Days of Air and Darkness - Katharine Kerr [76]
Muttering to himself about the injustice of it all, Evandar walked down to the tide line, picked his way through the driftwood and strings of dead kelp to the water, but instead of walking into the quiet waves, he stepped up above them and strode along the dapple of sunlight upon sea until, in but a few moments, he disappeared.
The wind rose. Up on the hill, the trees nodded over the ruined observatory, as if reminding it of Evandar’s promise, that someday the city would be reborn.
PRESENT, RISING
The Northlands, 1116
FORTUNA MINOR
In all lands of our map this figure does bring aid to those in distress and a turning for the better in many things, yet always at a price, which, depending upon those figures nearby, may be far higher than the querent wishes to pay. In the land of Quicksilver it also denotes a going out into strange ways.
—The Omenbook of Gwarn,
Loremaster
“WHERE ARE WE GOING, master?” Arzosah said.
“What do you mean, where? To the dwarvehold, of course. Lin Serr, just like Evandar said.”
“You’d follow his orders?” She slapped her tail against the ground with a boom and a roil of dust.
“Why not? He knows things I can’t see. Now hold still. I’ve got one last knot to tie.”
With a whine, she settled down and let Rhodry finish arranging the ropes for the riding harness. He tied on his gear, then considered. Although out of habit he was wearing his sword, he decided that they’d flown close enough to the war, now, for him to consider combat. The sword, securely lashed, went into his bedroll. He slung a quiver of arrows at his hip and a curved elven hunting bow over his back.
“You’d best tie yourself on if you’re going to be using that thing,” Arzosah said. “They take both hands, don’t they?”
“They do, and you’re right. Here, I should think you’d be glad if I fell to my death.”
“Of course I’d be glad. I’d be free, then. But you ordered me to do all in my power to keep you safe, and giving you good advice is within my power. Alas.”
“Ah. I see. Well, my thanks.”
On impulse, Rhodry reached up and first patted, then scratched her scaly brow, which curved round her eye sockets, in the same way as you’d scratch a dog on the head. She rumbled and leaned into his touch.
“You like that, eh?”
“I can’t reach to scratch there myself. Oooh, do the other side, please?”
He walked round her head and obliged, while she let her eyelids droop and kept rumbling till he was done.
“Now, if you’re good,” Rhodry said, “I’ll do that again tonight.”
“Done, then—a bargain, Dragonmaster. So we fly south today?”
“We do. And keep a good watch for Horsekin.”
Ever since they’d left the place that had once been Haen Marn, they’d been following the track left by an army. Once they were flying again, Rhodry could see it clearly. Across the scrubby downs, it ran like a road, a muddy wound bitten into the grass by the hooves of hundreds of horses and the wheels of many wagons. Just ahead, though, lay forest, as the hills dropped lower and lower toward the plateau when Lin Serr stood. The track led straight into it and disappeared. Rhodry could assume that the raiding party had found the trees rough going; they would have had to chop a road for their wagons and scrounge fresh fodder for their stock.
“Drop down! Let’s take a look at the forest.”
Arzosah allowed herself to glide until she flew only a few yards above the trees. Sure enough, Rhodry could see clearings and two wagons, as well, left shattered in the improvised road. Farther on, he could just make out another wagon and a scatter of objects.
“Big clearing over there!” Arzosah bellowed. “Shall I land? I don’t smell any Horsekin near here.”
“Then let’s go down and see what they left behind.”
As Arzosah settled, a cloud of terrified ravens flew up squawking, but these were ordinary birds, come for the dead horse he could see near the shattered wagon, which lay half in a stream. As soon as Rhodry slid down from her back and looked