Текст книги "Slathbog's Gold"

Автор книги: Mark Forman

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 1 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

© 2009 Mark L. Forman

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Shadow Mountain ^¨. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of Shadow Mountain.

All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Forman, Mark, 1964-

  Slathbog’s gold / Mark Forman.

     p. cm. – (Adventurers wanted ; bk. 1)

  Summary: When fifteen-year-old orphan Alex Taylor sees an odd sign in

a shop window and goes inside to investigate, he is sent on a quest to

defeat an evil dragon, and in the process he confronts his fears and

learns about his future and his past.

  ISBN 978-1-60641-029-5 (hardbound : alk. paper)

  eISBN 1-60641-629-4 (eletronic)

 [1. Fantasy.  2. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction.

3. Orphans—Fiction.  4. Wizards—Fiction.]  I. Title.

  PZ7.F7653Sl 2009

  [Fic]—dc22                2008030691

Printed in the United States of America

R. R. Donnelley and Sons, Crawfordsville, IN

10     9       8       7       6       5       4       3       2       1

Contents

Chapter One

adventurers wanted

Chapter Two

mr.clutter’s back door

Chapter Three

magic bag

Chapter Four

the great arch

Chapter Five

three-legged troll

Chapter Six

the troll’scave

Chapter Seven

the white tower

Chapter Eight

oracle

Chapter Nine

the promise

Chapter Ten

magic sword

Chapter Eleven

techen

Chapter Twelve

eric von tealo

Chapter Thirteen

dwarf realm

Chapter Fourteen

the first bag

Chapter Fifteen

haunted ruins

Chapter Sixteen

the dark forest

Chapter Seventeen

slathbog

Chapter Eighteen

the wall

Chapter Nineteen

the journey home

Chapter Twenty

home again

Reading Guide

chapter one

Adventurers Wanted

Alex and his friends gathered around the small opening, preparing for what they had to do. His eyes fixed on the darkness in front of him and a shiver ran down his back. The darkness didn’t bother him, but the smell coming from the cave did. It was a nasty mix of rotten eggs and meat that had been left out too long, and it turned his stomach. Looking away, he tried to think of something happy, but nothing came to him.

Everything that had happened to him in the past few months seemed like a dream, a dream that was fast becoming a nightmare. They had reached the goal of their great quest. Alex had thought this day would never come, and for a moment he wondered why he was here.

“In we must go, or give up our quest,” said Bregnest in a grim tone.

“To some this would seem foolish, but let us seek our fate and trust to luck,” Skeld added, looking as serious as Alex had ever seen him.

Foolish,thought Alex. That was a good word for what they were about to do. Foolish or incredibly brave, he couldn’t decide which. It didn’t really matter though, because Alex knew he would go into the dark cave with his friends. He looked around at his seven companions and smiled, remembering how he had gotten here.

It had been a normal day when he had wished for a life different from the one he had known, a life of adventure. Yes, it had been a day like every other day he could remember—before he became an adventurer.

* * *

Alex had lived above the Happy Dragon tavern for as long as he could remember and there had been times when he’d enjoyed the sounds of the customers, the clinking of glasses, and the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen. The tavern was usually a happy place, but right then it was hard for Alex to think of anything happy.

“It wasn’t even my fault,” Alex said to himself as he clenched and unclenched his hands inside his jacket pockets, trying to work off his anger. If only he could run away from his life, run away to a place where no one would know him. He wanted to change his life, but he knew his wish was foolish and nothing would change. Frustrated, he walked faster than normal, ignoring the people and traffic around him.

It wasn’t fair that he had been yelled at for breaking the glasses. His stepbrother, Todd, had tripped him as Alex was carrying the glasses to the kitchen. Todd hadn’t meant to get him in trouble, or even to make him drop the glasses. He was always just goofing around. It was just Alex’s bad luck that he got blamed when the joke went wrong.

Turning onto Sildon Lane, Alex slowed his pace and took a deep breath to calm himself. Todd was two years older than Alex, and as stepbrothers went, he wasn’t all bad. The problem with Todd was that he was always doing things he shouldn’t have been, or that he didn’t really think through. It wasn’t Mr. Roberts’s fault that it looked like Alex was to blame for whatever happened. Todd was good at disappearing when things went wrong, leaving Alex to answer for what had happened.

Alex always called his stepfather “Mr. Roberts” or “sir” and Mr. Roberts was a busy man. He often didn’t have time to listen to Alex’s explanations of what had happened before he started yelling. Alex knew running the Happy Dragon was difficult work, and always being shorthanded didn’t help Mr. Roberts’s temper.

Alex paused and looked at his reflection in the dirty window beside him. His blue-green eyes looked back at him, and he could see the troubled look on his face. Smiling weakly at his reflection, he used both hands to flatten his ruffled, sandy-blond hair. He was being foolish and he knew it. But he couldn’t deny he still felt unhappy and frustrated with his life and he longed for something different.

Alex shook his head to clear his thoughts as he continued to walk down the lane. He glanced at the shop windows as he passed them, not really looking for or seeing anything. He felt his anger burning out, just like it always did when he took time to think about things.

He knew that when he got back to the tavern, Mr. Roberts would apologize for yelling at him and Todd would apologize for getting him into trouble.

Mr. Roberts was a large man who shouted a lot, but never really got angry about anything. He had always treated Alex well enough, but he had never seemed like a real father, at least not to Alex. Even though he knew in his heart that Mr. Roberts and Todd would do anything for him, Alex felt alone in the world. And in some ways, it was the truth. His mother had died when Alex was only seven, and he had never known his real father. He didn’t have any relatives, or at least none that he knew about.

Alex smiled as he remembered his mother, even though the memory made him sad. She had always told him that he could be whatever he wanted to be, if he just tried. Right now he wanted to be anything except the dishwasher at the Happy Dragon.

Alex stopped and looked back at the bookshop window he had just passed. It looked like the same bookshop he had walked by hundreds of times before, but there was something different about it today. Instead of the normal pile of dusty books in the window, there was a large, brightly painted sign with two words printed on it in large red letters

Adventurers Wanted

Alex stared at the sign for a minute, forgetting his troubles. He wondered what the sign might mean and why it was in the bookshop at all. It looked out of place in the window. He moved closer to the glass and tried to look into the shop, cupping his hands around his eyes to cut out the afternoon glare, but he couldn’t see anything. Puzzled, he looked back at the sign to see if he’d missed something. In deep blue letters the sign now said

Adventurers Wanted

Apply Within

Alex stepped back and shook his head before looking at the sign again. The red letters were back, and he wondered if he’d seen the blue letters at all. He focused on the sign for several minutes without blinking, just to be sure, but the red letters remained unchanged.

Alex looked up and down the lane, wondering if anyone else had noticed the sign. The normally busy lane was oddly empty. There were several parked cars, and a few people walking at the far end of the lane, but nobody close. It was still early afternoon. There should have been dozens of people and cars crowding Sildon Lane.

Looking back at the window, Alex jumped when he saw the sign had changed for a third time, this time to shiny gold letters.

Great Adventures

Reasonable Prices

Apply Now

Butterflies whirled in Alex’s stomach. Something strange was happening; signs didn’t change in an instant. There must be some reasonable explanation for what he was seeing. He moved closer to the window again, looking to see if there was some mechanical device that had changed the sign while he hadn’t been paying attention. All he could see was the cardboard sign—a sign that changed every time he looked away.

Alex moved to the bookshop door. He looked up and down Sildon Lane once more, but even the few people he had seen before were gone. Taking a deep breath, and considering how best to ask about the sign in the window, he pushed open the door and walked into the shop.

“Good afternoon,” said a happy voice as soon as the door had closed behind Alex. “Here to get an adventure, no doubt.”

Alex looked around the shop to see who had spoken. He spotted a short, round, balding man standing behind a dusty, book-covered counter.

“No, I—” Alex began.

“Thought you might like to try being an adventurer,” the man finished for him. “Excellent career choice I must say.”

“N-no,” Alex stammered. “I was just wondering—”

“Oh, not to worry,” the man interrupted again. “We don’t charge unless you’re completely happy with the adventure. And our prices are very reasonable. In fact, most adventures build the cost right in, so there’s no need for you to worry about payment at all.”

“Yes, but—”

“Come along then,” said the man with a laugh, turning away from the counter and walking toward the back of the shop. “We’ll just get some information and see what kind of adventure we can find for you.”

“I only wanted to ask about the sign,” Alex said in a rush, afraid the man would interrupt him again.

“Yes, it’s quite a good one, isn’t it?” the man replied, smiling fondly at the sign displayed in the window. “I’ve only just put it up today, and you’re the first one to notice it. Now, come along.”

Not knowing what else to do, Alex followed the man through the blue velvet curtains that divided the back of the shop from the front. The man moved quickly and by the time Alex stepped through the curtains, the shopkeeper was already sitting behind a desk, shuffling through a pile of papers. He seemed to be looking for something special and ignored Alex completely.

Alex approached the desk and looked at the papers scattered across the desktop and the floor. He tried to read what was printed on them, but it was impossible because more papers kept flying everywhere as the man continued searching through them. Alex stood and waited for the man to say something.

“Here we are,” said the man, pulling a single page from the pile. “Adventurers’ Application. Exactly what we’re looking for.”

“Excuse me, sir,” said Alex. “Who are you?”

“Who am I?” the man echoed. “Why, I’m Cornelius Clutter, of course.”

“And you . . . sell adventures?”

“Of course I do,” replied Mr. Clutter with a smile. “Didn’t you say you saw the sign in the window?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that says it all, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, but—”

“I mean, it would be silly for me to put up a sign offering adventures if I didn’t sell them, wouldn’t it?” Mr. Clutter asked in a kindly voice. “No good advertising for things you haven’t got, is it?”

“No, I suppose not.”

“Of course not. That would be silly. And one thing Cornelius Clutter is not is silly.”

“No,” Alex agreed, not wishing to offend Mr. Clutter. “But I’m not sure—”

“You’re not sure if you’re properly suited to be an adventurer,” Mr. Clutter finished for him. “Well, not to worry, the application will sort that out. After all, you’re already here, aren’t you?”

“But”—

“No, no, don’t worry,” said Mr. Clutter, looking down at the paper in his hand. “Let’s just see what we have once the application is filled out.”

Alex looked around Mr. Clutter’s office, feeling slightly nervous. He’d only wanted to know about the sign in the window, not fill out some application to become an adventurer, whatever that was. He was sure, however, that any objection he made would be brushed aside before he could get the words all the way out. He also felt certain that any answer of Mr. Clutter’s would have nothing at all to do with his question.

“Have a seat then, mister? Mister? Mister what?” asked Mr. Clutter, looking at Alex and pointing to a large chair in front of his desk.

“Taylor,” Alex answered, sitting down slowly. “Alexander Taylor. But I go by Alex.”

“Ah, well, we’ll jot that down,” said Mr. Clutter, taking a pen from his desk and starting to write. “Now then, Mr. Taylor—or may I call you Alex?”

“Yes, please.”

“Thank you. Now then, Alex, what is your age?”

“Fifteen.”

“A bit young,” Mr. Clutter said, scribbling on the paper in front of him and making a soft clucking sound.

“I’ll be sixteen in two months,” Alex added quickly, not liking the frown that had appeared on Mr. Clutter’s face. “I turn sixteen at the end of October.”

“Ah, well, that doesmake a difference. I find it’s best to start a career early. So, any special abilities?” questioned Mr. Clutter.

“None that I know of.”

Mr. Clutter nodded, writing something down. “We’ll put you down as untested then.”

“Yes, I suppose so,” Alex replied. He didn’t know what Mr. Clutter meant by “special abilities” or “untested,” but he didn’t dare ask any questions.

“Ah, yes, now a more difficult question,” said Mr. Clutter, the corners of his mouth twitching as he tried not to smile. “Would you have any problems traveling with female adventurers?”

“What?” Alex asked, blushing at the question.

“Well, as I’m sure you know, there have always been female adventurers,” Mr. Clutter said quickly. “And many of them have found a great deal of success. It’s just that, well, some male adventurers don’t think the ladies belong—if you know what I mean. A bit silly if you ask me, but people can be silly about things like that.”

“No, I don’t have a problem with female adventurers,” said Alex.

“Right,” Mr. Clutter went on without waiting for Alex to say anything more. “Do you believe in brownies, dragons, dwarfs, elves, fairies, ghosts, goblins, griffins, pixies . . .”

Mr. Clutter continued to read names from the paper and Alex listened closely as the list went on and on. He wondered how long it would be before Mr. Clutter ran out of breath. Alex had never heard of most of the things on the list before, and those he did recognize, he didn’t believe in anyway. After several minutes, and what seemed like hundreds of names, Mr. Clutter appeared to be winding up.

“ . . . Sea serpents, skin changers, trolls, werewolves, and wraiths?” Mr. Clutter took a deep breath and looked at Alex.

“Well,” said Alex, feeling uncomfortable. “I—”

“We’ll just put yes on that one, shall we?” Mr. Clutter interrupted. “Not to worry, not to worry, most people don’t know half of the creatures listed.”

“No, I suppose not.”

“And we’ll put yes down on number seven as well. Everybody says yes to number seven.”

“Number seven?”

“And let’s see. We should put down unknown on magical ability and resistance to curses.”

“I—”

“And yes to willing to learn magic,” Mr. Clutter continued happily, marking the page in front of him as if Alex wasn’t there. “We should put no to affiliated with dark creatures. And no to evil intent.”

“Does anybody say yes to evil intent?” Alex asked, more to himself than Mr. Clutter.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Mr. Clutter replied, looking up from the page. “We have to ask, it’s on the form.”

“Oh,” Alex said, surprised that Mr. Clutter had answered his question directly.

“Any experience with weapons?” Mr. Clutter asked suddenly. “You know—sword, ax, bow. Anything at all?”

“No,” Alex answered, confused.

“Ah, well,” said Mr. Clutter, looking back to the paper on his desk. “Not a problem, not a problem at all. Lots of first-timers don’t have any experience with weapons.”

“Are there many first-timers?” Alex asked, not terribly surprised when Mr. Clutter didn’t answer.

“That about does it I think,” said Mr. Clutter, standing up. “If you’ll just sign here at the bottom, we’ll see what we can do about finding you an adventure.”

“Yes, well,” Alex began as Mr. Clutter forced the pen into his hand and pointed to the place where he should sign. “I don’t—”

“I’m sure this seems very fast,” said Mr. Clutter, tapping the page in front of Alex. “It’s just that I know of an adventure that’s about to begin, and if we get your application to them quickly enough, they may take you along.”

“Oh,” was all Alex could think to say. He paused, then signed his name in the spot next to Mr. Clutter’s finger.

“Excellent,” said Mr. Clutter, taking the pen and looking over the signed application. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll see if I can arrange an interview immediately.”

Confused by everything that was happening, and a little breathless because of Mr. Clutter’s way of talking very fast, Alex considered running for the door. He was curious, however, and the idea of adventures had caught his interest. And although he didn’t believe in magic, he thought perhaps he could.

Alex followed Mr. Clutter out of the room and down a long, wood-paneled hallway. There were several doors on either side of the hallway, but Mr. Clutter led Alex straight to the door at the far end.

“If you’ll just relax in here for a few minutes,” Mr. Clutter said, opening the door for Alex, “I’ll see if I can arrange your interview.”

Alex was about to say, “Thank you, but I really have to be going,” but he never got the chance. Mr. Clutter shut the door and was gone. Alex was alone in a large room with a warm fire and several comfortable-looking chairs. Two small tables with large silver lamps on them had been pushed against one wall of the room and there was a large window on the back wall. Alex looked around, but there was nothing more to see.

“This is complete madness,” Alex said to himself as he started pacing around the room. Mr. Clutter must be mad, or maybe worse,Alex thought as he continued to circle the room. I’ll just make some excuse to get out of the shop and go back to Sildon Lane, that’s all.

Making his way to the window at the back of the room, Alex looked outside absently. He was trying to think of an excuse to leave, but what he saw outside the window made him forget everything. The view was not of an alleyway or a backyard, but of a snow-covered countryside. Rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing clearly, Alex looked closer. The view did not change like the sign had. He could see people moving around a small cluster of houses. Outside the window, it had started to snow and, try as he might, Alex couldn’t find an explanation for what he was seeing. After several minutes of staring out the window, Alex moved to the fireplace and dropped into a large leather chair, dazed.

He had almost convinced himself that Mr. Clutter was simply crazy. Yes, it would have been nice to believe in magic and adventures, but there really were no such things. Alex was starting to wish he had never come into the bookshop.

Suddenly the door opened, shaking him from his thoughts. Mr. Clutter had returned, and two people were following him.

“Now then,” Mr. Clutter began in a businesslike tone. “This is Mister Alexander Taylor, but he goes by Alex. He has applied for an adventure, and naturally I thought of you gentlemen.”

Alex’s eyes grew wide as he saw the two people who had followed Mr. Clutter into the room. The first man was barely five feet tall, with wide shoulders and short legs. He wore large leather boots and a blood-red shirt. His beard reached to just below his belt. The second person was close to six feet tall, with long, silver-blond hair and a happy, almost glowing, face. His clothes seemed to be all different shades of green, but Alex couldn’t tell what they were made of. As he looked at the two strangers, Alex realized that these were not normal people at all.

“Hmmm,” said the short one, looking at Alex. “Not had many applicants lately, have we?”

“Well, no,” Mr. Clutter admitted in an apologetic tone. “However, this young man seems willing, and I’m sure he would be an excellent addition to your adventure.”

“Really,” the short man replied, turning to look at Mr. Clutter. “Would you say that if youwere going on thisadventure, Clutter?”

“Well, my adventuring days are over,” replied Mr. Clutter, stammering slightly but continuing to smile. “But Alex seems an excellent choice for a first-time adventurer. You’ve seen his application, and applications are almost always right.”

“Would you bring us some tea?” asked the second man in a clear, musical voice.

“Yes, of course,” said Mr. Clutter, turning to go. “I’ll bring it right along then, shall I?”

“Give us a few minutes,” replied the second man with a slight smile. “We need to ask some questions first.”

Mr. Clutter was out of the room without another word, leaving Alex alone with the two strangers. The men seemed not to notice that he was staring at them as they moved two chairs closer to the fire and took their seats. There was an uncomfortable minute of silence, and Alex wondered if he should say something.

“Well,” the man with the musical voice began, “I suppose

introductions are in order. My name is Arconn. I am, as you may have guessed, an elf of the house of Dalious, hailing from the great forest lands of Delanor.”

Alex couldn’t have said anything if he’d tried. He had no idea what the “house of Dalious” was or where the “lands of Delanor” were, but he had noticed that Arconn, though looking normal enough, had oddly pointed ears.

“I’m Thrang Silversmith,” said the short man. “Son of Thorgood Silversmith. From the land of Thraxon.”

“I . . .” Alex started then stopped.

“You are Alexander Taylor,” said Arconn. “We’ve seen your application, so if it’s all right with you, we’ll call you Alex.”

“All right,” Alex managed to reply.

“He’s not sure what to make of us, I reckon,” said Thrang with a short laugh. “Thinking we’re just a couple of strange men, he is.”

“Oh, no,” Alex said quickly.

“Don’t worry ’bout it,” Thrang continued, waving off Alex’s words. “Most first-timers don’t know what to make of their new companions.”

“I suppose not,” said Alex. “I’m not at all sure about any of this.”

“That is an excellent place to start,” said Arconn happily.

“It is?” Alex asked.

“’Course it is,” Thrang answered in a more serious tone. “Not being sure leaves your mind open to all kinds of things, don’t it?”

“I suppose it does,” Alex admitted.

“Well, then, we’re looking for an eighth person to join our adventure,” said Thrang. “Clutter says you might be our man.”

“Yes, well I—”

“I think he will do nicely,” said Arconn. “Not too sure of himself, but willing.”

“Needs to be outfitted,” said Thrang, stroking his beard. “Be no good taking him dressed like that.”

“Dressed like what?” Alex asked, looking down at his clothes.

“You’re hardly dressed for an adventure.” Thrang laughed.

“I wasn’t planning to go on an adventure,” Alex answered defensively. “I wasn’t planning any of this.”

“The best ones never do,” said Thrang.

“May I ask, then,” said Arconn in a slightly concerned tone, “why did you come here?”

“What?” Alex asked.

“How did you enter Mr. Clutter’s shop, and more important, whydid you enter Mr. Clutter’s shop? It’s not as if just anyone can get in, after all.”

“I saw a sign in the window,” Alex replied. “The sign seemed to change every time I looked at it, so I thought I’d ask about it in the bookstore.”

“I see,” said Arconn, leaning back into his chair. “And do you think anyone else noticed the sign?”

Alex thought. “Sildon Lane was strangely empty when I noticed the sign. I was going to ask someone in the street if they noticed the sign changing, but when I looked around, there was nobody there.”

“’Course not,” said Thrang in a matter-of-fact tone. “That’s because you weren’t really there either.”

“What do you mean? Of course I was there. If I wasn’t there, how could I have seen the sign?”

“An interesting question,” Arconn said in an understanding voice, “as not many people ever see the sign, and fewer still ever ask about it.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you are talking about,” said Alex, not liking the way the conversation was going. All of this talk about people not seeing a sign that was in plain view concerned him. “I really should be going,” he continued quickly. “Mr. Roberts will be looking for me soon, and—”

“He won’t be looking at all,” said Arconn calmly. “Because, in fact, you haven’t been gone long at all.”

“But I have,” Alex insisted. “It must be an hour or more since I left.”

“He don’t understand,” said Thrang, looking amused. “He don’t know what we’re on about.”

“No, I understand,” said Alex. “But I really should be getting back. I have a lot of work to do at the tavern—”

“Let me explain,” said Arconn, cutting Alex off and motioning for him to sit down in a chair. “I promise, you won’t be late getting back to your work if you’ll just listen.”

Alex sat down on the edge of his chair, not sure he really wanted anything explained to him. Since entering the shop, every time he’d managed to get a question answered things seemed to make less sense.

“We are adventurers,” Arconn began.

“He knows that much,” Thrang interrupted. “You’ve got to tell him why he won’t be late getting back to work.”

“Of course,” said Arconn. “But I want to go step-by-step, so he will understand exactly what is happening.”

“Oh, fluff,” said Thrang, blowing air out of his mouth loudly. “You’re telling him like he was a child. Just give it to him plain and let him think it over.”

“Very well,” said Arconn. “I suppose you’re right.”

Alex’s eyes moved from Thrang to Arconn. He thought he should just leave, but part of him—the part that wanted to believe in adventures and magic—made him stay to hear what Thrang and Arconn had to say.

“The first thing you need to know is about magic,” said Arconn. “The sign in the window is a magic sign. That’s why it seemed to change every time you looked away from it.”

“Magic?” asked Alex.

“Don’t interrupt,” said Thrang, making himself more comfortable in his chair. “Jus’ listen to everything, then think it over.”

“You saw the sign because the sign called to you, or showed itself to you, if you like,” Arconn continued. “And you didn’t walk into a bookshop, you walked into Clutter’s Adventure Shop.”

Alex leaned forward, feeling he should say something, but a stern look from Thrang stopped him.

“When you entered the shop, you passed through a magic gateway,” Arconn said. “Gateways are a bit difficult to explain, as they only open when they are needed, and then only for certain people. Only a true adventurer could see the magic sign and pass through the gateway, so you must be an adventurer, even if you don’t know it.”

Alex shifted in his chair but didn’t say anything. None of this made any kind of sense to him, but strangely, he found himself wanting, even trying, to believe what Arconn was saying.

“Time as you know it doesn’t matter here, because no matter how long you stay on this side of the gateway, you’ll never be late for anything on the other side of it. When you go on an adventure, time is real enough, but that’s only time where you are,not where you came from,” Arconn continued.

Alex thought for a minute. Arconn’s explanation was clear enough, but still, Alex couldn’t believe that time could be different here.

If he accepted the idea of magic, and the simple fact that a dwarf and an elf were sitting in front of him made magic seem possible, then it all made sense. The trouble was, even if he wanted to believe in magic, that didn’t make it real.

“When you go on an adventure, time passes normally,” Arconn said. “You get older, grow larger, everything. Then, when you complete the adventure and return through the gateway, you return to the way you are now.”

“That’s right,” Thrang said with a smile. “Wouldn’t do to get home and be years older than when you left, would it? Being gone for only a few seconds and aging several years would be hard to explain to anyone.”

“Yes, I suppose it would,” Alex admitted.

“And when you go on another adventure, you can choose what age you want to start at,” Arconn added. “Of course, you have to choose from the ages you were in a previous adventure.”

“What?” Alex asked.

“It’s simple,” Thrang answered. “Say you was on a ten-year adventure. By the time you get done, you’d be twenty-five. You can’t go back home being twenty-five—not if you left at fifteen only a few seconds before. So when you get back, you magically return to the age you were when you started. Then later you go on another adventure, but you don’t want to start at twenty-five and get older, and you don’t really want to start at fifteen again. So you can choose to start somewhere between the two—like twenty.”

“Oh,” said Alex, nodding his understanding. It made sense the way Thrang and Arconn explained it, but part of him still felt like he should be getting back to the Happy Dragon.

“If you’re willing to accept the fact that there’s magic involved, everything else is easy,” Arconn finished with a smile.

“It does make things simpler,” Alex admitted.

For several minutes Alex sat quietly and thought about what Arconn and Thrang had said. It all made sense– ifthere was such a thing as magic. If not, then he would be very late getting back to work and in for a real scolding.

“Just bring the tea in, then, shall I?” Mr. Clutter questioned, pushing the door open and stepping into the room. “Nice bit of green tea and some cakes.”

“That will be fine,” replied Arconn, without looking away from Alex.

Alex watched Mr. Clutter as he carried a large, silver tray into the room. It was easier to watch Mr. Clutter than to think about magic and gateways and adventures because then he didn’t have to decide if he believed in any of it.

“Come on, then,” said Mr. Clutter, looking at one of the tables next to the wall.