The Last Refuge (The Tomewright Compendium Book 1) by L.A. Blackburn

Author:L.A. Blackburn [Blackburn, L.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-11-06T00:00:00+00:00

Seventeen

“Applying The Paste…”

When Isha awoke, she found herself laying face down on the riverbank, bruised and bleeding from multiple cuts, but alive. Pushing herself up, mud dropped from the sides of her face as she checked the area for any other signs of her companions. She was alone, and no way of knowing where the others landed if at all. Getting to her feet, she carefully whiffed the air, trying to pick up any scent of the others but once again disappointment remained.

The spiraling white spires of Pelan pointed the way to her destination in the far horizon, so she traveled downstream toward the city. It didn’t take long before she found where someone else emerged from the river, but signs of a violent struggle lay all around. The outline of an enormous stomach on the ground and the deep-set footprints told her it must be Dodie. And judging by the uprooted turf, he’d given good account of himself before capture. She followed the tracks downriver for some time until she crested a hill and the valley of Pelan opened up before her. There in the west, nested between mazes of tributaries from the Arnon, stood the Dolman Pillars of Jotbatha reaching their vine-covered columns into the azure sky like towering sentinels, stretching upward into the clouds then disappearing into the dizzying heights. She’d always heard about the famed site but never dared travel to its region due to the puzzling stories about the location. History has it that they formed as the many branches of the Arnon carved the earth down around them, leaving the standing stone pillar to extend against the sky. The giants believe the dolmans were ancestors, turned to stone by their god for not dominating the land in ages past, but those who live closest say they were carved by the finger of Elyon himself.

Golden beams stretched from the West across the Pelan plains leaving a hazy rainbow through the mists that rise from the tributaries below. Hearing footsteps approaching, she quickly ducked into some underbrush as several soldiers came checking the banks on each side of the river. Even wet, her cloak provided some protection from prying eyes so she pulled it around her as she gently slipped her knives from the sheath. As they approached, she could hear talking.

“Been trying all day and we haven’t found a thing,” said the first soldier.

“Captain says to keep at it or he’ll have us on rubbish duty for a month,” said the second.

“You nod off once and he thinks we sleep all the time.”

“You do sleep all the time and it’s a wonder he hadn’t found you sooner.”

“Aw yea, you’re right. But they be sweet dreams I’ll say.”

“They’ll be you last ones if the captain finds you again. He’ll drop your guts on the ground so shut your yap and let’s check back to the city. It’s almost time for dinner.”

The soldiers motioned to their companions on the other side of the river and they began to make their way back toward the city.

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