Alex stood from the table. “My apologies, but there is another friend I would like to see as well.”

“Shahree is fine,” said Arconn with a knowing smile.

“I’m sure she is, but I would like to see her all the same,” said Alex, and he excused himself from the company.

Alex left the Golden Swan through the front doors and walked quickly to the stables. A soft whinny greeted him as he entered, and he smiled as he moved toward his horse.

“Ah, Shahree,” Alex said to his silver-gray horse. “I hope you are well rested and ready for the road once more.”

Shahree whinnied again and nuzzled his shoulder. Alex had missed his horse as much as he had missed his other friends, maybe even more. For several minutes, he stood stroking her neck and remembering their travels together. He was fond of Shahree, but he worried that she might be getting too old for adventures. She was a good horse, but Alex knew she couldn’t go on forever.

After making sure Shahree had plenty of food and water, Alex returned to the Swan. The group had finished eating and were discussing some last-minute preparations for the adventure. Arconn needed some new clothes and invited Alex to join him. Thrang, Nellus, and Barnabus were heading for the blacksmith’s shop so Thrain could buy his first weapon. Kat had already left, though she hadn’t said where she was going.

“You are a true wizard now,” Arconn said, walking beside Alex. “Whalen must be pleased.”

“He is.”

“And he asked you to take his place on this adventure?”

“He said he didn’t have time right now,” answered Alex. “He didn’t say whyhe didn’t have time, but that’s not unusual.”

“I’m sure he’s busy with other matters.”

“Whatever his reasons, I’m glad he asked me to fill in.”

Alex and Arconn continued to talk while they were shopping for clothes. After buying several new sets of clothes and two new pairs of boots, Alex felt that he was ready to go. As he and Arconn left the clothing shop, however, he saw something that made him change his mind.

“I’d like to stop at the apothecary’s shop and buy a few things,” said Alex. “Just in case.”

“Your study of potions has been progressing, then?” said Arconn. “Have you tried many of the potions from the book Iownan gave you?”

“A few. I haven’t had the time or the ingredients to try most of them.”

“Then might I suggest a stop at the bag maker’s first?”

“Why? Do you need a new room?”

“No, but you will be able to keep fresh ingredients longer if you have a greenhouse,” Arconn said with a smile.

“That’s an excellent idea,” said Alex.

“How is your dragon’s bane plant doing?” Arconn questioned in a low voice.

“It’s grown quite a bit. It seems to be thriving inside my bag.”

“The magic in the bag is probably helping,” said Arconn. “Though a greenhouse may allow it to bloom.”

“That would be good,” said Alex, remembering how useful the dragon’s bane plant had been in the past.

Alex and Arconn made a detour to the bag maker’s shop, talking as they went. The bag maker was pleased to see them both and quickly added a greenhouse and a second expanding room to Alex’s bag, which now had ten rooms in all. Arconn asked Alex about the extra room as they left the shop.

“On my last adventure there were times when it would have been very useful to have a second expanding room,” Alex said.

“Surely you haven’t gathered that much treasure already,” Arconn said, sounding serious, but smiling.

“No,” Alex answered. “Though I have quite a bit more than you might guess. My father’s bag already held a large amount of treasure, which I haven’t had time to sort and move.”

“Your father?” Arconn questioned, looking confused.

As they walked back to the apothecary’s shop, Alex explained what had happened after his first adventure and what he had learned about his father and his stepfather both being adventurers.

“I see,” said Arconn thoughtfully. “I do remember an adventurer named Taylor, though I never traveled with him.”

“He went on many adventures,” said Alex proudly. “Mr. Roberts told me about a few of them already.”

“Mr. Roberts,” Arconn repeated. “That name also sounds familiar. I’m sure I never traveled with him either, but still, they are both somehow familiar to me.”

“They are common names,” said Alex. “I’m sure there have been other adventurers with similar names.”

“I’m sure,” said Arconn, still looking thoughtful. “And, of course, there are many adventurers whom I have never met.”

Alex entered the apothecary’s shop and was amazed by what he saw. The shop was much larger than it looked from the outside, and it was filled with rows and rows of fascinating and magical items. Alex wandered up and down the aisles, collecting items that he’d only read about until now. It wasn’t long before he had a massive pile of things sitting on the shop’s counter, and the apothecary was looking happy, but a little troubled as well. Alex knew several of the items he wanted to buy could be dangerous, if not downright deadly. Fortunately, he knew how to use all of them—or at least most of them—and he wanted to have as many supplies available to him as possible on his adventure.

Once Alex had gathered his supplies, he asked the shopkeeper about live plants. The shopkeeper nodded and led Alex and Arconn through a back door into a huge greenhouse. It was warm and damp inside, and it smelled like springtime. With Arconn’s help, Alex quickly found several plants for his own new greenhouse, and he added them to the items already on the counter.

“A strange selection,” said the apothecary, looking over the items Alex had chosen. “I would say you are either a healer or a wizard.”

“Both,” said Alex.

The apothecary looked at Alex in disbelief. “Well then, you’ll know I’ll need to see your staff before I can sell you any of this.”

“As you wish,” said Alex, reaching for his magic bag.

He withdrew his black staff that had been woven with silver and gold patterns and showed it to the apothecary.

“Oh, my, yes, of course.” The apothecary’s face turned red. “My apologies, Master Taylor, I didn’t know it was you.”

“No apology is necessary,” said Alex. “How could you have possibly known who I am?”

“Master Vankin mentioned . . . I mean, I heard that you . . . um, well . . .” the apothecary stammered.

“It seems your reputation has preceded you,” Arconn said to Alex in a low voice.

“It’s quite all right,” Alex said to the shopkeeper. “No harm has been done.”

The apothecary swallowed and said, “Let me see, some of these items are a bit expensive. Would you prefer to buy them or trade for them?”

“Trade?”

“I am always looking for supplies for my shop,” said the apothecary. “Some items are extremely hard to come by. If you like, I’ll give you a list of items that are always in short supply.”

“That would be nice,” said Alex. “I might have something to trade, Mr.—?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the apothecary said brightly. “I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Treevander Fern.”

“Mr. Fern. I do have something you might find of interest.” Alex reached for his magic bag again and extracted his dragon’s bane plant, which had grown to the size of a small bush.

“Oh! Oh, my,” said Mr. Fern, his eyes growing large.

“I don’t want to trade the entire plant,” Alex said quickly. “However, I could divide it and let you have half.”

“You are most kind,” Mr. Fern beamed. “Dragon’s bane is incredibly hard to come by, after all. I mean, a single seed is worth at least ten gold coins—if you can even find one—and a flower . . . well, I haven’t seen a flower in years.”

“Sadly, I don’t have any seeds or flowers at the moment,” said Alex. “However, with proper care, I’m sure you could coax this plant to bloom in time.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” said Mr. Fern. “Let me get a pot and then we’ll discuss prices.”