Free The Sword of Light: Book One of the Veredor Chronicles by E J Gilmour Page B

large ship
that had only just come into port. Across the docks, on the
southern side, was a smaller pier set apart from the main docks. A
few smaller fishing boats were moored to the pier. Eben and Cassiel
approached the smaller pier.
    An old man was
fixing a net at the edge of the dock. He was a bearded short man
with a very big nose, weathered skin, and a dirty old sailor’s hat
with a big eagle’s feather attached.
    ‘ Hello there,’ said Cassiel as they approached.
    The man
glanced up at Cassiel as he continued to fix his net. ‘Hello to you
too.’
    ‘ Can you tell me where I could buy a boat?’
    The old man
stopped fixing his net and looked up. ‘A boat? You don’t look like
a sailor or a fisherman.’
    ‘ I’m neither,’ said Cassiel coolly.
    ‘ Perhaps you’re wishing to sail the wild seas and see some far
off lands. I’ve been around sea folk for a few years now, and I
know a sailor when I see one. Let me give you some free advice: if
you sail out to sea without experience you’ll be sailing to your
grave,’ said the old man with a slight chuckle.
    ‘ I appreciate your interest, but if you can’t help me I will
ask someone else,’ said Cassiel impatiently. The old man laughed.
‘What’s so funny?’ asked Cassiel.
    ‘ You don’t remember me do you, Cassiel?’
    Cassiel’s eyes
widened as he suddenly recognised the old man. ‘Baftel!’ he cried,
stunned by the sudden revelation. Eben looked from Cassiel to the
old fisherman. Baftel threw his net aside and stood up. ‘What
brings you to Zyran?’
    ‘ I was going to ask the same question of you,’ said
Baftel.
    ‘ What are you doing here? I heard you were banished from the
Zyranian Order,’ stammered Cassiel.
    Baftel sighed
and looked around nervously. ‘Yes, I was banished from the Citadel
and cast out of the Zyranian Order. The Zyranian High Council voted
seven for my death and eight for my banishment.’ He sadly looked
back across the docks to the walls of the Citadel of Zyran. ‘I have
watched as the shadows have grown in Zyran. The dark cloud
constantly hovers over the island, but this morning, for the first
time in years, the sun seemed to find a way through.’ The old man
looked to Eben for a moment. ‘I believe there may be reason to hope
again.’
    Cassiel, still
pale with shock, slowly regained his regular composure.
    ‘ I heard that you betrayed the Zyranian Order and were
forbidden to practice magic,’ said Cassiel.
    Baftel
flinched at hearing Cassiel’s words and then nodded his head sadly.
‘Yes, I heard that was their story. The real truth was hidden
beneath a shroud of lies. Now I don’t suppose it matters. I can
never again enter the Citadel of Zyran. I have enjoyed fixing nets
and fishing for the last five years. The life of a wizard was
always full of adventure, but fishing is much more fun.’
    ‘ Can you help us find a boat to sail to Ortaria?’ asked
Cassiel.
    ‘ As I said, sailing these seas would be dangerous for someone
without any experience,’ replied Baftel, shaking his
head.
    Cassiel looked
out to sea and then back to Baftel. ‘Can you take us back to
Ortaria, Baftel?’
    ‘ I only have a twenty foot fishing boat. You would be better
off going on one of the larger trading ships.’
    ‘ I can’t wait for one of those ships. When I have to leave
Zyran I will need to leave at once. I can pay you, Baftel,’ said
Cassiel.
    Baftel’s eyes
narrowed. He glanced away, and a deep frown crossed his face. He
picked up his net and walked down the pier a little before he
answered.
    ‘ Cassiel, I know you’re an outcast like me. I wonder why you
would want to come back to Zyran in these dark times. There’s only
a coastal village here, and we both know you can’t go into the
Citadel. Am I correct in supposing that you are involved in
something untoward?’ Cassiel ignored the suggestion as Baftel threw
his net into an open deck sailboat and then walked back to the two
of them. ‘I remember when you