There were times that Nature reminded me of my own insignificance, when looking at the grand scale of things. Sitting within the golden soap-bubble of protection, watching the weather batter the mountainside managed to make me feel small. The winds were bad enough to pick up small rocks as the winds rushed around the land, creating an awesome symphony of howling and whistling sounds. In addition to the howling wind, rain and hail was buffeting the shield around us with a fury that made me shiver as I sat on Sigmir’s lap.
“Are you certain that it is wise to make a fire in here?” I asked, when Olivia started to pull out some wood and tinder from an obviously magical pouch in her backpack. Even as I asked, I realised that someone who had been travelling for decades would have used the barrier before and would almost certainly have made a fire inside, making my question obsolete.
“Oh, that is no problem. The barrier lets the smoke out and even keeps the temperature at a comfortable level.” Olivia assured me, causing me to nod, even if I had no idea just how it could work. Not that I could even begin to guess how a barrier that could be crossed by people but kept out the wind and rain could work, so why not a barrier that did that, while maintaining a comfortable environment inside? It was barely more ridiculous and impossible, so why not?
Lenore, sitting on a nearby rock with Ylva curled up nearby, was amused at my mental grumbling, to her, the magic used by Olivia was divine in nature and simply was. She didn’t feel a true need to attempt understanding it, even if some parts of it made her curious, she simply accepted that the divine worked in mysterious ways.
While Olivia was setting up the fire, I stood and walked over to the barrier, looking at it from up close. It was almost like a curved pane of glass, just with a pale golden glimmer and I could see the rain pelting against it, as if it was a solid object.
“Is there anything I have to pay attention to, regarding the barrier?” I asked, looking over my shoulder to Olivia. I wanted to try out a few things but had little interest in accidentally breaking our shelter, even if it could hopefully be recreated. Even just a minute in the storm that was raging outside would be unpleasant.
“Erm, what do you have in mind?” she asked in response, looking at me with a suspicious look on her face.
“I want to know how it works. It shouldn’t work, it goes against what I know about the way the world works, which makes me curious.” I replied with a bit of annoyance in my tone, causing her to chuckle while Adra started to giggle as well. Looking at Sigmir and Rai, both of them had amused grins on their faces, while I could feel Lenore’s amusement over our bond. The only one not obviously amused was Ylva, but when looking closely, I had a feeling she was amused as well.
“Keep your examination mundane, without trying to magically interfere with the barrier and you should be alright. If you do that, the worst case would be that you are expelled and unable to enter the barrier for the night.” she told me, the amusement obvious in her voice, making me wonder if she wanted that worst case to come to pass.
“If that happens, I’ll do my best to burst your bubble.” I replied, a bit of malice in my tone, as I reached out to gently poke the barrier. Only, there was nothing to poke at, my hand simply went through the barrier, as if there was nothing there. I could feel the change easily, the cold rain and the wetness running down the barrier was obvious but that was merely an effect of the environment, not the barrier itself.
Pulling my hand back, I tried something else, bringing my face and nose close to the barrier and sniffing the air, trying to get a taste of the magic creating the barrier and I thought there was that airy, fluffy taste I had perceived when Olivia had given her oath earlier, but I couldn’t be sure. Getting even closer, my tongue flicked out, trying to get a better taste, only to suddenly get a cold shock when my tongue went through the barrier and tasted the rain outside. The sudden, cold sensation was enough to make me flinch back and bite my tongue. I thought there was more of that magical taste but I couldn’t be sure.
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“Lenore, care to help?” I mentally asked, feeling a little peeved that I couldn’t figure out anything. The amusement coming from Lenore doubled, as she hopped into the air, landing on my shoulder. Sadly, when looking through her eyes and using her vision, there was little to be learned, the barrier was looking almost identically to its appearance in my vision, the golden glow merely a bit more pronounced.
Staring at the barrier, I was considering what to do next when a black shape came out of the rain, breaking through the barrier and landing on a nearby rock. For a moment, I was simply stunned as I looked at the intruder, a bird with black and grey plumage, quite similar in shape to the one sitting on my shoulder. But before any of us had a chance to react to its sudden appearance, the bird added another surprise to the tally when it started cawing in a way I could understand thanks to Lenore’s ability.
“Good Evening, Sister. Would you or your companions mind if I share your shelter?” the bird asked, looking at Lenore.
Flabbergasted, would be the perfect word to describe me in that moment, dumbfounded would also work, as I described that letting Lenore, the one who was addressed, answer would be the simplest solution.
“Olivia, what do you think? Morgana and I won’t mind but you set up this barrier.” Lenore asked after turning to Olivia, using my voice once more. “It might help to keep Morgana from poking the barrier some more, if she has something else to catch her interest.” Lenore added, after a moment, causing me to squawk in outrage. I wasn’t that bad, was I?