Read Online The Keeper's Shadow by Dennis Foon - Free Book Online

Dreamfield. Darius discovered its location so it had to be abandoned, but Ferrell and his pupils managed to conceal the library before barely escaping with their lives. We are certain the Clerics found nothing of value in the great cavern but Darius, no doubt suspecting treachery, ordered the entrance to the complex obliterated. The explosion was felt for miles around. The library was assumed lost and all records of its location were destroyed. But Othard and Imin are convinced it is still intact. If they are right, you may find the information you require there.”
    â€œIf they know where it is, why haven’t they gone there themselves?” Lumpy asks, voicing Roan’s very thought.
    Asp chuckles. “In the years after its destruction, forays were attempted from which no one returned. Othard and Imin are scientists, not warriors. It is not a journey to be taken by the defenseless.”
    Roan’s unsure why but he feels driven to seek out these physicians, find this Academy.
    Unwilling to completely trust his compulsion, he glances at Lumpy, who’s studying Asp. “What do you think,” Roan asks, “worth the risk?”
    â€œYes,” says Lumpy with a certainty that echoes Roan’s.
    â€œStay here with Asp and plan a route to these physicians. I’ll try to wrap up with the Brothers so we can leave first thing in the morning.”
    But before Roan reaches the door, Asp calls out, “It might be easier if I was to join you.”
    Roan turns back and looks at the man sadly. “You must stay here, Brother Asp, under the Apsara’s protection. There is no doubt in my mind that if you left here, Brother Wolf would find you and kill you.”
    â€œI will gladly stay, Roan of Longlight, but, all respect to Brother Wolf, my fellow Dirt Eaters would surely kill me first.”
    The clouds that encircle the lip of the Caldera obscure the path to the valley below. Though the promise of dawn hovers over the southeastern horizon, the humid chill of night settles in Roan’s bones. In a month, ice and snow will make the descent from this mountain treacherous, so Ende is already organizing the placement of her warriors in various villages across the Farlands.
    He’d presented his plan to seek out the Foresight Academy to Stinger and Wolf the previous evening. His only hope of convincing them, he knew, was to call on the memory of their Prophet. So he reminded them that Saint collected books, not because he enjoyed reading them—he didn’t know how—but because he’d believed that books contained information that would help him fight the City.
    To Roan’s relief the Brothers had agreed that he should try to find the library; what he hadn’t counted on was that they wanted to accompany him. He’d had to insist that if they were to attempt to contact a smuggler and a Governor and arrange a meeting, it needed to be before winter set in and storms became more frequent and unpredictable. In the end, they had reluctantly conceded that to accomplish all of their goals they would have to, at least briefly, go their separate ways.
    Roan’s startled at the tenderness with which the Brothers part from Ende. He’d become so used to the formality of their meetings that he was unprepared for the intimacy of their goodbye. But he’s not alone. Lumpy’s mouth hangs open as each hulking warrior bends to accept Ende’s blessing. It makes Roan think of pictures he’s seen of knights and their queens, except for the fact that this particular “queen” is small only in appearance and could undoubtedly thrash her former students without breaking a sweat.
    Turning to Roan, Stinger asks, “When may we expect you, Roan of Longlight?”
    â€œIn two or three weeks. I’ll be there by the new moon.”
    â€œHave you settled on the location of this meeting?” Wolf is irritable. No doubt at the thought of having to contact a