Текст книги "Slathbog's Gold"

Автор книги: Mark Forman

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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

chapter three

Magic Bag

Alex followed Andy into the streets of Telous. He was relieved that Thrang had offered to pay for what he needed because he didn’t have any money of his own. He wasn’t even sure what kind of money was used in Telous, and he hadn’t thought to ask.

“First time?” Andy asked.

“Yes, it is,” replied Alex, a little ashamed of his answer.

“You’re lucky,” Andy said, taking no notice of Alex’s tone. “Most first-timers go on really dull adventures. This one sounds very exciting and should be great fun.”

“Fun?” Alex wondered why anyone would think trying to kill a dragon would be fun.

“It’s better than my first,” said Andy. “My first adventure was incredibly dull, and we didn’t find much treasure at all.”

Alex looked closely at Andy for the first time. He was tall and blond, perhaps twenty-five years old, but his baby face made him look younger. He seemed happy to be on an adventure, or perhaps he was just happy. Alex decided that he liked Andy, and that Andy would be the one he’d ask about things he didn’t understand.

“I’m a little surprised that Arconn and Thrang picked a first-timer,” said Andy as they walked into a shop. “But I suppose they know what they’re doing.”

Alex wanted to say he thought Arconn and Thrang had made a huge mistake, but kept that to himself. It was obvious Andy had a great deal of respect for Arconn and Thrang, and Alex didn’t want to anger his new companion by saying something stupid.

As the day went on, Andy led Alex to several shops around Telous. After each of their stops, Alex was carrying more and more packages, many of which he didn’t even recognize. Andy helped Alex carry his new things, and tried to answer some of Alex’s questions as they went.

Alex, struggling to carry all the packages Andy had purchased for him, wondered how he would be able to carry everything with him on the adventure. There were shirts and pants and blankets, two new pairs of boots, cooking pots, a tent, and several other camping items. He was also worried that Thrang would be upset about the amount of money they’d spent. Andy kept shopping however, unconcerned about the number of items they were buying or the prices.

“We’ve spent an awful lot of money,” Alex said as he struggled to keep ahold of his packages. “I don’t want to take advantage of Thrang’s goodwill.”

“We’re almost done,” said Andy, shifting some of the packages he was carrying from one arm to the other. “Thrang offered to stand good for you, so don’t worry.”

“But I’m sure he didn’t know we’d be spending so much,” Alex protested. “And I can honestly say I don’t know how much we’ve spent.”

“You don’t know how much we’ve spent?” Andy asked in a puzzled tone.

“I don’t know anything about the money here,” Alex admitted.

“What do you use at home, then?”

“We have metal coins, but we also use paper money.”

“Paper money?” said Andy, the smile on his face showing he thought Alex was joking.

“It’s true,” Alex insisted. “We don’t use gold or silver coins at all.”

“It’s easy—one gold coin is worth thirteen silver coins. Didn’t the adventurer who took you to the Oracle explain about money and treasure?” Andy asked.

“I didn’t go to an oracle.”

Andy stopped dead in his tracks. “Then how were you chosen as an adventurer?”

Alex explained about seeing the sign in the shop window and what had happened at Mr. Clutter’s shop. He was happy to go over all the details again for Andy because it helped him get things straight in his own mind as well.

“No wonder Thrang and Arconn asked you to join us,” said Andy, sounding impressed. “I’ve only heard of two other people seeing the sign and that was years ago.”

“That’s strange,” said Alex. “The sign was in plain view, anybody could have seen it.”

“I doubt that,” said Andy with a laugh. “The sign may have been in plain view for you, but I doubt that anyone else—even another adventurer—would have seen it.”

“Why?” Alex questioned.

“I’m not sure I can say,” answered Andy. “It might have something to do with magic, or maybe it was your fate to see the sign when you did. Whatever the reason, I’m sure it was good fortune that you saw it.”

Alex thought about Andy’s answer, but he wasn’t sure what to think. He shook his head and pushed Andy’s explanation to the back of his mind for now, more worried at the moment about Thrang and the money they’d spent. He told Andy his feelings but he just smiled at Alex’s concern.

“I guess you don’t know much about dwarfs,” said Andy as they started walking again.

“No, I don’t,” Alex admitted.

“I know a little, and I’ll tell you this,” said Andy, catching a package as it slipped out from under Alex’s arm. “Dwarfs are careful with their money. They’re not cheap or miserly or anything like that, but they’re careful just the same.”

“And we’re spending Thrang’s money quickly,” said Alex.

“What you need to understand is this,” Andy continued, taking no notice of Alex’s comment. “If a dwarf offers to stand good for you, he expects you to spend freely.”

“I don’t understand,” said Alex, trapping a package under his chin.

“Once he’s offered to stand good for you, he’ll expect you to take advantage of his offer,” Andy explained. “It would be an insult to him if you didn’t buy everything you needed—and the best of everything you needed at that.”

“An insult?” Alex wondered out loud as they entered another shop. “I would insult Thrang if I didn’t spend as much of his money as I could?”

“You’re not spending as much as you could,” Andy laughed, piling Alex’s packages in the corner of the shop. “You’re not spending like there’s no tomorrow, or buying more than you need. You’re just spending as much as you need on what you need.”

“But it seems to be a lot.”

“And it is,” Andy agreed. “But if you don’t have the best of everything you need, Thrang will take it as an insult.”

“But can he afford what I need?”

“As long as you spend it on what you need, Thrang would happily let you spend all the gold in his bag—down to the very last coin,” Andy replied. “And between you and me, I don’t think we could spend everything in Thrang’s bag in a lifetime of trying.”

“That’s crazy,” said Alex, stacking packages on top of the pile Andy had made.

“It may sound crazy to you and me, but that’s how dwarfs are,” Andy replied, turning to look for the shopkeeper.

Alex thought about what Andy had said, but it still didn’t sound right. Thrang had been extremely generous, and Alex couldn’t help feeling he was taking advantage of the dwarf.

Knowing that every gold coin was worth thirteen silver coins didn’t help at all.

“What will it be then, gentlemen?” asked a round shopkeeper in square glasses. “Something in a deluxe model with a pool? Or maybe a nice garden?”

“Nothing so grand, master bag maker,” replied Andy. “My friend needs a top quality bag, but hardly a pool or a garden.”

“Ah, yes,” the shopkeeper said, looking at Alex. “Something in a three– or four-room model I should think. That’s always the best place to start. You can add on later as you need to.”

“Okay,” said Alex slowly.

“Sorry, Alex,” said Andy, noticing the confused look on Alex’s face. “You’ve never seen a magic bag before, have you?”

Alex shook his head.

“Do you have a demonstration model that my friend and I can look at?” Andy asked the shopkeeper.

“Oh, yes,” the shopkeeper replied. “I have a lovely four-room model that you can look at right over here.”

Alex and Andy followed the shopkeeper to the back of the shop. On a table was a leather bag with a long strap attached to it and silver fastenings at the top. The bag was about twice as long as it was wide, and Alex thought it looked like a postman’s bag.

“Standard passwords,” said the shopkeeper, nodding to Andy, before leaving to help another customer.

“Right,” said Andy. He turned to Alex. “All you have to do is pick up the bag, open it, and say ‘enter.’”

“What?” Alex asked.

“Just do it,” Andy laughed. “It will be all right.”

Alex hesitated for a moment before reaching for the bag. The leather was soft and flexible, but the bag appeared to be empty. He was sure this must be some kind of joke, but he couldn’t see what the joke was.

“Go on,” urged Andy. “I’ll be right behind you.”

“Enter.”

Everything went dark. Alex felt like he was dropping from a high place and spinning slightly as he fell. Then, as quickly as the feeling started, he felt himself come to a sudden stop. He could feel a stone floor under his feet, but everything was still dark.

“Lights,” Andy’s voice said from the darkness next to him.

Several lamps sprang to life, and Alex could see he was standing in a large square room made of stone. The room was empty except for a doorway in one wall.

“Sorry about that,” said Andy, moving toward the doorway. “I thought the lamps would be burning. If I’d known they were out, I would have come first.”

“Where . . . where are we?”

“In the bag,” Andy replied happily. “Let’s see the other rooms.”

“Wait. What do you mean, in the bag?”

“We’re in the leather bag on the table,” said Andy, as if there was nothing strange about his answer. “It’s a magic bag after all. What did you expect?”

“I . . . I don’t know,” said Alex.

“I’ll try to explain,” said Andy, motioning for Alex to follow him into the next room. “You can tell by how much gear you already have that we will have a lot of things to carry with us on this adventure. But there are only eight of us to carry it all, right?”

“Right,” Alex answered.

“And we’d need a lot of horses to carry all of our gear and supplies if we were going to carry it the normal way,” Andy continued.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Alex agreed.

“That would attract a lot of attention, wouldn’t it?”

“I suppose it would.”

“So instead of all that extra attention and the extra work of taking care of so many horses, we use magic bags,” Andy concluded with a smile.

“I still don’t understand,” said Alex.

“What’s not to understand? A magic bag lets you carry all your gear in a very small space. And believe me, it makes life a lot easier.”

“I’m sure it does, but how does it work?” Alex questioned.

“It’s magic,” laughed Andy. “It’s like Arconn always says, ‘If you’re willing to accept the fact that there’s magic involved, everything else is easy.’”

Alex had never really thought about magic, or at least not real magic, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He had seen the table at Mr. Clutter’s move and change shape, but that wasn’t really the same as this, was it? Looking around the stone room, however, he had to believe there was magic.

“Not a bad size,” said Andy as they walked around the different rooms. “If we have one room modified to expand as needed, and add a little furniture, you should be good to go.”

“Expand as needed?” Alex asked.

“If we manage to get the hoard from Slathbog, your share wouldn’t fit into just these four rooms,” Andy answered with a laugh. “If half the tales of Slathbog’s treasure are true, you’ll need twice as much space just to get started.”

“And magic can make one of the rooms bigger as it fills up?” Alex asked, trying hard to understand.

“Exactly,” said Andy. “You can use the other rooms to keep your things in. You’ll probably collect a lot of things as we travel.”

“Okay,” said Alex, still a little unsure about how the magic bag worked.

“Don’t worry,” said Andy. “We’ll get you set up, and I’ll show you how to work the bag until you get the hang of it.”

“Does everybody in our group have a magic bag?”

“Of course. Most adventurers do. I have a five-room bag that my father gave me. I’ll have to show it to you sometime. Of course you should be careful who you show your bag to,” Andy cautioned. “And you shouldn’t share your passwords with anybody, not if you can help it. Well, except your heir, of course.”

“Passwords?” Alex asked.

“Like when you said ‘enter’ before,” replied Andy. “That’s the standard password to get in, and there’s a different one to get out—‘exit.’ You’ll want to use something different for your own bag of course, so not just anyone can get in and out of it.”

Alex decided it all made perfect sense, as long as he accepted the fact that magic was involved. He still had his doubts, but they were fading fast.

“Ready to go then?” asked Andy.

Alex nodded, his thoughts cluttered with the idea of real magic.

“I’ll just put out the lights before I go,” said Andy. “Then listen carefully so you’ll know the password to get out of the bag.”

“All right,” said Alex nervously. “But if I’m not out in a minute or two, come back and turn the lights on.”

Andy’s laugh was full of kindness and good humor and it made Alex like him even more.

“Dark,” said Andy, and all the lamps went out. “Exit.”

Alex waited in the darkness. He wasn’t sure if Andy was still there or not. He listened carefully, but could only hear his own breathing. Deciding he was alone in the bag, he took a deep breath.

“Exit.”

As quickly as Alex had entered the bag, he was out of it again. He was standing in the brightly lit shop, the soft leather bag in his hands. He looked at Andy, a little surprised by how easy it had been.

“Neat little trick, isn’t it?” said Andy.

“Very neat,” Alex agreed. “But how do you get things in and out of the bag without going in yourself every time?”

“You hold the bag next to the thing you want to put in and tell the bag where to put it. When you need something, you ask for what you want and it’ll come out. You don’t normally have to specify where things are when you’re taking something out, unless you have more than one of something. You can practice tonight with your packages.”

Andy went to find the shopkeeper, leaving Alex alone with the magic bag. Alex quickly looked around to make sure nobody was watching him, and then he looked into the top of the bag to see what was there. The bag was completely empty, and Alex’s doubts about magic started creeping into his mind once more.

After several minutes of discussion and a little debate on price, the shopkeeper wrote Alex’s name in a large black book. Alex held the bag while the shopkeeper read something in a language Alex didn’t understand, waving his hands over Alex and the bag.

“It’s a good thing they bind the bag to you,” said Andy, putting Alex’s packages into the new bag. “That way you can’t lose it, no matter what.”

“Can’t lose it?”

“Not unless some powerful magic is used against you,” Andy said. “The bag will either stay with you, or stay where you put it, no matter what. Unless of course you’re dead.”

“Oh,” Alex said in reply. His head felt stuffed with information, and he was afraid he was running out of time to do any serious thinking.

“There you go,” said Andy, handing Alex his new bag. “All your gear is inside and ready to go.”

“Thanks,” said Alex. “Will we be sleeping inside our magic bags as we travel?”

“Of course not,” said Andy in a surprised tone. “Why would we do that?”

“It seems to me that we’d be safe and comfortable inside our bags,” said Alex.

“Safe until you come out in the morning and find a bunch of goblins standing around you,” replied Andy. “How could you warn the rest of us if there was trouble?”

“I didn’t think of that,” said Alex.

“If you were alone, you could sleep in your bag, I suppose,” Andy went on. “But when you are with a company, it is best to camp as a company. We’ll all be there if trouble shows up, and it helps to build fellowship as well.”

“Yes, of course,” said Alex. “It was a foolish question. It’s just that . . .”

“What?”

“Well, we don’t really have magic where I come from,” said Alex. “I mean there are people who do things they call magic, but it isn’t real. I don’t know anything about real magic, and I don’t know anything about adventures either. I’m starting to think I don’t know very much about anything at all.”

“Don’t worry,” said Andy, slapping him on the back. “You’ll learn quick enough as we travel. We all know this is your first adventure, so everybody will help explain things to you. As far as not knowing about how magic works, not many people really do. Just accept that it doeswork and try not to worry about the why.”

“All right,” Alex replied. “I guess I’m ready to go then.”

“Not quite,” said Andy, leading him down a narrow road, away from the Golden Swan and the center of Telous. “You still need a weapon. And I know just the place.”

“A weapon?”

“You can’t go on an adventure without one,” said Andy. “No telling what we might run into on the way. And there’s always the dragon at the end of our journey as well.”

“I . . . I suppose so,” Alex agreed nervously. “But I don’t know how to use a weapon. I mean, I’ve never had to, and Mr. Roberts would never allow—”

“It’s all right,” Andy interrupted. “Mr. Blackburn will know what weapon suits you best. There will be time for you to learn how to use it on the road.”

“Yes, but I—”

“It will be all right,” Andy said again. “You need a weapon if you’re going on this adventure, it’s as simple as that.”

Alex could see that Andy was right. He thought about the different kind of weapons he knew about as they walked toward the edge of town and wondered what kind of weapon he, or anybody, could use to kill a dragon.

“Blackburn’s Smithy,” said Andy, pointing to a fair-sized building that stood a short distance from the rest of the town. “One of the best smithys you’ll ever see.”

Alex didn’t reply because this was the only smithy he’d ever seen. He could smell coal smoke as they walked toward Blackburn’s and hear the ringing of hammers on steel. A new burst of excitement filled him as they entered the building, pushing all of his worries to the back of his mind.

“And what can I help you lads with?” asked a large, bald man in a leather apron as soon as Alex and Andy had closed the door. “Looking for something special, are you?”

“My friend needs a weapon,” Andy replied. “First time on an adventure, so he doesn’t know what suits him.”

The bald man eyed Alex and rubbed his chin. “Got any money?”

“Thrang Silversmith will stand good for him, Mr. Blackburn,” replied Andy.

“Thrang sent you, did he?” Mr. Blackburn walked toward Alex and Andy. “Well, then, we’d best measure and see what’s needed.”

Alex felt out of place and nervous, but the feeling of excitement kept growing inside of him. He was amazed and dazzled as he looked around the smithy. The walls were covered with an incredible variety of weapons and armor. There were swords and axes of all sizes. Bows, spears, crossbows, hammer-shaped weapons, and knives hung on the walls. There were strange curved weapons with blades, metal disks that looked like Frisbees, solid-looking plate armor, shiny chain mail, metal-covered gloves, and several other things Alex had never seen before. He wasn’t sure everything on the walls was even a weapon, but he didn’t have time for a closer look because Mr. Blackburn started giving him orders.

“Hold your arms out,” said Mr. Blackburn. “Out to the sides. Now in front. Stand up straight. Now—feet apart.”

Mr. Blackburn gave Alex a series of orders to stand in different positions and poses. After each one, Mr. Blackburn would take a measurement and jot down his notes on a small pad. This went on for several minutes, and Alex’s excitement was beginning to fade before Mr. Blackburn was done giving him orders.

“Interesting,” said Mr. Blackburn, walking away and leaving Alex with one foot in the air and one hand on top of his head. “Oh, you can relax now.”

Alex let his arms drop to his sides and resumed his normal stance. Being measured for a weapon seemed odd, but he didn’t know anything at all about weapons so he didn’t say anything.

“Very interesting,” said Mr. Blackburn again, scribbling on his notepad. “Not seen one like this in years.”

“Like what?” Alex asked nervously.

“Oh, nothing to worry about,” Mr. Blackburn replied. “Just that you measure different than most.”

“Is that a problem?” Andy asked, the slightest sound of concern in his voice.

“No, no problem,” said Mr. Blackburn, taking a large book from a shelf on one side of the room. “Not a problem at all.”

“What type of weapon should we be looking for?” Andy questioned, looking more than a little concerned.

“Just a moment,” said Mr. Blackburn as he flipped through the pages. “Want to make sure before I say.”

Alex looked questioningly at Andy, but Andy only shrugged in reply. Andy’s concern, though, made Alex more nervous as he waited to hear what Mr. Blackburn would say.

“Ah,” said Mr. Blackburn at last, snapping the book shut. “Just as I thought.”

“What is?” Alex asked.

“According to the measurements, you’ll do well with most any weapon you choose,” answered Mr. Blackburn. “Book says you’ll do best with a sword or an ax . . . or a staff.”

“A staff?” Andy jumped in surprise.

Alex looked from Andy to Mr. Blackburn and back, wondering nervously what the big deal was about a staff.

“That’s what the book says,” answered Mr. Blackburn,

putting the book back on its shelf. “Book’s never been wrong neither.”

“He’s not trained for a staff,” Andy said quickly. “We’d better look at swords. Maybe an ax or two.”

“As you wish,” said Mr. Blackburn. “If he’s not trained for a staff, it’ll do no good looking at them.”

“What’s so special about a staff?” Alex asked.

“Staffs are a wizard’s weapon,” said Andy, a look of wonder on his face. “Only a wizard can use a staff, and there aren’t many wizards around these days.”

“That’s a fact,” said Mr. Blackburn, nodding. “I haven’t sold a staff in ages out of mind.”

“That can’t be right,” protested Alex. “I’m no wizard. I can’t even do a card trick right.”

“Be that as it may be,” said Mr. Blackburn, shrugging. “Measurements don’t lie, and the book’s never been wrong.”

“We’ll just look at the swords and the axes,” Andy said again.

“As you wish,” Mr. Blackburn said.

Mr. Blackburn showed them dozens of finely made swords. He took great pleasure in pointing out the special features of each sword, and he insisted that Alex hold each one to get a feel for the balance. Alex felt a little awkward because he’d never held a sword before and some of them were surprisingly heavy. Others didn’t feel right in his hand, though he wasn’t able to say why.

Mr. Blackburn also showed them several large axes, each with a different shaped head. Once again Alex held them all and tried to decide what an ax should feel like. After what seemed like a long time to Alex, Mr. Blackburn stopped bringing new weapons for him to look at.

“Made a choice then?” Mr. Blackburn asked politely.

“I don’t know,” Alex answered. “They are all so well-made that it is difficult to choose,” he added quickly for Mr. Blackburn’s benefit.

“You’ve got to choose something,” Andy urged. “And if you don’t hurry, we’ll be late for dinner with the others.”

Alex closed his eyes for several minutes, thinking. He wasn’t thinking about which sword or ax to pick though, but about wizards and staffs. He was certain Mr. Blackburn’s book was wrong about his being able to use a staff. Finally, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

A sword with a blue-black blade seemed to stand out from the others as the room came back into focus. The sword had elegant gold inlay on the hilt, and Alex thought he could almost read something written in the gold, but he blinked and the words disappeared.

“I’ll take this one,” said Alex, picking up the sword.

“A fine choice,” said Mr. Blackburn with a smile. “Not one of mine, but still a fine piece of work.”

“It’s not one of your swords?” Alex asked, liking how the hilt felt in his hand.

“No, but it’s an excellent piece of work, that’s for sure,” Mr. Blackburn replied. “This sword was sold to me by an adventurer, much like yourselves, but he couldn’t tell me anything of its history.”

“And you’re sure it’s a good sword?” Andy questioned in a serious tone.

“Good as any I’ve ever made,” Mr. Blackburn admitted. “Maybe better. But I’ll ask you not to repeat that.”

While Andy and Mr. Blackburn discussed the price of Alex’s new sword, Alex examined every inch of the sword. Mr. Blackburn’s price seemed high to Alex, but Andy seemed to think it was fair and agreed to pay in Thrang’s place.

Mr. Blackburn brought the sword’s scabbard to Alex and bowed slightly as he handed it to him. The scabbard, like the sword, was inlayed with gold. Once again Alex thought he could make out words mixed in with the swirls of gold, and once again when he blinked, the words were gone and only the golden swirls remained.

Alex put his new sword in its scabbard and, with Andy’s help, he managed to get it inside his magic bag. They both thanked Mr. Blackburn for his help, and then they walked back into Telous.

Alex couldn’t stop thinking about his new sword, a sword with a mysterious past. Mr. Blackburn had made it sound like a sword’s history was important to know and it bothered Alex that his sword had no history, or at least none he knew about. He also thought it seemed a little odd that he had chosen the sword after closing his eyes and thinking about wizards.

At the back of Alex’s mind, the strange little voice was talking again. Mr. Blackburn had said he could use a staff, and that meant he could use magic. The idea of using magic and being a wizard excited Alex’s imagination, though he knew almost nothing about magic—other than it actually worked—and even less about wizards. His thoughts circled endlessly in his mind, before he decided finally that it was pointless to worry.

“Get everything you need?” Thrang asked as soon as Alex and Andy entered the Golden Swan.

“Everything,” Andy answered, handing Thrang the bundle of receipts he’d been collecting. “Hope we didn’t go too far.”

“Or damage Master Thrang’s hoard too much,” Skeld laughed from behind Thrang. “But that would take more time than you two had.”

“Your tongue does more damage than anything else,” said Thrang, glancing over his shoulder at Skeld. “Though it looks like these two tried very hard to break me,” he added with a wink and a grin.

“I’m sorry,” Alex started.

“Not at all, not at all,” said Thrang before Alex could add anything more. “As long as you got what you needed, there’s no damage done.”

“I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you,” Alex managed to say, but Thrang simply waved his hand and laughed.

“It’s nothing,” said Thrang, tucking the receipts into his belt. “Your friendship is payment enough.”

Alex saw Bregnest come down the main staircase and Andy walk quickly to his side. Andy leaned close and whispered something to Bregnest. He glanced at Alex, his eyebrows raised, and then nodded to Andy. Alex suspected Andy was telling Bregnest what Mr. Blackburn had said about his being able to use a staff. He wondered what Bregnest would think, and more important, what he would do.

“Come on then, dinner’s waiting,” said Skeld happily. “Best eat well while we can.”

Alex followed Skeld down a hallway toward the back of the Golden Swan with Thrang at his side. Alex wasn’t sure if he should thank Thrang again for his generosity or not. He decided not to say anything more, mostly because of what Andy had told him about dwarfs.

At the end of the hallway, they entered a dining room with a huge table that barely fit inside. The other members of the company were already seated and waiting for them, talking casually about the upcoming adventure.

“Now we are eight,” said Bregnest, taking his place at the head of the table between Thrang and Arconn. “And before we are overcome with food and drink, I would like to say a few words.”

“Food first, talk after,” Skeld said loudly, sliding into his own chair and motioning for Alex to take the seat to his right.

“You’ll eat and drink too much to listen,” Bregnest replied with half a smile. “And then you’ll complain that I never told you anything.”

“I’ll complain anyway,” Skeld laughed merrily.

“Be that as it may,” Bregnest continued. “First of all, I would like to formally welcome our eighth member. As he has just joined us today, and this is his first adventure, he may not know all of our ways. I ask that each of you help him and be patient with him.”

The rest of the company voiced their agreement to Bregnest’s request. Alex doubted that he knew anythingabout the ways of adventurers and he wondered if he’d ever be able to learn everything he needed to know.

“One of the first things you should know, Alex, is this,” said Bregnest, his face serious and his tone stern. “As we have all signed the Bargain for this adventure, there will be no secrets kept in our group. We will all depend on each other throughout this adventure and so every member of this company has the right to know anything and everything to do with it. And that includes knowing things about each other that may affect the success or failure of our adventure.”

Bregnest was watching Alex closely as he spoke, perhaps judging how well Alex took in what he was saying.

“With that in mind, I feel it important to share some information I have learned about Alex,” Bregnest continued. “It seems that the distinguished Mr. Blackburn measured Alex for his weapon and found that he is well suited for all types of weapons. That alone would mean we have been very lucky in our eighth man. What is of more importance to our current adventure, however, is the fact that Alex is exceptionally suited to use a staff.”

Bregnest paused to let the information sink in with the other members of the company. Alex felt extremely uncomfortable with everyone looking at him. He still thought Mr. Blackburn must be wrong about the staff, but he said nothing.

“Knew it all along,” said Thrang, tapping the side of his nose with his finger. “Something special about that boy. I said as much to Arconn just this morning.”

“Of course, Alex is not trained, though there is some value even in having an untrained wizard with us,” said Bregnest. “Perhaps, when we return from this adventure, we can find a wizard for Alex to apprentice with. For now, there is no time.”

“Practical experience is the best teacher,” said Thrang, smiling at Alex. “And Arconn and I can each teach him a thing or two while we travel.”

“Then let us toast our adventure and wish for luck,” Bregnest concluded, ringing a small golden bell.

As soon as the bell had sounded, servants appeared carrying silver pitchers. They filled a mug for each of the adventurers, placed the pitchers on the table, and left the company alone.