SORCERER (The Elemental Magic Series Book 1) by Michael Nowotny Read Free Book Online

stitching.
    "How much are they?"
    "This used one is eight coppers, this other one is a full silver but will last a lot longer," said the tanner.
    "I'll take the new one then, sir."
    "Fine choice, young man. I feel I should tell you Greg does the stitching on the packs."
    "OK? The new one is still the better pack. Even I can see that, all the stitches line up and both sides of it are the same length or as close as I can tell," said Alec looking closely at it.
    "Same number of stitches on each side too," said Greg coming up behind him.
    "Hi Greg," Alec said turning around.
    "So you like my pack." He said.
    "Well yah it looks like good work." Alec said taking a small step back.
    "I see," he said as he walked away.
    Alec paid Mr. Tanner a full silver and was given a copper back along with the explanation that when buying or selling something the owner expected to haggle over the price, at least to some degree.
    They headed to Jake's home where Alec was given a heartfelt farewell by his parents after a very nice supper then headed to his room to pack, leaving out only his clothes for the next day.
    Alec woke at dawn and made sure there wasn't anything he was forgetting. Looking around the room it seemed bigger without his things in it. Ralph was leaning against his door as he came out ready to go.
    "Well son, it's your big day, just wanted to say good luck on your journey. You look up old Ralph when you stop in." Ralph told him sticking his hand out for Alec to shake, one of his big infectious smiles on his face.
    "I will Ralph, and thanks for all your help. You've taught me a lot." Alec said shaking his hand.
    The two smiled at each other as they went to breakfast. Jake and James were already seated and eating and waved him over. He ate while James told them of the lands they would be riding through. Most of it was farm country and dirt roads. They would stop at a few farms along the way and stay at an inn once they got to the capital.
    All too soon it was time to go. They had strapped their things to the pack horse and Aunt Karen came out to see them off.
    "You behave up there and don't forget to write me." She said hugging him close and her voice breaking.
    "Yes, Aunt Karen." He replied equally emotional.
    They mounted the horses with a final wave to Karen, who stood there with tears in her eyes.
     

Chapter 6
     
     
     
    Father Brandon of The Gods Temple in Kingston arrived late to his office and saw the piles of correspondences sitting on his desk. He was in charge of the surrounding areas priests, many of whom thought the solstice was the perfect time to send in a report.
    He rubbed his eyes knowing it would be a long day of reading. His secretary had obviously been in earlier and attempted to organize them by region. Five neat stacks waited for him to read through.
    Choosing the smallest just so he could say he had one region done he opened the letters one after the other. The majority of them were basically the same. The local priest wishing him a good solstice and giving population counts as well as some of the local gossip.
    He normally tried to skim past most of the gossip not really giving a damn about Mr. whoever starting to court Mrs. what’s her name.
    He continued dragging his way through each region till lunch when his secretary under priest, Bart, brought him his lunch. While reclining back on two legs of his chair and nibbling on a chicken leg, he noticed the pile from the southern region looked a little thick even for being one of the fastest growing areas. He thumbed through them reading the names of each priest, having memorized them quite a while ago. When he came across Father Marcus's name for the third time he pulled them out to read first and tossed the rest back on to his desk.
    He remembered Father Marcus as being a fair gossip but not so much that it would require him to send three letters. He opened the first one hoping there wasn't another outbreak of the wasting sickness again. The letter went as