by Joe Jackson
“To friendship,” Delkantar toasted, and they clinked their tankards and sipped.
The companions finished their drinks and then accompanied Max to his home, where they set up their bedrolls and tent outside. “Are you two sure you don’t want us to sleep somewhere else?” Leighandra asked, hoping the question didn’t come across as rude. “You’ll only have the one night together at home before we’re on the road again.”
Audrei ran her snout up under Max’s. “Maybe they should…,” she giggled.
Max snorted. “You are all welcome to stay right where you are.”
Leighandra stayed awake just long enough to make her usual notations in her journal, her thoughts accompanied by the luranar parents singing their daughters to sleep. When she was done, the chronicler extinguished her lamp and settled in for what lay ahead.
~ * ~ * ~
They led the horses along the paths of Laeranore, which weren’t proper roads and could present dangers to the mounts’ legs. Leighandra thought the forest felt less spooky than the last time they had passed through, and judging by Yiilu’s demeanor, the druidess felt the same. They were so embroiled in their task recovering the seals now that they had been largely out of contact with the rest of the kingdoms as far as how the undead scourge was being handled. Could it be that the tide was already turned on their enemies?
With the forest feeling normal again, the druidess called out to the insects to light their way under the deep shade. It was like their first trip into the elven kingdom, and Leighandra was hopeful that this meant the elves, at least, had beaten back the immediate troubles. As Yiilu had told the council in Solaris, the elves interred their dead in such a way that raising them as undead was nearly impossible. Perhaps that was the reason the elves had succeeded where other cities and nations had thus far failed?
She thought of the specters in Solaris, then, and wondered how much worse it might be in other places. Max and Galadon were certain they needed to concentrate on the seals first, but the more Leighandra thought about it, the more she wanted to at least check in on the other cities and towns. If there was anything they could do, each successive victory and gain would only strengthen Max’s call to arms, and help bring the nations and people together. She resolved to mention it once they left the elven lands.
“The seal continues to shift its pull to the northwest,” Yiilu commented as they traveled.
“I’m betting either Silverius or Emerald City, then,” Delkantar said. “I’m not sure if Leighandra is more familiar with maps of the lands, but I have a fairly good idea.”
“Your instincts seem correct to me,” the chronicler answered.
“I know Silverius is close to our borders, but my bearings on the location of Emerald City are less certain,” Yiilu added. “Of course, it seems unlikely we will be drawn to another city, does it not? Unless these powerful entities continue to prove to be people or spirits…”
“Only one way to find out,” Starlenia said.
They reached Karinda’s tower and secured their mounts as best they could around the single, inadequate stall. Max’s people had afforded them a fine set of riding horses. They wouldn’t be particularly useful in combat – not like Galrinthor, anyway. But Max’s and Galadon’s lessons coupled with the speed and stamina of the horses was already making a noticeable difference in their travel times. Leighandra surmised they might still be near Flora had they not gotten mounts. With winter approaching, additional speed was a godsend.
I just hope none of the seals lead us back to Drazika Sul’Tenari at this time of year…
Lion began tending to Galrinthor as usual. Max rarely even had to issue the young man orders anymore, especially since the luranar paladin had been crowned king. Still, Max made sure to encourage and praise the shakna-rir teen’s work ethic whenever appropriate, and their relationship as master and student was becoming much more normalized, to Leighandra’s thinking. Something about Lion still seemed off, but Max would mold him into a fine knight one day if things continued as they were.
Returning to the matter at hand, Leighandra caught up to her friends at the door. They waited only a few moments after knocking before Duaana answered. She regarded the many faces before her with interest, but led them into the tower to take seats. Karinda was in her chair near the fire, once again sipping tea while she studied the group with those deep, black eyes. When Alissiri entered the tower, though, the archmage sprang to her feet.
“Teshan-suz!” she whispered.
The medusa’s snakes fixed their sight on the archmage, and Alissiri asked something in her sibilant language, different than the one she used to converse with Audrei and Max. She and Karinda began to speak back and forth, and soon the archmage directed the woman to a chair. Karinda regarded the gauze that bound the woman’s missing eyes, and carefully pulled it away. She put her thumbs over the sockets and began to whisper, and even from where Leighandra sat, she could see something filling in behind the previously-useless lids.
Alissiri opened her eyes slowly, cautiously under what was no doubt a blinding light now that she could see. Leighandra was too dumbstruck to even avert her gaze as she’d been told. Once she realized it, and the fact that she hadn’t been petrified, she wondered if there was more to it than just meeting the woman’s gaze. Alissiri had beautiful golden eyes with slit pupils and no sclera, and she and Karinda stared into each other’s eyes intently. The medusa fell to her knees before Karinda and began to kiss her feet, but the archmage looked perturbed. Chiding her lightly, Karinda helped the woman back into her seat and spoke with her for another minute before she returned to her own chair.
“Where ever did you find a teshan-suz?” the archmage asked.
“Is that what her people call themselves?” Leighandra asked. “We thought she was a medusa, and she never corrected Audrei, unless our friend simply failed to mention it.”
The luranar woman shrugged. “I always just called her by name.”
“If you went by the legends, then yes, you might call her a medusa,” Karinda explained. “Her people call themselves the teshan-suz; they come from a world called Irrathmor. Where did you find her, exactly?”
“Fireblade asked us to remove her from the dragon’s territory,” Delkantar answered. “We were going to kill her, but Audrei thought better of that, and we brought her to you in the hopes you might be able to help get her home.”
“Indeed I can, but since she does not seem to understand what we are saying, I will tell you that her presence in the mountains is alarming. It may mean–”
“That her people and the syrinthians still live up there. Yep, we know,” Starlenia broke in. “And why is it a surprise that she’s with us if you’ve been keeping an eye on us?”
“I keep an eye on you as much as I can, Starlenia, but many things have been taking my attention away from you recently. I will explain these things in due time, if your travels have gone as I expect. What did Fireblade tell you?”
“She gave us the first jade seal to the Temple of Archons,” Yiilu answered, holding the gems up to show the archmage. “We have since recovered two more.”
Karinda stared at the gems for a silent stretch before she pursed her draconic lips. “So I am not the only one who sees signs and portents in these events. Is this what it has all been leading to, then? The opening of the Temple?” she mused. She looked up when Lion came in and joined the others. “And who is this young man?”
Max gestured toward the shakna-rir youth. “This is Lion Tumureldi, brother to the rightful queen of the shakna-rir. We aided in his escape from the Khalarin, and he has become my squire while he accompanies us.”
“And you have become the king of your people?” she asked, glancing at the thin circlet now attached to Max’s fanged wolf helm. “So many changes… what does this all mean? What could be in that Temple, that its opening should coincide with the rise of the Tempis’ra?”
“Hopefully the means of destroying a demonic god,” Starlenia quipped.
“My lady, you said there are six seals in total?” Max asked.
Karinda nodded. “Six jade seals such as you have found, and a seventh that acts as the final device to open the doors, so far as we know. That seventh is already on its way, and with it comes one who can repair the Sword of Ascending Dawn. When you have finished gathering these six seals, return to me, and the seventh will either be here or close by.”
“Are you truly clairvoyant, as Rexis hinted?” Galadon asked.
“Clairvoyant is not the precise term; I see things, usually portents of things to come,” Karinda said. “But they are not always clear, nor do I always make the proper connection to its importance. The angel I spoke of–”
“Appeared to us near Fireblade’s lair,” Starlenia broke in.
The archmage considered the Okonashai woman, and Karinda’s entire form went still as she worked through her thoughts. “You have had more dreams?” she asked Galadon.
The knight nodded. “Most of them have been the same since you first unlocked them,” he answered. “But lately, I’ve been having other, stranger ones that I don’t know what to make of. But the more I think about them, and the fact that no one knows where Kalamaris’ body ended up after he was slain, the more I wonder… is it possible he may still be alive?”
Karinda shook her head. “I have searched to the ends of Citaria and found no trace of him. I assure you, I wish he were still alive, if simply for the boon it would be to you when the time comes to rally the nations. But there is no trace of him anywhere, and none I have spoken with claim to have taken his body to inter or cremate.”
“The luranar have a new king,” Starlenia interrupted. “Maybe you’ve heard of him? He’s a friend of mine. And as much as I’d love to put his father’s memory to rest, Max is all we’re going to need to rally the nations. Isn’t that right, Max?”
He bowed his head graciously. “It is.”
“What if… you can’t find Kalamaris because he’s not here?” Galadon asked with no small amount of difficulty. He raised his eyes to meet Karinda’s. “What if you can’t find him because he’s in the underworld?”
Karinda’s face went a bit pale at that. Max took in a steadying breath, but leaned his head into Audrei’s when she touched his hand.
“Do you think Tilcimer might know anything?” Delkantar asked. “I know we’ve all agreed not to trust him or promise him anything, but if there’s a chance Max’s father is still alive and in the underworld – or Mehr’Durillia, if you prefer – is it possible he can give us information on that? And is there a price he might accept that comes a little short of promising him whatever he’s asking for?”
“He does have resources I do not, as my sight on Mehr’Durillia is mostly blocked,” the archmage said. “Just be careful should you deal with him, and do not promise him anything you do not want or intend to deliver. Remember, though he treats with you as if he is a businessman, he will kill you if you cross him. Never forget just what he is, no matter how accommodating and… congenial he may seem when negotiating.”
“That is a step I am still not partial to taking,” Max said, and he let forth a calming sigh. “Galadon said he saw my father struck down. Even if his body was taken back to Mehr’Durillia, it is of little importance, so long as I know he is not being held for torture.”
“So we should continue to concentrate on the seals, yes?” Yiilu prompted.
Karinda rose to her feet. “See to this task first and foremost. I will seek answers on other matters. As I said, more allies and aid are coming. I will be interested to see just how deeply the ties binding all these events together will run. Karian Vanador has recently accomplished a feat that no other on this world has ever come close to before: She has slain one of the very demon kings of Mehr’Durillia. Now, a storm brews, and war between worlds is at hand. Your efforts are now more important than ever, and she will come to depend on you to lend your aid to the defense of this world as a whole.”
“That’s it, isn’t it?” Galadon said while everyone else sat agape at what they’d just been told. “They’re trying to attack us on two fronts, just as the Devil Queen used to do. We’ll surely see fighting coming from Mehr’Durillia, but now some old demonic force from that world that has lay trapped for centuries is making a sudden push to attack us here. No doubt this is all connected. And Karian Vanador is at the center of it all… gods, what a time to be alive!”
“That sounds funny coming from a dead man,” Leighandra chuckled, and the knight had to laugh along with her.
“Is she the one coming? She’s the seventh?” Delkantar asked.
Karinda nodded. “Karian Vanador is Salvation’s Dawn.”
“Oh, wow. We’re going to meet Karian Vanador. What are we sitting here for? We’ve got more seals to recover.”
Audrei stood and walked over to Alissiri, who rose and embraced the luranar woman. They said their farewells, and Leighandra was nervous but amazed to see that Audrei could meet the woman’s eyes without being petrified. Alissiri had said she could petrify people, so it wasn’t a myth – unless she lied about it, of course. As seemed to be the case for everything these days, there was far more to it than even the epics suggested.
“Tell her farewell from all of us,” the chronicler requested, stepping over to touch Alissiri on the shoulder. She flinched when the teshan-suz woman turned to look at her, and Alissiri chuckled.
“Already done,” Audrei answered with a smile. “She says she is ever thankful that we didn’t put her to the sword, despite the fact that she gave us good reason to when we met. She also says that should we ever visit her homeworld, to come see her in the capital city which, if I’m not misunderstanding her words, is called God’s Terrace.”
“I can’t even imagine going to another world,” Leighandra said. “That would be–”
“We’ve got enough headaches here,” Starlenia grumbled with a half-smile. “Tell her that her people have to take care of their own troubles.”
Each of the companions went over and touched the teshan-suz on the shoulder or shook her hand politely, and even Vo’rii went up and licked the medusa’s hand. It felt like they had hardly gotten to know her, but something about her made Leighandra sure she was going to miss Alissiri. Whether it was that unassuming smile while she helped Audrei cook, the woman’s patience while she traveled along ignorant to what was said around her, or just the aura of mystery around having met a medusa, the chronicler was sad to see her go.
“I wish she could stay with us, now that she can see,” she blurted, trying to get a hold of her emotions.
“She would stay with us if she thought she could help,” Audrei said. “But we could only keep what she is a secret for so much longer, and she wants to go to her home world. She’s been through a lot, and funny as it may be in light of Starlenia’s comment, her world has its share of issues, too.”
“We will see you again soon, Lady Karinda,” Yiilu said with a bow.
“Farewell, my friends,” the archmage said. “Be safe. I will watch over you as I can, but the road ahead of you is dangerous. Be on your guard at all times. I fear the worst of the storm is only now descending.”
The companions left the tower and took their mounts by the reins. They still had some distance to cover to reach the next seal, but Leighandra didn’t miss it when Max turned and looked off to the west.
“Trouble?” she asked in a hiss.
“Not the immediate kind,” he answered. “But the relentless kind. Let us be off.”
Chapter XVI – The Heart of the Viridian Splendor
They made fantastic time riding north. Galadon’s and Max’s tutelage continued to build, lending the companions confidence in their mounts. It was clear after the first few days out of Max’s homeland that the luranar and human paladins were consummate horsemen, from the way they spoke of their mounts to how specific their lessons were on the care and feeding of them. When Leighandra considered that she and the others knew little of rid
ing or caring for horses when they’d set out, they were making remarkable progress.
The journey to Emerald City was accordingly shorter than usual. Horses weren’t allowed in the city but for deliveries, so they boarded them at the eastern stables, which were less crowded. Once Max settled their account with the stablemaster and the horses were all safely in their stalls, the group looked at the sprawling city before them and entered through the eastern archway. The seal had pulled insistently toward the city, adjusting its guidance as they circled around it to the stable.
“Sir, have there been any more disturbances with the undead?” Max inquired of one of the disinterested-looking sentries at the gate.
“A few Red Masks came through last week and drove off some spirits in the cemetery, I think,” one of them said. “Things are quieter now, but we’re still seeing issues now and then.”
Max sighed and led the group into the city. Once they were safely out of earshot of the guards, he turned and walked backwards. “I cannot help but think our enemy is concentrating on something else. Could it be she watches us as well, and plans to wrest the seals from us when we have collected the lot?”
“I’d almost welcome her to try at this point,” Starlenia said. “Enough of the mystery and the subterfuge. Give me a face to stick a knife into.”
“If it truly is a demon king behind this, we don’t want to confront them until we have all of our allies prepared and gathered,” Leighandra countered. “And the gathering of these seals is the first step in accomplishing that.”
“We think. Just as likely, we should be concentrating on gathering the four flames and rallying the nations. What if opening the Temple isn’t what we should be doing, but what our enemies want us to do? I mean, consider that we got the first one from Fireblade…”
“This city is beautiful,” Yiilu commented, cutting across the argument. “So many trees and gardens… now I better understand its name, despite the autumn colors.”
