Dragonlance - Elven Nations Trilogy 02 - The Kinslayer Wars by Douglas Niles

Author:Douglas Niles
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Kith-Kanan squirmed restlessly on his pine-branch bed. The once-soft branches had been matted

into a hard and lumpy mat by more than two months of steady use, and no longer did they provide a

pleasant cushion for his body. As he had often done before–indeed, as he did a hundred or a

thousand times each day–he cursed the injury that kept him hobbled to this shelter like an invalid.

He noticed another sound that disturbed his slumber–a rumble like a leaky bellows in a steel-

smelting plant. The noise reverberated throughout the cave.

"Hey, One-Tooth!" Kith snapped. "Wake up!"

Abruptly the sound ceased with a snuffling gurgle, and the giant peered sleepily into the cave.

"Huh?" demanded the monstrous humanoid. "What Three-Legs want now?"

"Stop snoring! I can't sleep with all the racket!"

"Huh?" One-Tooth squinted at him. "Not snoring!"

"Never mind. Sorry I woke you." Smiling to himself, the wounded elf shifted his position on the rude mattress and slowly boosted himself to his feet.

"Nice fire." The giant moved closer to the pile of coals. "Better than village firehole."

"Where is your village?" asked Kith curiously. The giant had mentioned his small community

before.

"In mountains, close to tree lands."

This didn't tell Kith much, except that it was at a lower altitude than the valley they now inhabited, a fact that was just as well, considering his brother's ongoing exploration of the highlands.

"Sleep some more," grunted the giant, stretching and yawning. His mouth gaped, and the solitary tusk protruded until One-Tooth smacked his lips and closed his eyes.

The giant had made remarkable progress in learning the elven tongue. He was no scintillating

conversationalist, of course, but he could communicate with Kith-Kanan on a remarkable number of

day-to-day topics.

"Sleep well, friend," remarked Kith softly. He looked at the slumbering giant with genuine

affection, grateful that the fellow had been here during these months of solitude.

Looking outward, he noticed the pale blue of the dawn sky looming behind One-Tooth's recumbent

form.

Damn this leg! Why did he have to suffer an injury now, just when his skills were most needed,

when the entire future of the war and of his nation were at stake?

He had regained some limited mobility. He could totter, albeit painfully, around the mouth of the

cave, getting water for himself and exercising his limbs. Today, he resolved, he would press far

enough to get a few more pine branches for his crude and increasingly uncomfortable bed.

But that was nothing compared to the epic quest undertaken by his brother! Even as Kith thought

about making the cave a little more cozy, his brother was negotiating high mountain ridges and

steep, snow-filled valleys, making his camp wherever the sunset found him, pressing forward each

day to new vistas.

More than once, Kith had brooded on the fact that Sithas faced great danger in these mountains.

Indeed, he could be killed by a fall, or an avalanche, or a band of wolves or giants–by any of

countless threats–and Kith-Kanan wouldn't even know about it until much time had passed and he

failed to return.

Growling to himself, Kith limped to the cave mouth and looked over the serene valley.

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