The Black River Chronicles: Level One (Black River Academy Book 1)

by David Tallerman

  Again, it was Arein who finally spoke up. “So I suppose this means you're not expelled anymore?” she asked Durren.

  “That's right,” Durren agreed. And he explained to them about the letter that had arrived from his father, describing its contents and Borgnin's unexpected reaction.

  Yet as he did so, he found his attention more and more drifting to Tia's face, seeking for he knew not what. Only as he was finishing did it come to him: she didn't look surprised in the way the other two did. Not that he'd have entirely expected her to; Tia was never one to let her reactions show. Still, even then her response didn't feel quite right—just as, Durren thought, his father's letter hadn't felt quite right.

  “Tia,” Durren said, “can I speak to you in private?”

  She looked momentarily startled, but all she said was, “I suppose so.”

  Durren led her to the far end of the small garden. Satisfied that they were out of earshot, he said, “You know, when Borgnin let me read that letter, I couldn't help thinking there was something off about it. But at the time I couldn't put my finger on why. The handwriting definitely looked like my father's, and so did the signature; I should know, I spent long enough learning to forge them. And the style couldn't have sounded more like him. Only—I've thought hard, and that was exactly what bothered me. Somehow, it was just too much like how he'd write.”

  “That doesn't make much sense,” Tia pointed out.

  “I know. That's why it took me so long to realise. What I mean is, my father might have written two or three of the things in that letter, but even he wouldn't be so obnoxious quite so consistently.”

  “Ah, I see what you're saying,” Tia mused. “It was overdone.” She shrugged carelessly. “Well, I didn't have long; I did the best I could. And since it fooled Borgnin, I think I did a good enough job.”

  So Durren's theory had been right. Yet, even with Tia having confessed, he still felt none the wiser. “But that's not possible,” he said. “I mean—so you faked the letter, you must have, but how?”

  Tia's expression became suddenly solemn, as though she were a tutor about to lecture her class. “The handwriting and signature were easy enough; just a case of borrowing your entrance forms. Of course, I was forging from a forgery, and for all Borgnin knew the handwriting on the paperwork was nothing like your father's, but I suppose that must not have crossed his mind.”

  “All right,” Durren said, “I can see that—though I won't ask how you 'borrowed' a form that was locked in Borgnin's office. But that letter read exactly like something my father would have written. Surely you're not telling me you've met him and just never felt the need to mention the fact?”

  “Do you spend much time in the library, Durren?”

  The question was the last he'd have expected. “No more than anyone, I'd say,” he lied. If he were honest, he'd avoided the main library as much as he possibly could.

  “There are all sorts of strange things in there,” Tia said, “if you know where to look. Copies of public announcements, official documents, even private letters that the tutors don't have space to keep in their own offices. Well, it turns out that, ten years ago, one Urden Flintrand discussed some minor business dealings with the then head tutor of Black River; the academy is always investing shares of its profits into one venture or another.

  “Anyway, the head tutor had some ethical concerns, which your father didn't take kindly to. He wrote back at length, and the letters eventually found their way into the library. It was just luck, really; otherwise I'd have had to improvise.” She grimaced. “I wanted to fool Borgnin, of course, but ideally I'd have fooled you too.”

  Durren realised that he'd never heard her say half so many words in one go before, or sound quite so enthusiastic about anything. “But what about the real letter?” he asked. “I mean, what if another one turns up from my father saying the opposite? Borgnin's bound to figure out the truth.”

  “It won't,” Tia said, “because Borgnin's own letter was never sent. I made sure that it vanished before ever leaving Olgen.”

  “And when we were in Olgen,” Durren realised aloud, “you were taking the fake reply into the courier's office.”

  Tia nodded. “I told them to wait a couple of days and then send it on to the academy.”

  “I suppose I should thank you,” Durren said.

  “Yes, you should.”

  He laughed. “I'm sorry. I mean, of course I should. You saved me. That's the kindest thing anyone's ever done for me.”

  At that, Tia looked bashful. “It wasn't that big a deal.” Then, her usual self again, she added, “It didn't exactly look good for me, did it, having one of my party expelled? And what were the rest of us supposed to do? We'd have had to start over again, breaking in some other idiot. Anyway, you were just beginning to look as though you might conceivably be of some use.”

  This time, Durren managed not to laugh; she would only get more defensive. “Whatever your reasons,” he said, “I appreciate what you did.”

  When they rejoined Hule and Arein, the pair were deep in one-sided conversation, with Arein doing all of the talking. She glanced round at the sound of their approach, and Durren couldn't help but notice how glum she looked.

  “I was just telling Hule,” she said, “about something I overheard yesterday. A couple of students who'd just gone up to level two were talking. They said they'd been allowed to disband their parties and join up with whoever they chose.” Arein sniffed, shuffled her feet. “So I suppose this means we're not stuck with each other anymore.”

  Durren took a moment to process that. Thanks to Tia, he didn't have to worry about his father finding him, or about being thrown out. There was no more reason to hide his skill with the bow, and he felt certain he could develop his other abilities to match, given time. He was a level two ranger, now; his foot was on a ladder that led towards the sort of future he'd always dreamed of. If he should reach level six or even seven, then he could end up leading expeditions into the wildlands, or perhaps captaining a border fort, protecting people and doing real good. Now that he had no reason to pretend to be mediocre, the possibilities seemed limitless.

  He was free to look for a wizard who wasn't afraid of using magic. He could find a fighter who didn't pretend to be a moron, a rogue who wasn't always disappearing off on their own. He could join a party that actually worked together, and which didn't end up inadvertently kidnapping unicorns or robbing innocent priests or battling deadly shapeshifters.

  Only, that wizard wouldn't be Arein, with her endearing awkwardness, her courage in the face of absolutely everything. That fighter wouldn't be Hule, stuck in a ridiculous role he'd accidentally invented and yet somehow managing to make the best of it. And that rogue certainly wouldn't be anything at all like Tia.

  “Of course,” Arein added, “that isn't to say we have to form new parties. Just that we can. If we want to. But if we don't want to…”

  “Who can be bothered with such nonsense?” Hule asked, sounding more like his old self than perhaps he'd intended. “As far as I'm concerned, one party is as good as any other.”

  Durren realised he'd already made his own mind up. “I'm with Hule,” he said. “Replacing you three? That sounds like a lot of work.”

  Together, the three of them looked to Tia. But she was glancing away from them, frowning, and Durren's heart sank. Of course she wasn't about to stay with three losers like them; of course she'd want party members who were every bit as skilled as she was.

  Then Tia met his gaze—and to Durren's surprise, she was smiling. “Who knows,” she said, “maybe there's some hope for you three yet. Let's just see how things go, shall we?”

  The End

  Acknowledgments

  Given the level of assistance David and I had putting together this first book of The Black River Chronicles, these acknowledgments could be the longest chapter. But I’ll try to keep it brief—just know that there was a lot of help, a lot of input, and we owe everyone a lot of thanks.


  In no particular order, we’d like to thank our very first beta readers, Luke Forney and Stephen Helleiner. They managed to stumble through very early drafts and come through the other side with heaps of excellent ideas and helpful comments. Level One is a better book because of Stephen and Luke.

  Then there’s our editor, Anne Zanoni. Her professionalism and skill took the book to the next level—right along with Durren, Tia, Arein, and Hule. And to our oh-so-carefull proofreader, Mike Reeves-McMillan. Thank you both.

  With additional help from a handful of so called final draft readers, the book shape-shifted just a little more. A sincere thank you to Evan, Noel, Marc, Craig, and my big broth Rob for their time, comments, and encouragement. Also, my daughters Ivy and Charlotte, whom I only let read a little less than half—so the end would be a surprise!

  For the cover art we turned to Emmanuel Xerx Javier. I have worked with Emmanuel before, I like his style, and he’s a pleasure to deal with. The cover is a lot of fun, but I know there’s a lot more visual art ready to spring forth from the Academy. We can’t wait to see it. Thank you, sir.

  And for the final reads, our professional fantastic fellows, Ed Greenwood and Adrian Tchaikovsky. Fantasy giants from each side of a rather large pond. Thank you guys!

  Thank you for reading our Digital Fantasy Fiction novel, The Black River Chronicles, and for supporting speculative fiction in the written form. Please consider leaving a reader review so that other people can make an informed reading decision.

  Find more great stories, novels, collections,

  and anthologies on our website.

  Visit us at DigitalFictionPub.com

  Join the Digital Fiction Pub newsletter for infrequent

  updates, new release discounts, and more:

  Subscribe at - Digital Fiction Pub

  See just some of our exciting fantasy, horror,

  crime, and science fiction books on

  the next page.

  More from Digital Fiction

  Copyright

  The Black River Chronicles: Level One

  Written by David Tallerman and Michael Wills

  Foreword by Ed Greenwood

  Edited by Anne Zanoni

  Cover illustration by Emmanuel Xerx Javier

  This story is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in the story are either the product of the authors’ imagination, fictitious, or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons or unicorns, living or dead, would be coincidental and quite remarkable.

  The Black River Chronicles: Level One. Copyright © 2016 by Digital Fiction Publishing Corp. and Michael Wills. All characters, settings, and other unique features or content are copyright Digital Fiction Publishing Corp. and Michael Wills. Published under license by Digital Fiction Publishing Corp. Cover Image designed and created by Emmanuel Xerx Javier and Copyright © Digital Fiction Publishing Corp. and Michael Wills. This version first published in print and electronically: October 2016 by Digital Fiction Publishing Corp., Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Digital Fantasy Fiction and its logo, and Digital Fiction Publishing Corp and its logo, are Trademarks of Digital Fiction Publishing Corp.

  All rights reserved, including but not limited to the right to reproduce this book in any form, electronic or otherwise. The scanning, uploading, archiving, or distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the express written permission of the Publisher is illegal and punishable by law. This book may not be copied and re-sold or copied and given away to other people. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use, then please purchase your own copy. Purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in the piracy of copyrighted materials. Please support and respect the author’s rights.

  About the Authors

  David Tallerman

  David Tallerman is the author of the Tor.com novella Patchwerk and the comic fantasy novels Giant Thief, Crown Thief, and Prince Thief, as well as the graphic novel Endangered Weapon B: Mechanimal Science.

  David's short science fiction, fantasy and horror has appeared in over seventy markets, including Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Nightmare and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and fourteen of his stories were recently brought together in the collection The Sign in the Moonlight and Other Stories.

  He can be found online at DavidTallerman.co.uk

  Michael Wills

  Michael Wills is the co-author of The Black River Chronicles: Level One. He is a husband, father, part-time geek, and full-time lawyer. He owns and operates Digital Fiction Publishing Corp. in his spare time. The Black River Chronicles, as conceived by Michael, is his first full length novel; which was realised only through the effort of his co-conspirator, David Tallerman.

  He can be found online at DigitalFictionPub.com

  DigitalFictionPub.com