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[cjwritesforyou]

Sam's Journey - 5

Max had been going every day now. Sam would wake up and find him already gone. While he went and worked on his magic in the forest outside of town, he would pass them talking. She seemed to have warmed up.

“Have you even asked her name?” Sam asked one night.

“Elizabeth,” Max said.

“Her name’s Elizabeth?”

“But I call her Liz.”

“You’re that close already?”

“There’s nothing else to do but talk. There aren’t any travelers, either.”

“But she won’t join us?”

“I’ll change her mind,” he said. “At the fair. It’s good timing.” He got into bed and pulled the cover over him. “Tomorrow, Sam.” Max turned his nightstand lamp off.

Tomorrow came and the village was lively like never before. There were banners and streamers and everything hanging down. This fair was their pride once a year. They had entries written down for their few competitions. What Sam wanted to see was the archery competition. Only two names were on the signup sheet–Max and Elizabeth. Sam smirked to himself and couldn’t wait for the event.

There was a whole lot to do on fair day. There were stands set up all over town. Sam found Cara at one and went over. She was bobbing for apples. She wasn’t bad either. She bobbed one more apple and looked behind her.

“Sam! Look at how many times I won!” Cara said.

The tent keeper looked ill. 

“We should try some other games. See how they all are,” Sam said.

“What’s next?” Cara asked and grabbed her winnings, but there was too much. There was a stuffed bear in there, but she couldn’t hold it all, so she let the tent keeper take back her winnings besides the bear she wanted. “You got lucky this time!”

The tent keeper was going to be ill. He took back the rest.

“Have you seen Max yet?” Sam asked. They were walking around the stands looking for an open game to play.

“Not yet. I’m sure he’s with her. Trying to recruit her still.”

“You think he has any chance at the archery event?”

“The big event? Against her? I doubt it,” Cara said. Her eyes were darting from stand to stand. “If she’s everything she’s made up to be, he doesn’t stand a chance.”

“You’re right,” Sam sighed.

They took their time going from booth to booth and having at whichever game was there. Cara kept winning, but never took any prizes. She loved her bunny. And she couldn’t carry anymore.

Sam checked the sign-up sheet for the main event. Still just Max and Elizabeth. He looked around the village and spotted them at the entrance. Elizabeth was laughing, and Max was saying something. She looked nothing like she did that first day. Not as dignified–in a good way.

Cara was still occupied by some other carnival game, so Sam decided to walk over. As he approached, Max saw him coming.

“Sam!” Max said. “Liz, this is Sam. Sam, this is Elizabeth.”

She looked him up and down as he got closer.

“Nice to meet you again,” Liz said.

“Nice to see you,” Sam said. “Am I interrupting?”

“Not at all,” Max said. “Take a seat.”

Max motioned toward an open tree trunk and Sam went over. As he walked though, he thought Elizabeth was watching his every move. He took a seat.

“How is the fair?” Max asked.

“It’s good. Lot of fun. You should check it out, instead of just being here the whole time,” Sam said.

“I’m glad it’s fun,” Max said. “I might be too old for all that.”

“Too old!” Sam exclaimed. “No, you should join in.” Sam turned to Elizabeth. “You should have fun, too. What’s stopping you?”

“It’s not fun for me,” Elizabeth said. “I’d have too many worries.”

“About your post? I can stand watch for now. You should check it out.”

“I really shouldn’t. There are more important things.”

“You two both need to see the fair. Max, take her around. Have some fun!”

“Is that what she wants?” Max questioned. He turned his gaze to Elizabeth. She was struggling to give an answer.

“I think so,” Sam smiled.

Max stood up and held his hand out. “Come on Liz. We’re going to see the fair.”

“I-okay,” she managed and stood up. She took his hand and he led her forward.

Max half-turned back and sent a thumbs-up to him. Then they were gone to the fair. He was all alone. There wasn’t much to do or see. He wondered how Elizabeth stayed busy all day. It was a boring job, if it even was a job.

“You should’ve told me where you were going,” Cara said. She plumped down on the stump Max was on.

“You were still playing games,” Sam said. He tried not to act surprised. “I didn’t want to bother you.”

“You could’ve said something,” Cara said. “I was wondering where you went.”

“Here I am.”

“Here you are.” Cara took a bite out of an apple she was holding. She crunched down on it. “Where did those two go?”

“I somehow convinced them to check out the fair.”

“Them? And the fair? That almost doesn’t seem right.”

“I know.”

“Did they want to go?”

“Elizabeth would’ve stayed here forever, if not for Max.”

“I see.” She took another bite of her crunchy apple.

“He did the heavy lifting. They’re probably checking some stall out now.”

“Good for them.”

“They haven’t done anything else.”

“Just sat here?”

“For a week,” Sam said. “But I bet she’s done it a long time. A week probably doesn’t seem that much.”

“I wonder how long she’s been watching here.” Cara took another bite of her apple.

There was a silence that came with the wind and the sound of Cara munching on her apple. Sam didn’t mind it. He thought there might be more to see, he just had to open his eyes.

“The main event is going to start soon,” Sam said.

“For all two competitors,” Cara laughed. “I wonder how it’ll go.”

Sam heard a rustling in the leaves outside the town and his ears perked up. Cara noticed it too, and stood up.

All of a sudden five goblins and five orcs rushed the village entrance where they were seated. And there were a bunch more behind them. Sam could sense them. It was a monster attack.

[cjwritesforyou]

Sam's Journey - 4

The group had been on the road for a month now. Sam was too used to sleeping outdoors. He had re-read his two spellbooks twice over while they held camp in the night.

They had made it out of the forest two weeks ago and now what awaited them were the plains. Endless plains. They had another two weeks of traveling the plains when they reached a crossroads. Max stopped in his tracks and checked his map. Cara and Sam stopped behind him. Max turned around and fixed his attention on them.

“We’re going to take a detour here,” Max said.

“Why would we take a detour?” Cara asked.

“What she said!” Sam said. The two of them were unified in something, at least. They were both looking up at Max with curious eyes, waiting for him to speak.

Max put his map in his pocket and sighed. “I worked in the last town too, you know.”

“You did?” Sam asked.

“I never saw you,” Cara said.

“You weren’t supposed to see me.” He sighed again and looked off. “I did a lot of talking to everyone that lived in the last town. They say a strong archer lives a few days this way.” Max pointed to the break in the roads.

“A strong archer? Do we need one?” Cara asked. Sam held his tongue.

“It would complete our squad, actually. It’s just what we’re looking for.” Max looked back toward where the path split. “Worth the detour.”

“Who told you about the archer?” Sam questioned.

“A few town-folk. Apparently she’s good enough to have her story spread.”

“Then we have to see for ourselves,” Sam said.

“Do we have time for it?” Cara asked.

“We have more than enough time. By the pace we’re going, we’ll be at the festival up north years early.”

“Then why’d we leave early?” Cara asked.

“Just in case we ran into something. It was good timing, too,” Maxwell said.

Cara sighed. “I don’t get it.”

“This archer. She’s that good?” Sam questioned.

“Apparently. That’s what everyone says,” Max replied. He started heading toward the break in the road and Cara followed him. Sam hesitated for a moment, then followed him.

They found their way back into a forest, just when Sam thought it was done. They crossed one tree and the village came into view. It wasn’t very big, but it was this archer’s village. They took a few more strides when they saw a lady waiting at the front gates with a crossbow.

The group stepped forward further and she became alert.

“What business do you have here?” The lady questioned.

Sam and Cara had stopped, but Max kept walking forward. The two of them watched him get closer and the lady drew her crossbow.

“State your business,” she said again, with the weapon aimed at Max. Max kept going though, and he looked like he was smiling.

He was getting close now.’

“State your business!” she shouted.

Max kept walking toward the village and the gate she was guarding, without a care in the world.

He hadn’t said a word, and Sam and Cara could only watch what he had planned. Max got within a few strides, and the lady looked like she was going to shoot. Cara watched on, while Sam peeked out from behind his fingers.

She shot her crossbow at him, and it all happened in a flash. One minute she was shooting the arrow, and the next Max had actually caught it out the air. He stopped walking forward and held the arrow for her.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Max. Name’s Max.”

She took the arrow back with a sort of hesitation and loaded the arrow into her pouch. Either she knew nothing would matter, or she had no intention of fighting him after that first arrow.

“Why are you here? Max,” she said.

“We’re here.” he looked back at Sam and Cara, who promptly came walking up. “We’re here to recruit you.”

“To what?”

“Our squad. We’re headed north,” Max said.

She paused and looked at the group from face to face. “No thank you.”

“I figured as much,” Max said. “Where is the inn?”

“You want to stay here?”

“I’ll be back to ask you tomorrow.”

“My mind isn’t going to change,” the lady said.

“And the day after tomorrow. And the day after that day.”

“You’re going to be here forever.”

“Maybe.” Max looked past her. “Is the inn down that way?” He pointed down the path.

“It’s just down the main road.” She pointed down the same path. “You might even be here for the town fair.”

“When is that?”

“A week from now. Will you be here that long?”

“Until you say yes.”

“Right,” the archer said.

“Tomorrow, then.” Max waved and started walking down the path. Sam was too confused to talk. How long would it take her to say yes? Forever? Cara had questions. When they got far enough away she started.

“You didn’t even explain anything to her. How long are we staying here? What’s this fair?” Cara asked.

“Who knows?” That was all Maxwell had to say about it. 

They got their rooms, and Max slumped down on the bed.

“It’s getting late,” Max said.

“It’s not that late,” Sam said, looking at the sky out the window.

Max shooed him out the door.

“I know. Just go explore. Leave me here,” Max said.

Sam didn’t say anything else and left the inn. The village was small, but nostalgic all the same. It was hidden in the forest–except for the path that led them there–and Sam guessed there weren’t more than a hundred people living there.

The wood the houses were made of had fused with the trees overhead, and it almost seemed natural how each house fit into place. The houses must have stood there for a while. They were practically rooted in the ground. Sam walked by each one with a sort of awe. It was nothing like he had seen before.

He found a two story house underneath a bigger tree. Its branches were hanging down and the house looked like it was in the base of the tree. It had a sign that read “Restaurant” on it and he remembered they hadn’t eaten in a while. Sam went up the wooden staircase that led into the restaurant and opened the door. A wonderful waft of scent passed by him, and he couldn’t help but close his eyes and smile.

“For just one?” A waiter asked from the back. He went forward toward the door, passing by a few seats with a menu.

Sam closed the door. “Just–” He was going to say one but he looked up and saw Cara already sitting at a table. “I’m with her.” Sam motioned toward Cara and grabbed the menu.

She had acknowledged him when he walked in, but when he looked her way she looked away. He took the seat across from her.

“How long do you think we’ll be here?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know,” Cara said. She wouldn’t look him in the eye. It was like she was pouting. “At least until the fair.”

“You think something will change?”

“I hope so.” She had already gotten some tea and was swirling it around. It was all she focused on.

The same waiter came over to the table. They were the only two in the restaurant. “Do you know what you want to eat?”

“What do you recommend?” Sam asked.

“I recommend the chicken parmesan. It feeds two, too.” The waiter looked from Sam to Cara. She was still swirling her tea.

Sam figured she wouldn’t speak up, so he ordered the chicken parmesan and a water. It had been a long day. They sat in silence for a bit. Sam looked around at the paintings the restaurant had, while Cara kept swirling her tea.

“I just don’t get it,” she said. Sam straightened up. “How does he even know she’s the one we’re looking for?”

“Does he usually have a gut feeling about these things?”

“Well.” She stopped swirling her tea. “He had a feeling about you.”

“He did?”

“I don’t know how he can tell, either.”

Sam put a hand to his chin. She did make good points, but if this had happened before, and to him… he decided he would trust Max’s judgment. He looked back at Cara.

“How did you get here so fast?” he asked.

“Trade secret,” she said, and took a drink of her tea.

“Another trade secret?”

“Yup.”

Cara set her tea back down and focused on swirling it again. She was transfixed by it.

“How long have you and Sam been traveling?” Sam asked. “Before I came into the picture, I guess.”

She stopped swirling the tea again and her gaze stayed in one place. A few seconds went by, with just her thoughts. “Not too long.” She went back to swirling her tea.

“You have to give me some specifics. Where did you meet?”

“My hometown.” She kept swirling her tea around.

“Where is that?” he asked.

She stopped swirling her tea completely and took her hands back with her. She met his eyes straight on. “Luxine.”

“Luxine. That’s a bit south of my hometown, isn’t it? You’ve already journeyed that far?”

She took another sip of her tea and nodded at him.

“But why take the journey?” Sam questioned.

She set her tea down and sighed. Something in her cracked open.

“Max found me. No, he saved me back then,” she said, looking directly at Sam. “The least I could’ve done was go with him.”

There were a million questions racing through his brain. One stood out, though. “Was it hard?”

Cara practically winced at the question. She froze. “It was…” She looked away from Sam. “It wasn’t easy.” She looked back at Sam. “It’s gotten easier.”

“Have you only gone north? Luxine is one of the southern-most cities if I remember right.”

“It was,” Cara said with sorrow.

“I-I’m sorry.” Sam looked around for anything. “I didn’t know.”

“I guess word doesn’t spread.”

“Not to my hometown, at least. How… how did it happen?”

“Vell attacked us. The same time we had a monster invasion.”

“They attacked you?”

Cara nodded. “It all happened so fast. That must’ve been a year or two ago. It’s a good thing we haven’t had any run-ins with them.”

“They want total control, don’t they?”

“They do. And they’ll stop at nothing to get it.”

“Why Luxine, though? Why there?”

“I thought the same thing for a while. Couldn’t help it.” She took another sip of her tea. “My guess is they wanted the coastal access.”

“So they could move over more people?”

“That’s what I’m guessing. While we were occupied with the monsters, they swooped in. Slaughtered some of the city’s most important people right in front of me.”

“But how could they know?”

“I still don’t know. It’s more than good timing, and there were a lot of monsters, too. I’m starting to believe they started the monster invasion.”

“That’s. A lot to think about.”

“I know. And to answer your question, I trained a little with Max before heading north. He taught me everything I know. Taught me how to survive.”

“That couldn’t have been easy.”

“It wasn’t. But I’m grateful for it. It’s brought me where I am today.” Cara took another sip of her tea and set the glass down. There was an eerie silence in the restaurant, one that was all too noticeable. “What about you,” she asked.

“Me?”

“What happened to your hometown?”

He gulped down a lump in his throat and took a deep breath. “I don’t really know. One minute, there were monsters, and the next minute I was woken up by you two.”

“What happened before Max and I got there? Were there a lot of monsters? Or any Vell?”

“I wish I could remember more, but I really don’t.”

“Did you get concussed?”

“Might have.”

“That many monsters shouldn’t be together. It was almost too much. When Max and I came into town, there were too many monsters for it to be a normal attack.”

“Was it like what happened in Luxine?”

Cara bit her tongue and thought. “It was too unnatural. Like it was planned.”

“Can Vell control monsters?”

“I didn’t think so, but I’m starting to think they can. There have been too many unnatural occurrences.”

Just as she finished her sentence the kitchen door swung open with a thud and out popped the waiter. He was carrying a beautiful looking chicken parmesan. Sam forgot everything in that moment and only saw the food. He cut up a piece and put it onto his own plate. He cut that up more, and scarfed it down. It was a good chicken parmesan. He went to grab another piece of the chicken, when he looked over and saw Cara hadn’t touched it.

“Aren’t you going to have some?” Sam asked.

“I didn’t order it,” she said smugly.

“You weren’t going to speak up!”

“Because I wasn’t going to order.”

Sam looked up at the giant chicken parmesan. He wasn’t going to let it go to waste. Not when it was that good.

[cjwritesforyou]

Sam's Journey - 3

Sam was starting to get used to camp life. They had been in and out of forests, meadows, whatever you might think of. It had been a few days on the road and he was used to setting it up, lighting the campfire with his fire magic, and getting the tent up quickly.

Max always spent an hour every morning probably scouting ahead, and Cara always sharpened her daggers. He practiced magic during that time, even though his mana practice was running around the clock, he couldn’t always practice spells. He was getting a little better at controlling his magic, and controlling more objects. Sam found it fun to be in more control. He didn’t know what it was.

Whenever Max returned they packed the tent up and got rid of the campfire. This time they were traveling through a few trees, and it took about two hours, but then they hit an opening. And it was beautiful.

For the first time since leaving his village, they spotted another town, one along the coast. Anyone could go in or out, but the natural protection this town had was much different. It was shrouded in forestry, but inside the town was booming with life. Sam read a sign and saw the name “Arboribus.” It was just outside the town, so he assumed it was its name.

They walked through the front arches and into the town. There was a river running through the middle of it, but cobblestone bridges ran over top. There were boats docked at the ocean, and tarps set up at the marketplace. Sam was excited, but Cara and Max looked like they had stumbled upon another town.

They kept walking and went over the bridge in. Sam looked to his right and saw more people walking over another bridge. They were as happy as they could be, and Sam liked that. He wanted to keep that.

They walked toward a building and it read Inn on a sign. Max got the door and they all stepped inside. Max pulled them to the side, out of the door’s way.

“We’ll stay here as long as we can.” He held up a finger with the number two. “We’ll get two rooms here, one for us.” He motioned and looked at Sam. “And one room for Cara. For privacy’s sake.” He looked back at the inn. “We’ll try to get some money working odd jobs or doing something here. According to the map, the next town isn’t close enough by, so we might as well.” Max looked back at Sam. “Good time to read that spellbook.”

“I kind of already finished it,” Sam said.

Max arched an eyebrow. “What spell did you learn?”

“It’s not useful for combat, but I can move bigger rocks now.” Sam seemed excited. “And I know the history behind it all.”

“That is so useful for combat,” Cara said. “What do you mean not useful?”

“It is?” Sam said, dumbfounded. “I can’t move bigger rocks too fast yet, but if I practice it, then maybe…”

“I’m sure there are a lot more spellbooks to find,” Max said. “You should look here.”

“Really?” Sam said eagerly.

“They aren’t that common, though. People won’t just give them up,” Max said.

“Right.” Sam thought for a moment. “What should I do, then?”

“Work for them.” Max smiled. “That’s the best way to earn them.”

“I’ll ask around.”

“That’s what you should do.” Max turned around and looked over the inn. “Let’s get our rooms first, then we can explore the town.” He turned back toward Cara. “Or whatever you do.”

“Ha-hah. You’ll see,” Cara announced.

The group walked to the front desk where a lady was working. Maxwell got them two rooms like he said, and pulled out the money for a week.

“We’ll pay for it as we go,” he said.

“Certainly, sir,” the lady said. “I’ll show you to your rooms.” She started walking away from the table and up the stairs. The three of them followed behind her.

She gave them a pair of rooms right across from each other. Cara went into her room, while Max and Sam went into theirs. The lady made sure they were set, and then left them to themselves.

Sam looked around the room with mystery. A lot of things were too tall for him to grab. There were two beds though. That’s what he liked to see.

“I sleep near the window. Always,” Max said. He put his knapsack down and laid on the bed. Sam looked up at him with confused eyes. Maxwell saw a whiff with one open eye. “It’s still early.” He pulled out his sword and got some rock from his knapsack. It looked like something to sharpen the blade. Like how Cara did in the mornings. “Go find something to do.”

“What is there to do?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know.” He swung his sword around and pointed it at Sam. “You’re going to find out.” He took his sword back and began sharpening it.

“I am?”

“You are. Now go. Shoo.” Max waved him out of the room. 

Sam saw his wave and his puckered face and decided to open the door. He checked back one more time, but Max was still shooing him out. He shut the door with a thud. It wasn’t in the newest condition, just an old oak door.

He turned around and found Cara coming out of the room the same time as him. She saw the coincidence and put a hand over her face.

“Did you have to come out then?” she said.

“Did you have to have an attitude?” Sam replied.

“Oh, you’re going to get it.” She prepared to grab him but he beat her swoop , and now he was racing down the wood steps! “Oh, you!” She chased after him.

When he got to the door he swung out left quick and went toward the bridge, tried to find cover. He scurried behind a close-by bridge ledge and waited for the door to open. He waited a few seconds, and then a few seconds turned into thirty, and he was confused. Sam checked over the ledge and didn’t see anyone, but that’s when someone grabbed him from behind.

“Put me down!” Sam shouted.

“Not until you say you’re sorry,” Cara remarked.

“I’m sorry!”

“For what?”

“For saying that. I mean it! Just put me down!”

“You’re sorry, alright.” Cara put him down and took her grip away from the back of his woolen tunic.

“How’d you even get there? I didn’t see you. Or hear you!”

She put a finger to her lips and smiled. “Trade secret!” She laughed and Sam wondered how strong Max and Cara really were. Why did they even need him? If she could do this, and if Max wasn’t even trying… he didn’t get it. “See you soon!” She walked off across the bridge toward the sea and restaurants. It was still mid-afternoon, but it was starting to get late.

He dusted himself off and looked at the village. It was much bigger than his hometown, but something about it still gave that hometown feeling. He took in a deep breath and really felt it.

Sam started walking toward the marketplace. He had to cross another bridge to get there. The whole town was full of bridges. He made his way to the tarps and slowed his pace down to take everything in. There was everything he could think of–and it all looked good. Sam passed by a watermelon stand, and then a pineapple one, and he was already drooling at the thought of having anything.

A pumpkin stand was to his right and he took a gander. They looked sweet, the ones he would want to eat. Sam stopped walking. A man beckoned him from the pumpkin stand.

“I haven’t seen you around here,” he said, looking him up and down. Sam walked up to the pumpkin stand. The man had blue eyes and short black hair. He had a beard that was trimmed up. He looked put together. “Are you traveling through here?”

“Yes,” Sam said, taking in the stand again. The pumpkins did look sweet. “I’m trying to figure out something to do. It’s my first day here.”

“Trying to figure out something to do?” The man rubbed his beard and looked Sam over again.

“I am.”

“What’s your name, boy?”

“Sam. I come from the village a week’s walk from here. Down south.”

“I wish I could say I knew it, but I don’t.” The man looked like he was reassessing him. “The name’s Charles. I run this here pumpkin shop. We have a farm with them growing, so I figured I might as well.”

“Charles. Nice to meet you.” Sam stuck a hand out. He figured it was the right thing to do when meeting someone new. Charles took his hand and shook it firmly.

“So why here, Sam? Why Aboribus Nubibus? Why anywhere?”

“Well, we’re heading north. And this was along the route.”

“Heading north, are you?” Charkes looked concerned and leaned one hand on a pumpkin. He rubbed his beard again. “It only gets less safe, from what I’ve heard.”

“For now, my group will be fine.” He smirked and looked back at the inn.

“At least you’re with a group. That’s good.” Charles took his hand off the pumpkin but still looked like he was thinking. “How long are you here?”

“At least a week.” Sam thought about it some but didn’t want to give any certainties. “Could be more, I think.”

The man got up from the pumpkin stand and walked around the side of it. “I think I’ve got something for you.”

“You do?”

“It’s not the most fun job, but if you want something to do, then you can do it.”

“What is it?”

The man went to the side of Sam and he realized how tall he really was. Charles was even bigger than Max.

“Follow me to the walls.” He started walking and didn’t wait to check if Sam was coming. Sam realized and started going too. 

There were a few more shops they passed by, and they all said their hello’s to Charles. They reached the end of the town and Sam saw a similar wall to where they entered from. Really fragile and easy to be broken down. Anyone that wanted–like him–could go in and out. Even though it was a different side of the town, it looked much of the same. Charles stopped, and so did Sam.

Charles pointed at a group of men constructing something. “We’re trying to build our walls up,” he said, rubbing his beard again. “There have been more monster attacks on nearby towns, so we figured we should.”

Sam thought about his old hometown, and how it looked nothing like how it used to. He wondered what this place would look like, but that wonder turned to fear, fear that he didn’t want to see this town get turned into. It was beautiful. The bridges, the shops, and the coastal access. Sam didn’t want to see any of that turned the wrong way. The way his town turned.

“We’re putting up as much of a wall as we can. Around the whole town. I’m organizing it, and I help sometimes, but we don’t have enough people working. A lot of townsfolk are in love with the idea that nothing bad can happen here. But I know better.” Charles clenched a fist and looked at the men working. “It doesn’t matter what we think. They don’t care. We could be attacked by monsters at any second.” He looked back at Sam with wider eyes. “Is this something you’d be interested in? Something you’d want to do? We’d love to have you.”

Sam thought about it a minute and pondered all the things he could do in the town while they stayed there. “What’s in it for me?”

“I could pay you for what you’re worth. Or send you with a big pumpkin. Wouldn’t that be funny!”

“Do you have any spellbooks?”

Charles looked at him dumbfounded. He blinked twice. “Spellbooks?”

“Do you have any?”

Charles looked at him again dumbfounded. His eyes widened a little bit. “I have one. You would want it? Not many kids your age–”

“I’ll do the work. Can I start now?”

Charles was taken aback. “You-you can.” He was startled with how easy it was to recruit another person. Charles didn’t need the spellbook, either. “I can introduce you.”

“Let’s go then!” Sam rolled up his sleeves and started walking toward the men. Charles followed him. It was like he was being led somewhere now.

Charles introduced Sam to the group that was laying the brick down. There were a few men working today–three exactly–and they all wanted to get the brick layed. The brick itself was doubled so it wasn’t as feeble–one layer on each side. Sam could tell they had worked diligently. There were no jutting bricks and the wall they had made so far seemed to be stable. 

A man was making bricks on the side and Sam noticed he was ahead of the ones laying the brick. He used his magic to lift the bricks in the air and give them to the bricklayers. They retreated a few feet in panic. Sam put the brick in with his magic and the rest of the men looked at him in awe. Even Charles had stuck around, and his jaw was practically on the floor.

The workers inched their way back with a sort of fascination as Sam kept laying the bricks that were prepared. The men came back closer and stared at Sam with an interest. When they had taken it all in, they talked amongst themselves and devised a system for the best efficiency–using Sam.

For the next few days it was much of the same. Sam woke up and worked on the wall. It wasn’t very special, but it felt special to him. Every time, every day he would wake up before the others he remembered the one thing he had in sight–that spellbook. He didn’t even know what spell it was, but what could that matter. The book gave his bricklaying meaning other than being for the town. Sam cared about the town, but not as much as he did his own. That book though, it was pushing him, it was driving him forward.

“Bricklaying?” Maxwell said one morning.

“Bricklaying,” Sam said, getting on his trousers, and then his tunic.

“Is it fun?” Maxwell brought his sword out. “In all my years–and I’ve been around a while–I haven’t done any bricklaying.” He started using that same rock against the blade.

“I think it’s fun.” Sam got everything ready. “The reward is what I have in my sights, though.” He went to the door.

“Do you do it for the reward?” Max stopped sharpening his blade.

Sam paused at the doorknob. “I think I have to do it for the reward. But there’s more that I do it for.” He turned the doorknob and opened the door.

“Is that so?” He began sharpening his sword again.

“That’s right.” He turned to give Max his attention while closing the door. Max was smiling a little. Sam could’ve sworn it. “I’ll see you later.” Sam waved goodbye, and closed the door.

The walk wasn’t that bad. It was quite scenic, actually. There were tons of bridges, and overhanging trees. People were already setting their market up for the day. What Sam didn’t like about the mornings was the cold. He had grown accustomed to it, but he still wrapped his hands around himself and shivered as he took the closest path to where they finished yesterday.

They were almost done, too. Sam’s help had made them go a lot faster. A lot faster than they were going before. They needed to just finish the day’s work, and the bricklaying would be done. And he’d have his spellbook. The people would be a little safer too, he assumed. Sam smiled at that.

When he got out to the bricks, there was a man missing. The group usually arrived before him, to get prepared. But one man was missing. Charles was there instead. Before Sam could say anything though, Charles spoke as he walked up to the site.

“He called out sick today.” Charles looked back at the group. “So I’m gonna join in. Get this finished with.”

“Don’t you have your pumpkins to worry about?” Sam asked. He stopped right before them. They had already prepared a bunch of bricks for him to lift with his magic.

“Today, we finish the wall. And we need all hands on deck.” Charles gave Sam a wink and a thumbs up. It was too early and too cold for Sam.

They worked throughout the day and took one break for lunch. It was hard work, but they had made good time. They were going to finish it.

At sunset, Sam was lifting up the last of the bricks. Charles took it, and used the last of the cement to make it stick. When they were finished they all fell over. Sam took a seat on a nearby ledge and looked back at the town.

Charles was tired, but he caught Sam’s gaze. “Now all that.” He pointed at the town when he got Sam’s attention. “All that is protected now.” Charles put his hand down and a smile came on his face. 

Sam looked back at the town and the bridges, the people walking by, the sea, the marketplace that was closing down for the day, and the beautiful trees that draped overtop. He had taken in the town before, but there was something different about this scene. Something special only he saw. And he liked that. It made him feel lit up inside.

“Your spellbook. Your reward,” Charles said, and Sam looked back at him. “I have it at my home.” Charles stood up and dusted off some dirt on his pants. He looked nothing like he did that morning. He started walking into the town. “Come with me. I’ll give it to you. For everything you’ve done.”

“What about the rest of them?” Sam asked. There were still a few men laying back against ledges, tired from the day.

Charles stopped and turned to face the men. “They’re all volunteers.” He smiled at the men. “They just want what’s best for the town.”

“I see.”

Charles shifted his attention to Sam. “In any case, you helped us a lot. Who knows how long we’d be laying bricks without you.” He started walking again and Sam followed him.

They went over a few bridges and Sam couldn’t help but look at the running water that led out into the sea. It was mesmerizing. They kept walking the stone path and passed some young children out playing. Charles smiled at them and led Sam over another bridge. They walked up some steps, and all Sam could hear was their footsteps. For such a town, he had expected more noise. They got to the top of the steps and Charles turned around.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Charles said.

Sam turned around with him and the whole town came into view. Everything he had passed by, everything he had seen and wondered about was all on display. All from the top of the stairs. It was beautiful.

“It is.” Sam took a deep breath and soaked in the air. It was still soundless, except for a slight gust that hit them from that high. It wasn’t enough to move him, but it was enough for Sam to notice, because besides the town, it was all there was. If he stayed any longer, he feared he might become attached to the town, and never able to leave. He turned back around and faced Charles. “Where’s your place?”

“Right. I almost forgot.” Charles turned back around and went up another set of stone stairs. “This way,” he said. Sam couldn’t believe he walked down these steps everyday. It was too beautiful.

They came to a house draped by a large oak tree that made Sam look up. It was practically hanging down around them. Charles unlocked the wooden door and rubbed off his boots on the mat. Sam did the same and followed him inside. Charles placed his coat on the table and went into the study. Sam was in love with the house. Everything was how it should be kept. His favorite part was the chandelier that hung over the dining table. It hung down so elegantly, so perfectly, that he couldn’t take his eyes off it.

Charles came back from the study with an old book. Thomas watched him come in and he set it on the dining table.

“This is it,” Charles said. “It’s been passed down in my family, for who knows how long… but it was never useful to me. I’m no mage.” Charles looked up at the chandelier with a sort of solidarity. “I can’t use it. No matter how hard I study it, I can’t. So, it’s yours.”

“Just like that?” Sam questioned. He was waiting for some catch.

“You did more than enough to deserve it. I think–and my family would think–it’s going to a good cause. All of Arboribus would think so.” He looked back from the chandelier at Sam and picked up the book. “It’s yours now.” Charles thrusted it into Sam’s hands and he took the book.

Sam stared at the book in his hands and the limitless history it held. “Th-thank you Charles.” He looked up and spotted a glint in Charles’s eye. “I’ll put it to good use.”

“I hope you will,” he said and smiled. “Now go study. It’s almost too late for you.” Charles walked to the door first and held it open for Sam. He was still smiling.

Sam put the spellbook in one hand and walked toward the door. “Thank you for having me,” he said. “I’ll put this–” he pointed to the spellbook. “To good work.”

Charles smiled as he left his house. “I’m sure you will. Take care, now.” Charles closed his door and Sam stepped back onto the stone path.

He took a few steps with the spellbook in hand and he saw it. The town at night all lit up, from the best spot he never knew he needed. Sam stood there in awe for a few seconds and then started walking down the steps toward the inn. It was all beautiful, and that’s why Sam had to force himself forward. He could stay there for hours.

The next morning Maxwell, Cara, and Sam were headed out the inn. Their week was up and they didn’t have more to do. Max gave a thank you to the receptionist and they started walking north. They left the town and exited the brick barrier Sam had constructed that week. Max stopped a moment and smiled.

“You put in some great work,” he said, and looked at the brick lining the edge of the town.

Something about Max’s comment made him light up inside again. It was like he had done something.

“What?” Cara said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Max remarked with a smile. He turned away from the brick and they headed out of the town and back into the forest.

They passed another sign of the town’s name. Sam smiled at it and they continued on into the forest. He forced himself not to look back, to keep moving. When they finally couldn’t see the town anymore, he did look back. There was only forestry and the path. Sam sighed and turned his attention back forward. It was beautiful.

[cjwritesforyou]

It is so easy to deceive

It is so easy to deceive

What the eye sees

And what is make believe

It’s hard to choose

Between right and wrong

When it’s already perfect

And could’ve been all along

Will we open the right door?

It’s hard to

The door can stay closed

It can stay locked up in its corner

If we get that urge

That feeling

That hope

To burst that door down

Then we’ll finally see

What was meant to be

[cjwritesforyou]

Where all the good things go

Where all the good things go

I want to follow them too

Hoping it’ll flow

I make nothing but ado

There’s not enough effort

Not enough drive

To keep me moving forward

To keep this dream alive

But then I remember

All the harsh realities

And I start to think them over

Realizing

Nothing I could ever want

Could come so easily

[cjwritesforyou]

Sam's Journey - 2

Second chapter of Sam's Journey

“I know it was day one, but you have to set up camp better,” Cara said.

“Now, now. We all had our firsts,” Max smiled. Sam stayed out of it like a shy kid. “Do you remember your first night, Cara?”

Cara thought and disgust traveled across her face. “I didn’t want to remember it,” Cara said. “That was a horrible night. You can forget all about that.”

“What I’m saying is he’ll get better,” Max said. “Like you did,” he smiled and walked off into the woods.

Cara was still lecturing him despite Max. Sam was sat down by their campfire waiting for Cara to be through with him. It was early in the morning, but it wasn’t too early. He was used to getting up at this time.

When Cara was done Sam got up on his own and started practicing his magic, like every morning. He closed his eyes, and focused on the spell he wanted to cast. Some he could cast without incantation, but he knew they weren’t perfect. Sam used an earth spell–using multiple rocks, then more, and more, and then back to where he started. All the while he was controlling his mana. It couldn’t get out of hand.

Many years ago, he was only practicing his mana, because he couldn’t do them both. Now that he could, he always practiced his mana. Especially with other spells casted, it was harder to control.

He opened his eyes and saw Cara staring at him in awe. He didn’t even know if she could see his mana. She was sharpening a knife, which he assumed was her weapon. No one usually watched him. Was it that impressive?

Cara saw his eyes open and watching her. She huffed and turned around, Sam guessed she was going to continue sharpening her knife. It was a good knife, after all. It looked reflective and like it was so sharp it would take him out with one slice. He didn’t like that and was a little scared of her. He got back to focusing on his magic practice. Maxwell was still gone, anyways, so it was the perfect time. He casted another earth spell and used plenty of the ground, and then more, and then less again, repeating the process plenty of times. That was what his master taught him, after all.

He practiced a few  spells: a few water spells, some fire spells, even a lightning spell, and finished with one more earth spell. He felt like he might need earth magic soon–especially in this group–and urged himself to practice more.

When he was done, he finally opened his eyes for the second time that morning and caught Cara staring at his magic again. He made it disappear and she looked at his eyes in shock.

“You like magic?” Sam asked.

“It’s none of your business what I like,” Cara said, and huffed again. She moved her head to the side to avoid looking at Sam. Her knife wasn’t out anymore, and Sam assumed she had finished polishing it.

“It is my business what you like though,” Sam sighed. Especially if we’re going to travel for eight years, he thought.

She huffed and looked away again. She was not amused with him. He could see her long black hair now. It hadn’t been put up yet, but he knew she would put her hair up when they started journeying.

Sam saw Maxwell coming back from the forest and looked up at him. It looked like he was about to say something important. He took a seat and got settled in. He had been gone a while.

“There are a lot of monsters ahead,” Max said. “We need to be careful, and actually work together.” He looked at Cara and then Sam and Cara huffed again. “One of them is no joke, either. We should try to single the group out.”

“How far ahead?” Cara asked.

“About a mile. There’s a large group of goblins and their leader,” Max said.

“So we go until we see them?” Sam questioned.

“We need to be a little more careful than that.” Max scratched his beard. “Sam, you’re always going to be behind us providing support. That much you can do, right?” Sam nodded and Max smiled. “The two of us will stay near the front, almost on an equal line.”

“Sounds good to me!” Cara said.

“When do we start?” Sam asked.

“Let’s pack our things and start heading over. They’re in our path, too. Going around would be too much of a hassle.” He scratched his beard again and looked at Sam. “Can you cast strength on us? Or give weakness to the monsters?”

Sam looked dumbfounded. “You can do that?”

“That’s okay. We don’t need them, but it would make this fight easier,” Max said, and thought a little to himself. He paced around the camp and came back to two eyes. “Remember to support us from the back.”

“I’ll do my best.”

They started packing up their things and Sam realized he was on backpack duty for the tent. He sighed but went behind them. They started walking and they passed through tree after tree. After some time, Sam realized the marks made on the trees they were going by were from Max. It was all too clever. It’s a good thing he scouted out the area early, or they’d be running into goblins with no plan.

They passed one more tree and Sam looked ahead. There weren’t any more marks. Was this the spot?

Max held up a fist and got behind a bush. The two of them followed, and Sam made sure to stay behind them. They got next to the bush and hunched down. The goblins came into view.

Through the trees and the bushes there was a clearing in the forest. The goblins were all gathered up. Sam had seen goblins before, but not this many. There were a lot, and the big one seemed strong. Really strong. Usually monsters didn’t have mana protruding around them, but he could see it on the bigger one. He was the one the other goblins were practically worshiping. It looked like he enjoyed it, too.

Sam noticed Max and Cara just watching them. Scouting their entire surroundings. He decided to speak up.

“I can take out the ones closer to us,” Sam said. Both of them turned, with confused looks on their faces. “So you don’t have to run out yet. And they won’t spot where the attack came from.”

“Could you?” Max asked. Cara didn’t look at him like he was crazy, just different.

“I can. We should do it as much as we can. To pick them off outside the big group,” Sam said. He looked up and scouted out the big goblin. “That one’s going to be hard to take out. The less numbers they have, the better.”

Max nodded and looked at Cara. She was reluctant, but she gave a nod as well. Sam hobbled to the front of their bush and got ready to use the rocks near the goblins against them. He took a deep breath, and touched the ground. Sam closed his eyes all the way.

There were a few rocks near the first set of goblins. He had seen that. Sam could just use the ground, but this was easier. He didn’t need to say an incantation, he just needed to focus. It was like he practiced earlier, only a little further away.

Sam focused on the rocks near the first row of goblins. He took a piece from the rocks in the air with his eyes closed. He could hear Cara gasp but kept focusing. He assumed Max was letting him focus, too. He took another deep breath, and accelerated the rocks through the last row.

Nine goblins dropped immediately. Only the bigger goblin noticed, and looked confused. He put his hand up, looking for the source, but he couldn’t find them. He was wary now, but it made no difference. Sam took a piece of the same rocks up again and accelerated them through the next row of goblins. Fifteen this time. There were more to hit, and they weren’t all aware of what was going on.

“Holy crap,” Cara said, putting her hand over her mouth. Sam kept his eyes closed and focused on the ground.

The big goblin looked around, concerned now, and the rest of the goblins turned around. Their fellow goblin-kind were gone, in an instant.

Sam focused on the same rock, and accelerated it through the next row. They were wary of it, though, and he only got eight. There were a lot more in this row. Sam opened his eyes and a sweat drop went down from his hair. He tried to control his breathing.

“That’s more than enough,” Max said. “Cara, we’re up.”

“Yes sir.”

“Sam, you’ve done plenty for today. Sit back and let us do the rest.”

“Will do, will do,” Sam said. “I’ll watch from here.” He propped himself back behind the bush to see the opening of goblins. There was still a lot left. And that big one, he was staying near the back. Had he caught onto them?

Max and Cara left their tunics with Sam and Max winked. He winked out of all things. Like there weren’t a bunch of goblins. They both started running at the goblins, and the goblins turned their attention to them. Two humans were running at them.

They quickened their pace and sliced through the first batch. Like that. Like it was nothing. Sam blinked. Eight goblins hit the floor, slices through their torsos and necks. Max was a sword wielder, and could do unthinkable things with his sword. He didn’t want to find out the hard way. Sam turned his attention to Cara and saw the knife she was holding during the morning. Except, there were two of them. She was a dagger user. Skilled at it, too. It was hard to discern both of their skill levels from just one batch of goblins. Sam kept watching. He was interested, now.

The big goblin looked like he was observing as the little ones rushed Max and Cara. There were more in this batch, at least two, maybe three times more. Max and Cara both stopped at the same time. They didn’t say any words to each other, but it was like they knew what to do. The ones in the front came and they both dodged them with lightning quick speed. They took out the back group first, and swung back for the front that had turned around now, confused. All the goblins hit the ground, and it looked like it was nothing to Max and Cara. Max swiped the blood off his blade into the ground and Sam could swear he saw a smile. Cara did the best she could to get the blood off with her smaller daggers. She still seemed serious.

The last, bigger batch of goblins started making their way toward them with the bigger goblin. He wasn’t running like the rest of them, he was still watching Max and Cara. There were so many that Max and Cara instinctively took care of the front ones and stepped back. They did it a few times. There were so many, they had to.

There were still some goblins left, fifteen or so smaller ones that Sam counted, despite the bigger one with them. Also despite the countless bodies that were on the forest grass floor.

The two of them stepped back even further. The bigger goblin wielded a cleaver, and was heading straight for Cara. He swung out toward the sky and down toward Cara. She read it, but still got nicked in the arm rolling away.

“I’m your opponent, buddy,” Max said, swinging his sword at the bigger goblin. He parried and stood up to Max. “Cara, you take the smaller goblins.” She nodded. “Sam, she’s playing tough now, but heal her arm soon,” Max yelled. “I know how bad that cleaver stings.” He licked his lips. “Now, come at me, bigger one.”

Sam came into the clearing and noticed Cara was only using one dagger, on the side that she wasn’t cut. He got close enough to her, and prepared to cast healing magic. He was far enough from the fighting, while the bigger goblin and Max were trading parries from his sword and the goblin’s cleaver. Sam swore he saw him smiling.

Sam closed his eyes and concentrated on Cara. The connection wasn’t too strong yet, but he could feel her. He could sense her. “Zolata insurfurmia!” He looked up and checked Cara. A green and gold light was emitting from her wound. Some of the goblins had to look away.

In one second, the wound from the cleaver was gone. Cara looked at it, and back at Sam. He smiled, and she turned away. “Thank you,” she said, and turned back to the goblins left. Sam blinked, and they were gone. A bunch of bodies hit the ground all at once. At the far end of them, Cara smiled, and put away her daggers.

“Good job, Cara,” Max said, holding off a blow from the bigger goblin.

“Thanks, master,” she bowed and ran to the spot where Sam was. She sat down next to him, and he figured he should, too.

“Master?” Sam questioned. “And shouldn’t we be helping him?”

“He’s taught me everything,” Cara said, uninterested in the battle before her. “So I call him my master.”

“Shouldn’t we help him, though? He’s fighting a big monster.”

“My master? He’s fine. He’s just playing with his food,” Cara said, kicking her legs out for entertainment. “I do wish he wouldn’t take so long, though.”

Sam turned his attention back to the battle and still saw Max smiling. Something about the way he was fighting was weird, too. It was too defensive. He was blocking blow after blow, and even though he had plenty of openings, he didn’t take any of them. Sam was puzzled.

The bigger goblin was starting to sweat and heave now. His swings became slower, and so were his movements. It wasn’t like the start of the fight. The bigger goblin slowed down and tried to catch his breath. He was tired, and Max did this on purpose.

“Oh, come on,” Max beckoned, still smiling. “Is that all you’ve got?”

The monster took another step back, but Max was done messing around. Max lunged in, and the monster wasn’t expecting it. The goblin blocked the first strike, but then Max was gone. He returned back to his starting place and sheathed his sword. The monster wasn’t moving. Sam and Cara looked back at the monster and saw a big red cut emerge from behind him. He fell over with the rest of the smaller goblins. Cara stood up and smiled. Sam was left in bewilderment and had to blink a few times. The monster really was on the floor.

“Let’s see what they were hoarding!” Cara said. “I’m excited!” She started running toward where the goblins were protecting. There was a small enclosure the bigger goblin was protecting.

“It’s still going to be there,” Max sighed. “Sam, come join us. There’s definitely something for you.”

Sam blinked again and turned his attention to Max. He was walking toward the enclosure already, like it was nothing.

“How did you… do what you did?” Sam asked. 

Max turned around and stopped walking. He looked Sam in the eyes and smiled. “I’ve been doing this a long time,” he started. “This isn’t that hard of a fight, especially in comparison. There’s been far, far worse. Far harder fights to fight.” He sighed and looked at the dropped monsters. “The real winner today is you, Sam. You’ve lived up to expectations and done more. I’m impressed.”

He was impressed? Impressed by what? His little showing? They decimated the goblins left with ease. Sam searched the man for something but couldn’t see anything. He knew he was strong, but how strong was Max? Sam stood up and dusted himself off. He went to the enclosure with a smile on his face.

“Look! Look! There’s coins, jewelry, and…” Cara held up a small book and looked at it unfamiliarly. She looked confused by its existence. “And this.”

“That’s a spellbook,” Max said, recognizing it. Cara passed it off to him for inspection. Max swatted and blew the dust away.

“A spellbook?” Sam questioned. “What would a spellbook be doing in here?”

“They probably got it from humans.” Max dusted off more of the book. “They probably got everything from humans, but that spellbook, that’s special.” He gave Sam the book and let him look it over. “Those books usually only contain one spell.” Sam was getting excited now. He looked like he wanted to read it right away. “They have the full history of the spell in that book, the originator, whatever you can think of.”

“When can I read it?” Sam asked.

“Whenever we’re stopped,” Max replied.

Sam took a second and opened the book. There was a lot for one spell!

“I didn’t mean right now,” Max sighed. “At night or in a town. You should hang onto that, though. Learn from it.”

Sam nodded and clutched the book tighter. There was a whole world waiting in the book. Even if it was just one spell, he could learn so much it excited him.

“This will give us the money we need,” Cara said, holding up a stack of coins. “We should be set when we get into the next town.”

“More than set,” Max corrected, and looked north. “We ought to keep going. Let’s get as much distance as we can.”

They got their things and started walking. Sam learned a lot today, and he had a lot more to learn. He was going to read every inch of that spellbook, whenever he could. They left the clearing and headed back through the forest. They still had a few days to go before the next town.

[cjwritesforyou]

Sam's Journey Masterlist (Ongoing)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

[cjwritesforyou]

College Freshman Masterlist

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

[cjwritesforyou]

Series Masterlist

College Freshman

Sam's Journey

[cjwritesforyou]

Short Stories Masterlist

Rain Angels

The Last Strawberry Summer

[cjwritesforyou]

Poetry Masterlist

Who lets the weather win

They want to go where he goes

I am me

I'm wondering if I can still feel it

There are two roads

Where all the good things go

It is so easy to deceive

[cjwritesforyou]

~Masterlist~

Series

Poetry

Short Stories

[cjwritesforyou]

Sam's Journey - 1

-New Series-

First chapter of a brand new fantasy called Sam's Journey

“He’s too young to join us,” a girl’s voice said.

“You were too young,” another voice said, this time a male. “And I still trained you.”

“My case is different,” the girl’s voice retorted. “I may have been young, but I was more than capable. We don’t know about this kid. He’s an outlier.”

“We don’t have to know everything about him. It doesn’t make a difference. We’ll go solely on ability,” the man’s voice said. “He could be just as capable, or more capable than you were.”

“That’s impossible,” the girl said. “Have you seen the size of him?” she scoffed. He won’t make it one fight with monsters.”

The boy opened his eyes slowly and found himself covered in dirt. There were stones on the ground where there shouldn’t have been. There was debris everywhere. Bits and pieces from the walls were missing. It looked like he was in some shack, but he couldn’t be certain. At least, not one he remembered. And he remembered them all.

“We’ll have to let his magic do the talking, then. All the villagers left all thank him. He has to have something,” the man said, and looked at the boy. “You’re awake!” he said, and the two of them looked at him. “We weren’t sure you’d wake up.”

The boy looked around at the messed up shack. There was a broken table and broken chairs on one side, and a messed up sitting area and fireplace on the other side. He analyzed his surroundings in case–because he wasn’t familiar with them–and was prepared to attack. The man sensed something though, and stepped back. The girl hadn’t noticed yet.

“We don’t want to hurt you,” the man said. “Quite the opposite, actually,” he said, holding eye contact. Something about the man looked trustworthy. Maybe it was his eyes. He took his step back. “What’s your name, boy?”

He stared at his eyes for a few seconds and switched to the girl’s. She didn’t have as much of a clue what was going on. She looked startled, but the boy knew she was strong in combat. The toned muscles, the tied back hair, the tunic that probably hid weapons. He just knew it. The boy switched his focus back to the man. He decided he could trust him.

“Samuel. You can call me Sam, for short,” the boy said, his gaze flickering between the girl and man before him.

“Sam,” the man said with a grin. “I had a friend named Sam, a long time ago,” he said, looking off. “He was very trustworthy. And strong. He could’ve wiped us all out–for sure–he was that strong. Those were fun days.”

“Where is he now?” the boy asked.

“Don’t speak so candidly with him,” the girl said. “You don’t kn0w him.”

“That’s okay. I like reminiscing about this stuff, anyways,” the man said, turning his attention back to the boy. “That’s a good question,” the man looked off, outside the house. “Somewhere far, far, away. Somewhere only he can go,” he said and looked back at the boy. “Can you use healing magic?”

Sam looked at the man dead in the eye. His focus turned down to the dirt on him and the mess he was. He noticed he had wounds on his legs he hadn’t seen before. There was a dark shade of red and dried up blood from his lower body. It was a new sight for him, too. Sam looked at the man again and back at his wounds.

Sam held a hand above himself and a flurry of wind overcame the run-down shack. It was enough to make the man and girl step back. They weren’t prepared for him. A green and gold light emitted from Sam’s body. The man and girl put a hand up over their mouths.

“Zolata Enstraga!” Sam chanted, and the light got brighter. It was so bright that the two others in the room had to look away.

When the two looked back, though, they saw Sam. He was standing up now, and he was beating some floor dust off him. He was clean, every inch of him. There wasn’t a wound left, or a speck of dust for anyone to see. His whole body was clean. It was like he used magic.

“How did you? How are you?” the girl questioned, confused.

“You can use healing magic!” the man said, approaching him. “That was incredible. You can help us,” he said, stopping before Sam. He was studying Sam, every inch from head to toe. “I’m Maxwell. You can call me Max,” he smiled, and put his hand out to shake. Sam realized it was the right thing to do and shook Maxwell’s hand. His grip was firm. “Her name is Cara, since she won’t speak up.”

“He hasn’t even agreed to anything yet,” Cara said. “When he does, I’ll think about speaking up.”

“Agreed to what?” Sam asked.

“I’ll tell you later,” Max said, still smiling. “Could you show us around? This town isn’t as small as it’s made out to be.”

“I can do that much,” Sam said, walking toward the door. “I don’t even know you, though.”

“Let’s say this will return the favor,” Max smiled, following Sam. “Come on Cara. You can’t sulk all evening.”

“Oh, fine,” Cara said and followed Max behind Sam.

Sam went out the doorway into his hometown. Or what used to be his hometown. He was shocked. Sam let a trickle of emotion show, and remembered he wasn’t with two familiar people he fully trusted yet. It was all so shocking, but he shoved it back inside. He didn’t want to show them too much. Sam walked down the stone steps and tried to keep his cool.

The town was in ruins. What used to be a lively, wonderful town, with banners and people flooded about looked nothing like before. Sam passed a house on the hill he was walking down and looked in. He remembered that house. That was his childhood friend’s house. Where was the family now? There was destruction everywhere. Nothing they could do, now, but guess. Sam didn’t even see a point of checking it out. It had that much debris littered on the floor that he figured it would be best not to.

He kept going down the stone steps and took in the rest of the town. Some roofs were intact, but most weren’t. It looked nothing like the place he knew. The place he grew up in. The two behind him were looking around, but they weren’t as interested. It was like they’ve seen this before. Sam kept going down the stone steps toward the town plaza. They passed by wrecked homes, and he gawked at every single one. The houses looked nothing like before. The houses that he knew were gone.

The group stepped down the last stone step one by one. The plaza was in disarray. There were more stone blocks where there shouldn’t have been, dirt running across, and the fountain was no longer working. Some of it had been beaten into. Stone spewed out of it. Sam was going to show the two newcomers his hometown, but now… there was nothing left to see now. He stood there, frozen in place, and he forgot everything else.

“This place must’ve been very dear to you,” Max offered, looking at his eyes. Sam’s eyes were still scanning what was left, still wandering. “I don’t blame you,” Max said, looking off into the town.

The town wasn’t a tourist destination. It had been built up by the people that lived there, and Sam thought it would stay that way. He knew everyone, and had been just about everywhere, and he loved it, but now… what was there to love about this?

“How did this happen?” Sam asked, water welling up in his eyes. “Why did this happen?” Sam questioned, tears rolling down his face now. He had to put a hand up to wipe the tears away.

Max rounded Sam to the front with a concerning look. He put a hand on his shoulder and knelt down.

“It just happened,” Max said.

“Why?” Sam said, tears streaming off his face. He couldn’t control it anymore.

“Bad luck,” Max said, his hand still on Sam’s shoulder. He was still kneeling, searching the boy up and down. “There was nothing you could’ve done more.”

“What about the people that lived here?” Sam asked, now looking at Max with tears in his eyes. He didn’t care anymore. “Are they okay? Are they alright?” he said, and looked at Cara. She looked away immediately, and that said it all. He looked back at Max for an answer. For something.

Max shook his head and looked at the boy with contempt filling his eyes.

“Some are left,” Max said, his eyes locked on Sam’s. “We couldn’t save everyone. We tried.”

Sam’s eyes welled up again and he let it all out in the plaza. There were tears on the ground now, but he couldn’t help it.

“Was it monsters?” Sam asked, cleaning up some of the tears.

“A lot of them,” Max said, and took his arm off the boy. He stood up. “You did the best you could. We tried to clean up the rest of it,” Max said, trailing off. “We were too late, though. This was all that was left. The villagers that made it gave you a lot of props. It must’ve been really bad.”

“I don’t even remember the attack.”

“You don’t have to remember it all,” Max said, and looked around at the ruined village. “The important thing is that you’re here now.”

“But it’s all,” Sam stammered. He tried to get the words out. “It’s all gone,” he said, and worry overtook his face.

Max squatted down and put both hands on Sam’s shoulders this time. Sam looked up. “That’s alright,” Max said, looking at Sam’s eyes. “That’s life. Things come and go, but at the end of the day…” he looked at the broken roofs, the houses, and especially the broken plaza. He looked back at Sam. “At the end of the day it’s you that matters. Not this plaza, or even this town. As long as you’re still standing at the end of the day… that’s what matters. That’s what’s important.”

Sam stopped tearing up and looked at Max. He looked at every part of him while maintaining eye contact. “But the people… the place,” Sam said, and started looking around.

“What matters is you’re still standing,” Max repeated. “That’s the most important thing.”

Everything looked so different than what it used to, but for some reason, Sam was content with it. It was still his hometown, after all. No matter how wrecked it might be, it was still his. And something about that made him content with everything. Content with his world.

“Now what?” Sam questioned, the tears gone. There was still a little water left, which his hand made swift work of. “What do I do now?”

Max smiled and took his hands from Sam’s shoulders. When he stood up Sam realized how broad he really was. He looked like a giant to Sam. “Why don’t you tell him, Cara,” Max said and smirked. “You’ve been silent this whole time.”

Cara clicked her tongue and walked around to Max’s side. Sam didn’t like her much. Her attitude was annoying to deal with, and he just met her. He did want to hear what she had to say, though. Cara looked around at the emptied plaza and back at Sam. He didn’t understand what she was doing.

“We’re going on a journey,” Cara said, annoyed. She made eye contact with Sam. “Max here–he wants you to join us.”

“Why would you want me to join you?” Sam asked, turning his attention to Max.

“Because we need someone to stand in as a healer,” Cara said, forcing his focus back. “We saw what you could do,” she said, looking ticked off.

“I’m not even that good at healing,” Sam said to Max. “And you could get a real healer. So why me?”

Cara forced his attention back by taking a step forward. Max was still smiling. “You can do more than most healers can. And you’re not even a specialist,” she said, in his face. “Not many healers can do a full body heal, let alone mages… and you’re–how old are you?”

“Do I have to say?” Sam asked.

“I won’t make you, but you look young. You couldn’t get by as an adult,” Cara added.

Sam sighed to himself and looked away. He couldn’t help seeing the wrecked houses and stone everywhere, but for some reason, it didn’t phase him. It was bothering and he wanted to fix it, but it was just there.

“Where are you going?” Sam asked. “On this journey.” He didn’t bother looking at Maxwell and instead looked to Cara. She seemed to know everything, anyways.

“The Northern Province,” Cara said, and Sam remembered her grin.

“Why the Northern Province?” Sam asked. “Isn’t that far away?”

The Northern Province was far away, even by boat. Not that anyone was willing to give out rides, but it was far away. By foot, they’d have to travel through their current land, The Southern Land, and through the Eastern Nation, and only then, would they make it to the Northern Province. To even have been through another place is a story in itself, but were they really going to cross through all of them? For what purpose?

“There’s a festival,” Cara said.

“Every one-hundred years,” Max butted in. “I’ve heard so many stories about it. I have to get there,” Max said. There was a glint in his eyes. They were shimmering, maybe. Sam hadn’t seen this look yet. “It is far, but it’s worth it. More than worth it from what I’ve heard.”

“When is this festival?” Sam asked.

“In eight years,” Cara said, her voice perking up. “Today actually marks eight years. So, eight years from today.”

“It’s in eight years?” Sam’s mouth dropped. He had lived more than eight years, but it was a lot to think about. It was a big portion of his life. “And what will happen when we’re there? Will we go back?”

“Who knows,” Cara said. “What matters is just making it there,” she said, stretching out an arm. “We can find out what to do when we’re there.”

“Isn’t that a short-sighted plan?” Sam asked, scratching his head. “Shouldn’t you have it thought over more? You know, for me to join you.”

Max stopped his grin and looked at Sam. “You can join us if you want to come. Getting there is more important than figuring out other things. We could just take a boat.”

“Uh, Max,” Cara said.

“What is it?” Max asked.

“We don’t have the money for that. Plus, boat lines are closed right now,” Cara said, flicking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Who knows when they’ll re-open.”

“That’s true,” Max said, scratching the beard he obviously maintained. “I guess we should get moving, then.”

“You guess?” Cara said. “We should. We’ll get there in time, but we should start journeying further north. It would help.”

“You’re right,” Max said. “We better be leaving. Before nightfall.” 

It was starting to get dark and the remnants of the village were preparing for the night. Did he really want to stay here? He had no family to turn to, no friends that he knew about, and the only ones that came for him when he woke up were Max and Cara. How did he want to spend his life? He didn’t even know yet.

Max mumbled something to Cara and put up a hand. It was a goodbye wave, but he wasn’t going to turn all the way around. He only was going forward, toward where he wanted to be. The Northern Province.

Sam was watching them head up the stairs. He was frozen between two decisions. Should he help the rest of the village? Should he run after them? North-bound? He didn’t know. His whole life was crumbling before his eyes and he was still frozen. He looked at the two again and they were three quarters of the way up the steps. His chance was leaving him. His chance? His chance to do what? To be something? To do something?

They were almost at the top step now. Sam turned to see the remnants of the village one last time, and his body moved on its own.

“Wait! Wait for me!” Sam cried out, hands cupped around his mouth. “I-I want to go with you two. To the Northern Province. I made up my mind!”

Max and Cara turned around and saw Sam running up the steps. That was exactly what they had hoped for.

“You knew he’d come around, didn’t you,” Cara said, just loud enough for only Max to hear. Max didn’t respond, he just smirked from ear to ear.

“Will you take me?” Sam asked. “Someone like me?”

Cara looked at Max and he responded as if rehearsed. “Of course we will. We’d be happy to have you,” Max said with that same smirk on his face. “Now, come. We have to set up camp for tonight.”

“OK!” Sam said and followed the two up the steps. He took one last look at his hometown from above. The wrecked place it was, but he loved it in all its glory. It was time to say goodbye to it. Sam turned back around and followed Max and Cara to a path leading up north. He was ready for what was to come, whether he knew it or not.

[cjwritesforyou]

There are two roads

There are two roads

One that we all see

And one that we choose not to go down

The one that we see

Has light

Is comfortable

Will serve us for the time being

The one we don’t go down

Is filled with darkness

It’s uncomfortable

Uncertain

But what we want at the end of the road

Can only be made from the one we choose not to travel

We all go down the road we can see

So why do we complain?

Because it’s hard

It’s not easy

It takes everything to travel that other road

[cjwritesforyou]

College Freshman Chapter 20

The ending of this twenty chapter rom-com series, College Freshman

Hope you enjoy :)

Angie was happy where things were going with Thomas. Things were a lot different than how they were. She was excited to see him, and she didn’t get nervous, either.

“How’s your boyfriend?” Molly asked one class.

“Not my boyfriend,” Angie responded. “We’re just… closer.”

“So the question hasn’t been asked yet?”

“What question?”

“The question.” Molly stared at her and Angie blinked. She was confused. “You don’t get it.”

“I want to get it.”

“Just be patient.”

The door thudded open with that same familiar sound. Angie turned around and saw Thomas. She smiled.

“Hi Angie,” he said.

“Hi Thomas.”

Instead of going to an open seat though, he scooted behind Angie and pulled out the chair right next to her. She was nervous. She didn’t think so, but that changed when he sat down. Angie didn’t know what to think. She was a statue.

Thomas got his things out and set them on the table. Angie turned one more time to Molly. She mouthed boyfriend to Angie. She couldn’t help but get more nervous.

The professor walked in wearing his dress shoes Angie recognized. He got to the computer, and looked up for a moment at the class. Angie swears he raised an eyebrow in their direction as he was logging into the computer.

They went through the lecture and Angie took notes. It wasn’t too hard of material. What she was surprised about was Thomas. He was actually taking notes. She was proud of that.

The lecture came and went and the professor dismissed everyone. Bags got zipped up and people were walking out. Angie was packing up too, when Thomas waved a hand to her.

“I have something to ask you,” Thomas said, putting his notes away. “When everyone’s gone.”

“Okay,” she replied.

She watched everyone else leave the classroom and Molly caught on fast. She left the classroom last and blew her a kiss. Thomas smiled.

“Your friend is funny,” Thomas said. It was just the two of them left.

“She is, isn’t she?”

“The lecture wasn’t too hard, was it?”

“No, it was pretty basic,” she said. “And you actually took notes.”

“Isn’t that a rarity?”

“It is!”

They both laughed in their seats and looked around the classroom. It really was just the two of them. It was empty.

“What did you want to ask me?” Angie asked.

“See, I was trying to ease myself into it.”

“Is that working?”

“Kind of. Not really.” Thomas looked away for a brief second. He turned his attention back to her. “It’s like a band-aid. I gotta rip it off.”

“Just rip it off.”

“I will.” 

Angie caught a whiff of Thomas and he looked nervous. She hadn’t seen him look like this before, and it made her more nervous. For whatever he was going to say.

“Will you…” Thomas stopped himself and took a deep breath. “Will you be my girlfriend?” Thomas turned his attention to Angie and waited. He looked like he was going to explode.

“Yes.” Angie smiled and hugged him in their seats. There was relief on both sides. “Yes, of course.”

[cjwritesforyou]

College Freshman Chapter 19

The professor had assigned another quiz. Angie had assumed he had another bad morning, but she didn’t mind. Thomas had invited her over. And not to the study room first. Straight to his room.

She went up the elevator and stepped out with a deep breath. Angie took a right turn, remembering the way to his room. She passed a few rooms and ended up at his door. She took another deep breath, and when she was ready, she knocked. Angie heard him coming to the door, and she straightened up. The door knob turned, and Thomas appeared.

“Angie!” he said.

“Thomas! Thanks for having me,” she said, smiling.

“Of course.” He held the door open and she stepped inside his room. He closed it and walked out from back behind her. “Where do you want to sit?”

“The floor is nice. I like it.”

“The floor it is, then.”

They sat down on the floor and Angie put her things down. She got out the new flashcards she had prepared for today.

“More flashcards?” Thomas groaned.

“What else can we do?” Angie said. “It’ll be fun. Here.” She handed him half of the flashcards.

“How about you read yours off?” Thomas asked with a smile. “It’ll be more fun that way.”

“That could be a fun idea.” She smiled back and looked up from the flashcards. “OK, OK. I’ll start.”

They went on for at least an hour, going back and forth with answers. Thomas always had the answer, but not always the one she had written down. Angie was keeping up, too. She remembered each and every flashcard. They had switched a few times and gone through them all.

“I think we’re set for the quiz. Too set,” Thomas laughed.

“That might be true. Now that I’m thinking about it, too.”

“Is there much more studying to do?”

“No, like you said: We should be set.”

Angie took her flashcards back and checked the time. She zipped up her backpack but wasn’t ready to leave yet. She didn’t know why, either. Something felt not done.

“What do we do now?” Angie questioned, sitting back against the bed.

“Do you like movies?”

“Movies?”

“Like ‘em?”

“I love them. I love getting lost in their world.”

“That’s perfect then,” Thomas said, getting his laptop from the desk. “You love getting lost in worlds, so something like Star Wars?”

“I love Star Wars.”

“Perfect.” He went next to her on the floor and shoved some of his roommate’s things to his side. Thomas set the laptop between them and pulled up the movie. “Because, I love it too.”

“That’s great, then.”

“It is. You ready?”

“Course I’m ready.”

Thomas started up the movie and both of them sat awkwardly on the floor. They were watching the movie, but really watching the other person. Seeing what they would do. If anything.

About an hour had passed and Angie was getting impatient. She paused the movie and turned to face Thomas.

“It was just getting good,” Thomas said, and turned his attention to Angie.

“It was, wasn’t it.”

Thomas looked at her lips and something clicked. He leaned over, and she closed her eyes and leaned in. The movie didn’t get unpaused.

[cjwritesforyou]

College Freshman Chapter 18

Angie sat down at the same bench as last time. She was early again. She checked her text messages again.

Brunch? Thomas asked.

At the same place? she replied.

Of course. Same time, too.

Works for me.

I’ll see you there then.

She was staring at the text messages when someone came to sit on the bench next to her. She raised her head up to see the person. Thomas.

“Reading something there?” he asked.

“It’s nothing,” she said.

“I already saw the screen,” he whispered. 

She got red and put her phone away in an instant. She wasn’t expecting him this early, since he never got there this early.

“It’s okay. You were just checking,” Thomas said.

“Right. I was just checking,” Angelina said.

“Come on.” He stood up. “Let’s go inside. No one’s taken that seat yet, either.”

She glanced to the window seat and saw no one had taken the seat, like he had said. She stood up and followed him to the door, bringing her belongings with her. He held the door open like last time, and she smiled as she walked to the counter.

She ordered the same thing, and he tried a new bagel they had. They took the counter to the table and sat down, just like last time.

Angelina loved this view from inside the coffee shop. There were people that would walk by, and she would watch everything they did. She felt Thomas’s eyes on her, though, and shifted her focus to him.

“It’s fun to do that, isn’t it?” he said.

“Do what?”

“Watch people. It’s like they almost don’t exist in our world.” He looked outside at a man who sat down on the bench they were on before. “It’s fun.”

The waitress brought their food and took the counter. She said nothing, just smiled. It was the same waitress as last time.

Angelina took her coffee off the tray and took a sip. Thomas looked like he didn’t know where to start with the bagel. He was assessing it, and then finally took a bite. The look on his face looked like he made the right choice. Angelina couldn’t help but smile.

“You can call me Angie,” she blurted out. She didn’t know what she was going to say.

“Angie?” Thomas asked.

“That’s right.”

“You should’ve told me that the first time.”

“Well, I don’t like to do that. Plus, I didn’t know you that well yet.”

“Angie, huh?”

“Yup.”

“I would tell you to call me something else, but I like Thomas.”

“I’ll continue to call you Thomas.” She smiled and brought the coffee mug to her face to hide it. She took a sip while it was there.

“Thanks, Angie,” he said with a smirk. She couldn’t help but smile back and laughter ensued.

They talked about all sorts of things at brunch. From their awkward teacher to the school to the dormitory situation, it was like they were on the same page. They were smiling and agreeing with everything.

Angie looked back down and noticed her coffee was out. Thomas’s bagel had been gone for a minute, now. He ate it up.

She didn’t want to leave this spot, though. They were having tons of fun just talking, and that’s what she enjoyed most. She didn’t even say anything, but the conversation lasted another half hour. They couldn’t stop talking. When it got silent, Thomas took the tray back to them.

“I’ll walk you back again,” he said.

“I’ll take you up on that.” She smiled.

They were walking out of the shop when the same older couple was walking in. Thomas got the door, and they both said their thank you’s again. Thomas and Angie stared as they walked to the counter. Angie stepped outside the door and Thomas closed it. It might not be the last time they saw them.