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Authors: Scott Prussing
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where it sat and returned to the same place the next day to work on it.
That spot was in the middle of a stand of pine trees not too far from the bank of the Connecticut River, about ten miles west of the volkaane settlement. Leesa didn’t mind practicing in the same place for a few days in a row—the scent of the pines was refreshing and invigorating, and the carpet of fallen pine needles provided a nice cushion for resting on whenever she needed a break. The thick foliage gave them plenty of cover. With Rave’s volkaane senses on alert, there was no chance anyone would stumble upon them by surprise.
As usual, Leesa warmed up with some of her easier spells, both to build her confidence and to insure she didn’t lose the ability to employ them easily should the need arise. With Dominic having destroyed the black waziri and chased the Necromancer into the dark table, she had no magical enemies to worry about, but you never knew when magic might be called for. She was determined to be ready. Besides, she had an idea in the back of her mind that might require lots of magic from her somewhere in the future.
She turned her attention to the stone, which was really more of a boulder now. Today, she wanted to see if she could perform the growth spell without actually verbalizing the incantation out loud, the way she could with many of her other spells, including the plant growth spell. Being able to cast spells silently could prove useful sometime. And it was faster to do it that way, too.
Picturing the rock growing larger was pretty easy for her now. This time, she accompanied the visualization with a silent chant inside her head. Her first two attempts failed, but on her third try the boulder swelled an inch or two in every direction.
“Good job,” Rave congratulated from his spot sitting with his back resting against one of the pines. “You didn’t even whisper the spell, or I would have heard it.”
Leesa smiled. There was no cheating when Rave was around. His volkaane ears didn’t miss anything.
“Thanks. It feels great to have come this far.” She glanced at the rock for a few seconds, then turned back to Rave. “I think I’ll do it another two or three times before moving on to a real test of this spell.”
Rave looked perplexed. “Real test? What have you been doing for the past week, pretending?”
Leesa laughed. “No, of course not. This has been really challenging. But I had help twice from Jenna, remember? I need to be able to do this all on my own.” She grinned. “Well, maybe not entirely on my own. I could use a little bit of help from my big strong husband.”
Smiling, Rave pushed himself up to his feet. “What do you need?”
“Could you go find me another rock, please? One that doesn’t look anything like this one would be best, I think. I’d go with you, but you’ll find one a lot faster without me slowing you down.”
Rave bounded across the small clearing and kissed Leesa on the forehead.
“One new rock, coming up.”
In a flash, Rave had disappeared into the woods. Leesa shook her head. Despite his speed, she hadn’t heard even a whisper of his passage through the trees.
She barely had time to fire a few energy bolts at the boulder before Rave returned, carrying a rock that was as different from the first one as it could be. The original stone was roundish in shape, and since it had come from the middle of a stream, the flowing water had smoothed all its surfaces and edges. Rave’s rock was rectangular, filled with angles and sharp edges. It was also dark gray in color, as opposed to the earthy brown hue of the first one.
Rave dropped the stone a few feet from the one Leesa had been practicing on. Despite its weight, it landed on the pine needles with only a soft thud.
“Will this do, my lady fair?”
Leesa studied the rock. She hadn’t been expecting Rave to return with a stone SO completely different from the first one. She had a feeling this was going to be quite a
That spot was in the middle of a stand of pine trees not too far from the bank of the Connecticut River, about ten miles west of the volkaane settlement. Leesa didn’t mind practicing in the same place for a few days in a row—the scent of the pines was refreshing and invigorating, and the carpet of fallen pine needles provided a nice cushion for resting on whenever she needed a break. The thick foliage gave them plenty of cover. With Rave’s volkaane senses on alert, there was no chance anyone would stumble upon them by surprise.
As usual, Leesa warmed up with some of her easier spells, both to build her confidence and to insure she didn’t lose the ability to employ them easily should the need arise. With Dominic having destroyed the black waziri and chased the Necromancer into the dark table, she had no magical enemies to worry about, but you never knew when magic might be called for. She was determined to be ready. Besides, she had an idea in the back of her mind that might require lots of magic from her somewhere in the future.
She turned her attention to the stone, which was really more of a boulder now. Today, she wanted to see if she could perform the growth spell without actually verbalizing the incantation out loud, the way she could with many of her other spells, including the plant growth spell. Being able to cast spells silently could prove useful sometime. And it was faster to do it that way, too.
Picturing the rock growing larger was pretty easy for her now. This time, she accompanied the visualization with a silent chant inside her head. Her first two attempts failed, but on her third try the boulder swelled an inch or two in every direction.
“Good job,” Rave congratulated from his spot sitting with his back resting against one of the pines. “You didn’t even whisper the spell, or I would have heard it.”
Leesa smiled. There was no cheating when Rave was around. His volkaane ears didn’t miss anything.
“Thanks. It feels great to have come this far.” She glanced at the rock for a few seconds, then turned back to Rave. “I think I’ll do it another two or three times before moving on to a real test of this spell.”
Rave looked perplexed. “Real test? What have you been doing for the past week, pretending?”
Leesa laughed. “No, of course not. This has been really challenging. But I had help twice from Jenna, remember? I need to be able to do this all on my own.” She grinned. “Well, maybe not entirely on my own. I could use a little bit of help from my big strong husband.”
Smiling, Rave pushed himself up to his feet. “What do you need?”
“Could you go find me another rock, please? One that doesn’t look anything like this one would be best, I think. I’d go with you, but you’ll find one a lot faster without me slowing you down.”
Rave bounded across the small clearing and kissed Leesa on the forehead.
“One new rock, coming up.”
In a flash, Rave had disappeared into the woods. Leesa shook her head. Despite his speed, she hadn’t heard even a whisper of his passage through the trees.
She barely had time to fire a few energy bolts at the boulder before Rave returned, carrying a rock that was as different from the first one as it could be. The original stone was roundish in shape, and since it had come from the middle of a stream, the flowing water had smoothed all its surfaces and edges. Rave’s rock was rectangular, filled with angles and sharp edges. It was also dark gray in color, as opposed to the earthy brown hue of the first one.
Rave dropped the stone a few feet from the one Leesa had been practicing on. Despite its weight, it landed on the pine needles with only a soft thud.
“Will this do, my lady fair?”
Leesa studied the rock. She hadn’t been expecting Rave to return with a stone SO completely different from the first one. She had a feeling this was going to be quite a
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