Ruger relaxed his entire body, unconsciously sensing the changes in the magic array's workings as he read the book.
He had this overbearing old wizard to thank, a man who roped people into working without even discussing payment. This wonderful garden was what gave him such confidence. Even the other things in this timeworn building were part of it. There was no need to discuss compensation. He only had to let these fellows look around for themselves during their breaks, and they would immediately perk up, even wanting to spend longer as his assistants.
Ruger had fallen into precisely that situation, and he had done so knowingly.
Of course, he also had himself to thank. His first exposure to magic arrays had come from Uncle Lunse. Back at the potion shop, Old Lunse had given him some guidance on simple, elementary matters. His real exposure had come through the books he borrowed from Varin and Jillian. Both wizards had ventured into alchemy, so their books covered rather more formal material on magic arrays. Then there had been his voracious reading in the Vango Family Library at Varin's home, with his teacher Immanuel beside him, available for questions and discussion from time to time. Those, too, had been wonderful days.
It was that earlier accumulation of knowledge, though hardly profound, that allowed him to understand this book now. Without all the scattered knowledge he had gathered over the years, presenting this indescribably vivid and wonderful book to him would have been like showing Big Silly Hum a spell model. It might even have been less useful than showing him a cookbook.
Wizards were impatient, yet wizards were also patient. Anything could happen over the long years. Perhaps only one thing was certain: knowledge and experience accumulated without anyone noticing. As the