Slathbog's Gold

by M. L. Forman

  Alex was relieved, and he left his companions at once to make arrangements for Shahree’s care. He stopped by her stall to say good-bye, at least for a little while. She seemed to understand when he told her he was going home but she was staying there. She looked sad, but nuzzled Alex’s shoulder in her own farewell.

  The next morning, Alex ate breakfast with Bregnest, Arconn, Thrang, and Halfdan. It was a quiet affair without Skeld and Tayo’s jokes or Andy’s laughter. When they finished, Halfdan said good-bye to Alex and made him promise to come visit as soon as possible. Halfdan would be waiting at the Golden Swan for Thrang to return so the two of them could journey home together.

  “If you’re ready then,” said Thrang.

  “I suppose I am,” said Alex. “Though I wish I could start another adventure, now that I’ve been on one.”

  “I doubt you will have to wait for long,” Thrang replied. “Wizards are always wanted on adventures. Plus you’ve got your meeting with Vankin to look forward to.”

  “And your home may be different than you remember it, now that you’ve been on an adventure,” said Arconn.

  Alex nodded and smiled. He waved good-bye to Halfdan as he and the others made their way along the streets of Telous. Almost before he knew it, they were standing in the same field he had arrived in so long ago. There was no sign of a magic door however, and he wondered how they would get back into the adventurer’s shop.

  “Mr. Clutter should be opening the door any time now,” said Arconn. “I sent him a geeb, telling him what time we’d be arriving.”

  Almost as soon as Arconn had finished speaking, the silver outline of a door appeared in front of them. The door opened slowly, and the four of them stepped into Mr. Clutter’s shop.

  “Well, then,” said Mr. Clutter, smiling. “Back already, are you?”

  “We’ve had a fair bit of luck,” replied Thrang, moving into the room. “Our young first-timer here proved more valuable than we bargained for.”

  “Ah, Mr. Taylor,” said Mr. Clutter happily. “So glad to see you again. I received a message for you just this morning . . . let me see, where did I put that . . .” Mr. Clutter searched his desk and produced an envelope. “Ah, here we are. As I said, just arrived this morning. Very exciting, I must say.”

  Alex took the letter from Mr. Clutter. His name was written on the front of the envelope in large red letters. Alex wondered if it was an invitation to join another adventure already or perhaps a message from one of his friends in Vargland. The back of the envelope was sealed with dark purple wax and the image of a star. Alex slit the envelope open and read the letter inside.

  Master Alexander Taylor, Esq.,

  Dear Alex,

  I hope you won’t mind if I call you Alex as our mutual friend, Bregnest, told me that I should.

  Alex, I know that right now you’d like nothing more than to be starting a new adventure. However, I must insist that you return home to your stepfather’s house. I don’t have time to go into details now, but I will explain everything to you as soon as I can.

  Yours in fellowship,

  Whalen Vankin

  Alex wondered how Vankin had known he would be in the adventurer’s shop this morning. He also wondered why the letter was signed, “Yours in fellowship,” which didn’t mean anything to him.

  “I suppose Whalen knows what he’s talking about,” said Bregnest when Alex showed him the letter. “He may have his own ways, and I’ll admit he sometimes acts oddly, but he knows more than most. You should do what he says.”

  Alex nodded and put Vankin’s letter inside his magic bag. Looking toward the door of the shop, he realized it was time to say good-bye.

  “You’ll want to change then,” said Mr. Clutter, carrying a tray of tea and cakes into the room. “No good going home looking like that.”

  Alex looked down at himself and realized he was still wearing his traveling gear, including the true silver dagger that Umbar had given him. He wondered what Mr. Roberts would say if he turned up looking like this.

  “Just in here,” said Mr. Clutter, directing Alex to another door. “You can put your old things on and be ready to go.”

  Alex walked through the door and noticed that his clothes suddenly felt strangely loose. Looking at himself in a nearby mirror, he saw that his hair, which had grown long during his adventure, was as short as it had been when he’d first entered Mr. Clutter’s shop. The change had happened so quickly Alex hadn’t noticed the magic around him.

  Laughing in surprise, Alex changed back into his old clothes. He carefully folded his traveling clothes and stored them in his bag, wondering when he would need them again. For several minutes, he looked at his silver dagger, unwilling to put it away. He thought once more of his friends in Vargland and the amazing adventures he’d had. With a sigh, he slipped the beautiful dagger into his bag, and put this adventure away with it.

  Looking at the mirror, he saw himself exactly as he had been the afternoon he’d walked into Mr. Clutter’s shop. The only difference was that now he carried a leather bag over one shoulder.

  “Well, you do look different,” commented Thrang, eyeing him as he emerged from the changing room.

  “Not as scared as he looked the first time we saw him,” Arconn added.

  “And not as doubting either,” said Alex. “I’d like to thank you both for choosing me.”

  “Haven’t you learned anything?” Thrang laughed. “We didn’t choose you—it was the sign.”

  “I know, I know,” said Alex, laughing as well.

  It took a long time for him to say good-bye to Thrang, Arconn, and Bregnest. Alex felt sad as he walked to the front door of the shop alone. His friends waved as he opened the door, and he turned to say one last good-bye.

  “Go on, then,” Thrang said loudly. “You’ve got work to do, remember.”

  Alex raised his hand and then stepped through the door and back onto Sildon Lane. He turned his steps toward the Happy Dragon, wondering if he should tell Mr. Roberts about his adventure. He had no idea how he could possibly explain it all, so in the end, he decided not to say anything at all.

  As he walked toward the tavern, Alex realized he was really happy to be home. He would miss his new friends and the fun he’d had on his adventure, but he belonged here too and he was glad to be back. When he reached the back door of the tavern, he wasn’t surprised to find Todd waiting for him.

  “Sorry about the glasses, Alex,” he said, smiling weakly. “Didn’t mean for Dad to yell at you.”

  “It’s all right,” said Alex, returning the smile.

  “Hey, where’d you get this?” Todd asked, noticing Alex’s magic bag and reaching his hand out to touch it.

  “Leave it!” Mr. Roberts boomed so loudly that both Todd and Alex jumped.

  Mr. Roberts stood behind Todd looking at Alex with a stunned expression on his face and rubbing his hands together nervously.

  “Todd, go help in the kitchen,” Mr. Roberts ordered. “Alex, you come with me.”

  Alex wondered if Mr. Roberts was still mad about the broken glasses. He remembered how loudly his stepfather had yelled so long ago, and then he reminded himself that it hadn’t been that long ago, it had only been earlier today.

  Following his stepfather, Alex climbed up the stairs to the second floor of the tavern to Mr. Roberts’s study. Alex was uncomfortable, because normally neither he nor Todd was allowed in this room.

  Mr. Roberts closed the door behind them, moved to his desk, and turned to look at Alex as he sat down. For what seemed a long time, Mr. Roberts didn’t say anything at all.

  “So,” he finally said. “You’ve been on an adventure then.”

  Alex’s jaw dropped and his eyes grew to twice their normal size. How could Mr. Roberts possibly know about his adventure?

  Mr. Roberts smiled, laughing at Alex’s stunned look. He got up and walked to the closet, continuing to chuckle to himself as he went. Unlocking the door, he removed two items from the top shelf—ite
ms Alex instantly recognized as magic bags.

  “Your mother insisted that I never encourage you,” said Mr. Roberts, returning to his seat. “Thought I might give you wild ideas and send you off on dangerous adventures.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I suppose I should tell you everything, but it’s quite a long story,” Mr. Roberts said. “For now, I’ll tell you that I was once an adventurer. Never went on many adventures, though, and never had a great deal of luck finding treasure. Your dad . . . now he was an adventurer.”

  “My father was an adventurer?” Alex asked, almost numb from the information Mr. Roberts was telling him.

  “Of course,” said Mr. Roberts. “A great adventurer if ever there was one. In the end, though, his luck ran out. That’s why your mother asked me never to tell you about it.”

  “She didn’t want me to know about my father?”

  “Not until you were ready,” Mr. Roberts replied. “She didn’t know you would be an adventurer, and if you weren’t, how could she tell you about your dad?”

  “I see,” said Alex, a thousand new questions racing through his mind.

  “Your dad was sick when he got back from his last adventure. I never thought sickness would get him. Trolls, maybe, or goblins, but never sickness,” Mr. Roberts said sadly. “After your dad crossed the wall, your mom came and stayed here. I had been close to both your mom and dad so I agreed to play the part of your stepfather. I knew your mom loved your dad too much to ever marry again. But I also knew she needed someone to help look after you, and well . . . it was the least I could do for my friends.”

  “But . . .” Alex stammered.

  “I know it’s a lot to take in all at once,” said Mr. Roberts, nodding. “Going on your first adventure, then finding out your dad was an adventurer, too. Now that you’ve been

  chosen, I suppose I need to give you this.”

  Mr. Roberts held out one of the magic bags from the closet. Alex looked at the bag, then at Mr. Roberts, then at the bag again.

  “It was your father’s,” said Mr. Roberts with a smile. “You’re his heir, so the bag—and what’s in it—belongs to you.”

  “Shouldn’t I be offering you a reward for returning it?” Alex asked.

  Mr. Roberts smiled. “I see you’ve learned about returning lost bags.”

  “Yes,” said Alex.

  “That’s good,” said Mr. Roberts. “But you don’t need to offer a reward for this bag because it was never lost. After all, your dad came home and everything. I’ve just been keeping it for you.”

  “Do you know what’s in it?”

  “No, I don’t,” answered Mr. Roberts, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “The bag didn’t belong to me. Your mom told me the passwords before she . . . well . . .”

  “Died,” Alex said softly.

  Mr. Roberts nodded. “It’s time for you to accept your father’s bag.”

  “But—” Alex started.

  “But nothing. Your parents would be proud to know you had been chosen and have gone on an adventure without any help or encouragement. Your mom only insisted on not telling you because she didn’t want you to be disappointed. You know, if you weren’t chosen.”

  Alex smiled at Mr. Roberts as he took his father’s bag and listened to the passwords. This was something he had never expected, not even in his wildest dreams. Now he was excited to tell Mr. Roberts everything that had happened to him and everything he had learned on his adventure.

  “We’ve got plenty of time,” said Mr. Roberts. “And I have a few tales for you, about your dad and the things he did.”

  “May I ask you something, sir?” Alex asked.

  “Anything at all,” Mr. Roberts replied.

  “I’m not sure how the choosing works, but since my dad was an adventurer and I was chosen, does that mean that Todd will be an adventurer too?”

  “I don’t know,” replied Mr. Roberts, considering the question. “He doesn’t really seem the type, and anyway, it doesn’t seem to happen just because your father or mother were adventurers. I don’t think anyone knows exactly how the choosing works.”

  Alex nodded, wondering if Mr. Roberts had ever told Todd about any of his adventures.

  “I suspect you’ve got things to do,” said Mr. Roberts as he moved toward the door. “You’ll probably spend the rest of the day taking a look at your father’s bag. You can tell me about your adventure another time.”

  Alex sat thinking for a long time. Of all the surprises he’d had on his first adventure, this was the biggest and the best. Excitement flooded him as he held his father’s magic bag in his hands and softly spoke the magic word that would let him enter. He was about to discover something about the father he’d never known, and he thought that this might be an even better adventure than the one he had just finished.

  Reading Guide

  1. At the beginning of the story, Alex wishes for a different life. Have you ever wished for a different life? Have you ever wished that you could be somebody else? Who would you like to be?

  2. If you suddenly had a chance to go on a great adventure like Alex, would you go? Would you be afraid? Would you want to take someone with you? Who?

  3. Arconn tells Alex that if he doesn’t go on the adventure he will regret it for the rest of his life. Why do you think he would regret it? Are there things in your life that you regret not doing? How about things that you have done that you regret now?

  4. Early in the story, Andy is warned to be careful of his curiosity. Why should we be careful of our own curiosity? Are there things that you are curious about that might be dangerous?

  5. Alex is told that where there is power there is also accountability. What kinds of things in your world could be considered power? What kind of accountability is there for the powers you’ve been given?

  6. It takes a long time for Alex to really believe in magic. Are there things in your world that you find hard to believe in? Are there things you believe now that you didn’t believe when you first learned about them?

  7. When Alex fights the three-legged troll everything turns out well, but he is still punished. Is it fair for Alex to be punished? Have you ever broken rules to do something you know is right?

  8. Iownan tells Alex that she can only see possibilities. Do your friends and families sometimes see your possibilities better than you do?

  9. Iownan asks each of the adventurers to promise to return the lost crystal of the tower to her. Why do you think Iownan would make that request? Have you ever had to keep a promise that somebody else made?

  10. Eric Von Tealo can only give his word that the story he’s told the adventurers is true. Would the people who know you be willing to accept your word? How important is it to have a reputation for being honest?

  11. When Alex faces the wraiths at the ruins of Aunk he is tempted to do what they say. Have you ever been tempted by someone? Have you ever been tempted by something you wanted?

  12. The wraiths tell Alex that they are his friends, and that they will help him become great if he helps them first. Has anyone ever promised to be your friend if you did something for them first? Are they still your friend?

  13. Alex crosses the wall into the dangerous shadow lands to help his friend Tayo. How far would you be willing to go to help your friends? How far would your friends go to help you? Should there be a limit to how far you go?

  14. On the journey home, Alex and his friends take the time to remember Eric Von Tealo. They make sure that his grave is marked and that his name will be remembered. How important is it to remember people who have helped you? If the people who helped you aren’t around any more, is it still important to remember them? Why?

  15. When Alex returns home he is surprised to discover that his own father was once an adventurer. Have you ever discovered things about your parents that surprised you? Have you ever tried to find out about things your parents did when they were your age?

  16. Arconn tells Alex that all word
s have power. Words can sometimes hurt us, and sometimes words can make us feel good. How do you use your words? Have you ever hurt someone with your words?

  17. How is reading a book like going on an adventure? How many book adventures have you been on? What have you learned from your adventures?