[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

the River Master's messenger appeared to Ben and Willow at the door of their bedchamber. They had
Page 99
retired to wash and dress for dinner, physically exhausted from the day's events but mentally and
emotionally on edge and unable to contemplate rest until after they had calmed down. How the creature
knew where to find them or got as far as it did without being seen was a matter best left for the
speculation of others. Ben knew by now that the once-fairy, Willow among them, could pass almost
anywhere among humans without being seen.
The messenger knocked softly, and when Willow opened the door, he was standing there,
stone-faced and motionless. He was a wood sprite, as lean and gnarled as a fence post and with eyes as
bright as gemstones in a face almost devoid of any other features. He bowed respectfully to Willow and
waited for Ben to join her at the door.
"High Lord," he greeted, and gave a second bow. "My Lord the River Master asks that his daughter and
her husband come at once to Elderew to speak with him. He would hear more of his missing
granddaughter and would give counsel and assistance to her parents. Will you come?"
Ben and Willow exchanged a brief glance. Neither felt much like going anywhere at present, but both
rec-ognized instantly that there were reasons to accept the invitation. If they stayed where they were,
they would soon enough receive a visit from another of Rydall's champions. Perhaps by being
somewhere else they could forestall that visit. Buying time in their search for Mistaya and for a solution to
Rydall's challenge was one of the few options left to them. It might also be that the River Master, a
creature of great magic, meant to offer them a talisman or spell to use for their protection. At least he
might have news of his granddaughter, for he had learned of her abduction some days ago and by now
must have scoured the lake country and beyond for some sign of her.
No words passed between them, but Ben and Willow frequently communicated on another level, and
words were not always necessary.
"Tell the River Master we will come," Ben told the messenger.
The sprite nodded, bowed once more, and was gone. He went down the hallway into the growing
twilight shadows and simply disappeared.
They took dinner in their room, preferring to be alone and in as much seclusion as they could manage.
The castle still bustled with King's Guards set to watch and preparing to go out on patrol. Two attacks in
the same day was unheard of. Even Bunion was out tracking, trying to trace the origins of Rydall's
defunct champions, though it was a good bet that there was nothing to be found. Appointments had been
canceled for the next few days, and the entire castle garrison was on alert. No one would be allowed in
Page 100
or out of the castle without first being thoroughly checked.
Such precautions were of marginal value, however, where the use of magic was concerned, as the
unortho-dox appearance of the River Master's messenger had made clear. There was no doubt in Ben's
mind that Rydall commanded significant magic of his own, and it would probably allow his champions to
circumvent the usual precautions that might be laid to stop them. Prob-ably it was Rydall's black-cloaked
companion who wielded that magic and Rydall himself who commanded its use, but just who did what
made no difference. The first two champions sent to destroy him had possessed magic, and it was a safe
bet that the five yet to come would possess stronger magic still.
So Ben and Willow talked out their situation during dinner and reasoned anew that it would be best for
all if they traveled to the lake country for a few days. Maybe Rydall would have trouble finding them.
Maybe their movement would cause some disruption in his plans. Staying where they were, waiting
helplessly, would play right into his hands. Besides, there was little chance of finding Mistaya or Questor
and Abernathy without aid from another source. Use of the Landsview had failed repeatedly. All efforts
at searching the countryside had failed as well. But there was always the chance that someone they hadn't
thought to talk with yet knew something. Or that someone with powers greater than their own and
resources denied to them, such as the River Master, might have knowledge to im-part.
They chose to go that night, to leave under cover ofdarkness and before the coming daybreak. They
hoped to leave unseen, without having to encounter another of Rydall's champions. Ben particularly was
suffering from the day's encounters. Willow could not determine the reason. Ben was still closemouthed
about what had happened during that second struggle, why he hadn't re-sponded to her pleas, why he
had seemed so removed from what was happening yet so exhausted by it after-ward. He had thanked
her for her help, not rebuked her in any way for going out onto the battlefield, and then had dropped the
matter abruptly, retreating somewhere deep inside himself until the messenger from the River Master
appeared. Willow, for her part, had not pressed him. It was apparent that this was something he would
talk about when he was ready, and she was satisfied with having helped defeat Rydall's creature. She
was worried, though, about what would happen the next time. She did not like the way he had behaved
during the Paladin's battle. She did not like not knowing what was wrong.
They waited for Bunion to return, cautious enough to decide to take the kobold with them for added
protec-tion. Leaving instructions with a chosen few as to what should be done in their absence, canceling
all remaining appointments into the next week, and declaring the King to be on holiday, Ben and Willow
departed from a side door on the east, took the lake skimmer across to the far shore, and met Bunion,
who was already in place with Ben's bay gelding, Jurisdiction, and Willow's white-faced sorrel mare,
Crane. With Bunion afoot and leading the way, they mounted their horses and trotted off into the night.
They journeyed until it was almost dawn. By then they were well away from Sterling Silver and closing
on the lake country. Some miles short of the Irrylyn they turned into a heavy grove of ash and hickory,
dismounted, tethered their horses, rolled into light blan-kets, and fell asleep. While the seemingly tireless
Page 101
Bun-ion maintained watch, they rested until midmorning of the following day. When they awoke, Willow
un-packed the cheese, bread, fruit, and ale she had brought for them, and they consumed it in a sunny
space at the base of a gnarled old shagbark. Bunion appeared mo-mentarily to snatch a few bites, then
set out again, anx-ious to let the people of the lake country know they were coming. Once they were
within the lake country, they all agreed, Rydall would have a hard time reaching them.
When Ben and Willow had finished eating, they rode out again to the south. Bunion would find them
along the way. The morning was sultry and still, and the sun's heat beat down on the forestland like a
blacksmith's hammer. No breeze came to cool them in their travels, and when they reached the Irrylyn, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

  • zanotowane.pl
  • doc.pisz.pl
  • pdf.pisz.pl
  • supermarket.pev.pl

    •