Bido returned with the drinks. He served his master first, then me, and finally himself. Like his master, he also had a glass of water with a single twist of lemon. The apprentice then placed a platter of cheese slices, thin-baked bread, and assorted nuts in the middle of the table within reach of each of us. He followed that with an empty plate and a cloth napkin for our table settings.

  The mage saw my look and chuckled. “I know my reputation, apprentice. But you may freely snack. Apprentices are always hungry, and I give you my word as a host that no game or riddle is involved.” He looked at Bido. “You may both eat freely.”

  Bido nodded again and said, “Thank you, master.” And he dug in with enthusiasm.

  It made me smile and I removed some of each choice before me. The mage chose only a slice of fresh bread and let us eat a bit before speaking.

  “My apprentice Bido said that you entered wrongways today.”

  “Yes Master Nanren. I hope I did not shame you or my master.”

  He waved his hands. “Not at all. It is far more common than you think, and many mages have been caught in the puzzle over the years. I should apologize because Bido also told me some of our students chuckled at your discomfort. That is not acceptable behavior toward guests.”

  “Thank you, master. But I must admit, I did look pretty silly up there.”

  “A young man with a good sense of humor and comfortable self-confidence.” He turned to Bido, “Your assessment was correct. Despite the embarrassing situation, he remained calm and controlled.”

  I looked at Bido, and my respect for him rose. I would have expected him to laugh and make fun of another apprentice, not to be ashamed of the laughter of his peers. I nodded to him in appreciation.

  Bido nodded back, smiled, and stuffed his face with a large piece of cheese. It made me laugh, which I covered by clearing my throat at his master's pursed lips.

  “Yes, my apprentice is a remarkable young man in many ways, but he still tends toward the silly from time to time.”

  Bido swallowed quickly and said, “I am sorry, master.” He winked at me and retrieved another slice of cheese more slowly.

  Master Nanren continued, “I have included my apprentice in this meeting because it is my desire and your master's desire that you both spend some time together. You will both be journeying at the same time if all goes well with your respective trials, and it could not hurt to build bridges early on, even as I did with Master Glimmerblade.”

  My master did not share that he had spent time with Master Nanren in any capacity other than as mage colleagues in their guild halls.

  “I see by your surprised expression that your master did not tell you this?”

  “No, master, I had no idea you two adventured together.”

  Bido stopped eating and was quickly fascinated by this discussion. Apparently, his master had not shared that information either.

  “Your master is a man of considerable character and conviction who knows how to keep a confidence. I know our time today is limited, but perhaps as guest, you would begin by telling something of yourself and the reason for your visit. Bido will share something about his past, and I will share a story about your master and me that should entertain you both. How does that sound?” He looked to his apprentice first.

  “That would be most kind, master,” Bido said.

  “I agree, Master Nanren,” I replied when he looked at me.

  “Very well. Please begin.” With that, he leaned forward and placed his chin on his folded hands, with both elbows resting on the table. The penetrating look he gave me was unnerving; it was as if he scrutinized my every breath and muscle twitch, and I admit there were a couple of uncomfortable twitches under his stare.

  I began my story much as I had with other mages, but I spent a little more time talking about my time at university and in the great libraries of the realm that I visited with my father on his frequent travels. I discussed my work with jewelry and metalsmithing and my interests in sculpting, etching, engraving, and woodcarving. I knew that many thaumaturgists took up crafting skills because of their predilection to make their own spell constructs and vessels. And, of course, I spoke about my time in the enchanter’s guild. Bido grew particularly interested in these stories, as I would with his own about the thaumaturgists when his time came.

  Master Nanren was the most attentive listener that I had ever encountered. His ability to focus and observe was almost inhuman. My respect for him increased.

  He interrupted me only three times. He asked me for details about the shelves my favorite tales of Mage Gwydion rested upon in the Keelwell library. He asked me to describe the handle of my first shaping tool, which was gifted to me by Master Sundance. And he asked me about the hardest lesson in enchantment that I had yet to master.

  They were peculiar questions; I did my best to answer them honestly and in as much detail as I could recall. I had no idea whether he approved or disapproved of my answers. He was impossible to read.

  Bido shared much about his life, including how he had been an orphan and discovered his powers when trying to defend other children from bullies in the Grass Eater Slums. Master Nanren was present during the magical display and took Bido under his tutelage. Master Nanren had been in the slums investigating a series of crimes that had baffled the local city watch, which lost interest in solving the case as soon as the leads pointed to the slums. My master had told me that Master Nanren had a reputation as a private consulting detective on unusual criminal cases occasionally. He chose which case he would investigate and never charged others for his time.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Bido specialized in three thaumaturgic disciplines: logic, mirrors, and symmetry. By the way he spoke of them, they were not easy subjects. I could relate since I struggled with logic and logical reasoning as a younger apprentice, but these were as class subjects and not guild disciplines which had to dive far deeper than I had encountered. Bido was open and unguarded with me. Thaumaturgists had a reputation for double speaking, innuendos, and hidden meanings, but I did not sense any of that with him.

  After Bido had finished, Master Nanren shared a personal story about him and my master in their early travels. They had encountered a small hamlet devastated by a rogue pair of ogre bucks that were young and full of anger and hunger. The villagers tried to defend themselves but fled after half of the hamlet had been slain. Master Corwyn engaged the ogres in what Master Nanren recalled as a hit-and-mostly-run strategy while Master Nanren prepared a mirror trap. Each ogre was captured and secured in a small, traveling mirror but my master had taken a terrible beating along the way. As an enchanter, he was not best prepared for battle, but because of his exceptional talent with magical wards and skill with an enchanted blade that he had made for his trials, the pair of journeyman mages triumphed.

  Bido and I laughed, sighed, and were shocked by the story. Master Nanren did not pull any punches and provided graphic details about the ogres' horrors. He emphasized how dangerous the realm was and why friendships were so important.

  When our time came to a close, Master Nanren said, “You have shared experiences and secrets, truths and failures. Stay true to each other and never speak falsehood or mislead the other with double meanings. These may be natural practices among our mage guilds, but your friendship will not survive such deceit. You do not ever need to reveal what you wish not to reveal, but what you decide to share, make sure it is only ever the truth between you. You will each have one to whom you can share anything, no matter its subject. This is truly rare. Make of it what you will. Master Glimmerblade and I have fashioned a permanent charm that will offer protection for you both, but only as long as neither of you intentionally lies to the other.”

  He eased his intense gaze upon us both. “The spell will bind you only if you both will it to do so.”

  We looked at each other and must have come to the same conclusion. We benefit from telling the truth and are not obligated to answer one another’s questions. The only stipulation was to never lie to each other.

  “I agree, Master Nanren, with full consent as long as Bido agrees,” I said.

  Since I took the lead, Bido replied, “I agree, Master Nanren, with full consent as long as Gwydion agrees.”

  The master nodded. “Then, as you both agree. So let it be.” He reached into his robe and pulled out a long, thin wooden rod. It was covered in runes and sigils.

  “Each of you holds an end and concentrates, willing one of your casting points into the rod. The magic will do the rest.” He stated.

  We did, and I felt a warmth enter me.

  “You both will know when the other is in danger. A feeling will come upon you as the danger draws near. If you both feel it together, a danger approaches you both. It is not foolproof, and you might not know the danger or in what form it appears, but you will know when the other is approaching harm’s way.”

  We both looked at each other in surprise. It was an unusual spell, both powerful and passive.

  At that exact moment, we both said, “Thank you, Master Nanren.”

  He laughed. “It has taken hold.”

  He reached into a bag at his side and withdrew a signed copy of his adventurer’s text with a personal inscription for me. “Read this before you depart and add it to your library. Share it along with your discoveries to your apprentices over the years.” He said as he gave it to me.

  Looking at his apprentice with the first sign of emotion, pride, Master Nanren said, “Bido has also written a book. Perhaps he will share it with you some day.”

  Bido actually blushed. It was most notable in his ears which turned almost as red as his thaumatuirgy robes.

  “I would be happy to share it with you. It is a book of riddles.”

  I smiled. “I enjoy riddles, especially the ones that vex you, as my master is found of saying.”

  Master Nanren smiled. “Yes, your master has a keen mind but even so, not all riddles are easily solved. But any mystery, if you truly put your mind to it, can be solved. The challenge often is the amount of time you have available.”

  He motioned toward my pouch of SUS rings sitting on the table beside my plate. When I shared that part of my background, I had pulled it out of my inner robe pocket to display the four types of metal rings. “Give me a gold ring, and I shall cast the fifth sympathy spell Assess Target for you. The spell grants you important information about its target, including indications of magic, health, evil or good natures, core weaknesses or unusual strengths, and even secret guild membership if relevant.”

  “Master, if I gave you two rings, would you also make a copy for Bido?”

  He nodded his head both for my request's generosity and at its dual nature that appealed to thaumaturgists. “Then, apprentice, please give me two silver rings, and I shall gift you both a fourth sympathy spell known as Reflect Damage. If its timing is cast correctly, it will reflect half the damage intended for its target back against the caster. More powerful spells of this family could protect you entirely, and weaker spells would see you take the full damage but reflect the same back on its caster. It is an elegant spell series, and this version will suit you both well in times of trouble.”

  I thanked the master Thaumaturgist and Bido for their time. Bido and I agreed to meet again next week to share some more stories.

  It was an unusual meeting, but I liked Bido, and we both saw promise in each other. And since we were about to leave on journey at the same time, we could spend some time together. It was against guild custom to travel with other members of your guild during the time on journey, except for the first week of Spring when shared local adventures could occur, but there were no rules against traveling with peers from other guilds across the coming years. In fact, it was encouraged.

  By far, the oddest, perhaps even creepiest, experience involving the sessions arranged by my master was a meeting with a very old sorceress named emeritus guildmistress Ilyana Farseer. She awaited me in the atrium when I entered the sorcerer's guild hall. She did not speak, not once during our entire meeting.

  She crooked her finger at me in a “come here” gesture, and I followed her into one of the hall meeting rooms. The room was draped in black silk and was entirely dark except for a single candle on top of a human skull in the middle of a round table that was also draped in black silk.

  She handed me an introductory textbook on sorcery written for acolytes around half my age. She motioned me to sit in a chair draped in black silk that sat nearest the lone candle. I gathered that I was to read the book in the dim candlelight. And so I did…for over three hours. During that entire time, she just sat and stared at me. I never saw her blink.

  Not once in three hours.

  I completed the book and must admit that it was a terrific primer on essences, presences, and spirits. It was also a remarkable insider’s beginner text on foundational knowledge of general sorcery. Sorcery was a field that most other mages tended to dismiss. It combined the spooky with the spoofy and was considered one of the less rigorous of the mage sciences. The odd and creepy behavior of sorcerers didn’t help their reputation, which is saying something coming from a group of otherwise oddballs who are mages.

  When I completed the book, she motioned me to open it again. I was afraid she wanted me to read it a second time, but she only wanted me to see the note she wrote on the inside cover. I had somehow missed the note when I opened the text to the first chapter and began reading.

  For Gwydion Istari,

  Enjoy life. Learn patience.

  Seek your staff before this day ends.

  Return to where you sing it before Winter End.

  The life of one you care about depends upon it.

  Yours truly,

  S.S.

  P.S. Please give me four silver ones.

  I handed her four silver rings, and she cast four spells in succession. When I took each from her after she cast upon them, I learned that three were fourth essence spells: Hide from Spirits, Ectoarmor IV, and Locate Spirits. The fourth was a third essence spell known as Banish Spirits.

  She stood and walked out of the room. I waited a few moments and then followed. She had disappeared, perhaps taking one of the side passages, so I walked down the long hallway toward the exit.

  Upon departing the Sorcerer’s guild hall, I made a straight shot for my guild hall to gather the materials I had been collecting for the past several days. I had intended to meet with the dryad about my magical staff and had been putting it off. Based on the seeress’s urging, it looked like the time to complete it was at hand.

  It was late afternoon, but Keelwell Park was near the Round. I shouldn’t have any issues arriving, but achieving my goals was another thing entirely…