On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page A

vest.
    Janner tried to sound nonchalant. “Back at the cottage. Said we could come alone today.”
    â€œAh-ho.” Oskar eyed Janner through the spectacles perched back on the end of his nose. Janner beamed. “Come bright and early day after tomorrow, eh? I found an absolute trove of books on my last trip to Dug-town. I’ll need help loading them in.”
    â€œYes sir, I’ll be there.” Janner began to think of all the books he would read next.
    Oskar squinted one eye at Tink and looked him up and down. “And bring that skin and bones brother of yours too. We could use the extra hand, and by the look of it, he could use the exercise.”
    Tink’s eyes widened. “Really, Mister Reteep?”
    â€œThat’s right, lad.” Oskar smiled down at Leeli. “What do you think of all this fuss, lass? Glipwood is a different town for a day, isn’t it?”
    Leeli looked around at the folk milling past them, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells that were so foreign to the sleepy little township. She smiled. “I like it. But after a day of it, I’ll be glad when things are back to normal.”
    Janner rolled his eyes. “Well, I wish Glipwood was like this every day. I wish The Only Inn was always full of travelers and merchants with news from Torrboro and Fort Lamendron or tales from explorers who’ve gone beyond the edges of the maps. Did you ever think about the fact that there might be whole continents that no one from Skree has ever seen? That no one
anywhere
has ever seen? We’ve never even been to Fort Lamendron, and Podo says it’s only a day’s ride from here. All these rich people from Dug-town and Torrboro get to really
see
Aerwiar, not just shovel hay all day…”
    Oskar raised his eyebrows at Janner, whose speech trailed off at the quizzical reaction of his friend. Oskar then wiped his brow and pressed the single waving lock of Reteep hair back to his forehead. “So. Glipwood is too small for Janner. What say you, young Tink?”
    Tink sniffed the air. “I want some sugarberry pie.”
    â€œJanner,” Oskar said, “there’s more to the world than just seeing it. If you can’t find peace here in Glipwood, you won’t find it anywhere.” Oskar gestured at a carriage rolling by. “These folks may appear wealthy, but no one really is anymore. If you look close enough, you’ll see the suits and dresses these so-called rich folk are wearing are tattered and patched. No earrings or necklaces adorn the women. No rings sparkle on the men’s fingers.”
    Janner saw that it was true.
Why hadn’t he ever noticed that before?
Annoyed, he nodded to Oskar and toed at the dirt.
It was his day to be corrected by the grownups,
he thought.
    â€œLad, it’s one thing to be poor in pocket—nothing wrong with that. But poor in heart—that’s no good. Look at them. They’re sad in the eyes, and it’s a sadness no amount of money could repair. Why, they hardly remember what it’s like to laugh from the belly anymore.”
    â€œBut they seem to be happy, Mister Reteep, don’t they? We could hear the laughter and music from up the lane,” Leeli said.
    â€œPeople come to Glipwood to see the dragons because it’s one of the only freedoms they have left. Sure, they sleep under their own roofs with their own families, and broken though it is, this is still their own land. But this is a far fling from freedom, young Igibys. Some of us still remember what it was like to stroll through town after dark or to ride a horse through the forest without fear.” Oskar’s voice grew angry, and it seemed to Janner that he was no longer talking to them but to himself. “It’s beginning to feel like the Fangs have always been here, that Gnag the Nameless has always ruled us, taxed us, and stolen our young.”
    Janner looked at the half smiles on the