The Riddle-Master of Hed (Riddle-Master #1) (1976)

Morgon leaves the small farming island he rules to seek answers that draw him across stranger lands. McKillip makes a homeland's ordinary attachments felt against the demands of a widening quest, with riddles and old knowledge altering how the route is understood. For readers who enjoy an elusive, mythic journey rather than a fully explained itinerary. This is the first part of a continuous trilogy, not a self-contained expedition.