The Ungracious Host

As I predicted, I didn’t have any spar time to make dinner as I finally neared the top of Witch Mountain. The path was obvious once you knew the trick to it. Every few meters there would be a rod hammered into the ground, surrounded by a patch of mushrooms. It looked like there was a large portion of the mountain dedicated to the growth of mushrooms. And what was worse, every time I accidentally trod on the vile things, the child would scold me for my carelessness. The nerve of this child.

Finally, the journey came to an end as I crossed through a path in a four-foot cobbled wall, just beyond it I could see a modest cottage and a well-tended garden around the side. An old bent man stood inside the cobbled wall, preventing me from proceeding further. I stopped and bowed slightly.

“It is a pleasure to see you again Sir FreeForde. How have you been getting on in the last fore moon?” I inquired dutifully as one does with the elderly. Politely and inquiring.

He huffed a sigh of impatience. “Enough of your pleasantries Ulfgar. I have ceremonies to commence, and you have duties to attend to when we finish. I must release Sandra from my apprenticeship before I can accept you as such. I am far to old to go without help so I would kindly remind the two of you that it is regardless of where you come from or how you look, but how you hold yourself. Now, Sandra be a dear and fetch me the supplies I will need while my new apprentice starts a fire for us. Ulfgar, if you would.” He gestured to the fire pit hidden on the far side of the tool shed. I dutifully got to work clearing the coals and soot from the previous fire so I could set a new one. I found the soot bucket in the shed along with the poker, flint, and steel. Odd, perhaps he liked to run a tight ship. Or perhaps it rains frequently up here.

I continued to search the shed for some tinder or perhaps some shavings, but I came up empty handed. No worries, I had some spare dry moss from early that I was going to use for my dinner fire. When I exited the shed, I was met with Sir FreeForde and Sandra. Seemingly waiting on me to finish my task. My neck heated as I quickly darted back to the pit, pulled the moss from the pack, and quickly struck the flint to the steel. After a few good strokes, the sparks caught and I blew life into the moss, slowly adding twigs and branches of increasing size, until finally it was self-sustaining and worthy of cooking whatever brew he was likely to make. I turned triumphantly to be greeted yet again by the impatient looks of the aged wizard and his apprentice.

“Apologies for having taken so long sir.” I mutter as I bow as set to the side.

“Bit of a groveler this one is. Stand up laddie, I don’t like it when you bow at me. I’m just not used to wait for things to be done the manual way. I have been pampered by this here angel. It’s going to be a few hard months getting you up to speed so you’re not wasting valuable time with the simple stuff.” He stated quite matter of factly as he pushed off two logs from the fire, pulled up the cauldron, poor a pitcher of water into it; and give a pinch, twist, or handful of the various items that Sandra handed to him. He finished quickly, pulled out a faded, well-worn book and began muttering an incantation with a simple repetitious hand motion above the cauldron. After about ten minutes of this he took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then proceeded to hock the biggest luggy I have ever had the displeasure of witnessing. And that old man hocked in dead center into the cauldron. He gave it a good vigorous stir and then laddeled it into two separate cups. He handed one to Sandra and motioned for her to down it as he recited what seemed to be a different incantation but with the same hand motion, only backwards this time. The language he was speaking wasn’t familiar to me.

When he was finished, he bestowed a farewell kiss on the top of her head. He spoke to her in the same language, she answered him back just as fluently and then leapt up into his arms for a one last hug. As she pulled away, he presented her with a new leather-bound book with a bright purple string wrapped around it to secure the covers in place. She gazed down at it and tears slowly slipped from her eyes as she accepted her first spell book. She smiled up at him, gave him a final bow, which he returned with a glare, and turned to grab her pack that was artfully stashed away in the iris’s. she gave him one last wave as she left the cobbled wall. He turned to me, cleared his throat, handed me the second glass of potion, motioned for me to down it and began reciting the same incantation and hand motions.

After he finished, he did a quick flick of his wrist and said a few words in what was likely druidic with my lack of knowledge of it. And with a puff or smoke the remaining potion was gone.

“Alright then Ulfgar, clean up the pit if it makes your morning easier boy. Grab the extra material for the spells and the cups when your done and I’ll give you the tour around the house. I’ll show you what I expect of you and the tasks that will need to be finished before you turn in. Come in the house when you’re ready.” He slowly shuffled across the well-worn path to the cabin’s door. As he turned the handle, he looked back over his shoulder to shout at me “Oi boy! Don’t forget to take a moment to look at the stars. The little dipper is clear as can be on a night this cloudless.” He chuckled to himself as he went through the door and shut it behind him.

I poked the fire apart as I stared up at the stars. Seeing the little dipper as bright as can be, I followed the familiar constellation up until I found it senior partner. I took a deep breath and continued to poke the embers apart. When they had safely died down, I left them to clean up it the morning. The old man had things for me to do and I was already bone tired.