Finder's Bane - Kate Novak [7]
Joel laughed. "Not really," he replied. "We've all done that before. So who was this scoundrel who slandered the honor of the Daggerdale folk?"
"Some stupid Cormyte serving as an envoy to Shadowdale. He said we were a ruthless, mean-spirited people. Elminster and Lord Mourngrym didn't pay any attention to him, but he made me terribly angry. I wasn't sure how much respect he warranted, so I didn't reply, Then I felt stupid because I'd lost the chance to show Shadowdale how loyal Daggerfolk are to their dale."
"Elminster and Lord Mourngrym probably admired you all the more for your self-discipline," Joel assured her
"Do you really think so?" Holly asked with surprise.
"Well, having never met the gentlemen, I can only guess based on what I've heard about them. Sharp words are never wielded so skillfully as silence. So what business did one so young have with such powerful men?" the bard asked curiously.
Holly grinned at him but said nothing.
Joel laughed. "Well, now that you've demonstrated your mastery of silence, perhaps you will deign to move on to the art of small talk. I'll try another question. Where'd you get that curved blade of yours?"
"It was my father's blade," Holly explained. "He was from Zhakara. That's far to the south."
Joel nodded.
"When he was a young man, he put on a cursed ring and was teleported to the north, where the Zhents captured him. He was a slave of the Zhents for years. So was my mom's brother, Burl. My dad helped Uncle Burl escape, so Uncle Burl brought dad to Daggerdale and introduced him to my mother." Holly looked away into the woods and added, "They all died in an orc raid last year-my mom, my dad, my Uncle Burl, my grandma Harrowslough."
"I'm very sorry," Joel said.
"Me, too," Holly whispered.
They rode in silence for nearly a mile. Joel thought of his own mother and father. It would probably be years before he saw them again. He hoped his reunion with them would be more pleasant than his departure had been. His parents couldn't understand his decision to leave the barding college in Berdusk to join Finder priesthood and go on a pilgrimage. Joel began humming a tune his mother and father often sang together.
The trail left the woods finally and headed out into rolling meadowlands covered with high grasses and wildflowers.
"Something's coming," Holly hissed in an urgent whisper. She slid down from Butternut's back.
The bard dismounted beside her. "What is it?" he asked. "More Zhentilar?"
"I'm not sure," the girl replied. Her brow was furrowed, and she looked more anxious than she had when she was surrounded by the Zhentilar. Holly pointed to a line of trees to the west. "We need to take cover," she insisted.
Joel followed the girl into the tall meadow grass, tugging the confused horses behind him. Young saplings lined the edge of a shallow gully; Holly slid down the gully and Joel followed. Butternut balked until Holly splashed a stone in the small stream at the bottom of the wash. Eager for water, the mare picked its way to the bottom and began to drink thirstily. The Zhentarim mount soon followed. Joel could just pick out the trail they'd left behind, but for the most part, the grass had closed back up after they passed through.
Joel trusted the girl's instincts, but he was unable to squelch his curiosity. Leaving the horses and Holly behind, the bard crawled back the way they'd come until he could peer through the tall grass at the trail beyond.
Whatever was coming had frightened more than just Holly. The woods that he and Holly had just exited erupted with an alarmed chatter. A moment later flocks of birds soared out of the trees and flew overhead. Five deer bounded down the trail and into the grass, the lead buck settling only a few feet from the ravine where Holly and the horses were hidden.
A minute later a great procession of people emerged from the woods.