Free Gareth and th Lost Island by Patrick Mallard Page B

met, I ended up needing several stiches after she shot me in
the arse with a crossbow. Believe me when I tell you trying to
stich up your own arse using a mirror is a stone bitch,” he
commented. Suddenly feeling very exposed, Tralnis stepped to put
Gareth between him and the Shipping Guild booth.
    “She tried to kill you?!” Gareth gasped.
    Tralnis shook his head. “No, not at all. Bregga could
put out the eye of cave viper from 50 paces. She just wanted to
make sure I would have a permanent reminder of our relationship,”
he explained.
    Their discussion about Tralnis’ past love life was
cut short when a bubbly feminine voice inquired, “Sorry to
eavesdrop, but are you wanting to hire an airship?”
    Gareth turned around, and found himself face to face
with the young woman he had been watching earlier. Seeing her from
the front, he was even more taken in by her beauty. She wore her
red hair short in the back with long bangs in the front. Her bangs
were brushed off to the left side of her face where they almost hid
one of her beautiful green eyes. A light dusting of freckles ran
across her nose and cheeks. Her pale skin made the oil smudge on
the tip of her nose stand out even more than usual. A set of dark
tinted goggles hung from her neck by their strap. Gareth had seen
women who would be considered much more beautiful in a classical
sense, but he had never seen someone whose cute features warmed his
heart instantly. With a genuine smile on his lips, Gareth simply
said, “Hello.”
    Like Gareth, the young woman was suffering from
sudden sensory overload. She had noticed how handsome the young man
was from a distance, but was unprepared to be blown away once she
was face to face with him. His boyish good looks were of the type
that made a young woman want to grab a hold of his arm and drag him
back to meet her family. The warm hopeful smile he gave her quelled
her worries about the old adage that all of the cute ones were
either taken, gay, or undead (or any combination of the above.) The
young woman looked into Gareth’s violet eyes, and matched his smile
with one of her own. “Hello,” she echoed.
    “Hello,” Gareth repeated.
    “You’ve already said that, Gareth,” Tralnis
needlessly pointed out. He held out his hand to the young woman in
a friendly gesture while saying, “I’m Doctor Tralnis Granitestaff
and this eloquent lad is my son, Professor Gareth Mintel, and yes,
we are looking to hire a ship.”
    The young woman shook the Dwarf’s offered hand. “I’m
Isadora Morgana, the engineer and part owner of the Glorious Dawn.
My friends call me Izzy,” she said, introducing herself. She let go
of Tralnis’ hand, and offered hers to Gareth whose cheeks were
blushing slightly. The fact that he was still smiling while
obviously embarrassed made him even more endearing to her.
    Finally reengaging his brain, Gareth shook her
offered hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Izzy. I would be
honored if you would call me Gareth,” he said, never meaning that
phrase more than at that very moment. “Once you get to know the
good doctor here, I’m sure he would appreciate you calling him
Tralnis rather than the other less pleasant names I’m sure you’ll
come up with,” he teased, getting back at Tralnis for making fun of
his brain lock. Gareth enjoyed the sound of Izzy’s bubbly laughter
as she let go of his hand. “We need to hire an airship for an
undetermined about of time for an archeology expedition. Aside from
us, we have a third member of our party and a small wagon load of
supplies and equipment,” he told her.
    “Providing that you don’t mind if we load up on other
cargo to sell along the way, and Tralnis would be willing to offer
his services free of charge to the crew, I think we can make a
deal,” Izzy told them cheerfully.

Chapter 8
    Henry idly flipped through the pages of one of the
ancient books Tralnis had liberated from Gareth’s old office. This
particular book had several