Thank-you for correcting me on which of the boys created 'Engine Duty'; you'd think I'd have learned to read by this age, wouldn't you? Although, I blame you for not calling them Max-1 and Max-2, as then this couldn't have happened. And I'm glad you like ARG Healthcare... well, like might not be quite the right word, but still.
Signs of Life "You can't rush a mage," said Ptus. Sir Frederic, Lord of Three Manors River and Defender of the Several Faiths, was clenching and unclenching his fists and his jaw had a set to it that suggested he'd be grinding his teeth if his dentist hadn't explicitly told him not to. "Or a sorceror for that matter. This is not just a case of muttering 'blast' and waving a hand. There are higher matters to consider--" "You were discussing the colour!" "--well, that's one of them. It's plurisubharmonic resonances you see--" "I don't!" "--that's because you're thick." Sir Frederic turned purple, and little dots of white froth appeared on his lips. His eyes, normally deep set with purplish bags beneath them, bulged out. "That's exactly the right shade of purple," said Hakkaara. "However, I think I'm going to take Ptus's suggestion and go with Crather's Explosion of Joy." "You are?" Ptus smiled and stood up from his semi-reclined pose on the balustrade. He stretched his arms in front of him, interlocking lock pale fingers together. "Well, of course you are." "And Ptus will cast a tightly-focused Elemental Enhancer a couple of seconds later." "I will?" Ptus shook his hands and tilted his head to the side slightly, like a dog considering what its owner was up to. "I don't think so." "I think you should." "Yes, but we don't know what else the Schattenalfen have going on down there. The double-E isn't picky about what it enhances. I would prefer something more interwoven. Perhaps one of Esmerelda's Knitting Patterns?" "That's why I said tightly focused. So that the majority of the spell joins up with the Explosion of Joy; and to be honest, randomly enhancing other spells they have down there is likely to be fu-- I mean, interesting." "I don't like it," said Ptus. "The random element--" "-- is something you can't get away from with sorcery." "Will everyone stop interrupting my every sentence!" Ptus turned back to the balustrade and looked down at the Schattenalf camp. "I know! I'll cast Leigh's Verdant Rush." "Hmm." Hakkaara thought about this, and then joined Ptus at the balcony. "Yes, that would be nice. How do you know that spell, exactly? It's... not part of the standard syllabus." "I dabble in druidics," said Ptus, tapping the side of his nose. For a moment there was silence, and then both laughed. Sir Fred finally stopped shaking with rage and opened his mouth, but then closed it again as Hakkaara raised her hands and a stream of syllables as musical as the flow of glacier-melt in the icy tundra of Dan'ske filled the air around him. For a moment there was a scent of crushed geranium leaves and the feeling of dew-touched grass underfoot, and then a pale cloud formed and exploded above the camp. Flowers fluttered downwards like snow. Ptus, controlling his giggles, made a rude hand gesture and barked two words that sounded obscene even though Sir Fred didn't know the language, and the flowers multiplied over and over again until they fell like an avalanche rather than a dusting. And wherever a flower landed it exploded into a metre-diameter ball of flame. "Right," said Hakkaara, sounding indecently cheerful for someone who had just magically carpet bombed a camp containing thousands of Schattenalfen. "Let's go down there and look for signs of life."
Greg - trust me, I know. Even I get them mixed up sometimes. But I think that would happen regardless of their names, I suspect it happens more frequently due to their similarity.
Not like... let's go with 'appreciate' :P
Though I also appreciate this tale, in a rather different manner. The continued discussion of the spells being an obvious highlight :D
2 comments:
Thank-you for correcting me on which of the boys created 'Engine Duty'; you'd think I'd have learned to read by this age, wouldn't you? Although, I blame you for not calling them Max-1 and Max-2, as then this couldn't have happened. And I'm glad you like ARG Healthcare... well, like might not be quite the right word, but still.
Signs of Life
"You can't rush a mage," said Ptus. Sir Frederic, Lord of Three Manors River and Defender of the Several Faiths, was clenching and unclenching his fists and his jaw had a set to it that suggested he'd be grinding his teeth if his dentist hadn't explicitly told him not to. "Or a sorceror for that matter. This is not just a case of muttering 'blast' and waving a hand. There are higher matters to consider--"
"You were discussing the colour!"
"--well, that's one of them. It's plurisubharmonic resonances you see--"
"I don't!"
"--that's because you're thick."
Sir Frederic turned purple, and little dots of white froth appeared on his lips. His eyes, normally deep set with purplish bags beneath them, bulged out.
"That's exactly the right shade of purple," said Hakkaara. "However, I think I'm going to take Ptus's suggestion and go with Crather's Explosion of Joy."
"You are?" Ptus smiled and stood up from his semi-reclined pose on the balustrade. He stretched his arms in front of him, interlocking lock pale fingers together. "Well, of course you are."
"And Ptus will cast a tightly-focused Elemental Enhancer a couple of seconds later."
"I will?" Ptus shook his hands and tilted his head to the side slightly, like a dog considering what its owner was up to. "I don't think so."
"I think you should."
"Yes, but we don't know what else the Schattenalfen have going on down there. The double-E isn't picky about what it enhances. I would prefer something more interwoven. Perhaps one of Esmerelda's Knitting Patterns?"
"That's why I said tightly focused. So that the majority of the spell joins up with the Explosion of Joy; and to be honest, randomly enhancing other spells they have down there is likely to be fu-- I mean, interesting."
"I don't like it," said Ptus. "The random element--"
"-- is something you can't get away from with sorcery."
"Will everyone stop interrupting my every sentence!" Ptus turned back to the balustrade and looked down at the Schattenalf camp. "I know! I'll cast Leigh's Verdant Rush."
"Hmm." Hakkaara thought about this, and then joined Ptus at the balcony. "Yes, that would be nice. How do you know that spell, exactly? It's... not part of the standard syllabus."
"I dabble in druidics," said Ptus, tapping the side of his nose. For a moment there was silence, and then both laughed.
Sir Fred finally stopped shaking with rage and opened his mouth, but then closed it again as Hakkaara raised her hands and a stream of syllables as musical as the flow of glacier-melt in the icy tundra of Dan'ske filled the air around him. For a moment there was a scent of crushed geranium leaves and the feeling of dew-touched grass underfoot, and then a pale cloud formed and exploded above the camp. Flowers fluttered downwards like snow.
Ptus, controlling his giggles, made a rude hand gesture and barked two words that sounded obscene even though Sir Fred didn't know the language, and the flowers multiplied over and over again until they fell like an avalanche rather than a dusting. And wherever a flower landed it exploded into a metre-diameter ball of flame.
"Right," said Hakkaara, sounding indecently cheerful for someone who had just magically carpet bombed a camp containing thousands of Schattenalfen. "Let's go down there and look for signs of life."
Greg - trust me, I know. Even I get them mixed up sometimes. But I think that would happen regardless of their names, I suspect it happens more frequently due to their similarity.
Not like... let's go with 'appreciate' :P
Though I also appreciate this tale, in a rather different manner. The continued discussion of the spells being an obvious highlight :D
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