Free Logan Marsh: A Thrilling Fantasy Novel (Action Adventure,Mystery, Y/A Book 1) by Jonathan Casif, Sneer Rosenfeld

minstrel!" called De-Stik. "Just wait, Logan, only time will tell…"

     
    "So you need to finish your studies at the academy, right?" Achtisanor asked Logan. "You are supposed to be… thirty-one years old?"
    "Yes," answered Logan, "and I'll return there after I find Kiril."
    They continued on their way, ascending and descending hills and mounds. De-Stik surprised them by imitating the birds' tweeting above on the canopy. Sometimes colourful feathers leaped hurriedly from branch to branch.
    "Here is a good place to rest," called Achtisanor when they have reached the top of a small mound, which contained several flat boulders.
    The four sat on the ground, pulled waterskins from their packs and drank. De-Stik cradled his harp on his knees and gently strummed the strings, singing along:
     
    An abundance of good is there up above,
    Between the green treetops of old.
    A woodpecker sending his song of love,
    Of colours so bright and so bold.
    Oak branches seem as old man's hair,
    Its trunk so firm and sturdy.
    They do not sway in the cold air,
    The wind cannot move wood so hardy.
    And in the air a longing for a better day,
    But tries to stop the time as if it could.
    The time goes ticking, can never here stay,
    When good is evil and evil is good.
     
    "Bravo!" Logan and Krunch clapped while De-Stik bowed, "great rhyming, quite marvellous."
    "Listen, Claude," De-Stik turned to Achtisanor after a short while, "I wanted to ask you what made you join us after all?"
    "Not now," said Achtisanor, "we'll continue to march before the sun sets. I'll tell you tomorrow."
    After an hour, the shadow of the forest grew around them. When the sun set, the four camped between the trees. Logan climbed on one of the trees to pass the night in the wood elves manner; she could see every approaching enemy from there. Achtisanor, De-Stik, and Krunch prepared to sleep on the forest floor and split the night's watch between them.
    De-Stik hid some improvised traps all around them to warn them against wild animals, but the night passed quietly. Except for some porcupines, the party was not in any danger. When the dawn appeared, the four packed their equipment and headed west, towards the shore of the Asador Sea.
    Only when they stopped for lunch, Achtisanor told them on the meeting of Van-Sniff and the lutin in the royal abode stables.
    "Oh boy," murmured Krunch.
    "I knew he was up to no good the minute he disappeared from the courtyard this morn," De-Stik said, "and now the bully plans, no less, to steal the horn."
    "Achtisanor, are you sure they have talked about the horn?" asked Logan.
    "This is the first thing that came into my mind when I heard of the mission objective," said Achtisanor. "It sounded like the lutin demanded from Van-Sniff to get the horn by any means necessary. He mentioned you. It sounded like he plans to harm Tigertief. And more, he also mentioned Hubris. I could not sit idly and do nothing."
    "But the word 'horn' was not explicitly mentioned in the conversation," ventured Logan.
    "No," said Achtisanor, "the word 'horn' was not mentioned. But from my brief and very unpleasant acquaintance with Van-Sniff, we should consider it."
    "We should not accuse him of foul play," said Logan, "but we'll keep an eye on him."
    "Yes," De-Stik said from behind, "we'll keep an eye very close. We'll find him even before we see his nose."
    "Another thing," remembered Achtisanor after they have begun marching, "here is another thing that will amaze you more than me."
    Achtisanor inserted his hand to his pack and removed the parchment he found in the stables. The three looked at it curiously.
    "It looks familiar," Krunch tried to remember. Achtisanor unfolded the parchment while striding.
    "By the gods of the universe, above and all," De-Stik ran and snatched the parchment, "from where did he get the Ashman scroll?"
    "This is the parchment that was found at the murder site, Achtisanor," said Krunch as if he solved a riddle.
    "What?" asked Logan, not