Chapter 73
Kote and Denna meet a swineherd. Kote mimics a rustic dialect to
put the man at ease, buys one of his pigs, and invites him to share it with
them. Over dinner he pumps the man for information. He hadn't heard anything
about the wedding but he knew the bride's family had built a house for her on
what he called barrow-hill. The used some stones they had dug up - supposedly
barrow-stones. The swineherd had been up further north but had seen a large
blue fire the day before the wedding in the bluffs to the north and, wanting no
part of it, started moving south. After the man leaves, Kote explains that it
was more likely and old hilltop fort rather than barrows on the hill. He points
out how the hill gave a great view of the surrounding lands. He points out a
taller, more pointed peak for them to climb so he can get a look at the bluffs
to the north, and spot Denna's patron, Ash, if he's about.
This chapter was a bit difficult to read, with the he swineherd
's dialect rendered phonetically, but plot wise a very interesting one as we
learn about a potential motivation for the Chandrian attack on the wedding. Was
this once a Chandrian fortification? Also sounds like there's been unusual
activity in the bluffs to the north for a long time, curious to see if it's the
Chandrian hangout,
Chapter 74
They rich the top of the target hill. They see some flashes of
blue light in the hills to the south. Kote keeps a fire going while Denna
sleeps. When she wakes he takes his turn sleeping. He wakes up with her
standing over him, worried about a noise the climb up and hide on some grey
stones on top of the hill, and spot the creature making the noises - it's a
dragon, spouting blue flame!
Sounds like the flashes of blue flame in the bluffs to the north
are dragons - do they have any relation to Chandrian? Denna makes a good point
that the Chandrian like to kill off anyone who might have heard of something -
be it Kote's father's song or rumor of what the wedding party had found on
their hill.
Chapter 75
Kote asks Chronicler why he didn't interrupt to say there's no
such thing as dragons. He says complete obedience is irritating.
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