“No, I haven’t,” Andaris admitted, “but it sounds as if I need to. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you speak like this, Gaven—with such poetic sentiment. You almost make me wish I were a sailor.”
Gaven chuckled and shook his head. “I guess I’m going soft in my old age, which is probably just as well. Now that I’m rich and famous, I can settle down and enjoy myself, build a house, marry a serving girl, and have a whole litter of children. The only trouble,” he admitted with mischief in his eyes, “is whether to marry a blonde or a brunette.”
They all laughed.
“You know,” Trilla said, “I’m going to miss each of you—terribly.”
They’d shared a part of each other’s lives that they would always remember. They were tied by the hardships they’d endured, each memory stored away like gold in the safe, waiting to be pulled out and dusted off whenever most needed.
Gaven drained his mug and looked around the table. “How ‘bout,” he suggested, “we meet back here three months from now? That is, if you’re still in town, Andaris.”
“Like I said, Gaven, I have plenty of reasons not to leave too soon.” He looked each of them in the eyes. “Four reasons, to be exact. And if—when,” he corrected, “I find my way home, I’ll do everything in my power to find my way back here again, to all of you. But this time, before I go anywhere, I’m going to make certain I’m ready. You never know where you’re going to end up when you go traipsing through the wilds of the world. Though I can’t even begin to make preparations until I’ve sorted through all of those books down in the archives, and who knows how long that will take, I should guess at least a couple of months.”
“Most assuredly,” said Ashel, “and that’s with my help. Understand, Andaris, there are thousands upon thousands of books down there, room after room of them, filled to the ceilings, and that doesn’t include all of the scrolls and loose documents, some of which haven’t been read for centuries, some of which are so old that they will need to be translated. Yes, we will have to be very fortunate, indeed, to find what you seek in less than a couple of months—if we find it at all.”
Andaris sighed and nodded. “Well, looks like I’ll be here. The real concern is, will Trilla be able to get permission from the prince to leave Sokerra?”
“Let him try and stop me,” Trilla said, smiling through her tears. “He may be the prince of Sokerra, but he is also my husband. He knows his place.”
“Let’s make it official,” said Gaven.
They stood and lifted their mugs.
“Three months,” he said.
“Three months,” they agreed.
The End
Copyright © 2014 by William David Coury
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.
Mind’s Eye Press
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The Eight Walls of Rogar: An Epic Fantasy Adventure Series! (The Lost Kingdoms of Laotswend Trilogy--Book One) Page 40