The following morning we woke up before the sun rose over the mountain. I put my sword on my left hip and then grabbed my bags that I packed last night and we headed out the door. When we got outside he said "give me a second to get the door ready." And before I had time to say something a door appeared out of nowhere.
"right this way." He said.
"where does it go?" I asked.
"to my house." He said. As we stepped out of the door I found myself in a room with a staircase on one wall with a big fireplace on the opposite wall and a lot of bookshelves filled to the max with scrolls, books, vials of strange liquid and gems of all types. He walked up to the bookshelf with the vials of gems and grabbed the clearest one, then he asked for my sword. So I handed him the sword and he took it and held the pommel up. With one word the pommel made room for the gem. When it got done he handed it back to me. I grabbed it and instantly felt a clarity wash over me.
"well how does it feel?" He asked.
"It is like night and day." I said.
"good. Can you use magic at will?" He said.
"not usually. Can you show me how it is dun?" I said.
"Do you know how to meditate?" He asked.
"a little." I answered. He walked over to the fireplace and grabbed his staff
"sit down and Cross your legs, interlock your fingers. Close your eyes and clear your mind." he said. As I did what he said I saw a bunch of colors flowing in the wind like ribbons. As I looked deeper into the colors I saw flowers, trees, animals and insects.
"Can you see it?" He asked.
"Yes." I replied.
"Keep your eyes closed and look at the sword and gemstone." He said. So I did. The site nearly broke my concentration. It had a bright gold hue around it and the gem had the brightest blue light radiating from the core.
"Look deep into the gem." He said. As I did it showed me what I can do with magic.
"That is amazing." I said. When we got done we got up and started to gather some things we might and will need for the trip. I walked up to him
"You gave me two things. Let me give you something in return. Can I see your staff?" I said. When he handed me his staff I looked into the wood that it is made from and saw the staff that it wants to be. I grabbed it in the middle and with a grip that can crush bone I slid my hand down the shaft and like ash the wood crumbled away and left a lovely piece of work that it always wanted to be.
"That looks awesome. How did you do that?" He said, as I handed it back to him.
"The gem showed me what to do," I said.
"That is amazing. That is the fastest I have seen someone learn magic," He remarked.
"I have always been a fast learner. I learn by seeing it. It only takes one time to see it, " I said.
"Does it work if you read it or do you have to see it done?" He said.
"It is a little slower due to my ability to read, but yes I can," I said.
"Good!!" he said as he grabbed a book off the shelf and flipped to a page. On the top of the page it read dimensional storage.
"Read this," he said. As he handed it to me. Then he started to get an empty room ready for the spell.
As I got done reading the page. He had made copies of all of his books and put them on the shelves in the room.
"Are you good with it, can you cast the spell?" He asked.
"I feel confident enough to do it," I said, as he handed me a bag that went across my chest and hung at my side.
"Use the bag as the object and the room as the space," He said. Taking the bag from him, I performed the spell as it was written.
I opened the bag and saw the books on the shelves in the room that I am nowhere near.
"Did it work?" he asked.
"Like a charm that was the longest one I have seen so far," I said.
"Good. put all your stuff in the room how you want, i have put a few clocks in there for you and a few other odds and ends in there for you." he said.
"Thanks." I said. As I put my stuff away in the room and closed the door behind me.
We headed out the front door and I looked around at the surroundings. I see trees with slight shimmers of snow lining the branches. The ground glistened in the sun. A dirt path leading off into the distance to a little town called Killavan.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"We are going to the pub," he said.
We finally got to the pub. It was a small pub with the name of the lizard's goblet. We go inside and up to a big gay that looks like he has been throw a war or two.
"About time." What took so long?" the stranger said.
"It took me so long because there's hardly any blacksmiths that know how to use magic and swords." Merlin said.
"Never mind that, we best get going or we won't make it there at all." the stranger said.
"Okay let's get going. By the way, this is Leo Nova." Merlin said.
"Hello Leo my name is Chris Neal but people call me Viper." the stranger said.
"People call me Leon," I said.
We finally got to the docs to the ship we are using to get there. We get onboard and settle down for the two months that it takes to get to where we are going. I began to read the books from my bag, and train off and on with the sword I made to pass time on the trip. Viper was watching me train for a few days.
"Have you sparred with someone else before?" He asked.
"Yes. Are you wanting to spar with me?" I said.
"If you are up for it," He said.
"Do you have wooden swords?" I asked.
"Yes! We do," he said.
"Okay you go first," I said. He took a stance that I have not seen before. He had his right foot forward at ninety degrees and his left foot back at one hundred twenty degrees to his core, he held his sword in his right hand on his left hip. He slid his right foot forward three inches, and in an instant he lunged forward at me swinging up from left to right. I dodged it, rolling out of the way landing on my feet. He recovers and swings down left to right. I swung up with a speed that rivaled the fastest swordsmen, knocking the sword out of his hand and off the side of the boat. Viper recovered and turned around.
"You know how to pick them," He said to Merlin.
"That is why it took so long to get back," Merlin said.
"By the way did Merlin tell you how I am?" Viper asked me.
"No he did not," I said.
"I am the leader of the guild spiked claw," He said.
"You are supposed to be the strongest guild in the world," I said.
"That is what they say," He said.
"You don't agree with that?" I said.
"It is not that I don't agree with that, we are definitely the strongest guild in the world, we just aren't the strongest people in the world." he said, A silence fell over the ship, as he finished his sentence. The rest of the trip was quiet.