The Jongurian Mission Read Online Free PDF

when you’ve already seen so much of your country, and another’s besides.”
    Halam looked off into the distance, past the farm and Tillatia, all the way outside of Pelios, as far as Bryn could tell. He waited a few moments before venturing to speak.
    “ So how did the talk go between you and uncle Trun, anyway? From what I heard, he seemed pretty set on me staying here.”
    “ Aye, that he is, lad, that he is.” Halam put his pipe back into his coat pocket and rose from the rock. “I’m thinking it’ll be best if we let it rest for the night, give the idea some time to settle in our minds before we press it further. I don’t have to be in Plowdon for another few days, so I can wait here tomorrow, perhaps even help out with those stones,” he said with a smile. “Now lad, I think I’ll be turning in for the night. I see you’ve just the two beds inside now, so I’ll make up something for myself in the barn.”
    “ Oh no, Uncle Halam, you take my bed and I’ll take the barn, it’s-”
    “ No lad, I think me and my brother need to spend the evening apart, let our words settle, and start fresh in the morning.”
    “ Well, if that’s what you want,” Bryn said hesitantly.
    “ Aye, that’s what I want. Now goodnight lad, and say goodnight to Trun for me as well,” Halam said as he ambled off toward the barn. Bryn sat for awhile longer on the rock, thinking of the King’s Road and all of the sights that lay along its path before he got up and headed back to the house.
    He opened the door and stepped inside. The house was warm, the fire of the cook stove spreading its warmth through the small area. Trun was sitting at the table, a cup of tea steaming in front of him. Bryn moved to the stove and poured himself a cup, then sat at the table opposite his uncle.
    “ Halam is going to sleep in the barn tonight,” Bryn reported to his uncle. “I offered him my bed inside, but he refused.”
    “ Aye, that doesn’t surprise me,” Trun said. “Figured he’d like the chance to sleep out under the stars, enjoy the quiet of the night, which he rarely experiences in the big city.” Trun sipped his tea and leaned back in his chair. His gaze settled on Bryn as he sucked his lips thoughtfully, measuring his words. “So what are you thinking of these plans your uncle has for you, now, lad?”
    “ Well, it’s a great opportunity, one most folks around these parts will never have. Seems a shame to pass it up. But I can’t help but think that I’ve never even been to a town larger than Eston. To go all the way to Baden, the largest city in Adjuria, it just seems different from anything I’ve ever thought of before.”
    “ Aye, it is at that. She’ll take your breath away, she will, and more than likely take all the money from your pockets too, whether you know it or not,” Trun replied with a laugh.
    “ I mean, Uncle Trun, a part of me would really like to go, but another part wants to stay here and help you with the farm. We’ve got the planting to do soon and the sheep to sheer. Once I get done hauling those stones out of the field we can take them around to the neighbors, and shore up the house and barn with the rest. And just getting that field plowed and ready for planting, whether it’s this year or next, will take some time, and lots of back-breaking work to boot.”
    Bryn listed all the other tasks the farm needed as far as he saw it, looking Trun right in the eye in the knowing, responsible fashion of one who has an equal share in the gains and losses of their labor. Trun sat back, nodding his head at Bryn’s recitation, seeming to be in total agreement with the words spilling from the boy’s mouth, while in actuality he was coming to realize the truth of the words his brother had spoken earlier.
    Bryn was ready to leave the farm and make his way in the world, and probably should have done so well before now. Listening to his nephew expound upon the necessities lying before them which would take