Dragons of the Highlord Skies dc-2

by Margaret Weis

  BOOK IV

  1

  The Oracle of Takhisis. Kit Gives an Ultimatum. he winter deepened on Ansalon. Yule came and went. The hunt for Kitiara continued, though it was half-hearted. Ariakas did not send his troops out after her. He did send assassins and bounty hunters, but they were ordered to conduct their search circumspectly. After a time, it seemed they forgot about her. No longer were bounty hunters handing steel coins about, asking if anyone had seen a warrior woman with black curly hair and a crooked smile.

  Kitiara did not know it, but Ariakas had called off the hounds. He was starting to regret the entire incident. He realized he’d made a mistake with regard to Kit. He began to believe in her claimed innocence. He tried to place the blame for his belief that Kit had betrayed him on Iolanthe. She cleverly shifted it to the elf wizard, Feal-Thas. The elf had proven to be a vast disappointment to Ariakas, who had never expected much from Feal-Thas in the first place, for word came that the blasted elf had gotten himself killed and Ice Wall Castle had fallen.

  At least the knight, Derek Crownguard, had fallen victim to Ariakas’s scheming. He had taken the dragon orb back to Solamnia, and Ariakas’s spies reported that contention over the orb had caused a rift between elves and humans and was further demoralizing the knighthood.

  Ariakas wanted Kit back. He was finally ready to launch the war in Solamnia and he needed her expertise, her leadership skills, her courage. But she was nowhere to be found.

  Queen Takhisis could have informed Ariakas of Kit’s whereabouts, for Her Dark Majesty was keeping a close watch on the Blue Lady. But Takhisis chose to keep Ariakas in ignorance. Ariakas might have welcomed Lord Soth’s entry into the war, but he would not be pleased to see a Soth/Kitiara alliance. Kit already had an army behind her, an army loyal to her. She commanded a wing of blue dragons, also extremely loyal to her. Add to this a powerful death knight and his forces, and Ariakas would start to feel the Crown of Power resting uneasily on his head. He might try to stop Kitiara from going to Dargaard Keep, and Takhisis could not allow this.

  The bounty hunters were a nuisance to Kit, though never a danger. None recognized her in her guise as a high-ranking spiritor, and no one bothered her. She even had an enjoyable conversation with a bounty hunter, giving him a description of herself and sending him on a long and fruitless search. When she took the road leading to Nightlund, pursuit ended. None would follow her into that accursed land.

  Her journey was long and wearisome, giving Kitiara plenty of time to think about her confrontation with Lord Soth. She required a plan of attack. Kit never went into any battle unprepared. She needed information about exactly what sort of enemy she faced-solid information, not legend, myth, granny stories, kender tales, or bard’s songs. Unfortunately, such information was difficult to come by. Of those who had encountered Lord Soth, none had come back to tell of it.

  All she had was the information Iolanthe had provided following their brief and eventful encounter in the Temple in Neraka. Kit wished she’d taken more time to listen to the witch, asked her more questions. But then, she’d been fleeing for her life. Not the right moment for chit-chat. Kit went over everything Iolanthe had said, mulled over it all, hoping to devise a strategy. All the stories agreed on certain points: an army of undead warriors, three heart-stopping banshees, and a death knight who could kill her with a single word. So far as Kit could see, developing a strategy for this encounter was rather like developing a strategy for committing suicide. The only question was how to die as quickly and painlessly as possible.

  Kit had the bracelet Iolanthe had given her. Iolanthe had instructed her in its use, but Kit wanted to know all there was to know about this bracelet. Not that she didn’t trust Iolanthe. The witch had saved her life.

  It was just that Kit did not trust Iolanthe. She took the bracelet to a mageware shop.

  The owner-a Red Robe wizard, as most tended to be, since they had to deal in black, red, and white magic-latched onto the bracelet and was loathe to let it go. His eyes lit up at the sight of it; his mouth watered. He stroked and caressed it. His voice grew husky as he spoke of it. The bracelet was very rare, he told her, and very valuable. He knew of such bracelets only by reputation. He’d never seen one before. He mumbled magic over it, and the bracelet did prove to be magical. Though he wouldn’t swear by his god the bracelet would do what Iolanthe had promised-protect Kit from magic-induced fear and magical attacks-he thought it likely the bracelet would perform as required. Finally, holding the bracelet lovingly in his hand, he offered her the pick of any object in his shop in exchange. When she refused, he offered her his shop.

  Kit eventually pried her bracelet from the man’s hands and left. The Red Robe followed her down the street, begging and pleading. She had to spur her horse into a gallop to get away from him. Kit had been rather careless with the bracelet, stuffing it into a sack and not thinking much about it. From then on, she treated it with more care, checking frequently to make certain she still had it in her possession. The bracelet did not make Kit feel easier in her mind about her upcoming encounter with the death knight, however. Quite the opposite. Iolanthe would not have given Kit a gift this precious unless certain Kit would need it.

  That was very disheartening.

  Kitiara decided she would do something she’d never done in her life-seek the help of a god. Queen Takhisis was the one responsible for sending her on this mission. Hearing of an oracle not far from the border of Nightlund, Kitiara made a detour to visit the old crone to request Her Dark Majesty’s aid.

  The oracle lived in a cave, and if the stench counted for anything, she was extremely powerful. The smell of body waste, incense, and boiled cabbage was enough to gag a troll. Kit walked into the cave entrance and was ready to turn around and walk right back out when a beggarly youngster, so filthy it was impossible to say if it was a he or a she, seized hold of her and dragged her inside.

  The crone had lank, ragged, yellow-white hair that straggled about her face. Her flesh hung flaccid off her bones. Her breasts beneath her worn garments sagged to her knees. Her eyes were blurred and unfocused. She sat cross-legged in front of a fire and appeared to be in some sort of stupor, for she mumbled, drooled, and rolled her head. The youngster held out a hand, demanding a donation of a steel piece if Kitiara wanted to ask a question of the Dark Queen’s oracle.

  Kit was dubious, but also desperate. She handed over the steel piece. The youngster inspected it to make certain it was not counterfeit, then muttered, “It’s good, Marm,” and remained to watch the spectacle.

  The crone roused herself long enough to toss a handful of powder onto the fire. The powder crackled and hissed; the flames changed color, burning green, blue, red, and white. Tendrils of black smoke coiled around the crone, who began to moan, rocking back and forth.

  The smoke was noxious and made Kit’s eyes water. She could not catch her breath and she tried again to leave, but the youngster grabbed hold of her hand and ordered her to wait; the oracle was about to speak.

  The crone sat up straight. She opened her eyes and they were suddenly focused and lucid. The mumbling voice was clear and strong, deep and cold and empty as death.

  “‘I will pledge my loyalty and my army only to the Highlord who has the courage to spend the night with me alone in Dargaard Keep’.”

  The crone collapsed back into herself, mumbling and mewling. Kitiara was annoyed. She’d spent good steel for this?

  “I know about the death knight’s promise,” said Kit. “That’s why I’m going. What I need is for Her Dark Majesty to look out for me. I won’t be of any use to her if Soth slays me before I even have a chance to open my mouth. If Her Majesty would just promise me-”

  The crone raised her head. She looked directly at Kitiara and said snappishly, in a querulous tone, “Don’t you know a test when you see one, you stupid chit?”

  The crone sank back into her stupor, and Kitiara left as fast as she could.

  A test, the oracle said. Lord Soth would
be testing Kit. This might be comforting. It could mean the death knight would refrain from killing her the moment she set her foot in the door. On the other hand, it could also mean he would keep her alive just for her entertainment value. Perhaps he only killed people when he grew bored of watching them suffer.

  Kit continued her journey north.

  She knew she had crossed the border into Nightlund when she started seeing abandoned villages and the road on which she traveled could scarcely be termed a road anymore. Solamnia had always been known for its system of highways. Armies marched faster on roads that were in good condition. Merchants traveled farther and reached more cities. Good roads meant a strong economy. Even after the Cataclysm, when there was so much turmoil and upheaval, those in charge of the cities made highway upkeep a priority-everywhere but in Nightlund.

  Many of the roads had been destroyed during the Cataclysm, sunk under water when the river flooded or shaken apart in the earthquakes. Those roads that had survived fell into disrepair, and in some parts they disappeared altogether as nature reclaimed the land. The roads Kit traveled now were overgrown with weeds, dusted with snow, and devoid of travelers. Kit went for days without seeing another living soul.

  She had made good time up to this point. Now her progress was slowed. She had to ride miles out of her way to find a place to ford a river because the bridge had washed out. She had to fight her way through tall grass that came up to her horse’s flanks and was as tough as wire. Once, the road dumped her in a ravine, and another time led her straight into the side of a cliff. She would sometimes cover only a few miles in a single day, leaving herself and her horse exhausted. She also had to spend time hunting for food, for the only inns and farm houses she came across were long-since abandoned.

  Kit had not used a bow and arrow since she was young, and she was a clumsy shot at best. Hunger sharpened her skills, however, and she managed to bring down the occasional deer. But then she had to butcher it and dress it, and that took more valuable time.

  At this rate, she would be as old as the crone by the time she reached Dargaard Keep-if she reached it at all.

  Not only did she have to deal with broken roads and impassable forests and near starvation, she had to keep constant vigilance against the outlaws who now made this part of Ansalon home. She had discarded the garb of a wealthy cleric, foreseeing that would make her a valuable target. She replaced it with the clothes she had been wearing when she escaped Neraka: her gambeson and some leather armor she had picked up along the way. She resembled a down-on-her-luck sellsword again, but even that wouldn’t save her. There were those in Nightlund who would kill her for her boots.

  During the day, she rode with her hand constantly on the hilt of her sword. Once, an arrow struck her in the back. The arrow hit the armor and bounced off. She was ready to fight, but the coward who fired the arrow did not have nerve enough to confront her.

  By night, she slept with one eye open, or tried to, though sometimes she would be so weary she’d sink into a deep slumber. Fortunately for Kit, the horse of Salah Kahn had been trained to keep its master safe from the assassination attempts that were a way of life in Khur. Kit was constantly jolted out of sleep by the horse’s whinny of alarm. Leaping to her feet, she had to grapple with a knife-wielding thug, or, drawing her sword, watch a shadowy shape slither off into the darkness.

  Thus far, she had been lucky. She had been attacked by assailants acting alone. But the night or the day would come when a roving gang of thieves would fall upon her, and that would be the end.

  “I can’t do it, Your Majesty,” Kit said one day as she was trudging through the snow, leading the horse by the reins, for the road was too rough for the beast to traverse without risking injury. “I am sorry to break my vow, but it will be broken anyway, for I will never live long enough to even see Dargaard Keep.”

  Kit stumbled to a halt. She did not like to admit defeat, but she was too hungry, too tired, too cold and dispirited to keep going. She started to turn around, to head back down the road along which they had just come when Windracer gave a terrified shriek and reared up on its hind legs, hooves flailing. Kit had been holding tight to the reins, and the horse’s sudden, unexpected move nearly dragged her arm out of the socket.

  Kitiara dropped the reins and grabbed her sword. The horse landed on its feet again and stood in the road, shivering and sweating, foam dripping from its mouth, its eyes rolling wildly. Kit looked and saw nothing, but she felt the horse’s terror. Then she heard hoofbeats behind her.

  Kit whipped around, steel blade flashing in the sun.

  An enormous jet-black horse with fiery red eyes stood blocking the road. A woman was mounted on the horse. She rode side-saddle, as did the noble gentry. She was clad in a dress of fine black velvet. The skirt fell in graceful, sweeping folds down the horse’s flank to the road. Her face was concealed by a long black diaphanous veil. She sat straight and tall, her black-gloved hands loosely holding the reins.

  Kitiara dropped her sword. Quaking inside, more terrified than she had been at the thought of facing her executioner, she fell to her knees.

  “Your Majesty!” she gasped fearfully. “I didn’t mean-”

  “Yes, you did,” said Takhisis, and her voice was soft as the black velvet of her dress and as hard as the frozen ground on which Kit knelt. “I heard your ultimatum.”

  Kit shivered. “Your Majesty, it wasn’t-”

  “Of course it was. What you are saying is that if I want you to go to Dargaard Keep, I should find some means of getting you there in a timely manner.”

  And alive, Kitiara thought, but she did not dare say that.

  She risked sneaking a look from beneath her long lashes, but she could see nothing of the woman’s features hidden beneath the veil.

  “If you command me, Your Majesty,” Kit said humbly, “I will keep going… as far as I can…”

  Takhisis tapped her gloved hands in irritation. She sat straight in the saddle, turned this way and that, taking in the forest and the wretched excuse for a road.

  “I give you credit,” Takhisis said. “You have done well to come this far. I knew this place was a mess, but I didn’t know how bad it was.”

  She turned her veiled face to Kit. “I will help you one more time, Blue Lady, but that will be the last.”

  The Dark Queen lifted a gloved hand to point skyward.

  Kitiara looked up and gave a glad cry. Skie came into view, flying slowly overhead, his head down, searching this way and that. Kitiara shouted his name and leapt to her feet, waving her arms. Either the dragon heard her or he heard his Queen’s command, for he shifted his gaze, spotted her, and began spiraling downward.

  Kitiara looked back to Takhisis. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I will not fail you.”

  “If you do, it will not matter, will it? You will be dead,” Takhisis replied. “I suppose I will have to return Salah Kahn’s horse. I’ll never hear the end of it otherwise.”

  She took graceful hold of Windracer’s reins and rode off down the road, leading the terrified steed behind her. When the goddess had disappeared into the darkness of the woods, Kitiara had a joyous reunion with Skie.

  She was so glad to see the dragon, she felt strongly inclined to fling her arms around his neck and hug him, but she knew Skie would be deeply offended and likely never forgive her. She began by apologizing to the dragon, admitting that Skie had been right, her foolish search for the half-elf had landed her in trouble, nearly gotten her killed. Skie did not say “I told you so,” but instead he magnanimously apologized in turn, saying he was wrong to have deserted her.

  After that, he informed her that she was back in Ariakas’s good graces. Ariakas had asked Skie-almost begged him-to go searching for her. This bit of news caused Kit to smile wryly, particularly when she learned that Feal-Thas was dead and the Solamnic knights were stirring up trouble.

  Ariakas had an important assignment for Kitiara in Flotsam. The emperor also wanted her to begin planning for an att
ack on the High Clerist’s Tower.

  “Now he decides that!” Kit fumed. “Now, after the knights are talking of sending troops to reinforce the tower. And if Solamnia is suddenly so important, why does he talk of sending me to Flotsam, to the other side of the continent on some secret mission? Bah! The man is losing his grip!”

  Skie flicked his tail in agreement and dropped down on his belly so that Kitiara could climb up on his back. Skie had brought with him the blue armor and helm of a Dragon Highlord, given to him by Ariakas on the off-chance that Skie should find her. Kitiara put on her armor with relish. She felt herself vindicated. She placed the helm on her head and vowed that Ariakas would one day come to regret his treatment of her. She was not yet strong enough to challenge him. That day would come, however, maybe sooner than later if she succeeded at Dargaard Keep. Clad once more in her armor, Kitiara felt strong enough for anything, even a death knight.

  His Blue Lady restored to him, the dragon was also in excellent humor. His blue scales rippled and he dug his claws into the ground, ready to take off.

  “Where do we go?” he asked. “Solamnia or Flotsam?”

  Kitiara sucked in a deep breath. This was going to be difficult.

  “Her Majesty didn’t tell you?” she hedged.

  “Who? Tell me what?” Skie swiveled his head around, suddenly suspicious.

  “We fly north,” Kit said. “To Dargaard Keep.”

  Skie stared at her, then said flatly, “You’re joking.”

  “No,” said Kitiara calmly. “I’m not.”

  “Then you’re crazy!” the dragon snarled. “If you think I’m going to fly you to your death-”

  “I promised Queen Takhisis I would undertake this,” Kitiara said. “What did you think I was doing here in Nightlund anyway?”