Read Online Bound to the Abyss by James Vernon - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: James Vernon
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the valley, but the villagers had learned enough over the years to spice them up in different ways to make them interesting.
The Hero appeared to have magical abilities of his own, thus also considered a Magus. After the wagons had settled in around the village square, he leapt out of the back, throwing sparks of different colored energy into the air. Then, in a shower of red lights, he was gone, appearing again on the other side of the square as more sparks flew from his fingertips. The crowd that had gathered around by that point cheered and followed along after the Hero as he bowed once and sauntered his way back towards the inn.
While the villagers laughed and cheered as they followed along after the man, Ean found the whole situation ironic. The fact that the gruesome deaths of villagers and Heroes at the hands of a horrible creature would bring the town to life was funny in a sad sort of way. He looked forward to the day he could leave this cruel town more than ever. The only thing keeping him here now was his complete lack of money, since Krane had stolen most of it from him. He had no idea how long it would take to save up enough money to leave. But he was here now and curious to see what this new Hero was capable of doing.
Ean frowned as he passed the two men the mayor had posted at the entrance to the inn. Their mere presence kept the town folks on their best behavior. Ean managed to weave his way through the crowd gathered on the porch and reach the front doors. The thugs guarding the door were only being paid to toss people out, not keep paying patrons from coming in, so they let Ean pass through the swinging doors.and he weaved his way through the crowd gathered right at the entrance.
The place was packed. He had to muscle his way through the crowd to find a place close to the new visitor. With the inn so packed, it took him a while to figure out where the Magus was sitting. The failures of the previous two Heroes had made the town cynical. People had come here to socialize and get drunk, not to dote on some pompous windbag who would probably be dead this time tomorrow. Nonetheless, the third Hero had found a small audience. Ean spotted him at a table in the far corner of the room, leaning back in his chair with a mug of ale in one hand. By the time Ean wormed his way over to him, the man seemed to be in the middle of a story.
“I found half of the loggers dead, ripped apart and fed upon. The beast was nearby, a horrible creature three times the size of dog and twice as mean looking. I recognized it right a way; the steam coming off the ground and bodies where the saliva of the beast had landed marked it as a Hound from the Abyss. Its back was to me as it feasted on one of the unlucky men. Not wanting to risk a lengthy battle, I unleashed all of my magic on it before it knew I was even there.”
“Where does your power come from?” a voice called out from the crowd.
The Hero’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. With a visible effort, he forced a smile before answering.
“An excellent question, even if it did interrupt the story.” He cast another glance around the room before continuing on. "We Magus or Magi, that’s what my kind of magic user call ourselves, draw the energy for our magic from our bodies, a sort of well that the older Magi, from days long past, called a Sal-Eum. Now, it doesn’t matter the size of a man or woman’s body; the depth of each person’s Sal-Eum is as different as each person’s nose in here tonight. Most of you might even be able to hold a small amount; it just might be so small that it’s not noticeable.”
He waved the serving girl back over. The Magus snatched the pitcher of ale she was holding and held it up along with his cup. “This pitcher is a good representation of my own ability. A decent amount, but nowhere near the capacity of the most powerful Magi. Thankfully, the most intelligent Magus of the past found a way to increase all of
The Hero appeared to have magical abilities of his own, thus also considered a Magus. After the wagons had settled in around the village square, he leapt out of the back, throwing sparks of different colored energy into the air. Then, in a shower of red lights, he was gone, appearing again on the other side of the square as more sparks flew from his fingertips. The crowd that had gathered around by that point cheered and followed along after the Hero as he bowed once and sauntered his way back towards the inn.
While the villagers laughed and cheered as they followed along after the man, Ean found the whole situation ironic. The fact that the gruesome deaths of villagers and Heroes at the hands of a horrible creature would bring the town to life was funny in a sad sort of way. He looked forward to the day he could leave this cruel town more than ever. The only thing keeping him here now was his complete lack of money, since Krane had stolen most of it from him. He had no idea how long it would take to save up enough money to leave. But he was here now and curious to see what this new Hero was capable of doing.
Ean frowned as he passed the two men the mayor had posted at the entrance to the inn. Their mere presence kept the town folks on their best behavior. Ean managed to weave his way through the crowd gathered on the porch and reach the front doors. The thugs guarding the door were only being paid to toss people out, not keep paying patrons from coming in, so they let Ean pass through the swinging doors.and he weaved his way through the crowd gathered right at the entrance.
The place was packed. He had to muscle his way through the crowd to find a place close to the new visitor. With the inn so packed, it took him a while to figure out where the Magus was sitting. The failures of the previous two Heroes had made the town cynical. People had come here to socialize and get drunk, not to dote on some pompous windbag who would probably be dead this time tomorrow. Nonetheless, the third Hero had found a small audience. Ean spotted him at a table in the far corner of the room, leaning back in his chair with a mug of ale in one hand. By the time Ean wormed his way over to him, the man seemed to be in the middle of a story.
“I found half of the loggers dead, ripped apart and fed upon. The beast was nearby, a horrible creature three times the size of dog and twice as mean looking. I recognized it right a way; the steam coming off the ground and bodies where the saliva of the beast had landed marked it as a Hound from the Abyss. Its back was to me as it feasted on one of the unlucky men. Not wanting to risk a lengthy battle, I unleashed all of my magic on it before it knew I was even there.”
“Where does your power come from?” a voice called out from the crowd.
The Hero’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. With a visible effort, he forced a smile before answering.
“An excellent question, even if it did interrupt the story.” He cast another glance around the room before continuing on. "We Magus or Magi, that’s what my kind of magic user call ourselves, draw the energy for our magic from our bodies, a sort of well that the older Magi, from days long past, called a Sal-Eum. Now, it doesn’t matter the size of a man or woman’s body; the depth of each person’s Sal-Eum is as different as each person’s nose in here tonight. Most of you might even be able to hold a small amount; it just might be so small that it’s not noticeable.”
He waved the serving girl back over. The Magus snatched the pitcher of ale she was holding and held it up along with his cup. “This pitcher is a good representation of my own ability. A decent amount, but nowhere near the capacity of the most powerful Magi. Thankfully, the most intelligent Magus of the past found a way to increase all of
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