Read Online The Magic of Recluce by L. E. Modesitt - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: L. E. Modesitt
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the front of the group. I was at the back, just behind Wrynn and Krystal. From Krystal's , blue leather belt, darker than her faded blue blouse and trousers, hung two sheaths, both containing knives, one barely a span in length. She wore a small matching blue pack.
"All this black . . . depressing . . ." muttered Wrynn, shaking her head, her blond hair fluffing out for an instant. She ; wore a brown pack like mine, except hers was stuffed to the bursting point and had several small bags tied to the outside.
"It smells like power," answered Krystal, touching her hand to the long black hair she had wound up into a bun after our rather late lunch. Then she emitted the faintest giggle.;
If only she didn't giggle ... I shook my head. She was nearly a decade older than I was, at least, with the hint of lines around her eyes-almost scrawny, except for her nicely-formed breasts.
"Creepy, if you ask me," muttered Wrynn again. Her right [ hand rested awkwardly on the haft of a long sheathed knife.
At the top of the steps was a foyer of sorts, windowless, . and, on the far end, a set of doors that Talryn held open. •
The breeze blowing toward me held a hint of spring, or rain-that clean smell that follows a good rain when the dust is washed out of the air. Yet I could see that the sky was as blue and nearly cloudless as when I had walked under the gates and into Nylan at midday.
"Gather round . . ."
So we gathered. I gave Myrten a wide berth. Smooth voice or not, he looked like he'd steal anything available just to prove he could. Dorthae didn't have that problem. She practically cuddled up next to him. I stood a pace or so behind Wrynn and Krystal, facing Talryn.
"Right ahead of us are the transients' quarters where you will be staying. Each of you will have a separate room," explained Talryn. "You can sleep there, or with anyone else in your group, as you please-but only with that other person's consent. Forcing yourself on someone else is a good way to immediate exile."
"Now . . . it's that way . . ." complained Dorthae.
Myrten sniffed. Wrynn grinned as if no one were about to force her- a thought with which I certainly agreed, wondering absently if, with her, / might need that protection.
I glanced around to find Tamra looking at me. She nodded once, then transferred her attention back to Talryn, who had continued droning on.
Had she understood what I had been thinking? How?
". . . washrooms and showers are at the end of the hallway. The small building on the other side of the square garden with the fruit trees is the dining hall where your meals will be served. You may eat there, or you may pay for meals anywhere in Nylan. The choice, again, is yours." He grinned broadly. "But the Brotherhood's meals are good, and the price is right."
"Only your life," said Dorthae softly, but loudly enough to stop Talryn momentarily.
He frowned, then shook his head. "Believe it or not, our interest is in saving your lives, not spending them." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Your introduction to the elements of the dangergeld will start tomorrow after breakfast in the classroom building-that's the one with the red square by the doorway toward the harbor from the dining hall. Now I'll show you your rooms. If you wish to trade a room with someone else, you certainly can, provided you both agree."
Without another word, he turned and opened the black-oak door, not even looking to see if any of us followed him. Of course, we all did. What else could we do?
My room, like all the others, had a narrow bed, just wide enough for one comfortably. The wooden frame was, thank-fully, of polished red oak. A single sheet covered the mat-tress, and a dark-blue blanket was folded across the bottom ; of the bed. No pillows, not that I had slept with one since I ! had apprenticed with Uncle Sardit, and only a single small oil lamp on the table. There was no closet, but a square red-oak wardrobe, half hanging space and half open
"All this black . . . depressing . . ." muttered Wrynn, shaking her head, her blond hair fluffing out for an instant. She ; wore a brown pack like mine, except hers was stuffed to the bursting point and had several small bags tied to the outside.
"It smells like power," answered Krystal, touching her hand to the long black hair she had wound up into a bun after our rather late lunch. Then she emitted the faintest giggle.;
If only she didn't giggle ... I shook my head. She was nearly a decade older than I was, at least, with the hint of lines around her eyes-almost scrawny, except for her nicely-formed breasts.
"Creepy, if you ask me," muttered Wrynn again. Her right [ hand rested awkwardly on the haft of a long sheathed knife.
At the top of the steps was a foyer of sorts, windowless, . and, on the far end, a set of doors that Talryn held open. •
The breeze blowing toward me held a hint of spring, or rain-that clean smell that follows a good rain when the dust is washed out of the air. Yet I could see that the sky was as blue and nearly cloudless as when I had walked under the gates and into Nylan at midday.
"Gather round . . ."
So we gathered. I gave Myrten a wide berth. Smooth voice or not, he looked like he'd steal anything available just to prove he could. Dorthae didn't have that problem. She practically cuddled up next to him. I stood a pace or so behind Wrynn and Krystal, facing Talryn.
"Right ahead of us are the transients' quarters where you will be staying. Each of you will have a separate room," explained Talryn. "You can sleep there, or with anyone else in your group, as you please-but only with that other person's consent. Forcing yourself on someone else is a good way to immediate exile."
"Now . . . it's that way . . ." complained Dorthae.
Myrten sniffed. Wrynn grinned as if no one were about to force her- a thought with which I certainly agreed, wondering absently if, with her, / might need that protection.
I glanced around to find Tamra looking at me. She nodded once, then transferred her attention back to Talryn, who had continued droning on.
Had she understood what I had been thinking? How?
". . . washrooms and showers are at the end of the hallway. The small building on the other side of the square garden with the fruit trees is the dining hall where your meals will be served. You may eat there, or you may pay for meals anywhere in Nylan. The choice, again, is yours." He grinned broadly. "But the Brotherhood's meals are good, and the price is right."
"Only your life," said Dorthae softly, but loudly enough to stop Talryn momentarily.
He frowned, then shook his head. "Believe it or not, our interest is in saving your lives, not spending them." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Your introduction to the elements of the dangergeld will start tomorrow after breakfast in the classroom building-that's the one with the red square by the doorway toward the harbor from the dining hall. Now I'll show you your rooms. If you wish to trade a room with someone else, you certainly can, provided you both agree."
Without another word, he turned and opened the black-oak door, not even looking to see if any of us followed him. Of course, we all did. What else could we do?
My room, like all the others, had a narrow bed, just wide enough for one comfortably. The wooden frame was, thank-fully, of polished red oak. A single sheet covered the mat-tress, and a dark-blue blanket was folded across the bottom ; of the bed. No pillows, not that I had slept with one since I ! had apprenticed with Uncle Sardit, and only a single small oil lamp on the table. There was no closet, but a square red-oak wardrobe, half hanging space and half open
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