The Marenon Chronicles Collection - By Jason D. Morrow Page 0,6

could see the warm glow of the lanterns in the window of the Green Pumpkin and could hear the ruckus coming from inside. As he came to the door, he took a deep breath and felt for his dagger hidden underneath his cloak. He rubbed a hand through his dark, jaw-length hair and pulled the hood of his cloak over his head to shadow his face. An ominous look would draw more attention than he needed, but it could be enough to frighten anyone that might confront him. He took another deep breath and walked through the door.

At first, no one looked up at him. A fight in the back corner held most of the crowd's attention. Others were engaged in conversation and sucking down one drink after another. Perhaps he was being overcautious.

There stood a divide in the middle of the pub and Julian made his way past it. A private room in the far right corner was reserved for his party where the others would be waiting for him. The fight that held most of the pub's attention was a twisted brawl happening only feet from where Julian needed to be, however. This was no good. An attempt to walk through would drag him into the conflict.

The crowd was in a frenzy as the blood spurted and spit flew. The fight was going to end in a dead body if they didn't stop soon. Perhaps that was the point. Finally, one opponent was able to pin the other to the ground. The man straddled him and swung his fists into the other’s face mercilessly, one right after the other. The crowd shouted louder and louder, but it was nothing compared to Julian's voice inside his brain yelling for him to stop this madness. He knew he didn’t need the attention he was going to get, but he felt he had no choice. The victim’s eyes started to roll back and he would likely die if Julian didn't intervene. He walked over to the bloodthirsty fighter and placed a steady hand on his shoulder.

“Let him go,” Julian said.

The attacker stopped and looked down at Julian’s hand then to his face. The previously jeering crowd fell silent as the man stood and stepped inches from Julian's shadowed nose.

“What exactly are you planning to do if I don’t?” the man grinned a yellow gap-filled grin, looking to his peers for encouragement. He found none.

Without warning, Julian grabbed the man's wrist and wrapped his arm behind his back, bringing the fighter to his knees. He cried out in surprise as Julian lifted his foot and kicked him in the middle of his back, snapping his arm like a twig. In the same motion he pulled out his dagger in readiness for a second attack from elsewhere. Not a soul moved. The entire pub sat motionless, trembling in fear of what Julian may be capable of doing to them. When he felt there was no attack coming, he sheathed his dagger back under his cloak, sheltering its visibility. Julian let out a silent shudder. It was too easy to let it happen. This was something he had always been trained to evade, a weakness his mentor had always told him to subdue. Whenever anger flooded into Julian's veins he could snap. His training could kick into motion and he had the potential to do something reckless. The problem in this situation was that he was harming the people he had sworn to protect. It troubled him even though he knew he had just saved someone’s life. He looked down at the man with the broken arm. The rest of the crowd sat dumbstruck at what they had just witnessed.

“Get back to your drinks.” It was just more than a whisper, but Julian's command jolted the crowd to nervous fidgeting among themselves. Julian pointed to the man who had been taking a beating when he arrived. “Someone get him help.” Immediately two people rushed to the man's side to care for his wounds.

Julian's training had become a blessing and a curse. He was of the Dunarian Council, warriors who had taken an oath to destroy the Stühocs and restore peace to Marenon.

The Dunarian Council had long ago been appointed by the Human king of Marenon, during the days of Sir Barton Teague. Julian had never met Teague, but knew plenty about him. Teague had originally formed the council. He had petitioned the king for the eradication of the Stühocs from Marenon and the creation