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"Then why me?" The question fell easily out of her mouth. Max continued, unsure if she could keep her mouth shut. "I already messed up in the training room, and surely the records said how every single beginner spell I tried blew up in my face. Why would you want me as your apprentice?" As if a lightning bolt suddenly struck her, Max straightened. "I'm sorry... I'm asking too many questions." She settled back in her chair, staring down at her meal. Her mind ran a mile a minute, curiosity peaked to its highest.
 
Kylm set her sandwich down and looked Max directly in the eye. "Two reasons. First of all I wanted to teach someone magic, not simply watch some grand prodigy learn everything perfectly. Second, you and me Max, we're not as far apart as you would think. You may believe that I was always this brilliant spell caster, and you would be wrong. I struggled greatly, even when I did finally get to the point where I could have a master my strength in Arcana turned out to be a horrible weakness. Every spell I casted was empowered excessively by Arcana, making them all unstable and in most cases, explosive. If not for my master's skill with me I would forever be a hazard to myself and those around me. That is why I choose you Max."
 
Kylm had had her spells explode on her too? The thought seemed mindboggling to Max. However, it gave her chest a sense of warmth. Her master wanted to teach her, to watch her grow and learn until she became a great wizard. The girl nearly wanted to cry, touched. "Thank you." She said quietly, a watery smile on her face. The girl fell quiet, enjoying her meal. She didn't need anymore answers for now. However, that chest sparked a curiosity that was hard to get rid of. There was no way the woman in front of her could do something so horrendous as kill children, but it didn't mean there wasn't anything hidden in there. The girl didn't want to ruin the trust that she held tentatively with the older mage, however. It was quite the conundrum that she wasn't sure just how to deal with.
 
Kylm smiled and nodded. They continued their meal in silence, finishing near sunset. Kylm payed the bill and waved Leone goodbye as she and Max left the tavern. "Now that we're done its time to get back to work. We'll need some time to pack before we hit the hay as well." She stated absentmindedly as they headed back for the house.
 
Max nodded as she followed her master. "Are we going after the warlocks? Is that why we're leaving?" She asked her master, a little surprised she was willing to take on an apprentice when going after the beings stealing apprentices left and right. A faint thought of simply being bait nudged the back of Max's mind, but she shook it off. No, she had told her the two reasons that she had become her apprentice. Of course, that didn't mean there couldn't be more... Like that chest in her room. Maybe if she asked about it, she could finally get it off of her mind...
 
Kylm nodded. "Indeed. I have been appointed a personal investigation of their actions. This trip will be to their now abandoned base of operations, the ruins of Castle Blackwood." She waved to a passerby as she spoke, silently hoping that Max wouldn't be distressed by the mission or its location. To be perfectly honest behind that calm exterior she had dreaded the trip, for different reasons then one would expect though.
 
Max couldn't help but feel a bit excited. They were going somewhere new! She nodded, not feeling the need to respond. The girl had interrogated her master enough. A yawn broke through. Max blinked after she finished yawning, not realizing just how tired she actually was. As she followed Kylm, her muddled mind thought back to the chest that one of the jerks they had met earlier spoke about. Just what was in there? Why was Kylm not allowed an apprentice before now? Why were warlocks taking wizard apprentices? The questions just kept mounting, making the girl simply want to sleep all the more.
 
Kylm glanced back at Max, smiled, and rolled her eyes. "Tired after the big day huh? We'll to be perfectly honest I was woken up early to tend to the needs of 'her royal highness' Nutmeg. Let's just practice the ice spikes a little more, pack, and then go to sleep alright?" As they neared the house Kylm gestured the the backyard to remind her apprentice they were still training there.
 
"Alright." Max nodded before hurrying to the backyard. She helped Kylm set up before taking a deep breath. Focusing solely on the log, she swept her hand up. "Duratus Eam Ika!" A large ice spike shot toward the sky, stabing straight through the log without disturbing the pebbles. The young apprentice smiled, repeating the process until Kylm asked for her to stop.
 
They practiced the spell several times, Kylm making small comments for improvement here and there. Once Max cold perform it to come out at different angles Kylm had her stop. "That's enough. Let's head in." They went indoors and made there way to the study. "Collect the ice tomes and put all of them in that bag there." She pointed to a small satchel that couldn't possibly hold all of the books. It was enchanted to be far bigger on the inside but Kylm choose not to tell her apprentice that.
 
Max panted and nodded, following Kylm inside. Looking between the bag and the books. There was no way the books could fit into that. However, it couldn't hurt to try and fit at least some of them into it. Max collected all of the ice tomes, leaning back to try and balance all of the books. Carefully, she set them down before opening the satchel. It couldn't fit more than an apple! Max was going to try. It had to be some kind of magical bag. Everything else was magical, or just plain scary in Nutmeg's case, so surely this bag was not what it seemed. Taking a deep breath, Max put in the smallest book, clearly too big for the bag. It slid in easily. The young apprentice blinked. Again, she put another book in the satchel. It fit in nicely, not even forcing the bag to look like it held more than air. Max shoved every ice tome she had found into the bag, giggling with delight as the bag continued to sit there, innocently looking like nothing was in it. Some type of charm must have been put on the bag. The mere thought of the uses of magic made Max giddy.
 
"Pocket dimension." Kylm explained from around a shelf. "Very complicated spell for that, yet extremely handy when traveling." She came out and handed Max several potions to place in the bag, explaining each as she did so. A red potion of healing, a blue potion of magical empowerment (for emergencies only), a orange potion of fire, a bright white potion of flash, and a vile that seemed to be empty but was actually a potion of invisibility. The mage had her own bag, seemingly already packed, slung over her shoulder.

About that time Nutmeg entered the study looking distraught. The wyvern pushed her head into Kylm's leg whimpering sadly. "Aww... Don't worry Nutty I'll be back soon. Draké will take care of you while I'm gone ok?" The wizard spoke soothingly, scratching her pet behind the ears.
 
"That's so cool!" Max gasped as she put the other items Kylm handed her into the bag. "Do you think I could do that someday?" She could faintly hear her friends laughing in the back of her mind. If they were there with her, they would probably be teasing her for sounding so much like an awestruck child. In actuality, she very much was. A curious mind never sated by the wonders around her filled her head. The appearance of Nutmeg startled the young girl, making her jump as she watched the older wizard pet the scaly creature. "So, um, how exactly did you get Nutmeg?" Max asked, nervousness filling her tone.
 
"All in good time Max, all in good time. It's very high level but I'll make sure you don't leave here without it." Kylm replied calmly, not wanting her apprentice to get ahead of herself. At the question she smiled, almost sadly. "Nutmeg's egg was a parting gift from my mo-er... tutor. Her father was my master's pet. Big, strong, and bold he was, so she called him Pepper to make him less scary. I grew up with this little girl, I had to hide her in my hat so she wouldn't bite the tavern costumers. It's important for a mage to have a pet of some kind, be it a dog or a hydra, especially when your single." The last sentence was a touch sour at the end, but Kylm quickly pushed the thought aside.
 
Max took note of the mistake. Her master... had been her mom? That seemed like the likeliest answer. However, the young apprentice wouldn't push it. She didn't want to make Kylm made at her so soon after she had nearly destroyed her study. Max tilted her head as she looked at Nutmeg. The creature certainly seemed to like Kylm. It would make sense that the wyvern had been with her so long. "Wow..." She grabbed the bag she had been filling, stepping a bit closer to Nutmeg. Max still feared the wyvern somewhat, but it was cool to know how Kylm got her pet.
 
Kylm looked up at Max, mentally cursing herself for the slip of the tongue she had. Suddenly something popped into her head. "Ah yes. Nutmeg, this is my new apprentice Max. Your going to have to get along with her." She gestured to Max and for a while the wyvern just stared at her. Finally she growled and left the study. "She'll warm up eventually. Big softy that one."
 
Max flinched at the growl before sighing. "Yeah, maybe..." A yawn escaped the young apprentice as she rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes. Her shoulders had started to slump, waiting to go back to that wonderful room and just fall asleep. However, that chest kept itching at the back of her head. Just what was in it? She had to find out, though doing so behind Kylm's back just screamed trouble. Maybe, she could ask the woman? No, she probably would freeze up like when she talks about her family. Max had to find out by herself, and hopefully not incur Kylm's wrath. She wouldn't want the woman to hate her so soon after taking her in.
 
Kylm caught the contagious yawn. "Alrighty then. Bedtime." She and Max left the study with their bags and turned to their separate rooms. "G'night Max, if you need anything I'll be in here." The wizard said before entering her room and closing the door behind her. She fell onto her small bed and fell fast asleep almost instantly. She dreamed of Max blasting giant monsters into pieces before returning to her usual nightmare.
 
Max nodded, calling a little "Good night!" before trying to fall asleep on her own bed. The bed felt comfortable at first, but she couldn't fall asleep. She tossed. She turned. No matter what position she took, the young apprentice could not get the irrational fear of Kylm stuffing her body into a chest out of her mind. Sitting up, she decided to go to her master for help. Walking with a purpose, Max carefully snuck out of her room. The brunette dashed to the other room, gently grasping the knob. At this point, she hesitated. What if Kylm yelled at her? What if the woman grow angry with her for bothering her so soon after she had been sent to bed. Taking a shaky breath, Max took the plunge and quietly, slowly opened the door. She glanced around before spotting a chest. It screamed at her, taunting her with the idea that there were dead bodies stuffed within. Max closed the door behind her, quietly padding toward the chest. She kept silent, not doing anything to try to wake her master up. The girl hesitated slightly only to quickly try to open the chest. She worked carefully and quietly, glancing at Kylm to make sure the woman didn't wake up.
 
Kylm's room was small, the walls painted a light blue. A shelf, a bed, and the chest was all it contained. The chest was the size of a small coffin and was not locked, thankfully containing no corpses of any kind. In it was a portrait in a ebony frame, resting on several untouched letters, still in their envelopes. Upon closer examination the painting was of a family, there was a old yet strong looking woman looking ahead with a confident smile. A familiar silver staff in one hand, and the shoulder of her daughter's in another. The young girl was easily identified as Kylm, the hair, the massive smile, the wild look in her eyes. Next to her was a young boy. He had hair like Kylm's and a similar smile, that was her brother. Stuck in the back of the frame was a single envelope, it looked like it was ripped open in panic and the paper inside was winkled, as if it had been balled up and thrown.
 
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