The Coming Of Wisdom Read Free

swordsmen had their own rituals, flailing their blades around in salute.
    “I am Nnanji, swordsman of the fourth rank, and am honored to accept your gracious service.”
    The sword shot back into its scabbard again with a hiss and a click. Random had not handled his so slickly.
    “Do you always stand on one foot, apprentice?”
    She had not thought he would have been able to see. “I’ve lost a shoe, adept.”
    He chuckled and moved, and she felt a firm grip on her ankle. “Here it is. Stupid-looking thing!” Then her foot was pushed back where it belonged, and the swordsman straightened up.
    “Thank you. You see very well . . . ”
    “I do most things very well,” he remarked cheerfully. He sounded so young, like a boy. Could he really be a Fourth? “Now, where is this, apprentice?”
    “The estate of the Honorable Garathondi, adept.”
    The swordsman grunted softly. “What craft?”
    “He is a builder.”
    “And what does a builder of the Sixth build? Well, never mind. How many swordsmen on this estate?”
    “None, adept.”
    He grunted again, surprised. “What’s the nearest village, or town?”
    “Pol, adept. A hamlet. About half a day’s walk to the north.”
    “There would be swordsmen there, then . . . ”
    It was not a question, so she need not say that the resident swordsman of Pol had died on the same day as her husband, or that his assassination could not have been reported, either.
Prevent bloodshed
!
    “What city? How far?”
    “Ov, adept. About another half day beyond Pol.”
    “Mm? Do you happen to know the name of the reeve in Ov?”
    He was dead, also, and all his men. To answer just “No!” would be a lie. Before she could speak, the swordsman asked another question.
    “Is there trouble here, Apprentice Quili? Brigands? Bandits? Work for honest swordsmen? Are we in any immediate danger?”
    “No
immediate
danger, adept.”
    He chuckled. “Pity! Not even a dragon?”
    She returned the laugh with relief. “Not one.”
    “And you haven’t seen any sorcerers recently, I suppose?”
    So he did know about the sorcerers! “Not recently, adept . . . ”
    He sighed. “Well, if it’s safe, then we must have been brought here to meet someone. Like Ko.”
    “Ko?”
    “Have you never heard the epic
How Aggaranzi of the Seventh Smote the Brigands at Ko
?” He sounded shocked. “It’s a great tale! Lots of honor, lots of blood. It’s very long, but I’ll sing it for you when we have time. Well, if there’s no danger, then I’d better go back and report. Come on!”
    He took her hand and began to lead her down the road. His hand was very large, his grip powerful; but his palm felt oddly soft, unlike the hands of the farm workers—or even her own hands, these days.
    Strangely, she did not feel nervous at being hauled into the unknown by this tall and youthful stranger. She stumbled in the ruts. He muttered, “Careful!” but he slowed down. There were three stream crossings on the trail, and she could barely see the stepping-stones, but he could, and he guided her.
    “You were brought by the Most High, adept?”
    “We were! The sailor says he’s never heard of a ferry being taken before. We’ve come a long way, too! Very far!” He sounded satisfied, not awed at all. Of course the River was the Goddess, and any ship might arrive at an unexpected destination if it bore a Jonah, someone She wanted elsewhere. Free swords were notorious Jonahs, always being moved by Her Hand. Such manifestations of Her power happened too frequently to be truly miracles, but they were not something that Quili could ever regard as lightly as this brash young swordsman seemed to.
    The trees thinned out, the valley widened to admit grayness, and now she could see better. He was even taller than she had thought, lanky and astoundingly young for a Fourth. He seemed no older than herself, but perhaps that was just his carefree manner—he chattered. Random had been a Third. Few in any craft