{"id":11401,"date":"2017-09-01T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-01T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/?p=11401"},"modified":"2017-08-26T16:35:42","modified_gmt":"2017-08-26T21:35:42","slug":"the-sword-keeper-excerpt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/the-sword-keeper-excerpt-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sword Keeper \u2014 excerpt 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"justify\">Tamuna bit her lip as she finished preparing the food. She could tell from Sopiko\u2019s tone that any further questions would not be tolerated. Her aunt wasn\u2019t a harsh woman, but she could be stern, especially when it came to the tavern. Tamuna sometimes wondered if her mother had been like that: stern and domineering. She had no memory of her mother, and Sopiko had never mentioned her.<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">As she finished with the cheese and spooned the beans into a clay bowl, Tamuna\u2019s mind drifted back to the sword. She didn\u2019t know why, but something about it seemed to call her. No matter how she tried, she couldn\u2019t put it out of her mind.<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">\u201cHere,\u201d said her aunt, loading the roasted chicken on the tray. \u201cTake this to our guest upstairs, but don\u2019t linger too long.\u201d<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">\u201cYes, ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">\u201cI\u2019m serious, Tamuna. I know how you like to stay and chat every time we have a guest, but this time,\u201d she made a cutting motion across her neck with her hand. \u201cUnderstand?\u201d<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">\u201cYes, Aunt Sopiko. I won\u2019t disturb him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">\u201cGood. Now see to your work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p lang=\"zxx\" align=\"justify\"><em><span lang=\"en-US\">He must be a very important man for her to say that,<\/span><\/em><span lang=\"en-US\"> Tamuna thought as she climbed the stairs. Usually, her aunt had no qualms about her chatting with the guests. From them, she\u2019d learned all sorts of fascinating things about the world beyond her village: of vast rocky deserts to the south, with ancient ruins buried beneath the shifting sands; and of warrior kingdoms on the grassy plains beyond the western sea. But lately, it was the Northlands that everyone seemed to be talking about. Some guests spoke of armies marching steadily toward the Kevonas, while others spoke of the rise of a new empire across the plains. Perhaps their new guest was an envoy, or an advisor to a king\u2014or perhaps he was the leader of a band of warrior monks, preparing to take part in a holy war.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">All these thoughts raced through her mind as she walked down the hallway and knocked on the door to the private room.<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">\u201cSir,\u201d she called, holding the tray against her hip. \u201cI have your dinner, sir. May I come in?\u201d<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">No answer.<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">She waited for a moment, then knocked again. \u201cUh, sir, are you there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">Again, no answer.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"zxx\" align=\"justify\"><em><span lang=\"en-US\">He\u2019s probably just gone to the outhouse<\/span><\/em><span lang=\"en-US\"><em>.<\/em> The tray weighed heavily on her arms, so she nudged the door open with her toe and stepped in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">Sure enough, the room was empty. A fire blazed in the fireplace, while the man\u2019s cloak and rucksack lay exactly as he\u2019d left them. She carefully set down the tray of hot food, noticing the sword that still lay on the other side of the table.<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">Something about the sight of it rooted her to the spot. She knew that she should return to the kitchen, but all she could do was stare, mesmerized by the sight. The blazing light of the fire made the emerald on the pommel glisten and shimmer.<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><div id=\"mbt-container\"><div itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Book\" id=\"post-10586\" class=\"mbt-book mbt-book-excerpt\"><div class=\"mbt-book-images mbt-book-images-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/books\/the-sword-keeper\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Sword Keeper\" class=\" mbt-book-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/TSK-cover-533x800.jpg\"><\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-right\"><h2 class=\"mbt-book-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/books\/the-sword-keeper\/\">The Sword Keeper<\/a>\r\n<\/h2><div class=\"mbt-book-price\"><span><span>$12.99<\/span><\/span><span class=\"mbt-alt-price\"><span class=\"mbt-price-title\">eBook:<\/span> <span><span>$4.99<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-meta\">\r\n\t<span class=\"mbt-meta-item mbt-meta-mbt_author\"><span class=\"mbt-meta-title\">Author:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/authors\/joe-vasicek\/\">Joe Vasicek<\/a><\/span><br>\t<span class=\"mbt-meta-item mbt-meta-series\"><span class=\"mbt-meta-title\">Series:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/series\/the-twelfth-sword-trilogy\/\">The Twelfth Sword Trilogy<\/a>, Book 1<\/span><br>\t<span class=\"mbt-meta-item mbt-meta-mbt_genre\"><span class=\"mbt-meta-title\">Genres:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/genre\/fic009020\/\">Epic<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/genre\/fantasy\/\">Fantasy<\/a><\/span><br>\t<span class=\"mbt-meta-item mbt-meta-mbt_tag\"><span class=\"mbt-meta-title\">Tag:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/bookstag\/2017-release\/\">2017 Release<\/a><\/span><br><\/div><div itemprop=\"description\" class=\"mbt-book-blurb\">\r\n\t<p>Tamuna Leladze always dreamed of adventure, but never expected to answer its call. That changes when a wandering knight arrives at her aunt's tavern. He is the keeper of a magic sword that vanished from the pages of history more than a thousand years ago. The sword has a mind and a memory, and it has chosen Tamuna for purpose far greater than she knows.<\/p>\n <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/books\/the-sword-keeper\/\" class=\"mbt-read-more\">More info \u2192<\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybuttons\"><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a class=\"mbt-universal-buybutton\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/product\/the-sword-keeper\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">$1 off the ebook with coupon code: BUY DIRECT<\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a class=\"mbt-universal-buybutton\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/product\/the-sword-keeper-2\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">FREE ebook when you buy the audiobook direct!<\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a class=\"mbt-universal-buybutton\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/product\/the-sword-keeper-3\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">FREE ebook when you buy the paperback direct!<\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1672820278?tag=1001parsec-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/plugins\/mybooktable\/styles\/silver\/amazon_button.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Buy from Amazon\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B074XNWHKM?tag=1001parsec-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/plugins\/mybooktable\/styles\/silver\/kindle_button.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Buy from Amazon Kindle\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a href=\"https:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/book\/id1273520110?uo=8&amp;at=1010l3Ee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/plugins\/mybooktable\/styles\/silver\/ibooks_button.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Buy from Apple Books\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.qksrv.net\/links\/7737731\/type\/am\/https:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/The-Sword-Keeper-Audiobook\/B0DXHKJ9ZV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/plugins\/mybooktable\/styles\/silver\/audible_button.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Buy from Audible.com\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.qksrv.net\/links\/7737731\/type\/am\/https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/the-sword-keeper-joe-vasicek\/1126997684?ean=2940161023563\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/plugins\/mybooktable\/styles\/silver\/nook_button.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Buy from Barnes and Noble Nook\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/36097926-the-sword-keeper\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/plugins\/mybooktable\/styles\/silver\/goodreads_button.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Buy from GoodReads\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details?id=sUIjEAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/plugins\/mybooktable\/styles\/silver\/googleplay_button.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Buy from Google Play\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a href=\"http:\/\/click.linksynergy.com\/deeplink?id=HR3K7iI*5XQ&amp;mid=37217&amp;murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kobo.com%2Fus%2Fen%2Febook%2Fthe-sword-keeper\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/plugins\/mybooktable\/styles\/silver\/kobo_button.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Buy from Kobo\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/book\/356675248\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/plugins\/mybooktable\/styles\/silver\/scribd_button.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Buy from Scribd\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"mbt-book-buybutton\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/books\/view\/1216381\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/plugins\/mybooktable\/styles\/silver\/smashwords_button.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Buy from Smashwords\" \/><\/a><\/div><div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tamuna bit her lip as she finished preparing the food. She could tell from Sopiko\u2019s tone that any further questions would not be tolerated. Her aunt wasn\u2019t a harsh woman, but she could be stern, especially when it came to the tavern. Tamuna sometimes wondered if her mother had been like that: stern and domineering.&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/the-sword-keeper-excerpt-2\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The Sword Keeper \u2014 excerpt 2<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[650,932],"tags":[474],"class_list":["post-11401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sk","category-twelfth-sword-trilogy","tag-excerpts","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iXK-2XT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11401"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11421,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11401\/revisions\/11421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}