A Coursing Passage (A Life of Magic Book 3) (3 page)

"So how far is the path to the caravan road?" Tag asked Stain.

Stain looked over at Tag and grinned, "If I understood correctly, then it will be three days journey to reach the road. That is if we make good time everyday. So perhaps figure on four days."

Tag nodded and went back to his water bucket, sipping slowly.

"What will we do once we reach this road?" Raven had finished her food.

Stain took a bite before answering. "We will travel along the road until we reach the large city. If we can we will travel with a group of Wanderers. Along the way we collect anything that can be used as a trade good item."

Raven sighed, "I know nothing of herbal craft. Not even enough to identify most plants as safe to eat. What do I do while we travel?"

I grinned, I could see the frustration on Raven's face. "How about practice your knife skills?"

She nodded, "I can do that, however I do get tired and could hurt myself. Plus I would like to contribute if possible."

Stain contemplated this. "Perhaps it is time to teach you something other than magic." He stood up and pulled Raven to her feet. "How about if Ott and I teach you about herb craft so that you have a better understanding of what we do? I can also work with you on magic while Ott works with you on forest related skills."

Raven nodded, relieved that Stain had an answer. "That sounds like a plan. I can practice my knife work better in a camp. The rest sounds as if it will be better while traveling."

Stain motioned to me, "We can start now. We need to keep moving, however this is a good place for Raven to learn some basic forestry skills." He picked up his bag and headed down the trail. "Take her out in the woods and show her how to find her way without a map or guide. Meet me at the campsite after dark. It will be the one with a massive turtle and snail." Tag and Evins followed Stain leaving Raven and I alone with only Mophar as company.

"Well that was sudden." Raven just stood there watching Stain walk off.

"He does that a lot. I think we should cover some basic rules." I picked up my sack and threw it over my shoulder. "Do not eat anything without asking. There are plants that have defenses against being eaten. Also, ask questions. We are not hunting so making noise is not an issue." I headed away from the trail and into the woods. "We are going to use the sun to keep off to the side of the path. Every so often we will sight the path to make sure it does not move away from us." I stopped and pointed upwards. "By using the sun and the shadows cast you can tell which direction you are heading and what time of day it is. The shorter the shadow the closer it is to mid-day. That is also the hardest time to tell which way you are walking." I pointed downwards. "These shadows all point off to the side. That way we know is north. We want to travel west. So we need to head this direction." We started walking through the woods. "You have to check the sun's height, otherwise you will slowly travel in an arc as the day passes."

Raven sighed, "But how do we walk through all these trees and brush? I have never traveled like this."

I looked back and realized that she had leaves in her hair and must have slipped a few times as she had mud on one knee. I stopped and thought for a moment. "You have never walked through the woods?"

"Well woods like this? No." She wiped hair out of her eyes. "Just parks. Places with trees. Nothing wild like this."

I looked around, "Then you need a few things before we continue." I finally spotted it, a perfectly straight sapling. Walking over to it I looked it up and down. No major bends or broken limbs.

"What are you doing?" Raven had followed me.

"I am going to make you a walking staff. It will help you move through the woods without tripping or falling." I pulled out a small hatchet and worked to carefully fell the tree. Once it lay on the ground I worked slowly and removed all the branches, piling them off to one side. I worked a while and finally had a decent length of wood, one that would reach about elbow high on Raven. I handed it to her. "Try walking with this. Use it to keep your balance and to test the ground. I can finish it later, it should work for now."

Raven took the staff and tried it out. She moved hesitantly at first but soon had reached a better level of confidence in moving through the woods. "This works really well. Who knew a simple stick could make such a difference?"

I smiled and headed deeper into the woods. "Okay, so some basic forestry ideas. Always be prepared. This means have food and water at all times. Have a weapon handy. Be dressed to be in the woods. Have a means to light a fire. These kind of things."

"That all makes sense." Raven seemed to be moving much better behind me.

"And always keep an eye out for danger." Mophar quipped.

"What kind of danger is there in the woods?" Raven asked.

Mophar looked back at her, "Basically it falls into three categories. The first is the very environment You could fall off of a cliff, slide down into a gully, step over a log and break a bone. The second thing is creatures. Some will attack you to try to eat you. Others will attack you to try to live. Either way can be deadly or just harmful. Even a simple bird can cause a person harm if it thinks it needs to do so. Finally the plants. Some plants will poison, some cut, some even strangle or snarl."

"You forgot people. People in the forest can be dangerous." I chimed in. "My dad said to always approach people as the most dangerous things in the forest since they behave differently. A bear will always behave like a bear, but a human will behave normal one moment and try to kill you the next. You can always count on animals to behave like an animal, with humans you can never tell which ones are dangerous."

"I have seen that also." Raven commented quietly. "I think I need to know about animals. I know almost nothing about them."

We spent the better part of the afternoon talking about basics of forestry skills. I explained about the different types of animals and what dangers they posed. Mophar helped in that aspect. We also discussed how to survive in different situations. After a while Raven was able to ask questions to get to a deeper understanding of a life in the forest.

"So, this is what you learned as a child?" Raven asked during a break. We sat on stones that pushed up through the forest floor.

I grinned, "All the time. My father spent a large bit of time making sure I could survive in the woods no matter what happened. We always thought that was what I would do with my life."

Raven grinned, "Well he was right in some respect. You do stay in the woods a lot."

Mophar asked, "How much longer till we rejoin Stain?"

I looked around and sighted down where I believed Stain to be. Pulling on my mage sight I could see him far away, maybe an hour's walk. Pointing I stated, "He is that direction. It looks as if he already has a campsite picked out."

"Let us get down there. I am hungry and could use a break from walking through the woods." She smiled when she said this.

We headed down towards the campsite. After a while we could see the light from a fire shining through the woods. We finally reached the path and picked up our pace. Walking into the camp set off a mild alarm, Stain must have set it out when he made camp.

"Well there you are." Stain stuck his head out of his tent. "Get your tents set up. I have food cooking and Tag and Evins are settled down already. I want to hear how the afternoon went." He pulled his head back into the tent as Raven and I went about setting up our tents.

Stain stood next to the fire, stirring a pot of food. "So, what did you learn today?" He directed this to Raven.

She smiled and rubbed her feet. "I learned that walking in the woods is much different than walking a path. I also learned a lot about how the forest works." She held up the walking staff I had made her. "I also learned that Ott understands more than he can ever explain about the forest. I think he is meant to travel his whole life, he just comes by it naturally."

I blushed and ducked my head when she said this. "There is still a lot I do not know."

Stain grinned and handed out bowls. "I am sure that both of you are correct. However, I am also sure that you will gain a mastery of the forest over time Raven. Now, I think tomorrow you will travel with me while I teach you. Ott can scout ahead and harvest plenty of herbal supplies while we work."

We all dug into the food, enjoying the hot food after a hard day of walking.

"Why is walking in the forest so much work over walking a path?" Raven was rubbing a lotion on her feet. They looked swollen and red.

"Ott, why not answer her question while I get a better ointment for her feet?" Stain stood up and went into his tent.

I thought a moment and then said, "Well a path has been made so that it is smoother and easier to travel. A forest floor is both softer and harder at times. It moves and shifts under you while you walk. It is also uneven most of the time. There are many obstacles that must be climbed or traveled around. Paths allow for the traveler to walk along a smooth, fairly level area without any of these challenges."

"Good explanation." Stain handed Raven a small container, "Rub this in. It will help more than that lotion."

She pulled out a sticky mass that seemed to glow slightly. Her expression showed her hesitation. "It is harmless. Just put it on." Stain snapped gently at her hesitation. She grimaced and applied the goop to her feet. I could see the instant it started to work, the relief seemed to roll over her like a wave. Stain grinned.

"Now, any problems that I need to know about?" Stain asked.

I thought a moment, "Everything seems normal, considering the situation." Raven nodded agreement.

"That is good. I have yet to sense any true harm in the area." He stared deep into the fire. "Tomorrow I think Pat will need to fly high and keep an eye out for dangers."

Pat nodded around his food. "That is fine. The air here will make it a pleasant chore."

"Is there anything that I might do?" Fioshrach asked.

Stain shook his head, "For the time being we are simply traveling. No immediate dangers nor dire tasks that must be completed." He picked up a few bags, "There are however a few chores that must be done. Raven, it is time you learn some about making salves." He handed a bag to me. "Ott, get out our equipment. We are going to work for a bit since it is quite early."

I went to Tag and retrieved the tools needed to process plants into salves. Stain and I each had our own sets. I grabbed both and went back to the fire where I handed Stain his sack of tools.

"Now Raven. Some basic herbal lore." He talked as he pulled out tools. "All plants have compounds in them. These compounds can interact with our bodies. We try to take these from the plants, purify it, make it stronger, and mix it with other compounds that offer beneficial aspects." He held up a mortle and pestle set. "Each tool executes a task in this idea. Some grind, pound, cook, heat, melt, even shred. Each has a specific purpose and use. To use one wrong means to fail to extract that which you are attempting to use." He held up different tools and explained their basic uses. Once the bag was empty he grabbed one of the sacks he had filled on the path. "Now, just as important as the tools are the plants." He pulled out a bright orange leaf. "Some plants have properties that can be amplified by processing them." He handed a leaf to Raven and myself. "Chew this up and swallow." He waited as we did so. I could feel a rush of energy course through my body. Stain smiled, "You feel a slight rush of energy. Maybe you feel more awake now?"

Raven and I nodded. "This plant provides a natural energy boost, even in it's raw form." He pulled out a pile of the leaves. "This same effect can be increased by working the leaf until you draw out the oils and purify them." He pulled a vial from his pocket. It was filled with a bright orange liquid. He handed it to me. "Take one drop on your tongue. Then allow Raven to do the same." I opened the vial and the smell of fall leaves and some other unusual smell hit my nose. The oil tasted of leaves and sunshine. I handed it to Raven who took a drop on her tongue. She perked up and handed the vial back to Stain. "You will notice the same effect, a burst of energy. However, in this purified form it is a much greater boost." He was right. I could feel the energy rushing through my body, like I could run for hours. I could tell Raven was feeling the same effect, her cheeks were flushed and she seemed to want to get up and run or fight. Stain put the vial away, "This is a fairly harmless potion. So we are going to make a lot of it tonight. Let me show you how to do it and then you two can process the rest of the leaves." He took the time to explain each step, how to use each tool, and what problems we might have. "Okay. I am tired. This should not take too long." He stood up and headed for his tent. "I am going to bed. There are alarms set up around the camp, so no watches tonight. Finish up and then off to bed with both of you." With that he ducked  into his tent and we could hear him settling down for the night.

We each grabbed some leaves and started to grind them up in a mortar and pestle. The smell of the leaves filled the campsite.

"So have you ever worked with herbal lore before?" I asked Raven.

She shook her head, "I never had a need. What about you? Before you met Stain?"

I smiled and realized that she did not know a lot about my family, then I realized that I did not know a lot about her life before she became a knife juggler. "My uncle is a local healer. I spent time with him and learned most of the basics before I ever met Stain. He taught me advanced techniques and how to add magic to simple potions."