Kaele was still grinning from one ear to the other as we returned to our campsite. I had likened the piece of magical metal we had found to a spiderweb at a first glance. Once she had unearthed it though I had come to realize that it looked more like the roots of a tree in a way, spreading out from the spot where the lightning bolt must have hit the red mud of the river plain. And not only was it glowing in a soft light from within, it had been surprisingly light as well. Kaele had had no trouble fitting it in her bag and bringing it back on her own.
Once we were back she had hung the thing from one of the poles that kept our tent upright like the most curious of lanterns. Its light probably would be bright enough to read by it, even if barely. We left her to her own devices, while the rest of us set out to get dinner prepared. Eld'tide had the rabbits pretty much ready to cook, so I saw about getting the fire started again while she and Khuzan took care of the pot from yesterday's dinner. It still needed washing after all. I was happy enough to leave that to them.
I cleaned out the fire pit and made sure all the stones lining it were still firm in place. Then the driftwood I had gathered got stacked in there and before long I had another nice fire going. I let it burn down, adding some more wood to it from time to time until there was a nice pile of red hot glowing coal at the bottom of the pit. Then things had to happen fast. I didn't want to burn my fingers after all. I put the prepared rabbits in their clay shell in and buried them under the coals. Then I filled in the pit further with stones and earth, to trap the heat where it was needed. This way the rabbits could properly stew in their own juices if all went well.
Eld'tide nodded satisfied once she returned with Khuzan and a once again sparkling clean pot. The two had taken their sweet time, but I didn't really mind either way. It wasn't like they had left me with hard work or anything. In a way I had only been sitting in front of the fire for the better part myself. She looked towards the sun and nodded to herself. “Our dinner should be done just around sunset. Then we can dig the rabbits back up and break them out of their shell. Carefully. Then we can use the baked clay shells like plates or bowls.”
“Great!” That had come from Kaele who had left the tent as well, to join us. She held a few scrolls in her hands. “That gives us some time to learn a little more magic. Nothing too hard.” She started handing out the scrolls. Everyone received one. As she handed me mine she didn't let go of it though. Instead she held on tight, looking me straight in the eyes. “Don't rush things again and especially don't try to cast the spell right away again. I think we have all had enough surprises in that regard. Do you understand me?”
I could only nod dumbly. It hadn't been that bad, right? I had been the only one who received some scratches for her troubles anyway. I didn't dare disagree with her though. “Yes mother. I'll be careful mother. It won't happen again mother.” At those words she pulled the scrolls from my fingers again, to hit me over the head with it. Of course it didn't really hurt, in fact I barely even felt it, and she wasn't really angry, but I apologized anyway while our friends broke into laughter. “Sorry, sorry. I'll be good. No more spontaneous spell casting on my part.”
Finally she let me have the scroll and I proceeded to unfurl and read it. At first I was a little confused. It was an illusion spell. I had never been all that interested in that particular field of magic. Weren't illusions just pretty tricks for stage wizards? Something you used to entertain little children? As I kept reading understanding slowly started to dawn upon me. I read it all and started over again to make sure I hadn't missed anything. The spell would make me appear all blurred, wavering and shifting about, which in turn would it make harder for opponents to actually hit me. “Blur, huh?” I kind of liked that idea. “That sounds neat!”
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Khuzan nodded. “I think it will fit nicely with your fighting style. I got Mage Armor and Shield. I should be able to integrate those with my own style of fighting as well.” He paused briefly. “Fighting with a weightless shield of magical energy instead of a real one might take some getting used to though.” Then he proceeded to bow deeply towards my sister. “Thank you lady Kaele. I will try my best to prove worthy of this gift.” The sudden use of honorifics and formal language earned him swift retribution in the form of two elbows to the ribs, one from either side as he sat in between my sister and Eld'tide.
Next up was the Gorgon ranger. “I have True Strike and Invisibilty.” She frowned. “Are you sure Kaele? These spells will make for incredible first strike potential, but Invisibility is a pretty advanced spell. I'm not entirely sure but that spell might still be a little beyond my capabilities.” She paused and blushed a little. Her braids wriggled around her a little faster as if she were nervous. “And uh … basic Invisibility only makes the body invisible. Not weapons, gear, armor or even just clothes. Or am I wrong? You have to be pretty good with the spell to extend the spell to those things. Right?”
I could only nod. Until she got better with that spell she would have to go naked to make the best use of it. Oh. Now I blushed as well. I tried to laugh it off, not succeeding entirely. “Well, that should just provide all the more motivation to master the spell real quick, no?” I bit on my lip. “But I just noticed something else.” I gestured towards Khuzan and Eld'tide. “Why did they receive two spells each and I only one?” I did my best to look pitiful as I asked. It wasn't like I was actually jealous or anything. I was just curious.
My curiosity earned my swift retribution not entirely unlike what Khuzan had received. My sister folded her arms and huffed annoyed. “Sorry, but it is not my fault that a certain someone opened one of her presents early.” She calmed down just as quickly though and looked towards the horizon where the sun had started to set. “Anyway, shouldn't our dinner be just about done by now? Once we are done eating we can study the spells some more. I can even give you pointers if you should have any questions.” Her stomach grumbled noticeably. “But let's eat first. Yes?”
There were no complaints from the others and to be honest, I was quite hungry as well. We had hiked quite a distance today after all. We put the scrolls away for the time being and dug up the rabbits in their clay crust again. They were quite hot to the touch, but we quickly cracked them open. Almost immediately the heavenly smell of delicious meat filled the air. Well, it was just two rabbits for the four of us so I wouldn't call it a grand meal, and there was no seasoning either, but it was meat and that was all that mattered as far as I was concerned.
It didn't take us all that long to finish eating. By the time we were done nothing but bones and pieces of burned clay remained and we retreated to the tent. The sky was clear and it didn't look like there would be a storm this night. We didn't expect any other disturbances either, but without the storm keeping all the local wildlife holed up in their caves and other hideouts we had to be a little more careful tonight. Thus we decided to keep watch. Kaele went first. I would take the second watch followed by Khuzan and Eld'tide would keep the last watch in the morning hours.
It wasn't perfect, but it had to be done. Especially the second and the third watch would result in us losing precious sleep, as we had to get up in the middle of the night. There was no telling how long it would take us to fall back asleep afterwards as well, but there was just no helping it. At least I didn't have to bother with getting rid of the remains of dinner. Instead Kaele got to dig a hole for the bones and the whole rest. That too was something that had to be done. Otherwise the remains of the rabbits, meager as they might have been could have attracted predators.