Humble Beginnings

By Stephen McManus

Andy – a talent scout for The Bard Game – follows rumours of a mysterious fairy charming audiences with her enchanting voice. When he meets her, he discovers that the rumours don’t do her justice. Not only can she sing, she has the looks to match.
He offers the fairy a contract but there’s a catch. It turns out Andy has magical potential and the fairy only agrees to sign on the dotted line if he joins her on a journey of mystical adventure.
Much to Andy’s bemusement the two of them set forth. Foes will be vanquished, companions will be made and alcohol will be drunk in abundance.
This is part 1 of The Chronicles Of The Wizard, and will contain some strong language and themes suited for a mature audience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen McManus
• Release date: Jun 8, 2015

Book preview

1

The Tavern

Ah, the tavern. A veritable paradise for weary travellers and exasperated husbands. Andy stepped inside, his muddy brown hair hanging loosely around his shoulders. You could only call it shaggy on a good day.

He took off his thick-rimmed glasses and gave them a quick wipe. He put them back on and had a look around the bar. He was trying to find the person who had brought him here. In fairness the rumours hadn’t given him much to go on. He had simply been told that he would recognise her when he heard her. He had the same difficulty at times, as he possessed a rather generic face.

As it was work-related he had donned a fine black shirt and similarly coloured trousers. He made his way to the bar, and began to think this may not have been the best idea. This wasn’t exactly the dress code around here and it made him stick out like a sore thumb.

When he got to the bar he waited patiently whilst the barman finished serving another customer. When he was finished he gave the barman a quick wave. The barman gave him a nod and began to pour him an ale. He would have quite liked a spirit after the cold walk, but in a small tavern like this you had to take what you could get.

When he finished pouring the pint, the barman wandered over and handed it to him unceremoniously. That’ll be a couple of silvers, he said in a gruff voice.

Andy fished around in his pockets and grabbed the appropriate change. As he handed it over to the barman he said, I hear you’ve had an interesting act the past couple of days.

That we have, replied the barman. She’s back on tonight. In fact you’re just in time. The barman nodded over Andy’s shoulder, then went to serve another customer.

Andy turned and saw one of the barmaids walking around and quenching candles to dim the lighting. He briefly wondered why they didn’t have mana lights equipped. Ever since mages had discovered that mana could be used as a power source, such lights were becoming far more common. He then remembered that this town didn’t exactly have the best mana supply.

The barmaid seemed to be leaving the candles around the stage area lit. He turned his attention to the stage. One of the burly bouncers he had bumped into outside began to lower a large lens from a partition in the ceiling. As he lowered the lens Andy was treated to the sight of an overly hairy nostril as it was blown up to several thousand times its normal size. This drew a few titters from the rest of the patrons, as they had reached that stage of drunkenness when anything is funny. Clearly the lens was some kind of huge magnifying glass.

With a gesture from the bouncer a hush descended throughout the bar. Andy realised he was about to find out what this mysterious act was that had brought him here. He looked around trying to spot who would take the stage.

He noticed a small ball of faint blue light, roughly the size of an orange, appear from behind the bar, and had a sneaking suspicion this was the act. He’d been told the act was a fairy, but hadn’t believed it. Fairies weren’t exactly common. He watched as the blue light flew over the heads of the patrons and landed lightly on the stage, to scattered applause.

When the fairy stepped behind the lens he was able to get his first proper glimpse of her. She had vibrant blue hair, which should have appeared unnatural yet seemed to be the most natural thing in the world upon her head. Its vibrancy was paired with her clear blue