, and talked comfortably in the flickering firelight. Gaspi found himself holding hands with Emea as Jonn told them stories of soldiering and travel. Unlike Taurnil, he was barely aware of the details of the stories, revelling in the simple pleasure of Emea’s touch. After a while his palm became sweaty, and self-consciousness made him pull his hand back. Emea looked at him uncertainly until he flashed his warmest smile at her, and she relaxed again. 

They slept early that night, and woke even earlier in the morning, getting a good start on the day’s travel. Jonn set a strong pace for them, and the morning hours passed quickly as they journeyed onwards through the forest. Towards the end of the morning the trees began to thin out, beyond which Jonn said they would meet the Great South Road.

Chapter 6

Well before they saw the highway, Gaspi could hear the low rumbling of wagon wheels on hard stone, the cracking of whips and occasional shouts of the wagon drivers jostling against each other in a bid to make good time on the route to Helioport. For the merchants attempting the run, every hour counted if they were to steal a march on their competitors, which meant that courtesy took a back seat in the rush to make a profit.

As Jonn led them out of the last stand of trees, three sets of eyes widened in amazement at the sight spread before them. A road so wide and flat that four wagons could pass abreast curved broadly in front of them, filled with a steady stream of traffic in both directions. Gaspi had never seen so many people in one place. Brightly coloured wagons driven by equally brightly clothed men and women rolled alongside hard looking mercenaries. Farmers with wagonloads of produce travelled next to parents taking their children on an exciting trip to the big city, and the whole fluid crowd was sprinkled with stranger people still, who didn’t fit into any obvious category.

Jonn addressed his amazed charges: “A major road like this has a certain amount of danger for us. Soldiers patrol it regularly, but there are too many people for them to be able to keep an eye on everybody, so I don’t want you wandering off. Stick with me until I say otherwise.” Looking searchingly into their, and seeing no sign of rebellion, he nodded and led them on towards the road. They travelled the last few hundred yards to the road and joined the ever-moving crowd, swallowed up in the greater flow of people.

Setting their pace according to the traffic around them, they turned their eyes to stare at the sights around them in continual amazement. Raggedly dressed children darted in and out of the throng, ducking beneath high-axled wagons, chasing each other and shouting in an endless game of ‘Tag’. A bored-looking farmer sat atop his wagon, nudging a duo of shire horses forward as they dragged his load of beets to market. A small man in patched hose and tunic slumped in an afternoon doze in the back of the wagon closest to them, skinny elbows sticking out at funny angles like sticks. As if sensing their scrutiny, he lifted his head and turned to look at them from his perch. His nut brown-face was so wreathed with wrinkles and burnt by the sun, it looked as if his skin must feel like a leather shoe. Peering beadily into their eyes, a sudden grin turned the wrinkles into canyons, his eyes all but disappearing in the mass of deep lines surrounding them. Producing a large copper coin from his pockets, he began to roll it across his knuckles, making it disappear and reappear again with deft movements of his slender fingers.

The three youngsters stared goggle-eyed at this strange little man and his clever trick, and then gasped as one when a small, brown monkey leapt onto his shoulder from somewhere in the recesses of the wagon, and proceeded to stare at them with little black eyes. It had a pale, hand-sized patch over the top of its head, unhealthily luminous as if bleached by acid. Gaspi had never seen a monkey before, though he’d seen drawings of them in school, but it wasn’t just the novelty that held his attention. As the monkey gripped the small man’s shoulder, the gold coin slipped from the back of the small man’s hand to the ground, and his face slackened, looking suddenly empty and unsure, even afraid.