Alex was walking past the large stone dragon statue that stood next to the workroom door, when he noticed something he was sure he had never seen before. A golden chain was dangling from the dragon’s mouth.

Curious, he looked at the chain for a minute, wondering where it had come from. He could feel magic near the dragon’s head, an old spell with little power. He’d never felt magic like that before, so he carefully reached out and touched the chain. Nothing happened. He pulled gently on the chain, ready to let go of it if he felt the magic change, and he heard something move inside the dragon’s mouth. As the chain moved inch by inch, the mouth of the dragon slowly opened. A pendant attached to the chain dropped out of the dragon’s mouth where a rolled-up piece of paper now appeared.

Slowly Alex reached for the paper, half afraid that the mouth would snap shut on his hand, or worse, close before he could get the paper out. The dragon’s jaws didn’t move, and the old magic he had felt was fading, its purpose fulfilled. Carefully unrolling the paper, his jaw dropped open as he started to read.

My son,

I cannot tell you all that I would wish in this short note. I have left this pendant for you, not to wear, but to study. The ancient symbol on the pendant is an important one, with great meaning to those who know what it is. All I can say is that you may freely trust any person who wears this symbol or a pendant like this one. Do not wear this pendant yourself, but remember it. Do not ask questions about the symbol unless you meet a person who wears it. I hope, in time, that you will learn more and understand why I cannot explain more to you.

Your loving father, Joshua

Alex was dumbfounded. He looked at the pendant, and then read the note again just to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. He looked at the dragon, whose mouth remained open as if it had always been that way. His head spun with excitement, and for several minutes he wasn’t sure what to do.

Wildly at first, and then with more control, Alex sent his magic searching. If his father had left him one magically hidden message, maybe he had left others. He searched every corner of the bag, and then to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, he searched again. There was no magic to be found, no hidden compartments or doors, nothing. If there were other messages for him, his father had hidden them very well, and all he could do was wait until they were ready to be discovered.

Disappointed that he hadn’t found more, Alex turned his attention to the pendant in his hand. It was made of gold and silver, and it looked like a small flower or a blossom of some kind. He tried to remember if he’d ever seen anything like it before. Nothing came to mind, but he had never paid much attention to the jewelry that others wore. He focused on the pendant for a few more minutes, promising himself that he would remember it if he ever saw it again.

Finally, Alex looped the chain over the dragon’s head, letting the pendant hang around the neck of the statue. His father had left him a message, and he would remember it. He had questions, and in time he hoped he would find the answers, but he wasn’t going to find them in his father’s bag, and he wasn’t going to find them today.

* * *

“You look tired,” Mr. Roberts commented when Alex sat down for breakfast.

“Another nightmare,” Alex replied.

“I guess that goes with being a wizard.”

“It’s not so bad,” said Alex, trying to be casual.

“Bad enough, it would seem. What does Whalen have to say about it?”

“He says that dreams can sometimes be warnings and that I should try to remember them.”

“Well, it’s good to have a warning, even if you lose some sleep.”

“It would be, if I knew what the nightmare was about,” Alex replied in a resentful tone. “The dreams are always so mixed up, it’s hard to know what any of it means. Or even if it means anything at all.”

“Don’t let it get to you, Alex. I’m sure you’ll understand the dream in time,” said Mr. Roberts. “It takes time to understand most things after all.”

“I just hope the warning isn’t for something that’s going to happen today,” said Alex.

“I doubt it,” Mr. Roberts replied with a chortle. “Why don’t you have some breakfast and then get a few more hours of sleep. If a dragon turns up, I’ll be sure to wake you.”

* * *

It was nearly noon when Alex woke up again. He still felt a little tired, but he rolled off the bed and stretched just the same. There were things he needed to do, and he wasn’t going to let his bad dreams stop him.

Sitting down at his table, Alex looked at the notepad he’d used the night before. What he remembered from the nightmare didn’t make any more sense to him now than it had when he’d written it down. He was sure it must be a warning, but the broken bits of his dream were impossible to piece together no matter how hard he tried.

“Just have to pay attention and keep my eyes open,” Alex said to himself as he tossed the pad back onto the table.

A small popping sound and a loud ding interrupted his thoughts.

Looking around, Alex saw a yellow bowling-pin shaped creature with a red zigzag line around its middle standing on the far edge of the table. The geeb was balancing on its single birdlike leg, waiting for him to say something.

“Hello,” said Alex in surprise.

“Ding,” the geeb replied, its head changing into the shape of a small bell.

“Do you have a message for me?” Alex questioned.

“Ding!”

“Can I have the message, please?”

“Ding,” replied the geeb and an envelope appeared from what Alex always thought of as the geeb’s mouth.

“Thank you,” said Alex.

“Ding!”

“Have you been paid?”

“Honk.” The geeb’s head took the shape of a small bicycle horn.

“Hang on a moment,” said Alex as he opened the letter. “Let me see what this is, then I’ll pay you.”

“Ding!”

Alex recognized Whalen’s handwriting on the front of the envelope, and he felt certain that this would be another long letter explaining magic, answering questions, and telling him what he should study next. To his surprise, however, the envelope contained only a short message and no instructions at all.

Dear Alex,

Have just heard about a new adventure our friend Silvan Bregnest is putting together. He is in a bit of a rush and has asked me for permission to take you along. As the adventure is happening in Norsland, I thought you might like to go.

I will expect you to keep up with your studies while you’re away and to keep me informed of your activities. If you promise to send me a report every two weeks, I think you should join Bregnest on this adventure.

Yours in fellowship, Whalen

P.S. I believe Bregnest will be sending you a geeb shortly. Good luck, and remember to keep me up to date.

Alex was stunned for a moment. His chest felt like a large balloon had inflated inside of him, and he thought he might float away with happiness. He had been waiting for months, and now Whalen had said he could go on another adventure. Better yet, Whalen had even picked an adventure for him to join. And best of all, his friend Bregnest would be leading the adventure. It was much more than Alex had dared to hope for. He was so distracted that he almost forgot about the geeb standing on the edge of his table.

“Ding!”

“Oh, sorry. Can you take a reply back to Whalen?” Alex asked as he reached for a piece of paper.

“Ding!”

Alex thought for a moment, and then wrote a quick reply to Whalen. He reviewed the page once before folding it and putting it in a new envelope, writing Whalen’s name as neatly as he could on the outside.

“Can you take this to Whalen Vankin?” Alex asked the geeb again, wanting to make sure it would deliver the message to the right person.