Chương 2: Traveling

As the sun came up the next morning, Chadwick woke up and climbed back on the driver's bench of the cart. The sun revealed wondrous sights to Chadwick. This was the furthest he had ever been from home. He couldn't recognize anything. It was still the same type of scenery. Fur trees and grass. A road that was really just a worn dirt path. The fact that he couldn't immediately stretch of road they were on, just by the type of material of nearby types of trees was shocking to him.

He knew every field around the village but had rarely gone more than a few miles from the center. It even smelled different. He had visited a waterfall with his dad once, which was far enough that they had to spend the night camping. But this was all new and unknown.

"Good, you are awake. Do you know how to handle cart-horses?" Asked the mage.

"No, but I've seen the loggers directing horses often enough to have a rough idea," answered Chadwick with a yawn.

"Good enough. The horses will just keep following the road. If you see any travelers or animals larger than a fox, wake me. Otherwise, we will reach a large roadside inn at some point. It's the first building we will see on this road. Should be about 2 hours from here. Wake me when we get there," said the mage and then pulled a large hat out from a slot on the side of the cart, stuck it over his face and was snoring in minutes.

Chadwick was alone with his thoughts for the first time since this whole thing had started. He didn't feel like he fully grasped the change to his life yet, it still felt a bit like just taking a trip. The scenery was at least enjoyable in its novelty. On one side of the road was the same river that ran past the sawmill at home, which was even wider here, but flowing very slowly. Hundreds of bugs floated over the water and he was pretty sure there would be a good fish population building up here.

Since he assumed there was no village nearby. Not a person in sight. Nobody would have depleted them. He was itching to get fishing. But the memory of the 'crunch' as his rod broke was a depressing one. The other side of the road was just grass, wildflowers and what might be a deer eating warily at the forest's edge. It blended in so well with the grey-barked trees nearby, it was hard to be sure. It was chilly enough that he pulled his coat tighter and then felt his stomach rumble.

In all the excitement of the moment, he had never eaten dinner. He looked up at the mage, he seemed thoroughly asleep. It shouldn't wake him to see what food the village women had packed for him. If he was quiet about it. Some quick investigation had Chadwick eating a fruit pie for breakfast. Washed down with water from a large metal container his mother had added to the outside of his pack of belongings. He still had no idea what she had packed for him and would need to review.

But this didn't seem like the time to try and rummage through it. The mage had obviously stayed up the whole night and would be grumpy if woken. The two horses pulling the small cart seemed to have no problem with having walked all night. Though their pace was more of a stately plodding. They looked like sturdy animals — even more so than the horses the village used for pulling logs. These horses were obviously bred for long days of hard work.

Chadwick used to daydream about getting to do practical work and be outside. His mind would wander while he scribed. At least once he got good enough that it didn't need his full attention. Daydreaming resulted in ruined pages in his earlier learning. Now his newest daydreams had no hints of labor or copying tedious tomes. He had a new half-formed dream wafting through his mind. Fighting off shamans in magical battles. So far he didn't really know what magic could do, so the dreams didn't have a lot of details yet.

Fixing ink or making rocks float were his only examples of magic so far. Throwing living fire, or knocking down walls with wind sounded like it might be possible. Could he blind the enemy with ink? That sounded interesting. Somehow though, the concept of being an ink mage just didn't sound… right. He was sure that wasn't what he was. He had scribed a number of books that described magical experiments done. Or research into different types of magic.

It had never really occurred to him that this was information he might need one day and had fairly mindlessly copied it. While he idly held the reins, he tried to recall all those books he had copied in the context of his new knowledge. He wondered if his power might be similar to some of those described. Nothing in those copies called to him though. The daydreaming quickly turned into several hours of just mindlessly watching the scenery until a building came into sight.

He was intrigued at first to see what they would be going past until he realized that's where he was supposed to wake Mage Sloan.

"Mage?" Chadwick said quietly. The snoring got a little louder, so he reached out to touch the mans arm. When his hand got close there was a loud clacking and the mage snapped awake. He snatched his hat from his head and shot upright.

"Oh, it's just you young student," the mage said and then stretched out. Hanging the hat off a hook, "ah, good. This place has nice beds and we will be stopping here until just before dawn tomorrow. We will need to get an early start since we will be wasting the rest of the daylight today. The horses need the break after all they just managed." Chadwick was only half listening, he really wanted to ask about the loud clacking noise. It sounded like two stones being cracked together.

Was this another example of a mages power? He couldn't ask though as the mage had taken the reins from him and was busy directing the horses close to the stable so he could unhook them from the cart. A fat man with a flour dusted apron and a boy with slightly singed eyebrows, a bit taller than Chadwick, stepped out of the inn's front door.

"Ah, I see you found a student this trip sir mage. That explains the odd hour for you to be arriving," said the fat man. Then he turned to the boy lingering at his side, "finish getting the rest of those rolls out of the oven and then take care of the good mage's horses. The best of care now boy. Do not mess this up." The boy scampered back inside. The fat man turned back to the mage, "one or two rooms? And when will you want the cart ready?"

"One room is fine, but bring in a bed for the lad. I'll want to be on the road at dawn. So, breakfast before then and horses hooked up ready to go as the sun rises would be perfect," answered the mage. The man, obviously the innkeeper, nodded along and then asked, "will you be needing any other meals?"

"We will both eat and I will bathe as soon as we are unpacked. Let the lad eat whatever he needs. The tower is paying for him now," answered the mage. Then he turned to Chadwick, "I'll be sleeping until breakfast tomorrow. Wake me only if you encounter a four or five on the scale we discussed earlier. Don't go too far from the inn." Chadwick nodded his assent, "should I bathe in the river?" The mage looked him up and down dubiously, "you know how to swim? I don't want you in any risk while I'm not around."

Chadwick nodded again, "I bathe in the river at home and everyone in the village learns how to swim. Well, except for Charles Tanner who screams if anyone brings anything larger than a kettle of water near him." The mage just waved away his explanation, "fine, just stay away from anything deeper than waist-high." The inn turned out to be the same types of log buildings Chadwick was used to and the meal was standard stew, though the bread was exceptionally fresh and warm from the oven.

The mage arranged everything to his satisfaction and then told Chadwick not to wake him when he went to bed. Also to not to stay out past dark. There seemed to be a lot of rules in being a mage. Suddenly, Chadwick was on his own. He had his packs in the cart, so he could find some fresh clothes. And most of a day to himself before he needed to return to the room. Deciding to get bathing and a change of clothes out of the way first, he opened the pack from his mother for the first time.

And saw right in the top, neatly packed, his fishing flies and all the metal loops from his broken rod. His eyes started to mist up at the reminder of the previous night. He was also surprised again by the thoughtfulness of Bothe. Obviously being the one who had gathered the broken rod and carefully snapped it in just the right places to remove the metal loops. There was also a kit of carving tools he didn't recognize, wrapped in leather and neatly placed with the loops of metal.

He had been sent off with everything he needed to make a new rod. He put them back for the moment and resolved to find the perfect tree for a new rod. He had no idea what his days would be like once he started at the tower, but he had been fishing for most of his life and he didn't want to give that up. It was something of home he could bring with him. He bathed in the river and attempted to wash his clothes, though soap seemed to be something he didn't have in his pack.

Nevertheless he at least scrubbed them out and hung them on the cart to dry. He figured nobody else was going to take care of his things. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. There didn't end up being much around, the inn was the only thing in the area. It was surrounded by fenced in gardens and a few roaming livestock. The innkeeper's family was all kept busy working and had no time for a wandering boy. Even if he was destined to be a mage.

They shooed him away just the same. So, Chadwick spent his time hunting for the perfect tree for his rod and eventually had to concede that there wasn't anything that was quite right. At least not within a reasonable distance of the inn. And Mage Sloan had been very clear that he wasn't to go too far. Once the sun started to set he returned to the inn and the innkeeper wordlessly stuck another bowl of the same meaty stew in front of him and otherwise ignored him.

Chadwick carefully crept into the room assigned to them and drifted off to sleep, the mage's snoring helping him feel less alone after a whole day of almost no interaction with anyone. Before he knew it, he was being awoken by a quiet knock and he was eating and then back on the road. The next few days turned into a routine of roadside inns, or sometimes camping by the cart.

They passed through several villages, but aside from occasionally staying at an inn in larger villages, they rarely did more than arrive around sunset and then set off again early. Just passing through them quietly. Chadwick was put in charge of taking care of the horses and setting up camp when they didn't have a convenient inn. The journeys were mostly quiet, but Mage Sloan would occasionally answer some more of Chadwick's questions about the tower, or being a mage. Or the Siyene Shamans to the north.

Or a million related topics, but he would usually get quickly annoyed with too much talking and just go back to smoking his pipe. Chadwick would occasionally see what else was in the food pack he had been given by the village women. The mage mostly left him to it, until he saw Chadwick pull out a large piece of honeycomb.

"Is that West Arc honeycomb lad?," the mage asked, the most interested Chadwick had ever seen him.

"Yes Mage," Chadwick answered, "I was going to put some on these crackers and then make tea with it when we stopped tonight."

"Hmm," said the mage, his eyes still fixed on the honeycomb, "normally the rules are fairly strict about interactions between mages and students, but we aren't at the tower yet. Would you mind sharing some of that with me?" Chadwick was surprised by the hesitation in the mages questions. Normally he just gave Chadwick orders and otherwise didn't talk to him much. He responded, "of course Mage, I have quite a lot of it after all."

Chadwick fished out the crackers and then the two of them enjoyed an afternoon snack as the horses continued plodding along. The mage smacked his lips several times and had the biggest grin Chadwick had seen on his face since meeting him after they finished and he lit his pipe back up.

"Thank you lad, bees don't do well near the tower. Your village's particular brand of wildflower honey is the best around, normally I wouldn't have left West Arc without picking some up, but we did leave in rather a hurry," said the mage. He was puffing away on his pipe happily. Chadwick saw a chance with the mage's good mood and the subject already coming up, "why did we have to leave in such a rush, Mage Sloan?" The mage sighed, "it's not an easy job lad. I'm taking children away from parents.

The younger they are, the worse it is. And you are the youngest I have ever found. Many years before my time, a rule was put in place that testers leave as soon as they can when finding a magic user. This prevents… situations." Chadwick decided to press his luck, "what sort of situations mage?"

"Mostly just parents who try to hide children, or run away to a different village, but once you have the necklace on, your life has a new purpose. You can't just grow old in some village anymore. There are more important things that only you can do. The worst cases though, are where superstition runs deep. Where the village turns on the child," said the mage. Who had lost his grin and seemed deep in thought. His good mood gone for now.

Chadwick knew the signs of an adult losing patience with questions and decided to leave it at that, he went back to watching the riverside for the perfect tree. After a week on the road, Chadwick finally saw what he was looking for. Without even thinking he had jumped off the cart and was running towards a tree by the river. The mage jumped up, suddenly alarmed and scanned the forest around him. Chadwick didn't see the handful of rounded stones floating around the mage.

The mage started to relax as he watched Chadwick as he scamper up a hill and began sawing at the base of a tree. One of the tools he had found in his pack was a small saw that he had been keeping handy for several days now. The mage's stones all quietly floated back out of sight, tucked into various nooks and crannies in the cart. A few floated into his pouches. The mage sat back and waited for the cart to catch up to the boy, since he had run quite far ahead. He was still sawing as the cart rolled by.

"Best be finished before I'm out of sight lad," was all the mage said. Chadwick quickly sawed through the tree and ran to catch up the cart, jumping up into the seat in breathless excitement.

"So, going to tell me why you felt it needed to make me think you were running off into the bushes. All for a stick?," asked the mage.

"I'm going to replace my broken fishing rod," answered Chadwick. Completely oblivious to the reprimand in the mages words. He was already rummaging in his pack to swap the saw for his carving tools. The mage seemed to perk up at this, "I suppose some fresh fish would be better than these travel rations. We are a few days from another inn." Two days of solid work later, Chadwick had not only replaced his original rod, but exceeded it. Knowing he had nothing else to do, he took his time.

He was careful and methodical about smoothing out the wood and getting the perfect flex out of it. Testing each inch as he went. The mage even stopped them early that night and just pointed up the creek they had stopped at and said, "I expect fresh fish for dinner tonight to make up for us losing 2 hours of daylight." Chadwick grinned and scampered off the cart, forgetting entirely about his usual duties of caring for the horses.

He lost himself in carefully working his way up the stream and had soon fished out three very well-fed trout. His concentration was broken by a low growl though from the trees on the other side of the creek. It wasn't a familiar sound, but he knew that couldn't be a good noise. He was backing towards the camp when a large dappled-grey creature slowly stepped out from the tree-line. Still growling quietly and eyes fixed on Chadwick. It was almost as tall as him even though it was on all fours.

The creature itself looked like a much larger version of one of the village dogs. With a longer snout and much larger teeth, which were currently bared at the small boy. Chadwick didn't dare look away, but he knew he hadn't gone that far up the stream yet and Mage Sloan was probably within shouting distance. The creature tilted its head to one side and looked at the fish Chadwick was still holding. He considered this, perhaps it just wanted his fish?

He carefully tossed one towards it and it snapped it from the air with a snarl. It dropped it to the side and advanced another step towards Chadwick. Chadwick dropped everything and ran towards camp, shouting, "it's a five!" He had intended to shout for help, but he supposed announcing a five on the mage's scale he had insisted on teaching him on the first day amounted to the same thing.

He could hear the large creature splash through the water behind him and some snarling noises that were definitely getting closer as he rounded a bend in the creek. Mage Sloan came running towards him and shouted, "get down boy!" Chadwick didn't understand what that would do, but the mage seemed to be his only chance at surviving the snarling creature. So he dove down onto the ground. A stone as big as Chadwick's head came flying out of the mage's hand, just barely missing him.

Chadwick heard a sickening thud and then felt something large, hot and slobbery crash into him. He felt himself pinned under the heavy body, struggling to breathe from the weight. He was only under there a matter of seconds, but he took a gasping breath when the creature rolled off him and finally let him breathe deeply. The mage dragged him upright and was running his hands down Chadwick's arms, then spun him around and looked him over.

The mage was also breathing heavily and finally seemed to relax after seeing that Chadwick appeared unharmed. They both sat and tried to get their breathing under control. Both of them still gasping for air after the sudden attack. Chadwick started shaking after his heart rate calmed down. He finally noticed that his clothing was stained by blood from the creature. His skin turned very white and he felt dizzy.

He looked at the creature and saw the large pool of blood from where its muzzle had been completely caved in by the large stone now embedded into its skull. His hands started twitching.

"That's the result of a real life or death fight, you never get fully over it lad," said the mage who looked weary. Chadwick tried to nod, but found himself shaking violently. The mage sighed and hauled himself back to his feet. He gathered up Chadwicks fishing gear and the two fish they still had. Then he picked up Chadwick and carried him back down to the camp. Chadwick's shock didn't really calm down until he started to smell the fish cooking.

A that point he realized that not only was he almost covered in blood, but that the mage was now stained with it from carrying him.

"What was that thing Mage Sloan?" Chadwick asked quietly.

"One of the largest wolves I've ever seen, I didn't think we would see them here when the deer herds are still further south. And that assumption almost ended in disaster," answered the mage. Chadwick just nodded. He had heard the term wolf before, but they never got them around their village. If the loggers ever caught sight of one they used to put on a whole hunting party to get rid of it. He had always been kept close to home when that happened. Now he understood why his parents didn't want him out of sight.

It occurred to Chadwick that he had seen a deer further back on their travels. It didn't seem helpful to mention that now. A bit late for warnings.

"You will want to wash up and put on fresh clothing, use the creek here but don't go out of sight. From now until we get to the tower you will not be leaving my side," announced the mage. Chadwick felt like that would ruin any more chances at fishing or exploring towns, but he could hardly argue after the experience he just had. The safety of an adult suddenly seemed important to him. Even though it had chafed to have parents worrying about him even just a few weeks ago.

"Was that your stone magic, Mage?" Asked Chadwick? The mage just nodded, Chadwick was starting to see why mages would be sent to fight. The speed of that stone would kill even a giant man like Bothe with ease. The mage was true to his word and barely let Chadwick away from his side for the rest of the trip. It made it all a little tedious, but they still occasionally found a mountain stream where he could fish without being out of sight.

After three weeks of travel he warned Chadwick to make sure everything he owned was well packed. They would be arriving at the tower.