The Spirit Wilds: Magic of the Green Sage (Fall of the Sages Book 1), стр. 38
The sage and Shandi both appeared to be done with the conversation. Shandi grabbed the bundle of stink flowers and was ready to shuck them and prepare them for use, but the air rippled and a low moan sounded that made Tuni’s skin crawl.
Suddenly, a small little spirit materialized in the middle of the room. Tuni just about screamed at the abruptness of it.
“S-so sorry to barge i-in like this,” they said in a shaky voice.
It was a small green sprite, with large black eyes and a wide, wide mouth. When it spoke, rows upon rows of tiny sharp teeth glistened, though Tuni knew these were more for show. Tree sprites were mischievous tricksters that delighted in pranks and chaos, which made them kindred spirits, but they were relatively harmless. The teeth were actually soft, only looking sharp as a defense mechanism. They could get hard and dangerous when in actual danger, but Tuni had never seen that.
The sprite was nervous, fidgety, its eyes randomly blinking one at a time. It bowed to the sage, and Gayla bowed right back. She had respect for all, and they had respect for her.
“It’s a pleasure to have you, little one. How may I help?”
“In the mountains. A rock golem is in pain. From the mining. It is rampaging. Hurting human and animal and spirits alike.”
Tuni watched as the spirit quivered and muttered as it spoke, terrified and shy. Not what Tuni had expected. Most tree sprites were brash and loud, but maybe it was scared of the sage, or scared of the rock golem. Or something else altogether.
Gayla nodded. “I’ll come right away. Thanks for letting me know.”
The spirit inclined its head and then evaporated through the walls.
“I’ll start preparing the pheresecca, Gayla,” Shandi said nonchalantly, as if the spirit hadn’t even shown up. Stoic, unbothered. How very Shandi. “Tuni, I need you to go outside and gather—”
“Actually,” Gayla interrupted. “I’d like for Tuni to come with me on this one.”
That made both the assistants gasp and look to the sage like she’d just sprouted a second head. “W-what?” Tuni asked.
“Gayla, with all due respect, she isn’t ready yet. What if something happens?”
“Yeah, what if something happens?” Tuni echoed. Which was so unlike her. She should have been excited about seeing the wilds with the mythical Girl O’ Green. And she’d never seen the mountains before, or a rock golem. What’s more exciting than that?
The sage didn’t share Shandi’s concerns. “I can handle an angry rock golem, Shandi. Teal-Eye will be just fine with me. But she should see what it is I do.” She turned to Tuni. “That is, if she wants to tag along with me.”
Tuni gulped, her heart skipping a beat as the sage’s blue eyes bore into her. “I… I would love to! But are you sure I won’t get in the way?”
“I’m more concerned with the locals, to be honest with you,” Gayla said with a shrug. She scooped up her wooden staff, the flower growing out of the top looking as pristine as always. “I’m a thousand years old, there’s not a lot I can’t handle.”
“That sounds an awful lot like a brag, Madam Sage,” Tuni said with a smile and a snort, hands on her hips.
Gayla smirked. “I’m allowed to be confident in my abilities.”
Shandi sighed. “So you’re sure about this?”
“Absolutely.”
The other assistant sighed and tied her hair back, then continued with prepping the flowers. “Fine.” She fixed Tuni with a hard stare that made the young girl’s veins run cold. “Don’t do anything stupid. Listen to everything the sage tells you. Obey her every command. Do you understand?”
Tuni nodded. “I will.”
Gayla waved off her assistant. “She’s being so serious. Don’t worry yourself, Tuni.” She cracked her knuckles and stretched her arms, the staff slung over her shoulders. “Now, shall we be off?”
Tuni frowned. “Won’t it take us almost a week to get to the mountains, though? Shouldn’t we pack for our journey?”
“Oh no, no, no, dear child,” Gayla said with a mischievous smile. “It doesn’t take that long when you’re the Sage of the Earth.”
She sucked in a deep breath and held her staff over her head. It was horizontal. Her lips began to dance in a rapid chant of strange words.
“Veve kes ie sisi coll.”
Over and over she chanted it, until the air vibrated with power.
The flower on the end of her staff began to glow, brighter and brighter until it was almost too much for Tuni to look at. She shielded her eyes for a moment before the light faded to a glow. Pink petals sprang from the flower, a seemingly infinite amount of them whipping around the two like a whirlwind. Tuni gasped as they swirled around her ankles, a hundred, a thousand, faster and faster.
Gayla smiled and offered her hand. “You ready?”
Tuni gulped. She was terrified and excited and every other feeling between the two, but she was ready. “I am.” She took the sage’s hand and their fingers locked, and she found that the sage had incredibly soft hands for an ancient magical being.
With a twinkle in her eyes, Gayla raised her staff higher, muttered the spell again, and then slammed the butt of the staff against the floorboards with a resounding boom.
She held her hat tight against her head, staff still in hand. She flashed a grin. “This may tickle a bit.”
And just as her words ended, Tuni screamed as she and the sage were engulfed in a storm of swirling wind and flower petals.
13
Dorrick / Tuni
Dorrick, Marcella, and the squires traveled for a week. Since they could use