Chapter 13

The next ten days flew past a lot quicker than the team could believe.

Trae and Kat found the lads eager pupils and did on occasion have to warn the boys to take it a bit easy as they learnt to use magic to make many tasks a lot easier. Trae also reminded them they shouldn’t fall back on magic as their first choice. Many small tasks were actually easier to do the normal way.

During the daylight hours, they spent their time working on the outside tasks, and they used the evenings to do those they could do in the sheds and the house. The lads soon found that they only needed about five to six hours sleep to be fully rested in a day.

Trae mentioned that they would get more broken hours of sleep on the trip and he taught them and Kat how to sleep in three-hour shifts. He taught them how to listen to the bush and tricks to quieten their movements. He showed them spells they could use to blend into the bush while they hunted or guarded, be it night or day.

He added spells to increase the accuracy of their bow shots and throwing abilities. Other spells helped to speed up stripping down a beast and even how to cure a hide and dig a hole to bury the remains in. He and Kat were both amazed by the dedication the lads put into learning.

They even found time one night to go fossicking. Kat and the boys learnt how it was that Trae could afford all of the machinery and modifications he had done to his farm. Kat had mostly worked with gems and metals that had already been harvested and roughly cut or smelted, so she was as much a student as the lads were.

Trae particularly wanted to load up on copper for this trip. He knew he would get very good prices for it in Hilton City. He taught them some simple excavation techniques and even a trick he had learnt to get the ore he wished to move, out of the rocks and into his moulds.

They found time on another night to investigate some of the caverns that he collected different gems from. They carefully extracted a sizable amount. Earth magic wasn’t the lads’ strong suit. Even so, they did learn enough that they could recognise the rocks and gems in their native forms and could extract the gems or metals near the surface.

Trae was surprised by how much four magicians could accomplish when working together. He was also very pleased with the lads’ progress in such a short period of time. They still had a lot to learn, he knew that time and practice would hone their new skills. He’d had a lot of fun teaching them so far.

Trae had also found an interesting spell in the spell book he had acquired called Dimensional Storage. He still liked to keep his crystals and gems in his fanny pack. He had learnt how to make it invisible while he wore it, as he had for the bands of crystals for Paul and Tom.

One night he emptied out the pack and performed the spell on it. It looked the same when he opened it until he started dropping the items back in it. He noticed that the pack didn’t seem to get any heavier and it seemed to sit flatter as if it was still empty. However, when he looked in it, all of the items were neatly arranged in it.

He added some other items to see just what he could put in the pack. It didn’t change outer dimensions or in weight. He asked the book to show him the spell again and was amazed when it opened at a new page. He was surprised to learn that he could play with the spell and select just how he could alter the dimensions of the space the wall, bag or box accessed, to limit what could be put in it.

When he checked Kat’s and the lads’ books, for some reason, this spell hadn’t transferred to their books. They couldn’t perform the spell either. It just wouldn’t work for them. He knew the lads were more limited but he had thought Kat would be able to do it.

When he queried his spellbook as to why, they were astounded when it turned to a page and they found that certain spells would only appear if the wielder was capable, at that time, of using them. It didn’t mean they could never learn them, just that they were not skilled enough at this point in time.

Kat and the lads were happy with this explanation and they all agreed that it gave them something new to strive for. After all, skill had as much to do with practice, no matter what the task. They had all noticed that many of the spells they did were much easier even after only a week of practice.

Since he had this new skill, Trae made some modifications to the wagon. He changed the internal floor size of both compartments from 2m squared to 8m squared but he left the height the same. In the front compartment, he separated an area so it looked like the inside of the wagon should when you entered it.

He added a sleeping platform for him and Kat, beds for the cuttails underneath it, and storage for their clothes and personal items. He made a concealed doorway and hid the new extra area behind it. In it, he added some basic amenities like a small but functional kitchen, a comfortable sitting area, a table and chairs for four, and a shower and commode.

He had added a bigger than it looked fresh water tank under the wagon and even a wastewater tank for the sink and bathroom that he could empty with magic. He added batteries boosted by the crystals and it provided light and energy for his kitchen and lighting for the other compartments in the wagon.

In the back half of the wagon, he removed the back doors and put the access on the same side as the first compartment. He then added a shelving system in the extended area and hid it behind a concealed doorway. To anyone looking in, it too would look, as the back of the wagon should. The most needed items and some of their crates of dry goods would appear in that area.

Only the four of them could access the hidden areas. All of his expensive sale items, the metals and gems would be stored in the new area. They were astonished by how much they managed to pack away in the wagon.

They had added a tent for the boys and even some comfortable mattresses they could put in their tent. Trae had added a special tarp that rolled up on the side above the doors. They could drop it down and with some poles extend it so the doors, the lads’ tent and their fire would be protected from the weather.

The boys liked this idea very much. They had even tossed in some extra stools so they all could sit comfortably around the fire at night when they camped. Trae and Kat suspected their living area would mostly get used once they left for Hilton City.

Trae also modified the sitting area for when they drove the wagon. He moved the seat forward half a metre so he could build in the area behind it and under the seat for Sampson and Kitty. They were getting bigger and he didn’t want them wandering around loose under their feet on the trip. They were protected from the weather and he made it comfortable for them.

The cubs would be allowed out on their leads when they stopped for breaks. They would take them scouting with them when they camped to give them exercise. Kitty and Sampson seemed to understand that they would be going on a journey and made sure they thoroughly examined every inch of the wagon.

To the group’s amazement, the cuttails could also walk through the hidden doorways.

A couple of nights before they left to meet Mark and David, the group were having lunch and discussing last minute jobs.

Tom suddenly changed the topic. “Trae I know this might seem weird but do you get pictures from the cuttails in your head?”

Trae blinked and looked thoughtful. He looked at the cuttails, “Hum, yes, I think I’ve been getting them since Kitty and I first met, Sampson does it too. I’ve always been able to communicate with them in this way.”

Trae chuckled when all three of his companions seemed to sigh in relief that they weren’t going mad and they then joined Trae in laughter. They then looked at him shocked when he said off-handedly, “I get pictures and thoughts from you three, too.”

He smiled reassuringly, “I don’t read your thoughts, just sometimes when you’re frustrated or need help, I seem to know that you need me. When you’re really happy, I get those feelings too. Sometimes when you’re trying to describe something to me, I get the pictures.”

“How far from us do you need to be?” Kat asked.

Trae shrugged, “I don’t know for sure. I remember feeling Tom’s frustration and getting an image when they were herding the lankys in the other day. The speckled stallion tried to break loose if I remember correctly.”

“Trae, we were 5km away when that happened,” Tom told him seriously. “Did you tell me to cut left?” Tom then asked him.

Trae shrugged, “I remember thinking that at the time but I didn’t think I had consciously told you to do it. I have a feeling I can read you three and the cats because I’m close to you all. As I said I don’t read your personal thoughts, that wouldn’t be very polite of me.”

Trae suddenly grinned at Kat, “Yes, I know and I love you too.”

“Send your answer to me with your thoughts,” Kat said to him.

Kat started giggling, then Tom gasped and Paul chuckled. “This is fun. Hey! We can use this. When we are scouting we can call on each other or warn each other without alerting what we are hunting,” Paul said with excitement.

“That has possibilities, Paul. However, we should have a signal or word and not just send at each other without warning,” Trae added.

The other three nodded that this was a good idea. They had a bit of a play with this skill and decided simply projecting the person’s name they wished to talk to mentally seemed to let them focus on the person best and the person receiving the call was less disconcerted.

Paul surprised all of them when he decided to have some fun. He created a little room in his head and invited them all into his parlour. The four of them found themselves mentally sitting in his parlour, and they seemed to be able to talk as if they were talking at the table only moments before.