Free Foundling Wizard (Book 1) by James Eggebeen

We’ll never make it.”
    “If that were true, he wouldn’t be taunting us,” Lorit said. “Keep going.”
    The water grew so hot it was almost unbearable. They were only a dozen spans from the far shore, but Lorit could see that the water nearer the shore was bubbling, as if it were boiling. He had to come up with some way to get through that.
    Lorit calmed himself and tried to imagine a shield around the two of them. He focused on a wall made of ice and filled with snow. He tried to think of anything he could to conjure up images of cold. As he focused, the water near the shore calmed, and the pain in his ankles lessened.
    “Come on,” Lorit called to Chedel. “I think we can make it.”
    The two young men splashed to the shore through water that was scalding hot, but not so hot that they couldn’t stand it. They stomped ashore, and fled up the road, running as long as they could breathe, before stopping in the shadows of the woods.
    “That was close,” Lorit said, sitting on a rock to rest. He pulled up his trousers and examined his legs. His feet and calves were raw and red from the heat, but otherwise undamaged.
    “What did you do back there?” Chedel asked.
    “I conjured some ice and snow,” Lorit replied. He rolled his trouser legs back down and stood. “Come on, we have to get off the main road before they come after us.
    They walked on for another hour, wandering deep into the forest, far from the main road, before they finally stopped for the night. Lorit rolled out his bedding and was fast asleep even before Chedel finished making his own bed.
     
     
    Lorit was awakened from his sleep by the now familiar feeling of Zhimosom contacting him. If he was truly awake or this just happened in a dream, he didn’t know. He sat up and focused as the shape of the wizard came clear.
    “You’ve had quite a day,” Zhimosom remarked.
    “Yes,” was all Lorit had to say.
    “What made you think of using ice and snow to counter the boiling of the river water at the ford?”
    “It just came to me. I knew I needed something to counter what he was doing. I first thought of a simple shield, and then I decided on ice. When it started to form, I thought that if it were filled with snow, then the water would cool off, and we might make it across.”
    “That was very quick thinking, given that you were in imminent danger. You did well today.”
    “Thanks,” Lorit said. “I would have preferred a clean getaway myself.”
    “Of course you would,” Zhimosom laughed. “Being able to deal with things that go wrong is a skill that serves a wizard well, you know?
    “I’d rather not need that skill.”
    “None of us do, son. None of us do. Now that you’re free of the temple, I want to direct you to a place where you can get some assistance. I want you to send the boy on to us, but I have another task for you that I need you to undertake before you head here.”
    “What do you want me to do now?” Lorit asked. “Someone else need saving?”
    “I will explain that later. For now, you need to head towards Ryeren Grove. When you get there, there is a small settlement. You will find an inn there where you will meet a Sorceress. She will help you get supplied and prepared for the next part of your journey. She will bring the boy to us while you take a separate path.”
    Zhimosom started to fade, but Lorit was not finished. “Wait!” he called.
    The shimmering stopped. Zhimosom looked stern. “What is it?”
    “Why shouldn’t I eat the apple? You did not tell me.”
    “Lorit, when you conjure something, it takes energy out of you. When you conjure food for yourself, it takes more energy to conjure the food than the food yields when eaten. If you eat it yourself, it has a double penalty. It will make you hungrier than if you had not eaten it. If you conjured food for yourself, you would soon starve to death.”
    “What if I give it to someone else?” he asked, recalling the intense hunger he experienced