Albrek's Tomb

Alex stood from the table. “My apologies, but there is another friend I would like to see as well.”

“Shahree is fine,” said Arco

“I’m sure she is, but I would like to see her all the same,” said Alex, and he excused himself from the company.

Alex left the Golden Swan through the front doors and walked quickly to the stables. A soft whi

“Ah, Shahree,” Alex said to his silver-gray horse. “I hope you are well rested and ready for the road once more.”

Shahree whi

After making sure Shahree had plenty of food and water, Alex returned to the Swan. The group had finished eating and were discussing some last-minute preparations for the adventure. Arco

“You are a true wizard now,” Arco

“He is.”

“And he asked you to take his place on this adventure?”

“He said he didn’t have time right now,” answered Alex. “He didn’t say whyhe didn’t have time, but that’s not unusual.”

“I’m sure he’s busy with other matters.”

“Whatever his reasons, I’m glad he asked me to fill in.”

Alex and Arco

“I’d like to stop at the apothecary’s shop and buy a few things,” said Alex. “Just in case.”

“Your study of potions has been progressing, then?” said Arco

“A few. I haven’t had the time or the ingredients to try most of them.”

“Then might I suggest a stop at the bag maker’s first?”

“Why? Do you need a new room?”

“No, but you will be able to keep fresh ingredients longer if you have a greenhouse,” Arco

“That’s an excellent idea,” said Alex.

“How is your dragon’s bane plant doing?” Arco

“It’s grown quite a bit. It seems to be thriving inside my bag.”

“The magic in the bag is probably helping,” said Arco

“That would be good,” said Alex, remembering how useful the dragon’s bane plant had been in the past.

Alex and Arco

“On my last adventure there were times when it would have been very useful to have a second expanding room,” Alex said.

“Surely you haven’t gathered that much treasure already,” Arco

“No,” Alex answered. “Though I have quite a bit more than you might guess. My father’s bag already held a large amount of treasure, which I haven’t had time to sort and move.”

“Your father?” Arco

As they walked back to the apothecary’s shop, Alex explained what had happened after his first adventure and what he had learned about his father and his stepfather both being adventurers.

“I see,” said Arco

“He went on many adventures,” said Alex proudly. “Mr. Roberts told me about a few of them already.”

“Mr. Roberts,” Arco

“They are common names,” said Alex. “I’m sure there have been other adventurers with similar names.”

“I’m sure,” said Arco

Alex entered the apothecary’s shop and was amazed by what he saw. The shop was much larger than it looked from the outside, and it was filled with rows and rows of fascinating and magical items. Alex wandered up and down the aisles, collecting items that he’d only read about until now. It wasn’t long before he had a massive pile of things sitting on the shop’s counter, and the apothecary was looking happy, but a little troubled as well. Alex knew several of the items he wanted to buy could be dangerous, if not downright deadly. Fortunately, he knew how to use all of them—or at least most of them—and he wanted to have as many supplies available to him as possible on his adventure.

Once Alex had gathered his supplies, he asked the shopkeeper about live plants. The shopkeeper nodded and led Alex and Arco

“A strange selection,” said the apothecary, looking over the items Alex had chosen. “I would say you are either a healer or a wizard.”

“Both,” said Alex.

The apothecary looked at Alex in disbelief. “Well then, you’ll know I’ll need to see your staff before I can sell you any of this.”

“As you wish,” said Alex, reaching for his magic bag.

He withdrew his black staff that had been woven with silver and gold patterns and showed it to the apothecary.

“Oh, my, yes, of course.” The apothecary’s face turned red. “My apologies, Master Taylor, I didn’t know it was you.”

“No apology is necessary,” said Alex. “How could you have possibly known who I am?”

“Master Vankin mentioned . . . I mean, I heard that you . . . um, well . . .” the apothecary stammered.

“It seems your reputation has preceded you,” Arco

“It’s quite all right,” Alex said to the shopkeeper. “No harm has been done.”

The apothecary swallowed and said, “Let me see, some of these items are a bit expensive. Would you prefer to buy them or trade for them?”

“Trade?”

“I am always looking for supplies for my shop,” said the apothecary. “Some items are extremely hard to come by. If you like, I’ll give you a list of items that are always in short supply.”

“That would be nice,” said Alex. “I might have something to trade, Mr.—?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the apothecary said brightly. “I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Treevander Fern.”

“Mr. Fern. I do have something you might find of interest.” Alex reached for his magic bag again and extracted his dragon’s bane plant, which had grown to the size of a small bush.

“Oh! Oh, my,” said Mr. Fern, his eyes growing large.

“I don’t want to trade the entire plant,” Alex said quickly. “However, I could divide it and let you have half.”

“You are most kind,” Mr. Fern beamed. “Dragon’s bane is incredibly hard to come by, after all. I mean, a single seed is worth at least ten gold coins—if you can even find one—and a flower . . . well, I haven’t seen a flower in years.”

“Sadly, I don’t have any seeds or flowers at the moment,” said Alex. “However, with proper care, I’m sure you could coax this plant to bloom in time.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” said Mr. Fern. “Let me get a pot and then we’ll discuss prices.”