Tales From Virdura

By Graham Downs

Every purchase of Tales From Virdura comes with a free book! Make sure you read it to the end for details.

Explore Virdura, a world of fantasy, drama and magic.

* Find out what happens when a dashing young farmer’s son sweeps a neighbouring daughter off her feet.

* Meet Queen Tricia and the Royal Wizard Solon. Or Queen Celeste, her daughter, as she continues to struggle to come to terms with her new role as queen after the death of her mother.

* Read about Tobin the Bounty Hunter as he takes down Jarvis, a merciless criminal who brutally slit a blacksmith’s throat.

These stories and more await you in Tales from Virdura, a collection of flash fiction stories that take you deep into the world and the lives of the characters who inhabit it.

You can read this book as a companion volume to A Petition to Magic, find out more about favourite characters and meet new ones within the Kingdom.

You can also enjoy the stories separately from the original short story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Graham Downs
• Release date: Jun 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311403698

Graham Downs

Graham Downs is a South African author of short stories, flash fiction, and novelettes, in a variety of genres. Memoirs of a Guardian Angel is his longest work to date.He currently lives in Alberton, Gauteng, with his wife and their dog, Becky. He spends a good portion of his free time reading and, as with his writing, he reads books in a huge range of genres and lengths. He’s also passionate about South African authors—particularly independently published ones.Graham's publishing journey began in 2012, with his first book, A Petition to Magic, which is a fantasy short story about a wizard who refuses to perform magic, and a queen who insists that he do just that. He freely admits that back then, just like John Snow, he knew nothing (now, he knows perhaps a trifle more than nothing).Since those fateful first steps, he's never looked back, publishing five more books in almost as many genres, as well as getting a story included in the charity anthology, I Am Not Frazzle! (And Other Stories For Grown-ups).His latest work, Memoirs of a Guardian Angel, was launched on 6 April 2018.

Book preview

Tales From Virdura

by

Graham Downs

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2016 Graham Downs

Published 1 June 2016 by Graham Downs

Pretty Pilfered Things

The short, skinny, balding man smiled, showing many gaps in his yellowed teeth. He chuckled as he held up the bright blue jewel; the sound was something between a horse's whinny and a hippopotamus' grunt.

See here? he said to his friends. I told you so – the treasure of Artheros is ours! And nobody will ever be any the wiser. Now, wasn't it worth all the spelunking, Sam?

A man to his left clapped him on the back, then reached into the bag on the ground and pulled out his own stone, a translucent yellow one. That's for sure, Jack. Our only problem now is how to spend it.

Agreeable noises erupted from the seven other people sitting around in the circle, as they all nodded enthusiastically. A silence fell upon with group, punctuated by satisfied sighs as people took various jewels and gemstones in their hands and admired them.

After a while, another man spoke. Tell you what, though: there is one among us who doesn't deserve but a single stone. He turned to face one of his peers, a small man sitting silently in the corner. Pointing at the man, he said Martin. What did you do to help us win this treasure? Why, when that giant spider attacked, you cowered behind me, that's all you did!

At that, Martin leapt to his feet and exclaimed in a voice far louder than his stature would suggest, I did not cower, Devon! I was using my superior intellect, and waiting for a chance to sneak around the spider and claim the treasure. And I did, didn't I? I could've carried it out again too, and you'd have been none the wiser, you were too busy wasting your time with the spider.

Devon, the man who had accused Martin, drew his sword and pointed it at Martin's throat. You take that back! he said.

All at once, the entire company was on their feet, standing in a circle around Martin and Devon. Fight! Fight! Fight! they chanted.

But before the fighting could commence, a loud voice was heard from outside their cave. Jack the Pilferer! You are under arrest, by order of the Queen of Virdura. We suggest you come quietly, or we will come in and get you. And in case you haven't noticed, that bag you claimed from Antheros is full of nothing but worthless glass baubles.

***

A young boy looked away from the scene, up at his father, and giggled. That was funny, Father!

The boy's father looked down at his son and smiled lovingly. "Yes, it was. But it's also quite serious. You see, Solon, one day, you will perform