Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Hansen and Graber
    Hansen and Graber
    Hansen and Graber
    Ebook63 pages55 minutes

    Hansen and Graber

    By Deirdre O’Dare

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    When life-long friends Hanson and Graber learn there may be a great wizard on the far side of the woods behind their village, they decide to seek him out. The source of the information may be suspect, but the lure proves too strong. In hopes of learning magic to rise above their current status as Hanson the Pigs and Graber the Firewood, they set out on this quest.

    When they meet wizard Holzy, they’re both intrigued and intimidated. He makes them labor and suffer, but eventually begins to teach them the practice he calls “the feat of the wand,” which turns out to impart much energy and knowledge as well as unsuspected pleasures to both men.

    A submerged attraction between them comes to the fore as Holzy awakens urges and desires they hardly even dreamed existed. But he keeps them entranced and bound to him. When Holzy makes a mistake, can Hanson and Graber apply their new powers to gain freedom from his spell and be acknowledged as his equals? Will they go home in triumph or be consigned to the salt mines?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJMS Books LLC
    Release dateMar 27, 2019
    ISBN9781634869348
    Hansen and Graber
    Author

    Deirdre O’Dare

    Deirdre writes gay romance channeling a prior life’s gay male twin she calls Danny. Fascinated by love’s diverse shades and guises, she explores and experiences a range of attachments. She still believes in happily ever after, that Love is the One True Thing and genuine Love is never wrong. For more information, visit deirdredares.blogspot.com.

    Read more from Deirdre O’dare

    Related to Hansen and Graber

    Related ebooks

    Gay Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Watership Down

      Nov 6, 2017

      Watership Down
      6 min read

    • Article

      Fear In The Night

      Feb 17, 2020

      Fear In The Night
      3 min read

    • Article

      Remembering Brad

      Jun 1, 2021

      Remembering Brad
      10 min read

    • Article

      Magical Thinking

      Oct 27, 2023

      Magical Thinking
      3 min read

    • Article

      Goodbye Gordon

      Jan 21, 2022

      Goodbye Gordon
      7 min read

    • Article

      ‘I’m Just Going Outside …’

      Dec 20, 2020

      I plan to spend this summer reading in a hammock in the pear orchard here at Lush Places. So if anyone is looking for me for any reason, other than offering to deliver a boutique gin and elderflower tonic (you can take the girl out of Auckland …) to

      2 min read

    • Article

      Now That It’s Come to This

      Jun 3, 2021

      Now That It’s Come to This
      13 min read

    • Article

      On The Shelf

      May 12, 2021

      On The Shelf
      2 min read

    • Article

      Subscribers’ News

      Oct 6, 2022

      ‘I find so much inspiration from reallife, real-world events firing up my imagination for so much of my fiction,’ writes subscriber Drew Payne. ‘Often just the bare bones of an event will inspire a story. ‘I am not above using events from my own life

      6 min read

    • Article

      Four Poems

      Mar 1, 2022

      I met the Bishop on the roadand much said he—same old porridgeI heard as a child, my little bodya “foul sty.” “Love has pitched his mansion.” MaybeLove pitched her silken tent.Love has raised its dwelling inthe place of reproduction, which can be fit

      3 min read

    • Article

      Why I’ve Stopped Waiting for ‘The Winds of Winter’

      May 11, 2018

      1. It was my ex who first suggested I read George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones. “I think you’ll like it,” he said, pulling his copy from the wooden bookcase in the corner of his bedroom. The shelves sagged under the weight of the epic fantasies th

      5 min read

    • Article

      Ambushed

      Jun 17, 2020

      Ambushed
      8 min read

    • Article

      Follow your HEART

      Apr 20, 2022

      Follow your HEART
      8 min read

    • Article

      Dangerous Dan

      Oct 1, 2019

      Dangerous Dan
      9 min read

    • Article

      Follow your HEART

      Apr 13, 2022

      Follow your HEART
      9 min read

    • Article

      Going Gothic How To Tell The Goth-iest Story Ever

      Oct 1, 2021

      WHAT DO DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN, AND YOUR SISTER’S LACE-UP COMBAT BOOTS ALL HAVE IN COMMON? If your answer was “they’re super cool,” you’d be right! But if your answer was “they’re all part of the gothic’tradition,” you’d be even righter. Being gothic

      3 min read

    • Article

      Hans Hedgehog A GERMAN FOLK TALE

      Jan 1, 2019

      Hans Hedgehog A GERMAN FOLK TALE
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Hansen and Graber

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Hansen and Graber - Deirdre O’Dare

      7

      Chapter 1

      One might begin a tale such as this with the classic Once upon a time, but such high-flown clichés are not right for the humble village of Wolmerk-on-the-Wald and two of its denizens. So, let us just begin at the beginning.

      One evening in the village pub, pig farmer Hanson sat with hunched shoulders, work-worn hands wrapped around a heavy earthenware stein. Their mass almost dwarfed the pint-capacity vessel. If I was a wizard, they’d not be calling me Hanson the Pigs, he grumbled, addressing no one in particular.

      At his side, his lifelong friend Graber turned his attention from his own pint to slant a glance Hanson’s way. And had I a sorcerer’s skills, I’d not be known as Graber the Firewood.

      From a few seats away, close enough in the narrow stone cottage that housed the pub, a slender man rose, a sly grin on his narrow face. He was known as Bartle the Bard, and although his tales and music entertained well enough on festivals and holy days, the villagers mistrusted him. And not without reason. He tended to be a trickster, quick to pull a prank or a slippery deal. Approaching from behind, he slapped a thin hand down on Hanson’s solid shoulder.

      I’ve a suggestion, my friend, he said. I’ve heard tell there’s a wizard dwelling on the far side of the forest. If you can locate him, perhaps you could prevail on him to share some of his spells and charms, enough to become at last a hedge-wizard for Wolmerk-on-the-Wald. Mayhap, swap some pork for his lessons. After all, the needs for magic deeds in Wolmerk are not so great. You could acquire this new trade in a flash.

      For the first time since his naïve youth, a flare of hope swept over Hanson. Although he knew he should probably not trust Bartle’s advice, the lure of magic sank a sly hook into him. Even though the deep forest was reputed to be haunted and home to myriad dangerous creatures, he was big and strong. Could he not fight his way past them if the reward was great enough?

      He turned for another glance at Graber. What do you think, my man? Would you come with me on such a quest?

      Perhaps it was a good thing neither one saw Bartle’s smirk as he turned back to his own pint. The bard saw a unique chance to claim Hanson’s sturdy stone cot and excellent swine herd or the fine sharp saws and axes Graber used in his trade once they were gone. Either could bring him enough coin to seek a new and more lucrative venue for his trade. Of course, they would not return. Who had ever gone through the forest and come back again?

      Graber thought for a long moment. Aye, that I would. I couldn’t let my blood brother and best friend go alone on such a dangerous journey. With your boar prod and one of my axes, we should be able to deal with any dangers we meet.

      And so it began. Within a few days, the two set out on their quest, Hanson leaving his pigs in the care of a neighbor’s son, and Graber able to cease his wood gathering for a few summer days with no serious consequence. The villagers shook their collective heads and murmured at the bravery and the foolishness of the two, but wished them well.

      Both men shouldered heavy packs with bedding and provisions for a ten-day, feeling certain they could make it to the end of the earth within that time, or at least the far side of the forest. Once they reached the wizard, they’d surely have no need for ordinary provender. They forged on for half a day, leaving behind all glimpses of their home fields and the open country along the river.

      Graber glanced back, uncertainty in his posture and expression. Shouldn’t we leave some mark of our way to follow back home? No one we ever knew has gone more than a league or two into the woods and returned. I don’t fancy the idea of getting lost in this wilderness.

      Hanson shrugged. I guess you can blaze a tree here and there if it’ll make you feel better. I always know where my big sow is. I can follow that lead back home from as far as we may go. I was there at her birth and have been with her all of her days. Moonbeam’s scent and the echo of her thoughts are carved deep into my mind.

      Although there were some vague paths, most rambled so much the two men soon

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1