The Sorcerer's Quest Read Online Free Page A

not,
however, bring about the next Robin of Loxely. Finish that thought and I will
rescind my offer to assist you .”
    I slipped the loot back into my bag as I made a
mental reminder to never mention it again. Apparently, wolves despised charity
more than sorcerers did. “Okay.”
    Merlin decided we needed a place to practice my magic
where I didn’t have to worry about people getting hurt. He then said that he
knew where we could go, but wasn’t in the mood to tell me where, so we got back
to the dirt road and started the journey to somewhere . It seemed like he
forgot about me getting a new wand, which I was secretly glad for.
    That was until I found out what he had in mind.
     
    *          *          *
     
    Most of the day was spent in silence. I wanted to
know about Merlin’s world, but he wasn’t in a talkative mood. I hoped it was
because he had just escaped from the syrus and not because this was as friendly
as he got.
    “What was it like in the syrus?”
    “ Like I was asleep ,” he said easily.
    “How long were you in there?”
    “ There is no way to be sure until I return to a
world that keeps an accurate calendar system. It does make world-travel
difficult .”
    “So you’re saying you don’t know?”
    “ Yes, that is what I am saying .”
    “How many times have you been to Akadema?”
    “ While I have not been to this particular area
before, I have been to this world twice. Of course, twice was quite enough. I
find the fact that nearly everyone on your world has magic of one form or
another tedious. Necessary for your way of life, yes, but tedious all the same .”
    Although it really sounded like he was insulting
everyone on this world, he didn’t seem to realize he was doing it. “What’s
wrong with magic? You’re a wizard.”
    “ Yes, well, that is quite different here. If you
fall ill, you go to a mage. If you get pregnant, you go to a seer to find out
what gender the child is. If you want to speak to long dead loved ones, you go
to a necromancer .”
    “Actually, if I became pregnant, I wouldn’t be going
to a seer. I don’t know about your world, but men don’t get pregnant here.”
    He gave me a look that simultaneously irritated and
confused me, as if he was judging me and wasn’t terribly impressed. At that
point, I decided not to talk any more.
     
    *          *          *
     
    The sun was low in the sky when the path abruptly
ended at the gates of a massive, old, rundown mansion.
    A massive mansion which hadn’t been there a moment
before.
    I looked behind us, then back at the mansion, then
behind us again. It was not something I could have missed; it was massive.
    “ The manor has an illusionary ward over it, ”
Merlin explained. “ Until you come upon it, you cannot see the mansion. Fear
not; this fort belongs to an old friend of mine .”
    “You have friends?” I asked, earning quite the
blood-chilling glare in return. He didn’t answer and instead motioned for me to
go through the gate. I did, but not without the appropriate amount of
complaining and begging that we run as fast as we could in any direction that
was away from the mansion.
    The gate was old and opened easily, since it didn’t
have a lock. Merlin’s friend probably thought he would never have a problem
with bandits on account of the mansion being so creepy that any sane man would
run as fast as he could in any direction that was away from the mansion… like
we should have been doing.
    A cracked stone walkway, overcome with weeds, led to
a very grand porch. Thorny vines tried to wrap around my ankles as we made our
way to our certain and painful deaths. “Merlin, your friend isn’t a cannibal,
is he?”
    Merlin frowned as thoughtfully as a wolf could. “ Not
the last time I saw him .”
    I opened my mouth to ask why that didn’t reassure me,
thought better of it, and shut my mouth. We reached the porch, which was also
cracked and overgrown. When Merlin looked at