Weapon of the Guild [The Chronicles of Grimm Dragonblaster, Book 2] by Alastair J. Archibald Read Free Book Online Page B

‘presence'.
    As he clambered into the saddle, Grimm noticed the swordsman's swollen left eye, surrounded by a dark-blue ring.
    "Are you quite well, Harvel?” he asked, suppressing a smile.
    "Quite well, thank, you, Lord Mage. I believe I did mention I had a few odds and ends to sort out. Although I prefer sword and bodyguard work, I'm also called upon now and again to persuade reluctant debtors to part with their money. Last night, one of my clients was none too pleased at my visit, and he hit me across the face with a moneybag. That was a bad mistake; he should have paid up without complaint. It'll cost him even more than he owed to pay a physician to straighten his nose and a dentist to replace his broken teeth."
    Crest snorted. “Once, he'd never have come close to you,” he said with a laugh. “You're getting too old for this game. I've told you before: you're slowing down, man."
    "He was no bumbling duffer, this mark,” Harvel protested. “Inches over six feet, built like an all-in wrestler, and he moved like greased lightning. Any other man would have gone down like a pole-axed steer at the blow he gave me."
    A cheerful argument-and-insult session began between Harvel and Crest, to which Grimm was content to listen, marvelling anew at his companions’ mutual talents for self-aggrandisement, poetic insult and vainglory. The tall tales lasted well after the party had left the town and taken the west road leading to their final destination, Crar.
    * * * *
    A slight mist arose from the ground as the sun began to warm the land. Grimm took care not to press his horse too hard, caressing Jessie with his knees and making appropriate encouraging noises to persuade her to go where he wished. The fierce muscular pains of the day before did not assault him, and he felt much more cheerful than he had only twenty-four hours before.
    The prepared route gave way to a simple track, which became at times difficult to distinguish from the barren, dusty plain through which it ran.
    On the advice of Dalquist, the party rode all day, making only a brief stop in the early afternoon to rest and to eat. When the sun had dipped below the horizon for a couple of hours and it became all but impossible to follow the vague path, the senior mage finally called a halt. Crest pointed out a stand of trees and bushes some fifty yards off the track, suggesting that this would be a good location to rest for the night, and the senior Questor agreed.
    The elf busied himself with setting a fire, using various sticks and branches he found littering the small, welcome copse. He began to search in his pack for a tinderbox, cursing under his breath, when a smiling Dalquist waved him aside.
    "Questor Grimm: a little practice for you. Do you think you can light this without setting fire to the entire plain?"
    "Can a bird fly, Brother Mage?” Grimm asked, returning the smile with only a little more confidence than he felt. He had practiced the control of his magical power over and over, until even the acerbic, critical Magemaster Crohn had declared himself fully satisfied. He felt certain he could evoke the necessary magic by force of will alone, without word or gesture.
    The young Questor extended his Mage Sight into the depths of the woodpile, assessing its fragility and its flammability. He drew just a little power to himself, and clenched his brow and fists for a mere moment. In an instant, the wood burst into lambent flame, launching great curls of orange light into the night sky.
    "Perhaps you'd like to use a little less force next time, Questor Grimm?” Harvel suggested. “It's not good practice to let the world know where you are."
    "My apologies, friends,” the young mage replied, happy that his spell had succeeded. “Next time, I'll just set a small flame on my finger and light it that way. That was at the lower limit of my projected power, I think."
    "May the Names help our enemies, then.” Crest grinned in evident appreciation as he spoke.