Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign - By Phillip Jones Page 0,58

to stone, and that’s why he was standing there.”

After a while, he grumbled, “Dang ... I’ve got to know. I’ve got to find out if what Jason was spouting off about is the truth.”

As he sat up to blow out the lamp, the last thing he remembered thinking was how his daughter, Abbie, would freak out about how dark the room was now that the light had been extinguished.

In the morning, Athena was there to eat with George. She had kept her word, and the liar had kept his. Her sweet smile was inviting, and he enjoyed watching her over breakfast. He longed to be near her. Her hair, body, soft-blue eyes, and the way she blushed when complimented beckoned for him to stay.

He wished this moment would last forever. However, he was also anxious to get going. Jason had said that there were others searching for the map, and now that he had the moments to think it through, he believed this to be the case. The two guys who attacked him had mentioned something about the map. He needed to get to this Pool of Sorrow before everyone else if he was going to be the one who found the map and secured the treasure.

Once they finished eating, he held her hand and walked outside. George gave Athena a kiss goodbye, and for the first series of moments in his life, he enjoyed a kiss without attaching it to a game or con. This kiss, to his surprise, was real and full of passion—yet it was also sweet and tender. When he pulled away to leave, he saw the longing to know him in her eyes. He wanted to know her just as much.

I can’t leave now, he thought. What’s another couple hours? He smiled and took Athena back into the inn and found a table. Spending valuable moments he did not have, George experienced his first act of unselfishness. He lost sight of himself in a genuine conversation as the morning succumbed to the Peak.

Before he left, George assured Athena he would be back. The funny thing was, he meant what he said—another first. He had no desire to lie to this woman. He believed he would be back to see her. The same woman whose affections he had manipulated to get a room the night before had found a crack in his armor. She had stolen a tiny piece of his manipulative heart, and for the moment, turned him into a decent human being. He smiled both on the inside and on the out as he held her hand for as long as he could before letting it go. George was saddened when Athena turned to go inside for work.

After a few moments, George decided that standing on the steps of the inn would get him nowhere. He turned back to the business at hand. He had shopping to do and would need to take the moments necessary to buy a sword, dagger, knife, rope, water pouches, torches, and food for his journey.

After reaching the home of the mage, George realized he was now believing in most of what Jason had said. Athena’s confirmation about magic saw to that. He was nervous. He had no clue what to expect. He knew nothing of the magical arts or how he could manipulate the conversation. Just play this one safe, Georgie-boy. That’s what’s best for this situation.

Prior to knocking, he took a quick calculation of what was left of his coin. He now had one Jervaise, which was worth four Owain and three Owain worth 12 Helmep. He also had 33 Helmep, which was this world’s least valuable currency. By his calculation, the total value of his coins was 61 Helmep. He hoped that was enough.

George knocked on the door. A tall, thin man answered, wearing a long, bluish-gray robe. His matted beard and his stained mustache from seasons of pipe smoking told George he was old. He was also ugly, and his hygiene was atrocious.

“What can I do for you?” the scraggly, old mage asked, his breath stinging the inside of George’s nose even from where he stood.

George choked down his desire to say something rude. “I was told to seek your help. I need a spell to deal with a beast. Oh, and if you have one, I could use a spell to trap some food.”

“So you’re going to the Cave of Sorrow, eh?” the mage replied.

“Yeah, how did you know?”

The mage did not answer his