Omar turned to me. "Now I understand you want some archery supplies?"
I remembered why we had come to him. "Yeah, my dad is a forester, we were attacked and most of his stuff was destroyed." Omar nodded and stepped behind a case. Bending over he pulled out some baskets. Each basket held arrows with different feathers.
"I have all sorts of arrows." Omar set all the arrows aside and lifted up a flat package. "But this is the only bow I have for now. Not much demand for high quality bows here." Opening the package he pulled out a beautifully carved bow. This was a weapon not a display piece. The grain of the wood was carved in such a way that I knew added strength and grip to the bow. "I will happily send all of this to your father if you leave me the information on where to send it. I will also include a full quiver of whatever arrows you pick." He handed the bow to me and stepped back. "As for anything else feel free to ask. No charge." He smiled at this. "I could never repay what you have done for me today."
I looked around and realized that with everything my father, Stain, and MaPaine had provided I had no need for more weapons. I smiled and looked at Omar, "I have plenty of weapons."
Omar looked pained, "Surely I can give you a finer sword than you carry." He looked pointedly at my sword.
I looked down and realized I was wearing my practice sword instead of the Finisher. I smiled, "This is my practice sword. I have a good sword back at the boat."
Omar shook his head. "I can give you a better weapon. I just know it." He started looking at the short swords.
"Omar. You do not have a better weapon. This one was given to me by MaPaine." I stated it simply. I hoped he would stop pushing.
Omar shook his head. "Still, I know I have something here that will do better."
I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. "Omar. There is no better sword from my understanding. That is what MaPaine explained."
At my words Omar froze and turned ashen once more. His voice, in shock, whispered, "The Finisher?"
I nodded and Omar's eyes widened. "What are you Ott? Dear gods what are you?" He stepped back and looked around. "I have nothing that will work better than your sword. But I do have some other weapons that might assist. I am assuming the Captain had you taught in the trident?"
I smiled. "These two ladies were my teachers most of the time. I think they enjoyed it."
I looked at Raven and Suzie and realized that they did not understand what had just occurred between Omar and myself.
Omar smiled and nodded. "I think I have something you might appreciate." He reached behind a large chest and moved around some metal objects until he pulled out a trident. At least it was shaped like a trident, it was only the size of a knife though. Omar saw my confusion and grinned. "This is a unique trident. It is not meant to be used in a fight to attack or defend. It is a mage's trident. It helps you focus your water magic into a much more focused effort. This will aid you in performing almost any offensive water magic spell." He handed it to me and I could feel there were spells laid upon the trident.
He nodded. "That is the best thing I can give you, but assuming you are as much of an archer as your father I will also give you some arrows for your bow. Pick out which ones you want and the ones for your father. I will get some quivers." He stepped behind a curtain and returned after a moment with two leather quivers.
I picked out two types of arrows. A longer one with orange feathers for my dad. The orange would make it easier for him to find them. I looked and realized that there were some that had rainbow colored feathers. These I picked for myself.
Omar loaded both quivers and handed me the one with my arrows. "Now, you three get back to your boat and I shall be over tomorrow to talk to your masters." Omar seemed to be tired. "Evidently having your arm destroyed and put back together wears out a man."
We all shook hands and hugged necks before leaving. Omar walked us to the door and watched us walk down to the dock. A skiff waited just under the bridge. I helped the girls into the boat and waved at Omar. It had been an interesting visit and now I had some information about the man hunting me. He was a mage and had distinctive eyes. I sat down and braced myself. Suzie had already given the pilot our destination.
I felt a swell of magic around us and heard Omar scream out in fear and anger. I looked up and saw our pilot. He was bundled up and had one blue and one white eye. The mage! He was here!
I started to throw up shields around us but I heard a chuckle that rasped and scraped across my senses. Suddenly all my magic was gone like fog in the wind. I fell into the bottom of the boat, the last thing I saw was Omar running towards the skiff. Then the darkness rose up and swallowed me whole.
Table of Contents
A beginning of things
A time of revelations
Haver's Town
Water everywhere
The Wandering Apprentice Page 29
