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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3067583" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 169, “A Magic Lesson", Sunday, March 26th, 1882, 7:30 AM Kate and Ginnie are awakened by the sound of a knock on the door. They hear Manuel Gonzalez’s voice say "Rise and shine my little birds, we have work to do today. I'll have breakfast waiting for you in my workroom."  Ginnie rubs the sleep out of her eyes. The book she had been working on when she fell asleep was still laying on the bed her notebook fallen on the floor had crumpled a few pages with her notes she gathered her books straightened the pages and threw on the first semi clean dress she could lay her hands on all before Kate was really awakened    "Ma'am Kate we need to get up and go now", she said as she threw some water on her face and made sure that her hands at least were clean of dirt if not of ink.  Ginnie scribbles a quick note and places it where Kate can't miss it "Time for lessons in the teacher's room see you there" and slips out the door.   Ginnie arrives and Gonzales gives her a warm smile. "Hello, you may have noticed my greeting this morning. I now consider you to be one of my little birds, which you know means that you are either a female member of my immediate family or one of my apprentices, actually, come to think of it, they are the same thing, one is just through blood. I haven't fully decided what species of bird yet, but I'll have that figured out by the end of the day.   Of my other birds here in Promise City who you know, Dorita is my robin, Sonoma is my nightingale, Katherine is my sandpiper and Ruby is my golden eagle. You will be a type of bird that blends into its surroundings and is very intelligent. Probably not a songbird though, as your singing voice is, well, let's say that nobody will mistake you for a saloon singer."Ginnie replies, “Thank you for the kind words but I can't carry a tune in a bucket I can't even hum well although I do know all the words.  What are we going to do today?  I've gotten much of the translations that we needed done and have made copies in English so that some of the others can study them too.” She pulls out a piece of paper and says, “Here is a list of the components I found on the ranch and the way I prepared them for storage. I don't think I can keep them in the kitchen at the ranch as Ma'am Kate can't tell one from another and I'm afraid she might toss something in a cup thinking it would make tea. I've put in a shelve in my room for now labeled with things like "really pretty flowers I found near the hill" and a separate code on the label that tells me what they actually are and what I can use them for.He replies, "We will continue with the Dispel Magic scrolls. I want to spend the next few hours writing out one like you did yesterday. I will then enchant both of those with your assistance. If Katherine joins us I will then teach the both of you something else that might be of help against Mr. Ringo."Ginnie settles in the corner where she has placed a small table and chair. She shapes a fresh left turned quill and takes the specially made ink in the well that she has been told has been specifically created to manufacture this specific scroll. She places the fresh sheet of velum with a distinct left handed tilt and begins quietly and carefully working on the task of making the perfectly shaped letters to create the scroll.Kate pulled herself out of bed a moment after Ginnie ran out of the room. Where the girl got her energy, Kate had no idea. She got herself dressed and brushed her hair out, letting it hang loose behind her. The dark circles were appearing again under her eyes. She must stop this worrying. There was so much to be happy about. She took a deep breath and went to her teacher's rooms. "Good morning, Ginnie dear," she said when she came in, stopping to kiss the girls forehead and smile at Mr. Gonzales. "What is the lesson for today?"   He replies, "I am enchanting two of the Dispel Magic scrolls that I had promised Mr. Cook. Tomorrow I will have a third and can then give you, Ruby and Ginnie a demonstration on the spell and provide a scroll for each of you to carry. There is also one other spell that I wish to teach both you and Ginnie today that could come in handy should Mr. Ringo decide to pay us a visit."Kate nodded. "Thank you, we can use every advantage we can get and being able to knock down Ringo's magic is a definite advantage. I must go out to the ranch today as well, to try and speak to the Apache and find out if they've seen any Gang activity. It looks like I'll be having a busy day. What does the new spell do?"He replies, "It is only a matter of time until Mr. Ringo returns. When he was here last he told you that he had kidnapped Ginnie and would only return her if you gave him the books that he seeks. He knows that the threat worked, since you would have complied, the only thing that prevented it was Nanuet deciding to fire upon Mr. Ringo and nearly getting himself killed in the process. Since Ringo now knows that kidnapping Ginnie could get him those books he may try that again, only this time it wouldn't be a bluff. I've tried to keep her here as much as possible, but this room should not become her prison. But he has no idea that she is knowledgeable in magic, and that should be a huge advantage to us if he does attempt a kidnapping. Thus far Ginnie you have learned a few cantrips but it is now time for you to learn a full spell. The spell that I have in mind is known by many different names depending upon where you study. Some call it Illusionary Object, others know it as Silent Image and yet others call it Phantasmal Force. It is your basic illusion spell. Of the eight schools of magic Illusionary magic is the easiest and quickest to learn which is why I wish to start my newest little bird with this. Johnny Ringo has power and could most likely see through an illusion thrown up before him if given a chance to think about it. So the key is to make the illusion something that will have him react with instinct rather than thought. I have just the image in mind that should accomplish this. As a demonstration of the spell he waves his hand, tossing a bit of wool and says, 'Holy Crud' as the incantation. An image appears before them of Wyatt Earp that appears so realistic that neither Ginnie or Kate can see anything to make you think otherwise. Gonzales says, "We will spend the morning practicing that. The material component for this spell is a bit of fleece, something you will have no problem acquiring. I have chosen to use an incantation in English rather than another language as we do not want to draw attention to the fact that a spell is being cast. It sounds like a normal exclamation nobody should think otherwise. We could come up with something other than 'Holy Crud', but I have never heard either of you use that phrase and yet it sounds natural enough for somebody from Promise City to use, especially when faced with a mortal enemy."Ginnie states, :I need to see what I wish to create in my mind before I cast the spell is that right? So this incantation could as easily create an illusionary rattlesnake as it could Wyatt Earp?  And the more detailed I can visualize the image the more realistic it becomes to those who see it?”He states, "Ah, but the spell has no verbal component. A rattlesnake should have a rattle. But the spell can also be cast several hundred feet away. If Ringo sees Earp at a distance, too far in fact for sound to be heard, he will not notice that anything is amiss. Even if the distraction is only for a few seconds it may cause him to fire his gun in the wrong direction instead of at one of you. And those seconds may be all the time Mr. Martin, Mr. Cook or Miss. West need to deal with him permanently."Kate says, "There is a cantrip that will create sounds, so if you were quick enough, could you not add sound a moment later? How long does the illusion last?"  He replies, "It lasts as long as the caster continues to concentrate upon it, but that will require full concentration or it will disappear. Inanimate objects are the easiest since they won't be expected to change. An illusion of a person will be expected to move so you need to continually have it make movements and react to actions around it. The trickiest part about casting an illusion of a person is if you cast it outside in the sun, as the illusion will not cast a shadow but you can make a shadow part of the illusion itself. But you then have to make sure that the angle of the shadow is consistent and that if the figure moves the shadow does accordingly. Also, if a cloud moves in and blocks the sun you need to make the shadow vanish and reappear the instant the sun returns."  Kate replies, "Let's hope it's overcast the day we need this. Holding concentration would be difficult in a firefight, especially to that level of detail. Kate was quiet thinking about the other things Mr. Gonzales had said. She moved over to Ginnie and put an arm around her shoulder to hug her lightly. "What else could I have done?" she asked finally in a calm voice. "The others, they don't say anything but I know they think I was wrong. That I've made everything worse. But what else could I have done? The first time I was alone with him downstairs, no one else knew who he was, and I didn't know him well enough to know if he would kill me right there. The second time I didn't really believe him, but I couldn't stake Ginnie's life on that belief."Gonzales "Katherine, you should not feel guilty. You were being who you are. Yes, Jake and Ruby would have done things differently but they are not you."   She replies, "But if who I am is naive and foolish, does that not also make me dangerous? I don't want anyone to suffer because of my actions. There has been enough of that."He states, "Because of your actions? Katherine, you did not start this. There are a vast number of initiators of this who deserve for more blame than you. Take your pick, Johnny Ringo, Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, Curly Bill Brocius, Flint Greymountain, or even myself are probably far more to blame. While you are at it you can pile some blame on the earth spirits, the nature gods, the Native American Elvan Gods and the Gods of the Greek/Roman pantheon. You can probably then add the names of another dozen or two townspeople from here and at least another dozen from Tombstone!"Kate reached out and squeezed his hand. "I wasn't speaking quite so generally," she said with a little smile. "I know this all began long before I came here, and I'm not looking to lay blame. I just know that I'm inexperienced with these kinds of things and probably more prone to doing something wrong at just the wrong time. So when I ask what else could I have done, I really want to know. No other option even occurred to me."He says, "Katherine, you have done nothing except for being yourself and that is all that I or anybody else in town should ask of you. Besides, the past is behind us, that ship has sailed. Excessive reflection on might-have-beens only serves to erode self-confidence and plays into the hands of your opponents. You need to focus forward and to that end I can offer some advantages. Today you and Ginnie will learn this new spell. By tomorrow I will have the scrolls for the both of you and Ruby. You and Ruby are already versed in the use of the Wand of Magic Missiles. Yesterday she and I practiced using the Fireball Rod that you had obtained from the Cowboy Gang and she is quite good at using it, far better than the men I had trained in the use of it before. You also have that Hand Cannon that you took from Curly Bill, although using it could backfire. Seeing their former leader's weapon might have the side effect of causing the cowboys to seek revenge against you and will confirm to them that you were his killers. But it could also erode their morale knowing that they are facing people who defeated the mightiest of the leaders, plus they will remember the damage that the weapon can inflict."While this discussion is going on Ginnie grabs a clean sheet of paper from her note book separate from the scroll that she has been working on and begins scribbling down notes on the spell in a code that Kate doesn't understand.  She says, "It's also difficult to use and carry. The last time we did I used all my spells making the men large enough to handle it. Let us work on this spell then, enough with the dark thoughts. Although I may have a favor to ask of you later." She looked over Ginnie's shoulder at the indecipherable notes the girl was making. "Obviously Ginnie already is working on it, although it looks like her notes are for her alone."They began going through the process of learning the spell. Ginnie creates a Wyatt that has his hat shading over his face blocking much of the image the clothing is easy to recognize as are the belt, holster, and gun that is placed in his hand.  "I've never been good at seeing whole faces I usually keep watching the eyes and that makes it hard to shape the rest of the face correctly so I figured if the hat was in the way it would help until I'm sure I can make he seem real.”Kate found the spell itself fairly simple, but her first couple tries made a very odd looking Wyatt. In her mind, the name Earp conjured up images of Morgan, and the first two illusions looked like a mix between Wyatt and his brother. Kate finally managed to focus her mind on Wyatt only by remembering her conversation with him in the Great Western boarding house. "I'm sorry it took so long," she said when she finally got it right. "Thinking of the Earps doesn't really make my mind calm."Gonzales creates another image of Wyatt for them to study. He says, "We could work on a different illusion if you can think of one that might also fluster Ringo, this was the best idea that I could come up with."  She says, "No, I think you're right about Wyatt. At least, if there's something that would scare Ringo more I don't know it. Nanuet told us last night that Ringo's men got shot up pretty badly by Wyatt a day or two ago."  Ginnie interjects, “I really think that he uses some powerful magic I heard that he's never been hit by a bullet in his entire life.”   Kate says, "Well, that's what the scrolls are for. I think Mr. Ringo will be very surprised when he is suddenly no longer invulnerable. Where did you hear that, Ginnie?   There must be something else, something from his past he's afraid of. A man doesn't become like him without reason. But we don't know what that is, and I don't think we can discover it."   Kate focused on the illusion created for them, then neatly recreated it. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."   As Ginnie took another turn at the spell, Kate spoke quietly to their teacher. "The favor I was going to ask for. Last night I heard that Conrad is ill. I wanted to check on him myself, but I'm not sure I would be welcome. Do you think someone could stop over and make sure he's alright?"Gonzales replies, "Dorita and Pedro have seen Mother Jimenez bringing meals over to his house for him. She knows more about natural medicines than anybody, so if he really is ill she should be able to cure him."   "If he's ill? I suppose learning gods and spirits you didn't believe in truly exist might unsettle one. I just wish I knew if he was alright; I feel responsible." She sighed. "Where does Mother Jimenez live?"He replies, "She lives over on East Street in the series of inter-connected adobe and wood buildings. Hers is along the alleyway between the buildings near the hill, next to Rufus Davis's and across from Alfredo Garcia's."    Kate nodded and let the subject drop. She watched Ginnie work at the spell, and took a couple more turns herself to be sure she had it down.  "Thank you," Kate said and hugged her teacher. "I should get moving with my other errands for the day. I have to find someone to accompany me out to the ranch, and I'd like to be back before it's late."     On Sunday morning Chester awaked from a restless sleep. He has a feeling that he hadn't felt since Chicago. "Something's going to happen. And not anything good. I wish I could remember what it was, though." He goes through his morning routine, trying to call up the memory from his mind. He walks over to the Promise City Hotel to walk Clarisse to the services. "Good morning, Clarisse. How are you?" "And a good morning to you, as well, Chet." She pauses, with a concerned look. "Is there something the matter? You look tired."  He says, "It's nothing. Just didn't get a good night's sleep. Are you ready to go to church?"  She replies, "Yes. I'm so excited about the ball. Mrs. Fly and Mrs. Eaton had some good suggestions for making it a success." They start walking up Allen Street.  He asks, "Oh? Like what?" She says, "You know. Things to make the celebration more in keeping with the gods' wishes. Like limiting people to two drinks." Chester stops. "Oh no. People aren't going to like that. They like to drink at parties." "But, they'll get drunk. And that causes wildness and improper behavior."   "That's kind of the point to a party, Clarisse. I think you should get rid of the limit." She says, "But getting drunk is an insult to the gods. It's a sign of savagery." He replies, "I admit drunkenness taken to excess isn't good for your soul, but it can't hurt once in a while. And not everyone is going to do it. Plus you'll have me there. Surely I can handle a bunch of drunks." She says, "I'll think about it, Chet. Maybe I can get Mrs. Fly and Mrs. Eaton to change their minds."  "If I remember correctly, Minerva asked you to be in charge of the ball, not them. It's good to respect your elders, but they've got to give you some too. We better hurry. We don't want to be late for church." Chester and Clarisse find good seats for the services. Nanuet comes and sits next to them. Upon seeing the Indian, Chester realizes what he was trying to recall. But he couldn't interrupt just to warn Nanuet about leaving town. The lawman fidgets in his seat throughout the service. He doesn't notice the priestess getting flushed at the beginning of the service.</blockquote>

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