The Grand Wizard

Reggie harshly whispered at Ed asking who the heck that was.

"It's crazy Joe, but how would he know about magic?"

"Magic can sometimes affect things in the environment. If he has a moonstone and it turns red, that's one way to track magic."

The banging kept on going and Emily signaled the fairy to hide in her pocket again as Bard hid the book in his vest right before Joe rammed down the door to the ground.

Joe stood up by supporting himself with his staff, grunting at the pain, but was confused to see no witch. The staff itself had a stone orb that was slowly turning red.

"Oh, it's you kids...Where's the witch?"

Reggie walks up to Joe holding him by the shoulders to calm his uneasy shaking. "Hey, ol' Joe, why don't we step outside to breathe some a-"

But Joe brushed him off heavily breathing, "No, there's a witch here! A witch!" Just as he touched Bard's arm, the orb turned completely red as blood.

"You witch! Die!!!" Joe screamed as he raised his staff to pierce him with the sharp end, but a woman in a blue cloak ran in, extended her arm, and shouted, "Conver un lapi!"

In a flash, Joe was turned into stone and his staff fell from his grasp. The woman sighed in relief that no one got hurt.

"Iris!" Lulu exclaimed as she flew out of Emily's pocket, but Iris was surprised to see her.

"Lulu, what are you doing here?"

"Bard summoned me! He's the one you're sensing magic from."

Iris looked over the kid she was referring to. A brunette that was skinny to the bones wearing tattered clothes.

This kid doesn't even look like he can hold a pale of water...

"Hey, I remember you now. You're that drunk lady that kept on crazy dancing on the table at the bar!"

A tick mark formed on Lulu's head as the rest of the group had a deadpanned expression.

"YOU LOST THE JOURNAL BECAUSE YOU WERE DRUNK?! HOW MANY TIMES HAS IT BEEN! I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING CLEAN!"

Iris lifted a hand to protect herself from Lulu's smacking.

"Yeah, well that was 3 years ago..."

"I can't believe you, Iris! You're supposed to be better than this!"

As Lulu kept bickering, Iris looked at Bard again from head to toe.

"Hmm, so you're Bard. Who are your parents?"

"I never really met them...the bartender was the one who raised me."

"I see...Alright then, so before anything else, can you conceal your magic before something worse comes and finds you?"

"Uh...how do I do that?"

"Iris! He just found out he even has powers, he can't control them yet."

Iris rolled her eyes in annoyance, reached into her pocket, and revealed an amethyst crystal.

"Keep this with you, since your magic isn't very strong, it provides sufficient protection."

Bard takes the stone while the others begin to quietly sit down at the table again, trying to take in the whole scene.

Witches and wizards are real. Their friend can do magic. Crazy Jose almost killed said friend and a wizard turned him into stone. The bounds of reality were completely shattered.

"Now that it's been resolved, may have my journal back?"

Bard shook his head no as he took out the journal to reveal the eerie note.

"Not unless you tell me why you're accusing me of murder."

"Excuse me? I didn't even know you existed until now," But once she looked at the note, her hands swiped the journal off his hands, burying her face between the pages.

"A witch wrote on my journal!"

"You mean on Taru's journal."

"Whatever Lulu, it's still my journal! You there, did you see who wrote on it?"

Reggie shook his head no and caused Iris to tich.

"It seems like the witches are after you, I'm not sure why though. I hate to say this, but you're going to have to come with me now."

"Hold on a sec miss," Ed stood up, pulling Bard away from Iris' reach.

"Ya can't just take my friend away like that! Bard ya with me on this right?"

"Let me break it down for you. Your friend here can use magic and isn't very good at it. If a witch is really after him things can get ugly. He's putting this whole town in danger if he stays."

Ed shook Bard's arm, pleading for him to have some sense, but internally, he agreed with Iris. He'd hate to see his friends get hurt and cause suffering to others, but there was a lot of uncertainty considering that Iris is still a stranger.

"If you come with me, I'll promise the town protection."

"How can we trust that ya do that?" Ed curiously asked.

"One of my specialties is protection spells, I'll place a force field that can prevent witches from entering. Do we have a deal?"

"Only if you answer this question...Lulu told us the story of Taru and Saru; if they're the ones who touched magic stones, how come other people had magic as well without those stones?"

"The origin of the stone is still a mystery. However, Taru and Saru are considered the strongest magic entities because their powers come from a concentrated source. Since it was crashing down from the sky, it is believed that a few shards may have scattered, seemingly landing on people across the land. Many lived on with their lives without knowing their dormant powers, but it's been proven that magic is hereditary. You said that you don't know who your parents are right? It is possible to trace your origins if you're interested.."

Bard looked at Ed and hugged him tightly. Reggie stood up along with Emily concerned at their friend's decision. 

"Are you going to leave us again Bard?" Emily looked at him with teary eyes.

"I want to keep everyone safe Emily, It's for the best..." Bard patted her on the head.

And I want to know more about my past...

"Good to know that you can make good decisions."

"Unlike you who drinks a lot." Lulu retorted at Iris. 

"Remind me not to summon you for another 3 years..."

The group laughed as they felt more relaxed about the situation. 

"Before you go though, can you maybe get him out of my house?" Reggie pointed at the statue. 

"Oh, I almost forgot about that, sure thing." Iris tapped Joe's nose as he disappeared in an instant."

Ed astonished by the act asked where he disappeared to, but Iris said to not worry about it as she waved her hand around, fixing the door in the process. They walked outside and Bard began to untie Fern to journey out. Just as promised, Iris started to chant a barrier spell, raising her arms out onto the sky, unveiling a quick flash around the town.

"The barrier is up now are you ready to head out?" 

Bard hops on Fern and firmly nods. 

"Yes."

"Perfect! Then out we go!" Iris leads the way as Lulu flies right behind her. Bard whips the reigns for Fern to walk along and he looks back, waving goodbye to his friends.