The Sacred Stone Of The Gnarks

By Allan Richard

When Blunt the barbarian followed the trail of fragrant smoke he was recruited by Greenleaf, an elf without pointed ears, and his partner Roach, a young woman thief. They join the wizard Trichome and accompany him under the mountain, through the realm of the buzzkills, to the back of the temple of the gnarks, but before they can steal the sacred stone they must deal with the blonde priestess.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Allan Richard
• Release date: Dec 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301632978

Allan Richard

Allan Richard is the pen name of an undistinguished writer of speculative fiction.

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THE SACRED STONE OF THE GNARKS

by Allan Richard

Published by Allan Richard at Smashwords

copyright 2012 by Allan Richard

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

Chapter 1

This is an insane scheme. How can we find anyone stupid enough to hire on with us but still be good enough to actually help us? Roach turned up her collar and pulled her thin coat tighter. At this elevation the spring night was much colder than she'd expected.

Greenleaf tore another large handful of dried leaves from the bale and threw them onto the bright orange coals of their fire. They curled in the heat and started to smoke. A brisk wind sent the plume of pale blue smoke up the road that wound through the valley.

The Oracle of Indica said that in order to get what we need we should come here, make a fire at sunset, and burn a bale of hemp.

That's not what the oracle said.

True, but Trichome said that's what she meant. Greenleaf threw on a thick chunk of pressed leaves and piled some dry sticks on top. Be patient.

Yeah, like the wizard is always right.

We've burned less than half the bale. The wind shifted a few degrees, carrying the plume of smoke into the evergreen trees where the branches seemed to grab it and hold it close. Greenleaf crumbled some hash into his stone pipe and lit it with a burning twig, filling his lungs with thick, pungent smoke. He held the pipe out to Roach, who was so busy muttering about insanity that she didn't notice the pipe until a wisp of smoke coiled into her eye.

Roach jerked her head away, blinking rapidly until the sting eased, then took the pipe and drew on it, keeping the red glow alive.

The pipe passed back and forth. There was no more muttering or grumbling. The bale got smaller and smaller and a blue haze filled the whole valley above them.

# # #

Blunt sniffed the evening air, picking up the smell of smoke, but not the dangerous kind that meant a forest fire, and not tobacco either, but still familiar, something a stranger had smoked with him once, a couple of years ago, a weed far better than tobacco, and there was so much of this smoke it filled the valley with its pungent haze. He hefted the two rabbits in his left hand, decided he was done hunting, and followed the smell down the twilit trail until he saw a fire glowing in the gathering dusk.

Two men sat near the fire. Neither looked large enough to threaten him so Blunt opted for the direct approach, loosening his sword as he marched up to the fire. A thin man dressed in dark green threw something on the fire and a column of smoke slanted up the valley.

Hey, Blunt said. "Don't