Pathfinder Tales: Lord of Runes

by Dave Gross

  “This ‘Master’ was a shadow, but he wished to become a lich?” said Eando.

  “He may not have been a shadow,” said Illyria. “There is a spell taught in the Hall of Whispers that allows the caster to project his spirit into a shadow body. It could have been anyone, but all you would see is his shadow.”

  “When did you find the Kardosian Codex?” said the boss.

  “The blank book?” asked Zora.

  He nodded.

  “The Master sent me to Kaer Maga to steal anything I could from a local necromancer. His house was too well warded for me to break in, but I spied on him. He was interested in books a group of treasure hunters were trying to sell after fighting in the east.”

  “Where had they come from?” asked Eando.

  “Somewhere in the Hold of Belkzen,” she said. “They claimed they’d slain an undead giant and taken the books from him.”

  Eando and the boss exchanged a look. They knew more about that.

  Zora went on. “The problem was, they wanted a king’s fortune for each book. That was good, because it meant they hadn’t sold them yet. They also didn’t trust each other, so two of them each kept one of the books. One was a wizard, but the other was a fighter who worshiped Cayden Cailean the old-fashioned way. There were no wards on his room, so all I had to do was wait until he drank himself into a stupor.

  “When they discovered the book was gone, they started tearing Downmarket apart. I knew it was only a matter of time before one of the spellcasters found me, so I ran back to Korvosa. At first, the Master was happy—so happy I didn’t want to spoil it by telling him about the other book. As time went on, though, he grew more agitated. When he finally learned the other book had also been in Kaer Maga, he flew into a rage. He said there was no way I could steal the second one before it was too late.”

  “Before what was too late?” said Illyria.

  “Before the gluttonous curse destroyed him,” said the boss. He looked around like he expected one of us to say something. “Is it not obvious?”

  Everybody else shook their heads. I had an idea what he was going to say, but I didn’t want to spoil his moment. He straightened up and looked around like an actor about to read his great line. “Benigno Ygresta is the Master.”

  We all looked at Zora for confirmation. She kept her mouth shut and didn’t move an inch.

  The boss said, “You can tell us the truth. The oracle lifted your geases.”

  “The Master said I would die if I revealed his identity.”

  “But you have already betrayed him, haven’t you?” said the boss. “Despite the Master’s spell, you found a way.”

  A little smile crept across Zora’s lips, but a fearful look wiped it away.

  “It was you who wrote my name on the calling card, wasn’t it?” said the boss. “A fair forgery, but it was not Ygresta’s hand. He would have left the book on the shelves to let me find it on my own. And he never ordered you to approach Radovan, did he? That was your attempt to lead us to Kaer Maga.”

  Zora started to nod. She looked past us into the dark corners of the room.

  “Lady Illyria, Eando, if you would be so kind?” The boss pointed at the shuttered windows, and a bright light appeared on the latch. Illyria did the same thing with the latch on the door. Eando threw another one on the beak of the carved peacock. When they were done, there was hardly a scrap of shadow left in the room.

  “There is nowhere for Ygresta’s shadow spies to hide in this room,” said the boss. “I am the only master you need fear now.”

  The room went quiet. Everybody kept facing Zora, but their gazes slid toward the boss. His face was paler than I’d ever seen it. Despite his paunch, his eyes and cheeks had grown hollow.

  Zora answered in a small voice. “Yes. Professor Ygresta is the one who calls himself the Master of Shadows.” She winced, but there was nothing coming for her.

  “Then the diviners lied about his death,” said Lady Illyria. “They lied to me!”

  “They did not,” said the boss. “Ygresta did not fake his death, only the corpse he left behind.”

  “How do you fake a corpse?” I said.

  “Of course!” said Illyria. “Reshaping dead flesh is one of the first spells we learn in the Hall of Whispers.” She gave the boss a long look. “You already deduced that, didn’t you?”

  He gave her one of those shrugs that means he’s pleased someone noticed his cleverness. For a second, he looked a little less scary. “It seemed the most likely prospect, but I was not certain until we spoke to the oracle. Without the missing volumes of the Gluttonous Tome, Ygresta realized that death was the only way he could escape the curse of the Kardosian Codex.”

  The Curse of the Kardosian Codex sounded like a good title for one of Illyria’s penny romances. Then I got an idea. “Wait a second,” I said. “Why did he have to die? You’ve got Eando’s book now, and he’s not dead.”

  “Nothing in the Codex describes such a reaction,” said the boss. “Ygresta could not have known how the books would behave.”

  “There’s nothing about it in the Grimoire, either,” said Eando. “And it wasn’t like I handed it over. It felt like the books wanted to be together. It was just dumb luck that the count ended up with both.”

  The boss got that look that meant he didn’t agree but wasn’t going to say so.

  Eando saw it too. “What?”

  “The Grimoire came to me because it sought to join the more powerful sorcerer.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “I can … I hate to use such an ambiguous term, but I can sense it.” His voice sounded eerie and far away. “Since the books rejoined themselves, I can almost hear…” He noticed us staring at him and cleared his throat. “That is not the matter at hand. We were discussing the disposition of the Codex before I discovered it. Its text must vanish upon the death of its current ‘owner.’ But why did Ygresta bequeath it to me in particular?”

  “Because he wanted you to find the other two parts,” said Illyria. “He always said there was no cleverer man than Count Varian Jeggare. He followed your adventures through the Pathfinder Chronicles.”

  The boss struggled with a smug little smile. He knew the answer. He just wanted somebody else to say it.

  “You see!” said Eando. “That’s exactly what I’ve been saying. Sometimes sharing our discoveries is the worst thing to do.”

  “Ygresta must have an accomplice capable of restoring him to life,” said the boss. “He killed himself to break the curse, was resurrected, and then shaped a corpse to look like his own and left it in his bed. What concerns me now is how he intends to reclaim the Tome once I find the Black Book.”

  “The shadows,” I said. “He’ll send his shadows to steal it for him.”

  “They can’t carry things,” said Illyria. “They’re intangible, useful mainly as spies.” Her eyes widened. She turned to the boss with a stricken expression. “One of them must have been hiding in my shadow the day we met at the Acadamae! That’s why Arnisant barked at me.”

  The boss gave her a slow nod. I could see by his expression that he was deciding whether she was surprised or just pretending.

  She saw it, too. She tried not to pout, and I tried to figure whether that was real or pretend.

  “The point is, they can’t carry things,” she said, turning away from him. “That’s why Ygresta needed Zora.”

  Zora nodded.

  “I don’t like fighting something I can’t get my hands around its throat,” I grumbled. “Shadows! Makes you wish we still had the paladin.”

  “You had a paladin?” said Zora, sounding all dubious.

  “Not had had, but yeah. Elf maiden. Unicorn and everything.”

  The boss ignored me. I guess he was getting tired of that joke. He said, “Ygresta also succeeded at creating his golem.”

  Zora nodded again. “The Master calls him Durante. The Mast— Ygresta constructed him from the bodies of the strongest men in Korvosa. D
urante was the only one strong enough to carry him after Ygresta gained so much weight from the curse.”

  “Carry him where?”

  “Somewhere far from Korvosa is all I know.”

  “We must take what precautions we can,” said the boss. “Ygresta will not risk acting before we have obtained the Black Book. The question now is how to defend ourselves against a necromancer, his shadows, and a golem.”

  “The question is how can we can destroy the book,” said Eando.

  “That as well,” said the boss. When he saw Eando staring at him, he added, “Very well, that foremost.”

  From that point, everybody started talking logistics. Eando wanted in, probably to make sure the boss did what he promised. There was no getting rid of Illyria without the boss taking her home first, like a gentleman.

  Janneke would take Zora back to Korvosa to collect her bounty, which was too bad. Even though she was less fun on duty, I was going to miss her.

  I was going to miss Zora, too. Stolen cards or not, she’d gotten caught up in something way bigger than her, and she’d tried to beat it anyway. She had moxie. I liked the way she’d fought beside me in the monastery, and I liked that she stayed because she didn’t like seeing the blue monks get their throats cut. The fact that she was alive took more than luck. It took a lot of heart. And guts.

  One part of Zora’s story still bothered me. While the others talked maps and supply wagons, I moved to sit beside her. “Say, whatever happened to your partner?”

  “I never saw him again.” Zora looked down at her manacles. “For the longest time, I hoped he got away. When I snuck into Ygresta’s laboratory, I found his ring on the shelf. That’s what I was really after when I broke into his lab. The other stuff was an afterthought. I figured it would fetch enough money to keep me out of Korvosa for a long time.”

  She held up her thumb to show me. It was a cheap bit of tin and enamel with a picture of a seagull. I touched the Ustalavic copper piece hanging from my neck. Sometimes the cheapest trinkets mean the most.

  After a while, Janneke came back to tell the boss that Kaid’s Band was in. What was more, Janneke was coming too.

  “What about me?” said Zora.

  “You aren’t leaving my sight until I collect my bounty.”

  “I said you can have the things I stole. They must be worth at least as much as the bounty.”

  “There’s my reputation to consider.”

  I looked to the boss, but he was looking over maps with Eando and Illyria. Me, I thought it was a bad idea to bring Zora. All the heart and guts in the world wouldn’t keep her from getting killed if we found something else bigger than her.

  On the other hand, maybe some time on the road would soften up Janneke. Maybe the bounty hunter appreciated moxie as much as I did. Maybe they’d cut a deal.

  I like to be an optimist.

  Much later, the boss sent the others away but told me to stick around. I took the opportunity to tell him where I thought we were making some mistakes. Top of the list was Lady Illyria.

  “Maybe she knew, maybe she didn’t,” I said. “Either way, do you really want a necromancer along while you try to find a book and keep it away from another necromancer?”

  “That is a stronger argument in favor of keeping her with us.” He looked around the room like he’d dropped something. “While the Gluttonous Tome is a veritable encyclopedia of necromantic lore, I have no practical experience with the craft.”

  “So you trust her?”

  “We have less reason to distrust her now, but no, of course I do not trust her. We must remain on guard.”

  “And Zora?”

  “If her story is true, then she has every reason to help us against Ygresta.” He looked behind me.

  “I buy that, but she hasn’t exactly volunteered. She’s still in manacles.”

  The boss considered the point. “I shall raise the issue with Janneke. I would hate to lose her services. She has proven herself more than competent.” He peeked under the desk.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “I was certain there were some buns left from dinner.”

  “Lady Illyria took them away.”

  “She did what?” A little red came back to his white cheeks.

  “Relax, boss. She’s just doting on you. We like it when pretty women dote on us. Remember?”

  “You have no idea how it feels to be constantly hungry.”

  After our trip from Sarkoris, he couldn’t have been wronger about that. We’d both starved for months. Only Arni came out of it without losing weight, on account of I snuck him a bite of my ration now and then. I poked the boss in the belly. “I got an idea how it looks to be constantly eating.”

  His lips moved for a few seconds before he made any sound. “How … dare…?”

  I had to admit I surprised myself with the poke, but the boss needed it—and maybe a couple more. “You got room for a tailor in the carriage? The way you’re going, you’ll need one to let out your pants every couple days.”

  He started sputtering so bad he got some on my face. That was my cue to change my tune.

  “Listen, boss. Illyria, Zora, all the rest, I can see how you’d worry about them. But me? I’ve seen books do nasty stuff to you before. First there was the Lacuna Index in Ustalav. That one made you forget stuff. And in Sarkoris the Lexicon of Chaos damned near wrecked you. When I remind you what this curse is doing to you, you know I’m trying to help. Right?”

  He clenched his jaw and walked behind his desk. He sat down maybe thinking it covered his potbelly, which it didn’t.

  “Lacuna Codex,” he said. “Lexicon of Paradox.”

  “So you remember what they did to you.”

  “This curse,” he sighed. “‘These curses,’ I should say. I cannot always see how deeply they affect me. This insatiable appetite and the constant chill might be only symptoms of much deeper effects. Sometimes my thoughts … I tell you, the secrets in this book … I cannot begin to describe how profoundly they alter my perspective. It is possible my judgment is impaired. If so, I must rely on yours. I know I can depend on you to correct me—in private, and without poking me.”

  “No promises.” I got up to go. “I can hear this door open from across the hall. Don’t even think about sneaking down to the kitchen.”

  “Certainly not. I need only pull the bell for service.” The boss has a perfect straight face. If only he still played cards, we could make a fortune.

  “Keep an eye on him, Arni.” I scratched the hound’s chin and went back to my room.

  The next day we left the city. We had six in the Red Carriage and thirty-four mercenaries on horseback with three more on a supply wagon.

  Kaid’s Band had already spent the boss’s advance on crossbows, weapons, and new pieces of armor. Every one of them had something—a greave, a gauntlet, a breastplate—from the Gray Maiden uniform. Only Faceless Kaid wore the whole outfit. Since her helmet wasn’t painted like Janneke’s, I could see where she got her nickname with that blank mask. Unlike the bounty hunter, she knew better than to wear it all the time. She looked a little rough around the edges, but she had a good smile. I caught her looking at me a few times.

  I wondered whether Kaid shared Janneke’s idea of professionalism. And then there was Danai. She acted shy, but maybe that was just her mask. She caught me looking at her a few times, and she took a few seconds to look away.

  Anyway, surrounded by so many women, I’d never liked my chances any better.

  * * *

  A few days after burying the oracle, we crossed the river and got back on the Yondabakari trail. The caravans had mostly gone through a month earlier, before wildfire season.

  I wanted to ride out to scout, but I was down to my last pony scroll. The boss was busy enough without making more riffle scrolls for me. I knew how much that took out of him, and I knew he didn’t want to throw up each morning with Lady Illyria around.

  The boss spent the days reading and
rereading his creepy book, while Eando and Illyria took turns keeping him from eating all the supplies.

  Most of the time, Kazyah sat beside Janneke on the drivers’ seat. One day she borrowed a horse from one of Kaid’s Band. She was gone so long that the mercenaries started to grumble that she’d stolen it and run off. Just after dusk, Kazyah rode back on a wild stallion she’d tamed, the mercenary’s horse following without a tether.

  Another day we saw lightning in the distance. Kazyah said those sometimes meant flash floods, sometimes wildfires. As long as we stayed close to the river, we didn’t have to worry about the fires. On the other hand, near the river the floods would get us. After a while we didn’t have a choice. We ran out of river and kept riding east at the foot of the mountains.

  The day after we saw the lightning, Kazyah started each day by whispering into the dirt and putting her ear to the ground. Like the oracle, she had a connection to her ancestors, but it was different. They spoke to her through the earth, she said, because that’s where they were buried. After she listened to what they said, she’d tell us what sort of weather to expect, whether we’d see a herd of aurochs or find water, things like that.

  She was always right.

  Once she told us to stop the carriage because some “burrowing behemoths” were nearby. We waited for the better part of an hour until she said it was safe. A couple miles later, furrows crossed the trail. They reminded me of the giant mole-sharks we saw back in Sarkoris. Even the demons didn’t mess with those things. They eat horses whole. I wondered if the bigger ones could eat the carriage in one gulp.

  Kazyah and Eando took turns telling me the names of the plants and animals we passed. I recognized some from our trip to Korvosa, but then we’d been too busy staying alive to talk what the boss called “natural history.”

  It was a cindersnake that bit one of the Maidens’ horses. I knew what aurochs were, and that they were tasty, but I didn’t know the hyenas were called bush tigers. I half-expected the boss to have Janneke kill one so he could stuff it and give the Katapeshi hyena in his library some company. We saw plenty of scorpions and horned lizards, which Eando said were called spirestalkers for the way they climbed up the hoodoos.