>>5976801>>5976809>>5976819>>5976829You sheathe the blade again and look one last time at the corpse. It is bad luck to leave a dead body out in the open like this, but it will take too long to bury him or to gather the stones necessary to make a cairn. Instead you make the sign of the tower and the wheel in the air, and run back out into the trees.
There is a stream not too far from here and you head there first, to wash the scabbard. A blade as a well-made as this might fetch a kingly price, but you cannot help but covet it for yourself. How often have you imagined yourself as one of the cavaliers of Riverstone, waging battle astride their winged steeds against the dread Falcons of the West.
Once the scabbard has been thoroughly rinsed, you dry it with the hem of your tunic and slip it beneath your clothes. The cold pommel tapping against your bare chest sends a pleasant shiver through your body.
Drawing close to stone watchtower upon the hill, you think of what to say to its lonely inhabitant, Delaney Halfhand. It is certain he will ask you where you found the sword, and then you will have to tell him about the corpse, and about the black arrow in his stomach (which you're afraid might have come from the hairy goblins that once lived in those woods). And what if the man is someone of importance, one of the old Barons? Then old Delaney will have to journey to Riverstone and you'll not only lose the sword but fail in your true purpose, to learn from him the art of its use. But to lie is a grave sin, and to lie to one of the lord's men (which the old watchman still is, however lowly his station) a crime punishable by flogging.
>What do you do?[ ] Admit no more than your finding the sword in the woods. It is the truth, after all, and the part which you've left out will not harm anyone.
[ ] Make up a story about inheriting the sword from a distant uncle. It's unlikely Delaney will take the trouble to confirm the story and you've never put much stock in avoiding sins.
[ ] The cavaliers of Riverstone would never lie and neither will you. You've always been a straight and honest boy and choose to remain sinless.
[ ] Other
