Sorcerer's Moon Read Online Free PDF

conceded thatdaring men might be able to climb to the top of the mountain, using trails that in other years were deeply buried in snowdrifts. A couple of madcap young fellows had scaled the peak some sixty years ago for the fun of it, but one of them perished of exposure during the descent. Hundig described the likeliest access routes in detail and wondered who among Vra-Bramlow's friends would be lunatic enough to attempt such a useless feat.
    No one, the royal novice had reassured his former classmate. No one at all. The inquiry was only intended to settle a bet made with his twin brothers.
    The next morning, as the princes and their companions broke their fast in the fishing lodge's hall, Bramlow quietly told Orrion and Corodon about a certain ancient tract he hadrecently come upon in the abbey library. It contained convincing accounts of miracles worked atop Demon Seat in days long gone by. Why shouldn't Orrion seek a miracle of his own on the mysterious mountain?
    'I know the possibility's a slim one,' the novice alchymist admitted, 'but the manuscript said that the demons grant favors to petitioners who are worthy - and who is worthier than you, Orry? One day you must take up leadership of the Sovereignty, the heaviest burden in all of Blenholme. It's not right that you should be deprived of your one true love, merely to strengthen the weak reed of Didionite loyalty'
    Corodon smirked. 'What a pity King Somarus rejected my hand for his daughter in place of Orry's. I'm so much better looking!'
    'But you aren't the Prince Heritor.' Bramlow's dark brown eyes flashed with anger. This was no matter for levity.
    'I can't see how magic could change the mind of Somarus,' Orrion said, looking dejected. 'Not with that villain of a chancellor making decisions for him. I suspect Kilian Blackhorse was the one who thought up the marriage ploy in the first place. God knows what sort of convoluted plan that traitor has in mind for me and Princess Hyndry, but his malice toward Cathra has never flagged.'
    'If I wore Father's Iron Crown,' Corodon said, 'I'd put down Kilian like a mad dog! Then I'd depose that insolent fat rogue Somarus and replace him with a less surly kinglet.'
    'Easier said than done,' Orrion said. 'Didion is a patchwork realm - a rabble of mistrustful barbarian chieftains, clannish timber-lords, and greedy shipbuilding magnates and merchants who control the true wealth of the land. At present, none save Somarus seems able to keep the lot stitched together. Should Didion fall apart and be unable or unwilling to continue helping Cathra and Tarn fight the Salka, then all of Blenholme is likely doomed. If my marriageto Princess Hyndry can keep King Somarus loyal to the Sovereignty, then I have no choice but to submit. I thank you for proposing that I seek a miracle, Bram, but the notion is too outlandish to take seriously.'
    'Orry, don't be such a lily-liver!' Prince Corodon exclaimed. 'Is your love for Nyla so tepid and gutless that you'd renounce her without a fight? I'd move heaven and earth if I were in your shoes, even though the odds for success were long. Listen: Bram and I will climb the peak with you. It'll be a rare adventure!'
    'Our Heart Companions will think we've lost our minds,' Orrion protested, nodding toward the long table where the young noblemen were chattering noisily. 'And what if they gossip, and Father finds out how I tried to flout his command by calling upon demons?'
    'We could let the men accompany us for part of the way, to the base of the mountain,' Bramlow said. 'Then the three of us can try for the summit together. We say nothing of our true intent. Instead we tell them we intend to plant the flag of the Sovereignty up there on a tall staff, where anyone with a good spyglass may see it and be astounded. It's a silly stunt, but we could say it was Coro's idea.'
    'Yes, blame me!' the daredevil prince crowed. 'Why the hell not?'
    'Because we might suffer injury,' Orrion said, 'or even fall to our