“Chirp, chirp.”

“Chirp, chirp.”

Ruben slowly stirred to waking, he would usually wake up naturally, but he couldn’t ignore the birds singing outside his window. Then he remembered he had no window in his room. Ruben’s eyes snapped open to see where the sound was coming from.

“Good morning chap.” A short man, rotund and balding, was crouching above him. This was Jesp. How he managed to get on the bed without him noticing Ruben couldn’t help but question.

“Wonder and women await boy, you might just finally put all that fiddling to use.” Jesp winked a crude wink.

Jesp smelled of berries, beers and bushes. He usually wore simple clothes, the kind for laymen, except he always had something extreme. Ruben remembered having to endure lessons with feathered hats shedding and fish scale necklaces blinding him. Today Jesp stood out not from what he wore, but what he didn’t. He had a travel vest with no shirt underneath and some khaki shorts. His chest and large stomach was out in the open.

“Where have you been?” asked Ruben excitedly.

“Everywhere but here.”

“Any new stories for me?” Ruben smiled. That was how they often greeted each other where Ruben would almost always have none.

“Oh. Yes actually, I met a boy recently,” Jesp started, “He told me he always wanted to ride the clouds, but he’d always been told you can’t. One day he took me out to the forest and climbed the biggest tree he could find…”

Jesp paused for a short moment and Ruben jumped in to finish the guesses. “he was a wanderer? Did he fly?”

“He crashed down, accelerating at the same rate as a feather and died.”

“That didn’t happen to you!” Ruben protested. Only real stories were allowed. Or wonderous. Real or wonderous.

“But it could happen to you, your about to try and fly Ruby, but make sure you learn to actually fly first.”

They tried to catch up, it’d had been months that they were departed, then they prepared to leave.

“Where’s father? Isn’t he going to see me off?” Ruben asked.

“I informed him of some questionable folk in one of the villages terrorising, he needed to go sort things out in person.”

Ruben was disappointed but used to it. In a way going to Wander would be no different to how things already were. He’d still only see his father a few times a year.

As the last few things were packed, Ruben remembered he still had yet to say bye to his mother. But with Wander he could afford to live life on his terms now he thought. An idea crossed his mind.

“One sec,” he said to Jesp, rushing back up the stairs into his room. He got a pen, and rushed further to the piano room. One of the maids were cleaning and he pleaded them out of the room.

On the piano he begun to engrave, each letter deeper than the last.

I’ll be free like a song.

Even the king will hear me.

And your ears will ache.

Love

Ruben.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Ruben felt bad, but it also felt like a huge load had left his shoulders.

Ruben and Jesp made haste to Levenshwarn. They travelled by carriage, often through the day and night. Ruben didn’t know how much sleep Jesp got during the journey, but he was sure it wasn’t much. During the days Jesp would watch over Ruben as he led the carriage, showing him how to lead the horses, prepare their food, use compasses and other survival skills. Ruben found it odd Jesp never used a map, whenever he asked about it Jesp would just say it’d slow them down, he knew Ruben’s father’s duchy like the back of his hand. At night Ruben would rest at Jesps insistence, “You need to be fresh on arrival he’d say, I’ll be fine.” This all meant Ruben didn’t know much of where they were ever. He saw villages he’d never seen, mountains, forests.

After six days they arrived in a town Jesp named Havinan. It was almost as busy as a small city, with towered housing overflowing with people, shops on every corner and the haste of people trying to get things done.

Jesp said they needed to get resources here so they had to weave the streets on foot. Ruben watched how the paths somehow got busier as they neared the town’s centre.

Ruben’s shoulder collided with the gut of a man carrying stacks of materials and textures. Ruben stumbled backwards then fell on his backside as the other much bigger man fumbled all his materials, dropping them. The hordes of people rushing round meant they were soon trampled by passers-by, ruining them.

The large man, immediately grew angry, he snapped his head to Ruben and charged at him yelling. “Those cost me 3 whole silvers you rat. You better pay up or I’ll have your ears off.”

Jesp begun to stop the man, then with a smirk stepped out the way, like he was just a spectator in the whole ordeal.

Ruben, grew anxious. He scrambled to his feet and put his hands out trying to calm the man. If this was training he could fall on instinct to control the situation, but in training they had swords. He had no idea what to do with his hands when he didn’t have a sword.

The man grabbed Ruben’s shirt and Ruben’s mind scrambled for an answer to the provocation. When none came, he watched the man’s other hand clench to fist, it was firm and large like basalt. It jabbed towards him.

Ruben’s mind stirred to conscious. He leaned back, dodging the jab like you would a knife reaching for your throat and his left leg swept at the man’s leading foot, ruining his base of stability, sweeping him fallen.

“Aaah, so all of those sword guys your father paid for weren’t doing nothing.” Jesp said, already walking away from the scene.

The big man sat on the floor nursing his ankle. Ruben wanted to help him, it was his fault that the man got angry anyway. He would have paid the guy if he could have and if the man had actually given him a chance to. It didn’t matter either way, he had no coins on him. Ruben cursed he’d never studied under a physiker or even those street shamans.

Ruben quickly bowed , “Sorry, if we meet again, I’ll pay you for the material. I swear.” And then he rushed after Jesp. He could feel daggered eyes pressed on his back but kept running after Jesp.

Ruben lost sight of Jesp several times while running through the crowded streets. He was tall for his age and Jesp was small for all ages so he’d get to odd glimpse down to bobbing bald head speedily approaching who knows what. How could something so round move so fast? He’d sometimes think to himself.

Jesp only stopped moving when he reached a tall shady looking building a road off of where the town seemed busiest. He stood admiring it as Ruben caught up. It was wooden all the way up, with purple banners and signs listing what it sold plastered here and there. Herbs, elixirs, spices, enchantments it seemed to specialise in gypsy medicines.

“Jesp why didn’t you help me?”

“You said you wanted an adventure,”

“… no I didn’t.”

“Well you should have. You’re a free man now Ruben, you need to do some wandering. Not in here though, don’t steal anything,” Jesp gave a look as though he just remembered who he was talking to. “Actually, just don’t embarrass me.”

They entered the store. It was a tight fit, with walls tiled with hundreds of pouches of, each labelled with a different powder or plant. On counters lied vials of purple and green and orange. It looked like the kind of place phisikers would go for supplies, except much less clean.

The shopkeeper stood at the front counting money. “How can I help you?” She asked.

We’re here to trade.

Ruben suddenly realised what Jesp wanted to do. His father had told him, they’d need to exchange the gold ring for coins, but he’d never expected to do it somewhere so… questionable.

“Ooh, what you wanna trade?” she purred.

“A ring, pure gold.”

“Oh,” her eyes glimmered, “I’ll need to inspect it…”

“Those hands of your can inspect me and nothing else.” Jesp done a lazy wink and Ruben almost vomited. “Besides,” Jesp continued, “Nothing down here is worth the lye on the stick of my boots.”

The shopkeeper’s eyebrows raised at Jesp’s last few words, Ruben noticed. She said nothing as she walked towards a staircase that Ruben hadn’t seen until now.

“Come then,” Said the shopkeeper.

They started to approach.

“Not the child.”

Ruben was offended, he’d seen fifteen full years, but he didn’t really care much for a money exchange.

Just like that Ruben once again lost sight of Jesp. After what seemed forever he reappeared.

“How much did you get?” Ruben asked Jesp as they walked out of the store.

“More than you’re ready to know,”

Ruben feared it was a crude joke but was disturbed to find no accompanying wink.

“I’ll give you it all at the academy.”