Sevenfold Sword: Shadow

by Jonathan Moeller

  He regretted saying that at once. Kalussa’s efforts to become Ridmark’s concubine had hurt Calliande, even if he had refused Kalussa again and again. But Calliande didn’t look upset at the reminder, only thoughtful.

  “That was different,” said Calliande. “She was trying to do things properly with you. At least, properly according to the customs of Owyllain. She thought she would become your concubine, that I would approve of the arrangement, and that we would all get along happily.”

  “Naïve,” said Ridmark.

  “It was,” said Calliande. She squeezed his hand. “As if I would share you. But she was trying to do it properly. And Calem was formally courting her. He even asked King Hektor for permission. Despite what the gamemasters of Urd Maelwyn and his secret master did to him, he is an honorable man.” She sighed again and shook her head. “I’m afraid they both blame themselves. And for them to lose control like that…it will take them some time to come to terms with it.”

  “It wasn’t their fault,” said Ridmark.

  “No,” said Calliande. Her mouth twisted. “If the Keeper of Andomhaim could not resist the Maledictus of Shadows’ spell…what hope did they have? But they do blame themselves.”

  “At least no one was hurt,” said Ridmark.

  “No,” said Calliande. “This whole thing could have been much worse, Ridmark. If the Maledictus of Shadows had twisted the dream a little…maybe he could have made Tamlin believe that the townsmen were actually the Bronze Dead. He might have slaughtered everyone in the town. Or he could have made Krastikon think that he was back at the Battle of the Plains, fighting to save his father.”

  “Perhaps the spell had limits,” said Ridmark. “The Maledictus made everyone think they had what they really wanted.” He remembered Calliande cradling the nonexistent child. “Maybe he couldn’t force people to act unless it was something they really wanted. And what Kalussa and Calem wanted…”

  “Was each other,” said Calliande.

  “But it wasn’t about Kalimnos or the Takai,” said Ridmark. “The Maledicti were after you and me. The whole point of the trap was to kill the two of us, though Tamara’s death would have been a bonus for them.”

  “You made the Maledicti pay for that,” said Calliande. Her eyes flashed. “Once we return from the Monastery of St. James with Tamlin’s mother, perhaps we can persuade Hektor to turn his attention to Xenorium. We now know that the Masked One has been far more active than he wants anyone to know.” She scoffed. “The Masked One of Xenorium is no threat, indeed! We know better now.”

  “Aye,” said Ridmark.

  He considered how to say what he had to ask next.

  “And I do understand,” said Ridmark. “We both do.”

  “Oh?” said Calliande.

  It was his turn to squeeze her hand. “We both understand what it is to blame ourselves for something that is not our fault.”

  Calliande laughed a little. “Yes. Yes, I rather suppose we do.”

  “How are you?” said Ridmark.

  “Me?” said Calliande, blinking. “I’m fine. Given that I didn’t do anything yesterday except sit around all day, I’m even rested.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” said Ridmark. “When you were under the influence of the spell…you thought you were holding Joanna.”

  “Oh,” said Calliande. “Yes. Yes, I did, didn’t I?” She sighed. “I suppose I’m fine. I’m not happy about it, and I’m sad, but…that’s all.”

  “You’re sure?” said Ridmark.

  Calliande nodded, blinked a few times, wiped at her eyes, and then nodded again. “Yes.”

  “Good,” said Ridmark. “Because that’s what I feared yesterday. Of all the things there were to fear…that is what troubled me the most. That you would wake up from the spell, and it would be like you had lost Joanna all over again.”

  And that she would slip back into that bleak, paralyzing depression that had gripped her for months after Joanna’s death, her mind lashing at itself as she blamed herself for their daughter’s death.

  “Oh, Ridmark,” said Calliande, and she took his hand with both of hers. “I’ll always miss our daughter. I’ll always be sorry there was no way to save her. But…I’ve mourned for her. I have too much to do to sit around weeping. We both do. I’ve faced my grief for her, and it’s in the past.” She blinked a few times and then smiled.

  “What?” said Ridmark.

  “That was the mistake of the Maledicti,” said Calliande. “They threw the shadows of the past at us. The Maledictus of Shadows conjured up the phantasms of Mhalek and Tarrabus and Sir Paul and all those others at you. But you beat them the first time. Why shouldn’t you defeat them a second time?”

  “I hadn’t thought of it like that,” said Ridmark.

  “Maybe that’s the advantage of getting older,” said Calliande. “It’s harder to fall into the same trap twice. Sometimes you don't have to repeat the same hard lessons.”

  “It’s good there are some advantages,” said Ridmark. “My knees and shoulders would disagree.”

  “Well.” She gave him a quick kiss. “Hopefully we won’t have to fight anyone today.”

  “No,” said Ridmark. “We should leave tomorrow. We’ve given the Maledicti a bloody nose, aye, but they’ll be back. And if the Masked One really is acting as some sort of herald or prophet for the New God, then he won’t be idle while we rest.”

  “He won’t,” said Calliande. “I’m going to see if I can persuade Sir Rion to send a messenger to King Hektor. I want to write a letter warning Hektor against the Masked One. I don’t know if Hektor will heed it, but it is better than nothing.”

  “Especially if the Masked One and the Confessor are working together,” said Ridmark. “Though that seems unlikely. The dark elves could never cooperate with each other. I doubt a dark elven lord would cooperate with a human wizard, even if the human wizard had the Sword of Shadows.”

  “Assuming that’s what the Masked One really is,” said Calliande.

  Ridmark shrugged. “Everyone says the Masked One is Cavilius, a former Arcanius Knight and one of Talitha’s apprentices.”

  “Everyone also says,” said Calliande, “that the Masked One of Xenorium is no threat to anyone…and we know who made them believe that.”

  That was a disturbing thought.

  “Were you able to check on the children this morning?” said Ridmark, deciding to change the topic.

  “Yes,” said Calliande. “They are safe and healthy, as far as I can tell.”

  They spoke of more pleasant things, deliberately taking care to avoid the darkness of the last day. At least Ridmark finished eating, and he rose and dressed. Calliande helped him with his armor, and she knelt and buckled his sword belt around his waist.

  “You don’t have to help me,” said Ridmark. His shoulders and knees still ached, but he wasn’t going anywhere without his armor and Oathshield.

  Calliande smiled up at him. “You did just save my life. Again.” She rose and kissed him. “Let me help you, for the love of you.”

  Ridmark smiled back. “As you wish, then.”

  They walked to the common room. Kalussa and Calem sat at opposite ends of the room, as far from each other as they could manage, their expressions blank masks. Tamlin, Krastikon, and Tamara sat talking, and Tamara was recounting what had happened in the Tower of Nightmares.

  “Lord Ridmark, good morning,” said Krastikon, rising to his feet. “Third and Kyralion said to tell you they were going to have a look around the hills.”

  “Wise of them,” said Ridmark. “It wouldn’t do to survive two of the Maledicti only to get knifed in our sleep by the muridachs.” And after the strange and disturbing things that Lord Amruthyr had told them, perhaps Third and Kyralion wanted a chance to discuss it alone.

  “No,” said Tamlin. “We’re going to leave tomorrow?”

  “Aye,” said Ridmark. “To the Monastery of St. James, and hopefully we can get some answers from your mother.”


  Tamara smiled. “I hope our attempt to leave tomorrow goes better than the last time.”

  “As do I,” said Ridmark. “We…”

  The door to the agora opened, and Third and Kyralion stepped inside. Third looked around, spotted Ridmark, and strode to join them.

  “Good, you are awake,” said Third.

  “Trouble?” said Ridmark.

  “I do not think so,” said Third, “but you had better come at once.”

  “What’s happening?” said Ridmark.

  “I believe,” said Kyralion, “that the Takai wish to speak to you.”

  Chapter 23: Blood Debts

  Calliande followed Ridmark as he walked through the town’s gate, Third, Kyralion, Krastikon, Kalussa, Calem, Tamara, and Tamlin following them. Sir Rion came as well, along with several of his hoplites.

  Nearly forty Takai warriors waited outside the gate, sitting atop their struthian mounts.

  Calliande had thought that Magatai looked outlandish with his spiked hair, but compared to the other Takai halflings, he was downright restrained. The Takai warriors had lacquered their hair into wild shapes that looked like the horns of wild beasts or the plumed helmets of hoplites. Magatai had worn trousers and boots and a vest of scutian leather, but many of the Takai warriors wore cloaks adorned with brilliant feathers of red and gold and blue. Others wore armbands of gold or polished bronze, or necklaces adorned with jewels and polished stones. Given how bombastic Magatai was, Calliande supposed the Takai halflings had no qualms about displaying their wealth like a peacock showing its feathers, and some of them had decorated their cloaks with actual peacock feathers.

  Her Sight revealed magical auras around three of the halflings. They looked older than the warriors, and carried carved wooden staffs and wore blue cloaks. Calliande suspected they were the Windcallers, the priests and wizards of the Takai.

  Magatai himself sat atop Northwind, his hair styled in a new shape. He still carried Kyralion’s sword, though Kyralion now had the longsword of gray elven steel he had taken from the depths of the Tower of Nightmares. Next to Magatai a halfling of middle years sat atop a struthian with green and red scales. This halfling wore the most elaborate cloak of all, a magnificent thing of red and gold feathers, and carried a jeweled spear. A slender golden diadem rested atop his gray hair, glinting with sapphires.

  “Friend Ridmark!” called Magatai. “Magatai is pleased to introduce you to Valatai, the Tumak of our tribe.”

  Ridmark offered a bow. “It is an honor, my lord.”

  “No, no,” said Valatai, his voice a deep rumble. “The honor belongs to Tumak Valatai! Young Magatai has told the tribe of how he accompanied you into the bowels of the Tower of Nightmares, how you dueled two of the Maledicti and struck down one of them. A mighty victory! What is more, you broke the evil spell that put our tribe to sleep and locked us within sinister dreams. Had you not been victorious, we would have starved to death while trapped within our delusions. That is no death for a warrior!”

  “That is no death for anyone, lord Tumak,” said Ridmark. “Neither for warriors nor for the women or children.”

  “Indeed not, Shield Knight,” said Valatai. “Our tribe is in your debt. The Takai have often been the enemies of the men of Owyllain, but we honor our debts.”

  “And I am no man of Owyllain,” said Ridmark.

  “Ha!” said Valatai. “That is so. So ask what you will of me, Shield Knight, and if it is within my power, Valatai shall grant it.”

  Ridmark paused and looked at Calliande. She saw an idea go over his face, and to her surprise, he took a step closer to the Takai and their struthian mounts.

  “I ask for only one thing, lord Tumak,” said Ridmark, “and one thing only. I ask for you to be ready to fight when I call upon you.”

  “The Takai are always ready to fight,” said Valatai. “Who shall we battle?”

  “I do not know,” said Ridmark, “but there is a war coming, worse than the War of the Seven Swords. Can you not feel it upon the wind?”

  The Takai said nothing, but the Windcallers shifted in their saddles.

  “You have seen it, haven’t you?” said Ridmark. “The muridachs marching in great numbers against the gray elves? In the last month, both King Justin Cyros and the Necromancer of Trojas have been struck down after twenty-five years of war. These are but the first raindrops of the storm. The gray elves speak of the coming of the Kratomachar, a power that will destroy the world. The Maledicti claim they now serve the New God, a dark power that will rule all kindreds. Somehow the Seven Swords are at the heart of it. I believe that the Maledicti have been manipulating the War of the Seven Swords from the shadows, arranging to bring the Seven Swords to Cathair Animus so they can summon the New God.”

  One of the Windcallers shifted in his saddle. “You say words that the Windcallers have spoken among ourselves for the past months, Shield Knight. Though the tribes of the Takai may war among themselves, the Windcallers hold themselves apart and consider the good of all Takai. And the Windcallers have heard evil omens upon the winds for months now. A great dark power is coming, and all kindreds must stand against it or perish.”

  “And I also believe,” said Ridmark, “that the Masked One of Xenorium is directing the Maledicti, commanding them from the shadows.”

  “Bah,” said Valatai. “The Masked One of Xenorium is no threat to anyone.”

  “Forgive my bluntness, lord Tumak,” said Calliande, “but how do you know that? Have you ever been to Xenorium? Have you spoken with the Masked One? Do you know the powers of the Sword of Shadows?”

  She saw the annoyance go over Valatai’s face, followed by the uneasy comprehension.

  “Valatai…does not know,” he admitted. “Nor does he know why he thinks the Masked One no threat. A warrior must not judge a foe hastily, lest his folly lead him to defeat.”

  “It is the witchery of the Masked One,” said Magatai. “The Maledictus of Shadows has put that lie into our heads, just as he twisted our dreams against us. Indeed, Magatai thinks the Masked One is a cunning hunter. Which is more dangerous, lord Tumak? The warrior who brandishes spears against you openly, or the one who lurks unseen in the tall grass?”

  “Truly,” said Valatai. “So, Shield Knight, what would you have of us?”

  “To be ready for war,” said Ridmark. “Someday, I will have to call upon you. I don’t know when, or against who you will have to fight. But someday, we will need to fight to stop the coming of the New God, and when that day comes, I will need all the allies I can find. Will you stand with me against the coming of the New God when the hour comes? Just as the Takai stood with High King Kothlaric Pendragon in the hour of the final battle against the Sovereign?”

  In a flash of insight, Calliande realized what Ridmark was doing. He was building an alliance to call upon in the hour of need. Just as Calliande herself had built an alliance between the dwarves and the manetaurs and the men of Andomhaim to fight the Frostborn, so was Ridmark starting to assemble an alliance to fight the New God, whatever it was. Kothlaric had done the same thing, gathering the realm of Owyllain, the orcish-city states, the gray elves, and the Takai to defeat the Sovereign.

  “The tribe of Tumak Valatai shall be ready for this glorious battle,” said Valatai. “When you call upon us, Shield Knight, we shall show you why all nations fear the arrows of the Takai.”

  “And I shall carry word to the Windcallers of the other tribes,” said the Windcaller who had spoken. “Long have we known that something is amiss in this land. When the day of battle comes, the Tumaks shall lay aside their quarrels and come to fight as one united tribe.”

  “Thank you, my lord, honored Windcaller,” said Ridmark.

  “Will you ask for no other boon?” said Valatai. “No other reward that is within my power to give?”

  “I will not, my lord,” said Ridmark. “I wish only to defeat the New God and return to my homeland. That is all I desire.”

  “Well, you shall have our aid
nonetheless,” said Valatai. “Magatai!”

  “Magatai is ready to obey, my Tumak,” said Magatai.

  “You finished the Blood Quest to Cathair Avamyr,” said the Tumak, “and those who complete the Blood Quest are the boldest warriors of the Takai. Therefore, this is my command. You will accompany the Shield Knight and lend him your counsel and aid. His foes shall be your foes, and his friends shall be your friends. Guide him to victory in the quest of the Seven Swords, and return with great honor and renown to me. Will you do this?”

  “Magatai shall and will return victorious!” said Magatai. He glanced at Ridmark. “If the Shield Knight has no objection?”

  “He does not,” said Ridmark. “Few men would have been brave enough to walk into the Tower of Nightmares, but you were. Your help would be welcome.”

  And, Calliande knew, his help would be useful. The Takai Steppes and the marshes around the xiatami city of Najaris were outside the realm of Owyllain, but they would have to traverse those lands to reach the ruins of the Monastery of St. James. Magatai would know those lands well, and his assistance as a guide and a scout might be invaluable.

  “Splendid!” said Magatai. He grinned. “Besides, I still have friend Kyralion’s sword. I must make sure he remains alive long enough for Magatai to return it.”

  Kyralion offered the halfling his stiff, awkward bow. “And I shall be glad of your help in remaining alive.”

  “We’ll leave tomorrow,” said Ridmark.

  Chapter 24: I Remember You

  The next morning, Kalussa Pendragon took a deep breath and stepped into the common room of the Javelin Inn.

  Best to get this over with as quickly as possible.

  Calem sat at one of the tables near the door, eating breakfast.

  His eyes widened as she approached, and he rose.

  “Kalussa,” he said. “I…”

  “I think we should sit down,” said Kalussa.

  He nodded and sat, and Kalussa sat across from him, propping the Staff of Blades against the wall. Calem carried the Sword of Air, and she bore the Staff of Blades. Two deadly and dangerous relics of magical power, which was one of the reasons what they had done yesterday had been so foolish.