That evening, the three companions stopped in a Cordian border town, at an inn called 'The Wooden Leg'.  Casey was familiar with the town, which was nothing more than a couple of streets, an inn, one or two shops selling local goods, some small trader businesses selling obscure objects, and a few obligatory shady alleyways. After booking a room for the night, Casey and Wilky went out for a bit of shopping, while Thea remained in the room, saying she'd consider going out later.

Their first stop was a seamstress, to buy Wilky an outfit other than her nightgown and Casey's tattered navy jacket (which was too big for her and only made her outfit that much stranger, but she appreciated the gesture). She ended up with a long-sleeved pink dress, about knee length, and brown leather ankle boots.

"So what's the deal with Thea?" Wilky asked Casey, as they waited at the butcher's to receive a few cuts of meat, to be wrapped in paper and packed for later in their journey. "I mean, you said she was grouchy, but... is she ever... happy?"

"Not that I know," Casey replied. "Maybe just when I'm not looking. Hey, don't worry about it, it's not you, and it's not me. It's just the way she is. I'll bet something hurt her, and she hasn't learned to put her guard down." Casey shook his head sadly.

"But is there anything we can do to help? I mean, what exactly happened to her?"

Casey shrugged. "I don't know, and I certainly don't recommend asking. She doesn't talk about herself. Her name is Thea, and she's travelling to Lorea. That's basically all I know."

The butcher dropped the cuts of meat onto the counter, and Wilky and Casey busied themselves wrapping them up and stowing them carefully in their packs (speaking of which, Wilky had bought herself a pack while out shopping with Casey, that was a reasonable size to carry and had lots of miscellaneous pockets, which is always fun, except when you forget where you put something and aren't even sure if it's in one of those pouches at all or if you put it somewhere else. It's especially annoying if that thing is important. Even so, pockets are fun.).

"Hey, so we were talking about magic earlier," Wilky said, as they left the butcher's and began travelling down one of the few streets of the town. "And I was wondering,"

"Careful," Casey remarked. "That can be dangerous."

Wilky rolled her eyes. "So... I know you said magic uses a slightly different dialect of Orian... but other than that, I'm pretty good at Orian, and so... do you think I could do magic? It's just so cool, the way you can do just about anything- within reason of course, but it's just... well, it's magical."

Casey beamed. "Sure you can do magic! You're older than most start their training, but that's no problem! You've learned the basic dialect of Orian, so all you need now is someone to guide you in turning the language into magic! Oh, and a channel point, but I can probably help you with that..."

"Channel point?"

"Yeah, a channel point. Something to channel your magic through. It's the reason we don't speak Orian and just tear the universe apart with our words! Handy, huh?"

Wilky nodded, eyes wide. "Could that really happen? The universe tearing apart?"

Casey laughed. "I don't know... might be difficult, and it would take a lot of magicians who really hated the world. Anyway, a channel point is usually a wand, but it can be something else, usually something wooden. Magic likes wood, it seeps into it like snow on a hot coal. Except the coal wouldn't absorb the snow, it would just melt it...so more like... like..."

"I get it," Wilky said, smiling, but Casey was determined to find a simile that fit.

"Like butter on warm bread! Yes, perfect. Well, you get it anyway. Don't know why that happens, but it does! So wands, yes, wands are made of wood. Also staffs. Those are the two most common, though you do see other things sometimes. One woman I saw once turned a wooden shoe into her channel point. I don't know that there was a point to that other than proving she could. It was actually interesting, because she didn't hold it like a wand or a staff, she just wore it, and had to point at people with her feet. Clever, huh? Sorry! I'm rambling again. It's just that I don't get a chance to tell people about magic very much! Usually I only meet other magicians who already know all of this, and Thea clearly doesn't give a fig whittle when it comes to magic."

"It's ok, I find it very interesting!" Wilky reassured him. "I'd sure like to see someone doing magic from a wooden shoe."

"Heh, yeah, it was flipping fantastic. Not the best for aiming though."

"For my channel point though, do you think I could use this walking stick? Is it too long, or maybe I could make it a wand? Or..."

"That would actually work perfectly," Casey said, impressed. "I'm surprised I didn't think of that sooner! I'll bind it for you later, if you'd like. I don't know the incantation off the top of my head, and we're in sort of a public place- don't want to call too much attention to ourselves. But then you can start learning magic!"

"Absolutely!" Wilky replied, beaming. "That would be amazing! And you'll teach me magic?"

"Sure. Not sure I'll be any good at it, but you already know half the stuff you need to anyway! First, however, I need to tell you about Venkalth."

"God of the wizards, right?" Wilky asked, proud to show off her knowledge.

"More like ruling entity, actually," Casey corrected. "Venkalth's appearance and identity is unknown and never specified, because, quite frankly, it doesn't matter. According to Venkalth, all beings are equal, unless they prove otherwise."

"All beings? So everyone? From all countries?"

"From all species," Casey said. "From all cultures.  If they are in possession of a heart and soul, they are your equal, and you should never, ever discriminate or assume things about another person who you do not know."

"Even the Cordian slavers? They're equal too?" Wilky asked, a bit puzzled.

"They have proven otherwise, because they believe they are a higher power than other humans, but no matter what they think, they are equal, and your job is to treat them as such. Keep in mind, it is alright to appear different, to be male or female, with dark skin or pale skin, what matters is your treatment and respect of others, and your assumptions about them. Never assume gender, because it might not be what you think. If you are not sure, use grace, not he or she."

"Grace?" Wilky questioned.

Casey nodded. "Or no pronoun at all. It is better to leave it unspecified than to insult them by guessing wrong."

"And what if one already has a religion?"

"Not a problem. Venkalth exists alongside the other gods. Theoretically..." he hesitated.

"Theoretically what?" Wilky asked.

"Ah, turn here," Casey pointed across their path into a shop. "Theoretically, Venkalth used to be the god Kalth, one of the Gods of Rulimon, but we don't really acknowledge that?  I mean Kalth split off from Rulimon a long time ago, and sort of did their own thing, but the Rulimon followers still believe in Kalth. Anyway, I'm rambling again, as long as you're cool with treating people like equals, Venkalth doesn't give a fig whittle who else you worship."

Back at the Inn, Casey and Wilky met up with Thea and had supper, which consisted of a thick soup with chunks of meat and potato.

"Casey, I need to talk to you in private," Thea said, once she'd finished her meal. She glanced suspiciously at Wilky, who was eating slowly, trying to get over the blandness of the soup. It wasn't a bad soup, she had to admit, but it wasn't the luxury she was used to.

Casey looked disapprovingly at Thea, but she didn't say anything else, and he sighed, getting up from the table. "Wilky, you stay here. We'll be back in the room if you need us."

Wilky nodded, mouth full of potato.

Thea and Casey left the table, disappearing into the chatter of the inn. When they'd first arrived, Casey had been telling Wilky how he liked this place, and Wilky had to agree. It was a small establishment, populated by travellers of all different sorts. Traders, mercenaries, even assassins, most likely, just passing through. Some of the people even looked like royalty, or at least were from a higher class judging by the way they conducted themselves. There were so many strange people, and the whole place was lit with the golden glow of candlelight from plain looking, practical chandeliers hung above, driving away the indigo darkness of night that was falling outside.

Wilky finally finished her soup, and decided to head back to the room. The door was closed, and Wilky was about to push it open when she heard Thea's voice from inside. She wasn't normally one to listen at closed doors, but her curiosity got the better of her.

"Caster, I hired you to guide me. We don't have time to bring anyone else, she'll only be a burden! And remember, we need to move fast."

"She won't slow us down," came Casey's voice in reply. He sounded rather annoyed. "Thea, be reasonable. She's going to the same place. So, she wants to stop and see her home one last time. Can you blame her? It won't take long."

"I don't care! We can't afford distractions." Thea's tone was nervous. "Caster-"

"You can call me Casey," Casey interrupted, more firmly than he'd ever spoken to Wilky. "I don't mind."

"Casey. This is my mission. I've told you, if Draegon catches up to us, it's all over! He won't spare you, he won't spare her, and he-"

Intrigued, Wilky didn't realize she was leaning forward, or that the door wasn't completely closed. Suddenly, she fell forward, and the door creaked open.

Casey looked at her standing in the doorway.

"Hello, Wilky!" he said, his expression changing. Thea glared at her, nothing out of the ordinary, as Wilky blushed.

"Um, Casey, I was hoping you could do the binding thing on my walking stick or staff or whatever you want to call it? So I can do magic!"

"Absolutely!" Casey replied brightly, beginning to dig through his pack. He brought out a thick book bound in leather, and began flipping through the pages, muttering to himself. Wilky crossed the room and picked up her walking stick, leaning over his shoulder to see the book.

"Here," Casey said, setting the book aside and drawing his wand from his belt. "Keep holding the walking stick," he ordered, setting the wand's tip against the knobbly branch. Wilky nodded.

Casey began chanting something under his breath, eyes closed, and a red glow flowed from his wand, swirling around Wilky's walking stick. Wilky watched with wide eyes as it flowed over her fingers, and partway up her arm, before the red magic became blue, just around her fingers. It spread in a wave over the red magic, turning it first purple, then deep ocean blue. When Casey stopped chanting and moved his wand away, the entire walking stick was encased in a blue light that then seeped into the wood, leaving it looking like a normal branch.

Wilky held the walking stick in two hands and studied it in awe. "I can do magic with this now?"

"I think so," Casey said, scratching his head with his wand and looking back at the book. "I've never performed the binding of a channel point before. Uh, say, uh, sila. And point at that table."

Wilky turned to the table Casey pointed at, and lowered her staff to aim at it.

"Sila." she told the table, a bit hesitantly. A few wisps of blue shot out of the end of her staff and dissolved like smoke.

"Yes, yes, I did it!" Casey laughed. "Ha! It worked!"

"Did it?" Wilky asked, staring at the table, which had remained immobile.

"Yes! Now it's up to you to actually do the magic." Casey stood and motioned for Wilky to stand aside, then pointed his wand at the table.

"Sila," he said, but rather than the uncertainty Wilky had had, his speech held power that Wilky could almost feel. A bolt of red hit the table, which zoomed over and hit the door, then promptly fell over on its side. Thea, sitting on her bed by the door, was startled, and glared at Casey and Wilky, who were quite amused by the table's antics, and were currently giggling.

"I can't believe I have to deal with you two children," she mumbled, sliding into bed.

Casey bit his lip. "Sorry, Thea!" he called, amidst his laughing. "So, you saw how I did that, Wilky- or rather, you heard."

Wilky nodded. "Should I try again?"

"Sure, if you'd like, though it'll tire you out after awhile."

"What other spells could I do?"

"Well... you could try... you could try creating light. That's pretty basic."

"Okay, how do I do that?"

Casey shrugged. "Same way you did the other spell. Say lillie."

Wilky focused on her staff. "Lillie." A blue spark flew from the end of the branch and fluttered to the ground.

"Try again," Casey suggested.  "And this time, compel light to appear.  Think of light in its brightest moment.  Think of the sun, the stars, of fire, of a brightly lit room.  Will light to come into existence in this space.  Put power behind it, think about the energy flowing all around us and feel it changing into a dazzling glow."

"Oh fun,"  Thea muttered, hiding her head under her pillow.

Wilky stared hard at the staff, and imagined the room full of a golden light. The ballroom in her old house by the river came to mind, with its marble columns, gold furnishings, carved chandeliers, and sweeping guests adorned with colorful outfits made of the finest material. She could smell the warmth of the food and the sweetness of the desserts, and she heard the sound of a quartet underneath the chatter of friends and strangers alike. Despite the dark, velvety night outside the windows, the room burned with a golden glow.

Wilky wasn't even aware that she'd spoken the word, but suddenly, she was in that room, and Casey stood by her, eyes wide. Wilky looked around, spotting Wesley nearby, sporting a boyish leather vest and stylish boots, and a hat with a ridiculous looking feather. She saw Winnie, wearing a little dress of periwinkle, her neck and wrists wrapped in tiny shimmering pearls. She saw Warner stealing chocolate after chocolate from the waiter's trays and dashing off to eat them behind one of the colorful tapestries.

Wilky clutched her staff, her eyes burning.  She almost forgot all the tragedy that had occurred since then...

"Wilky."

Casey's voice echoed in the small room of the inn, and the scene dissolved like a sugar cube in water. Wilky blinked, and then felt a weight descend upon her. She collapsed onto one of the beds, her staff rolling off of the sheets and onto the floor. Casey appeared just as in shock as she was, but less exhausted.

She wasn't even sure it was the exhaustion weighing her down; perhaps it was more the fact that she might never see that familiar scene again.

"Wilky, that... that was... that was amazing! That was incredible! I've... I've never seen anything like that, never!"

Wilky, clutching her head in one hand, looked wearily up at him and smiled a bit.

"What did I do?"

"I... I don't know..." Casey breathed. He looked over at Thea (her pillow had fallen on the floor), who hadn't moved since the illusion faded, her golden eyes so wide Wilky thought they might burst from her head. The expression on her face was kind of funny, actually. She looked so baffled and confused, toppled from her usual position of stony authority.

"Did you see that, Thea? Wilky's got talent!"

Thea's eyes narrowed, as she regained her senses.

"I think that's enough magic for tonight."