The next morning, Leigh was woken by the sound of Zafrir's voice.
"Wake up, Apprentices!" He called, barging into the room. "It's a new day and we'll be leaving soon! Alexia is expecting you in the courtyard in two hours so try to be on time! I've brought you breakfast and I'll leave it on your table."
With that he walked out again. Allan groaned as he opened his eyes, then let out a muffled scream that made Leigh jump.
"Ugh, I want to sleep," Leigh moaned, covering his face with the pillow.
"Why are you on my side of the bed?" Allan asked. "I thought we agreed to stay on our sides!"
"Don't be such a moaner," Leigh yawned, trying to sink back into his dreams. "This way, the first thing you got to see this morning was my beautiful face."
Leigh still had his eyes shut but he could tell that Allan was rolling his eyes at him. He cracked a small smile.
"Wow the breakfast looks delicious!" Allan exclaimed a second later. Guess I'm not getting any more sleep, Leigh thought. He rubbed his eyes and slowly padded to the table where he sat down heavily in one of the chairs. Zafrir had brought 2 large plates; one overflowing with ripe, exotic fruits and the other carrying neatly stacked slices of dark bread, each covered with a rich, creamy spread. There was also a tray with various jugs of juice on it.
Leigh was used to much more extravagant meals, but alone the sight of the fruits made his mouth water.
"They didn't give us any coffee," Caitlyn, who had just got up to join them, commented, wrinkling her nose. "But it looks wonderfully... simple. Well I didn't expect too much from these people."
"Well if you don't want any we'll eat it on our own," Allan said. Caitlyn humphed and sat down on the third chair, quietened.
After they had finished the food, they took turns in the bathroom. Alexia and Zafrir were already waiting for them in the courtyard when they were finally ready.
"Are we late?" Allan asked. "We weren't sure what the time was because we couldn't find a clock in the room."
"You're late indeed," Zafrir said, glancing up at the sun. "About half an hour late."
"You're fine," Alexia contradicted. "How much luggage did you bring? Each around a backpack? Ok, well we're going to have to take a couple of other things with us, so if you want to leave anything behind..." Alexia stopped as she saw Leigh's raised hand. "You don't need to raise your hand, Leigh. I'm younger than you. What is it?"
"Umm... where are we actually going?" Leigh asked.
"To the peak of the mountain. Didn't you know? That's where we'll be starting your training."
"Oh..." Leigh said weakly at the sight of the mountain.
"So as I was saying, incase you have packed anything that you don't absolutely need, you may want to leave it behind. You will each have to take another two backpacks. All the stuff you leave will be kept for you."
It was already around noon when they started walking. Everyone was dressed warmly apart from Zafrir. He was wearing the same thin, white, cotton shirt that he had worn the day before, tucked into loose, knee length trousers. He was at least wearing a cloak, but it was fluttering around his shoulders, quite useless against the wind. Once they got further up the mountain, everyone else started taking off layers too- the climb was quite demanding.
A few hours into their journey, Alexia decided it was time to take a break. They stopped at a small, level outcrop on the otherwise narrow path and started unpacking some of the supplies to form a meal. Leigh was tasked with finding water.
"I can faintly hear a stream from somewhere over there," Zafrir told him while pointing out the direction. "Could you fill this jug with water?"
Leigh himself couldn't hear anything, but decided to trust in his senior Apprentice's words. After strolling around a bit, he finally found the source that Zafrir had been talking about; a small flow of water emerged from between two large boulders
How did he hear it from that far away? Leigh wondered. Thinking back, Zafrir seemed to have been able to tell the time very well just from looking at the sun. Well, maybe he was joking... Leigh shrugged, deciding he'd ask him later.
When he got back to the others with a filled jug, there was already a picnic spread over one of the larger and flatter rocks. There were some grapes, tomatoes and several slices of cheese sitting next to half a loaf of bread.
"Eat well, Apprentices." Zafrir said, seating himself on the floor.
"Wait, we still need cups!" Caitlyn exclaimed, grabbing one of the backpacks and looking through it.
"You won't find any in there. Just drink from the jug." Zafrir demonstrated by lifting the jug to his lips and taking a couple of large gulps. He exhaled and wiped his mouth before placing it back on the rock. Leigh laughed at Caitlyn's shocked expression and sat down to join Zafrir- he was feeling hungry after all the climbing.
During the meal, Leigh turned to Zafrir. "Did you really hear the stream?"
Zafrir gave him a questioning look. "What stream?"
"The one I used to fill the jug."
"Oh right. Of course I heard it. Why would I have said so if I hadn't?"
Leigh shrugged. "I dunno, it just seems kind of unbelievable- it was out of sight and the wind was strong. I didn't hear anything until I was practically standing next to it. I thought maybe you were joking and knew where it was from when you went up here before."
Zafrir laughed lightly. "I've actually never taken this path before. Alexia and me usually take another route- it's steeper, but shorter. Anyways, just because you couldn't hear it doesn't mean everyone else can't."
"Well yes, but-"
"You'll learn," Zafrir interrupted him. "It takes a while to sharpen your senses, but at the end of your apprenticeship you'll most likely be able to hear, see, smell and feel things you couldn't before."
"Oh... Will my taste improve as well?" Leigh asked.
"Yes, you might find you can taste the difference between red and yellow peppers afterwards." Zafrir said drily.
"Awesome!"
Once everyone was full, the leftovers were repacked and the group got ready to leave again. Leigh stretched his arms above his head, dreading the load he would soon have to carry again.
"Please hurry up, we want to get up the mountain by nightfall!" Alexia called. "Zafrir you too! Stop spacing out and-"
She broke off and Leigh glanced at her curiously. She was staring at Zafrir who was standing still, eyes closed and head slightly bowed. Leigh was about to ask what he was doing when Zafrir's eyes suddenly snapped open. He looked up the mountainside and frowned. "I can hear a landslide..." He muttered, sounding more surprised than afraid.
"A landslide?" Caitlyn echoed, voice shrill.
Zafrir gave Alexia a strange look before turning to Caitlyn. "Yes, a landslide. Can't you hear it?" Leigh strained his ears. He couldn't hear anything. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Allan. He had also been listening and appeared to have heard something as he suddenly became pale. A thrill of fear rushed into Leigh's stomach and he glanced anxiously up the mountain. He couldn't see anything and was frustrated by the fact that he couldn't hear what everybody else obviously was.
"If we don't move quickly we'll all die," Zafrir said sharply. "Well, to be honest, me and Alexia probably won't, we'll just not be able to protect you three. Now do as I say- and quickly! Grab your bags and put them in a pile over there. Gather round everyone!"
Leigh moved to get his things when he finally heard it: a low and powerful rumbling- not anything Leigh would normally have noticed. It was soft and part of the background noise but, slowly, it was growing in strength and intensity. I can hear it! Leigh thought. God, it's getting louder!
Animated by fear, it took the group seconds to get themselves and their baggage into a small cluster in the middle of the outcrop. Alexia and Zafrir were already positioned in front of them, arms held out straight, hands above each other but not touching, palms facing the ground. They were chanting but not quite loud enough for Leigh, Allan or Caitlyn to understand any words. Leigh realised with fascination that they were invoking an incantation. He had only ever witnessed a couple of incantations himself- all of which were very basic and never over a few dozen words long. Alexia and Zafrir's incantations were on a different level. As he watched, more and more words escaped their lips, a warm buzz spread through the air and their palms began to glow slightly. He could feel the magic they were making.
Meanwhile, the landslide was now visible as a hazy smudge on the horizon. Leigh had been distracted by magic but was now awfully aware of the tight situation they were in. They probably only had seconds left until they'd be buried in the rubble and still Alexia and Zafrir chanted on. Leigh started counting the seconds.
1...
He licked his lips nervously. If they didn't finish very soon they'd all be dead.
2...
I hope they know incantations only take effect once the last word is spoken. He thought.
3...
Dread and fear were building up inside him until he couldn't stand it anymore.
4...
The landmass rumbling towards him was intimidatingly close. Leigh was about to close his eyes to try and shut it out when Alexia and Zafrir suddenly stopped chanting. The ground erupted.
Leigh stared for a few moments, unable to believe his eyes. Zafrir was still standing in the same spot, his arms now thrust to both sides, his eyes glowing fiercely. Standing next to him, Alexia was looking more concentrated, eyebrows furrowed and hands stretched forward a little defensively.
Then Leigh turned back towards the magic. It was breathtaking. In front of his very eyes a huge wall of earth and rock had formed in a matter of seconds. Looking at it more closely, he also realised the wall had been frozen over, yet the earth was still moving. Who's controlling what? Leigh wondered. One of them is probably casting an incantation for the earth wall and the other must have made a freezing incantation. I wish I could cast an incantation half as strong as that...
"Leigh!" Allan shouted, tearing Leigh out of his thoughts. His eyes met Allan's who, noticing Leigh's blank gaze, thrust his hand up. Above Leigh's head there was a splash, shortly followed by a loud thud as a boulder landed next to him. "Pay attention!" Allan called, bending over with the strain his feat of magic had caused him. "The barrier Alexia and Zafrir made isn't completely flawless! Rocks are falling over the edge! I can't believe you haven't noticed- it's a small wonder you haven't been hit yet!"
"I'm sorry!" Leigh called back, smiling ruefully. He turned his attention away from Alexia and Zafrir. He wished he could have watched them longer, but it seemed his full concentration was needed in protecting himself. He saw that next to him Caitlyn had erected a small barrier of rock and Allan was keeping a small current flowing over his head that washed any stray debris flying through the air away from him. Leigh followed his comrades' example and concentrated on building a barrier of energy around him. Whenever a rock came close to him, it was zapped away by a small bolt of lightning. This method was quite straining, but Leigh guessed he wouldn't have to keep up his effort for long- the land slide was slowing.
Soon, the rumbling quietened. Leigh sighed in relief, letting himself relax again. He turned back to Alexia and Zafrir and a cold chill ran up his spine: his two Mentors were sprawled on the floor. Did they use up all their stamina? They can't have... they're not... dead, are they? "H-Hey!" He called. "Are you alright?" He ran to them, followed by Allan and Caitlyn, and kneeled on the ground. "Can you hear me?"
"Of course we can," Zafrir grumbled. He had been lying slightly on top of Alexia, but was now rising. He winced when he moved his arm but didn't seem to be seriously hurt. Next to him Alexia was also stirring. Leigh felt slightly foolish for worrying, but was relieved to see Zafrir and Alexia weren't harmed. "What happened?" he asked. "Did you use up too much stamina? I was so afraid when I saw..." He trailed off as he saw Alexia's angry expression. It wasn't aimed at him though, but at Zafrir who was looking back at her with hard eyes.
"What," She started, her voice low and dangerous. "Did you think you were doing?"