The High-Wizard's Hunt - By Ashley Delay Page 0,109
everyone headed for the door to the barracks. Fallon hugged Bridgett tightly, but she glared at Osric’s back with dagger like eyes as they made their way inside.
They gathered once again at a table in the dining hall, and Bridgett recruited Pebble to help her make rulha and snacks for all. The air was slightly tense as Fallon sat across from Osric and fixed her icy gaze on him.
“You destroyed the Grove.” Her tone matched her expression.
“What?”
“It’s gone. Everything is gone.”
“Now Fallon, that isn’t exactly true,” Eublin interrupted.
“How can you say that?” She turned her wrath on the gnome. “The unicorns, the flowers, the sunlight, everything. It’s all gone.”
“The Grove is still there,” Eublin addressed Osric, ignoring the dramatic tone in Fallon’s cries. “The protection spell, however, has vanished along with the unicorns. She is right about that.”
“You used the spell to murder that man, and now it is all gone.” Tears streamed down Fallon’s face, and mugs clattered to the floor, splashing steaming rulha over the stone floor. Bridgett had caught the tail end of the exchange as she entered the room.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Osric mumbled weakly. “I had to end the battle, or lose my own life. I had no weapons left, so I did the only thing I could to get it done.”
“And for that, the unicorns have left us. You are a foolish man.”
“If he is so bad, then why didn’t your gift pick up on it?” Kenneth spoke up to defend Osric. “You’re a Trust, right?”
“Curse my gift for failing me.”
“Has your gift ever failed you before?” Gus’ ear trembled slightly.
“Not that I am aware of, but there is always a first time.”
Gus jumped down from the table onto the bench next to Fallon, “Do you mind if I take a look at your gift?”
“Why not, go right ahead.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
Gus studied her intently, looking for any indication that her gift would be malfunctioning.
“Sorry, kid, your gift is as pristine as mine.”
“Then how could I think he was trustworthy? The unicorns obviously knew better. They wouldn’t let him anywhere near them. I sensed that Osric would not do anything against the unicorns’ wishes. It is obviously broken. Destroying the Grove is certainly against the unicorns’ wishes. They trusted me to guard our gates, and I let them down.”
“When did the protection spells disappear?” Osric leaned in as he questioned her.
“Shortly after Gus took you home.”
“So the spell stayed active while I was unconscious, and remained on until after I left, then it was shut off?” Osric had a thought about what had happened.
“If you want to see it that way, then yes.” Fallon looked at Osric defiantly.
“And then you arrived here, just as I was about to try to recreate what was created there. Doesn’t this all seem a bit too tidy to anyone else?” He looked around at their faces as they considered his words.
Osric began to search his own feelings as he probed each of those who sat around the table. He started to get a sense of the trustworthy nature of the people looking at him. He felt the new gift surge to life, and by the certainty he felt, he knew he had somehow gained Fallon’s gift. He knew that everyone that surrounded him could be trusted to protect the secret magics they had recently discovered. He felt in his bones that none of them would betray this new order that he was destined to start.
“Listen to me. I think I can recreate the protection spell that covered the Grove. I don’t fully understand it yet, but I am sure it is possible. I will need your help.” Osric looked at Fallon and she nodded her head subtly in acquiescence. “Eublin, what did you mean when you said I was forgetting about time?”
“Ah, yes, I have been thinking about the spells surrounding the Grove ever since my discussion with Bridgett and Gus about the various types of magic.” Eublin sat on the edge of his seat in excitement. “You see, the Grove is located exactly where the Grove is located.”
Osric stared back at him in confusion. No else seemed to be following him either, if their expressions were any indication.
“Well, I mean to say, perhaps it is not the location of the Grove that allows it to be separated from the world in a sense. Perhaps, it is the time of the Grove.”
“You mean to say we travel through time when we enter