The Mage of Orlon: The beginning Read Free

a little animal that looked like a cross between a chipmunk and a squirrel scampered up close to Nathan. Noticing the little furry woodland creature Nathan began calling it closer, and to his amazement it slowly scampered closer to him.
    “ Look Lela, isn ’ t it cute? ” he crooned hoping she would lighten up a bit.
    The warning in her was low and clear, “ Nathan slowly, move over to me now. ”
    “ It ’ s just a little fur ball it won ’ t hurt you. ” He chimed The creature slowly moved closer, the space between it and Nathan was growing smaller and smaller. Its fuzzy tail was twitching back and forth in anticipation.
    “ Nathan, please get away from it. ” The pleading in her voice didn ’ t go unnoticed.
    “ What is the big, bad elf princess afraid of a little furry …”
    Nathan didn ’ t get to finish his taunt as the little squirrel thing leapt at his face, in mid leap Nathan saw the lower jaw split down the middle and the two massive pinchers of its jaw was shown. Putting a hand up to ward off the attack Nathan screamed in horror as an arrow whizzed by his hand impaling the vile creature that now looked more like an insect with massive jaws and a whipping scorpion like tail. The tail whipped up through the arrow cleaving in in two, but to no avail the damage was done to the insect like thing and it soon died.
    “ What the hell was that? ” Nathan screamed still fending of what was already dead and stuck to the tree across from him.
    “ It is one of the splintered. A massive foe that was defeated ages ago, not many are left in our world now, but the ones that are, carry nasty venom in their stingers. If it had stung you, your journey would be over. The venom causes your skin to swell and burst allowing all your blood to flow out of your body; it is a most excruciating way to die. ”
    “ You are lucky Nathan; if you were not so strange I might have let it sting you and called it a night. ” The smile on her face was hard to read. Every chance she got to let him die she saved him, but then she would remind him of how easy it would be to let him die. The contradictions only confused him more. If he was going to escape and survive the first five minutes of his freedom he would need information about this new fiend.
    “ So Lela, do all of the splintered look like fuzzy squirrel things? ” he asked.
    “ No, the splintered have the ability to look like any animal they choose to; it just depends on how big they are as to what they can mimic. ”
    “ If one was big enough could it look like a human or an elf? ”
    “ Are you afraid I am planning on pumping you full of venom Nathan? ”
    “ No, not really. ”
    Nathan hadn ’ t considered it possible until now, but maybe she was a larger version of the thing stuck on the tree, Maybe when they arrived at the castle it would be a hive and she would push him into a swarming mass of the little things to be devoured. His pulse began to elevate, the adrenaline hit his system like wild fire through a plain suffering from a drought. His heart beat with an intensity that would either give him the ability to out run her or fight. He couldn ’ t run, he was in front she would just skewer him with arrows. The tension was mounting he was torn between running and staying with Lela.
    “ Hey Nathan. ” came Lela ’ s voice Nathan turned around just as Lela spun around and kicked him in the face.
    Nathan hit the ground with a thud; stars were swimming in his vision. As his vision began to sharpen Nathan saw the arrow that was pointed right at him.
    “ What are you doing? ” He cried.
    “ It was interesting that the splintered took its time getting to you, normally they descend upon their prey like a plague. Then you started asking those questions. I know I am not a splintered, but you don ’ t act right at all. It occurred to me you might be a splintered. One of the great evil that might have survived the hunting, dressed strange to get close to me then