The D'Karon Apprentice by Joseph R. Lallo Read Free Book Online Page B

an office that may as well have
been a museum. Finished wood shelves lined each wall. Leather
tomes, intricate figurines, and antique weapons were on display.
Seated at a massive wood desk at the far side of the room, a glass
window behind him open to the grandeur of the desert, was his host.
He was a man a few years the farmer’s senior, neatly dressed in the
formal equivalent of the lesser soldier’s uniform. He had black,
tightly curly hair trimmed short and a relentlessly superior
expression on his face.
    “Sit, sir,” he said.
    The farmer did so, treating the request as an
order.
    “In the interest of saving time, I hope you
don’t mind if I skip the pleasantries. I assume you have better
things to do, and I know I do. I understand you’ve recently had a
traumatic and unexplained experience on your land?”
    “I have.”
    “And how long ago was this?”
    “I… uh… about four months.”
    “About? You aren’t certain?”
    “It’s been… I’ve had to handle the funeral.
Things have been…” he said, flustered.
    “It’s fine, sir. Would you say it is safe to
say it is at least four months, or at most four months?”
    “At least.”
    “Very well. What exactly happened?”
    “I…” he began uncertainly. “I was warned not
to tell anyone.”
    “Yes, sir. That warning came from my
immediate superiors, through me. I assure you, I am the one to whom
you may recount the events.” He opened a drawer and retrieved a
stack of parchment, then dipped a quill in an inkwell. “Now please
do so.”
    The farmer took a breath. “Like I said, it
was about four months ago…”
    #
    Several Months Prior…
    It was nearly dusk and a weary pair of
farmers was pacing back from the fields. They were brothers, and
each was looking forward to a good meal and a long night’s rest.
This far south in Tressor, there wasn’t much that would grow
without a tremendous amount of work. Most fields were left to grow
coarse grass and then were grazed by goats and sheep, but their
family had made a good living growing hazelnuts for some years, and
they were determined to keep the land producing. It simply took a
bit more effort each year.
    A rustle in the fallow field to the side of
the road drew their attention. Something small and fast was
disturbing the wiry blades of grass that grew there, causing a wave
of motion streaking south.
    “Hmph. Wildcat. Or maybe a jackal,” muttered
the first man, the older of the two brothers.
    They watched the disturbance retreat into the
distance.
    “At least that’s something we can be thankful
for,” said the younger brother.
    “What, wildcats?”
    “That’s right. Maraal and Temmir have been
complaining about all sorts of curious losses lately, particularly
when they bring their flocks and herds to the open fields to graze.
Maraal claims he lost half his flock overnight. Plenty of things to
worry about with an orchard, but there is little fear of a pack of
wildcats preying on the crop.”
    “There’s that, I suppose.”
    As they reached the turn that would take them
around the southern corner of the property, the older brother
glanced to the south and noticed a figure approaching. That in and
of itself was rather odd. Their field was just about as far south
as anyone in their right mind would have any interest traveling on
foot. There was nothing between it and the sea but dry grass,
barren fields, and a few mountains. He stood, pulling his coat a
bit closer about his shoulders, and watched the figure as it drew
nearer. With little else to do, his brother lingered beside him.
Sure enough, someone was coming.
    “Suppose the goatherds are getting desperate
for grazing land,” the older brother reasoned. “No sense heading
home with the mystery hanging in the air. A few more minutes and
we’ll say a friendly hello and ‘What brings you to the hind end of
Tressor?’, eh?”
    They leaned against the fence, and the
stranger crept closer. After a few minutes the figure was