Wizard's Quest: Book Two Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen

All works copywrite Jay D Evans 2013

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 

Richard and Mary had arrived at the Dining Hall when he stopped and got a look of panic on his face. “I left the Sceptre and Sphere in MacCorkadall’s study. I need to go back and get them.”

“Why? You know they’re safe if they are with the Master. No one will get to them.” Not understanding his urgency, Mary just wanted to eat and go to bed.

“Ye dae nae understand, the power they have. Alone, the two are powerful tools. Together, they are unstoppable. I have to get them.” He turned and ran back to the sorcerer’s study.

Mary caught up with him as he reached the oak doors of Master MacCorkadall’s study. “Richard, you are acting like the Master is going to use them against you. He’s the one that is going to teach you about them.”
            “Aye, Ah kinn ‘at. Ah jist want tae hae ‘em with me.” The boy knocked lightly on the door.

When there was no answer, he knocked louder. With still no answer, he opened the massive door slowly and looked in. MacCorkadall was sitting at his desk holding the Sphere, the Sceptre lying on the desk in front of him. As Richard watched, the master sorcerer became enveloped in a ball of distortion, very much like when Kahnlin first appeared to them and held the Sphere. The old man sat there and allowed the distortion to envelope him completely. The air in the room was static with energy that threatened to spill out into the hall from the open door. Startled by the phenomenon, Mary slammed the door shut.

“What is he doing with that?” Not having seen this before, Mary was a little frightened.

“Ah dunnae kinn. But Kahnlin did the same thing when we first met.” Richard remembered when Kahnlin had held the Sphere and almost enveloped him, Sean and Elizabeth and that they, too, were frightened by it.

Whatever it was that the master sorcerer was doing, the boy wizard decided it would not be prudent to interrupt him, he could wait until the next day to retrieve his tools. He trusted Angus MacCorkadall with all he had in him. The old man had taken him off the dirty streets of Edinburgh and a life a crime and brought him to the Highlands to learn the ancient art of magick. For three years he had taken extra time with Richard to teach him more than the others were learning and had promoted him beyond his peers. True, he had been tested to the limit to get that promotion, losing friends, making friends, almost dying himself. But through it all, MacCorkadall had done nothing but stand by him and support him. He had even given him the Sphere of Oberon. Why was it that he had a feeling of foreboding because his teacher had possession of both tools?

The warning that his mother had given to Mary was also gnawing at his mind. What did she mean that the rain was coming? Who was it that was the unknown enemy? Surely this didn’t have anything to do with what he was feeling about his teacher. Thinking though all that he had learned, from his mother before she died, all the times he was running the streets of Edinburgh, what he had been taught here at Crauford Castle, what he had learned through the quest for the Power Stone and even what his mother had told him in his visitations. There was nothing that gave a clue as to what she was meaning or who it could be. Sebastian was dead in Fey, he had made sure of that. Kahnlin was a statue in the Elvin Forest. Those were his two known enemies. But, Mary had said that the enemy was not known yet, but would surface before the quest continued.

As they reached the Dining Hall a thought occurred to him. “Mary, could my enemy be one of the Brownies? I don’t think I’ve insulted one, nor do I wish to. But, they are sensitive about a lot of things. Maybe I inadvertently turned one into a Boggart.”

Brownies, being just a little over a foot tall with no nose, are sensitive little creatures. They will help out with chores around the house as long as the patrons don’t reward them. All they ever ask for is a little food and shelter as their payment. If they are criticized they can turn into Boggarts, nasty little beasties that are malicious and dangerous. Normally a Boggart will only torment and destroy belongings, killing is not something that they do. But, if one was tormented enough, he could turn homicidal.

 “Richard Evans! You may be conceited, at times even arrogant. But, insensitive is not one of your traits. What could you have done to, or said about one of the Brownies that would turn him evil?”

“Ah dunnae kinn. That’s just it. It takes a lot to turn a Brownie that evil. It’s the best I could come up with trying to decipher what my mum told you.”

Mary stopped dead in her tracks. “Wait a minute. The Corrigan. You know, that ugly woman that wanders around the forest. I’ve been told that she is great with riddles. Maybe she can help with this one.”

“It’s night time. She won’t be out now. Besides, how are you going to find her?” Richard didn’t like the idea of finding a Corrigan. True, they were great riddle solvers, but the stories that he had been told about them scared him.

“I can find her. Now, do you want to figure out what your mother said or not?” She grabbed Richard by the sleeve and dragged him toward the main door.

When the door was opened, the two realized that they were not going anywhere. The wind had picked up and the snow had turned to blizzard, already piling up against the tall oak doors of the castle. To go out in this would be suicide. It took both of them to close the massive doors against the wind and snow.

“I guess I don’t want to find out, at least not tonight.” Richard yawned and stretched. “Besides, it’s late and I’m tired. I think I’m just going to go to bed.”

“Fine! You just do that. I’ll just go to my room, worry about you, and not sleep a wink. I’ll be fine.” With that, Mary stormed up the stairs and out of sight leaving her friend lost and confused.

Trudging up the stairs to his own room, the young wizard was lost in his endless array of thoughts, walking the familiar path without thinking about where he was going. It wasn’t until he ran headlong into a wall that he realized that the path he had taken was not to his room but to an unfamiliar part of the castle, a dark hallway that led to a dead-end. Angry with himself for not paying attention he turned to go back the way he had come and caught a glimpse of something hiding in the shadows. Throughout the past year, he had learned to conquer any fear that he had, knowing that whatever lie ahead was nothing that could be worse than what he had been through already. This was just another situation that required confidence that he could handle whatever was there. As he started walking back toward the more brightly lit corridors of Crauford Castle, whatever was watching him moved deeper into the shadows of the dimly lit hall. As he passed the area where the entity was hiding, it disappeared totally. Shaking his head, confused, Richard continued on to his room.

All through the night he felt as though someone, or something, was watching him. He would turn and stare into the dark around him hoping to see, or hear, something move. After several hours of this, he lit the small candle next to his bed hoping that would allay his feelings. All this did was to bring into the light what was making him feel what he was. There, against the door was an urusk. Startled by the huge head, wrinkled face and feathers peeking out from his cloak, Richard let out a yell. The urusk rushed to cover the boy’s mouth and raised a crooked finger to his lips, indicating that he should be quiet.

“Wha…wha…what dae ye want o’ me?”

“I am here to help you, Richard. There is trouble afoot and you are in grave danger. Even here.” The voice was soft and soothing, not something that one would expect from the creature it came from.

Calmed only slightly, Richard sat up in his bed. “I’ve nae seen a body of yer kind afair. Yoo’re an urusk arenae ye?”

“Yes. But don’t be frightened. I will do you no harm. I want to help you.” The urusk turned as there was a knock on the door.

“Richard, are you all right? I thought I heard you yell.” Onslo’s voice came through muffled.

Richard looked at his visitor thoughtfully. “Aye Ah am. Jist a bad dream. Go back tae bed, Onslo.” The two could hear Onslo shuffling away back to his own room. Looking back at his visitor he realized that what the creature was saying was true. “What’s yer name? I cannae keep callin’ ye Urusk.”

Astonished, he looked down at the floor. “No one has ever asked my name before. It is Jib.”

“Ok, Jib. What did ye mean tha’ Ah was in trouble even here?”

“Dark forces are at work. You have the Sceptre and Sphere, something that is coveted across time and space. Everyone knew that Oberon had given the Sphere to MacCorkadall. But the Sceptre was hidden where no one could find it. You did. Now, there are many that would kill to get them both. Even here there are those that know about the power of Oberon’s tools.”

“But here? At Crauford? No one knows I have them except for MacCorkadall, Sean, Elizabeth and Mary. Even the handful of masters that teach haven’t been told yet. And the rest of the students are oblivious of everything.”

“There is one more that knows.” Jib glanced toward the door. “The one you call Onslo. He, too, knows about them.”

“Onslo?! You think that Onslo is out to kill me?” Richard couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had met him his first year at the castle and been friends ever since. The worst that could come from Onslo was an unending series of questions and being a pain by wanting too much of his attention.

“I did not say that the boy wanted to kill you. I merely pointed out that there were more that knew about the tools than you realize.” Jib realized that Richard would need more evidence before he would believe things that weren’t obvious.

“How do you know so much about all this? You just showed up tonight.”

“How much do you know about the Urusks?” Jib sat on the edge of the bed and stared at Richard as if he were questioning a student about an important point in class.

“Nae much. Just what they look like mostly and that they are friendly.” Richard wondered where this was going.

“Urusks are extremely psychic. We know things that others don’t. That is why some people search us out. Others, such as you, don’t realize what help we can be. They are frightened by our appearance and so avoid us. I searched you out simply because my, what would you call it, sixth sense told me that you needed me more than most would.”

Richard stared at the little man. All he had been told about these creatures were that they were a hybrid of human, goat and fowl, that they craved human companionship but were so ugly they terrified most people and that they were extremely intelligent. No one had said anything about them being psychic. This put a whole new meaning to the relationship that was budding between the two. He could use someone that could for-tell the possible events that were in the future, see things that others could not and contact those that weren’t reachable. This man could possibly help him find the rest of his missing friends within days instead of weeks or months.

“Can ye tell me who, or what, is tryin’ tae kill me? If yer as psychic as ye say ye are it shoods be easy.” He didn’t really think that this being could tell him, and if he did, it would be in a vague way to where it could be anyone. He assumed that what he saw in the dark hallway earlier was this man, but, it could have been his would be assassin.

“I cannot tell you. It is not the right time. I can tell you this; what you saw in the hall was neither me nor your antagonist. You were extremely lucky this night. What you saw was a Red Cap, which, under normal circumstances, would live in a ruin. This Red Cap has been jinxed and is uncertain of anything. You would surely have perished if he had been himself.” Jib made it sound as if it were nothing more than reporting the weather. Richard knew that a Red Cap would kill on sight. He was lucky indeed.

Night was turning into dawn and the grey sky was showing signs of more snow. As he climbed out of his warm bed, he shivered. The cold penetrated the thick walls of the castle as if they were made of paper. One thing that Richard had never gotten used to was not having a warm room on cold days and nights. His father’s flat in Edinburgh had hot water heat that was always too warm, but the ancient castle had only hearths with little wood to burn for the rooms of the inhabitants. The only places where there was always a hearty fire burning was in the Main Hall and the Dining Hall, even Master MacCorkadall did without constant heat in the winter. The robes of all who studied and practiced the ancient art of magick were thick wool in the winter to keep them warm. On this frigid morning, he decided that he should don extra clothing to keep the cold away. He had gotten too used to the acrid heat of Syrus.

“I need to get ready for the day. Do you plan on staying here in my room or what?” Richard turned toward where the urusk had been standing only to find that the creature had disappeared. “I guess he’s not sticking around.”

 

The Dining Hall was empty when he arrived, it was still very early, but there was food waiting for him. The Brownies always knew what was going on around the castle and made sure that everything was in order for whoever was up and about. Richard knew that to give them any more than a ration of food would make them disappear so he made sure that he left the best of the meal for them. As he finished his breakfast he went through all that he had to do for the day. The first thing on his list was to feed, water and groom the castle horses. It had been over a year since he had last seen these magnificent creatures. It had always been his job to take care of them before he had gone on his quest, now that he was back, if only for a short time, he would resume those duties. It was one of his greatest pleasures to care for them and would do it as long as he could. The horses understood him and he them.

As he entered the stable Onslo was there, cleaning the stalls. Richard looked around and saw that he had already fed and watered each horse just as they had always been fed and watered by him and each had been groomed as if he had done it himself. Irritated that someone would do as good a job as he did, he turned and stormed out unnoticed without saying a word. “A fine way to start my day!” Realizing that someone had to do his chores while he was gone, and Onslo was the logical choice because of their close friendship, his mood elevated somewhat. Stopping to turn back to apologize to his friend, the castle bells chimed the hour. Seven bells, it was time to start his new training of the Sphere and Sceptre with MacCorkadall. No time for apologies now. Not stopping to talk with anyone, even Mary who was standing just inside the door, he made it to the Master’s Study before the last chime sounded. As he skidded to a stop in front of the doors, Master MacCorkadall spoke from inside.

“You are just in time, Richard. Punctuality is an admirable trait. Please come in and we’ll get started.”

The massive doors opened and Richard stepped into the room. What was normally a densely furnished, almost cluttered room was totally bare. The tall bookshelves were gone, not just the ancient texts that sat upon their shelves, but the shelves themselves were gone. The cherrywood desk that the master sorcerer sat behind and the tall chair he sat in were gone, as were the numerous tables and chairs that were scattered around the room. The only things left were the long velveteen curtains covering the windows, which were no longer dark purple but were a colour that seemed to blend into the walls surrounding them, making the windows almost disappear. Even the hardwood floor was changed, now resembling the ancient stonework of the walls, making the entire room a bleak and lonely place. The only thing there was a pedestal in the middle of the room with the Sphere and Sceptre of Oberon lying on it.

Looking around at the empty room, Richard stammered, “Whit happened haur? Whaur is everythin’?”

Amused, MacCorkadall laughed. “Don’t worry, my boy, I just cleared out a few things so that there would be no distractions for your tutoring. Shall we get started?”

Picking up both items, he handed them to Richard. “These are yours, the Sphere given to you by me, who received it from King Oberon, and the Sceptre was given to you by the King by your own merits. Only one of great character, values and morality could possibly have possession of both of these at the same time. You have proven yourself time and again that you are worthy of them. Now is the time to learn what they can do for you.

“Whoever has the Sphere can only be harmed by very powerful magick. It puts a protective ‘bubble’ around whoever owns it that is virtually impenetrable. When I gave it to you I told you that it would take you where you needed to go. It does far more than that. With the Sphere you can control time and space, not just travel through it. If you would allow me to show you…”

Richard handed the Sphere to his instructor and the old man gazed at it intently. Soon, the now familiar distortion began to form. As it grew, he did not back away from it. Enveloping both men the very air around them became electric, making the hair stand up on their arms and the backs of their necks. The world around them became fuzzy and started to swirl, disorienting the young wizard. Glancing at MacCorkadall, he saw that he was smiling, almost diabolically, at the small round object in his hand, eyes glued to it. Slowly, almost imperceptive at first, his senses started coming into focus. As he watched, the room they had been standing in disappeared, being replaced by an alien landscape- barren of any life. The sky was a multitude of colours that reminded him of the Aurora Borealis, moving in the heavens as if they were a flag waving in the breeze. The ground consisted of hardened lava, smoothed by the ebbs and flows of a volcanic eruption many millennia ago, and the air was as still as a tomb.

As he spoke, his words echoed. “Master MacCorkadall, whaur air we? This isnae anyplace Ah’ve ever heard of.”

“This, Richard, is a world between worlds. From here you can go anywhere, anytime. What would you like to see? William Wallace being defeated at Sterling or Genghis Kahn pillaging a village in what is now China? How about the beginning of the Universe? It can all be done from here, with this device I hold in my hand.”

“But how? Is there a spell or incantation I need to know? Or do I just think about it?” He hadn’t seen, or heard, the old man do anything but stare at the Sphere.

Smiling at the boy, Angus MacCorkadall winked and was gone, taking the Sphere of Oberon with him and leaving Richard alone without knowing how to leave this world-between-worlds.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

 

Richard stood there, motionless, not wanting to believe what had just happened. His mentor, his friend, the man whom he trusted and loved like a father, had just left him stranded on an alien planet with nothing except the clothes that he wore. Of all the people that could have been the unknown enemy, Angus MacCorkadall was the last person that he would have thought was that evil. Now, because of his trust and innocence, he was here, alone, with no food, water or a way to leave. Looking around, there was nothing, as far as he could see, from horizon to horizon. There was no sun in the sky, only the swirling ribbons of colours lighting the barren landscape. The gently rolling swells of hardened lava that he stood upon continued in every direction, giving no indication of changing into anything else, leaving no room for any life giving substances such as plants or animals. And there was no water. He was doomed to die on this barren rock, alone.

“Why?” He screamed into the endless nothingness, his voice echoing back to him, mocking his frustration. Then, pleading quietly, tears in his eyes, “Why?”

Sitting on the ground he put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Something jabbed him in the stomach, but he ignored the pain, concentrating on his dilemma. MacCorkadall had said that this was a place from which a person could go anywhere, anytime. He didn’t say how to do it, though. Thinking hard, Richard tried to will himself home, yet nothing happened, he was still sitting on the hard, rocky ground. Laying back, staring at the swirling colours overhead, he absently rubbed the area that was being poked. He tried a simple incantation, still to no avail. He sat up and again something poked him in the side, this time more painfully. Not being able to ignore it any longer, he lay back again and checked his pockets. There, sticking out of his front pants pocket was the Sceptre of Oberon.

Excitement replaced frustration and betrayal. This was something that he could use. Standing and raising the powerful wand, he cast the only spell he knew that should send him home. “Druaightys shinyn dachaidh!”

Expectation turned into disappointment once again. The boy wizard knew that the spell would send him home, yet, here he stood, still on this desolate ball of rock. Seething at himself for being so gullible and not seeing what was really happening, Richard sunk back to the ground, dejected. Mary would be so disappointed in him for being so stupid and getting trapped. She had warned him that he should not be alone. Yet, he hadn’t been, he had been with the man they all trusted so much. At least that man didn’t have the Sceptre, that would have made him even more powerful and no one would be able to stop him from doing whatever he wanted.

The colours in the sky changed suddenly from the reds, blues, yellows and purples to a deep shade of brown, casting the whole area into a dismal negative of what it was. The landscape was foreboding enough with the bright light from the rainbow colours but now it was as if there was a cloud of doom overhead. The temperature, which had been comfortable, turned cold and a breeze had picked up, raising goose bumps on his arms. Shadows disappeared and were replaced by an overcast hue. Anywhere else, this would indicate rain but it was uncertain what was coming on this world.

Faintly, he could hear voices. At first he thought he was imagining them or it was just the wind whistling around some of the sharper edges of the landscape. But as he listened it became clearer that it was voices, albeit not loud enough the make out what was being said or who it was. Looking around he saw no one. Where were those voices coming from? The landscape showed no indication of any openings or entrances at all. Could it be that there were hidden caves such as the elves have that are fighting the Dragon Riders? Desperately searching the ground for anything that could be hiding a doorway Richard started kicking at anything that looked like it could move, all to no avail.

Cupping his hands to his mouth he shouted to those elusive voices, “Hallooo! Can ye hear me?”

All that came back to him was the echo of his own voice. As he sat back down on the ground snow started to blow across the barren rock. The snow was not coming from the sky, which was still cloudless, but from behind him out of nowhere. Confused, yet curious, the boy wizard stood and stared at the air where the snow was originating. Something about it was strange. The sky wasn’t the same colour, more like a winter sky at home. Slowly approaching it he could see that it was a window, a window to another world. Excited now, he shouted once more.

“Hallooo! Is anyone there? Can ye hear me?”

Faintly, almost inaudibly, “He must learn what to do by himself. He has the power, the tools, he must be the one.”

“But look at him! He doesn’t understand.”

“He will.”

More confused than before, Richard started to become angry. These voices were talking about him like he was a science experiment. He was not a mouse in a maze to be studied. “Who are ye? What dae ye want whit me?”

“Think, Richard, think! Use your mind and your knowledge. Remember, things are not always what they seem to be.”

“Whit the bloody hell are they talkin’ abit? Things arenae whit they seem. I hae th’ power an’ tools. Whit knowledge?” This was a test! It had to be. Whoever it was out there was testing him. If only he could distinguish who those voices belonged to. Taking their advice he thought about what was said; Things aren’t always what they seem to be, I have the power, tools and knowledge. All these things had to make sense somehow. The only tools he had was Oberon’s Sceptre, and true, his knowledge of magick had increased exponentially in the last year, but what was meant by- Things are not always what they seem? Suddenly it hit him like a brick on top of the head.

Pulling the Sceptre from his pocket he pointed it the sky. “Glenney magh! Clear this out.”

The brown sky changed to a vaulted ceiling, the ground became a stone floor and stone walls appeared around him. A window was open behind him sending a chilling wind and snow across the floor. Standing across the room, huddled together were Angus MacCorkadall, Mary and Jib watching him intently. The master and Jib were looking like they had failed somehow. Mary, frowning, had a look of distinct disapproval and her arms were folded across her chest. MacCorkadall whispered something to Jib, listened to his reply then moved over to Richard.

Before the master could speak, he lashed out. “You left me alone! With nothing. You took the Sphere so that I couldn’t use it to get home. YOU LEFT ME ALONE!”

“Richard, you did well, but not until you had help. There will not always be someone there to help you. There will be a time when you must rely on only yourself and your abilities. You have the power, the knowledge, to achieve great things but you must learn to trust yourself before you will be able to use that power and knowledge to its’ greatest advantage.”

“I told you what he was thinking. I told you that it was wrong the way you did it.” Mary came over and stared accusingly at the master sorcerer. “You could have at least told him it was a test.”

“If the boy had been informed, it would not have shown us what we needed to know. We now know that he needs to improve on his psychic abilities, his intuition and, must I say this, he has anger issues.” Jib looked at Mary like she was Richard’s mother and he was the headmaster explaining what her child needed to work on in school.

“Richard, you never left this study. It was all an illusion. It was a test to see what you would do in that situation. We could watch you, but not interact. I told Master MacCorkadall what you would do. I thought it was stupid.” Mary put her arms around his neck and hugged him.

Holding her by the waist, he glared at his mentor. “Ah cannae believe ye did ‘at tae me. Ah thooght ye hud betrayed me like Sebastian. Ah thooght ye waur th’ unknoon enemy.”

Jib, even as compassionate as the Urusks are, poured sarcasm at the young boy. “And you handled that quite well from what I saw.”

MacCorkadall shut the window, turned to look at Richard with quiet authority and without pretence stated simply, “We have a lot of work to do.”

“Aye, ye dae. Ye need tae learn hoo tae treat people.” Richard headed toward the door, pulling Mary along with him. “Ah’m gang tae th’ Common Room. Mebbe we shoods start again tomorrow.”

MacCorkadall started to say something but Jib silenced him with an upraised arm. “Let him go. In his state of mind, he won’t learn anything. Let him realize what happened through talking with the girl. He’ll come around.”

Thoughtfully stroking his long beard, the ancient sorcerer agreed. “You are probably right. Tomorrow will be better.”

 

“Ah cannae believe he did ‘at! Ah thooght Ah was a goner. Ye dinnieken whit was gang through mah heid.”

“Richard, you’ve got to calm down. I know what MacCorkadall did was wrong. He should have let you know something, anything. He wanted to know how you would react to something that extreme.” Mary had watched the entire ordeal. Standing in the same room as her soul mate, only she saw the reality, he saw what MacCorkadall had conjured for him to see. It was as if she were watching a play at the theatre, he the actor on stage.

“You were thaur the whole time? Noo I really am embarrassed.” Richard started to calm down enough to control his accent. It didn’t make him feel any better to know that he had been put on display like some zoo animal. It was so real to him that he had a hard time understanding that he had never left the study and that it was all just a show.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed. I knew what he was doing, he told me last night. I came in right after you and he ‘left’ the study. It was interesting until he let you believe that you were stranded somewhere alone. Then it got cruel.”

The two arrived at the Common Room, which was empty, and sat in front of the roaring fire on the floor. As Mary leaned into him and put her head on his chest, he kissed her hair and breathed in the scent of lavender. She looked up and smiled at him. It had been only two days since they had been alone together, but it seemed like a lifetime. This wasn’t the same as being alone at the mansion, there they were alone. Here at the castle, anyone could walk in on them at anytime. But, alone time was just that, time that they could forget about the world and centre their attention on each other. They had been sitting for only a few minutes when the door burst open and in ran Onslo.

“I’ve been looking for you two. Where’ve you been? I want to know all about the Quest! You promised, Rich. Remember?”

“Aye, I did.” Reluctantly he unwrapped himself from Mary. “Where do you want me to start, my friend?”

“From the very beginning when you left to find the Power Stone. What happened? Why didn’t everyone come back with you? You were in hospital for over a week and then left again. Thomas and Fergus come back and won’t talk to anyone except MacCorkadall and then you come back again. I want to know it all.” The exuberance flowing from Onslo’s very being overwhelmed the other two.

Imitating Elizabeth and Cassandra’s American accent, Mary tried to slow him down. “Whoa there, Cowboy. Give a body a chance.”

“Aye, I can only tell ye when ye close yer gob long enough for me tae talk.” Richard laughed at his friend, knowing how excited the boy got over little things.

For the next three hours, Richard retold the story of the quest. From the point where Mary and the five others were lost, to finding Elizabeth in the Troll Caves, finding the mansion that supplied their every need, meeting the elves, Connor being returned, the faeries, the Desert Elves and their war with the Dragon Riders, all the way through to his return to Crauford with the Power Stone chip. He left out the more gruesome points of how Quentin, Stephanie, Duncan and Sebastian had been killed, but that they were dead. He recounted his encounter with the rock creatures with more embellishment than was needed just to make it more exciting for his audience, but that was all, everything else was told true to fact. When he got done, he stood up and stretched.

“Onslo, I really need to get back to studying with MacCorkadall. If things go the way I’ve been told, I’m going to need everything I can get from him.”

“You’ll tell me the rest later though, right? When you left the second time, until now. Right?”

“Of course I will. You’re my best mate.” Looking at Mary to see if she was going to follow, Richard waited at the door.

“I’ll be along shortly. There are some things I need to do.” Mary smiled at him, stood and went up the stairs to her room.

Watching her go and wanting to follow, Richard felt lonely. He knew that he had to go see MacCorkadall, there was no getting around it. He had walked out on him, now he had to apologize for not giving his teacher the benefit of the doubt and start anew, this left no room for pleasure. He would much rather her be with him for this, but he had to give her the space she needed. Finally, shaking his head and heading out the door, he called back to his friend, “I’ll catch up with you later, Onslo.”

Angus MacCorkadall and Jib were deep in a discussion when Richard arrived back at the study. It was several minutes before they acknowledged his arrival. When they did, it was a curt nod and back to their discussion. He knew better than to interrupt so he stood back and waited, after all, he was the one in the wrong, not them. When they finished, MacCorkadall looked at his young pupil with sternness. It was almost as if he had forgotten that it was he that had told Richard to be here. After more than a few minutes had passed, the ancient sorcerer approached his young student.

“Richard, you have improved in skill tremendously in the last year. In skill, not in maturity, your outburst was inappropriate, although, I do understand the why. You need to learn to control your emotions and let your logic control you instead. Emotions will help the magick, logic keeps it, and you, under control. This will be important in the days to come, more than you can realize.”

“Aye, I kinn ‘at. It doesnae make it any easier, though.”

“Nothing worth having is ever easy. Trials and tribulations are a part of life and how a person deals with those situations indicates what kind of person they are. Lashing out in anger at everything says that the person is immature, no matter how old they are. No one takes immaturity seriously and therefore that person doesn’t go far in life.

“Now, I believe that we have done enough for one day. We will start again tomorrow. It is now dinnertime and if I know you, you haven’t eaten yet today. Go down to the Dining Hall and eat, relax and enjoy the day.”

This was strange coming from the Master. He was not one to influence what a person did. Whether it be eating, sleeping, or whatever, that was that person’s decision. Now, here he was telling him to go eat, in the Dining Hall, and to relax and enjoy the day. There were things that needed to be done, there was no time to relax. Finding the identity of the unknown enemy was more important than eating. Learning what the Sphere could do was more important than relaxing. But to argue with a master sorcerer, especially this one, was pointless.

“Before I go, I need to apologize to both you and Jib for my outburst. As you said, it was inappropriate. I’m sorry.”

From across the room, Jib spoke, “There is hope for this one yet.”

MacCorkadall smiled. “Off with you, Richard. Tomorrow will be a busy day.”

 

Still pondering MacCorkadall’s telling him to eat and relax as he reached the Dining Hall, Richard hesitated at the door and turned back the way he came. Wanting very much to get back studying, he contemplated going back and asking to continue with the lessons. He had made a complete fool of himself and he needed to rectify it. The only way to do that was to continue and prove to his mentor and the Urusk that he could do it without losing all his composure. He was just about to leave when he heard strange noises behind the oak doors of the Dining Hall. It was late for dinner and there should not have been many people eating, and those that did were usually studying while they ate, not making merriment and it sounded like a party was going on.

The door creaked ever so slightly as he opened it and he heard someone whisper loudly, “Someone’s coming, everyone hide.”