Free Forgotten Mage by D.W. Jackson

followed her voice to a stream.
    Faye wasted no time and jumped into the
water covering herself from the waist down. “It feels great! You
should jump in,” She said, as she dunked the rest of her body under
the water.
    After a long day of hiking in the hot
sun, Bren’s clothes stuck to him and were starting to rub his skin
raw. The water looked inviting, but his eyes were glued to Faye.
She looked beautiful as she emerged from the water, almost like the
stories of water furies his mother used to tell him. Not only did
the water seem to accent her beauty, the way her clothes stuck to
her body made Bren’s heart leap in his chest. “Are you getting in
or not?” Faye asked, cupping her hands and splashing Bren with
water.
    Laughing, Bren quickly untied his boots
and jumped in the water. It was cool, but not so cold that it
caused him to shiver and with the heat of the sun still beating
down, it was almost like a reprieve sent from the gods.
    “You look like you’re in a better
mood,” Faye said laughing. “I thought for a moment you were going
to start crying about missing your mother.”
    “I was not going to cry,” Bren replied
defensively. “I am just not used to the weather like you
are.”
    “Is that what it was?” Faye asked
teasingly, as she swam over and placed her small hands on his back
and pushed him under the cool water. When Bren emerged from the
water, he was coughing up the small amount that had gotten into his
mouth on the way down. “I thought you could use some more cooling
off.”
    Bren started to get mad, but instead he
started to laugh as he tried to catch the elusive Faye to return
the favor to her. After half an hour of playing around, the two
collapsed on the bank of the stream laughing.
    “Do you think you could teach me to
fight?” Faye said, as she stretched her hand up as if she was
grasping an imaginary sword.
    “Sure,” Bren replied, hopping up and
moving through the trees, picking up sticks and hitting them
against the trees. When Bren found two that were straight, sturdy
and long enough, he tossed one to Faye. “First thing is your
stance,” Bren said as he demonstrated. “First, you need to spread
your legs and move your body so that you don’t present a large
target to your enemy. How you stand will also depend on what kind
of sword you are using and if you are using a shield or not, but
this is the standard stance.
    Faye mimicked how Bren stood, but after
a few moments of standing still the tip of her stick started to dip
toward the ground. Bren moved quickly striking Faye lightly on the
shoulder. “You have to keep your guard up,” Bren said laughing, as
Faye gave him a piercing gaze.
    “You’re not a very good teacher,” Faye
said after her attempt to block Bren’s attacks.
    “I never had to teach before,” Bren
replied shrugging his shoulders. “Though I am more than used to
being on the other end of the stick.”
    “Well, you can try again another time?
We need to get moving if we’re going to make it to Glennpass before
the sun sets.”
    Faye didn’t have to say another word.
Bren gathered up his pack and quickly moved back toward the main
road. The thought of sleeping on a real bed was all the motivation
he needed.
    Bren walked with new vigor and Faye was
forced to jog to keep up with his frantic pace. It wasn’t long
before the sun started to dip in the sky and the horizon was
decorated in a light orange haze. Just as Bren started to fear they
would not make it in time, a small house came into view, then
another.
    Glennpass was a great deal larger than
Bren had expected. From what Faye had said, it seemed as if it
would be about the same size as the small village they had visited
only a few nights before.
    The houses were made of dark red
bricks, and many of them stood more than two stories high. The town
even had a market district, though at this late hour the shops were
already closed. Just the sight of the familiar signs picked up
Bren’s