The Apprentice by Alexander C. Hoffman

“I want you to have this.”
    Petar
handed Rowan a carved bow and a quiver of arrows. Rowan recognized the work as
soon as he saw it.
    “But
this is your bow,” Rowan protested. “You have been working on this for so long,
etching it and making it as fine as it could be.”
    “It is
your bow now. I taught you how to shoot, and perhaps that will help you to
learn just a bit more. It is not as well finished as I would have liked, but I
think it is a good parting gift.”
    Rowan
placed the gift on the table next to him and embraced his brother.
    “I will
miss you.”
    “I’ll
miss you too, brother.”
    And with
that, Rowan ended the embrace. He pulled Brennon’s cloak about him, noting the
many pockets sewn inside. He tied the purse to his belt, and he slung the bow
over his shoulders before walking out the front door. His father and brother
followed him outside to watch him leave, but the final farewells had already
been said.
    Outside,
he met the knight, his new companion.
    “Are you
ready to leave?” the knight asked.
    Rowan
nodded his assent, glancing back at Brennon and Petar.
    “Good,”
the knight replied. “We have a long journey ahead of us and much to do.”
    The
knight turned to address Brennon and Petar. “Thank you for your hospitality and
for allowing the boy to accompany me. I give you my word that I will watch over
him and make sure that he does well. Now we must be off.”
    The
knight shook Brennon’s hand and then turned away and began walking. Rowan
jogged after him, shouting goodbyes over his shoulder to his father and his
brother.

Chapter 6                              
    The path between Rowan’s home and
Corrinth was well known to him, even though he did not travel it frequently. He
knew the Vale well. This was his land, and he had memorized every part of it.
    When the
stranger—as he still considered Baird—took the lead, Rowan was taken aback and
found himself somewhat annoyed. He had lived in the Vale for the entirety of
his life; he knew the quickest and the safest ways to travel. Yet Baird ignored
this.
    Rowan
held his tongue for fear that the man might change his mind and send him back.
    Baird found
and followed the path to Corrinth quickly and without assistance, and Rowan
easily kept pace.
    “Did you
know of the path leading to the village?” Rowan asked.
    “No, but
I know how to find a well travelled path. Where others have travelled, there
are always signs left behind to follow,” the knight answered simply. He did not
break stride and seemed uninterested in further conversation.
    When
Baird turned and left the path, Rowan hesitated. He wondered why the man would
wish to forsake the easily travelled path for the wilderness of the hills.
Baird, however, showed no indication of stopping to wait, so Rowan quickly
followed into the overgrown brush.
    They
walked without speaking. Rowan found the silence awkward, yet he didn’t know
what to say and the large knight seemed to prefer the quiet. When they came
near the edge of a small bluff, Rowan was offered a view down into the valley.
They had gone further south than Rowan expected, and Corrinth was a short
distance away.
    The town
seemed much smaller to Rowan than it ever had before. Now that he was leaving,
it was no longer the boundary of his world.
    As he
watched, he could see smoke rising from chimneys and he could almost hear the
sounds of the villagers as they went about their business. He took a moment to
memorize the view. He knew he was not likely to return for a long time. I
will return, Rowan vowed. Even if this journey lasts for many years,
someday I will return.
    The two
travelers made their way past Corrinth, leaving it behind as they angled down
the hill and towards the floor of the valley. More than once he turned to watch
as the hills slowly hid Corrinth from sight. The village was not his home, but
it was all that he had ever known, and now that he was leaving, for some reason
he