 |
| Atlas Obscura from Jkirkhart35 at Flickr.com |
Silvernose and Ludmilla hopped out the back of the cart and
searched the mixed tall grasses to the left of the path, about two hundred
footsteps behind the vehicle. Silvernose
had brought the box containing his medicinal herb kit.
The Schwab swordsman and the Hill Country
hermit disappeared into the tall plants, conversing intensely about
something. Then Ludmilla pointed out a
certain plant. Silvernose plucked it,
ground it with the mortar and pestle in his kit with the help of liquid from a
little bottle, then he bowed gracefully to Ludmilla and advanced deeper into
the sea of grasses.
Ludmilla turned her
head away from the man, cocked an eyebrow at the staring women on the driver’s
seat of the wagon.
Silvernose’s head bobbed among the wild plants, the rest of
his ample body completely concealed. His
hose suddenly unfurled and stretched out across the tops of the tall grass. For
many slow heartbeats, there was only the head bobbing and the grass shaking.
Then Silvernose pulled his hose into his impromptu changing room and emerged
wearing them.
“I can feel it! It works already!” he beamed to Sister
Ludmilla, who smiled back broadly, revealing several missing teeth.
They climbed into the wagon again, conversing animatedly
about herb lore, and the journey resumed.
Zdenka was always amazed watching Silvernose turn the most grating potential enemy into a fast friend. It not only his superior gift of gab, she decided, but his sincere interest in understanding the other person. Sister Ludmilla, in helping her friend with her herbal expertise, had also earned new respect in Zdenka's eyes.
Night fell. Zdenka
and Silvernose rubbed down the horses, fed and watered them. Sister Ludmilla slept in the wagon atop the
bags. Silvernose, Beata, and Zdenka took
turns on watch, or sleeping on bedrolls beside the vehicle. The moon waxed near to full.
The next morning, they had a quick breakfast and continued
travelling. Beata and Zdenka took turns
controlling the reins or watching with crossbow close at hand for the bandits
that were supposed to stalk the lonely country they had entered, where villages
and farms had decreased in occurrence from few to none.
+++
Our story so far...
Terror of the Trdlo, Serialized:
Part I - The Adventure Begins (But Not Really the Terror, Yet)
Part II - Zdenka vs. The Green-Eyed Monster (Jealousy - That Is)
Part III - Nun: The Wiser
Part IV - The Hermitess
Part V - Silvernose Arrives Minus His Weird Girlfriend
Part VI - She's Gone Feral
Part VII - A Little Traveling Music
Part VIII - Horror at the Hermitage
Part IX - The Rutting Moon
No comments:
Post a Comment