Wielder's Awakening by T.B. Christensen

room was bare; all of the tables and chairs left in the room were now lined against the walls.  Bright ribbons were being hung along the walls all over the room by the serving women.  The women were giggling as they transformed the sober common room with the dazzling colors.  An overall air of excitement and joy hung in the air.  He asked one of the serving women what all the decorations were for.
    “It’s for tonight sonny,” she answered with a twinkle in her eye.  “It’s the innkeeper’s wife’s birthday.  Tonight there will be music and dancing to celebrate it.  You’re lucky you chose to stay at this inn.  Now I need to help finish getting everything ready.  You might want to get some more rest before tonight.”
    She giggled as she returned to hanging ribbons.  Music and dancing?  That might be fun.  Traven smiled as he looked around the room for the merchant that looked the easiest to approach.  At last he decided on an old man who reminded him of his grandfather.  The man appeared to be quite successful at his trade.  He was wearing a finely cut silk coat and had a giant ruby on his left hand.  The man he had been talking to had just left, so Traven figured that now was as good a time as any and timidly approached the man.  He stood by the side of the table waiting for the man to look up from his drink, but he never did.  Traven tried to think of what he should say.
    “Are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to sit down and talk with me.”  Startled, Traven plopped down immediately onto the bench across from the old man.  “Well, what do you want?  You don’t look much like a wealthy merchant or the such.  Are you a messenger for someone?  Speak up boy!”
    “I um, well, ah . . . I’m on my way to Calyn to attend a merchant school, and I was wondering, I mean, I was hoping that if you plan on leaving for Calyn soon I would be able to go with, I mean accompany you.”
    “Oh, there’s no reason to be nervous,” the man chuckled.   “I’m just an old man used to getting his way.  You’ve mistaken who I am however.  I keep track of the merchant caravans that come into the city and leave from it.  I’m too old for a lot of traveling anymore.  I don’t know if I’ll ever be leaving the city and the surrounding countryside again.  You did, however, come to the right person.  As I said, I know when all of the merchant caravans are planning on leaving the city.  I’d be glad to let you know who to talk to in order to join up with a caravan.  How soon do you want to leave?”
    The man was smiling now, and Traven breathed easier.  He was sure lucky to have found him.
    “I guess it’s not so much a matter of when I want to leave but when I need to.  I need to leave as soon as possible so that I can be to Calyn when the school starts.”
    “It’s too bad there are those pesky bandits roaming the countryside.  Usually there would be a bunch of merchants leaving every day to try to reach Calyn before the snows come.  With all the bandits however, some are content to just sit around and wait until they’re cleared up.  Others are joining together with several other merchants for protection.  There is someone who’s leaving tomorrow morning, but she’s only got about twenty guards with her.  I would suggest waiting another week and leaving with the big caravan that’s setting out for Calyn.  It’ll be safe enough to travel with that many merchant guards I should think.  Wait another week.  That’s my advice.”
    “I wish I could wait a week, but I really need to get there on time.  Thanks for the advice, but I’ll have to take the risk.  I don’t really have much of a choice.  Could you please direct me to who is in charge of the caravan that’s leaving in the morning?”
    “I said I could, didn’t I?” the old man chuckled.  “You’re going to have to talk to Meritza.  She’s in charge of the caravan.  She’s stubborn as