Watt-Evans, Lawrence - Annals of the Chosen 01 (101 page)

It
had
not
really
changed,
he
knew,
but
it
looked
different to
him
now,
all
the
same.
It
seemed
smaller,
for
one
thing.
The
oak
and
fieldstone
construction
looked
rustic,
almost
crude.
The
pavilion
built
into
the
side
of
the
ridge
was
almost
exotic
in
the
way
it
combined
all
the
town's
public
buildings,
from
warehouse
to
dance
hall,
in
a
single
structure,
and
the
houses
scattered
along
the
slope
below
looked inefficient
and
almost
random
in
how
they
were
arranged,
though
he
knew
that
it
was
actually
the
result
of
building them
on
the
most
level
bits
of
land,
because
the
ler
here
did not
approve
of
digging
out
foundations.

Not
all
ler
were
so
picky
as
these,
he
knew
now.

And
there
below
the
town
were
the
freshly
planted
fields,
stretching
down
to
the
river,
and
there
were
the
priestesses,
walking
through
the
fields
talking
to
the
ler,
just
as
they
always
had,
and
shadows
moved
behind
them
as
the
ler
flitted about
in
their
peculiarly
visible
way.

"Is
there
a
problem?"
the
guide
asked.

Breaker
shook
his
head.
"No,"
he
said,
"just
looking
at
the
place."

"Hasn't
changed
much,
has
it?"

"No."
Breaker
knew
that
Mad
Oak
hadn't
changed—but he
had.

He
walked
on,
and
followed
the
guide
to
the
pavilion.
He
knew
he
could
have
gone
straight
to
his
parents'
home, but
he
preferred
to
take
a
little
time
to
adjust
to
being
back first.

Later,
he
was
glad
he
had
done
so.
Hearing
the
news
from
Digger
in
the
pavilion
and
learning
that
he
was
not
the
only
one
who
had
changed
was
easier,
he
knew,
than
hearing
it from
his
mother
or
sisters
would
have
been.

His
father
was
dead—a
fever
had
taken
him
during
the
winter,
despite
Elder's
best
efforts.
The
ler
insisted
that Grumbler's
time
had
come,
and
did
not
heed
human
entreaties.

Harp
had
married
Smudge,
as
expected,
but
Little
Weaver had
married
Brokenose,
and
Curly
had
married
Joker,
and Breaker
had
not
expected
either
of
those.

As
news
of
his
return
circulated
through
Mad
Oak,
townspeople
began
to
appear
at
the
pavilion,
ostensibly
to
welcome
him
home,
but
somehow
Breaker
did
not
find
their
reactions
to
his
presence
very
welcoming.

Little
Weaver
and
Brokenose
arrived
together,
and
her
first
words
were
"You
didn't
say
how
long
you
would
be gone—I
thought
it
might
be
years!"

"If
the
Dark
Lord
had
had
his
way,
it
would
have
been
forever,"
Breaker
replied,
looking
at
her
and
remembering
the
Beauty's
face,
knowing
as
he
did
that
the
comparison
was
horribly
unfair—though
in
fact,
Little
Weaver
fared
better
in the
mental
match
than
most
women
would
have.
"Congratulations
on
your
marriage,
both
of
you!"