by kubasik
Softly Kyrethe laughed, and then she was focused again. With the careful movement of a predator, she started off for the camp, crawling on her stomach. Jade rested beside me, watching her, panting with impatience.
I could still see her for the first few hundred feet. Then her gray robe blended into the land, and she vanished from my sight.
The camp, however, was perfectly visible. About fifteen minutes after Kyrethe left my side I saw one of the dwarf guards looking with curiosity in the general direction where Kyrethe would be. Had he heard something? He started walking out of the firelight to investigate. I began moving forward. Whether these people were loyal to Throal or not, Kyrethe would be in terrible danger if discovered. She carried with her the Theran air, and that could spell her immediate death.
With the pain in my leg still burning a bit, I began to move forward. I could silence the guard with out making a sound. All I had to do was get out there fast enough.
Then a commotion in the camp caught my attention. Another entourage approached from the other side of the camp. At its head—Mordom. I could just make out his thin face, the sealed eyes. The eye-palm upraised, allowing him to see. Jade sat up, licked her lips. The dwarf guard stepped back into the firelight, preparing himself for the arrival of Mordom's group. I relaxed. I saw Mordom and the others greet one another. Small, collapsible stools were set up around the fire. A large group of dwarfs, humans, elves—and of course, Mordom—gathered. The discussion was soft and I could hear nothing they said.
But all I wanted was Kyrethe's return. Mordom had obviously come from where he kept Neden. From what I knew of a beastmaster adept's talents, Kyrethe would be able to track Mordom's path back to Neden. With Mordom out of the way we would only have to deal with whatever guards he had left around the boy. It would actually be possible to rescue him!
More than a half an hour later my patience was beginning to fray. I scanned the darkness for Kyrethe's return. What was taking her so long? The distraction had passed, the guards were watchful once more. She could not press her luck too much longer.
Then, against a slope ridiculously close to the camp, I saw her. She was still moving forward, seeking out patches of darkness to get as close as possible. But she was closer than she had to be for eavesdropping. Then I saw something glitter in her hand, reflecting the starlight above. Those in the camp could not see it, for she had hidden herself in a shallow gully as she continued to move closer. I knew, though, exactly what it was, and a terror passed through me. I knew that within moments I could lose both Neden and Kyrethe. She had her dagger out, and there was no doubt she meant to kill her brother now.
3
"Stay," I said to Jade. Kyrethe had taught the tiger that command, and I hoped she would obey even though it was only I who spoke the instruction. Then I was out in the shadows, moving swiftly through the shallow gullies and ducking behind the low rises that separated me from the camp. I moved much faster than I would have liked. Had to keep myself nearly standing in my haste. But time was the key.
Within moments I saw Kyrethe just ahead of me, moving up. So slowly—and then she began getting up on her hands and knees. She was too close for further subtlety. There was nothing for her to do now but rush forward. I hastened my pace, my leg tight with short jabs of pain with each step, until I was on her. She had left her crouch and was about to sprint. I launched myself onto her back, covering her mouth. The two of us hit the ground. I landed on my back, and, with her back against my stomach, tried to keep her still. I wrapped my legs around her, keeping one hand on her mouth and my other arm around her stomach.
She fought fiercely, aggravating the pain in my leg. But death waited if I were to give in and let her go. We were only yards from the camp's perimeter.
"Shhh. It's me. J'role. Stop."
She paused. Then, with greater fury and energy than before, struggled wildly once again to free herself.
"Stop it. Please. Listen. Mordom will die. You can kill your brother, I'll help." She gave a muffled gurgle. "All right. You can kill him yourself. But please. Please. I beg of you.
We can get to Neden now. He'll be lightly protected. We can follow Mordom's tracks back to where he has the boy. Please. Please. Help me rescue the boy. The death can wait.
Death is always looming. Saving this boy—this is something we have to do now."
She stopped struggling. I waited, wondering if it were a trick. Then I realized I would never know. After a few more moments I let her go. Without a word she rolled off me, face down, breathing. Her anger was palpable. But she did not run off toward Mordom.
"We'll get him,” I whispered.
"Quiet," she said. She was listening to the discussion now. They were all so close. I raised my head above the gully's top and saw Mordom clearly in the firelight.
"He's dead?" he asked.
"That's the word from Kratas," said a dwarf who wore the symbol of Throal on his shoulder. Traitors must be deep within the ranks of Throal, for the man was a general in the Throalic army. "Vistrosh assured me his agents dispatched King Varulus three weeks ago."
"Kratas?" wondered Mordom. "Isn't that the city Garlthik One-Eye rules?"
"It doesn't matter," said the general. "Vistrosh and Garlthik are bitter rivals for control of the city. He's competent. If he says the king is dead, the king is dead."
Mordom was not satisfied. "If Garlthik is even near the source of the information ..."
Mordom's voice trailed off, searching for the right words. "He has this ... loathsome talent for getting into the middle of things that aren't his business. For having access to knowledge that he should in no way possess. For turning the worst of luck to his advantage."
"Mordom," the general said firmly. "Garlthik tried to infiltrate our efforts. We dispatched his agents."
"Even worse news."
"Enough. I have told you the deed is done. How is your work progressing ... ?"
"The 'deed' better be. If this is to work ..."
The general held up a hand. His face, already red in the firelight, grew redder. "We betrayed the prince's escort. We arranged for the king's hiding place to be betrayed. Now.
The prince's mind. How goes your work?"
"Well. I'm almost done. The poison is already at work."
"Can we take him now?"
Mordom shook his head. "He is mindless. A coma. A few more days will have him behaving with reactions typical for a boy his age."
"Can I see him now?"
"I don't think that's a good idea. He's—as I told you, there would be risks. He's near death right now ..."
"But he is going to live?"
"Oh, yes. Mountainshadow's guidance has been— incredible, really. We'll have him ready for you soon But you must be patient."
"Varulus opened up our kingdom to all of Barsaive, polluting our land. He took on the responsibility of fighting Thera and trying to bring justice to all the land. Our resources are nearly bled dry. We don't have much more time."
"And soon you will have an heir ready to do whatever you say. When you march back to Throal, the boy safely in your care after a daring rescue, you will be able to put all things right."
"And Thera and Throal can become the allies they were in the past."
"Oh, yeses Mordom said, smiling. "Assuredly that."
I tugged on Kyrethe's robe. She sighed, nodded. Carefully we headed back to Jade.
"We've got to find him now. Now is our chance."
"J'role. Did you hear what my brother said? Your boy is near death. What are we going to do when we find him?"
"Something. Anything. But you also heard your brother say that he'll soon be some sort of puppet for the traitors.”
She stopped, looked at me, studying me. "This matters to you, doesn't it?"
I was startled into realizing it did. I nodded. "Why do you wonder at that?"
"From everything you've told me about yourself—it just doesn't make sense in a way."
Then she stared off into
the distance. Then smiled. "In another way, it does. When this is all over, when your boy is rescued and my brother dead, I think I'd like to stay here in your land. There's something interesting about this place. Something I don't see in Thera."
It had never occurred to me she would return to her home. I did not say that. Sixty years had given me some tact. But I was happy to learn she was settling toward whatever it was that I was settling toward.
We continued on. By making our way in a wide arc around the camp we found Mordom's trail. The soil had shifted because of the nature of the Badlands. But the number of people who had walked with Mordom, along with Kyrethe's tracking talent, allowed her to pick up the trail. Soon, with only a few false leads, we were on our way back to Mordom's lair.
Taking a break at one point, Kyrethe asked, "Who is this Mountainshadow Mordom mentioned?"
When Mordom had mentioned the name, it had struck a memory of some sort, but I had not been able to place it. I was still not able to remember when Kyrethe asked me about him.
After we'd moved on for another twenty minutes I saw a guard on a large hill ahead of us.
He sat low to the ground, without a fire. I pulled our group behind a rise and said I'd go scout and take care of the guards. Kyrethe said she'd take Jade along the trail and take care of anyone who might be backing the scouts up. I wanted to discourage her at first.
To keep her safe. And then I realized that being safe was not who Kyrethe was. It might frighten me, because I cared for her, I realized. But that was who she was. We split up.
It took me a bit of work to get up onto the hill, for the guard's position was a good one.
Then, when I arrived, I saw that there were two guards, not one. A dwarf and a troll. The two of them sat staring out over the ragged land. The starlight turned the dead earth silver.
Surprise would last me only for the first attack, so the troll would be my first victim. I waited for the right moment. Patience, when dealing with death, is a virtue that cannot be underestimated. Finally the dwarf got up to stretch. As he stood, he turned to look out over the land. At that moment I rushed forward, sword out. They heard only a slight scrape of footsteps against dirt, then my sword was buried deep in the troll's neck. He gave out a sharp, crooked gasp.
The dwarf was good. No panic. He had his axe in hand even as I whirled toward him. I tried to jerk my sword out of the troll to parry his blow, but it had gotten stuck in the troll's thick muscles. "Alarm!" the dwarf cried as his axe cut through the air. I jumped out of the way, leaving myself some room to maneuver.
We moved about the hilltop wildly, me dodging, him laughing as he swung his weapon.
Twice I maneuvered myself back to my sword, and both times he drove me away from it.
On the third attempt I wrested it free and brought it up for a decisive parry. He charged me then, for my sword would quickly outwork his axe in combat. I brought my sword up in a feint, forcing him to the right, then whirled and struck him across the arm. He cried out and fell to the ground. Another swing smashed in the side of his head, and he fell still.
But not all was silent. From below I heard heavy breathing and the cry of more guards. I ran to the edge of the hill arid saw two humans and another troll rushing up the hill at me.
Now panic filled me. No surprise. Badly outnumbered. Slightly winded.
I had momentarily forgotten about my support, however. Jade's roar cut through the night air, so loud and so brazen, it was as if she owned the night. Certainly in that moment the three guards and myself were willing to give it to her.
They turned, suddenly aware of a greater danger than an old man with a sword. She rushed up with incredible speed, her grace all the more impressive for her size. In the guard's moment of distraction I hopped down the hill and sliced one of the human guards through the back. Jade leaped into the air and plowed into the troll's chest. He gave out a horrible scream as Jade's claws ripped through his muscles and her fangs ripped deep into his right shoulder. The last guard, turning this way and that in search of more surprise threats, left himself open for my blow. I caught him on the arm. My attack sobered him and he came at me.
Beyond him, at the base of the hill, I saw another human guard appear, running out from a cave entrance. Kyrethe, who had been hiding within a shallow gully, popped out and made a credible, though amateurish, attack at the man's back. He screamed out and crumpled quickly. In the starlight, her dagger glistened shiny scarlet.
Beside me, the troll and Jade went after each other. The tiger's attack had determined the course of the fight, however. Soon the troll could not even scream. The final guard and I went at it for a few attacks and parries. But I had the advantage of higher elevation, which I kept and used to keep pressing him further and further down the hill. Finally he tripped and cut himself on his own blade. It was little effort on my part to finish him off.
We gathered, Kyrethe, Jade, and I, at the base of the hill. There a large cave opening waited. The starlight illuminated no more than the first few feet, and then darkness choked the cave. I could see, however, that the cave sloped sharply downward.
"A dragon," I said.
"What?"
"I remember now. Hearing about him in village east of here. There's supposed to be a dragon living in the Badlands. His name is Mountainshadow."
4
We stopped. Didn't look at each other. Just into the mouth of the cave. And then, starting at the same instant, we laughed. "Doom awaits us all," I said.
"But so regularly?" joked Kyrethe.
Our laughter stopped abruptly. A moment of sober reflection. "Thank you for helping me," I said.
"Well, despite the fact that I want him dead more than anything—helping an innocent boy does make me feel better."
We held hands a moment, and then, with Jade walking alongside, entered the cave. The guards who had come out of the cave had brought torches. Kyrethe picked one up from the ground and carried it as I moved ahead searching for traps and alarms. I could find nothing—Mordom had probably counted on the Badlands themselves to keep people out of his way— but remained vigilant nonetheless. The cave sloped down deeper and deeper until it finally opened out into a large cavern. Torches burned in metal stands that illuminated a small section of the cavern. Around us the walls were rough and covered with ancient stone. Off to one side were a dozen cots. To another, several boxes filled with scrolls. To another, a lab area with tables covered with beakers and books.
"Where's the dragon?" Kyrethe whispered.
"Don't know," I replied. I'd never seen a dragon before, but had heard of their vast size.
Still, the cavern was so large it might well hold several dragons. "Maybe it's out killing or something."
Kyrethe's voice suddenly was drained of life. "J'role."
I turned and saw her pointing at a stone slab. Neden rested one it, eyes closed. His flesh had been put back together. Not even a scar remained. But a strange latticework of glass tubes had been constructed around him. One end of each tube was connected to beakers that held strange potions that emitted ghastly lights of different colors. Each tube rested on a series of stands around Neden's slab. Some of them had fires burning beneath them, others boiled of their own nature. The tubes from the beakers pierced the boy's flesh, and bloody welts boiled up about the tubes.
I moved quickly beside him. His breathing was shallow. His flesh a pale blue. I wondered if it was safe to remove the tubes. Were some of them keeping him alive?
Probably thinking along the same lines, Kyrethe asked, "Do you think we should really try this?"
"I don't think we have a choice. If they finish, the damage may be permanent." With that I extended my hand, almost touching one of the glass tubes. It occurred to me that if I removed the tube, the liquid within would spill out all over the floor. I looked around and saw some clay used to stopper the tubes, and picked some up.
"What is all this?" Kyrethe asked.
"Your brother has a talent for dealing with H
orrors. An affinity. I believe some of these materials are poisons, extracts—something—from Horrors he's studied. Others are probably keeping Neden alive while portions of his soul and mind are being corrupted."
She was silent a moment, and then said, "I can't believe he's my brother."
I turned my head, stared at her. For one flash of an instant all her age and hard-edged determination vanished and she became terribly naive. I don't mean this in a bad way. I know too many people who accept the world's terrors with a shrug. Her ability to know dark truths and still be stunned by them I found wonderful. "I'll go wait by the entrance, to listen for more guards."
