A Coursing Passage (A Life of Magic Book 3) (4 page)

Raven stopped and looked at me, "So you have an uncle? Is there an aunt?"

I grinned broadly, "Yeah. I call her Aunt Picky."

"Tell me about them?" She asked as she worked.

So I did, deep into the night I told Raven all about my family. Telling her stories of my childhood. Finally we finished the potion. A large jar sat filled to the rim with the strange liquid. We sat there a moment, I could tell Raven was tired. "I think we need to go to bed. It is late and we have a lot of walking to do tomorrow." I stood up and helped her up. She hugged me a moment and then turned to her tent.

"Good night Ott. Thank you for the stories." She ducked into her tent and I could hear her settling down for the night.

I spent a few minutes cleaning the last bit of mess up and then headed to bed myself. It was a good day.

***

The next day I found myself walking through the woods, looking for plants that might be useful. Throughout the morning I found quite a few types of herbs and medicinal plants that we could sell. Around midday I stopped and sat down for a break.

"So, you have been quiet most of the morning. What is going on in that head of your's?" Mophar asked me after eating some nuts we had found earlier.

I stopped and looked at him, "Well, I was wondering about where our path lies in the near future."

Mophar sat for a moment and then smiled, "Why, it lies that direction!" He pointed off ahead of us, towards where we were to meet up with Stain and Raven.

I tossed a nut at Mophar, "Not that path. I was talking about our future. What happens after we reach the main road? What if we do meet up with some Wanderers and travel with them? After that, what happens? We have a war that we are struggling to return to fight in. Our friends and family are probably fighting in the war while I walk through this forest. There is so much ahead for us, so much that is not known."

Mophar tossed the nut back, "I know what you meant. There is no way to know the future. You worry about the now. Do what Stain tells you, learn your lessons, protect those who need it. You should do fine then."

I stood up and ate the nut, "Okay, I guess it does not help to worry about it. I do know that I will still think about it, I just can not help that."

Mophar hopped to my shoulder, "That is normal. Just do not let it consume you. Worry about the task at hand, those things you need to do."

We headed down the path, I found a few more plants that Stain had pointed out as helpful. Even finding a few plants that could be eaten. As we explored and traveled we saw amazing plants and even a few strange creatures. By far the strangest was what appeared to be a large cat, but instead of fur it seemed to be covered with a substance that resembled flower puffs. Much like a sharp breeze would blow it's covering off suddenly. It sat up high on a rock and watched as Mophar and I walked along. It's fuzz wafted off into the breeze occasionally. I risked getting close enough to gather a few pieces. Up close they resembled dandelion fuzz, but each piece the size of my hand. We left the dandelion behind and continued gathering what we could use. By the time the sun was setting my basket was overflowing.

"Time to find the campsite." I told Mophar. I looked towards where Stain and Raven should be, using my mage sight to look for the magic around them. I had to look way off to the side from where I thought they might be setting up camp. It looked as if they were just finishing up setting up the tents. I headed towards the site, a little leery of why they were setting up where they were. It just did not feel right.

"Ott, come on into the camp." Stain's voice called out to me from the campsite. He sounded fine and I did not sense anyone else other than our party in the camp.

"Why are we set up so far from the path?" I asked Stain as I entered the camp. Looking around I realized that the tents were set up slightly different. "What is going on?"

Stain sat beside the fire, Raven across from him, her foot up on a log. Her leg was wrapped in a bandage.

"Well, we had a little bit of an adventure today." Stain sighed. "Raven broke her leg. I am pretty sure I cracked a few ribs. Other than that we are fine."

I sat down by Raven and looked at her leg, "What happened?"

Raven took a deep breath, "Well, Tag had a small scare."

"A small scare?" Tag's voice rumbled from the darkness. "Did you see the size of that snake? It could almost eat me whole!" The fear and anger could plainly be heard in his voice.

"It was not that big!" Evins voice was full of laughter.

"It was big enough!" Tag's voice was full of indignation.

"It was a big snake." Stain stated this firmly. "However, I think you were safe, considering you were easily twice it's length."

"Sure, sure. You think it was a small snake. There is no such thing as a safe snake. Mark my words." Tag started mumbling to himself, to the point where I could not understand him.

I looked over at Stain. "So Tag was startled by a snake?"

Stain grinned and pointed at the fire. I looked closely and saw that there was a large snake cooking over the coals. It was a large snake, maybe the same size as Pat stretched out straight. Not big enough to do anything to something the size of Tag. I looked at Stain questioningly.

His grin grew, "Tag has an issue with snakes."

"It is not an issue!" Tag's voice had climbed in tone. "I simply do not feel they should exist in the same world that I inhabit."

Stain was struggling not to laugh while Raven chuckled and cried at the same time. Once Stain gained his composure he explained, "The snake appeared suddenly and startled Tag and Evins."

"I was not startled by the snake. I was startled by this silly brute almost crushing me." Evins voice range out indignantly.

Stain shook his head, "And then Tag knocked into Raven and myself. I simply fell to the side, Raven however fell off the path and took a tumble. That is when she broke her leg."

I looked at Raven and could see she was hurting. "Is there anything we can do for either of you?"

Stain nodded, "I want you to sleep tonight, build up your energy stores. Tomorrow you are going to heal Raven, like you have before. Which means we will be here a few days."

It all made sense now. They had established a camp away from the trail so that it would be safer since we would be here longer.

"Okay. I can do that." I thought about how hard that spell was on me. "What about you?"

Stain grinned, "Well, I plan on casting a different healing spell on myself later tonight. I will heal slower, but all I have is a few cracked ribs. I can afford to take the time to heal. Raven's injury would take months to heal and it might not heal correctly. With your magic you could heal her in a few moments and make sure it heals well. You will need to draw upon some stored energy to perform this spell. Luckily you have been doing so for a long time. You should have plenty stored up."

I nodded, "That is true. Well, it sounds like you two had an eventful day. We simply walked and found plants." 

Mophar grinned, "And lots of nuts. The meaty kind that have that thick shell."

Fioshrach spoke up, "I like those. Are there any left?"

Mophar tossed some over to Fioshrach, "We grabbed a whole sack full of those things. I love them!"

"Well, what else did you find?" Stain leaned forward, wincing a sharp pain.

"Plenty of herbs, not many plants that we could use to create healing potions or such." I pulled out my haul from the day. Stain helped me sort through it.

"You have done well. There is a lot here that we can use as it is and then some that must be processed." He leaned back and looked far off. "I think that will have to get us through the next few days. You and Raven are going to be out of commission after the healing. I will work with this and whatever else I have while you two recover. Then we will continue on down the trail. I think two days here is all we will need to plan on taking."

The sound of the snake bubbling broke through our conversation, "It sounds as if dinner is ready." Stain worked off bits of meat and handed them around. He put some nuts to roast in the coals while we ate.

"Stain, why did you not perform the healing spell on Raven?" Mophar asked this after eating his fill of nuts and dried fruit.

Stain leaned back gently, "Well, it is quite simple really. If I had then we both would have passed out and been at the mercy of whatever else might befall us. With Ott casting the spell, only him and Raven will be asleep. I can keep watch and should be able to defend us against any danger. It was a tactical decision."

"Could you not have given her a pain potion?" Mophar asked.

"I refused it." Raven stated this through gritted teeth.

"Why?" I asked her, shocked she would put herself through such pain.

"I did not want to leave Stain alone to deal with anything." She was obviously hurting beyond what she was showing, just from her tone.

"Well, Ott is here now. Will you not take something?" Stain held out a vial.

Raven shook her head, "No point to it. I will be fine."

"Raven, please? It is obvious to us that you are hurting. We can keep watch over you." I grabbed the potion and opened it.

Raven looked at me with worry in her eyes. "Promise I will be safe?" There seemed to be more behind her question. Some history that haunted her.

"I promise. We will keep you safe." I handed her the potion.

With tears in her eyes she took the bottle and downed the entire contents in one gulp. "Thank you Ott. I guess I will see you tomorrow." She leaned against me and after a moment slipped into sleep.

"It is about time she took that vial. She refused me the entire time I was setting up the camp. I just do not understand why she would not take the potion. There was no need to suffer like she did." I could hear the worry in Stain's voice.

"I imagine that with Raven it is a complicated reason. Perhaps she will share at some point." I picked her up carefully and tucked her into her tent. I cast a small spell that would alert me if she woke up. Returning to the fire I sat down and looked at Stain. "Want me to take a look at those ribs?"

Stain grimaced, "I fibbed slightly for Raven's sake." He pulled aside his robes, showing that a rib was protruding from his side. "I broke three ribs and one just does not want to return to where it belongs."

I jumped up and helped Stain lay down. "What do I do?"

Stain smiled, "I can not seem to cast the spell I need to heal. The pain is too intense. You are going to have to heal both Raven and myself. Take two vials of the energy potion before healing me. Then take another when it is done. Draw upon all your stored energy from the gems to cast each spell, do not rely on your own personal energy. You have to remain awake to keep all of us safe." He leaned back. "If you could give me the other pain vial I would appreciate it greatly."

I handed the second pain vial to Stain. He took it and laid back down. After a moment he also went to sleep.

"See what happens when we are not here?" Mophar quipped.

I sighed and leaned back, "I guess we need to prepare a few things." Standing up I gathered all the various gems I had stored magical energy into for emergencies. The pile was larger than I had thought it might be. I used a bit of magic to help me move Stain from beside the fire to his own tent. "Mophar, I am going to do what Stain said. When I get done I will be tired, but I should wake up in the morning and be able to heal Raven. I am going to have to cast a hard shield around the camp to keep us safe. Make sure we are alone inside a good space and that everyone has food and water. Do that real quick please?"

Mophar moved around the camp, making sure everything was set. I took a few of the vials, feeling the energy rushing through my body. Mophar returned, "All set. Shall we get it going?"

I nodded, "I think I can make it to my cot after I have cast the spell. After that I will pass out."

Mophar nodded, "I will keep an eye on everyone."

I pulled deep on the pile of gems, pulling energy out of them and then refocused it on Stain. I cast the healing spell to force his body to remember how it should work, what parts should go in what places. I pushed hard until I was sure the spell had set in fully. I could see the bone sinking back into his side, the skin healing and becoming smooth once more. My head spun as I stood up. Mophar handed me another energy vial, "Hurry and take this. I can not carry you." I downed the vial and wobbled to my cot.

"Good night Mophar." I stammered, suddenly so exhausted from casting the spell. "I hope Stain heals correctly."

Mophar leaned over me and smiled, "I am sure you did fine. Rest now." And the darkness took me.

***

"Wake up Ott." Mophar's voice penetrated into my brain. "Ott, you really need to wake up."

I opened my eyes and looked around. Mophar stood beside my cot, his face a map of worry and concern. "Is everyone okay?"

Mophar nodded, "Yes. But you need to get up. Raven is starting to stir, the potion must be wearing off."

I sat up quickly, my head spinning slightly. "Is Stain still asleep?"