The scrap of thin parchment instantly flared up into a brightly glowing ribbon of fire flying past Kre’s face. Aflame with a flickering deep blue hue, the paper flew like a dart past the startled young man and, following the path indicated by Dain’s outstretched index finger, affixed itself to a nearby tree.
“Would you mind?” Dain asked, gesturing at the fire that was beginning to form on the tree’s bark.
Kre pulled his horse Maple just off the path a bit to get closer to the tree. The fire was about head sized now and the bark was starting to blacken and curl around the still burning paper. Kre quickly used the tea that he was still holding to douse the flames. Surprisingly, it only took a few tossed handfuls of the drink to smother the fire.
“Much appreciated,” Dain called back, having gotten a bit further ahead since he hadn’t bothered to stop and help put out the fire he started.
“How did you do that?” Kre asked, urging his horse closer to Dain. “What kind of magic is it? Where did you learn to do that?”
Dain pushed the brim of his wide hat up a bit and then leaned forward to rest his crossed arms on the pommel of his saddle. It looked like an extremely awkward position to ride in, but Kre supposed that the other man was more interested in style than he was in comfort. “Well, now look who’s all interested in the kind of work I do now. Not mocking me or my concoctions anymore, are you?”
Kre stammered for a moment as he wondered how he could defend himself from the mostly false accusation. “I don’t think mocking is the right word…” he offered. “If anything, I think I was rather polite about you trying to poison me with that tea.”
Dain sat back up immediately and pulled his hat back down over his eyes. He turned to Kre and muttered, “I’ve never met another person allergic to mushrooms, in my defense. Not like them sure… but never allergic like that.”
“Let’s just forget that then,” Kre offered, “and start new by talking about this… magic. Real magic!” He waved his arms excitedly.
“Slow there,” Dain cautioned. “First off, you need to understand that by sharing even this little bit with you, I am imparting a hefty level of trust. Magic like this is not to be taken lightly and not to be discussed in too much detail with the unversed. It is only upon Talimar’s request that you are being brought into our circle this soon. Apparently, your ignorance is more dangerous than this sort of knowledge could be in the wrong hands.”
Kre nodded, though it hurt his pride a bit to be considered dangerously ignorant. He couldn’t really argue it though. Thus far it was only through sheer luck or the help of his friends and companions that he survived this long on his own. Briefly, he wondered if things would have been this difficult for him had he never met the Rangers and Kitalia on the road. If they had left Mintas a day prior or a day later, would his life be drastically different?
He wasn’t sure how he felt about that line of thinking. What he knew with certainty was that despite the many tough, seemingly impossible events that he experienced and overcame thus far and the prospect of countless more to come, he was excited by this new life.