The Dawning of Power Brian Rathbone

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."Well, the Herald is telling you to stop it," she said, smiling and waving her finger in his face."Youcan call me by name if you like but not solely because I'm the Herald."Benjin smiled."Li'l miss, consider it done.""What do we do from here?" she asked."I think we should do what you think is best.I'll give you my best advice if you want it, and I'msure Chase and the others will as well, but my first duty is to protect you.I hope you consider our advice,compare it to your senses and your gut, and then make your decisions based on those things.I'll do mybest to help--no matter what you decide."She felt inadequate and small, yet it was up to her to decide what actions to take, what course tofollow.The responsibility was a little frightening.What if she made the wrong choices?"I don't want you to stay with me because your family was sworn to protect the Herald.I wantyou to stay because you want to stay," she managed through tears she hadn't realized she was crying.Benjin pulled her into his arms, hugging her close."There, there, li'l miss.Don't you cry.I'm herebecause I want to be here, and no one could tear me away.My duty to the Herald is just a fortunatecoincidence that tells me to do what I would have done anyway."Catrin cried and hugged him back; then she wiped her eyes and gathered the apples, while hepicked several that were not yet ripe, saying they would make a nice treat in a few days.When Catrinstood, he noticed her carved fish."I like your necklace.""Thank you.So do I.I found it while I was exploring the cavern, and I just remembered it when Iwas talking to Chase.He made the necklace for me," she said."He did a nice job; it compliments you."* * * Premon Dalls shuffled along the halls with the rest of the refugees as they were moved to theirnew homes within the audience halls.As the seemingly endless line of humanity poured into the halls,pushing, shoving, and vying for any scrap of space they could claim as their own, Premon faked acoughing fit.Standing in the arched entranceway, flanked by the strange carvings that adorned thearchway and pretending to catch his breath, he examined the mechanism Master Edling had told himabout.The entranceways were narrow, yet long, and they served more than one purpose.Though theceiling was decorated and appeared to be of solid rock, it was a ruse.The designers of the Masterhousehad foreseen the possibility of a siege, and they had built defense mechanisms into their fortress.Abovethese corridors lay a mountain of rubble and rock supported by joists that could hold its weight but littlemore.Above that stood a massive shaft, and at the top, an enormous weight was suspended by a chain.All Premon had to do was retrieve the special rod that Master Edling had told him how to find, insert itinto the mouth of either carving, twist, and yank.That was all there was to it, at least that was whatMaster Edling had said.How Premon was supposed to trigger all three collapses before anyone emergedwas something of a mystery, but Premon didn't care.He had nothing to lose.The thought of killing all those people, sentencing them to starvation, would have made most mensick, but Premon considered himself a practical man.The loss of the refugees would mean many moremonths before those in the Masterhouse would either starve or be forced to surrender themselves intoslavery.When he had revealed to Peten Ross that he could escape through the sewers, Premon hadknown he was sending the boy to his death, but he had also known that it would mean one less mouth tofeed.Now he would achieve the same result, only on a much larger scale.Chapter 13Even the greatest catastrophes bring new opportunities for life.--Brother Ramirez, Cathuran monk* * *Eager to put the plateau behind them, Catrin set a brisk pace.The sodden valley reeked of rottedvegetation and dead fish."This valley runs all the way to the coastline, but the mountains on our right turnsouth and open into this area, the Arghast Desert," she said aloud while glancing at her map.Sheremembered the Arghast Desert from school: a vast wasteland.Nomadic tribes were said to wander thearea, but no one had reported seeing them in generations.The ragged northern coastline bordered the desert and was lined with mountains, which dwindledin the east.The southern coast was flat and lined with long stretches of sandy beach.It would be a longhike south, but Catrin thought it might be easier going than the mountains.She thought of how nice itwould be to walk along the ocean with the sounds of crashing waves to soothe them."Do you think weshould go north or south when we reach the desert?""North," Benjin replied immediately."The southern coast would be a more pleasant journey, butthere's no cover there, and those lands can easily be patrolled by ships.We'd be inviting the entire Zjhonfleet to intercept us.The northern coast is much less accessible to enemies.There is very little safeanchorage, and most of the shoreline is made up of steep cliffs and mountains [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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