“I’ve seen the details of Master Bregnest’s new adventure, and I have to say I’m quite impressed,” he said, offering a glass to Alex. “Yes, quite a good quest this time, and the payment is more than fair.”
“Can you tell me about the quest?” Alex questioned as he sniffed at the glass.
“Oh, no,” Mr. Clutter replied, returning to his pile of papers. “I’ll leave that for the leader of the adventure. It’s not my place to be telling, after all. Still, I think you will be interested, and if you’re not . . . Well, there are several other adventures getting started right now, and most of them sound exciting.”
Alex took a sip from the glass. The liquid turned out to be lemonade, but tasted both sweeter and a bit more sour than any he had ever had before. He took a cake from the tray and ate it while he waited.
It wasn’t long before he heard a door close at the back of the shop. He turned toward the curtains that divided the back of the shop from the front, his excitement growing as he waited.
“The task seems simple enough, but that doesn’t really mean anything,” Alex heard Bregnest saying. “And it may take some time to find what we are looking for.”
“And what are you looking for?” Alex questioned, as Bregnest stepped through the curtains.
“Alex!” Bregnest exclaimed. “I mean, Master Taylor.”
“It’s good to see you again, my friend,” Alex replied as he allowed Bregnest to pull him into a friendly hug.
“It is very good to see you. I’ve been explaining this new adventure to Master Valenteen,” said Bregnest, nodding toward a thin man who had followed him through the curtains. “He’s agreed to join the company, so we only need one more member before we can start.”
Alex glanced at the man standing behind Bregnest, surprised by what he saw. The man was extremely thin, almost skeletal, but what caught Alex’s attention was that it looked as if the whole left side of the man’s face was badly bruised.
“Perhaps you had better tell me about this adventure,” Alex said, looking back to Bregnest.
“I was hoping you would ask,” said Bregnest with a grin. “You don’t mind waiting here for a bit do you, Val?”
“Not at all. Take your time. I’m sure Mr. Clutter won’t mind if I look around a bit.”
“Oh, no, not at all,” said Mr. Clutter to Val. “Would you like some lemonade?”
“Come on then,” said Bregnest, nudging Alex’s shoulder and nodding toward the back of the shop.
Alex turned to look at Val more closely as he passed by. Up close, he couldn’t see any trace of the bruises he thought he’d seen before. He wasn’t sure what to think, but after a moment he decided it must have only been a shadow falling across Val’s face.
Alex shrugged off the thought, turning to follow Bregnest.
“So,” Bregnest began as they entered one of the smaller rooms in the back of the shop, “how’s your training going?”
“Fairly well. I still haven’t been able to meet with Whalen, but I write to him quite often.” Alex answered, and then quickly told Bregnest about his studies, and as much as he could about Whalen’s advice and instruction.
“So, tell me about this new adventure,” Alex said.
Bregnest nodded, settling down to business. “It seems that a cousin of mine has run into a bit of trouble. He is a king in Alusia, and some questions have come up about whether he is the true king.”
“If he’s king, how can there be any questions?”
“Well, the true kings of Athanor—that’s the area he rules—have traditionally carried the Horn of Moran as a sign of their nobility and right to rule,” Bregnest explained. “Unfortunately for my cousin, the Horn was lost about a hundred years ago.”
“Lost? How was it lost?”
“A young prince foolishly took the Horn with him on an adventure. He never returned from his travels, and since then, the kings of Athanor have been without the Horn,” Bregnest answered. “Now another family is claiming the throne, and my cousin needs the Horn of Moran to prove his true kingship.”
“Can anyone with the Horn claim to be king?” Alex questioned.
“Not exactly,” Bregnest replied in a thoughtful tone. “You see, the Horn will only sound if the true king uses it. A false king will not be able to get any sound from the Horn at all. At least, that’s what the legends claim.”
“So your cousin, being the true king, wants to prove himself by using the Horn.”
“Indeed, yes. And he has offered to pay a great deal for the Horn’s return.”
Alex thought about what Bregnest had told him. People making trouble about who should be king was a problem—a problem that might start a war. Returning the Horn of Moran might stop the trouble, but there was no way to be sure.
“May I ask, what adventure was the young prince on when he lost the Horn?”
“I had to ask Mr. Clutter for that information,” answered Bregnest. “He told me that the prince was searching for the Tower of the Moon in Norsland. The tower is supposed to contain a fairly large treasure, and I believe that is what he and his company were after.”
“I take it that the Tower of the Moon is not easy to find.”
“There are maps showing how to get there. Though as far as I know, nobody has tried since the time of the prince.”
“Why?”
“Well, the path is supposed to be well-guarded. Stories suggest that a sphinx and possibly a griffin guard the tower.”
“It must be an important treasure to require both creatures as guardians.” Alex knew that griffins were extremely loyal and dedicated to the jobs they were given. In fact, griffins were rumored to be the best guardians to be found anywhere, unless you counted dragons.
“The Tower of the Moon was once a place of great knowledge and learning. It is said that many wizards lived there long ago, and there are legends about at least one wizard coming to live there again someday. We’ll be able to learn more about the legends once we arrive in Norsland.”
“All right then,” said Alex. “What has the king offered for the Horn’s return?”
“The king has offered one hundred thousand gold coins and a thousand of the finest horses in Alusia,” answered Bregnest. “You should know that Alusian horses are considered the cleverest horses in all of the known lands.”
“Then they must be impressive creatures.”
“Indeed they are. In fact, Shahree is from Alusia, and you know what she is like.”
“Shahree is from Alusia? If she is an example of Alusian horses, then a thousand like her would be worth far more than the gold offered.”
“Well, Shahree does seem exceptional, even by the standards of Alusia,” said Bregnest with a small grin. “And I think perhaps your own opinions about her may confuse your thoughts on value.”
“If the horses the king is offering are anything like Shahree, I would find it difficult to sell any of them,” Alex said firmly.
“We have not won the horses or the gold yet,” Bregnest replied in a stern tone, though his smile remained. “And if we do, you may not need to sell them. I own some fairly large lands in Alusia and would be more than happy to keep the horses there for you, if you wish.”
Alex nodded. “Tell me about the bargain. How many of us will there be?”
“There will be six of us on this adventure. Some of the company you already know. Your friends Andy and Halfdan have already agreed to come along.”
“Andy and Halfdan. We’ll have good company at least.”
“Also an elf named Sindar, who you do not know, though he knows a great deal about you. And Master Valenteen who is waiting with Mr. Clutter,” Bregnest went on.
“And how is it that this Sindar knows about me?” Alex questioned.
“Sindar comes from the dark forest of Vargland. When we were there on our last adventure, he was away on an adventure of his own. He has heard about you from the other elves, however, and from our friend Calysto, of course.”
“Then it
should be a merry group,” said Alex, remembering the elves of the dark forest.
“Yes, it should be,” agreed Bregnest. “Now, regarding the shares of the primary treasure, since you are both a wizard and a warrior, I can offer you five shares out of twenty.”
“I’m only a wizard in training,” Alex corrected.
“So you say. Though I know more than you might guess. After all, you’re not the only one Whalen has written to.”
“Very well,” said Alex. “What about secondary treasure?”
“Most of the secondary treasure will be divided equally between the company,” Bregnest replied. “Any treasure found in the Tower of the Moon will be divided into seven shares. The extra share will be given to the finder of the Horn, or, if we find the Horn as a group, divided according to merit as I see fit.”
“It all sounds good to me,” said Alex. “But it also seems you have left out a share somewhere. Shouldn’t the primary treasure be divided by twenty-one?”
“I haven’t left out a share. Since this quest is to aid my kinsman, I am only taking one share as a warrior and three as the leader.”
“Very well then,” said Alex, nodding. “I accept the bargain and will gladly sign the agreement.”
“Before you accept, I need to impress on you how important this quest is. If we do not return the Horn, and soon, there could be war. We are in a race, and it is a race we must win.”
“A race?” Alex questioned. “Are there others looking for the Horn?”
“No, not that I know of,” Bregnest answered. “But we will be in a race against time. We must find the Horn and return it to the rightful king. If war begins before we can return the Horn . . . Well, then our adventure would be a failure.”
“And there will be trouble in Alusia,” Alex added. “But we should be able to do this quickly enough. The magic of the great arch will allow us to return at almost the same moment we leave.”
“If only that were true.” Bregnest sighed.
“What?”
“The magic you speak of—the same magic that let you return home after your first adventure on the same day you left—does not apply here.”
“Why not?”
“Because both Norsland and Alusia are part of the known lands,” Bregnest answered. “Time is constant in the known lands. It has to be or nothing would ever get done.”
“Oh,” said Alex. “I suppose that makes sense. I mean, well, I don’t really understand.”
“And I’m not sure I’m the one to explain it,” said Bregnest. “All I can say is that for the known lands, time is constant. Ten days in Norsland is ten days in Alusia. The magical change of time only works for lands that don’t interact with the known lands. Your world has little or nothing to do with the known lands, so it’s easy for the magic to change time a bit.”
“I see,” said Alex. “And people are traveling and trading in the known lands all the time, so the magic can’t do the same thing here.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, that’s all right,” Alex went on. “I’m still sure we can get the Horn back in time.”
“Excellent. The company will be delighted to have you along.”
“There are a couple of things I’d like to discuss with you,” Alex added.
“Not trying to give away treasure again, are you?”
“No, nothing like that,” said Alex. “But one of the six lost bags that I recovered during our last adventure belongs to someone in Norsland. I would like to return it if at all possible.”
“We will make time for that,” said Bregnest.
“And secondly, you said something in your letter about Skeld and Tayo both finding wives.”
“It seems they have.” Bregnest laughed. “Andy knows the whole story, so I’ll let him tell you when we reach Telous. Attending the weddings won’t interfere with our adventure at all. In fact, it’s on our way to the Tower of the Moon, so that works out well.”
“Well then, where do I sign? I can’t wait to hear about Skeld and Tayo.”
Bregnest showed Alex where to sign the agreement and slapped him on the shoulder in a friendly way. Alex thought Bregnest looked almost as happy as he felt, and he was sure that this adventure would be a great deal of fun.
“Val,” Bregnest called as they entered the main room of Mr. Clutter’s shop. “I want you to meet Alexander Taylor, our sixth member. He goes by Alex. Alex, this is Sedric Valenteen. He goes by Val.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Val replied.
“The pleasure is mine,” said Alex, his eyes searching Val’s face. There was no sign of any bruises, and Alex felt certain that what he had seen before had been a trick of the light and shadows.
“We should be off to Telous,” said Bregnest. “The rest of the company will be waiting, and the midday meal will be ready soon.”
“Gentlemen,” said Mr. Clutter, entering the room. “All set and ready to go, are you?”
“Everything is ready. Will you file this for us, please?” Bregnest handed the adventurers’ agreement to Mr. Clutter.
“Yes, yes, of course. And I hope this adventure turns out as well as your last. Oh, your last adventure was very good indeed.”
“Which way then?” Bregnest questioned, cutting Mr. Clutter off before he could really get going.
“Through the wardrobe, I think,” said Mr. Clutter. “That will put you just inside the Swan.”
The Golden Swan was the finest tavern in Telous and the favorite of most adventurers. Alex had never traveled through Mr. Clutter’s wardrobe, however, and he wasn’t at all sure how it worked.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” said Mr. Clutter, as Bregnest moved across the room. “Master Taylor, would you like to change your age at all?”
“My age?” Alex asked before he remembered what Mr. Clutter was talking about. “Oh, I, well . . . If I could go at the same age I was when I returned from my last adventure, that would be nice.”
“Right you are,” said Mr. Clutter. “I’ll make a note of that. I see you’re already wearing comfortable clothes, very wise that, but you might want to loosen your belt before going, just in case.”
“Yes, of course,” said Alex, reaching down to undo the buckle on his belt. “Wouldn’t want things to be too tight.”
“It’s time to go,” said Bregnest, walking to a large wardrobe that stood against the wall between two bookshelves.
“Enjoy yourselves,” said Mr. Clutter, as Bregnest opened the wardrobe door and stepped inside.
Val followed Bregnest, but Alex stood by the door for a moment, a strange feeling of doubt in the back of his mind. He decided it was just nervous excitement and pushed the feeling aside, hurrying to follow Bregnest and Val into the darkness.
* * *
The trip through Mr. Clutter’s wardrobe was, to say the least, very strange. Alex thought he knew what to expect, having gone through Mr. Clutter’s back door on his last adventure. This journey, however, was something entirely different. When he first stepped into the wardrobe, everything seemed to go dark around him. Then, before he knew what was happening, he found himself sitting in a chair inside the main room of the Golden Swan. He shook his head and looked around in disbelief. He had no idea how he’d suddenly gone from walking to sitting, and he laughed at his own surprise.
“A bit strange, isn’t it?” said Val from the chair next to him. “I’ve always preferred the back door myself.”
“I think I do too.”
“About time you lot showed up,” said a voice that Alex recognized as his dwarf friend Halfdan. “Been wondering if you’d be here in time for the midday meal.”
“I see your patience has not improved,” replied Alex, as he fastened his belt once more.
Halfdan gave a grunting laugh, and pulled Alex into a friendly hug. Alex laughed as well, but before he could say anything else, he heard another voice calling his name.
“I see you’ve grown a bit, Master Goodseed,” said Alex as his friend Andy hurried over.<
br />
“Oh, not so much,” answered Andy.
Alex, Andy, and Halfdan all started talking at the same time. They all had a great deal of news to share, and even more questions to ask.
Bregnest stood behind them, finally clearing his throat to get their attention.
“If you three can contain yourselves for a moment,” Bregnest began. “Alex, you need to be introduced to Sindar, and the rest of you need to be introduced to Sedric Valenteen.”
“Our apologies, Master Bregnest,” said Halfdan with a deep bow. “We were overcome with joy. We won’t let it happen again.”