Adventurers Wanted 1) Slathbog's Gold by M.L. Forman Read Free Book Online Page A

first.”
    “Where . . . where are we?”
    “In the bag,” Andy replied happily. “Let’s see the other rooms.”
    “Wait. What do you mean, in the bag?”
    “We’re in the leather bag on the table,” said Andy, as if there was nothing strange about his answer. “It’s a magic bag after all. What did you expect?”
    “I . . . I don’t know,” said Alex.
    “I’ll try to explain,” said Andy, motioning for Alex to follow him into the next room. “You can tell by how much gear you already have that we will have a lot of things to carry with us on this adventure. But there are only eight of us to carry it all, right?”
    “Right,” Alex answered.
    “And we’d need a lot of horses to carry all of our gear and supplies if we were going to carry it the normal way,” Andy continued.
    “Yes, I suppose so,” Alex agreed.
    “That would attract a lot of attention, wouldn’t it?”
    “I suppose it would.”
    “So instead of all that extra attention and the extra work of taking care of so many horses, we use magic bags,” Andy concluded with a smile.
    “I still don’t understand,” said Alex.
    “What’s not to understand? A magic bag lets you carry all your gear in a very small space. And believe me, it makes life a lot easier.”
    “I’m sure it does, but how does it work?” Alex questioned.
    “It’s magic,” laughed Andy. “It’s like Arconn always says, ‘If you’re willing to accept the fact that there’s magic involved, everything else is easy.’”
    Alex had never really thought about magic, or at least not real magic, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He had seen the table at Mr. Clutter’s move and change shape, but that wasn’t really the same as this, was it? Looking around the stone room, however, he had to believe there was magic.
    “Not a bad size,” said Andy as they walked around the different rooms. “If we have one room modified to expand as needed, and add a little furniture, you should be good to go.”
    “Expand as needed?” Alex asked.
    “If we manage to get the hoard from Slathbog, your share wouldn’t fit into just these four rooms,” Andy answered with a laugh. “If half the tales of Slathbog’s treasure are true, you’ll need twice as much space just to get started.”
    “And magic can make one of the rooms bigger as it fills up?” Alex asked, trying hard to understand.
    “Exactly,” said Andy. “You can use the other rooms to keep your things in. You’ll probably collect a lot of things as we travel.”
    “Okay,” said Alex, still a little unsure about how the magic bag worked.
    “Don’t worry,” said Andy. “We’ll get you set up, and I’ll show you how to work the bag until you get the hang of it.”
    “Does everybody in our group have a magic bag?”
    “Of course. Most adventurers do. I have a five-room bag that my father gave me. I’ll have to show it to you sometime. Of course you should be careful who you show your bag to,” Andy cautioned. “And you shouldn’t share your passwords with anybody, not if you can help it. Well, except your heir, of course.”
    “Passwords?” Alex asked.
    “Like when you said ‘enter’ before,” replied Andy. “That’s the standard password to get in, and there’s a different one to get out—‘exit.’ You’ll want to use something different for your own bag of course, so not just anyone can get in and out of it.”
    Alex decided it all made perfect sense, as long as he accepted the fact that magic was involved. He still had his doubts, but they were fading fast.
    “Ready to go then?” asked Andy.
    Alex nodded, his thoughts cluttered with the idea of real magic.
    “I’ll just put out the lights before I go,” said Andy. “Then listen carefully so you’ll know the password to get out of the bag.”
    “All right,” said Alex nervously. “But if I’m not out in a minute or two, come back and turn the lights on.”
    Andy’s laugh was full of kindness and good humor and