the story out of her.
“It’s no good asking me,” Ellayne said. “I’m not allowed to talk about it.”
“Well, I was surprised that you came back without him. What’s the baron going to do now?”
“He hasn’t told me, so I can’t tell you.”
“Tell me about Jack, then. What’s he like?”
“You don’t give up easily, do you?”
Enith smiled, then got serious. “There’s something about you,” she said. “You’re not like anybody else I know. I don’t know what it is, but it’s something. You can’t blame me for wanting to find out.”
“You’d never even guess!” Ellayne thought. And the truth was that it galled her not to be able to tell anyone about the things she and Jack had done—all their adventures, from the top of Bell Mountain to the cellar beneath the cellar in the ruins of King Ozias’ Temple. She wanted to be famous: “There she goes—the girl who rang the Bell!” What was the good of being a hero, if no one knew about it? But her father and mother and Martis told her, over and over again, that it couldn’t be. It wasn’t safe to let people know about those things.
“It wouldn’t be just you and Jack who’d be in danger,” Martis explained, often. “It’d be your family, your friends, and everyone who knows you—including King Ryons himself. The Thunder King has spies everywhere.”
“You can try,” she said to Enith, “but you won’t find out from me.”
“But I will!” thought Enith. “I will!”
No king had been anointed and crowned in Obann for many an age. Ozias himself, the last of all the kings, never had a formal coronation, although Penda the prophet had anointed him. But long before Ozias’ time, great King Kai, as told in the Book of Thrones, had had a splendid coronation. That was when Obann became the chief of cities, and the country was named for the city. Since the most ancient times, many peoples had been added to the Tribes of the Law, including those conquered and converted by Kai himself. And the Tribes of the Law became the nation of Obann.
That was the old city of Obann, now a mountain of ruins on the south bank of the river. As great as it was, even that great city could not accommodate all the people who came to see the coronation. So it was held on the north bank, where the present city of Obann stands now, and a temporary city was created there—a city of pavilions in every gorgeous color you could think of, and humble booths for humble people, and great spreading tents for the multitude of presters, and more tents for the kitchens and the artisans, with feasting and music all throughout the day and night. And only when all the people were gathered there, and fed, and preached to, was King Kai anointed with the holy oil and crowned with a jeweled crown that beamed like a many-colored fire in the sun.
Merffin Mord studied the fascicles that told of it, so that he would know how to stage a spectacle that would lure King Ryons back to Obann. And because he considered the First Prester a simple man, and easily deceived, he consulted with him.
“The man’s a simpleton,” he said to Aggo, his confederate. “But if he’s with us, so much the better. No one will suspect him—”
“Of treason against the king,” Aggo finished for him. “That’s what we’re planning.”
“It’s no treason,” Merffin said, “to restore the proper order of things. I won’t have you call it treason. We never asked for a king. All we want to do is to return to the way things were.”
When he was just a high-ranking prester, and Lord Reesh’s favorite, Orth lived in great estate in Obann and cut a lordly figure. He still lived in his elegant townhouse, but now he hosted simple dinners for the poor instead of sumptuous banquets for the very rich. He used to be famous for his opulent wardrobe. Now he dressed simply, and when he wasn’t preaching sermons in the open
“It’s no good asking me,” Ellayne said. “I’m not allowed to talk about it.”
“Well, I was surprised that you came back without him. What’s the baron going to do now?”
“He hasn’t told me, so I can’t tell you.”
“Tell me about Jack, then. What’s he like?”
“You don’t give up easily, do you?”
Enith smiled, then got serious. “There’s something about you,” she said. “You’re not like anybody else I know. I don’t know what it is, but it’s something. You can’t blame me for wanting to find out.”
“You’d never even guess!” Ellayne thought. And the truth was that it galled her not to be able to tell anyone about the things she and Jack had done—all their adventures, from the top of Bell Mountain to the cellar beneath the cellar in the ruins of King Ozias’ Temple. She wanted to be famous: “There she goes—the girl who rang the Bell!” What was the good of being a hero, if no one knew about it? But her father and mother and Martis told her, over and over again, that it couldn’t be. It wasn’t safe to let people know about those things.
“It wouldn’t be just you and Jack who’d be in danger,” Martis explained, often. “It’d be your family, your friends, and everyone who knows you—including King Ryons himself. The Thunder King has spies everywhere.”
“You can try,” she said to Enith, “but you won’t find out from me.”
“But I will!” thought Enith. “I will!”
No king had been anointed and crowned in Obann for many an age. Ozias himself, the last of all the kings, never had a formal coronation, although Penda the prophet had anointed him. But long before Ozias’ time, great King Kai, as told in the Book of Thrones, had had a splendid coronation. That was when Obann became the chief of cities, and the country was named for the city. Since the most ancient times, many peoples had been added to the Tribes of the Law, including those conquered and converted by Kai himself. And the Tribes of the Law became the nation of Obann.
That was the old city of Obann, now a mountain of ruins on the south bank of the river. As great as it was, even that great city could not accommodate all the people who came to see the coronation. So it was held on the north bank, where the present city of Obann stands now, and a temporary city was created there—a city of pavilions in every gorgeous color you could think of, and humble booths for humble people, and great spreading tents for the multitude of presters, and more tents for the kitchens and the artisans, with feasting and music all throughout the day and night. And only when all the people were gathered there, and fed, and preached to, was King Kai anointed with the holy oil and crowned with a jeweled crown that beamed like a many-colored fire in the sun.
Merffin Mord studied the fascicles that told of it, so that he would know how to stage a spectacle that would lure King Ryons back to Obann. And because he considered the First Prester a simple man, and easily deceived, he consulted with him.
“The man’s a simpleton,” he said to Aggo, his confederate. “But if he’s with us, so much the better. No one will suspect him—”
“Of treason against the king,” Aggo finished for him. “That’s what we’re planning.”
“It’s no treason,” Merffin said, “to restore the proper order of things. I won’t have you call it treason. We never asked for a king. All we want to do is to return to the way things were.”
When he was just a high-ranking prester, and Lord Reesh’s favorite, Orth lived in great estate in Obann and cut a lordly figure. He still lived in his elegant townhouse, but now he hosted simple dinners for the poor instead of sumptuous banquets for the very rich. He used to be famous for his opulent wardrobe. Now he dressed simply, and when he wasn’t preaching sermons in the open
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