Hamilton Swoop, Wizard of Green Ridge Read Online Free PDF

the trip. He took some extra food from the station's larder as well and freed the other horse from the barn. He also filled the trough.
    The sun began its rise into a cloudless sky, but it brought little heat: a cold blanket of air had settled in. Hamilton banged his hands together for warmth. Then he hitched Bethesda to the cart. He retrieved Whiskers from the station. Once more they headed for Center City.
    Whiskers crawled under Hamilton's coat. I still don't understand why some dead guy's demand that you do something has any power over you now.
    "Because it wasn't a demand or a request. It was a summons, as in ‘Guild summons'. It's something I cannot refuse."
    Whiskers twisted about beneath the coat looking for her optimal position. Why not? You're not in the Guild. They don't have any power over you, do they?
    "I had to join the Guild when I was 15. A year before Obsidian died, but after he died, I gave it up. Too many games. That and the fact that the Guild stripped me of my magic. That's why my father kicked me out of his house. Guess he thought I'd wasted the money he spent on the apprenticeship. I didn't much care back then, but some things change for the better."
    And some for the worse , said Whiskers completing the quote. I can't believe that you're a wizard and I've known a few. I mean, you don't use magic—ever.
    "Leave it be. I don't need it anyway."
    You don't need it? You don't need it? Geez, Old Man, you're living in Green Ridge. By choice? Are you on catnip or something?
    "Calm down, cat. Green Ridge is a good a place as any. I've got my health, food, a roof over my head and income. What else is there?"
    Oh, I don't know, how about better food, a non-leaking roof, and a decent income, for starters?
    Hamilton ignored the question and they rode on in silence for a while. He kept a careful eye on the virgin snow on the road ahead as Bethesda crunched through it. No travelers had beaten down a path before them. Only the sparse, snow covered trees broke up the monotony of white as the sun rose higher into the sky.
    About mid-afternoon, Whiskers slithered out from beneath Hamilton's coat and stretched. Then she jumped into the back of the cart and sniffed at the provisions. 'Bout time to stop for a bite, isn't it?
    Hamilton looked back at the cat and then did a quick survey of their surroundings. There was nothing that he could see that might pose a threat, so he pulled back on the reins. Bethesda slowed and stopped. Had this been summer, he would have pulled off the road and gotten out of sight but, since they appeared to be the only living souls in the area, he didn't bother.
    After climbing down from the cart, he stamped his feet to get his circulation moving. Then he reached into the pocket of his pants and extracted a can of cat food. He dumped it on the bed of the cart. “I kept it warm for you."
    The cat looked up at him. No bowl?
    Hamilton shook his head cringing at the can shaped dent in his left buttock and Whiskers’ lack of gratitude. “What's this thing you've got for bowls? Sounds awfully picky for a cat."
    Not just any cat, Old Man. I've eaten out of bowls my entire life. You expect me to change now?
    "Correct. Of course, if you don't want the food, I could just get rid of it."
    Whiskers moved over to the pile of minced pigeon in gravy and sniffed it. While the cat ate, Hamilton removed Bethesda's bit and hung a feed bag over her ears.
    Hamilton climbed back up onto the cart and got some meat and bread from his supplies along with a wine skin. Though he said nothing about it to Whiskers, he felt very uncomfortable about their situation. Even in winter, the Coast Road should have some traffic on it. With the harbor frozen, it was Green Ridge's only supply route. So, why no fellow travelers? Why no tracks in the snow? And the biggest why of all—why, after so many years of being shunned, had he been summoned to the Guild? A shiver ran up his back, and it wasn't from the cold wind blowing from