Multiverse of Magic & Mistakes (Completed)

1.2.13 Chapter 13

The continued walking, still hand in hand, winding through the orchard, and coming out in another area filled more rows of greenhouses. And then, through the glass of the second greenhouse from the end, Vi spotted someone she knew. Linnea was kneeling, her hands buried deep in the soil, her face screwed up in concentration. Vi and Rho paused to watch their friend as little green shoots began to poke out of the barren soil. Vi gasped, as the green shoots thickened, grew leaves, and took on the recognisable form of young potato plants. It was like watching a plant growth time-lapse when a camera is left to capture a photo an hour but unfolding in front of her eyes in a couple of minutes. Linnea stood up and twisted her hands in a complicated wavy pattern, causing a sprinkling of water droplets to shower down upon her new plants. Satisfied with her work, she looked up at them and waved a dirt-encrusted hand. Vi followed as Rho pushed open the door and entered the greenhouse. She blinked, suddenly assaulted by a rush of heat, humidity, and a wonderful, fresh earthy smell. She looked all around her at the potato plants, in various stages of growth.

"Hey!" greeted Linnea "Welcome to the gardens!"

"Wow, so that's what you Botanists do!" Vi replied.

Linnea wiped her dirty hand across her sweaty brow. "Yes, it's quite something to behold for the first time! You haven't started Botany lessons yet, have you?"

"Reynold says not until I master control. Otherwise, I might unintentionally damage the plants"

"Yes, that makes sense. Botany is a very delicate type of magic. Can't risk anyone accidentally destroying a greenhouse." She looked around the potato plants, like a mother checking on her children. "So, what brings you out here?"

"Just passing through. I'm going to show Vi the Dryfters!"

Linnea squealed "Ohh, awesome, you'll love the Dryfters, Vi! Scary at first, but such fun!"

"You wanna join us?" asked Vi

"I'd love to, but I have to work. These potatoes don't grow themselves!" the three of them laughed, then Linnea ruined the joke somewhat by clarifying "Well, they do grow by themselves, but not fast enough to feed all of Verdyn!"

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Rho finally led Vi, out of the gardens and into a verdant flat open meadow. It stretched out an exceedingly long way, several miles if Vi had to estimate, before merging into woodland that covered much of Verdyn. A wooden hut, with sharply pointed gables and an arched doorway, that Verdynian architectural style that was becoming familiar, sat squarely near the entrance to the meadow. Rho reluctantly let her hand go and unlocked the door, using a sharp twist of his wrist, one of his bracelets activating and glowing. He entered the hut and came out shortly carrying two narrow pieces of wood, of a similar size to skateboards back home, a padded helmet, and a set of kneepads.

By the time she had secured the helmet and the kneepads, Rho was already standing on his board, which was floating about a metre above the grass. Vi stared up at him in amazement as he swooped back and forth, leaning lightly from side to side.

She picked up her board and examined it, noticing that the boards, or Dryfters, she presumed, were not simple curved pieces of wood, but magical imbued objects, each one with a line of Runes engraved around the edge. A large unfamiliar Rune took up the centre of the board. Some of the Runes she did not know, but she recognised from the ceiling beams in the college. There was one for Balance, one for Speed, one she thought was lift, or propulsion.

"For once, we can go through all the Runes later!" exclaimed Rho, hair blowing in the wind as he executed a sharp turn and came to hover in front of Vi. "So, these are the Dryfters, it's more, erm, assisted levitation, than flight, but it does allow you to get off the ground." He jumped off his Dryfter, landing lightly in the grass, the board remaining hovering in place.