Slathbog's Gold

“Passwords?” Alex asked.

“Like when you said ‘enter’ before,” replied Andy. “That’s the standard password to get in, and there’s a different one to get out—‘exit.’ You’ll want to use something different for your own bag of course, so not just anyone can get in and out of it.”

Alex decided it all made perfect sense, as long as he accepted the fact that magic was involved. He still had his doubts, but they were fading fast.

“Ready to go then?” asked Andy.

Alex nodded, his thoughts cluttered with the idea of real magic.

“I’ll just put out the lights before I go,” said Andy. “Then listen carefully so you’ll know the password to get out of the bag.”

“All right,” said Alex nervously. “But if I’m not out in a minute or two, come back and turn the lights on.”

Andy’s laugh was full of kindness and good humor and it made Alex like him even more.

“Dark,” said Andy, and all the lamps went out. “Exit.”

Alex waited in the darkness. He wasn’t sure if Andy was still there or not. He listened carefully, but could only hear his own breathing. Deciding he was alone in the bag, he took a deep breath.

“Exit.”

As quickly as Alex had entered the bag, he was out of it again. He was standing in the brightly lit shop, the soft leather bag in his hands. He looked at Andy, a little surprised by how easy it had been.

“Neat little trick, isn’t it?” said Andy.

“Very neat,” Alex agreed. “But how do you get things in and out of the bag without going in yourself every time?”

“You hold the bag next to the thing you want to put in and tell the bag where to put it. When you need something, you ask for what you want and it’ll come out. You don’t normally have to specify where things are when you’re taking something out, unless you have more than one of something. You can practice tonight with your packages.”

Andy went to find the shopkeeper, leaving Alex alone with the magic bag. Alex quickly looked around to make sure nobody was watching him, and then he looked into the top of the bag to see what was there. The bag was completely empty, and Alex’s doubts about magic started creeping into his mind once more.

After several minutes of discussion and a little debate on price, the shopkeeper wrote Alex’s name in a large black book. Alex held the bag while the shopkeeper read something in a language Alex didn’t understand, waving his hands over Alex and the bag.

“It’s a good thing they bind the bag to you,” said Andy, putting Alex’s packages into the new bag. “That way you can’t lose it, no matter what.”

“Can’t lose it?”

“Not unless some powerful magic is used against you,” Andy said. “The bag will either stay with you, or stay where you put it, no matter what. Unless of course you’re dead.”

“Oh,” Alex said in reply. His head felt stuffed with information, and he was afraid he was ru

“There you go,” said Andy, handing Alex his new bag. “All your gear is inside and ready to go.”

“Thanks,” said Alex. “Will we be sleeping inside our magic bags as we travel?”

“Of course not,” said Andy in a surprised tone. “Why would we do that?”

“It seems to me that we’d be safe and comfortable inside our bags,” said Alex.

“Safe until you come out in the morning and find a bunch of goblins standing around you,” replied Andy. “How could you warn the rest of us if there was trouble?”

“I didn’t think of that,” said Alex.

“If you were alone, you could sleep in your bag, I suppose,” Andy went on. “But when you are with a company, it is best to camp as a company. We’ll all be there if trouble shows up, and it helps to build fellowship as well.”

“Yes, of course,” said Alex. “It was a foolish question. It’s just that . . .”

“What?”

“Well, we don’t really have magic where I come from,” said Alex. “I mean there are people who do things they call magic, but it isn’t real. I don’t know anything about real magic, and I don’t know anything about adventures either. I’m starting to think I don’t know very much about anything at all.”

“Don’t worry,” said Andy, slapping him on the back. “You’ll learn quick enough as we travel. We all know this is your first adventure, so everybody will help explain things to you. As far as not knowing about how magic works, not many people really do. Just accept that it doeswork and try not to worry about the why.”

“All right,” Alex replied. “I guess I’m ready to go then.”

“Not quite,” said Andy, leading him down a narrow road, away from the Golden Swan and the center of Telous. “You still need a weapon. And I know just the place.”

“A weapon?”

“You can’t go on an adventure without one,” said Andy. “No telling what we might run into on the way. And there’s always the dragon at the end of our journey as well.”

“I . . . I suppose so,” Alex agreed nervously. “But I don’t know how to use a weapon. I mean, I’ve never had to, and Mr. Roberts would never allow—”

“It’s all right,” Andy interrupted. “Mr. Blackburn will know what weapon suits you best. There will be time for you to learn how to use it on the road.”

“Yes, but I—”

“It will be all right,” Andy said again. “You need a weapon if you’re going on this adventure, it’s as simple as that.”

Alex could see that Andy was right. He thought about the different kind of weapons he knew about as they walked toward the edge of town and wondered what kind of weapon he, or anybody, could use to kill a dragon.

“Blackburn’s Smithy,” said Andy, pointing to a fair-sized building that stood a short distance from the rest of the town. “One of the best smithys you’ll ever see.”

Alex didn’t reply because this was the only smithy he’d ever seen. He could smell coal smoke as they walked toward Blackburn’s and hear the ringing of hammers on steel. A new burst of excitement filled him as they entered the building, pushing all of his worries to the back of his mind.

“And what can I help you lads with?” asked a large, bald man in a leather apron as soon as Alex and Andy had closed the door. “Looking for something special, are you?”

“My friend needs a weapon,” Andy replied. “First time on an adventure, so he doesn’t know what suits him.”

The bald man eyed Alex and rubbed his chin. “Got any money?”

“Thrang Silversmith will stand good for him, Mr. Blackburn,” replied Andy.

“Thrang sent you, did he?” Mr. Blackburn walked toward Alex and Andy. “Well, then, we’d best measure and see what’s needed.”

Alex felt out of place and nervous, but the feeling of excitement kept growing inside of him. He was amazed and dazzled as he looked around the smithy. The walls were covered with an incredible variety of weapons and armor. There were swords and axes of all sizes. Bows, spears, crossbows, hammer-shaped weapons, and knives hung on the walls. There were strange curved weapons with blades, metal disks that looked like Frisbees, solid-looking plate armor, shiny chain mail, metal-covered gloves, and several other things Alex had never seen before. He wasn’t sure everything on the walls was even a weapon, but he didn’t have time for a closer look because Mr. Blackburn started giving him orders.

“Hold your arms out,” said Mr. Blackburn. “Out to the sides. Now in front. Stand up straight. Now—feet apart.”

Mr. Blackburn gave Alex a series of orders to stand in different positions and poses. After each one, Mr. Blackburn would take a measurement and jot down his notes on a small pad. This went on for several minutes, and Alex’s excitement was begi

“Interesting,” said Mr. Blackburn, walking away and leaving Alex with one foot in the air and one hand on top of his head. “Oh, you can relax now.”

Alex let his arms drop to his sides and resumed his normal stance. Being measured for a weapon seemed odd, but he didn’t know anything at all about weapons so he didn’t say anything.