The Sorcerer's Ring: Book 05 - A Vow of Glory by Morgan Rice Read Free Book Online

breath away.
    Silesia
was the most unusual city Gwen had ever seen. All of the buildings, all of the fortifications,
all of the stone—everything was built of an ancient, shining red. The upper
half Silesia, tall, vertical, replete with parapets and spires, was built on
the mainland, while the lower half was built down below, into the side of the
Canyon. The swirling mists of the Canyon blew in and out, enveloping it, making
the red shine and sparkle in the light—and making it seem as if it were built
in the clouds.
      Its fortifications rose a hundred feet,
crowned in parapets and backed by an endless row of walls. The place was a
fortress. Even if an army somehow breached its walls, it still would have to descend
to the lower half of the city, straight down the cliffs, and fight on the edge
of the Canyon. It was clearly a war that no invading army would want to wage. Which
was why this city had stood for a thousand years.
    Her
men stopped and gaped, and Gwen could feel that they were all in awe, too.
    For
the first time in a while, Gwen felt a sense of optimism. This was a place they
could stay, away from Gareth's reach, a place they could defend. A place where
she could rule. And maybe—just maybe—the MacGil kingdom could rise again.
    Srog stood
there, hands on his hips, taking it all in as if seeing his own city for the
first time, his eyes shining with pride.
    "Welcome
to Silesia."

CHAPTER SIX

 
 
    Thor
opened his eyes at the crack of dawn to see the gently rolling waves of the
ocean, rising and falling in huge crests, blanketed by the soft light of the
first sun. The light yellow water of the Tartuvian sparkled in the morning mist.
The shipped bobbed silently in the water, the only sound that of the lapping of
the waves against its hull.
    Thor
sat up and looked around. His eyes were heavy with exhaustion—in fact, he had
never felt this tired in his life. They had been sailing for days, and everything
here, on this side of the world, felt different. The air was so thick with
humidity, the temperature so much warmer, it was like breathing in a constant
stream of water. It made him feel sluggish, made his limbs feel heavy. He felt
as if he had arrived at Summer.
    Thor
looked around and saw that all of his friends, normally up before dawn, were all
slumped on the deck, sleeping. Even Krohn, always awake, was asleep beside him.
The thick tropical weather had affected them all. None of them even bothered to
man the wheel anymore—they had given that up days ago. There was no point: their
sails were always at full mast with a driving westerly wind, and the magical
tides of this ocean constantly pulled their ship in one direction. It was as if
they were being pulled to one location, and they had tried several times to
steer or change course—but it was useless. They had all become resigned to let the
Tartuvian take them where it would.
    It's
not like they knew where in the Empire to go anyway, Thor mused. As long as the
tides took them to dry land, he figured, that would be good enough.
    Krohn roused,
whining, and leaned up and licked Thor’s face. Thor reached into his sack,
nearly empty, and gave Thor the last of his dried meat sticks. To Thor’s
surprise, Krohn did not snatch it from his hand, as he usually did; instead, Krohn
looked at it, looked at the empty sack, then looked back at Thor meaningfully. He
hesitated to take the food, and Thor realized that Krohn didn’t want to take
the last piece from him.
    Thor
was touched by the gesture, but he insisted, pushing the meat into his friend’s
mouth. Thor knew they would be out of food soon, and prayed that they reached
land. He had no idea how much longer the journey could take; what if it took
months? How would they eat?
    The
sun rose quickly here, growing bright and strong too quickly, and Thor stood as
the mist began to burn off of the water and he went to the bow.
    Thor stood
there and looked out, the deck rocking gently beneath him, and watched as