A Handful of Men 2 - Upland Outlaws by Duncan Dave

Author:Duncan, Dave [Duncan, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-09-03T23:22:06+00:00

INTERLUDE

At the dying of the year came Winterfest.

Within the Impire it was a bittersweet celebration, a time for telling tales of the beloved old imperor now gone, and for hopeful prayers for the new one. Without all the traditional merrymaking, a surprising number of people discovered the festival dragging on rather longer than usual; many found themselves becoming unimpishly sick of their relatives before it was over.

Hub itself seemed strangely subdued without the great balls and banquets. Small gatherings of friends and family took their place. The rotund form of Lord Umpily appeared unannounced and uninvited at an astonishing number of those-gossiping, inquiring, listening, and soon disappearing as mysteriously as he had come.

In remote Krasnegar the customary revelry was as boisterous as ever. Yet even there the usual sparkle was oddly dimmed by a sense of someone missing. The royal ball was less riotous than usual, with very few serious injuries. Of course only a small fraction of the population could ever attend court functions, but the humble folk were not neglected. Traditionally, anyone planning an affair of any size notified the palace in advance, and either king or queen would drop in for a few minutes. Rap held the current record of eighteen parties in one day, although Inos' great-great-grandfather was reputed to have managed twentynine once and almost died in consequence. This year the queen had to manage on her own, despite her elder daughter's earnest offers of assistance.

In the little speech she repeated over and over, her majesty made her first public reference to the king's absence. "My husband and I," she said, "have always taken great joy in these Winterfest celebrations, and regarded them as an occasion to reaffirm the bonds of loyalty and service which bind us to you, and you to our family. He will be truly regretful that he cannot be here with you this morning/ afternoon/evening. As you know, he has been gone for some time now on a mission of great secrecy, a mission vital to all our well-beings. I am sure that you look forward to his return with almost as much anticipation as do his children and I . . ." And so on. She did not explain where he was or what he was doing, though.

To the south, on the far side of the taiga, the impish garrison at Pondague stood to arms all through the festive season, for a goblin attack at that time had become traditional. That year nothing happened. The forests remained quiet-eerily so.

So began the year 2999, and the peoples of Pandemia hunkered down to endure the long dark in expectation of better days to come. Even the rich, who could afford candles, found winter tedious.

In Malfin, Sir Acopulo fretted and fumed, hunting in vain for any ship willing to set sail in the continuing stormy weather.

In the southern provinces of Pithmot, a somewhat roadworn coach meandered on its way, frequently detouring from one country house to another as Thinal befriended local worthies. Whenever

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.