Wulfric reentered and took the ring from Osric. He placed it on his finger, and a strange look that Osric had never seen crossed his face. One might generously describe it as a smile, although the old magician’s mouth hardly moved.
“Your charm worked,” Wulfric said.
“Yes,” Osric said. “Is my apprenticeship complete?”
“Not quite,” Wulfric replied, removing the ring. “You have proved worthy of a challenge. I have something advanced for you to complete before we part ways.”
Osric felt capable of anything at that moment, and the illusion of freedom wasn’t nearly as alluring as the true freedom that awaited him. “What is it?”
“I’ve discovered a faerie in the woods,” Wulfric said. “The ring will be used as bait to attract her. They cannot resist enchanted trinkets such as this. Your task is to trap her and confine her.”
“For what purpose?”
“Because it is my will.”
“I’ve never seen a live faerie.”
“It’s no challenge to trap a dead one.”
“If I’ve never seen one,” Osric said, “how am I supposed to know what to do?”
“You’ve read the lore, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Improvise,” Wulfric said. “Magic demands more than we can learn from each other. Your experience—your failures—will teach you more than I ever could.”
Wulfric set the ring back in Osric’s hand and returned to his house. Osric exited the workshop and set off into the woods to find a clearing in which to set the ring and bait his trap.
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