The Questing Game f-2

by James Galloway

  "I even blessed it," Sarraya said quietly. "So it will never get cold, and there will always be flowers growing there to remind the world of what we gave up for it."

  If there was anything the sprite could have done to secure Tarrin's trust, what she said had to be the most effective thing she could possibly say. Looking down at them, he realized that he no longer felt the nagging fear he felt in their presence, especially when he was alone with both of them. They had fought with him against the Doomwalker. They had fought for him, put their own lives in jeopardy for his benefit, and the distrustful part of him had finally ceded that these two could not possibly be a threat.

  Tarrin looked down at them with a stony expression much like Triana's, and then he reached down towards Camara Tal. She seemed uncertain of what he intended to do, until he grabbed the hilt of the sword at her hip and drew it out of the scabbard. It was a well made weapon, a bit heavier than Faalken's magical blade, but it was utilitarian in appearance. It was an old weapon, heavily used and well maintained.

  With a flick of his arm, he sent it sailing out over the rail. Camara Tal watched in stunned disbelief as it splashed into the sea. She made a quick move to resist when he reached down again, but he grabbed her wrist in one huge paw and stopped it as the other paw took the magical sword from her hand, then pointedly pushed the tip into the scabbard, then slid it home.

  "Just don't dishonor it, or its memory," he told her. "Make Faalken proud." She stared up at him in quiet wonder, but he absently changed form, and before she could react, he jumped up into her lap and laid down. Her bronzed scent filled his nose, and he found that it no longer triggered a defensive instinct within him. It was a comforting smell now. He could accept it as friendly, accept her as an ally. He closed his eyes and put his chin on her thigh, then fell off into a dozing sleep.

  "Well. Well, well, well," Sarraya chuckled quietly, landing on Camara Tal's knee and looking at his head carefully. "He's asleep. I didn't think I'd see this happen so fast."

  "What does that mean?" Camara Tal asked. "He's never done this before. What does it mean?"

  "It means that you can stop trying to be his friend," Sarraya grinned. "If he trusts you enough to sleep on your lap, then he accepts you. Both of us, it seems, or he'd never have taken his eyes off of me."

  Camara Tal's wan expression took on a relieved look, and she reached down and stroked Tarrin's fur lingeringly. "Thank Neme," she breathed.

  "No, thank Tarrin," Sarraya said impishly, landing on Camara Tal's lap and sitting down against Tarrin's flank, using him for a backrest.

  Tarrin spent the afternoon on Camara Tal's lap, either dozing or watching the performers prepare for tomorrow. Allia and Dar seemed to be kept very busy, for every time the young Arkisian tried to approach him, someone would grab his arm and pull him aside to talk to him. Dolanna was still missing. Tarrin couldn't blame her for that.

  Dar finally did manage to get free of the others, coming up to Camara Tal as he watched the hustle around them. Sarraya was sitting between him and Camara Tal's stomach, her arms folded on his back and leaning up against him, digging her tiny hands into his fur absently. "Tarrin?" Dar asked uncertainly.

  "Dar," Tarrin asked in the manner of the Cat. "Are you alright?"

  "He can't understand you, Tarrin," Sarraya said. "He asked if you're feeling alright, Dar," the sprite translated for him.

  "I'm alright, but I'm more worried about you, Tarrin. Are you alright?"

  "I'm fine, Dar. I'm just fine," he replied, which Sarraya translated. "They're keeping you busy enough."

  Dar chuckled after Sarraya relayed that. "Yeah, well, they want me to use my Illusions through the entire performance. I'm not sure if I can last that long. Everyone and his brother wants me to do something for them."

  Tarrin looked up at him. "Have you seen Dolanna? Is she alright?"

  "Well, she hasn't come out of her cabin since we got back on the ship, Tarrin," he replied after Sarraya translated. "Phandebrass has gone in to see her a couple of times, but he won't tell me what they talked about."

  As if speaking about her made her appear, Dolanna came out of the doorway that led below. She wore a simple black dress, a mourning color, that made her pale skin seem even whiter than usual. Her face had no traces of grief or crying, however. Her face was cool, businesslike, much like Triana's stony expression that Tarrin had begun to favor himself. But he could see her pain in her eyes. She was Faalken's oldest friend, and his loss had struck her the hardest. But Dolanna being Dolanna, she was putting her grief aside to deal with the business at hand. She saw Tarrin, Camara Tal, and Dar, and she immediately came over to them. When she spoke, her voice was tightly controlled. "Tarrin, I see you are well. Sarraya, Dar, go fetch Phandebrass and Allia. We need to talk."

  "What about?" Camara Tal asked.

  "About what we will do in Dala Yar Arak," she replied.

  Tarrin shifted back to his natural form as they waited for Phandebrass. Sarraya sat sedately on his shoulder, playing with his hair, as Allia leaned up against his side. It was times like this he missed Keritanima. Especially now since Faalken was dead, he wanted his friends near him, around him, where he could see them and protect them. He wasn't going to lose another friend. He just wasn't. And he couldn't protect them if they weren't near to him.

  Phandebrass arrived with his drakes with Dar a few moments later. He was carrying four small medallions hanging on golden chains, medallions of a strange crystal shaped in a triangle. Instead of having the chain run through a corner, it ran through the center of a base, making the triangle point down instead of up. "I say, Dolanna, I'm finished with them," he said immediately.

  "Finished with what?" Allia asked.

  "Our way to find the Book of Ages, my dear," he replied with a smile. "Dolanna asked me to make these. It was bloody hard enough to do in just three days, but they work." He held up one of the amulets. "I enchanted these so they point to any object smaller than a large dog that's more than two thousand years old," he announced. "I figured that the Book of Ages may be a full sized codex, but it still can't be larger than a mastiff, and two thousand years was the oldest I was willing to risk. I say, I don't know how old the book really is, but I'm certain it's older than two thousand."

  "How do these work?" Camara Tal asked, taking one from the mage and holding it up.

  "It's easy, Camara," he replied. "Just hold it up. It'll point to the nearest ancient object to its current location, but they only have a range of about five longspans. They'll glow with light, and the brighter the light, the closer you are to the item. The beauty of their design is that if they're touched to an object they point to, they won't point to it again. That way, we can prevent ourselves from locking in on the same item over and over. But what one amulet rules out isn't ruled out by the others, so an amulet has to be used systematically."

  Camara Tal held up the medallion in her hands, and it alit from within with a very soft reddish glow, and turned and pointed straight down and to her side. She looked down, and saw the dragon-sculpted hilt of the magical sword. "I guess it works," she said. "It's pointing at the sword."

  "Now touch the medallion to the sword, and do it again," Phandebrass instructed. She did so, and when she held it up again, it didn't do anything.

  "Clever," Sarraya said appreciatively.

  "Thank you, my dear," Phandebrass smiled at the Faerie. "Just be lucky I had a spell that did something close to the same thing. I used to use it to locate relics when I used to search old ruins for knowledge. Ever since Dolanna told me what we're looking for, I've been altering the spell to hunt down the book."

  "We?" Camara Tal asked pointedly. "You're with the circus, wizard."

  "True, true, but I can't deny that what you're doing is much more important," he replied. "I've already told Renoit, and packed up my lab. When you leave, I'm going with you. You may need my magic and my library. After all, I don't think any of you other than dear Dolanna is much of a scholar."

 
"You don't have to do that, Phandebrass," Dolanna said gently. "You have helped us enough, and you cannot deny that what we are doing is very dangerous. It may be safer for you with Renoit."

  "My dear, I'm not foolish enough to turn my back on this," he grinned. "This is a marvelous chance to learn, and not only will I learn, I can put my magic to a very good use. I know what's going on, my dear, much more than what you've told me. I'm not a fool. I know the legends, and I know what's at stake. And I must say, I do, that I'd much rather see Tarrin get his hands on the prize than some other people I know. Most people don't have the temperament for that kind of a promotion."

  "It is not my place to invite you, Phandebrass," Dolanna said. "This is something to which we must all agree."

  "I don't mind," Dar said. "Phandebrass has proved he can help. We may need his help again later."

  "He has proven his right to stand with us," Allia agreed.

  "If you try to cut off my hair again, I'll thrash you, wizard," Camara Tal warned.

  "When did that happen?" Dar asked.

  "A few rides ago. And he wasn't trying to cut off the hair on my head."

  "It was for an experiment," Phandebrass said dismissively. "I was comparing the magical potential of different types of hair from different races. It was done in the name of learning."

  "Sticking your hand up my skirt is a fast way to learn about the afterlife," Camara Tal said in an ugly tone, shaking a fist at the thin wizard.

  Allia looked at the Amazon, then broke out into nearly girlish giggling behind a hiding hand. Sarraya didn't try to be diginified about it, she simply broke out laughing. "Well, that makes up my mind," Sarraya chuckled. "Phandebrass is just too amusing to leave behind."

  "Tarrin?" Dolanna asked pointedly, looking at him.

  Tarrin glanced at the mage. He was thin, and though his narrow face looked somewhat youthful, his white hair and the spectacles he was fond of wearing made him look so much older. It was hard to figure out just how old he was. Phandebrass had been there against the Doomwalker, had used his magic in Tarrin's support, had tried to help them defeat it. He had even turned himself into steel and leaped to Tarrin's defense, putting himself in the direct path of danger on Tarrin's behalf. Just as it had with Sarraya and Camara Tal, that one battle seemed to make up Tarrin's mind about those people he didn't call friend, helped convince him that they were worth his trust. If Phandebrass was willing to face death with him in such a direct and dangerous manner, he deserved Tarrin's respect.

  "He can come," Tarrin said finally, looking at the mage.

  Phandebrass gave him a broad smile. "I say, you won't regret it, my boy," he promised.

  "I already do," Camara Tal grumbled.

  "Oh come on, Camara, if you minded, you'd wear something underneath that skirt," Sarraya teased.

  "Looking isn't touching, sprite," Camara Tal shot back. "And I do wear something under my skirt."

  "Not when I looked," Sarraya pressed with a huge grin.

  "How would you like a mouthful of steel?" Camara Tal threatened.

  "Anything but that! Please, Camara Tal, accept my most humble apologies," Sarraya replied with complete insincerity.

  "What were you doing looking underneath Camara Tal's skirt?" Dar asked curiously. "I mean, at least Phandebrass is a man. He'd have alot more reason than you to look under a woman's skirt."

  Sarraya suddenly became quiet. Tarrin looked down at her, and saw she was blushing, her blue skin taking on a purplish hue.

  Dolanna cleared her throat. "We digress, my friends," she said brusquely. "We have four of these amulets, so we will use them as well as we can by dividing the city into quadrants. We will start at the center of the city. Tarrin, Sarraya, Allia, and Dar, you will fan out from there, each going in one direction. You will search your designated sector as quickly and thoroughly as you can. Remember that we are not the only people looking for the book. We must find it first."

  "Why them?" Camara Tal asked.

  "They have skills uniquely suited to breaking into people's houses and searching them without raising an alarm, priestess," Dolanna replied.

  "Tarrin, the bug, and Allia I can understand, but why Dar?"

  "Dar speaks Arakite and looks Arakite, which gives him a distinct advantage. Besides, his affinity for Illusion will allow him to evade detection in someone's home, much better than any of us could."

  "I've never done anything like that before, Dolanna," Dar said uncertainly. "I hope I can do it."

  "It's not all that hard, Dar," Tarrin assured him. "The biggest thing will be locked doors. I think Phandebrass should lend you and Allia a drake. They know how to get into windows and unlock doors from the inside."

  "I say, that's a capital idea," Phandebrass agreed. "I can tell them what to do, and tell them to obey you two. They could be a big help for you, they could."

  "I can deal with a locked door, brother," Allia told him.

  "I'm sure you can, sister, but this way you won't have to climb up walls," he replied. "Sarraya can fly, and if there aren't many buildings I can't find a way into. We have easy ways to get into places, and remember, Dolanna told us we have to do this fast. We just have to hope that they leave their windows open."

  "In this heat, I seriously doubt that," Camara Tal said. "This isn't much off our own climate, and I think I can count the number of times I've closed my windows at night on one hand. It's the only way to get the cool night air into the house."

  "We don't close them in Arkisia," Dar said, "but we usually have bars on the windows to discourage thieves. Odds are, it'll be the same in the richer buildings in Dala Yar Arak."

  "Probably, but I'm small enough to get into any barred window, and Tarrin can just shapeshift once he climbs up," Sarraya said. "And the drakes should be small enough to squeeze between bars. At least this way, each of us has a way to get into a house with barred windows."

  "Good point, my dear," Phandebrass nodded. "I say, that just about covers all the bases, it does. We just need to get lucky."

  "I doubt we'll be that lucky, mage," Camara Tal grunted. "Where is the circus going to set up in the city? We may have to move away from it if it's too far from the center of the city. Remember, this is the biggest city in the world."

  "It sets up just outside of the Imperial Palace," Phandebrass replied. "At least that's where we've set up the last two years. It's pretty close to the center of the city. It's in the northern section of the city."

  "Who gets which direction?" Allia asked.

  "That's going to depend on demographics," Dolanna replied, looking at Phandebrass. "You have been to the city. Which parts of the city hold the larger, richer buildings?"

  "I say, definitely the northern reaches of the city, definitely," he said immediately. "Most of the rich Arakites live close to the Imperial Palace. Status and all that."

  "Naturally. Then that will be Sarraya's sector. She can fly and she can render herself invisible at will, so that will give her the most access to the largest and most heavily guarded buildings. But Sarraya, avoid the Imperial Palace. There is no doubt that it is magically defended. Leave it alone."

  "Good sense," Camara Tal nodded in agreement.

  "I'll do that, but that medallion's a bit too big for me," Sarraya said with distaste, looking at the crystal. It was half as large as she was. "I don't think I could even pick it up, let alone fly with it."

  "I say, I can shrink it down for you, my dear," Phandebrass assured her. "I know a spell to do that."

  "Which has the next largest buildings of the remaining three directions?" Dolanna asked the mage.

  He rubbed his chin. "I'd have to say the west," he replied. "A good many well-off merchants live in that section of the city, they do."

  "Then that will be Tarrin's section," Dolanna announced. "He is better suited for entering buildings that are guarded than Allia or Dar. But I warn you, dear one, no unnecessary fatalities. Do not get the people nervous. It could make it harder for us to function."

/>   "I'll try," he replied. "No promises."

  "Try very hard, dear one," Dolanna said. "We do not have time to take any unnecessary risks." She looked to Phandebrass. "Any suggestion as to how the other two sections should be divided?"

  "The southern section is the rough side of town, it is," he replied after a moment. "Mainly docks, and some of the nastier slums. I say, Dar is too young to try to navigate that. Allia would be much better suited for dealing with that kind of crowd, she would. The eastern section of the city is also poor, but it's not as rough as the south."

  "Sounds like it won't be fun," Dar grunted.

  "Dala Yar Arak is a huge city, but the misery that lives there is ten times the human population," Phandebrass said seriously. "For every silk-clad merchant you see, there will be a hundred beggars, homeless scavengers, and runaway slaves. Dala Yar Arak is a city set on the shoulders of pain, and built on the backs of slaves. I never liked going there, and I doubt it's improved much since last year. For a city that professes to be so civilized, it's the most barbaric cesspool I've ever seen." He motioned absently with a hand. "Every part of the city has its share of poor neighborhoods and squatters. You'll find starving children huddled in the gateways of the richest palaces, because there are just so many of them they don't have anywhere else to go. You all should be ready to see that kind of thing. I know it left me shaken the first time I came here."

  Allia frowned, Dar looked uncertain, and Camara Tal grunted under her breath. Tarrin couldn't accept what Phandebrass was saying. How could people be so cruel to each other? He just couldn't believe it. Especially to children. He may not trust humans, but children were children, no matter what race they were. They were innocents, they needed protection. The very thought of someone starving a child filled him with a sudden seething fury that he found hard to control.

  Allia reached up and grabbed his clenched fist, placing her slender four-fingered hand atop it, then pulled it back down to his side slowly. She gave him a knowing look, understanding his anger. She knew him so well, there was nothing he could hide from her. She could see the outrage in his eyes, but there was no reassurance within her own.