Their third day in Zaban began much like the second, with sleepy figures rousing themselves from their warm bedrolls and setting out. They eschewed the lengthy breakfast this time, partly to save rations, partly because Samuel was eager to make up for the lost time. He kept glancing at the map he’d purchased, starting to get a feel for the landscape around them.

Tobi began experimenting with the task Samuel had set him as soon as they started walking. Occasionally he got too over-eager and shattered the stick into splinters with the force of his mana, but it happened less and less as he continued. Samuel for his part watched him with curiosity, interested to see how fast he was picking up the new technique. He kept one eye on their surroundings, but the apprentice was taking up most of his attention.

By the time the sun was at its highest and they decided to stop for their mid-day break and meal, Tobi had the stick whipping through the air around him with half-decent speed. It wasn’t enough to cause damage to anything or anyone if it collided, but it was still good progress. Samuel hid his smile as he pulled a battered tin coffee pot out of his bag and lit the fire.

Tobi settled down with his back to a rock, still keeping the rock moving. He didn’t seem to notice the twig as it spun around him, and tucked into the basic food that Samuel put in front of him. For ease of use, they had both agreed to put everything in Samel’s storage space. They had less of a burden to carry and no chance of drawing a potential thief’s eyes.

“You’ve got the hang of that now,” Samuel said, nodding at the stick as it orbited Tobi’s head once more. “You ready for the next step?”

Tobi nodded at once, his mouth too full of bread and cold meat to speak. His eyes showed his eagerness, however, so Samuel took that, with the nod, as consent. Without a word of explanation or warning, Samuel pulled his own mana to bear, using his unique trait to blast away Tobi’s energy controlling the stick. The mana diffused and the tiny piece of wood fell to the ground. It happened so fast that Tobi couldn’t have even blinked faster.

“Why’d you do that!” Tobi exclaimed through a mouthful of food. He swallowed hastily and continued in a sulky tone. “I was doing so well, too.”

“You were doing well on the control part,” Samuel agreed. “But there’s more to magic than simply knowing how to do a spell.”

Confused, Tobi looked up from his downed stick to Samuel’s face. “What else is there?”

“Well, when it comes to combat between mages, speed is important,” Samuel explained patiently. “But there’s also your reflexes. I countered your spell to demonstrate my expectation.”

“You want me to stop you from using your spell?” Tobi asked, his brow furrowed. “But doesn’t it counter all magic?”

“It can only counter magic that I’m fast enough to react to,” Samuel corrected him. “If I don’t know the magic is coming, or if I’m too slow to react to the activation of it, I still get hit.”

“I see,” Tobi said slowly, nodding his head in understanding. “Then what do you expect me to do? Get so fast at moving and controlling it that you can’t hit it?”

“Exactly.”

Samuel sat down himself, having filled his own plate with meat, cheese, and bread. He tore the bread in half with his hands and put the meat and cheese between the two halves, watching Tobi closely. He’d gotten to know the youth pretty well by now, and suspected what his next action would be. Sure enough, the second Samuel looked down to take a bite of his sandwich, he felt Tobi’s mana move towards the stick and pick it up again. Samuel’s counter hit it before it could get higher than a centimeter, and Tobi cursed in frustration.

“This isn’t going to be easy, is it?”

“It’s not supposed to be,” Samuel said with a laugh. “Just as you’re teaching me specific skills that will fit my style, I’m going to teach you a style of attack magic that will aid you in combat.”

They continued to eat their lunch in peace, the silence only interrupted by the occasional impatient sigh from Tobi as his attempts to move the stick were once again thwarted. Samuel thought that perhaps his apprentice was trying to do a test of endurance, simply waiting for Samuel to run out of mana. Unfortunately for him, his magical stamina was considerably better than his physical.

“You won’t get anywhere trying to take me by surprise,” Samuel said patiently as he put his empty plate down. “The only way to beat me is to be faster. Get the stick moving faster than I can knock it down.”

“Moving my mana quickly is the problem,” Tobi said sulkily. “I can only go so fast. You’re like a lightning bolt compared to me.”

Samuel shrugged, ignoring the plea for sympathy. “I had practice and a strict mentor who expected me to succeed at everything. You have the latter, and only need the former.”

“I can’t wait for you to teach a class,” Tobi grumbled. “I can tell your students war stories about your strict nature.”

“Good,” Samuel said, grinning with unconcern. “That will just weed out the lazy ones.”

Tobi bolted his mana to the stick as fast as he could and got the stick an inch or two off the ground before Samuel blasted the spell away. Truth be told, Samuel felt a small amount of smugness every time he denied the stick its flight but brushed it off. He was doing his best to help Tobi improve, so he deserved the small moments of pride.

They set off again after a half-hour break, winding their way through the endless forest. Tobi kept watch along with Samuel now that he wasn’t distracted but kept the stick clutched in his left hand. Every few minutes, he’d open his fingers to try and send the stick into the air, but Samuel, alerted by the movement of his hand, always managed to stop him.

“You know exactly when I’m going to do it,” Tobi commented dryly. “The second I move my arm, you already have your counter on the way.”

“Yep.”

“But how am I supposed to surprise you if you’re able to see it coming seconds before the spell is even active?”

“You’ll find a way to get around that.”

They continued on, making much better time than they had on the second day, as Samuel had now memorized the position of several stars and landmarks around them. He almost never glanced at the chart now, only referencing the document to see what new pieces of land to look for. Apart from these brief breaks, he kept them on track by measuring their distance from the large hills or mountains they passed.

The task of navigation became much easier once they’d reached Samuel’s first goal. The trees thinned considerably, and they caught the first glimpse of some flickering, shiny substance just ahead. As they drew closer they saw that it was water, one of the three great lakes of Zaban that Samuel had been driving them towards. He knew it was Zuria Lake, the most southeastern of the trio. They came to a stop at the edge of the water, staring out across it with awe.

To call it a lake was a mistake, Samuel thought. It stretched out forever, far beyond the horizon and out of sight. The waters were crystal-clear, and he could see the shore for several hundred feet before the glare of the sun took over. There was no sign of the opposite shore, which he knew was very close to the eastern shore, where only a thin strip of land halted it.

“Now we just head north,” Samuel said with a satisfied smile. “No need for that shoddy chart anymore.”

Tobi looked over at him, his eyebrows raised. He was impressed at Samuel’s ability to so quickly navigate them in a foreign country. He’d seen enough of Samuel’s hand-drawn maps of Gorteau to know that he was proficient at charting, but this was the first real evidence of his ability to plot and follow a direct course with such little information available to him. It was the most important skill for a traveler to have, and he already seemed to be a master.

“You’re sure?” He asked, though the question felt unnecessary. Samuel’s half-glare in reply confirmed this thought.

“Yes, I’m sure. It’s a whacking great lake, and that direction is east,” Samuel said, pointing in the opposite direction of the sun. “So that’s north, and if we follow the coastline in that direction, we’ll reach the center. That’s where the mages are rumored to live.”

“And what do we do if they’re not there?” Tobi asked, a little sheepish this time. “Are there any other spots that they’re rumored to live?”

Samuel took a moment to think to himself before replying. Finally, he spoke slowly, as if not sure of his words. “The only rumored home for them is the center. They’re claimed to be wild mages, and enjoy the strong presence of mana there. I expect it’s some kind of natural center, and they live there to strengthen themselves.”

Tobi shrugged, satisfied with his mentor’s explanation. Stretching his arms and squinting against the sun which had been hidden from them for most of the day, he turned northward and started walking. Samuel followed after another moment of deliberation. Tobi moved the stick to his right hand as discreetly as he could and sent mana into it to get it flying again. He wasn’t sure if Samuel had noticed the swap or not, but once again, the spell was countered before it truly left his hand. He sighed in exasperation, and this time, he caught a glimpse of the smug smile on Samuel’s face.