1

"Good Luck, Son,"

His father's words were still bouncing around in his head. Already Lurk felt homesick.

Too bad. His brain told his heart. You about to become a hero of the kingdom. And besides, you have a magician caliber talent now.

That was true. Lurk had grown up in Magic Dust Village, and was exposed to a huge concentration of dust every day. His talent, being able to copy information from people's brains, was amplified, so that he could now use their talent for sixty minutes, as well.

Presently, he was trekking through the wilderness, on one of Good Magician Humphrey's magic paths. He knew that as long as he stuck to the path, he would be fine.

Suddenly, he heard a small crack. Looking behind him, he saw that it was some sort of imp.

But no, imp couldn't aptly describe this creature. It was smaller him Lurk, shrouded in a black garment that seemed to be made of darkness itself. It had small, blood red eyes, and when Lurk took a step towards it, the being hissed.

What could this be? He wondered.

The being came closer. As it did so, Lurk felt a shiver go down his spine. This being didn't seem to be magic, but something else entirely.

Lurk placed his hand on a small water stone in his pocket. It had been given to him, in the case that he was without water for many days.

Slowly, he drew it out, and pointed it at the creature. "Water," he muttered

Abruptly, a spurt of water came shooting out at the creature. It was shot back, falling into the grasps of a young tangler.

Putting the stone back in his pocket, Lurk walked over to the tangler tree, and pressed his hand on a small gnarled branch. Suddenly, the tree let go of the creature.

Lurk smiled. It was an old centaur trick his teacher, Conrad centaur had taught him. All tangler trees had at least one sweet spot, where, is touched, would make the tree go limp for five minutes or so.

Taking the creature out of the grasp of the tree, Lurk decided to see if he could learn something about the creature. Placing his hand on its head, he concentrated on copying it's knowledge.

He felt an aching sensation in his head, and stopped. There was something wrong here. This creature, as Lurk had hypothesized before, wasn't magic.

Lurk didn't know what to make of this creature, but what he did know, was that King Trent, or the Good Magician Humphrey, might be interested.

So Lurk took a pot from a nearby pot tree, and filled it with water. He placed the creature in it, and secured the lid.

Soon, he would arrive at Castle Roogna, but not before he got into more trouble.