The Anvil (3 page)

Tom
sat
in
silence
for
a
moment
. 
This
was
a
huge
decision
.
Then
he
took
the
plunge
and
said
“
Yes
,
I
want
to
be
your
apprentice
.”

A
smile
broke
out
on
Alex
'
s
face
“
Good
!
I
will
give
you
today
to
say
bye
to
your
friends
and
family
,
then
tomorrow
we
head
to
Hilltop
lake
.
There
you
will
train
in
water
,
plant
,
and
earth
magic
. 
You
will
choose
weapons
for
close
combat
and
long
range
fighting
.
You
will
learn
of
many
things
.”
Then
Alex
got
up
from
the
table
and
walked
out
to
the
street
.

Tom
sat
as
he
let
what
just
happened
sink
in
. 
His
mind
was
spinning
! 
The
only
thought
he
could
hold
onto
was
he
needed
to
tell
his
friends
he
was
leaving
.

Saying
goodbye
to
his
friends
took
all
day
.
Although
he
didn
'
t
have
many
friends
,
he
did
spend
a
lot
of
time
with
them
and
parting
was
hard
.
When
he
got
back
to
his
home
he
found
someone
had
packed
his
things
and
had
everything
ready
to
go
.
He
saw
Alex
walking
down
the
hall
and
asked
“
How
will
we
get
to
Hilltop
lake
?”

Alex
replied
“
We
will
run
there
;
it
is
only
five
hundred
miles
.”
Tom
’
s
eyes
grew
wide
as
he
 
just
looked
at
his
new
teacher
.

Alex
laughed
and
said
“
Just
joking
!
It
is
only
twelve
miles
.” 
Alex
walked
away
,
leaving
Tom
alone
. 
Tom
recovered
from
the
shock
and
went
downstairs
to
go
to
dinner
.
As
he
walked
into
the
kitchen
he
saw
a
large
feast
! 
All
his
friends
were
there
and
a
banner
hung
on
one
wall
saying
“
GOOD
LUCK
,
TOM
!”
He
smiled
. “
Well
I
wasn
'
t
expecting
this
,
thanks
everyone
.”
They
ate
and
talked
for
hours
into
the
evening
,
finally
,
his
friends
started
to
go
.
Once
the
last
person
left
Tom
spent
some
time
quietly
talking
with
his
family
.
Exhausted
,
he
said
goodnight
and
went
to
bed
. *****

He
woke
to
a
sharp
knock
on
his
door
. 
He
looked
out
the
window
and
saw
that
the
sun
was
just
breaking
the
horizon
.
He
got
up
and
opened
his
door
and
there
was
his
brother
Caleb
,
who
looked
like
Tom
just
older
and
thinner
,
saying
“
Alex
wants
you
in
the
kitchen
once
you
get
changed
.”
Tom
just
nodded
closed
his
door
and
changed
into
traveling
clothes
and
went
into
the
kitchen
.

His
family
was
there
to
say
bye
.
It
was
a
quick
farewell
.
Eventually
Tom
and
Alex
got
out
the
door
and
started
walking
to
Hilltop
Lake
.
By
the
time
they
got
there
it
was
noon
as
they
came
to
the
top
of
the
hill
Tom
saw
a
large
lake
with
a
small
island
in
the
middle
surrounded
by
tall
pine
trees
,
there
was
a
small
town
on
the
other
shore
.
Alex
said
“
Welcome
to
Hilltop
Lake
.
My
cabin
is
on
the
island
.”
As
they
walked
to
the
lake
Tom
took
in
the
surroundings
.

When
they
got
to
the
lake
Tom
saw
a
small
dock
with
some
canoes
and
a
small
fishing
boat
.
Alex
walked
up
to
one
of
the
canoes
and
said
to
Tom
“
Come
on
the
canoe
is
safe
,
put
your
stuff
in
the
middle
and
grab
a
paddle
.”
Tom
did
that
and
they
rowed
to
the
island
,
as
they
neared
the
island
Tom
noticed
a
similar
dock
on
the
island
.
They
reached
the
island
and
Alex
said
“
This
is
your
new
home
so
for
the
rest
of
the
day
feel
free
to
explore
and
I
will
show
you
your
room
.”
They
walked
to
the
small
cabin
,
it
was
made
of
logs
with
a
thatch
roof
and
a
stone
chimney
.

Inside
the
cabin
there
were
five
rooms
a
living
room
,
a
kitchen
/
dining
room
,
and
three
bedrooms
.
Tom
got
the
smallest
room
it
had
a
bed
,
a
dresser
and
a
desk
.
Tom
set
his
things
down
and
went
out
to
look
at
rest
of
the
island
.
There
wasn
'
t
many
interesting
things
just
some
pine
trees
,
a
sandy
beach
,
a
rock
outcropping
and
a
small
grassy
meadow
.
Then
Tom
went
back
to
the
cabin
and
put
all
his
things
away
.