Страница 31 из 83
Normally haughty and superior-minded, Da
For his part, and though he never understood the need of more than a single eating utensil, Mariabro
He also understood that his exploits had put him in position to continue to better the region, as with this very moment, as he recounted the happenings in Palishchuk to the plump and aging Honorable General. Soon after he had begun offering the details, Da
Da
"The curse of Zhengyi will linger on throughout my lifetime and those of my children, and those of their children, I do fear," he said. "These a
"Let us pray that it is no more than an a
"We have trod this path many times before," Da
"And let us not forget the gem-studded belt discovered by that poor young man on the northern slopes of the Galenas," Da
"There really wasn't anything left of the man at all," Ellery added.
A mixture of emotions engulfed Mariabro
"This is no minor enchantment, nor is it anything that will long remain u
Da
"Soldiers alone?" the woman replied, not a hint of fear or doubt in her strong, steady voice.
"As you wish," the general said.
Ellery nodded and looked across at the ranger with undisguised curiosity. "Perhaps I will accompany you personally," she said, drawing a look of surprise from her uncle. "It has been far too long since I have looked upon Palishchuk, in any case, nor have I visited Wingham's troupe in more than a year."
"I would welcome your company, Commander," Mariabro
Da
Mariabro
"The Rover," Da
"Honorable General, Mariabro
Da
"Nay, the Rover is also a remark on the nature of this adventurer," Da
"Lack of confidence is not a trait I favor."
Da
Ellery looked at him long and hard for a time, as if trying to make sense of it all.
"I have several in mind, soldiers and otherwise," she said, and Mariabro
With another grin and bow to Da
He slept uneasily though, for in his heart, Mariabro
You are a Paladin of Bloodstone, after all.
Ellery couldn't prevent a wince from tightening her features at that remark, for it was not yet true—and might never be, she knew, though many others, like Da
Ellery's other friends, of course, knew better.
Well away from the general, she moved from foot to foot, betraying her nervousness.
"I can defeat him if need be," she told the thin man standing in the shadow of the wall's angular jag. "I have taken the measure of his skill and he is as formidable as you feared."
"Yet you believe you can kill him?"
"Have you not trained me in exactly that art?" the woman replied. "One strike, fatal? One move, unstoppable?"
"He is superior," came the thin voice of the thin man, a scratching and wheezing sound, but strangely solid in its confident and deathly even tone.
Ellery nodded and admitted, "Few would stand against him for long, true."
"But Ellery is among those few?"
"I do not make that claim," she replied, trying hard to not sound shaken. Then she added the reminder, as if to herself and not to the thin man, "My axe has served me well, served King Gareth well, and served you well."
That brought a laugh, again wheezy and thin, but again full of confidence—well-earned confidence, Ellery knew.
"An unlikely continuum of service," he observed. She could see the man's smirk, stretching half out of the shadows. "You do not agree?" asked the thin man, and Ellery, too, smirked and found humor in the irony.
Few would see the logic of her last statement, she realized, because few understood the nuance of politics and practicality in Damara and Vaasa.