Liam watched the wagons advance, pleased by the perpetual clip clop of horses against the quartz road. Pushing the earth magi had paid off magnificently, and now a single wagon could lay down a road of glass. He leaned over the wagon’s edge, marveling at the spectacle of being able to see a foot into the ground. It was fascinatingly mystical so see mundane dirt compressed beneath the slab of quartz. But something was still making the ride feel ricketty. As if there were small imperfections in the road that caused the wagon to vibrate.
“Owen, I need a moment.” Said Liam.
“Yes sir.” Owen said, taking a horn and giving it an experimental toot.
It was loud enough that all the wagons drew to a stop. Paladins exiting their wagons as a break was called. Horses were watered, while battlemages circled the caravan, knights checked the surrounding juniper bushes and Liam laid down on the quartz road. He ran a finger along the surface and frowned. There was nothing wrong with it. Nothing at all. The surface finish was as smooth as modern glass, free of any imperfection or blemishes. A stunningly perfect side effect of training the earth magi.
So… Why does my butt still hurt if the road is this nice? Thought Liam, glancing at the wagon.
Where the answer punched him in the nose. So obvious he closed his eyes.
“I’m the dumbest elf ever to walk the earth.” Muttered Liam.
“That’s okay, you’re only four years old.” Said Velena, smirking at him as she leaned on her staff of red cherrywood.
Liam rolled his eyes without opening them, it had become easier to work mana with them closed, although he was still fascinated by how he was able to perceive magic directly without any additional sensory organs. If he’d acquired a third eye, or some kind of internal gland with mana sensitive particles floating in a fluid, similar to how an eardrum worked. But he hadn't sprouted a new organ. A fact his fleshcrafting confirmed. Which was a curiously strange development. One he could ponder later.
For now Liam laid a hand on the wagon wheel, activating his healing mana to regrow the wooden rim and eject the small rocks and pebbles that had implanted themselves between the wood’s natural grains. He repeated the spell for all four wheels then had Owen move the wagon a few feet forward and repeated the process.
“Uhm, my lord, what are you doing? The wheels are in fine shape.” Asked Owen, the elder paladin was skilled enough to understand the magic being worked, but was too set in his ways to understand why.
“He he he. Move the wagon ten feet forward.” Said Liam, giggling maniacally.
“Uhm… Okay?” Answered Owen, he flicked the reins and the wagon rolled forward without a sound.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
It made six rotations before Owen began to cackle. Soon roaring with laughter. Their shared mania made Velena raise her eyebrow.
“What in bloody heaven?” She said.
Liam ignored her, repeating the process for all the wagons and beginning the march once more. It was easier to just let the work speak for itself than to try and explain. Within a minute of resuming their march all paladins understood. It was a small thing, but one that saved all their asses.
“I’ve never seen someone use magic like that. Which affinity did you use?” Asked Velena, sitting behind Liam.
“Uhm, it’s easiest to pull out the dust and dirt with earth, but then the wood has to be worked with life magic. I picture the wood as living and regrowing, then give it the mana to heal the small nicks and dents.” Said Liam.
“You phrase it so simply…” She muttered, rubbing her temples.
“What? I mean, healing a wheel sounds dumb. Ha, who would shop at a store called the ‘tire doctor’?”
“It’s not that, all our staves are grown with magic, then the runes are carved into them by artisans or master engravers at the royal academy and then donated to the church. We should know how to work wood with magic, but we don’t.” Said Velena, tracing the runes on her cherrywood staff.
Liam was quiet for a moment. This world treated magi with reverence, it was used daily and in most towns there was almost always some combination of earth, water, and life magi. Only ill managed lands like Greenwood had fewer. But the most common magi were low levels, and the prevailing group-think was that exercising your abilities at every opportunity would increase a mage’s power. A theory that this road’s construction proved false.
His silence drew long.
“I’m sorry if I’ve offended you my lord.” Began Velena, chewing on her lip.
“What? Oh, no, you did nothing wrong. Your question just got me thinking… Uhm, do any of the paladins have the appraisal skill?”
“Not presently.” Answered Owen. “Thaddeus possesses it, as do a couple of merchants that support us in Khereshetal, but the First Captain is the only one who has the levels to assess magi.”
“A shame, I was just thinking how useful it would be if we could repeat this roadwork expedition. Something where we could gather human magi and have them work for us in exchange for levels. But, I don’t know how useful these levels are, they all seem so meaningless.” Said Liam.
The sounds of jaws hitting the floor was audible.
“My lord! You’d have every mage in the continent kicking in your door!”
“Free work? We could charge for the privilege! A silver coin a day! Or ten gold a level!” Snapped Velena, her eyes lighting up at the thought of preposterous income.
Liam blinked, recalling the value of gold. Velena was suggesting they charged multiple years worth of the average salary, for a single level.
“Oh, uhm, guess it’s a good idea then?”
“YES!” Shouted Owen and Velena.
“Good, have Thaddeus find someone in Kheresh with the mana manipulation skill and get them to start leveling up our paladins there. If he can’t find a human, then ask Calypso. Maybe then we won’t have to abandon Khereshetal entirely.” Said Liam, deciding to take a nap on the long ride across the continent.