It was just before evening and River's parents were expecting the wizard at any moment. Earlier in the day River, under the watchful eye of his mother, left the house just after lunch. His mother reminded him if he was not back in 45 minutes she would raise up the whole town and move heaven and earth to find him. She would also see to it that he was grounded for a the rest of his natural life.

Thanks to his running regiment River had no issue getting back with time to spare. This distance would usually take a bit over an hour to walk, but if he ran he could make it in about half the time. He went at a nice steady pace alternating jogging and walking. He passed by Alura before going into the woods. Lee told her he could not play with her now but he would talk to her tomorrow.

As it turns out Alura was short on time today as well; so it wasn't a bad idea to agree to meet tomorrow. Lee ran to the old man's house and hurriedly knocked on the door. When the old man answered Lee quickly explained the situation and that he needed to get back immediately.

The old man said “I understand, tell your parents I'll be there a little before dusk”.

Lee answered back he'd do so and ran home. As it turns out he got back with only a few minutes to spare. He probably should have ran a bit harder but no harm was done.

River spent the rest of the day helping his father on the farm. Before long it was almost time for the old man to arrive. Even with him insisting on bringing food to them as an apology his mother decided she may as well get some bread and water ready. She didn't like this whole thing from the start but she would be caught dead failing to be an improper host.

Lee's father decided to finish his farm work early today so he had time to wash up and look presentable for their guest. It has been a while since they've had a guest, and he was a wizard to boot. He would be sure to look a good as possible for this rare occasion.

It wasn't long from the time they finished their preparations till they heard a knock on the door. At least he was the prompt type; his mother thought. The door opened and in that space now stood the figure of a tall skinny old man. Lee's father thought maybe he was just shy of half a foot taller than him but he wouldn't be surprised if he weighed 30 lbs less.

He wore a dark blue robe that came off as more casual than wizard like. River's father half expected him to have a wizard's hat of same kind, or perhaps a staff or wand like he'd heard of in fables. All that was on the old man's head was short thinning white hair and a short grizzled beard. His face looked old but his eyes had a young energy and sharpness to them. Neither spoke for a short moment.

The old man said “This is the River house if I'm not mistaken?”

The father said “Yes, I'm Lee River's father, it is good too meet you. Please come in and make yourself at home”.

“Thank you kindly for your hospitality” the old man said. He picked up a pot he'd placed down at the entrance of the door way and walked into the house. He took a quick look around and placed it on the nearest table he could find.

“And you must be Lee's mother. I've heard many good things about you” the old man said

“Thank you for your kind words” Lee's mother said in a curt manor

The old man looked around for Lee and gave him a small nod but nothing more. Clearly he was here to speak to Lee's parents more than Lee. “Firstly, I would like to apologize for imposing. I must admit I feel I have put you in a position where you may have felt pressured to agree to this meeting on short notice.

Secondly, I would like to apologize for spending so much time with your son without your permission. Please know, it was not my intention for that to happen and I take full responsibility for it going on without your knowledge as long as it did. I hope you can forgive me for both. If given the chance I would like to reveal everything to you that has happened. I believe you as parents have a right to know the full truth”.

Lee's father said “that would be very appreciated. We understand sometimes things can get a bit out of hand. Of course we're not mad at you, we're just concerned about our son”.

Lee's mother spoke “please have a seat at the table. The food will get cold so we should eat first. After that we would both like to hear your story”.

They all sat down around the table and Lee's mother filled all their bowls with the stew the old man had brought. She poured water in each cup and placed cut up bread on the center of the table..

After they finished the meal the old man said “I shall tell you everything now. I believe you'll many questions for me at different points during this story. If possible I'd like to get through the entire story first and then answer whatever question you have”.

He was true to his word and did not leave out a single detail. He mentioned the first meeting with the big cat which brought him and Lee together. Lee's stunt with the frogs which eventually caused the old man to decide to start giving him books. Making Lee run back and forth recently in the past 2 months and telling Lee he would try to find him a proper teacher.

Lee got a few looks about some facts he omitted that they were told. When they saw Lee's face they knew it was all true. The old man did not plan to leave even the smallest detail out. Lee was honestly impressed with his memory and ability to recall entire conversations accurately that happened months ago. Even when it didn't paint Lee or the old man in a very good light.

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“Well, that is the whole story. I know I should have insisted on this meeting a while ago but I simply just kept trying to convince myself it would only be a bit longer till we were done but it never turned out to be true. I humbly ask your forgiveness”.

After both parents came to grips with their son's close brush with death and received assurances no other dangerous animals were there when Lee went to visit him again they started to ask other question as well apologize for Lee's behavior.

The old man waved a hand in the air “Io’s fine about the frogs. I 'm really not mad about it. Yes, at first I was not very happy it happened; but the more I see of Lee's character the more I see it as an example of his determination. If I were a young lad in his position I wonder if I would've the guts to do the same to try to achieve my dream”.

Lee was happy to hear that. He still thought he might get in trouble for it but he got the impression it might slide in the context of bigger things going on right now.

Lee father said “forgive me sir, I don't know if it is impolite to ask this or not. But we have heard of your ability to do magic from Lee only. If possible we'd like to see a very small example”.

The old man said “Oh of course you'd want to. If I were in your shoes I would ask the same!” With that he lifted up his hand and silently created water. He used it to refill his drink. “That is always a handy trick to have”.

Lee's mother and father have seen some magic before; but seeing it up close in your own home was an entirely new experience.

Lee's mother broke the silence “That was very impressive. It being impressive is part of the problem though. I'm sure that's only a small example of what can be done with magic. During this magic training, dealing with such powerful forces., it could become very easy to injury yourself badly couldn't it”?

The old man quickly said back “Yes, that is true. Magic can be dangerous to learn. The same could be said of course of sword fighting, farming or riding horses. The difference is with magic the mistakes you make can be even bigger. You are correct to be concerned about it.

It's worth noting that when I teach students the risk is lower than usual. I focus on control above all else. That does make mistakes less likely but accidents are still possible and that would be something young Lee must deal with if he wishes to walk this path. To this point I have taught him nothing he could use to hurt himself. But if we continue that time will come.

Lee father said “Now, lets assume we were to allow him to continue to learn and you wanted to keep teaching him till you find a new teacher, as you said. What would be the chances he gets into a school of magic and how would that effect his life?”

The old man sat back “at the rate he is going right now if he doesn’t get into a magic school I would be surprised. While I believe his natural talent isn't good his determination is first rate and his willingness to master the fundamentals and listen opposed to going for big showy spells will work well for his later development in magic.

If he is still doing magic by age 16 I'll recommend the school I think would be best for him. At this point I see no reason to think in 7 and a half more years if his commitment holds up he should have any problem entering Zero Province Magic Academy.”

His parents shouted in unison “Zero Province Magic Academy?” They were surprised to hear the name mentioned. Even they knew the kind of school it was. The graduates of the academy never wanted for anything in life again. The never expected such an optimistic outlook was possible.

River's mother asked “are you sure he could get in there? What are you basing that on?”

The old man said “well, the most important thing of all. The love of magic.”

Both of Lee's parents were silent for a moment. Though a few things about the story this old man told them were not to their liking they could not deny that Lee had a strong love of magic. They were surprised they had never noticed this about him before. Yes he had mentioned magic in the past but they never heard of him being so serious and dedicated to anything before as he has been to magic.

With this in mind they could imagine the pain caused by denying their son the chance to continue in this journey. Surely such a thing would be far too cruel. They gave each other a look and turned to the old man. They asked “would you mind if we go to our room to talk in private for a moment?”

The old man answered “of course, this is your house. Do as you please”.

After they walked to their bedroom and closed the door the old man turned to Lee “you know, the directions you gave me on how to find your house were not that good. Luckily there were not many other farms too close by”.

This joke did nothing to make Lee smile. He asked “Do you think they will let me keep learning magic with you?” Lee asked nervously fidgeting in his chair.

The old man said “in my experience, parents if given the option to do like to take away something their child loves as much as you love magic. We shall see soon though. Worrying will not change the outcome”.

After a short while the parents emerged from their bedroom and sat back down at the table. Lee's father said “we apologize for having to leave you like that. Anyway, we discussed it and decided if you wished to keep have Lee coming over to learn magic we would not stand in the way”.

Lee could hardly contain hi happiness. He practically jumped out of his chair to hug his father and mother. They couldn't help but laugh at seeing this. Lee's father said “just a moment son, there are a few conditions we have”.

Lee's mother spoke “first off all, if you are to teach our son we would like to pay you for your time. We do like like to have things done for free for us. We believe if you give training to our son you should be paid for it as long as you are doing it”.

The old man spoke “if you speak of money, I promise you I have more than I can spend. If you insist on a form of payment your company on occasion would be more than enough. I admit I've gotten accustomed to loneliest over the years. Since a few months ago I've found it have gotten accustomed to not being alone. If you will allow me to come over and eat your food once a week that would be payment enough for me I assure you.”

His parents agreed to this after being assured he had more than enough money and anything they could give him in that regard wouldn't matter. Lee's mother spoke again “the second thing we ask if you consult us before doing anything dangerous. We understand this training will not be entirely without the chance of injury but we want to stay informed on what is going on.

The old man agreed “that is only fair. I promise you at least for the next year you have nothing to worry about. Beyond that I will keep you informed and be sure to have your consent on everything. When I find a new teacher for Lee I will make sure he is as careful as I am”.

The old man had not yet figured out himself what the other 3 people at this table knew. That there would be no new teacher and he had already accepted Lee as his student. It would take him another year to fully realize that fact and never mentioned this hypothetical other teacher again.

The three ate their meal and got to knew each other more. The only thing that was not discussed was the old man's past which he took great pains not to allow to become a subject for conversation.