Althak and Azkun found horses immediately for themselves and Tenari. Althak visited the men’s lodge and returned with a bag containing his belongings and the dragon shield that had been his father’s. He threw them both across the back of his horse.
“Wait!” from the doorway came the familiar voice of Keashil. Olcish who also carried a pack for them containing blankets and food led her. “Wait, Althak. Take us with you.”
“You dislike Meyathal?” Althak walked towards them and took the pack from Olcish.
Keashil reached towards his voice and clutched at his sleeve.
“Of course not. But take us with you. Gashan was bad enough. I don't want you to leave me again.”
“I can't take you with me. The journey north was too hard for you. The year's older now, and this journey will be even harder. But…”
“Yes?” her blind eyes looked past his, tears welled from them.
“I wish I could take you. Damn it, this is hard enough already!” He pulled her hand from his sleeve and threw himself onto his horse. “Tell Menish it isn't Kopth I am serving on this quest, it is himself. I'm trying to save you all.”
“I know. He'll come to see it.”
“Remember me in your songs.”
“Goodbye, Vorthenki”
They rode away through the gates and down the street.
“No one has ever returned from Kishalkuz, Olcish. We'll never see him again.”
Chapter 29: “I Will Bring Dragons”
They rode in silence for hours. Azkun did not know what to say to Althak. He was grateful for his support, but it had cost Althak so much to come with him. As they rode he could feel the Vorthenki’s grief as if it were his own. Menish had turned him out of Meyathal and all he had been doing was to try and save them from the terror of Gashan. After years of service he was now a homeless wanderer, for Althak had no herds of his own, as did Drinagish and the others. He was a Vorthenki, and he had been content to work at Menish’s side asking little reward. For, though the Anthorians regarded the Vorthenki as barbarians who murdered their fathers to steal their houses, there was another side to their nature. A Vorthenki could be content with little more than the service he could give to a leader he loved. He did not need the herds and tents and horses the Anthorians measured their status by.
But for Althak this was gone, and the memory of Menish’s words drove him like wolves at his heels. He set a cruel pace not even stopping at dusk, and eating a crust of bread in the saddle when hunger grew too great.
When the moon rose they had to stop, for the horses were too weary to continue. But they lit no fire, they simply cast themselves on the ground and rolled themselves in their blankets. Azkun tried to thank Althak for coming with him and the Vorthenki sighed and said “Some things are hard to do, but they must be done.” His eyes shone in the moonlight as he looked back at Azkun. “You didn't leave Tenari behind this time. Why not?”
Tenari lay beside him. It seemed she was asleep, but Azkun had never been able to see her mind.
“I once thought she was a Monnar, but I was wrong. She helped me find the right path in the forests of Gashan in a dream. But I think she is in their evil spells. The dragons will rescue her.”
It took them eight days in all to reach Atonir. Every day until they reached the great wall they rode off before dawn and did not stop until well after dusk. Once past the wall they had fresh horses every few miles so they did not stop to sleep at all. Azkun’s head grew heavy and he fought to keep his eyes open. But he knew why Althak drove them so. This was the last service Menish had given him to do, he was going to do it well.
They rode up to the city gates not long after midnight and were challenged by the guards there. Althak did not know the new passwords and the guards had orders to open to no one after dark without them.
But the captain of the guard knew Althak and let them in. He detailed eight of his men to escort them to the palace, however. Vorish’s orders were not circumvented lightly.
In the light of the waning moon the palace looked like a dark mountain against the sky, immense and dominating, a symbol of Vorish’s determination. More passwords were given and the great gates were opened to let them in. The captain of the night guards of the palace also knew Althak by sight, and he even recognised Azkun, but on his own authority he could not let them proceed further without passwords. He sent for Angoth, who appeared some minutes later.
Angoth was dressed in the long woollen robe he slept in. His grey hair stood out in all directions and he yawned and rubbed his eyes.
“Kopth’s balls, Althak, what sort of time is this to arrive? You’ve a message about Gashan, I suppose. All right, Agrith, we can let them in without passwords. I'd have given you the password schedule if I'd known you were going to turn up at this hour.” He looked at Althak carefully. “You look exhausted, man. Come. Sit down. Some wine?”
“Thank you. A few minutes. I must see Vorish.”
“Is it war?”
He nodded. “Soon. They'll attack in the spring.”
“What of this Eye thing?”
“They have it and they appear to be able to use it.”
Angoth grunted. “Your news is all bad.” He yawned again. “Well, I suppose you'd better see Vorish. Anarin! Go and see if the Emperor can see them. Go on, boy, move!” A sleepy-eyed youth who had been dozing in a corner ran off down the passage. “He’ll be awake, of course,” muttered Angoth. “Awake and aware. He probably already knows you're here. They say the walls have ears in this place, and all the ears are for Vorish. Just let me get decent, will you, and I'll come with you. He'll have orders for me.” Angoth disappeared through an archway to another room and they heard rustlings and grunts as he threw on a day tunic.
He returned smoothing his hair and beard with his hands just as the youth stepped through the other doorway.
“The Emperor will see you now, M’Lords.”
They followed him down the torch-lit passage, up two stairways and along a wide hall that Azkun thought he recognised. Two guards stood outside the heavy door they stopped at, but they let them pass through into Vorish’s study.
The Emperor sat on his cushions at his low table, a pile of parchments at one hand and a cup of wine at the other. A tired-looking councillor sat with him, and Azkun recognised him as Treath. Vorish did not look in the least weary. He looked up sharply when he saw them enter.
“Sit down, all of you,” he waved a hand towards the cushions on the opposite side of the table, subtly stressing the ‘all’ of his greeting. “What message do you bear that Menish should send Althak, Azkun and the silent woman… Tenari?” But Azkun could see a coldness in his eyes and wondered if he guessed why they had all come.
Althak sat down but Azkun remained standing and Tenari with him. This was not going to be an interview to relax in.
“Gashan prepares for war. They have the Eye and they appear to know something of how to use it. Azkun saw into their thoughts and they'll attack in spring. Menish has called an arms meet at Gildenthal at the spring games. He requests the aid you promised.” Althak added a brief account of what they had witnessed in Gashan.
“You didn't fetch the Eye, that's obvious.”
“It was impossible. Hrangil and Grath were killed. I almost died. Only Menish and Azkun passed through Gashan unscathed.”
“I knew Menish would go with you. Fool! Would Anthor follow Drinagish to fight Gashan if he'd fallen? Would they follow me?”
“They'd follow Adhara.”
“She would have fallen on her sword if Menish had not returned.”
“But he did return. Three of us returned. Now we know the Gashans will attack.”
“I'll do as I promised, of course. I need no more than a message from Menish and my cavalry will set out. Now you'll tell me why it was necessary for all three of you to bear this message and not some youth of Meyathal that Menish could spare.”
Azkun spoke.
“We journey to Kishalkuz. I go to my
masters, the dragons, to seek their aid in this war.”
“We? You mean yourself and the woman? Althak returns with me, of course.”
“No. Althak comes with me.”
For the first time Vorish looked surprised.
“Menish sent you on this errand?”
“Menish cast me out when I told him I was going with Azkun. Vorish, you must understand. We've seen the Gashans with our own eyes. This is no war with wild southerners or Vorthenki pirates. They have the Eye and they're fearsome. We need more than horses, swords and brave men.”
“Menish has seen them too. Yet he does not chase after dragons.”
“You know Menish as well as I do. He'd never call on dragons or Aton or anything else.”
Vorish nodded slowly.
“But you don't even know if such a place exists. What will you do? Sail east until you fall off the edge of the world? No one has ever returned from Kishalkuz.”
“It exists,” said Azkun. “When we sailed here from the north a creature called a dolphin spoke to me and told me of it. I asked if it could guide me one day. The dolphin agreed.”
“Isn't there a tale among the Vorthenki of a dolphin guiding a boat?” He turned to Treath who had been silent until now.
“Indeed there is. Tarath’s journey to the North Star is said to have been guided by a dolphin. But, M’Lord, this is surely fanciful. Dolphins don't tell tales of Kishalkuz. I've heard it said that the dragon isle isn't in the world at all and only a magical boat could reach it.”
“Yes,” rumbled Angoth. “It does seem… well it doesn’t sound likely.”
“Neither does the power of Gashan but I don't doubt that. I'll think on this. Go and rest now. You're weary. We'll talk again in the morning. Meanwhile, Angoth, send the dispatches we have ready. That will have the Drinols begun rounding up the peasant levies. Send the recall to the divisions we picked from the south. Now, Treath, these supply accounts…”
The sleepy-eyed youth showed them to rooms similar to those they had stayed in last time and left them. There was no food available at that time of night and the baths were cold so, they cast themselves on their sleeping furs and did not wake until long after dawn.
When Azkun woke it was to the sound of a muffled giggle. Tenari was curled up on the furs beside him. She snuggled closer and kissed him, and he remembered her lively spirits the last time they had been at Atonir. Immediately after Althak had eaten breakfast Vorish summoned them once again to his study. The pile of parchments still lay on the table, the wine jug was empty and Vorish still sat in the same place, wearing the same clothes. The only change was that Treath was gone and there were the remains of a meal being cleared by a servant.
Vorish looked as fresh as if he had slept all night.
“Sit down. Did you sleep well? You looked as if you'd sleep for days if you could.”
“We've slept well,” said Althak carefully, as if he were wary of expressing too much friendship.
“Good. I've come to a decision. You will go to Kishalkuz. I do recall a promise I made to Azkun before you set out for Gashan. But I made no such promise to you, Althak. You go at Menish’s extreme displeasure. I suspect that he had hopes of also using you, Azkun, in this war. However, you'll have to accompany Azkun, Althak. I don't believe Azkun will reach Kishalkuz unless you go with him. You've precious little chance anyway.
“I see these things differently from Menish. I've been able to study many of the old documents that tell of the Eye and I believe it's a real danger to us, much more of a danger than the fire throwing. Menish defeated the fire throwers last time and he did not have me there then. No, this Duzral Eye calls for a desperate attempt. Your offer to journey to Kishalkuz is timely.”
“You believe me then?” asked Azkun.
“I didn't say that. I said the attempt was desperate but justified. No more. I believe that you're probably going to your deaths, but if I understand this news of Gashan, so are we all. Now, by all accounts, and there are few, this will be a long journey. I can provide you with a ship, of course, but I can't provide you with a crew. I made inquiries this morning, it seems there are few Vorthenki who will risk the sight of Kopth himself.”
“Kopth is not whom we seek. Kopth is evil.”
“Yet Kopth is feared by the Vorthenki. I could only find two who would accompany you, and I wouldn't compel a man to make this journey. Ugly things may happen on the high seas far from the Emperor’s eye.
“One of these you know well. He's Shelim, who accompanied you from Lianar. He's a competent seaman and should serve you well. But so small a crew demands a small vessel.”
“You said two men, who's the other?” asked Althak.
“Not two men. The other I spoke of is a woman.” He smiled crookedly. “Thalissa.”
“What?”
“She's my mother, Althak, and you'll remember that. She's also the mother of Azkun.”
“I know. Menish told me. But what's she doing here?”
“She found a boat travelling south and followed Azkun and Tenari. She landed here after you left and was found wandering in the streets. She is… something of an embarrassment to me to keep in the palace. But all she really wants is to be with Azkun and Tenari. She doesn't, of course, realise who I am and I've been careful not to meet her. Of course she sees no connection between ‘Vorish’, the name Menish gave me, and ‘Keig’, the child he took from her. You'll not enlighten her.”
“So you want us to take her with us?”
“Nothing else would make her happy. She'll not be a liability to you. She's old but she's tough. She knows the sea and will prove a useful crew member.”
“This is madness,” said Althak.
“Tenari, I presume, is going with you?”
“Of course, but she follows Azkun like a dog.” For that remark he received a look of scorn from Tenari.
“Why should Thalissa not come with us, Althak?”
“What if something happens to her? What if she doesn't survive the voyage? She's your mother, Vorish. Will you risk her?”
Vorish looked at Althak carefully.
“I trust you, Althak. You'll not harm her. She's paid for her crimes.”
Althak shifted uncomfortably.
“She can come with us, then. I'll do her no harm. But, by Kopth, if she brings harm to herself I'll not be blamed.”
“So be it,” said Vorish.
To organise and provision a small boat was no great task, but even so they did not sail until afternoon. Shelim met them later in the morning and briefly discussed what provisions they would need with Althak. But there was no sign of Thalissa. Tenari, as before, had changed from her solemn stare. She was bright and lively. She found a harp and played on it, then danced when one of the servants played. But still she did not speak, and still most of her gaze was directed to Azkun.
Not long before they set out for the docks Thalissa came to them. For a moment Azkun did not recognise her, for she was tall and stately A costly, woollen robe hung from her shoulders and her long, silvered hair hung like a waterfall down her back as she surveyed them regally with her strange, violet eyes. She had been something of a queen here when Sinalth had been alive.
Then the moment was gone. She was the old woman of Lianar again, her face crumpled back into the wrinkled visage Azkun had seen before as she wept and threw her arms about Tenari. Althak withdrew himself to the far end of the room.
“Tenari, Tenari, my dear. At last I have you back. Oh, I know you can't speak, it doesn't matter. We're together again.” She held her away from her for a moment to look at her. Tenari was smiling, but at Azkun, not at Thalissa. Suddenly she turned and looked at the woman who had tended her after she had left the Chasm. She lifted her hand to Thalissa’s face and, with a deceptive smile, raked her cheek with her fingernails.
Thalissa cried out, stumbling backwards. But Azkun caught her.
“She scratched me!”
“She is under a strange spell of the Monnar. The d
ragons will free her from it. It was not she who scratched you. It was the spell.”
“You're Azkun?” she asked, her face welling blood from one of the scratches.
“I am. They tell me I am your son.”
“You're my son? But I had no son called Azkun. His name was Keig. Are you Keig?” She seemed suddenly bewildered and frightened.
“I am your son. You bore me in Kelerish, not Tenari. She is your foster-child.”
“Azkun?”
“Yes?”
“You have my eyes.” She smiled at him and then suddenly frowned. “Then where is Keig?”
“He is safe.”
“That's what Menish said. No more than ‘safe’?”
“You would be proud of him, I think.”
“He should have been emperor, but Menish stole him from me and left me to die.” She sighed wearily. “Oh, no more of politics and wars. I'm too old for such things now. Who is this?” Her eyes found Althak.
Althak stood up.
“You don't recognise me?”
“Should I? Wait a moment… no, I don't know you. Are you Keig?” she asked hopefully.
“No. I'm Althak.”
Thalissa looked at him closely.
“You've grown much since you were eight years old. What became of you?”
“I left Atonir soon after Menish. Thealum had no love for my father’s house after the lies you fed him. It wasn't safe for me to remain. I wanted to see Anthor, so I made my way north. Menish’s folk found me and I've served him,” he hesitated, “I've served him ever since.”
“Then I'd best watch my tongue as far as Menish is concerned.”
They left for the docks shortly afterwards, making their way through the press of people in the market place with the aid of horses and several of Vorish’s guards. It was the same as it had been before. Stall keepers clamoured for people to buy from them, weary donkeys carried improbably huge loads and small children carried baskets of bread on their heads.
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