Tag: fiction

There is a small line formed and, as I near, I see a bill posted on the exterior that reads: Adventurers Wanted—fair pay to clean up Buknar Valley—no experience required. Those in line look to be a mix of mercenaries and soldiers—no doubt fresh from the field—hunters, vagrants, rogues, and beggars. This could be interesting. I edge closer to get… Read more →

Nodkis has rebuilt fairly well in the last year. The city walls did not really sustain much damage in the attack, nor did the stoutly-built, stone buildings of the north side of town. I enter through the northwestern gate that passes first the grand guild houses for the Farmer’s, Forester’s, and Miner’s guilds—Nodkis’s reason for being. Just beyond, the outer… Read more →

The last tome I am able to read through from Val Maxis’s library is The Combat Mage. It covers casting in close quarters, when being attacked by an armed foe, while bound, while mounted, when grappling, and all other manner of altercations. There is a chapter on the intricacies surrounding counter magic and why it is so difficult. What I… Read more →

I haven’t seen Val Maxis the entire time, though my owl has spotted him on occasion. So much for getting ahead of the report and controlling the message in my favor. Still, I have been valuable to the army so I think I can smooth it out. I may have to suck up my pride for a few weeks, but… Read more →

Arriving back in camp after an uneventful ride, I immediately depart to find Val Maxis. With bad news, it is better to deliver it personally and immediately so as to mitigate its effects. Never let another be the first to speak of one’s failures. I find the area of camp that the other apprentices are staying at but do not… Read more →

I don’t know whether to be impressed or alarmed when Corporal Level returns with permission to head out immediately. It does not take long to prepare the patrol and we leave with the evening’s meal still working its way down the gullet. My owl, full from its own meal, comes to rest on my broad shoulders. Its talons clink against… Read more →

I am distracted and I don’t look before I turn. Rounding a tent corner, a come upon a squad of men sitting on short stools. I am able to catch short my stride and stop before I topple over one of them. They seem to perceive this all as fairly ominous. I sense the palpable tension but pay it little… Read more →

The Elysian force is camped close enough that magical travel is unnecessary. A contingent from the army meets us at the base of the tower just after breakfast. The trip is uneventful and we arrive at the edges of camp shortly before supper time. My owl follows at its own pace: flying in wide arcs, taking naps, and catching up… Read more →

When I had envisioned training under Val Maxis, I imagined an accelerated education and much more lenient access to tomes and artifacts. I’d assumed, wrongly, that there would be competency tests to assess my level of arcane knowledge and ability, and my education would begin there. His method, however, demands at least fifteen years of academic instruction and then another… Read more →

I am called to Val Maxis’s study that evening after supper. I have been at the tower for nearly a year. The war has been raging through Elysium while I have spent my days studying in safety. Val Maxis’s tower has countless wards and protections cast on it so, even without guards, there is no chance that the orcs could… Read more →