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"Should I take my sword?" Seth asked He had buckled on his adaht his adamant shield when they had left the truck
"I don’t know ic Considering what the Sisters shared with you about what lies beyond the wall, I’d guess you ht want a sword Just don’t use it to ry"
"Take the sword," Newel seconded "Chop up anybody who gives you trouble"
"I’ve heard it’s easier if you break their weapon first," Doren added, earning a punch in the shoulder froht as well take naps, let Hugo stand guard"
Seth turned and started walking along the ravine, treading carefully due to the ht the others watching him somberly They ilance had revealed a level of concern that his co He wished he hadn’t looked back
The rew shallower and steeper as he proceeded Back where the others waited, Seth thought he could have scaled the walls Now an attempt to climb would be ihtly painted, as if created recently, standing straight and tall in the es included a squat, chubby warrior on the bottole at the top The grotesque caricatures leered at him, wooden teeth bared, and on some instinctive level, Seth realized the elaborate pole was a warning
Passing the pole, Seth grew more anxious The ravine see of insects, no birdcalls, no rustling leaves The air felt still and heavy He sensed eyes spying, but could detect nothing to confirm the suspicion He kept one hand on the hilt of his sword
Around the next curve, the ravine abruptly ended, and Seth beheld the Toteht, built into the rear wall, the Totem Wall spanned the entire ravine like a dam Hundreds of faces made up the seamless wooden monument, weatherworn, tinizable A wide variety of animals were represented--bears, wolves, deer, les, owls, and reater diversity--, fat and thin, fair and hideous Some looked friendly, others furious, others wise, others ridiculous, others crafty, others ill, others shtened, others serene
Seth had never seen anything like it He could iine the Totem Wall as the featured exhibit in the world’s finest museum It was that impressive, that detailed, that unique
A low stump dominated the ravine in front of the Toteher than his chest, the stuine how tall the treefros, it must have been thousands of years old
His intuition told Seth that he should address the wall froe or platfors were spaced wider than others He walked to the center, standing on the cluster of concentric circles that forrunting, barking, growling, shrieking, and coughing, the Totem Wall came to life The wooden faces blinked and sniffed and yawned Tongues wagged Expressions shifted The jue that Seth didn’t comprehend
"I’m Seth Sorenson," Seth said "I’ve come to speak with the Totem Wall"
The heads fell silent A broad male head, old and proud, near the bottom center of the wall, spoke in a profound, resonant voice "We are lish?" Seth asked
"You will hear your language," the head replied "Choose" He sounded so to keep his a the Crone, Yuralria the Dancer, and Chu the Beaver"
A surprised an
"I hear you," said a rough-hewn male face halfway up the left side of the wall A knot in the wood disfigured one cheek like a scar
"I hear you," said a shrewd, hooded face near the bottoht Intricately carved, she had the , beautiful face with high cheekbones near the top of the wall The polished se from the elements
"I hear you," said the furry, bucktoothed face of a beaver just below the young wo his weight from side to side, he clasped his hands behind his back "I seek Vasilis, the Sword of Light and Darkness I know you guard it I want to enter and retrieve it"
Another outburst of muttered exclamations fluttered across the wall
"Silence," demanded the Crone "How do you know the location of Vasilis?"
"I paid a price," Seth said
The Hunter spoke in a gruff tone "Then you should understand that we grant favors only upon receiving an acceptable sacrifice"
"I understand," Seth said respectfully
"Yet you have little of value," said the Beaver, "save perhaps the sword and the shield They are unworthy shadows of the treasure we guard"
"Do not press hi" Her voice softened "What have you to offer?"
"Along with the sword, you house great evil," Seth said "Pere the evil inside of you before I exit"
"Others have come to us in search of Vasilis," the Crone mused "Rarely have they already suspected the location We have admitted some None have returned"
"The youth speaks with confidence," the Hunter approved
"Any simpleton can speak with confidence," the Dancer said "Soreatest fools have theand naive He will come to harm, and he will not deliver on his pro," the Beaver co prevents action Do not underesti"
"What deeds have you accomplished?" the Hunter asked
Seth hadn’t planned on turning in a resuhts from the past couple of years "I pulled a dark talisht a leprechaun I awoke Olloch the Glutton and put him back to sleep I found the Chronometer, one of the keys to Zzyzx I stole the horn of a unicorn froiant Thronis and left hion Siletta in order to retrieve an iteons of Wyrmroost I survived the Dreamstone at Obsidian Waste and helped retrieve the Translocator, another key to Zzyzx And I’ve bargained with the Singing Sisters"
"He speaks true," the Crone said
"And I’ you the truth now," Seth said "I don’t feel fear I can get this sword and rid you of the evil hiding near it And then I’ll use the sword to save the world"
"He a knows truth," the Dancer adle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>