Second Chances: Starting Anew

There wasn't a lot of sleep to be had before dawn rose. What, with finding a safe place to make camp and Yvonne feeling the need to keep watch, she barely had any sleep herself. Unlike Alex, though, Yvonne seemed to have a great deal more stamina! If she was tired, she wasn't showing it.

"We should think of something to name her. I've never had my own horse before!" Her family had horses for working and traveling. But they didn't actually belong to her. This horse might have been pilfered from a bunch of thieves, but it was theirs now!

"I walked around and I found a road nearby. It has tons of hoof tracks, so it's either the ones we want to follow or a high traffic road. Either would be good for us!" Yvonne ushered them both on the horse so they could get moving quick. There was no time to be dwaddling around. They could ride and talk at the same time!
 
Alex nodded and got onto the horse. The rest of the trip was silent with Yvonne stopping every so often to check on something or other with her tracking skills. He was looking around and keeping his eyes and ears open.

It was about midday when he spotted something. "Yvonne, look." He pointed through some trees and brush to their right. It took some squinting but then they saw a small little cottage--and heard a loud explosion! It was so loud, the ground trembled and the horse shied away.

"Uh ... Maybe we should just move on ..."
 
Yvonne almost didn't see the cottage. The explosion though, that was hard to miss! Now there was a big puff of oddly blue smoke wafting up from the top chimney. She almost listened to Alex and turned the horse away to continue down the road. But... what if the person in the cottage had Ina? Or what if they saw which direction Ina was taken? What if they needed help!

"...I think we should check it out. Just in case." she finally said. Yvonne slid off the horse. "You better come with me this time. It'll be a lot easier to protect you if I can see you."
 
Alex blinked. "I don't know ... I still think we should move on." But Yvonne was dead-set on this and he huffed. He got off of the horse, too, and they found a place to tie her where someone was unlikely to spot her and attempt to steal her. As they approached the cottage, everything was quiet. He kept glancing from left to right. "Do we uh ... just knock? Or maybe we should look around?" Maybe it was a good idea to find some clues about whoever lived here. For all they knew, it could be a witch who liked to fatten children up and cook them for supper.
 
"We'll try knocking to be polite." Which probably sounded alien coming from Yvonne. They approached the front door, and Yvonne rapped on the wood with her knuckles good and loud. She waited a few moments, rocking on her heels before repeating the process at least twice. She listened. Didn't sound like anyone was hiding inside. It was pretty quiet. Strange for a place that just had an explosion!

"...we knocked, at least." she finally muttered while shrugging her shoulders. Yvonne tried the doorknob. Slowly and cautiously. It was unlocked! It creeped open with a loud creak of rusty hinges. She peered around the door to see what was inside. Mostly dusty, the place smelled very similar to the Library in their village. Old decaying books. There was no light except for what fell through the windows and the place didn't seem to inhabited. Layers of dust suggested no one had been there in weeks. Another oddity, when they were both so sure they had heard something here just moments ago!

Yvonne stepped all the way inside and immediately her eyes were draw to a crystal ball sitting on a velvet covered table. She barely contained that soft oooo as she moved to snatch it!
 
Alex opened his mouth to warn Yvonne but it was too late! Her hand was on the door knob, the door was opening ... He groaned inwardly and expected something to strike them down, a bolt of lightning, an old broom held by a crone--anything! It would probably serve them right for trespassing! He had been told so many tales of what happened to those who stepped into a house they hadn't been invited to, taken something they hadn't asked for, even looked at some sacred but cursed item!

He opened first one eye and then another when nothing happened. He glanced around. No one. Then he quickly stepped behind Yvonne and had to close the door behind him. He didn't want anyone coming by and catching them unawares. Who knew what would happen?! The door closed with a slow ccccrrreeaakkk before it clicked once it was shut. He was so busy looking around. This place was creepy and there were goosebumps on his arms! He swallowed and wrapped his arms around himself, not even realizing what Yvonne was doing until--

"Yvonne, NO!" he whispered harshly, as her hand reached out for that crystal ball!
 
Yvonne already had it up in her hands and stepping backwards before Alex snatched it away from her. At her touch, the crystal ball illuminated. It's insides churning with glittering flecks and rotating shades of color.

"Jeeze, you worry too much." she responded, sticking her tongue out at Alex. "Look! I think it's a magic gauge. I'm not sure what the colors mean though."

"AHEM."

Yvonne froze at the sudden clearing of a throat behind her. A sloooow turn on her heel and she found herself looking up at an old geezer covered in tons of soot and seeming to be freshly missing half of his beard. He was looking down at her with a scowl before he snatched the crystal ball out of her hand.

"The colors denote magical prowess. Whateryoukidsdoinginmyhouse!" he shouted, shaking the ball at them!
 
He froze about the same time as Yvonne did, turned as she turned. He looked up at the man and gulped. They were done for now! This man would keep them as slaves and bake them in pies for supper when they were through serving him! He licked dry lips and read what the man was saying. His feet were frozen in place, although he knew they should be running by now! Instinct took over as he oh so slowly slipped behind Yvonne! She was way better at explaining these things than he was!

Alex said a quick prayer. If only Yvonne had listened to him and they had gone when they had a chance! They were going to be killed and eaten, miles away from their homes and Ina would be lost forever! Everything seemed so hopeless that he was beginning to hyperventilate where he stood.
 
"We saw an explosion and wanted to see if there were any dead bodies." Yvonne replied. It was pretty much the truth. ...the old man was so old, he could have been a dead body for all she knew. She was staring at his partially missing beard with wide eyes.

The old man didn't seem to appreciate her staring and shook the globe at them again. "Oy! Thinkin' the old man be dead and you can come in here stealing all my artifacts do ya? Ought to turn you yappers in to a couple of toads." With the idea in mind, he set the globe aside to start pushing up his sleeves and wiggling his fingers.

Yvonne could feel Alex hissing behind her. Probably horrified and petrified all at the same time! She wasn't too keen on being a toad either. "Look! We're not here to steal your stuff, we just thought somebody killed themselves! Now be a good wizard and let us leave, or I'll... use my magic on you!"

"Magic, eh?" He looked interested by the threat. Far from intimidated or worried. He ran his hand over his beard while he gave it some thought. "Are you a trained sorceress? Fearsome witch? Getting your grubby fingers on my orb, I suspect you know all the spells for a wizards duel."

Yvonne swallowed nervously but she nodded. "Yes. I know all kinds of spells and could easily defeat you in any wizards duel!"

"Ho ho ho! Then you know how to counter THIS!" He pulled out a wand and pointed at them both. "TOADUS MAXIMUS!"

With a shriek, Yvonne was throwing up an arm and nudging Alex back out of the way! But nothing happened at all. The old man proceeded to hoot and holler with laughter.

"Thas what I thought! Don't know a lick. Got the potential, though, yes... delicious potential." he was rubbing his beard again as he walked away. Pulling items and things off his nearby shelf. "I might be obliged to give a lesson or two for an aspiring wizard if... IF you young, nubile children will do an old decrepit man a few little favors..."
 
Alex was tugging on Yvonne's arm. This didn't sound right. Although nothing that had happened since they'd started had gone right. Everything about this guy was suspicious. From that strange explosion to his appearance, not to mention how he'd said "delicious potential"! If that didn't raise a red flag, Alex didn't know what would! They should go while they could and leave magic to those who had nothing else going on in their lives. They still had to get Ina!

"Come on, Yvonne. Let's go," he whispered. Trespassing or not, the man was just fine now so they could leave and continue their investigation. Even if they did do his stupid quest, there was no guarantee they'd be able to pick up Ina's trail later. What if it went cold? What if she got sold elsewhere and taken even farther away! "Ina, remember?"
 
"I need a moment to confer with my partner." Yvonne said before tugging Alex a few paces away. She kept her voice low so the old man wouldn't hear. "I'm not forgetting Ina. But knowing some magic couldn't hurt, right? I could even learn a tracking spell."

"If you're really worried, you can go on ahead and I can stay here. I'll catch up!" It was pretty clear that Yvonne had already made up her mind whether Alex agreed or not. This was just an opportunity too good for her to pass up. Learning magic from a real wizard? All she needed was the basics.

"Okay, old wizard." she said as she turned back around. "I can do a couple little favors IF they're not weird and you can teach me some magic."

The wizard look pleased with the development. "Aye, aye. Come on up stairs with me, younglins."
 
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