The Greyfield Chronicles

Chapter 15 : The End of the Beginning

Venza screamed, her arms burning from exertion. They were outside the Manor, in the back garden, with one notable thing different: A brass, equal-arm weighing scale stood on one of the stone benches, its arms undulating up and down. One arm held three apples, while the opposite seemingly held nothing.

It was on this empty arm that Venza concentrated her Reach spell, trying to push the arm down with enough force to match the weight of the three apples. She let out a sigh of exasperation as the apple-bearing arm fell back down.

"I can hold two. Why can't I do one more!?!?" she yelled.

Aiela tossed her a towel, hitting her in the face. "You're simply not strong enough."

Venza nearly screeched, but managed to to contain it to a frustrated groan. "It's three apples! I could probably carry a whole sack!"

Well, maybe not a full sack. But definitely more than three apples. Despite her annoyance, she accepted the towel and wiped herself off.

"I meant the strength of your spell," Aiela said. "It seems you can only use a third of your strength, maybe less. And you can't really hold the spell steady."

Venza grunted. Even two apples had been hard to keep stable, but she could tell she was physically strong enough for that. The issue had been stopping the scale arms from tossing around like a ship in a storm long enough for them to observe.

"Is this even worth using?" Venza asked. "I feel I could just hit someone with a long stick to better effect."

"Actually, since you've discovered this rather barbaric application of Reach," Aiela began. "There is something I want to try. You remember that strength-enhancing spell I used?"

"To chop the apple?" Venza asked, then nodded. "I remember. You said you'd try it on me."

"Good a time as any," Aiela said. She pointed at a sack of grain nearby. "Can you lift that?"

"Yes, with effort," Venza admitted.

Aiela nodded. "Pick it up. I just want you to be able to compare the difference with and without the spell."

Venza did as asked, carefully squatting down and placing her hands on either side of the burlap sack. With a mighty effort, she slowly lifted the sack off the floor, rising from her squat in the process.

"Good," Aiela said. "Hold it steady while I cast the spell."

Venza nodded, arms starting to feel the strain. The mage girl placed a hand on her shoulder and a green light flowed from her to Venza. Suddenly, her arms didn't feel so heavy, and neither did the sack of grain.

"Now, remember," Aiela said, looking short of breath. "This is a botched version of this spell. The normal one strengthens you more and lasts longer."

Venza nodded. If this was weak, she couldn't wait to see how much the real thing strengthened her. "Can I put this down and try on the scales again?"

"Go. You only have three minutes. Best I can do right now."

She quickly (but carefully) put the sack back down, and refocused her mind on the empty arm of the scale. With renewed confidence, she prepared to move the arm with her power.

The arm moved down despite the absence of physical touch, pulling up the opposite arm that held three apples. Just as the two arms were about to even out, the apple-bearing arm suddenly fell back down.

Groaning, she tried again. And again. And again. Until she felt the magical strength leaving her arms after three minutes had passed.

"Interesting," Aiela said, looking thoughtful.