Chasing the Great Corvid: An Incognito Lane Tale: The Cats of Incognito Lane, #1

By Jeff Chapman

The Great Corvid, a gem rumoured to be the source of the monarchy's power, has been stolen. The Queen and her council demand that wizard emeritus Learvin and his cat familiar Nightmawl come out of retirement to lead the search. The most likely culprit is a dragon living in a mountain lair on the other side of Swamp Deslolation. The journey to the dragon's cave will be hard, but negotiating with a dragon carries its own set of perils. Nightmawl would rather rest his old bones in a tree and flirt with the neighbor cat, but Learvin is not one to turn down a challenge. Their quest will twist in unexpected ways.

The first story in The Cats of Incognito Lane series, Chasing the Great Corvid mixes humor with fantasy adventure in a delightful tale.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeff Chapman
• Release date: Jun 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9798223947004

Jeff Chapman

Jeff Chapman explores fantasy worlds through fiction and is the author of The Merliss Tales fantasy series, The Huckster Tales weird western series, and The Comic Cat Tales series. Trained in history and computer science, Jeff writes software by day and explores the fantastic when he should be sleeping. His fiction ranges from fairy tales to fantasy to ghost stories. He's not ashamed to say he's addicted to dark hot chocolate and he loves cats. Jeff lives with his wife, children, and cats in a house with more books than bookshelf space.

Book preview

Chasing the Great Corvid

Chasing the Great Corvid

An Incognito Lane Tale

Jeff Chapman

incognito lane logo

Chasing the Great Corvid: An Incognito Lane Tale

Jeff Chapman

Copyright 2022 by Jeff Chapman. All rights reserved.

This eBook or any portion of it may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author—except for brief quotations in reviews.

The story contained within this eBook is a work of fiction. All material is either the product of the author's imagination or is used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead) or to actual events is entirely coincidental.

Edited by M. Pax.

Cover Design by James, GoOnWrite.com.

Contents

Uninvited Guests

A Carriage Too Fast

Monsters of Treachery

To the Dragon’s Lair

Interview with the Dragon

Traitors and Cowards

Bait for a Worm

A Prologue to Nappery

About the Author

cat silhouette Chapter One

Uninvited Guests

Nightmawl stretched his lithe cat form along the thick branch of a horse chestnut, part of which overhung the rain-slicked cobblestones of Incognito Lane. The other part of the tree shaded the house and garden of Learvin Lhymemunger, a wizard emeritus of the Eurganth Sorcery Guild. A sister tree dominated the neighboring yard. Where the two trees met, their branches had intertwined into an inextricable tangle. Water droplets from the downpour of an hour ago still clung to the leaves.

The black cat licked a forepaw to scrub fish crumbs from between his whiskers. The warm and heavy scent of a spring rain lingered among the leaves. Nightmawl yawned and stretched his forelegs, flexing his claws to scratch the smooth, gray bark. He hoped the clouds would clear. The stars were never brighter than when the moon died, and he had so been relishing a lazy night of stargazing.

A red-capped owl—no bigger than a crow—swooped toward his branch. With its wings spread wide and its talons extended, the raptor appeared intent on landing.

Nightmawl hissed, arching his back as he rose on four paws.

A clumsy flapping of wings diverted the owl into the night. In its wake, the bird cast a series of screeches—insults, no doubt.

When Nightmawl was a young familiar, he might have consulted the book of bird speech to interpret the screeches, but his aged mind no longer cared about such trivial matters. He resumed lounging his coal black form amid the tree’s shadows and watched for a break in the clouds. Patience, he possessed in abundance.

A flash of white snatched Nightmawl’s attention from the sky. His ears pricked toward a flurry of scratches from the tree’s center.

A long-haired white cat twisted around the trunk and approached Nightmawl on a neighboring branch. Snowball—a most unimaginative name—belonged to sorceress Jill, who lived up the hill next door. The name was doubly unimaginative because this was Snowball the second. The first had melted during an unfortunate encounter with a dragon.

"Come to watch the stars with me? We can find