High druid of Shannara_ Jarka Ruus - Terry Brooks [51]
“She badly needs you to do this,” the King of the Silver River assured him. “She is trapped in a very dangerous place, and she cannot get home again without your help. No one can save her but you, Penderrin. It is an odd set of circumstances that makes this so, but it is the way of things nevertheless.”
Tagwen grunted. “This boy is the only one who can help the Ard Rhys? No one else? What about his parents? What about his father, Bek Ohmsford? He has the same magic as his sister, a very powerful magic, to assist him. Surely, he should be the one to make this journey.”
The old man leaned more heavily on the black staff and cocked his head as if seriously considering the question. His gaze was distant and just a little sad.
“Often, it is the least likely among us who is in a position to accomplish the most. It is so here. Bek Ohmsford cannot help his sister this time. Penderrin is just a boy, and it would seem impossible that a boy would be best able to save so powerful a wielder of magic as Grianne Ohmsford, Ard Rhys and Ilse Witch. Certainly those who have sent her to her prison would never think it possible. Perhaps that is why they have overlooked him. In truth, they think it is his parents they need to fear, and so seek them out, just as you do.”
“I knew it!” Tagwen exclaimed angrily. “It was Shadea a’Ru and Terek Molt and the rest of them! They’ve done this to her!”
He was practically beside himself, and Pen felt compelled to put a cautioning hand on his shoulder, but the Dwarf barely seemed aware of him. He stamped his foot furiously. “Vipers! Treacherous snakes! Kermadec was right all along! She should have rid herself of the lot of them long ago and none of this would have happened!”
The King of the Silver River passed his hand in front of the Dwarf’s eyes, causing him to sigh heavily and grow calm again. “It isn’t as simple as that, Tagwen. In fact, there are others responsible, as well, others who are from different places and pursue different goals. But the most dangerous of those who would see the Ard Rhys destroyed is someone of whom the others are not even aware. That one plays the others as a master does his puppets, pulling the strings that guide their actions. Wheels within wheels, secrets yet unrecognized. The danger is far greater than it appears, and it threatens far more than the life of the Ard Rhys. Yet she is the key to restoring a balance, to making things right again. She must be returned to the Four Lands in order for everything else that is necessary to happen.” He looked at Penderrin. “You, alone, can bring that to pass.”
Pen sighed, thinking that only a day ago he was wondering how to best pass the time in Patch Run until his parents returned. He had been anxious for an adventure, eager to be with them in the Wolfsktaag, to be a part of their lives as guides of an expedition. Now he was being recruited to undertake an expedition of his own, one that appeared to be far more dangerous than theirs. How quickly things changed.
“What is it you want me to do?” he asked.
The King of the Silver River climbed the steps to the pilot box, not in a weary shuffle, but in a smooth, effortless glide. One wrinkled hand came to rest on the boy’s shoulder. “You must abandon your efforts to find your parents; they cannot help you in this. If it were possible for them to do so, I would have gone to them first. I shall speak with them in any case to warn them of the danger from your enemies. But your parents’ time is past, Penderrin; it is your time now. You must go in search of your aunt without them, and you must do so at once.”
“Then I shall go with him,” Tagwen declared bravely. “Finding the Ard Rhys is my responsibility, too.”
The King of the Silver River glanced at him appraisingly, then nodded. “You will make a good and loyal companion, Tagwen,” he said. His eyes shifted back to Pen. “Such companions will be needed. Find them where you will, but choose them with caution.”
He leaned forward, and his