The Black River Chronicles: Level One (Black River Academy Book 1) by David Tallerman & Michael Wills & Digital Fiction

Author:David Tallerman & Michael Wills & Digital Fiction [Tallerman, David]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Digital Fantasy Fiction, an imprint of Digital Fiction Publishing Corp.
Published: 2016-10-12T04:00:00+00:00

11

D

urren had never thought he'd be so glad to see Hieronymus's transportation chamber. The day had been long and arduous, and only now did his body seem to be registering those facts. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to curl upon his hard, straw-crammed mattress in the rangers' dormitory, and sleep until the worst aches had abandoned his body.

That wasn't going to happen, though—at least not yet. Their quest wouldn't be done until they were rid of the prize they'd been sent for.

It occurred to Durren that they might have asked Hieronymus about the Petrified Egg. But nothing in the old wizard's expression of drowsy disinterest suggested he'd be likely to know anything useful or, knowing, be prepared to share. Maybe they'd be better to start with another wizard then, one with specialist knowledge on the subject of enchanted items? There was sure to be such a person among the faculty, and likely Arein would be familiar with them from her lectures.

Only, how would that look? If instead of returning to Cullglass with the object of their quest, they were to start interrogating the academy staff about its secrets? No, Cullglass was their mentor, and it wouldn't do to go behind his back.

Anyway, the choice was already out of Durren's hands. Tia, having muttered a brief “Thank you” to Hieronymus, was heading towards the door, and the other two were following in her wake. With a final glance back at the old wizard, Durren hurried after.

Tia led the way through the corridors, guided by her unerring sense of direction. Soon they were at the entrance to Cullglass's stores and she was rapping out three sharp knocks upon the blackened planks.

“Come in!” came the muffled reply.

When Tia tested the door, sure enough, it was open. Cullglass was perched on his stool, within the central area that served as his office. A lantern hung from a stand close by, but other than that the room was sunk in shadow, so that it seemed as if the storesmaster was the lone shipwrecked survivor upon an island of light amid a sea of darkness.

Cullglass waited patiently as they threaded their way through the maze of shelves and tables. When they were close, he steepled his long fingers before his even longer face and announced, “Here you are, my young friends. What a long and no doubt trying day of adventuring you've had. But a successful one also, I do believe. Let me see what your diligence has won.”

Arein stepped forward. She didn't look at all comfortable as she reached into her robe and drew out the Egg. Durren was certain he could see her fingers shaking as she placed the curious object into Cullglass's outstretched palms. And was it Durren's imagination or did it seem that, just for the barest instant, the Egg reacted? He could have sworn the swirling patterns within its surface sped up as though agitated.

“Ah!” murmured Cullglass. “So this is what a Petrified Egg looks like. My, but what a curio! An object of dark and wanton power, to be sure.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.