by M. L. Forman
“Well, come along,” said Whalen. “Bring the staffs. I think we’ll step outside for this. I’ll ask Mr. Blackburn to help me judge.”
Alex collected the three staffs and followed Whalen outside. He wondered what kind of magical act Whalen would ask him to do and how Whalen and Mr. Blackburn would judge the results.
Whalen turned to face Alex. “Pick one staff and lay the others aside for now.”
Alex kept the oak and gold staff in his hand and leaned the other two against the wall of Mr. Blackburn’s shop.
“Now, Alex, I want you to use your staff and change this large rock here into solid gold,” said Whalen, as if his request was perfectly normal.
Alex looked at the rock. It was nearly three feet tall and almost as long. He wondered how Whalen would know if it was solid gold or not. Putting the thought out of his mind, he concentrated on the task at hand. After a few seconds, he touched the rock with the bottom of the staff.
“Oh, well done,” said Whalen. “Mr. Blackburn, what do you think?”
“Well, I don’t know if it’s gold all the way through,” Mr. Blackburn replied. “But it looks like it’s all gold on the outside.”
“All right, Alex,” Whalen continued. “Now use your staff to change the gold into a dog.”
Alex was surprised by the request, but he didn’t ask any questions. Once more he focused his mind, and after a moment, he touched the rock a second time with the staff.
“A golden retriever, how fitting,” said Whalen with a chuckle. “Mr. Blackburn, what do you think?”
“Looks all dog to me,” said Mr. Blackburn, patting the dog on the head.
“All right, Alex,” said Whalen. “Now turn the dog back into the original rock.”
Once more Alex did as he was told. Even though he liked the dog and didn’t really want to change it back, he knew that it was really a rock.
“Now use your staff to send a large red fireball into the sky,” Whalen ordered. “Have it explode and vanish when it reaches about a hundred feet up or so.”
Once more Alex did as he was told, and after a few moments of thought, an enormous bright-red fireball shot from the head of the staff. When the fireball was a hundred feet in the air, a tremendous explosion shook the ground under his feet and rattled the windows of Mr. Blackburn’s smithy.
“Very well done,” said Whalen. “That should wake up the people of Telous.”
Whalen asked Alex to change staffs and repeat the process. To Alex’s surprise and confusion, he managed the exact same results with both of the other staffs.
“I never seen anything like this before,” said Mr. Blackburn, rubbing his head. “There’s no difference between them and that’s a fact.”
“I agree,” said Whalen, smiling but sounding slightly troubled.
“Perhaps some other task would work better,” Alex suggested.
“No, I believe it would be the same,” said Whalen. “This is strange, but it has happened at least once before.”
“It has?”
“Well, once that I know of,” Whalen answered. “Of course that was before my time, but the incident is well-documented.”
“What do we do now?” Alex questioned, hoping the answer would be simple.
“Conflagration,” Whalen answered, and Mr. Blackburn let out a loud gasp.
“What’s that?” Alex questioned.
“It’s a magical command that will combine all three staffs into one,” Whalen said slowly. “I’ve never seen it used, of course, but I’m quite sure you can manage it.”
At this point Alex wasn’t sure he could manage anything at all. He didn’t comment on his own doubts, however, but listened closely as Whalen whispered the command in his ear.
“Concentrate on all three staffs joining together,” Whalen added as he took a step back.
Alex summoned all three staffs once again so they were standing in front of him. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to focus all of his energy. Opening his eyes, he looked at the three staffs and, when he was ready, he thought of the command Whalen had whispered to him.
The three staffs moved slowly toward each other until they touched. Alex could feel heat coming from the staffs, but he continued to concentrate as hard as he could. The heat continued to grow, and Alex thought he could smell smoke. Suddenly there was a blinding flash of pure white light and only one staff remained.
“Amazing,” said Mr. Blackburn, a look of wonder on his face. “Never thought I’d see such a thing in all my days.”
“Few people have,” said Whalen. “In fact, my dear Mr. Blackburn, we three are the only ones to have seen something like this in more than a thousand years.”
Alex’s thoughts remained fixed on the staff in front of him. It looked completely different from any of the three staffs he started with, though strangely the same. The new staff was made of some black and shiny wood with interwoven patterns of true silver and gold wrapped around it.
“Go ahead,” said Whalen, looking at Alex. “Take your staff, my friend.”
Alex reached out and took the staff in his hand. A strange feeling of warmth filled him, and the staff seemed to shiver slightly at his touch. He looked at Whalen, then at Mr. Blackburn, then back at the staff. This was something he’d never expected, but something he was very happy about just the same.
“Don’t forget to pay Mr. Blackburn,” Whalen reminded Alex.
Alex nodded and asked Mr. Blackburn how much he owed him.
Mr. Blackburn, who seemed even more shocked than Alex, had some trouble deciding on a price. In the end, with a little help from Whalen, they agreed on a price, and Alex paid Mr. Blackburn for his wonderful new staff.
“Well, the council will certainly be interested in this turn of events,” said Whalen as he and Alex walked back to the Golden Swan. “A most impressive feat indeed. It may count as your fifth great wizard act.”
“I don’t think taking a staff should count as a great wizard act.”
“Well, perhaps not,” Whalen agreed. “But that decision will be up to the council.”
“When do I take the oath?” Alex asked as he and Whalen entered the Golden Swan.
“Tomorrow night, during your company’s final feast,” said Whalen. “I will ask them all to be witnesses for you. It will put a nice end on your latest adventure.”
Alex nodded. He was eager to take the oath to obey wizard law. After all, he was one step closer to being a true wizard.
Chapter Twenty
A New Beginning
So, you’ve taken your staff,” said Sindar when Alex and Whalen entered the main bar at the Golden Swan.
“I have,” said Alex, grinning from ear to ear.
“It’s about time,” Halfdan added, stepping forward to shake Alex’s hand. “I’ve been wondering when you’d get around to it.”
“And I’ve been wondering why Whalen made him wait so long,” said Bregnest, shaking Alex’s hand as well.
“All things in time,” said Whalen.
Andy was too amazed to even speak, and he simply shook Alex’s hand.
“It’s all right,” Alex said. “You don’t need to say anything.” He was still having a little trouble believing he had taken a staff. He couldn’t stop smiling.
“A real wizard,” Andy finally managed to say. “Imagine—me being friends with a real wizard.”
Alex laughed. He knew Andy had always considered him a real wizard, but it seemed that Alex’s taking a staff had finally allowed Andy to say the words out loud.
“Well now,” said Whalen after the congratulations had ended. “I have something to ask each of you, and I hope you will all agree.”
“How may we be of service?” Bregnest asked.
“Tomorrow night, at your company’s final feast, I would like you all to be witnesses for Alex,” answered Whalen. “I will be taking Alex’s oath as a true wizard.”
“We would be honored,” said Bregnest, bowing to both Whalen and Alex.
“I know you can
answer for your company, Bregnest, but still I must ask each of you to answer for yourselves,” said Whalen. “After all, it’s not a simple thing to be a witness.”
“Do they have to do something?” Alex questioned, surprised by Whalen’s comment.
“Nothing difficult,” Whalen answered. “They will sign a document saying that they are witnesses, and their files will be updated to show as much.”
“Why would that be important?” Alex asked, puzzled.
“So other adventurers will know that they are your witnesses, of course,” said Whalen as if that explained everything.
“Witnesses for a wizard are often given greater preference for adventures,” Sindar explained. “Your honor will shine on us because we have ridden with you.”
After all of Alex’s friends agreed to witness for him, Whalen turned to Bregnest. “I suppose it’s time for our evening meal. I’ll need to speak with Alex again once we are done.”
The company and Whalen enjoyed a long and somewhat rowdy meal. Later, Whalen led Alex to the back room of the Swan. Once they were seated, Whalen told Alex more about the wizard laws and about the responsibilities that went with being a wizard. They talked late into the night, and Alex learned a great many new things.
At one point when Whalen had paused in his explanation, Alex asked him a question that had been on his mind for some time. “Do you remember the ring I recovered on my first adventure?”
“Yes, you’ve told me about it,” said Whalen.
“Iownan said she couldn’t tell me what the ring was. When I asked if she didn’t know what the ring was or if she just couldn’t tell me, she said she couldn’t tell me.”
“That is common with oracles,” replied Whalen. “They always know more than they are willing to say.”
“Can you tell me what the ring is?”
“I’m sorry, Alex, I have no idea what it might be. However, if Iownan advised you to keep the ring safe, but not use it, I would heed her instruction. She has her reasons.”
“I’m not in any rush,” said Alex. “I’ve wondered about it and thought that you might know something about it.”
“I understand completely. Perhaps someday Iownan or some other oracle will tell you what the ring is. When that happens, you might let me know as well.”
Alex felt that Whalen was the only person he’d ever met who truly understood him. It seemed strange in a way, as the two of them had only really met that day.
“Oh, yes,” said Whalen suddenly. “You’ll want to keep your staff in your bag while in Telous, and of course when you’re at home.”
“Why?”
“Well, in Telous, you really have no need of the staff and carrying it around is considered a bit showy, if you know what I mean.”
“And at home?”
“Well, I think you’d look very odd walking around your stepfather’s tavern with a staff,” Whalen laughed. “And your stepfather might faint if you came home carrying one. You’ve only been on two adventures, after all.”
That night, Alex thought about what Whalen had told him about wizard law and being a wizard. Whalen had also given him a lot of advice on how to choose his adventures in the future. Whalen had also worked the Rel O’Gash spell, and Alex could already feel it working. His mind seemed more organized than it had been, and he could recall the things Whalen had said with ease.
The next morning after breakfast, Whalen once again took Alex to the back room to talk. Whalen taught Alex several more things, including the spell he had been unable to share with Alex during his journey down the Mountains of the Moon. By midday Whalen was finishing giving Alex instructions and advice.
“You should spend the afternoon thinking,” said Whalen as they left the small room together. “You need to consider what the oath means and be sure that you’re ready to accept it.”
Alex nodded. Whalen was right, of course; he had a lot to think about. Whalen had explained so many things in such a short amount of time that Alex wanted some time to sort them all out. He needed some time alone, time to think about what he was and where that might lead him.
After eating the midday meal with his friends, Alex returned to the small room alone. He considered what it meant to be a true wizard, wondering if he was really ready for the burden. He had only been on two short adventures. Wizards were revered; they were expected to know things and to be wise. In the end, he decided that all wizards had to start somewhere.
Alex was surprised when Whalen knocked on the door to tell him it was time for the company’s final feast. The afternoon had slipped away, but Alex had made up his mind. He would take the oath, and do everything he could to keep it, whatever his future held.
As Alex entered the dining room with Whalen, his friends stood and bowed to both of them. Alex felt slightly embarrassed by the attention, but he didn’t say anything. Whalen led him to the head of the table and indicated that he should remain standing.
“Alexander Taylor,” said Whalen, turning to face him. “You have taken your staff and agreed to take the wizard’s oath. Do you do this of your own free will?”
“I do,” Alex answered.
“Will all those gathered here as witnesses acknowledge that he takes this oath of his own free will?” Whalen asked, turning to the company.
“We will,” Alex’s friends all replied.
“Present your staff,” Whalen commanded.
Alex took his new staff from his magic bag and held it out toward Whalen. Whalen did not touch the staff, but looked at it closely.
“Alexander Taylor, do you swear by your staff that you will obey the wizard laws?”
“I swear by my staff,” answered Alex, a tingling sensation running through him as he spoke.
“Will the witness testify?” Whalen asked, continuing to look Alex in the eye.
“We will,” his friends answered
“As a member of the council of wizards, I, Whalen Vankin, accept the oath of Alexander Taylor,” said Whalen, his eyes shining with happiness. “I name you a true wizard and a friend of the council of wizards.”
Alex smiled and bowed to Whalen. Whalen returned his bow, and the company all cheered. Alex was now as much a wizard as any wizard could ever be.
“A fitting end to this adventure,” said Bregnest as Whalen and Alex took their seats. “If there are no questions or disputes, I will call our agreement fulfilled.”
None of the company spoke so Bregnest went on.
“Our agreement is complete, and another first-class adventure is over.”
“And a new adventure begins for our wizard friend,” said Sindar.
Alex and his friends laughed, and Bregnest rang the bell to call the servants. Their final feast was long and full of conversation and storytelling. Alex knew he would soon be leaving his friends once more, but he hoped he would see them all again soon.
As they were finishing their meal, Alex learned that most of his friends would be leaving for home the next morning. Halfdan, Andy, and Sindar would all be riding to the great arch together. Bregnest would be going to Mr. Clutter’s shop with Alex. Whalen said he would wait at the Swan for Bregnest’s return, before traveling to Alusia.
“You know,” said Whalen looking at Alex. “You might want to start thinking about moving to one of the known lands.”
“Moving?” Alex questioned.
“You won’t be staying with your stepfather forever,” said Whalen in a kindly tone.
“But I’ve only visited three of the known lands, and then only for a short time.”
“It’s only a thought. You don’t have to move right now, or even decide on a land this minute. And you can always move again, if and when you feel like it.”
“I did rather like Alusia.”
“As do I,” Whalen replied. “It would be nice having you close as well. If you like, I’ll keep an eye out for a suitable place for you. You know, a small farm or something.”
“Would you?” Alex thought the idea sounded wonderful. Of c
ourse, he would have to talk to Mr. Roberts about it, but he felt sure that his stepfather would accept whatever decision he made.
“I’d be happy to,” Whalen said. “As I said, it would be nice having you close.”
They finished their feast but none of them wanted to say goodnight or good-bye. They remained at the table for a long time, talking about what they would do next, and eventually their good-byes were put off until the following morning.
“Thrang will be pleased when I tell him you’ve taken your staff,” said Halfdan the next morning at breakfast. “Though he’ll be disappointed that he wasn’t here to see it.”