Ringwall's Doom. Wolf Awert

village. Such houses were quick to build and just as quick to fall apart when the family left.

      “Welcome, stranger,” a voice spoke to him from the shade of an entrance. “Come inside and flee the merciless sun. There is always enough tea in my house for visitors. Bring your companion inside, if you will.”

      Nill had to hunch over to step through the door. It was comfortably cool in the hut. The stones held back the heat and the gap between the walls and the roof let in a gentle breeze. A man of indeterminable age sat on a pile of skins and furs in the center of the room.

      “My name is Mahan, and this is my family’s home until fate decides otherwise. Sit. And you, come closer, let me have a better look at you.”

      The ram looked around the strange new environment inquisitively, but stayed resolutely in the doorway. It felt no compulsion to enter the confines of a man-building.

      “A proud warrior,” Mahan said with a nod, his voice full of admiration. “Even when you have to sell your herd, or you lose them, you should never part with the guardian. I have never seen one so big.”

      “It’s from Earthland. The animals there grow larger than here in the Fire Kingdom,” Nill said calmly. He doubted his own words, however: even in Earthland, the ram had been far bigger than the other males.

      “That sounds right.” The old man reached for a slender jug and poured a green liquid into two small cups. His movements were smooth and calculated. Here, where the sun was always bright in the sky and clouds were a rare mercy, the people had learned to move slowly. Nill took a sip and his face contorted. The tea was even more bitter than the one he had drunk at home. Surprisingly, however, it quenched his thirst.

      On the plains, the people were not pressed for time, and so Mahan spoke no more. He had said what he wanted to say, and knew that Nill would continue the conversation after a few moments. He would say where he came from and where he was going, that was the way of guests. Honesty was not required.

      “My name is Nill.” Nill waited for a second in anticipation of the usual surprise upon hearing his name for the first time, but the old man showed no reaction.

      “I come from Earthland, from a small village not far from Metal World. I seek people who understand the script. I have heard that the Fire Kingdom holds such wise folk who understand the gift of writing and reading. But I do not know the kingdom, and so I follow the paths and see where they take me.”