C. Dale Brittain_Wizard of Yurt 02 by The Wood Nymph;the Cranky Saint

Author:The Wood Nymph;the Cranky Saint
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781555940690
Publisher: Baen Books,U.S.
Published: 1993-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

PART SIX Prince Ascelin

Somehow, Joachim managed to get rid of the priests. They retreated a little way

down the valley highly indignant, but still unwilling to say anything openly against the chaplain and still not in possession of the Holy Toe. The shouting

and barking had died down and it again seemed possible that, at some point, the

valley’s dreamy quiet might be restored.

Dominic, with the knights and the still excited dogs, settled down near the base

of the waterfall, built a fire, and started making a late breakfast. Diana sat

twenty yards away, combing her hair and pinning it up again, her back turned carefully to them.

This must be, I thought, very difficult for her. Nim-rod, the man she might have

loved in her own way, now appeared a coward and she had been thoroughly and publicly shamed before the knights of Yurt. Even for the duchess, this had gone

beyond outrageous.

Joachim, Evrard, and I went into the grove with Nimrod. The old hermit had retreated to his hermitage. I should be, right now, trying to find the old wizard’s monster. But even with my best magic, I 191

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feared I would not be able to track it unless I had the tall huntsman with me—I

hadn’t even been able to find Evrard’s stick-man when I saw its footprint—and,

for the moment, he couldn’t leave the grove s sanctuary.

In the meantime, magical or not, I had a problem here that would thoroughly disrupt the kingdom if something wasn’t done, and soon.

“So are you indeed a prince?” I asked Nimrod.

“It won’t be much of a surprise to hear that I am,” he said with a slow smile.

“My true name is Ascelin. I know you realized all along that I was not simply a

huntsman.”

“And the duchess knew who you were?”

“Of course she did,” he said, seeming much more amused than anyone should be when his life was in peril. “I won’t try to pretend that part of my reason for

coming into Yurt wasn’t to see her again.” He glanced in her direction. All that

was visible was her nair and firmly set shoulders. “Although I’m afraid that’s

turned out very badly.”

His next words showed how very precarious was his apparent calm. “Would she rather have me kill the regent and half the knights of Yurt than to run?” he demanded. It was quite clear he was not addressing any of us. “I could certainly

outwrestle Dominic and I’ve got stag-arrows in my quiver. I could have picked off all of them one by one. Would her honor have been satisfied then?”

“I don’t understand,” said Evrard abruptly into the ensuing silence. “Why does

Dominic want to kill you?”

“I thought that was fairly clear,” said Nimrod or, rather, Prince Ascelin.

“We’d

camped on the plateau last night and were finishing breakfast outside our tent

this morning, when Dominic and the knights came into view. Apparently, the regent didn’t think my behavior toward my lady, the Duchess Diana, was the sort

of behavior appropriate toward someone he’d planned to marry.” He smiled briefly

and bitterly. “If

The Wood Nymph & the Orm^ky Saint 193

I didn’t intend to kill a lot of men, running seemed my best option.

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