Friday, November 27, 2020

A Teaser from A GATHERING OF DRAGONS

Here is an excerpt from my New Book... A GATHERING OF DRAGONS! 

On sale now for your Holiday entertainment...

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 NOW for the Teaser...

Kingdom of Jaldraak – Outside Wallington

 

The fog was dense and cold. With Adrian on his back, Farloft spread his wings and sailed quietly in for a landing outside the township of Wallington. The big dragon sank into the muddy field up to his ankles.

“Let me get you to drier ground before you slid off,” Farloft whispered to Adrian.

He padded quietly out of the field, listening intently and watching for movement. The fog was so thick he didn’t realize he had reached the road until his paws stopped making a sucking sound each time he took a step forward.

Adrian pulled his hood down and rose up in the stirrups of the saddle. “I can’t see anything to get my bearing. Do you know where we are?”

Farloft pointed with a wing. “Wallington is about a mile that way.” The big dragon stepped off the road and headed up toward the shelter of the woods. “I will stay here while you go in. You have the Dragoncall, if you need me.”

This was the arrangement they had made over and over during the past month as they travelled. They flew by night, then found a place for Farloft to wait while Adrian went into the community with his stories and songs, but also to listen. Even though the bard had previously brought news from Jaldraak, the old dragon insisted on being thorough. He wanted to start in Jaldraak and work their way south to Wallington and the source.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Adrian said, as they walked by a tree with a posted notice on it.

Farloft stopped and bent his head to read. It was a wanted poster. He reached out and tore the paper from the tree leaving deep claw marks in its place.

“One hundred gold coins and ten parcels of land as bounty for me?” The dragon boomed. “I am worth far more than that!” The old beast was insulted by the poster rather than frightened.

“Well, perhaps it is all the Crown on this side of Westridge has to offer,” Adrian tried to soothe him. The dragon was growing so warm beneath him he could feel it through the saddle.

“Nonetheless,” Farloft snorted in indignation. “King Tallis offered ten times that for my head when he ruled Baldar!”

“And when was that?” Adrian asked.

“Hummm,” the dragon mused, “perhaps a century ago, or maybe two.”

“Well,” Adrian said with a lift of his brow, “times are hard these days.”

Farloft crushed the poster in his paw and tossed it to one side. “Not an excuse for devaluing a dragon’s worth,” he grumbled.

The dragon huffed and extended a wing so the bard could dismount.

“If I’m not back in three days, you come find me.”

Farloft nudged the bard in the back with his nose. “If you are not back in three days, I may burn the castle down after that insult,” he said nodding toward the crumpled paper.

“Please don’t,” Adrian advised. “We were sent here to find out about a possible war, not start one.”