Chapter Seven

Thankfully, it seemed like Pops had really outdone himself this time. His new Magi-bikes were running great. Though, I still wasn't sure how I felt about the name 'Magi-bike'. I tried to get him to call it a kinetocycle, but he wasn't having it. So I guess I'll just have to get used to it. His invention, his name. I couldn't argue with the results though.

The Magi-bike worked on the basic principal that if you put kinetic energy into it, that energy is used to power the 'engine'. The engine uses that power to move the gears. Those gears pull the chains connected to the wheels. The wheels move the bike. Fairly simple, in theory. I'm not exactly sure how it works, I wasn't about to take the thing apart to find out. Though I had helped Pops enchant a few of the more complicated pieces. He's got a lot of different talents, all of which are very helpful in his experiments, but enchanting isn't his strongest area of expertise. Lucky for him, he had me. But just knowing a few of the parts wasn't enough for me to understand the complexity of the engine he had invented. All I knew was that if I muttered a minor spell and touched the gemstone embedded into the stem of the handlebar, I could directly feed some kinetic energy into it. That energy traveled down its connection to the engine, powering it. With my power level however, this would have only gotten me so far. If not for the alternative method of powering the engine. The pedals were not connected to the gears as on a usual bike, but instead onto another little device my Pops had added. If you cranked the pedals, it would use that kinetic energy to charge the 'battery', then the energy could be siphoned from it to power the engine. Then its time to zoom zoom zoom.

Pops has long had this crazy idea that any vanilla mortal piece of technology is just a blueprint waiting for some ambitious wizard to come along and convert it into its true magical version. He's had some success too, though most of his experiments end in a flop. My favorite so far is the water heaters. Saves so much time. Boiling water the old fashion way takes a lot of energy. Well, my energy at least. Who knew it would be as simple as enchanting a few gemstone studded charms, then leaving them out in the sun all day to absorb its heat. We have to constantly change those out, and re-enchant the charms every so often, but that's much better than boiling several pots of water every time you want a hot bath or shower. And now his newest success, the Magi-bike.

I spun the throttle—like you would on a motorcycle—and my Magi-bike lurched forward as my speed increased. Cid was a bit ahead of me, and I needed to catch up. I had to use the pedals, my magic reserves beginning to run low. Darn him, its so unfair. These bikes were practically made for him. He didn't need to use the pedals at all. He doesn't have a huge amount of raw power; but when it comes to kinetomancy, that kid can really flex his metaphysical muscles. It seems like he only has to use a tiny bit of his own power to produce an almost frightening amount of kinetic energy. It's his one gift I guess, since he isn't any better than me in most of our other subjects. And I'm the best enchanter at Strong Roots by far.

As I slowly caught up to him, Cid glanced back, slowing down so Chase and I didn't have to push quite so hard. When I pulled up beside him, he asked, "Should we stop for a little while?" Again, how unfair. He'd been the one complaining about being tired before we left. Now I was the one lagging behind?

"No. I can make it. A while longer," I told him, breathing a little heavily. "We should at least. Make it to the Briar path. Before we stop for lunch." I said between breaths.

"Okay, sounds like a plan," he said. He took one hand off his handlebars and reached towards mine. "Want me to juice it up?" he asked as his hand moved toward the gemstone mounted there.

I slapped his hand away, more forcefully than I'd intended. We both veered off a little. Me from the quick motion, him from surprise. Luckily in opposite directions, so we didn't collide. "Sorry," I said. Hadn't meant to be quite that rude. Now that he'd slowed down, I was finally able to catch my breath. "I just need to do this myself. Gotta exercise my magical muscles." I flexed my skinny arm, like a muscleman showing off his biceps. Cid laughed.

"I'm sorry too," he said. "I know you can handle it. I just like to help when I can." Now I felt bad. Cid didn't get the chance to show off very often. I'd taken that away from him. But still, I did need to do this on my own. Otherwise, how would I ever get stronger?

"Thanks though," I said, hoping to ease the rejection. "I'll let you know if I end up needing a little more oomph." I looked down at Chase running beside me. "How bout you? You need a break Chase?"

"You forgot the dust," Chase said with a smile. Then he surged forward, showing how little effort he'd been making before. He sprinted ahead of us down the dirt road, gaining distance fast.

"Hey," I shouted after him, glancing over at Cid. He held up a hand, his fingers and thumb extended. He began to drop them one by one, counting down. When his last finger dropped, he opened the throttle, zooming forward nearly twice as fast as Chase had. "Aw, come on," I shouted after him. I had to gather power, then I muttered a nonsensical word and poured it into the gemstone. I took off after them, only managing about half Cid's speed.

When I finally caught up to them, they were relaxing at the intersection where the path to the Briar Patch joined the main dirt road. They'd spread out a blanket from Cid's saddlebags, and were beginning to set out food for our lunch.

I pulled over to the side of the road, and after dismounting, I walked over to them and collapsed on the blanket, completely exhausted. "You guys are jerks," I muttered to them. They both laughed at me. The jerks.

"You did say you needed to work out those magical muscles of yours," Cid teased.

"Grrr," I growled. "Didn't Gramps say it wasn't a race?"

"No fun in that," Chase said, sprawling luxuriously out on the blanket.

"True," I agreed, and sat up. "I'm starving." Cid held a canteen of water out for me, and I grabbed it and chugged some down. It was a couple hours after noon, and even with our late breakfast the efforts of the ride had drained me.

"Lets dig in," Cid said, having just finished setting everything out. We did. The fair was simple. Dried fruits and meat, some cheese, and a small loaf of brown bread with butter. Cook can work wonders on even the most simple foods. He doesn't even have any magical talent. He's just damn good at what he does. Its almost like he was destined to be a chef. His last name is even Cook. Chase had a little, though he prefers fresh meat. Hes no domesticated beast, after all.

We all relaxed after we'd finished our meal, too lethargic to even pack up. We sat or lay in companionable silence, enjoying the warm day and the sounds of life all around us. It really was an extraordinary day. Clear blue sky, scattered with puffy white clouds slowly drifting by overhead. I was really glad we were in the Sanctum. Outside its borders the temperature was probably closer to zero centigrade, instead of the pleasant low twenties we felt inside. And it never snows in the Sanctum valley, which to me is definitely a plus.

I heard a strangled half choking sound, and sat up quickly to see what had made it. Chase had as well, jumping to all fours from where he lounged. We both looked to Cid, and the look of utter astonishment on his face. His mouth was hanging nearly down to the blanketed ground we sat on. He looking out behind me towards where the Briar Patch sprawls along the Geasen Bacahd (Magic Barrier) River. The river itself marks the border of the Enchanted Forest. There were only a couple ways across it, and none of them were nearby.

"What?" I asked Cid, quickly glancing over my shoulder and back. "What's wrong?"

He held up his hand, pointing in the direction I'd just looked. His lips moved, but no words came with the motion. I glanced behind me again, but still didn't see what could be causing this reaction. "Use your words Cid," I said to the awestruck boy.

"It's… I can't.. I've never…" he tried to say. Now I was getting annoyed.

"What?" I half shouted, looking back again. When I failed to see anything, I was returning my gaze to Cid, and noticed Chase. He too now wore an expression of amazement, almost reverence. Looking back again, I still couldn't see anything. I was starting to get really annoyed now. Cid and Chase were a little ways to one side, and they were staring near one of the small groves of trees that are all over this area of the Sanctum. This grove seemed to curve inward a bit, so part of the edge they were looking towards was out of my view. "Bah," I said, with my best imitation of the Old Wizard. I got up and moved closer to my friends, and I was finally able to see what had just barely been hidden behind a few trees.

Holy Magical Creature, I thought. Maybe literally. Standing there, my mouth must have fallen open to the ground, then bounced back up. I couldn't believe my eyes. This was one of the rarest and most sought after creatures in the entire Sanctum. All sorts of omens were attached to it. So many of my families stories involved it. Nearly a third of the quests in those tales start by someone encountering this very creature. The White Stag…

As soon as I came into its view, the magnificent creature raised its head from where it had been grazing. I swear, it looked straight at me for a moment. Then it took off, heading towards the Briar Patch.

I immediately spun around to my friends, I looked up and reaching for the sky I shouted, "Adventure time." I dashed over to my bike, grabbing a small backpack filled with essentials, as well as my jacket and some magical gadgets I'd worked up. Cid still hadn't moved, so I ran over to his bike and grabbed his bag, which was similarly loaded. I spun back and ran to my two friends, shoving Cid's pack into his arms. Chase had moved forward, as if initially eager for the chase. Ha ha, chase... But he'd turned his head to look back at me, a look of consideration on his face.

"Lets go, we've got no time to lose," I said with an eager energy pumping through my veins. I made it a ways past them down the Briar path, but turned around when I realized they weren't following. "Come on come on come on," I said breathlessly, bouncing on my feet. I wanted to sprint after the Stag, but I wouldn't leave my friends behind. Not on an adventure of this magnitude. Whats the point of an adventure if your friends aren't with you to share in it?

"Hmm…" Cid said looking at me apprasingly. I was impressed. The way he said it and the look he gave me was nearly spot on to the Old Wizard. "This is exactly what the Headmaster warned us about." He looked to Chase for backup. Chase didn't say anything. Just kept staring at me, considering.

"Come on," I said, exasperated. "This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for. A real adventure. Maybe even a quest." I think my abundance of excitement was having an affect on Cid. His expression softened, as did his stance. I had to convince him further before he came to his senses and decided it wasn't a good idea. We weren't really supposed to be going down any side paths today. "We won't even have to leave the Scattered Forest. The White Stag…" I trailed off, still not believing it, then shouted, "The White Stag, Cid." I lowered my voice. But only a little. "Its heading towards the Briar Patch, which will cut it off. Only small animals can get through that mess. If we hurry we could catch it. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Are you really gonna tell your children and grandchildren one day, 'Yeah, I saw the White Stag once. I just let it go. Didn't chase it or anything. Just said hi to it and went on my way. The end'." I did a very poor impersonation of his voice there, but it only made him smile. "What a boring story. Lets go earn us a real one." I gave him him my most imploring gaze. He gave me his big goofy grin, and I glanced up at his light hazel eyes. Something tugged at the back of my mind, but I was too excited to pay it any mind.

"The Headmaster is going to kill me," Cid said as he quickly slung his pack over his shoulder. "We better hurry. It's getting away."

Chase let out a rare howl. Hmm, twice in one day. He sounded like a hunting hound as it caught the scent. With that, we took off. The chase was on.