by Joe Jackson
Sonja nodded. “That’s right. It’s not what you are that makes you special, it’s what you do,” she said, and she glanced at Kari. “Something I’m finding to be more and more true every passing day.”
“We have a tendency to see what’s special about others, without seeing those same qualities in ourselves,” Danilynn said. “So when others say they see something special in you, you’re best served to be gracious and accept that it’s probably true.”
Uldriana’s snout dipped toward the street, almost like an apologetic gesture. “You three are most kind; thank you,” the mallasti girl said quietly.
“So what can you tell us about Saristor?” Kari asked. “That’s our next stop, right? Or do we plan to avoid the city?”
“No, avoiding the city would draw more attention than walking into it and requesting an audience with Prince Vassiras,” Uldriana said. “We will go and make our intentions to visit King Sekassus known, so there is no trickery assumed, and no reason for them to deny or violate the Seven Days’ Grace. As for the city itself, it is a place of constant trade, where the people of Tess’Vorg and the syrinthians of Sorelizar may meet and trade goods. At this time of year, it may not be crowded, but even if it is, we should have little issue alerting Prince Vassiras of our intentions.”
Kari nodded, satisfied with the mallasti girl’s explanation and logic. She wondered if they would be whisked into the presence of Sekassus’ son, and whether he would bring up the fact that Kari had killed his brother.
Chapter XV – Den of Cobras
They reached Saristor after several more days, during which Uldriana spent the majority of the time teaching Sonja. The girl no longer spoke openly about the kings or Be’shatha, but Kari knew it was because she was wary of being overheard or spied upon somehow. Sonja used her masking spell to keep them out of sight as much as possible, and there had been no indication that they were followed by Turillia, or whoever it was. They had managed to leave Tess’Vorg without any attention from King Emanitar, and very little drama.
Saristor rose up on the far bank of a river that split the two realms apart. The harmauth sentries were more common along the border of Tess’Vorg here. There was a cabin near a wide bridge that crossed the river, and it looked to Kari as though there was an erestram family in charge of keeping watch over the bridge. A massive erestram male sat on the porch with his war scythe standing beside him, his vigilance aimed primarily at the river and the bridge while a pair of pups that barely reached Kari’s waist played in the yard. The erestram regarded the party of women only briefly as they passed, nodding curtly to Uldriana, though he said nothing.
The city was impressive, walled all the way around, with no buildings on the outside of the fortifications. It wasn’t expansive or open like Rulaj, suggesting a much smaller population and tighter security. It did have open archways, and even from a distance while crossing the bridge, Kari could see that they were guarded by sylinths. That gave Kari pause; as terrifying as an angry erestram was, sylinths were a lot deadlier, no matter how “easily” people thought Kari had killed Prince Ressallk. The sylinth guards didn’t bother the travelers headed into and out of the city, but Kari was sure their presence probably kept away anyone looking for trouble.
Except for us, she thought grimly as she and her companions approached.
That thought was confirmed almost immediately. One of the sylinths slithered before the group of women and held its long-bladed spear before it, though not exactly in a threatening manner. It hissed something to Uldriana, and Kari glanced at Sonja and Danilynn to see if they could understand whatever it was saying. Kari had still only learned a few basics of the infernal tongue, but she didn’t think that was what language the sylinth was using. As expected, Sonja and Danilynn both shrugged or shook their heads in answer to the unspoken question.
The conversation lasted less than half a minute before Uldriana gestured for the others to follow her into the city. “We have been ordered to go to the customs officials,” she said as they set off through the archway. “We will declare our destination to them, and then see if the Prince wants to meet with us before we go. We should only spend the night here if specifically detained by the Prince; otherwise, our Seven Days’ Grace begins the moment we are approved to make our way to the capital city of Sorelizar.”
“Agreed,” Kari said. She followed her mallasti escort into the city. The interior was no less impressive than the outer wall had suggested. The streets were wide, cobbled expanses with room enough for carts and travelers. The buildings were generally two or three stories, and the only one that rose higher than that was the stately yet fairly modest palace in the north, which they could see up the main thoroughfare. It was a stone mansion, but its size indicated that it was built to accommodate the needs of the rest of the city, and not just its Prince’s greed. In a minor way, that made Kari respect Prince Vassiras a little bit.
The open plaza before the archways was a market square. There were numerous mallasti and elestram merchants behind carts or stalls, some selling chicken or fowl, while others sold various fruits, vegetables, nuts, or even cheeses in some cases. It still seemed strange to Kari; she had always assumed the beshathans, as Uldriana called them, were all carnivorous. Uldriana had brought mostly salted meats and jerky with her as rations, but then Kari thought perhaps that was just a product of where she lived.
More prominent here, as expected, were the syrinthians. The snake people dressed in light, flowing garments in vibrant colors, and their lithe forms made their way here and there with a grace of movement. Kari’s most prominent meeting with one of their kind had actually been with a half-syrinthian, half-succubus, so she took in the differences between Turillia and these pure-blooded snake-folk curiously. Unlike Turillia, their scaly skin was light tan, like a human, with a greenish hue to it, though in some cases she saw those with golden or coppery scales with black highlights. Their eyes were much the same: wide and golden, the slitted pupils narrow in the strong, early morning sun. Their hair was long, silky, and almost exclusively black, and from what Kari could see in the first few minutes, males tended to wear theirs shaved on the sides and shoulder-length on the top and back, while females seemed to not cut theirs at all until it reached waist-level. Lastly, and most curiously, were their tails, which resembled the body of a snake but weren’t long enough to reach the ground. Even having seen them on the syrinthians she was holding prisoner on the campus didn’t stop Kari from comparing their tails to her own.
The syrinthian people in particular stared at Kari and her friends, and the demonhunter understood that rir were probably never seen in these parts. It would be one thing for a rir to be marooned on Mehr’Durillia somehow and seek refuge in Anthraxis while they tried to find their way back to Citaria, but Kari doubted anyone in their right mind would spend any extended time in the realms of one of the kings, particularly the vicious and unpredictable ones. Still, despite their curiosity, the snake-folk did not impose or try to make conversation with either the rir women or their mallasti guide, so Kari and her friends passed by them silently.
Uldriana led the group up the main road, and at the far end near the palace was a squat, sterile-looking building that served as the customs office. Similar to the sign at the inn called Hope’s End, the one here was trilingual, spelling out the building’s use in infernal, syrinthian, and beshathan. Kari couldn’t read any of them, but she now recognized the alphabet for each, and could at least transliterate the one in infernal. Despite its drab nature, the building itself was still decoratively crafted, the obvious work of elestram hands.
The inside was bright white and quiet, with only a couple of elestram clerks seated behind a stone counter, much like the one in Anthraxis. One of the jackal-folk looked up and beckoned for the new arrivals to approach, and Uldriana led her friends over. They started their conversation in beshathan, but soon switched to infernal, and Sonja and Danilynn flanked the mallasti girl and listened with great interest. Kari waited as
patiently as she could for someone to tell her what was being said. The elestram clerk called out, and a young syrinthian came out of one of the back rooms. After brief instructions, the young man left the building.
“They’re checking to see if the Prince wants to speak with us before we proceed,” Sonja said. “If he does, we’ll have to stay in the city for the night, at least.”
“Will they pull some trickery to delay us so we can’t get to the King’s palace in time?” Kari asked.
Uldriana shook her head. “No. If the Prince wishes to see us, then our Seven Days’ Grace will not begin until he has released us on our way.”
“But if he keeps us here, it gives his father more time to arrange something to waylay us,” Danilynn mused. “Let us hope we are simply approved to proceed.”
They took seats and waited for the syrinthian courier to return. Kari was surprised to see Uldriana fidgeting while they waited, either drumming claws on her thighs, or else tapping her feet. She stopped when she noticed Kari’s stare, along with those of Sonja and Danilynn. “What’s the matter?” Kari asked.
The mallasti girl made a dismissive gesture. “We are simply in the land of our enemies,” she said. “This is the first time I have left my village, let alone traveled outside of my king’s realm and into that of an enemy.”
Kari nodded; she could understand the girl’s trepidation. Kari was nervous too, but she had been in life-or-death situations so many times in the past that she was better able to keep her emotions and body under control until it was time to act. There was also an underlying trust that she would emerge safely from this venture, built upon the belief that there were many factions and resources dedicated to her success. Still, she had to keep most of that quiet in front of the mallasti girl, all the better to avoid implicating King Koursturaux, and drawing the volatile demon king’s ire onto Kari and her friends.
They had only to wait half an hour before the Prince’s response came back, and the elestram clerk sent them on their way. She explained only that the King would want to see them as soon as possible, and that the Prince had no desire to delay them in the face of his father’s wishes. Uldriana led her companions back to the market square, where they took just enough time to resupply with water and rations, and then returned to the main road toward the city of Sorelizar – the heart of enemy territory.
There were no incidents on the way to the capital, though that wasn’t so surprising. Along the way, though, they passed by several hamlets and roadside inns, and even stayed at a few of the latter when there was room. During these times, Kari could plainly see that much of what she’d heard with regard to Sorelizar and the rule of King Sekassus was true. There was no sense of contentment or security among these people; they looked like they lived in fear, or at least with little hope of ever being free. Even the people in Saristor seemed cheery and liberated compared to the state of those they passed on the road. That, too, made Kari respect Prince Vassiras just a little more.
They were able to make it almost the entire way to Sorelizar before anyone even took notice of them. The land graded downward at a very subtle angle, and the center of the realm near Sorelizar was a depressed, open, arid plain. That made it even easier to see the great black pyramid in the city’s – and realm’s – center that was no doubt the home of King Sekassus the Calculating. Everything else in the city was made of sandstone, with much of it painted white in the arid heart, so the pyramid stood over the city like the very shadow of death, and Kari had no doubt that was the intent.
Uldriana’s anxiousness was a little better on the road, but got stronger when they made the final approach to the city. Once they were within a short walk of the edge of the city, Sonja picked a good moment to dispel her masking spell so that no one would be looking at them when she did so. There was light traffic around the city, mostly syrinthians with some of the beshathan people. The three rir women did draw curious stares, but that seemed to be the extent of it. They passed into the city proper, and found that most of the signs and other markings on buildings were written in the strange, flowing script of the syrinthians.
“Uldriana, can you read any of these signs?” Kari asked. When Uldriana nodded silently, Kari added, “Why don’t you get us to an inn? We’ll get ourselves fed and washed up so we’re presentable, and then hopefully we can get in to see King Sekassus as soon as possible.”
The mention of the demon king’s name drew more stares from the people of Sorelizar. No one moved to intercept or question the four strangers, but Kari wanted to get off the streets quickly. The longer they were exposed, the faster word would get back to King Sekassus, and the more likely they were to end up in trouble before they could even get in to see him. Uldriana was extremely nervous, but she obediently led the group to the nearest reputable-looking hostel. After a short conversation with the innkeeper, a lithe syrinthian fellow named Akistis, Uldriana led her companions upstairs and to a large, open suite.
Their suite had a private bathtub with levers and a spigot that came out of the wall and hung over the tub’s outer edge. Uldriana gave the barest hint of a smile and approached the tub, and she turned the two levers to distinct angles, producing a column of water from the spigot that turned steamy in short order. It was nice to have another room with indoor plumbing, and Kari motioned for her friends to get ready to bathe quickly so they would be ready for a meeting with Sekassus whenever they were summoned.
Uldriana didn’t bother waiting to be ordered to bathe, and instead shed her robe and climbed into the tub. She began to wash herself quickly, and the tub was only large enough for one, so Kari turned away and took in the rest of the room. It was a very spacious room. Since the establishment was a hostel and not an inn, Kari assumed the rooms were larger and more luxurious because guests were expected to stay for an extended period of time. That brought to mind the question of how long it might take to get an audience with King Sekassus. If he made them wait for days, it might count against the Seven Days’ Grace visitors normally received. Kari realized that could be a trap in itself, but she had to trust that the laws would take such trickery into account.
Uldriana finished her bath quickly, and Kari turned to her friends when she heard both gasp in surprise. Kari turned to follow their stares, and beheld Uldriana standing beside the tub, her fur no longer the reddish-brown that was so common among her people. She now had an ivory coat, highlighted in all the same places by black spots, and with the charcoal gray hands, feet, ears, and snout. She acknowledged the shock of her companions and began drying her fur using her arcane power. “I will explain shortly,” she said.
Kari regarded her friends, but they didn’t have any answers for her sudden slew of questions either. They took their own turns getting washed up. Danilynn took hers first, then Sonja, and so Kari was in the tub when a knock came at the door. The rir women exchanged concerned glances, but after taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, their mallasti guide simply walked over and opened the door.
Outside was a syrinthian dressed in regal finery colored in golds and greens. There seemed to be a lot more than the usual amount of snake in him: his serpentine features were much more pronounced than on any syrinthian Kari had seen before. There was little doubt he was someone from Sekassus’ court, and the two armored erestram flanking him left little to the imagination about what the price of crossing him would be. Still, there was little apparent hostility in his stance or the expression on his serpentine features.
He looked Uldriana up and down for a moment and his eyes narrowed momentarily, but then he looked past her at the three rir women. Despite the fact that nudity didn’t usually bother Kari, she wasn’t sure what the syrinthian reaction to it would be, so she kept her wings fanned and her back turned while she dried off. She kept her eyes over her shoulder, though, gauging the syrinthian’s intentions and those of his erestram guards.
When he turned back to Uldriana, he finally spoke. His voice sounded fairly imperious despite the soft, flowing acce
nt that overrode the typical one for the beshathan tongue. They held a short, tense dialogue back and forth a few times, and then switched to the common trade tongue. The syrinthian’s accent was even more pronounced as they changed languages, but he said in smooth, supple tones, “His Majesty has demanded that you come to his court and declare your intentions before him, outsiders.”
Uldriana looked over her shoulder at Kari, and the demonhunter nodded: it was time to throw their cards on the table. The mallasti girl turned back to the syrinthian courtier and said, “Tell His Majesty that Karian Vanador, Hand of Zalkar, has come to negotiate with him, and that she has brought a vulkinastra with her.”
The syrinthian was clearly no politician or poker-player: his eyes went wide and his mouth fell agape at those words. Kari wasn’t sure if it was the fact that Uldriana had introduced Kari by title, or the mention of whatever a vulkinastra was. Kari had no idea what a vulkinastra was, but it was a safe bet that it was whatever Uldriana had brought with her to barter with.
“Give us half an hour’s time to prepare, and we will come with you to the king’s palace,” Uldriana added, and the syrinthian gave it only a few moments’ consideration before he nodded. He left, but one of the erestram guards stayed by the door to make certain the women didn’t try to escape somehow. The other left with the syrinthian courtier, and Uldriana closed and latched the door once again. She turned and put her back to it, and there was little doubt in Kari’s mind that the girl was fighting down the urge to either cry or be sick. She was now terrified, and all that impassiveness that she had learned from her people was cracking completely. “We must go over some things before we stand before King Sekassus, so that you are fully prepared,” she said, working hard to keep her voice steady.
Kari wasn’t thrilled with the idea of standing before Sekassus herself, but for some reason, she didn’t feel the anxiousness or fear she had expected. Danilynn and Sonja were both nervous, but they were war veterans and masked it better. Uldriana had no such training or experience, and her trepidation was almost palpable. “Are you going to tell us what a vulkinastra is?” Kari asked the mallasti girl.
