Days Of Light And Shadow by Greg Curtis Read Free Book Online

even from what she could see as they approached, the elder had an obvious liking for root crops. Carrots, suedes, potatoes, turnips and so many others, were there in abundance. Given all the stories she’d been told, that seemed somewhat reassuring.
     
    “Captain. What brings you to my door?” The elder came around from the side of the house, where from the looks of the dirt covered hoe in her hands she’d been gardening, and Dura froze in shock. The others had told her tales of Trekor, long dark stories that she’d taken with a grain of salt knowing they were likely false, but still she’d thought she’d had some idea what to expect of the elder. But when her eyes first saw her, she realised she’d had no idea at all.
     
    And the strange thing was that she wasn’t completely sure what startled her so. It wasn’t the outsider blood. She rode with outsiders. She rode with those with troll blood. And in her new life in the chapter house she was surrounded by many more.
     
    Aellwy Te was a wild village, and as such many villagers had troll blood. Most elves instinctively feared them for their size and tusks, and as such they often found themselves more at home in the smaller, less civilised towns and villages. The town blacksmith was at least half troll, and yet for that a relaxed, friendly and even polite man.
     
    So it wasn’t the tusks that shocked her. And actually they were quite small compared to some she’d seen. It wasn’t her size either, though she was surely the largest woman she’d ever seen. It wasn’t even the two massive crag cats that padded beside her. All of that she could accept easily enough.
     
    It was the wildness she decided, that surprised her. The way the woman’s hair was uncombed, unwashed, and full of twigs as though she’d been pushing her way through bramble bushes. The dirt and mud that almost caked her. The torn clothing. No elf would let herself be seen in such a state.
     
    Then again maybe it was the bond of life she could feel flowing from her. The mark of the Mother upon her child. As a child, like all of her house, Dura had done her studies in the grove, and she knew the feel of an elder. She had enough of the art and faith to recognise one immediately. But the bond this woman had with the mother, it was far more powerful than any she’d ever known before.
     
    Of course it could have been the smile that undid her. Warm and knowing. The smile of a doting aunt perhaps.
     
    The captain indicated to her as he started telling the elder of what they’d encountered, and it was somehow enough to shake her out of her daze. If there was one thing that Dura had learned in her months riding with the Otters, it was to never ignore the captain. It didn’t work out well.
     
    So she dismounted hurriedly, unstrapped the leather saddle bag, and carried it to him, before opening it up and dropping the contents on the ground in front of him.
     
    “Ohh!” The elder sighed, not so much surprised as disappointed as far as Dura could tell. Yet Dura even having seen the head before, and knowing what to expect, was still shocked by the sight. It was simply so horrible that it staggered her each time she saw it.
     
    “It is an abomination?”
     
    “Yes. And not the first. Tell me where you encountered it.” Immediately Captain Maydan launched into a detailed account of the battle, most of which seemed of little concern to the elder. The only thing she wanted to know about was the where. Still she listened politely, something that seemed at odds with her appearance, and said nothing until she had the information she needed.
     
    “Cypress Fields. Damn!” She seemed even more disappointed than before.
     
    “There is a problem?” The captain was being very respectful she noticed. Not as he was with the rest of them.
     
    “Of course. It’s nowhere near the others. So there’s no way of knowing where it came from.”
     
    “Where it came from?” The captain looked askance at