by H. A. Harvey
“I wish I could take it back.” He said softly, “Just stay asleep and let you get away.”
“We can’t take any of it back.” Karen answered, “I was trying to die, but She won’t let me. I only managed to kill what I hoped to save.”
Ceril seemed both taken aback and confused. He stood awkwardly a moment, then removed a pouch of jerked meat from his belt and set it on the wagon floor. He seemed about to say something, but just nodded and walked back to the fire.
“Kadia doesn’t control who dies.” Ourei’s thoughts were a welcome change from the uncanny memories still swimming through Karen’s mind. “It is her role to keep Hope alive, not end Life.”
“I didn’t mean Her.” Karen murmured, not feeling like looking at Ourei at the moment.
. . .
“Fate.”
“What about it?” Nian asked.
“Her.” Kaesa clarified as they picked their way along the cliff. “Ye keep asking who told me t’ be findin’ ye.”
Nian smiled broadly. It somehow felt good that he wasn’t the only person with Immortal directions ruling his life. Learning that it was an Incarnate who had saved him was bad enough, but with this Emissary business, he had started to feel like some impossible task was laid on his shoulders alone.
“What did she say?” Nian asked.
“Say?” The Njord echoed with a hint of mirth echoing from beneath her helm. “No speech. She sent a sign.”
“What kind of sign?”
“In Kaldrbrekka, I am steel-wright.” Kaesa explained, “One morning when I wake, de forge is cold und dere is da web of a spider spread over da coal. In da web, frost had settled in de shape like a rune, one we use for messenger, but it can also mean Emissary. On dis web, I see one of dose beasts of hers. De spider watched me und sent its web into de wind. So, I followed de wind, and in its howl, I hear yer name each night.”
“Wait,” Amalthea paused ahead of them and looked back at the armored woman. “So, you saw frost on a spider’s web?”
“Jes.”
“In Nilheim?”
“Jes.”
“And that was your signal to march off and look for an Emissary?” Amalthea asked incredulously.
“Jes.”
“Did it occur to you,” The little goblin asked as she turned and forged onward. “That the forge was cold because the Nilheim winds simply doused it, and the spider built its web over the coals to take advantage of the fading heat? Spiders weave all sorts of patterns into their webs. I’m told they inspired the first writing with their shapes and artistry. Could your rune for messenger be based on the pattern of a local spider perhaps?”
“Ye ar not as smart as ye dink.” Kaesa retorted, “A forge dat melts steel has such heat dat even de deepest colds of Nilheim take days to quench its heart. Und de only spiders in Nilheim ar de Issveidimadr. One’s egg is as large as a man’s fist, und deir webs do not freeze or grow frost.”
Nian swallowed reflexively. Once, in his father’s cellar, he had found a sack of spider’s eggs. He had cut it open and marveled at the tiny eggs as small as grains of sand. Their mother had been the size of his thumb. His mind reeled at how terrible the strange creature must be who laid eggs of such size.
“I haf heard of you Gateward folk.” The Njord continued, “Here in da warm lands, gods, Incarnates, even de immortal Golden Emperor vie for control und mortal hearts. Nilheim is de land forgotten by de Immortals. Jotun tribes und even fouler spawn of de Titans wander her wastes in freedom und unafraid of divine wrath. If any immortal stretches so far as to seek us, we listen.”
“I’ve known several Njords.” Autumn joined the conversation, though Nian thought her tone sounded odd. “They are strong folk, but not strong enough to fight as you did. I’ve also never seen a Njord who wore armor of your like. Wouldn’t it freeze you to death in the ice wastes?”
“Not if ye lin it in de right way.” Kaesa answered, then she paused and looked around Nian at Autumn. “Or did ye mean to ask anooder question?”
“Alright,” Autumn replied. This time the tone in her voice was unmistakable. Nian suddenly wanted to be anywhere but between them at the top of a cliff. “What are you and what are you supposed to do when you find Nian?”
“She is abomination.” A gruff voice called aloud from the rocks to their side. Nian and the others whirled and drew their weapons. The braided, raven mane of Xain rose from behind an outcropping of stones. All except Kaesa relaxed their stance. “Do not be afraid, girl. Ask these comrades of yours, if I wanted you dead, you would be at bottom of cliff by now. But what I say is true, yes?”
“Xain!” Nian laughed aloud despite the tense situation. “I thought you were dead!”
“Bah!” Xain replied in good humor, though his cold blue eyes never left Kaesa, and his grip upon his crossbow stayed at the ready. “Dwarves live on and under mountains since before time. You did not think I know to duck falling stones?”
“That was a lot of stones.” Nian replied sheepishly, a little embarrassed at his assumption, but a lot impressed that the Dwarf had somehow escaped the center of the landslide. “I’m glad you made it though.”
“Um, I hate to break up the reunion,” Amalthea interrupted, “Xain, I’m about as happy to see you again as I can be to see a Dwarf. Right now, is this abomination business contagious?”
“No.” Both the Dwarf and Njord answered in unison.
“Then I suggest that, since it will be closing on dusk in a few hours anyway, we find a place to camp where we can work out differences, hug the Dwarf, and figure out this abomination business.”
There was a weighted silence as Kaesa held her guarded position without moving. Xain lowered his crossbow and slung it over his shoulder with a grunt. Nian cleared his throat and, saying a quick mental prayer to Kadia, reached out to nudge the Njord’s shoulder. She turned her head and looked at him briefly before nodding and hanging her axe back on her belt.
“There will be no hugging.” Xain grumped simply before falling in beside Autumn.
The group moved on in silence for about an hour before they found a small grotto near where the cliff met a small mountain river. There was a sloping path down into the wooded valley below, but they decided not to venture down until morning, rather than risking being caught by dusk partway down. Xain’s bulging pack had his bedroll strapped to it, and he produced two small blankets from inside to hand to Amalthea and Autumn. Kaesa busied herself at making a fire. In a few minutes, the company began to settle in around its glowing warmth.
Kaesa took up a seat on a small stone opposite from where Xain, Amalthea, and Autumn were perched. Nian sat down wearily next to Autumn and turned to give her an exhausted smile. She met him with a blank stare that gave him pause, then silently stood and moved to sit on the far side of the Dwarf and Goblin. Nian wondered he’d done that upset her, but wasn’t able to collect his thoughts enough to ask before Thea cleared her throat.
“So . . .” She began, “Since small-talk seems to be out, what in the name of Ruin is an abomination?”
Xain and Kaesa sat staring at each other coldly, while Nian mostly noted that Autumn was very pointedly not looking at him.
“Don’t everybody talk at once,” The little goblin pressed, “But just so you know, I’m going to start randomly tossing daggers at people in a minute.”
“It is title.” Xain answered, though it didn’t look like he took the Goblin’s threat seriously, “To most Dwarves, it is meaning . . . a half-breed. But to some, it keeps old meaning.”
“Ye don’t have enough here to purge me.” Kaesa growled from across the fire. Nian found himself wondering how such a pretty girl managed to sound almost feral.
“Nobody is purging anybody else ‘till we all know what is going on.” Nian assured her in the most authoritative tone he could manage.
“Why are you defendi
ng her?” Autumn snapped back, “You have no idea what she is, or why she’s really here. She could be here to kill you, but all you see is a pretty Human girl. Did you just instantly forget what she did to those guards last night?”
“Eef I was to kill de Emissary,” Kaesa countered, “Would it not have been easiest last night when he dropped his blade?”
“I was there to stop you.” The Dryad returned.
“Ye could no more stop me den as now.”
“Alright!” Thea chimed in, “We’re not fighting right now, we’re supposed to be talking. Hopefully we can talk about things that lead to figuring stuff out instead or rolling around in the dirt all night.”
Xain cleared his throat, “Yes. Perhaps the abomination will let me speak if I assure her I do not hunt her kind.”
Kaesa sat in silence. The shadow of night hid her features inside the opening of her helm. At length, she nodded.
“The noble bloodlines, the four Wheelbreaker clans and five clans of Ironbreakers, trace our lines back to greatest of old Dwarves, those known to us by the Myrkhin.” Xain recited, “My kin bear gift of Gurlan Wheelbreaker and his siblings. His artistry with metal, glass, and stone brought light and wonder to the lost realm of Myrkhannon when the Myrkhin ruled all deep folk.”
Thea cleared her throat, “Ah, for those of us not particularly interested in Dwarven history, might we get the abridged version?”
“This is abridged version. This should by rights be told in song, whose verses echo from hills through fading light of dusk until gates open broad and Phoenix soars high overhead.” Xain beckoned to the brightening stars as he spoke reverently, then resumed his explanation, “Ironbreakers bear the unmatched might of Thuror Ironbender. Any breach of these ancient lineages is true abomination, even with Dwarves of lesser blood. In the households of the Wheelbreaker clans, such things are cast out. Parents, siblings, aunts and uncles of such abominations are stripped of name and property, joining ranks of fallen Dwarves, whose blood is weakened and does not remember might of Myrkhannon.”
“Kaesa never said anything about being any sort of Dwarf.” Nian chimed in, hoping to be helpful. “If she’s exiled or purged I guess, then there’s no problem.”
Autumn huffed in aggravation, but Xain held up a hand to keep her silent. “I said that is how such things are handled by Wheelbreakers. Ironbenders are different sort of Dwarf. They are powerful of arm, tall of frame, with discipline of iron, and lives equally cold and hard. They learn twice to walk, first as you or I. Once they learn as we do, they are anchored into a weighted suit, and must again learn to crawl, then to stand and walk. They wear armor when waking, sleeping, even dining, until it hinders their movements no more than a silk shirt would you or I. This trial kills many of their young, though more fall at the hand of their fathers at birth, should they be weak or deformed. To their mind, abomination is a cancer to be cut out. Child and parents are slaughtered without exception, even should it spark war with people of abomination’s foreign parent. This is what they call to purge the bloodline. Should they hear of child born beyond their reach, they send hunters to keep bloodline pure.”
“So,” Nian paused, still trying to wrap his head around the concept of slaughtering children as a matter of tradition. “These hunters have been trying to kill you your whole life?”
“No.” Kaesa answered plainly. “Dere ar no Dwarfs in Nilheim dat I know of, oder dan my fader. He was found collapsed on de Kalabanivagga while hunting jotun.”
“The what?” Nian asked.
“The Cradle of Freezing Death. It’s what the Njords call the plate of ice that covers more than half of Nilheim.” Autumn inserted her explanation. Then, seeing Kaesa looking at her, added curtly, “I said I’ve known Njords.”
“Yeah, Frostbone Orcs like Turev just call it home.” Amalthea chuckled, “If that’s short, I’m glad you didn’t start singing. Xain isn’t a hunter, and if you ask me, Ironbenders should be more open-minded. Their blood mixing with Njords at least is like nothing I’ve seen.”
“There are no exceptions for Ironbenders.” Xain sighed, “If you will travel in these lands, you will see Dwarves. We need to make you not so obvious. You look like tall, skinny Ironbender from head to foot.”
Kaesa stiffened, a feat Nian wouldn’t have thought possible had he been asked. “I do not see why I should trust ye.”
“I am Dwarf,” Xian answered, “But I am loyal to wolf pack. If Autumn says the abomination is with us, I have no reason to betray her.”
Nian looked at Autumn. She stared back blankly for several moments, then nodded to Xian.
“Very well,” Xian nodded, “First, we-“
“Not now!” Amalthea hopped up, peering into the darkness. “There are men moving though the rocks.”
As the company about the fire leapt to their feet, an arrow sailed from the darkness. It’s arc looked to have been aimed for Amalthea, but instead struck the side of Kaesa’s helm as she stood, glancing off as the shaft snapped sharply. The Njord brought her shield up as the first arrow was followed by a hail of its kin. Several shattered upon Kaesa’s bulwark of a shield, others rained down about the campsite. One arrow struck Xain in the shoulder while two bit into Nian’s right thigh and upper arm. Kaesa leapt to the near side of the fire and used her shield to sweep Nian towards Xain. She shouted a short phrase in a tongue Nian did not know, but Xain nodded and pulled him along to the others.
“Out of the light,” He muttered, “The abomination will cover and follow.”
“Wait.” Nian tugged back despite his wounds. “How?”
“She is Dwarf,” Xain replied as he slammed a fist into Nian’s stomach and draped him over the Dwarf’s shoulders. “No arguing, we go now.”
Nian bounced on Xian’s shoulders and the sturdy fellow bounded into the night, hardly seeming to notice the added load. Over his shoulder, he saw Thea follow with Autumn in tow. Once he had achieved a decent distance from the fire, Xain turned sharply and slowed. Gradually, he became aware of what had to be the two women following. Nian could hear Autumn curse quietly as she stumbled through the dark.
The sound of rushing water grew loud and Nian peered over his escort’s shoulder to see starlight glinting off the flowing river. Xain set him down by a stone large enough for Nian to sit upon. The Dwarf worked at removing the arrow in his own shoulder as two shadows that could only be Thea and Autumn drew up on them. Thea scampered over to Nian quickly and jammed some manner of leather strip into his mouth.
“Bite down.” Thea instructed. “I’m good enough that I can do this quick, but I can’t promise it won’t hurt. In fact, I kinda should promise the opposite.”
Nian quickly did as instructed and bit down. It was a good thing he didn’t hesitate, because Thea definitely didn’t. No sooner had he felt a small, soft hand on the underside of his arm than the arrow drove clear through his arm. After another agonizing tug, the shaft was free of the wound. Almost at once, something wound around his arm and constricted tightly. Nian caught his breath and considered pulling out his bit to mention something about her speed. However, the Goblin moved to his leg without pausing and, drawing one of her longer fighting daggers, worked the wound slightly wider and Nian felt the arrow wiggle slowly back out of his leg.
“You’re tough, for a non-orc.” Thea purred, “This one’s not deep enough to push through. It’ll hurt more than the one in your arm and take a bit longer, but going the other way would do too much damage for you to walk, and I might hit something that’d make you bleed out. Pretty sure Stoneface would kill me fer that. Sorry if the chatter bugs you, I hear distraction helps with pain is all. Always been a little curious about pain, myself. We don’t respond to injury like anyone else. Warbringer’s gift has us rigged totally different I guess, it’s not unpleasant . . . more like a rush, even an aphrodisiac when it’s done just right. For instance, you probably wanna throttle me about now
, but if you were an Orc, this’d be . . . ahem . . . well, we’ll just say we wouldn’t be doing this in front of a . . . there we go!”
Nian almost blacked out, but the sawing feeling was finally gone. A painful throbbing was left behind, but by comparison it might as well be a massage. Amalthea bound up his leg quickly. She patted his healthy leg and took a step back.
“Can you stand?”
Nian pushed off the rock with his good arm. He tested weight onto his leg. A stabbing pain shot through his thigh, but he was able to keep his leg flexed. He gave a nod, then pulled the Goblin’s knife sheath from his mouth and handed it back to her.
“Yeah,” He breathed, “It’ll work. What do we do now?”
“We wait.” Xain answered, “Abomination said meet at river.”
“You know, she has a name.” Nian admonished him. “You should use it, she risked getting skewered so we could get away.”
“Not really,” Kaesa’s voice came from the darkness, “Deir arrowheads ar cast, not forged. Army archers supplied cheap und quick an guided wid Human eyes in de dark, Fate or Luck would haf to guide dat arrow. But I did lose my mule.”
“It looks like they lit torches at the fire.” Autumn observed, “We can’t stay here. Nian, are you certain Rowan would have lead the others to the valley? We won’t be able to come back.”
Nian nodded, then remembered Autumn was about as blind in the dark as he was, “Yeah, on the map it was the only forest nearby. Rowan would head for that. To him, it’s better than a castle.”
The company seemed to be in agreement and moved out silently. Thea was closest to Nian, so she swapped to guiding him through the dark with Xain and Autumn ahead of them. Behind him in the dark, Nian could hear the scrape of Kaesa’s steel scales against each other, muffled somewhat by the heavy fur mantle draped over them. The sound drew the image of a massive serpent coiling and shifting behind him. The regular punctuation of her heavy foot-falls made it seem like the beast chased just behind him with regular lunges.
