David Bishop and the Legend of the Orb T.C. Crawford (easy to read books for adults list .txt) 📖

loud and ferociously as they could in an attempt to break their concentration and distract them from their task.

As the sun progressed in the sky and Orin felt more confident with the lesson’s he had given the men, he began to start live practice sessions one soldier at a time. The line stretched on endlessly, but Orin was a practiced mage and knew that the more exposure these men had toward magical attacks the more confident they would be when they faced them in battle.

He started off with simple weak flame attacks, ones that were easy to notice and dodge, then he later moved on to fully formed fireballs. Orin knew there weren’t many mages in the Northern Kingdom, knowing of only himself and the Elders, but he didn’t know what General Krauss’ magic was capable of.

As far as he knew, the only others who possessed magic were the Elves and Dwarves, or the ancient cult of the Order of the Abyss – but that following had been eradicated ages ago not long after the fall of the Defiant One. He hadn’t seen or heard of their activity in centuries, but he wasn’t going to pass up the possibility, knowing that to do so would leave himself, and his men, unprepared.

He knew that if they had somehow survived all this time in hiding, and they had decided to fight alongside General Krauss and his soldiers when they clashed in battle, they would be in for a severely difficult fight.

Orin was talented, possibly the most powerful mage left in existence, but he was only one man. One man against an army of dark mages – hardly the odds he would have hoped for. Orin sighed as he considered the task at hand before continuing his lessons far after the sun set and gave way to the night.

When he finished his training, he said farewell to the soldiers and started off towards the dining hall. He didn’t realize how hungry he was until he had time to sit and think about it. He had been so focused on training the men that he didn’t even realize he hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and even that was only some biscuits and a muffin.

His head was aching from the repetitive casting he had been performing since early afternoon. It had been a long time since he had cast for so long and he forgot how exhausting it could be. He reminded himself to start mentally preparing for the coming battle, knowing it would be far more strenuous and harder on him than a simple training exercise.

Before he knew it, he had reached the hallway that led to the dining hall. The wonderful aroma of roasted meat and fresh steamed vegetables drifted through the air and made his stomach long for food. He took an enormous whiff and his mouth watered with anticipation, fueling his tired limbs to increase their speed.

He pushed his way through the doors leading into the dining room and past the crowd of kitchen staff. They were circling around the room with large platters in their hands filled with all kinds of dishes ranging from poultry, fish, and wild game to rolls, biscuits, and honey-buttered bread. He noticed, much to his satisfaction, that some even carried trays of desserts such as chocolate cake, truffles, and these little round donuts filled with a sweet cream. He couldn’t wait to dig in.

He finally spotted Rex and David sitting at the end of the large table. They must have arrived early enough to avoid the bustling of the staff, he thought, noticing their already half eaten plates.

He casually returned their greeting as they spotted him coming through the crowd and urged him to come sit and eat. He pulled up a chair to the right of David and immediately began grabbing handfuls of an assortment of food.

David and Rex laughed at the old man’s appetite and let him get a few mouthfuls in before attempting to speak to him.

Rex was the first to ask, “How did the training go?”

Orin responded only between very large mouthfuls of food and drink, “It went as well as it could, I suppose. The men should be ready for battle, but against the General...” he trailed off. His silence made the point well enough.

“Understood” replied Rex, helping himself to another plate of roasted meat.

David, satisfied with his single helping, decided to instead have another glass of mead, a sweet, honey flavored wine the staff had brought out, and give his food some time to settle. He thought about what Orin had said before when the orb had reacted to the danger around him, wondering if there was a better way to react than waiting until being nearly killed.

“Hey, Orin, do you think you could take some time after you finish eating to work with me on better controlling the orb's power? Maybe you could give me some pointers since you know so much about magic.” he asked hopefully.

“I can try, David, but I can’t promise much. The magic of that orb has never been studied. I suspect that your mind and its power are somehow intricately connected.” He stopped for a moment to take a big swig of wine before continuing. “The most I can do for you is to help you try to connect with it consciously. From there, if we succeed, you’re on your own.”

David nodded in agreement, happy to have any direction at all with figuring out how to unlock the orb’s power.

The rest of the meal went by with relatively little conversation. Rex finished four helpings worth of food, one plate less than Orin. Rex and David were awed at how much food that old mage could eat considering his scrawny figure and his unimaginable age.

When they were all satisfied and full, Rex went up to his private chambers to call it a night while Orin and David set off to a private study down the hall where their rooms were located.

The room was wide and