Chronicles of Logos Quest For the Kingdom Parts IV, V, VI, and VII Revised With Index (Quest For the Kingdom Set) by L. M. Roth
Authors: L. M. Roth
Ads: Link
Leith behind him and headed for the deep woods. How he
loved this land, he exulted! Was there any place in the world as lovely as
Eirinia?
The wind from
last night was nowhere in evidence this morning, and the mist from the sea had
rolled in, obscuring the village from view as he looked behind him. The woods
were hidden from his gaze as they were also enveloped in the fog that would not
lift for several hours; no, not until the sun had risen higher in the sky would
it dissipate and be lost in the splendor of the day.
He walked in
haste to atone for his earlier laziness and was soon deep in the woods. He
slowed his pace and crept in stealth, careful not to startle the wild life that
he came to stalk. Here the trees were shrouded even more heavily in the mist,
as the interlocking tree branches captured it and locked it in.
A sound came
to his ears: the cautious step of one trying not to be heard, yet betrayed by
the snapping of twigs and the crumbling of leaves that lay underfoot. Hardly
daring to breathe lest the sound of his exhale expose his hiding place, Brenus
dropped to one knee and aimed carefully with his bow.
Through the
trees just ahead a shape emerged and he let his arrow fly. A scream tore
through his brain, and he saw that a young woman clad in a long gray cloak had
fallen to the ground. With his heart feeling as though it had shot up from his
chest into his throat he rushed to her side, terrified that he had wounded or
killed her.
He turned her
over to face him and was startled by the loveliness of the face that looked up
at him. He judged her to be about eighteen years old, with eyes of a deep mossy
green and hair as golden-brown as chestnuts rippled from the confines of the
hood that had fallen back when she fell to the ground. She had a slim little
nose that tilted upward, and a pair of full red lips that would have puckered
pleasingly had they not been slack with shock. For a moment he forgot his
urgency in the sheer delight of contemplating her countenance; then recalled
himself to his senses.
“Are you hurt?
Did I injure you?” the words spilled out of him as she struggled to rise to her
feet.
Brenus put an
arm around her and helped her to stand. He kept his arm around her for a
moment, and she gazed up at him as if as entranced by him as he was by her. She
blinked her eyes and stared at him, then seemed to realize that she was being
held by a complete stranger to whom she had not even been introduced.
She stepped
back from him slightly and nodded her head.
“No, I am not
injured,” she whispered in a voice that was slightly husky and low in pitch
with a foreign accent; then her voice rose in anger. “But the inhabitants of
this land must be even wilder than I was told if you let loose arrows on
innocent travelers.”
Brenus
bristled slightly, but admitted she was right to be angry. He bowed to her and
took her hand in his.
“I do
apologize,” he said, “but I came to hunt and could not see you in the mist and
mistook you for an animal. And, if I may ask, why were you walking alone and
unprotected in the woods? That is not our custom with the women of Eirinia.”
Sparks of
green fire shot from the girl’s eyes, but she clamped her mouth tightly as if
to stifle her words. She looked at him for a long moment, clearly weighing her
words before addressing him again.
At last she spoke.
“I am looking
for a village called Leith,” she answered him. “I landed at a village called
Annick, where I took a room let to me by an old woman, and was told it is not
far, and my road ran through the woods. I am not familiar with this land, but
have been warned that the inhabitants are wild and unfriendly. When you shot at
me I thought perhaps rumor was correct.”
“That may be
so,” Brenus replied, “but our maidens do not wander alone in this land. There
are too many dangers abroad, the least of which are the inhabitants. You may
have been taken by a wolf, or shot by another hunter. Or
loved this land, he exulted! Was there any place in the world as lovely as
Eirinia?
The wind from
last night was nowhere in evidence this morning, and the mist from the sea had
rolled in, obscuring the village from view as he looked behind him. The woods
were hidden from his gaze as they were also enveloped in the fog that would not
lift for several hours; no, not until the sun had risen higher in the sky would
it dissipate and be lost in the splendor of the day.
He walked in
haste to atone for his earlier laziness and was soon deep in the woods. He
slowed his pace and crept in stealth, careful not to startle the wild life that
he came to stalk. Here the trees were shrouded even more heavily in the mist,
as the interlocking tree branches captured it and locked it in.
A sound came
to his ears: the cautious step of one trying not to be heard, yet betrayed by
the snapping of twigs and the crumbling of leaves that lay underfoot. Hardly
daring to breathe lest the sound of his exhale expose his hiding place, Brenus
dropped to one knee and aimed carefully with his bow.
Through the
trees just ahead a shape emerged and he let his arrow fly. A scream tore
through his brain, and he saw that a young woman clad in a long gray cloak had
fallen to the ground. With his heart feeling as though it had shot up from his
chest into his throat he rushed to her side, terrified that he had wounded or
killed her.
He turned her
over to face him and was startled by the loveliness of the face that looked up
at him. He judged her to be about eighteen years old, with eyes of a deep mossy
green and hair as golden-brown as chestnuts rippled from the confines of the
hood that had fallen back when she fell to the ground. She had a slim little
nose that tilted upward, and a pair of full red lips that would have puckered
pleasingly had they not been slack with shock. For a moment he forgot his
urgency in the sheer delight of contemplating her countenance; then recalled
himself to his senses.
“Are you hurt?
Did I injure you?” the words spilled out of him as she struggled to rise to her
feet.
Brenus put an
arm around her and helped her to stand. He kept his arm around her for a
moment, and she gazed up at him as if as entranced by him as he was by her. She
blinked her eyes and stared at him, then seemed to realize that she was being
held by a complete stranger to whom she had not even been introduced.
She stepped
back from him slightly and nodded her head.
“No, I am not
injured,” she whispered in a voice that was slightly husky and low in pitch
with a foreign accent; then her voice rose in anger. “But the inhabitants of
this land must be even wilder than I was told if you let loose arrows on
innocent travelers.”
Brenus
bristled slightly, but admitted she was right to be angry. He bowed to her and
took her hand in his.
“I do
apologize,” he said, “but I came to hunt and could not see you in the mist and
mistook you for an animal. And, if I may ask, why were you walking alone and
unprotected in the woods? That is not our custom with the women of Eirinia.”
Sparks of
green fire shot from the girl’s eyes, but she clamped her mouth tightly as if
to stifle her words. She looked at him for a long moment, clearly weighing her
words before addressing him again.
At last she spoke.
“I am looking
for a village called Leith,” she answered him. “I landed at a village called
Annick, where I took a room let to me by an old woman, and was told it is not
far, and my road ran through the woods. I am not familiar with this land, but
have been warned that the inhabitants are wild and unfriendly. When you shot at
me I thought perhaps rumor was correct.”
“That may be
so,” Brenus replied, “but our maidens do not wander alone in this land. There
are too many dangers abroad, the least of which are the inhabitants. You may
have been taken by a wolf, or shot by another hunter. Or
Similar Books
