"Haha, this is exhausting!" Rion panted as he continued his descent.
The staircase seemed endless, spiraling down with no clear sign of stopping. He glanced upward, seeing the countless loops of stairs they had already climbed down.
"Sure is," Lie agreed, "but we should be nearing the halfway point."
With each step, the ground grew closer and closer.
"If only I could just fly my way down," Rion muttered.
Lie laughed "For real. But flying is one of the hardest spells to pull off— albeit not as difficult as teleportation and other space oriented spells."
Rion crossed his arms as he walked. "Hey what's your favorite spell, Lie?"
"Me? Hmmm Probably my translation spell."
"Translation spell?" Rion repeated.
"Yup. It helps me read untranslated books—though it doesn't work for every language."
"Whoa, that's pretty neat."
"Sure is… Speaking of magic, though there's something I want you to do…"
—
"You want me to channel magic through my wand while walking?" Rion asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lie, who was a few steps ahead, turned her head and nodded. "Yeah. Being able to sustain your magic flow over long periods of time and while moving—is an essential skill for a mage."
"Hm, makes sense." Rion retrieved his wand from his belt and held it in front of him as if about to cast a spell.
"Oh, you don't need to hold it so formally," Lie pointed out.
"I don't?"
"Nope. Just hold it at your side, like it's not even there."
"A-Alright then." Rion loosened his grip, letting the wand rest naturally at his side as he started channeling magic through it without casting anything.
"Good! Now keep that up," Lie instructed. "We should reach the bottom in about half an hour, so maintain it until then."
"Got it," Rion responded.
As they continued downward, their conversation faded into silence. Rion focused entirely on controlling his magic, the only sounds breaking the quiet being the whistling wind through the staircase, the occasional click of his tongue when he lost focus, and Lie's calm reassurances whenever he did.
Finally, after another 35 minutes—bringing their total descent to an hour and a half—they reached the bottom.
"FINALLY!" Rion exclaimed, stretching his arms.
At the bottom a raised platform greeted them, mirroring the one at the top. However, this one had a small rest stop nestled at its edge.
"Wanna take a break?" Lie asked, eyeing the rest stop.
Rion grinned. "By all means."
They approached the rest stop and bought a small box of cookies along with some tea before settling onto a bench beside the rest stop.
"You held your magic for quite a while toward the end there—good job," Lie praised.
"Thank you!" Rion said with a big grin. "I feel like every time I use it, I get a better grip on magic. Almost like old memories coming back."
Lie smiled warmly. "Then I guess we should thank 'previous you.'"
Rion grabbed a cookie, popping it into his mouth before washing it down with tea.
"Yup!"
The two enjoyed their food, the warmth of the sun shining down on them as a gentle breeze carried the scent of the open road.
(And thus Rion's adventure continues…)