The Hekamon Read Online Free PDF Page A

breathing again but keeping
his eye on the mountain.
    In this darkness and at that distance, it would be
impossible to make out anything other than the light of a torch. Had
he seen torchlight? What else could it have been? If so, it must have been Coralainians, since only they use the caverns and
tunnels that were rumored to run through the mountains.
    "Is everything okay?" Alyssa asked, more with
impatience than worry. "I'd like to get home now."
    Kormak stared at the mountainside for a few more
seconds, before turning to his sister, "Everything's fine, let's
go," he said, picking up the bag, putting it over one
shoulder and giving a cursory look up at the mountain once more.
Nothing to concern us anyway, he thought to himself, before catching
up with Alyssa, where the two of them followed the path of the
stream, down through the glade and back into the forest.

6
    Taking the lantern hanging from a hook on the ceiling,
Tansley left the woodshed and closed the door. It should only be an
escape route, he told himself, as he moved to the counter and brought
the rabbit skin pouch up from the shelf underneath. He had started to
use the tunnel as a way of trading with Fennreans. Their illicit
herbs not something he should be dealing in but they were proving
lucrative.
    It had come at the cost of having to reveal the
whereabouts of the tunnel to Kormak, and now his sister, too. He had been
wary of doing so, with the reputation of the swamp dwellers
being what it was. Yet in his experience, they didn't seem as bad as
they were made out to be. Tall, strong and fresh faced, must be all
that outdoor living. They spoke funny though, and the swamp left its
mark on them, on Kormak especially. If his face tattoo was intended to
evoke menace, it worked. It was the sign he was a ferguth, an
enforcer of the marshes.
    Placing the lantern on the counter Tansley opened the
pouch and checked the clay vials once again, their pungent odors
filling the room. He'd accidentally revealed to Kormak
that the empessence herb was worth more than the rest. That might
have been a mistake. Or perhaps it was for the best, they should
focus on the herbs that made the most business sense. Truth be told, a
few of them he would just throw away, so as to be rid of the stench.
    Having finished sorting the vials, his attention was
drawn to the silver necklace that lay enticingly among them. Lifting
and inspecting it by the light of the lantern, he could see his first
appraisal had been correct. The fine silver chain was of the highest
quality and the attached pendant had been crafted by an artisan. A
mixture of intricate engravings and etchings resulted in a variety of
patterns that seemed to change and transform depending on how the
light struck it it. Tansley held it close to the lantern to study it
in detail.
    The main pattern on the pendant was of a series of
spirals, a triple whorl motif. He had seen something like it
before, he was sure of it, and in the context of the other runes and
symbols, it was undoubtedly a piece of Fennrean jewelry. He would
have identified it as such, how ever it had reached him, but
seeing it taken from the neck of the tall Fennrean girl left him in
no doubt.
    He continued turning the pendant over in his hand,
marveling at the exquisite engravings, before moving his attention to
the chain. He could see that Kormak had been skilled enough to remove
the necklace without his sister noticing, but not so skilled to do so
without breaking it. That was a pity, it was a beautiful piece
otherwise.
    He chuckled to himself, Kormak must have really wanted
the gauntlets, this necklace looked to be far more valuable. Holding it up
by the chain, Tansley let the pendant spin. Admiring its shimmering,
ethereal glow in the candle light, before closing his hand around it
tightly. He would make preparations to sell it.
    His dealings with Kormak had been intermittent and the
journey for the ferguth was a risky one. The young man was outside
his territory