Not Just Another Quest!
“… this whole Journey business
is going to drive me crazy …”

Journeyman Sorcerer Erwyn has managed to survive the danger-packed first year of his travels, and made a host of new friends (and new enemies) along the way. Getting through the second year might be a bit of a problem.

Between defending against attacks by all sorts of monsters and minions, suffering through Mother Nature’s deadly mood swings, and trying to prevent the evil Sorceress Sharilan from taking over the world, the young journeyman has doubts about his chances for survival. Not to mention periodically being forced to create new, untried, and potentially lethal magic spells in order to keep everyone alive long enough to confront the sorceress.

And then there are the damselflies …
Unfortunately, miniature mass murder is out of the question.

A Friend in Wolf’s Clothing ...

White fangs glistened wetly in the sunlight. Jaws opened wide. For a moment, the boy thought could see all the way down the creature’s throat as she raised her head, leaned forward—and licked him right smack on the nose. Erwyn fell sideways.

While he picked himself up off the ground, the wolf decided to get comfortable where she was. Lying down with forelegs stretched in front of her, head resting on her paws, the creature watched Erwyn intently. The boy stared back. The wolf’s mouth still hung open, her long pink tongue hanging out, and her sides shook. From the sound she was making —

“Are you laughing at me?” Impossible. “Wait a minute! Wolves can’t laugh.” He paused. “Or can they?” Well, Virgil talked. If dragons could talk, maybe wolves could laugh.

“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Of course he did. But the sleek black coat of the wolf bore little resemblance to bouncy brown curls. And the last time he’d seen her, she had two legs, not four. He still didn’t trust her, in any guise.

Erwyn stood up slowly, eyeing his visitor in case she wasn’t just making a friendly visit. But the wolf didn’t move. The boy began inching his way around the creature to where Bandal stood quietly cropping the grass. The unexpected arrival of the wolf didn’t seem to bother the horse, at all. Erwyn took another tentative step. Something crunched loudly beneath his boot and the wolf leaped to her feet, growling, her teeth bared.