The Green Sea: The 13th Paladin (Volume X) by Weitze Torsten

Author:Weitze, Torsten
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

‘The Sleek Stone,’ said Den-full-of-Bears, pointing westward. Ahren could hardly believe his eyes as he observed what could only be the understatement of the century. The Sleek Stone was nothing less than an impressive flat-topped elevation, lording over the surrounding plains. Its slopes were gentle and green, its plateau boasting a self-confident grey in contrast, as though the gods had polished it smooth, like a magnificent footstool for some enormous giant. The young man, along with his friends and the Clan siblings, gazed at the impressive landmark in the distance from a high hill that they had ascended.

‘Now that’s what I call lovely. When I think of what sort of a city you could build there…’

Den-full-of-Bears breathed in sharply and glared at the dwarf. ‘Don’t even think anything like that when we arrive,’ he warned. ‘You would be challenged to duels non-stop and quickly end up in a Maiiri.’

Trogadon shrugged his shoulders. ‘A bit of fisticuffs never did anyone any harm,’ he said serenely, tapping his head. ‘Neither to this skull nor to the skull of my opponents.’

‘At least not to those ones that were able to remember their names after their encounter with his fist,’ added Uldini dryly.

‘Weapons would be drawn,’ said Sings-in-Saddle seriously. ‘We are talking about the Sleek Stone here. If the Green Sea has a capital city at all, then this is the place. This is where the Grand Assembly takes place every couple of generations.’

‘So rarely?’ asked Khara. Her voice was still a little shaky, she and Jelninolan having only woken up that morning after three days of continuous sleep.

‘The last one was only fifty years ago,’ said Sings-in-Saddle. ‘Blazing Eyes has insisted on this gathering, using all his influence to persuade us that we should tackle the threat presented by the Lord-of-the-Bones as a united force.’

Ahren looked on in disbelief as Den-full-of-Bears pointed at the natural monument and explained: ‘Generally, a Grand Assembly cannot take place so long as any attendees from the previous ones are still alive. In this way, the wondrous nature of our gathering remains forever sacred in the hearts of the Clans.’

‘Blazing Eyes being the exception that proves the rule,’ added Trogadon with a chuckle.

‘Yes,’ came the brittle reply from the hunter. ‘There are even some who would like to exclude him so that he won’t permanently undermine our traditions. He remembers too much and keeps hammering on about how things were done the last time.’

‘Sounds perfectly reasonable,’ said Trogadon. ‘After all, we dwarfs hammer out our decrees in stone tablets.’ Ahren remembered for a heartbeat the enormous Hall of the Royal Archives and of how he had crawled along the tops of dusty cases in search of hidden knowledge that had been carved in such tablets.

Sings-in-Saddle took up from where her brother had left off. ‘Our unity survives because we slowly forget our strife and discord, renewing our vows of peace at every Grand Assembly. Alliances are forged and agreements made, which gradually fade and yield to the necessities of the moment.

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