Dragon Sleuth: A Fantasy Action Adventure (The ForeSender Chronicles), page 14
True, Reynald had a dozen warriors, twice as many as he had been told he would be facing. But ForeSenders had a habit of evening the odds. And Reynald had no plans to die that day, bags brimming with gold coins or not.
He was about to tell Melnik that they had been misinformed when he glimpsed movement at the far side of the clearing. Six black-garbed riders appeared from the woods and approached across the intervening grassland.
Reynald smiled and drew his sword, as several of his companions fitted arrows to their short bows and prepared to rain death down on the unsuspecting group.
The riders seemed oblivious until the figure in front raised a hand, and they came to a halt. Reynald started when he realized they had stopped just out of arrow range.
He cursed under his breath when the leader called out in a commanding voice that carried to the trees beyond, the sound almost echoing in his mind.
“Show yourselves.”
Reynald gasped. He was sure he knew that voice. Unless he was much mistaken, it was Galindra, one of the most powerful and feared of all ForeSenders.
If he had known he would be facing her, he would have demanded ten times the payment and still refused to take the job.
But he had no choice but to go through with it. He couldn’t back out without losing face and risking the wrath of his comrades, let alone that of his unknown employer.
With a resigned sigh, Reynald signaled the others. He and his fellow outlaws stepped away from the cover of the trees and fanned out in a line facing the riders.
Unseen by the two groups, the Pathfinder crouched next to a fallen tree trunk, all but invisible in his camouflaged enviro-suit.
Captain Grant Naylor of the Earth Expeditionary Force checked the heads-up display on the inside of his helmet visor. All systems were in the green, and most important, the null-field registered as operational.
He was grateful for the enviro-suit, which allowed him to blend in with the background and move unobserved through any terrain.
The e-suit’s null-field hid his body’s heat emissions, resulting in near invisibility from detection equipment and the naked eye. Even body odor was masked.
However, he had to be careful not to make any loud noise, and remember that his footprints were visible, a particular problem in snowy or muddy conditions like these.
Naylor was aware he was behind schedule. It had taken longer than expected for him and his team to traverse the dense snow-draped undergrowth, following what he surmised was a little-used hunting trail.
The Pathfinder teams had dispersed over the surrounding alien countryside as soon as the advance contingent had wormholed in from Earth.
Like all his fellow squad members, he knew the importance of gathering detailed intelligence on the inhabitants to supplement the initial planetary survey.
When his e-suit’s sensors had discovered an unusual energy signature nearby, he had delayed heading to the rendezvous point to join up with the rest of his unit.
The readings had led him to the two groups of onworlders who now faced each other across the open grassland.
Naylor had ordered his two teammates to stay hidden and crept to the edge of the trees.
The anomalous sensor scans emanated from the locals he was observing, but Naylor wasn’t close enough to pinpoint the exact source.
So he waited and watched to see what was going to happen.
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Free Prequel Short Story
Galindra and the Troll
A celebration turned to sorrow. A troll with an appetite for flesh. Can a young dragon-shifter avoid being a meal for her mortal enemy?
Long before becoming a top-notch interstellar sleuth, Galindra takes her first flight in dragon form using her magical powers. It’s almost her last.
Lost and surrounded by enemies in a remote mountain fortress, Galindra finds an unlikely ally. But can she evade the cook pot and escape from her fearsome captors?
Will she master her abilities before her vengeful dragon father incinerates the entire castle and triggers total war?
Galindra and the Troll is a standalone prequel to Adrian Murphy’s clean (no sex or heavy swearing) futuristic fantasy action-adventure series, The ForeSender Chronicles. If you enjoy emerging special powers, a desperate struggle for survival, ruthless foes, and friendship forged in the fires of adversity, then this clean, fast-paced short story is for you. Just right for fantasy fans everywhere.
Read it for free to learn how Galindra comes close to ending up as a main course.
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Titles by Adrian Murphy
The ForeSender Chronicles
Fantasy Action Adventure
Galindra and the Troll
Bonus prequel short story with newsletter sign-up
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Standalone Prequel Novella
Dragon Sleuth - Available at Amazon
The Calistra Cycle (5 books)
Available at Amazon
Book 1: ForeSender Fury
Book 2: ForeSender Rebirth
Book 3: ForeSender Destiny
Book 4: ForeSender Blade
Book 5: ForeSender Resolve
About the Author
Adrian Murphy
ADRIAN writes clean (no sex or heavy swearing) fantasy and sci-fi action adventure featuring strong, relatable characters facing impossible odds and powerful foes.
He traces his love of storytelling to growing up in Ireland, where castles and history abound, and once lived in a town near Dublin with a tall stone tower built by monks in the 8th century as a refuge from marauding Vikings.
Today he makes his home close to the beautiful shores of Lake Huron, Southwestern Ontario, Canada, along with his cat, Mr. G.
Favorite authors include Lindsay Buroker, Brandon Sanderson, Tolkien, Heinlein, and Terry Pratchett. Their influences—and many others from fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery—inspire his stories.
Website: adrianmurphybooks.com
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Adrian Murphy, Dragon Sleuth: A Fantasy Action Adventure (The ForeSender Chronicles)
