Free Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) by Barry Gibbons Page B

some time."
    "I'll need to collect a few things." Damarius murmured, rising to his feet. He looked to his daughter. "Why don't you join me, my dear. I have a few things that I would like to discuss with you before we depart."
    "O-Of course, father." Lady Skie agreed, her expression uncharacteristically hesitant.
    Damarius cast one last scowl at Shirk, then hurried from the room followed closely by his daughter.
    "I need a drink." Shirk groaned, passing a trembling hand across his face.
    "Try some of this." Sly offered, sitting the cask he was holding on the table and filling several tankards, which he passed around to the others. "It's from the latest batch of brew we cooked up. I think you may be pleasantly surprised."
    Shirk took the tankard from the scruffy little man and took a long drink. "This isn't bad." He admitted, taking another drink. "It's actually quite good."
    "You're right, Shirk," Damion murmured, draining his tankard. "This is good."
    Brody sniffed at his tankard's contents suspiciously for a moment, then took a small experimental sip. "This is surprisingly tasty." The elven man said with some surprise. "It's not as good as elven wine, but it is still quite refreshing."
    Sly took a long drink from his own tankard, and then burped thunderously. "The recipe is close to being perfected," He grumbled, his expression unhappy. "but there still seems to be missing something. I just can't seem to put my finger on it what it may be."
    "Why don't you try asking Slither?" Raven suggested. "He almost drinks as much ale as you do."
    "That's not a bad idea." Sly told her with a nod of thanks. "Where is he?"
    "He went to go investigate those goblins that the work crews were complaining about." Leia told him, a small frown crossing her face. "He should have been back by now. I don't know what could be taking him so long."
    It was late evening by the time that Slither finally returned to the castle.
    "It's about time that you found your way back." Damion murmured to the huge shadowspawn as he entered the warrior's office, where Damion, Lady Skie, and Sly were busy discussing the few remaining details of running the castle before their departure the following morning. "Something has come up. Raven, Shirk, Damarius, and I are going to return to the Elven Islands with Ava Delilah and Etha Brody, while Aunt Skie, Sly, and Leia look after Sevria. I need you to make sure that you stick close to Leia while we're gone."
    "Do you not feel that ssshe isss capable of defending herssself if the need arisssesss?"
    "She knows just enough to get herself into some serious trouble if she is not careful." Damion chuckled. "Hopefully with you around to help keep her reined in, she won't get herself into anything too serious."
    "Where have you been anyway?" Sly asked the huge shadowspawn curiously.
    "SSSlither went to invessstigate the reportsss of goblinsss near the trade road." The huge shadowspawn hissed in reply.
    "And?"
    Slither shrugged. "There were sssignsss that goblinsss were sssomewhere in the area, but SSSlither wasss not able to locate them. They may have moved on."
    "I doubt we'll get that lucky." The scruffy little man grumbled sourly. "I have the feeling that we haven't seen the last of them."
    "SSSlither will contact the ssspawn and alert them to their presssence. If they return, the ssspawn will eliminate them for usss. They dessspissse goblinsss."
    "I think that I have located everything that I may need while we're gone." Damarius reported as he suddenly appeared in the doorway with a slightly harassed look on his face. "It took me a while to find everything under all of my notes and formulas." He frowned. "I may have to take a couple of weeks once we return and straighten my workshop up a bit. It looks like a tornado passed through there."
    "Considering how many times you've had one of your experiments blow up in your face and destroy your workshop, it's a miracle that you were able to find anything at all." Damion snorted in