There seemed to be no reason for the magical attack Sergei mused after dinner. Eldrick couldn't to travel anywhere and still had months of training. The nature of the attack was worrying to Sergei since he couldn't track the energies to their source. He had never heard of any spell that could mask an attack by magic, every spell leaves a signature that the knowledgeable can study and trace. True the distance between the caster and recipient may be a factor but that would mean the caster had something personal. Sergei had destroyed any link to his past and all his former possessions. He didn't want Eldrick reliant upon him, but he wanted to ensure the boy's safety until he was trained and ready to be accepted into the druid conclave.
Eldrick was growing in power and learning quicker than any other apprentice he had ever trained. That was going to be an issue come the Feast of Servalin. As a trained apprentice, Eldrick would be presented to the Druid Conclave for confirmation. As a journeyman druid, he would have to travel the realms learning about the people and customs of those he would be serving. This would be a journey which Sergei could not accompany him. He would be assigned a new mentor for the trip. If the unthinkable happens on the journey, Sergei wouldn't be there to correct the issue. It was not that he felt his young charge incapable of doing what was necessary. He feared that what had been happening recently could be the end for them both.
Once everyone was sleeping, he carefully crept over to the fireplace. Using the poker, he pressed hard on a star-shaped stone at the back of the fireplace. There was a faint but audible click as the stone depressed. A panel in the skirt of the fireplace dropped and slid back to reveal an expertly crafted, well-worn ladder from generations of hands and feet on the rungs and sides. The golden sheen of the wood glistened in the lantern light which sprung to life with the opening of the secret door.
Climbing down the ladder with care, Sergei reached the bottom. He peered around the cavernous room, a combination private magical workroom replete with a permanent circle excised into the floor, and an intense arcane library containing tomes so old they were all but forgotten by most practitioners. Seeing the tomes made his eyes gleam. There were tomes Sergei had never opened, they dealt with foreign magics. Due to the day’s events, he found himself perusing those tomes. They had scared him before, foreign magics were very dangerous to delve into if you didn’t have the correct blood or training. Understanding how they work was not so much of an issue, as long as you were not trying to cast the spells.
Starting to leaf through the first of the tomes, Sergei noticed his father and grandfather had made annotations in the margins and available spaces. They were about Draconic magics, a subject he knew little about, thankfully he had an expert to consult with. Well, an expert in that Sebastian was a dragon and therefore would have more knowledge on the subject than himself. He made a mental note to discuss dragon magic with Sebastian over the next few days. Thinking about how he might protect the spell surrounding Eldrick which he had placed, Sergei began going through the potion books.
He spent the night going through books, making notes so he could work without needing to navigate the ladder for vital information to succeed. Knowing he would need to return to refresh, add notes to his books, and garner additional information he left the books on a small reading table by the armchair. Refreshing the stasis spell on the library, he blew out the lantern and began the arduous climb back up. Upon clearing the hatchway, he pressed the star-shaped stone on the mantle, sealing the hidden passageway.
Thinking about the future, one day Eldrick would need to know the secrets of this old farmhouse. Eldrick would inherit it upon Sergei’s death. This thought frightened the old man considerably. His last three apprentices had failed in their journeyman trials despite having the knowledge and understanding. What they lacked; Eldrick appeared to have in abundance if yesterday was any indication. The thought of his apprentice sent him off to check on his protégé who was sleeping in Sergei’s room since they hadn’t had the energy to move a new bed into Eldrick’s room.
Eldrick was still sound asleep, though he could sense the rustling of Sebastian in the other room beginning to stir. It wasn’t so much hearing the dragon wake up, as feeling him awaken, mind then body, with a rush of vitality returning rather than consciousness arising. With an almost audible mental pop, Sebastian was awake and moving about the room.
