Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Ashira woke Ivarus a few minutes after sunrise. They set out, hiking the trail that led through the pass. They did not pass any other travelers until just after lunchtime.

“Stay wary,” Ivarus advised after they passed the first group.

They spoke little as they walked along the trail. Ashira felt a little more at home surrounded by the tall pines and undergrowth that lined the path. A few times she caught sight of a small creature skittering away as they came near. She and Ivarus did not speak much. She stayed in her own thoughts, trying to remember everything he had said the night before. As she walked, she saw many rocks along the way. Finally, she gave in and decided to try magic.

“Ivarus,” she said, and he stopped. “I'm going to try doing something to this rock,” she said, gesturing to a head-sized boulder by the way.

He nodded and stood aside, watching. Ashira approached it, trying to decide what she would do with it. She noticed a small song bird flit from the tree above her and fly onto another branch. It inspired her.

She closed her eyes, focusing on the rock. She imagined the bird, a spotted nutcracker, with white spots along its breast and neck and a slender black beak. Then she envisioned the stone and its rough shape. In her mind, she chipped away at the stone, revealing a replica of the bird. She opened her eyes.

The rock was unchanged, and she sighed.

“Perhaps you could try touching the rock, getting a feel for it,” Ivarus suggested, seeing her disappointment.

She crouched down next to the rock and put her hands around it. She looked up into the trees, saw the bird still on its branch, eying her. Closing her eyes, she thought once more of the rock turning into the shape of the nutcracker. This time she felt warmth spreading through her hands. She heard the cracking as the rock broke away. Still, she kept her eyes shut until she could see the stone completely turned into the bird.

“Whoa,” came Ivarus's voice behind her. She opened her eyes.

The rock had not just become the shape of a perched spotted nutcracker; it had become the colors of it as well. White spots stood out on a dark brown breast and mantle. Black wing feathers flowed into dark brown tail plumage.

“It's beautiful,” he said in awe.

Ashira picked the sculpture up and turned around, holding it carefully for Ivarus to see. She was a little stunned, but pleased. As her knees straightened, she felt light-headed. She swayed a bit.

“Careful,” Ivarus said, grabbing her arms to keep her upright. “I'm sure that took quite a lot out of you. Don't overdo it with magic or you may blackout and never wake up.”

He delicately stroked the bird's head.

“This leaves no doubt in my mind. You must be the stewardess. Only stewards have that kind of power!” he said, touching the tail of the stone bird.

The real nutcracker squawked above them, then flew away over the canyon. The statue mimicked the call, the sound coming from the small holes that formed the nares.

“It even sings!” Ivarus exclaimed in surprise.

“Who knew I could make something like this,” she said, admiring her work. They looked at it for another minute, then Ivarus indicated that they needed move on. Ashira placed the sculpture in her pack and they continued on their journey.

Her thoughts turned to Salam, as they often did. If they did not reach him before his captors took him into Aetheris, would they be able to find him in the city? They had no more of his possessions to track him with. Why were they taking him there anyway? Would he be killed?

The canyon grew darker as the sun hid behind the peaks and the day wore on. Travelers became fewer and fewer as evening grew closer. When evening came, a chill settled in. Ashira did not have any extra clothes, and Ivarus noticed her shivering as they walked. He decided they would make camp a little earlier than normal. After leading her to a small clearing off the road, he walked down to a nearby creek. Ashira worked on getting a fire ready. He came back carrying water in his canteen and a handful of river stones.

“Let me show you something,” he said, setting the pebbles in the newly blazing fire. He waited a moment, then sang a short verse.

“Warmth that comes from fire, stay inside these stones. Emanate as I desire warmth unto my bones.”

He picked the stones up and held them out for her to take. She looked at him, then slowly took one form his hand. She felt warmth coming from it, but it was not so hot that she could not touch it.

“They are calor lapilos,” he said, tossing one up in the air and catching it. “They will emanate heat for hours, depending on the prowess of the person who did the spell. Mine usually last twelve hours at most.”

She held the pebble against her cold arm and felt the heat warming her skin. It felt good, and not so hot it was uncomfortable.

“I'm going to try,” she said, suddenly determined.

Ivarus looked sidelong at her, a look of concern on his face.

“Fine. But please be careful. You don't want to incinerate the stones,” he cautioned.

Ashira ran down the hillside to the stream, grabbed a handful of pebbles, and returned. She placed them near the edge of the fire like Ivarus had done and waited a few minutes, thinking of how she would command the stones.

“You couldn't create the statue earlier by just looking at it,” Ivarus reminded her. “But, you did make the rubble move in the tunnel.”

She thought a moment.

“Maybe there is a difference in what I was doing. The bird was art, but moving the rubble and stopping the flying stone were necessity,” she surmised.

Ivarus was nodding.

“Yes. I have met another steward before. He could perform whatever magic he needed or wanted, but only after much practice with his talent. Perhaps you only need practice, then you can sculpt from a distance.”

“All this is so new, I have no idea,” she said, feeling overwhelmed. She focused on the stones, willing them to retain heat for hours. She imagined the heat flowing into the porous surface, getting stuck inside. Carefully, she removed a pebble and let it sit outside of the fire for a minute. She reached down to pick it up.

“Ah!” she yelled, pulling back her hand. The tip of her finger was turning bright red. “It burned me.”

Ivarus got close to the pebble with a stick in hand. He held the stick to the pebble for a few seconds. It began to smoke.

“You made a fire stone, not a warming stone,” he said. He poured some water from his canteen on the pebble. It turned to steam upon contact. “You really warmed this thing up. But, you did it without touching, so good job.”

They removed the other stones from the flames and set them on a patch of dirt to one side of the campsite. Ivarus wanted to check on them in the morning to see how hot they would be then.

The next morning they found a dead squirrel not far from the pebbles, which were hot, but not so much that they burned on contact. It seemed the animal had burned its foot on the pebbles sometime during the night. Ashira felt bad that her magic had inadvertently killed an animal.

They had taken only a few steps when Ivarus paused. He looked up at the sky, turned in a circle, then sniffed.

“What are you doing?” Ashira asked.

“There's a storm coming,” he responded.

“What? How can you tell?”

He looked at her.

“Have you noticed that it's warmer this morning than it was last night?”

Ashira had not noticed, but did now.

“Then there's the smell. It's hard to describe, but it almost smells 'fresh'. Can you smell it?” he asked.

She sniffed, and could smell something in the warm breeze. She nodded.

“That means there is snow coming. It could be tonight, it could be tomorrow morning. I'm thinking it is most likely tomorrow morning.”

“That soon? But won't it snow us in?” she asked, worried.

“Yes. We'll need to pick up the speed,” he said. He looked in her eyes pointedly. “We'll need to jog in order to make it out of the pass before the snow hits.”

Ashira nodded. “I can do that.”

Ivarus smiled at her. “It's nice to see a girl who is up to a physical challenge. It gets stifling being around women who are primped and pompous all the time.”

Ashira assumed he was talking about the daughters of the senators and judges. She took the compliment graciously.

“What about the other travelers?” she asked, voicing her thought aloud. “They need to be warned about the storm.”

Ivarus was shaking his head.

“No. We cannot backtrack if we are to make it out in time before the heavy snow starts.”

“But they'll be snowed in. We cannot just leave them!” she said with concern.

“I'm sorry, Ashira,” Ivarus said tenderly. “I am, really. I don't like leaving my countrymen behind, but we must push on. If you are the steward,” he continued, holding up his hand to stop her protest,” then we must get you to safety. You may be the only person who can save Salam at this point.”

She considered that for a moment.

“I still want to help them,” she said.

“And Salam need our help,” he countered. “Let them find shelter in the caves around here. There are plenty, and if they have traveled this road before, they'll know where those caves are.”

She was not completely pacified, but gave in anyway. He had valid points.

“Where did you learn to smell an approaching storm?” she asked as they started out again, now jogging.

“I learned it in another country, far to the north and east of here,” he said.

That piqued her interest, and she wanted to ask more. Ashira had never traveled out of Acustia before this journey, let alone out of Amrahn. She decided she would ask about it some later time.

They traveled on, keeping a steady jogging pace for ten minutes, then slowing down to a quick walking speed for five. They kept on like this, repeating until lunchtime. They passed nobody on the road. Lunch consisted of a few pieces of dried venison and dried fruit. By the time evening came, Ivarus was sure they would be able to make it out of the pass by morning if they pushed on through the night. They took a half hour to sit and eat, stretch and relax. Then they pushed on harder than before.

The sun was just setting when the wind, which had been warm, turned chill. Ashira saw the clouds coming up the pass behind them.

It was near midnight when the first flakes began to fall softly from the muted sky. Clouds had overshadowed the mountains, concealing the peaks and the moon.

“It started earlier than I thought,” Ivarus said as they jogged. He was out of breath, but not nearly as much as Ashira. He was in top physical shape, being a soldier. She was a simple girl from the woods and did not have his stamina.

The flakes grew larger by the third watch. A couple inches covered the ground, causing the duo to slip a few times on the steeper hills.

The white covered the branches of the pines and firs around them. Ashira had seen snow only a few times in her life, and was enchanted by the beauty of the softly falling flakes and snow-covered trees. The wind, however, reminded her of the blizzard that was behind them, chasing them through the pass.

The stopped twice during the night to take ten minute breaks. Their constant motion kept the water in their canteens from freezing completely, but it did become ice cold.

“We may not make it,” Ivarus said. Ashira saw the very real concern on his face and felt apprehensive.

“We can. If not, we can survive somehow,” she said, trying to encourage him through her heavy breathing.

Her hands and ears were numb. Her nose was running, but she had stopped trying to wipe it with her sleeve. Her legs were warmed by her constant motion.

The wind began to pick up, and Ivarus stopped her. They went off the path and through the trees. He found what he was looking for: a medium-sized pine tree with snow piled against the south side, creating a small wall. The area beneath the tree was mostly dry, the branches blocking the incoming snow.

“We can take a break for a while beneath here,” he explained, crawling under the branches. Ashira followed.

It was surprisingly warm near the trunk of the pine. Ivarus took a few minutes and built up the wall of snow a couple feet higher, creating a stronger barrier against the wind and better insulation against the cold.

The end of the fourth watch came and the sun rose. At least, they were pretty sure it had risen. The clouds had become lighter. Within minutes, the blizzard was upon them with all its fury.. Ashira's ears hurt, the wind having bitten into them for so long that they ached.

“Can we light a fire?” she asked Ivarus, who sat in a tight ball right beside her. They stayed close to each other for warmth.

“I tested the needles. They are too damp now to light,” he said.

They were not far from the exit, he knew, but they could not go out in the wind for fear of getting hypothermia.

“Do you still have that statue?” he asked. Ashira nodded. She pulled it out and set it on the ground in front of them.

“We can use to as a calor lapilos,” he suggested.

“If we can get a fire going, sure,” she reminded him.

He crawled out of the shelter of the tree and into the furious wind and snow. Ashira tried to stop him, but he went anyway. About ten minutes later, he was back. He held something inside his tunic.

“I got dry needles,” he said, sitting next to her again and pulling out the kindling. Within a few minutes, he had a fire going. He used her statue of the nutcracker, turning it into a warm stone. They held it between them, sharing the warmth. Holding onto the tail, Ashira closed her eyes and focused. She felt a bit of warmth flood through her veins as she told the statue to maintain its heat for at least a few more days. When she finished the spell, she opened her eyes. Her vision was a little bleary, and had a hard time focusing.

“Are you all right? Ivarus asked, seeing her unfocused gaze.

“Yes,” she said simply. The truth was, she was tired after performing that magic.

The morning was gone and the sun was at high noon before the blizzard slowed enough for Ivarus to give permission to keep moving. They trudged through the snow, the last few kilometers declining slightly to the plateau below. The wind picked up again, and the snow was driven harder. The statue was passed back and forth between them.

She asked to stop again, but Ivarus denied.

“We are only a few kilometers from the exit of the pass. We have been going slightly downhill for an hour now. It's not long. Just try to make it.”

They emerged from the pass half an hour later, no longer jogging. They pushed through drifts almost two feet deep, keeping their heads down as the wind tore at their tunics and snow swirled around their faces.

“Aetheris is still at least two days of walking away, and that is when there isn't snow,” Ivarus explained.

Ashira groaned. She was tired of the snow. It had been beautiful at first, but now the whole world was white and freezing. She just wanted to be in a warm inn, sitting near the fire and listening to a minstrel, her minstrel, play and sing.

Ivarus finally let them make camp that evening. He found another pine tree to create a small shelter beneath. He piled snow around the branches while Ashira used the statue to dry enough needles to start a fire.

Ashira was exhausted. She ate a few rations, then laid down on the bed of pine needles. The small fire was nearly dead, and Ivarus did not stoke it. He lay next to her, close enough to keep her warm.

“My body is so exhausted I can't sleep,” she said after a few minutes.

“Mm,” he replied.

She looked over and saw that his eyes were closed. His breathing was shallow, and she was certain he was already close to sleeping.

Ashira lay awake for an hour, trying to get her mind off things. She kept thinking about magic. All her life she had been without it, but only because she was always trying to create it using an instrument and not her voice. In a way, she mused, coming to Aetheris had indeed helped her find her magic, though not in the way she had expected. She thought of the stone that lay between her and Ivarus. She could feel its warmth spreading throughout her abdomen. At that moment, she was grateful to whatever fortune had brought Ivarus into her life. He had proven to be a wonderful friend and a reliable asset to her survival.

Ashira drifted into dreams filled with Ivarus, her new friend.

*BTW, if you can't tell, having the characters fall asleep is one of the easiest ways to end a chapter, unless it's meant to be a cliffhanger.  Sorry it keeps happening. =P