Heir To The Nova (Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

writ from the King.”
    “I am here to meet with another dwarf named Darroth Gravelshanks.”
    “Darroth? Never heard of him.”
    “He’s a master smith.”
    He snorted dismissively, then set down his weapon and peered down at us. His bowl-style helmet with the nose guard bisecting his face gave him an almost comical appearance.
    “Listen here, kid, we’re dwarves; almost all of us are master smiths, so you’re going to have to do a bit better than that. Besides, what possible business would a paladin have with us, anyway? As you can plainly see, we don’t need your help with the undead.”
    I looked disbelievingly at Nia, not knowing if I should laugh or get angry at this point; but with the past few days I’ve had, I was leaning toward the latter.
    “I am not a damn paladin. I am an enchanter, a wizard from Xarparion, the school of magic!”
    He grinned and looked at his fellows to both sides. “Ooooh, you hear that, boys? We have a highfalutin human-type enchanter here. As if good, honest dwarven enchantments on stuff aren’t good enough.”
    “Look, is there someone else I can talk to about this? A superior officer perhaps?”
    He guffawed and slapped his leg. “Sure, I’ll be happy to wake him up, but you might not be by the time he gets done with you. State your name and rank, Mister Enchanter.”
    Wow, why does everyone I meet lately have to be such a prick? Sighing, I complied.
    “My name is Alex Martin; I am an enchanter and the ruler of Sky Raven Fortress.” Thankfully, I noticed this had some effect, especially on the older dwarves in the squad. Most of them lowered their weapons altogether, and one actually threw his down and disappeared at a run back down the other side. The younger troops, like the one giving me such a hard time, didn’t seem to be impressed in the slightest.
    “Sky Raven Fortress? Never heard of it, so get lost!” he laughed, and poked humorously at one of his comrades.
    One of the older dwarves down the line from him spoke up. “I wouldn’t talk to him like that. If he is who he says he is, then it would be best for all of us if you let him pass.”
    “What the blazes are you talking about, old timer? We can’t just let him in, you know. The whole idea of building this wall was to not let anyone in. It’s kind of the point of not having a gate.”
    The older dwarf shook his head. “I grew up when they still taught us our heritage; something you young ones are too impatient to learn these days. Thousands of years ago, Sky Raven Fortress stood as the shining beacon to all travelers and traders between these mountains. Control of the massive fortress was split between the dwarves, the elves, and the humans, bestowed upon us by the gods themselves.” Great, another thing the gods take all the credit for. “But they left us with one rule. To this day, no one remembers what that rule was because only the three leaders from each race were told and they took it to their graves. But the stories say that we foolishly broke that rule; and once abandoned, it will never open its walls again to any but the gods themselves.”
    I felt a pang of sorrow as I remembered that the walls had indeed opened, not to gods but to me and a certain silver-haired elf.
    Unbidden, my memory replayed the scene. I took Maya’s hand and led her over to the massive gate. “So do you know what to do?” she asked me coyly under her breath, giving my hand a squeeze… Much happier times that seemed so distant to me now. With a gasp, I was jolted back into the here and now, and Nia looked at me with concern and watery eyes.
    Fortunately, most of the older dwarves were still nodding in agreement at the end of the Sky Raven story and not paying much attention to me. About this time, a younger, fit-looking dwarf in a black uniform climbed up onto the platform, causing most of the guard types to draw back a ways and suddenly find something more interesting to look at. The new dwarf leaned over the wall at