Astrin's head dropped back on the pallet his hand slid down. He held his right hand against his side and would not move it, until Morgon, watching the dark stain bloom under his fingers, made a harsh noise of protest. His hands were scratched raw his hair was tangled with sea spray. He said, as Morgon put out his torch underfoot and went to help him, "I'm all right." His face was mist-colored in the light from the window he flung an arm around Morgon heavily, and together they stumbled across the threshold, Astrin sat down on the pallet. He turned and saw Astrin hunched against the wall of the house. He heard heavy breathing suddenly from the side of the house, an odd, dragging step. Morgon added wood to the fire, made a torch of an oak branch, and went outside. The tower rose out of broken stone, whole and solitary, yielding nothing to the moon's eye. When the wind died finally, a silence dropped like thin fingers of moonlight across Wind Plain. But perhaps if I go deep enough, I can find your name. I haven't done much mind-work I've gone into Xel's mind, and once into Rork's, with his permission. He held Morgon gently by the arms and said slowly, "I think if this spell can make a stone speak, it may make you speak. Now if I can read his handwriting." He was silent a few moments, while Morgon read over his shoulder and the candlelight spattered over the page. I forget that sometimes, except when Rork Umber is here, and then I remember, all too well, who I am." He looked down, turned a page. So Aloil made a stone in the plain above Caerweddin speak for eight days and nights in such a loud voice that men as far as Umber and Meremont heard it, and the stone recited all Galil's secret, very bad attempts at writing poetry. Do you know that tale? Aloil was furious with Galil Ymris because the king refused to follow Aloil's advice during a seige of Caer-weddin, and as a result Aloil's tower was burned. Somewhere in here is the spell that made the stone talk on King's Mouth Plain. He dropped the earth and shook his head, feeling tears behind his throat and not knowing why. It must be the essence of peace, having no name, no memory. But I've never met a man so hidden from himself. His hands closed tight on Astrin's arms he shook Astrin a little, imperatively, and Astrin said, "I'll try.
It's deep, deep." He stopped as Morgon rose. I couldn't reach the place where you have your name and your past hidden from yourself. They ate a breakfast of cold hare, wine and bread, then, carrying Astrin's tools, Xel following, they walked across the plain to the ancient, ruined city.Īstrin moved, the fire reflected strangely in his eyes.
The rain had stopped the clouds hung broken above Wind Plain. Morgon heard him stirring at sunrise the next day and got up.
#SKATEBIRD STEAM FULL#
Once, his hands full of the moist black earth, he caught the strong, good smell of it, and something leaped in him, longing, responding. He worked all day at Astrin's side, digging quietly in a little room whose floor was sunk beneath the earth, crumbling the earth in his hands, searching it for bits of metal, glass, pottery.
Then I remembered the name of her favorite pig out of all the pig herds of Hel: the speaking pig, Hegdis-Noon - and that name opened the book." He set the heavy book on the table, pored through it. I tried her name to open the book, but that didn't work. Part of the poetry Aloil wrote was to the wizard Nun, in service to Hel. I bought the book from a trader it took me two years to learn the word to open it. He was the wizard in service to the Kings of Ymris for nine hundred years before he went to Lungold, then vanished along with the entire school of wizards seven hundred years ago. Then his eyes widened a little as he remembered, but Astrin continued, "Most people have forgotten. "Do you know who Aloil was?" Morgon shook his head. He touched them, murmuring a word, and they opened. It was locked with two apparently seamless bindings of iron. He rose as suddenly as he had sat down, and took from his shelves a heavy book with a name on it stamped in gold: Aloil.
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