Fight or Flight

Chapter 12

Enola

One month later...

"Human!" I lifted my head in a sudden motion. The nervous horse jerked at the noise and pulled away, right as Simon had been trying to secure the flimsy cart to the horse's rigging. I was not sure what Simon had traded away to get the broken down cart, but I still knew he had gotten ripped off. The cart was unlikely to last more than a few trips – if it even survived Simon's attempt to hook it up to the horse. The rope jerked free of Simon's hand, the cart tilted to the ground with a 'thump' that jolted the boxes of straw and crystal, Simon fell to the ground with an extremely satisfying 'oof' noise, and the horse ran from my shout... only to stop when he reached the end of his tether, and was jerked back by the post Simon had hammered into the ground.

Simon sighed and picked himself back up from the ground, dusting himself off as he looked back at me. "Yes, Enola?"

"Be careful. Those crystals are fragile. It would not do for one to break on your trip." I blinked slowly at him, refusing to smile.

The horse snorted and tugged on the rope tying him in place, clearly wanting nothing to do with me. I looked towards it and grinned, showing off my teeth. The horse let out a panicked neighing sound and tugged even harder on the rope, desperate to get further away.

"Thank you, Enola. I'll be sure to keep that advice in mind." Simon took a brief look at the cart to make sure none of the small crates had been damaged, then began walking to the horse. "Easy, Smokey. The mean dragon won't hurt you, she's just grumpy because she hasn't had any coffee yet."

I rolled my eyes from where I sat on the hillside overlooking the tunnel entrance. Simon had tried on multiple occasions to get me to taste that nasty concoction of beans and water, and other than one experimental taste, I had turned him down each time. Even if the stuff did have the miraculous ability to wake someone up as Simon described, there was no way I was drinking that bean soup. Simply going to bed an hour earlier was much more preferable to swallowing that bitter stuff. "If that is the reason, then you can expect me to remain 'grumpy' for quite some time."

"It's really not that bad, it's just hard to brew a proper cup out here on a campfire. It needs a decent stove top. Or a heating spell. Something with a steady heat to it." Simon made it to the nervous horse and began stroking over its head. "Easy, Smokey, easy. You're safe." He spoke softly, in a soothing tone, and the horse began to relax – though it still eyed me warily.

"Well, you can enjoy a proper cup when you get to town." Simon had pestered me constantly about that these last weeks – a heating spell to help him make his coffee. At first he had simply hinted it would be an acceptable repayment for the meals he cooked, but when I had refused, he had moved on to trying to buy one from me. He had offered me everything from coins, to ketchup, to a small bag to hold coins in, to even a model dragon figure made out of toothpicks. It was beyond annoying, and I was nearly on the verge of trying to figure out if I could get a steady enough flow of magic from the crystals to enchant something before the magedebt drained it all. I doubted it was possible without draining several crystals, but if it would shut him up, it could be worth it...

"I'd still be more than happy to pay you for a heating spell. I've seen mages do it all the time. Enchanted coasters to keep their mugs warm, metal rings you can put on a stove to keep the heat even." Simon continued petting the nervous horse, but looked back over his shoulder at me. "Are you sure you don't want to do a simple fire spell like that for me?"

I grinned slightly as I thought of a simple fire spell I'd like to do for Simon. Don't leave Enola alone, she'll burn the lair down again...