Blademage Adept (The Blademage Saga Book 3) Read Online Free
Author: Chris Hollaway
fish.
“More fresh water,” Mirsa handed Kevon one of the full water skins she carried. “I worked up a fountain out back while you were clanging around in here. We can fill up everything before we leave.”
The ground rumbled. Kevon stepped outside and peered through the haze. “I think the ash will be worse before it gets better,” he sighed, spotting the thickening column rising from the now glowing peak to the East. “Perhaps we should make a few more improvements.”
----
“Ready?” Mirsa asked, chuckling at Kevon’s bleary-eyed gaze.
“Mmhm…” Kevon mumbled, placing a hand on the upraised ridge of slate he’d spent the bulk of the last two mornings moving from the deposit Mirsa had detected earlier.
“Raising the far supports,” the Master Mage advised, and Kevon could feel the magic moving through the earth, granite pillars on the other side of the forge corkscrewing upward to nearly twice the height of the building.
Without speaking, Kevon pulled up on the slate slab, drawing it upward with his Art as he pushed his focus downward to gather more power to work the spell. He used none of his own energy for the magic, what little effort he did expend was to gather the latent forces from below. The slab groaned upward under his direction, his fingertips trailing along the upward-moving stone, retaining contact with the energy deep beneath them.
The link shattered as the slate worked free of the dirt it had been resting in. Kevon’s focus shifted to the Movement rune he had already prepared, and he stepped aside, no longer comfortable in the stone’s path without the extra magic at his disposal. The slate remained balanced in the calm air, balanced by gravity and the slightest touch of Kevon’s magic. A puff of air tipped the slab toward the forge and waiting supports, and Kevon let it.
Hand still on the edge of the falling stone, Kevon felt the weight shifting, and latched onto that energy. Twisting the stone’s own momentum into fuel for his spell, he focused on multiple points across the flat surface, and pushed upward, adding his own reserves to the rune, slowing the slab’s fall before it clack-clacked against the raised supports on the far side of the forge.
The supports on the near side spiraled further from the earth to meet the face of the slab. “It should hold,” Mirsa called.
Kevon released his spell, shaking from the intense exertion. The Movement rune dimmed in his mind, and he heard the other Mage talking.
“I know we’ve done more complex work with stone, but the terrain here is ill-suited,” Mirsa said, laying hands on the resting slab.
“We have no way of knowing about other Magi in the area, and I’m afraid of working any larger scale Earth magic so close to the volcano,” Kevon agreed.
Mirsa lowered the supports so that the midpoint of the slate was barely above the corner of the existing building, then paused. “The end supports are too far apart. Can you lower those on the end, while I bring up the new ones?”
“Sure,” Kevon wheezed, stumbling a few steps toward the other end of the slab before he found his footing. He reached the stone pillar at the back corner, and placed a hand on it. The connection with the power below formed, and he split his attention between maintaining the link, and monitoring the pressure and stress on the slab above. The supports on Mirsa’s end lifted, and the slate groaned. Kevon forced the twisted pillars on his end back into the ground, slowly, matching Mirsa’s speed. In the space of a few minutes, the new roof was level across the front end of the smithy. Both Magi shifted their focus to the supports at the back, Kevon lowering his, and Mirsa handling the one on her end, as well as the pillar in the middle by the other end of the building.
“All right,” Mirsa called. “Enough!”
Kevon stepped back, and could barely see daylight between the old roof and the new covering. “It’s good!” he called, but Mirsa was
“More fresh water,” Mirsa handed Kevon one of the full water skins she carried. “I worked up a fountain out back while you were clanging around in here. We can fill up everything before we leave.”
The ground rumbled. Kevon stepped outside and peered through the haze. “I think the ash will be worse before it gets better,” he sighed, spotting the thickening column rising from the now glowing peak to the East. “Perhaps we should make a few more improvements.”
----
“Ready?” Mirsa asked, chuckling at Kevon’s bleary-eyed gaze.
“Mmhm…” Kevon mumbled, placing a hand on the upraised ridge of slate he’d spent the bulk of the last two mornings moving from the deposit Mirsa had detected earlier.
“Raising the far supports,” the Master Mage advised, and Kevon could feel the magic moving through the earth, granite pillars on the other side of the forge corkscrewing upward to nearly twice the height of the building.
Without speaking, Kevon pulled up on the slate slab, drawing it upward with his Art as he pushed his focus downward to gather more power to work the spell. He used none of his own energy for the magic, what little effort he did expend was to gather the latent forces from below. The slab groaned upward under his direction, his fingertips trailing along the upward-moving stone, retaining contact with the energy deep beneath them.
The link shattered as the slate worked free of the dirt it had been resting in. Kevon’s focus shifted to the Movement rune he had already prepared, and he stepped aside, no longer comfortable in the stone’s path without the extra magic at his disposal. The slate remained balanced in the calm air, balanced by gravity and the slightest touch of Kevon’s magic. A puff of air tipped the slab toward the forge and waiting supports, and Kevon let it.
Hand still on the edge of the falling stone, Kevon felt the weight shifting, and latched onto that energy. Twisting the stone’s own momentum into fuel for his spell, he focused on multiple points across the flat surface, and pushed upward, adding his own reserves to the rune, slowing the slab’s fall before it clack-clacked against the raised supports on the far side of the forge.
The supports on the near side spiraled further from the earth to meet the face of the slab. “It should hold,” Mirsa called.
Kevon released his spell, shaking from the intense exertion. The Movement rune dimmed in his mind, and he heard the other Mage talking.
“I know we’ve done more complex work with stone, but the terrain here is ill-suited,” Mirsa said, laying hands on the resting slab.
“We have no way of knowing about other Magi in the area, and I’m afraid of working any larger scale Earth magic so close to the volcano,” Kevon agreed.
Mirsa lowered the supports so that the midpoint of the slate was barely above the corner of the existing building, then paused. “The end supports are too far apart. Can you lower those on the end, while I bring up the new ones?”
“Sure,” Kevon wheezed, stumbling a few steps toward the other end of the slab before he found his footing. He reached the stone pillar at the back corner, and placed a hand on it. The connection with the power below formed, and he split his attention between maintaining the link, and monitoring the pressure and stress on the slab above. The supports on Mirsa’s end lifted, and the slate groaned. Kevon forced the twisted pillars on his end back into the ground, slowly, matching Mirsa’s speed. In the space of a few minutes, the new roof was level across the front end of the smithy. Both Magi shifted their focus to the supports at the back, Kevon lowering his, and Mirsa handling the one on her end, as well as the pillar in the middle by the other end of the building.
“All right,” Mirsa called. “Enough!”
Kevon stepped back, and could barely see daylight between the old roof and the new covering. “It’s good!” he called, but Mirsa was
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