Lily stared at the wand on her work table, wondering at the spellwork wrapped within. It seemed to do a fairly decent job of creating a lifelike miniature sheep. She hoped she could adjust it, allowing for a different option.
Tracing a circle of runes about the base, she reworked some of the specifics. “Let’s see. If I just tweak this here and here,” she muttered before it slipped away from her fingers and clattered to the floor. Scrambling, she picked up again, checking it for damage. Everything seemed fine, and nothing appeared, so she let out a relieved sigh.
Her finger moved about the crystal at the top, violet swirls appearing around it. Speaking a few words of power, it flared for a moment, a small dog appearing on the floor. “I did it,” she exclaimed. She began to make a few notes in her book when she heard Kal’s voice from her runestone on the table.
“Lily, would you come here please?”
“Oh, sure, one moment,” she replied. She climbed the stairs into his sanctum on the floor above hers. “What is it, Kal?”
“Lily…where did all these puppies come from?” He gazed at her, half awaiting her answer, half knowing what it would be.
Lily winced as she began to noticed there was no less than fifteen little puppies in the space, all of them getting into Kalithil’s work. As one sent a vial crashing from his worktable, she withdrew the wand of simulated life from behind her. “I was…testing a change?”
The ancient sorcerer held out his hand, into which she promptly deposited the wand. “Lily…”
“I know, I’ll fix it,” she sighed. She opened a portal to the stables and began gathering up the tiny creatures. One by one, she sent their wriggling bodies through. “Where did that come from though?” She pointed to a tiny little bat with a single fang, perched atop Kal’s helmet and mask on its stand.
Kalithil shrugged. “He climbed up onto my mask and has stuck with me ever since. I’m sure his owner will turn up eventually.”
Lily held out a palm, letting the little bat climb over to her. “Come on. Let’s get you something to eat.” She reached to pick up the wand, stopping at Kal’s expression. “Nevermind. We’ve plenty of puppies already.”