Free Night Calls the Raven (Book 2 of The Master of the Tane) by Thomas Rath Page B

to but he would find a gem for everyone lost. He would dig out their appeasement from the belly of the Dorian Mountains and would grant them their rest before digging one out for himself and letting his life slip away hoping it would be enough for his own appeasement. There was no other way. He had no other choice. It was what had to be done and he would do it. And he would start with Twee.
    There was no way to be certain where Twee’s tree had been exactly. He could only put it in the general vicinity. He had regained his spot on Tchee’s back and she was now flying as slow as she could, and still stay aloft, just over the water. Teek searched the stumps below, certain he was in the right area but unable to make an exact choice so he picked a stump at random and unceremoniously dropped the diamond into the water next to it. He hoped it would be enough. It would have to be. There was no way to know where any of them lived exactly. He really had no idea how many Waseeni had even lived there at the time. He would just keep dropping in gems until he no longer had the strength to continue. It wasn’t the best option, but it was all he had.
    Teek patted Tchee’s neck and the bird shot up into the sky and then banked to the left. She would retrace the miles they had come only days before and seek out Helgar and Bardolf who would hopefully give him the help he needed. He would go back to the mines and start his work.
    The first gem he found would be for his mother.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE

    Jack put his booted foot on the edge of Colonel Braxton’s desk while leaning back slightly in his chair and eyeing the Colonel with a hint of doubt. “Are you sure you trust these healers well enough?”
    The Colonel shook his and laughed while leaning forward and resting his hands on his desk. Colonel Myles Braxton’s office was small for someone of his rank and position. Haykon was a frontier town close to the Mogolth Mountains and claimed first defense against any invading attack by the goblins that infested them. The goblins had usually been fairly quiet only rarely attacking anyone fool enough to get close to the mountains. It had been some years since they had mustered any kind of assault against the city.
    The Colonel was the leading authority in Haykon answering only to the king back in Calandra. For someone of his rank and stature a grand office would have been more in order but Braxton didn’t fall for that sort of pomp and luxury. He was a soldier not an armchair leader who merely issued paper orders. Wherever the fighting was the hottest that is where the Colonel would be found. A simple chair with a desk was all the luxury he needed. The chair Ja ck sat on had to be brought in.
    “How many times are you going to ask me that question, Jack? Your friends are well and improving. Much better than the half corpses you brought us a week ago.”
    Jack harrumphed into his beard. He had sat by those two half corpses since they got to Haykon and watched them improve daily but he still had reservations about the man and woman who were caring for them. “They’re just so secretive about everything it makes me nervous.”
    “Rest your worries, Jack. They’re only changing the poultice on your friend’s chest today. What was his name again?”
    “Dor. Dor and Tam are their names.” Jack’s mood suddenly changed from dark to darker. “Any news from Calandra?”
    Braxton leaned back and shook his head the frustration obvious in his demeanor. “Not a word. I’ve already sent extra troops to help seal the pass and guard it, beyond that, all I can do is wait.”
    Jack shook his head. “What does he think he’s got on his hands here? He knows about the rock trolls leaving the Shadow Mountains—he shut down Hell’s End Station because of it. He just let them go unchecked through the whole northern