Jason Earthmender : The Conjurer in Training, Chapter 3

When she finally released me, I said, "Hi, Mom." 

"Glad you could make it Jason," she replied, "did you finish your homework?"

"Yep, right before coming here"

Together we headed to the kitchen.

“Would you set the table Jason?” she asked as we walked through the doorway.

“Of course,” I answered and went to the cabinet. I grabbed the plates and silverware and carried them to the table. As I finished placing them around the table, Mom called the rest of the family. Moments later my older sister, Crystal, my dad and my little brother, Hunter, walked in. Together we carried the food to the table and sat down.

“How was everyone’s day today?” Dad asked as we began to eat.

“It was okay,” we all replied and then went about planning what to do that night. In the end we decided to go swimming. We ate dinner and then hurried upstairs to change into our swimsuits. I ran outside and jumped into the pool behind the house and was soon joined by the rest of the family.

“Hey, Crystal,” I called out, “race you to the other side of the pool!” We began the race. I was in the lead, but in the last few seconds she sped up, beating me to the edge.

“I win again!” she said laughing.

“I’ll win next time,” I said before splashing water at her. Before long, the whole family was laughing and splashing water around.

After a couple hours of various water games Mom wearily said, “Time to go inside everyone.”

“Do we have to?” Hunter whined, “I want to keep playing.”

“Sorry, Hunter,” Dad said, “but Crystal and Jason have school tomorrow. We’ll get back in tomorrow after lunch.” He accepted this and climbed out of the water, soon followed by the rest of us. As I walked toward the house I heard a deep voice in the distance. I looked over in the direction it was coming from and saw Krag, one of the forest guardians, waving me towards him. I let Dad know where I was going and then ran over to where he was waiting.

“Jason! I have a note for you from Ivan!” he said slowly, “It just arrived by tree whisper.” He reached up into his leafy branches and produced a large leaf with writing on it. I read it to myself quickly.

Jason, something has come up and you are now to meet with Professor Drake an hour before class starts tomorrow morning. Don't be late. - IVAN

“Thanks, Krag,” I said to him, “I’ve got to go now, but I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Goodbye Jason,” he rumbled in reply. I watched as he turned and walked back up the hill. Just before I went inside I heard a rustle of leaves and turned. I saw Krag waving to me again, and so I smiled and waved back. Then I grabbed my towel and went inside.

Once I had changed out of my swimsuit, I headed for the living room where everyone else was sitting. As I entered I saw Dad grabbing a book from the shelf.

“Oh, there you are Jason, “he said, “we were wondering where you were. Are you going to read with us tonight?”

“Sorry,” I replied sadly, “but I have an early day tomorrow so I’ve got to get to bed.”

“That’s okay,” Mom said.

“See you at school tomorrow, Jason,” Crystal said, and then laughed, “maybe we can stop by the arena after school and train.”

“Sounds good to me!” I laughed and headed out the door, “Goodnight everyone!” I stepped out onto the lawn and whispered, Ot Ym Mrod Moor¹. In a flash of light I was on the steps of the dorm rooms. I said my password to the door and walked in. To my surprise, Max was asleep in his bed in the corner. I noticed that his water and food bowls were almost empty so I carried them into the kitchen and refilled them.

As I set the refilled bowls down I noticed the silent, unmoving Clickety sitting on the couch.

“Poor Clickety, it looks like playing with Max wore you out,” I said and dispelled him so that he could recharge. I ate a small bowl of vanilla ice cream and then got ready for bed. After reading a little of my book, I fell asleep.

_________________
¹ Oht-Yim-Ma-Rod-Moor

Jason Earthmender : The Conjurer in Training, Chapter 2

I closed my book as I finished reading the assigned pages. As I looked around, I noticed that everyone else had finished at the same time as me. 

That’s kind of weird, I thought.

Moments later, Professor Drake came around and gave back our graded homework. Then he returned to the front of the room and began to tell us our assignment for the night.

“Tonight you are to write a short essay,” he began, “about what you have read today. It will be due at the beginning of class tomorrow.”

The professor walked around his desk and sat down. It was then that I looked down at the sheet he had given to back to me. I glanced at the grade and then continued on to see what errors I had made. It took me a second before it finally registered in my brain what the grade was.

An A minus! I thought with a gasp, Professor Drake never gives anything above a B!

I glanced over at Brandon and saw that he was looking at me with the same surprised expression. I looked back at the sheet and saw that it had a note. It read, Meet me before class tomorrow morning.

The bell rang and Prof. Drake said, “Class dismissed.”

I quickly gathered my things and headed out the door. Once outside I stopped and waited for Brandon. He came out and looked at me with the same expression as earlier. Neither of us said a word as we walked to our next class of day.

***********************

Brandon and I walked out of Professor Falmea’s classroom and headed for the dorm room door.

“Well,” I said as we arrived at the door, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ve got to get my homework done before I head home for dinner.”

“Alright,” he said after whispering his password to the door, “Talk to you lat— Argh! Brutus get-”

When the door closed, I whispered my own password and walked through the doorway. To my surprise, Max was still asleep, but not for long. As I closed the door, his wings began to flutter and his nose twitched. His eyes slowly opened. He flew over to me and began to lick my hand. 

“Okay!” I said, laughing as I pulled out a piece of his favorite taffy.

“I’ve got some homework to do,” I told him as he snatched the taffy from my hand, “so I’ll need you to let me work. I’ll have Clickety come play with you when you’re done with the taffy.” I walked to my desk and began to work on the essay.

Why is it that Professor Drake is the only one that ever gives out homework? I thought as I wrote.

A few minutes later I noticed that Maximus had finished his treat. I quickly did the spell to summon Clickety, my wooden golem, to play with him. I then returned to writing the short essay.

Around five o’clock I finished it. I walked to the kitchen and filled Max’s bowl’s heading out the door. I closed my eyes and said the teleport spell. When I opened my eyes, the school was gone and giant tree was in it's place. I walked across the lawn and up the steps to the door, knocking quietly before opening it. As I walked in, I was met by the smell of cooking grilled cheese sandwiches and noodles. I had only just closed the door when I was embraced in a big hug by my Mom.

Jason Earthmender : The Conjurer in Training, Chapter 1

I awoke to the snorting of my piggle, Sir Maximus, who I call Max. I looked at my watch and saw that I had about an hour before my first class of the day. I pushed Max away and got out of bed, rubbing my eyes. As I was stretching my arms, I heard a knock at the door. I walked over, looked through the peep hole, and then unlocked it. As I opened the door, a large pink creature suddenly jumped on me! It was my friend Brandon's piggle, Brutus, giving me his little piggle kisses.

“Brutus! Come on, leave Jason alone,” Brandon chuckled and then pulled out a treat, “Here, get the cookie Brutus!”

The piggle flew towards him, closely followed by Max. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a piece of taffy. At the sound of the wrapper, Max spun in the air and rushed towards me instead. In seconds, the taffy was gone and all that was left was a small wet mark on my hand. I laughed and then turned towards Brandon.

“That should keep them busy for a little while,” I said, “so, what brings you here so early in the morning?”

Brandon grinned, “Oh, I just thought you might want some company for breakfast.”

“Oh really?” I asked doubtingly.

“And maybe the thought of that amazing French toast you make helped me along,” he replied. We both laughed and walked over to the table.

“Well, we'd better hurry, we don’t have very long before we have to be at Drakes. You set the table and I’ll start on my ‘amazing’ French toast.” We smiled and got to work.

As I began to crack the eggs, I noticed that the two piggles were almost done with their sweets and beginning to sniff at the air.

I guess I’m fixing for four, I thought to myself with a smile.

“You need any more help?” Brandon asked as he finished setting the table.

“Just grab the syrup and jam, the French toast will be ready soon,” I replied to him. After grabbing those he quickly went to the door and grabbed the newspaper. I brought in the French toast, and sat down as he arrived with the paper. While we ate, he read some of the stories allowed.

Half an hour later, we had cleaned up breakfast, put the piggles to sleep, and were headed to class. As we were walking, Brandon pointed out Professor Balestrom climbing up from the sewers.

“Those pesky alligators must be at it again,” I said. We then waved to my sister on her way to class. She is studying the art of Thaumaturgy with Professor Greyrose.

We arrived at the Myth school just in time and sat down in two of the empty seats. I pulled out my homework and set it on the desk. When I looked over I noticed Brandon had done the same. Professor Drake came around and gathered up all the sheets then returned to the front of the classroom.

“You can all begin reading pages thirty through sixty of ‘Conjuring Through The Ages’ while I grade your homework,” he told us as he sat down at his desk. I grabbed my bag from under my seat and pulled out the book. As I began to read I noticed Brandon was really drawing in his notebook, not reading. At my questioning look he wrote, I already read to page one hundred. I smiled and returned my gaze to the book.

The Air Raid

**This is the story I wrote for a contest at Panglou's blog http://themistywizard.blogspot.com/ **

As I jumped out of the Spiral door, I instantly knew something was amiss. The church was filled with Marlyebonians trying to get into an underground room. All the windows were covered with thick, dark sheets and very few candles were lit. I noticed that a friend of mine was standing in an archway to my right so I headed that way. It was then that I heard the airplanes...followed by an enormous explosion that shook the ground.

I reached my friend and asked, "Whats going on? What was that explosion?"

They replied, "The city is under attack. Hamburgian* bombers were sited offshore a few hours ago and apparently---"

Suddenly the air was filled by the sound of planes again, but this time no bombs fell. It was a few moments later that we heard the gunfire as the Marleybone Airforce attacked the Hamburgians. Everyone that was still in the Spiral Door chamber cheered and then headed below, including me and my friend. 

*****

It seemed like the gunfire went on for hours. Every so often, a faint crashing noise could be heard, and we could only hope it was a Hamburgian. 

Then the gunfire stopped. We all sat silently, anxious for what would happen next. Someone lifted the trap door and looked out...he us that he couldn't see anything, even with his torch(flashlight) because it was just too dark. We continued to sit there. Some even nodded off and went to sleep.

I was just beginning to close my eyes when suddenly, the siren went on. A few people had jumped and the sudden loud noise, then everyone climbed the steps out of the chamber. When we opened the door of the church, we beheld a sad sight. Shops were destroyed, one side of the fountain had been damaged causing water to flood the streets, and worst of all, the Barkingham Palace had been hit. 

Many people had lost their homes, their work, and even some friends. During the first week after the raid, I helped many people to clear the rubble of their homes. I also helped block the fountain's side so no more water could leak out. It was fun to take food around to those who needed it, especially when I saw the look of happiness on their weary faces.

I was sad when I got a message from Professor Drake that I needed to return for a very large assignment in Wizard City. Apparently the creatures of the three streets had attacked and taken over Olde Town, and I as a Magus Conjurer was needed to help fight back the creatures of Cyclops Lane.

*****

It was many weeks before I was able to return to Marleybone. When I arrived I found both good and bad news. The good was that they had been able to rebuild many of the homes and shops of Regent Square. The fountain had been repaired and made even more beautiful than before. The sad news was that my friend had joined the Air Force shortly after I left. He was in group that was sent to attack some incoming enemy panes a few days before...and his plane was shot down by a Hamburgian over the channel. 

Regent Square would never be the same without my good old friend. We had shared many visits to the Museum. Talked about the latest news in Marleybone over a nice mug of cold, frothy Root Beer at the pub. And shared in the joy of dropping water balloons from the airships as we traveled to his home in Chelsea Court. I was going to miss that friend...

*Hamburg is the name I created for Germany in Wizard101. (since Marleybone is a city in England)