Chapter 46Hawklan bent over his fallen friend and examined him urgently. But his hands and his healing told him nothing. Whatever had brought Isloman low was beyond his knowledge. All that remained was Isloman’s own judgement: ‘Get me away from here.’
The journey back to the horses, however, was a waking nightmare as the three of them struggled desperately with Isloman’s limp bulk, while the brightening summer sun and the splendour of the emerging mountain scenery seemed to mock them.
Driven by his concern for his friend and his own feeling of impotence, Hawklan found the inevitable slowness of the descent unbearable. Twice he slipped in his haste. Once slithering incongruously down a damp grassy slope and, another time, more seriously, missing his footing on moss-slimed rock.
Tel-Odrel
