Jennifer Jones
Stories
4
Chapters
1,292
Words
687.3 K
Comments
0
Reading
2 d, 9 h
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Tala basked in the warm morning sunlight as the wagon rumbled beneath her. The soft breeze was a perfect counterpoint to that warmth, and she found herself deliciously comfortable. Adding to her delight, a large pitcher of coffee rode beside her, her mug already filled. She’d convinced Brand to give her the extra that had been brewed, but not drunk, before they were underway. As a final little joy, she’d eaten another ending-berry as they set out. She’d seen Den freshly greasing the axles and…-
211 •
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Before heading back to her wagon, she stopped by the chuckwagon’s still-propped-open side to tell Brand how much she’d liked the meal. They talked briefly, and then Tala thought to ask him if he had an iron flask. He said he thought he might and went to dig in the back. While she waited, she chatted with one of the other cooks, thanking him, again, for his help with her arm, earlier. Brand returned with a large flask and a few of small vials. “This flask held a chili-oil, but we’ve used all we…
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211 •
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As before, when sunset was close, Den found a relatively flat stretch of ground and led the wagons in a great circle. As they rolled to a stop, the guardsmen and servants immediately began setting up camp, and the drivers tended their oxen. Since Tala didn’t have blood to clean off this evening, she used the opportunity to do some standing stretches. The wagons were incredibly stable, but she did not trust herself to balance atop them, at least she hadn’t yet. Newly limbered, she strode towards the…
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211 •
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Tala’s eyes focused on the pulse of dimensional magic and her mind registered the newly appeared creature, scanning it from talon to beak. It looked like nothing so much as an oversized hawk, if the bird had trained for long distance sprinting instead of flying. It was taller than she was, and its legs were The three forward talons on each of its feet looked to be useful as much for gaining traction on the ground as tearing into their prey. The legs were covered in thick, grey, ridged hide up well…
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211 •
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When lunch was ready, Tala was She tucked her borrowed book, along with her own notebook, into her satchel, made sure her hat was secure, and went to meet the chuckwagon worker on his way to her. It was Brand. “Hello, Brand. How is the day treating you?” He smiled hesitantly. “Well, Mistress.” He offered her the cloth-wrapped pasty. “Anything special in today’s meal?” She could already see the power flickering within the meat, inside the pasty. He started to shake his head, then…
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211 •
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Tala looked up as her wagon took a somewhat abrupt turn, pulling away from her to the left as she walked. From the look of things, Den was guiding the caravan in a wide arc around a lone tree, which was swaying gently despite the lack of strong wind. Tala tilted her head back, taking in the nearly perfectly clear sky. The bark of this one was almost bone white, and looked as smooth as polished marble, at least at this distance. The leaves were green and full, and there were what looked like red berries…
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211 •
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Tala felt utterly amped, despite her soreness and slowly growing headache. She was sure that a portion of that was lingering adrenaline from the attack, but a large part was also likely from her still glowing spell-lines stirring up the power within her system. Her stretching done, she pulled on her shirt. Thankfully, it hung down nearly to her knees, so she was reasonably covered when she re-entered the wagon circle, grabbing a new pair of pants, her magic detector, and an iron salve bar. She went back…
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211 •
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Tala walked back into the circle of wagons, possibilities whipping through her head. She passingly noticed Brand re-entering the chuckwagon and quirked a smile. She returned her mind to the present task. No, there wasn’t really anything convincing she could say. That was folly. Besides, there was likely no surer way of preventing herself from learning the secrets that the cooks had uncovered. The question was taken from her as she approached the table. All three of the occupants were staring at…
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211 •
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Sunset seemed only half an hour off or so when a halt was called, and the wagons trundled into a circle. Tala climbed down, tucking her various odds and ends back into the box that Den was letting her use on the side of the cargo wagon. Several large tables and benches were brought out of the back of her cargo wagon’s backmost cargo-slot, and they were set up within the circle. Tala also saw a group of guards digging a latrine pit a short walk downslope of the wagon circle. During the day, Tala had…
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211 •
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Tala stared in mute fascination as the arcanous bull rushed across the ground between his small herd and the caravan. Tala focused on him, willing her mage-sight to engage at much further-than-normal range. The bull was full of power. She could see twisting, intricately flowing spell-lines woven through the beast’s flesh, bone, hide, and hair. The long, curving horns were practically throbbing with power, though she couldn’t quite tell what any of it did. The structure and design were eerily…
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