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Shield of Namarr is a sword-and-sorcerer type fantasy WIP, set in a kingdom that suffers from magically-created, vicious creatures. Three friends have gone to a mage’s house, are led into a room crammed full of cabinets and shelves, the mage asks questions and assembles the potion in a cauldron before shuffling out of the room with it.
Several minutes later, the Stonespeller returned, hands empty, “I need to tend to the fire while the potion cooks, but I won’t be long.”
With that, the mage walked off again, popping around the corner a few heartbeats later, “It’s best if you don’t touch anything, though.”
Reagan leaned over to pat Shan’s shoulder, “We’ll find the Shield in time, and Jamie will–”
A fawn statue clacked around the corner, carrying a tray in its mouth, and set it on Reagan’s lap.
Reagan stared at the tray, which had three clay mugs, a small pitcher of water, and a covered dish, arranged with a clear eye to the tray’s balance.
But the fawn, clearly, had no hands. Were there more statues in the house with them? The fawn seemed harmless enough, but Reagan remembered the sharp teeth and claws on the dragon, and the stinger on the manticore, who seemed unnecessarily fearsome for pulling weeds and trimming hedges.
* * *
Originally, Shield of Namarr was intended to be a very short snippet, but some things I wrote at the end raised some questions–which led to more story. I’m currently working on some world-building and character development so I can figure out where the story goes next.
Shan, Auber, and Reagan visit a Stonespeller, a mage who works mostly in animated stone, to buy a potion that will help them recover a lost stone, the Shield of Namarr, which powers a shield that keeps magically-created, dangerous creatures from entering the city they live in. Failure to return the Shield quickly will have deadly consequences for their friend, Jamie, whose life-force is currently powering the shield-spell.
caitlinsternwrites 
There’s a touch of humor in your description. ‘fawn statue clacked around the corner’ I’m enjoying this story, Caitlin.
Well, stone hooves wouldn’t be very quiet, would they? 😉
I can just picture the fawn now, wearing those little booties designed for dogs, giving the mage a woebegone look.
Loving the story, I so want to go visit this mage for myself! The house and garden have been wonderfully described…not so sure I’d want to eat and drink there but I suppose one can’t refuse. Can;t wait for more!
This is Regan’s thought, exactly. Is this stuff safe to drink?
Maybe, maybe not. 😉
Interesting set up of a fawn statue/servant. I love the attention to details with the balancing of the tray . . . and the memory of the other–
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It is a very good question–you can’t get too carried away with logic when it comes to magic, but you have to have some rules.
Like statues with hands in the kitchen. Maybe a satyr, or a fairy… That or another kind of enchanted items spell…
Love the humorous touches. “Best if you don’t touch anything…” indeed!
It might turn you into a newt, you never know.
Love this…I think the old mage is clever : )
Pretty clever, but also a little peculiar. 😉
Your imagination is amazing, Caitlin! More, please!
More is coming. I’m currently working on plotting a few monster attack scenes. I think I have to show at least two or maybe three of the magical beasties that are causing all this fuss.
great setting and detail, totally pictured the animated fawn, etc. Sounds like a very cool premise for a story!
The Stonespeller is an interesting character, with a group of animated statues and a lovely garden–and a mysterious back room.
I love the fantasy world-building and the statues coming to life.
I’m not quite sure how many statues the Stonespeller has enchanted, but it’s probably a great deal. After all, they eat nothing, don’t make a mess, and are good company.
The fawn is delightful.
And a pretty good server, too, for something with no hands.
I think the fawn isn’t as harmless as it appears. It might be as dangerous as the dragon. The harmless animals tend to be the opposite in stories, I find. Good 8!
That’s certainly a possibility, but not one I thought of. The fawn is going to wander away in a minute, and any mysteries will remain hidden.
hidden mysteries are always good.
You are really great with world-building, and I love your imagination 🙂 You’ve created such a fun world here! Love the fawn. Another great snippet!
Magic is fun, and fun to write about, I think. Which makes it fun to read, too. 😀
I do worry that the fawn will turn on them, scary thought. Great description.
Y’all are clearly living in a horror kind of world. I promise the fawn is harmless.
Or at least as harmless as a near indestructible, magically created, immortal statue of a baby deer can be. 😉
I’ll take a fawn like that if it delivers drinks all the time. Nice scene. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
A houseful of statue minions would be nice, wouldn’t it?
Lol, he has been told not to touch and now the fawn dropped something in his lap;). Am loving the story.
Well, I meant–and the mage meant–not to be messing with the bottles and vials and jars, etc. Not to refuse the refreshments.
Is that unclear? I could tweak something if it is.
No, I got what the mage said, but I thought maybe you meant for the boys to misunderstand, which would be funny.
I don’t think they do misunderstand. Do they want to drink it? Not really…
(They’re not all boys, by the way. I’m curious why you thought they were, though. Might need some changes.)
I love this fawn, very unusual.
If you’re going to animate statues, you really need some smaller, less scary ones to help around the house, I think.
Or you’ll end up with dragons trying to dust and breaking things.