Tenchi was floating among the travelers, but not at the level of the Jubilatus on their raised dais from where they looked down at them. When the spokesperson of the Jubilatus had spoken, Teitú translated.
“Let your leader approach.”
Elgahar stepped forward. He was wearing his blue gown, newly washed and mended in Farwas, and his hat of the same color. “Balthazar came long before us to inform you of our intentions. Have you considered his proposal? To oppose the advance of evil, we ask you to grant us a legion of several thousand. The monoliths of the Cristalur culture in the world of Crallys have provided us with a hundred thousand soldiers.” As he spoke, he made exaggerated hand gestures in case his words did less than justice to the sheer volume of soldiers.
After this, he invited Tagulumich to step forward and present himself to the Jubilatus. The great crystal shone rose-pink inwardly and emitted vibrations that he entrusted Tenchi to translate.
“A few days ago,” Elgahar said, inviting the he-goat to step forward. “We were on a world called Farwas where we visited the Hoomasaas Empire. It is occupied by a race called the Catalgar who are giant he-goats, as you can see from the example of Ekimidos. His government has provided us with fifty thousand soldiers ready for battle.”
Ekimidos bowed in respect, pressing his fist to his chest and lowering his head so that they could see his curving horns. The centaurs were more impressed by the Catalgar than by any of the others, although they also looked at the Dolfas Perófias curiously.
“My name is Ekimidos, Centurion of the Iptaan Ulrica, whom I serve. I have joined the Committee here present, and I bear witness to the facts the mage has told you.”
“My name is Perófias of the Dolfas of the world Farwas. I bear witness to the facts recounted by Elgahar and verified by Ekimidos.”
The Jubilates were speechless. When the winged horse spoke, Laláe nearly fainted and Shamaa sighed in admiration. The sight of winged horses was certainly impressive. But this one, instead of the chest and torso of a centaur, had a long, elegant neck and a hornless muzzle. He was beautiful.
“My name is Uinoé,” said the one who had addressed them. “The Jubilatus has been considering Balthazar’s proposal for weeks, although he did not explain his intentions clearly. He said you would bring further information and your allies would help convince us. I do not see allies but a group of strange uncivilized bipeds with terrible manners and a winged horse. A being that frightens me, to be honest,” he finished insolently.
Shamaa had had enough of Uinoé by now. Since she had offered help to Astherion, he had behaved coldly and aggressively toward her. It had revealed Uinoé’s true personality and it was obvious that he felt himself to be the leader. How wrong he was! Now he was insulting these people from other worlds, an unwise policy that revealed him as nothing more than a spoiled brat. This kind of behavior could not go unchallenged.
She interrupted Uinoé. “The great Balthazar came with great intentions. His journey and his message were welcomed and well-received by all of us, the Jubilatus, in charge of managing the political and social concerns of the Republic of Gatasclán. There are seven of us Jubilates, my dear travelers, and we are all equal in status. None has greater authority than the others.” She turned to look at Uinoé, who was burning with rage.
Laláe, Uiala, and Diobée bowed respectfully, seeing that Shamaa had defied Uinoé. Meinoa, always Uinoé’s ally, remained impassive.
“Thank you for your good wishes, and for receiving what we call the Interworld Committee.”
Elgahar explained in detail how the Committee had come into being. After that, he introduced Chirllp of Gardak, Ushka of the Dakatak, Unna of Devnóngaron, Khad’Un of Doolm-Ondor, Merkas of Moragald’Burg, Amon Ras of the Divine Providence, and their translator Tenchi of Allündel.
“Impressive,” Shamaa said, her eyes wide as saucers. “So the armies are gathering to fight Mórgomiel when he arrives in your world. Why should he arrive in your world and not, say, in ours? Why not invite all those wonderful armies to the Terigión? We would receive them gladly, I can assure you. Our legions would help to repel him.” For the first time, Uinoé began to show some interest.
Elgahar explained the obvious reason, which the Jubilatus understood immediately.
“The idea of besieging Mórgomiel’s world is as horrifying as it is inspired,” Uiala said. “How many soldiers do you want? The legions of Gatasclán have been idle for fifty years since the peace signed between us and our enemy at the border, the Gurtha of Gorsbath. Perhaps our soldiers can serve some better purpose than sitting around doing nothing, putting on weight while we spend money on their upkeep.”
“You would be sending them to a certain death!” yelled Meinoa.
“Death is assured for all of us,” Elgahar countered. “If we don’t act soon, if we don’t stand up to Mórgomiel with all our strength, the whole universe will burn. The souls of the innocent will be consumed by the Black Arts and used as the motive power for evil spells. Then Mórgomiel will descend upon every world, every moon, every sun, with all his fury, brandishing Wrath the Godslayer and riding his horrifying dragon, Górgometh. In the process, his fury will be mercilessly unleashed, consuming everything in his path. He will not forgive you. Those who trust that Mórgomiel will not detect them are mistaken. You. Meinoa. Do you believe you’ll be safe from the wrath of the God of Chaos? Nobody is safe. We fight now or never. Choose.
“There’s no time for debate. We need an answer now. That’s why Balthazar came much earlier so that you’d be able to think about it and come to a decision by the time we came. We’re grateful for your warm welcome, but with all due respect, we must continue our mission if we want to stop Mórgomiel.”
“You never will,” Uinoé said. “Mórgomiel is invincible.”
They all turned to look at the Jubilate.
Shamaa, for the first time in her career as a Jubilate, was seeing Uinoé pale and fearful. All the anger, rage, and acting like a despot; was it all an act?
“We’re lost. We’re all lost. There’s no sense in fighting Mórgomiel. Let us enjoy the life we have left before everything ends with a sudden blow. The end is nigh. The end is nigh!”
Shamaa took control of the situation. “Well now, here we are. This is when we make decisions. We have no time to deliberate, as the mage says. Take note, Elgahar, that in Gatasclán, magic is seen as heresy, but we understand that you come from another world and that without it, nothing of what you’ve achieved would be possible. In this Republic, we’ve wasted too many hours on thought. We all know that the advance of darkness is inexorable, and this is something that the Erard Astherion has proved to us. We must support the cause and be brave. I vote that half of our legions are to march with you to the world of the humans. By the God of Dust, we’re going to war.”
“I vote for sending the whole army,” Laláe said.
“We can’t send it all,” Loiluu objected. “We ought to keep a few thousand to defend the motherland. Unprotected, can you imagine what the Gurtha would do to us?”
“Well said. Three-quarters of the centaur army will be enough,” Meinoa said. Seeing Uinoé, whom he had so much admired, broken and whimpering, he had decided to join Shamaa’s side.
“Three-quarters it shall be,” said Shamaa. “Wait a moment, though. How do you plan to call up three hundred thousand centaurs, fully armed, weapons and all? It’s not as if you live on the other side of the river.”
“I am a mage of great power, your honor. I will create a portal that will transport the army straight to the Portal of the Worlds where your generals and legions will be cordially welcomed by the emissaries who are ready to receive the foreign armies.”
“The deal is settled then,” said Shamaa. “It is signed with our word and our honor. And I vote for Uinoé’s dismissal. For so many years, he behaved impossibly and now we can see that he is a coward. He is not fit to govern.”
Meinoa was the first to abandon his supposed friend. “I
vote aye.”
“I vote aye,” came four other voices.
“Uinoé, Jubilate of the Jubilatus, you are officially dismissed from your post as Jubilate. Let it be recorded in the books and may his post be occupied by a braver centaur. As a member of the Jubilatus of Gatasclán, I declare the Interworld Committee guests in perpetuity, assuming my colleagues agree, so that they may drink, eat, rest, and visit our Republic at their pleasure.”
Elgahar and the others were very pleased with those words, but it was the mage himself who interrupted the good wishes. “With all due respect, your honor, please start raising your legions. The march to our world must begin as soon as possible. As we say in my land, it should have begun yesterday.”
“As soon as possible it will be done,” Shamaa said. “Spread the word.”
“Give this copper coin to your general,” Elgahar added. “He will have to present it when he crosses the portal.”
***
Astherion was puzzled. They had gone so far into Gorsbath that if he were to get lost and separated from the group, he would have no way of returning to Gatasclán. He had lied. He had said that he knew the way like the back of his hand. It was untrue but he had done so to join the group and offer something to Luciella, the warrior chosen by Saalma from another world.
“I think it’s the first time an Erard has been so far away from home,” Riziel said with a mocking smile. On the face of the bear, it was more like a threat because he bared his sharp teeth as he parted his lips.
“It’s a unique and important occasion,” Astherion said. He was nervously avoiding plants and trying not to trip in the arid, hostile terrain. Some animals, particularly large predators, had taken an interest in the travelers. Astherion had the feeling that they were not coming any closer because of Riziel’s presence. The moment they glimpsed him and scented him, they ran off in haste as if he were a threat to be avoided at all costs.
For Astherion, this was the second sign that the guide was more than a mere Gurtha. He might be a messenger, but he must have left his mark in these arid lands for the large predators to leave him in peace. He watched the Gurtha carefully and was becoming more convinced that the bear was someone to be wary of.
Luchy was exhausted, but Amana’s presence comforted her in a way that neither Mojak nor Flóregund had managed to. Perhaps it was because they were men and she needed a woman at this point. The fairy of Ewald reminded her of her mother, too. She felt close to her, and in only a few days, she had managed to put her trust in the old woman. She knew that Mojak did not approve of this and Flóregund was jealous. But when had Flóregund not been jealous? And Mojak… Well, he was Mojak. He trusted nobody by nature. Luchy valued both of them very much. She even held Mojak close to her heart, like her older brother who had died during the siege of San San-Tera. As for Flóregund, well, he was an excellent companion. A little naïve perhaps, but she had learned to trust him too with her life. But they were not like the fairy in that unique, special way that only a grandmother can achieve. Yes, that was it. Luchy felt that Amana was like her granny. Everybody knows there is nothing like the love and support a grandmother can provide. How was Mojak or Flóregund to compete with someone who reminded her of her granny? Impossible.
Riziel studied every member of the group with special interest and without any scruples. He would stare at Astherion until he made the centaur feel uncomfortable, and any hostile reaction did not bother him in the least. On the other hand, he spoke at length with Amana, discussing trivial matters like the weather, comparing differences and similarities between Ewald and Gorsbath. The bear and the fairy seemed to be establishing a friendship, which Luchy took as a good sign.
“The fairy comes on to the scene and Luchy cuts herself off. What’s happened?” Flóregund was resting a few steps away from where Luchy was sitting beside the fairy, hugging her as if she were indeed her grandmother. The fairy was petting her and playing with her hair.
Teitú was flying around them all like a guardian dog.
“What are you thinking, Mojak?” the elf asked in his language. “I know you can’t speak, but you must have some thoughts about this.”
Mojak replied in thought. Luchy has been alone for a long time. Her parents were murdered in front of her eyes many years ago. Her beloved was tortured in front of her and after years of not seeing him, he appeared and asked her to marry him, and then disappeared again. Now we are searching for him and we seem to be coming to the final stretch.
“That’s true,” Flóregund said. He was watching Luchy. It did not sit well with him that she was so close to the old woman with golden wings and a big nose. He could not see anything special in her. She was just an old woman. The elf sighed. “It irks me,” he whispered so that the fairy would not hear him. “The fact that this fairy appears and suddenly all Luchy wants to do is sit around, doing nothing with her. What the heck?”
She might just be resting, Mojak thought. Perhaps she has managed to loosen up a little after all this intensity we’ve been through for so many weeks. We have been through horrors, elf. We have killed countless demons and overcome innumerable obstacles. It has not been easy. Wouldn’t you like to find a place to rest? To find peace? If your heart were broken, bursting with a love you haven’t seen and don’t know whether you will ever see again, wouldn’t you be as tired as she is? I think you’re judging her wrongly,
Even so, I agree with you, he went on. I don’t trust either the giant bear, this Gurtha called Riziel, or the fairy. The bear has hidden powers and I can’t read them. I’d say the same about Amana of Ewald. I don’t know why I can’t read her. I can’t fathom who she is or what her intentions are. But if Luchy has accepted her, it must be for a good reason. Let’s be true to our mission. We promised to protect Luchy at all costs against any threat, no matter what. So, let’s do exactly that. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears perked. If something goes wrong, we must act and protect Luchy, come what may.”
Flóregund touched his ears. “Are you criticizing my ears because they’re pointed?”
Don’t be daft, elf. It’s a saying. Keeping your ears perked means to be alert.
The elf blushed. ”Ah.”
I’m worried about her, came Teitú’s thoughts. She’s so weak and relaxed. I don’t think it’s a good idea that she should be relaxing just as we’re about to reach our goal.
Luchy was asleep. For the first time in what seemed like months, she was able to rest in every sense. During the whole mission, and until this moment, shutting her eyes had not necessarily meant resting. She had always been full of worries. But with the fairy, her mind was blank and she could simply be.
Amana was small in stature; she did not even reach as far as Luchy’s waist when they were both standing up. She was such a wise little old lady, so knowledgeable about all the good and evil of the world. Her presence was something divine, a gift of the Gods. Luchy slept and dreamed of beautiful things. When she woke up, she knew she was safe, even though the disgusting bear was watching her with those deep eyes that thought and considered so much. Why were his eyes so inquisitive? How did a giant bear get to be so intelligent?
She turned to look at the jewel on her finger, then started and leaped to her feet. Her eyes brimmed with tears and her face crumpled. The jewel was twinkling faster and faster! It even seemed to have generated a tiny arrow that, like a compass, pointed north. In this case, it was pointing to where Manchego was. It had to be!
“It can’t be! We’re close! Thank you, thank you, Master Bear. Let’s go and get him! We have to go and get him. He’s so close! We’re so close to completing our mission and saving him… I can’t go on… can’t go on any more…”
She fell to her knees and her face darkened. They were all held there expectantly, wordlessly. At last, the girl looked up and her emerald eyes seemed to burn. That was the gaze Mojak had been missing, the look Flóregund had not seen in so many days, the look he thought had been extinguished. The gaze of their leader, the warrior
, the chosen one.
“Let’s go on,” she said. Without ado, she took the lead.
Riziel turned to Amana with a glance that said, “Wonderful!” and they followed the girl at a brisk pace. Luchy seemed to be flying toward her goal, following the direction indicated by the tiny arrow of light which the jewel was generating.
Astherion, Mojak, and Flóregund wasted no time in catching up with their leader with Teitú flying around them all the way.
The jewel began to pulsate like a heart in love. Instead of pointing in one direction as it had done for a long while, it now seemed to point in all of them at once.
“We’ve arrived,” Luchy said. “It’s here.” In front of her, there was only a dais and an altar of the same arid stone. They had climbed several mountains, and finally, they had to climb what seemed to be the highest peak of all. Here, the wind was intense and the cold fierce, but the clothes the elves had given her protected her from more than the weather.
“Teitú!” Luchy shouted, blinking in the intense wind. “We’ve arrived!”
Where is he? came the thought of the Naevas Aedán. I thought we’d find a portal or something.
“Indeed we have arrived,” Riziel answered. “Welcome to Tempus Novus, the portal to Tempus Frontus, guarded for thousands of years by the mighty Exzalsor.”
“And this mighty Exzalsor of whom you speak, where is he hiding?” asked Amana. “There’s nothing here but rocks and an old dais which might once have held a portal.” The fairy flew to take a closer look at the altar and the dais where the portal should have been. She flew low so the hostile wind would not buffet her. A strong gust was more than enough to send her flying in the wrong direction, which might mean the end of her. The same was true of Teitú.
“Not all that glitters is gold. Not all that wanders is lost,” the great bear said. Teitú shone the color of melancholy, a deep purple. The giant bear was concentrating his gaze on the Naevas Aedán.
Those words were uttered by Nordost! The guardian of Tempus Frontus!
Necromancer’s Sorrow: (Series Finale) Page 50
