Spirit of Hope

Chapter four-The wizard

We chased after April for about 5 minutes until we came to a small hut in the forest. It had a straw roof and stone brick walls. A curl of smoke floated out of the chimney. April stopped and hovered in place. "This is it," she said. "Master Rithion of Eynian grove (Eynian is pronounced Eh-knee-in)." The hut didn't look like much, but I noticed a sign on the door: Wizard. Please knock. Or go away. Either one works. I knocked on the door. I heard footsteps and the door creaked open to reveal the wizard.

He was about as impressive as his hut, which is to say, not at all. He was a short man with silver hair and a long beard. He was wearing deep-blue robes that were stretched over his belly. His matching blue hat was crooked, and his wand was stuck in his belt. "Well?" He said grumpily. "I haven't got all day. Come in instead of standing there, staring at me like an idiot." I blinked, and followed the wizard back into his hut. Inside, it was a lot more amazing. The high, vaulted ceiling was painted to depict epic battles between heroes in shiny armour and horrific beasts. The walls were lined with mahogany bookshelves filled with scrolls and books. In the middle of all of that, a dozen golden tables were piled with more charts and maps. The wizard pulled out his wand and tapped a table. All of the maps rolled themselves up and shot towards a bookshelf. The wizard then sat down at the table, and indicated for us to do the same. Paul and I seated ourselves, and the wizard waved his wand once more. Three scrolls floated down from the highest shelf. I decided that communication was in order. "Hi," I said. ". I'm-" "I know who you are," interrupted the wizard. "Jayda Farbloom, daughter of-" he stopped himself. "Well, now, I can't tell you that, can I? It ruins the moment when you figure it out by yourself." The wizard then turned to Paul. "Paul Goldspanner, do you remember the recipie for vifrykum bread(vifrykum is pronounced vih-free-kuhm)?" Paul looked puzzled, but he nodded. "Good, that'll help you later on." The wizard then looked at both of us and unfurled the first scroll. He cleared his throat and began to read:

The child of hope will get rid of the beast
Without any power in the least
The gift of friendship will be brought forth
To tame the creature in the north
Destiny's call cannot be ignored
After defeating the evil lord.

I stared at the wizard. He rolled up the scroll like it was nothing big and went on to the next one. It contained a map of a place that I had never seen before. But strangely enough, it seemed very familiar...