Chapter 10 Chapter 10 The drifting blue will-o'-the-wisp

Snow kisses my face, and the wind blows my hair back from my forehead.I went from one dark dream to another darker dream and then into a forest winter scene.I felt cold, only warmed by the warmth of the horse's slow progress.Soot carried me sluggishly through the wind and snow, staggering and making me feel like I had ridden a long way.The horse boy was riding in front of me, and I saw him turn around and shout something to me. Sooty stopped so firmly that I wasn't expecting it, and I almost slipped out of the saddle.I steadied myself by its mane as slowly falling snow covered the forest around us.The spruce trees were covered with a thick layer of snow, and the birches with their entangled branches and leaves formed a naked black silhouette in the winter cloudy moonlight.The thick forest surrounded us, and there was no way to see.Hands reined his gelding in front of us, so Soot stopped.Burrich, a groom all his life, rode his pinto mare deftly behind me.

I felt cold and shivered with weakness.I stared around blankly, wondering why we had stopped so suddenly.The wind blew fiercely, and my damp cloak beat against Sooty's flanks.At this time, A's hand suddenly stretched out his finger and pointed forward. "There!" He looked back at me, "Did you see that?" I lean forward, peering through the snow billowing like a lace curtain. "I think so!" The wind and snow swallowed my feeble response.After a while I saw a still yellow gleam, not like the blue will-o'-the-wisps that always drifted in and out of my sight.

"You think that's Buckkeep?" Hand called when the wind picked up. "That's right." Burrich replied calmly, the deep tone easily reaching my ears. "I know where we are now. This is where Verity killed the doe six years ago, and I remember her jumping up from the arrow and falling into the little ravine, so we had to struggle Go down the canyon and pack the venison." The small canyon he was talking about looked like a small clump of trees in the snow, but I could see everything in front of me immediately.I looked at the topography of the hillside, the trees, and the little canyon, and I knew I was going in that direction to Buckkeep, and after a short ride, I could see the castle standing on the cliff overlooking the bay below. and Buckkeep.For the first time in days, I'm absolutely sure where we are.The cloudy sky made it impossible to get our bearings through stargazing, and the unusually deep snowpack had altered the terrain, and even Burrich couldn't get his bearings, but I now know that home is not far, and in the summer months just Just a short ride away.Even though the wind and snow would make the journey longer, I still made up my mind to keep going. "Not far," I told Burrich.

Hands was already on the road, riding bravely on his squat gelding, breaking through the thick snow to make our way.I nudged the soot and let the tall mare reluctantly stride.As it went down the hill I slid to the other side and had to scramble around the saddle trying to hold on.Now Burrich nudged his horse alongside me and reached out and grabbed my scruff to straighten me. "Not far away." He agreed with me. "You can do it." I nod.It was the second time in the past hour that he had steadied me, and I told myself bitterly that tonight was better than usual.I settled myself in the saddle, drew myself up straighter, and raised my shoulders resolutely.almost home.

It's been a long journey.The weather was bad, and the continual hardship did not help my health at all, and the journey was like a dark dream.I rode day after day, barely seeing the road ahead.At night I slept in the little tent, between Hands and Burrich, too tired and shivering to sleep.As we approached Buckkeep, I thought the road would be smoother, and ignored Burrich's warning. When we arrived at Tuhu Lake, it was already dark, so we found an inn to live in.I thought I would have to take a barge on the river the next day, even though the Bucks would freeze along the banks, but the strong warm current kept the canal ice-free all year round.I was already exhausted, so I went straight to my room to rest.Both Burrich and Hand looked forward to hot food and company, not to mention ale.I didn't expect them to be back in the room anytime soon, but within two hours they were both in and ready for bed.

Burrich was quiet and forbidding, and when he went to bed, Hands would lie in bed and whisper to me how the townspeople here were critical of the king. "If they knew we were from Buckkeep, they wouldn't be able to speak freely. Luckily, our mountain attire made them think we were businessmen. There were times when I thought Burrich would run afoul of them, But I don't know how he restrained himself from losing his temper afterwards. Everyone complained about why taxes were paid to defend the coast, and sneered that even though they paid taxes like hell, the robbers unexpectedly arrived in the autumn and the weather was fine And burned two more towns!" Hand paused, then continued in an uncertain tone: "But they can praise Prince Regal greatly. Prince Regal accompanied Princess Kettricken back to Buck I passed by this place in front of the castle, and a man sitting at the table said that she was really like a great white fish, and she was just right to marry the king of the coast. And it looked more like a prince, and then they toasted to wish the prince good health and a long life."

I just felt a chill all over my body, and then replied softly: "These two forge towns, have you heard which two places are?" "Whale Jaw Town in Bearns and Muddy Bay here in Buckkeep." The darkness around me grows deeper, and I look at it all night without sleep.We left Tuhu the next morning and rode across the mountains.Burrich won't let us take the road, and it's no use even if I protest.After hearing my complaint, he took me aside and asked me fiercely, "Don't you want to live?" I looked at him blankly, only to see him snorting. "Fitz, facts are facts. You are still a royal bastard, and Prince Regal still sees you as an obstacle. He has tried to get rid of you more than once. Do you think he will welcome you back to Buckkeep? No. Yes. He said we'd better never come back, so we better not make ourselves obvious targets. We're going back across the mountains, and if he or his men want to get us, they'll have to hunt us through the forest, but he Not hunter material at all."

"Won't Verity protect us?" I asked weakly. "You are my prince's people, and Verity is the Crown Prince." Burrich pointed out curtly, "It is you who protect the Crown Prince, Fitz, not him to protect you. It's not that he doesn't care about you, and he wants to protect you as much as he can, but He has more important things to deal with. The red boat robbers, his new wife, and his younger brother who is plotting to usurp the throne. So, don't expect the crown prince to take care of you, take care of yourself!"