A young lord is challenged to a duel while drinking at the local tavern. The consequences of losing are as dire as for any other duel.
The Duel is available in An Anthology of Dragons, and is also available as a stand-alone title from Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes and Nook.
First Pages: The Duel
Ollie lifted a handful of foaming
tankards as the inn door opened. His brown eyes picked out the expensive cut of
the newcomer’s clothing as he raised the tankards in brief greeting, then set
them on the bar.
“Welcome, stranger,” he called, raising
his voice above the friendly row that filled his tavern.
He caught sight of a gloved hand raised
in answering salute as the newcomer made his way to a vacant table along the
wall. The tavern was busy tonight; two caravans, a squad of royal scouts and
one of the baron’s patrols newly returned from their scouting, and that was
before he counted the local farmers, back in from their fields.
With a smile, Ollie swept the payment
for the latest batch of tankards into his apron pocket, then bustled over to
where the stranger was sitting. The door opened again as he reached the
stranger’s table but this time, when he glanced towards it, Ollie frowned. The
local baron’s youngest son was entering the inn. The newly arrived lordling was
one of his least favorite customers. Ollie sighed.
The stranger followed his gaze, blue
eyes observing the newly arrived lordling from beneath a mat of yellow hair,
and taking in the barkeep’s displeasure. Ollie wondered at the sudden spark of
interest that crossed the man’s face.
“Shut the door after you, Master
Rockwell!” the innkeeper bellowed and watched to make sure the lord’s son
obeyed.
The door slammed shut with a bang of
annoyance, and a nattily-dressed young man strode through the evening crowd to
seat himself across from the stranger. Ollie opened his mouth to object to the
impertinent lordling’s presumption but the young man was already in full
flight.
“You’re new around here?” he asked the stranger,
though he knew full-well the answer.
EXTRACT END
The Duel is available in An Anthology of Dragons, and is also available as a stand-alone title from Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes and Nook.
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