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)