Patricia Moore
Stories
14
Chapters
5,808
Words
3.9 M
Comments
0
Reading
13 d, 9 h
-
"There he is!" Greeves said loudly as he swung the door open and let it crash into the wall. Beam noted that he was far more appropriately dressed today. He clenched a long pipe between his teeth that smoked away as he stood there, releasing the familiar aroma of purple mountain grass. Instead of a wide-open dressing gown, the merchant wore a green tunic and a wide belt and a fur cloak over the top of it all. With his boots a sturdy leather and his dark trousers a reliable linen, he looked well…-
479 •
-
-
Dominus carefully watched him, trying to find out the exact reason why progress was possible for him, despite his precarious position. Of course, he knew that Claudia's blessing was helping to balance things – but the strain on Beam's soul should have been immense. But no matter how hard Dominus looked, he could not decipher it yet. … … That day, for running, Dominus took Beam back to the ravine from a few days prior, though a slightly different part of it, so that the boy would have to…
-
479 •
-
-
Beam was soon through his warm-ups and he rolled the second stone, looking over his shoulder to make sure his master was watching. Dominus nodded towards him, and Beam began. 'Well, for this month at least, I suppose stone lifts are fine,' he decided. 'It's barely been a week since he's begun, after all.' Beam powered through the second stone, looking only slightly more sluggish than he was yesterday. The 16th lift went up fine, but then on the 17th, it was as though he'd misgrooved it somehow, for…
-
479 •
-
-
Chapter 5 – Battle With The Goblins On the morning of the next day, just as he had done the day before, Beam awoke excited, pleased to be away from his dreams – they'd been particularly troubling that night – and he eyed the lifting stones hoping to set another record for himself and grow even stronger than yesterday. Dominus watched the boy eagerly zipping around like a dog that needed walking and he gave a wry smile, shifting the embers of last night's fire, revealing the red. With a few dry…
-
479 •
-
-
"Well, you're going to have to get used to it. There are people in this world far more difficult to deal with than Greeves. Namely, nobility. If you want to accomplish any kind of military feat, you're going to have to go through the nobles. That's where all the power and money lies, and, more importantly, only they have the king's permission to raise an army." Dominus said. "And I'm going to need an army to fight the Pandora Goblin, right?" Beam asked. "Well, that's undoubtedly true, but before you…
-
479 •
-
-
"Ah, are you in a hurry?" Greeves asked, noticing his eagerness to depart. "Then I'll let you go, for I don't exactly have the information we need to conclude this deal of ours. I'll gather up all the tasks that bastard Ferdinand has sent me and I'll make a list of what needs doing. And, as agreed, once they are all complete, the debt between you and I will be settled and you will have 5 silver coins for your trouble. We'll meet here again tomorrow, mm?" Beam narrowed his eyes. Since he could see the…
-
479 •
-
-
"Mm," Beam nodded, still not giving away that he had no idea what the latest one was. "Anyway, I've dealt with a couple just 'cos I had to, but the fucker keeps sending more. Now I've got a list up to my eyeballs, a list of shit he wants me to spend money on, with no profit in it for me. Getting rid of low-tier monsters, getting firewood for the winter, deal with complaints from old people, loads of fucking shite.." "Goblins?" Beam murmured. "That's right, Goblins," Greeves said. "What, you're not…
-
479 •
-
-
Beam shook his head. "No," he said. "I don't particularly have any interest in the games that you play. I'll help you raise those five silvers, despite your actions, but in return, I want you to help me raise five silver of my own." Even Dominus tilted his head in interest, as he thought he might be beginning to understand the boy's true self. "Is it just an unbelievable balance that the boy has? To truly be like water. To take whenever there is an opportunity and to merely struggle when there is not…
-
479 •
-
-
Judas tapped his wooden baton into his massive palm to accent his employer's words. "Neither," Beam said firmly, pleased that he didn't stutter his words, despite hating every moment of this situation. He had adrenaline coursing through his veins, as it had started to when he sparred with Dominus, when he'd decided that he really wanted to do something right. "Go on then," Greeves said impatiently. "I know you're a stupid fucking digger boy, but when you say 'neither' you're meant to offer…
-
479 •
-
-
People talked animatedly in front of stalls, as buyers attempted to haggle their way down to lower prices and merchants made shows of walking away and cancelling the deal entirely when they went too low. It was through that crowd of people that Beam had to force his way through. He headed to the big white three-story house at the other side of the square, the one where the local lord's son often stayed, and from there he took a left, arriving at the door of Greeves' home almost instantly. It too was…
-
479 •
-
- Previous 1 … 577 578 579 … 581 Next