Chapter 60. Training in the Forest
Deep in the forest outside the castle, riotously growing branches overlapped one another.
Only scant sunlight pierced the gaps in the leaves, forming lances of light like blades.
Duncan gripped his wand and stepped over the tangled roots on the ground, weaving through the shafts of light.
When he reached the side of a towering tree, a beam struck his face.
Duncan squinted and tilted his head slightly left to avoid the direct glare.
At that moment, a rustling sounded not far away.
The next second, several wooden sticks shuddered and whooshed out of a shadowed corner, shooting straight at Duncan.
It seemed some cunning creatures had finally found a flaw and wanted to launch a sneak attack.
"Fell for it..." Duncan's lips curled as he flicked his wand.
The incoming sticks turned into blossoms and spiralled down through the air.
Then Duncan pointed his wand to the right front, and a gust blasted forth, bowing the shrubs to the ground.
A few iron-blue Cornish pixies hovered mid-air, flustered, clutching dainty bows and arrows.
Identical looks of blankness spread across their faces, as if they had no idea how Duncan had discovered them.
"Only five?" Duncan sensed something off.
He didn't dare dally; his wand moved swiftly, ready to bind the pixies before him.
But before he could act, the bewildered looks vanished from the pixies' faces.
"Fell for it!"
"Duncan, fell for it!"
"Nofi is a genius!"
The pixies capered above the shrubs, cheering and chattering in delight.
"Behind you!" came an urgent warning from the dense leaves at his flank.
Duncan barely thought.
He followed the voice and spun quickly.
But it was already too late.
Several sticks were only a few paces from him.
The paint on their tips was plainly visible.
At his current speed, dodging was almost impossible.
In the direction those sticks had flown from, Nofi and the remaining pixies were tucked beneath the tree roots, bodies concealed by leaves.
Seeing the plan about to succeed, Nofi couldn't hold back its excitement.
It clenched its fist and leapt up with glee.
"These little blighters are getting cleverer.
I really underestimated them..." Duncan sighed with a smile.
Then he said, "Sainiel..."
A black-and-white blur stooped from high above, several times faster than the incoming sticks.
Just as the sticks were about to strike Duncan's robes, the blur swept past, whipping up a miniature gale.
The sticks all seemed to be knocked aside, clattering down in pieces.
At the same time, Duncan was hardly idle.
A nearby patch of shrubs turned into a steel cage at his command.
Before the pixies could react, the cage extended forward and clamped them all in.
On the other side, roots lying along the ground turned into ropes.
Under Duncan's direction, they shot ahead like vipers.
Nofi's face changed, the earlier smugness gone.
It shouted, "Quick, run!
Whoever can get away, go!"
But the pixies had barely lifted off before the tough ropes caught up and bound them tight.
Satisfied, Duncan pocketed his wand and strolled up to Nofi with an easy step.
Smiling, he said, "You lost again."
"Let me think—how many times is that now?" Duncan stroked his chin theatrically.
"Should be the sixth time, right?"
"You cheated!" Nofi huffed, thoroughly unconvinced.
"You had that blasted owl help you!"
The owl on Duncan's shoulder, Sainiel, paused mid-preen and shot Nofi a dangerous look.
"If not for its help, you would've lost already!" Nofi said hotly, unafraid under Sainiel's gaze.
"Mm... you're not wrong." Duncan nodded in acknowledgement.
A triumphant smile rose on Nofi's face, its mouth opening to say more—only for Duncan to cut in.
"But... did I ever say Sainiel couldn't help?" Duncan asked with a grin.
Nofi's smile froze, and its open mouth went stiff.
It thought about it—Duncan really hadn't said that...
"B-but..." Nofi felt a pile of words stuck in its throat, yet none would come out.
"That's a battlefield for you—full of trickery.
You need to get used to it," Duncan said with mock gravity.
The pixies snorted in unison and all looked elsewhere, wanting nothing to do with him.
Even Sainiel gave Duncan a disdainful tap on the head with a wing, as if to tell him to rein it in a little.
Duncan coughed twice, embarrassed.
"All right, all right, I cheated this time.
You win!"
"Yay!" At his words, the pixies erupted into cheers, clamouring for Duncan to let them out.
Once Duncan dispelled the ropes and cage, several pixies darted to him and held out their hands.
Duncan shrugged helplessly and took a small round shield carved from wood out of his pocket, handing it to a pixie.
After receiving Newt's letter last time, Duncan had resolved to step up his training and studies, to strengthen himself.
And just then, a task had triggered to play with the pixies and relieve their boredom.
So Duncan brought them to the forest and set up matches.
The pixies would attack.
He would defend.
By any means necessary, if they could leave a paint mark on him, they won and earned a round shield.
If they managed to collect three, Duncan would talk with the professors to buy them and then release them into the wild, with no further restraints.
At first, the pixies only chirped and attacked at random, their methods no threat to Duncan at all.
A casual wave of his wand and a few simple spells were enough to catch the lot of them.
But after several failures, the pixies united under Nofi's leadership and actually learned to use stratagems.
Like today: Duncan got a little careless and fell into Nofi's carefully laid trap, coming within a hair of defeat.
Still, that was the way to get real training value.
Now, whether in spotting anomalies in the environment or in using magic, Duncan had improved a great deal compared with before.
"Give the shield back," the long-silent Nofi suddenly said, lifting its head toward the pixies passing the prize around in excitement.
"Huh?
Nofi, what nonsense are you talking?"
"This is the first round shield we've ever won.
Why give it back?"
The pixies stared at Nofi, eyes round—perhaps even a shade larger than the shields in their hands.
"By our agreement, we didn't leave a mark on him.
We didn't win," Nofi said.
The pixies glanced at one another, hesitating.
"But... he already admitted he lost."
"That's his business," Nofi said.
"Trust me.
We'll beat him next time and win a shield!"
The pixie holding the shield looked left and right, then sighed.
"All right, Nofi, I'll return it.
I believe you..."
Startled, Duncan watched the scene before him and raised a hand to catch the tossed shield.
He hadn't expected Nofi to truly keep the others in line.
"Very well.
Since you're that confident, then see you in two days.
We'll find out if you can win."
Duncan smiled, pocketed the shield, and turned to go.
"Oh, and don't forget our agreement..."
"Don't worry.
Until we've earned our freedom, we won't leave the forest to prank the young witches and wizards."
Nofi took off, waved, and led the pixies away in a flash.
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