Free Chronicles of Den'dra: A Land Torn: Ancient Powers Awaken by Spencer Johnson Page B

alternating sweating and shivering. Mytera spooned water and a thin soup down his throat. Encer checked his coat and finding it dry stoked the fire and carried in a bundle of wood. After dropping into the bin he brushed himself off and was about to ask Mytera about the soldier’s condition when the door burst open.
    “ Where’s Torroth?” Verkal stamped some snow off his boots in the middle of the floor.
    “ He is right here.” Encer recognized Mytera’s tone and knew she was not welcoming their new land master in her home.
    “ He needs to be in his armor and out with the rest of the troops in five minutes.”
    “ He will be doing no such thing.” Mytera stood up and looked Verkal in the eye.
    “ He will do what I tell him to do!”
    “ Tell him yourself but I doubt he will be doing anything in the next couple of days.” With this announcement Mytera stormed out of the room leaving Verkal looking surprised.
    “ He has a fever and collapsed last night.” Following Encer’s words Verkal scanned the battle harness laid out beside Torroth as if doing an inventory. Satisfied that nothing was missing he turned and stomped out of the house.
    “ Without as much as a thank you.” Mytera returned through the door that she had stormed through only a moment past. Encer suspected that the entire thing had been a show for Verkal’s benefit.
    “ He was never much on gratitude”
    “ You know him?” Mytera shot Encer a questioning glance.
    “ I knew of him. We didn’t cross paths often since he was the captain of a different unit and I was only a soldier.”
    “ What do you think he wants?” Mytera checked on and Torroth before setting the table.
    “ I honestly don’t know. He wants something but I’m not sure what.” Encer noticed that Inadar wasn’t present. He checked her room and found it empty. He surmised that she had slipped out earlier in the morning to observe the soldiers in the village. He didn’t blame her. Encer had once been her age and only hoped that she didn’t get into much trouble. Mytera on the other hand was more worried about the girl’s absence. She feared that Inadar was up to some mischief.
    Breakfast was almost over by the time Inadar showed up. She was being escorted by two soldiers with stern expressions. Encer joined Mytera in fearing the worst at this point.
    “She was throwing snowballs at us.” The sterner looking soldier explained.
    “ She could have been punished but we heard how well you are treating Torroth. Just see that it doesn’t happen again.” The second soldier further divulged. They both had a look at Torroth and left without further words.
    “ Inadar, you can’t be doing anything like that. You could get us all in trouble.” Mytera fixed Inadar with a look that to the child was worse than a physical punishment.
    “ I only did it because they burnt down the storehouse and they wouldn’t let us look at their horses and they smashed Ted.”
    “ Who is Ted?” Encer interjected.
    “ My snowman. I didn’t know they could run so fast.” Encer sighed in an attempt to cover a sudden urge to laugh. Inadar was feeling the oppressive atmosphere and had attempted to initiate a guerrilla war. The cold blooded murder of an innocent snowman had triggered her violent side and only a grievous miscalculation of the running speed of an armored pursuer had ended her short military career.
    “ Just be nice to them and don’t try anything like that again no matter what they do.” Mytera had an odd tilt to the corners of her mouth that told Encer that she had detected the amusement in the situation as well.
    While Inadar was being fed her breakfast a couple more soldiers appeared. They weren’t interested in Inadar’s past transgression. They informed Encer that they needed to search the house. Encer’s first thought was for his sword but he allowed them in anyways. They searched high and low but never found the sword. Encer decided after watching them for a few