Tam said, his tone a clear dismissal of
the importance of the soldiering profession and Adrienne’s beliefs.
“It is the tales that were so important.”
“ Tales?” Adrienne asked at
the same time Ilso called out that it was time to stop for lunch,
temporarily halting their conversation.
Adrienne was surprised and
a bit disconcerted when Ilso began laying out a fire. “How long are
we staying here?” she asked, looking around the open meadow beside
the road.
Tam shrugged, apparently
unconcerned by the stop. “A couple of hours, I expect. Ilso will
probably make a stew. It gives the horses a chance to
rest.”
Since the horses had been
kept at a walk all morning, Adrienne doubted even Tam’s gelding
needed more than fifteen minutes of grazing and watering, and maybe
as much time again to rest. She had discovered in the few hours she
had been with them that, despite what they had told Captain
Garrett, they did not seem to be in a hurry to return to Kessering.
It was more or less that they had wanted to leave Kyrog as soon as
possible.
“ Perhaps you can tell me
about the tales before lunch,” Adrienne said after she had
unsaddled Strider and rubbed him down. She loosely tied the
destrier to a tree branch near the stream, within easy reach of the
lush grass that grew there. He lipped over the grass contentedly,
too well-trained to move away from the spot his rider put him, even
had he not been tied to the branch.
Tam made a “hmm” sound in
his throat as though considering the idea. “I really don’t know if
it is appropriate to begin teaching you,” he said at last. “Most of
the students in Kessering don’t begin their training until they
reach the city and are introduced to the commission, you
understand.”
Adrienne didn’t
understand. It seemed pointless for her to wait if Tam knew enough
to get her started. “But it may be beneficial for me to begin my
training early, when my mind will be more focused,” she said. “What
if I have problems learning the material?” Since Adrienne had never
experienced much trouble learning before, she deemed it unlikely
that she would have trouble with this, but that argument for
beginning her training seemed like it would be most effective with
a scholar.
“ Yes, I suppose you may
have a point,” Tam said. “I will have to think on it some more
before making a decision.”
Adrienne thanked him,
wondering how such a reasonable answer could sound so unreasonable.
She usually valued someone who took the time to think before making
a decision, but for some reason Tam thinking this over seemed
foolish. Perhaps what seemed foolish was that he had made the
decision that she be the one trained, yet he still needed to think
over whether or not to begin that training.
Finally Tam went to pester
Ilso about lunch, and Adrienne decided to give Strider a more
thorough rubdown. “Well, boy, it seems this trip won’t be as easy
for me as it is for you,” she grumbled. “Tam seems content to let
me sit idle until we get to Kessering.”
Some of the soldiers in
Kyrog had enjoyed time off, time that was their own so that they
did not have to practice or engage in any taxing activities. Ricco
had always enjoyed a few days of lying around and doing nothing
after a big campaign. Adrienne had hated it, and even on the days
she did not have practice and drills to run she would always
partake in some activity, even if it was just her morning run. The
only time she was ever inactive for a stretch of time was when she
was injured, and even then she pushed as much as possible without
risking re-injury. Activity had been a constant in Adrienne’s life
since she was four, and she liked it that way.
She grimaced as she
checked Strider’s legs for swelling and hotspots, pleased to find
him sound. Destriers were too valuable to allow them to go lame
through negligence. “If King Burin is so eager to get the war over
with that he put together a commission for it, you would think
the importance of the soldiering profession and Adrienne’s beliefs.
“It is the tales that were so important.”
“ Tales?” Adrienne asked at
the same time Ilso called out that it was time to stop for lunch,
temporarily halting their conversation.
Adrienne was surprised and
a bit disconcerted when Ilso began laying out a fire. “How long are
we staying here?” she asked, looking around the open meadow beside
the road.
Tam shrugged, apparently
unconcerned by the stop. “A couple of hours, I expect. Ilso will
probably make a stew. It gives the horses a chance to
rest.”
Since the horses had been
kept at a walk all morning, Adrienne doubted even Tam’s gelding
needed more than fifteen minutes of grazing and watering, and maybe
as much time again to rest. She had discovered in the few hours she
had been with them that, despite what they had told Captain
Garrett, they did not seem to be in a hurry to return to Kessering.
It was more or less that they had wanted to leave Kyrog as soon as
possible.
“ Perhaps you can tell me
about the tales before lunch,” Adrienne said after she had
unsaddled Strider and rubbed him down. She loosely tied the
destrier to a tree branch near the stream, within easy reach of the
lush grass that grew there. He lipped over the grass contentedly,
too well-trained to move away from the spot his rider put him, even
had he not been tied to the branch.
Tam made a “hmm” sound in
his throat as though considering the idea. “I really don’t know if
it is appropriate to begin teaching you,” he said at last. “Most of
the students in Kessering don’t begin their training until they
reach the city and are introduced to the commission, you
understand.”
Adrienne didn’t
understand. It seemed pointless for her to wait if Tam knew enough
to get her started. “But it may be beneficial for me to begin my
training early, when my mind will be more focused,” she said. “What
if I have problems learning the material?” Since Adrienne had never
experienced much trouble learning before, she deemed it unlikely
that she would have trouble with this, but that argument for
beginning her training seemed like it would be most effective with
a scholar.
“ Yes, I suppose you may
have a point,” Tam said. “I will have to think on it some more
before making a decision.”
Adrienne thanked him,
wondering how such a reasonable answer could sound so unreasonable.
She usually valued someone who took the time to think before making
a decision, but for some reason Tam thinking this over seemed
foolish. Perhaps what seemed foolish was that he had made the
decision that she be the one trained, yet he still needed to think
over whether or not to begin that training.
Finally Tam went to pester
Ilso about lunch, and Adrienne decided to give Strider a more
thorough rubdown. “Well, boy, it seems this trip won’t be as easy
for me as it is for you,” she grumbled. “Tam seems content to let
me sit idle until we get to Kessering.”
Some of the soldiers in
Kyrog had enjoyed time off, time that was their own so that they
did not have to practice or engage in any taxing activities. Ricco
had always enjoyed a few days of lying around and doing nothing
after a big campaign. Adrienne had hated it, and even on the days
she did not have practice and drills to run she would always
partake in some activity, even if it was just her morning run. The
only time she was ever inactive for a stretch of time was when she
was injured, and even then she pushed as much as possible without
risking re-injury. Activity had been a constant in Adrienne’s life
since she was four, and she liked it that way.
She grimaced as she
checked Strider’s legs for swelling and hotspots, pleased to find
him sound. Destriers were too valuable to allow them to go lame
through negligence. “If King Burin is so eager to get the war over
with that he put together a commission for it, you would think
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