Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Travis Baldree
- Language: English
- Genre: Action & Adventure Fantasy
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Viv stood in the morning chill, looking down into the broad valley
below. The city of Thune bristled up from a bed of fog that hazed the
banks of the river bisecting it. Here and there, a copper-clad steeple
flashed in the sun.
She had broken camp in the predawn dark, and her long legs had eaten up
the final few miles. Blackblood weighed heavy on her back, the Scalvert’s
Stone tucked in one of her inner jacket pockets. She could feel it like a hard,
withered apple, and reflexively touched it through the cloth from time to time
to reassure herself it was still there.
A leather satchel hung over one shoulder, stuffed mostly with notes and
plans, a few chunks of hardtack, a purse of platinum chits and assorted
precious stones, and one small, curious device.
She followed the road down and into the valley as the fog burned away,
and a lonely farmer’s cart tottered by, stuffed with alfalfa.
Viv felt a rising sense of nervous elation, something she hadn’t felt in
years, like a battle-cry she could barely hold in. She’d never prepared as
much for any one moment. She’d read and questioned, researched and
wrestled, and Thune had been the city she’d chosen. When she’d crossed
every other location off her list, she’d been absolutely positive. Suddenly,
that conviction seemed foolish and impulsive, yet her excitement remained
undimmed.
No outer wall surrounded Thune. It had sprawled far beyond its original,
fortified boundaries, but she sensed herself approaching the edge of
something. It had been ages since she’d stayed in one place more than a
handful of nights, the duration of a job. Now, she was going to put down
roots in a city she’d visited maybe three times in her entire life.
She stopped and looked around warily, as though the road wasn’t entirely
vacant, the farmer long gone into the mist. Withdrawing a scrap of parchment
from her satchel, she read the words she’d copied.
Well-nigh to thaumic line,
the Scalvert’s Stone a-fire
draws the ring of fortune,
aspect of heart’s desire.
Viv tucked it carefully away again, exchanging it for the device she’d
purchased a week before from a Thaumist scholar in Arvenne—a witching
rod.
The small, wooden spindle was wrapped in copper thread, which covered
the runes inscribed along its length. A wishbone of ash was fitted over the top
and into a groove so it spun freely. She held it in her fist, feeling the copper
thread absorb the warmth of her palm. The spindle gave a barely-perceptible
tug.
At least, she was fairly certain it was a tug. During the Thaumist’s
demonstration, there had been a stronger pull. Viv pushed down the sudden
thought that it had all been a parlor trick. As a rule, folks with a fixed address
avoided swindling an orc twice their height who could snap a wrist if they
shook hands too firmly.
She took a deep breath and strode into Thune with the witching rod
before her.
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