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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] in the illustrious struggle. I swear by all the seed of my loins that this is so!" Raising his head hesitantly, he stole a glance first at Simna, then at Ehomba. Reaching into a vest pocket, he pulled out a rolled parchment and held it up, quivering, for the herdsman to see. "Look! A draft of my physician's statement, attesting to my piteous circumstance. Would that it were otherwise, and that I could join our brave citizens and allies in desperate conflict!" Simna snorted softly. "He's got a condition of the belly, all right. A condition of excess, I'd say." "Stand up." Ehomba felt very uncomfortable. "Come on, man, get off your knees. Stand up and face us. We are not here to persecute you, and none of us cares in the least about your 'condition' or lack thereof. We need only to ask you some questions." Uncertain, and unsteady, the man climbed warily to his feet. He glanced nervously at Ahlitah. When he saw that the great cat was eyeing his prominent paunch with more than casual interest, the chosen unfortunate hurriedly looked away. "Questions? I am but a modest and unassuming merchant of dry goods, and know little beyond my business and my family, who, even as we speak, must be sorely lamenting my enforced absence." "You can go back to them in a minute," Ehomba assured him impatiently. "The questions we want to ask are not difficult." Peering past the detainee, he pointed with his spear in the direction of the great wall and the roiling surge of opposing forces below. "There is a war going on here. A big one. For days my friends and I have been passing through hills and little valleys filled with refugees. We have seen fine homes and farms abandoned, perhaps so their owners could join the fight while sending their families to a place of safety." "There is no place of safety from the Chlengguu," the merchant moaned. Fresh curiosity somewhat muted his fear as he looked from Ehomba to the short swordsman standing at his side. The predatory gaze of the great and terrible litah he avoided altogether. "Who are you people? Where are you from that you don't know about the war with the Chlengguu?" Ehomba gestured casually with his spear. "We come from the far south, friend. So you fight the Chlengguu. Never heard of them. Is this a new war, or an old one?" "The Chlengguu have ceaselessly harassed the people of the Queppa, but by banding together we have always been able to fight them off. For centuries they have been a nuisance, with their raiding and stealing. They would mount and attack, we would pursue and give them a good hiding, and then there would be relative peace for many years until they felt strong enough to attack again. They would try new strategies, new weapons, and each time the Page 132 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html farmers and merchants and townspeople of the Queppa would counter these and drive them off." As his head dropped, so did his voice. "Until the Wall." Ehomba turned to look down in the direction of the line of combat. "It is an impressive wall, but though I am no soldier, it seems to me to be in a strange location. We thought that perhaps it was your wall, and that your enemies had captured it from you." "Our wall?" The merchant laughed bitterly. "Would that it were so! For if that were the case we would use it to push these murderous Chlengguu into the sea." Ehomba started slightly. "The sea? We are near the ocean?" Strain as he might to see past the western horizon, he could detect no sign of the Semordria. He was surprised at how his heart ached at the mere mention of it. It had been far too long since he had set eyes on its dancing waves and green depths. "You mean the Semordria?" the merchant asked. When Ehomba nodded with quiet eagerness the other man could only shake his head. "You really are far from your home, aren't you?" Raising one beringed hand, he pointed to the west. "The Semordria lies a great distance off toward the setting sun. I myself, though a man of modest means and varied interests, have never seen it." His arm swung northward. file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...01%20-%20Carnivores%20Of %20Darkness%20&%20Light.txt (121 of 143)19-2-2006 17:31:32 file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruiswijk/Mijn%20d...20Catechist %201%20-%20Carnivores%20Of%20Darkness%20&%20Light.txt "That way lies the Sea of Aboqua, a substantial body of water to be sure, but modest when compared to the unbounded Semordria. Upon its waters ships of many cities and states ply numerous trade routes. I am told that at several locations it enters into and merges with the Semordria, but I myself have never seen these places. I have only heard other merchants speak of them. And I have never heard of a trading vessel with captain and crew brave or foolhardy enough to venture out upon the measureless reaches of the Semordria itself." Ehomba slumped slightly. "There is something I must do that requires me to cross the Semordria." The merchant's heavy eyebrows rose. "Cross the Semordria? You are a brave man indeed." "But if no ship will do that," Simna put in, "how are we supposed to make this crossing? I'm a good swimmer, but no fish." "From the tales I have heard of the monsters and terrors that swarm in the depths of the Semordria, I believe it a journey even fish would be reluctant to take." The man rubbed his chin whiskers. "But it is rumored that in the rich lands on the far side of the Aboqua there are ports from whence sail ships grander than any that ply the smaller sea. Who knows? You might even find shipmaster and sailors stupid enough to attempt such a passage. Tell me, what do you hope to find on the other side of the Semordria, anyway?" "Closure," Ehomba told him. "Now, about this Wall. It is a very impressive wall. Behind it I see fields and buildings, some of which have been burned. If it is not yours, then it must be a construction of these Chlengguu. But why build it here, and how did they manage to trap all of you on this side instead of the other, where your homes and villages lie?" The merchant looked over his shoulder. "My poor family must be in an agony of apprehension at my absence." Simna fingered the hilt of his sword. "Let 'em agonize a little while longer. Answer the question." "You really don't know, do you?" The man heaved a deep sigh. "The Wall was not built here." Turning, he pointed to the northwest. "When it first appeared on the outskirts of Mectin Township, no one could believe that the Chlengguu had managed to raise so massive a structure in so short a time. Its true nature was not immediately apparent to the people of the Queppa. That we learned all too soon. "There was nothing we could do. Our young men and women fought bravely, but the Wall is so high and strong it cannot be breached. The Chlengguu we fought to a standstill, but we could not stop the Wall." Simna blinked at him, glanced sharply down at the line of battle then back at the merchant. "Are you telling us that these Chlengguu Page 133 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |