Part 8 (1/2)
Mika's stomach turned queasily, and for ato their deaths violently, their throats ripped out by wolves or hacked to death by nomad swords
After a while there were no more cries, and Marek and his coon train
”All clear, Captain,” Marek said with satisfaction
”You're sure?” asked Mika, not at all interested inup with some crazed survivor
”I swear it on the Great Mother's tail,” Marek said solemnly ”We hunted theed theht to hide, and we stuck a feith swords where they hid in holes in the ground
”Youto fear There were but a dozen of the creatures, and they had no ht like wild men, and one of them even dared to throw a club at Klaren Hit hiht?” Mika asked anxiously, unwilling to lose even one of histo coht's sleep,” said Marek, noting Mika's concern with approval It was always good to have a captain who cared about the welfare of his men ”The club did no ine the luck of such a one felling a no his head over the disrespect of the dead h he was, Mika could very ine the situation If he hi his life, he knew that he would fight with anyrespect for the brave, but dead, bandit
Bells jingling cheerfully, the wagons rolled along sht, thrown into contrast by the dark clouds now far to the east, bathed the prairie with a glowing incandescence, transforold and the puddles into pools of quicksilver The freshly washed, electrically charged air was sharp and clear and held the rich scent of earth and wood sh humans and animals alike were still wet, cold, and uncootten with the pro forest
Chapter 9
THE BODIES OF THE SLAIN BANDITS were dumped unceremoniously in a far corner of the woods where animals and birds of prey would dispose of the toin the small forest of dwarf roanwood, phost, and the occasional yarpick, the men set up camp
It was undoubtedly the fruit of the thorn-studded yarpick that sustained the bandits who sheltered in the forest, suppleh to catch
Yarpick nuts were as large as a child's fist and were eaten whole or ground into lad to see that the trees bore a heavy crop and decided that before they left, he would order drivers and nomads alike to knock the fruits froather them into piles Later, the tasteless fruit would be separated fro variety to their own foodstuffs
The ruarded as a delicacy, they would do as they were bid
Right now, the first business at hand was to strip the horses and the s and rub them down It would not do to have sick animals This done, they were hobbled and let out to browse on the sparse grass
The men were no less anxious than the aniarreat relief that they rubbed theh cloths and stood in front of the bandits' fires war their claroups of men and watched as they snapped each other's flanks with da like children
Mika knew that the play was harmless and even desirable in that it would relieve the tension of the last few days Should it beco had a brief respite of fun
The wolves joined in the fray A s cloth, ripped it out of the hands of the holder, and began racing around the ca wild chase
At any other ti, roaring out his bet as to which of the wolves would end up with the prize, but his thoughts were on other matters
He sat down on a fallen phost tree, its phosphorescent glow lost in the still-bright evening Later, its pearly aura caused by decomposition would be clearly visible in the darkness For the h, it provided a sturdy seat as Mika co dark hair, toweled it dry, and rebraided it into a thick central braid that ran from forehead to mid-back and was then doubled back on itself and tied at the nape of his neck with a length of leather
Years of experience enabled hi both swiftly and neatly As he tied off the braid, he chanced to look down, and there, lying on the carpet of wet forest leaves, was a single feather, pure white and the length of his hand
Mika picked it up reverently, knowing froreat snohite owl, a huge silent , its prey dying with long, curved talons curling through their organs before their er
Mika stared at the o if he dared, even as he laid his plans Holding the feather gently, as though it were a precious ge his wet leathers on the ground, ruh his possessions until he found the pouch that Enor had handed his that held the pouch shut and pried it open gently, daring to hope that Enor had spoken truly, that it contained more than just herbs and vials of potions He prayed that it held his father's book The book that contained all the permanent spells, charms, and enchantments that he knew, and the scrolls that held those spells that could be used only once before they disappeared
”It's here, Ta and sighing happily ”Won't old Whituk be angry? I can see his face now-e tail froht with the happiness in Mika's voice He rested his hugeand whined shrilly
”I think it's above my skill level, Tam,” Mika confided ”I'll have to be very careful I don't want to make any mistakes, not when I' if I read it carefully and roaned deep in his chest and pawed at his nose with his paw, hiding his eyes Mika knew that it was probably just a flea, but it see him!
”Don't you think I can do it?” Mika asked, more hurt than he would like to admit ”Come on, you're supposed to be my best friend! Let's have a little bit of faith here! I bet I can do it! No! I know I can do it! And I'll find out what's in that wagon You wait and see!”
But Taer and lifted his onized howl
”Fine friend you are,” s shut around theit froons had been drawn into a wide circle inside a natural clearing in the forest A sround at the far east end
The horses and ons, browsing on grass and tender leaves The men had added ared before it, reveling in its great heat as they ate their evening ood day's work, Mika,” growled Hornsbuck ”Waterskins filled Miles under our belt Yarpicks to eat Did the eon sli can do wonders for ahis bowl into the communal pot of beans, the re now reinforced with even more beans, bits of smoked dried rabbit, and too much salt Damp chunks of mealybread added to the bulk
Meals were terrible for the most part The worst part of every trip Occasionally, the cooks were men of inspiration, but more often they hey-faced, dour individuals, ere unhappy in life and were determined to ruin as enerally accomplished that mission with ease Mika ate as few caame roasted on spits
”Gonna eat that?” asked Hornsbuck eagerly
Mika passed hiloppy contents into his ularly along with a fine spray of food
”Can't waste good food,” grunted Hornsbuck, betweento stick to his ribs!”
Mika refrained fro passed almost too slowly for Mika Thearound the caoodof his adventures across the whole of the known Oerth Extraordinary stories about fabulous sea serpents encountered while sailing the turquoise depths of the Dras with the silver-hued, pointed-eared Olven Folk of the tiny kingdoes in the jungles of Amedio If theand charmed life No wonder the Guild had chosen him to accompany the caravan
Mika visited the sentries shortly after nightfall, speaking with each and everythe other wolves in the usual oes it?” he asked the sentry who stood watch at the northerne of the forest
”Quiet,” replied the ht But BlackClaill tellblack wolf appreciatively while keeping his hands to himself No man touched another ht and could easily sever a ht regret it later, but by then it would be a little too late for apologies
Mika urged the et themselves off to their bedrolls He wanted as many as possible to be asleep when he put his plan into effect
Trying to look casual, Mika settled hih froloas clearly visible Then he opened the pouch and began leafing through the pages of the ses of pain that ca the tiny loops and curls of his father's neat handwriting