David Bishop and the Legend of the Orb by T.C. Crawford (tools of titans ebook .txt) 📕

a lifetime. She felt she could tell him anything and he wouldn’t judge her or make her feel silly for sharing her hopes for the future.

She smiled at the thought of their first encounter. He looked so scared and frail, but somehow, he had this sense of strength about him. Something about him was special, not just that the orb had chosen him, but something deeper than that. She longed for the comfort he provided her, the sense of security when he looked in her eyes. She slowly felt herself drifting off to sleep, filling her mind with thoughts of David and longing for the day they were back together.

✽✽✽

The morning came faster than she had wished, feeling as if she could have slept an eternity. She felt revived from the weariness that consumed her the night before, but she could have definitely used a few more hours of sleep.

The bustle of the camp echoed around as the sun peered through the opening in the canopy above and into her tent flap. She could hear the footsteps of men all around, starting about their daily tasks, and the shouts of officers ordering their men to begin their rounds.

Some soldiers were ordered to patrol the camp ground to ensure the safety of all the inhabitants while others were ordered to change shift with those who stood watch in the night, patrolling the borders of the camp and the surrounding woodlands for any signs of a potential threat.

She could hear the distinct clap of their fists to their heart and a thundering bellow of ‘Yes sir!’ before immediately starting off on their duties.

She quickly sat up and stretched before wiping off the sleep from her eyes. She got on her feet and made her way through her tent flap and into the camp outside.

The morning was still young, and the sun was barely finding its way through the canopy of the trees above. She knew that once it reached its height in the sky that it would be piercing through with much more intensity, so she relished the dim morning light and the cool air while it lasted. She shook off the remaining drowsiness and started to make for the large command tent Captain Ryan had disappeared into the night before.

Just as she neared the entrance the flap opened, and Ryan stepped out into the open ground between them. He flashed his usual grin when he saw her and raised his hand in greeting.

“Hey there. I was just coming to get you up. How did you sleep?” he asked.

“Fine as I could I suppose. I see everyone’s up and moving already. Did you get any sleep last night? You look exhausted.” she replied, concerned.

“I’ve been up all night with the other officers trying to find a way through the city’s defenses. We can’t seem to find a way in without alerting the soldiers patrolling the perimeter of the city.”

He let out a big sigh and wiped his eyes before going on. “I’m exhausted, but we can’t afford to rest right now. We have too much to do, and we don’t know how long we have before our location is compromised. The scouts reported seeing a few groups of soldiers scanning the surrounding wood only yesterday. It’s only a matter of time before they search this area and find our camp. We’ve taken out a few of their search parties, but we can’t risk taking them all out in the same area or it will give away our location.”

“Yeah, that makes sense…do you think they will find us soon?” asked Erin, concerned her newfound sense of safety wouldn’t be lasting much longer.

“A few of our men led the soldiers away from our camp before returning for the night in an effort to draw them away. It seems to be working for now, but as I said, it’s just buying time, not providing a solution,” replied the captain.

He shifted his weight in an effort to get comfortable. He had been standing all night bent over that table, his back was aching, and his eyes were heavy from the lack of sleep. Erin frowned with concern and disapproval, but Ryan shrugged it off in dismissal.

“Anyway…we can talk about that later. What I need now is to hear your story, find out what you know, and see if it can help us with our effort.”

He put his arm around her shoulder and started walking off towards a bench nearby. It was near a small fire pit that was dug out in the center of a ring of small tents that surrounded the pit. It appeared to be where the soldiers sat and ate, the smell of roasted meat still hung in the air near the bench.

They sat down together before Erin turned towards her friend and began recounting the events that led up to her capture. She began the morning of the day she met David. She explained how Tyrius had wanted to take her out of the city for some time alone, just to get away from the normal hustle and chaos of the capital. He must have noticed that she had needed a break from her studies and normal routine – he was always sensitive to her needs even if she didn’t express them.

Once they had left the city walls and had been walking for some time Tyrius mentioned he felt a breach in the spells around the Forgotten Temple where the orb had been sealed away. They immediately set off to find the source of the intrusion.

“By the time we arrived, the orb was gone, and the temple was empty. Or so we thought…” she explained. “Tyrius went off to alert the soldiers patrolling the local area before going to speak with the King, and he left me to investigate to see if I could find any signs of who may have intruded and taken the orb.

“When I was inspecting the area inside the temple a boy, about my age, appeared behind