across that emptiness, and a thousand shallow lakes and ponds scattered, blue and glistening under a northern sun, toward the horizon.
"How far does it reach?" Garion asked quietly.
"From here to the polar ice," Belgarath replied. "Several hundred leagues."
"And no one lives out there but the Morindim?"
"Nobody wants to. For most of the year, it's buried in snow and darkness. You can go for six months up here without ever seeing the sun."
They rode down the rocky slope toward the plain and found a lowroofed, shallow cave at the base of the granite cliff that seemed to be the demarcation line between the mountains and the foothills. "We'll stop here for a while," Belgarath told them, reining in his tired mount. "We've got some preparations to make, and the horses need some rest."
They were all kept quite busy for the next several days while Belgarath radically altered their appearances. Silk set crude traps among the maze of rabbit runs twisting through the tall grass, and Garion roamed the foothills in search of certain tuberous roots and a peculiar smelling white flower. Belgarath sat at the mouth of the cave, fashioning various implements from his saplings. The roots Garion had gathered yielded a dark brown stain, and Belgarath carefully applied it to their skins. "The Morindim are dark-skinned," he explained as he sat painting Silk's arms and back with the stain. "Somewhat darker than Tolnedrans or Nyissans. This will wear off after a few weeks, but it will last long enough to get us through."
After he had stained all their skins into swarthiness, he crushed the odd-smelling flowers to produce a jet black ink. "Silk's hair is the right color already," he said, "and mine will get by, but Garion's just won't do." He diluted some of the ink with water and dyed Garion's sandy hair black. "That's better," he grunted when he had finished, "and there's enough left for the tattoos."
"Tattoos?" Garion asked, startled at the thought.
"The Morindim decorate themselves extensively."
"Will it hurt?"
"We're not really going to tattoo ourselves, Garion," Belgarath told him with a pained look. "They take too long to heal. Besides, I'm afraid your Aunt would go into hysterics if I took you back to her with designs engraved all over you. This ink will last long enough for us to get through Morindland. It will wear off-eventually."
Silk was sitting cross-legged in front of the cave, looking for all the world like a tailor as he sewed fresh rabbit pelts to their clothing.
"Won't they start to smell after a few days?" Garion asked, wrinkling his nose.
"Probably," Silk admitted, "but I don't have time to cure the pelts." Later, as Belgarath was carefully drawing the tattoos on their faces, he explained the guise they were going to assume. "Garion will be the quester," he said.
"What's that?" Garion asked.
"Don't move your face," Belgarath told him, frowning as he drew lines under Garion's eyes with a raven-feather quill. "The quest is a Morind ritual. It's customary for a young Morind of a certain rank to undertake a quest before he assumes a position of authority in his clan. You'll wear a white fur headband and carry that red spear I fixed up for you. It's ceremonial," he cautioned, "so don't try to stab anybody with it. That's very bad form."
"I'll remember that."
"We'll disguise your sword to look like some sort of relic or something. A magician might see past the Orb's suggestion that it's not there - depending on how good he is. One other thing - the quester is absolutely forbidden to speak under any circumstances, so keep your mouth shut. Silk will be your dreamer. He'll wear a white fur band on his left arm. Dreamers speak in riddles and gibberish for the most part, and they tend to fall into trances and have fits." He glanced over at Silk. "Do you think you can handle that?"
"Trust me," Silk replied, grinning.
"Not very likely," Belgarath grunted. "I'll be Garion's magician. I'll carry a staff with a horned skull on
"How far does it reach?" Garion asked quietly.
"From here to the polar ice," Belgarath replied. "Several hundred leagues."
"And no one lives out there but the Morindim?"
"Nobody wants to. For most of the year, it's buried in snow and darkness. You can go for six months up here without ever seeing the sun."
They rode down the rocky slope toward the plain and found a lowroofed, shallow cave at the base of the granite cliff that seemed to be the demarcation line between the mountains and the foothills. "We'll stop here for a while," Belgarath told them, reining in his tired mount. "We've got some preparations to make, and the horses need some rest."
They were all kept quite busy for the next several days while Belgarath radically altered their appearances. Silk set crude traps among the maze of rabbit runs twisting through the tall grass, and Garion roamed the foothills in search of certain tuberous roots and a peculiar smelling white flower. Belgarath sat at the mouth of the cave, fashioning various implements from his saplings. The roots Garion had gathered yielded a dark brown stain, and Belgarath carefully applied it to their skins. "The Morindim are dark-skinned," he explained as he sat painting Silk's arms and back with the stain. "Somewhat darker than Tolnedrans or Nyissans. This will wear off after a few weeks, but it will last long enough to get us through."
After he had stained all their skins into swarthiness, he crushed the odd-smelling flowers to produce a jet black ink. "Silk's hair is the right color already," he said, "and mine will get by, but Garion's just won't do." He diluted some of the ink with water and dyed Garion's sandy hair black. "That's better," he grunted when he had finished, "and there's enough left for the tattoos."
"Tattoos?" Garion asked, startled at the thought.
"The Morindim decorate themselves extensively."
"Will it hurt?"
"We're not really going to tattoo ourselves, Garion," Belgarath told him with a pained look. "They take too long to heal. Besides, I'm afraid your Aunt would go into hysterics if I took you back to her with designs engraved all over you. This ink will last long enough for us to get through Morindland. It will wear off-eventually."
Silk was sitting cross-legged in front of the cave, looking for all the world like a tailor as he sewed fresh rabbit pelts to their clothing.
"Won't they start to smell after a few days?" Garion asked, wrinkling his nose.
"Probably," Silk admitted, "but I don't have time to cure the pelts." Later, as Belgarath was carefully drawing the tattoos on their faces, he explained the guise they were going to assume. "Garion will be the quester," he said.
"What's that?" Garion asked.
"Don't move your face," Belgarath told him, frowning as he drew lines under Garion's eyes with a raven-feather quill. "The quest is a Morind ritual. It's customary for a young Morind of a certain rank to undertake a quest before he assumes a position of authority in his clan. You'll wear a white fur headband and carry that red spear I fixed up for you. It's ceremonial," he cautioned, "so don't try to stab anybody with it. That's very bad form."
"I'll remember that."
"We'll disguise your sword to look like some sort of relic or something. A magician might see past the Orb's suggestion that it's not there - depending on how good he is. One other thing - the quester is absolutely forbidden to speak under any circumstances, so keep your mouth shut. Silk will be your dreamer. He'll wear a white fur band on his left arm. Dreamers speak in riddles and gibberish for the most part, and they tend to fall into trances and have fits." He glanced over at Silk. "Do you think you can handle that?"
"Trust me," Silk replied, grinning.
"Not very likely," Belgarath grunted. "I'll be Garion's magician. I'll carry a staff with a horned skull on
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