The Weaving of Wells (Osric's Wand, Book Four) Read Online Free PDF Page B

influx of every gift at once was just too much for him to survive. I’m so sorry.” Gus gazed down at the still body of the young man. After a moment, he cleared his throat and spoke with calm authority. “Handle that thing very, very carefully. One drop of fresh blood and whoever is holding the sword could have the same fate. Kenneth, I think you’re safe. You’ve been using Legati since the beginning and slowly acquiring gifts along the way.” Gus began to shake, attempting to blink away the afterimage of Willam’s death, as the others saw to getting Kal and the sword to safety. Pebble peeked out from behind a table with wide, watery eyes.
    * * *
    “Something has to change. The hunt had its place, I’m sure, but that was long ago.” Eublin paced the room, tracing a finger on his chin.
    “I’m just not sure what you want us to do about it. You’ve shown us that there are a large number of sentient minds who would love to live outside the hunt, but Osric has only known about this for a short time. He can’t change the world overnight,” Bridgett reasoned. She had found Eublin standing on his pedestal in the hall and nearly had to drag him away to the library to speak with him. Still, the subject had not changed from his preaching in the corridors.
    “Yes, but he could do something.”
    “I’m sure he would if there was some direction for him to take, but you are talking about a massive social reform. The hunt has existed in its present form since its inception. If you have any ideas on how he might change something that spans all of Archana, I am sure he would listen.”
    “That’s just it; it doesn’t span all of Archana.” Eublin’s eyes grew wide in protest and he ducked out of sight behind a shelf filled with books. “But that’s what they want us to believe. Thankfully some of these books were written by some well-traveled individuals.” His voice was dull as he gruffed about, bending or climbing to retrieve a tome from the stacks. “Aha!” The note rose distinctly as his pale feet padded the floor, sounding his return. He rounded the shelf with a thick leatherbound book covered in dust. Eublin held a thin finger up to hold off questions until he could make his point. He rifled through the pages, searching for something, and his excitement grew when he found what he was looking for. He read the words aloud.
    “Though the hunt became an important part of several realms, and with the humans especially, neither the elves, whose diet consists mainly of fruits and vegetables, or the irua, who feed upon nonintelligent burrowing creatures, have ever adopted the practice of honoring a sentient being for allowing itself to be eaten by another.”
    With a furrowed brow, Bridgett remembered the time she had spent in both locations. It hadn’t occurred to her that she had been so far from the familiar world she had known. True, it had been obvious that their cultures were different, but she had a hard time believing that none of them observed any form of the hunt. Had she really gone that whole time without eating any meat?
    “Don’t you see? The hunt is what it is on this continent only. It was more than likely a result of having so many intelligent species living in one place. You wouldn’t want to have a war because a lioness brought home a human, prairie dog, or squirrel for dinner. Something had to happen so that peace could be maintained with the multitudes.”
    “But there is more than one sentient species in both the elven and the Irua Realm. The nieko live in the Elven Realm, and the weasels live alongside the irua.” Bridgett was thinking out loud, trying to sort through the information.
    “Yes, but the elves don’t eat meat, and I am sure the nieko share in the dietary habits of the elves. As for the irua and weasel world, there are dozens of tunneling, non-sentient species that live in their tunnels—the weasels have basically the same diet. The hunt only exists on this continent, and