Star Mage (Book 5) by John Forrester Read Free Book Online Page A

followed the Builder’s advice and took flight directly south to the sea until they reached a smuggler’s cove, a pretty beach and humid hovel that dealt in illegal ore and gems from the mountains. There were only a few fishing boats bobbing in the bay, and the sleepy smugglers seemed uninterested at their arrival. When Master Goleth produced coin in exchange for room and lodging, and to secure passage on the next available vessel, the old hag baking octopus by the sea aimed a sagging arm at a dilapidated shack nestled amidst a stand of towering palm trees.
    “It ain’t pretty, but Hestor will gladly put you up for the night. He’ll know all about the ships.” She turned aside and started flipping over the octopus sticks and lathering the roasts with butter and garlic and a yellow spice that looked like curry. Talis found himself drooling at the smell.
    “Can we buy some?” Mara pointed at the octopus. “They smell incredible.”
    The old woman chortled and her eyes flared in feverish delight. “These little devils? I’m just a makin’ myself a little dinner. My grandson caught these in his diving nets. No need to pay me anything for ‘em, feel free to enjoy one.”  
    “How kind of you,” Mara said, and accepted a golden-roasted octopus and let air blow around in her mouth as she chewed on the hot seafood. “Wow, this is delicious and different. I’ve never tried octopus before…so tasty and tender.”
    Talis accepted an octopus from the lady and thanked her, and inspected the small, roasted tentacles and took a tentative bite. The tender seafood tasted buttery and wonderful, and melted in his mouth as he chewed. When he’d read stories of the southern Jiserian cities, they always talked about the exotically spiced seafood and meats, spicy chilies, strange fruits and honey-glazed nuts. He found himself craving to discover the wonders of Carvina.
    The lodging provided by Master Goleth’s coin proved simple and clean, mere huts set along the palms with cotton hammocks for bed. Wide-mouthed Hestor had been elated at the Builder’s generous payment for food and lodging, and promised to secure passage for them aboard the next smuggler’s ship arriving within a few days time.
    Talis and Mara spent four sun-filled days in the smuggler’s cove, scouring for shells and driftwood along the black sand beach, swimming and diving for octopus and clams in the warm, colorful sea, and gazing at the vastness of the starry sky while the wind lulled them to sleep in their hammocks. After seeing the stars on the first night, they knew they had to take their hammocks outside, so they found several palms clustered close together and tied their two hammocks next to each other.  
    It was the first time in many months that Talis felt truly free and relaxed, and over the few wonderful days with Mara, he allowed the heat of the sun and sand to melt away all the built-up tension in his body. Mara swore she’d return here one day and take up the life of a smuggler: some weeks at sea, some in the mountains, and many more here in the picturesque cove. Talis told her he loved the idea.
    Master Goleth had kept to himself the whole time, off on walks in the jungle, where Talis and Mara had spied him meditating next to a waterfall that spilled into a flower-rimmed pool. They had explored the jungle and discovered many streams that fed into the sea, and many beautiful pools filled with fresh-water fish and crystals. The terrain surrounding the cove was jagged and lush, and they found steep jutting spires of volcanic rock and several caves that wound deep down into the depths of the earth. One especially hot day they explored a cave for hours, utilizing the Surineda Map to keep them from getting lost. The experience reminded him of Ghaelstrom, and at each corner he expected to be greeted by a dragon’s snout.  
    But all too soon the sails of a ship came into view around the palm-lined cove, and Hestor and the other villagers excitedly