“I’m going to check whether you’re worthy of accompanying me. Here with me is Elgahar, a powerful mage from my land who could reduce you to dust if you don’t respond properly. You, Astherion, tell me who you are and why I should accept you in my group. You said it was to protect me but I can assure you that with Mojak and Flóregund, I have enough protection. If you don’t believe it, they’ll prove it to you themselves,”
Mojak stepped forward, his mace at the ready, the tattoo on his left arm shining sky-blue. Flóregund drew his sword, ready to cut any attacker to pieces.
“I’m…” The centaur started to be nervous under the scrutiny of so many eyes. Several humans, a crystal, two seraphs, and two beings resembling centaurs were studying him closely, awaiting his reply. “I’m… Well, I know these lands like the back of my hand. I know the Gurtha and I know they’re full of tricks and spells. They’re not to be trusted!”
The giant bear did not take offense. “I cannot blame the centaur,” he said. “Most Gurtha are unworthy beings, prone to violence.”
“Then why should she trust you?” Elgahar asked him.
“She does not have to trust me at all,” Riziel replied. “But she wants to get to you know where, so she will have to follow me.”
“The centaur is right,” came a voice. All eyes turned to the fairy. “My name is Amana, for those who don’t know me. Tenchi and Teitú have translated your conversation. I’m the last fairy of Ewald of the world of Farwas who has not been tempted by the God of Chaos. With my magic, I managed to save the Fire of Yoshto, a miracle the saved the Empire of the Fauns. Isn’t that so, Ekimidos?”
“It is true,” the he-goat said. “I can confirm that the fairy is to be trusted.”
“All right, then. Being a fairy,” she explained as she hovered above the ground with her four golden wings. “I have my own powers and I know the centaur is telling the truth. The Gurtha, from what I can see, are a race of beings who worshipped the God of Chaos in the past and, although they promise that now they worship the Goddess of Night, it’s dangerous to trust them.”
She took the girl’s hand in her own. “Luchy,” she said. Luchy looked closely at the fairy. She was old, the wrinkles of her skin were obvious, and not to mention a hooked nose which took up much of her face. Luchy could see a maternal affection in her, which was something that attracted her greatly.
Amana said aloud so everyone could hear her, “So that Luchy can feel safe with the centaur and the Gurtha, I think I should go with her too. Ekimidos and the humans are witnesses that I am a fairy you can trust. You needn’t tell me where we’re going, Luchy. I’ll simply be an extra guardian against the tricks of either of these two.” She jabbed her finger at the centaur and the Gurtha.
“I think it sounds a wonderful idea,” Elgahar said. “I believe the fairy has shown her worth. Don’t you all think so?”
Everybody agreed.
“Perfect,” said Luchy. “Now we have a plan. We’re leaving. Right away! Thank you for everything, Elgahar, Turi, Funia, Tenchi, and everyone else. I’ll miss you. I’m sure our meeting wasn’t by chance. Maybe Mother planned our encounter so that you’d grant me Amana and her protection.”
“Wait a minute,” Astherion put in. “Then you’re not part of the same group? You’re the envoys of Saalma too?”
“I don’t know who Saalma is, Centaur. We have come by the grace of Balthazar. You surely know who he is.”
“Balthazar! By the holiest Dulstar! I’d forgotten about you completely. And now who’s going to take you to Evanescent—Soldiers! Soldiers!” he shouted. Then he turned back to the group. “Wait here, please!”
The centaur shot off down the path they had come by, galloping at full speed. His pace was a furious one, so much so that the Catalgar and the pegasus were impressed. In a few minutes, he was back with the five soldiers who had escorted him to the Temple of Merrem. They did not look too happy.
“Shaama won’t be pleased to hear how you’ve treated us, Erard,” said their leader.
“It was Shaama who ordered you to escort me and follow my orders! Please, all I need is for you to escort these travelers to Evanescent. Take them to Shaama, she’ll know what to do with them.”
“Erard, we can’t—”
“By the life of Aramoon! Take them right away or I’ll personally have you fired!”
The soldiers were murmuring among themselves. The leader said, “Very well, Astherion. We’ll escort the travelers to Evanescent. We’ll inform Shaama of what has happened. We won’t hide the truth.”
“By all means tell her the truth!”
“We’ve already wasted enough time,” Luchy said. “We’re leaving now. Farewell, Elgahar, Turi, Tenchi. We’ll meet again, I hope we will!”
And so both groups went their separate ways, one led by Riziel the Gurtha and the other by the five Gatasclán soldiers.
***
My Lord of Chaos, murmured the voice of his spy across the dimensions.
What is it? said Mórgomiel, eager to hear any news.
I have managed to infiltrate the group, the voice said. I found the envoys. These are the ones who are going to try to rescue the God of Light.
Excellent. Work by stealth and don’t, on any account, let them find you out.
I’ll do that, milord, the voice said. Then it vanished.
Mórgomiel smiled to himself, knowing that soon, very soon, he would be able to checkmate the God of Light once and for all.
Chapter LI — Furies and Delirium
Mórgomiel made a throne of corpses with thousands of bodies. He erected a pyramid so high that it reached the toxic cloud-layer of Furies, the world he had conquered. Delirium, the one he had conquered before coming to Furies, had suffered a similar fate. Previously, the sky of these worlds was composed of clouds of vapor, but now both were clouded with toxic gases from the volcanoes that had risen from their depths. The volcanoes had taken shape as a result of Górgometh’s magic when his deadly breath had made the core of each world boil and created great craters on their surface.
The creation of these volcanoes had not been a coincidence nor had Mórgomiel conquered these two worlds by chance. The inhabitants of each had sworn allegiance to the God of Chaos, but he did not need them to contribute to his army. He needed all of them dead to feed the magic he intended to use to create a legion of orcs. In the world of Furies, he created a thousand million voj. In Delirium, he created another thousand million duj. With two thousand million soldiers as loyal as the orcs, he would torment the Meridian’s inhabitants. There would be more than enough to eliminate them all. In this way, he could spread his chieftains’ efforts throughout the stars. He needed the vorwraiths to concentrate on the submissive planets that were threatening to rebel and launch an uprising.
From the throne, he could glimpse the rivers of orcs moving, training, and creating suits of armor and curved swords in the forges of lava created by the volcanoes. A couple of vorwraiths were helping him to keep order in the lines, create divisions and squads, and train the newly-born orcs so they could perpetrate evil.
“Milord,” he heard the hissing voice of one of his vorwraiths. They had no names or identities of their own. They served darkness and malice alone.
“Speak, serf.”
“The armies are ready, milord.”
Mórgomiel knew that he would win the battle in the Meridian. The taking of it did not worry him at all. It was the question of Alac Arc Ángelo’s whereabouts that was keeping him in a state of anxiety. His spy had infiltrated the group that was going to the God of Light’s aid, but they had not yet reached their destination. Until then, he could not act and what he found most unnerving was not being able to act freely.
“Prepare the legion,” the God of Chaos ordered. “Delirium and Furies will march now. The moment has arrived for the attack on the Meridian. Tell the vorwraith in charge of the Amaranth legion. Leandro the Impostor must be nearing the portal the humans have created. When the armies whic
h intend to lay siege to my planet have surrounded the portal, we’ll attack.”
“So be it, my lord,” the vorwraith said and withdrew, leaving behind him a wake of horrendous shadows.
What would you do without me, Mórgomiel? Argbralius thought. You imagined that I, the human in you, would be useless, but you can see that I’ve given you sensible advice and my suggestions have brought you closer to your goal.
Remember that I was the one who chose you, you arrogant human, Mórgomiel snapped back. I was the one who planted the seed of evil in your soul. He was particularly disturbed because he could not act against Argbralius without harming himself. If he could only do things all over again, he would destroy that human’s soul immediately so that this could never happen.
Chapter LII — The Chimera and Its Wise Words
“Gorsbath is full of dangers,” the Gurtha explained. “It’s a land with only one king, but there are so many clans and groups there seeking to establish their rule that it’s been impossible for us to have a central government like the centaurs.”
The fairy glanced suspiciously at the giant bear from time to time. She trusted him very little. He certainly had a very smooth tongue and if there was one thing she had learned in the course of her long years it was that the people—or in this case, a giant bear—who talked too much usually had something to hide.
Luchy turned to glance at the fairy whenever she could, searching in her gaze for signs of distrust. Until now, the centaur Astherion had said very little. But that was true of Mojak as well and she trusted him with her life. The centaur seemed to be alarmed and frightened like a lost child who only wants to get back home.
The earth was very black in this area, and in this arid soil there grew some interesting plants with purple stems and pointed leaves with neither flower nor fruit. The plants could move at odd angles and often caught small vermin with little nets stretched between their abundant leaves. The place reminded Luchy of the wild forests she had seen in Devnóngaron except that it lacked Mother’s grace and the magic of beautiful vegetation. This place seemed to be dying as if an evil force had ruled here for thousands of years.
“Who goes there!?” Mentally, Teitú translated the cry of alarm for those who did not speak the language.
“Xargas, my good mercenary,” said the skinny bear who was their guide.
Blocking the path in front of them were a group of twenty well-armed bears walking on their hind legs. When they walked like this, the Gurtha looked like human babies learning to walk. They did not specialize in a two-legged gait, but when they stood up, the beasts were enormous. They were armed with double-headed axes, spears, and maces.
“Riziel,” the mercenary said. Nobody except Astherion and Riziel understood the look on the mercenary’s face, since the others did not know how to read the Gurtha. There was fear.
“Come on, Xargas,” Riziel said. “You know I’m just on my way back to my humble abode.”
“Every time our ways cross, I feel ten times more accursed than I already am.” Xargas turned to the soldiers. “For those new to the brigade, this is Riziel, a treacherous Gurtha who has sought less sober ways and found strange paths toward achieving his goals. Isn’t that so, Riziel? Keep away from this one. We’re leaving. See you never!”
The mercenaries disappeared as fast as they had appeared. Riziel turned and said, “That was odd, very odd.”
“Stop!” said Luchy. Beside her, the fairy, Mojak, and Flóregund, stopped too. “Where are you taking me to?”
“Where you want to go.”
“If this is a trap or some evil trick, I promise you my comrades will reduce you to an unrecognizable pulp.”
“Does the warrior from another world suppose I don’t know that? Look at my body. I’m a rickety Gurtha without the strength of yore. I can’t fight. Mojak could shatter my brains with the strength he has in that tattoo, couldn’t he? Well, there you are. If anything happens that you don’t like, tell him to crush me. It’s a good thing you don’t trust me, I told you that myself. But that’s the reason you’re bringing your guardians, isn’t it? By Norcal, let’s proceed because there’s not much time left for your errand. I can already see the jewel on your ring twinkling more intensely. It’s a good sign. Wouldn’t you say?”
Luchy looked down at her ring. It was true. The jewel was twinkling faster and brighter. They were getting close! In case the giant bear was lying or leading them into a trap, there was enough evidence to show they were going in the right direction.
He’s not to be trusted, but he’s not evil, Teitú said in Luchy’s mind.
Can you get into his head?
I tried, but I couldn’t manage it easily.
Then he’s a sorcerer. Be careful, Teitú. Don’t get too close to this one’s mind. We don’t know what it might do to you.
The fairy was observing the interaction between Luchy and the Naevas Aedán, fascinated by the way they exchanged thoughts.
“This place stinks,” Flóregund said suddenly. “It reminds me of all the dark places we visited where Mórgomiel has exerted his influence.” He gave their guide a murderous glance.
“We Gurtha formerly worshipped the God of Chaos, it’s true. We’re not like the centaurs. We don’t have Erards in charge of reading the stars, and we don’t have temples where the believers can go to pray. Each clan and group has their way of worshipping the Goddess of Night. There are a few who still support the God of Chaos, but I can assure you I’m not one of them. Now let’s be on our way. We’re still a few days from our destination, my friends.”
Astherion stopped in front of the Gurtha. “The deeper we go into the land of the Gurtha, the less hope we have of leaving there alive,” he said. He hated the Gurtha and all his efforts were directed toward changing the group’s course. “I propose we turn around and go back to meet the Jubilatus, where your comrade from another world will be asking for legions. When these have been summoned, maybe we can get one of them to accompany us to wherever this treacherous Gurtha is taking us.”
The giant bear replied without either fear or resentment. “I assure you that I’m none of those things you’re accusing me of. I’ve promised to take you where you want to go, and that’s what I’m doing. If you’ve come in haste, you need to keep moving.”
“I’m with the centaur,” Flóregund said. His words were translated by Teitú. “Go back to fetch some backup and a whole division of soldiers as well, just to be on the safe side.”
Mojak said nothing.
The fairy fluttered close to the elf. “In other circumstances, I would agree. But as we made our decision a while ago, we must get there right away before the Times of Chaos reach their climax. It isn’t destiny that’s brought us together, Luchy. I’ve come to make sure Mórgomiel doesn’t set a trap for you and if Riziel is one of his chieftains, then I’m sure that Mojak, Flóregund, Teitú, and I can deal with him. Up until now, I haven’t detected anything that doesn’t fit about the bear, though that doesn’t mean he couldn’t still ambush us sometime soon.”
Luchy’s heart was torn in two. She was so close to her goal and yet so far from it that carrying on seemed to be the only thing she could do. Besides, the jewel in her ring was twinkling faster and more brightly. She was closer to Manchego than ever before.
In any case, going back leagues to meet a bunch of politicians sounded an appalling prospect. Though she did not trust this strange bear, she knew that this was the right path to take. And apart from that, she did not know whether if, when she met the politicians of the centaur nation, they would want to capture her and clap her in a dungeon or say she was out of her mind and needed to be treated by healers. That would certainly mean wasting a great deal of time!
It’s true, Teitú said in her mind. You’re not imagining it and Riziel hasn’t lied to you. The jewel is twinkling faster and brighter. We’re getting close to him!
Luchy’s heart glowed, and her eyes lit up like stars. She knew she had to go on. Her allies wou
ld protect her from any danger.
“I’ve made up my mind,” she said. “We’ll continue towards our destination.”
The giant bear smiled. The centaur was bitter but said nothing more. He followed the group, waiting to see what the bear was going to show them.
***
Elgahar had never seen a city so advanced and organized with a population so peaceful where everyone seemed to be prosperous. It was nighttime and the night seemed to last forever. The centaurs explained was because of the season of the Íoros. They pointed out that it was the result of the three moons in alignment and the suns which were hidden behind the planet, giving the reigning light its purple hue and the appearance of twilight. It was daytime, but nobody was working because it was a time for celebration. The Jubilatus was still at work, and they had to get there before it was too late and the members left for their homes.
They had been walking for several days to get there. Several centaurs in groups who were studying the stars through long tubes had taken an interest in the bipeds and companions, including the pegasus and the giant he-goat. Word spread that a group of foreign beings had arrived in Evanescent and for some, it was a bad omen. Never had anything of the kind happened before.
The Erards of each city, on the other hand, were not impressed. Upon hearing the news, they immediately scanned the ether. They found that the distant stars and other celestial objects were sending signs that foreigners would indeed be visiting their planet and that Chaos was advancing. The spread of the shadows was an undeniable fact.
At last, the travelers found themselves before the Jubilatus. None of the members of the Committee had ever heard of the concept of a republic and they needed someone to explain it in detail, even though they knew they would not get a full explanation until after the coming war to save the universe. If anyone was likely to understand such a concept, it would be Gáramond, the only person with enough patience to grasp matters as complex as this.
Necromancer’s Sorrow: (Series Finale) Page 49
