The Accidental Archmage by Edmund Batara (read out loud books .TXT) 📕

here! Over here! HERE!”

He looked for the source of the loud voice. Finally, he saw Habrok. The man was

jumping up and down. Like an armored monkey.

With a sigh, Tyler waved his hand and walked towards the man. He prayed that he

wouldn’t jinx them again. Habrok was also walking towards him at a fast clip.

“Well met, my lord. We thought you were dead,” said Habrok, a wide grin on his face.

“Likewise, Habrok. Glad to see you’re alive. You all made it?”

“Yes, my lord. Thanks to the All-Father! It was harrowing. Hundreds of jotnar and…..”

Tyler held up his hand, palm out, cutting the conversation. As he feared, Habrok was in a skaldic mode again.

“Let’s talk about it later. Let’s go find Jorund.”

As they walked past the town gates, Tyler could see the line of people leaving the town.

It looked unending. It reminded him of the scenes on CNN showing conflict zones. The

terrified faces of the women and children, babies crying, the resigned expressions of

the men, the overloaded wagons loaded with hastily gathered possessions, dogs

running around, and the grim faces of the guards and warriors who will be left behind.

Around them lay the detritus of panicked and hurried evacuation. Some things never

change, sadly thought Tyler.

“Where are they going?” he asked Habrok.

“Thornby. The town of Half is too dangerous and already evacuated. A few men remain

there to man the town. Thornby is nearer and has not experienced any attacks. But if

Scarburg falls, Thornby is no safe haven.”

“War it is then?”

“Maybe. So far no direct attacks on Scarburg though scouts report jotnar and dokkalfr

in great numbers beyond the Gap. But Scarburg is not ready for war. Too few warriors.

A handful of mages. Fixed defenses are inadequate. Reinforcements from Ahrensburg

have yet to arrive and there’s no hope of help from the eastern towns or even Maljen.”

“That’s depressing news, Habrok.”

“Of course, my lord. But what can we do? That’s the truth and lying about it won’t

change things.”

“And we’re going to be in the middle of it,” groaned Tyler. “Where’s Jorund?”

“He’s in the Drunken Boar Inn. We have been waiting for you. It appears he had a

dream a few nights ago that you were on your way here. So, we took shifts waiting for

you at the gate. I thought he was starting to be looney but it appears he was right.”

“That old man! He’s several steps ahead of me. Again!” thought Tyler. It's impossible to

match wits with somebody who had millennia of experience in this kind of game. Yet he

was still relieved that the old man didn’t know everything. As long as he keeps his focus

on his goal, he trusted that everything else is a sideshow.

As they walked towards the inn, Tyler noticed the streets to be mostly empty. Except

for a few warriors and inhabitants going about their business. The hustle and bustle of

a thriving town were gone, replaced by an atmosphere of fear and waiting. When they neared the inn, he spied Jorund on its steps, sharpening his axe.

Jorund stood up when noticed them approaching and waited for them to come nearer.

“Heill og saell, my lord,” greeted the man, using a traditional Norse salutation.

“To you also, Jorund. Good to see you all in one piece.”

Jorund gestured for them to enter the inn. The inside was empty. When Jorund

informed the innkeeper that they would need another room, the fat man looked as glad

as he could be in a town where almost everybody was evacuating. The three choose a

corner table with Jorund again sitting with his back to the wall. His battleaxe he kept at

his side.

“My lord, I thought you were good as dead when the drake carried you away,” said

Jorund.

“Somebody looked out for me,” answered Tyler.

“I apologize, my lord. I didn’t mean to pry. I do know you are more than what you

appear. Habrok also knows. We’ve seen what happened to the jotnar encampment. And

we made it to Scarburg alive even though I believed we were all going to die.”

“Yes, my lord. It was strange. The only jotnar we encountered and fought were in ones

or twos. No bands. I have been a scout for many years but even I was surprised that

we evaded their patrols. It was as if we were hidden well as we moved through the

forest,” interjected Habrok. “It was as if they couldn’t smell or hear us. A group even

passed a few feet in front of my hiding place and they didn’t notice me.”

“Habrok. Adults are talking,” admonished the warrior.

The man shut his mouth.

“So, you see, my lord, with you, things are not what they appear to be. A huge drake

picked you up and then you show up in Scarburg with nary a scratch. There’s more, my

lord. A dream where an old man asked me a peculiar favor together with instructions to

watch for your arrival.”

Gone is the taciturn Jorund, thought Tyler. Must have been the shock of the past few

days. Welcome to my world.

“How about you, Habrok? Any dreams of that sort?” asked Tyler.

“No, my lord. Only a dream of my father, may he be in Valhalla, telling me to follow Jorund. And he had a very big club with him. He told me he’ll give me the beating of

my life if I disobey,” answered Habrok with a shiver. “By Odin, I really fear that man.”

So Odin stuck me with Jorund and the jinx, he thought. I have no problems with Jorund

but Habrok… even with his skills as a ranger, is a jinx. Or could jinx everybody. Hope

Odin knows what he is doing. Or maybe he loves a good laugh now and then at my

expense.

“I suppose you haven’t told anybody about what happened? How about the guards with

you?”

“The guards were positioned too far to the sides and at the back to see anything, my

lord. The truth is they thought it was a really severe thunderstorm and hid their asses

immediately. When we withdrew, we didn’t pass in view of the destroyed encampment.

Though we explained you away as having been summoned somewhere else by your

master. A magic which would also explain the thunderstorm anyway. Not