ked the gods for no further instructions by Evelyn, he could only imagine what would have happened if she ordered him to wear his usual over-sized clothes to the cas

bly gotten him lost. He wandered the main hall for what felt like decades to him before he noticed a short boy with auburn hair carrying some

thu

e where his name was coming from. He saw Aldrich

ur asked in a voice much like A

s I

u doing in t

looking for

rprised you cal

hy

ys pretended I

o do you know how to

t of this castle, but you can follow that guy” he point

he isn’t going

nk y

books to Aldrich with him, Aldrich didn’t need to see through his robes to know he was a skinny person. They entered an enormous room with shelves larger than Aldrich’s entir

rarian’s curly hair as it bounced with every step he took, Aldrich was surpris

xcuse

Aldrich got there. Aldrich almost felt pity for him when he sa

Evelyn’s” Aldrich said to him

e?” he said in a timi

s I

ut you” he said as

e grin on his face trying to examine him, Aldrich tried

e said, the librarian opened the

splen

of books and their genres, every once in a while he would stop and hand Aldrich a book. Something about his behaviour put Aldrich on edge, he continued mumbling the nam

m when you please”

d them here” Aldrich said k

e said with an e

ere can

r th

’s guide to poison brewing. The book had obviously seen better days, its faded colour and chapped edges could tell its age. As he began to read he found it hard to dismiss the librarians staring eyes at him, to show the him that he was aware o

usual name do

I gues

e ways mankind

g a mage or cont

” He leaned towards Aldrich making

rn with powers, and whether big or small it hardl

nd pointed a qu

tells me, then you are a living proof of

to leave, just before goin

I am to hav

table with it, he met the librarian to ask for permission. Zeldicuss had no problem with it though, in fact he gave him a small book and asked him not to read it until he was fully aware of who he was. Aldrich had no problem with that condition because frankly he didn’t think he would ever have time to read it. For a task Evelyn had given him, Aldrich found it extremely easy. In order to have it in memory, he had written it down on a piece of paper over and over again and for the first time, he found himself enjoying Evelyn’s task. Perhaps he was more like his father than he thought, after eating cold soup and telling an exaggerated story of how the

” she

lado

edien

wdered leaves of a nihgten flow

of the rocks on his shoulders, his neck als

d with a hint of Exc

n a cup hewbruss plant extract boiled

was to keep his composure and concentration. He had been in this state for half an hour before the questions started. He wondered if Evelyn’s plan was to weaken him too a

said in a

oudr

edien

e of melladone

med

of a femal

ith her staff in her hand, she stared at hi

ering

ent known poi

t can be

kno

redi

kno

igi

he venom of the leg

med

on

fec

d her eyes and gave ou

I won’t be us

head. The relief he felt when he finally let down his arms was without saying a blessing. He asked Evelyn the reason for making h

are going to need th

you sa

he asked him pointing to a larg

ing there”

is th

’ll

mentor gave him. As they walked up the paths, the conversations he had with Evelyn made time go faster, he didn’t know it, but he and his mentor had become close friends. Even though they seemed different, it turned out they shared a

I meant t

the tree and placed the apple on the ground near the edge of the waterfall. Aldrich had already gotten an idea of what

le” she said to him pointing at th

nd

...tha

tiously towards the apple occasionally looking back at her, with the apple now right below his feet, he squatted to pick it. Just before his hand touched the apple, he fel

ur step w

breath. Now with the water pushing him downward and his feet on the very rough wall, he began to pull himself up. The pain in his arms from carrying those rocks for almost an hour hadn’t gone, he felt it every time he pulled himself upward through the massive waterfall. Evelyn stood waiting for his arrival by t