Nature's Peril Part 1 (The Nature Mage Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Observatory. It had a much shorter range than its larger cousin, but a magician could use it to send his sight out ahead of him for several hundred yards, scouting the terrain without risk of stumbling across his enemy.
    G aspi’s excitement grew. Unless he was very much mistaken, the Wizard’s Eye was a genuine artefact – a magical marvel from another age. As Hephistole often bemoaned, much ancient magical lore had been lost over the centuries, and needed to be rediscovered. The chancellor was working hard to do exactly that, and was making headway in the field of transportation, but that was an enhancement of a known magic. Artefacts like the Wizard’s Eye were something the magical world failed to understand, despite the best efforts of dedicated scholars to unearth their secrets. Gaspi could guess how the other objects were enchanted, but he couldn’t even begin to understand the Wizard’s Eye
    “Okay everyone, gather round,” Hephistole said, and the group slowly reformed in front of the rack. “ Thank you for coming, but there’s nothing more to be achieved here today. Rimulth has spoken wisely. We will wait for the spirits to return before making any decision. That’s all for now,” he said, and the group dispersed, heading for the stairway that led up to one of the Atrium’s anterooms.
    Gaspi wa ndered over to Taurnil, who was looking hungrily at the rack of enchanted weaponry while Voltan was busy draping the dark cloth back over it.
    “Find anything good?” he asked.
    “You bet,” Taurnil responded, only looking away from the enchanted weaponry when the cloth was back in place along the full length of the rack. “I want one of those bow and arrows.”
    “What’s the enchantment?” Gaspi asked.
    “The arrows hit with extra force and they can’t be snapped, but that’s not the best bit. They reappear in your quiver after you shoot them!” Taurnil said excitedly.
    “Sheesh, three enchantments?” Gas pi said, thinking about how each one might be achieved. The first two parts were obvious of course – unbreakable and force-enhancing enchantments were pretty standard – but the last part was trickier. “The only way I can see that being done is by making the quiver a transporter and enchanting the arrows to return to it. You’d have to delay the enchantment though. That’s pretty clever.”
    “Why thank you Gaspi,” Hephistole said from right behind him, making him jump for the second time that day. Gaspi turned around to find that the rest of the group had left the cellar, apart from Emmy, Lydia and Rimulth, who were talking quietly near the exit. “My apologies once again for surprising you,” he added.
    “No problem.”
    “You’re exactly right about the enchantment on the arrows,” the chancellor added. “After all my experimentation with transportation, I have become quite adept at adapting it to different purposes. The bows and arrows are heavily enchanted as Taurnil described, but he neglected to tell you about the fourth layer of enchantment, which is placed on the bows themselves – and that is to extend their range.”
    “Oh yeah, I forgot!” Taurnil said, his eyes widening at the implications of a bow that shot further, and arrows that hit harder before reappearing in your quiver for another shot. It would be like having an endless quiver. “Can I take one?” he asked with transparent eagerness.
    “There’s nothing wrong with a bit of cheek,” Hephistole answered with a smile, which was good to see, though Gaspi was pretty sure that prior to the Measure it would have been a loud burst of laughter. “Are you an archer Taurnil?”
    “Yes Sir,” Taurnil responded. “Talmo’s been teaching me.”
    “We’ll just have to wait until the spirits are back. If the quest doesn’t go ahead, we’ll need to give them to the best archers in the city for our defence.”
    “Fa ir enough,” Taurnil said, though Gaspi could tell he was disappointed.
    “What about you