“Good morning, Archmage Bragg. How may I help you?”

Samuel and Tobi had met early in the day, the apprentice coming to the Heron Tavern with a full pack. He had two weapons on him; a longsword much like Samuel’s crystal blade, and a much longer spear. Both were simple weapons, without any sort of embellishing or fancy designs. He was a soldier through and through, and the simple life was reflected in his equipment. He had also discarded his brown mage robes, favoring a simple long tunic and breeches, with a comfortable travel cloak draped over his shoulders.

“I’m here to name Tokugawa as my personal Apprentice,” Samuel told the clerk. “I have his father’s permission.”

“Very good, sir,” the clerk said, reaching back to grab the appropriate form. “Just sign here then, and I will take care of the rest.”

Samuel signed the form quickly, then hefted his own pack. “I’m setting out on a trip today. So if I’m needed, you can reach me via messenger. I’ll be in Sheran, then across the sea to Zaban.”

Without another word, Samuel led the way back out, Tobi falling in place on his right side. They made their way out of the College and down the winding King’s Road, keeping to the side as before to avoid the traffic leading outside the city. Neither spoke for a while, keeping their eyes ahead as they passed through the west gate of the city. Tobi gave the soldiers on guard a silent nod of recognition, and they waved their farewell.

They made excellent time once they were away from the city and the crowd of workers that took up the road. They shifted into the forced march pattern that they had both learned from Shigeru, breaking into a swift jog for twenty minutes, then returning to a brisk walk for another twenty minutes. Under this pace, they covered a lot of ground, and it wasn’t long until Milagre faded from sight completely, and only a vast series of plains and low hills stretched out before them.

Despite having never been in this area of the country, Samuel knew it well, thanks to the maps he’d created and studied early in life. The western half of Gorteau was the most uninhabited, with only a few small towns and villages ranged along the far coast. What stood between them and the cities, Samuel remembered, was the plains, and further south, a sprawling desert. Thankfully, they would be taking a more northward direction, heading for the port city of Sheran.

Samuel had heard from many travelers that Sheran was just as big as Milagre, and the trade district took up much of the land within it. The other countries of the world sent their trade goods to Sheran, and Gorteau’s own exports were sent out of the same port. As such, the many docks and piers were kept busy at all times of the day. Samuel was excited to see the city he’d heard so much about.

“Have you been anywhere outside of Milagre before?” He asked Tobi. “I know you mentioned that you’ve never left the country.”

Tobi shook his head ruefully. “The farthest I’ve been is to the edge of the Dagorra Forest as a boy when I met the God of Nature.”

“Oh, so you’ve met Grimr?” Samuel asked with interest. “You didn’t mention that.”

“I was very young,” Samuel said. “Father brought me, to show his old friend his son. I don’t remember much of it.”

“I see,” Samuel said thoughtfully. “Still, few mortals can claim to have met him, I’m sure.”

“Yes,” Tobi said with a hint of pride. “He rarely leaves his forest.”

In spite of his hundred years away, Samuel couldn’t view Tobi as a younger person when he studied him. In reality, they were close to the same age, though Tobi’s personal experience made him seem much more mature. He was already recognized as a master warrior by his fellows and much of the city, and he was diligent in his arcane studies. I could learn a thing or two about discipline from him, Samuel thought.

Granted, there were a handful of differences between Tobi and his father, he noticed. Both were fit, proud figures, though Tobi moved with a more relaxed, nonchalant sort of grace, compared to his father’s strict, stiff posture. Tobi was also quick to laugh or smile, and the eager, curious nature of the son was a marked contrast to his father’s serious disposition.

“Stare much longer, Samuel,” Tobi commented with a wry grin, “and you’re likely to burn a hole in my face.”

“Sorry,” Samuel said, hastily redirecting his attention to the front. “I was just thinking how different you are from your father.”

“I’m much messier, and I have a stronger sense of humor,” Tobi threw back at once. “That’s what most people say.”

“Well, I’d challenge your doubters to find another who has accomplished so much at your age.”

“Like you?” Tobi asked. “Archmage already, and if you don’t count the hundred years you’ve been missing, we are the same age.”

“That was a fluke, and you know it,” Samuel retorted. “They had no one else to fill the slot, so they forced it on me.”

“Be that as it may, you will be regarded in the same manner for the rest of your life. I have yet to fill my father’s shoes.”

“They are big shoes to fill,” Samuel said with a short laugh. “But I sense you will manage.”

“Thank you for that,” Tobi said with a grin. “Shall we take a break here?”

Samuel blinked and looked around. Without realizing it, they had already passed the outskirts of the Gorteau Plains. Furthermore, the road was beginning to transfer from a wide trail back to the packed dirt and gravel that marked the halfway point between Milagre and Sheran. It was always a short trip, but even Samuel was taken aback by how far they’d come. It was just becoming mid-day, and their trip was halfway through.

They had paused beside a patch of soft grass on the side of the road. The trampled greenery, along with the presence of a ring of stones surrounding bare and scorched dirt, indicated a popular rest stop for travelers. Samuel stretched, amazed at how well he felt, considering the distance they’d covered so quickly.

“Might as well take advantage of the spot,” Samuel agreed. “No wood nearby, I can’t imagine why people would pick here.”

Tobi dropped his pack down beside the fire pit and began pulling out a pot for coffee. “Many travelers know that this is a barren landscape, so they bring their own firewood with them. Luckily for us, we do not need much. Just enough to brew a drink, then we can be on our way.”

“Your first lesson, then,” Samuel said with a grin. “We don’t need wood.”

He twirled one finger in a horizontal circle in the air, conjuring a tiny wisp of flame there that spun with his hand. Tobi looked up in surprise and slight confusion, then watched as Samuel directed the tiny flame toward the empty pit. The flame hit the packed dirt and spread, reaching out to the edges of the rock circle and lapping there like water. The occasional spark flitted up, but for the most part, the flames remained contained within the circle.

“How does it not fade at once?” Tobi said, leaning forward with undisguised interest. “Fire needs wood or fuel to feed, but it continues to live on.”

Samuel sat at the edge of the pit, sighing in relief as the weight of his body left his feet. “Fire can continue to grow if you give it life. I’m just feeding it mana every few seconds, and it stays alive.”

“That sounds exhausting,” Tobi said. “I would run out very fast if I did not have your reserves.”

Samuel was about to explain just how Tobi could achieve the same effect, even with little mana to his name, but a noise from the tall grass on the right caught his attention. He had a strange sense of deja vu that he couldn’t quite place until the figures rose into sight. They were clearly bandits by their dress, wearing patched animal hides and dirty cloth that smelled even from this distance.

Tobi and Samuel were on their feet at once, both holding their weapons before the bandits could do anything else. But just as they came to a stop, weapons ready to be drawn, Samuel felt a heavy impact in his back that sent him staggering forward. Then a knife was at his neck, and a burly arm was seizing his sword arm, forcing it back until he dropped the blade.

“Samuel!” Tobi called out, moving at once to try and rescue him. One of the first two bandits who had appeared swung out a club and tripped him, causing the youth to hit the trampled grasp with a grunt. The bandits laughed uproariously as yet another man appeared and pinned him there, his hands holding Tobi’s wrists in a very painful position, preventing him from moving.

“Ow,” The apprentice said with a grimace, then any other words he might have uttered were cut off as his face was forced into the grass. The apprentice tried to struggle and free himself, but the bandit’s weight held him in place. It was then that the deja vu fully registered with him. This was very similar to the situation that had occurred on his first trip with Shigeru. Only the powerful warrior and his Ancient companion were not here to help him.