Free Messenger of the Dark Prophet (The Bowl of Souls: Book Two) by Trevor H. Cooley

have quite a rivalry.” He looked around conspiratorially. “I am sure that an orc wouldn’t be too happy if you called him ‘a son of a goblin!’” The gnome chortled. “Ha! What an absolutely marvelous joke! Page two hundred fifty-eight paragraph one, line two!”
     
    Justan laughed along with the gnome. “Actually, Vincent. I came to tell you that it is time for lunch. I happen to know for a fact that you haven’t eaten all day and I'm determined to force a meal down your throat.”
     
    “Ah,” the gnome muttered with a bored sound in his voice. “Well that can’t be true, I sent Chauncey out to bring me breakfast this morning.”
     
    Justan shook his head. Chauncey was one of two gnomes on Vincent’s staff. “That was yesterday and Chauncey didn’t even make it out of the door without being distracted. I believe he ended up reading Professor Bandarb’s dissertation on the wing symmetry of an air fish. I doubt that he has eaten anything today either.”
     
    Vincent waved Justan away. “Then why don’t you be a good young man and bring me some food back from the kitchen.”
     
    He looked back down to his notes and yanked on the end of his nose. His spectacles finally fell and hit the ground with a clatter. Justan quickly bent over and retrieved them before Vincent could step on them. The gnome didn’t seem to notice.
     
    “I can’t leave here now. I must get the research books together for Professor Locksher. I sent Hibbel and Gaxen to retrieve those books hours ago. Where have they run off to?”
     
    Justan gave a frustrated grunt. He knew where the two apprentices were, taking advantage of the poor gnome once again. They were two of the worst ones about it. The problem was that even when Vincent suspected that they were lax in doing their duties, he got distracted and forgot.
     
    “Vincent I believe that they were waylaid in the anatomy section and are now playing Elements in the aisle.”
     
    The gnome gasped and Justan handed him back his spectacles. The gnome thrust them back on his nose. Once again, they slid down and teetered on the brink of falling off. “Why I can’t believe the nerve of those two. I am going to give them a piece of my mind and then I’m going to report this to the professors!” Vincent huffed and stormed across the library floor.
     
    Justan called after the librarian, “Remember, they are in the Anatomy section! Aisle sixty-two between rows four and five.” He didn’t want Vincent to forget.
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
     
    Once a week, the Mage School held an Elements tournament right after dinner. It was located in the Hall of Elements and any student who wished could participate. It was a time of enjoyment and competition. Over half the school joined in.
     
    The students signed up the night before. Everyone was assigned a seat in a random pattern so that each student played with a new group of people every time. This was done to foster a greater sense of community in the school. It kept cliques from forming and made the students associate with one another.
     
    The magic of the hall was intensified on these nights. The four colored sections of the room reverberated with energy. For the students in the air section, there was a constant breeze, those in the fire section were buffeted by random blasts of heat, the earth section was filled with the smell of soil and every once in a while a tremor would shake the floor. The water section was particularly interesting for when each student entered it, their entire body felt wet. Even though they could breathe normally, everyone’s hair and robes moved about as if they were playing the card game underwater. These extra magics in the different sections could be uncomfortable at times, but that was part of the fun of the evening.
     
    The master of the event was none other than Master Latva, head wizard of the school. The old man with the youthful eyes would enter from