“Na,” said Mardak. “You are a good inventoryman, but you miss the ground for looking at sky. We give women to Tallsteeps as gift? Disgusting thought. But even if we did that, what then? If we killed the ogres and Runenmer and survived, what happens to twelve of us left, a clan with no women?”
“There is a fish,” said Cleavon. “When females die, male becomes female, and they live on.”
“Are we fish, doctor?”
“I only speak to show that nature prevails.”
“It is not in our nature to swim in the sea. When Cleavon sees fins on my back, I will say he is right. Now, we na give women to Tallsteeps. What else they want?”
“Nothing we can give. Nothing we want to give.”
“But what-”
“Isaac, no. We cannot convince the Tallsteeps. In past, other elders tried make nice talk. End in sorrow.”
“Fine. What about the Runenmer. What is he? Can he die?”
“Everything that can bleed will one day fall at Tosvig’s blade!” said Tosvig, rising from his seat and drawing his blade from his sheath in a rather dramatic, and largely unnecessary way. We were silent for a few seconds, and then Tosvig quietly sat back down.
“Yap, but can Runenmer bleed?” I said.
Mardak nodded. “His magic is strong, but his flesh is as weak as any other.”
“Then we find him and slit his throat while he naps and dreams of runes.”
Tosvig flashed me a grin. “Yap, Isaac! Yap!”
Cleavon shook his head now. “His power are his runes, but he knows other magic.”
“But he can die. So there is chance.”
“Yap, but Runenmer stays hidden until his power grows enough. How can we kill what cannot find? The world is large, Isaac.”
“So finding the Runenmer would be impossible unless we know where to look. But think about it; we know he has made pact with ogres, yap?”
“Perhaps. Or they act of their own vile nature.”
“Ogres are savage, but timid with taking risks,” said Tosvig. “They act like this only with assurance that it will end well for them.”
“Assurance from Runenmer. That when his runes reach power, he will reward them.”
“Fools to trust him.”
“Fools to cross us,” I said. “I’ll ask one question; why would Runenmer make a pact with ogres? Not for sake of being nice.”
“Ah,” said Cleavon. “Yap. He needs thing from them.”
“He needs their protect while he grow strong. The ogres are hiding him.”
“So we attack ogres first. Then, we force them to show us where Runenmer is. Torture them if he must. Then we kill while he is weak,” said Mardak.
“Ged. Then let’s talk ogres. How many camps do they have? How many warriors? Weapons? Magic? Defenses?”
“Tosvig?” said Mardak.
“One camp. All are warriors; even their children can tear a mage limb from limb. So, never get into close quarters fight. Weapons? They need na weapons, but sometimes they will use clubs. Things that hit with force. Na magic. Defense is na word in their language; they are arrogant like peacock fluttering his feathers.”
“They rely on their brute strength and their numbers, and expect no attack. Good,” I said. “Then we do two things; we first make their numbers smaller, and then lay a trap. We have surprise as a weapon.”
“Idea, Isaac?” asked Harrien. “Isaac always has an idea.”
“Maybe. I will think. Nino, I a question to ask,” I said. “How are medallions made?”
“I cannot answer, Isaac.”
“You still don’t trust an outsider?”
“Na that. Medallions are passed in age and death. When one mage visits land beyond, his medallion is given to those who stay behind.”
“But what if a mage dies far away, like Pendras, and their medallion is gone?”
“We try to find body. If we fail? Then we have spare medallions. But when run out…gone.”
“What? You can’t rely on that. When you have no medallions, you have no magic. Medallions must come from somewhere.”
“Yap. In Mines of the Light. A place where, many moons gone, the fathers of our clan found their first medallions. But we have only half the map to get there.”
“And the other half?”
“Possessed by the Tallsteeps.”
“Great. This just gets better and better,” I said.
“Huh?”
Damn. I’d lapsed into English. I noticed that the clan hated when I did that. I wondered if it made them wary of me, the same way I felt when I didn’t understand their language.
“I am just concerned about this. You let Tallsteeps hold your fate by having half the map. Why?”
“Always it has been. Our clans were once one, but they split. Two brothers got into a feud, and the clan was torn asunder. One brother formed Tallsteeps, the other Lonehill. Each took part of the map, so that the other may never find treasures within. While each of us holds, clans will never join.”
These guys are ridiculous, I thought.
“Wait. So there are more medallions in this Mine of Light place?”
“And other things.”
“Blades,” said Tosvig. “Blades of gold and silver. Blades that cut dragon scales like leaf. Blades Tallsteeps desire more than they desire women.”
“Desire them even more, now,” said Mardak. “Five years ago, the Tallsteeps were hit with sickness. Cleavon wanted to study it, but we said no, as we couldn’t see how it spread. It reduced Tallsteep numbers greatly.”
“They are still fierce,” Said Tosvig, “But their numbers will never be as strong as they were. That is why their men are always trying to make more little Tallsteeps.”
“The Tallsteeps aren’t so different from any other men, then,” I said. “Is this why their chief agreed to a truce with Pendras?”
“Pendras always desired peace. He didn’t think friendship was possible, but at least safety, where Lonehills and Tallsteeps do not slaughter on sight. Pendras accomplished that before death.”
“So we know that the Tallsteeps won’t just kill us on sight, and there are things both clans want in the mines. Isn’t it obvious how we get the Tallsteeps on our side?”
Mardak nodded. “Yap, I think I know your idea, but I do not like it.”
“I do not like it either,” said Nino.
“Do you like idea of becoming an ogre’s suppertime treat? We must eat, my friends,” I said.
“Huh?”
“We must eat our pride. Offer to join maps, if the Tallsteeps will join us. But, we will have to make sure they don't get greedy and try to kill us for the map. We can think of something. We’ll go to mines. Get more medallions. Weapons. And then we kill the ogres like little hellkittens sleeping in barn.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind. We just kill them, that’s all.”
CHAPTER 28 – Making Heirs
“I cannot talk long or loud. I am on guard duty, and everyone is sleeping, but na take any chances.”
“But you can hear me, circle child?”
“Na very well, Runenmer. Your voice is quiet.”
“These runes are useless, I swear…hear me now?”
“Better.”
“Try lifting the rune pebble to your ears.”
“Okai. Hear you now.”
“Ged. So, tell me. Can you do what I ask?”
“Why do you need me to do anything? I can tell you where we are.”
“I am still weak, sweet circle child. My magic is stronger than my body. Now, can you do what I need?”
“If I couldn’t, I would have thrown little pebble rune far, far away. I will do as asked, but I do not like it.”
“You don’t have to like it. Just do it.”
“And you can bring her back to me?”
“I promise it on my runes.”
“Okai. Then soon. We have a plan, we go into the Mines of Light.”
“The Mines of Light? Charming coincidenc
e. Perfection, circle child. I make sure they are welcomed.”
***
We allowed ourselves one more night in the hidden valley. Just one more evening under the stars, with a fire burning and the aroma of stew circling us like a delicious wind.
Words whispered back and forth all night; grim chatter about the days ahead, stories of better times in the past. Those staying spoke of their worries about those who were going. Those going worried about the ones they were leaving behind. The clan were scared for each other.
I was worried, too. I was worried that if we marched into the Tallsteep camp and showed the Lonehills’ half of the map to their chief, their greed would overcome them and they’d just take it and kill us.
At first, that threatened to put a stop to the whole thing in my head. Or at least, my involvement in it.
But after thinking about it until my skull hurt, I finally had a plan for that. A simple one, but it’d work. After resolving that in my head, I felt a lot better about the whole thing.
I ate some stew, drank some ale Nino surprised us with from his inventory, and I listened to Tosvig sing a twenty-minute rendition about how he slew the hellgre. I enjoyed it, despite how much he embellished his role, and I regretted it when it was time to go to bed. I knew what bedtime meant; one more sleep until setting out again.
The next morning those of us leaving the valley gathered by the cold remains of last night’s campfire. There was Tosvig, red-eyed from enjoying Nino’s ale too heartily. Cleavon, who was coming with us as a healer. Harrien, lacking the spells of his elders, but brave.
And then Nino, who was entrusting his inventoryman duties to Malin while he was gone. It seemed the teen was like him; unsuited for the more active clan duties like hunting, but with a head for organization. The only reason Nino was coming with us was that besides Mardak, he was the highest-ranking mage left who wasn’t too old to undertake another journey.
I was disappointed that only five of us were setting out, even more so that Mardak, as the most advanced mage, wasn’t coming. But he explained it to me.
“In the Mines of Light, fewer numbers are better. It is an old place with old floors that are likely to collapse under too much weight. Old walls that might cave if too many voices speak near them. Just like how my voice once caused an avalanche, too many in the mines will cause a cave-in.”
“Will there be trouble in there?” I asked. “Enemies? Beasts?”
“Nothing that can’t be killed. The only things there, are creatures that can live in darkness with little nourishment.”
“And little nourishment means they can’t grow strong,” said Cleavon. “Mostly sedentary critters that can survive in states of almost hibernation.”
“Even so, Mardak. We will need your standing and the respect you have when we talk with the Tallsteeps,” I said. “They won’t listen to us.”
“I am the clan chief for now. I must stay with the clan, especially with those of the clan who need protection the most.”
“I understand.”
“Isaac, I need to tell you something.”
“That sounds ominous, Mardak. And in a world so ominous already, I don’t like even more…omin…ominicity? Ominosity? No idea what even the English word for that would be. I just don’t want to hear more bad shit.”
“I just have some advice,” said Mardak. “In the Mines of Light, it is said that there is a different magic. One that even we do not understand. I have watched you, Isaac, even when you think I do not. I see you practice your movements. I see how inquisitive you are. In the mines, do not let your nature lead you or my clanmates into danger.”
“What kind of magic are you talking about?”
“The accounts of the ones who entered the mines have long been lost, and only echoes of words are told. We do not know what magic, but there is a magic there that is not ours. I just say this to warn you.”
“Got it. Thankie, Mardak.”
Nino approached me now. “Isaac, here. Mardak has allowed me to use some of the clan’s supplies for our journey. I have prepared things for you. Here,”
Items Received:
[Fire] elemental x 2 [Total: 6]
[Ice] elemental x2 [Total: 5]
[Kinetic] elemental x1 [Total: 1]
Tincture: Pain-go
Tincture: Poison-go
Robes: Spiderweave
“Thankie, Nino.”
“Na problem. I need to give items to the others.”
When Nino left me alone, I checked what he had given me. Getting elementals was always a bonus, even more so knowing they came from the clan’s supplies. I knew how strictly they guarded their stocks, and I took this as a sign of faith in me.
The tinctures were in little metal jars just like the ones I’d taken from Siddel. While Siddel’s tinctures smelled like dung, these were sweet like fruit. Judging from their names, they would help heal my wounds and remove poison, but hopefully, I’d have no reason to remove poison from myself.
The most impressive item was the spiderweave robes. These were grey and rough and looked like they were made from thousands of threads of spider web spun together. Guess the clue was in the name.
I took off my white robes and wore the spiderweave ones.
Spiderweave Robes:
[Robes made from the webs of spiders and imbued with magic using the Lonehill spinners’ methods.]
- Heightened awareness in dark places
- Boost in agility and speed
Wow, these robes were the best ones yet! Just like when I tried eating raw hare and gained a speed buff, as soon as I wore the spiderweave robes I felt the change in my body. It was early morning, so the heightened awareness wasn’t active, but I felt a change in my body. I was more supple, and I felt lighter. I knew that if I started running now, I would be faster.
I felt a little more prepared now, and I was anxious to go. I said goodbye to Roddie, who was staying in the safety and comfort of camp, and that was that; time to head out.
When we were all ready, we left the valley and headed back south. There were five of us; me, Tosvig, Harrien, Cleavon, and Nino. Since we were traveling with just our inventory bags and without the elderly and sick clansmen, we made good time.
Tosvig led us through pathways we couldn’t have navigated with the rest of the clan. We climbed hills, crossed rivers, even skirted around a canyon edge that made my stomach jitter when I looked down.
His knowledge of the wilds helped cut a twenty-day journey into eleven, and it was on the morning of the eleventh day that the Tallsteep camp loomed in sight.
No sooner did we see it, then we heard footsteps.
I reached for my hunting knife, but Tosvig put his hand on my arm. “It is their scouts,” he said.
Sure enough, four Tallsteep clansmen approached us now, one from each direction. They resembled the Lonehills with their green skin, but they were much more muscular, and some of them had hair. I guessed that baldness ran only in the Lonehill side of things, for whatever reason.
“Why are you back?” asked one of the scouts.
He was tall, with strong shoulders and arms. He wore a silver ring through one nostril, and a great river of a scar ran from his left shoulder to his wrist. I noticed that he had a twitch; every so often, he would blink rapidly, and sometimes he’d jerk his head to the side.
We’d already agreed that either Nino or Cleavon would do the talking for us. Tosvig refused to talk with the Tallsteeps, Harrien was young, and I was an outsider to both clans.
After discussing it, we decided than although Cleavon was the eldest, he was a complete assface. So, it was left to Nino.
“We are here to see Chief Fergus.”
“He is busy trying to produce an heir.”
“That is…very graphic, yet honest. We must see him, scout. This is important for both clans.”
“Important for Lonehills is meaningless for us. You deal with children’s problems, while we deal with real trouble.”
“Cu
rious you could conclude that without hearing our message,” said Cleavon.
Nino nodded. “Would Fergus be happy with the scout who robbed him of chance of being the first chief in decades to unite the map?”
This eased a little of the tension somewhat. I could see the surprise in their eyes.
“The map?”
“The map.”
“You have it with you?”
Nino shook his head. I knew he was lying, but there was no point waving the map around for everyone to see. “So you could just kill us and take it? Of course not.”
“We are not savages, Lonehill. Dishonor might own a castle in your mind, but we Tallsteeps honor the truce. We have not harmed a Lonehill in over a decade.”
“A truce is one thing, but trust is another.”
The scout nodded. “Fine. Sheath your weapons. We will not take them from you; it is the basest insult to disarm a man. But a hand that reaches for a blade is likely to get chopped off. You will enter a camp where you are outnumbered and outmuscled, and it would be ridiculous to make a single hostile move. Understand?”
“Yes,” said Nino.
“I need all to say yes. Even he who glares at me like I have just killed his favorite pet.”
He was looking at Tosvig now. They held each other’s stares, and for a minute I was shocked by the similarity between them.
Not just because they came from the same clan, but the likeness in their faces.
Tosvig shook his head. “Tell the chief that Tosvig hopes his children grow up to become ogre fornicators.” Then he looked at us. “I will wait in clearing while you make nice with the bastards.”
The scout looked at me. “And you, strange human with mark of the circle children?”
“I agree. I won’t reach for my weapon.”
“Good.”
“Unless, you give me a reason to,” I added.
He looked at me strangely for a moment. “Fine. We do not expect a warrior to swear he will not defend himself. We have honor, and we do not attack those we permit to enter our camp. And you, young one?”
Everything Is Worth Killing- Isaac's Tale Page 26
