Free The Ventifact Colossus (The Heroes of Spira Book 1) by Dorian Hart Page A

him, after that, return at once and tell me that distance.” He finally took a shallow breath. “Don’t talk to anyone about anything you see near Verdshane. Good luck!”
    The chime rang again, more loudly this time, and Ernie remembered the sound from their first night in Abernathy’s tower. The old wizard’s worry-stricken face vanished from the crystal ball.
    Back in the living room, Grey Wolf took charge. “You heard the boss. Leave within the hour. Let’s get packing, and get this over with as quickly as possible.”
    Grey Wolf was obviously used to giving orders and being obeyed, and that suited Ernie just fine. Someone needed to lead, and it certainly wasn’t going to be him!
    “Where’s Verdshane?” he asked the room. His voice trembled, for which he silently cursed himself. None of the others even seemed nervous. How could that be? And did any of them understand that stuff about a bear head and a blue field and a floating person?
    “It’s in the Greatwood, to the north,” said Aravia. “Master Serpicore has a map of the kingdom on the wall of his library. Naturally I memorized it in its entirety. The Greatwood is only about a week’s journey from here, I imagine. Dranko, Tal Hae is your home. Have you never been there?”
    “I’m more of a city boy,” said Dranko. “Forests give me hives.”
    Yesterday afternoon, suspecting that Abernathy would soon be sending his team far afield, Eddings had taken the majority of Dranko’s windfall and purchased all kinds of traveling supplies. Ernie took it upon himself to carry the cooking gear, which nearly overbalanced him when combined with his spare clothing, travel tent, bedroll, and provisions. He looked at himself in the mirror that hung in the foyer, at the water skin hung on the hip opposite from his sword Pyknite . He felt almost glamorous, a true outdoorsman, and he showed a brave face to the others, as if this were something he regularly did for fun back in White Ferry. Kibi was looking back and forth between Morningstar and the sunlit open doorway. The Ellish priestess, Ernie reminded himself, was about to take her first steps into daylight.
    Everyone had accepted Abernathy’s offer, even the elderly Mrs. Horn. Tor’s beaming face balanced the scowls from Morningstar and Grey Wolf. Kibi had packed the most—Morningstar’s tent, his own gear, and even a heavy mining pick—but moved about as though entirely untroubled by the extra weight.
    “Ain’t got no weapon,” he explained. “Figured if there’s fightin’, I oughta have something with a sharp point I’m used to swingin’.”
    Ernie made a point of checking on Mrs. Horn before they left.
    “Ma’am, will you be okay? Walking for a week, I mean?”
    The old woman laughed. “Ernest, I’ve been running the farm solo for almost five years, ever since I lost my husband. I daresay I walk more miles in a day than you do.”
    “Oh! I’m sorry about your husband,” said Ernie. “How did he die?”
    Mrs. Horn became serious. “I didn’t say he died. I lost him. Or, rather, he lost himself. Dear old William was a fisherman, and one afternoon his boat didn’t come back. I prefer to think of him as washed up on an island somewhere, building a new ship as fast as he’s able, and that one day soon he’ll be sailing home again. It helps me stay positive.”
    “Say,” said Ernie. “Maybe in return for helping Abernathy, he’ll help you find your husband.”
    Mrs. Horn smiled at him, wrinkles forming an oval around her face. “When I first read Abernathy’s magical card, a thought like that did cross my mind.”
     
    * * *
     
    They marched out of the Greenhouse and a pack mule was waiting for them, cropping the grass on the front lawn. “I did not have enough coin to buy you horses,” said Eddings, “but purchasing you a beast of burden seemed prudent. It can live in the back yard.” It was a sad-faced but sturdy animal that accepted much of the group’s paraphernalia without