The Quest of the Thirteen by John DeFilippis

Author:John DeFilippis
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy, Epic
ISBN: 9781937530013
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2012-04-10T00:00:00+00:00

The forest opened up around them, vast and seemingly filled with life. Yet they did not encounter any creatures other than the game that Ferox was able to bring in for sustenance. Minstro rode among them in silence. Pugius glanced over at him from time to time, and Nomis leaned in now and again to ask a quick question. Some of the thirteen were still somewhat irritated at the unexpected burden, especially Cidivus, and they weren’t quite sure how Minstro was going to work into their plans.

The silence was finally broken when Cantos realized that he had a question to ask Minstro. “I’m curious,” he said. “Can you tell us more about the ‘frightening tales’ of the lands north of Mizar, the ones that Orn referred to before we departed? Is that why your kingdom is surrounded by a moat for protection? All of us are of course aware of the dangers that reside in the Tenebrae, but we haven’t encountered anything like that on this side of the Black Hollow. What exactly do you know?”

Minstro glanced up. He seemed reluctant to speak, but when he caught the sincere interest in Cantos’ expression, he loosened up.

“This land that we are now traveling through supposedly belongs to the Strya,” he said. “Though I have never seen them, our elders tell us they are very dangerous. Under no circumstances are we ever permitted to come in this direction.”

“Strya?” Cantos repeated. “I can remember reading about them somewhere.”

“Really?” Minstro asked.

“Yes,” Cantos replied. “Are you surprised?”

“Well…” said Minstro, pausing a moment to gather his thoughts. “I just never believed what the elders told us about the Strya. I’ve always been convinced that they will tell us anything to keep us as close to Mizar as possible. That’s why I didn’t say anything about them to you before. My friends believe everything Orn says and have thus grown very fearful of the outside world. Me, on the other hand…I can’t be fooled that easily. I refuse to let them scare me to the point that I would never consider crossing the bridge over our moat.”

“I see,” Cantos said. “Well, I can tell you this. The Strya do exist, though I didn’t know that this was where they resided. Can you tell us anything else about them? What exactly did the elders say?”

“They claimed that the Strya are half man, half animal,” replied Minstro. “Their upper body is that of a man, but from the waist down they resemble a horse or a deer, only with two legs instead of four. They are very fast and very strong. They supposedly wear only a sash of leather around their midsection for clothing, and they wield all kinds of weapons, from spears to slingshots. Oh, and they have horns on the tops of their heads like goats. They have been known to use these horns as weapons, charging at their enemies when the situation calls for it.”

“Oh come now,” Nomis scoffed. “I agree with you, Minstro. That very much sounds like the sort of thing the elders would make up to frighten children.

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