I
King Halbern stood up from his chair. His face was stern. A lot of things were going through his mind. He nervous moved his head.
Where is that alchemist? the king thought. In his lab, no doubt, I'll go and see him.
The stairs, which led to the lab, were spiral. The king took one step at time. The lab doors were widely opened. The king stopped, stood there for a moment and entered the lab. The alchemist was rearranging the volumes that stood on the tallest shelf.
"Your Grace," the alchemist turned, "how may I help you?"
"What are you doing?" the king said, standing near him.
"I'm rearranging the volumes on my shelf."
"Anything else you are planning to do?"
"In the nearest time, nothing planned."
"Good. Then, I need your help."
"With what, Your Grace?"
"We need to locate a person."
"What person?"
"Someone, I hired."
"Where is h
IThe old man stood near the willow tree. He stood there, alone, forgotten. He was more than helpless; he was stronger than most men of his age. His face was stern. His nose was a bit bigger, crooked near the tip. His jaw was strong, almost anvil-like. His hair went in waves down his back.The children left his storytelling to play. Will they return? There are always those who will listen to his tales. He waited. Nearby, the children were playing with their own hand-made wooden swords. The man still waited, nobody returned. It was time to go. He turned, waited a bit more and walked towards the large, moss covered, building. His sixth sense was working overtime. One of the children was running behind him. He turned."Where are you going?"the child asked."It's time to rest,"he replied."Not until you finish your story.""So, you didn't forget.""No.""Good to hear,"the man stopped in his track,
IYamato lay on the ground with his arms stretched in front of him. Sasaki turned, looked at the city in the distance. His step is light, but firm. He walks, without a thought about the world. There is no one stronger and faster than he is. He knows this. Yamato was considered a great sword-master, he easily defeated him. The road was new, made in the first days of the new empire; it changed a lot of things mostly for the better. The distance between towns was drastically shortened. Sasaki walked. The forest was quiet, calmly quiet. The large trees with their crowns made a perfect shade. Outside, of the shade, the temperate was warm, too warm, even for those who are used to it. He walked slowly, enjoying the shade. It was his way of relaxing. The trees were perfectly aligned like they were making columns for an amphitheater. Sasaki looked at one of the trees, he remembered than one; all those years ago he climbed to see the emperor's army that marched through
THE BOOKThe public library, in Lorth, was founded by a wealthy citizen Quertin, whom the family disowned do to his failed political campaign. Every book he had, he gave to the library as a gift. The workers are still cataloging then, even today. People say that in the endless piles of books, there are those that are rear, extremely rear.The building, itself, stood long before Quertin was born, in the beginning it was a command post, later it was dormitory of student of magic. It had many more usages, until the town decided to expand the previous library.At the end of his life, Quertin tried his hand, again, in politics. Even this time, fate had a different card to play. He could do little against full-day and guerilla campaigners. Did he have another option? It's hard to say. Whatever the case may be, Two figures slowly walked down the large hallway. They were searching for something or someone. It matters not, they are ne
THE EVE OF THE BATTLEAlbin moved up and down, in every direction on his mat. He had that strange feeling that something unexpected is going to happen, but unfortunately, he didn't know what. No matter how hard he tried, it was a constant problem that drilled somewhere deep in his mind, not giving him a single moment of peace.He stood up, looked through the tent door, it was still night, dark and unwelcoming.Jin Tian was nowhere to be found, as usual.A soldier slept, leaned on his spear. Slowly he lifted his head."I…I wasn't sleeping."he said."No you weren't, you were resting your eyes,"Albin replied."Yes, I was doing that. Everything is quiet.""True."Something moved in the tall grass. The soldier, insecure, slowly moved forward. He lifted his spear, searched through the grass. A sign of relief appeared on his face. It was nothing. He turned.The sound of crossbow bolts
WAYSThe King of Alban stood near the beginning of his castle, looking in distance across the Golbar plain to the High Mountains. The scene was more than idyllic, it was peaceful and tranquil. A man could rest his eyes for hours. Nothing has change this far. A shadowy figure walked across the lonely courtyard. The king turned:"I knew that you are alive, you are a hard man to kill.""True,"Albinreplied."Where have you been after the battle?""Lying low, even if was strange for me.""Strange, indeed, if I say so. Where are you planning now?""Who knows, maybe, I'll follow the ridge north to Tamasar?""Tamasar of all places?""Why not?""It's a strange place.""I know.""But you still intend to go there. Why?""I still plan to go west.""West, is there a reason?""Yes, the key is the west.""Where in the west?""That I don't know. B
THE WALKINear the battlefield, on top a high single tower, a man stood and waited for news, good or bad, it depended, but he preferred the bad ones. The wizard turned on the balcony, looked towards the mountains. He entered the brightly lit room, searched for possible source of the strange anomaly. He searched and searched, until he found."The battlefield,"he rattled, "Albinis still alive, it doesn't matter! My plan will succeed, no matter the cost!"His hands moved in a strange pattern, made a complex sign. Magic eliminated from of his fingers, a power so powerful that it shook the foundation of his tower.The tower shook periodically, at even interlopes.The head minister moved forward, from the shadow."What news do you have?"his voice was sarcastic."Not good, I'm afraid.""And they are?""Albinstill lives.""Great, you remember what happens t
IA few days passed since the events in the Midwinter Town, the road to Agbata was finally opened.Albinrode his favorite horse, a chestnut. Even that didn't change his mood. He never liked this city; the people were too hospitable. It was unusually for him to be treated that way. In other parts, people feared sorcerers. Here, they were a normal thing.The massive entrance greeted him. The stone walls stood there as far as he could remember. A guardsman was there, wrapped in a fur cloak, snow was falling on his head and neck. He lifted up his head. In his long mustache traces of ice could be seen. The second patrol post was empty, the sorcerer concluded, the second guardsman must be on a break. The guardsman nodded.A young woman passed by, caring a child, the guardsman looked at her backside and firm breasts. He did not notice that the sorcerer was still there, waiting."Look at the cleavage on that,"he said to himself
After Albinsuccessfullyfinished his mission in Chigrin, a rider was sent to deliver the information.The rider rode through the dark night, his horse, a black stallion, was uneasy. There was something foul following them through the dense but dark wood, something sinister. The rider turned, he saw nothing, only a small layer of mist that rose from the moist bushes. There was nothing, but why did he have this strange feeling? There is something wrong with this forest. He wished that he took the right turn when he had the chance a few miles ago; there was no going back now. But he was on a deadline, he need to deliver the message to the queen, as fast as possible. Much depended on that. Only he knew the content, since it was written in an old tong long forgotten by men or elves. And there he was, a brave messenger, scared like a lonely child that fears to go through the dark hallway at night. The feelings were mutual. There was nothing else that he could do but to c