Spellscribed: Conviction (32 page)

“You know that light might be a problem.” Bridget said, not looking at all concerned. She had her head propped up in both hands, her elbows digging into her bedroll.

Endrance gave a half-hearted frown. “I think this is important enough to be worth it.” He whispered, jotting down another formula with the charcoal stick he was using for writing. “I might be able to ensure we can travel during the day.”

“That means we could make more time on the move.” Bridget said approvingly. “At least during the day. I don’t want to risk drawing the attention of the sand hornets during the night.”

“Yeah, I think one encounter was enough nightmare fuel to last me a year.” Endrance muttered, making an adjustment to what he had just written. “Aha!”

“Aha, as in you figured it out?” Bridget asked. Selene was holding her head against his shoulder, drifting off. Selene had acted perfectly normal the whole day after their communal dream; behaving as if nothing spectacular had happened. He had spent some time looking her over, and saw that her beautiful normally brown eyes had what seemed to be a permanent reddish tint to them, and her pupils only turned square when she was using the abilities of her demonic half.

“I figured out part of the problem about the spell that I had used.” Endrance explained. “Before, I was using an air magic spell that used my own breath to make an area around my skin that would mimic the properties of the breath I exhaled when I completed the spell. However, I think the most effective means to change the spell…” He trailed off, remembering he was speaking to non-mages. “Uh… I mean that…” he tried to mentally reach for a simpler term to explain it.

Bridget put her human hand on his back. “I understand this.” She said. “Keep talking.”

Endrance blinked at her. “You do?”

Bridget rolled her eyes. “Well yeah,” she said. “I just had to start actually listening when you talked about this stuff. Before when you started talking about magic, I’d just think ‘blah blah blah magic,’ ‘blah blah blah magic,’ ‘blah blah, kill that thing.’”

“Oh.” Endrance muttered, surprised.

“But I realized that if I really cared about you, and I’m grown up enough to admit I do, I needed to think about what you feel is important.” She explained, her hard face showing a warmth that seemed unusual, but pleasant. “And you have more than done so with what I love. You brought my arm back, better than the original. You gave me armor, a new weapon. You knew what we barbarians loved, and tried to support me; even when I refused to recognize it. If trying to understand this magic nonsense you go on about is the best way I can support you, then it’s the least I can do.”

Endrance blinked several times, more awestruck than anything else. “I’m… I’m glad to hear that.” Endrance stammered. “That means-“

“So what were you going to do with the spell?” Bridget interrupted.

Endrance looked back down at the page. “Where was I… ah yes.” He muttered. “I realized that I could make the spell less dependent on the environment by removing the breath component, and instead, setting the spell to use a small predetermined temperature range.”

“So, if you put it to use that set temperature, you can use it on cold or hot days?” Bridget asked.

“Yes.” Endrance answered. “It also means that I can cast it on another person, since it won’t have variables that depend on the subject it’s being cast on.”

“So that means we won’t be melting like ice in a pot of hot water tomorrow?” Bridget asked.

“Yeah.” Endrance replied. “I’ll try it out on the dawn leg of the trip.”

“Well, I’m going to get some sleep.” Bridget said, rolling onto her side, putting her back against him. “Good night.”

Endrance lay there in the were-light of his spell, with two of the most important people in his life sleeping next to him. Above, Gullin soared in circles, drifting on thermals he, most likely, was generating on his own. Despite the situation that had put him there, he knew he would rather be nowhere else in the world.

* * *

The night sky was brightening, and the group had managed to make it through the first night unscathed; in some part, due to Gullin’s keen eyes and sharper talons. Endrance had them line up after packing in the tents. Bridget, Tanya, and Selene stood stock still, while Joven fidgeted in place.

“Okay.” Endrance exhaled. “Let’s give it a shot.”

“On all of us?” Joven asked. “Are you sure?”

Tanya looked to Bridget, who gave her a subtle nod. She elected not to say anything, trusting in Bridget’s judgment more than Endrance’s confidence.

“Yeah I’m sure.” Endrance responded. “I’ve looked over the spell six times. It will be drawing on my power the entire time it is running, and I’ve got to support it for all of you, including Giselle… where’s Giselle?”

The wolf-girl popped her head out from under Selene’s skirt, grinning.

“Including Giselle.” Endrance continued. “It’s more cost effective to cast it on you all at once.”

“Fine.” Joven said. “Get it over with.”

“Selene, can you pick up Giselle?” Endrance asked. Selene managed to extricate the girl from her skirts without much difficulty, effectively holding her against her side so her head was level with Selene’s.

“Okay, everyone make contact with the person next to you. Tanya, Joven, make sure Selene’s in the loop.” Endrance instructed.

“All right.” Joven said. They were all connected in a line.

The wizard started the long form casting of his new spell. He had read over it half a dozen times, and the spell was fresh in his memory. He needed to be as efficient as possible, since the spell would be constantly drawing on his power while it was active, and he was about to undertake six times the normal drain. If he was efficient, then he could shave every valuable iota of power that would ensure the spell operated for as long as possible.

He finished the final word of power, and with the last mudra, cupped his hands together. Light gleamed from between his fingertips, and a cool air swirled around within, caressing his palms. He strode forward, parted his hands, and touched his left hand to his chest while grasping Tanya’s forearm with his right.

The wind swept along her skin, ruffling her clothing and stirring slowly across her body. It then ran down her other arm, coming into contact with Bridget. The spell spread across her, then Selene and Giselle, and lastly to Joven. Soon, each had a personal  pocket of air against their skin that was the temperature of a cool spring day.

“All right.” Endrance said, letting go of Tanya’s arm and stepping back. The spell didn’t suddenly fizzle or collapse, nor did their spells falter when they ceased contacting the person next to them.

“Hey, this kind of tickles.” Selene exclaimed, shivering for a second.

It seems that your spell was very effective.
Gullin stated.
I can hardly sense the drain.

Give it time.
Endrance replied drily.
It will start costing more the greater the temperature difference becomes.

Well done, though.
Gullin praised.
It should protect them from the heat and cold, and you from the cold at least.

I thought I just wouldn’t be hurt by fire.
Endrance asked.
I mean things still feel hot to me.

Only to a point.
Gullin replied.
I do not believe my protection extends to breathing smoke, so try not to stand around in burning buildings.

Hah! Thanks.
Endrance shook his head slightly. Everyone else was patting themselves down, amazed at the sensation.

“All right. Are we ready to continue?” Endrance asked.

“Yeah.” Joven replied. “Let’s go.”

They set off, walking at a fast pace through the two hour window they had. By the end, the sun had only been out for an hour, but the desert was already heating up quickly.

“All right everyone… moment of truth.” Endrance declared as he stood in the center of the marching order. “Do we press on or make camp?”

Everyone had been sipping their water and keeping their pace steady. They looked at him expectantly.

“We press on.” Endrance said, resuming walking.

Two more hours of walking passed, and though the air was cool around them, Endrance’s aura was suffering an ever increasing loss of power. The hotter it got, the more power he had to feed to the spell to keep them all cool. It also didn’t protect them from the direct light of the suns, and he wasn’t the only one starting to redden from the exposure. The glare of the suns against the fine sand made visibility difficult as well. They agreed then to set up camp.

They crawled into their tents, sitting down and trying to figure out how to rest during the day. The brilliance of the suns caused the tent walls to glow, and sharp whiteness to beam in from the seams. Endrance gulped water and let the spell lapse, keeping the tent flaps open, so their shelter didn’t turn into an oven.

“Wow…” Endrance muttered, sitting up. He had shucked his shirt and was sitting bare-chested. “I did not expect it to be this hard.”

“I think I have sand in places I didn’t know existed until today.” Giselle growled, shaking sand out of her fur. There wasn’t enough space for them to stand, but they could stoop over another person sitting down; or they could seat three people in a single tent packed tightly. For the day, in order to not cook themselves, they agreed to set up three tents. Joven and Bridget, Selene and Tanya, and Endrance got to spend some time with his adopted daughter.

That was a strange concept for him to swallow. There he was, sixteen, nearly seventeen, and not only did he have three wives, but he had a fourth who had died. And now he had a daughter who wasn’t even the same species as either he or his wives. It was confusing. He wiped sweat from his face, wishing he hadn’t gotten into the Circle of Magi so young.

At least recently, he hadn’t been mistaken for a girl. That had bothered him quite a lot earlier, so it seemed the near two years of harder living had made him appear more masculine. He looked down at his chest and stomach. The tattoos helped define them, but he actually looked like he had muscles underneath his skin now.

He’d be twenty by the time he returned to Ironsoul. Endrance realized that, by that time, he would have spent a quarter of his life outside of the village he grew up in. A village which had been sacked not too long ago, he reminded himself with a grimace.

“Is everything okay?” Giselle asked. Though they had made small talk during the trip, they hadn’t had a chance to really chat and get to know each other. He had learned about who her parents were, and what she knew before Weldom had snagged him, but he only recently had really just talked with her like another member of his group.

Endrance nodded, stroking the back of her head behind her ears. The imprinted memories from the Atastos wolfmen he had absorbed told him that the motion was used to comfort their pups when they were uneasy, a motion that was similarly used on actual wolves, and even domesticated dogs.

“I am fine, pup.” He replied in Ulfreau. Though he couldn’t quite manage some of the body language, since he lacked a tail and expressive ears, he could comprehend it quite easily now. “I was just thinking about what we’re doing. Did you get the sand out of your fur?”

“Yes, I did.” She said. “But now it’s knotted up. That air magic you did was good, but it makes my fur move funny.”

Endrance nodded, and opened his pack. He pulled out his small grooming kit and untied it. Unrolling the pouch, he picked out the smaller of the two hairbrushes he had. “Come here, pup.” He said, gesturing to his lap. Giselle sat on his lap, and he helped her brush out her fur. There were a lot of tangles, which surprised him. He didn’t expect the spell to cause that much trouble for her.

“Thanks.” Giselle said, her ears and tail perking up. “I like it when you help me.”

“I’m sorry I was gone for a while, Giselle.” He said. “But I’m here now, and I will take care of you. I won’t leave you like that again.”

She sat patiently for him to finish brushing her. Endrance glanced over to the next tent, and saw Selene and Tanya were sitting in their tent topless and nearly fell over in surprise.

“Oh, they’re naked too!” Giselle yipped.

“Yes… yes they are.” Endrance said with a sigh. “It is hot out.”

Tanya gave him a wink and closed the tent flap, obscuring their view.

“Aww…” Giselle whined. “I wanted to brush their hair.”

Endrance chuckled, picking her off his lap and turning her around. He set her on her feet, her ear tips only a few inches from the ceiling of his tent. “Here.” He said, handing her his comb. “Go do it.”

Endrance  flipped open his spellbook, and went to work fine tuning his spell to the sound of the two girls giggling and Giselle trying to talk them into letting her brush their hair, even though they didn’t know how to understand Ulfreau anywhere close to as well as Endrance did. With a little bit of adjustment, he could perhaps help handle the beating heat of the sun.

He had another idea. Perhaps while he was at it, he could adjust his darkness spell to dim and blunt the light of the suns, but the spell was made to be anchored on a location, not a moving object. That would take several days to figure out. He eventually drifted off to sleep, the high warmth and stillness lulling him to sleep.