Enemies and Allies (Bound to the Abyss Book 3)

by James R. Vernon

  "Oh," Raneth released Ean's hand and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "We know it wasn't your fault that Ulundkin was destroyed. Some horrible beast, am I correct? I've heard the descriptions and it doesn't sound like anything from these lands or the Abyss. Any ideas where it came from?"

  "It was partially--"

  "Ean," Azalea practically pushed Ean out of the way as she stepped in front of him. "It's not polite to start conversations without everyone receiving an introduction."

  "Oh . . . sorry. Raneth, this is Azalea, my . . . advisor?"

  "Ah, you're an advisor." The Counselor turned to Azalea, taking in the sight of her before offering his hand. "We were told the great Sangrave traveled with a Yulari, but were not sure under what circumstances. Either way, it is a pleasure to meet you, my dear."

  "Likewise." Azalea cocked her head and sniffed the air. Confusion drifted through the bond for a moment, then disappeared. "I'm curious what circumstances you heard we traveled under."

  "Introductions aren't over yet, Azalea," Dao said, rising for the sofa.

  "You hardly count as a person," Azalea murmured, moving out of his way.

  "We've already met, Daoshen Palgrain." Raneth's demeanor changed in a heartbeat. Gone was the pleasant grandfather figure, replaced with the voice of a man whose patience was running thin. "When you were brought before me and I was to pronounce your death sentence. I still have yet to hear a thank you for my leniency."

  "You mean, I haven't thanked The Silent King for his leniency, which I intend to do as soon as the opportunity presents itself. As for his irritating Counselor–I owe him nothing."

  "A wise observation. Be happy with what The Silent King has provided you already."

  "I will be." Dao returned to his sat. "When I have everything I was promised."

  "All in due time. The Silent King has our guests to focus his attention on first." Raneth waved the man off, his attention returning to Ean and Azalea. "Which is on you, of course. I have to say, The Silent King was most pleased when he learned you had entered our lands. We were not fully confident that Dao would carry out his task or that you would accept the invitation."

  "It would have been hard to refuse. If my visit could in some way make up for what happened in Ulundkin–"

  "Which we have repeatedly stated was not your fault to the people of Novufyr," Raneth said quickly.

  "Even so, if the destruction of Ulundkin has made life more difficult for your people, I could hardly refuse offering my help."

  "As always, the wise king has sorted through the myths and the stories to ascertain a person's true character. He said Ean Sangrave was a man of substance. And you, my young friend, do not disappoint. It is a noble thing to help the less fortunate."

  "Are we going to meet him now?"

  "Sadly, no. As excited as he is to see you in person, The Silent King is indisposed until tomorrow. He asked me to give you a tour of the city. Show you the sights and let the people meet you."

  "I would love that!" Ean paused, embarrassed by his burst of enthusiasm. Clearing his throat, he tried to sound more business-like. "What I mean is that I'd enjoy seeing the historical sights around town and learn what life was like here before the Plague."

  "A lover of history?" Raneth clapped his hands together. "Excellent! There is nowhere else that contains as much history as Novufyr and no one else as educated in its history as myself."

  "Anything to get out of this room," Azalea said with an exaggerated sigh. "I need to stretch my legs. Have a little snack."

  "Ah," Raneth replied. "I was hoping to just provide master Ean with a tour. We will be traveling around the more populated areas of the city and I wouldn't want your companions to . . . how can I put this delicately . . . frighten our citizens?"

  "Are you saying I'm scary?" Azalea gave her best innocent expression.

  "I'm saying, my dear, that many of the people that live here were around when the city was under siege by creatures of the Abyss. Creatures . . . "–Raneth raised his hands in a calming gesture as Azalea shot him a look–"I mean . . . denizens of the Abyss, such as yourself. I think it would be easier on the people here to accept your visit if they saw Ean first. Saw him as just another ordinary man."

  "He's barely old enough to be called a man . . . " Azalea grumbled.

  "Azalea . . . "

  "Don't you find this a little strange?"

  "That he is willing to discuss history with me, history that, of course, involves Zin's former master? I understand being cautious, but the soldiers certainly could have overwhelmed us if The Silent King wanted us dead. You know I'll be careful."

  "It’s all the truth." Raneth had taken a few steps back. "We only have the best intentions for your master, my lady."

  "First off"–Azalea rounded on the man–"I wouldn’t give a handful of the Hound's turds for what your intentions are."

  Ean tried to put a restraining hand on Azalea's shoulder but she swatted it away.

  "Second, don't let my beauty fool you. I am far from a lady. I have no problem torturing and maiming anyone that crosses me. And messing with MY Ean would certainly be crossing me."

  "I swear I have no intention . . . " Raneth stammered.

  "Azalea, calm down.

  "No offense," Raneth said, "but it’s that kind of behavior that will send the king's subjects into a panic. I swear that's the sole reason I want to take master Sangrave on a tour by himself. Surely, a man of his power would be perfectly safe."

  "That's beside the point."

  "Then enough of this," Ean growled. "I'll be fine, Azalea."

  "You really are a fool sometimes." She gave a sigh and shrugged. "But you're my fool. I suppose if anything happens, I'll come and rescue you. Again."

  "I assure you, my la--ah, Miss Azalea. The only thing Ean will need rescuing from is boredom. But I will do my best to keep his interest in our history and culture as well as what happened at the time of the Plague for as long as possible. If we do not return before twilight, please don't go ripping through the city looking for him. A late return just means that he has been enjoying his tour."

  "I make no promises. After all"–Azalea clasped her hands together and put on a worried expression–"I just worry so much about my little human whenever he is out in this great big world without me."

  "Azalea," Ean chided.

  "Don't worry about me. I'll just entertain myself by watching how much of the furniture the Hound can gobble up while you're gone."

  Ean winced. "She makes a valid point, Counselor Almirg."

  "Just Raneth is fine. I don't need my ego inflated every time you want to address me."

  "Alright, Raneth. I understand not wanting the others out where they might make the citizens here nervous, but the Hound needs to get out of this room for a little bit if for nothing more than to stretch his legs and . . . do his business. Is there anywhere you could take him that would keep him away from the people that live here?"

  "Can't you just, you know . . . "–Raneth waved his hands about the air–"poof him back to the Abyss?"

  "No, he's part of my family now. I wouldn't want to send him back to the Abyss and have something happen to him. He has saved my life a number of times, including before your men found us, and I couldn't imagine losing him now."

  Not to mention the fact that the Hound was tied to him now and couldn't be sent back to the Abyss even if he wanted. Which he didn't. Everything he had said to Raneth was true, but despite his disagreeing with Azalea openly, he would be a fool not to be a little cautious. He trusted the Yulari's instincts and opinions. Plus, the few times he hadn't, things had gone poorly for him. Best to have one more ally with them in case things did start to go badly.

  "I see . . . " Raneth didn't seem pleased, but that could be for a number of innocent reasons. After all, the Hound occasionally still made Ean nervous, and he had its loyalty ingrained in his tattoos.

  "Will he listen to Azalea?"

  "I believe so."

  "The Hou
nd loves me, don't you, boy." Azalea walked over and rubbed the Hound between its ears. It flopped over onto its side and began to pant happily, sending droplets of saliva to the floor with a hiss.

  "There are walled gardens behind the main castle," Raneth said. "Very private. When your pet needs to go outside, just ask one of the guards posted in your hallway to escort you down. He'll make sure the area is clear for you at that time. Is that acceptable?"

  “No," Azalea said adamantly, while at the same time Ean gave a forceful, "Yes."

  "Excellent." Raneth ignored the glare Azalea directed at him and made a sweeping gesture towards the door. "Well then, if that's everything, shall we?"

  "Alright, Raneth. Let's go see Novufyr."

  Chapter 36

  The waves broke rhythmically against the shore as Ean and Raneth entered the city. The streets were hushed and nearly deserted, adding to the mystery of the place.

  Buildings rose up around them as they moved away from the castle, some only a single story tall while others stretched to three or four. Brick houses sat up against stone ones, their window panes gone and the outlines of furniture left and forgotten, peeking from the shadows.

  "I want to take you by the Zearen district first," Raneth said as he moved down the road. The city seemed to energize Raneth, making him seem younger somehow. “This is where the greatest minds in the kingdom work at reinventing the items we lost during the Plague. A fascinating place."

  "A great deal was lost?" Half of Ean's attention was on the Counselor while the rest was on the city.

  "Yes. Lives, skills, knowledge. Many of the libraries were destroyed during the riots of the Plague. We've been trying to recover ever since. This used to be the greatest city in the land, and I plan to make it that way once again. The heart of that restoration is here"–Raneth gestured ahead of them as they rounded a corner–"at the Tower of Mylon Hursh."

  In front of him, a large stone tower, almost as wide as the castle, stretched into the sky. When Ean had noticed it on the way into the city, the reddish-brown tower had seemed circular, but up close he saw that it was actually a hexagonal design. Each of the six sides was easily the length of three or four of the houses on the adjoining streets and was taller than eight of the houses stacked on top of each other.

  "From what we can piece together"–Raneth led Ean down the road that circled the tower as he spoke–"a powerful elementalist named Mylon Hursh created the tower centuries before anyone had ever heard of the Plague. The tower used to be a place where the arts of magic, elementalism, and other fields of magic were studied and practiced together in harmony.

  "Now, we use it for storage and research. Our most talented and creative people are being funneled here. In the future, the world will remember this district as the birthplace of new ideas and inventions. But for now, most of our efforts are put into resurrecting the old disciplines that were lost to the Plague."

  "That's quite amazing," Ean said as they circled around the building. "Are we going inside?"

  "To be honest, there isn't much to see--not yet. One day, though." Raneth let out a sigh, but then his face brightened. "Well then, on to our next location. This is my favorite part of the tour."

  They began following another road north. As they moved deeper into the city, Ean was happy to finally see people going about their business. Most of the people favored Raneth with a wave or a smile while Ean received blank stares. It was better than the looks of hostility he had expected, though.

  The conversation turned to how the citizens of the city were organized and placed into different districts. Ean only half-heartedly paid attention. He found little interest in what was being said. There were other topics he would rather discuss, but he didn't want to be impolite and interrupt the man's lecture.

  "Up ahead, we have the city gardens," Raneth continued. "It used to be quite a sight—plants and trees of every color imaginable. Sadly, most of it was burned during the riots. We use it now as farmland. Much safer than the farms outside the walls."

  An open track of land spread out before them, about the same amount of space that the castle took up. Small fields spotted the land, dispersed by waist-high walls in various degrees of disrepair. Men and women moved about tending the fields.

  "One of the few perks of this humid weather is that most crops grow all year round. What season is it in Ven Khilada?"

  "The Freeze just started to settle in, but we haven't seen the first snowfall yet."

  "As a young man, I hated the snow. But now that the Plague stopped it from falling, I miss it like the dickens. Funny how the absence of a despised thing turns it into an object of desire."

  They moved past the fields, continuing north along the street into another section of houses and stores. The area seemed in much better repair than anywhere else in the city he had seen. People moved about, a number of them carrying tools and building supplies while others carried wicker baskets up on their shoulders. The crash of water against land began to grow louder as they went. Over the noise of the water, the sound of people moving about finally started to reach Ean's ears. When they rounded another corner, Ean finally saw where the water sound had been coming from. The road turned sharply east and west at what appeared to be a beach. And past the beach--

  Water. Not the rush of a river. Not the calm surface of a lake. It stretched out as far as he could see to the west and crashed up against the Unyielding Wall to the east. Ean was well aware of the vastness of oceans, but he had never seen one outside of a painting until today. Mighty, eternal, and inspiring—it was like something out of a dream. To the north, it was broken up by a reef of sunken wooden ships that created a small bay before the water stretched off into the horizon.

  It made Lake Melcoi seem like a single drop of water in comparison. Its vastness was more awe inspiring and intimidating than the Unyielding Wall. Ean's mouth dropped open at the sight of it. He let it hang, not caring how much of a gawking fool he looked.

  "First time seeing an ocean?" Raneth asked with a smirk. "I must admit I enjoy showing those from your land that migrate here this beautiful sight, just to see their reaction. Just a small perk of my job."

  "I . . . " Ean failed to find the words.

  "I know. Makes you feel quite small.

  "And this is the main reason this city is so important to our people." Raneth waved over a man with a basket on his shoulder. The worker placed it down, and after a gesture from the Counselor, opened it up. The basket was filled with fish, some still flopping about.

  "Pure. For whatever reason, the Plague doesn't affect the fish. Or it doesn't penetrate the sea water. We don't know for sure. All we know is that every fish that we pull out of the ocean is not tainted by the Plague. These little scaled wonders provide the city with enough food to keep the Rot of the Plague from having an effect on us. It's been our saving grace."

  Raneth waved Ean forward and they walked down onto the beach. The sand stretched only a short distance in either direction before running up to docks that stretched all the way to the city walls on both sides of the city. The walls and the sunken ships created a circular bay where small boats were floating about.

  "Do you transport the fish out to the other settlements?" Ean asked.

  "No. The fish are for the residents of Novufyr alone."

  "You don't share what you catch with the other settlements? That would be good food for all of the people in your land until you re-establish trade with the people of Ven Khilada."

  "We don't catch enough to supply the people here in the city AND the other villages and towns. How could we choose who in the city gets food and who doesn't? Which of the other settlements? No, if we tried to give the food to only a select few, there would be rioting. Chaos. The Silent King has worked too hard to have us descend into anarchy again."

  "But if you have this supply of fresh food and the other settlements know about it, how have there not been riots already?"

  "Simple. We don't tell them."

  "
How can they not know? I would think someone in the city would slip up and let the secret out.”

  "The people in the city keep the secret because they want to continue benefiting from it. They have an unlimited supply of clean food, traded to them for their services to the city. Every citizen that has moved here or has grown up behind the walls would never give up such an opportunity. Those outside the walls never learn of what we have here."

  "But you could at least tell them about the benefits of fishing. I can't believe no one else has tried."

  "They might have, outside of the city, and I'm sure they quickly learned why that would be a mistake."

  "Why?"

  Raneth gestured towards the reef of sunken ships. "Those ships were sunk on purpose before the Plague. They keep our fishermen safe . . . for the most part. There are creatures in the ocean, swimming monstrosities larger than you could imagine. Animals so large, they could swallow one of those fishing boats whole and not even realize it. The reefs keep the larger ones out while letting a healthy supply of smaller fish in. Anywhere else along the coast, though . . . well, most people in these lands have gotten used to the Plague's form of eternal life. Hard to risk eternal life for the chance to bring in some fresh fish."

  "Still--" Ean struggled to find an argument.

  "I know, believe me. If I could find a way to make the waters safe all along the coast I would expend whatever was necessary to make it so. But it's just not possible. So we make the best of a bad situation and keep the fish in the city and keep those outside ignorant of it. In the long run, it saves the lives of the fools that would try and fish and end up as something else's meal. A necessary evil."

  "I suppose . . . "

  "Look at it this way, as soon as you re-establish trade, it will be a moot point anyway. Once fresh food starts flowing back into our lands, we'll be able to share our fish as well." Raneth gave a nod as if the matter was settled. Ean let the man move on but kept his questions about the situation to bring up with The Silent King once he had an audience with him.