TEASER NUMBER NINE

(This isn't exactly a teaser. It doesn't provide even a hint of a clue to the plot of the novel. But it's one of my favorite passages in the book, and I want to share it with you. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it).

Master Dryn was thin. Everything about him was thin--his hair, his nose, his lips, his face in general, his limbs, his torso. The single exception to all this thinness was a little round belly that rounded out the front of his tunics. His belly, according to the steward's son, Brandl, was where Master Dryn kept all his knowledge, because there certainly wasn't room for it anywhere else in him. He had a great deal of knowledge to keep, and a great deal of wisdom too (this last from Kort's mother), but more important to his pupils, he was cheerful and patient. He had no wife, so he sometimes showed up with food stains or rips decorating his garments. These were reported at home (derisively) by one student or another, whose mother would then offer (compassionately) to clean or mend the flaw. Everybody liked Master Dryn, even the boys who scoffed at his slovenliness behind his back because they were boys and scoffing at people was their job.

Come back next week for another real teaser. In the meantime, may elves do your chores while you sleep.