Chapter 3

Mercer tried to run out of the circle to reach Rowan but one man held him tight and punched him. Rowan took out his sword and threw it at the man who punched Mercer, killing him. One man held Rowan by his arms. The old man comes flying to Rowan and says,"You think it's that easy to kill one of my men and get away with it?"

Rowan was trying to get out of the man's grasp. He struggled hard but couldn't do anything. "Look at me Rowan! You think it's okay to kill one of my men?"

Rowan looked him into the eyes and said,"If he touches Mercer, YES!" The old man said,"Yeah! That's right. That's exactly how it should be. Someone touches your friend, you kill them. I like it. In fact, I love it. You have passed the test." He snapped and all of the men and all the other stuff scattering around disappeared.

After a few moments, everything returns to normal and the old man teleports Mercer and Rowan to the l4ake. "Now, you two must be wondering who I am and what I am doing and lots of other questions....", said the old man. Mercer interrupted him and said,"You are one of the Soul Scouts and you are going to give us powers, aren't you?"

The old man laughed hysterically and said,"Don't tell me you think I am a Soul Scout. Really? Your genius friend Rowan thinks I am a Scout? Hell no! I am just a dealer of Souls and I cannot give you powers. I just test who is capable of being a Soul Scout. You guys have passed the tests. That doesn't mean that you are Soul Scouts. It means that you can be Soul Scouts." Rowan said,"And what about powers? How will we get them?" Old man said,"Interesting question! Let me tell you. You guys have heard of the Shining village?"

"You mean the village that was never seen after the Rural War?", said Rowan.

"Exactly! Go there and meet Mrs. Susan. She is quite old and you may need to talk a little louder. But she will definitely give you your powers. But the thing is, you must promise her something.", the Old Man said,"The Artefact! And if you don't have the Artefact, you may have to die and trust me, she has thousands of way to that. Now go."

Rowan and Mercer were about to leave when suddenly Rowan shouted,"And what about your name Old Man?" The Old Man shouted,"Call me anything but Old Man." "Well how about Old Magician?", said Mercer. The Old Man said,"Actually, call me anything that doesn't have Old or Magician. Call me Mr. Almonds. I love them."

"Alrighty Old Man, we'll call you Almonds.", said Mercer and the boys left for the shining village.