The Immortals of Myrdwyer Read Online Free PDF Page B

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    The Highways of Lasoron
     

     
    L aedron pulled the sheet over his bare chest, his skin prickled by the cool air. Then, his eyes shot open at the drowsy feeling. Have I slept? The inky darkness of night had dominated the landscape, and the last thing he remembered was staring out the window and watching the nightlife of Nessadene. Can it be so? Is the spell losing its power over me? Am I cured, or shall I die by its fading?
    Not wanting to disturb Marac and Brice, he rested his head on the pillow. For a moment, he wondered where the pillow had come from, but the thought was fleeting. The night sky like a weight on his eyelids, Laedron once again fell asleep.

    * * *
    “Good morning,” Marac said. “Sleep well?”
    Laedron shifted in the chair, his back strained from the position in which he’d slept. “Surprisingly I did.”
    “Maybe it’s a good thing.”
    “I hope so.” He scooted to the edge of the chair and put on his shirt. “If it’s not, it’s a very bad thing.”
    “No need to worry about it until we know otherwise.” Marac strapped his belt about his waist.
    Brice came through the door, a towel wrapped around him. “They’ve got hot water for the bath here. Down the hall, opposite the stairs.”
    Laedron nodded, put his feet on the floor, then staggered through the hall, ending up at the tub. Leaning against the lip, he struggled to keep his balance; it was as if all of the energy had been leeched from his body. Looks like the sleeplessness has finally caught up with me . Oh, I can’t get atop a horse and go slogging across the countryside in this condition. Perhaps I can convince them to stay here one more night. No, I’ll have to get through it. Maybe the bath will help.
    Slipping into the water, he rested his neck against the cool edge of the tub, and after a while of soaking, his muscles felt reinvigorated by the heat.
    He couldn’t tell—and he didn’t really care—how long he had spent in the soothing water. But when it began to cool, he stepped out of the tub, dried himself, and dressed.
    Meeting Valyrie on the way downstairs, Laedron caught the familiar scent of the inn’s breakfast foods, but he desired nothing to eat. Though he had recovered somewhat from his morning fatigue, he didn’t want to weigh himself down with a heavy meal. A handful of nuts and some fruit should suffice .
    Marac and Brice, having already started their meals, greeted Lae with a nod when he reached the bottom. Valyrie apparently didn’t want to slow them down because she, like Laedron, took a few things from the fruit bowls and headed toward the door, and Laedron returned the keys to the innkeeper. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
    “Take care on the road,” the innkeeper said, waving as Laedron exited.
    Laedron turned to Marac once they all had joined him outside. “Where’s the stable?”
    “Up along this road.” Marac pointed to the right. “It’s on the north end of the city.”
    “Lead the way.”

    * * *

    Across from the stable, a rather strange, fenced compound had been built, and the area was unlike anything Laedron had ever seen. A great pile of stones sat at one end of the lot, and two mounds, one of white powder and another of blackened sand, were on the other. In the center of the heaps stood a wooden structure with unfamiliar machinery, and he could see workers mixing the ingredients and pouring the substance into carts bound for the boulevard.
    “What do you make of that, Marac? Anything like a mill?”
    Marac glanced at the place. “I asked the stable master about it yesterday. He said they make something called concrete there.”
    “Concrete?” Laedron asked, the foreign word twisting his tongue.
    “Yeah. It’s what they use instead of stone since the country hasn’t any good quarries.” Marac gestured at the nearby structures. “All of these buildings are made of the stuff. The streets,