Ivan's friend

Bradin woke up early the next morning. he was so excited to finally get to the Earthmother's temple. this time he was the first one down to breakfast. he ordered for himself and Ivan.

Ivan joined him at a table in the corner. they made comments on how good the food was, as they ate.

"when is your friend going to get here?" Bradin asked

"hopefully by midday." Ivan replied

"midday?" Bradin sighed

"why don't you go out and get somethings that you need or want. that should take your mind off of the time of day. just be careful, and be back here for the midday meal."

"alright." Bradin said

Bradin finished his meal, and left the tavern to go look for some thing to buy. he wandered through town. looking in the windows of the shops as he did. Bradin reached an alleyway and saw the sign for a shop.

the sign sparkled, but Bradin couldn't read what the sign said, so he walked down the alleyway to the shop. even when he was up close he couldn't read it. Bradin was curious so he walked into the shop.

"welcome. can i help you find anything?" an attractive girl said from behind the sales counter.

"well i just saw the sign out side, but i couldn't read it. what type of shop is this?" Bradin asked bluntly.

the girl smiled at him and said "we are a magic shop. only mages can see our sign."

"oh that's interesting." Bradin said

"judging by your reaction i'm guessing you are new to the world of magic."

"yes very new." Bradin said as his face went red

"well would you like me to show you some of our more popular items and see if anything interests you?" the sales girl asked

"sure that would be helpful." Bradin said with gratitude

"alright." the girl said as she pulled out an item from behind her, "this is a magic bag. it had been made with a shadow in it so it can hold more that what's on the outside. oh i see you already have one of these. i apologize, would you like to buy another one?"

Bradin thought about it. he knew that shadow bags where expensive, but they where very useful. Bradin looked in his magic pouch. he had two gold coins, ten silvers coins, forty bronze coins, and ninety copper coins.

"how much can this bag hold?" Bradin asked after looking at his funds

"this bag can hold one small closet worth of things."

"may i see it?" Bradin asked

the sales girl handed it over for Bradin to examine. the bag was a little bit bigger than the magic pouch he already had. he looked inside the bag and saw it had a few clothing items in it. the sales girl was right it could hold quite a few things in it.

"why are there things in it?" Bradin asked

"oh this is a second hand magic bag. as such who ever buys the bag gets its contents, as established by mage law."

"how much is this bag then?" Bradin asked thinking that it must be more expensive

"this magic bag is priced at one silver coin." the sales girl stated.

Bradin was surprised he did not expect it to be so cheep. he immediately bought the bag.

"do you have any other magic bags?" Bradin asked the girl.

"we do but as they are new, they are much more expensive." She replied

"how much?" Bradin asked slowly

"the smallest is three gold coins."

"what?" Bradin asked shocked

"new items are more expensive, than used ones." the girl explained "not many people want old things to begin with. old magic things usually mean a mage died or was killed. not many people would like to own a dead mans property."

Bradin nodded his understanding. he could see how that might throw some people off some items. Bradin however did not see the problem of using something someone else had used.

the shop girl showed Bradin some other things that where for sale, but none of them interested him. As he was about to thank the girl and leave the shop, he saw a necklace sitting on one of the glass counters.

it was a green leaf made out of green crystal. it was attached to a silver chain. for some reason Bradin felt drawn to it. he picked it up and turned to the sales girl.

"how much is this necklace?"

"that is a used piece that just came in a few days ago. it is priced at three silver coins."

Bradin didn't know why but he had to have this necklace. he payed for it and slipped it over his head, just as the door to the shop opened and a tall thin woman walked in.

she looked straight at Bradin, and their eyes locked. Bradin started to feel warm all over. he couldn't move again, just like his first meeting with Ivan. with out even realizing what he was doing he gathered his magic, and pushed it to his eyes.

the woman's eyes widened and she dropped her gaze. Bradin let his magic go, and he stopped feeling warm.

"hi my name is Bradin." he said holding out his hand to the woman.

"Sara." the woman said taking his hand and shaking it.

"are by chance a friend of an ice mage named Ivan?" Bradin asked with a hunch

"how did you know?" Sara asked with surprise

"just a hunch. i'm new to being a mage, but i don't think that there would be more than four in a town this big." Bradin said with a smile

Sara smiled back and said "let me guess. Ivan is your sponsor."

"that's right." Bradin said

"well just let me get somethings and we can head to the tavern together."

"ok." Bradin said

Bradin examined Sara as she talked to the shop girl. she looked to be in her late twenties. she had dark brown hair and blue eyes. she was wearing a long sleeve floor length blue dress. around her waist was a belt with four bags attached to it. having experience with Ivan and now his own, he recognized these as magic bags.

Sara finished her shopping, so she and Bradin exited the shop and walked towards the tavern.

"so what spells has Ivan taught you?" Sara asked

"the beginner fire and earth spells." Bradin answered

"how did he manage that?" Sara asked with her eyebrows raised

"he taught me the words and explained how to do the spell." Bradin said knowing that she was talking about the fire spell.

"interesting." was all Sara said

the reached the tavern just at midday. when they walked in together Ivan was surprised. he never expected them to meet before the meal at the tavern, let alone in a magic shop.

"so what did you buy?" Ivan asked Bradin

Bradin showed him the magic bag first.

"you are lucky they had a used one. magic bags are very useful to mages, but that makes them expensive." Ivan told him

when Bradin showed them the necklace. both Ivan and Sara where shocked.

"what is something wrong?" Bradin asked noticing the shocked looks on their faces

"nothing is wrong." Ivan said shaking himself out of his shock "that green crystal just has a lot of energy in it. more than i have seen in a crystal for a long time."

after this their food arrived they ate in silence. Ivan and Sara wondering over Bradin's extreme luck. Bradin just being happy to have gotten some useful things for a low price.

once they had finished their food they all went up to Ivan and Bradin's room. Sara closed the door and pulled out a crystal.

"ok you two gather your things and stand on either side of me."

Ivan and Bradin quickly threw all of their belongings into their magic bags, and moved to either side of Sara.

"now hold onto my arms tightly." she comanded

they complied. once she was sure they where holding on Sara looked into the crystal and chanted a long spell. all three of them started to glow. when Sara finished her spell there was a flash of light and they where off to the Earthmother's temple.