Brooks, Terry Jerle Shannara 01 Ilse Witch

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.Bek and Quentin snatched up their gear and retreated to the shelter of a large conifer,covering themselves with their travel cloaks as they sat beneath a canopy of feathery branches andwatched the rain sweep through unabated.By morning they were stiff and sore and not very well rested, but they resumed their travels withoutcomplaint.In other circumstances, they would have come better equipped, but neither had wanted theburden of pack animals and supplies, and so they were traveling light.A few nights of damp and coldwere tolerable in the course of a week s passage if it meant shaving a few days off their traveling time.They ate a cold breakfast, then rode all morning through the Black Oaks, and by afternoon the rain hadabated and they had reached the Battlemound.Here they turned south, unwilling to chance crossingthrough any part of the Mist Marsh, content to detour below the swamp and come out to the east, wherethey would turn north again and ride until they reached the Silver River.By sunset, they had succeeded in accomplishing their goal, avoiding Sirens and other pitfalls, keeping tothe roadway until it meandered off south, then sticking to the open ground of the lowlands as the terrainchanged back to forests and low hills and they could see the glittering ribbon of the river ahead.Findingshelter in a grove of cottonwood and beech, they made camp on its banks, the ground sufficiently drythat they could lay out their bedding and build a fire.They watered and fed the horses and rubbed themdown.Then they made dinner for themselves and, after eating it, sat facing out toward the river and thenight, sipping cups of ale as they talked. I wish we knew more about Truls Rohk, Bek ventured after the conversation had been going on for atime. Why do you think Walker told us so little about him?Quentin contemplated the starfilled sky thoughtfully. Well, he told us where to go to find him.He said allwe had to do was ask and he would be there.Seems like enough to me. It might be enough for you, but not for me.It doesn t tell us anything about why we re looking for him.How come he s so important? Bek was not about to be appeased. If we re to persuade him to comewith us to Arborlon, shouldn t we know why he s needed? What if he doesn t want to come? What arewe supposed to do then?Quentin grinned cheerfully. Pack up and go on.It isn t our problem if he chooses to stay behind. Hegrimaced. See, there you go again, Bek, worrying when there isn t any reason for it. So you re fond of telling me.So I ll tell you something else that s worrying me.I don t trust Walker.They stared at each other in the darkness without speaking, the fire beginning to burn down, the soundsof the night lifting out of the sudden silence. What do you mean? Quentin asked slowly. You think he slying to us? No. Bek shook his head emphatically. If I thought that, I wouldn t be here.No, I don t think he s thatGenerated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlsort.But I do think he knows something he s not telling us.Maybe a lot of somethings.Think about it,Quentin.How did he know about you and the Sword of Leah? He knew you had it before he eventalked to us.How did he find out? Has he been keeping an eye on you all these years, waiting for achance to summon you on a quest? How did he manage to convince your father to let us go with him,when your father wouldn t even consider your request to fight for the Freeborn?He stopped abruptly.He wanted to tell Quentin what Coran had said about his parentage.He wanted toask Quentin why he thought Coran hadn t said a word about it until the Druid appeared.He wanted toask his cousin if he had any idea how the Druid had ended up ferrying him to the Leah doorstep in thefirst place, not a task a Druid would normally undertake.But he was not prepared to talk about any of this just yet; he was still mulling it over, trying to decidehow he felt about it before sharing what he knew. I think you re right, Quentin said suddenly, surprising him. I think the Druid s keeping secrets from us,not the least of which is where we re going and why.But I ve listened to you expound on Druids andtheir history often enough to know that this is normal behavior for them.They know things we don t, andthey keep the information mostly to themselves.Why should that trouble you? Why not just let thingsunfold in the way they re intended rather than worry about it? Look at me.I m carrying a sword that ssupposed to be magic.I m supposed to trust blindly in a weapon that s never shown a moment sinclination to be more than what it seems. That s different, Bek insisted. No, it isn t. Quentin laughed and rocked back onto his elbows, stretching out his long legs. It s all thesame thing.You can live your life worrying about what you don t know, or you can accept yourlimitations and make the best of it.Secrets don t harm you, Bek.It s fussing about them that does youin.Bek gave him a disbelieving look. That s entirely wrong.Secrets can do a great deal of harm. All right, let me approach it another way. Quentin drained off his ale and sat forward again. Howmuch can you accomplish worrying about secrets that may not exist? Especially when you have no ideawhat they are? I know.I know. Bek sighed. But at least I m prepared for the fact that some nasty surprises might lieahead.At least I m ready for what I think is going to happen down the road.And by keeping an eye onWalker, I won t be caught off guard by his shadings of the truth and purposeful omissions. Great.You re prepared and you won t be fooled.Me, too, believe it or not even if I don t worryabout it as much as you. Quentin looked off into the darkness, where a shooting star streaked across thefirmament and disappeared. But you can t prepare against everything, Bek, and you can t save yourselffrom being fooled now and then.The fact is, no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try,sometimes your efforts fall short.Bek looked at him and said nothing.True enough, he was thinking, but he didn t care for theimplications.He slept undisturbed by rain and cold that night, the skies clear and the air warm, and he did not dreamor toss.Even so, he woke in the deep sleep hours of early morning, bathed in starlight and infused by afeeling of uneasiness.The fire had burned itself out and lay cold and gray.Beside him, Quentin wasGenerated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlsnoring, wrapped in his blankets.Bek did not know how long he had been asleep, but the moon wasdown and the forest about him was silent and black.He rose without thinking, looking around cautiously as he did so, trying to pinpoint the source of hisdiscomfort [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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