Read Online Gaal the Conqueror by John White - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John White
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What trees there were seemed to be gathered into copses.
They spent their first night in such a copse. Authentio found
a hollow for them and showed them the drifts of dry leaves that
could be found here and there. They made an unusual bed, but
since the hollow was deep, they were reasonably warm. But
neither John nor Eleanor slept much that night, and Authentio
snored.
After that their routine for the next two weeks scarcely varied.
The plateau was not perfectly flat (which was the way John had
always pictured them in his mind) but was a rolling grassy plain,
surrounded everywhere by distant snow-covered peaks. "It extends almost all the way to Bamah," Authentio told them. "Further on it becomes a desert, and after the desert it becomes
forested again." Authentio was expert in living off the land.
Small rabbitlike creatures abounded (cunies, Authentio called
them), and he laid snares for them at night, baking them in a
coat of mud and clay the next morning, so that their skin came
off with the baked clay once they had cooked in the fire. These
became their staple diet, along with a few birds, and abundant
berries and nuts, and occasional fish from the brackish ponds
and shallow lakes that littered the plateau.
Often he would tell them stories of Anthropos, but again and
again returned to the matter of Gaal and the Lord Lunacy. "It
happened in my grandfather's time," he said one day. "People
had forgotten about the Changer and were paying greater and
greater heed to sorcerers and wizards, consulting them and
giving them money. Then-and no one knows quite how it
happened, except that Shagah was responsible-their masters,
the Angeli, came. We think it was Shagah who brought the
Angeli down. They made slaves of half of the Regenskind and
the matmon."
"You mean they put that weird spell on them?" Eleanor
asked.
"Yes, my lady. That's how Bamah was built. They brought
many of them from their villages and put them to work."
"They are hard workers too," said John.
Eleanor said, "And I think they're really sweet."
"You've seen them?" John asked
"Like dwarfs. Or gnomes, you know? They're short and squat
and have long beards. And they live for ages!"
There was a long pause during which they continued to walk
over the uneven turf. Eventually John said slowly, "Shagah
brought the Angeli down. What does that mean?"
"My lord, I do not really understand what the words mean,"
Authentio said doubtfully. "Sometimes we say he called them
down. It has to do with the dark arts."
"Does that mean he has a lot of power?"
"He has always had more power than any of the other sorcerers. He kept discovering more ways to gain it, but I don't
believe he knew what he was doing, or where the power came
from. He was just experimenting with it. Then in the middle of
a new sorcery, the Angeli suddenly came sweeping down. It is
my belief that he called them down by accident. The Angeli
have a ruler, who also is here."
"You mean the Lord Lunacy?" John asked.
"How did you know?"
"I met him more than once when I was here last."
Authentio stared at John, his eyes wide with astonishment,
but for a few moments he said nothing. At length he murmured, "Lord Lunacy is a particular foe of Gaal. He has his
guards looking for him. But they have been instructed not to
arrest him-yet."
"You all keep talking about Gaal." John hesitated. "Who is he
exactly?"
Authentio shrugged. "He's a Regenskind."
"Where's he from?"
"Somewhere in Anthropos, my lord. I have no certain knowledge. It is said that he will break the power of the Lord Lunacy
in mortal combat. That is why he is his sworn foe."
"Is that what makes him so special?"
Authentio smiled broadly. "You would have to meet him
yourself, to talk with him, to look into his eyes." He shook his
head, still smiling, but would say no more.
So day after day went by. Soon the blisters they acquired in
the first two days healed, and their muscles no longer ached.
The
They spent their first night in such a copse. Authentio found
a hollow for them and showed them the drifts of dry leaves that
could be found here and there. They made an unusual bed, but
since the hollow was deep, they were reasonably warm. But
neither John nor Eleanor slept much that night, and Authentio
snored.
After that their routine for the next two weeks scarcely varied.
The plateau was not perfectly flat (which was the way John had
always pictured them in his mind) but was a rolling grassy plain,
surrounded everywhere by distant snow-covered peaks. "It extends almost all the way to Bamah," Authentio told them. "Further on it becomes a desert, and after the desert it becomes
forested again." Authentio was expert in living off the land.
Small rabbitlike creatures abounded (cunies, Authentio called
them), and he laid snares for them at night, baking them in a
coat of mud and clay the next morning, so that their skin came
off with the baked clay once they had cooked in the fire. These
became their staple diet, along with a few birds, and abundant
berries and nuts, and occasional fish from the brackish ponds
and shallow lakes that littered the plateau.
Often he would tell them stories of Anthropos, but again and
again returned to the matter of Gaal and the Lord Lunacy. "It
happened in my grandfather's time," he said one day. "People
had forgotten about the Changer and were paying greater and
greater heed to sorcerers and wizards, consulting them and
giving them money. Then-and no one knows quite how it
happened, except that Shagah was responsible-their masters,
the Angeli, came. We think it was Shagah who brought the
Angeli down. They made slaves of half of the Regenskind and
the matmon."
"You mean they put that weird spell on them?" Eleanor
asked.
"Yes, my lady. That's how Bamah was built. They brought
many of them from their villages and put them to work."
"They are hard workers too," said John.
Eleanor said, "And I think they're really sweet."
"You've seen them?" John asked
"Like dwarfs. Or gnomes, you know? They're short and squat
and have long beards. And they live for ages!"
There was a long pause during which they continued to walk
over the uneven turf. Eventually John said slowly, "Shagah
brought the Angeli down. What does that mean?"
"My lord, I do not really understand what the words mean,"
Authentio said doubtfully. "Sometimes we say he called them
down. It has to do with the dark arts."
"Does that mean he has a lot of power?"
"He has always had more power than any of the other sorcerers. He kept discovering more ways to gain it, but I don't
believe he knew what he was doing, or where the power came
from. He was just experimenting with it. Then in the middle of
a new sorcery, the Angeli suddenly came sweeping down. It is
my belief that he called them down by accident. The Angeli
have a ruler, who also is here."
"You mean the Lord Lunacy?" John asked.
"How did you know?"
"I met him more than once when I was here last."
Authentio stared at John, his eyes wide with astonishment,
but for a few moments he said nothing. At length he murmured, "Lord Lunacy is a particular foe of Gaal. He has his
guards looking for him. But they have been instructed not to
arrest him-yet."
"You all keep talking about Gaal." John hesitated. "Who is he
exactly?"
Authentio shrugged. "He's a Regenskind."
"Where's he from?"
"Somewhere in Anthropos, my lord. I have no certain knowledge. It is said that he will break the power of the Lord Lunacy
in mortal combat. That is why he is his sworn foe."
"Is that what makes him so special?"
Authentio smiled broadly. "You would have to meet him
yourself, to talk with him, to look into his eyes." He shook his
head, still smiling, but would say no more.
So day after day went by. Soon the blisters they acquired in
the first two days healed, and their muscles no longer ached.
The
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