Chapter 103: The Grand Bazaar, Part 2

I pulled out the wooden stick hidden in the folds of my apprentice robes and laid it gently on the counter. It was the 'thyrsus' Mistress Lorelai gave me for my contributions in the raid against the Maenad Queen. 

Thyrsus were wooden staves usually made from a giant fennel tree that had been soaked in wine for several moons. They were covered in greens, mostly ivy, sometimes grape vines like mine did, and they were topped by a pine cone that was shoved onto their tips. These pine cones were usually blessed with power though, so no one minded that they were a weird design choice for a mage's staff. 

Anyway, my thyrsus looked just like all the others one might find at a magic shop or in a temple dedicated to some god of wine. But based on where my thyrsus was found, it was safe to assume that it had powers most of its brethren didn't have.

"Huh, isn't it smaller than before?" Dess asked.