“So, do a spell.” Gabe said as they set up camp the next night in Brunya Forest.

Ayden waited for Tess to put down a small pile of wood before he conjured a fireball. He held it for a moment, letting the fiery orb fill his hand.

Gabe stepped closer. “Can I touch it if you’re holding it?”

Ayden shrugged and struggled to hide a smirk. “Go ahead.”

Gabe eyed it for a moment. “It’ll hurt.”

Ayden smiled. “Only for a second,” he said, grabbing Gabe’s other hand so he could heal him right away.

As soon as Gabe touched it, the fireball burst. He yelped but a second later Ayden’s healing spell took the pain away. “That’s so cool.”

Ayden let go and chuckled, then conjured another, and tossed it into the stack of wood. It instantly burst into flames. “If you were related by blood and also a mage, I could hand it to you and it wouldn’t burst, it’d just become your own. It’s called mana transfer,” Ayden explained. “My grandmother used to do that with me.”

“Used to?” Tess asked.

“When I was younger,” he told her. “Good way to learn the basics.”

“Can anyone become a mage?” Gabe wanted to know.

“No, you have to have magic in your blood, it’s hereditary.”

“How do you know if you have it?”

Ayden gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry, you don’t.”

“How do you know?” Gabe asked.

“I could feel it if you did,” Ayden answered. “Besides, no one from Earth would because our magic doesn’t exist there.”

“But she said her mom’s a mage,” Gabe said, pointing toward where Tess had just disappeared into the forest.

“Yeah, I asked Fate about that. She told me that they asked Eolys, the God of Magic, to give it to her.”

“Think they’d—”

“No. The fairies only did it for Julia because they needed her to help defeat Kieran. They knew that she wouldn’t be able to use weapons. Besides they may have forgiven you, but you’re still the guy who stole from them,” Ayden pointed out.

“Yeah.” Gabe sighed, disappointed. But a moment later, he was smiling again. “So what else can you do?”

“A good amount,” Ayden said. “My grandmother runs the Mages Guild in Brunya City. She started giving me spells when I was six.”

“So, you’re pretty powerful then?”

“Time doesn’t make you more powerful, that’s in your blood. But practice does make you better, faster, and builds up your mana energy.”

“So, how good are you?” Gabe wondered.

Ayden shrugged. “I’m okay.”

“I heard that,” Tess called from somewhere nearby. “He’s amazing. The best.”

“You have no way of knowing I’m the best and I’m sure I’m not,” he called back. “What are you doing anyway?”

“Hunting.”

“By scaring away the animals with your yelling?”

She jumped down onto a low branch, coming into view. “Stop lying so I can be quiet,” she told him, using a normal voice now.

“I didn’t lie.”

“Well, stop being modest.”

“Go hunt.”

She shook her head. “Not until you admit that you’re awesome.”

“No.”

She grinned. “Fine, then if you’re just okay, I’ll kick your ass,” she said and suddenly threw her dagger at him. Gabe gasped, but Ayden put a hand up and it hit an invisible wall a few inches from his palm, then dropped to the ground. The mage just smiled at her as blue cracks glowed in the air for a second, and then vanished.

Tess flipped down and sprinted toward him, she picked up the dagger and then pulled herself up into a tree again. “I don’t think the fairies gave us any rope,” she called from above. “Can’t get me without your rope spell.”

“Wanna bet?” he shot back.

“Yeah,” she said. “You know what I want if I win.”

“I’m not doing that,” he told her. “It’s too dangerous.”

“See? You know you won’t win.”

“I will too win.”

“Then bet,” she told him.

He sighed.

“What does she want?” Gabe asked.

Ayden blushed and just shook his head, leaving Gabe to wonder with a bemused expression. “Fine,” Ayden called to her. “What do I get when I win?”

She laughed. “Anything you want.”

“Anything?”

“Anything,” she promised.

He stood very still, a small smile on his lips as he listened for her movements. She was very stealthy, but he had pretty good hearing and years of practice. After a long moment, he finally raised his fist, aiming it at where he thought she was and then opened his hand. An invisible force shot through the leaves, causing several to fall to the ground, but he missed her. He waited another moment and shot again this time it hit. The energy ball knocked her off of the branch but she caught another and hung there.

Within seconds, he threw another energy ball at her and then cast a snowball with his other hand. The energy hit her in the chest at the same time that the snowball hit one of her hands. The combination knocked her off the branch, but he used his feather fall spell so that she landed softly on the ground. With deft hand movements, he made a square shape in the air with his left hand, then conjured a fireball in his right before she was even able to jump to her feet. He just held it and smirked at her.

“One fireball isn’t gonna stop me,” she told him.

“Let’s find out,” he said.

Her eyes narrowed, wondering if he would do it. Curiously, she moved forward and suddenly ran into an invisible wall. The air turned blue in front of her.

“I could kill you before you were able to break out,” he said with a triumphant smile. “A fireball, then maybe some lightning. The only thing my shield doesn’t block is me, including my spells.”

She touched all the sides around her. She was completely trapped. “You never told me you could use your shield like this.”

He shrugged. “Never came up.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “You suck.”

He grinned. “You give?”

She sighed. “Yeah.”

He tossed the fireball into the fire and walked over to her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the invisible cage. “Sorry, but you asked for it.”

“I thought you might actually throw that for a moment.”

He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “You know I’d never do that.”

She nodded. “So you won,” she grumbled. “What do you want?”

He gave her a pointed look. “I already have what I want.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re so easy. You could make me cook or clean or something for like a week.”

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t eat your cooking if you paid me to, and if you cleaned I’d just have to redo it anyway.”

She shoved away from him playfully and ran back into the forest.

Smiling, he returned to sit beside the fire and started looking in his pack.

“Amazing,” Gabe said in awe. “I didn’t think spells would be able to be cast so quickly.”

“Actually most mages aren’t very quick. Speed is only useful for fighting and that’s not common. Though I’ve heard of this underground dueling club.” He shrugged. “Not that it'd be legal. The Mages Council would shut it down in a heartbeat. Anyway, I’m only as fast as I am, and can only beat her, because of her. We’ve been practicing since we were six and she’s relentless when it comes to training.”

“Training for what?”

On cue, Tess suddenly dropped down from a tree and landed behind Ayden. “Goblins.” She grinned.

He put a couple potatoes in a pot and set them on the ground before he stood. “That’s what.” He told Gabe, then asked Tess, “How many?”

She sighed. “Only two.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

“No need, they’re heading this way.”

Ayden made a square shape in the air toward Gabe. “Stay there.”

Gabe nodded, then tentatively touched the air around him, smiling when his fingertips touched an invisible wall and he saw the air glow blue. “So cool.”

A moment later two goblins came into the small clearing. The hideous creatures were about the same height as Ayden, with green skin, black beady eyes, a hook-nose, dark greasy hair, and long pointy ears like a bat. Their thin almost non-existent lips curled back in a menacing smile, showing their spiky yellow teeth. They both gripped a mace in their dirty clawed hands and walked toward Tess and Ayden who stood waiting.

“Lookie lookie, dinner,” one of them said in a high-pitched, yet distinctly male voice.

“Come get me ugly,” Tess said, smiling in anticipation.

It stepped up and swung at her, the other went for Ayden. Tess sidestepped the mace while Ayden shot a snowball from his palm and sent his back a few steps. Suddenly, both of them turned and ran. “I don’t think they liked my hello,” Ayden said with a mock pout.

“Not a very warm welcome,” she told him casually.

He nodded and shot a fireball. It hit the other one in the back and the goblin fell forward. It scrambled to its feet, yelping, and continued running.

“You know it’s not much of a party if you leave so early,” Tess called.

They started after them, but suddenly stopped as they heard something walking toward them. This wasn’t a goblin, it was much bigger and heavier.

Tess and Ayden looked at each other with a frown. “Minotaur?” Tess suggested.

“Sounds too heavy,” Ayden told her.

She nodded. “That’s what I thought. You don’t think it could be…” Her words trailed off as the thing came into sight. “An ogre,” she said with a short laugh of surprise and awe. “And actual ogre.”

“Wow,” Ayden said, just as enthralled by it.

Meanwhile, a wide-eyed Gabe sat with his mouth hanging open.

The ogre had the same V shape face, beady black eyes and pointed ears as the goblins, but that’s where the similarities ended. The gray, thickly muscled monster stood twice as tall as them, not including its large antler-like horns. It was a massive creature that had legs as big around as a large man’s body.

It tilted its head back and roared loudly, spit flying. Swinging its massive arms, it hit a branch and it broke off of the cedar tree. It looked at Gabe first. “Over here,” Tess called, trying to get its attention while Ayden threw a fireball at it. It gave a huff as the magical fire burst across its shoulder, but barely looked fazed, and continued for the sitting prey.

It pulled one of its massive feet back, dragging the ground. They knew it was preparing to charge like a minotaur would. Tess ran towards it, getting between it and Gabe. It rushed forward, its head down and antlers ready to gore. When it was close enough, she dodged to the side and pulled her blade across its outer thigh.

Gabe stood and pressed his back against his magical box. Horns rammed through the shield, breaking it quickly, but Ayden was just as quick to cast another wall, this one stopping the beast before it too broke. He motioned Gabe to move back. When he did so, Ayden cast another box shield while Tess climbed up the ogre’s back.

It reached around to grab her. She tried to dodge to one side, but its massive hand managed to clutch her body. Flinging her away from it, she landed twenty feet back against the ground with a grunt. It turned to her and Ayden shot several lightning bolts in quick succession. Its back arched as it roared in pain. Forgetting Tess now, he turned on the mage.

Tess was back to her feet, but not able to get to it before it charged again. Ayden’s personal shield cracked and broke as soon as the monster hit it, and Ayden was thrown back against a tree. He recast as he rolled to the side, just in time to miss the antlers that now stuck into the tree trunk. 

Tess rushed forward and attacked, slicing the things back several times before the ogre pulled itself free. It stumbled back, knocking into Tess. It turned and swiped at her, but she rolled to the side, then ran up a nearby tree and pulled herself up into it.

The ogre followed and began snapping branches in search of her. Ayden shot another lightning bolt, almost hitting its head, but it moved and hit the tree instead with a loud crack. However, the spell did get its attention and it turned back to him with a growl.

An energy ball slammed into its chest, knocking it back a few steps. Tess took the opportunity to jump down out of the tree, grabbing one of its antlers and embedding the dagger into one dark eye. It roared and fell backwards. Tess managed to stay on top of it, then jumped back so that she was on its stomach. Taking her dagger in both hands, she plunged the blade into its chest—once, twice, and with a final stab the ogre stilled.

She pulled her dagger out and went to Ayden. “You okay?” she asked, breathing hard.

He nodded. “I used too much lightning, I’m out of mana.”

“I’m fine,” she assured him. "I don't need healing."

Gabe let out a shaky breath. “Man, is life here always this exciting?” he asked. “And by exciting I mean seriously terrifying.”

Tess shook her head as she started wiping the blood off her weapons with a rag from her pack. “Unfortunately not,” she said, still a bit breathless. She paused to take a few deep breaths before continuing. “Life’s usually pretty boring, but once in a while you get lucky. That’s only if you’re out in the wild though. In town you’re safe. The city guard and people like us keep it that way." She stood a bit taller with pride.

“And you’re just thrilled by this?” Gabe said, amazed. “Not scared shitless?”

“Very scared,” Ayden told him. “You’d be nuts not to be.”

Tess nodded. “But also very exciting and that was just…”

“Epic?” Ayden offered with a smile.

She grinned as she went to pick up her other dagger where she had dropped it by the lightning-scarred tree. “Yeah, I think that makes the epic mark.”

“Why didn’t you trap it like you did Tess,” Gabe wondered.

“I can only do one box shield at a time and you needed it, so...”

“Thanks for that.”

“No problem.” Ayden said, sitting down by the fire and glancing over at the dead ogre. “Wow. I can't believe they’re real. There’s dwarven stories about them, but I didn’t know any actually existed.”

“Why dwarven?” Gabe asked. “That seems odd.”

“Explainy time,” Tess said, sheathing her blades. “I’m gonna do a sweep of the area.”

“Okay,” Ayden said. “Yell if you find anything.”

“Course,” she agreed lightly and took off into the forest.

“Well,” Ayden said, returning his attention to Gabe. “It’s said that the dwarves come from another world where they were regular people who lived on the land like we do, until ogres became so great in number that the dwarves went underground to escape them.” Ayden started working on dinner again as he spoke. “According to the stories, during the time of open portals, they fled to this world. But before they could find a way to destroy that portal, a few of the ogres got through.”

“Time of open portals?” Gabe asked.

Ayden nodded. “Before the fairies were created the portals weren’t in a room like they are now, they were everywhere. Some tiny, some huge. Supposedly a lot of things came through into this world during that time. Humans, some animals, orcs, eyhaars, dragons—”

“Dragons?” Gabe repeated.

“Yeah, they’re unfortunately extinct now though,” he told him sadly.

“Oh.”

“Anyway,” Ayden continued, “the dwarves say that the goddess Nathora took pity on them and trapped the beasts in a huge cave underground. There, the dwarves were able to keep them in a pit as slaves, once the ogres learned that they would only get fed if they pushed this arrastra around, that is.”

“So if the stories are true, that one must have escaped somehow,” Gabe said.

“Yeah,” Ayden agreed. “They’re supposed to be reasonably intelligent, so maybe it slowly tunneled its way out.”

“Which begs the question: how many more are loose?”

“True. Well, we’ll get you to Brunya City first, then look into it.”

As they fell silent, Gabe went over to his bag to get the waterskin. He sat back down and took a drink. “So, guess the shield wore off.”

“Yeah, it lasts about ten minutes on average,” Ayden replied.

Gabe nodded. “Is it a complete box or is the top open?”

“Box. Why?”

“Because it’s interesting that sound wasn't muted at all. I mean I could hear you the same as I can now.”

“Yeah,” Ayden said with a nod. “You know, I never thought about that until I was sparring with Lotus once. She’s a bard and all of the spells she uses are sound, cast by a note or melody. So my shield didn’t work at all and I got covered with glitter dust.” He shook his head at the memory and Gabe chuckled. “I’d love to research that a bit. See if there’s a way to make a soundproof one. But… well, we’re always traveling and I’d have to be at the Arcane University to do any proper research or any real spell manipulation, so…” He couldn’t help a small sigh.

“Wish it were otherwise?” Gabe asked.

He shrugged. “Sometimes, but… this is the life I chose. I’m happy with it.”

Gabe nodded. “So, would you mind telling me more about magic?”

Ayden smiled happily. “Not at all.”