Chapter 12


Walking toward the front door and indicating with a wave of his hand, Krager said “ The first thing I am giving to you is going to seem a bit unusual. “
( unusual? Really? How is that even possible? I mean, everything has been so normal up until now )
[ oh hush. He’s used to being here ]
( good point. I guess. )
Moving around the cottage, Krager led them to a small barn behind it that didn’t appear to be in a lot better condition than the house itself. Next to the barn was a small, fenced in area where a horse grazed lazily on the grass. Hearing them approach, the horse eyed them warily and started moving toward the fence at the back of the space.
Krager stopped at the fence, waited until Brian came up next to him and said “ This is Philip. He has been here for a couple of years now and he’s not at all pleased about it. “
The horse looked back at Krager with glaring eyes “ You wouldn’t be happy if you were in my position, either. “
( DID THAT HORSE JUST TALK ????? )
[ I believe it did ]
( dude. This is just getting too weird )
[ you’re telling me? ]
( it was YOUR idea to go along with it! )
[ I am well aware of that ]
( that doesn’t mean I won’t take the opportunity to remind you )
[ and you are doing a fine job ]
( I am really feeling the urge to start running around screaming )
[ stifle the urge for now. After all, how much stranger could it get? ]
( do you really, seriously want an answer to that? )
[ ummm…maybe not ]
( yeah. I thought so )
“ It’s your own fault and you know it “ Krager retorted.
“ My offense was minor. The punishment did not fit the crime. “

Brian just stood there watching this exchange with a bemused expression. As strange as it seemed, the banter between the old man and the horse actually made Brian feel oddly comfortable.
“ You are lucky that I didn’t decided to turn you into a fruit fly! “
“ I wish you had! At least then I wouldn’t have had to keep dealing with you! “
“ Alright. Stop! “ Brian interjected. He looked at Krager. “ What did he do that made you turn him into a horse? “
Krager took a few deep breaths in an effort to calm himself. When he completed this exercise, he looked at Brian pointedly “ He ripped a page out of an ancient book of spells. “
“ Accidentally, I might point out. “ the horse said.
“ So you continue to say. But you knew better than to touch the book in the first place! “ Krager said heatedly.
“ Hold it “ Brian said. “ What was so important about the page he allegedly ripped out? “
“ Because it held the only written record of a very important healing spell. “
“ Fair enough. Why did you turn him into a horse? “
“ When I saw the page ripped out, I was so angry that I couldn’t think clearly. The horse transformation spell was the first one that came to mind. “ Turning toward Philip he said “ And he’s very fortunate that I didn’t come up with something much worse! “
“ Oh, right! I am fortunate to be living in your barn. “
“ ENOUGH! “ Brian exclaimed. “ This isn’t going to get us anywhere. It certainly isn’t getting us any closer to the solution to our problem. “
( their problem )
[ no. it’s now our problem too ]
Both Krager and Philip looked down at the dirt, embarrassed.
“ Sorry “ Philip said.
“ My apologies. He’s just so frustrating. “ Kragen said.
“ You talk about frustrating? “ Philip retorted “ How about the fact that you always manage to stay a couple of inches outside of kicking distance. Now that is frustrating. “
( I am beginning to like this horse )
[ I just KNEW you would ]
Kragen turned back to Brian and said “ Look. I would have changed him back years ago. But it happens that I have forgotten the reversal spell and the page that got ripped out of the book not only contained the healing spell, it also held the reversal spell. “
“ Right. “ Philip said with a snort “ You can remember how to turn a dog into a strawberry, but you can’t remember how to turn me back into a human. “
“ No more. Stop it. I mean it “ Brian said. “ Krager, tell me, why am I standing here listening to the two of you argue back and forth. “
“ Oh “ Kragen said “ Coming out here made me temporarily forget the reason for bringing you out here. It’s simple, actually. Philip is going to join you on your journey. “

Chapter 13


“ He is? “ Brian said, surprised.
“ I am? “ said Philip, equally surprised.
( he is? )
[ looks that way ]
( oh this could get interesting )
[ ya think? ]
“ Yes, yes. He’ll be going with you “ Krager stated.
“ Explain to me just why I should agree to go wherever it is that he’s going? “ Philip said bluntly.
“ Well. First, he’s going to need some help. “
“ I can see that just by looking at him. “
“ Hey! “ Brian said quickly. “ If you are going to be like that, I can manage very well on my own. Thanks anyway. “
“ Right “ Philip said, shaking his head.
“ Whatever. As you can see, he really doesn’t want to come along. I won’t force him to. “ Brian said to the old man.
‘ Oh, don’t mind him. For a horse, he can be very mule headed. “ Krager said with a grin.
“ Oh, hah. Very funny. “ Philip said sarcastically. “ Any other reason I should even consider going with him? “
“ Well…” Krager’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Philip “ how’s this. If you refuse to go with him, I will simply lock you in the barn until he returns? “
“ Now wait a minute! That is completely unfair. “ Philip was absolutely livid. Stomping his left hoof, he glared at Krager and said “ That’s nothing but blackmail! “
“ Why yes. Yes it is. The problem is, it would be your own fault for leaving me no choice. “
“ No choice indeed “ Philip said derisively. “ Why can’t you just conjure some other horse? Perhaps from that tree over there. “
“ Because then it would be a wooden horse. “
( worked for the Trojans )
[ yeah no kidding. And that horse didn’t have a bad attitude ]
( because it was made of wood )
[ exactly ]
( hauling it around might be a bit tiresome )
[ good point ]
‘ Look, Philip “ Krager said with a sigh “ You have one of two choices. You can either go along and lend whatever help you can in Brian’s quest. Or you can get locked in the barn. You can get out of this pen and out into the world to see what there is to be seen. Or you can simply stay here. It’s your choice. “
“ Well, I don’t see that there really is a choice in the matter. But you seem to think it’s important. I suppose I will have to take the first option. “
( boy. Just gotta love all that optimism )
[ absolutely ]
“ Good! “ Krager exclaimed. “ That’s settled then. “
With a loud clap, and rubbing his hands together vigorously, Krager started for the barn and said over his shoulder “ Follow me. There is one other thing I want to give you. “
Brian and Philip exchanged a glance, Brian gave a small shrug and started walking in the same direction Krager went. Philip, behind the fence, walked alongside, occasionally using his head to push Brian to the side with a soft whicker.
( what the heck is he doing? )
[ I have no idea. ]
( well ask him )
[ I’m not going to just ask him ]
( Why on Earth not? )
[ Think about it. What do I know about horses? What if I ask him and he decides chewing on me is a better idea? ]
( ah. Good point )
[ His teeth are kinda big, you know. ]
( True. )
[ They would probably hurt if he tried chewing on me ]
( alright! I get it. )
They arrived at the barn door and found Krager rummaging around in the far corner, muttering to himself. “ I know it’s here. I just put it here a couple of weeks ago. Now where in blazes is it? “ He threw a couple of boxes off to one side, still muttering.
Suddenly with a rather loud “ AH HA! “ Krager stood up and turned toward Brian.
“ Here it is. I knew it was here somewhere. This should prove itself to be very useful. “

awesome! Im getting into this.

Thanks.

Awesome writes....

Thanks.

Chapter 14


In his hands, Krager held a gray, rather drab looking item that, on first glance, appeared to be nothing more than a lump of old tent canvas.
“ That’s what you wanted to give me? “ Brian asked, incredulous.
“ Absolutely. This little thing right here is going to be your best friend. “ Krager said with a beaming smile.
( Hey! I resent that. )
[ Oh settle down ]
“ I certainly hope it’s more than it appears to be. I mean, it’s kinda rough looking. “
As if seeing it for the first time, Krager looked at what he was holding “ Oh, my. I suppose that it really doesn’t look like much does it? “
“ Not really. “
With a sigh, Krager said “ Come over here please. Things aren’t always what they seem. “

Brian reluctantly walked over to where the old man stood. As he got a little closer, he realized that what, at first, had appeared to be just a simple lump of canvas was, in actuality, a type of backpack. Grayish in color, with two straps that Brian assumed were the shoulder straps, it still didn’t look to be in very good condition. There were a few small holes scattered around the sides and bottom, giving the impression that mice had made it both home and lunch at some point.
“ Alright. It’s a backpack. “ Brian said.
“ Ah! But not just any backpack. This one has some very special items held in it. “
“ Such as? “ Brian asked.
Krager opened the flap at the top of the backpack, reached in and drew out a piece of rope that was about three feet long.
“ You, of course, know what this is? “ he asked Brian.
“ Yes. It’s rope. But what good is three feet of rope going to do me? “
( you could always use it to tie the horse’s mouth shut so he can’t bite you )
“ Three feet, eh? “ Krager said with a wicked grin. “ Watch this. “
Krager grabbed the rope by one end, coiled the remainder, and tossed the coil in the direction of Philip who, until then, had been standing off to the side about fifteen feet away, minding his own business.
“ HEY! “ Philip exclaimed as the rope fell across his back, wrapped itself around his midsection and knotted so that it held fast.
( oh that is SO COOL )
“ This rope “ Krager said “ will form itself into any length you need. All you have to do is toss it like I just did. It will hold fast to whatever it wraps around, and all you have to do to get it back is flick your wrist. Watch. “
Giving a quick flick of his wrist, the rope unknotted itself, returned to Krager’s hand and resumed it’s original length.
“ Ok. I can definitely see how that would be useful “ Brian said with a laugh.
“ I thought as much “ Krager said with a wide grin. He set the rope on the floor at his feet and reached into the backpack again.
“ Let’s see what else we have in here. “ He rummaged around a bit. “ What’s this? “ From the backpack, he pulled out a scroll. “ This will be very useful. This scroll contains some simple spells and incantations. Since we don’t yet know how your power is going to manifest itself, you can try some of these spells to test it. It may help you determine where your power lies. “ He handed the scroll to Brian
( this could be interesting )
[ does he really expect me to try these? ]
( certainly seems that way )
[ just great. What if I mess them up? I could kill someone. ]
( he did say they were ‘ simple ‘ spells. Do you think he would give you spells to work with if he thought you could do serious damage with them? )
[ not really. But then again, nothing about this whole thing makes much sense ]
and reached back into the backpack.
“ Now this. “ Krager drew his hand out of the pack and raised a glass orb “ This is the most important item of all. “

This is absolutely fantastic. The dialogues, both internal and external, are dead on. A nice mix of humor and "what the hell is going on here?" -- keep up the good work....!

Thanks, Lex.

I was hoping that I would be able to pull it off as far as both sets of dialogue.

Seems like, so far, so good.

Did you get my email about that support group?

Yeah, I've just been trying to juggle 27 different things the past few days and I'm behind on the e-mail stuff. I think yesterday I managed to reply to a few from last week....!!

That's cool. I remembered you said you were busier than a one legged man in an *** kicking contest.

No worries. I just wanted to make sure you got it. :-)

Things are slow there anyway at the moment because of the small membership.

My "big mess" of the moment revolves around a bunch of short stories and poems I'm going to use in the 4th book.

The problem is most of them are on the hard drive from my old deceased Dell laptop, and the Gigaworks HD enclosure I got at Radio Shack fell apart on me.

So I'm trying to figure out exactly what ORDER to put all this stuff in, and I can't (at the moment) even remember what all it is I was planning to use. And since I can't access the HD, I can't figure page counts or any of that stuff.

Plus there are two stories I still have to finish, AND I still don't have the cover for the 3rd book yet (which I was hoping to have out last month).

It isn't the writing that's difficult, it's all the other stuff that goes with it!

Gotta love computers...lol

I'll have to remind myself, if I ever get to the point where I have more than just this one story hanging around, to make sure I put everything on disk in case of a HD failure.

Ya know...I don't know how computer savvy you are, but if that hard drive is an IDE drive ( which I think it probably is since it's from an older Dell ) it may be possible to access the drive without having to get another enclosure.

I'll ask the computer guys on my team and see if there is some way around it.

Thnaks!

I'm just about savvy enough to be able to find the On-Off button most days --

Amazon has a couple of hard drive enclosures that got decent reviews and cost a lot less than the $40 I wasted on the GigaWare one back in March....

But if there's another way to do it, I'm willing to give it a shot....!!

Ok... I'm addicted.

More, please.

I posed the question of being able to access the drive without having to have an enclosure to the guys on my team's forums. I should have an answer for you within the next day or so.

Sometimes, being a geek is a good thing...lol

I'm working on having more for everyone to read here.

I set my goal at getting to 10,000 words today. I am currently at 8700 or, so I should be able to get there pretty easily.

That would give me 2 new chapters if the current word count per chapter keeps up. :-)

“ What is it? “ Brian asked.
“ It’s a Healing Orb “ Krager replied. “ It gathers in the good energy that surrounds us and concentrates it. If you are injured, all you have to do is take this orb out of the pack, and hold it over the wounded area. The orb will take the energy it has collected and use it to heal you or anyone you choose to use it on. “
( THAT is even cooler than the rope! )
“ Is there anything in particular I have to do to make it work? “ Brian asked. “ I would hate to try to use it in an emergency and find out that I don’t know how to use it properly. “
“ Nothing too difficult. Basically, all you have to do is concentrate and let the orb know where it needs to focus the energy. “
“ That sounds simple enough. “
( but you know things are never as simple as they seem )
[ yeah I know ]

In a corner of the room, Philip had been watching all of this with interest.
“ Just something to think about “ he said “ but giving him all of this stuff isn’t going to do him a whole lot of good if he starves to death on the way to wherever it is we are supposed to be going. “
Startled due to having forgotten that Philip was still in the room, Krager snapped “ Don’t worry. I have thought about that. I’ll be giving him enough supplies to keep him fed until he gets there. “
“ Well you don’t have to get snippy about it. It was only an observation. “ Philip said icily. “ Do you even know where it is that he has to go? “
“ Well. “ Krager hesitated “ Not really. “
( now why is that not a surprise? )
[ gee. I wonder ]
( couldn’t really expect him to actually know now could we? )
[ not at all. That would have been way too easy ]
( I’m telling you. This is sounding more and more like a bad fantasy novel )
[ tell me about it ]
“ Then how do you know you’ll give him enough supplies? “ Philip asked.
“ Must you be so difficult?? “ Krager said, exasperated.
“ Does it irritate you? “
“ As a matter of fact. Yes. It does. “
“ Well. “ Philip said “ Being a horse irritates me. Therefore, if being ‘ difficult ‘ is irritating to you, that is just a bonus for me. “
“ How about if I just throw a spell at you that makes you mute? “ Krager said angrily “ How would that suit you? “
( that might not be a bad idea. The horse is a little foul tempered )
[ yeah. at least then he wouldn’t be snapping at me during the trip ]
( think we’ll hear “ are we there yet “ about a thousand times? )
[ probably. I need to look on that scroll to see if there is a Silence spell on there somewhere ]
( good call )
“ Would you two knock it off? “ Brian interrupted “ You are like a couple of five year olds arguing over a toy. “

Properly chastised, Krager and Philip both looked at Brian and apologized once again.
Looking at Philip, Krager said “ I can give him enough supplies to last for a while, and there are plenty of edible plants and such that can be found along the way. Of course, having been my apprentice, you know that now don’t you? “
Philip looked away with a sheepish grin
( looking sheepish is quite a trick for a horse )
and said “ Yes. I remember. I remember everything that you taught me. “
“ So you really were just being difficult. “ Krager said with a sigh. “ I suppose I really can’t blame you. I would be difficult, too, if I was in your position. “
“ Gee. Thanks for understanding “ Philip said sarcastically.
Krager stared at him for a moment, as if trying to formulate a response, thought the better of actually continuing the argument and turned to Brian.
“ It’s beginning to get late. We should probably just wait until morning to get you on your way. “
Somewhat surprised, Brian glanced over his shoulder through the open door and saw that the light had, indeed, changed. Dusk was fast approaching.
“ Wow. I didn’t realize we were in here for that long “ he said.
“ Time can be a funny thing “ Krager said. He started past Brian and said “ Well…let me show you to the extra room so I you can get some sleep. “
( that was rather cryptic )
[ just a little ]

Chapter 16


As they walked back toward the front of the cottage, leaving Philip back in the barn, Brian took a few minutes to think about the situation he found himself in.
( have we realized just how bizarre all of this really is? )
[ sort of. ]
( yeah. I mean, we have a sorcerer, although we haven’t actually seen him do any magic )
[ he did turn Philip into a horse ]
( so he says )
[ Philip says so too ]
( whatever. We didn’t actually see it )
[ true ]
“ Hey, Krager…”
“ Yes? “
“ Do you think you could do something for me? “
“ Let me guess “ Krager said, looking at Brian “ you still aren’t sure that what you are seeing and hearing is real. “
( man. He’s good )
“ Yeah. Pretty much. “ Brian said with a slight shrug.
“ What would you like me to do? “ Krager said, knowing already but still wanting Brian to ask.
“ Could you do something…magic…for me? I mean, you have said that you area sorcerer, and you and Philip both say that you turned him into a horse, but the only magic I have actually seen with my own eyes is the rope. “

With a chuckle, Krager looked Brian in the eye and said “ What is it that you would like me to do? I’m guessing that a cheap parlor trick wouldn’t quite cut it? “
“ No. I suppose it wouldn’t “ Brian admitted. “ But then again, I am not really looking for anything major either. “

Krager looked at the ground and scratched his chin, thinking.
Suddenly, he looked back up at Brian and said “ Very well. I’ll show you some magic, if you’ll do something for me. “
“ Well…ok “ Brian said warily.
Krager pointed a crooked finger toward a small bush about ten feet away. “ You see that bush over there? Walk over to it. “
( he’s not gonna make it eat us or something is he? )
[ will you stop it? Quit being so paranoid ]
Brian, still wary, slowly walked over to the bush and said “ Ok. What now? “
Chuckling again, Krager said “ Reach into it and make sure it’s just a bush. I promise it won’t bite. “
“ It won’t bite? Would that be before or after I stick my hand in there? “
“ It won’t bite at all “ Krager said, now openly laughing.
Brian, now starting to laugh in spite of himself, said “ Ya know, I might be a little more willing to do as you ask if you weren’t about to fall over from laughing. “
“ Oh, come on! You’ve been pulled into another world, you’ve seen a talking horse and a rope that makes itself into any length you need, and now you are going to be reluctant to reach into a simple bush? “
“ Alright. Alright. Point taken “ Brian said with a snicker.
“ When you put your hand in there, just grab hold of one of the thicker branches and give the bush a good shake. “
Brian tried to peer inside the bush but found he couldn’t see anything because the foliage was too thick. Turning to keep one eye on Krager, just in case the old man decided to conjure a snake or some equally creepy creature while his hand was in there,
( would you actually know if he was casting a spell? )
[ no. but I’m not taking the chance and turning my back on him ]
and grabbed a branch. He gave it a good shake, then pulled his hand back out.
With great relief he said “ Ok. Now what? “
“ Now come back over here and stand next to me. “
“ Um. Alright. “ Brian said as he started walking over.
When Brian reached him, Krager said “ Watch carefully. “

As Brian watched the bush, Krager started muttering under his breath and making some small gestures with his fingers. Suddenly, the bush started to tremble as if a tiny earthquake were occurring directly beneath it.
( dude! What the…? )
[ I know ]
The trembling increased until the bush was shaking so hard that it started to shed some of it’s leaves. Then, seemingly in slow motion, it grew taller, and kept growing until it was about the same height as Brian.
( oooo…that’s kinda cool )
[ I agree ]
When it stopped growing, the trembling subsided a bit. Suddenly, the lower half of the bush separated.
( are those LEGS? )
[ I’m not sure ]
The bush
( can it still be considered a bush now? )
[ kinda. I guess ]
stood there, still rooted to the ground, until with a seemingly great effort, it pulled one of the ‘ legs ‘ from the ground. It bent forward slightly in the middle and, after a few moments, pulled the other ‘ leg ‘ from the ground. Now standing upright, it shook itself like a dog coming out of water, then stood still.
“ Wow. ‘ Brian said reverently.
“ It’s not done just yet “ Krager replied. “ Keep watching. “
The slight tremble resumed, and what looked to be arms appeared from the sides of the bush.
( ok. It’s official. He’s definitely a sorcerer )
[ ya got that right ]
( I am totally impressed )
[ me too ]
The shaking stopped, the bush raised an arm, turned around and started walking away.
“ Where’s he going? “ Brian asked.
“ Who knows? “ Krager said with a shrug. “ He’s basically harmless so him causing any havoc isn’t going to be an issue. “
“ What if someone sees him? “
“ What if they do? “ Krager said “ Believe me. If he doesn’t want to be seen, he won’t be. If he senses danger, he can plant himself back into the ground and become just another bush until it passes. “
“ I take it you’ve done that before? “
“ A few times. When I needed some assistance here in my home, I would create one to lend a branch. So. Does that convince you that I truly am a sorcerer? “
“ Um. Yeah. That pretty well takes care of it “ Brian said. “ But you really didn’t have to do something that drastic to get me to believe you. “
“ Maybe not. But the look on your face was simply priceless. Besides, it’s really not that difficult. “
“ If you say so. “
“ Trust me. Anything less may have left you unconvinced. This, however, definitely got the point across. Wouldn’t you say? “
“ That it most certainly did. “ Brian said, grinning.
“ Good then! “ Krager clapped a hand on Brian’s shoulder, and turned him toward the cottage. “ You’ve had a rough day. What do you say to getting some food and a good night’s sleep? “
Brian, at that moment, was pretty sure he had never heard a better idea.