The Ultimate Helm tcc-6

by Russ T. Howard

  CassaRoc blotted up the ale with a cloth. "Calm down, Cloakmaster," he said. "Save your energy for your enemies."

  Teldin glared at him silently from across the table, then sat down and stared at the wall. CassaRoc quaffed his ale.

  Teldin seldom became angry like this; usually he was too even tempered to explode in front of his friends, or to get carried away by strong emotion. But the anger had been building in him since they had come down to the common room, and the Cloakmaster's frustration at the attempts on his life over the past year or so- all for a gods-damned piece of cloth! — was boiling over.

  "Why?" Teldin shouted. He slammed his fist down again.

  "Why?"

  "I don't know why!" CassaRoc shouted. "Fear! Your enemies all want what you've got, so the Dark Times will not fall on them."

  Teldin settled back in the wooden chair and glared at the floor. "I'm just so sick of it all," he said to no one. "I didn't come rushing into the flow because I wanted to. It was this!" He fingered the cloak. "You know, it's not like I had much of a choice." He paused and picked up a glass of cool water, drinking half of it in a single gulp. "I've had friends betray me, friends die on me. Enemies have tried to kill me- people I didn't know and had never heard of. When is it going to stop?"

  "It's not going to stop," CassaRoc remarked. "It's going to get worse."

  Teldin stared at him silently.

  "Everybody knows you're here now. Everybody knows you're the Cloakmaster. And everybody wants your power. From what you've told me, it's been like this ever since you started your quest, and it won't end until you… well, do whatever you have to do on the Spelljammer."

  Teldin looked away. "You're right." he said. "But how? What do I have to do? Is there anyone or anything that could help me, point me in the right direction? I need this quest over with. I need answers, and I need them before anyone else dies."

  "Or before you do." CassaRoc shook his head and took a drink. Well, there is one place I can think of."

  "Where?"

  CassaRoc grunted. "The library tower. No one has been in there in my memory. There are a lot of stories built up about the place."

  "Such as?"

  "Supposedly, all the accumulated journals and logs of the Spelljammer's captains and mages are collected there. They say the tower is protected, though."

  "Protected by whom?"

  The warrior laughed. "Not who. What. The story goes that Neridox, a wizard, sealed himself up in the library years ago. If anyone breaks in to plunder, Neridox's spirit is supposed to rise and attack all who enter."

  Teldin scratched his beard. "But this is just a story, isn't it? You don't know any of this for sure?"

  "Aye, just a story, but the library has remained sealed for as long as I remember. I wish there were a map we could use, instead, and follow that."

  Teldin stared off again. There was something he knew he should remember, something important…

  The dream! He had dreamt in the night. Disjointed images of beings, like the Spelljammer, but much, much smaller; a burst of magic and energy; and she, Gaye Goldring, had come to him. The amulet had burned on his bare chest. She had given him a message… What was it?

  The closest are not what they seem.

  Cwelanas, he knew in a flash of insight. Gaye was warning me about Cwelanas.

  The mark will show the trust.

  Yes. Cwelanas, again, he believed. The mark proved to him that she was not acting with her own will, but was under the insidious command of the neogi. She could be trusted, he knew now, and he was instantly relieved that his love, this time, had not been misplaced.

  There was a third message. What was it Gaye had said?

  CassaRoc had said something about a map to follow.

  Follow the woven heart.

  "Follow the woven heart," Teldin said. CassaRoc looked at him. "Follow the woven heart," he repeated.

  "What in the hells of Areas does that mean?"

  Teldin said, "I'm not sure. I had a dream last night, before Cwelanas attacked me."

  "And?"

  "I knew a kender once, long ago. She's the one who found this amulet. I dreamt about her. I think she was trying to give me a message. Two of the things she said have already come true. She tried to warn me of the attack, and she spoke of the slave tattoo. And she told me, 'Follow the woven heart.' "

  CassaRoc grunted. "Dreams can be powerful things. What do you think it means, a woven heart? Like sewing?"

  Teldin shrugged. "I don't know. The cloak, perhaps?" He ran the material through his fingers. "I don't know all its properties. Maybe it could lead me to the ship's helm."

  "How? How do you use the cloak normally?"

  "Usually I concentrate on what I need done. Other times, it works for me unconsciously."

  "Try to use it now. See if that's what she meant." Teldin pulled the cloak around him. He concentrated on the ship, and an image of a ship's helm: a sturdy chair facing into the flow. He waited for the familiar tingle of energy that was both warm and cool, but he could tell he was trying too hard. The powers of the cloak remained dormant.

  He shifted in the hard chair and clasped the cloak's edges in his hands. He let his mind go free, allowing the magic to enter his being.

  … He opened his eyes and sighed. "Nothing." "All right," CassaRoc said. "So we wait. We'll figure it out eventually. It has to mean something, right?"

  Teldin stared off, trying again to summon the energies of the cloak, then he gave up for the night.

  A guard entered the common room and walked straight to CassaRoc. "Sir," he said, then he nodded to Teldin. "Cloakmaster, there are two visitors at the tower gate who wish to see you."

  "Together?" asked CassaRoc.

  "No," said the guard. "One is a mind flayer." Teldin and CassaRoc both looked alarmed. Illithids were dangerous enemies. "He asked for the Cloakmaster by name. He says his name is Estriss, and he wishes to see the Cloakmaster. The other is Stardawn, of the elves, who wishes to speak with you both. I have them separated,"

  "Good," CassaRoc said. "We don't need mortal enemies going at each other in my tower." "Estriss?" Teldin said. "Estriss is here?"

  CassaRoc smiled. "You know him? Well, now we're getting somewhere," he said. "Send them up to my quarters. Escort them together. We'll meet them up there." The guard hurried out, and the warriors stood and stretched. "Estriss may be able to help me. He's been searching the spheres for the Juna-the supposed creators of the Spelljammer. If anyone aboard can answer my questions, it is he." "I hope so, Teldin," CassaRoc said. "For if you don't get this quest of yours over with, I fear you may not survive another day."

  "The war for the Spelljammer has begun," said Lothian Stardawn, leader of the Elven High Command, "and you, Teldin Cloakmaster, are solely responsible."

  Stardawn was a haughty, ambitious elf who took care to appear impressive and commanding at all times. His armor was highly polished, and his apparel was made of the finest elven cloth. His long hair was swept back from a sharp widow's peak above his forehead. He stared at the Cloakmaster, the elf s sparkling gray eyes glinting like tempered steel. They seemed to pierce Teldin's bravado; the Cloakmaster instinctively wanted to take a step back from the aggressive elf, but he forced himself to hold his ground and stare the elf down in return.

  In the doorway, a mind flayer appeared. Teldin's face involuntarily broke into a smile. "Estriss," he said, holding out his hand. "Our meeting again seems more than circumstance."

  Estriss was shorter than the typical mind flayer, or perhaps his bearing was merely less alarming. His black and purple robes flowed about him, and he made an effort to overcome the shock that CassaRoc wore on his face. The illithid took Teldin's hand in his clawed mauve appendage. His voice rang softly in Teldin's mind. So, Cloakmaster, you have arrived at last. "You've been expecting me?"

  Indeed, Estriss said. I have been here for some time now, and I feel the end of your journey is at hand. "You do not fear the Dark Times?"

 
Teldin, Teldin. You bear the Cloak of the First Pilot, the Ultimate Helm, the legacy of the lostfuna. Your coming here was foretold by the beholders. No, I do not fear a man's destiny. And your destiny, tied in with the legacy of the Juna, is meant to be great. Of that, I am sure.

  CassaRoc welcomed the strangers and held out chairs for them. His quarters were more expansive than most of the rooms in the Tower of Thought, but just as spartan. Except for the small bar set up in one corner, the room contained only CassaRoc's small bunk, a wooden wardrobe, a trunk, and a round table, where fewer conferences had taken place than all-night card games broken only by periodic trips to the bar. "Can we get on with this discussion?" Stardawn requested. He took a seat opposite Estriss and folded his hands on the tabletop. Estriss looked at Teldin. Teldin looked at CassaRoc. CassaRoc said, "Sit. I'll get us some ales."

  Estriss said, Not for me. CassaRoc looked at him as though he were crazy, then nodded once, remembering that illithids preferred brains to beer. CassaRoc shuddered.

  "I'm here as the ambassador of the Elven High Command," Stardawn said. "We have heard the rumor of the Cloakmaster's coming. I am here to ensure that elven concerns are duly considered during the Dark Times, in case this human is truly the Cloakmaster we have heard about."

  CassaRoc brought over the ales and sat down. "We sent for you in order to allay your fears. Teldin has no desire to harm anyone on the Spelljammer. The Dark Times are the furthest thing from his mind."

  You may rest assured that Teldin is the Cloakmaster of legend, Estriss said. He bears the Ultimate Helm.

  Stardawn scowled. "Speak not to me, illithid. I will have nothing to do with you. My concerns are with the alleged Cloakmaster." He turned to Teldin. "An ultimate helm is nothing," he said. "Helmsmen have come and gone, and they all bore ultimate helms." He paused. "The elves have no argument if you wish to claim to be the Cloakmaster of myth… if, indeed, you can. We simply wish to ensure that our concerns are met:

  "Already battles are breaking out across the ship. As we speak, my brothers are fighting those of the goblin alliance, an age-old feud that will finally result in the destruction of the disgusting goblin hordes." The elf took a breath and pointed a finger at Teldin. "Your powers are many. We need assurance that the elves will be offered protection against all its enemies."

  Teldin considered his words. "What can I do for you?" Cloakmaster, Estriss said, your duties, and your abilities, will soon become clear. Through all my research, at least one line of information has become clear: I believe it is your duty to ensure peace throughout the Spelljammer, for the elves and all the races. Minor skirmishes and feuds are inevitable, but war and wanton murder are things that no race must be allowed to commit.

  Teldin looked Stardawn in the eyes. "I've spent too much time and come too far on my quest to allow atrocities such as this to take place under my authority."

  Stardawn said, "That has not stopped the beholders from conquering the minotaurs- "

  "And it hasn't stopped you from engaging the goblins," CassaRoc commented.

  The two warriors glared at each other over the table. "I do not yet have all my answers," Teldin said, "I have been called to the Spelljammer, and now it seems I must wait, but I know not for what. The battles seem to have begun without me, or because of me. If I can, I'll stop them all. Already I've seen too much death and devastation, and I still can't get many clear answers why.

  "But I have had enough. This cloak is more than an ultimate helm. It is the Ultimate Helm, I believe. I can't tell you how I know, or why this helm is different. It just is. But if it is my destiny to take the helm of the Spelljammer, I will see it through to the end.

  "If the Elven High Command wants peace; then it shall have it. A ship as wondrous as the Spelljammer should preserve and cherish life, not destroy it.

  "If you demand a guarantee, then you have it." Teldin stretched out his hand to the elf.

  Stardawn rose from the table, ignoring Teldin's proffered hand. "Your words are noble, human, but I have no proof that you are the Cloakmaster foretold by legend, nor that your word is any better than that of any Long Fang."

  Teldin took back his hand and shrugged. He briefly explained to Stardawn and Estriss how the cloak had become his and how he had found the Spelljammer. He finished by recounting the attacks on him as soon as he had arrived. He offered a demonstration of the cloak's powers, but the elf shook his head.

  Stardawn was silent for a moment, then he said, "I must take this information to the high command. The decision will be ours together." He nodded once, then left.

  CassaRoc commented, "He didn't touch his drink." He pulled it over to him.

  That did not go well. The mind flayer's voice was loud in Teldin's mind.

  "No, Estriss, it didn't," said Teldin. "In my previous dealings with elves, I've found them to be nothing but contradictory in all their affairs. First they're trying to kill me, then they're my best friends."

  "You can say that about everyone," CassaRoc said.

  They have their own agenda, Estriss said, whatever that is. I would be cautious of that one, though. There is a fire inside him that burns almost uncontrollably. I would not trust Stardawn for all the gold in Realmspace.

  Teldin looked at his friend and smiled. He thought, I'm not always sure I trust you either. What he said was, "I should have known you would arrive here before me."

  I was lucky. The arcane I traveled with already knew of the Spelljammer's position. I have since been accepted by the illithid community as a friend and an advisor.

  "And your research?" Teldin inquired. "What can you tell me?"

  With the cloak, you may know more than I. What do you need to know?

  "First," CassaRoc interrupted, "where do the mind flayers stand?"

  Estriss was silent at first. I have spoken with Lord Trebek, and he wished me to express his regrets that the illithid community can do nothing at this time. He is taking the all-too-human attitude of 'wait and see.'

  However, I will place my trust in Teldin. I have no loyalty to the Spelljammer's illithids. My loyalty is to knowledge. You and I… Well, he said mentally, I will help you all I can.

  "Good," Teldin said. "I respect that, my friend." He leaned across the table. "Now, what can you tell me? I need to become the captain of the Spelljammer, and I don't even know how."

  Ahhh. Estriss's facial tentacles twitched with interest. This is one of the first things I discovered in the books of Lord Trebek. Your first task is to find what is called the adytum.

  "Adytum? How do I find that? What is it?"

  Estriss made a curious sucking sound, the equivalent of illithid laughter. You don't find it. It finds you.

  "What does that mean?"

  The adytum is a chamber of some kind, hidden from all but those who are worthy. Now, let me ask you, have you felt any odd yearnings while on board, a feeling to get out and explore the Spelljammer/'

  Teldin considered. "No, not really. Well- " The dream. When he had awakened from the dream, he had gotten out of bed and wanted to get out, to explore. "Yes," he said. "Yes. Once, but- "

  Excellent. This is what you are to do: Listen to your feelings. When you are called, you must answer. The end of your quest lies there, in the adytum.

  Soon, it will call you, and you will hear.

  Estriss stayed and talked for another hour, going over his research. Teldin was overwhelmed, forgetting much of it, hoping that it would come to him later, when he needed it. The growing of brain mold was not all that interesting, nor was an examination of the Guild tower's patterns in hobbying.

  Estriss's research was best when it touched on the truths or near truths of the Spelljammer's legends. Estriss was especially interested in Teldin's account of his journey to Nex, and his confrontation with the devolved Juna and their protective world-mind. He was disappointed to hear of their regression to the primitive, but was fascinated by the concept of a living planet.

  "I have discovered something else," Teldin sa
id, "but without the benefit of hard facts. I am receiving images, feelings of some sort, of events long ago that had to do with the Spelljammer. I do not pretend to understand all that I have seen, but I have been shown that the Spelljammer was not created by solely the Juna. I believe they were but one race that helped in its creation."

  Estriss stared at him curiously. How do you know this?

  Teldin wondered if the mind flayer would take him seriously. "The amulet. It is a guide to the Spelljammer. It has shown me much, and since I've been here, I have seen even more, visions of the past, I believe. The Spelljammer was created, yes, but I don't know why. It is a living thing, and I believe it was created through the combination of magic and life-a life-form that has long been extinct. And it was here, at the Broken Sphere."

  Estriss watched him closely. There's something else, isn', there? Estriss queried. Teldin nodded. "The Spelljammer. It did this."

  CassaRoc stared silently, his ale frozen halfway to his mouth.

  "Did what'" he asked.

  "The Broken Sphere. Thousands of thousands of years ago, it was known as… Ouiyan. Then, in the throes of the Spelljammer's creation, the great ship itself destroyed the sphere. There were-" Teldin had to think. The number came to him. "There were eighteen planets here. All are dead now." He paused. "All dead. The Spelljammer is a murderer of worlds.

  Stardawn paused in the open market to examine game pieces of molded pewter. He had found out what he needed to know. The Cloakmaster- for he was indeed the Cloakmaster- had no idea of his own power. There was still time to kill the simpleton and steal the cloak. Stardawn, alone among so many, knew that with the helm, all the Spelljammer's secrets would be his.

  No more rumors. No more gossip. With Teldin Moore dead, all his theories about magical items brought to the ship would be proven correct. If they were, the greatest ship in all the spheres would soon be his, and his elven brethren would reign over the universe.

  Lothian Stardawn would be their lord.

  Humans, he thought, they're all so gullible.