The Thunder King (Bell Mountain) by Lee Duigon

all the rest of Obann perishes. Obann without the Temple isn’t Obann.
    “If this Thunder King is half the man I take him for, he’ll be shrewd enough to realize that if he destroys the Temple, he won’t destroy God. No—all he’ll do is turn God loose among the people, not bound to this Temple anymore. Not bound to us, not bound to our interpretation of the Scriptures. God will be free. The people will be free to make of Him anything they please.
    “Whether God exists or not, He has been God in this land since time began. If He is cut loose from the Temple, there’s no telling what form He’ll take. If you think we have a plethora of prophets now, that’s nothing. Imagine what we’d have without the Temple to control it.”
    He leaned back in the chair and gasped. His face went pale. Orth helped him out of the chair and spent all his strength getting him back to his bed. There Reesh fell into a fitful sleep before he could be undressed and changed into his silken sleeping robe.
    “We are all surely damned, First Prester,” Orth said, although Lord Reesh couldn’t hear him. “Even so, it’s better than being burnt alive in the ruins of the Temple.”
    He could not pray that night, nor any other night for a very long time afterward.
     

CHAPTER 13
The Walls of Obann
    Cavall was a big dog, bigger than Ryons himself. Big and brown, with curly hair, massive jaws, and big feet, he looked perfectly capable of taking down a bear and devouring a horse. He came home in time for supper, which for him was a bowlful of mush—the same supper Mary served herself and her guest. A well-brought-up person would not have eaten it, but Ryons did.
    “Eat up; it’ll give you strength,” Mary said. “It’s mostly venison, with a bit of possum to give it flavor. The hunters ’round here like me to make it for them, especially in the winter.”
    After their meal, the old woman made a clucking noise and the dog came and sat in front of her.
    “Now listen, Cavall.” She spoke to it as if it were another human being. “This is Ryons, the boy from the dream. You remember me telling you about it. Tomorrow you must go with him and lead him out of the forest so he can get to Obann. Your job will be to guard him. Stick with him, and don’t let him come to any harm.” She put her hands on the dog’s large head. “Don’t scruff it up—you hear?”
    Ryons could have sworn the dog nodded.
    “You can set out first thing tomorrow morning, Your Kingship. I’ll give you some bread to carry along, and Cavall will hunt for you until you get the hang of it. I see you didn’t think to bring any weapons. That was foolish! I can let you have a knife, but I wish you had a bow and arrows.
    “You sleep with Cavall tonight. Sorry, but I’m too old to sleep on the floor, so you can’t have my bed. Anyhow, you might as well get used to sleeping with him. You’ll be thankful to have him around, before long.”
    Night came quickly in the forest, and the old woman went early to bed. She snored. The huge dog curled up in another corner and made no protest when Ryons, after putting it off for a while, lay down with him. Ryons hadn’t much experience with dogs, except as ferocious scavengers lurking around Wallekki camps. Those a fellow had to keep clear of.
    He lay listening to the noises of the forest, much more pleasing now that he was in a cabin with a thatch roof over his head. Any number of creatures rustled around in the thatch—mostly mice, he supposed.
    Before he knew it, Merry Mary was prodding him with her cane, telling him to get up. The dog was already up and stretching, and a grey light of dawn was in the room.
    “Don’t make me bend over, Little King. I won’t be able to straighten up again!” She laughed at her own remark. “Get up and have your breakfast, and then away with you.”
    She fed him boiled eggs and bread with wild honey. Cavall went to a corner to sniff noisily at an old broom. A black snake crawled out from