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

When they parted their eyes locked. In that moment, David’s whole world had changed. Now he knew he had to win. He had far too much to lose...failure just wasn’t an option.

Chapter XXIX

When he awoke the next morning, David found Erin sitting next to him with her head on his shoulder still fast asleep. They had apparently fallen asleep while leaning against his tent post the night before. For a moment, he forgot the rest of the world and just marveled at the thought of having her again by his side.

“Hey, David! Get up, you bum. We got to get movin!” he heard Rex shout from across the way.

Erin began to stir with the loud barbarian screaming a few feet away. As she opened her eyes and realized they had fallen asleep together, she quickly lifted her head and smiled self-consciously at David.

“Sorry, I guess I fell asleep while we were talking last night. I was just so tired…” she said, fixing her hair up into a messy bun.

“Don’t apologize. I fell asleep too, besides…I enjoyed having you with me. It was nice knowing I wasn’t alone for a change.” David said, smiling back.

“Let’s go lovebirds!” chided Orin, now exiting his tent fully prepared for the coming march to the capital. He had an awful grin on his face that made David burn on the inside with embarrassment. He could feel the tips of his ears turning red.

Together they got up and began preparing for the coming march. The air was cool and crisp, and the dew was heavy on the thick grass. A gentle breeze was blowing here and there, causing endless waves to ripple across the tops of the grassy plains.

He looked East in the direction they were going to be heading. If he hadn’t known any better, he would have thought it looked peaceful and quiet, but he knew somewhere in the distance there was a fierce army of undead soldiers, elite Wolf Guard, and dark mages that would be waiting for their arrival.

He shuddered at the thought of what they must face, but quickly gathered himself and replaced the sudden doubts with a strong resolve of what must be done. He knew what he had to do, and he was confident that when the time came, the orb would help him do it.

Ever since the day before he had been able to consciously feel the orb’s energy flowing within him. It felt more easily accessible and familiar, as if it had always been with him for as long as he could remember, a silly thought, considering he had only been in this world for a little over a week now.

Once the encampment was fully packed and mobile, they began their long march across the plains. With as many soldiers as they had, they knew it would take most of the day before they reached the Great Road which would lead them through the break in the Outer Woods and up to the front gates of Eldergate.

David and Erin walked side by side throughout the morning, mostly talking of things they planned to do once the battle was over and things settled back into their normal place.

Erin wanted to show David the Royal Palace and all of the places she used to frequent within the city while she was growing up. She wanted to introduce him to Captain Ryan too, the man who had always been there to watch over her and had saved her from captivity when she was being taken back to the capital by the soldiers from West Post.

David was eager to hear her stories of her childhood and hoped one day they would be able to see and do all the things she was describing.

David told Erin of the orphanage, and about the boys and girls he grew up with since he had been brought there. He briefly wondered what they had thought about his sudden disappearance and if they had sent out search parties for him. He almost laughed at the thought – who would go off searching for an orphan boy who was almost of age?

Before they knew it, their rugged path had been replaced by the better paved, and more frequently traveled, stones of the Great Road. It was the road that connected the Northern Kingdom to the rest of the civilized world – leading from Eldergate through Draco’s Pass in the Draconian Mountains, and into the world beyond. One could take that road to get to anywhere in Hurea – ranging from the Emerald Keep, the capital city of the Dwarven Kingdom located deep within the mountains, to the White City, the capital of the Elven Kingdom located far to the East in the Land of the Immortals and the vast forests within. You could even travel South to the Southern Lowlands and what remained of the Southern Kingdom’s once sprawling civilization. But today, they had only one destination in mind – Eldergate, and it was quickly approaching.

As they walked along the stony road, the humid afternoon air began to cool from the winds that had been picking up as they grew closer to their destination. The sun was a faint, glowing ball behind the enormous swirling clouds overhead, and for the first time since David had arrived, small drops of rain began to fall gently to the ground.

As they neared, the raindrops became heavier and more frequent until finally, as if in response to the coming battle, the clouds dropped their store of water. The rain was falling so heavily that within a matter of seconds everyone was soaked from head to toe. Their visibility dropped significantly to where they could only see about a hundred feet ahead of them, far enough to see the opening in the Outer Woods where the trees parted and the road cut through, leading to the main gates of the city.

The large army continued their way towards the opening in