Read Online Armies of the Silver Mage by Christian Freed - Free Book Online Page A

leaving Relin Werd the boys watched countless columns of cavalry and infantry marching to Paedwyn from the western lands, all dressed in the green and gold of Averon. Oddly enough, there were smaller columns of peasants heading the same way with but one soldier marching alongside them. Fennic instantly labeled them recruits for the coming fight. Some whispered the skies over Gren had already grown dark and stormy. The Silver Mage was moving again. No one was safe. Mounted patrols roved the surrounding countryside from the great Relin Werd to the fringes of Alloenis. Apparently the war was coming much sooner than they thought.
    The boys entered Alloenis with mouths agape. The sheer size of the town was overwhelming. Until now they doubted there were so many people in the world. Two and three story buildings lined their view for as far as they could see. The Bairn Hills lay far to the west and mighty Paedwyn was to the east. Gren wasn’t far beyond. Fennic’s hope of understanding the sword and why it chose him lay in finding a scholar or a smithy. If all went well, he’d be handing Phaelor off to the next bearer and be on the way home in no time.
    “Dragon scale shields! Only a silver apiece. Made from genuine dragons!”
    “Magic potions and powders!”
    Delin wanted to laugh. “Can you believe this place?”
    “Come see the remarkable two headed man from exotic Antheneon. See what people say can’t exist!”
    “This is incredible,” Fennic conceded. “Now I know why father never spoke good of the world. Fel Darrins could never be like this.”
    “I agree. We need to be careful here. Someone’s responsible for killing Old Man Wiffe and that crazy Dakeb. They might have beaten us here. I don’t fancy the thought of catching a knife in the back,” Delin said with a shudder. His nerves had been on edge since finding the strange purple stone in Dakeb’s robes.
    They’d spent the hours of travel agonizing over the hundreds of possibilities. The stone was by far the most exquisite possession he’d ever come across, certainly rivaling Phaelor in many ways. The biggest problem was not knowing what it was or what to do with it. Fennic offered to sell it when they got rid of the sword but his comment was met with stiff defiance. No, Delin was going to keep it. Nothing was said on the matter since.
    “We need to find a place to sleep and grab a bite to eat. I’m tired of eating travel rations and it’ll be dark soon,” Fennic said. “And I don’t think we want to be caught out in the open after dark. Even with the city patrols I don’t feel quite safe.”
    It took an hour to worm through the crowds and find the right inn. Most of the ones on the main street were already crowded and growing more so the closer it got to sunset. They were just about to give up when they came across an innocent, if not slightly run down, blue inn with a giant golden insect on the sign. Less than a handful of horses were tethered to the hitch out front and, judging from the sudden quiet, there were few patrons.
    “I don’t know what a scarab is, but there doesn’t seem to be too many folk who want to come this way for a night’s sleep. Looks like as good a place as we can find,” Delin said. He scratched his scalp and studied the sign.
    Fennic nodded. They didn’t have the money for much else anyway. “Let’s hope it’s safe.”
    “Quit worrying. This is your adventure after all.”
    The door opened and in they went. The boys were instantly met with the scrutinizing stares of those few assembled.
    “Welcome. Welcome my friends. You won’t find a better meal than here at the
    Golden Scarab,” said the rotund innkeep. His eyes lit up as he finished drying his pudgy hands. He smelled money.
    Delin shook his hand. “Thank you, I suppose.”
    “We don’t get much business since the Trader’s Guild added the new road and all those terrible tariffs.”
    “I can see that. Hopefully this doesn’t make you too eager to take