Landover 3 - The Tangle Box by Brooks Terry

Author:Brooks, Terry [Terry, Brooks,]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-10-24T05:10:16.821000+00:00

The water was cloudy and smooth where rapids and rifts did not

churn it to foam amid rocky out-croppings. No debris floated in it,

nor did fish jump to mar the glassy surface.

"If there is a river, there must be a town somewhere along it," the

Lady said hopefully.

"But does the town lie within the Labyrinth or beyond?" the Knight

queried. He looked at her. "We shall follow it and see. Which way

shall we go?"

Again, she surprised him. "You decide. You are the one who leads

us."

He took them downstream. The riverbank was broad and grassy and

easily traversed. The trees of the forest ended some hundred yards

back at most points, and the way was clear and open for travelers.

As gray daylight waned toward nightfall, the mist moved out of the

trees and settled down across the river and its banks. It crept to

their boot tops and then to their knees. By darkness, it was

waist-high and they could no longer see where the bank ended and

the river began.

The Knight had just decided to move back into the trees for the

night when they heard the singing. They stopped as one, listening.

The sound came from just a little farther ahead, around a bend not

two hundred yards away. The Knight took them back to the fringe of

the trees so that they would escape a fall into the river, and they

continued from there. When they reached the bend and*rounded it,

they saw light from several fires. The singing came from there.

They moved toward the fires, peering intently through the gloom. As

they neared, a handful of painted wagons came into view. There were

mules tethered nearby, and tents of bright cloth that had been tied

to poles and the ends of the wagons and made fast by rope stays.

The singers were more than a dozen in number, men and women

Terry Brooks 171

both, all dressed in colorful garb with many sashes, cloaks, and

headbands, all gathered about the fires as they sang.

The Knight and his companions approached and were seen, but the

singing continued as if their appearance did not matter. The

Gargoyle was hanging back, wrapped in his cloak for concealment,

but one of the singers rose and beckoned them all forward, making

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Brooks, Terry - MKL#4 - The Tangle Box

certain that the beast was included. They came up slowly, cautious

by nature and circumstance, even in these seemingly friendly

surroundings.

"Welcome to our camp," the one who had encouraged them to join in

greeted. "Will you sing with us? Sing for your supper, perhaps?"

The man was heavy and round and had great, gnarled hands. His hair

and beard were thick and black. He wore several gold earrings and a

chain with a locket. A brace of daggers were tucked in a sash at

his ample waist, and another protruded from the top of his boot.

"Who are you?" the Knight asked.

"Ah, ah—no names, my friend," the other said. "Names are for

enemies we would avoid, not for friends we would make. Will you sit

with us?"

"River Gypsies," the Gargoyle said, come to a full stop, and the

Knight looked quickly at him.

The big man laughed. "That's us! Well, look at you, my friend.

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