Read Ritual of the Stones (Ballad of Frindoth) for Free Online Page A

easily provided most of the
trade; opposite these stood a dilapidated wooden
building that used to house a carpenter and the Green Stag Inn.
    Rhact eyed the empty building longingly. It had not been a
carpenter’s since Keelo Brom had retired four years ago and his two apprentices
had left Longcombe to find work in the cities. He had designs to take over the
building himself, however, as Kiana repeatedly pointed out to him, Longcombe
did not have any visitors as it was, so owning a large shop to sell fancy
candles would be a waste of time.
    Rhact knew she was right, but he also knew he was better than your
average candle maker and dreamed of owning a far larger shop than the cramped
space he occupied now. Most of the time he was forced to travel to Compton to
sell his sticks.
    Interspersed amongst these were various smaller shops:
cordwainers, woodworkers, fletchers, etcetera, and market stalls that mostly
sold food grown in the nearby fields or carders and dyers that worked on
clothes made in the villagers’ own homes. Rhact noticed that some people who
could not cram themselves onto the Green hung from every window overlooking the
stage in anticipation of what the mayor had to say.
    Rhact stood toward the back of the crowd on a box he was forced to
go back and fetch upon seeing the sheer volume of people that had amassed
already. He caught sight of Kiana who was next to Janna and was talking to
Mertyn’s wife Tyra. As if sensing his gaze, she turned and looked up at him and
scowled. She was obviously not impressed with how long he’d taken to get ready.
    Rhact had already heard several fantastical stories detailing the
witch's past exploits and how powerful she was. He was particularly amused to
listen to two elder men tell a young boy the witch had once turned a man’s skin
inside out for merely looking at her the wrong way. The men spared no detail as
the boy’s eyes grew wide open with fear. Rhact sighed and turned his attention
to the mayor as he cleared his throat.
    “People
of Longcombe, I have been mayor of this village for five years. During that
time, I have never experienced such a heavy heart as I have today. As a mayor,
you want to inspire your people to greatness, my aim has always to put
Longcombe on the map, to make others in Frindoth know of our community and all
it can offer. To—”
    “Get
on with it,” cried an onlooker.
    “Yeah,
cut the crap, Pinky,” shouted another.
    Anger
flashed in the mayor’s eyes. He steadied himself and continued, “No doubt you
have all heard the news. I can confirm that the rumours are true. This year,
the Ritual of the Stones will directly impact us.” Despite everyone being fully
aware of this, people still gasped as the mayor confirmed it. A steady murmur
grew amongst the crowd until Mayor Pinkleton once again signalled for silence.
“You are all aware of the Law. Whoever is selected must proceed to Lilyon
before the solstice. It is their duty to Frindoth, The Gloom must be appeased.”
    Angry
protests began immediately.
    “What
has Frindoth ever done for Longcombe?”
    “Why
should we sacrifice one of our own?”
    “The
Gloom will never find us here, the people of Frindoth can’t even find us!” Despite
the gravity of the situation the last outburst was greeted with a ripple of
laughter and caused Mayor Pinkleton to clench his fists. Most of the villagers shook
their heads at the comments. They all knew that when it came down to it, there
was nothing they could do to get out of doing their duty. Even if they intended
to disobey the Law, the witch was there to accompany them back to Lilyon.
    Rhact
noticed the crowd had begun to part towards the front of the stage. One by one,
men and women who were facing the stage were tapped on the shoulder. They
turned, their faces registered surprise and then they made way. A small cloaked
figure walked through the parted crowd. The green cloak the figure wore was
unremarkable, and certainly nothing about it