A JOURNEY COMMENCES
I didn't remember walking back upstairs to our apartments. Somehow I found myself embracing Saysi before one of the big windows in the common room of our chambers. A vast bank of stormy thunderheads rose in the distance, darker by far than the night sky. Silent flickerings of brightness, yellow and orange and red, pulsed across the crests and slopes of the billowing cloud mass.
The nearby sea lay below those clouds, I knew, yet the air seemed uncommonly dry, brittle and electric with distant energy. Unconsciously I curled my toes against the floor, seeking a solid grounding against the vaporous and unimaginable might of the distant storm.
I heard a clattering sound and gradually realized that Rathentweed's teeth were clacking together like castanets. The little gnome stood at a nearby window, hunched miserably beside Badswell. The half-ogre, looming like a pillar of rock in the shadows, reached out a brawny paw to pat Rath's shoulder. Gradually Parnish's assistant overcame his terror, though he turned his back to the window, clearly unsettled by the violent and unnatural storm.
Memories of the last minutes fell into place, more like the jumbled remnants of a wine-sotted dream than recollections of actual events. My ears rang, and I felt nearly as jumpy as Rathentweed, twitching as a new burst of lightning flared in the clouds, watching the brightness sustained like a massive celestial bonfire for several heartbeats.
At least the rod was out of sight. Parnish had snatched up the artifact as the vortex of chaos had still whirled around us. The wizard had stalked from the chamber while Rathentweed, Badswell, Saysi, and I slowly regained our senses. The gnome, pale and trembling, willingly accompanied the three of us back to our guest apartments.
"Saysi... where were we?" I asked, still trying to convince myself of what we had seen.
"We never left the mansion... but at the same time, I think we were very far away."
I felt her trembling and pulled her close. Badswell turned his broad face to us. I could see the glistening saucers of his eyes and the white points of his lower tusks in the starlight that filtered into the room. He seemed surprisingly unperturbed by the events that had shaken the rest of us.
"Chaos... it is growing," Rathentweed muttered, grimly shaking his head. He clapped his black hat to his scalp, his hand trembling, and squinted sternly at us over the bulbous knob of his nose. "The danger is very real."
"Real, mebbe. But not right now," Badswell suggested. "If you want, I'll walk wit' you to your room."
The gnome nodded stiffly, with a little sniff of disdain, but the relief was visible in his eyes. He actually smiled slightly as he bowed to Saysi and me, bidding us good night. The two companions, one gigantic, one diminutive, departed to the mansion's hall.
"There's something comforting about seeing them together like that. It gives me hope." Saysi spoke quietly, almost to herself.
I wrapped both my arms around her; her face rose toward mine, and in moments we were kissing, lost in the comfort of each other's embrace. A long time passed before we broke apart, gasping for breath. I was acutely conscious of my pounding heart, sensing Saysi's own emotions raging as strongly as mine.
"Come... come here tonight," I said quietly, gently taking both of her hands, pulling her toward the door to my bedroom.
She took a step, then halted, though she made no move to release my hands. "No, Kip... it would be wrong. I can't."
I wanted desperately to change her mind. This was a discussion we'd had before, many times, but surely things were different now. We weren't the same people who had wandered around, carefree, accompanied by Barzyn and Hestrill and other bold companions.
"We're in this together, all the way," I told her. "I'll stay here as long as you want.... I know that the rod is a real threat, and perhaps an opportunity as well. Just remember, it's not the only thing that matters. It's not everything."
"Kip... I know." Her voice was soft, as silken as the strands of coppery hair that I stroked with my fingers.
I pulled her close, drawing her fully into my arms. "You're the most important person in the world to me, Saysi—now and always, for the rest of our lives. It's only right that we share everything and stay together forever!"
"Why, Kip... are you actually proposing to me?" she asked coyly.
"Yes! By Patrikon, yes, I am! I want us to get married as soon as this is all over! Will you?"
She pulled back, her eyes shining in the starlight as she stared intently. "I do believe you mean it, you rascal."
"I do—more than I've ever meant anything before!"
"I'm touched... I really am." Her tone was strangely hesitant.
"What's—what's your answer?"
"I—I have to think about it," she said. "It's kind of unlike you to do this, you have to admit."
"Can you think about it in there?" I asked, gently pulling her toward the door of my bedroom.
"I want to," she replied. "Really, I do. But it's not the time, and certainly not the place. I can't! Don't you see? It would be wrong, a violation of the order of law. I can't allow that!"
Privately I reflected that now and then a little chaos in a person's life might not be a terrible thing. Yet I sensed the determination in her voice and her posture, and I knew that any attempts to press my arguments would have exactly the opposite effect that I desired.
"Stay here with me for a while, won't you?" she whispered as I started to pull away. Reluctantly, biting back my frustration, I allowed her to lead me back to the window.
Looking at the sparkling array of lightning, I felt a sense of awe returning. "There's chaos and law out there, together." My voice came out as a rasping croak. "There's no pattern, Saysi. It's like life! We have to make of it what we can, take what joys are offered to us."
"You know I can't believe that, Kip," she said, speaking far more gently than I probably deserved. "Patrikon has put me here for a reason, and that reason has to be found in the ordering of lives, of worlds. I know that's hard for you to understand, but it's real to me. I can't change it any more than you can change the fact of who you are."
Who I was? Right now that was one very randy little halfling. Yet as my frustration seethed, then settled back, I suddenly realized that there was an undeniable sense of security and comfort in standing here with Saysi, knowing that my presence was important to her—as hers was, even with her stubborn sense of morality, to me.
We kissed again, as the lightning flared and raged overhead. A few minutes earlier, I might have felt their blazing pyrotechnics as a threat. Somehow, in the warmth of Saysi's embrace and surrounded by the whispered, almost inaudible chant of her evening prayer, I felt the celestial display was a benign presence. When at last Saysi broke from my arms and we each turned to our own rooms, my frustration was all but forgotten, replaced by an aching memory of her sweetness and a growing determination to stay with her, to protect her from anything this life could offer.
Still, as I drifted toward sleep in the feathery softness of my lonely mattress, that same thought returned: A little chaos in one's life was not necessarily a bad thing.
Morning found Saysi and Badswell bustling around our apartments before I even crawled out from beneath my covers. Dressing in the morning robe that the tailors had delivered after dinner on the previous night, I joined my two companions in descending the ebony staircase to find Parnish and Rathentweed arriving for breakfast at precisely the same time.
"I trust you slept well?" inquired the wizard, clearly in a good humor.
"As well as possible, under the circumstances," I retorted, annoyed by his cheeriness—and then guilty as I saw a look of pain flicker across Saysi's face.
"Quite, quite," declared Parnish, ignoring my mood. He sat at the head of the table, and I noticed that he had the black staff of the assembled rod, at least the five parts in his possession, at his side. He placed the stick between his legs as he drew his chair up to the table, and kept his left hand on the shaft as he took a seat.
Five or six servants e
ntered in a silent file, bearing plates of cooked eggs, fresh bread, and a variety of fruits. Parnish watched the serving of the food, bouncing the rod back and forth between his hands with unconcealed excitement. When the last of the servants had departed, he cleared his throat, sweeping his stern gaze around the table to make sure that he had our undivided attention.
"I have some rather exciting news," he declared suddenly, his tone ebullient.
"What is it, my lord?" inquired the gnome, his own eyes sparkling.
"I have learned where the sixth part of the rod may be found. With the five segments assembled, I settled down to meditate during the night and was rewarded by a vivid sense of direction—the knowledge that we can proceed in continuation of our quest!"
"Really?" Saysi was too enthusiastic at the announcement for my taste, but I couldn't very well silence her. "Do you think it was the melding of the five segments? Did that increase your sensitivity?"
"I really don't know, my dear. In truth, perhaps not. It feels more as though the sixth piece of the rod has been brought closer, to somewhere we might have a chance of reaching it."
I didn't like his repeated use of the word "we," and I had a rather sickening feeling about what was coming next.
"My sense of direction confirms that it lies somewhere beyond the ocean shore—doubtless an island, or one of the distant realms over water. In any event, we shall depart tomorrow morning in search of the next segment of the rod!"
"Why not leave right now?" I asked, my words well leavened with sarcasm.
"Impossible." Parnish missed, or chose to ignore, my tone. "Any trip requires planning and preparation. Sudden departures lead to chaotic journeys; it's a maxim that's been proven time and time again. No, we shall depart promptly following tomorrow's breakfast."
"You got ship?" Badswell asked suspiciously, as if he expected that Parnish would make us swim.
"Not personally, no. But we shall have little difficulty hiring passage. I have already sent a solicitation to the waterfront and will no doubt interview several captains during the course of the day. There are many reliable sailors operating out of Argenport, and I don't doubt that one of them would welcome the chance to make a profitable voyage."
"What about the end of the world?" I had to ask, as long as nobody else brought the matter up. "Don't you sail off of it if you just set out blindly from land?"
"Myths and fairy tales, I assure you," declared Parnish dismissively. "And, besides, we shall have the rod to guide us."
"Straight into trouble," I muttered underneath my breath, drawing a kick to my shin from Saysi.
The wizard looked at us, blinking solemnly behind those wire-framed spectacles. If he gave any thought to the notion that one or another of us might not be wild about joining him on this quest, he made no acknowledgment of the fact.
"You have the day to make your own preparations," he continued. "You should have all your clothes by now; my tailors are nothing if not speedy. Pack them in the crates that the servants will provide for each of you. It is well to remember that standards of dress will not be relaxed merely because we are aboard ship."
After breakfast, we tried on our traveling clothes, and I was forced to admit that even Badswell looked rather dapper in his polished boots and long jacket. Rathentweed, in a black silk hat, struck a properly officious air, and Saysi was a fairylike vision in a lace-trimmed dress of emerald green.
Although Parnish had granted us the day to make our preparations, we three prisoners in fact had very little to do. Badswell, accompanied by Rathentweed, poked about the mansion and grounds, while Saysi and I browsed the extensive library.
We soon discovered that the vast majority of Parnish Fegher's volumes dealt with the Rod of Seven Parts—the artifact's violent history, its mighty powers, and its uncertain destiny. One source had detailed descriptions of the spyder-fiends, from which we identified the ferocious kakkuu and soft-spoken lycosyds that had attacked us. We also learned of an even mightier version of these creatures called the raklupis. This powerful tanar'ri was particularly deadly because it could appear in any guise. It spoke with such seductive allure that a victim could be easily deceived into regarding the deadly horror as a friend.
The wind dukes, or vaati, were described in most passages with terms approaching homage. We learned of their rigid standards of law, of the different sects such as vindeam and rudeam, the two wizardly orders, or the nature priests, the grideam. Each order had unique powers and distinctive roles in this highly regimented society. Most intriguing to me were the wendeam, or outcasts, who spend their almost immortal lives in a ceaseless search for the Rod of Seven Parts. Sworn foes of the Queen of Chaos and her tanar'ri, all vaati lived in fear of her gathering the pieces before they did, knowing she would seek to use the artifact to free her beloved Miska.
Saysi found several detailed passages about the grim, tentacled goddess whose image we had doubtless observed the previous night.
"The Queen of Chaos is the ruler of a realm called the Steaming Fen," she explained to me. "It's in a plane called the Abyss, which sounds like an all-around awful place. Her influence is strong on many worlds, depending on how thoroughly chaos prevails there."
"Worlds? Planes?" I could only shake my head. "I'm happy enough to stay right here, thank you."
We saw Parnish again at dinner, but he provided no further information on our upcoming journey except to say that no sea captain had responded to his bid for services. "We'll have no trouble booking passage at the docks in the morning," he declared confidently.
After the meal, a brawny servant appeared with a leather-wrapped bundle.
"I noticed that you lacked a weapon suitable to your size," the wizard explained to Badswell. "My smithy has created something for you. I hope you will find it suitable."
Frowning, Bads unwrapped the leather covering to reveal a massive battle-axe, a double-bitted blade of steel supported by a massive hardwood shaft. His tusked mouth drooped into a grin, and when Saysi elbowed him, he even remembered to say "thank you" to the wizard. Impressed, I reflected that the weapon seemed very suitable indeed.
When Saysi and I retired for the night, I made no further suggestions of intimacy, knowing that her opinions on the matter would remain the same as on the previous night. In the morning, we dressed for travel and, following breakfast, departed the wizard's estate on foot. Our luggage would be delivered to the docks when our bookings had been arranged.
Parnish led the way, with Rathentweed in tow and Badswell, wearing his splendid battle-axe at his belt, right behind. Saysi and I held back, enjoying the feel of the outdoors again. With Goldfinder at my side, I felt good enough to put a little swagger into my walk as we passed jauntily through the streets of the High City.
Those avenues and byways were already crowded, though shoppers and merchants alike stepped quickly aside when they spotted Parnish leading our small procession. The hawking of vendors, the shouts of parents chasing their children, made the city seem like a raucous and untamed environment after several days of sedate and well-ordered surroundings. On the other hand, I found the streets a breath of fresh air following the admittedly luxurious prison of Parnish Fegher's compound.
However, I no longer entertained any thoughts of escape, and not just because I didn't want to leave Saysi behind. I found myself vaguely curious about our destination, and since I had never sailed aboard a ship before, the prospect of that new experience was also rather intriguing.
The drinking and revelry that had distinguished Argenport earlier seemed to continue unabated. Indeed, people danced and wove along some side streets as if they had been at it all night, and didn't slow down a bit with the coming of dawn. We saw a surprising number of people who seemed to be extremely drunk. One brawny warrior swaggered forward as if to challenge Badswell to a fight, but a glowering look from the smooth-faced wizard sent the fellow cowering back to his alley like a whipped dog.
Unfortunately I had trouble with my traveling clothes alm
ost as soon as we stepped beyond the walls of Parnish's compound. One of my cuffs popped open, and the neck felt uncomfortably tight. Just my luck, I decided glumly. Badswell got that nice axe, and I apparently received clothes made by some clumsy apprentice tailor.
We started on the descent toward the waterfront, walking along a wide street that was relatively uncrowded compared to the throngs elsewhere. An expanse of mist blanketed the flatness beyond the last building, much as it had covered the sea on the day of our arrival, and I found it hard to imagine the breadth of ocean beneath that cloudy camouflage.
"The temple of Patrikon should be just around this corner," Saysi said as we neared the waterfront. "That's strange," she said a moment later. "I thought I remembered that it was right there."
I looked at the place she indicated, which was occupied by a dingy tavern, apparently a hangout of scruffy sailors and other disreputable drunkards.
She shrugged, looking around, perplexed. "I guess I lost track of where we are. It must be that this street looks just like the one going past the temple."
Passing through the gates of a large walled compound at the base of the hill, I expected to find dockyards and ships arrayed at the stone quays. Instead, the flat ground was just bare dirt, with many fences, corrals, and barns just beyond. Parnish looked around in confusion as the mist rose, drifting away in the morning sun and the light breeze off the sea.
Another button popped off my vest, and I was glad that I had resisted the suggestion to wear boots or other footwear. My feet were the only part of me that didn't feel as if they were getting strangled. All my clothes seemed to be shrinking around me.
"Where is it? Where's the sea?" Saysi asked, fingering her amulet. Her eyes were wide, her expression full of increasing alarm.
As the mist slowly dissipated, I looked to the east, observing a vast steppeland of grass. "It's gone." The fact didn't seem surprising to me.
"We're supposed to get a ship!" the halfling priestess insisted.
"No, you are mistaken!" Parnish declared insistently. "There are no ships, for there is no water. It's a matter of utter, lawful logic! There is land before us; thus, we shall travel by land."
The Rod of Seven Parts Page 19
