Dungeon of Chance: Even Odds: A Dungeon Core Novel (Serious Probabilities Book 1) Jonathan Brooks (book recommendations txt) 📖

happened after seeing Rosara was just gone, like it had been stolen away. Flickers of…something…flashed through her mind, but when she tried to grab onto them to analyze them a bit more, they flittered away out of reach.  It was frustrating and annoying, so she did what she normally did when in any frustrating and annoying situation: She ignored it and hoped it would solve itself in the future.

Sliding her feet off her bed, she looked back and saw she would probably need to wash her sheets before she used them again – they were soaked with her sweat and what appeared to be dirt and sand.  Was I up near the cliffs?  The thought of that nearly triggered a memory, but it too flittered away without coming to light.

She quickly stripped and walked sleepily inside of the shower she shared with the rest of her family.  They were among the lucky ones who had a special reservoir of rain water atop their modest house; being amongst the richest residents of the city came with some perks.  As the cool water fell over her in a refreshing rainfall at the flick of a lever, the rest of her sleepiness washed away with the dirt and sand covering her body.  Thank goodness for small things like this; and also thank my father’s discovery of the nets used on the Hornblowers, because as a family we’ve made more money than I think we could spend in two lifetimes. 

Sure, they could’ve afforded to buy or construct a villa up near the cliffs that would rival the Mayor’s abode, but none of them wanted that kind of life.  Jeska would rather spend time sailing on the ocean for days at a time, or even work to prepare and ship out their catch for the day, than to hobnob with the fancy-pants snobs who ran in those kinds of circles.  It was bad enough that Rosara had the hots for Jeska’s brother, but the Mayor’s daughter didn’t put on airs like some others she had met…not much, at least.

It didn’t take long to get clean, so within a minute of starting her shower, Jeska shut off the glorious rainfall and started to dry herself off as she went back to her room.  She was just beginning to dry her hair when she walked into her room…and stopped in surprise.

On the floor, next to her bed, was a strange glowing ball of light that floated a few inches off the wooden baseboards.  Was that here earlier?  She couldn’t believe she had missed it, as it was so bright and slowly bobbing up and down like it was trying to catch her attention, but she remembered she had still been a little sleepy when she stood up – and had other things on her mind.

Jeska finished drying her body and slipped on some lightweight clothing similar to the outfit that had become extremely soiled from the day before, as she sat down again on the edge of her bed – in a clean spot, of course.  She finished drying her hair as she stared down at the ball of light bobbing near her leg, trying to figure out exactly what it was.  Logically, I should probably be a little more cautious about some strange floating light that shouldn’t be here in my room, but for some illogical reason, I don’t think it’s harmful. 

After drying her hair as much as she could, which never felt like enough due to their humid climate, she pulled it all up to the top of her head and tied it in a quick knot to keep it out of her face.  Then she reached down to touch the ball of light—

…“NO!  You don’t know what that will do!”  She pushed at her brother, who was closer than she was to Rosara, but he was frozen in place like a statue.  “Stop her!”  Neither of them listened to her, so she started to move forward herself…but it was too late….

Jeska’s mind reeled in shock as the memory slammed into her like a crashing wave among the breakers, causing her hand to freeze in mid-motion.  What…was…that?!  She tried to make sense of what she had just experienced—or re-experienced—but it quickly faded from her memories, nearly as fast as it had arrived.  Is that what happened last night?  Where was that?  What was that…thing…Rosara was reaching for? 

Unfortunately, the more she tried to make sense of it, the more mysterious it became.  After sitting bent over for at least 5 minutes as she tried to work through what was left of her fading memory, it eventually became so distant that she couldn’t recall more than being alarmed at something.  Another few minutes went by, and even that faded from her mind, as if it were being washed away like drawings in the sand when the tide arrived.

What was I doing again?  Jeska’s mind seemed to snap back into place as she found herself on her bed, bent over with her hand outstretched towards a glowing ball of light bobbing up and down near the floor.  With only the slightest hesitation at her interrupted thoughts, and with a quick flash of curiosity at why she felt a little stiff, she finished her motion and grasped the ball of light in her hand.

She felt a flash of satisfaction suffuse her body, and she pulled the light ball closer to her face to get a better look at it.  As soon as she uncurled her hand, the ball pulsed once and lifted off her palm, floating above it like it had on the floor.  She gazed at it, mesmerized by its simple beauty; the color was hard to define, as it appeared a bit pearlescent at times and full of color at another.  She tried to look a little closer to see past the light emitted from the ball—

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