The familiar buzzing and chirping of insects normally present in the quiet of the night, the cries of the birds that awoke with the setting of the sun to fly in search of food-all were missing. Because he had traveled this same route a hundred times, the young man noticed immediately the unusual stillness that seemed to have captivated the entire valley this evening. The huge trees shut out even these, and Flick was left alone in the silent darkness as he moved slowly along the beaten path. The sun had set, leaving only the deep blue of the heavens pinpointed by thousands of friendly stars.
His journey ahead lay through forests and rolling flatlands, the latter not yet visible to him as he passed into the forests, and the darkness of the tall oaks and somber hickories reached upward to overlap and blot out the cloudless night sky. There was a slight chill in the evening air, and Flick clutched the collar of his open wool shirt closer to his neck. He wore the loose-fitting work clothes of the Vale people and in the pack he carded were several metal implements that rolled and clanked loosely against one another.
He was a young man, though his stocky build and the grizzled brown hair and shaggy eyebrows made him look much older. His broad, windburned face bore a set, placid look, and only the wide gray eyes revealed the restless energy that burned beneath the calm exterior. Flick followed the familiar trail with his eyes as he trudged wearily along, his light pack slung loosely over one shoulder. The bail stretched out unevenly down the northern slope, winding through the huge boulders which studded the rugged terrain in massive clumps, disappearing into the thick forests of the lowlands to reappear in brief glimpses in small clearings and thinning spaces of woodland. The Sword of Shannara – Shannara 01 by Terry Brooks Copyright 1977 I The sun was already sinking into the deep green of the hills to the west of the valley, the red and gray-pink of its shadows touching the comers of the land, when Flick Ohmsford began his descent.
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