Seeds of Virtue, Dark Descent, Book I

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  Druzeel tucked the ring into his pocket and took a deep breath. He sincerely hoped that his teacher would be okay. Age was finally creeping up on him and the stress of the past few days was not helping. He would just have to accomplish his quest quickly and get back to his side. When this was all passed them, he hoped to see Graeak return to his normal self, but only time–may he have many more years of it–would tell.

  “Let’s get back,” he said, taking the reins of his horse. The beast just snorted in response, but as Druzeel went to sit in his saddle, the animal shrieked and kicked at the ground violently.

  “Relax,” Druzeel urged. “I’m not going to–”

  Whether it was the faint rustle of leaves or a subtle shift in the air, something made him turn and face the trees, just in time to see a large black form falling toward him, with a sword aimed right at his face.

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