It took me a while to find my way out of the elven city, since I was dead-set on not asking anyone for directions. I finally started looking over the sides of the bridges I crossed and tried to use that to determine where I was. Well, it wasn't entirely accurate, but soon I found myself stepping down the lengthy stairs of a massive great tree, until I finally reached the ground again.
I just had no idea where.
Fortunately, the mountain was nearby and I was able to use that to direct myself towards the sheer edge. It only took me a few minutes to get my bearings, then I walked for nearly half an hour until I found the cave opening.
I bounced the stone on my palm for a moment while standing there. Even being invisible, sneaking down the tunnel felt like I was playing with fire, at times. It was just a matter of time until one of those guards caught me, and then where would I be? If I were lucky, I would just get an ass kicking. Worst case scenario, he'd figure out who I was and take me to Ralcor.
With that in mind, I popped the stone into my mouth and set off down the tunnel. I worked hard on moving as silently as possible, but fortune was with me on that day. I didn't run into any guards at all until the very end of the tunnel, where it opened up and offered a splendid view of one level of the city.
He stood there with his arms crossed, leaning against the left side of the tunnel and watching the city. Several weapons hung from his belt.
The narrow pathway to Silvy's place was on the right, so I slipped right by him. Just as I did, I heard him inhale deeply and mutter something under his breath. I rolled my eyes as I hurried down the path, finally spitting the stone out when I reached Silvy's door.
After stuffing the stone in my pocket, I pushed the door open and walked in. Silvy and Zia were there, sipping on tea and talking.
"No, it was quite great. He—" Silvy cut off abruptly when I entered. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to knock?"
"Hey, don't set me on fire," I said, raising both hands. I grinned at Zia and she gave me a bright, green-eyed smile in return.
"How did your training go?" Silvy asked.
"It went great," I replied. "Hey, look. I need a bath, plain and simple. I'm kind of ripe, and the guards out there can smell me."
"I smelled him, too," Zia said matter-of-factly. "Although I suppose I was smelling you, Silvy."
"Yes, a bath is long overdue with you," Silvy said, ignoring her comment. "We've just been focusing on other things. We'll wait until tonight, when the baths are empty."
The way she said "baths" made me think of a public area. Well, that would be interesting.
"How'd your magic training go?" I asked.
"Great!" Zia replied.
Silvy nodded slowly. "Yes, she is able to learn. She is lucky that she has the inborn talent, and I think she can be reasonably strong. Tomorrow we'll figure out exactly what type of magic she'll work with."
"I hope it's elemental," Zia said excitedly.
"Different types of magic?" I asked as I took a chair next to Zia. She smiled at me and I reached out, taking her hand in mine. She blushed.
Silvy frowned as she thought of an explanation. "There are multiple types of magic. Different branches, different fields. Some people even call them different flavors, although I never liked that term."
"What are they?" I asked.
"There are many," she replied. "Elemental magic is the most common. It's rather self-explanatory. A person strong in elemental magic might cause the ground to move, make trees walk, or even change the weather. As I said, there are many types; even I don't know all of them. Magic can involve living beings, it can create heat and light, it can even faintly alter time, although that is especially rare."
"So, what are you?" I asked. "What type of magic do you know?" She not only healed me but gave me some semblance of goblin longevity, so I imagined her magic was one of those that had something to do with living creatures.
Silvy gave a smile of pride. "I am one of the very rare individuals that can cast from many different areas of magic. I'm not particularly strong in any of them, but I can use most."
"I really hope I get to use elemental magic," Zia said, giving my hand a little squeeze. "I think that sounds so exciting."
"And what about me?" I asked. "You said I can learn as well."
Silvy frowned. "Yes, indeed. Tomorrow, when you are done with the elves, I'll conduct some tests on you. They aren't particularly difficult, and if you have the inborn ability—which I'm almost completely certain you do—then we should be able to figure out your magic very quickly."
"Why wait?" I asked, standing up. I kicked my shoes off and put them by the door, then went back to my chair. "If it'll only take a few minutes, I say we do it right now."
"Yes!" Zia said. "I want to see what he can learn!"
Silvy frowned prettily. "Well, I suppose there's no harm in that. Wait right there."
My eyes followed her curves as she stood up and walked into the bedroom. She muttered a few things under her breath and I heard her digging through piles of magical things on her table. A few moments later, she returned with a large bowl in both hands.
"Fortunately, the test is straightforward," she said, setting the bowl on the table. Inside the bowl were smooth stones of every color, even some colors that I had no name for, as odd as that might sound. She selected one, pale blue in color, and handed it to me.
I took the stone and held it in my hand. It was cool to the touch, and nothing about it suggested it was anything other than a regular stone.
"You'll have to let go of her to do the test," Silvy said with a faint smile.
I released Zia's hand. She smiled at me.
After that, Silvy instructed me to hold tightly to the stone and focus. She walked me through several mental exercises, from clearing my mind to learning how to tap into the world of magic. It existed all around us, she explained, and a select few were lucky enough to be able to touch it.
After a few minutes of struggling, I felt something. I wasn't sure how to describe it, but something was there. I told her as much, and she smiled.
"Now, take that same energy and hold it in your mind, then focus on the stone," Silvy said.
Zia looked at me expectantly. I closed my eyes again and touched that magical world, the magical dimension, and focused on the stone.
"Do you feel anything?" she asked.
"Nothing," I replied. "Should I?"
She reached out and plucked the stone from my hand, then passed it to Zia. "Your turn," she said. She then dug through the bowl of stones and handed me a dark brown one.
Together, we went through the same exercise. Zia was immediately successful; she said she felt a sort of resonance, an echo coming from the stone. Silvy smiled and clapped her hands.
"Well, it looks like you got your wish," Silvy said to the younger woman. She crossed her arms and fixed Zia with a smile. "You'll be able to learn elemental magic, although we don't know precisely which types yet."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Zia said, bouncing in her chair and clapping her hands. Her breasts bounced when she did it, and I struggled not to get an erection. Jesus, these women were just ridiculously gorgeous.
I tried the same exercise with the brown stone, and once again felt nothing. Zia, however, felt the same resonance from that stone as she had with the blue one. After that, we tried a green stone, which did nothing for me but resonated for Zia.
I began to wonder if I really could use magic. We went through almost every color of the rainbow and I felt nothing. Meanwhile, Zia was going to be able to use magic to affect the air, water, earth, and to an extent, even trees and plants. I felt like she had hit the jackpot.
Silvy frowned at a stone in her hand. "Last one," she said, passing me a deep red stone. "Same thing. See if you feel something with this stone."
I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind, touching the magic that surrounded us. After doing it a dozen times, it came much more easily now. As soon as I focused on the red stone in my hand, I felt something.
"Woah," I said, then concentrated. I immediately understood what Zia meant when she described it as a resonance. It felt like an echo, but an echo of magic, and coming from the stone. It almost seemed to pulse in my hand. My heart sped up and my breathing deepened, almost like I was exercising.
"Well," Silvy said, gently taking the stone from me. "I suppose I should have expected this." She took a deep breath. "It appears you will be learning blood magic."
"Well, that sounds ominous," I said.
She gave me a wry look. "Blood magic is especially powerful, but it's primarily only used for two things: healing and killing. It is precisely the type of magic that makes people afraid of magic."
"And you used some of it on me when you healed me, right?"
"Eh," Silvy shrugged. "I can barely touch blood magic. When I healed you, I used magical items to assist. Once you learn how to use this magic, you will be able to heal people without daggers and wands and stones. Or, kill them."
I took a deep breath. "Well, I wasn't expecting that. Although considering your gods brought me here to kill Ralcor, I suppose it's appropriate."
"Yes, that it is," she said. "But it's very hard to train with."
"How so?" Zia asked. She reached out and took my hand again, although her attention was fixed on Silvy.
"Zia will be able to use magic to change the earth with ease. She can simply go outdoors and force the soil to move. Or, she could do the same thing with water, basically anywhere she finds water. But with blood magic, you can basically just heal or kill. Those are rather difficult things to practice."
"So, the only way to practice killing with magic, would be to kill something," I said.
"Exactly," she replied. "And you or someone else would have to be hurt to practice healing."
"I'll stub my toe for you," Zia said, winking at me.
"Technically, that would work," Silvy said. "But I don't recommend you hurt yourself so he can heal you. That's a bad way to start a relationship." She tapped on her lips for a moment. "Speaking of which, Zia, you're coming with us to the hot springs. Let's go."
"Now?" she asked.
"Yes, now. If you want to be his wife, then it's only appropriate."
"You have a point," Zia replied. She looked over at me and blushed.