The Chronicles of Nevin Reasoner: The Complete Duology by Thomas Lombard

Author:Thomas Lombard [Lombard, Thomas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-02-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 3

Clarion call

After riding all morning, the Alliance for Antrim, as Orris continued to call their troupe, reached the edge of the area locally called Elvenwood. While much of the nearby countryside was dotted with trees, the Elvenwood had an unmistakable border. Its trees were more dense and tall by far, and the colors exceptionally deep, forming a remarkable border that disguised any prevailing pathway through it.

Despite its apparent barrier, it did not strike Nevin as a forbidding or morbid place. On the contrary, it was exceptionally fragrant and healthy looking. The trees appeared to be all broadleaf temperate species with no conifers. The autumn foliage must be spectacular, Nevin thought. Each of his companions looked ahead, thinking about something other than fragrant trees and radiant fall colors. The men had fresh memories of Zael’s willingness to slay anyone who posed a threat in the Elf-Lord’s province, but Corissa would not know that. She did not hesitate to prod her horse forward into the wood. After a short pause, the others cautiously nudged their horses on.

The going was extra difficult for the mounted travelers due to heavy undergrowth and low tree branches that scratched both horse and rider. In order to move forward, they had to maneuver around trees. Corissa called for a stop and complained that they would soon lose their sense of direction from having to zigzag so much.

Anson leaned over for a private word with Orris; the soldier reacted with a sharp disagreement.

Corissa observed the exchange and edged her horse over to theirs. “Do you have advice for us? Speak so we all can hear.”

“Anson thinks we should use Zael’s horn,” said Orris. “He would ask Zael to guide us, or at least lend us one of his elves. I fear the horn could alert others we’d be better off avoiding.”

“This is the one you call the Elf-Lord? Are we to have another creature of legend come to life with this company?” Corissa sighed.

Nevin was uncertain whether Corissa’s terse reply indicated impatience or skepticism, but it was at least ironic that she also showed some disbelief about beings in this land. Now that he thought about it, Nevin had encountered little people before, so perhaps that was not so astonishing here, unless people started to fly or disappear. Real live little people could be called by any name like dwarf or elf or anything else, and it was believable for them to have long beards or pointy ears and distaste for items made of iron. In fact, he knew that 10% of the population in his world has a vestigial tubercle in their outer ears that doctors call Darwin’s ear points or “elf ear.” Facts like this helped make some of the remarkable things he had seen so far rather believable. He thought they should be for Corissa as well.

“My Lady,” said Anson. “Have you ever seen any elvenkind?”

Corissa said that she had not and granted there could be small-sized people who inhabited this area, so she relented somewhat, though stopping short of apology.

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.