The First Wizard

VI - The Fire of Survival

The sun shone over the tall fortifications of the twin hills, the blessing of the sun, Soren's lantern, the promise of a brighter future to both the defiant peasants and the magical party.

Closer to the ground in the center square of the new central keep, the mushroom guardian gave his last farewells to friends and family as the three outsiders patiently waited by the open fort gates.

"Watch out for bandits!"

"Be safe, Eren."

"Make sure you come back one day!"

The villagers of the twin hills peasant fort bid their guardian a warm goodbye as he waved to them and walked towards the expectant wizard and his companions.

One goodbye still remained; the young spotter stood in front of his mentor. Tears began to form as he stood to attention and gave one last salute to his dearest friend.

To his surprise, instead of giving him another salute, the mushroom simply moved forward and hugged him. Tears began to flood the young spotter's eyes as he felt that his guardian's warmth dwarfed that of the sun. As if fighting to let his instincts be free, the spotter lowered his saluting hand and hugged his friend back.

The spongy pacifist's body felt warm to the touch. After a few seconds, the guardian let go of his apprentice. He looked him in the eyes and said with a proud inflection, "I know you'll make our village proud, Marco. Take care of them."

At these last words, the shock of love and approval was too much to bear and the spotter fell back into the pacifist guardian. He tried to recompose himself and as he stepped back he cleared his tears away and said, "I will. I'll make you proud, Eren."

"I know you will," the guardian said warmly as he fixed his old mercenary pack and prepared to finally leave the place that had saved him.

"Eren! Wait," the spotter said, spurred on by impatient looks from the crowd as they urged him forward.

The mushroom looked back as his apprentice reached for something inside his own satchel.

"We tried our best to fix it . . . We were gonna give it back to you next Leavsfall, but—well, you know." The spotter took a curious item from his satchel, hidden away underneath wraps of cloth and bounded by string.

The jeru's neural web began to vibrate with excitement as he recognized the shape of the metal underneath the wraps. He raised his arm and reached for his friend's gift. As he held it in his hand, he removed the cloth and saw his hopes confirmed. "My old folding knife. You fixed it."

"Well, we all did," the young spotter said as the mushroom became overcome with emotion as he saw the smiles on his friends and family.

He cleared his eyes from tears. "Everyone . . . You have done so much for me. You saved me, fed me. You gave meaning back to my life. I don't think I could ever properly repay you but I promise that just like you have made me so proud, I too will make you proud of being my friend and neighbor."

Cries and farewells flooded the mushroom as he finished. The jeru gave one last look to his protege and said before he turned to join the wizard, "Be safe, Marco."

"Be safe, Eren," he answered back. Like that, the mushroom walked towards the wizard and his companions by the front gate and prepared to leave.

"Ready?" Thalon asked as he adjusted his broad yellow pointy hat.

"Ready."

"Onwards to adventure!" the fernian said as she proudly took the initiative and began to walk outside the fort.