The Callindra Chronicles Book One - First Quest Read Online Free Page B

concluded their
combat. I know not which of them unleashed the storm, but it swept
the field. Coruscating bolts of lightning fell instead of rain, the
cacophony was literally deafening.
    ‘ Abruptly, it all ended. The
storm did not abate, it simply ceased to be. Before us we could see
the two mages. The Master had impaled Dergeras through the heart
with his greatsword, the blunted tip opening a terrible wound in
his chest and yet the man still lived.’
    “ So you have taken unnatural
steps to preserve your miserable existence. Know that these things
will only serve to make you weak. Fear is a weakness; death comes
to us all and looking upon it with fear is foolish. I leave you
with these words to think on. Begone!”
    ‘ With that last word, the
form of Dergeras vanished from the blade of the sword, his face
still snarling in defiance. The meadow was littered with charred
corpses of the enemy force. The Master saw the destruction that had
been wrought and dropped to his knees, sword over his shoulder and
cried like a child.’
    “ I tried to warn them. Why
didn’t they leave?”
    “ Blademaster” I said, “You
are not to blame for the actions of others.”
    “ Nay General, this has been
a test of my skills and I have come up short. There is always a way
to improve one’s self. To cease learning is to die.”
    ‘ At this point, I knew he
was an honorable soldier. An honorable comrade. A man I could
respect.’
    Callindra’s eyes were getting heavy; she was
exhausted from being in constant pain. She set the book on the
bedside table and blew out the candle. Lying in the dark waiting
for sleep to come, she imagined she could hear the door open and
close.
    “ Glarian? Is that you?” Gods
and demons she wished her voice hadn’t quavered like a little
girl’s, but she had been truly worried he wouldn’t return.
Callindra felt a strange sense of doing this before, but couldn’t
imagine why.
    “ Yes child.” Glarian said,
“I just need to stow the hand cart in the lean-to before it gets
buried in snow.” He was standing in the doorway to her room holding
a lantern. Snow covered his brown cloak and heavy boots.
    After some shuffling and some loud thumps he
returned, holding a small vial filled with white powder. “Here
lass, this will help the break heal.” He mixed a pinch of the
powder into a glass of water and held it out.
    She drank it quickly, relieved it had no
flavor. Callindra was embarrassed by how comforting she found his
presence. “Thank you.” She said before sleep quickly claimed
her.
     
     

Chapter 4
     
    Glarian sat next to the fireplace across
from Callindra, a chess board sat on the table between them. These
evening games were a good distraction for her and gave him a chance
to enjoy some silence. The girl had a quick wit and a sharp tongue,
honed to a razor’s edge by the discomfort of her healing leg. When
she was concentrating on the board, she used the former and
silenced the latter.
    Since it was easier to only heat the main
room during the day, Glarian would carry her out to a comfortable
chair next to the fire in the morning and she usually spent the day
reading next to the fire. In the evenings, after dinner was
finished they would sit together. He would smoke and they would
play chess.
    She moved a knight into position after some
consideration. It was a good move, but one he had anticipated.
Nodding in satisfaction he countered with a pawn; smiling at her
look of confusion.
    “ Why do you use pawns so
often? They’re the weakest piece on the board.” Callindra said,
surprising him by taking the pawn with a bishop, threatening his
king.
    “ Because they are expendable
and because sacrificing them allows me to see possible strategies
you might use.” Glarian said, taking her bishop with a
rook.
    Callindra smiled, countering his move by
taking the rook with her knight, threatening his king again. He
paused, looking at the board and realized she had set a clever
trap. There was