Crowning Fantasy Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

way along his spine just below his skin. He flung himself against a rock and rubbed.
    "No!" Mina shouted. "Bad. More bad." She tugged at his arm. Gumus knew she was right. He paced a few steps back and forth flexing and rolling his shoulders. The burning and poison would subside, but he had no idea how long it would take and he would be weakened. He couldn't carry Mina on his back like he had yesterday and he couldn't afford any more encounters with Padda.
    "Can you walk?"
    Mina nodded.
    After a few feet Gumus knew it was not going to work. His gait was too wide and Mina still limped from her beating. He signaled her to wait and removed her cloak, turning it into a sling. "Come, sit inside."
    By nightfall Gumus could see the campfires from a caravan of Vartalf on the left in the area before the entrance to the Waha. The Zeroob sahaerat curved to the right. After another day's walk they would reach the first Galen, or wild area, Slat. None of the nations owned the various Galen scattered throughout Varlid or even tried to maintain order in those areas. It was overrun by beasts and, if rumors were true, Aventyrare. They had to cross that wilderness to get to Sanddyner, still a half-wild Galen with beasts, but the three nations jointly maintained an outpost there. Gumus had decided their final destination lay in the relative safety of the Free Port of Sanddyner. 
    If the Vartalf didn't kill them on the spot, the Vartalf would wait until they were asleep and kill them then. Gumus could smell water and Mina stirred and whimpered. It was so near. The poison had worn off a while ago but Gumus felt tired for the first time in his long life. He circled closer to the camps looking for any unoccupied pond where they might grab a quick drink.
    A puddle of thick, brackish water guarded by a lone Waha crab was the only option Gumus found. With an agility that surprised him, Mina sprang from the sling in front of his chest and pounced on the back of the crab. She grabbed both arms of the crab right below the dangerous claws and pulled backwards until the joints cracked. She flung both to the side and flipped the crab over, ripping tiny legs away until she reached the tender underbelly and made short work of dissecting it.
    Mina handed a thick chunk of pink meat to Gumus with a grin. "Eat."
    Gumus grunted, impressed.
    They both choked down two gulps of water before the nasal language of the Vartalf and the skittering noises of more Waha crabs made them shrink back. Gumus was in no position to take on more than one at a time and probably not even that many.
    Mina settled back into the sling as Gumus thought about a plan to cross the first Elyun outpost of Zeroob sahaerat. There would be a second one to sneak past at the entrance to Slat Galen. "We're going to pass the outpost by the Great Nahara. We'll rest there until night so we can pass the second outpost before the Galen."
    Mina's voice was muffled. "Galen, bad."
    "Goddess Gudina willing we'll make it to Free Port Sanddyner in a few days."
    Mina snorted, "Goddess Jimotekuari."
    Gumus wasn't going to argue which Goddess to supplicate to and would pay honor to them all if it meant they reached their destination safely. The outpost was dark, but he stayed to the right and didn't double back until he was sure they'd made a large half-circle around it.
    Even from this far off the rushing water of the Great Nahara and Great Nahara Falls sang in his ears. Water and plenty of it. The Great Nahara and its underground tributaries were the only reason Dohla was inhabitable. The Waha and Rasima were fed by these large rivers that ran through the mines and all the way to Buyuk Col, Gumus's homeland. During the Sabah Yuruyusu, the surviving male Kertenkele had simply followed the river until they reached Rasima and prostrated themselves before the Elyun Emperor Rehis Abja.
    The air cooled as they neared the falls. The Elyun maintained a large, sturdy bridge, but Gumus hadn't been here since he was