Chapter VI
Back to the Cave

Chris had barely arrived at the cave's back entrance when he 
was spotted. There was a small orc patrol guarding the cave 
entrance. "How the hell did he get here?" the captain 
screamed, "Take him out!"
	The orcs began to ready their bows. Chris had 
remembered some of Ranskon's spells, and he had read many of 
the wizard's books. In fact, Ranskon had offered to teach 
Chris the arcane arts when the battle was through, he had 
felt that Chris had great potential. Chris had never 
actually tried magic, but this seemed like an excellent 
opportunity to do so.
	A few spells had stuck out in Chris's mind, ones that 
would be very useful in his family's profession. One of 
which would be extraordinarily beneficial in getting him out 
of his current predicament. The orcs took their aim, now was 
the time for action.
	As a half dozen arrows flew towards him, Chris focused 
on what the magic book had said: `Magic is simply the will 
of ones mind. In order to make use of `magic' you must focus 
the power of your mind on the `spell' you wish to cast. 
Magic is not an external force commanding the people, it is 
a person commanding themselves. Therefore, we all have the 
potential for magic. There is one exception to this rule, 
almost all people using these powers, must also bring in the 
help of the ether. The ether is a magical field around this 
world created a long time ago by an ancient race. This ether 
was created so that inexperienced casters could perform 
magic. There are only a few known surviving true wizards, 
and even they must use the ether most of the time. Using the 
ether drains a person of their stamina, and invoking the 
ether's power may include chants, reagents, or rituals. 
These chants and rituals were also created by the ancients, 
in order to utilize the ether's power.'
	The spellbook had a spell named simply as `speed'. The 
author had wrote: "In order to achieve this power, simply 
concentrate on moving quickly, while speaking the words: 
`Nin Shi Time Yan Uri Yath Xu'"
	Chris's father always told him that he had an excellent 
memory, and as Chris spoke these words, he slid off the back 
of his horse and watched as the animal fell to the ground, 
pierced by many arrows. The incantation was done, but Chris 
didn't feel any different. The orcs were already preparing 
to fire again, this time Chris had no cover. If the orcs 
missed this time, they'd chase him down and capture him for 
sure. With a sudden burst of faith, Chris began wildly 
running towards the cave entrance. The orcs were awestruck, 
as the boy bolted past them in a blur. 
	Chris slowed a little, and was now running at what 
would normally be an exhausting pace, with great ease. He 
could easily run at twice this speed. Chris's head filled 
with strange thoughts, he was actually using the power of 
the ether he had read about. Or was it just in his mind? The 
book had said that the ether was just a way to open up the 
mind to do one's bidding in the conscious.
	The cave was unusually empty. When Chris had been here 
before, the cave was swollen with orcs, but that wasn't 
important. Chris had decided to use his new power to 
assassinate the hated wizard.
	When Chris arrived at the large hall leading to 
Ranskon's study, he hesitated. Thoughts of the many ways he 
might die filled his brain, but his rage stamped out these 
unconscious warnings. Chris burst into the room, but saw no 
Ranskon.