Marak glanced up at the brilliant globe of light spinning high over his head and quickly clamped his eyes shut. Still, the light sparkled through his eyelids and Marak slowly and cautiously pushed himself off the ground. With steady hands, Marak slowly and obviously remove...
He nodded appreciatively as the huge sea rock rose off the beach. He saw Jared turn his head and gaze to the south. A frown fell over the old man's face, but he did not disrupt the experiment. Unexpectedly, the sea rock burst into a mist of tiny fragments. Audric quickly turned away and felt hund...
King Tring was taller than most dwarves and his intricately carved gold crown with large rubies adorning each upswept pinnacle made him appear even taller. Even though Queen Trana’s crown was a simple golden circlet with a single red ruby in the front, she still towered over the King. The royal c...
"Don't dwell on it," chuckled Prince Antion as he also raised his arms. "As no one understands horses as well as you, the same is true of forests and our friend. Let's go let him gloat and get this over with." "We're coming into the camp," called the Odessian Prince as he started to walk towards ...
King Arik subconsciously tried to put it out of his mind, but it continued with annoying regularity. “Are you going to see who that is?” asked Queen Tanya. “Or do I have to get out of bed?” King Arik immediately sat up and opened his eyes. “I though...
The General looked better after he shared his experience with someone else who did not think him crazy. The Colonel sympathized with the older officer and assured him that he was not the only one who had noticed the change of character in Duke Nelson. When the General was ...
Two men followed Nassar, dragging Arik, and two more dragging Tedi. A sixth man followed the procession. Nassar reached the bottom of the stairs and turned down a long corridor. They walked for a long time before Nassar stopped and lifted a hatch in the floor. Holding the torch before him, Nassar...
complimented Lara. “It has been years since I have had such fine meat.” “It is a pleasure to serve it to such fine young women,” smiled Boris. “Why is it that Arik did not come with you to rescue us?” Kamil asked Tedi. “He wa...
The shorter leg of the room ran along the windowed wall, and a long, high-backed couch acted as a divider to create a comfortable sitting area invisible from the doorway. King Arik and Queen Tanya lounged on the couch. Alex and Jenneva sat in overstuffed chairs facing the couch. ...
“Wicado has been teaching me a lot about finances,” Rejji said. “It is amazing how all of their decisions are based on money. What crops they are going to plant next year is based on the prices for crops this year. Attitudes towards other clans are based upon whether they are competitors in the m...
He looked up nervously, scanning the Darkness for any signs of dragons, while he waited for the rest of the group to catch up to him. “Which way?” he asked. King Arik rotated while holding the Sword of Heavens. He frowned and shook his head. “Take t...
The citizens already lining the parade route looked like tidy colorful lines of paint drops. Lots of grays and browns, but also more colorful blots, randomly interspersed. The only constants visible from such a height were the gray-red spots, which appeared evenly spaced along the whole route. A ...
Lyra said. “There is worry in your eyes, StarWind. Sit and tell me what is wrong this morning.” “It is what I was expecting,” sighed StarWind. “I just did not expect it so soon.” “A message from SunChaser?” Lyra asked. “Yes,”...
Botal and the two cortains gathered around Lord Marak to hear his instructions. “We are about to enter River’s Bend,” Lord Marak said softly. “This is where we will split up. Botal, your squad will accompany our foreign guests and me on a barge down the river. The two cort...
They watched Renzler open his shop and then crossed the street and entered it. The shopkeeper looked at the door expectantly when he heard it open, but his jaw fell as he recognized the people who had entered. He tried to cover his surprise with a smile, but his eyes showed fear. &nbs...
Scores of the mounted warriors filed out of the trees, and the Knight of Alcea knew that his call to surrender without a fight had been wise, but the leader's statement about spies troubled him. Alcea executed spies, and he presumed the same would be true for the horse countries. Karl figured he ...
“His horse is gone,” reported Midge. “I searched for blocks around and could not find him. Do you want me search farther?” “Why would Fredrik just up and leave?” questioned Tedi. “It makes no sense. Not only is he violating the order to stay in our rooms, it appears that h...
observed Galantor “The sentries are not alert, and there are far too few of them to be effective.” “At least the ones that we can see,” replied Princess Alastasia. “I will not underestimate their defenses. According to the information we got from the Torak, Sudamar has thr...