Free Grym Prophet (Song of the Aura, Book Three) by Gregory J. Downs

so wide Gribly thought they might pop out of his head.
     
    “Of course,” he laughed, “There's a whole different race beyond the cliffs that keep this land secret... or there was.” the memory of the Treele massacre kept him from saying more.
     
    “What's wrong?” questioned the boy, but Gribly refused to explain, standing up and moving away to watch Elia as she swam, drinking life and health and beauty from the simple grasslands river.
     
    “Tell me, Calloway,” Gribly said finally, using the child's full name to hold his attention. The tone of his own voice surprised him- he almost seemed like the wise, sage prophet he was supposed to be. “Tell me, have your people ever been past the cliffs that ring your land?”
     
    “I ain't stupid, stranger. 'Course not... why? No one goes past the Hammerlands... no one can!”
     
    “Well,” said Gribly, sighing deeply, “They can now. Your people should have figured it out, after the Demon Man and the warrior-thief came.” his voice tightened as he realized he had just tagged Lauro with the title he himself had borne his whole life. Thief. Would the word ever stop following him around? Probably not, with his kind of luck.
     
    “Did you really come looking for the thief?” Cal asked, sounding confused.
     
    “Yes. He's my friend... or used to be. He has, well, problems, and he needs to be stopped before they carry him too far. Before they carry him somewhere he doesn't want to go.”
     
    “Like stealing? Like hurting Ran, the Elder's grandson?”
     
    “Like that. And I'm sorry about that, Cal. If there was anything I could do for your village, to make up for this misunderstanding, I would. Well, to you , at least. I'm not feeling very loving towards that Elder of yours right now.”
     
    Cal chuckled at the joke. “No, stranger. That's all right. Seeing the water-girl safe and... and free ... it's good enough for me. I ain't stupid.”
     
    Gribly laughed at the repetitive phrase. “No, indeed you aren't. And I suppose we owe you an explanation of the Demon Man, too. You can tell your village later, if you want to help them understand.”
     
    “The Demon Man?” Cal's face grew pale. “You ain't his friend too, are you?”
     
    “No, not at all. We're hunting him. He's killed a lot of people outside of your village, Cal... people close to Elia and I, that we're going to avenge when we find him.”
     
    “Oh.” The boy was silent for a minute. “Why do he look like you?”
     
    “I... I don't know. That's something I'm trying to find out. It could me more important than anything else on this quest. I'm not sure.”
     
    “Quest?” Cal said, his eyes popping for the hundredth time. Then he looked solemn. “You're goin' to the Swaying Willow , ain't you?”
     
    Gribly started violently. “How did you know that?”
     
    “Everyone on quests goes there, that's why. You strangers ain't the only ones who do that. Villagers do, too, and the Willow 's always where they go...”
     
    “Well, you're right there. That's just where I'm headed. I'm looking for... well, someone important, who's supposed to be there, or near there.”
     
    Cal nodded sagely, as if he had suspected this all along. The old expression looked humorous on his young face, and Gribly stifled a grin. Suddenly the boy stopped, looking up with an adventurous light in his eyes that the Sand Strider recognized all too well from his own, in times past.
     
    “Take me with you, stranger. I ain't wanting to stay in the South Village anymore, where they're all so stupid. I want to go with you on your quest!”
     
    Splashes from Elia were muted in the background of Gribly's mind as he tried to suppress a sigh.
     
    “I'm sorry, Calloway. I can't do that, much as I'm grateful to you for all you've done. You've saved us, I know... but where we're going, you could get hurt or killed in days. We've almost died so many times on this journey, I sometimes wonder whether I'm really alive after