Into the Realm of Time: A Novel of the Fourth Century Roman Empire by Prill Scott Douglas

Author:Prill, Scott Douglas [Prill, Scott Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scott Douglas Prill
Published: 2020-08-28T00:00:00+00:00

XLI

DECEPTION

A s he left Proterous, Flavius was satisfied with himself and what he had secretly accomplished for Claire. However, he was highly irritated with Argus’ demand to return to the gorge where Claire, Belator, and the children supposedly had died. As he rode in silence, he thought that Argus was nothing more than a fool with a crown who had the intelligence of a mad dog. Without him, Flavius thought, Argus would not last long. He was tired of being tied to Argus, but he had no feasible alternative. He thought of Mary and wanted to be with her much more than the thugs riding behind him.

Flavius and his men periodically stopped on the way to the gorge. To the men, it seemed that the farther they were from Argus, the more Flavius’ personality lightened. Flavius brought out a large flask and the men drank from it.

Flavius began asking questions that didn’t pertain to Claire and her group, but instead focused on the potential presence of fierce wild animals and the trolls in the steep ravine. Had the men ever seen evidence of trolls? Did strange sounds come from the gorge after Claire fell in? Did they think trolls, or possibly even ogres, inhabited the rocky areas around the gorge? What about the stories of a man who could turn into a wolf at night and savage anyone it encountered?

The men grew edgier as they drank and Flavius talked. They started asking questions, too. Had Flavius ever seen a troll? Answer: “Yes.” Had he ever killed a troll? Answer: “No.” Do they eat humans? Answer: “Yes. They particularly like the flesh of men because they are more muscular. Sometimes they will take a woman to be a slave.” How strong are trolls? Answer: “Strong enough to break a deer in two with one quick snap of its wrists.”

The men were already cautious about trolls, but their dialogue with Flavius sent them into a near panic.

One man spoke. “We can just go to the edge of that ravine, take a quick look down, and then leave that enchanted place. If we all repeat the same story, how will Argus know what we did and saw?”

Several grunts of agreement came from the men, and Flavius looked on them with a sympathetic eye.

“I hear you, but Argus wants us to do more than just look. Since I am the leader of this group, I will descend into the gorge and see for myself whether there are any remains left of Claire and her fellow absconders. I will want two ropes lowered so several of you can pull me up in case I see a troll or, more importantly, in case he sees me. I do not want to be skewered and cooked, so you men must be at your strongest.”

The men were more than happy to oblige Flavius’ great sacrifice.

As they rode closer to the gorge, the atmosphere shifted. It was definitely cooler with hardly a breeze to stir the fog that rose slowly from unexpected places.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.