The smell of the familiar object surrounded Jonathan waking him up from is peaceful slumber. He sheepishly crawled out of bed and went to the kitchen for some breakfast. When he finally, made it down the hall he day Dryden laying back in his chair drinking some water and reading a piece of parchment. “Good morning, said Dryden not looking up from his paper “I trust that you slept well?” “Yeah replied Jonathan “I was out like a light” “Well I hope that you are awake enough to start your training for you have lots to learn.” “Perfect reacted Jonathan “Just perfect.” After eating a bun and some wheat germ, Dryden and Jonathan were on their way deep into the woods. They trudged through grimy puddles of mud that sucked to your boots, and walked into a swarm full of bugs, hiked up a mountain and, all without any rest breaks. Once they came to a clearing, the light shone extremely bright into their eyes. Dryden dropped the bag wit a thud and sat upon an old tree stump. His expression on his face was puzzling as if he were trying to say something. Finally he spoke after an awkward silence. “Set up camp for the night while I go and hunt dinner” Jonathan looked in the bag and moved all the stuff around looking for what they were going to sleep on. All that was in the bag were some old sacks, coals and a wooden spoon. “This is what you call a camp?” remarked Jonathan Dryden didn’t even look back on what Jonathan had said. Dryden just kept on walking into the brush whistling a comforting tune. Jonathan rolled out the sacks and laid them down as something to sleep on. Then he went to some nearby trees picking up some of the collapsed branches, stripped them of their bark and put them in the middle of the clearing. He then went back to the bag and put the half crumbled coals in the center with the wood. Now all that Jonathan could do was wait until Dryden got back.

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Then sun was only setting in to the west when Jonathan heard a crack of a branch. Startled he rose from where he was sitting and positioned himself so he could see and hear where the intruder was approaching. He listened he couldn’t hear anything. Jonathan didn’t move an inch until the prowler made his move first. Then abruptly a hand was on the shoulder of Jonathan, he wheeled around and struck the trespasser. “Ow! Do you always hit people who brings you dinner?” It was Dryden. Finally Jonathan could breathe a sigh of relief. Dryden moved swiftly to the chopped wood and places a deer carcass on the grass. “Why did you lay out the sacks as blankets? Asked Dryden “There for your training” Stunned Jonathan said, “Then what are we suppose to sleep on?” Dryden just stared at the grass without saying a word. “You have to be kidding me?” said Jonathan Dryden lit the fire and started cutting up the meat for their dinner. Jonathan didn’t mind being ignored by him. He just set off on his own in to the heart of the forest. Hoping to find some fresh water, Jonathan didn’t know the dangers about the woods and he didn’t tell Dryden where he was going, Dryden didn’t even look up from what he was doing. “Humph,” Jonathan thought “He doesn’t even care if I’m gone or not. Taking his staff with him, Jonathan set out on his trek. He hadn’t been walking for at least 30 minutes when he heard running water. Jonathan thought to himself, “I knew I didn’t need that old buffoon to make me stay behind and just sit there.” As Jonathan made his way towards the stream, he noticed something funny about the trail that took him there. Almost as if he was being forced to go that way. Jonathan wanted to prove his theory and tried to jump off the path in to a moss- covered ledge. But as he tried to jump a force much stronger than him lifted him up and put him back I place like a chess piece making the wrong move. Jonathan knew that something was wrong, he looked down at his feet but he couldn’t see them, He looked at his robe, but couldn’t see it either. Only half of him was hanging in mid-air and he couldn’t move himself at all. Panic started to set in, as he looked straight ahead of him he saw what looked like his stream, was swirled and thrown out of proportion, then he found himself in the middle of the jungle-like forest waist deep in quicksand. Jonathan couldn’t explain this strange phenomenon. He started calling out for help but as he opened his mouth he couldn’t find the words to yell. Then he heard something. A twig broke. Jonathan looked all around him but saw nothing but the moss, trees and the quicksand. When he turned back, he saw Dryden sitting on a rock with his staff, and it’s velvet cover tied tightly around his leather belt. “So you thought you could handle yourself all alone in this monstrosity of a place?” Dryden laughed at Jonathan with sheer delight. Jonathan started sinking deeper and deeper in to the muck and scum, the foul stench of decay filled the air. Dryden just sat there laughing at him. Just pure straight- out laughing. Jonathan didn’t like this at all he didn’t like being laughed at and looking like a fool. “Why won’t you just help me get out of this scum!!!” yelled Jonathan Dryden’s laughing stopped immediately and he was quiet for a moment he was just looking in to Jonathan’s eyes. Just looking at how he didn’t seem to appear to be the age of 17 he looked more like a king. A king thinking of a powerful decision on whether or not his country should go to war or not. Dryden slowly seemed to be coming back to reality. “You see boy, the reason you are in quick sand is because…” Dryden held up the velvet bag, which was moving for some reason. “ You see pixies have a tendency to look into your mind and see what you are looking for and just lay it right in front of you.” Dryden stood up and crouched by Jonathan’s face and leaned in “If you would of stayed at camp you would of already begun your training.” Jonathan was starting to sink more and more in to the grime. “Training for what!” Jonathan had finally lost his temper. He tried to pull himself out of the quicksand but couldn’t, he kept rotating his body to get out, but it was no use. He was sinking up to his ears now. Dryden at last moved from his spot. He pulled back the sleeves on his cotton robe. He was about to raise his voice and Jonathan knew it. Jonathan braced himself for the blow. “Muck and grime I command you, save the boy deep in the bowels of your body and soul and free him, I command you!” The wind was starting to pick up and the tree’s branches started to bend in every direction. Jonathan was sinking up to his chin and finally over his head. But suddenly for some reason he was spit out like the unwanted watermelon seeds on a summers’ night. Jonathan went flying into the air and hit a tree. The wind was knocked out of him and went into a long state of unconsciousness. The last thing that Jonathan heard was Dryden’s voice calling his name. “Jonathan, Jonathan are you with me, stay with me Jonathan stay with me…”