Read Online In Pursuit Of Wisdom (Book 1) by Steve M. Shoemake - Free Book Online Page A

from the knight, he slowly retreated out of sight around the bend.  He heard the knight yelling, “Come back and fight little thief!  You cannot return!”
    Up off the cave floor about ten feet was a natural rock shelf in the cave formation.  Trevor soundlessly scrambled up there, and with a small sigh, he extinguished his torch.  There was just a glimmer of light from around the curve in the path leading to the well-lit cavern that he could see his hand in front of his face.  He aimed to change that.
    Carefully applying some make-up to his hands, face, and parts of his clothes to blend perfectly with the rock face, he waited patiently off the ground, in the dark shadows.  He even nibbled on a piece of flatbread, all the while thinking of the knight around the corner, a man whose armor would feed him for a month.  If he was right…
    Seven or ten hours later (Trevor had no way of gaging time), sure enough, he heard a clanking and squeaking coming toward him.  A knight was coming down the way he had come, passing below without so much as a glance up toward Trevor.  He heard a shout from the first knight, and they obviously talked.  Sword drawn, the first knight (presumably), slowly walked back down the way the other knight and Trevor had come.  He had a torch with him in his other hand.  The light passed close to Trevor, but all the knight saw was rock.  He moved on.
    After about an hour or longer had passed, Trevor put his plan into action.  He stretched a trip wire from his pack across the floor of the cave, still far around the bend and out of sight from the bridge.  He drizzled some of the black “sticky draught” a few feet behind the trip wire.  This was the first phase of his plan to get past the knight.
    Returning to his alcove, Trevor waited, allowing himself a few hours of Thief’s Sleep—a light sleep awakened by “the click of a lock” as they say.  But it was not a lock clicking that awoke him this time.
    Crashing to the ground with startled curses was a fully-clad knight, decked out in the finest, heaviest plate mail, as he stumbled over the trip wire.  As the six-foot-five behemoth sought to push himself up from the cave floor, he was doubly surprised to find his breastplate stuck irretrievably to the cave floor.  “What devilry is this, Thief!”  The knight was slowly trying to fold his arms back toward his hip to reach for his sword.
    Trevor was down from the alcove and atop of the knight with amazing speed.  Wordlessly, he pulled his helm off and jabbed his small dagger through the light chain mail and padding underneath.  The knight’s spine was cut at the base of his skull, and he died with a scream that ended abruptly.  How’s that armor working for you now, knight?
     
     
    ~Veronica~
     
    Silverfist swirled the wine in his cup and considered Veronica.  She could be one of the greatest assassins of our generation.   Amazing agility for a woman so tall.  Clever.  Stronger than some men.  Flexible.  Adaptable.  Practical.  But most importantly—she is guilt free.  Never hesitates, never expresses remorse.  Quite the opposite, actually.  That makes all the difference if you are to earn a living by ending a life.
    Taking a sip, he began to outline the third challenge that stood between her and the rank of Master.  “Our spies have uncovered a trek that is underway just north of here in our sister port city of Gaust, just across the inlet.  We believe there are four men travelling from the inland village of Brigg —two young mages, guarded by a seasoned ranger and a fighter.  Your final challenge will be to remove two of them.”
     
     
    ~Magi~
     
    The library was immense.  It was the largest structure Magi or Kyle had ever seen in their lives.  After the late night and having slept most of the day, the sun was now setting over the Sea of Love, and long shadows fell across three massive columns that marked the library’s entrance.  Most of the streets