I was adopted by a Magician

"Get these books" Helena pointed to a thick stack of books on the living room table: "You will study them in the order in which I put them together. As soon as you finish studying the next chapter, we will immediately proceed to practical exercises".

"What does it say here?" Linda asked curiously, flipping through the top book.

"The top book describes how to influence the minds of humans, birds and animals".

"Is it really possible to influence birds?"

"It is possible to influence any living being. The more intelligent a creature is, the more susceptible it is to magic. Dogs are capable of performing quite complex tasks, and magicians often use their help. But cats are an exception. They practically do not succumb to magic, do not like magicians and do not live in their surroundings. Have you seen at least one cat here? And do you remember when we went to the headman, a cat flew out of the house, which almost knocked you down? Sometimes using them helps to identify magicians".

"What about the birds?"

"Interacting with them is not particularly difficult. Small birds quickly forget suggestion, and crows are sometimes used to convey messages. I assume that the weather will remain dry and warm in the next decade, so you will have time to train. In rainy weather, it is difficult to find birds to practice. The second book will talk about object magic. It is easier to perform, but requires more strength. I think you should have mastered a lot by now. Just don't dare to study without my presence. Inexperienced magicians may encounter magical exhaustion, which is not fatal, but very unpleasant".

"What about the third book?"

"It tells about the elemental spirits. I haven't mentioned them before. These spirits are very wayward and not particularly smart, so magicians rarely use them. They don't obey people, but they can be tricked into turning them against someone. For example, to cause a storm at sea or an earthquake somewhere else. Just before that, you need to stay in a safe distance. Even if you never plan to use these creatures, it's still useful to study their features. There are also astral beings who control elemental spirits. Some are trying to negotiate with them to change the weather. When you have mastered all this, it will be time for higher magic. I hope that we will manage to master all three books in three decades. Tell me if you need a decoction to improve your memory".

"I will try to avoid such a situation" Linda trembled imperceptibly: "Perhaps there is a way to make it less unpleasant?"

"Maybe it can be changed" Helena shrugged, "However, you can't".

"How so?"

"Do you remember when I told you about the harm of exceeding the norms for our bodies? This also applies to decoction. It is not harmless, so it is used only in cases where it is impossible to do without it. And those who take it have to endure its taste. And now imagine that he has become pleasant. It would be too tempting to learn everything you can, almost without difficulty, spending a few months, at a time when others would have spent years on it. But then there will be a reckoning. You don't have to worry about yourself. You didn't use it for long, and I removed all possible harmful effects with magic. But not everyone has a master nearby, strong magicians "this is very rare, especially after Mashun's dogs destroyed many of them. So, go and study. If something is not clear, contact me immediately".

Linda was intently studying the books she had brought, as if she was hungry for exotic dishes. Her interest in exploring unimaginable things that did not exist in her mind was only growing. Magic attracted her with its promises of strength and independence, as well as exciting possibilities. Today, she showed her skills in the refectory by summoning a large vase of roses out of nowhere.

The time spent on preparation was not wasted: the roses turned out to be as real as the true ones. The captivating scent of roses spread throughout the room, causing Hai to freeze in amazement, and Gasda to raise her eyebrows. While one of them continued to eat, laughing at the student's prank.

"Where did you get such amazing beauty from?" Lai exclaimed, running up to one of the vases.

Of course, her attempt to take one of the roses was unsuccessful. Although it was possible to create the illusion of materiality, Linda found it too difficult, and she preferred to limit herself to the view and aroma.

"I haven't done illusions for a long time" Helena joked, "but it seems that I also created flowers. Is this really such a miracle, or is it just your imaginary creation?"

"These are roses" Said Linda, who was confused by the maid's disappointment: "In my world, these are some of the best flowers. But the stems are in their thorns.

"That's how it should be" the mentor nodded: "Beauty needs to be protected. This also applies to you. By mastering magic, you grow your own thorns".

Hasd continued to practice, relying only on his skill with the dagger. Despite this, the girl worked day after day on the exercises she had already studied. She didn't want to stop training for riding, but Helena insisted on it. It was always possible to leave only before dinner, so Linda limited herself to a short half-hour walk on the trot and twice had difficulty putting the horse into a gallop. Turning her head to the girl, the mare looked at her with such reproach that the little rider felt awkward.

When the theory of mental magic began to take root in her thoughts, she decided to immediately try to apply it to her lazy mare. The result was beyond all expectations: the horse was filled with enthusiasm and showed such vivacity that Linda had to make a lot of effort to stay in the saddle.

They began to conduct experiments under the guidance of a mentor. Helena controlled every action of the student, explained what was not in the textbooks, and prevented serious mistakes several times. They used birds, their horses, and even an elk that walked near the castle in search of mushrooms as objects. The student wanted to ride it, but the mentor dissuaded her.

"You have no experience managing him" she explained: "Of course, he can leave, but where? He'll go into the woods and a branch will hit him, and then I'll have to treat your bones.

Working with birds was not a pleasure. The big birds disappeared, and the small ones, like sparrows, sat on the shoulders, but did not show respect and often forced the student to clean her clothes. Interacting with people turned out to be difficult. There were only servants around, and the trip to the village was forbidden.

"He will complain to the official representative of the queen in the capital" The teacher said: "These villages are under her jurisdiction, so he must react, and your education will turn out to be extremely expensive for us. You can try to do something insignificant with the help of the servants, but only so that they do not suspect anything. For example, let Hasd scratch his nose. Just be careful with Laya and be sure to keep an eye on what she's doing. Otherwise, you will interfere when she is chopping vegetables and leave her without a finger and us without a maid until I restore her arm. The main thing in this spell is to understand the principle and remember the recommendations, and experience will allow you to get used to it".

At the very initial stage of training spells on objects, it was difficult for me. However, soon something happened that I had been waiting for a long time - I managed to move the match, which slowly crawled on the table, obeying my will, until I was tired. A week later, I had no problems rearranging a dozen matches, and the table turned into a kind of match dance. And two days later, I managed to move a full box.

However, the next day, summer ended, and the first, still warm rain began. Others followed, and I was forced to temporarily stop riding a horse. The forest road was slightly blurred, but still mud flew from under the hooves of Khai's horse, and dirty drops drizzled from the trees. Instead, mushrooms appeared everywhere in the forest clearings. There were countless of them - you could collect them in baskets without ever leaving the castle.

My faithful moose just fed himself to the brim and marked the clearing with mushrooms. I was happy to pick mushrooms and give them to my faithful Haya, who dried them on the stove and hung them on strings in the kitchen. The smell of dried mushrooms was simply unique. But alas, Hasd was no longer engaged in harvesting mushrooms.

"Please understand, Rinda" he said, respectfully but firmly: "I had to spend a lot of firewood on your mushrooms, and now I have no opportunity to prepare more: everything is raw, and it is constantly raining".

Linda didn't argue, she put the basket in the pantry and forgot about the mushrooms to concentrate on her studies. She learned a spell that allowed her to freeze and boil water in a ceramic cup taken from home. Thanks to this spell, it was possible to keep food and things in good condition. But to solve the problem with the error in the book, Linda turned to her mentor for help.

"Always come to me for advice" the mentor advised: "The scribe made a typo that is not easy to notice. During my training, I got myself misled in this place before I figured out the problem. I was determined to fix the error, but alas, I forgot about it. Now look at how you need to fix it".

"Now I don't need a refrigerator" Linda thought: "Any food will stay fresh for a week, and it will only take a little strength".

"You're a magician now" the mentor said with satisfaction, "You can go to the guild and take exams. After you've mastered the elemental spirits, we'll move on to the last section. We should have plenty of time. Although, I will have to spend some time working with you, and you will have to go through some pain. You don't have much power for high magic, so we'll try to fix it. And I'll show you where the rest of the books are stored, just in case..."

As Linda believed, the books were stored in a specially equipped laboratory. They were placed in a niche hollowed out in the wall, which was covered with a high-quality illusion spell.

"There are bricks here!" The girl touched the wall in the indicated place and felt the uneven brickwork.

"Try to remove the illusion for a while" Helena advised: "But do not destroy the wall, otherwise you will have to rebuild yourself later".

Linda carefully performed the necessary magical actions, and the bricks disappeared, revealing a deep niche in the wall, which was almost completely filled with books.

"Are these all the results of magic?" She was surprised: "I've already read almost everything, does this mean that they belong to the last section?"

"You only got general knowledge for novice magicians" Helena explained, "But there are also in-depth textbooks that focus on individual, especially sought-after topics, as well as family secrets that are not shared with everyone. I also have such a book. In it, the masters of the Aquani family recorded all new discoveries in magic. By the way, that's where all the combat spells are located".

"Including summoning creatures?"

"No, this section refers to higher magic and is considered unclassified. However, the coordinates of some worlds are certainly classified information. The book also contains the coordinates of your world. Combat magic is aimed at influencing the enemy's body. You can stop his heart, freeze his breathing, or block the blood flow to his head. However, the use of such spells is limited, since a person does not die instantly and may have time to make an attack, or maybe more than one. In addition, to protect against such spells, there are amulets that prevent all or part of their effects".

"And when should I start studying this section?"

"It is recommended to study this section at the very end. Why such a gloomy look? This is not the time for you to study like this".

"Can I just look at the contents?

"Okay, that's settled. I will give you this book, however, it is not intended to be read. Instead, you will copy two pages of text from this book into your notebook every day.

You read great, but you write in such a way that it's hard for me to make out your scribbles. But if you learn to write well, you will satisfy your curiosity and be able to express your thoughts better. Then tell me what you understand. Just don't do anything without me! You're ready to open the doors, but you can't hold them. You'll get sucked in and they'll close, leaving me with your dead body. Do you understand? Then let's take it and let's go, otherwise the forest spirits started to worry.

"What kind of perfume?" Linda asked, following Helena with a book.

"These are various forest creatures, like swamp spirits and water spirits. They are weaker than real spirits, but they can be used. It's just that they can't leave their habitats, so their benefits are limited".

"Did they give you something? Why didn't I feel anything at all?"

"I have personally transmitted important information. Perhaps it is worth keeping silent - the matter seems to be serious. The direction in which people with guns are moving is suspicious. They are not walking along an ordinary road, as soldiers would do, but through the forest, and, more strangely, from the direction of Terskaya Pushcha. It is quite possible that this is a band of robbers who have planned a refuge in our castle until spring".

"And what will happen to us?"

"Can you not repeat stupid questions once again? What will become of us? If the robbers know about us, then our castle perfectly serves as an attractive excuse for them to come here. An old woman who survived from an orderly and two servants are not competitors for them. Moreover, perhaps they will find something valuable for themselves. Do you understand? We will be sent under the knife, and they will use you and then kill you, because you are noble and can be a potential source of problems".

"How many are there, has the message arrived?"

"It is reported that there is a sufficient number. Spirits can't count, for them, anything more than two is already a lot. But gangs usually consist of at least ten people, unless they are divided into two halves by the royal guard. Let's expect the worst and assume that there are two dozen of them. We can't do this on our own, so I need help. I would not like to waste the stock that I have accumulated for a rainy day, but it seems that it has come. Run to Gasd and tell him to take the crossbows and bring them to the south entrance. They should arrive there. Help him, and I'll run to the tower and ask for help. I only need half an hour, try to hold out that long. If you can't, go into the woods and take a husky with you, and I'll lock myself inside and try to finish the ritual. Run, my girl!"

Hasd reacted calmly to the news.

"Come on, mistress, you will help deliver the weapons and arm yourself".

The castle's weapons were kept in the servant's room in two large cupboards. He gave Linda a belt with a long dagger attached to it, more like a short sword, and two smaller daggers.

"These are for throwing. Take a bag with screws and a small crossbow with you".

He himself chose two of the ten available crossbows, the largest.

"Most likely, these projectiles are able to penetrate armor at a distance of a hundred paces" he explained to Linda, who looked at him with a questioning look: "Although robbers may not wear armor, it's still better to be prepared for different situations. At least we'll be able to shoot them from the edge of the forest, armored or not".

Hasd also strapped two daggers to his belt and strapped a short sword on his back. There was no armor in the room. When Linda asked why they were not there, he replied that all the armor of the castle was taken with them by the fleeing servants, and the iron disappeared with them into the swamp.

"They are not useful to us" the servant added, heading for the kitchen: "Our task is to destroy as many robbers as possible before they approach. Their bows are overgrown with mold, and from a greater distance they pose no threat to us. But they can hit us with arrows right up close, so hand-to-hand combat with them is impossible. We'll shoot them off and retreat inside the castle. Here we can kill two or three more, and then go into the forest if there are more than five left. If there are fewer of them, then maybe we can handle it. Now we'll warn Haya to leave and go straight to the entrance. If they give me time, I'll try to make a pile of firewood and barrels there. And this will be a barrier for them, and we will have a place to hide".

She didn't panic, didn't rush around the kitchen. She silently listened to Gasd's words, took a pot of porridge off the stove and hid a pair of kitchen knives right under her cloth belt, which differed from Linda's daggers only in the absence of a scabbard.

Hasd insisted: "It is not known how much time we have been given, and it will not be enough if we do not make it!"

They made it, but almost at the very last moment. As soon as the servant set up a small barricade of old barrels, a crowd of men in their late twenties came out of the forest and slowly moved towards the castle.

"There are many of them!" Hasd said with displeasure: "We will not stand. Listen to me, Rinda! These are not people hiding behind human form, but wolves. Each of these brutes has their hands soaked in blood. You start killing them, and I'll load the crossbows. You're as good a shot as I am, and that way we can move faster. Think that these are just targets!"

Linda couldn't figure out how to use people instead of targets, but she wasn't scared and put a loaded crossbow on a barrel, pointing it at a fat man with a big mustache who was walking in front of the crowd. She pulled the trigger, and the crossbow, as usual, hit the shoulder, and the fat man got an arrow in the stomach, screamed, threw the sword, ran a few steps and fell to the ground.

"Next one, quickly!" Gasd shouted, handing over a loaded crossbow.

The robbers did not linger, but grabbed their bows and clumsily ran straight towards them. Linda managed to shoot four more times without missing once, after which a rain of arrows fell on the barricade. The old man promptly hid the girl, covering her with a barrel, into which two arrows immediately stuck.

"Stay here!" He ordered, and himself, protected by a barricade from arrows, crawled to the door and managed to lock it and bolt it before the robbers came running. Then he got to his feet and shouted: "We won't last long here! Now they will find or chop down a tree trunk and easily knock down the door. The wood is still strong, but the hinges have long been corroded. Run to the gallery, maybe you can shoot someone from the window".

Linda surreptitiously grabbed a ready-made crossbow and a bag of bolts, and then abruptly turned to follow the old man. Hasd the crossbowman darted to the nearest window in the gallery, which was located right next to the entrance.

"Put the weapon on the floor" he said to the girl, continuing to address her on you: "I'll climb through the window opening, and then I'll hand you the crossbow. We don't need bolts: we'll only be able to fire one shot anyway, and then we'll use arrows. Hide behind the ledge of the wall and don't shoot until I pull myself up. We will strike at the same time".

Hasd put Linda on the base of the window without glass, handed her both crossbows and began to climb inside himself.

"Those bastards with the log are already running away" he remarked, looking at the robbers: "Target allocation: I shoot the first one, and you shoot the one who is chasing him. Aim, and I'll give the command. Come on!"

The first two robbers, who were carrying a huge log, collapsed in front of their comrades, and the end of the log ended up at the bottom and stuck into the ground. The others couldn't hold him, and so one of the villains had his leg broken. The rest of the robbers, who were standing to the side, became alarmed and began firing bows.

"Perhaps the robbers won't risk climbing into the castle from here?" Linda asked, jumping out of the window into the gallery with Gasd.

"Unbelievable" Said the old man, thinking and looking into the distance, "It will be easier for them to get through the door. The windows are too high outside, and they're afraid of us. Let's get the crossbows ready and head for the north exit. If we don't make it, we'll have to retreat through the ruined part of the castle. And in case of collision with them, immediately open fire, throw crossbows and defend yourself with daggers. The main thing for us is to endure as long as possible in order to give our mistress more time".

However, they did not have time. When there were only a few steps left before the turn in the corridor leading to the right exit, there was a crash of a broken door, and then the joyful cry of a dozen throats resounded through the halls of the castle.

"We're trying to break into the kitchen!" Gasd shouted, "They'll deal with us much faster here".

Scared and exhausted, they could only reach the kitchen door, where they encountered a dozen robbers armed with swords. Linda and Gasd fired crossbows at the same time, killing two enemies, then the others rushed at them with weapons in their hands.

"In my opinion, this is an emergency situation" flashed through Linda's mind, who in the next second switched herself to accelerated mode.

The robbers' actions slowed down, as if they were moving through thick water. One dagger, then the other...

She managed to attack two more who had calmed down earlier. Possession of a weapon was no longer possible: a suddenly weakened hand could not hold the handle, and legs, as if they had become wadded, could no longer support it. The girl fell on her back, hitting the back of her head hard on the stone floor. There was no strength, either magical or physical.

His eyes flashed, his temples bled, and his chest wavered and could not protect him from threatening suffocation. Amid the ringing sounds in her ears, she heard excited screams and the clink of blades. Hasd was still struggling, but he couldn't come to the rescue. Two men stopped next to her.

"Here you go, girl" one of them said.

"Who is she anyway? Look, death is already coming. Let me jump over her while she's still warm, and will you be on the alert so that no one bothers me by accident? You got your portion of rubber, but I didn't get a good share. It's impossible to stand it anymore, but here she is, look what she is!"

"You're a jerk!" The second one got angry: "There are a lot of enemies here, we don't even know how many of them there are, and you're always distracted by a woman! You're a complete idiot! We've already lost half the team, but have we killed anyone besides her? Now the guys will calm this old man down, and we need to..."

Something hit her with a light slap, and her feet turned out to be wet and warm. A moment later, the sound was repeated, and this time the water penetrated from the opposite side, soaking her hand and spilling over her face. Then there was a double thud of falling bodies. A cry of bestial terror rang out from the battle area, which was suddenly cut short. Footsteps could be heard from the same direction, and a tired Gasd approached Linda.

"What's wrong, Mrs. Rinda?" He asked, kneeling in front of her, "Are you covered in blood!"

"Mistress again!" whispered the girl, who felt a little better: "It's not my blood, Gasd. I just lost a lot of strength. You're tired and wounded yourself. Sit down next to me, let's rest a little. Isn't this the help that Helena called for?"

"Apparently" an elderly man replied, sinking heavily next to him: "I saw you rush towards the robbers, and instantly four of them fell to the floor. You fell too, but I couldn't come to the rescue. The criminals attacked you together, and your strength was already failing. I defended myself with a sword and covered myself with a crossbow, but they pulled me into a corner. I couldn't attack, only defend. At that moment, they were already preparing to deliver a fatal blow, but suddenly their heads flew off. I managed to jump back and avoided a profuse drenching of blood. Now there is silence and no one else appears, so I assume that something similar happened to the rest of the robbers. Soon the mentor will come here, and then I will go for medicines, because it started raining again outside".

There was the sound of hurrying footsteps in the corridor, and the mentor came around the bend. When she saw the crimson traces of blood on Linda, she screamed and ran towards her.

"What's the matter with you, my baby?!" The woman sobbed, clutching her head with her hands: "How could you use this so early?! This is wrong! I was almost crazy with fear. Be patient for a while, I'll give you my power soon. Where is Haya, Hasd?"

"I gave her your instructions to hide in the forest" the servant replied, getting up with difficulty: "I'll go find her and bring her back".

"Hold the raincoat" the hostess said, "It's raining heavily outside. And now let's get to you. Open up, I will transmit my power to you. Did it get easier? That's enough. Now lean on me and get up. Haya will help you wash up and go to bed. This is the most important thing for you right now. We need to rest, and I still need to bandage Gasd's cut. He is old and clumsy, before he would have dispersed a crowd of robbers alone, even in his armor. And now there will be someone to remove these bodies".

The girl remained unharmed and did not get wet, thanks to the prudently captured cloak, which covered her from the rain. Back at the castle, she prepared hot water and helped the young lady take a bath. She was lying in the tub, listless, like a fish in a sleepy state.

After the bath, Linda was toweled off, given a hot decoction and put to bed. At this time, an urgent lunch was prepared for everyone else. The old woman had to spend a lot of effort collecting the weapons left by the robbers and putting them in one place in the corridor. Then she put the broken door back in place, propping it up with barrels lying nearby. The clothes left after the disappearance of the robbers' body were thrown into a cesspool.

After all these things, Haya got to her room and fell asleep soundly. Hasd, who was treating a wound on his arm, also went to rest, but before that he fed the horses. The inhabitants of the ancient castle, without waiting for dinner, fell into a heavy sleep. Helena, as well as exhausted by the ritual of summoning and the need to transfer her powers to her student, slept deeply and did not react in any way to the message of one of the forest spirits about the approach of a large cavalry with sparkling weapons.

*****

"Do you think this castle is not that far away, Sergeant?" The junior officer asked the elderly man next to him, a male, distinguished by the appearance that is characteristic of the servants of the royal hunt.

"We're not far away, sir" the sergeant politely replied: "Are we going to turn around here or ask the owners to take shelter?"

"I hope that the senior lady will be kind to us" the commander replied: "In such bad weather, even animals are placed under shelter. It started raining again! Do you want us to set up tents? We only have twenty people, so we can easily fit in the castle. After all, it will be in the best interests of his tenants if we lose this squad!"