Crown of Steel (Chaos Awakens)
Page 8
Haley swung her axe once more and severed the last of the creature's arm. She fell the rest of the way to the ground with the dying thing's claws still hooked into her leg. She fastened her axe back onto her belt. The floor was slick with blood, hers and the wolf's, but she pulled herself across it anyway. She couldn't stand. She could barely move. Where was Kassa? It didn't take her long to reach her destination. Xandrith's knife was just beyond the chaos sitting unused and clean on the hut floor. She grabbed it with her good hand and held it close to her chest like a child might do with a favored doll. Xan would be angry with her. Not about almost losing the knife, she knew. He'd be angry that she'd spent so much time worrying about the knife that she'd let herself be taken completely by surprise. That was stupid. Haley knew that was stupid. It was just a piece of metal. It was also the most valuable gift anyone had ever given her. The edges of her vision were getting darker. She looked down at herself and she could see the pool of blood forming around her.
"I'm bleeding out.” She said quietly to herself. “Kassa!?” She called for the older woman, looking for help. There was no reply but for the wind and a cacophony of other sounds she couldn't identify. “Kassa!” She called again, her voice weaker. It was difficult to get up the energy to call out again. Her heart felt like it was beating far too fast in her chest. Darkness thickened around her. “Xan, I don't want to die.” She gasped into the cold air. Black nothingness devoured her whole.
Chapter 4
Footprints
As the world swam slowly back into focus Haley sprang to her feet and drew her dagger before she was even halfway upright. Something touched her shoulder and she struck out at it instantly, the knife diving forward like a snake striking to deliver its venom. Her strike was knocked off center and turned to the side and then a familiar face was at her side. It was Kassa.
"Whoa, relax. You're alright Haley.” Kassa said, waiting for the light of recognition to fully flicker in the girl’s eyes before releasing her wrist and the knife.
"Where are we? The werewolves?” Haley asked, trying to fit together the last of her memories and her current situation.
"The werewolves are dead. You killed one, and I dispatched the other two. You were badly injured in the fight. I had to carry you to the nearest town. Luckily they had an Order of Mages healer, and she has repaired most of the damage to your body. It took a few days for you to come out of the sleep though. How are you feeling?” Kassa spoke slowly and calmly.
Days? Haley thought with frustration. I've already lost days on Xan's trail. She forced herself to take a deep breath and stretch her limbs. She felt almost like normal, but her right shoulder had a strange kink in it that seemed to offer a little bit of an ache when she rolled the cuff. It wasn't bad and it wouldn't interfere with her movement, but it was noticeable. Her old burns tugged and pulled as she stretched, but she’d become accustomed that discomfort. "I'm alright.” She answered Kassa, though in truth she actually felt terrible and not from the physical injuries either. She was ashamed to have been carried into town, and she was angry to have slowed down their progress.
"Good. We should be moving on then. I've already got a lead on where we should go next.” Kassa said. The older woman wore a guarded expression on her face. There was something she wasn't saying, and whatever it was it was clear that it was behind her desire for haste. Haley wasn't certain whether she should ask about it or not. Was it any of her business? Did it have something to do with Xandrith? If it was about their friend then Haley decided it was her business.
"Is something wrong?” Haley finally asked.
"It's nothing.” Kassa replied too quickly, not meeting Haley's eyes. “I just don't want to be here any longer than we have to be. I'm eager to be back on the road.”
Haley frowned, certain that something was being omitted, but what was she going to say? She didn't even have a clue what could be bothering the older woman. “Alright. Let's get going then. Is there ... do we have any bills to settle before leave?” Haley asked, only too aware that they had no money and nothing of any value other than the masks they'd been given by Johndin, and there was no way they would part with those.
Kassa's lips tightened for a moment and she shook her head tersely before replying. “I've already paid.” With those three words she turned on her heals and grabbed a couple of packs and some new, winter weighted cloaks that were on the ground by the door to the room. She tossed one of the packs and one of the cloaks to Haley, and quickly fitted the others to herself.
"Get dressed and come on. We need to move. Your mask is in your pack. Put it on before you leave the room. I've seen a lot of people wearing plague protection, and we're not taking any chances.” Kassa ordered coldly as she slid her own mask over her face as if to hide her features behind the wolfish ones of the mask. However, the magical mask still seemed to convey her considerable unease through its surface. Kassa was already heading out of the room.
Haley jumped to follow her and pulled on the pack and cloak as she went, suddenly worried that Kassa would leave her behind in her haste to depart. She slid her mask into place just as she reached the door and shivered a little as the mask seemed to crawl against her face. How had Kassa settled their bill without any money, and why was she in such a hurry to leave? It didn't make any sense to Haley, but she felt like she couldn't ask for Kassa to explain. It was obvious that her companion didn't want to share the details.
On the way out of the healer's clinic an attractive woman maybe a few years older than Kassa dressed in a thin silk brown robe waved after them and called out. “Leaving so soon, girls?” She took a few steps in their direction, but Kassa didn't even slow down. “Shame you couldn't stay longer!” She called as Kassa pushed out the door and into the street without even turning her head. Haley gave a look back over her shoulder to see the woman teasing at her lower lip with her teeth. She gave a mischievous wink to Haley just before the door closed in their wake, which did little but confuse the girl even more.
"That was kind of rude, wasn't it?” Haley asked as they marched down the road at a much faster pace than seemed reasonable.
Kassa didn't reply. She didn't even look at Haley. The scowl of the wolf mask had deepened and there seemed to be a feint red tinge coming from the insides of the carved ears. Was that a blush through the mask? Seeing she wasn't going to get an answer out of her travel companion, Haley set about adjusting the straps on the travel pack Kassa had thrown to her. It was a good quality pack, and its weight and heft told the girl that it had been stocked with supplies. “How did you get the money to buy all of this?”
Kassa looked over at Haley, some of the grimness fleeing her features. “I didn't steal them, if that's what you're implying.”
Haley hadn't really thought she did, and she told the older woman as much. “Xandrith might have stolen them, or the money to buy them, but I didn't think you would.”
"I skinned the werewolves before making my way here. I needed the furs to keep you bundled, warm, and in one piece while I made the journey. I wasn't sure how far I'd have to go, but I knew we'd need to be warmer. I sold the hides after I made arrangements for your healing. They still needed to be properly tanned, but werewolf hide is quite valuable. I bought us supplies with that money while I searched for information about Xan.”
"You said you had a lead. What did you find out?” Haley asked, suddenly only too willing to let the subject of their finances drop.
"Rumors mostly. South of here about three days march there is a permanent tradesmen's camp. Traders stop there to do some internal trading in order to vary their goods before heading off to their final destinations to sell. About two weeks ago someone claims that a stranger came into camp, ranting, raving, and talking to himself. Everyone just assumed he was some crazy man, but apparently he got into a fight with one of the traders and when things escalated the stranger lit all of the trader’s wagons on fire.”
Haley frowned. “That doesn't necessarily sound like Xan.”
Haley nodded. “It would almost have to be him, but I didn't think he could really use magic because of ... well, you know.” She held up her hands with her pinkies tucked in.
Kassa shrugged. “Me being here at all is an indicator that maybe he isn't as limited by his fingers as the Order might believe. At any rate, it's the best lead we have right now. We'll travel south and see if we can learn anymore from the traders’ camp. With any luck there will be someone in residence who was there when the events happened that might know where we should go next.”
Haley smiled. It seemed a slim hope, but at the same time Xan felt like he was within reach. It infused her with a sense of purpose, and that put her in a strangely agreeable mood. She took a deep breath, preparing to do something else she didn't normally do.
"Kassa, thank you for working so hard to save my life. I would be dead if it wasn't for you.” She thanked the older woman, though it wasn't easy to do. It felt a little like admitting defeat.
Kassa seemed unsure what to say in reply. “It's nothing.” She said, though there was that same shadow of unease over her features. Together they crossed through the town gate and out onto the road, an awkward silence settling between them.
"It is something.” Haley said, unwilling to let the matter drop this time. The secret settling between them was stifling. “You don't owe me anything. We don't even really know each other that well. That you were willing to carry me all the way from out in the wilderness to this town, even when you didn't know how long or how far that would be, that was far more than you needed to do. It would be wrong of me not to repay you in some way. At least let me pay back whatever it was it cost you to get me healed. If it's coin, I can earn coin. If it's a possession, I will find you a replacement. If it's a service, then I will serve you until we are even again.”
Kassa stopped in her tracks, her wolf ears bright red as she looked down at Haley, a look somewhere between amusement and anger shaping the features of the mask. The mask showed a half snarl expression that might have been quite intimidating on an actual wolf. “You're not going to let this go, are you?” She asked, obviously flustered.
"I don't like feeling as though I owe you something.” Haley replied, proud of herself for pushing the issue.
Kassa closed her eyes for a moment, but when she opened them again there was a look of determination on her face. “We'll talk about this once, and then never again so listen closely. The mage running that shop, the woman in the brown robes you saw as we left?” Kassa waited for Haley to nod before going on. “She has been lonely for a very long time. You see, she doesn't find men attractive the way most women do. Instead, she wants to be with women but there are no women in the town that feel the same way. I didn't have nearly enough coin to pay for your healing, but she promised to give you her best treatment if I agreed to spend the nights with her and fulfill those desires that she has been unable to satisfy. Do you understand?”
"No, I mean ... what?” Haley was confused.
Kassa sighed in exasperation. “I shared her bed as a man would with a woman. We made love.”
Haley's jaw had dropped and it was her turn to blush. She'd never even heard of such a thing. “But how does ... what do you ... I don't ...”
Kassa shook her head. “That's not important, and there is nothing wrong with her having the desires that she does. The part of this that upsets me, the reason I don't want to talk about it, is because I did not want to be with her like that. I did it out of necessity, and it makes me feel ashamed. So you see, there is nothing you can do to repay me. I just don't want to discuss it any further, alright?”
Haley nodded her head once, all pride she'd had on pushing the topic suddenly gone. Sometimes she fooled herself into believing that she was worldly and adult, but something like that was so far beyond her understanding that she suddenly felt very young and confused. Haley was willing to let the subject drop as they resumed their normal walking pace, but she realized that even though Kassa wanted nothing in return other than to put it all behind them she really owed the older woman a large personal debt. Kassa had paid for Haley's healing with her body and her shame, and those were costs that far outweighed any amount of gold. Even though Haley didn't understand it all, she knew about the agony of living in the shadow of a deep shame.
"Where do you think Xandrith is going?” She asked Kassa, attempting to push away the discomfort of their previous conversation.
Kassa didn't answer immediately, and when she did so it was with some hesitance. “I think he's headed for Yillan Reach.”
A chill passed down Haley's spine. She'd never been to the Reach herself, but she knew of the place from Xandrith's retelling of the events that had taken place there. Yillan Reach had been a prosperous city until the mages’ dabbling with powers beyond their understanding had backfired and drawn an old enemy of theirs back from the void to which that enemy had been cast. Haley had seen one of the Drayid monsters. It had come for Xan in the night, a horrible blending of metal and decaying flesh. The thing had almost killed Xan, but luckily Haley had been able to catch it unaware. Yillan Reach was also the place where Kassa had been killed. It was a city of nightmares.
"I don't think he'd go back there.” Haley offered. “Why would he want to after all that’s happened?”
"I think he's after the Great Vault, the object that created the mechanna monsters that ... that killed me.” Kassa was obviously ill at ease discussing that particular topic.
The Great Vault had been mentioned in passing on several occasions by Shawl in regards to Xandrith's possible final goal, but Haley wasn't entirely certain what exactly the vault was or what was inside of it. Xan had once explained to her that the mages had trapped their enemies inside of the vault, and it had driven those people mad and made them turn into creatures like the monster that Haley had saved Xan from. She'd also heard Xan's history with the mage Tibsenth and how the old mage had believed that there was an evil god trapped inside the vault. None of that, though, gave any indication as to why Xan would be seeking the Great Vault. It seemed to Haley that it was an object of evil and something to be avoided.
"What does he want with it?” Haley finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Johndin believed that the Great Vault was actually a prison, and that there might have been something trapped inside of it that could help us. I know he tried to convince Xan to look into it before he left, and it's possible that he's doing exactly that now.”
The younger woman frowned, skeptical. “Xandrith said there was an evil god inside the vault. It wanted the world to fall into chaos or something.”
Kassa nodded once. “When he first arrived at Shawl's cabin that is exactly what he believed. Johndin seemed to believe differently. He believed when the two gods fought it wasn't the one who desired chaos that was locked away. Instead he thought that the one who wanted chaos had proven stronger and trapped the other inside of the prison of his own making. The fight between them exhausted the chaos god, though, and he ended up sinking into the earth to rest while the magical energies of the world rebuilt. Johndin believed that the god of chaos was stirring and getting ready to make his move on our world's magic, and that the only solution was to free the other god who'd been trapped inside the Great Vault for all these years. He hoped that the trapped god would fight his counterpart and preserve our world.”
Haley still wasn't certain. That seemed like a dangerous course of action. What if the old mage was wrong? Shawl was a clever man, and he knew an awful lot, but the risk if he was wrong was phenomenal.
Kassa wasn't quite done with her story
yet. “To make matters worse, there is a chance that the god of creation, the one who might be trapped in the Great Vault, could be completely insane. The prison was corrupted when the god of chaos closed it improperly, and then later it was further corrupted when the mages used it to destroy the Drayid. Shawl believed it was quite possible that even if the god of creation was still alive inside the prison, it may have gone mad like the Drayid have.”
Haley just shook her head. “Xan definitely shouldn't open that thing. What will happen to the Drayid if they get out? And what if the thing inside simply destroys him before decimating the world? Opening that vault is a terrible idea.” She said firmly, deciding beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would have to stop Xandrith if that was what he intended.
Kassa shrugged her shoulders, looking tired. “I don't think Shawl is wrong, though. I think the Trolls are rising up, and I think they're bringing something terrible for the world with them. If the god of chaos has been sleeping down there, biding its time all these centuries, we could be on the cusp of the end of the world. Xan might be doing the only thing that offers us even the slightest glimmer of hope.”
The box mustn't be opened at any cost. A corner of Haley's mind stated with a demanding urgency, and she was again stricken by the notion that the thought, while mirroring her own, still felt alien. She looked uneasily down at the axe on her hip. Xan had warned her that there would come a time when the blade would awaken, but she'd almost allowed herself to believe that it wasn't going to happen to her. She pushed that notion from her mind for the time being, though she'd have to be more careful going forward. If the axe was starting to have its own say in things Haley needed to be able to differentiate her own thoughts from those implanted by the axe.