Read Online Good Ogre by Platte F. Clark - Free Book Online Page B

she totally had a crush on him). The others took it all in without any real problems, which must have come from years of LARP training.
    â€œAll our adventures were simply preparations for this day,” Melvin announced. “It will be my honor to lead us into battle to defeat the one you call the Maelshadow.”
    â€œHold on there,” Dirk exclaimed. “Nobody is leading anybody around here but Max.”
    â€œWell, I think we should put it to a vote,” Melvin suggested.
    â€œI vote for Max!” Sydney exclaimed. She continued to hold her hand in the air as if to remove any doubt. The mood grew tense as the others were unsure what to do.
    â€œIf I may, this is a battle of magic ,” Megan said, turning to Melvin. “I believe it’s best if our wizard leads the party.” Max took note of how Megan made it about magic and not about who was actually the best leader. Healers were full of wisdom, he supposed.
    â€œYay!” Sydney said, clapping her hands together sofast that her wings jiggled above her head. “Max is our leader!”
    Sarah had to force herself not to roll her eyes.
    â€œSo here’s what I know,” Max said. “I think the Maelshadow was waiting for me and didn’t want the portal closed.”
    â€œThen we should do the opposite,” Melvin added. “We should definitely close the portal.”
    â€œYou think?” Dirk replied. “We tried that already and it didn’t work.”
    â€œTrue,” Max admitted. “But we still have the Codex and time to put a plan together. We were caught by surprise, and that’s not going to happen again.”
    â€œThen what are our side quests?” Melvin asked. “Should we explore what remains of the town? I have a spiral notebook full of graph paper—I could draw a map.”
    â€œWhat’s important here,” Sarah said, jumping in, “is that our families were likely caught in the storm. We need to find them and figure out a way to reverse what happened.”
    Max nodded. “The portal opened at the school, but it’s not really a school anymore. It’s kind of something else.”
    â€œAnd we’re going with you,” Dwight announced, motioning to Puff. “I’ve got more adventuring experience than the lot of you put together.”
    â€œAnd me,” Wayne added. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”
    â€œYou’re our tank,” Dirk replied. “You keep the bad things off of us by being so intimidating they naturally flock to you.”
    â€œWait, how does that work?” Sarah asked. “You think monsters want to run toward the biggest and scariest-­looking warrior in the party? If I was a monster I wouldn’t do that at all.”
    Dirk shook his head. “It’s game logic—it’s how these things work.”
    Wayne folded his massive arms in front of him, not really understanding the game logic business. “I’ll do my best to protect you,” he announced.
    â€œThen let’s do a last check and get going,” Megan suggested. The group moved off to make their final preparations (which included a long bathroom run for Dirk as he fought with his tights).
    Max gave Puff a friendly pat (only he was allowed to do that) and walked back to the window. The wind haddied down significantly, but in the distance the storm continued to rage. He could make out a single black tower rising in the distance. From its rooftop a tornado twisted and turned, reaching upward until it connected with the storm clouds above. Strange blue lightning coiled around the tornado, and even at such a distance Max could feel the distinctive chill of magic. But where most magic was warm, this felt cold. He wondered at the kind of creature that could summon such power. He’d managed to defeat an evil sorcerer once before, but that was in the Magrus, where the Codex was stronger. Things would be much