CH3

"How would you feel going on a little side adventure." asked Ruth.

"But I thought we were leaving," she wanted to be on the road as soon as possible.

"It will only take a few hours," said Tam.

It didn't appear she had much of a choice as they left.

Tam briefed her on the way "We don't expect you to do anything, but we are going to a magic house and your knowledge could come in handy. Just wait in a safe place, you don't have to go in."

"What kind of magic?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you actually mean witch they aren't very there are wizards. Or there are the followers of Yaga but they aren't true casters they only do illusions. "

"The last one, I think."

"That's too bad the other witches are, in my mind, much less magically dangerous. Do you know anything about what they can do?"

"No, but she should be out."

They were awfully carefree about confronting an unknown caster. As long as they didn't expect her to interfere. She was no fighter and she hardly considered herself a caster anymore. Along the way she almost picked up a rock to make a fire stone but dropped it again. Deeper into the forest and the path narrowed till they had to walk single file. The growth thickened and the trees grew to that of a great age. She felt the aura the ancient wood gave off. This place was more than just old growth. She could feel a faint warmth further into the grove. What kind of person were they going to swindle?

At this point everyone got serious. Weapons were drawn. They left the path merging into the wood. Tam grabbed her hood to keep her back. The rest of them peered through the bushes. May maneuvered to get a glimpse. There was a sturdy building in the middle of the clearing. The wood was covered with ornate carvings. She recognized the familiar curve of sybil. That and the staggering volume of chickens suggested this was a witch of yagda. Who knew what they wanted with her.

The long grass parted as Bran broke from the group. Once on the porch he blended into the shadows. Everyone else crouched waiting. The Green door slid open. There was a long silence. Then a stilted crows call rang out. Ruth and Tam stood and May followed.

Tam stopped her. "Stay here, don't follow us unless we call you."

She crouched back down again. He and Ruth trotted up to the open door and disappeared into the darkness. Cautiously May left the bushes for the edge of the clearing. With a better view the birds didn't seem natural. Roosters and hens of all sizes milled about. Without a fence they stayed in a very defined area. Strangest of all, they didn't do chicken things. Not a rooster was fighting, none of them were even eating. May sent her bird to investigate. It swooped over the birds very close. There was no reaction.

When it returned, she reached out. It lent her their sight. Even though it was not her own magic but fey insight, she was reluctant to use it. Still with the magic here, this was not a place to trifle with. After a second her vision faded. Now she could only see magic. It glowed against a background of black, all features of the real world lost. Inside the house were a variety of lights in the shadows, but that wasn't what interested her. A bright outline of a massive bird sat next to the house. It was almost as big as the cabin. The monster wasn't magical itself but was covered by a powerful illusion. The only thing she could think it would be is a Roc, but they didn't like lowlands like this. She hoped the witch wasn't home; she must be strong to control such a creature. That also explained why there were no wards up. But why hadn't it attacked the others when they passed. She stood wanting to warn them but the inside could be even worse.

She paced at the edge of the clearing. Five minutes passed. Then Ten minutes more and she steeled herself to go in. Who knew what magic they triggered. They finally emerged holding a small chest. She tried to stop them and warn them, But Tam stepped off the porch before she could.

"Run" she screamed but the others stopped to look back.

The chickens began to tremble, shedding feathers at a rapid rate. A nonexistent wind picked them up and swirled them into a column. The feathers solidified to a twenty foot Roc. Its hooked beak was the size of a large dog. It fluffed its russet plume and beat its undersized wings. Little black eyes locked on to its quarry. It charged the trio on the porch. They started to run but its long yellow scaled legs made up the ground. Tam intercepted a strike with his ax while Ruth jabed up at its belly. The ax head skirted off the tough hide and its underside was out of reach to Ruth. Bran flanked behind it, ripping some tail feathers out. It spun to face him. Ruth dashed towards me surprisingly athletic while she cranked back a crossbow.

"Got anything to help us Girl?"

May snapped out of her stupor and started running through her spell book. Bran danced avoiding the pecking beak. Tam trying to draw its attention. The roc snapped and clawed, throwing Tam like a rag doll, and pegged Bran with a wing. Ruth's arrows were more nussances than anything. She wracked her mind for something she could do. She could bring up a boulder, but that would take too long and she couldn't move it. Maybe she could scare it off with a projection but what scares a rock. The massive creature now had all three of them bunched before it. She had an idea, she ran forward to get in range. It was one of her quickest spells and she began casting under her breath.

"Get back" called Ruth.

But she was hyper focused on getting the spell out and suppressing the urge to run the other direction. She hadn't cast anything in months, but she had to act or they would die. She wondered if it would even come to her. Her magic roared alive as soon as she called, waiting for her all this time. The heat was an old friend and flowed readily to the spell. Up from the ground separating Bran and Tam from the bird burst a giant earthworm. Its moist skin glistened as it wiggled. She was surprised at the illusions believability. The Roc halted and cocked its head. It took a big peck to only find dirt.

This only worked a second, but it was enough for Tam and Bran to get out of the danger zone. Now she was the closest target. She backed up but it was locked on to her. It was frightfully fast. Its clawed foot crushed her to the ground. I pecked its toes as she twisted in its grasp but she didn't have the strength to get free. Her breath quickened to shallow gasps as it lowered its weight onto the foot. Fear locked her mind even if she has the breath to cast. A sword pierced its ankle and Bran pushed forward. The Roc recoiled and Tam pulled her away, and ran back to the fight. He kneeled by Bran and launched him up. Bran caught on to its wing and scrambled onto its back. Enraged, it lashed out and grasped Ruth in its beak and tossed her across the clearing. Tam hacked at the already injured leg. May stood ready to run all the way back to town. It almost punched Tam as it tried to bite Bran on its back who clung to its neck.

It turned to May. She froze. Her bird flew from its eyes but it blinked the much smaller creature away like a gnat. She wanted to move but all that left her mind. She shook and closed her eyes as it lumbered towards her. She just wanted it to stop. We can help. An unearthly sourceles voice said. She gasped as her insides burned. She looked up and roots burst from the ground. They tripped Roc and proceeded to ensnare the bird. They bound its legs ever tighter till it was held prostrate to the ground. It strained against the confinement. Its dangerous beak was still free to attack and the wood began to snap from its great strength. Before it could free itself Bran drove his knife into the base of its skull, killing it.

"That is a useful spell." he said wiping off his sword

"I didn't know I could do that." she still felt the warmth of magic but it was draining quickly. She had never used such powerful magic. Her muscles trembled like she had lifted a great weight.

"You never really know what you can do till you're in a fight," he hopped off the Roc, "Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure." she wasn't. She had overextended her casting abilities somehow. I don't know what triggered the surge of magic. She hadn't tried to cast anything.

"Oh, he did get you good. Why don't you sit down." she half sat half fell to her knees. She now felt sharp pain. She looked to see a long gash soaking her side with blood. She looked back up rejecting the sight of her own flesh. The bird fanned her with wings. Bran pressed a rag to the wound.

"Ruth will fix you up."

"Ok." she said faintly. The pressure eased the pain but she was in a bad way drained both from casting and blood loss.

"You will be fine. The first real wound is always a shock." he didn't look so well either. He was sweating quite a bit. One side of his face was bruised and a long tear in his sleeve ozed blood. May's eyes rolled. I bounced on her shoulder trying to get her back. "Hey" he shook her, "just hold on till Ruth gets here."

The others finally joined us. Both were pale but looked unharmed for the most part with a few bandages and nothing more. Ruth immediately crouched by May and Bran peeling his hand back to see the wound. She placed a small silver amulet inscribed with sybil on site of the wound. It started absorbing blood and pulling her flesh together. The cut began to close. It didn't seal all the way but now it was a graze rather than a slice deep into muscle. The haze lifted from her mind and color returned to her cheeks. She took a deep breath.

"Better?" asked Ruth.

"Better," she smiled.

Everyone took a moment to compose themselves. Ruth healed Bran as well with her unusual amulet. May walked unsteady to the Rock. She touched the feathers on its green crest. They were as long as her arm but were very soft. They didn't lie neatly like other birds feathers; these were loose, giving the bird a fluffy look. She noticed Bran had stuck some shorter ones in his hat. Tam cut off the claws then called us all together to head out. The journey back was much slower thankfully. May couldn't have managed much more. They shuffled in a tight group along the path. The journey today would be a long one. It wasn't mid morning yet.

Bran was flipping a book over in his hand. She asked "what is that?"

"I'm not sure but it looked like the books you had," It was in sibyl. "Do you want it? It's probably more useful to you."

She took the thin soft bound volume and flipped it open. She smiled "useful indeed, it's a book of useful spells."

"So I made a good choice. what's it called."

"A book of useful spells."

"Oh, they aren't very imaginative with their names."

She laughed. Two of her other books were called introductory potions and spells for the beginning caster. "No they aren't. Thanks for the book."

"It's not like I can read it."

"And you deserve it," said Tam. "That was quite a display back there. Ruth was right to want you to come."

"Of course I was, magic is wonderful. And that thing you did with the trees really was something." she said.

"Thanks I didn't know I could do that, but you have magic too. What did you use to heal me?" she asked Ruth.

"Oh it's a blood mark, it's only good for open wounds that aren't too deep."

"It's still very impressive, where did you get it?"

"That's a long story. I'll tell you another time." she chuckled.

We made our way back to the inn and collected the cart. Once on the road and out of the city, Bran picked the lock with practiced ease. It was a small well made chest valuable in its own right. Inside was a layer of shawls in muted colors. Beneath was a great sum of money. It was less than it appeared mainly consisting of copper and silver but it was still a good sum. There was also a small amount of jewelry. Then she spotted a clear crystal surrounded by blue stones held by copper wire. She immediately recognized it.

"Can I have this? I would give up anything else I earned for it."

"What is it?" asked Ruth

"A focus helps me cast spells."

"Keep it and your share," said Tam "No one else has a use for it."

She put the necklace over her head and tucked the stone in her dress as the rest was divided. She got enough money to recoup what she spent on her new boots. Any coin that did not divide evenly Tam kept and Ruth took the rest of the jewelry to be sold later. May also took a few of the scarves to cover her to replace her old one. Honestly, it wasn't that old but she never trusted them to stay on and pinned it overzealously leaving it riddled with holes.

The group was sedate the rest of the day. May slumped in the back of the reorganized cart watching the road behind them. Every inch of her was sore. She channeled more magic than her body could take. She was left drained and cold wondering what happened. She hadn't wanted to use magic, it just came. How could she have so little control? How could she hide at all if she couldn't hide her magic. She was just grateful that all happened in the middle of nowhere and the witch's aura was strong.

Every bump in the road spiked the pain at her tedium and exhaustion of travel set in. With no end in sight May pulled out a useful book of spells. She flipped through the list of spells. It was a short book but had a fair few spells. This was mainly because of their simple nature. Though easy enough to cast in minutes they were as the title said very useful. She started to commit them to memory.

She looked down at her dress. The blood had dried brown and stiff. She couldn't resist trying a spell. After touching magic again she found it hard to release it again, even after the unexplained powers. It was a clothes mending spell. Being a spell bringing something to a natural state it took very little input. Still weak from the morning but recovering she was still able to cast it. I was proud of how fast she mastered it. Though easier, it was far faster than she had learned anything before. She placed her hand on the tear marring her dress to test it out. Whispering to herself she cast, not disturbing the group. The horse pricked its ears and nickered. Like most animals it was more sensitive to magic. Not a minute passed before the spell took effect. The loose strands of the fabric straightened and knitted back together. Blood came off in flakes till the sight was purged of grime. She ran her fingers across the fabric and it was like nothing happened. Her eyes glittered. She hadn't expected it to go so well. The first attempts of spells usually were flawed in some way. To boot it took a barely perceptible level of magic. It wasn't flashy but if all the spells in this book were all so economical she would be well off for chores. This was a better gift than Bran knew, spell books of any merit were hard to come by. She shifted on the barrel that served as a seat.

"I can fix your shirt." she smiled that she could repay the favor and began casting. He looked intrigued watching her weave her spell. As the sleeve came back together he was enchanted, more impressed than any other display she had done. It was a slow acting spell. You could really see each thread moving, powerful spells were more instantaneous.

"Hey, how?" he asked.

"It was from the book you gave me, and with a focus I can cast at a distance now."

"I had no idea you could learn spells so fast."

"Only because this one was exceptionally easy. Most take much longer."

"How do you learn spells just by learning the words?" asked Tam.

"No, they take more than words. Simple spells like this one take a one time action to attune and then it's pretty much saying the words and the hand motions." she held up the stitched cloth used for the mending.

"And harder spells?" asked Ruth.

"Most are the same though a more involved initial task, some have more specifications for the casting like the invisibility spell you have to sing. Others you have to have certain objects with you to cast."

"What can those types do?" asked Bran

"In the tower I didn't really have anything I needed so I haven't tried any."

"Well now you can try them," said Ruth though May doubted she would cast anything stronger than the mending spell again. "And you will have plenty of time to learn on the way to Richosia. What is next on your list.?"

"Um," she thought about all the spells she could try now, "I think there is one to start fires."