Nature Mage by Duncan Pile Read Free Book Online

shoulders. And right there and then, the matter was settled. They were going to Helioport. They didn’t leave straight away, to give Gaspi time to get his strength back, but three days later the rising sun found Gaspi, Emea, Taurnil and Jonn standing at the border of the village, about to set foot on the winding path that many miles down the trail would join the Great South Road.
    It was a tearful parting; Emea and her Ma were sobbing unrestrainedly. Her Da was more self-contained but was clearly upset at having to say goodbye to his daughter. Maria was too young to understand, looking around in confusion at her parents and big sister as they cried and embraced.
    Emea picked her up and kissed her wetly on the cheek. “You be good now Maria,” she said. Maria reached out a pudgy hand and pulled on a lock of her hair, cooing uncomprehendingly. Taurnil’s Ma’s tears were expressed more quietly than Emea’s Ma’s, but were no less heartfelt for it. Gaspi felt a little awkward, anxious not to intrude on his friends’ sorrow, and he couldn’t help feeling guilty that he was the cause of this separation.
    Perhaps sensing his thoughts, Seth turned to him and said “Gaspi, I want you to know we don’t hold you responsible for what destiny has decided. Taurn has chosen to go with you, but fate has chosen you all. Go with our blessing, son, and if you are going to be great, you will have great friends standing by you.”
    Jonn shook hands with Seth and Emea’s Da, and when Emea’s mother finally released her daughter, the four travellers turned and stepped out onto the road. Gaspi couldn’t help the surge of heady excitement that thrummed through him, as morning lit up the landscape below. The tree line dropped away like a skirt, and thousands of feet below them many miles of plains stretched for as far as could be seen, shrouded thinly in golden mist. And through it all snaked a widening path, a great road to adventure, to magic, to destiny. Gaspi turned to look at his two friends, in whose faces he thought he could see some of that same excitement, despite the sorrow at parting from loved ones. As they walked he looked back several times, anxious for a last glimpse of life as he had always known it, but soon he could no longer see the village, quickly hidden by thick stands of trees. Turning back to face the road, his heart bursting with joy, Gaspi strode into his future.
     

Chapter 4
     
    Jonn set them a good knee-jarring pace as they wound their way down the steep mountain trail. They had to attach snow grips to their shoes initially, but spring had been knocking at winter’s door for weeks already, and as they made their way down the mountain the snow thinned and eventually stopped. Gaspi was amazed that, for his village, life was still snowbound and would be for weeks to come, and yet just a few hours down the mountain there wasn’t a trace of white. If such a tiny change could bring about this remarkable transformation, how different might life be in Helioport?
    At points the slope was so pronounced the trail wound back and forth in a long series of switchbacks, and very little forward progress was made, but as the day wore on they found themselves on the lower skirts of the mountain, the forest floor now carpeted in soft grasses. Jonn had them setting up camp as evening caught them, the sun-warmed air becoming chill; evidence of winter’s lingering grip. But they were well provisioned for their trip, each of them carrying a backpack with a warm, fur-lined sack to sleep in at night. They were made from the skin and fur of white foxes, and though the fur was not thick it was incredibly warm, and rolled up so tightly they were easy to carry during the day.
    Jonn sent them out foraging for dry wood, which they piled up next to him as he made a small pyramid of twigs and sticks. He struck a rock hard against a flint he kept in his pack, hitting it several times before a spark fell among dry moss stuffed between the