The Nextworld Invasion and the Death of Magic - 20. Chapter 20 - Magic

Nuji and Alydrael were the only two aboard the Mermonster. The excitement of locating the rebels had left Alydrael worn out, and she was resting in her cabin. Nuji was on the deck. She had her primary spell book in front of her.

“I can’t let that Human find us again. Since I’m a beacon for magic, I need to shield myself from her sight. Now, how do I actually do that? How do I make myself invisible to magical vision?”

Nuji began flipping through her books. She had read and reread every page in each of them more times than she could guess, but nothing immediately came to mind of how to make herself invisible.

The Mermonster creaked beneath her feet, and Nuji’s eyes moved to the deck of the ship.

“What are you asking?” she replied to it. “I don’t know what you mean.”

The ship repeated itself.

“Is it you? Is what you?”

A rope snapped and a pulley squeaked, and Nuji paused.

“Oh, you think the Human’s magic might’ve homed in on you instead of me? I suppose that’s not an unreasonable idea, considering that you’re a magical boat. Do you have any idea how we could make ourselves invisible? I mean, not actually invisible, just inaccessible to the Humans’ magic.”

The Mermonster groaned.

“Yeah, neither do I.” Nuji kept flipping through her spell book as the ship continued to communicate with her.

It shook its riggings.

“I know you’re big.”

A pulley screeched.

“I know invisibility doesn’t exist in nature. Oh, wait a second. Invisibility might not be possible, but maybe transparency is an option.”

The Mermonster let out a happy squeak.

Out of the corner of Nuji’s eye, she caught movement, and she realized the rainbowy animal was seated off to one side. It was watching her.

“How long have you been there, Illiop?”

It let out a contented little trill.

“You’re not snuggling Alydrael?”

The ship creaked and a rope snapped.

“What do you mean she’s here?”

Nuji turned around just as Alydrael emerged from the stairs that led below.

“Is something happening?” she asked weakly. “The Mermonster was making a lot of noise, like it was talking to you, and I got worried that something important was going on.”

“Oh no,” Nuji replied, “were we keeping you awake? I’m sorry; you need your rest.”

Alydrael tried to give Nuji a strong smile. “I know I need to rest, but your magic and the potions you’ve given me over this past almost-week have made more difference than I could have imagined. Your skills are wondrous.” The young Urcai woman’s eyes were sparkling.

Nuji shook her head. “Your acceptance of what’s happened to you is… pretty hard to believe. If I’d lost my leg…”

Alydrael looked down at the bandage on her thigh. “I’ve gone through loss before, and there’s nothing I can do about my leg. The only option was to move on with my life, and your potions and healing spells have eased the process and allowed me to focus on living.”

Nuji smiled with her wide mouth. “You’re one of the strongest people I know, Alydrael. Why don’t you head back down to your cabin? We’re not talking about anything important.”

The Mermonster’s main mast moaned.

“What did it say?” Alydrael asked, and Nuji chuckled.

“It disagreed with me and thinks we’re discussing very important things.”

Alydrael let out a little laugh. “I like that you can understand the ship, Nuji.”

“Yeah, so do I.”

“If the Mermonster thinks whatever you’re talking about is important,” Alydrael insisted, “maybe you should tell me.”

“Alright, alright, you two,” Nuji conceded with another smile, “I’m trying to figure out a combination of spells that would make us invisible if that Human opens a window from Nextworld again. Nothing in nature can become invisible, but the ship and I were just discussing the idea of transparency when…”

“What about camouflage?” Alydrael interrupted. “Can you just make it so we’re hidden?”

Nuji perked up, and the Mermonster shook several of its ropes with enthusiasm. “What do you have in mind?” the limby Rothian woman asked.

Alydrael looked around. “Well, since we’re on the sea, could you make us appear like water so we’re harder to spot? Oh wait, fog! What about fog?”

“Fog?” Nuji replied. “As in, an actual cloud?”

“Maybe,” Alydrael said with uncertainty.

The Mermonster clicked a winch, and both women looked in its direction.

“What did it say?”

Nuji focused on the much taller, green-skinned young woman. “It likes your idea, Alydrael. Before you came back upstairs, the ship and I were talking about what in particular the Human was able to pinpoint. My access to magic has always been very strong, and the Mermonster is a magic ship, so a magical fog would probably at least make it harder for the Human to find us again. And unlike natural fog, a magical fog could be invisible to us on Earth, but it should be like a massive cloud if viewed by magic. Camouflage it is! Great idea, Alydrael.”

The ship let out a series of happy sounds as Nuji flipped through her book to a specific page.

“Here it is. I’m going to combine a camouflage charm that I use to keep my home hidden in the forest, with…” She paused and opened a second book. “I think I’ll need two spells in this one. Here we go, a charm for expanding the impact area of other charms, and…” She stuck a bookmark into the page and kept flipping. “Where is it? Ah-ha! And finally, a spell for shadow, which will be your fog.” Nuji nodded to Alydrael, who smiled. “Oh, and you know what else might be helpful? Let’s add one more, a shielding charm.” She grabbed a third book.

Alydrael suddenly became serious. “Do you know what will happen by mixing all these spells?”

“Rothian earthmagic is made to be combined,” Nuji explained. “Most modern spells are already combinations of earlier, simpler charms. I’m not exactly sure what the end result will be, but it’ll provide us at least a little protection.” She paused again as she flipped through the book. “Got it. Next, ingredients.”

“Hey wait, how were you able to bring everything you needed with you on this trip?” Alydrael asked. “How have you been able to make so many potions while we’ve been away from any apothecary shops where you could resupply?”

Nuji gave her a proud smile. “I make all my ingredients myself, and I’ve figured out ways to concentrate most of them, which means I didn’t need to bring much of anything and yet still have plenty of everything.” Nuji began setting out little jars, vials, and sacks.

“The spells you cast out in the wilderness,” Alydrael responded, “to grow our sleeping enclosures and for treating Othri’s stab wound always took such little time. You grew those plant structures in a matter of minutes. How long do you think this casting will take? And how long do you think the effects will remain?”

“Good questions,” Nuji replied. She removed several of the contents from their containers, and she began to mix them.

Then Nuji spoke in the Rothian casting language, and Alydrael sat in rapt silence. Even the Mermonster fell into quiet wonder. There were only the sounds of the sea and Nuji’s mystical words. Before she was done, the ship let out an energetic snap of its main mast line, and Nuji snorted a laugh as she continued the spell. Alydrael desperately wanted to ask what the Mermonster had just said, but she would never interrupt Nuji during a casting.

A moment later, Nuji was finished. She informed Alydrael before she could ask, “The ship said I can feel it, and it’s really excited.” Nuji looked around with a satisfied grin, and the deck creaked beneath their feet. “It said it can feel the magic stretching out around us.”

“Oh good,” Alydrael replied. “It worked!”

“Yes, I think that did the trick.”