chapter 1: the adventure begins

joy? Was this joy I was feeling? I had no clue but I loved it what ever the feeling was.

Talkier, Bug, and I stood outside of the cave. The only home I have ever known. I had no idea where we were going or what sort of things will happen to us. Talkier was busy at work prepping something and looked towards Bug and I.

"we aren't going to return here do you have anything you wish to bring?"

he asked.

being given the chance to grab anything we may have needed before the journey was to begin. So naturally I had gone back and packed up my box i had hidden behind the rocks in my lean-to which had been smashed. Obviously to send me a message. Message received i wasn't welcome. I already knew that. I grabed the only earthly possessions I had and booked it.

None of that mattered any more as the future was opened up to me now! Who knew where this was going to take me? Well Talkier did but thats beside the point. I actually had a future now.

"Alright you two. I'm going to do something and you need to stay calm"

What was he talking about? He raised his arms his staff in hand and almost immediately the wind kicked up, i clutched my box close to me, and bug held on to my arm as we watched Talkier pull light from nothing, brighter than the sun, and it started to swirl around him. Leaves picked up and twisted themselves with the light. Just as fast as it all started it stopped and the leaves became a single blanket with 4 legs.

"There you are " Talkier said as he walked along side the strange leaf being that moved and twisted like some kind of animal reacting to him. "Alright get on" he told us as we looked on stunned. Bug was the first of us to move. Jumping onto the construct. I followed attempting to climb up, but it was too high for me but bug assisted me up onto the pile of sentient leaves. Then Talkier himself mounted. Just like that we were off.

"What was that? What is this?!" I was so excited! As we started to gallop into the forest.

"This is my familiar, I call her Folly. And what you just witness my boy was magic. "

My jaw dropped. I had heard of magic but never seen in myself. Our tribe had a shaman but she was mostly just an old kook who wrapped up the injuries of our fighters after a successful raid. So i always believed magic to be a legend. "Magic is real?"

"Yes Niv, magic is very much real, and you're going to learn it!"

I was speechless. Literally. I had no idea what to say i was going to learn magic? Was that why I was smarter than the rest of the Demigoblin tribe? Was I meant to learn magic? It seemed so... right. I never fit in. And I'm sure if it wasn't for Bug being fascinated by my brain and helping me stay alive i would have been killed long ago. Then again they would have also died if I wasn't there for them.

Before I knew it we were in the heart of the forest. The light from the sun was gone and we were stopping. Bug had fallen asleep slumped against my back snoring gently. Talkier was sliding off of the front of Folly onto the forest floor where he snapped his fingers where a small spark formed and persisted the wind rolling twigs and broken branches from under the foliage and into a neatly stacked pile in the middle of the clearing we had stopped in. The spark that sat in front of Talkier's hand then simply dropped from where it floated onto the wood and started a fire.

Folly lowered herself and merged once again with the forest as fallen leaves.

"We will camp here for the evening."

He sat down on a conveniently placed log by the fire and opened up his bag. Bug started to wake up and rubbed their eyes. "Where are we?"

"In the forest Bug, we are stopping here" i told them and stood up myself to join the shaman by the flames. Bug followed suit and sat right next to the fire legs crossed taking in the warmth.

"Bug would you mind taking first watch tonight? Since you had that nice nap earlier" Talkier asked and Bug lookd at me and I nodded "he wants you to keep us safe while we sleep. " I explained and bug grinned. I also noticed that the swelling around their eye had gone down and they could open it again. That was good. "Yes! Bug help!"

And with that our first night started. Talkier pulled a small collapsing cauldron from their bag as well as some root vegetables and asked if we could get some water from a nearby stream. When we collected what he asked for he started to cook. The smell was like nothing i had ever smelled. Filling my nose with a warm mouth watering aroma of potatoes and carrots, he sprinkled in small rough sand he called salt and black flakes called pepper and broke a loaf of bread into 3 pieces and handed each of us one.

"Go ahead dig in! You will need your strength for tomorrow"

He didn't have to tell us twice as Bug and i dove in. It was so delicious like nothing we have ever tasted. I didn't know plants could taste so good! This was better than meat! Our reaction to the food amused the old shaman who dipped his own bread in the stew and ate. We followed in his actions our mouths watering as we ate the broth soaked bread.

When the stew was gone i stretched exhausted and full. I havent eaten that well... Well ever. He runrolled bedrolls and I thanked him. He laid down and placed his staff in the ground sticking straight up. I could see a faint light swirl around us in a circle as he whispered some words to the wood. Then he fell asleep. I looked to bug who was squating like an animal perked up ears high eyes aware. I blinked and before I knew it fell asleep.

Bug sat on watch their sharp ears perked up like an insect's antennas which was actually how they had gotten their name. They watched over us attuning to the sounds of the forest that surround them. As the sun rose Talkier woke early to release Bug from their station and got to work gathering things for breakfast.

As the smell of cooking food wafted through the air my nose twitched, as the savory sent hit me i started to wake. I went to start sitting up, but found my arm to be stuck under a passed out Bug. I rolled my eyes and pushed them off of my limp so I could join Talkier by the fresh burning fire.

"Ah good morning Nivander, would you like some HummingRoc eggs and mushrooms?" he greeted me as he prepped me a large leaf with the food, wrapping the egg around some of the sautéed mushrooms he handed it to me, I had to stop myself from drooling. I bit into the breakfast the yolk popping in my mouth mixing with the mushrooms. I must have been making a face because Talkier started laughing at me. I swallowed what I was eating "what? "

"Nothing it just looks like you've never eaten before" when i looked down at the leaf in my hand I had already devoured the whole of my breakfast without otherwise realizing it. I blushed becoming flustered by the situation, folding the leaf i looked up "Talkier can I ask you something? "

"Of course" he said still cooking more breakfast.

"Why are you looking for a student?"

"Well, I realized I'm getting to a point in my life where I need to pass on my knowledge to the next generation"

I understood exactly what he meant. In my tribe when warriors were getting long in the ear they would take one of the whelps under their tutelage. I was never one for killing so I had never been tagged as a warrior's warg, or as a scout's sprout. As if on cue Bug sat up and wandered over to where we had been talking. If Bug hadn't been born with yellow hair and blue eyes they would have most certainly been chosen by one of the scouts.

"So when do we start?" I asked as he handed Bug their breakfast who devoured the whole thing in a single bite licking their lips. And now I understood why he was laughing at me from the look on Bug's face, both of now snickering at bug who looked confused from Talkier to me. They blinked

"Hi"

Which made both of us bust into a full laugh. That was until bug grabbed me by the face and licked me. I pushed back wiping my mouth. "What did you do that for?!"

"Oh you had egg on your face. I wanted to see how long it took you to find out, it seemed Bug noticed before you did" Talkier took a bite of his own eggs and smiled. "And to answer your question we will start tonight. For now, I need you to break down camp and pack my bag" he stretched and grabbed his staff from the ground. Once it was in his hand again i watched ax the same feint light that dispersed around the campsite flowed back into the wood.

I did as my new teacher told me and took down the camp. I rolled up what he called "bedrolls" and strapped them to his bag, i tossed dirt on to the fire to make sure it was fully out before we left. And as I did this Talkier summoned Folly who regained the flat topped, headless, quadraped form where he then sat atop and started to read the etchings in his staff.

I watched him perform this from the corner of my eye as I did what I can only assume to become my morniny chores. Bug was... im honestly not sure they had wandered off somewhere during all of this.

It didn't seem to matter because just as i was getting the last of everything packed onto Folly Bug showed back up like nkthing had happened and jumped onto the familiar once again assisting me up.

With that done we rode into the forest deeper that either Bug or I had ever been, but what truly surprised me was that this whole time we avoided the road, but moved at quite fast pace, curious i looked down to see what Folly's movement looked like.

It was fascinating, the legs had no bone obviously meaning that they didn't have to follow the same rules that our own bodies do. Her legs would stretch when the forest floor sank, and shrank when it rose. The end if each leg acted like a liquid and the leaves meshed and molded to all the sticks and roots that randomly popped up here and there. With this it made it seem like we weren't moving at all keeping us perfectly level at all times. The only reason I knew we were moving was obviously the forests movement of us passing the woodlands.

"You really are an inquisitive one aren't you boy? " Talkier said

"Oh very much so!" I answered excitedly

He have a hearty graveled HA HA! "That was rhetorical "

I looked confused, bug looked like their brain had just started smoking. You could almost see it coming out of their ears.

"Never mind" he shook his head

"Well let me give you something to occupy your wandering mind" he turned around from where he sat. "First hand me the metal ball with a branch from my bag. And the small black pouch next to it" i did as he told, handing him the tea kettle and pouch. He placed the kettle on Folly who didn't even slow down, and tapped the bottom of his staff to it.

"Magic is powered by something called Pulse. It is part of the life force of the world. Everything has a pulse in it of some from or capacity. It is in the air we breath."

He opened the top and steem bellowed out i watched in amazement. " it is in the plants that keep us and our world alive" Then he took some ground up dried leaves from the pouch and added it to the water in the kettle. "It is in the water that we drink from "He removed small folding cups from the pouch after that and handed one to me and one to Bug and placed one in front of himself. He then poured the mixture into his own cup and then into mine and lastly bugs. "You must feel the pulse eb and flow in all things."

He took his cup and took a sip from the minty smelling drink. I followed suit and let the warm liquid wash over my tastebuds. I gasped after and felt the rush of cool air enter me tinged by the cooling mint tea. And I looked diwn at the soft green water with the bits of leaf in the cup. I could feel it as it went through my chest warming me from the inside then quickly cooling. It made me more aware of what was inside me. I could feel mt heartbeat and my lungs expanding and contracting. Then I briefly saw the lights that I had seen from his staff. But it was inside of me.

When i looked back up the sun was already over halfway through the sky and byg was fast asleep. The tea cup empty but for leaves at the bottom. I too had aparently finished my tea.

"Did you enjoy your tea?" Talkier smiled.

"This was tea?" I asked having never had such a thing before, and I was experiencing so many new things how did I ever live like I did? "I felt something. I also saw a light, like I see from your stick when you use magic "

That seemed to surprise him. "You saw a light?" He looked from me to his staff and scratched his rough dark mustard chin. "We will stop here for the night."

We were well beyond any point of the forest i think any of my people had been to before. The trees stood so high I couldn't see the tops and so deeply knit with their branches only the barest sign of the orange sky was visible. We weren't even in a clearing why were we going to ... my train of thought was derailed as we left the treeline into a clearing next to roaring waterfall. I had been so distracted that I never heard the rush of water.

Before anyone could say anything about where we were Bug with that speed of lightning ran to the side of the pool of water the fall emptied into stripped off the musty Deerabbit pelts they wore and dove into the cool water yelling at the up of their lungs happily as they splashed around happily. I chuckled "Bug really is a simple goblin"

"That they are. Nivander you should go wash up too, ill set camp up" as he spoke Folly started to disperse lowering us to the ground. Talkier was already standing and started to walk as soon as his feet touched the ground. And i followed as he told me to. I removed my own dirty pelt that covered me and placed it by Bugs clothes, slipping into the pool.

The rush of cold was shocking and I shivered. I looked to see where Bug had gone but they vanished. "Bug?" I called but there was no response. "Where did they..." before I could finish I was forced underwater by my friend's naked body crashing into my back with an "ah ha!" As they surprise attacked me.

Bug wrestled me down and till I slipped out of their arms. In lucky I learned how to swim in the streams near the caves or i would have been in trouble.

I resurfaced taking in a large gasp of air with water pouring out of my nose. "Damn it Bug!" I shout with intermediate coughing. Bug didnt care as they resurfaced laugh. Their hair covering their eyes and face except for their stupid toothy smile.

while bug and I bathed for the first time in months Talkier was busy at work. I wasnt aware at the time of what he had been doing but when I had finished cleaning myself off I stepped out of the water to look for my coverings to find they were gone.

Talkier came from behind the treeline startlingly me, and causing me to flinch, covering myself. When I saw it was him I was able to relax though not without being embarrassed about the situation.

"Ah Nivander perfect timing i just finished with your's and Bug's clothing"

I looked puzzled as I saw the folded items in his hand as he handed them to me.

"Though... i would suggest drying yourself before putting them on." He walked over to a fire that had not been there previously and sat down. "Join me" he waved me over. I sat down opposite of him, the clothes in my hands covering my privates.

Bug joined us and we dried off together, and tried on our new garments that Talkier had prepared us. They fit perfectly like magic. He made made me a top and bottom, using dark leather that was formed into a tunic, with white accents that lined the collar sleeveless shoulders, and bottom hem. The pants matching. As well as straps for me to carry my box on my back.

The clothing he made for Bug were a contrast to my own with a white material for the smooth fitting top with sleeves that had dark leather lining for the collar and cuffs, their pants made solely of the dark leather. And he then gave both of us a pair of leather sandals, something new to both of us never having foot coverings before.

He examined us in our new clothing

And nodded to himself in agreement. I could tell he was proud of his creations. "These are amazing" i told him as i looked at myself in the waters surface like a mirror. "Thank you so much Talkier " he waved me off "it was more for myself than you two. You smelled terrible " he laughed i laughed Bug sniffed themselves.

"Alright boy I hope you are well rested you and Bug will be on watch together tonight. "

And with that we ate, and settled down for the evening.

The moon rose and our watch began. Bug sat as they did the previous night attuning themselves to the sound of nature. I on the other hand was restless. My legs refused to stay still so I walked the peremiter of the camp. I noticed that Talkier had repeated the same thing he did last night with his staff. He was using some sort of spell i was sure. And it lay over the full of the camp like a soft blanket. Maybe it was some sort of warding spell? That prevented or alerted the caster

To any sort of intruder?

The night was cool and and low mist had covered the ground, making the grass damp. As I patrolled I couldn't take my eyes off of the staff... it was calling to me it felt like. That was obviously in my head, and I knew it. That didn't change the fact I wanted to look at it.

I decided I should write a passage in my journal. I needed to stay awake as is so I sat down next to Bug who had their eyes closed. But their ears were doing their antenna thing. I stretched out my legs and placed my box on my lap opening it. I retreated my makeshift parchment, quill and ink and began to write.

Before I realized it I had wandered over to where the staff sat, straight up. Previously I had imagined that he had stabbed the end of the staff into the earth to make it stand but upon observation I found that in fact the stick was standing on its own will. At the very bottom there was a ring of gold, and my eyes widened. Never have I seen gold before. Only read of its description from the human book i carried. Etched into the ring were several runes of some sort. One of which glowed. As I examined the ring other runes on the staff itself started to faintly glow as if in reaction to my presence. The light moved from the bottom up rune by rune till it was at eye level with me.

"I shouldnt" i told myself. And turned away. But when I turned. The staff was in front of me. It had moved on its own. And so did my hand. As I reached out and grasped the enchanted wood.