A/N: Alrighty, about the way they talk. I don't like saying "yeah," because I think it sounds far too modern for this type of story. Plus, as you may see, Elenyil is well educated, and she is the one who taught them both to read and write. Anyway, it took me quite a while to finish this chapter, which was actually done on Sunday, but I didn't get it all typed until today (Tuesday). It introduces something interesting, which is starting to get into some background history. :) Read and review, if you will.

The Sight of the Blind

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Chapter VII: Mysterious Argument

"Followed?" Canolmed exclaimed, slightly alarmed. "By whom?" He left the pony's side, and came to stand behind Evrena.

"Yes, followed," Evrena replied, watching the small figures hurry towards the hill. "I cannot be sure, but it looks to be that man in the grey cloak that was in the marketplace. The one who was looking for us." She looked back to the pony, Minyeraca, and the packs that sat beside them. "Here," she muttered briskly, picking up one of the bags. "We're going to have to carry these. Your Minyeraca won't hold any more." She lifted one of the bags up, not without some difficulty, and helped Canolmed strap it on.

Canolmed hoisted the pack up and got it settled on his back. "What's in here I wonder. It's quite heavy. Stones or the like." He smiled uneasily, but it didn't make him feel much better. He was worried, and tired. They both were.

Shaking her head, Evrena grinned fondly at the boy. "Food, I should think," she replied. "But look. Dorlín and Elenyil are not far now from the hill. We've got to be ready to leave as soon as they reach us, else the grey cloaked man catch up." Taking the other two packs that still sat by the tree, she strapped them to her own back. "Come."

Leading the sturdy pony by the bridle, she made her way through the trees and onto the path down the hill. Canolmed sighed, and followed, keeping a hand on Minyeraca's flank to steady himself on the uneven trail. "Keep low to the ground," Evrena warned quietly. Canolmed nodded. They would stand out against the paler colours of the hill like black birds against a blue sky, and it was best if they were not seen so soon. The grey cloaked man did not yet know what they looked like, and it would be wise to keep it so for as long as possible.

Canolmed held on to the pony's side, comforted by the warm horsehair. He liked animals; they had been something like his only friends before he met Evrena. Animals didn't care whether you could see them or not. And they would listen, and not make bad jokes while you were trying to tell them something important, like some humans would.

Suddenly, Canolmed felt the ground change under his feet. They had reached the bottom of the hill. "Come here," Evrena said urgently. She took Canolmed's and hand wrapped it around the pony's bridle. "Hold on to him." Stepping away from the pony, she called, "Elenyil!" The woman and man were now only a few yards away, well within shouting distance. The girl ran forward, and took Elenyil's arm. The woman had a blue cloth bag slung over one shoulder, and she looked tired.

"Oh, thank Cuvulien. You're both safe." She gave Evrena a quick hug, then hurried towards Canolmed to take him into her arms. Brushing a lock of his pale blonde hair behind his ear, she whispered, "You're all right? You haven't hurt yourself?"

Canolmed smiled and returned the hug. "I haven't hurt myself." It briefly occurred to him to wonder why his mother did not ask why in Elíma they were leaving the city and going off in some unknown direction. But he assumed that Dorlín had told her some of what had happened in the last few hours on their way to the hill. "Are you all right?"

"Oh yes, fine. Did you and Evrena have any trouble getting here?" She turned to Evrena, who had followed her back to where Canolmed and Minyeraca stood, and Dorlín, who had taken up the pony's bridle and was calming him down. "We worried you might have had some trouble finding the hill."

Evrena shook her head. "No trouble finding the hill—that part was easy. We had a bit more difficulty finding Minyeraca, however." She rubbed the pony's head, already feeling attached to the beast.

"How did you know his name was Minyeraca?" Dorlín asked distractedly, checking through the packs on the pony's back. "I don't recall mentioning it. Oh, and give me one of those bags you've got. You don't need to carry them both."

Evrena stared at the man, at a loss for words. "His name really is Minyeraca?" She handed over one of the bags, still staring. "But that was just the name Canolmed gave him. It can't really be his name, can it?" She looked at the boy curiously, wondering what was going on.

Dorlín shook his head, truly amazed. "No, it's his name. It's always been his name, and I've had him for years." They all looked at the boy, awed. "How did you know? Tell me, now!" Dorlín exclaimed loudly.

The boy shrugged, and plucked at his sleeve. "I just did, that's all. He told me. I asked him, and he told me. I don't know quite how. Is that odd?" he wanted to know, feeling something was wrong, something he could not quite comprehend.

"The horse? The horse told you?" Dorlín inquired further, looking hard at Canolmed.

The boy nodded. Elenyil slipped a protective arm around her son's shoulders. "Dorlín, don't frighten him. Everything that's gone on lately is strange enough, he doesn't need one more thing to worry about as well." The woman started accusingly at the tall man. "Besides, does that really seem so odd to you, considering?"

"Considering what?" Canolmed asked, confused and worried.

Dorlín gaped at Elenyil and Canolmed "Do you mean to say that you never told him who he is?" he asked angrily. "Elenyil, by doing this, you have put he and us in great danger. I always knew you judgement was not to be trusted."

"My judgement?" Elenyil exploded furious. "I knew that if I told him, he might say something on accident that would put him in even more danger than he is already. I never expected to see you or the Guild again. I didn't really think it necessary."

"You thought they wouldn't search for you?" Dorlín retorted. "Woman, they have been searching for you for years, ever since you escaped. They have not forgotten, oh no, they have not forgotten at all."

"Calm down," Evrena interrupted, tired of listening to them argue. "You do realise that our pursuer has not stopped to wait while we chat, don't you? This is all very interesting, to be sure, but can't it wait until later?"

Canolmed nodded. Evrena always was the sensible one. "I agree. Much as I would like to know what and who you are talking about, and why you say no one has told me who I am, we are not gaining any ground on that grey cloaked man by standing here. Let us get moving, and quickly."

Elenyil looked around ruefully. "You are right, I suppose. We should go." She kissed Canolmed on the head. "Yes, we should go."