Free Forgotten Mage by D.W. Jackson Page B

room,
each falling down numerous times on the trip. Shortly after
entering the room, a large man brought in a thin mattress and threw
it on the floor. Bren didn’t ask who wanted what, he was too tired
to care and collapsed onto the mattress on the ground.
    The next morning as Bren started to
stir, the first thing he noticed was the pounding at the base of
his skull. Holding his head with his hand, he slowly sat and looked
around for something to drink to get the taste of day old ale out
of his mouth.
    Bren set his hand next to his side to
help steady himself as he stood when he felt something soft brush
against his fingertips. Looking down, he saw a large lump in the
covers. Pulling them back slowly, he saw Faye laying there curled
up into a tight ball still wearing the same clothes she had the
night before.
    “Close the curtains,” Faye said as she
covered her eyes with the crook of her elbow.
    “I wish I could, but we need to get
back on the road,” Bren replied, getting unsteadily to his
feet.
    “Why? The Tower isn’t going anywhere,”
Faye complained. We should take a nice long rest and try again
tomorrow.
    “We are only another two or three days
away though,” Bren said, before gulping down a large glass of water
to try and rinse the gritty feeling from his mouth.
    “Please,” Faye begged, pulling the
covers back over her head.
    Bren started to laugh, but the stabbing
pain in his head quickly stopped him. “Fine, but can we not do this
again,” Bren said as he shuffled toward the door.
    Once he was down the steps and made
arrangements with the man at the counter for another night, Bren
decided to explore the market district. It had been a long time
since he had been in a real market and for the first time since he
could remember, he was unaccompanied by guards. Growing up, anytime
he left the safety of the palace, there were guards around him. He
had gotten so used to them that they were like his shadow. Now
walking in the open streets, he felt almost naked without
them.
    After the first initial moments of
panic, Bren calmed down and moved through the streets carefully.
Unlike in the Farlan capital, not all the merchants had buildings.
Many of them just worked out of a stall on the street. Bren moved
from one to the next looking at anything that might be of interest
when he heard Avalanche barking.
    “Come here you thieving….thieving
whatever you are,” Bren heard a man yell as he caught a glimpse of
avalanche running toward him.
    As the rock hound normally did, it
brushed up against Bren’s leg threating to knock him over in his
unsteady state. Bren absentmindedly patted Avalanche on her head as
he looked around at the now staring people on the
street.
    “You there, stop!” A tall thin man said
running toward Bren. Not knowing what was going on, Bren looked
down at Avalanche with a questioning glare. “Is that…that thieving
beast yours?” The man asked, huffing as he bent over to catch his
breath.
    “Yes,” Bren replied without
hesitation.
    “Then you owe me for damages,” the man
gasped. “That beast chewed up two of my finest rings and ate their
gems.”
    “Avalanche, if you were hungry then you
should have let me know,” Bren replied, looking down at the
creature trying not to laugh. Avalanche had a knack for eating
things she wasn’t supposed to. He couldn’t count the number of
times his mother had come looking for her because she had eaten the
gems out of a piece of her jewelry. “How much was the cost
sir?”
    “It will be fifty gold or I will have
you and your beast thrown in the dungeon,” the man said, grabbing
Bren by the arm.
    “I have no problem paying you the
desired amount as long as you can prove the cost of the items my
dog has eaten, but you will unhand me,” Bren said, pulling his arm
free from the man’s grasp.
    “Guards,” the man called loudly when
Bren’s hand drifted too close to the sword on his waist.
    Bren didn’t try and run, he stood his
ground as