Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [105]
…and danger before us…
Once they gained admittance to Dael, they would briefly visit Librettowit’s family. Then the tumanhofers would provide a guide to take them deep into the mountain beyond where their people built towns. The questers would pass into territory where Risto’s henchmen had taken up residence. Fenworth said there was a barrier of some sort that they would have to break through.
But when Kale asked who had built the barrier, the tumanhofers or the enemy, Fenworth hemmed and hawed and changed the subject.
He’s not very good at answering questions.
Leetu Bends’ voice startled Kale. “What’s the matter, o’rant girl?”
“Nothing.”
“You look angry.”
“I’m not.”
Leetu said nothing but walked directly behind Kale until they reached a wider spot in the path. The emerlindian lengthened her stride to come up beside Kale.
“You’re limping,” Leetu said. “Why don’t you let Gymn heal you?”
“Gymn is little more than a baby. He worked hard after the blimmet attack. He deserves a rest.”
Leetu shrugged. “Stubborn,” she muttered, but Kale heard her.
“What?”
“A comment upon immaturity.”
Kale narrowed her eyes and turned her face to the wind.
“You’re mad,” said Leetu, “because Fenworth won’t answer your questions.”
“You won’t answer my questions either. And Paladin didn’t answer my questions.”
“He didn’t?”
“Well, yes, he showed me things, but that was a long time ago.”
Leetu hummed the chorus of one of Dar’s favorite marching songs before she spoke again. “To demonstrate her anger, the young o’rant girl resorts to sullen behavior toward her comrades, grumbling against her leaders, and stubbornly refusing help.”
Kale said nothing.
“Immaturity,” said the emerlindian.
Kale stopped and faced Leetu. “Yes. All right. I’m immature. I’m tired, confused, frightened, immature. There! Does that help any, now that I’ve agreed with you?”
Leetu nodded, and Kale resisted the urge to give her a hearty shove.
“You are still putting one foot in front of the other, Kale.” Leetu stepped around a boulder in the path. She looked back at Kale and gestured for her to come on. “Give yourself credit for not giving up. You haven’t slowed down our expedition, and you’ve been a valuable member.”
“Most of the time I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Leetu chuckled. “Most of the time I don’t know what I’m doing. My advantage is more experience. Many times I know what is expected of me, and I do that, whether I am confident of success or not.”
Kale allowed Leetu to go first as the trail narrowed and rose steeply but came up next to her again as soon as there was room for the two to walk side by side.
Leetu offered Kale a long, thin breadstick and took one from her pocket for herself.
“As for being confused, you know what you’re to do now. You are to follow Dar, who is just ahead of you. You trust him to be following Shimeran.”
“I want to know if I made that light-thing in the sky, and if I did, how? Fenworth won’t tell me anything.”
“He’s a very old man, Kale, and probably tired. This quest is asking a lot of him. Have some patience and more compassion. Work to make things easier for him, not harder.”
“But he’s a wizard,” Kale protested.
“And you think wizards have endless strength, endless knowledge, the answers to everything, and the means to fix all troubles?”
Kale thought about Leetu’s words. After a minute, she answered reluctantly. “Yes.”
Leetu did not speak up.
Kale sighed. “I suppose this is another instance where what I don’t know is greater than what I do know.”
“It’s hard to unlearn falsehoods, but Paladin knows you can, or he wouldn’t have entrusted you with this quest.”
The ledge topped a bluff, and to their left stood a small wood of majestic evergreens. Beyond that, another cliff rose sharply toward the sky.
“Frightened,” Leetu continued. “Well, it is a lie to face scary things and pretend you are not frightened.