Temple of the Traveler: Book 02 - Dreams of the Fallen Read Online Free PDF Page A

goods from the dead. As expedition leader, the smith got first rights to the wizard’s personal belongings, or at least everything that hadn’t been destroyed by the bear. After crushing all the summoning artifacts he could find, the smith selected a spyglass to appease Sajika, a cloak embroidered with Sesterina thread to help protect Pinetto, and an odd ring for himself. The ring had a large gem in the center that resembled the glow globes of the Great Library. When turned outward, the gem shone like a torch; turned inward it resembled a fire-eye opal. The smith suspected he’d be able to use this in the mine.
    After the others took their loot, Pinetto collected the fragments of wizard’s glass littering the corpse and ground. Even broken, the rare substance was valuable. He mourned the loss of the life-stones but understood his friend’s viewpoint. As he pocketed dust and fragments, the astronomer made a discovery and had to hide his excitement. One of the shards, though broken in half, still held the entire print of a small burrowing mammal in its depths, a large squirrel or perhaps even a small raccoon. This Pinetto wrapped in a handkerchief for later experimentation.
    When the four survivors came back to camp with the wizard’s head and the spoils, the smith was greeted with wild cheering, given claps on the back, and eventually hoisted over the troops’ shoulders to be paraded around the camp. Pinetto disappeared, no doubt to issue his report to Sajika personally.

Chapter 4Pandemonium
     
     
    In the Vale of Somber Reflection, the High Gardener and General Garad argued in the pre-dawn. Garad had grown impatient with the wait and ordered the Gardener’s forces to go out and sting the enemy into rash action.
    “Why must my men pay the bill for your impatience?” countered the Gardener in his wooden armor. “We’re close enough for you to send your own peasants.”
    His face as bristly as a boar’s, Garad shook his head. “They can’t see well enough in this downpour.”
    “What about the Imperials? The Compass Star shines even in this foul weather, giving us the upper hand day and night.”
    At first General Garad resisted. Then the Gardener snapped, “How long can your men go on eating cold, soggy rations? Send Vinspar; he’s expendable. If you work it right, he’ll even volunteer. The sooner this battle starts, the sooner we can all go home to our estates.”
    Garad considered and eventually nodded. He delegated his assistant to issue the necessary orders to put his armies on their feet and ready for action by midday.
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    In the southeastern alliance camp, they celebrated having dashed the enemy’s eyes out and the end of the rain, although they were swathed in a heavy mist. Then Legato and his commandos suggested a surprise offensive. Normally, no one would suggest moving an army in this fog, but the Queen assured them, “If you stay between the road and the river, you’ll run straight into the Gardener’s unsuspecting camp.”
    The Prefect of Bablios paced. “It’s n going to get dry enough for a proper march for days, but the High Gardener has his loincloth around his ankles now. He’ll replace the spies within a day. I agree; we strike now.”
    As fate would have it, the Imperial raiders and the alliance vanguard troops chose opposite sides of the road and passed each other in the fog. Before the exchange completed, the barometric pressure changed. In minutes, the fog lifted and the two passing armies could see each other. The muddy battleground neither side wanted had been chosen for them. Each army lunged for exposed flanks, each with its own jugular exposed. The massacre would continue till nightfall with no clear winner emerging except the crows.
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    Pinetto hid behind the army pack animals that were carrying the tents. Hugging the canvas, he tried to blot out the chaos and death running rampant around him. This battle wasn’t like the descriptions in history class. There were no