Chapter 7 The Ravine Fight: Magic, Swords, and Danger

The following day, the group ventured deeper into the forest as the trees grew thicker and the terrain rougher. After a satisfying lunch, the track led them into a ravine. Wendy looked up at the small sliver of grey sky that was visible between the towering rock walls, and could barely make out the tops of the trees that hugged the edges of the ravine. The group was now in shadow, and the air had grown cooler. Wendy tightened her jacket and checked her gloves, while Grey sat beside her, appearing to be asleep with his hat pulled low over his face.

However, Wendy knew he was merely resting and had advised her earlier to bring any tools she might need for her magic, hence the gloves. Grey had sighed heavily upon seeing them, as they were a highly advanced sorcerer's tool and far more powerful than wands or staves. However, Wendy had assured him that she was an expert in their use and didn't need his concern. She had noticed that Grey had not brought any tools with him, but she decided not to say anything. Mages trained in the school of wizardry did not use tools, but Grey was not a wizard and had been referred to as a sorcerer. Although there were no schools of wizardry in Mance-Jolune, even if there were, Grey had never attended one. Wendy believed that her companions, who were not trained in the magical arts, might not understand the difference between the schools. She thought that Grey, despite his experience, was more like a novice sorcerer who had not yet progressed to training with magical tools and implements. Wendy's thoughts were interrupted by a feeling that tugged at her awareness. She turned to Grey, fear and excitement coursing through her. Grey tilted his hat up and asked, "Did you sense any mages?" "No but." "I didn't either," he said in response. He calmly hopped down and made his way to the front of the wagon line to speak with the driver. After their brief conversation, he walked back and signaled for the wagons to halt. Wendy climbed down from her seat to join him, and the driver watched them stoically as he pulled out a heavy club from under his seat. The horses grew restless and snorted, making Wendy wonder if they would panic in the event of a fight. Bo approached them and asked if everyone was up front, to which Grey confirmed. Bo then turned to Wendy with a smile and asked if she was ready for some action. She nodded firmly in response, not trusting herself to speak. Bo advised her to stay behind and not try to be a hero in her first fight. He then unsheathed his giant sword as the three of them left the wagons behind. As they walked, Wendy suddenly wondered where Selena was. Grey signaled her to be quiet and gestured to a bend in the ravine ahead where Selena was waiting. Wendy realized that she could have simply used her magic to find Selena and felt embarrassed for not thinking of it earlier. The others gestured to each other silently and nodded in satisfaction, but Wendy was too busy being embarrassed to notice. As soon as she nodded, there was an explosion from around the bend, accompanied by a flash of light and smoke. The startled bandits came running around the curving ravine, not paying heed to what was in front of them. Bo sprang forward and toppled three of them with one swing of his sword. The bandits suddenly realized they were in a fight and tried to regroup. One of them advanced on Selena while two approached Bo. As Wendy watched, Selena's opponent sprang at her and then back, out of her reach. Selena swiped and suddenly the tip of her sword glowed and lengthened, catching the man across his chest. He howled in pain and confusion as Selena pressed the attack, her sword growing and shrinking as it pleased her. Bo took down his attackers just as an archer appeared at the lip of the ravine with a drawn bow. Before Wendy could think, the bow burst into flames and the archer jumped back out of her view. Wendy then saw a woman swearing in rage as her sword stuck to Selena's and Bo fighting with a man as big as he was. As she watched, a man emerged from around the corner with his eyes fixed on her. Wendy became suddenly terrified and raised her gloved hands, spreading her fingers wide. She drew in the magic of the area, felt it flow towards her, and then closed her hands and pulled them close to her chest, pulling the magic into her. Someone yelled her name, but she was too focused on her attacker to pay much attention. The last word of her chant left her lips, and the man froze and collapsed to the ground. Wendy's attention was drawn to a man who stood menacingly over Grey, holding a sword. With lightning-fast reflexes, Grey rolled out of harm's way as the man swung his weapon down towards him, lodging it into the ground. Grey sprang to his feet and tried another spell, but the man quickly turned to face him once again. Wendy was flustered, trying to push all her magic back out into the world, but it was slow and sluggish, seeping out of her like thick syrup. She watched in horror as the man swung his sword again at Grey, who barely managed to duck out of the way. In desperation, Grey drew a knife from his belt and plunged it into the man's stomach, causing him to fall to the ground. Waving her arms frantically, trying to speed up her magic, Wendy failed to notice the sudden silence that followed. Bo's voice broke the stillness as he asked, "Is that a victory dance?" Wendy froze, her face turning beet red. "Uh, no," she stammered, realizing that all the attackers had been killed or had fled. Grey's angry voice cut through the air, "Haven't you ever returned magic after absorbing it? Why did you draw so much? Haven't you ever done magic in the vicinity of other mages?" Tears welled up in Wendy's eyes as she struggled to explain what had happened. She had dueled and practiced with other students at the Collegium and knew how to control and limit herself when she needed more than the magic within her. Grey suddenly relented, "It doesn't matter. We're all fine." Selena approached them, prodding her sword ruefully. "She drew all the magic out of the inscriptions. You'll have to redo them, Dore." "I was going to do it anyway, Asme," Grey replied wearily, "Well, at least she'll be useful against other mages, that's for sure." Bo clapped a hand on Wendy's shoulder and laughed, "Looks like our prodigy is pretty powerful after all!" Selena flashed a smile at Wendy and remarked, "Well, at least that was better than my first time, whew!" Wendy nodded, trying to hold back her tears. "We're going to have to move the bodies off the road," Bo stated. "Grey, do you want to take Wendy back to the wagons?" "No!" Wendy responded instantly. "I can help!" Seeing his skeptical look, Wendy marched towards the closest body and reached down to grab it. However, the stench of blood and death made her gag. The sight and smell of a man who had been alive moments ago now dead, made her feel dizzy. "There's no shame if you go back, Wendy," Bo said, cutting through her nausea. "I imagine this is the first time you've seen a dead body?" Ignoring Bo's suggestion, Wendy grabbed the body under its shoulders and started dragging it off to the side of the narrow road. The body was heavier than she expected, but she didn't complain. She had already embarrassed herself once that day; she wanted to do this much. The others joined in and worked much faster than her, seemingly unfazed by the gruesome nature of their work. Soon, they finished, and Wendy stood, wiping the sweat from her brow despite the cool autumn air. She felt sick and unhappy. Selena stood also, looking at the bodies with a sad smile on her face. "I always dislike killing people. I know how much I fear death, and yet I still bring it on others," she said, shaking her head. "Then maybe you should find another job," Wendy snapped back, not in the mood to be sympathetic. Selena smiled. "I'm not good at much else! Besides, they attacked us. Come on, let's go back to the wagon." "Let's not give them another moment's thought!" Bo said. "Selena, I think you should really be worrying about how much you smell!" "Me? What about you?" Selena retorted. "Yes, but I smelled like this before!" Bo laughed at his own joke. The group headed back to the wagons, and Bo's laughter lightened the mood. Selena walked with Grey and said, "Dore, I liked the sticky one. Can you do that again?" "Sure. What about the others?" "The light with the lengthening was good. It confused them!" "Do you need to redo my inscriptions too?" Bo asked Wendy as they reached the wagons. "I'll check tonight. It won't take long to redo if I have to," Wendy replied brusquely. "I can see that. Imagine sucking all of the magic out of the area! That's a useful trick," Bo remarked. "I'm putting it back," Wendy managed, her voice almost breaking as her sense of failure flooded back. The magic was still slowly leaking out of her, and she was lucky she hadn't hurt herself by drawing so much magic to herself. The gloves were supposed to help with that. "All the magic in the area! You'll have a nice story to tell once we reach town!" Bo exclaimed. Wendy thought to herself that she'd have a lovely story to tell about how she panicked, failed, and nearly got one of her companions killed.