Chapter 1: Knives (1)

Chapter 1: Knives (1)

I ran into a mage once! a farmer shouted from near the front. Four foot tall, buck teeth, and talked with a lisp. Gave me some cheek, so punched him in the face! He dropped like a sack of turnips!

The comment drew a handful of laughs in the crowded common room of the tavern. Xerxes wasnt particularly amused, but wasnt offended. Hed heard more than his fair share of mage jokes. Hed even told a few.

On the stage was a bard wearing bedraggled finery. Instead of commenting on the joke, he chose to take a sip of wine and tune his lyre.

Xerxes friend Gandash didnt take as kindly to the joke.

Bastard, he growled, his hand clenching into a fist. Ill show him what happens if you try to punch a mage.

Ignore him, Xerxes said. He raised his tankard. Come on, drink.

Gandashs hand relaxed as he lifted his own drinking vessel. Yeah, sure. Cheers.

The two friends clinked tankards and drank deeply. The common rooms aroma was a combination of firewood, roasted meat, curry, stale alcohol, sweaty people, and mold. There was also a touch of something exotic, a smell that common rooms in the capital didnt have. Maybe it was from the ancient Yellow Forest that bordered the town, its odor carried in by the hunters and trappers that formed a constantly shifting migrant population here.

Xerxes wasnt sure. All he knew was that this place smelled interesting.

Outside, the rain pounded down relentlessly, making him glad to be in the warmth, with a tankard of cool ale and a plate of food, instead of out on the road like theyd been for the past weeks.

Before they could put their drinking vessels down, a slurred voice rose from another corner of the room.

Did ya know that in Od, the mage women are all ores? A shekel an our they charge, at the temples!

Like ell! another voice replied.

Swear on the Pontifarch imself! Ida sampled one meself, if Id ad a shekel to spare.

Youve never even been to Od, ya lout!

As a ripple of laughter passed through the room, then settled into a general buzz of conversation.

These idiots, Gandash said, putting his tankard down and tensing as if to stand up.

The bard stamped his foot on the wooden stage to create a basic rhythm, then he began strumming a melody.

Keeping his voice low, Xerxes said, How does this guy know what people sing on other starisles, anyway? I doubt hes ever been out of Isin, let alone off planet.

Neither have you, Xerk, Gandash said.

Hmm fair point.

The bard went from a seemingly random melody into the opening refrain for Maribels Magic, which was a lively tune intended to get the whole room singing. Other patrons were already starting to tap feet or fingers to the rhythm.

After playing through the main melody, the bard started singing.

Maribel was a mage unlike any other,

Shed have made an excellent mother,

But when I saw her casting a spell

I knew she was a snuffer!

Xerxes felt a hand on his shoulder as someone squeezed onto the bench next to him. He looked to his left to see a portly man settling next to him, wearing a rumpled soldiers uniform. He had a bit of a hunch to his back, and pocked skin that made him seem unhealthy. But both young mages knew that he was a veteran of multiple wars, and was a beast with sword and javelin alike.

This fellow aint alf bad, the soldier said, talking in a soft lisp thanks to the fact that he was missing both of his front teeth.

Giving him a friendly elbow jab, Xerxes said, Hey, Gem.

Hey, Xerk, the soldier replied. Gandy. Ows the ale, fellas?

Not bad, Xerxes said.

Nasty, Gandash said at almost the same time.

Gem laughed. Sounds like my kind of swill.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience