A Web Of Magic

The next day after his morning ablutions and breakfast, Magnus set aside the potions book. While the book was very interesting and no doubt very useful, the lack of plants and equipment to brew any of the recipes mentioned was like an itch he couldn't scratch. Not that he understood any of the recipes, but even if he did, he couldn't brew then now. Thus, he picked the pictograph book as it was more colorful than the other books.

He couldn't understand anything but he kept turning the pages in case something interesting comes up. His actions did yield some results after turning a few pages. This particular page didn't have much text but there were diagrams in the form of instructions that he could follow.

'Hmm, this looks like a stick of some sorts. This should be trimming the surface of the stick to make it even, I think. Then a drop of blood and draw this symbol onto the stick and immerse the stick in …elements? For how much time? Well it doesn't look very complicated. Even if something goes wrong, nothing bad should happen. Better than sitting like this with nothing else to do,' Magnus decided. He had always been an active boy and was itching to do something. The fact that he wanted to forget his recent run in with the hag only cemented his impulsiveness.

He searched outside in the vicinity of the cabin for a relatively straight stick. He found one underneath a tree. He smoothened the stick against a rock he found nearby. When he found it satisfactory, he pricked his finger with a thorn from the bushes nearby and drew the symbol as instructed from the book. For the element, he recognized only the symbols for fire and water from the book. So, he immersed the stick in a pot of water and waited. A successful attempt should cause the symbol he drew on the stick to glow. He waited and waited, but there was nothing. 'Maybe I did something wrong. Let me try with fire this time.' He repeated the same procedure as before, but now placed the stick in the fireplace with a low fire going. 'The good news is that the stick didn't catch fire, so I must be doing something right.' Yet, there was no glowing symbol. He decided to do something else while waiting for the sticks.

Magnus went back to the potion book and looked inside for any recipes he could make from the pages that he had read. After sometime, his eyes twinkled in recognition and he went to the pile of berries that he stored in the corner shelf. He took some purple berries and moved back to the opened book in the study. 'Yes, the traits match. Purple Cannabis, used in sedatives and pain killing potion. Let me see what else is required. Dog's Tail? I hope it's just a plant,' he hoped.

He checked on the sticks and seeing no change, he went out in search of a Dog's Tail. His basic herbology knowledge told him that most common medicinal plants were found under trees or near water bodies, so he searched there first. He had no luck. 'Ahh, shows what I know! I should have paid more attention to mum when she was teaching me,' Magus sighed resignedly. His parents taught him magical knowledge every weekend when they visited their aunt in Devon. But he only paid half of his attention as they never let him practice any of it. He never understood why they didn't let him practice. He would probably be more inclined to study if he could apply his knowledge in reality. Despite being wizards, his parents rarely used or showed him magic. Only his great aunt Viola used more magic but they only visited her on few weekends. She made him study Greek whenever they visited so that took up most of his time. She was the reason he learned Greek in the first place, yet she didn't give him much of a magical education. He never understood what he would use Greek for when he lived in London, but he liked learning new things so it was bearable.

Just as he gave up and was returning to the cottage, his eyes caught some grass waving in the wind. The grass was probably kept out of view by the weeds surrounding it, but the wind moved the weeds away just a bit to give him a glance. Smiling to himself Magnus picked the two pieces of grass that were present and went inside the cabin. The remedy he was trying to make was the Pain Killing potion or something along those veins. It's hard to say with his feeble grasp of the language. The potion should remove pain from all over the body for a certain duration. 'Can't brew the potion here as there is no proper equipment. I am not going to the cauldron the hag used to cook me. So, I can only use the pot. I can just wash it off later. I should look around the stream for stones to use as a mortar and pestle.' Any other child in his position would have given up, but Magnus always liked to finish what he started. Besides, it was the first recipe in the book, so it should be the easiest right?

He took the sling bag with him this time to the stream and it proved to be good decision. The stone he found was not something he could carry easily despite its size and the bag came in handy. The book-sized stone went into the bag easily and it didn't even bulge. He found a smaller stone to be used as a pestle and he returned back. He washed the replacement mortar and pestle with water. There were two more ingredients that were required but he couldn't quite make out their names. He went outside the cottage and looked around in deep thought. He finally had an epiphany. 'The recipe was in the cottage, so the ingredients must be close-by, right?' he marveled at his deductive prowess.

He looked at the vegetation scattered around the cottage. As he concentrated, three of the plants started glowing in different colors. Two of them had a bright glow, while the last one had a dull glow. The dull one was another Dog's Tail, so he assumed that the remaining two should be the missing ingredients. He picked them and returned inside.

'Peel the Purple Cannabis first and set aside the skin. Crush the unskinned berry in the mortar. Add the rhizome of the Dog's Tail and add eh, some water. Mix with the pestle. Add some more water. And finally add the skin of the berry and thoroughly mix,' as he followed the process detailed in the book, he came across the part where he should add the other ingredients. He didn't clearly understand the details, so he crushed them and added them when required. 'I hope this works. Even if it fails, it shouldn't be too bad, right? Stir a bit and a successful salve should look silky black.' The brew glowed white for a moment and then turned silent without any bubbles or fumes. 'Uh, this one looks grey. At least it looks stable,' Magnus warily thought. Only now did he recall his mother's warnings on brewing potions. He slowly moved back from the pot and his hands reached for the sling bag with all the books.

When the brew started bubbling and made hissing noise, he was already half way through the door while chanting 'Shite' in his head. But his escape was hindered as he bumped into someone as soon as he tried to leave. Magnus bounced back in surprise and shouted, "Who? What? How did you come here?"

"Calm down child. One question at a time. Do not worry, you are in safe hands. As for me, I am called Mr. King," said the main in a calm and soothing voice that put Magnus at ease for some reason. Mr. King waved his hand at the bubbling pot and the concoction turned still. Once his heart stopped beating like a squirrel, Magnus observed the man in front of him. Mr. King was a tall, dark skinned man with broad shoulders. He was dressed in brown robes made out of some animal skin. He also had a staff in his had that was decorated with colorful feathers.

"Nice to meet you Mr. King. I am Magnus Webb. You could have knocked the door instead and saved a bloke a heart attack yes?" Magnus managed to reply.

"Ah I thought it must be you Mr. Webb. We have been looking for you. It's good that you are safe and sound. As for your other question, I wasn't sure what I would find, so I had to be quiet. Wouldn't you say it is more fun this way?" Mr. King replied with a calm smile at the end.

"Right. Why were you searching for me? Did my parents send you? Did you meet them per chance? Are they here?" Magnus asked excitedly.

Mr. King gave a deep sigh and said, "There's a lot to talk young Webb. Come this way, we'll talk after we have some supper, yes?"