01 Voice For Princess by John Morressy

Author:John Morressy
Language: dan
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Kedrigern kept the slowest pace he could, but by midday the boy had fallen far behind. Kedrigern dismounted and sat on a log to wait for him.

"Sorry, master," the boy said, panting, when he caught up.

"It's all right. Sit down. We'll eat something, and rest awhile."

When it was time to continue, Kedrigern looked down on the ragged, pinched little figure and was moved to pity. He thought of himself comfortable on horseback while the lad hurried along the rough road, and felt a twinge of guilt.

"I think you ought to ride awhile," he said.

"Oh, no, master! I could never ride while my master walks!"

"You must learn to do as I say, boy. If I tell you to ride, you must ride," said Kedrigern sternly.

"If you say so, master," the boy said, springing eagerly into the saddle.

"And what's your name? I can't keep calling you 'boy.'"

"It's Jum, master."

"Jum. That's a muddy sort of name. Well, let's move on… Jum."

With Kedrigern leading, they headed west, to the junction of the great highway, and then turned north, toward the mountains. They proceeded in silence. Jum was lost in wonder at his new surroundings, craning and swiveling his neck to stare at each unfamiliar sight. He had no breath left for speech, and Kedrigern savored the spectacle of the boy's excitement.

Kedrigern felt more benevolent with each step. He had saved a bright lad from a lifetime of malodorous drudgery in Hossel's stables, and won a promising recruit for the wizard's calling. Jum badly needed a scrubbing and a few weeks of healthy food, but he was good raw material. He would require a new name, too; something a bit more dignified. Jum would do for a stable boy, or a jester, or an alchemist—perfect name for an alchemist, he thought—but never a wizard.

They went on, Jum gawking and Kedrigern ruminating and neither one saying a word, and the landscape around them became gradually more barren and bleak. Here stood the blackened ruin of a crofter's hovel, there the wild tangle of a long abandoned wheat field. The bleakness soon turned to menace. When he saw a blasted maple hung with a score of corpses in various stages of decomposition, Kedrigern worked a quick early warning spell. He could not be sure who had done all this, but he wanted to know if they were nearby.

"Is that the doing of barbarians, master?" Jum asked in a subdued voice.

"It probably is. But whether it's the work of invaders from the east or our local talent, I can't say. It might also be the outcome of a holy war, or a persecution. Or perhaps a family feud. Or the penalty for tax evasion. They all seem to come out the same in the end," Kedrigern said, sighing.

"Rotten barbarians... ought to skin them all alive!" Jum said with great vehemence.

Kedrigern was about to reprimand the boy, but he checked his tongue. Jum was young, and had plenty of time to learn restraint. His outburst might well be the

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