The chief was standing there with a look or curiosity evident on his wrinkly face. I mean I don’t blame him, he’s probably wondering how and why I got in here. After all I am probably the first to come up to the restricted section without permission.

The old man staring at me is at least three hundred years old and I suppose looks his age. With long gray hair reaching past his shoulders and a wire like gray bread to match. He possesses eyes that have hints of red remnants but seem hazy now, in fact I am surprised he can still see out of them at all. The robes wrapped around him where once red but with years of wear and tear they are more of a dingy soft pink color now. The most prominent item the chief has is a staff which is made of dark intertwining wood and at the top holds some kind of crystal clear stone. However, everyone from the village knows that the stone is influenced by the chief’s mood, usually reflecting a color to correlate. Sadly, even though it is a beautiful staff he has been using as a cane for quite some time.

He was still looking at me curiously when I responded “W-el-l... hello chief it’s been quite some time ha… ha, you see I seemed to have gotten lost in the library?” My excuses ended up sounding a lot more like a question then my intended statement.

He stared intently at me for what felt like an eternity before giving me one final look over. He seemed surprised for a second, but I must have been mistaken.

While clearing his throat “Ug-h… well Neo why don’t I escort you out of the library since you seem to be so lost... hmm?” A small smile evident on his wrinkly old face.

“Ugh...well...yeah of course.”

As we were descending down the stairs the old man’s smile grows wider as he says, “Neo why don’t you answer some questions for me, it might just help me seal these old lips?”

Even though my mom might find out I came into town it is immensely better than her finding out I was in the library let alone the restricted section. Plus, if she was also to know the chief was the one to find me…...ughh I shiver at the thought alone…

Without hesitating “of course what would you like to know chief?”

“Well seedling why don’t you tell me how you got in here?”

There is truly no point in lying to the chief, he is the type of old man that will know the moment you say something dishonest. I don’t know if it’s from his old age or some kind of power he acquired but he has never been wrong.

Deciding being honest is the most effective way to get out of this quickly I say,” Well I walked past the golem. I thought he was only activated after you touched a book is that not true?”

The old man seemed like he was taking a moment to see if I was speaking the truth he finally answered, “Well yes and no, you should not be able to walk into the restricted library at all actually. You see I have cast a barrier over it, so normally people who “accidently” try to make their way up end up right back down.”

“Does that mean the barriers defective?”

“No, I still felt someone enter but I knew the golem wasn’t activated so I came here myself to check it out. But imagine my surprise when I see a young seeding here. So, did anything happen while you were here?”

“You’re going to think I’m crazy if I tell you chief…” my eyes falling to the floor.

With a small smile he says, “try me young one.”

“Okay umm well... I did “try” to touch a book, but when I reached out it started glowing and then next thing you know it disappeared! I know it sounds like I’m making this up… or that I’m crazy ...but it’s true chief!” because I feared the chief wouldn’t believe me I had unconsciously said that louder than I anticipated.

While slightly scratching his beard “Hmmm...Can you recall what the book looked like?”

“Oh… Yeah it looked like it had all of mother nature’s blessings on it.”

Immediately after I said that the jewel on the chief’s staff seemed to turn black, as I was about to ask him what was wrong he looked at me in the most serious manner I have ever seen an old man give. But after a second, he promptly returned to his usual demeanor.

After examining me once again he looked me up and down then he asked softly “Young seedling can you hold out your hands for me?”

Confused by why he asked I just decided to follow his instructions, after all I am the one in trouble.

When I stuck my hands out for him he grabbed them softly and then slowly flipped them over, so that my palms where now facing up. To my surprise I had the same intertwining of all mother nature’s blessing that I had seen on the book from earlier. On my right hand I had fire and earth and on my left, I had air and water. When the old man brought both my hands so that they were next to each other it had connected all four of the blessings perfectly.

My jaw dropped.

HOLY shit! I have a tattoo?? I didn’t even feel anything!

“Ch-ief.. I...sw-ear I have no idea how that got there?!” Confusion evident on my face.

With a big sign the chief said “Now I see how you got in here, well this is going to make things a little more complicated. Why don’t we go for a little walk, I have somewhere I’m going to need to take you? Don’t worry I’ll make it so anyone who sees us today will not remember it, even I will forget.” He almost whispered the last part.

As he headed out door I followed quickly behind him in utter confusion. Just waiting for the moment this old man would explain more...