Kaitlyn didn’t know whether Cilvic sent out some kind of word, but suddenly her tables in the yard had people every day. Cilvic set to work making awnings so they were shaded on sunny days and protected from the rain. Javorora came almost daily for the summer and delighted in talking to and meeting the various creatures that came to Kaitlyn’s tavern.

All three elven kind now came, satyrs were not quite daily, and when a family of dwarves stopped by Kaitlyn sat down with them. She needed some metal and once again set to haggling. After agreeing to pay them her first five gold, they agreed to install the still she would need to brew beer.

Potions joined the menu. Kaitlyn brewed almost constantly in the mornings to keep on hand some of the most basic potions which allowed the people who came to tavern to purchase. She had a single greater health brew which was listed for five gold coins.

Master Garthis arrived after a week and looked at the changes developing and said, “What is all of this?”

“Well, apparently I am running a tavern now,” Kaitlyn said. “Here, let me get you some tea master.”

There were two satyrs sitting at one table and Kaitlyn set up Master Garthis at the second. The satyrs began whispering, but Kaitlyn decided to ignore them. She was not fond of her satyr patrons, although they paid well enough, they were obnoxious and she hated they way they looked at her.

“A tavern?” Master Garthis asked.

Kaitlyn sat down and said, “Now that I have all this attention from the various… people in the forest I can’t hide from them. This gives me income and use and… gods know my magic is getting practiced.”

“Well, I see you have mastered magic tools and hands,” Master Garthis said as magical hands brought the satyrs their biscuits.

Kaitlyn nodded and said, “I needed them. And Cilvic is a godsend. I could not have done half of this without his help.”

“And are you meditating?” Master Garthis asked.

“I am trying to every day, but I don’t feel like I am getting anywhere,” Kaitlyn said, “it is… every time I reach that point you told me of where I am in my magic and then it is like a blanket settles over me and begin to smother me. I have tried to… outlast it but I literally feel like it is suffocating me.”

Master Garthis frowned and said, “It should not.”

“Do you have any idea what is happening?” Kaitlyn asked.

He took a deep breath and shook his head a little, “It isn’t like anything I have experienced. At the same time however, you are such a unique case. I wonder… where do you meditate?”

“Usually inside,” Kaitlyn said. “It’s pretty much the only place I can find any kind of solitude and peace.”

Master Garthis looked at the house and then said, “Show me. Go inside and meditate.”

Kaitlyn obediently rose and went inside. She settled on her bed and sank into the silence of her magic. As the oppression set in, she gritted her teeth. She stopped when the door banged open and Master Garthis yelled, “Stop! Stop this instant!”

It was wrenching to withdraw from her magic, but she did as her teacher commanded. He looked around the room with narrowed eyes and said, “Come outside.”

She followed Master Garthis outside and he pointed at a rock in the grass and said, “Sit on that rock and meditate.”

Kaitlyn closed her eyes and very quickly sank into her meditation. Outside, the oppressive feeling was less, it was more like a heavy blanket on her legs rather than her head. Master Garthis allowed her to meditate a few minutes and then said, “That is good. I have an idea of what is happening. Come sit with me.”

He sat with his tea cup for a long moment and Kaitlyn fidgeted. The satyrs at the other table dropped their coins and headed out of the clearing. Kaitlyn went and scooped up the coins, pocketing them carefully. She used her magic hands to begin to collect the dishes and begin washing them. She sat down at the table across from Master Garthis and waited.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The wizard finally tapped his cup and said, “There is a lot of magic here. I can’t untangle exactly what is going on. So here is what I think is going on. The house.”

“Is it always going to be the house?” Kaitlyn asked with a bit of exasperation.

“Possibly,” he said, “The house has so many spells which are not yours that all want you to power them. I have no idea what they are, so I wouldn’t recommend powering them. They could be more people-eating spells. I do think you need to start taking some time unraveling them. If you are going to grow into your magic, you need to be able to meditate every day and right now… this is a massive…”

“Burden?” Kaitlyn supplied when Master Garthis trailed off. The wizard gave half-nod and half-shrug in response.

“You can’t leave, so you really have two options I can think of,” Master Garthis said, “You can untangle this mess of a house and possibly have a wonderful magical nexus with a magic well, or you can allow it to mire you and you will probably not grow too much past your current abilities.”

“That isn’t really a choice is it?” Kaitlyn said, “You’ve told me I might be able to unwrap my curse or even remove it…”

“You will need to be much, much more powerful to accomplish something like that,” Master Garthis said.

“Then this isn’t a choice, I have to unravel the spells on this house,” Kaitlyn said. “Do I have to do it like I did the people-eating curse?”

“I can’t exactly tell you,” Master Garthis said, “you might. The good news is, most of the spells don’t have much power and you might decide some of them are worth preserving.”

“When I tried to identify the people eating spell, it had that…. black thread that I couldn’t identify,” Kaitlyn said, “What if I find more of those?”

“Hopefully, you can ask me to take a look,” Master Garthis smiled, “I am intensely curious what that might have been. Your description is like nothing I have ever heard about, and might lead to entirely new branch of magic to explore.”

“Well, new to you at least,” Kaitlyn said.

Master Garthis grimaced and said, “Yes, since clearly the witch who lived here… or at least some witch in its history knew something… special. I hate when people think they should keep new magic secret.”

Kaitlyn had to smile, because it was true. Master Garthis had written several books describing types of magic he had seen others do, even when he couldn’t do them himself. Apparently, it had earned him several enemies, but he also said it was entirely worth it because he hated secret knowledge that others couldn’t build on.

“So identify and untangle this house, how long do you think that will take?” Kaitlyn asked.

He looked at her and tilted his head to one side. He then said, “I can’t tell you. You might do it in a year if you had the spells and strength to go without food or sleep. It might take you ten years. You might find a knot tomorrow and unravel the whole thing. Find some small spells and decide whether to keep them or start taking them apart.”

“What if I find a language I don’t recognize again?” Kaitlyn asked.

“Well, hopefully the house won’t be trying to eat anyone,” he said blandly. “Then you can take the time to write it down and show it to me. I will help you translate spells as much as I can. There is plenty of fascinating spell craft here.”

Kaitlyn couldn’t agree. It wasn’t so much fascinating to her. She felt it was more threatening. She had to sleep here and eat here. Sometimes the house felt alive, but not intelligent or even thinking. Just acting and reacting. When she had said as much to Master Garthis before he had scoffed, saying she was anthropomorphizing magical phenomenon and spell craft. It did not change her feeling when she spent too much time thinking about the house.

Master Garthis put a hand on her forearm and said, “Kaitlyn. You have done amazing things already. You do not need to rush.”

She looked at him with tears and said shakily, “I want to go home.”

The dam broke within her and she began sobbing. He gently reached over and pulled her into a hug, holding her to his shoulder and patting her shoulder awkwardly. He let her cry for a time and when she slowly stopped he pushed a fresh cup of tea towards her.

“Rushing is dangerous,” he said gently. “I understand you want to see your family… I wish I could undo your curse today and set you free.”

“I know,” she said. “I just… sometimes it’s hard because I… I enjoy the magic and it seems like… something is wrong with me if I am happy.”

“No!” he said firmly, “your family would want you happy. They would want you happy if you had gone with that baron’s son. You might have felt just as homesick there.”

She nodded slightly, still trying to stop the tears. There were plenty of gossip and stories of women being sent away from family and feeling homesick and unhappy. At least she would have had Claus and his love. Before it had been ruined by pain and betrayal.

“Think of it this way,” Master Garthis said, “You are now my apprentice, and so being happy is actually an excellent thing because it means you will grow into your trade.”

Kaitlyn laughed and said, “I never thought I would be the one to earn a new trade.”

“Sometimes the gods put us on a new path because the old one was wrong and we didn’t even know it,” he said. “Why don’t you take some time and write to your family, I will see it the letter delivered and make sure the messenger can wait for a few days for a reply.”

“Thank you Master,” Kaitly said those words more sincerely than she felt she had ever felt them in her life.

“Of course, I am your master,” he said warmly, “and I want you to be a most successful apprentice. You being miserable is not success for either of us.”