A spooky season sample from Book Three of the Dragon Friend Fantasy Adventures
By Roger Eschbacher
Chapter Five: The Plan
Leonard rushed forward to take the hand of and embrace his old master, the former Lord of the Green Valley and the man who had taken him in and raised him like a son after Leonard had been found in the ruins of a burnt-down cottage. But instead of meeting with solid flesh, Leonard passed through Sir Ronald as if he weren’t there at all. He then tripped on a small casket of dried herbs and fell face first into the pile of Roman coins spilling out of ruptured leather purses.
Sir Ronald shook his head and laughed. “My fault, Leonard. I keep forgetting I’m no longer among the living.”
“He’s a ghost,” said Merlin, kicking at a jewel-encrusted diadem before bending down to pick it up.
“I can see that,” said Leonard, grumpily. “Why are you here, Sir Ronald?”
“Ah, that’s my Leonard . . . sharp as a tack and always asking pertinent questions.” The affable knight chuckled, then proceeded to look for a place to sit. Leonard watched patiently as the dead knight looked around the cavern before deciding to give the burial object pile a shot. He cautiously lowered himself into a seated position and was pleased when he didn’t sink through it to the ground. “There we go. It’s been a challenge to figure out which solid objects will hold me up and which ones will let me pass through in the same way mist parts before a breeze.” Sir Ronald settled, pausing for a moment before realizing that both Merlin and Leonard were staring at him. “What?”
Leonard smiled. His old master hadn’t changed a bit. “Why are you here, Sir Ronald?”
“Oh yes. Sorry. I got lost.” “Lost?” “Yes, Leonard, lost. It turns out when I shed this mortal coil—”
“What does that mean?” asked Eater.
“It means he died,” said Merlin, pocketing the diadem before picking up a small but sturdy-looking sword. “Here, Leonard, take this short sword.”
“Why?”
“Not sure, seems like it might come in handy.”
Leonard frowned. “It’s not very big.” “Mayhap you could throw it.”
“Throw a sword like a dagger? That’s silly.”
“Warriors have been known to throw swords on the field of battle. Lancelot is famous for it.”
“I don’t care if Lancelot is famous for it. It makes no sense to throw a sword. The balance is all wrong.”
“Just take it.” Leonard sighed, then took the sword and examined it closely. It was a decently made weapon, well-balanced for ordinary use in battle and surprisingly sharp. Leonard was about to comment on the blade’s condition, but when he looked up he saw Sir Ronald staring at him with his arms crossed.
“My apologies, master,” said Leonard. “Please go on.”
“Thank you. Yes, it means I died, Eater,” continued Sir Ronald. “Anyway, and this is going to sound crazy to your young ears, Leonard, but when you die you are assigned to the afterlife that best suits your own life experiences.”
Elven King
Dragon Friend Fantasy Adventures, Book Three
In Elven King, Leonard’s most exciting adventure yet, a battle of epic proportions awaits as he and his allies rush to save the notorious Claws Crimson. Lord Crimson is the much-feared ruler of the mysterious Dark Elves and (surprise!) Leonard’s own grandfather! But wait. Isn’t the old elf a cruel and dangerous warlord? Why should he help someone as awful as that? Merlin assures Leonard that his grandfather isn’t evil, just, uh…misunderstood.
As Leonard and his friends travel through the dangerous worlds of Viking mythology, the stakes grow ever higher, and now Leonard must fight to not only save his grandfather’s kingdom, but the family he never knew he had.
If you enjoy fantasy adventures like How to Train Your Dragon, The Princess Bride, and The Sword in the Stone, then you’ll love reading Elven King.
Get it from Amazon.
Roger Eschbacher
Roger Eschbacher lives in Los Angeles with his awesome family, a hilarious Border Terrier, and a grumpy Russian tortoise.
In addition to writing fantasy and sci-fi adventure novels, he writes TV animation for Warner Bros., Netflix, Cartoon Network, Hasbro Studios and more.
Roger’s YA space opera Ghost Star is a winner of the Kindle Scout competition and received a publishing contract from Amazon’s Kindle Press imprint.
Ghost Star and other books by Roger are listed on this page. Please buy lots and lots of them. 😊
Ways to learn more about Roger and his writing include:
- his BestSelling Reads author page
- his website
- Amazon Author Page
- Facebook Author Page
- Twitter @Roger Eschbacher
- LinkedIn Profile
- IMDb
