Brian Pratt - The unsuspecting mage

Здесь есть возможность читать онлайн «Brian Pratt - The unsuspecting mage» весь текст электронной книги совершенно бесплатно (целиком полную версию без сокращений). В некоторых случаях можно слушать аудио, скачать через торрент в формате fb2 и присутствует краткое содержание. Жанр: Фэнтези, на английском языке. Описание произведения, (предисловие) а так же отзывы посетителей доступны на портале библиотеки ЛибКат.

The unsuspecting mage: краткое содержание, описание и аннотация

Предлагаем к чтению аннотацию, описание, краткое содержание или предисловие (зависит от того, что написал сам автор книги «The unsuspecting mage»). Если вы не нашли необходимую информацию о книге — напишите в комментариях, мы постараемся отыскать её.

The unsuspecting mage — читать онлайн бесплатно полную книгу (весь текст) целиком

Ниже представлен текст книги, разбитый по страницам. Система сохранения места последней прочитанной страницы, позволяет с удобством читать онлайн бесплатно книгу «The unsuspecting mage», без необходимости каждый раз заново искать на чём Вы остановились. Поставьте закладку, и сможете в любой момент перейти на страницу, на которой закончили чтение.

Тёмная тема
Сбросить

Интервал:

Закладка:

Сделать

Chuckling to himself, he goes outside and tells Miko they’ll be staying here for a few days. Untying the horse, he and Miko head around back to the stables.

A large, muscular man is back by the stable shoeing a horse. When he sees them walking toward him he says, “Just a minute.” He takes another shoe nail and hammers it into the hoof of the horse, securing the shoe in place. The man then puts down the hammer and inspects the shoe, making sure it’s on secure and even. When he’s satisfied with it, he lets the hoof go and turns toward James and Miko.

“Yeah?” he asks them in a surly tone. “Something I can help you with?”

James shows him the room key and says, “Just need a stall for my horse.”

“Got one,” he says as he gestures over his shoulder, “second from the front.” As if that ended the conversation, he turns back to the horse he had been shoeing. Taking the other fore hoof and a file from off a nearby worktable, he begins evening out the hoof’s rough edges.

James leads his horse into the stable and finds the stall, second from the front. It’s a clean and roomy stall with shelves lining the rear wall. It takes them little time to get the horse settled in. Once the horse has been properly taken care of, they grab their things and exit the stable, making for the door to the inn. Outside, the man is still shoeing the horse and pays them no mind whatsoever.

They enter the inn and go upstairs, finding room seventeen. Entering the room they are pleased to discover two beds, which brings a smile to Miko’s face.

“No floor tonight,” he says to James as he places the bags on the room’s small table. He then crosses over and lies down on the bed closest to the door, “I could get to like this.”

Taking the bed closer to the window, James places his backpack in the corner next to his bed, then lies down and literally sinks three inches into downy softness. “You’re right,” he says to Miko, “I could get to like this too. It’s far superior to any bed I’ve slept in for quite a while.”

Before growing too comfortable and loses the ability to get back out of the bed, he gets up and goes over to the window. From their room they have a good view of the inner city and spires of the castle. The castle is very majestic, it reminds James of castles he’s read about and saw on documentaries. He seriously doubts if there are any tours of this castle he could take.

Judging by the position of the sun, he figures they have close to two more hours till dark. Turning to Miko he says, “I’m going to go explore the town before dinner, want to go?” He sees Miko has already fallen asleep on the bed so decides to just let him sleep as he heads off on his own.

Coming down the stairs he sees the innkeeper sitting at a table with the cat in his lap, stroking its back. “Finally got her down I see,” he says to him as he approaches.

“She drives me crazy at times,” he says as he continues to pet the cat, “but I don’t know what I’d do without her. She was my wife’s you know, before she died. She’s all I have left to remind me of her.”

“By the way,” James says as he gets close, “My name is James.”

“I’m Inius, and this is Furball,” he replies as he continues petting the cat.

“I’m going to see some of the city before dinner,” he tells Inius. “If my friend Miko should wake up, could you tell him where I’ve gone?”

“If I see him, I’ll let him know,” Inius replies.

“Thank you,” James says then heads for the door.

Outside, the street remains fairly crowded with many people hurrying about their business. Figuring one direction is as good as another, he takes off down the road to the right, gazing at all the sights and goods being offered by the various merchants.

The shops lining the street have selections of their wares displayed on tables out front in the hopes of enticing those passing into buying. And if that wasn’t enough, most of them have a very loud spokesman, shouting the merits of whatever it is they are trying to sell.

One such place is a seller of amulets. The man is portraying his amulets as powerful magics, each with a special property. Some to ward off evil, some to cure warts, and even ones to entice the charms of the one you love.

James slows down as he looks over the various amulets displayed by the merchant. He soon realizes his mistake as the man, seeing that James has even the slightest interest in his amulets, comes over and attaches himself like a giant leech.

“Sir, you’ve come to the right place,” he says, moving into such a position that James is forced to stop or run into the man. Holding up a small, well worn amulet he continues, “This amulet was charmed by an ancient wizard, it will keep evil spirits from causing you harm.”

“No?” he says when he sees that James is not interested in that one. Holding up another, this one in the shape of a heart, he says, “This charm will make any lady you desire fall madly in love with you.”

Looking closer at the amulet, James thinks he can make out teeth marks indenting one edge of the heart. “No thank you,” he replies. As the man begins to extol the virtues of yet another of his amulets, James holds up his hand, causing the man to cease in the praising of his wares and to listen to what he is about to say.

James reaches into his shirt and pulls out the medallion the creature gave him back in Trendle and asks, “Have you ever seen one with a design like this before?”

Taking a close look at the medallion, the man shakes his head, “No sir, I have not.” Then he grabs another one of his amulets that he says will bring great wealth to whoever wears it.

Disappointed, he puts the medallion back inside his shirt. Realizing he’s not likely to get away without buying one, he points to an amulet at random, a plain circular one of metal, bearing three dots forming the points of a triangle with connecting lines.

Seeing the amulet that James has pointed to, the merchant says, “That one is indeed precious. It comes from very far away and is said to have been the property of a powerful sorceress,” he says with conviction as he holds it up for a better view. “It was said that this amulet protected her from harm for as long as she wore it.”

“What happened to her?” James asks.

“Her lover tricked her into taking it off and then killed her,” he explains. “Only two silvers good sir and you too will be protected as she had been.”

“Five coppers,” James counters, “and I’m just buying it to get away from you.”

“Sir,” the merchant exclaims tragically, “you would ruin me, starving my wife and children. Surely an amulet as powerful as this must be worth a silver and twelve coppers.”

“Perhaps, ten coppers,” James offers, “and hopefully it won’t turn my skin green or give me a rash.”

“How can you possibly put a price on such wonderful protection,” the man protests vigorously. “A silver six coppers, and that will bring curses upon my head from my wife for having given it away.”

“Seventeen coppers,” James says, “and I’m getting ready to walk.” Beginning to back away, he spies the man’s face turning frantic at the possible loss of a sale.

“A silver, good sir,” he pleads, practically screeching as he stretches the hand that is holding the amulet across the table as if to keep him from leaving. “Surely the protection must be worth at least a silver!”

Pausing as if to think, he says, “A silver it is then.” Reaching into his pouch, he produces a silver and places it on the table.

Snatching the coin so fast that the eye had a hard time seeing the move, the man hands over the amulet to James. With a friendly grin, the man gives a slight bow and says, “Thank you good sir and may a thousand blessings be upon you.”

Читать дальше
Тёмная тема
Сбросить

Интервал:

Закладка:

Сделать

Похожие книги на «The unsuspecting mage»

Представляем Вашему вниманию похожие книги на «The unsuspecting mage» списком для выбора. Мы отобрали схожую по названию и смыслу литературу в надежде предоставить читателям больше вариантов отыскать новые, интересные, ещё непрочитанные произведения.


Отзывы о книге «The unsuspecting mage»

Обсуждение, отзывы о книге «The unsuspecting mage» и просто собственные мнения читателей. Оставьте ваши комментарии, напишите, что Вы думаете о произведении, его смысле или главных героях. Укажите что конкретно понравилось, а что нет, и почему Вы так считаете.

x