The Wandering Apprentice

by Matthew Mitchell

  Pot shook his head. "Will not be me. No one would believe me anyway." I could see tears running down his face.

  MaPaine stood up straight, "Pot, get a scabbard for Ott. Something plain that an apprentice would carry." Pot ran from the room and down the hall. MaPaine turned to me. "I understand what you can truly do, look at the sword with your Sight."

  I looked at the sword, calling on my Mage Sight. Suddenly the sword looked like five swords laid one upon the other. I stared.

  "That is the only sword made by a mage smith whose name is never spoken. It is the only blade of its kind in all the world. It has a physical body that holds all four families of magic. They were fused while it was being forged. There are rumors of what this sword is capable of doing. Protect it and it will protect you. Today you have seen one thing that it can do that no others know. It will break all other swords." He contemplated this for a moment. "Perhaps we should practice with a different sword also so that you may learn what you need. Let's go find you another sword. At least we know what shape you need. I have plenty of those." He motioned towards the door.

  Pot came back, breathing hard. He carried an older scabbard. It was dark with age, scratched from use.

  "Good choice." MaPaine complimented Pot. He took the scabbard and handed it to me. "Put this on and put the Finisher in it."

  I strapped the scabbard around my waist. The sword slid into it without making a sound. I looked up.

  "Looks good." Pot declared.

  "Pot, we are going to locate Ott another sword to use during practice. Could you collect these shards and make sure they disappear?" MaPaine placed his hand on Pot's shoulder. "Ott, let's go to the armory and locate a lesser sword for you." He grabbed my shoulder and directed me out of the room. We traveled through more corridors and finally ended up at a door that made me nervous. It was large, covered in metal straps, and guarded by four large men. MaPaine motioned to one of the men. "Open the door. I need to remove a sword." The guard did not make a sound, he just reached up and tugged on a rope. The door started to swing open. We walked through the opening. Four more men stood inside, but these were pulling on a crank. "The door must be opened from inside." MaPaine explained.

  I looked around and realized that I was in a huge underground cavern and it was full of arms. Blades, hammers, spears, axes, bows, every sort of weapon stood ready in racks.

  "Short swords are this way." MaPaine led me down the racks. We walked for a few moments till he turned into a smaller cave. Inside this cave short swords lined every rack that I could see. "Over here." He led me to one rack that was full of swords that looked just like mine. "I had these made based off of the one you hold there. They don't hold any magic but otherwise they are exact copies. Weight, length, balance, everything is the same." He grabbed one off the rack and handed it to me. It did feel the same but lacked the feeling of belonging that mine possessed. He walked to the end of the room and picked up a scabbard, this one in perfect condition. "This sword will be waiting for you each day. Leave your other one with your master."

  We left the Armory and traveled through more corridors. He eventually led me back to the practice room. "This is my private room, no other will use it without my permission. Your second sword will be here. Now Pot will take you back to your master. Tomorrow you will learn more positions and practice the ones you know now." He took a deep breath. "I would ask that you not tell your master everything that occurred today. I will come fetch you myself tomorrow and that is when I would choose to explain events to him."

  "I understand." I really did. I did not want to tell Stain what had happened. I was not even sure I understood most of it.

  "Pot, take Ott back." MaPaine started to walk away, "Oh, and hurry back. I have some work for you to do." He disappeared through a door.

  "Well, let's get you back so you can eat." Pot's manner was much more serious on the way back, no joking or teasing.

  ***

  "There you are." Stain was in the inn's common room. He waved me over to the table. Pot had left me at the gate with a promise to see me tomorrow. I made my way to Stain. He sat by himself. "You are just in time. Eat a little something then we can get going." He waved at Ing who brought over a plate of food, some meat and vegetables. I started eating, I had not realized how hungry the sword work had made me.

  "Well, tonight we start the first of your introductions to the local mages." He smiled at my expression. "You will be fine, they will all be nice. Most mages have a store of spells. Many of these spells are along the same lines. However each mage also has some that are unique. Right now you only know a handful of spells. By the end of the week you will be in possession of many more." My head snapped up at that. He pulled out a small book. It looked brand new. He handed it to me. It was thin, only a few pages thick. The leather was decorated with many symbols.

  "Now, this will be your personal magic book. I have copied the spells that you have been taught." I opened the book and realized that the pages were covered with writing and sketches. "There are no more pages left." All the pages had writing on them. Stain smiled, "It is not just your spell book, it has magical on its own." He picked up a piece of paper, "This is the spell that Fiosrach demonstrated, the dust ball spell." He handed it to me. "Place it in the book, like a new page."

  I placed the page behind the last page. Nothing happened.

  "Now close the book." Stain smiled.

  I closed the book, the page just a little too big to fit the book. Suddenly a flash of light came from inside the book. The page was gone.

  "Now open the book." Stain's smile grew larger.

  I opened the book and flipped to the last page. The paper was gone. I showed Stain.

  "Well, do you want the spells to be organized?" He flipped to the front couple of pages, "Here it is, with the other earth spells." He handed the book back. Sure enough the spell was now written in the book like it had always been there. "You can place any copies of spells in the book and it will absorb them and sort it into the correct family." He pulled out a book that was thicker. "This is mine, it does the same thing. However, once you reach a certain size it becomes hard to carry it around. There's a second spell that will create four more books, one for each family of magic plus the original. The original will keep a copy of your most used spells. You can place any spell into the original and a copy will be placed in it and it's family book." He pulled out a dark brown book. "This is my earth book. Well, at least the first volume of the set of earth books." He put away the book. "Each mage will be giving you copies of some of their spells. There will be two types of spells they will give you. First, the ones they use the most. Each mage works differently and in different situations so there should not be too many that are the same. The second set will be ones that are unique to each mage. These might be one's they have invented, one's that have been passed down from master to apprentice, or one that they discovered from an old spell book."

  I had finished my food by the end of Stain's explanation about my spell book. He stood up, "Let's go meet the first set of mages." I stood up and followed him out of the common room, tucking the book into my pocket.

  "There are only ten mages in Haver's Town, at least that is all that live here constantly." Stain was leading me deeper into the Hospitality Quarter. "Tonight we will meet with three. They are meeting us at one of their stores." He walked silently for a few moments. "Most mages will not be able to tell what magic's you can control. If it comes up go ahead and acknowledge that you can do earth magic. Do not tell them about our various companions or the adventures that we have had on our trip. You are here to learn, not teach them." He stopped in an alley between two dark buildings.

  "We are about to walk in there but first I wanted to warn you about who you are meeting. Sandra is a healer. She provides many items that enable non-mages to use magic to heal themselves. If she offers you anything, take it and thank her. Her spells will probably relate to healing. Prenot is in the employ of the city. He uses his magic to
help the city to run smoothly. His spells will most likely be along those lines. Mick is a artificer. He puts spells into items. Like armor, weapons, and tools. His spells will most likely involve his craft." Stain took a deep breath. "These mages serve the kingdom in their own way, however they are like many people. They can be petty. The only reason any of them have agreed to this is that to work magic in the kingdom they must do what I tell them. I asked but my asking is not allowed to be refused. I tell you this so you are aware that they might be less than excited about helping you." With that he started towards the building across from the alley.

  It was the only building on the street with lights burning. Stain walked up to the door and knocked. "This is Sandra's place of business." The door opened and the light flooded out onto the street.

  A gentle voice cried out, "He is here!" A woman stepped up to Stain and hugged him. "Stain it has been too long." She pulled him into the store. I was all but ignored so I followed them.

  "The two grumpy buggers are in the back, let's join them." She stopped and looked at me. "Your apprentice?" She walked around me, stopping when she saw the cloak that I wore. "A healer's cloak?"

  I felt self-conscience with her examination. "A friend gifted it to me."

  "His uncle is also the healer of Sunnydale. One of his apprentices gifted it." Stain pointed out quickly.

  She stepped back in front of me. "And do you, young apprentice, have any training in the healing arts?"

  "Only in the non-magical means and just the basics." My uncle had allowed me to learn them thinking I might one day be a healer.

  "Ah. But all healing is based off the so called 'non-magical' type of healing." She smiled and motioned us to walk towards the back of the store. "We better not keep the others waiting. I will join you in just a moment." She walked behind the counter that ran next to the door.

  Stain looked at me and smiled, "Well, while Sandra gathers herself let's meet the other two." We walked through a beaded curtain. Down a hallway lined with doors was another beaded curtain. Stain walked through to be met with cries of welcome. I followed him and stopped. The two men who had stood at Stain's entrance could not be more different. The first was tall and slender. Much like a tree. He was dark; dark skin, hair, and eyes. The second man was short and round, almost as wide as he was tall. He was as light as the other was dark. His hair, skin, and eyes were all the palest shades I had ever seen.

  "Stain, about time you made it. If I have to listen to any more of this man's argument that we need to spell all the streets to keep themselves clean I might have to spell him shut." The tall man's tone seemed to imply that he was teasing.

  "And you only wish you had come up with the idea first." The round man's voice was full of mirth.

  "Now boys, do not make me kick you both out." Sandra had walked in behind me. She was carrying a large handful of papers. Both men grinned and chuckled.

  Stain motioned all of us to the table. "Let me make some introductions. Ott, this gangly fellow is Prenot. The portly man here is Mick. You have already met Sandra." He pointed to each as they sat. "Well, this is my apprentice, Ott." He took a seat at the table leaving me a seat beside him. I sat down and squirmed under the looks of the three mages. Each had a stack of papers placed in front of them along with a sack.

  "Well, Ott. It is good to meet you." Sandra nodded at me. "I assume Stain has told you what is occurring tonight?"

  I nodded, slightly intimidated at her direct manner. She looked at me. Her hand whipped out and hung in front of me. "Would you let me see your hand?" Her manner was such that I felt I could hardly refuse. She grabbed my hand and flipped it over placing her hand on top, palm to palm. After a moment she released my hand.

  "Well, that settles it." She slid the large stack of papers towards me. "My donation to your education."

  Stain's eyebrows shot up. "Is that all your spells?" There were quite a few papers there.

  Sandra laughed, an almost braying sound. "Not all my spells, but all of the ones that might help a healer. Plus a few extra." I looked down at the pile and swallowed.

  "Thank you very much Master Sandra." I was shocked. She had just given me all that I would need to become a healer mage.

  "It is my pleasure to help out any mage who has made such a friend of a healer that they have been gifted such a fine cloak." She smiled and handed me the sack that sat in front of her. "Some basic healing supplies until you master the spells."

  I placed the sack on the table in front of me, "I must thank you again. Your gift is very generous."

  She just smiled more. "Again, my pleasure."

  "Well, might as well get mine out of the way." Prenot muttered. His pile of papers were pushed across the table. "I have included many spells, if not as many as dear Sandra here. The most notable ones are the ones that maintain the systems of Haver's Town. The water purity, lights, pests, etc. However, I have also included ones that I have developed through experimentation." His pile of papers was noticeably smaller than Sandra's. He also picked up a sack. "A few tokens that might come in handy in your work." He handed the sack to me, it was noticeably heavier than the other sack.

  "Thank you Master Prenot. I appreciate your gifts." I did not like his manner. He seemed to look down on the other mages.

  "Nice, now you sound like a pompous idiot." Mick snickered while poking Prenot. He shoved his stack of papers across. "My spells are pretty much all related to my craft. They might come in handy, maybe not. However, I do know that I am the only mage to have a few of those spells as they were passed to me from my master or I developed them myself. You should enjoy them. The spark stone spell is extremely fun for most young men." He also picked up a sack. "I have only got one thing for you here, the sack." He smiled at my expression. "Now do not be disappointed lad, it is a very special sack. Just toss those other two sacks into it and you will see how special." He leaned back and grinned.

  I did as he suggested picking up his small sack and opening it. I placed Prenot's sack inside and then placed Sandra's on top of Prenot's. They seemed to sink into the sack. I closed the sack and it did not feel any heavier. My head snapped up and I looked at Mick.

  His grin had grown until it almost split his face. "Not such a bad gift eh?" All the other mages looked at Mick.

  Stain was the first to speak up. "I would not be upset if you felt like sharing that specific spell Mick."

  At this Mick's smile grew even bigger. "Why Stain, you have never seen that one have you? Well, you will just have to get your boy there to make you one. The spell's in the pile." At this he started laughing. "Other than that, no one else is getting that spell." The other two mages looked upset. "I will however be willing to sell sacks to any who might desire one." The look on Prenot's face was not good.

  "Why you swindler! That kind of spell should be shared with all mages." He stood up and walked out. "I think I will leave you to your business as I have no more to contribute." The sound of the door slamming could be heard a few seconds later.

  Sandra looked at Mick, "You have gone and made him mad again." She sighed. "I do not suppose you have another one of those special sacks on you? I could really use it when I have to leave my shop to heal."

  Mick's eye's took on a particular gleam, "And what would it be worth to you?"

  Sandra grinned and stood up, "Hold on, I have something I know you will love to have." She walked out of the room, back towards the front of the building.

  "Stain, here's a copy of the spell." Mick handed another paper to Stain. "I know you will use it well." His face was intense. Stain took the paper and slid it into his pocket without comment.

  "How about this spell?" Sandra walked back in. "I know you have been trying to get these results." She handed the paper to Mick.

  He read it for a moment and sudden went white. "What is a healer doing with a spell like this?" He was shocked.

  She smiled, "It involves the body, another healer sent it to me in case I ever needed to use it."

&nb
sp; My curiosity was gnawing at me. "What does it do?"

  Sandra smiled but Mick was the one to answer, "It takes the life energy of one person and transfers it to the other person."

  Ok. "How does that do you any good Master Mick?"

  He leaned back and pulled two sacks from his pockets. Handing them to Sandra, "I think that is more than a fair trade. As far as what good it does me, imagine putting this spell into a weapon in such a way that when it strikes someone it drains their life force into the wielder of the weapon. Any damage done to the victim would be much greater making the weapon much more effective, while also healing the wielder of damage. It would make any weapon more valuable." His eyes twinkled. "I will be very rich just by placing this spell within a few swords." He stood, sliding the paper into his inner vest pocket. "Well, I think our business is concluded. Stain, good to see you again. Ott, good luck in your studies." He walked out.

  Sandra grinned, "That man has been trying to make that spell work for years. I just waited until he had a spell that I desired to pass it on to him." Her laughter rang out again. She took the two sacks and set them on a work table. She sat back down and looked at me. "There's another copy of that same spell in that pile, Ott." She pulled out another spell and handed it to Stain. "Here's a copy for you Stain."

  Stain grinned and ripped the paper in half. "I already have a copy, plus a few that do other things along the same lines." He started laughing at her shocked expression. "Thanks anyway, the thought is appreciated." He leaned back. "I rarely find spells that I do not have already. Like that sack spell." He looked at me. "Better get started with those spells Ott." He pointed at the three stacks.