Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles 1: Wizard Defiant (21 page)

“Wow!” Richard said. “I hope your betrothed knows how lucky he is.”

“He does,” said Shandria simply. But her cheeks reddened slightly at the compliment.

“What’s first?” Richard said.

“My spells,” said Shandria as she opened her pack. I lost all memory of them when I was contaminated with the ghoul’s poison. My Power reserve is full again, but until I rememorize my spells, I cannot use my Power.”

“Do you have to rememorize a spell each time you use it?” Richard said.

“No, silly,” laughed Shandria. “Once memorized, I can use it as much as I want as long as I have adequate Power. But some of them are very complicated, and all magic users have to refresh their memory from time to time. That’s why I carry copies of my spell books with me.”

The elf pulled a book out of her pack. It had a plain black cover with no decorations.

“I thought you were a priestess?” Richard said. “I thought only magic users needed spell books.”

“Where did you get that idea, Rick?” said Shandria. “Maybe things work differently in your dimension, but in mine, spell casters of any kind need to learn spells. The only exception is magical creatures that are born with a natural ability to convert their Power into magic.”

Shandria sat down on the edge of her bed and began silently reading her book. The only noise in the room for over an hour was the sound of their breathing. Even Nickelo did not disturb Richard with his thoughts. Finally, boredom got the best of Richard, and he went over and sat down next to the elf. It didn’t enter his mind she might resent someone reading over her shoulder. Apparently she didn’t, because she said nothing.

Richard was intrigued by the writing on the pages of the book. He could see what appeared to be words in an unknown language on the paper. They seemed to move and change as he looked at them. The words had a Power of their own, and Richard was able to follow the flows of Power. The Power twisted from one word to another and back again forming intricate knots and flourishes. The flows of Power were interesting to watch, and Richard found himself leaning forward eagerly each time the elf turned a page.

After several hours, Richard’s stomach growled. He rose and set about heating some soup for lunch. Richard found it a little amusing that he was turning into quite the domestic type. He didn’t mind. He actually enjoyed cooking. It was relaxing. He often found himself thinking about what he could summon for the next meal.

“Lunch,” Richard said.

Shandria stopped her reading and joined Richard at the table. After she prayed, Richard said, “You’ve been studying a lot.”

After blowing on a spoonful of soup before swallowing it, Shandria answered, “I’ve learned a lot of spells over the years, Rick. I’m not sure which ones we’ll need. I’m trying to memorize as many as I can. However, the incantations are magic themselves, and there is a limit to how many I can memorize at one time.”

“Hmm,” Richard said. He had an idea, but he hesitated to say anything since he was not a magic user himself. After a moment’s reflection, he decided since their lives were on the line, he should just say what was on his mind.

“Shandria,” Richard said tentatively, “I don’t mean to pry or sound like a know-it-all, because I know I’m not. But I was wondering, wouldn’t you be able to memorize more spells if they were shorter and less complicated?”

The elf looked at Richard intently with a spoonful of soup halfway to her mouth. She did not answer his question immediately. Finally, she put the spoon back in the bowl and said, “Spell casters spend years creating and refining spells. They guard them jealously. Some of the more complicated and powerful spells have taken entire lifetimes by master spell casters to create. And when I say lifetimes, I mean lifetimes of an elf. I’m trying to hold my temper, Rick, since you have been so kind to me. But, it sounds like you think you know more about spells and magic than those who actually use them. Or have I jumped to conclusions?”

Richard had suspected it was a touchy subject, and he’d taken the risk. But, he was not prepared to risk more. He beat a hasty retreat. “Sorry. It was just a question. I meant no disrespect, Shandria.”

Richard went back to eating his soup. He kept his eyes on his bowl while insuring every spoonful contained just the right mix of vegetables and meat. But, he could feel the eyes of the elf on him, and he did not hear her eating.

“Rick,” she said finally, “it is I who should apologize. Spell casters of any sort are very touchy about their spells. Even a slightly mispronounced word or stray hand gesture can have disastrous results. But if you have something to say, please say it. I promise not to take offense again.”

“It was nothing,” Richard said as he continued to eat. “Forget it.”

“Please, Rick,” said Shandria, “I apologized. Won’t you please tell me what you were going to say? I sense it was important. If it would help us in our current situation, we should discuss it.”

Rick
, said Nickelo privately,
we’re in serious danger. If you have an idea that might lessen the danger, please share it with us.

“All right, Shandria,” Richard said swallowing his pride. “I know you’re like four hundred years my senior, but I do have a thought. When I was reading along in your spell book, it seemed like some of the Power lines would loop back onto themselves or were more complex than needed. Parts of the incantations seemed like they were wasted effort. Did the writers not see the inefficient use of Power when they wrote out the words? It seems pretty obvious.”

“Are you saying you can read the words, Rick?” Shandria asked.

Richard thought he detected a little huffiness in her voice as if he’d insulted her. He listened nervously as the elf continued.

“It took me almost a hundred years of study before I was able to make out the words of even a simple spell. But, obviously I’m in the presence of a master spell caster. You must have gained so much knowledge in just a score of years that not only can you read magic, but you can rewrite spells that we elves have struggled over for centuries.”

Richard forced himself to control his temper. He wanted to remind her that she had promised not to take offense. Finally, he decided he’d be just as suspicious and insulted if the roles were reversed.

“No, Shandria,” Richard said struggling to keep his voice even. “I cannot read the words. They keep moving around and changing.”

“Yes. I’m sure they do,” Shandria said as she nodded her head knowingly. “That’s how they are supposed to work. I had to learn to master the art of the words before I could learn to read or write them.”

“If you can’t read them, Rick,” asked Nickelo trying to avoid a confrontation, “then why do you think they can be improved?”

“Because I can see the Power lines clearly, Nick,” Richard said. “Because I can see how the Power is changed by the incantations. I can see the desired end result of the conversion from Power to magical energy. I can see how there is wasted effort. I can sense or see or whatever you want to call it, places in the incantations that can be made more efficient. It just jumps off the page at me. I don’t understand how the writers could not see it as well.”

“How would you know what words to use, Rick?” asked Shandria. “You admitted you could not read the words.”

Richard heard the strain in the elf’s voice. She was trying to control her own temper for the common good. Richard resolved to do the same.

“I wouldn’t know what words to use or how they should be changed, Shandria,” Richard confessed. “But…,” he said quickly to cut off any protest, “I could show you the places that could be improved. You could make changes as you saw fit. Then I could tell you if the changes improved the spell or made it worse.”

Shandria seemed to consider Richard’s proposal before speaking, “Rick, I too can see Power lines. I am a priestess after all. But, I cannot see them at the level of detail you are implying, nor have I ever heard of anyone who could. Can you truly see the ebb and flow of Power in the spells?”

“I know what I see, Shandria,” Richard said. He left it at that. Either the elf would believe him, or she wouldn’t.

Nickelo spoke up, “Shandria, I’ve found Rick to be unique in many ways. Without a shared space, I cannot verify his claim. But, I do know he has the best stealth shield and active scan I’ve ever encountered. Plus, I’ve never known him to lie or stretch the truth. He goes to great lengths sometimes to avoid dishonesty. I’d take what he says at face value. You might want to consider his suggestion.”

Richard was humbled by his battle computer’s praise. Normally, Nickelo was pointing out his mistakes.

“Let me sleep on it,” said Shandria. “Changing spells can have drastic and unforeseen results. The graves of many knowledgeable spell casters bear witness to the dangers of arrogance when attempting to modify existing spells.

___________________________

The next morning, Shandria began Richard’s training in defensive shields. Actually, Richard found he had a combination of trainers. Nickelo gave as much input as the elf, and between the combined tutelage of both, Richard was soon able to put up a low-level defensive shield with semi-regularity.

After lunch, the roles reversed. Shandria consented to an attempt to improve a spell. The elf allowed Richard to select one of the lower-level spells in her spell book that he thought might have room for improvement. By following the Power lines of the written incantation Richard pointed out one area of three words which were a complete waste of effort and two other places which had potential for improvement. Using trial and error, Richard and Shandria spent the rest of the afternoon rewriting the spell. Shandria used a special bottle of ink and quill to write out the words on a blank piece of parchment. By suppertime, the parchment was covered with more scratch marks than visible words. As far as Richard could tell, they were nowhere nearer to making a workable spell.

Richard was forced to admit defeat. “I’m sorry, Shandria,” Richard said dejectedly. “I really thought it would work. I did think we were getting close a couple of times, but I guess not. It’s no use. I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

“Master Nick,” said Shandria with a shake of her head and a tired smile. “Is he always so impatient? How do you put up with him?”

“It’s a challenge sometimes,” admitted Nickelo with a chuckle of his own. “And yes, he is always this impatient. He’d rather run straight into battle than take five extra minutes to make a workable plan.”

Richard was confused. He didn’t think he deserved the double-teaming against him. “Now what did I do?” he asked through gritted teeth.

The elf answered first. “I believe we made good progress today, Rick,” said Shandria. “True, the spell is not working yet, but you have convinced me the concept may eventually work. We just need to give it time. Do you not remember me saying some spells took the entire lifetime of the writer to get it right? I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first. But like you, I think we came close today. With your permission, Rick, I believe we should continue trying at least a few more days.”

“Fine by me,” Richard said. He hated failure anyway. He didn’t mind being wrong. He just hated to fail.

*       *       *

The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. Richard received training not only in defensive shields, but also in telekinesis. By the end of the second month, Richard could deflect most of Shandria’s low and mid-level spells. He could also levitate items as well as himself using telekinesis. To his surprise, Richard found he had more trouble with his telekinesis than he did with defensive shields. He was surprised because he’d been able to levitate small items since he was a child.

“So why can’t I levitate myself up a tall building?” Richard asked Nickelo heatedly one day when the training was going especially bad.

“Power, Rick. Because of Power,” replied Nickelo just as heatedly. For a computer, Richard thought Nickelo could get very emotional sometimes. “You’d be better off using telekinesis to slow down your descent. Like I said, it’s a case of Power, just like almost everything else you do, Rick. Moving small items around takes relatively little Power. Levitating yourself up a high cliff using telekinesis would take a lot of Power. You might be able to do it, but if the cliff was too high, you might empty your reserve before reaching the top. And what would you do if you made it to the top? You’d be so low on Power you couldn’t fight. On the other hand, you could jump off a high cliff and use your telekinesis to slow your descent enough to cushion your fall. That’s assuming you’re efficient with your Power usage. Remember what Chief Instructor Winslow says, ‘Never use Power when you can do something another way’.”

To prove his point, Nickelo had Richard practice levitating to the top of the table and then jumping off the table and slowing his fall just before he hit the floor. Richard got pretty good at it after a while. By monitoring his Power usage, Richard had to admit levitating up took a lot more Power than slowing himself down during his fall.

In the afternoons, Shandria and Richard made good progress with the rewriting of some of the more inefficient spells. By the end of the first two months, Shandria had ten spells converted into their more efficient counterparts. While she had been unenthusiastic in the beginning, she quickly reversed her opinion after the successful conversion of the first spell. Not only was it smaller, but it used less Power while producing more magical energy. The first spell was a simple one for cooling an item such as a glass of water. With a lot of perseverance, Shandria and Richard were able to shorten the spell to a single magical word. According to Shandria, they had created a new word. All Richard knew was that after hearing Shandria pronounce her incantations so often, he got pretty good at sensing the changes of the Power flows with each syllable and changes in voice inflection. By directing Shandria to modify words and pitch, he was able to help her improve the efficiency of her spells. Shandria was ecstatic, and before long they were tackling tougher and longer spells.

“You know, Rick,” said Shandria. “These spell changes could have long-lasting effects if I can teach them to my people. Not only are they more efficient and powerful, the reduced size of the incantations means they will take up less space in a spell caster’s memory. As a result, we can memorize more spells. That will give me a greater set of choices during a battle.”

“I’m glad it’s working out, Shandria,” Richard said.

“You know, Rick,” said Shandria, “the time we’ve spent here training has been worthwhile. It’s not just the progress we’ve made with the spells. Your defensive shields have improved to the point where I think I can provide no more useful guidance. We can continue to practice, but it will just be to smooth out some rough places. You’re about as good as you’re going to get.”

“You still penetrate my shields a lot,” Richard said.

“That’s only because I’m intimately familiar with your defensive shields, Rick,” said Shandria. “Your Power reserve is smaller than most spell casters, so your defensive shields are not able to resist as much energy as mine. Still, your technique is excellent and very efficient. I doubt you’ll ever be able to slug it out with a major demon or master spell caster, but you could definitely at least deflect the first few blows. You’ll just have to use that time to think of a way to use your technology to defeat your foe.”

“Well,” Richard said jokingly, “I guess that’s better than getting burned to a crisp at the very onset of a fight. So, are we done training?” Richard couldn’t help but sound disappointed. He liked Shandria’s style of teaching, and even Nickelo’s training on advanced active scans was interesting. Plus, it wasn’t like he was eager to return to the loving supervision of TAC Officer Gaston Myers. He missed his friends, and he missed his instructors at the Academy. But, he had learned a lot under Shandria’s guidance that could help keep him alive when he became a wizard scout. Besides, as Nickelo and Shandria had predicted, they were safe in this room. Richard had sensed several lifeforms with large Power signatures passing through the tunnels nearby, but none stopped to investigate their secret door. The room’s stealth shield was holding up well. No, he was not in a hurry to stop his training.

“Oh, you can’t get out of my instruction so easily,” laughed Shandria with a beautiful smile. “We need to work on a few more weaknesses before we step out into the tunnels. I thought we should let you practice trying to penetrate my defensive shield for a while. Also, your link to your Power reserve is unprotected. We need to work on that.”

Richard could see his own Power line running from him to his Power reserve just as he could see the line of Power from Shandria to her Power reserve. He compared the two lines, or links as Shandria called them. He could sense no difference other than the size of their Power reserves.

“Protected how?” Richard said. “And protected from what?”

“For one thing,” said Shandria, “protected from me.”

With a strange look on her face, the elf said several unintelligible words and flicked her hand. The words sounded familiar, and Richard had a strange feeling it was one of the spells he’d helped Shandria rewrite. Richard sensed Power flowing from the elf’s Power reserve back to her. It converted to magical energy before heading towards him. Richard threw up a defensive shield between them. He assumed it was some kind of test of his shield. But he was wrong. The magical energy did not hit his shield. Instead, it deviated and latched onto a point on the Power link going to his reserve. The magical energy twisted, and suddenly Richard’s could no longer sense his Power reserve or even his defensive shield. Even his passive scan was gone.

Richard drew his phase rod with his left hand and hit the activate switch and destructive lever at the same time as he was swinging the rod at the elf’s head. The brerellium shaft was thrust out by the rod’s hydraulics as red arcs of energy snaked along its length. Richard was fast, but so was the elf. Shandria said a word as she pointed at Richard. He neither saw nor sensed her Power or energy, but he felt its effects immediately. Richard’s muscles locked in place with the tip of the phase rod a mere hand’s breadth from the elf’s head.

Shandria took a step back, her eyes locked on the red arcs of energy still snaking along the length of the phase rod. She seemed to be taking a moment to compose herself.

“Rick!” Nickelo shouted through the battle helmet’s external speakers.

Richard could not even move his eyes, but out of the corner of his vision, he could see his battle helmet atop his neatly-folded battle suit on a bench across the room.
I’m sorry, Nick
, Richard said with his thoughts
. If I’d kept my suit on like you wanted, she’d never have gotten the drop on me. I was just too slow without your help.

“All is well, Master Nick,” said Shandria. “Your friend and I are both unharmed.”

She walked closer to Richard, keeping well clear of the deadly shaft of the phase rod.

“You were much faster than I expected, Rick,” Shandria said. “You almost had me. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

The elf stood close to Richard’s right side. With her lips almost touching his ear, she whispered, “How does it feel to be frozen; helpless; with your life in someone else’s hands? Maybe I will leave you like this for a week, so you can get the full effect of how I felt. Do you mind if I go through your stuff? I’d ask you to blink your answer, but you can’t even do that, can you?”

Nick
, Richard said.
What’s her game? What’s she doing?

I don’t know yet, Rick
, Nickelo answered.
I still haven’t decided whether she is dangerous or whether this is all part of some kind of training.

Training
? Richard said unbelievingly.
If this is training, I’m going to kick her rear-end when it’s over.

“Here’s what’s going to happen, Rick,” purred Shandria seductively.

Even under the circumstances, Richard thought her voice was very alluring.

Typical male
, came Nickelo’s thought.

The elf continued, “I’m going to take a few steps back to get out of range of your weapon. Then I am going to release you. If you’re good, and you don’t try to hurt me, then I’ll undo the block I put on the link to your Power reserve. Then, assuming you still want to be trained, I’ll tell you how I did it. I’ll also tell you what you could have done to prevent it. Does that sound like a deal?”

Shandria waited, but of course Richard couldn’t answer. Still, she waited patiently as if expecting Richard to agree in some fashion.

Nick
, Richard said to Nickelo.
Tell her I agree. I’ll be a good little boy. And tell her I think she is a two-timing, untrustworthy elf, and once I find out how to protect myself, I’m going to kick her scrawny little butt.
Richard didn’t really think it was scrawny. In fact, he thought it was quite nice, but he wasn’t going to tell her that.

“Shandria,” translated Nickelo. “Rick says he agrees. He will not attempt to harm you, and he’s anxious to continue training.” After a pause, Nickelo added, “Oh yeah, and he thinks you have a nice ass.”

Nick!

Richard thought he saw Shandria’s face reddened slightly, but he couldn’t be sure. She stepped back to the far side of the room. Then she said three words and moved her right hand in a pattern he couldn’t follow.

Richard’s muscles unlocked. He almost fell on his face as his muscles tried to complete their swing. The phase rod came dangerously close to smashing their table, but he was able to stop the stroke in time.

Raising his phase rod into a defensive position, Richard looked at the elf. She stood there meekly with her hands by her side. He moved the phase rod’s lever to non-destructive and flicked the deactivate switch. The red arcs of energy dissipated, and the brerellium shaft retracted back into the handle. He hooked the phase rod back to the left side of his utility belt.

“So,” said Richard, “what was that all about?”

“Actually, Rick, things didn’t turnout like I had it envisioned in my head. When I was a young acolyte under my village priestess, she did to me what I just did to you. She blocked my Power link as a way to demonstrate the danger in a way I could not fail to comprehend. I thought to do the same with you. It almost cost me my life. Master Nick was right. You react without thinking. You nearly took my head off with your weapon. I guess I am the one who should have thought things through a little better.”