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  “Are there many first-timers?” Alex asked, not terribly surprised when Mr. Clutter didn’t answer.

  “That about does it I think,” said Mr. Clutter, standing up. “If you’ll just sign here at the bottom, we’ll see what we can do about finding you an adventure.”

  “Yes, well,” Alex began as Mr. Clutter forced the pen into his hand and pointed to the place where he should sign. “I don’t—”

  “I’m sure this seems very fast,” said Mr. Clutter, tapping the page in front of Alex. “It’s just that I know of an adventure that’s about to begin, and if we get your application to them quickly enough, they may take you along.”

  “Oh,” was all Alex could think to say. He paused, then signed his name in the spot next to Mr. Clutter’s finger.

  “Excellent,” said Mr. Clutter, taking the pen and looking over the signed application. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll see if I can arrange an interview immediately.”

  Confused by everything that was happening, and a little breathless because of Mr. Clutter’s way of talking very fast, Alex considered running for the door. He was curious, however, and the idea of adventures had caught his interest. And although he didn’t believe in magic, he thought perhaps he could.

  Alex followed Mr. Clutter out of the room and down a long, wood-paneled hallway. There were several doors on either side of the hallway, but Mr. Clutter led Alex straight to the door at the far end.

  “If you’ll just relax in here for a few minutes,” Mr. Clutter said, opening the door for Alex, “I’ll see if I can arrange your interview.”

  Alex was about to say, “Thank you, but I really have to be going,” but he never got the chance. Mr. Clutter shut the door and was gone. Alex was alone in a large room with a warm fire and several comfortable-looking chairs. Two small tables with large silver lamps on them had been pushed against one wall of the room and there was a large window on the back wall. Alex looked around, but there was nothing more to see.

  “This is complete madness,” Alex said to himself as he started pacing around the room. Mr. Clutter must be mad, or maybe worse, Alex thought as he continued to circle the room. I’ll just make some excuse to get out of the shop and go back to Sildon Lane, that’s all.

  Making his way to the window at the back of the room, Alex looked outside absently. He was trying to think of an excuse to leave, but what he saw outside the window made him forget everything. The view was not of an alleyway or a backyard, but of a snow-covered countryside. Rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing clearly, Alex looked closer. The view did not change like the sign had. He could see people moving around a small cluster of houses. Outside the window, it had started to snow and, try as he might, Alex couldn’t find an explanation for what he was seeing. After several minutes of staring out the window, Alex moved to the fireplace and dropped into a large leather chair, dazed.

  He had almost convinced himself that Mr. Clutter was simply crazy. Yes, it would have been nice to believe in magic and adventures, but there really were no such things. Alex was starting to wish he had never come into the bookshop.

  Suddenly the door opened, shaking him from his thoughts. Mr. Clutter had returned, and two people were following him.

  “Now then,” Mr. Clutter began in a businesslike tone. “This is Mister Alexander Taylor, but he goes by Alex. He has applied for an adventure, and naturally I thought of you gentlemen.”

  Alex’s eyes grew wide as he saw the two people who had followed Mr. Clutter into the room. The first man was barely five feet tall, with wide shoulders and short legs. He wore large leather boots and a blood-red shirt. His beard reached to just below his belt. The second person was close to six feet tall, with long, silver-blond hair and a happy, almost glowing, face. His clothes seemed to be all different shades of green, but Alex couldn’t tell what they were made of. As he looked at the two strangers, Alex realized that these were not normal people at all.

  “Hmmm,” said the short one, looking at Alex. “Not had many applicants lately, have we?”

  “Well, no,” Mr. Clutter admitted in an apologetic tone. “However, this young man seems willing, and I’m sure he would be an excellent addition to your adventure.”

  “Really,” the short man replied, turning to look at Mr. Clutter. “Would you say that if you were going on this adventure, Clutter?”

  “Well, my adventuring days are over,” replied Mr. Clutter, stammering slightly but continuing to smile. “But Alex seems an excellent choice for a first-time adventurer. You’ve seen his application, and applications are almost always right.”

  “Would you bring us some tea?” asked the second man in a clear, musical voice.

  “Yes, of course,” said Mr. Clutter, turning to go. “I’ll bring it right along then, shall I?”

  “Give us a few minutes,” replied the second man with a slight smile. “We need to ask some questions first.”

  Mr. Clutter was out of the room without another word, leaving Alex alone with the two strangers. The men seemed not to notice that he was staring at them as they moved two chairs closer to the fire and took their seats. There was an uncomfortable minute of silence, and Alex wondered if he should say something.

  “Well,” the man with the musical voice began, “I suppose

  introductions are in order. My name is Arconn. I am, as you may have guessed, an elf of the house of Dalious, hailing from the great forest lands of Delanor.”

  Alex couldn’t have said anything if he’d tried. He had no idea what the “house of Dalious” was or where the “lands of Delanor” were, but he had noticed that Arconn, though looking normal enough, had oddly pointed ears.

  “I’m Thrang Silversmith,” said the short man. “Son of Thorgood Silversmith. From the land of Thraxon.”

  “I . . .” Alex started then stopped.

  “You are Alexander Taylor,” said Arconn. “We’ve seen your application, so if it’s all right with you, we’ll call you Alex.”

  “All right,” Alex managed to reply.

  “He’s not sure what to make of us, I reckon,” said Thrang with a short laugh. “Thinking we’re just a couple of strange men, he is.”

  “Oh, no,” Alex said quickly.

  “Don’t worry ’bout it,” Thrang continued, waving off Alex’s words. “Most first-timers don’t know what to make of their new companions.”

  “I suppose not,” said Alex. “I’m not at all sure about any of this.”

  “That is an excellent place to start,” said Arconn happily.

  “It is?” Alex asked.

  “’Course it is,” Thrang answered in a more serious tone. “Not being sure leaves your mind open to all kinds of things, don’t it?”

  “I suppose it does,” Alex admitted.

  “Well, then, we’re looking for an eighth person to join our adventure,” said Thrang. “Clutter says you might be our man.”

  “Yes, well I—”

  “I think he will do nicely,” said Arconn. “Not too sure of himself, but willing.”

  “Needs to be outfitted,” said Thrang, stroking his beard. “Be no good taking him dressed like that.”

  “Dressed like what?” Alex asked, looking down at his clothes.

  “You’re hardly dressed for an adventure.” Thrang laughed.

  “I wasn’t planning to go on an adventure,” Alex answered defensively. “I wasn’t planning any of this.”

  “The best ones never do,” said Thrang.

  “May I ask, then,” said Arconn in a slightly concerned tone, “why did you come here?”

  “What?” Alex asked.

  “How did you enter Mr. Clutter’s shop, and more important, why did you enter Mr. Clutter’s shop? It’s not as if just anyone can get in, after all.”

  “I saw a sign in the window,” Alex replied. “The sign seemed to change every time I looked at it, so I thought I’d ask about it in the bookstore.”

  “I see,” said Arconn, leaning back into his chair. “And do you think an
yone else noticed the sign?”

  Alex thought. “Sildon Lane was strangely empty when I noticed the sign. I was going to ask someone in the street if they noticed the sign changing, but when I looked around, there was nobody there.”

  “’Course not,” said Thrang in a matter-of-fact tone. “That’s because you weren’t really there either.”

  “What do you mean? Of course I was there. If I wasn’t there, how could I have seen the sign?”

  “An interesting question,” Arconn said in an understanding voice, “as not many people ever see the sign, and fewer still ever ask about it.”

  “I’m sure I don’t know what you are talking about,” said Alex, not liking the way the conversation was going. All of this talk about people not seeing a sign that was in plain view concerned him. “I really should be going,” he continued quickly. “Mr. Roberts will be looking for me soon, and—”

  “He won’t be looking at all,” said Arconn calmly. “Because, in fact, you haven’t been gone long at all.”

  “But I have,” Alex insisted. “It must be an hour or more since I left.”

  “He don’t understand,” said Thrang, looking amused. “He don’t know what we’re on about.”

  “No, I understand,” said Alex. “But I really should be getting back. I have a lot of work to do at the tavern—”

  “Let me explain,” said Arconn, cutting Alex off and motioning for him to sit down in a chair. “I promise, you won’t be late getting back to your work if you’ll just listen.”

  Alex sat down on the edge of his chair, not sure he really wanted anything explained to him. Since entering the shop, every time he’d managed to get a question answered things seemed to make less sense.

  “We are adventurers,” Arconn began.

  “He knows that much,” Thrang interrupted. “You’ve got to tell him why he won’t be late getting back to work.”

  “Of course,” said Arconn. “But I want to go step-by-step, so he will understand exactly what is happening.”

  “Oh, fluff,” said Thrang, blowing air out of his mouth loudly. “You’re telling him like he was a child. Just give it to him plain and let him think it over.”

  “Very well,” said Arconn. “I suppose you’re right.”

  Alex’s eyes moved from Thrang to Arconn. He thought he should just leave, but part of him—the part that wanted to believe in adventures and magic—made him stay to hear what Thrang and Arconn had to say.

  “The first thing you need to know is about magic,” said Arconn. “The sign in the window is a magic sign. That’s why it seemed to change every time you looked away from it.”

  “Magic?” asked Alex.

  “Don’t interrupt,” said Thrang, making himself more comfortable in his chair. “Jus’ listen to everything, then think it over.”

  “You saw the sign because the sign called to you, or showed itself to you, if you like,” Arconn continued. “And you didn’t walk into a bookshop, you walked into Clutter’s Adventure Shop.”

  Alex leaned forward, feeling he should say something, but a stern look from Thrang stopped him.

  “When you entered the shop, you passed through a magic gateway,” Arconn said. “Gateways are a bit difficult to explain, as they only open when they are needed, and then only for certain people. Only a true adventurer could see the magic sign and pass through the gateway, so you must be an adventurer, even if you don’t know it.”

  Alex shifted in his chair but didn’t say anything. None of this made any kind of sense to him, but strangely, he found himself wanting, even trying, to believe what Arconn was saying.

  “Time as you know it doesn’t matter here, because no matter how long you stay on this side of the gateway, you’ll never be late for anything on the other side of it. When you go on an adventure, time is real enough, but that’s only time where you are,not where you came from,” Arconn continued.

  Alex thought for a minute. Arconn’s explanation was clear enough, but still, Alex couldn’t believe that time could be different here.

  If he accepted the idea of magic, and the simple fact that a dwarf and an elf were sitting in front of him made magic seem possible, then it all made sense. The trouble was, even if he wanted to believe in magic, that didn’t make it real.

  “When you go on an adventure, time passes normally,” Arconn said. “You get older, grow larger, everything. Then, when you complete the adventure and return through the gateway, you return to the way you are now.”

  “That’s right,” Thrang said with a smile. “Wouldn’t do to get home and be years older than when you left, would it? Being gone for only a few seconds and aging several years would be hard to explain to anyone.”

  “Yes, I suppose it would,” Alex admitted.

  “And when you go on another adventure, you can choose what age you want to start at,” Arconn added. “Of course, you have to choose from the ages you were in a previous adventure.”

  “What?” Alex asked.

  “It’s simple,” Thrang answered. “Say you was on a ten-year adventure. By the time you get done, you’d be twenty-five. You can’t go back home being twenty-five—not if you left at fifteen only a few seconds before. So when you get back, you magically return to the age you were when you started. Then later you go on another adventure, but you don’t want to start at twenty-five and get older, and you don’t really want to start at fifteen again. So you can choose to start somewhere between the two—like twenty.”

  “Oh,” said Alex, nodding his understanding. It made sense the way Thrang and Arconn explained it, but part of him still felt like he should be getting back to the Happy Dragon.

  “If you’re willing to accept the fact that there’s magic involved, everything else is easy,” Arconn finished with a smile.

  “It does make things simpler,” Alex admitted.

  For several minutes Alex sat quietly and thought about what Arconn and Thrang had said. It all made sense—if there was such a thing as magic. If not, then he would be very late getting back to work and in for a real scolding.

  “Just bring the tea in, then, shall I?” Mr. Clutter questioned, pushing the door open and stepping into the room. “Nice bit of green tea and some cakes.”

  “That will be fine,” replied Arconn, without looking away from Alex.

  Alex watched Mr. Clutter as he carried a large, silver tray into the room. It was easier to watch Mr. Clutter than to think about magic and gateways and adventures because then he didn’t have to decide if he believed in any of it.

  “Come on, then,” said Mr. Clutter, looking at one of the tables next to the wall.

  To Alex’s amazement, the silver lamp on the table jumped onto the second table and the first table walked awkwardly into the empty space between Alex, Thrang, and Arconn.

  Rubbing his eyes in disbelief, Alex felt completely numb. The table started to spin as he watched it, and right before his eyes it changed. What had been a small, rectangular table was now a large, round table. Mr. Clutter sat the tea tray on the tabletop without a care.

  “How’s it going, then?” Mr. Clutter asked.

  “Just fine,” replied Arconn. “We’ve been explaining things to Alex.”

  “Explaining?” asked Mr. Clutter, a slight note of concern in his voice.

  “He don’t know nothin’ ’bout magic or adventures, you great pelican,” said Thrang in a disgruntled tone.

  “Doesn’t know about adventures or magic?” Mr. Clutter repeated, glancing quickly at Alex. “But the sign . . . the gateway. I assure you, gentlemen, only a true adventurer could have passed through the gateway.”

  “That may be true, Clutter,” replied Thrang. “But the fact is, this boy knows nothin’ ’bout being chosen or adventures or anything.”

  “Doesn’t know about being chosen?” Mr. Clutter looked confused. “Well, then, how did he get into the shop?”

  “We will call that a lucky chance,” said Arconn. “Thank you, Mr. Clutter. We’ll serve ourselves.”<
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  Mr. Clutter left the room, scratching his head and mumbling to himself. It sounded to Alex like he didn’t believe what Thrang had said, and was sure that everybody knew about adventures and magic.

  “Tea?” questioned Arconn, filling a large cup and holding it out for Alex to take.

  “What?” said Alex, still dumbfounded by the moving table.

  “Have some tea,” said Thrang, holding out his own cup for Arconn to fill. “A bit of tea and a cake or two and you’ll feel much better.”

  “No, thank you,” Alex said, distracted. All the talk about magic and time being different and gateways and signs that other people couldn’t see had his head spinning. He didn’t know what to make of any of it, though he had to admit that it was exciting.

  “Have a cake then,” said Thrang, pushing a large plate

  full of cakes toward him. “Always better to think on a full stomach.”

  Alex smiled weakly and took a cake from the plate. He didn’t feel hungry, but it gave him something normal to think about. Thrang and Arconn didn’t say anything at all as they drank their tea and ate several cakes.

  Alex stared at his uneaten cake for a long time. He wished he’d never entered the bookshop to ask about the sign, and he wondered how he was going to get back to the Happy Dragon.

  Thinking about everything he’d heard and seen so far, Alex had to admit that there must be magic, because he’d seen the table move on its own and change its shape. Plus he was sitting with a dwarf and an elf, which was something he’d never expected to do. He still had no idea what his new companions meant by his being chosen, but he decided not to worry about it right then because his head was starting to hurt.

  chapter two

  Mr. Clutter’s Back Door

  “So,” said Thrang, setting his teacup down and wiping his mouth with his shirtsleeve. “What do you think, Alex?”

  “I’m not sure,” said Alex.

  “Excellent,” said Arconn. “Shall we discuss the contract?”

  “Contract?”

  “Adventurer’s bargain, if you prefer, or agreement if that suits you,” replied Thrang. “After all, we can’t go on an adventure together without a bargain.”