Spirit Blade: Book III of the Dragon Mage Trilogy by Carey Scheppner
Authors: Carey Scheppner
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link the dragon to the mage via the orb, rather than to the orb itself.”
Brendan blinked. “I hadn’t thought of that.” He recovered quickly. “I appreciate any assistance I can get.”
Gresham smiled. “Very well. We’ll let Violet help you as well. She has come up with unique ideas in the past. With both of you on the same project, you may make headway more quickly.”
Brendan blushed and Violet smiled.
Gresham turned to Arch Mage Belham. “How goes the ring production?”
Belham smiled. “Very well. We are churning out more magical rings than ever. Soldiers are lining up in droves to obtain one.”
“Is it still effective in confusing the enemy?” asked Gresham.
Belham laughed. “You bet! The generals that have returned from the front say they have seen enemy creatures stealing rings from the dead, thinking they are all magical. When they do come across one with magical enhancement, they tend to fight one another for it. It distracts them from the fight and makes them an easy target for our soldiers. It’s probably the reason for our recent successful engagement.”
“Very good,” nodded Gresham. He turned to Toele. “How is the magical weapon production coming, Toele?”
The old mage straightened as though he were elsewhere with his thoughts. “What? Oh, yes. The magical weapons are coming along, but slowly. It doesn’t help that the caravans of goods from the Dwarven Mountains are frequently being attacked by roving bands of ogres. As most of you are aware, the dwarven convoys must pass through ogre territory to reach us. This requires increased numbers of security escorts to protect them. Although we have offered assistance in this area, the dwarves have declined to accept our help. It is a matter of honour to them to protect their own convoys. Our assistance would shame them into looking like they can’t deal with the problem themselves. Despite this, most of the dwarven crafted weapons are still backordered anyhow. Apparently, King Hammarschist wants more gold. Again. If he keeps increasing his prices, we’ll be broke before the war ends.”
“Can’t we manufacture the weapons ourselves, or obtain them from somewhere else?” asked Arch Mage Penna.
Toele shook his head. “Our weapons are not crafted with the same quality as the dwarven ones. As a result, most of the time our weapons are not capable of retaining magic. It takes a fair amount of magical effort to endow a weapon with magic. If the weapon is too impure, we are just wasting our time and energy. The magic will just not be absorbed. As for other weapons, the ones of elven manufacture would work, but they take longer to order because the elves are so far away. Moreover, they don’t generally manufacture very many from high quality tempered steel. They prefer to manufacture and use bows. We still have a number of bows to endow with magic, and another shipment will be arriving soon. The one disadvantage is that magic on wooden weapons fades over time. The only wooden weapons that retain magic indefinitely are the ones made from ancient trees, usually more than two hundred years old. The elves refuse to sell weapons of that grade since they consider such trees to be sacred.”
“That’s why we have to recharge our staves from time to time,” finished Arch Mage Gresham.
Toele nodded. “Correct.”
“Very well,” said Gresham. He looked around at the assembly. “Is there any other business to discuss?”
“When is the construction of the tower going to be completed?” asked another arch mage.
“There is still a long way to go,” sighed Gresham. “We keep having to stop work to fend off dragon attacks. The interruptions are causing inconveniences with the work crews, but the delays are unavoidable.” Gresham smiled grimly. “But once the tower is complete, the magical shield we set around it will repel any dragon attack. We will finally be able to work in safety.” As he finished talking, the hammering noise
Brendan blinked. “I hadn’t thought of that.” He recovered quickly. “I appreciate any assistance I can get.”
Gresham smiled. “Very well. We’ll let Violet help you as well. She has come up with unique ideas in the past. With both of you on the same project, you may make headway more quickly.”
Brendan blushed and Violet smiled.
Gresham turned to Arch Mage Belham. “How goes the ring production?”
Belham smiled. “Very well. We are churning out more magical rings than ever. Soldiers are lining up in droves to obtain one.”
“Is it still effective in confusing the enemy?” asked Gresham.
Belham laughed. “You bet! The generals that have returned from the front say they have seen enemy creatures stealing rings from the dead, thinking they are all magical. When they do come across one with magical enhancement, they tend to fight one another for it. It distracts them from the fight and makes them an easy target for our soldiers. It’s probably the reason for our recent successful engagement.”
“Very good,” nodded Gresham. He turned to Toele. “How is the magical weapon production coming, Toele?”
The old mage straightened as though he were elsewhere with his thoughts. “What? Oh, yes. The magical weapons are coming along, but slowly. It doesn’t help that the caravans of goods from the Dwarven Mountains are frequently being attacked by roving bands of ogres. As most of you are aware, the dwarven convoys must pass through ogre territory to reach us. This requires increased numbers of security escorts to protect them. Although we have offered assistance in this area, the dwarves have declined to accept our help. It is a matter of honour to them to protect their own convoys. Our assistance would shame them into looking like they can’t deal with the problem themselves. Despite this, most of the dwarven crafted weapons are still backordered anyhow. Apparently, King Hammarschist wants more gold. Again. If he keeps increasing his prices, we’ll be broke before the war ends.”
“Can’t we manufacture the weapons ourselves, or obtain them from somewhere else?” asked Arch Mage Penna.
Toele shook his head. “Our weapons are not crafted with the same quality as the dwarven ones. As a result, most of the time our weapons are not capable of retaining magic. It takes a fair amount of magical effort to endow a weapon with magic. If the weapon is too impure, we are just wasting our time and energy. The magic will just not be absorbed. As for other weapons, the ones of elven manufacture would work, but they take longer to order because the elves are so far away. Moreover, they don’t generally manufacture very many from high quality tempered steel. They prefer to manufacture and use bows. We still have a number of bows to endow with magic, and another shipment will be arriving soon. The one disadvantage is that magic on wooden weapons fades over time. The only wooden weapons that retain magic indefinitely are the ones made from ancient trees, usually more than two hundred years old. The elves refuse to sell weapons of that grade since they consider such trees to be sacred.”
“That’s why we have to recharge our staves from time to time,” finished Arch Mage Gresham.
Toele nodded. “Correct.”
“Very well,” said Gresham. He looked around at the assembly. “Is there any other business to discuss?”
“When is the construction of the tower going to be completed?” asked another arch mage.
“There is still a long way to go,” sighed Gresham. “We keep having to stop work to fend off dragon attacks. The interruptions are causing inconveniences with the work crews, but the delays are unavoidable.” Gresham smiled grimly. “But once the tower is complete, the magical shield we set around it will repel any dragon attack. We will finally be able to work in safety.” As he finished talking, the hammering noise
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