PART III - WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

Grinning, the Enchanter stepped forward. He seemed excited and proud and just exuded giddiness. “First, the good news,” he began. “I was able to put four enchantments on each of your bows, in part because the Heartwood is Everliving and capable of self-repair already, so the repair enchantment we discussed didn’t take as much integrity as I was worried it might. Also, because two of the enchantments are attuned, they also used much less integrity. It was a tight fit with all the runes as well, but I managed to do it.”

“That’s great!” Callie said eagerly.

“It is, yes,” Fizzlebek giggled. He then cleared his throat. “Okay, let me run through these quickly, so you can all try them out. First, you’re very familiar with Callie’s Endless Arrows, and all four of these have that enchantment. It is possible to run out of arrows, but it would be difficult. I’d guess the enchantment has about one-hundred charges, and recharges at a rate of about fifteen per minute in normal ambient Nature-magic conditions. Even with the fast shooting rate you all can do, it would be very difficult to run that dry.”

Callie’s memories floated back to that first day here, shooting Thorn’s bow half-naked into a pile of straw trying to prove she was a Ranger, and Reynard’s harsh words to her then. It all seemed so long ago, even though it had been less than two weeks. She glanced at the Foxkin, now smiling as the Gnome reviewed the powers of the new weapons. What a change so little time made. Okay, he was still a fuzzy-faced asshat for the swamp thing.

“I did add one interesting twist that Callie’s borrowed bow doesn’t have,” Fizzlebek continued, gesturing to a specific spot on Jesca’s bow. “If you look at the back of the bow, facing you, you’ll see a small groove where you can rest your thumb. If you touch that as you draw the string, no arrow will appear. This allows you to shoot a real arrow if you wanted to for some reason. Note, however, the bow truly wants to create an arrow, so you are able to only do this a few times before the arrow suppression won’t work for a bit. Think of it like using a charge to prevent the arrow from appearing, with a maximum of probably five and a recharge rate of about three minutes. If you have any questions, Callie is used to this enchantment, so you can just ask her.”

“Happy to help,” Callie nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” Fizzlebek continued, moving on. “Next is the Self-Repair enchantment. Very easy. If your bow gets scuffed, cracked or the like, it will heal itself, usually in less than an hour for minor things. You’ll note the string is not made of string or rope, but is actually an incredibly strong, thin vine. Thus, the bow will even grow a new string if you break it, although you would need to loop it in place at the bottom, it’s naturally connected at the top.” He then gestured to the leather strips wound around the bow. “ While a broken string is regrowing, these tempered leather cords can be used as a makeshift bowstring. They are stronger than what you could summon, and won’t fade like a summoned component.”

Callie casually ran her finger over vine-string’s growth point at the top of the bow. She couldn’t believe how alive it felt. Hell, how alive the whole bow felt.

“As I mentioned,” Fizzlebek continued, “the bow is Everliving, so even without the enchantment, your bow would eventually repair itself. The enchantment simply makes the repairs much, much, much, faster. Even if you broke the bow in half somehow, the part with the seedling would fully grow back the entire bow. That would take a while, I’d guess at least a few weeks, and you’d need to recharge it several times, but it would regrow eventually. Oh, that’s right, the enchantment to help speed things up? You will need to recharge it with mana, but you can do that when you have downtime easy enough. I don’t know what would happen if you burned the bow, though. So don’t do that. Or drop it in acid. Or really anything that might completely destroy it. I don’t think it would be able to regrow in those cases.”

“Really? It will grow back completely if snapped in two?” Reynard asked, apparently surprised at this information. “That’s … that’s actually quite something, Fizzlebek. Especially since it can retain all the runes and enchantments. You’ve outdone yourself.”

The Enchanter grinned at the praise and gestured to Juniper. “It’s because it’s Heartwood, Trainer. If it was anything else, it wouldn’t work that way. This is also why you don’t see any enchantment stones. The Everliving bow drank in the uncured enchantments like a nutrient, infusing them directly into the living wood itself, making them part of the item rather than something grafted on. Obviously the Talismans won’t grow back, but if you still have them, simply reattach and they should harmonize with the regrown weapon within a day.”

“Fizzlebek, that’s simply amazing,” Callie squealed. “How … I can’t even …” Callie simply didn’t have the words she needed at this moment. Apparently the bow was somehow actually alive, and could be regrown from nothing more than a piece? That was just … mind-blowing. And this is the kind of magic a master Enchanter and Artificer could make? Mentally, she added both professions to her ever-growing list of magic to understand better. They were still below Culinar magic on the list, of course. Food takes priority.

Reynard cleared his throat, interrupting Callie's thoughts, and then took the lead in speaking. "During our discussions about the last two enchantments, the three of us spent quite a bit of time thinking about what would be most helpful. We ultimately focused on two things that are always problematic for a Ranger with regards to their bow. The first problem is dropping the bow if we suddenly need to use swords and not being able to easily retrieve it in the moment. The second is that, quite honestly, carrying it around is a hassle because it's big, cumbersome and gets caught on things we try to pass by. You all saw that the other day when we were walking through the woods and swamp."

All four Rangers nodded whole-heartedly in agreement. As they had walked, the bows slung across their backs constantly snagged on trees or bushes or whatever was around them. You could carry it, and that helped. But it was still awkward and you lost the use of one of your hands.

“To address these issues, we have two enchantments, and they’ve been attuned specifically to you,” Reynard said. “Nobody else will ever be able to use them.”

“Have you all seen the Bladedancer ability called Recall Weapon?” Fizzlebek asked.

Callie nodded, as did the others. Lena and the other Bladedancer recruits had been practicing with it during a break one afternoon when they were all sparring together.

“Good,” Fizzlebek nodded. “Basically, this enchantment does the same thing. You will be able to recall your bow into your hands. We couldn’t test it because it’s attuned, of course, but I’d guess the range will be about twenty to thirty meters or so. I don’t know how fast it will come towards you, so be careful and practice catching it. It does use some stored mana, from the same pool the repair enchantment uses.”

Callie gasped and looked at her own hands. She’d actually been strangely jealous in a petty way of Lena’s Recall Weapon skill, as well as Pixyl’s Minor Telekinesis for that matter. It just seemed so cool to be able to Jedi-move items with nothing more than a thought, and now she actually had a way to do it … sort of. It wasn’t as flexible as Pixyl, who could move a few kilograms of whatever object she focused on, but it was at least something.

“Vonn, if you would? The necklace and my bow, please?” Reynard asked, motioning with his chin.

The Lamia nodded, slithered over to her duffle and began to rummage as Reynard continued. “For the other problem, that of a bow being bulky and getting in the way, Fizzlebek came up with quite an amazing and unique solution that I think you will all find incredibly useful.”

Vonn returned with a well-crafted black bow with a trio of smooth stones grafted to it, one green, one blue and a third that was a dark red. The Lamia handed the bow to Reynard, who continued speaking. “With all of you getting new bows, I have to admit I was quite jealous. Vonn offered to make one for me as well, but I couldn’t justify using the Heartwood since I’m effectively retired from the field. I’d rather it go to someone young in a future term. But, Vonn insisted I get something. She and Fizzlebek made this for me and I’m forever in their debt.”

“Ironwood, right?” Xera asked

Vonn nodded. “I had the materialsss available for the bowsss I’ve been making for the front. I jussst diverted one pieccce. It’sss what I was originally going to ussse for Callie before Juniper blesssssed usss with her Heartwood.”

“It doesn’t have all the powers that your bows have,” Reynard said, holding it out for the Rangers to see, “but by forgoing any runes, it was strong enough for three enchantments since one of them is attuned. We built it with Endless Arrows and the Self-Repair on it, as well as this one I’ll demonstrate now.”

Vonn placed a simple silver-chain necklace over Reynard’s neck. The light-blue colored stone pendant dangled down to his collarbone. The necklace wasn’t remarkable looking in any way, but was obviously part of whatever was going to happen. With one paw, Reynard adjusted the pendant so it was pressed into his fur. He wiggled the stone some more, frowning slightly. “It needs to touch your skin,” he grunted quickly, almost apologetically. After a moment, he was happy with its position.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Now watch,” he said calmly. Holding his new Ironwood bow in one hand, he extended it. The air tingled with magic and with a wobble of power, the bow disappeared into nothing. At the same time, the stone on Reynard’s chest changed color to a deep red. “The bow is now stored in this,” Reynard said, a smile on his long mouth. With a flick of his arm, magic warbled and the bow once again appeared in his hand and the stone returned to its original color.

Callie was absolutely astounded, as were the other recruits and even Xera. Juniper, who up to now had been silent and simply observing, clapped happily at the demonstration, bouncing slightly.

“That’s … quite something, Fizzlebek,” Xera finally said. “How did you come up with that?”

“Oh, I took the enchantment normally used on a Bag of Holding, and then broke it down into three parts. That, combined with a little bit of Mimic blood allowed me to …”

Xera held up their hands, laughing. “Forget I asked. I’ll never be able to follow along if you go all academic on me. But this has quite the potential. Was it hard to make? Are the ingredients readily available?”

Fizzlebek visibly winced. “It’s … not hard,” he wavered, “but not easy either. Some of the ingredients are fairly rare or expensive. It also will only work on an attuned item, because the user is the conduit between the enchanted item and the stone. In addition, it doesn’t seem to work on steel or other metal items, I’m still trying to refine the enchantment to get around that issue.”

“It’s quite brilliant, nonetheless!” Xera praised, uncharacteristically excited. “When you told me you had lots of ideas that you wanted permission to play around with, I wasn’t sure what would happen. I’ll never doubt you again.”

The Gnome blushed slightly. “Thank you for giving me the chance, as well as the space and personnel to do my experiments. I hope to earn my keep with more than just my wife’s cooking and simple weapon enchantments.”

“We need to … talk more,” Xera said, making a mental note to have a more in-depth sit-down with the Artificer. “Apologies for the interruption, Trainer Reynard. Please continue.”

“Right,” Reynard said. “So, that was that enchantment. Some things to understand about it. First, the stone only has three charges, and it uses one each time you store or recall your bow. Under normal mana conditions, the recharge time for one charge is about an hour. Make sure you track charges so you’re not caught without your weapon if you need it. Second, if you lose your stone while it’s stored, your amazing new bow is gone forever. We in the Ranger line of work call that situation ‘you’re fucked’, and you generally want to avoid that.”

“Easy solution,” Callie said, raising her hand and waving dismissively.

“What?” Reynard huffed, stumbling at the interruption. “What do you mean?”

“Yogosi,” Callie said, nodding at Jesca. “Right?”

Jesca quickly nodded back. “Yes! Great idea!”

“What do you mean?” Reynard asked, a questioning frown on his face.

In unison, Jesca, Callie and Shul’an all pulled up their tunics and light armor, exposing the tiny lumps on their left sides. Jesca’s wasn’t visible through her fur, despite her abs, but the meaning was clear.

“You … want to put the stone under your skin?” Reynard asked incredulously. “That’s … actually ingenious, I guess.”

“Yup! That way we can’t lose it and it always touches our body,” Callie grinned.

Reynard looked at Fizzlebek and then at Thorn, and then at the box of necklaces that Vonn was holding. “Why didn’t we think of that?”

“Because you three don’t have the burden of getting pregnant to deal with,” Xera laughed.

“They’ve got us there,” Thorn said with a laughing nod. “We are kind of thick at times.”

“If it is any consssolation, I didn’t think of it either,” Vonn admitted sheepishly.

“I’ll talk to Tasi and see what we can arrange,” Reynard said. “For now, you can practice the enchantment with the necklaces.” He looked at the others. “Vonn? Fizzlebek? Anything else we need to cover?”

“I think we’ve reviewed all of the powers we put into the bow,” the Gnome responded as he silently counted off fingers on his hands.

Juniper lightly cleared her throat. “If I may. I have a few things I wish to add.”

“Oh? Of course,” Reynard said, standing aside slightly.

Juniper’s expression seemed to grow slightly melancholy as she first looked down on Callie, and then to the other Rangers. “Your new bows are made from Dryadic Heartwood from my very own tree. Thus it is a part of me, or perhaps I am a part of it, or maybe it is both at the same time. It was … uncomfortable … for me to provide, although I sacrifice gladly for my wonderful friends and to defeat the feral Demons.”

Callie had suspected there was something more to the Heartwood than a simple branch removed from a tree. She hadn’t been able to put her finger on what that something was, though. Now, hearing Juniper, it sounded as if it was actually painful for her, almost as if she removed a part of herself so Callie and the rest could have these magnificent new weapons.

“This Heartwood has magic of its own,” Juniper continued, struggling to brighten her tone, “and that has wondrous effects for your weapons. To begin, any arrow you may shoot will be Nature Blessed. While the arrows from a normal bow are quite deadly, some creatures may be immune to them. Spirits and Ghosts care not for the mundane after all, and would never stoop to being harmed by something so simple. This bow, however, will assure that any arrow may affect them, as well as others that may simply dismiss unblessed arrows as nothing more than a mere nuisance.”

Behind the Dryad, Reynard, Xera and Thorn all audibly gasped at each other. Even Shul’an, at the other end of the line of Ranger recruits, made surprised noises. Callie wasn’t sure exactly what the big deal was with this, but it obviously was a big deal. She’d have to get the lowdown from the Salamanderkin later.

“Next,” Juniper continued, “as this is a bow of Nature, it is extra potent against beings made of or imbued with Nether magic, as Nether is the bane of all things living. This includes the very Demons you will be fighting. Alas, this also would include Warlocks, like dear Vanis. So please, don’t shoot him with it. It might be hard to put him back together.”

Callie’s brain hiccuped a moment as she tried to parse Juniper’s statement. She understood everything at the beginning. Nature is the opposite of Nether, so presumably the bow is extra strong against Demons. Simple enough and it even made sense given the origin. But what the hell was the ‘dear Vanis’ thing? The Dryad definitely had a crush on the guy, that much was obvious. If that was the case, though, there could be a potentially more-serious problem. What if Vanis and Juniper actually hooked up? Nether and Nature coming together? Innuendo aside, from what Juniper just said, that now sounded like a really bad idea. She’d need to talk to Lena or Pixyl, or maybe Tasi, about it and decide if they should warn the Warlock.

Juniper reached to gently take Callie’s bow. “As the Little One Enchanter said, your bows are Everliving, they will continue to thrive as long as you care for them.” She gestured to the little green leaf sprouting from the wood, and spoke almost a little sadly. “This is a Heartwood seedling. It is … like a child to me in a way. It is … beautiful and strong and full of potential.” Juniper looked up at the recruits, a forced smile on her face. Quickly she said, “Should you need to, you may eat the leaves. They will restore your mana and stamina and heal some wounds. One leaf will even nourish you for a day, perhaps two for the Little One. The seedling is strong, and the leaves will grow back in only a day or two. They should not interfere with potions or Druid berries, either.” Then she looked back at the little seedling, her voice softening once again as her finger brushed it. “But if the seedling should grow large enough to thrive on its own, please remove it carefully and plant it wherever you may be. That way I know a part of me will always be seeing something new in this world.”

“How will we know when it’s time?” Callie asked quietly. “How fast does it grow?”

“You’ll see it struggling to break free,” Juniper cooed absently, “the roots visible and seeking a place to begin its new life. As for how quickly, perhaps every cycle of the Father Moon. Yes, if you plant it when Ohler is full, or within a few days, the little seedling will be most happy.”

“How do we care for the bow?” Thucax asked as quietly as Callie. “What must we do?”

Juniper ran her hand lightly along the bow, her voice still low and a little sad. “It needs very little, young Gnoll. Just a small amount of water and some time in the sun.” She gently looked at Thucax. “Once a week, if you would, submerge it in water for a few minutes, or at least wipe it fully with a wet cloth. That is more than sufficient. Also it must see the sun for a few hours weekly as well. It is Everliving though, so if you fail in these tasks, it will simply go dormant after perhaps two weeks.”

“What happensss if it isss dormant?” Vonn asked.

Juniper shook her head, as if coming out of a light daze again. “Nothing bad will happen. If it must sleep from lack of what it needs, the bow’s natural effects will simply no longer work, including the Self-Repair enchantment. The other enchantments and all the runes will continue to function, though.” Once again she looked at Callie’s bow and smiled, before slowly handing it back to the little Gnome. “But a tiny bit of water and daylight is all that is needed and it will serve you well, perhaps for the rest of your lives.”

The Dryad slowly took a single, slow step back, as if hesitating, before finally taking two more. Everyone was quiet and introspective, the recruits now truly understanding that there was more to their new weapons than anyone had really understood. These amazing weapons weren’t simply wood and runes and enchantments. Somehow, they were Juniper, alive and born of personal sacrifice in the name of friendship and duty. They had all been bestowed not only an honor, but a great power, and in turn, they had each accepted a responsibility just as great.

“Thank you,” Callie said quietly. She really had no other words, nor did the others. She wanted to hug the beautiful Dryad. She didn’t know if that desire was because it was a Gnome instinct or if it was her own, but she could only resist for a moment. Silently, she set the bow against the wall of the shelter and walked to the Dryad. Juniper knelt, gently kissed the top of Callie’s head, and accepted the embrace.

“Don’t you dare touch that,” Callie called out firmly, her voice muffled by Juniper’s body as she disengaged one arm and pointed. Loki instantly froze in place, one of his vine-like arms in the midst of snaking out, almost reaching Callie’s new bow.