Just like every other day in my life, I wake up, shave, prepare breakfast for myself, eat the breakfast and head to the door, either to head to university, to one of my pupil's home or to take a walk if it's a free day. Unfortunately, as I close the door upon exiting my humble home a completely new feeling assails me.

Is this all there is to life? Somehow, I felt just so empty inside.

I am by no means an unaccomplished person or have any unfulfilled ambitions. Far from just teaching various subjects, which in itself I believe is quite respectable, I have also written many books on the subjects I teach: Mathematics, geometry, rhetoric and magic. Some of them have even gone on to become recognized all over the continent as invaluable tools for teaching. For example, there is such a demand for my magnum opus, Anatomy of a Fireball: Proper Mana Output and Control as the Basis of Efficient and Effective Magic, that my already considerable savings have increased even more after I have partnered with several churches in Meridia. I authorize them to produce copies of the book and receive a small amount of its price as compensation. Not to be arrogant, but it really satisfied me to prove that it is possible that a properly executed fireball can not only be less taxing in mana usage, but also more powerful than a higher class magic that is not properly executed.

So you see, I am not really unhappy with my current life, but I cannot help but wonder: Perhaps there is more to life? As I take a stroll in Toragan, my city of residence and one which I have left very few times, I briefly glance at two well dressed gnome young women, probably the daughters of wealthy merchants, the elite of this prosperous trading city. Thinking back on it, I never had any romantic partners in these 62 years that I have lived. Perhaps a few students of mine or colleagues may have shown some interest in me, but my obsession with my work and professional attitude led me to ignore them and I never made any advances myself.

So now I am an old man. Even if I feel like something is missing, is it romance that is missing? I ponder the question as I sit down at a table in my favorite cafe for a cup of tea. It seems like it isn't really right, not because I am old already, and would make it quite difficult to find a partner, I think, but because I don't think it would fill this hole that I now feel is in my heart. No, what I am craving is a challenge, which, granted, finding a partner for me at this point n life might be one, but I also crave something new. Not just new in my mental landscape, but just new. So I realized what I had to do: I had to travel all over the world!

Having decided what it is that I needed, I headed to the university, even though it was my day off. Just this small break in my very rigid daily life provoked a strange tingling sense within me. Is it anxiety? Is it a sense of freedom? Even though I am not sure about it, I know that it is the first step in me filing the hole that is now within me.

“You, you say you're quitting? But... But...”

As I am a well educated and responsible man, of course the very first thing I did when I arrived at the university was to go looking for the Grandmaster. As it was a day of rest, I didn't find him in his office, but of course, heading to the official residence of the Grandmaster, also inside the university, allowed me to find him. Unfortunately, he seems to not be taking very well my telling him of my plans for the future.

“Well, yes, I have decided that since I am not growing any younger, perhaps now is the time for me to embark on a journey to have new exciting and interesting experiences. While I am most certainly not leaving tomorrow and will still perform my duties as a teacher for however long I'm still needed and until I leave this city, I do recommend that you start looking for adequate substitutes, so that when I leave there will be no holes.”

Unfortunately, as I calmly explained what I think would be best for a smooth transition, the Grandmaster grew more and more panicked, even holding his head as he attempted to find what to say.

“No, you don't get it. There is no one to substitute you! Is that about me being chosen as Grandmaster? Look, I told the council you were much more suited for it than me. Okay, okay... Look, I will even resign, if you really want the seat of Grandmaster. It's going to be a hell of a scandal, I might not be able to teach anymore, but it's less of a scandal than you leaving.”

Honestly, I can't understand why he started talking about that. He should be fully aware that I have no intention of becoming the university's Grandmaster. I don't like the politics or the kind of responsibility that go with such a position. I rejected the council's attempts at convincing me after the last Grandmaster died a few years back.

“I'm sure you should be well aware that I don't want such a position, and I would never dream of taking your position and doing such harm to such an illustrious colleague's career. No, I merely feel like I have to make use of these last few years of relative health of my body to travel the world. If my leaving will cause such a harm to the university, then I can do nothing else other than apologize. But I will not change my mind.”

He collapsed into the chair behind him, his voice now taking a fatalistic tone.

“I see, so it wasn't about that... I'm not sure if I should be happy about this or sad. Can I really not convince you to stay?”

He asked me the question without really putting any weight behind the words. It was like he knew that there as nothing he could do or offer me, and he was right. Even though he was Grandmaster, and I was a mere teacher, he had nothing to persuade me with. I already had an illustrious career, savings, recognition, even a steady income outside the university. Thus, my decision was purely my own to make.

“Well, it would allow me to have a more tranquil departure if you started looking for people to take up my lectures.”

I left the Grandmaster's home hearing him mumble about how I should know there was no one who could really teach my lectures, not anywhere near my level at least. I am not so sure about that and, honestly, it is not my problem. That was one of the reasons why I didn't want to be Grandmaster. So much trouble.

With responsibility out of the way, I went to the university's library. After all, proper knowledge was necessary for a successful journey, as in all other things in life. I walked out of it with quite a big pile of books floating behind me. I didn't choose to not have servants just out of avarice. Self-reliance was quite an important thing in my estimation and while some might see it as a waste of mana to float books behind me, I can only say that it's pretty good training.

Of course, as I made my way back home quite a few people shot strange looks at me, like I was doing something unreasonable. Perhaps yesterday I might have agreed with them, but now I can hardly think of anything other than traveling.

Regrettably, the next few days just made me realize how little free time I actually had to prepare for my journey. I understand how it came to this point, as I was never one to enjoy being idle in any way, but it still was kind of vexing. Although I must admit that it made me happy that whenever I talked with my pupils, private or from university, they always demonstrated immense respect for my teaching abilities and regret that soon I would not be their teacher anymore.

Nevertheless, my preparations progressed with time. Having learned of the possible perils of the road and understood how best I should deal with them, I bought for myself something of an armory. Having learned of something so useful as the Treasury Sack was quite fascinating. Seeking to be as practical as possible in my travels I set about obtaining one of these, but to my chagrin, I discovered that it was not something that could be obtained with just money. Somewhat disappointed, but revitalized by the new challenge in front of me, I decided that I would craft one for myself. Actually, thinking about it, is there really a need for it to be a sack? Perhaps by applying the logic of projection magic into how we summon things that are in the treasury connected to it...