Smoke at the Edge of the Tower- A Fragment

When Karla broke into the esteemed dragon wizard’s tower, she thought she would find more interesting books. She rummaged through shelves with selections on magical theories, history of magical creatures, guides on potion making-"nothing she did not know already. Intrusion in a tower like this required some skill, and Karla had built adequate knowledge from the books the king allowed her to read-"and the tomes she stole. “S**t,” she swore as the ocean crashed against the craggy rocks that upheld the tower’s gray and black stoned structure. There was nothing.

She gave up when she started to find stuff that were completely unrelated, and a lot of dragon porn, which she promptly slammed the book shut. She slunk to the floor. Karla slumped as she sat in a pile of um-shelved books, a mess she had created. The hope of finding anything to save Layla began to erode. She replayed the moment she closed her eyes, lowered her head-"wouldn’t look at Karla when she betrayed her budding rebellion against her father. But she would only get herself killed. She loved Layla, and she didn’t want anything to happen to her. She figured it was better to have her captured. However, now the king wanted her executed, and that just could not happen.

Karla stood among the mess and explored. She learned the Great Myenxas liked tea, nude dragon art, and star-blossoms tucked neatly into a vase. Their sweet floral smell mixed with layers of dust wafted in the air, and the clock above the hearth was ticking and ticking. That’s when she saw it. A bound door. She tilted her head to the side, brows elevated. Her gaze was focused as her pulse raced. She was deluged with a need to know, touch, understand. She reached for the door, hand glowing. But then, she felt powerful presence of Myenxas, nearing. Her cheeks flushed as she examined the mess she made. She made up her mind, her plan. She planted herself among the books, made herself bored as she picked a random to feign reading-dragon porn, of all things-and when Myenxas appeared puzzled at her appearance, she said, “I heard you were looking for an apprentice.”

Author's Note

More like a prequel flash fiction story to Smoke at the Edge of The Tower, which you can read by copying and pasting this link into the address bar: https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/KCommoner/3120130/

Reviews

[Dale Pavolko]

Its easy to read and has potential. When I read fantasy, it’s usually someone like Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson. Any chance this is the start of an epic quest?

[RKB]

I would say this was inspired by Uprooted by Naomi Novik and various Critical Role watch sessions. As for an epic quest, I'm not sure yet. Thanks for reading!

[Carrie]

Nice sensory detail. The main character's personality expressed well. This story made me laugh.

[RKB]

Yay! I'm glad :) thank you for reading!