Weeds Meads and Steeds PDF

W E EDS, MEA DS, & S T EEDS
“Yes, especially their leader. Long black hair, sharp nose, thin lips, just a
little shorter than myself, an overall stern look, and ice blue eyes. I believe I
overheard the others call her Elanor.”
“Elanor Branorwool.” Pournel smiled in acknowledgment. “For many years
she was an apprentice for a wizard friend of mine, but she had found her mentor's
training too slow so she ran away to learn the arts on her own. Before leaving,
she ransacked the wizard's house and workshop, so is probably in possession of
many powerful artifacts.”
“Now that you mention it, the bandit's spoke about a stone that would erase
my memory, or to distort it. I wasn't sure, they were a distance away talking
amongst themselves.”
“It's called the inquisitors stone.” Pournel said, knowing the item in an
instant.
“The inquisitors stone!” Rendle spoke up suddenly, his dull eyes suddenly
bright with enthusiasm. “Formed under the roots of the Bretmark tree found in
most marshlands, which also produces a flower that tadpoles of the giant Heddit
toad feed upon.”
“Fascinating that you remember so much when it's related to frogs.” Pournel
glanced at Rendle with amusement, but the academic had became silent again;
going back to only giving awkward stares and wiggling his lips. “The stone is
used to muddle with someone's memories,” Pournel continued, “to make one, in
a sense, misremember. Inquisitors have used the stones during times of war to
cause their subjects to remember being tortured, so they would answer any and
all questions. The victims would remain unharmed physically, but believe with
absolute certainty they survived all manner of horrors. A very effective, but very
costly, item to use. Elanor must be drawing from a larger source of magic to use
it.”
“So they were going to make me not remember being robbed?” Belfast
asked, becoming more relaxed with the thought that this old man was most likely
a wizard. Frauds are unlikely to know such magical things, nor could they make
them up on the spot, unless they were exceedingly clever.
“I assume they would have made you remember something else entirely,
like being robbed by orcs and goblins, rather than by young women.”
“They used my sense of compassion and helpfulness to their advantage,”
Belfast frowned, “by making me believe I could save a child. I'm going into my
final year of training to become a knight, so my desire to rescue others blinded
me to the trap. No orc or goblin could do the same.”
Belfast felt safe enough to take several steps closer, and to strap his sword
on the outside of the robe. If this man was indeed a wizard, then how lucky he
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