Osric returned to his master’s house with the faerie encased in ice up to her chin. He left her head exposed so she could breathe. Wulfric stood outside the workshop as Osric approached.
“Well done,” Wulfric said. “What made you think to freeze her?”
“There was a mist in the woods,” Osric said. “I improvised.”
“Good,” Wulfric said. “Now you must build a cage that can hold her.”
“Faeries are magical,” Osric said, “so it will have to contain her magic as well.”
“I’m pleased to see evidence that you have learned. Be quick about it, before your ice melts.”
Osric gathered branches and vines from the edge of the woods and fashioned a small cage. He kept the frozen faerie in view to ensure she couldn’t escape. Her eyes blinked and looked around, but otherwise she didn’t move. As he assembled the cage, he considered how to contain her. He decided to charm the cage so that any magic used upon it would reflect upon her like a mirror. The spell was only a theory, one he had never tried, but he felt confident he would succeed.
He focused on the wood and the vines, listening for their harmonies, weaving his reflection spell through the fibers of the plants. When he finished, he cast a fire spell at the cage. It bounced back and singed his hands. Satisfied, he placed the faerie inside and reversed the freezing spell. She sat down quietly, offering no resistance.
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