Party at Castle Grof Read Free

contentious lot!” Avinger howled with rage and ploughed into the crowd toward the speaker, an elf wearing a mercenary uniform.
    A few people threw tomatoes snatched up from a nearby stall, the fruit splattering on the back plates of the guards holding Ariana.
    “Hey.” The mage shrieked as the juice splashed onto her white robes. “Have you any idea how hard it is to get tomato juice out of white wool?”
    The two guards dropped her arms and backed away, hands held palm up toward her.
    “It wasn’t us, lady…” one of them said.
    “Fancy manhandling a gentlewoman like that,” a female voice said from the crowd. “How dare they? Let her go.”
    Several other women chimed in and there was a surge toward Ariana as the women endeavoured to free her. Her guards stopped trying to catch hold of her again and concentrated on stopping the crowd from pulling Ariana away from them.
    A tall, slim dark skinned elf, her face hidden in the shadow of her cloak’s hood slipped into the edges of the crowd surrounding the kerfuffle. Those two can’t seem to go anywhere without getting into trouble. Maybe I should help them out of this one… She raised one hand.
    As the Captain turned to deal with the threatening riot, there was a shout from a fair way behind them. A bright light whooshed overhead to impact against a nearby Fishmongers cart. There was a soft hissing noise and anyone who understood what it was headed for the floor.
    Satisfied, Erendell slid away again and sought shelter beside a leatherworker’s stall, crouching down. Everyone else carried on as they were; fighting, yelling and generally causing trouble.
    The cart exploded, showering everyone nearby in fish. The guards cursed, but hung onto Aranok. Ariana’s guards frowned, looking at her.
    “It wasn’t me,” she told them. “My mana is all out, the trick with my hands is genetic.”
    A huge salmon thwacked into Grald’s face, bringing him fully awake.
    “What in all the Gods names is goin’ on?” he hollered and with a few well-placed thumps managed to get free.
    The crowd surrounding them cheered.
    “Freedom for barbarians,” someone yelled. “No more using us as mercenaries!”
    The officer swung round, panic covering his face and he completely turned his back on the crowd as he saw Grald knock his guards out. “Grab the Barbarian!”
    “Get ready!” a voice called from the back of the crowd.
    Ariana frowned. That voice sounds familiar.
    Another light ball flew over the top of the throng to hit the pompous officer on the back of the head and splintered into a thousand shimmering sparks. The officer groaned and slumped to the ground.
    “Who did that?” the Officer’s second in command yelled.
    “I think he went that way,” a woman wearing a seamstress’ wrap said. She pointed down the street toward the main market.
    “Thank you, ma’am.” The watchman saluted her and frowned. “We’d better catch whoever it was, lads. Two of you get the Captain and take him back to the watch house.”
    “What about these three?” one of the patrol asked.
    The Lieutenant sighed and turned to Aranok.
    “As I’ve never seen you in the city before and this is likely your first offence in Valdez, I’ll let you go with a caution; you’re not to cause any more trouble in the city or I will personally slam you in the cells.”
    Aranok and Ariana nodded their thanks. Dragging Grald away from his tussle with the guards, the three of them took advantage of the confusion to retrieve their belongings from the tavern, before following Grald over to a nearby alley.
    Erendell dissolved the illusion of the seamstress she’d wrapped around herself and watched the little group disappear down the alley. This can’t be the cause of this damned itch in my bones. Something a bit bigger than a barroom brawl is afoot here and those two are going to get themselves killed unless I tag along.
    “Great. Now we can’t go back there,” Ariana groused, adjusting one of the