The Azure Wizard Read Online Free

tavern. Near the tavern was a three-storied inn with a large stable attached. Business and commerce was everywhere.
    The dirt lane Ethan strode upon ran from the north gate of the town, that Ethan had entered through, all the way through town before leaving out of the south gate where it meandered down the foothills into Greenwell. Numerous people rode horses, sat upon wagons, or simply walked about on the muddy street, and the scent of horses and manure overpowered the more repulsive odor of the nearby tannery located somewhere on a close by side street. Everyone had smiling faces exchanged greetings and partings and went about their daily work and errands content with their lot in life. In the center of Lumberwall Ethan could see the large timber and stone keep of Baron Ruauld, the hereditary ruler of the Barony of Vhar whose line had reigned since the dawning of the First Age.
    As he passed citizens of Lumberwall going about their responsibilities Ethan wondered to himself how many were storytellers, and he wondered how many of these people had been into the Barony of Greenwell or perhaps even the Barony of Wendlith. His thoughts were interrupted by his rumbling stomach and the pangs of hunger. Ethan had been through only two villages during his twenty-five day trek to get to Lumberwall, and though their rural inhabitants were more than willing to offer Ethan food and shelter during his journey, the long stints following deer trails and footpaths to the south out of the highlands quickly expended the oats and dried venison he had brought with him.
    For nearly two weeks he had been forced to live off the land, consuming raw mushrooms and what few berries he came across. More than the hunger, though, Ethan was plagued by thirst. He hadn’t brought a water skin, and he kind of just assumed that he could make due by finding pools of pure mountain water or springs like the heroes in the tales he knew. But Ethan soon came to realize that he wasn’t as outdoor-proficient as the heroes, and water was harder to find than he had ever imagined.
    He swallowed in an attempt to wet his dry puffy throat, but to no avail, and he began a sore hike to the tavern just up ahead. En route Ethan sighed as he came to the realization that he hadn’t brought any silver coins, much less any gold ones. This was going to take some finesse.
    When he reached the tavern he saw that it was actually connected to the inn and stables by a short, stout, oaken bridge that arched over the side street between them. Hanging from the side of the bridge was a weathered, dark, wooden sign that faced the main avenue through town, and painted upon it in bright peeling yellow paint was The House of Chronicles. Ethan let out an anxious breath and strode to the open door of the tavern. He could hear the music from outside and he could smell the aroma of pipe smoke, but upon entering the song became clearer, sung in a hauntingly-beautiful voice thickly accented.
     
    A merry old sod
    Told a tale one day
    To a lad who ever dreamed.
     
    A sweeping yarn
    Of a terrible price
    Paid for price of greed.
     
    Long ago
    In the Ancient Age
    Was a girl and an evil Lord.
     
    The Lord took what he liked
    With nary a shrug
    He wanted it all and more.
     
    Then one day
    He saw the girl
    The girl of another man.
     
    With long rosy locks
    Bright blue eyes
    He nabbed her before she ran.
     
    He forced the girl
    To do his will
    And she dwelt long in sorrow.
     
    Then one day
    She had enough
    It would end on the morrow.
     
    Next time the Lord came
    To have his fill
    She knew she wouldn’t fail.
     
    She pulled a knife
    And she jabbed it forth
    And he lost what made him male.
     
    The girl then took flight
    And she fled the keep
    Reuniting with her true love.
     
    It was then that they
    Escaped the town
    By the Ancestors above.
     
    The Lord suffered the price
    Of cruelty and greed
    But he became a darker Lord.
     
    What came then
    We all know
    But that old tale makes us