Caizey woke up disoriented and confused. It took her a while to remember that she was now a Spellcaster, in a tent at some weird garden house in a magical world. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. So much had happened in her life in such a short period of time that it was a little bit overwhelming. She sat there, lost in thought for a few moments, then took a deep breath and steeled herself for another new day.
Climbing out of the tent, she turned around and contemplated it for a while. Too bad it hadn't come with instructions of how to pack it back up. Putting it up had been pretty self explanatory, but making it fit in that tiny bag it had come with? She wasn't looking forward to it.
Stalling for time, Caizey looked around the area, and found a log that was ribbiting. Carefully, she pulled out the frog and set it aside - who knows what she was going to need for the "potions" that L. Faba had mentioned. And if nothing else - perhaps she could sell the frog to another Spellcaster who needed it.
Looking around some more, she found some wild plants, but they weren't fully grown yet, so they weren't ready to harvest. Caizey made a mental note to come back and look at them when they were grown, remembering that she had to grow some "Wild Mandrake" at home - whatever those were. There wasn't a whole lot else around, so there wasn't anything else to distract her, and she turned, resigned, back to her tent.
After a good half-hour wrestling with it, she managed to at least get it and the tent poles all packed back into that little bag - but it hadn't been pretty. Packing back up her backpack, she headed back to the main building, her stomach growling. Some more mac and cheese was calling her name.
Mac and cheese made a strange breakfast, but at least it filled her tummy. Nobody joined her meal this time, but that was okay with Caizey, because she wasn't feeling all that social this morning.
After cleaning up her dishes in the small kitchen, Caizey returned to the cauldron and did some experimenting. She didn't come up with anything, but it was fun, anyway. She quickly lost track of time, and spent most the day playing with her new magic skills.
A nearby magic duel caught her attention, and she watched avidly, looking forward to the day when she could do that herself. The note had said she needed to be able to win duels. She wondered idly if there was anything to be gained from winning them. With that thought, she headed back to "her" cauldron, and experimented some more.
At dinner time, she walked through the kitchen - only to find that someone had left some books out on the table. Looking around, she found she was alone, and her Klepto fingers were itching, so she snatched the books and hid them in her backpack. Never knew when she was going to want to do some research on Spellcasters., and surely she would eventually have lights at home to read by, right?
Exhausted, Caizey went back to the greenhouse and set up her tent again. In the dim light from the portal, she fell asleep soundly, never noticing the people who came and went, looking at her tent in confusion. Apparently camping out in the magic realm was a novelty.
The next day, Caizey decided that randomly experimenting on cauldron was a waste of time, and she tracked down L. Faba, and requested some training. L. Faba was more than happy to help out, and taught her her first spell. Learning the proper motions that went with it took time, however. Luckily L. Faba was a patient teacher.
L. Faba also helped teach her how to do a potion, and how to experiment properly - which meant that Caizey could try to learn some new potions on her own. Today, though, at least she had someone helping, and she managed to successfully brew some Needs potions that would definitely come in handy later.
Caizey also spent some time trying to get to know some other Spellcasters, and even found one willing to be her first duel partner. She wound up her only spell and threw it.... only to have her opponent dodge it deftly.
Her opponent's responding spell caught Caizey right in the chest, nearly knocking the breath from her. Gasping, Caizey tried her one spell again - and watched as it fizzled in front of her.
The next spell from her opponent knocked her flat on her back. Luckily it was just a friendly duel, and the girl quickly helped Caizey up and helped her dust off, making sure she was okay. Caizey wasn't about to let this first failure go to her head, though, and vowed to keep practicing.
The days passed, one blurring into the other as she practiced and learned. Her spell motions slowly became more fluid, and her potions more effective.
Then there came the day that she finally figured out how to catch her opponent off-guard. Even L. Faba was impressed by the force with which she threw her spell, and Caizey almost felt sorry for her opponent.
Almost. It was her first win, though, and Caizey couldn't help but celebrate. L. Faba smiled with pride, and the glow of success warmed her whole body. She could get used to this!
Caizey had been making use of the Needs potions she kept brewing, which allowed her to sleep less and practice more. She also spent some time making friends. Or, at least, trying to.
She kept getting better at duels, and started betting potion ingredients on them, allowing her to get more ingredients every time she won. Granted, she still lost sometimes, but it was becoming less often. She was becoming a real Spellcaster, and her rank even improved, allowing her to learn more spells and potions. Life was good. She was still poor, and she hadn't gone home.. but that was okay for now. She had other priorities.
You know it's never occurred to me that just semi-permanently hanging out in the magic realm would be perfect for a legacy founder, but you're right, it has all they need, providing they bring camping supplies and enjoy mac and cheese 😁 Things to be going great for her!
The challenge rules actually suggested the tent and camping, I have to confess it never would have occurred to me otherwise. It was definitely a good idea, though. It meant I didn't have to worry about money to start with!