Arthur parted ways with Ethan and packed up his own things. Andre, Aria, Kendra, Lucas, and a few researchers joined him. They brought their things by horse to the coast. They arrived at a coastal outpost where they were able to board a ship.
“Jarrod raise the anchor. Everyone else make sure all your stuff is on board. We will be setting off soon. Please place your stuff below the deck. As for Arthur was it you will need to stay up here because you don’t fit,” said the Captain.
Jarrod a young elf ran to the front and began turning the wheel situated at the front of the ship. The gears connected to it started to turn as well and the anchor was lifted up. The captain unfurled the sails as the others prepared their living space down below. The ship was on the small size and was thin and long in its design to emphasize speed over carrying capacity.
Along with Jarrod and the captain, the only other person manning the ship was a mage. She used her skills in the water and air magic to pull the boat out of the docks quicker and get it directed towards its destination.
“Switch to the wind only and pull us to the natural air currents please,” said the captain to the mage.
Pockets of air moved through her hands and the boat started to speed up. Now that Jarrod was done with the anchor he moved to the back of the ship and started adjusting parts of the ship. The passengers down below started to return to the deck and Andre called for Arthur. He had been watching the land slowly disappear on the horizon. He turned to speak to Andre.
“What is it? Are we starting going through the new spells already?’ asked Arthur.
“Yeah. I have a booklet prepared for the spells I don’t already know. This trip is going to be pretty boring otherwise. We’ve got about two and a half weeks until we reach land again so it will be plenty of time to learn some more spells.”
“Are they going to be the ones you showed me earlier?”
“Yes, I thought we could start with them because you are already familiar with them. How about I show you [Multi Firebolt]?”
“Oh, I already learned how to cast that one.”
“Did you learn any others on the list?”
“Just [Lesser Heal]. Ethan showed me that one before he left.”
“I see. Then let us start with the simplest one on the list and go from there. [Detect Magic] is a spell that mage apprentices usually learn early in their career to help them understand the flows of magic and some of its underlying principles. You are however due to your unique body have had that stronger understanding from almost the beginning. And I am teaching you it now because the harder spells often require a stronger visualization that is shown with [Detect Magic].”
“I think I understand. I need to start seeing magic like you can with the spell so I can use other spells.”
“Exactly. Now what me when I perform the spell. It will be applied to my eyes or in this case your crystals in the eye sockets. It will take a little bit of time for your body to adjust to the new flow of information. Don’t be startled.”
Andre cast the spell and Arthur followed the steps afterward. The spell was different than other spells it wasn’t often that he cast spells that affected himself. He still prepared the spell as he would any other and cast it when he was ready.
When the spell was completed he could feel his eyes changing and the filters of information coming from the changing. He began adjusting his runes to accommodate the change. He also quickly realized that he could make the changes constant without casting the spell constantly. Arthur looked around and saw the result of the spell to make a final decision. The first thing he noticed was a large amount of magic flowing around him and how the runes across his body glowed brighter with the spell. He then looked upward where he saw the work of the mage visualized. Swirls of magic hit the sails and carried the wind with them to propel the ship forward. The mage herself also held a lot of mana around herself and seemed to be guiding it to push the winds forward.
“Wow. This is very different. I didn’t realize that I was so illuminated I guess.”
“You are constantly flowing with powerful runes and magic so any competent mage can pick you out in the dead of night. It is also why some of the more powerful mana beasts have run away from you. We have had to pick out specific ones to train you with that don’t have the necessary abilities to identify you.”
“Is there a way for me to mask myself? So, I don’t stand out?” asked Arthur.
“Kind of. All magic leaves traces but some more than others. The researchers and I have been discussing this problem for some time because the dragon will be able to spot your presence from miles away. In response, we have prepared a spell for you to try. The spell is called [Obfuscate] it spreads your natural magic aura into the environment allowing you to get through without a trace. It isn’t completely perfect from my testing of the spell, but it should allow us to get to the dragon. The others joining you will also learn this spell, so their own magical abilities aren’t noticed.”
“That is great…”
Arthur and Andre worked together on learning the other spells left on his list for the rest of his day. On top of his current spells, he also learned [Greater Shield], [Blizzard], and [Harden Shell] another protection spell. During their practice, the mage had taken a break and the ship slowed down slightly but they had started traveling into the natural wind and water currents. The captain directed the ship and they kept at a consistent pace. Jarrod took the wheel in the evenings and gave the captain a break. The others were also under deck during the evenings. Arthur took this time to practice all of his spells alone while Jarrod watched.
A few days later.
“Let me tell you about the dragon,” said Andre to Arthur. “When we reach the dwarves a more intensive battle strategy will be discussed but that isn’t necessary right now because learning proper attack spells to kill it. From the records of the dwarves, we know that it is an adult silver dragon. It doesn’t deal well with lightning spells from previous observations which is why we have made it a focus for you.”
“How am I supposed to deal with a dragon. It is so large and from the descriptions, I have learned it should be able to shred any armor we have and tear my body especially well.”
“It will be dangerous, but you will have all the tools to complete this. The others will have other roles in the fight but yours is to gain the attention of the dragon and keep its attacks focused on you. You can take a hit or two from the dragon. The others can’t.”
“I still don’t feel ready for this. It has all gone by so fast and I’ve only fought beasts close to my size with the exception of the queen spider, but it was stuck in an enclosed space, so it was much easier to deal with.”
“Then make that exception possible and find a way to make it easier for your teammates. They will be counting on you, and you should also count on them. They won’t be a burden the whole time but will be there to support you.”
“I know I shouldn’t be so worried.”
“Try to put your mind elsewhere and focus on what you can do now like learning new spells. Now the first spell I would like you to learn is [Field of Fire] it is one of Kendra’s spells and it is important that you both know it well. This area of effect spell is very powerful when stacked properly. You can ask her more about the spell when she is available. For now, go over it in the booklet and get comfortable with it in your mind. Once you are ready cast it above the water.”
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Andre handed Arthur the booklet, and he took it. The page was already open to the spell. In Kendra’s handwriting was the spell. He read over it and took the steps necessary to cast it. Once it was solidly in his mind, he went to the edge of the ship and cast it. A fireball flew out into the water and then spread outwards around the water a created fire momentarily before the water doused it.
Andre went through a few more spells during the rest of the day for Arthur to learn. The additional spells he learned were [Wall of Fire], [Fire Shield], [Chain Lightning], [Dispel Magic], [Feather Fall], [Thorn Whip], [Web Ensnare]. Arthur read through each of the spells and Andre presented a few of the spells so he could see how they worked. [Fire Shield] worked as he expected and created an oval-shaped fire barrier from his hand. After casting there was a slight drain to keep the spell active but not much. [Chain Lightning] was similar to his [Plasma Bolt] spell but stayed active longer to spread to other targets. [Dispel Magic] created a quick way to remove magical effects in targeted areas but could not block attacks effectively. [Feather Fall] was a useful utility spell that slowed the descent of yourself or others if needed. [Thorn Whip] and [Web Ensnare] created mana constructs of their real things to create their desired effects.
Over the next few days, Arthur practiced each of the spells and wandered around the deck of the ship. Just as Andre had said the ship ride was getting boring. He consoled himself that at least it was more interesting than the times he was stuck in the cellar. Schools of fish often passed them, and the water changed to different hues of blue as they traveled.
A few days later it started raining. They were almost to the island of dwarves. The ship’s mage used magic to redirect the rain and pull the ship through the storm. Arthur watched her do her work. After moving the water away from the ship, she kept the ship moving with the wind and then started to clear up the clouds with her powers.
Arthur stepped to her as she worked. “Can you show me how to do that?” he asked.
“Which part do you want to know?” said the woman as she continued to work around him.
“All of it would be great, but I especially like how you are able to shape the weather.”
“I’m surprised you noticed those small details. I am indeed a weather mage. Competent in many areas of the sea and air.”
“I wasn’t sure, but your ability to clear the storm confirmed it for me. I want to know how to do that and move ships as you can do.”
“Moving ships is easy but takes a lot of power and some practice. It is a combination of two spells in my case, but I usually only use one. The two are [Shape Water] and the other is [Control Winds] or [Gust of Winds] depending on the situation. They take lots of mana to keep a ship moving, so the application is important to get the most out of the spells.”
“Can you show me them all?”
She stopped using her spells and dropped her hands. The ship slowed slightly. “Heh. I suppose I could especially because you ate up every spell you learned. Over the past week, I saw you learn a half-dozen spells in a day. Do you have any trouble at all with spells?”
“I don’t really do, but it depends on the spell. Sometimes it takes time to understand a spell conceptually and prepare it in my mind but once I do it all clicks.”
“Exactly it is amazing. It took me a week to learn [Shape Water] completely and fully control water with my mind. So, understand this when I show you. Ok”
“I understand that it takes me much less time to learn spells. I am sorry if that troubles you in some way.”
“Thank you. Before I start I guess I should introduce myself as I don’t think we have met properly. I am Sarah the weather mage.”
“It is nice to meet you, Sarah. I am Arthur the metal golem man.”
“Now watch me cast each of the spells. I am going to cast each of them once and then I need to get back to the ship work.”
Arthur nodded, and she started going through her spells. She started by pulling water from the ocean and began shaping it with her spell. Afterward, she returned the water to the ocean and used her wind spells. Arthur watched the spells with his new magic vision. The [Control Winds] spell seemed to grab ahold of the air and then redirect it as the wind started to bend to her will. He held the image of the wind and of her finished spell in his mind. The [Gust of Wind] spell worked a bit differently. Instead of controlling the entirety of the air around her, she only controlled a small portion of the air and condensed it to create the effect.
Once she was done with the first three spells she sent a fourth spell into the air. The [Clear Clouds] spell activated and helped to clear up a portion of the storm above and stop the rain from hitting the ship. Arthur followed her steps next and practiced the spells. He was careful not to affect her spells because she was also trying to control the winds. He found the spells easy to cast but not easy to control. The water moved in the palms of his hands but not always in the way he had intended. Throughout the rest of the night, he continued to practice the four spells. Sarah glanced at him occasionally and kept an eye on him while he worked.
Jarrod was sailing the ship early in the morning when he started to say something and stepped off his deck. Arthur refocused and brought his attention to Jarrod.
“There is land ahead. We are almost there. Sarah come up and help me.”
Sarah called up from below deck and got up to her spot soon enough. Arthur followed her directions and used the same spells to the same effect. With the two of them working together the ship rocketed forward and there wasn’t as much strain on either of them individually. As they got closer to land the captain finally came up to his post and started giving them more directions so that they could start sailing to the port. For now, they just sailed in the general direction of the dwarves' homeland.
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Below is a list of all of the spells Arthur has learned so far if you are interested.
I think it is comprehensive and should be all the spells he will learn before fighting the dragon. In no particular order:
Earthen Wall Bubble Shield Sand Trap Lesser Heal Multi Plasma Bolt Greater Shield Blizzard Harden Shell Detect Magic Multi Firebolt Illuminate Darken Plasma Bolt Vine Trap Fungal Spore Base Elemental Spells Force Blast Mana Sheild Plant Growth Sharpeness Blur Shock Sword Astral Blade Rock Blast Obfuscate Feild of Fire Wall of Fire Fire Shield Chain Lightning Dispel Magic Feather Fall Thorn Whip Web Ensnare Shape Water Control Winds Gust of Wind Clear Clouds