Jennifer Jones
Stories
4
Chapters
1,292
Words
687.3 K
Comments
0
Reading
2 d, 9 h
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Tala sat across from Mistress Odera as they watched the land roll by from atop the cargo-wagon. Tala had retrieved some of the knives and hatchets from Lyn before the woman could sell them. Now, they lay in two concentric rings on the wagon-top, Terry flickering around them, occasionally brushing the handles before squawking in irritation and flickering away. He’d been at it for days, even before they left Bandfast, so Tala paid him little mind. Tala returned her attention to Mistress Odera, still a…-
211 •
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Tala was not interested in thinking about her upcoming visit with her family. She knew it wasn’t healthy to avoid the topic, and she was leaving that day to go to the city where they lived, but she still just couldn’t seem to force herself to give it more than passing reflection. So, Tala went through her routine, just as she did every morning and evening, not considering the upcoming encounter. Physical exercise and stretching, with and without her own gravity enhanced. Martial form work with her…
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211 •
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Tala and Holly walked down a side hall that Tala had never been through before, though it shared the odd mix of aesthetics from the rest of the building: warehouse meets boutique artisan’s workshop was an odd combination. Holly led her through the third door on the left, and they entered a spacious, mostly empty room. As Tala looked around, she noticed that every surface, including the floor, was covered in iron. Tala frowned, then stepped back into the hallway and looked at the wall beyond which the…
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Tala had to begin her “cooking” by dumping an obscene amount of power into Kit. The dimensional storage had taken quite a bit of damage from the griffon’s lightning, and only its increased internal and external manipulation abilities kept it from being outright destroyed. That made Tala feel a bit better, actually. Kit was hardly the only part of her gear that had gone through the wringer, however. The through-spike had simply continued to drink deeply of her power and hadn’t been permanently…
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211 •
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Tala immediately pulled out a tungsten sphere and began increasing its pull towards the middle of the griffon’s spine. She was very careful in the implementation. She didn’t picture the griffon in any particular state of health. In fact, with Alat’s guidance, they locked onto the Tala didn’t try to place any effect on the griffon at all, only targeting it for the effect from the sphere in her hand. Cazor glanced her way. “Mistress Tala, that’s a lot of power.” He seemed half nervous and…
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211 •
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Tala was in awe. She was busy processing the berries like mad, carefully biting them in half, pulling out the seed, sucking the juice off, and sending the seed back among the trees. The halved berries then went into another barrel, as she moved onto the next little packet of juice and power. That was fairly standard, though she hadn’t done it in a couple of months. She even was able to add in the tossing of jerky to Terry every so often. No, what was awe inspiring was how Cazor could strip a tree with…
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211 •
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Tala found the Mage Hunter waiting for her as she approached the northern gate of Bandfast. She waved and called out to him. “Master Cazor! I’m so sorry, did I keep you waiting?” He smiled and shrugged, pushing off the wall he’d been leaning against. “No, we’re both actually early. I was just earlier.” He chuckled. “I prefer to wait for people, rather than make them wait on me.” Tala looked around. They were still a few dozen feet from the actual gate. Cazor had been leaning up against…
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211 •
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Tala, Rane, Lyn, and Kannis talked and ate late into the night. Well… no, that’s not right. Tala and Terry continued to eat late into the night. Rane, Lyn, and Kannis simply talked. They mainly talked about their growing up years, or Kannis asked the Mages about their lives as such. Both Tala and Kannis studiously avoided discussing their days at the Academy, and the others seemed to key off that. - When they reluctantly decided to call it a night and end the impromptu, little celebration, Kannis…
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As Tala and Rane were leaving the training complex, Tala remembered that she’d promised to be at the Guardsmen’s training area the next day, and Aummar was even going out of his way to prepare some special things for her and Terry. Now, she wouldn’t be there. So, with that realization, she walked over to the front desk where a young woman was reading a book. - Tala almost choked. - Tala cut across Alat. “Yes, Mistress?” The woman closed the book and set it title side down, before she…
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Tala took a moment to breathe in deeply, calming her nervousness at being in the spotlight. Then, with a smile, she glanced at Terry, who was still perched on her shoulder. “Hey, we’ve been teasing about you fighting Master Cazor, but you can challenge anyone you want to.” After a moment’s hesitation, she added. “Well, except the healer or the magelings-to-be.” Terry let out a series of descending squawks, then flickered off her shoulder, appearing in the middle of the arena with the mass of a…
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