Pages of Pain p-1

by Troy Denning

  With that, the tanar'ri snatched the Thrasson into his arms and turned up the passage. Theseus smiled at his newfound weapon, then glanced over his own body and frowned. He still had twice as many pods as Karfhud, and all of them were black. Pains Of The Spirit

  The fog drags across my face, coarse and sour as damp wool, heavy with the smell of blood and cleaved bone and entrails strewn across gray waters. The streets murmur with the sound of whimpering children and the rasp of tiny claws scraping raw bone, with the disbelieving groans of the slow and the foolish and the unlucky. The night air is cold for Sigil; my breath shoots yellow and steamy from my mouth, and from the tips of my steel halo depend crimson icicles.

  I am disappointed-1 admit that, and freely-but only in myself, only in my failure to see what is obvious. The wine woman has been helping him all along: it was she who lured Tessali and his guards out of Rivergate, it was she who led him to Karfhud, and – though I need not tell you – it can only be the wine woman who revealed the pods to him. Wine has that power over men, I know; it makes clear to them what they otherwise do not see at all.

  Still, I must ask you why.

  Sympathy for the Thrasson, I understand. He is the Amnesian Hero, and ever are you mortals searching for heroes. But what of Poseidon? Is not aid to this battered castaway…

  (Do not think me fool enough to call him Theseus, for well do I know the legend: how he was gotten on Aethra by two fathers at once, King Aegeus and the god Poseidon; how he found Aegeus's sandals and sword beneath a boulder and cleared the road of robbers as he walked to Athens to claim his birthright; how he narrowly escaped death at the poisoning hands of his father's jealous queen; how he sailed to the land of King Minos and, with the aid of the king's own daughter Ariadne, entered the labyrinth and slew the terrible Minotaur; how he forgot Ariadne on the isle of Naxos and in his distress neglected to signal his safe return, so grieving his father that the king threw himself off a cliff – a clever way to usurp a throne, was it not? How he bequeathed democracy upon his city… I know the whole legend, this and much more, so do not think to fool me into calling this addle-brained, hand-footed castaway Theseus!)

  …aid to the King of Seas? If the Amnesian Hero and Theseus are the same, then is his mother not Aethra? Are the memories in the amphora not tme, and if true for him, then not also true for me? You must see where that will lead: back to the banks of the River Lethe, to the dark thieving waters and the question that must not be answered.

  So I must ask again, did you send her, and why? Gray Waters

  Bruised palm slapping stony ground and leg still throbbing from ankle to hip, the Thrasson hobbles through the rocky gorge as best he can, hissing his breath between clenched teeth and clutching his star-forged sword tightly in his hand. On all his companions he sees pods and ichor: green ooze dripping from Tessali's stumps, emerald and ruby husks throbbing on Jayk's shadowy breast, ebony slime and white blisters clinging everywhere to Silverwind, yellow hulls squeezing out beneath Karfhud's back-satchel, black burrs cleaving to his own breast. Despite his pain, despite all the pain clinging to his companions, he thinks of nothing but the fiend's bitter wine, of the wine woman's return, of folding her into his arms and…

  First, there is a battle to win, an amphora to recover, memories to reclaim, a woman's name to recall, a fiend to fell, and maps to steal. After the victory, there will time for drinking and celebrating and lovemaking, the Thrasson is quite certain. To best a tanar'ri lord, to rescue a lost love, to escape the Lady's mazes, all in one day, all with a hand for a foot and only cripples and barmies for a war party, will be his greatest feat yet. The gods themselves will sing praises to the name of Theseus!

  A hero's spirit, they say, never breaks.

  But will it shatter?

  Karfhud's pace has been slowing for some time, and now he has stopped before an irregular circle of darkness hanging on the side of the gorge. The blackened area could have been a cave, save for the scorch marks on the opposite wall of the passage. The fiend has furled his map, bent his arm around at that impossible angle and stuffed the roll into his satchel.

  "Prepare yourselves," he said, pulling out an unmarked parchment. "We are entering Sheba's lair."

  With that, the tanar'ri stepped into the mouth of the blackness. A tongue of flame lashed out to lick briefly at the gorge's opposite wall, then died away. Theseus moved forward, blocking the conjunction, and faced his remaining companions.

  "This is your chance to escape the tanar'ri, my friends." Theseus ran an uneasy gaze over the pods on his companions' bodies, wondering if he could prevent the husks from bursting by sparing his friends the battle to come. "The fighting will begin soon, and then Karfhud will be too busy to come back for you."

  "What about you, Zoombee?"

  The question took Theseus by surprise. Since departing the iron maze, Jayk and Tessali had been hanging back together, quietly whispering back and forth so intensely they had nearly gotten lost several times. The Thrasson had assumed – perhaps even hoped – that the tiefling's crisis of faith had caused a transfer of affections. Apparently, the conversation had been less romantic than he imagined.

  "For my own reasons, I'm as eager as the tanar'ri to kill the monster." Theseus raised his hand, displaying the gruesome face tattooed on his palm. "Besides, as long as I have this, the choice is not truly in my… hands."

  Jayk stepped forward. "Then I am going too, Zoombee."

  "It would be sa-" The Thrasson caught himself and did not say "safe," unsure how Jayk might react to the suggestion that she feared for her life. "It might be better to wait here."

  The tiefling shook her head stubbornly. "My place is with you."

  "And I certainly have no intention of letting you slip my thoughts again," said Silverwind. "You are the thread that will lead me out of here."

  Theseus looked to Tessali, who now stood at the back of the line looking disgruntled and more than a little frightened.

  "I have no intention of staying here alone, if that's what you're hoping. You'll just have to keep an eye out for me." The elf glanced at the Thrasson's feet. "After all, that's my hand you have there."

  "As you wish." Theseus was addressing all three of his companions. "But don't be afraid to turn and run. It will be easier to kill the monster if I know you are safe."

  Theseus raised his sword to a middle guard, then turned and leapt through the conjunction. There was no splash, and no ripples spreading across the silvery surface away from where he stood. The Thrasson simply found himself standing chest-deep in the cloudy gray waters of a narrow swamp channel, the fingers of his new foot curling into the silky mud bottom. A pearly fog lay upon the water like smoke, so thick that he could barely make out tangled webs of prop roots rising along the banks to support impenetrable thickets of vine-choked bog trees.

  About four paces down the passage stood Karfhud, a black silhouette rising from the water like a great cypress. He was looking down one of the passages of a four-way intersection, holding his map in one hand and tracing a line upon its surface with a talon of the other. The air was still and hot, and so quiet Theseus could hear the rasp of the fiend's claw on the parchment.

  "The others did not want to wait." Karfhud was not asking a question. "They think you will be their salvation, but you must not let them distract you. In the mazes, each must look out for himself."

  "I expect you to protect them as you would me." Theseus remained near the conjunction, so that the flames shooting from the other side would prevent his companions from coming through until he was more familiar with the area. "If you fail, don't expect any help from me."

  "What makes you think I expect help now?" Karfhud dipped his talon into the wound he had opened on his opposite wrist, then used the blood to draw a line on his parchment. "You will find it necessary to defend yourself, and that is enough."

  "Enough for what?"

  Instead of answering, Karfhud motioned the Thrasson forward. "Let your friends in. The longer we tarr
y, the less I map before Sheba attacks."

  Theseus remained where he stood, wondering if he could force the fiend to tell him what was so important about mapping the monster's lair.

  "I would tell you," Karfhud said, reading his thoughts. "But then I would have to kill you, and I have already sworn not to do that"

  "We both know the value of that oath."

  Karfhud's head snapped around, his maroon eyes flashing so hotly that little beams of scarlet seemed to shoot through the fog. "That is the trouble with you honorable types. In your arrogance, you presume to know the tanar'ri mind. You know nothing. If you did, you would think less highly of yourselves."

  "Perhaps – but it does not change our circumstance. We both know that one of us, at least, will perish before this battle is done."

  A low rumble began to echo out of the sky, quickly building to a tremendous bellow that set the tree leaves to quivering and the surface of the water to shuddering. Karfhud cast a nervous glance down each of the passages around him, then looked back to Theseus.

  "There is no need for matters to end as you say. My maps will not lead you out of the mazes."

  "Perhaps I would believe you if you told me why you're making them."

  The fog began to thicken, and Karfhud hissed a curse. "Release me from my oath, and I will tell you."

  Theseus raised his brow, shocked by the fiend's demand. Why would the tanar'ri want his oath released, unless he was bound to keep it?

  "Or unless I wanted you to think I was bound." Karfhud peered into the thickening fog, pretending to study a side passage. "Your arrogance is a pity, really. Once you know what I am doing, you will lose interest."

  "That is for me to decide."

  Another bellow rumbled over the swamp, this time shaking the trees so hard that several dead branches cracked and fell. Karfhud glanced up at the leafy canopy, which was nearly concealed in the dense fog, then shrugged.

  "I will tell you this much: this is the last one."

  "The last what?"

  "Labyrinth," the fiend replied. "I have plotted all the others. Once I have done with this one, my maps will be complete."

  "That's not possible. You're lying."

  Karfhud dipped his homed head in the Thrasson's direction. "Your arrogance is beyond imagining."

  "You can't map all of the mazes. Silverwind says that a new one is created for every person who-"

  "Silverwind is correct," Karfhud interrupted. "But you entered the mazes in the company of Tessali and Jayk, and you are all together. If Silverwind is right, should you not each be in a separate labyrinth?"

  Theseus frowned, trying to find the string that would help him unravel this riddle.

  "A millennium would not be time enough for you to solve this enigma," Karfhud said. "You honorable types have no grasp of the Plurality. The answer is simple: there is only one maze, and there are many mazes."

  The Thrasson scowled. "Now you arc talking nonsense."

  "Am I?" Karfhud glanced down a side passage, then turned away and started to wade in the opposite direction. "I will explain as I work, if you wish, but I have done with waiting. You are no good to me if Sheba kills you here. I'll only have to retreat again."

  The fiend vanished around the corner, leaving Theseus alone at the end of the channel. The Thrasson quickly waded forward, for he needed Karihud's help as much as the tanar'ri needed his. Only together could they hope to slay the monster of the labyrinth-or at least to keep her at bay long enough to recover the amphora and map the maze.

  Theseus had barely reached the intersection before Silverwind came through the conjunction with Tessali on his back and Jayk in his arms. There was a loud splash as the bariaur dropped the tiefling's legs into the water. An instant later, another of Sheba's thunderous bellows reverberated through the swamp.

  "Zoombee!" Jayk threw herself into the channel and began to swim after Theseus.

  Silverwind, still carrying Tessali on his back, plowed through the water close behind. The Thrasson waited for the others to catch up, unsettled by the tiefling's uncharacteristic display of rear. As happy as he was to see that she valued her life, he had the uncomfortable feeling that she had attributed that value to him – and he had the wine woman to think of.

  Jayk stopped at his side and set her feet on the bottom. "Zoombee, you stayed very long in front of the conjunction." She reached for his arm. "The fight, we thought she had already started!"

  "Without you? Never!" Theseus freed his arm from the tiefling's grasp, then glanced at Silverwind and Tessali. "Prepare yourselves, and keep a sharp watch."

  The Thrasson turned and led the way after Karfhud.

  They caught the tanar'ri at the next intersection, where the fiend had stopped to make some more scratchings. Theseus quickly assigned each of his other companions to watch in a separate direction, taking forward for himself.

  He slipped past the tanar'ri to assume his post. "Karfhud, you were going to explain?"

  The fiend looked up and cocked his head. "Very quiet." He started down one of the passages he had just marked. "She is coming for us."

  "Don't change the subject." Theseus glanced back to make certain the others were following, then positioned himself ahead of the fiend. "How can one maze-"

  "What is it you seek?" Karfhud interrupted. "In the mazes, I mean to say."

  "Only one thing: the exit."

  "And that is why you will never find it." They waded around a gentle curve and entered a long, snaking channel where the bog trees hung so low that Karfhud's horns ticked against the boughs as they moved forward. "You are also seeking something else – something for which you are willing to fight Sheba. Think."

  "That requires no thought." Craning his neck back so he could keep watch on the low-hanging canopy, Theseus relied on the charred hand sewn onto his ankle to feel his way through the water. "I want the amphora."

  "Because?"

  "Because I promised to deliver it to the Lady of Pain."

  "I am done wasting my breath on you!" Karfhud growled. "I could give you my maps, and you would never find your exit!"

  Theseus glared over his shoulder at the fiend's maze-blighted face. "If you are so wise, why are you still here? Why haven't you found your own way out?"

  Karfhud's maroon eyes deepened to black. "What makes you think I want to?"

  A distant sloshing sounded someplace ahead, eliciting a startled gasp from both Jayk and Tessali.

  Theseus turned his attention forward. "Maybe we should try another passage."

  "That is what she wants," said Karfhud. "Otherwise, we would have heard nothing. We are doing better than I had hoped."

  "Better?"

  Instead of replying, Karfhud slipped past the Thrasson and continued up the passage, using his own blood to carefully trace each bend and curve on the parchment Happy to let the fiend assume the risk of leading the way, Theseus waded along behind, periodically glancing back. to check on his companions. It was hardly necessary; Jayk and Silverwind did not look away from the channel banks for so much as a second, while Tessali, reverse-mounted on the bariaur's back, was gazing holes through the fog behind them.

  Sheba was far too cunning to attack while the party remained so alert. Aside from the recurrent rumble of her bellowing and an occasional slosh in the distance, she did little to trouble the odd company. Karfhud was able to map more of the swamp than he had hoped, and Theseus had plenty of time to consider their earlier conversation. The Thrasson's true reason for wanting the amphora was to learn more about his past. Regardless of his promise to Poseidon, the memories in the jar were his, and by rights he should have them. Even if he were to happen upon the exit at that very moment, he doubted he would leave without the amphora's treasure.

  See how gently the rot steals into the soul? How smoothly the wish unfulfilled becomes the right withheld? Show me the heart that is pure, and I will show you the heart that is stone. We all have our Karfhuds, our unquenchable thirsts, our secret treasons; we all h
ave our reasonable excuses and our tempering cases, but that cannot change what we have done. We have all struck our bargains. Pretending that we had no choice does not make us tragic or noble or virtuous-it only makes us weak.

  "Deeper."

  Karfhud had stopped in the confluence of five channels, and he was carefully peering down each one and marking it with his own blood.

  Theseus scanned the area. The silvery waters still rose only to Karfhud's waist, the channels ahead remained as placid and smooth as a mirror, and the tangled roots of bog-trees continued to flank the passages. He saw no signs at all that the swamp was deepening.

  "Not the swamp – you." Karfhud selected one of the side passages, seemingly at random, and started forward again. "Look deeper."

  Theseus frowned, reluctant to trust Karfhud, yet uncertain of how the tanar'ri's simple advice could be dangerous. "Why are you helping me?"

  "Did I not swear to aid you in any way I can?"

  "You can do that by finding the amphora."

  "What do you suppose I am doing now?" Karfhud turned down a side passage the Thrasson had not even noticed. The fog was growing thicker. "But finding the amphora will do you no good if you do not know what you are looking for."

  Theseus followed the fiend into the narrowing channel, then glanced over his shoulder to make certain his other companions also made the turn. Jayk rounded the comer less than three paces behind him, a shadowy head and shoulders plowing along the surface of the silvery water. A moment later came Silverwind's much larger silhouette, his fog-blurred torso looming almost as high above the channel as Karfhud. Tessali was a hazy blotch on the bariaur's back.

  "Close up the line some more," Theseus ordered. "I can hardly see you back there."

  He turned forward again, only to discover that Karfhud had nearly vanished into the mists ahead. The Thrasson sloshed ahead, the fingers of his makeshift foot digging deep into the canal's silky bottom.

  When he caught the fiend, he said, "I'm looking for my memories. What else could it be?"