Songs of the Eternal Past- Complete Trilogy

by C S Vass

  “Yet he has already provoked us unnecessarily countless time,” ponytail responded. “If it was simply a matter of waiting until he gives offense then we would have started this rebellion ten times over by now.”

  A chorus of bickering erupted, and it seemed that everyone except Fiona was arguing fiercely with their neighbors. She thought it best if she kept her mouth shut at the moment. This wasn’t her land, and she was determined to do her best to help them while respecting the decisions that they made. So long as they stayed united by the prospect of fighting against Raejo she would have no problem with whatever their strategy might be.

  “Enough!” the bald leader said. He had barely raised his voice but immediately silence fell upon the room. “It’s clear to me that those who have not been pushed to the point of rebellion by Raejo’s misdeeds so far will need something truly horrendous to push them to that point. Something that would likely be unacceptable to wait for.”

  Several of the men pushing to fight now started cheering.

  “However,” the bald man continued. “It is also true that committing an act of aggression first would not only upset some of the villagers, but it would give Raejo all the reason he needs to crack down on the province and then we would guarantee that things will get worse for our people.”

  “Then what are we to do?” someone shouted.

  The bald man shut his eyes. “It’s clear,” he said, “that those Tellosian vagabonds were right about one thing at least.”

  “Tellosian vagabonds?” Fiona asked before she could stop herself. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re fortunate that we don’t carry the same prejudices against people that some of your countrymen do,” the bald man said to Fiona. “It was several moon turns ago. They came in the night from Tellos, desperate for aid. We took them in, thinking them to be rebels like us and as such to be trusted.”

  Fiona felt dizzy. It couldn’t be… they couldn’t be haunting her even here. A thousand miles away from home, could they?

  The bald man’s eyes narrowed as he recollected the events. “We couldn’t have been more wrong about them. Though it was clear they were rebels, they were nothing like us. They were fools bumbling through the swamp in a mad effort to grab onto some relic of power. Half of them met their end here.”

  “Do… do you remember what they called themselves.”

  The bald man sneered while he spit on the ground. “Of course. One doesn’t forget an enemy so reckless. They called themselves the Vaentysh Boys.”

  * * *

  Fiona’s heart was racing though she tried hard not to let it show. “Tell me,” she said. “What happened when they were here?”

  The bald man eyed her suspiciously. “Why would you care to know about that? Do you know these Vaentysh Boys?”

  Fiona knew better than to try to lie about the situation. “I do. They’re mortal enemies to me. I hate the Vaentysh Boys with everything that I am.”

  “Hmm… if you lie you disguise it well. Though the Vaentysh Boys managed to do that.”

  “I remind you that she is my guest, and I have taken responsibility for her,” Jet said. “Unless you’re also calling my loyalty into question?”

  “No. I make no accusations. Besides, the Vaentysh Boys had a very different type of deal for us than you do, Fiona.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You must understand,” the bald mans said. “We were so hungry for aid. They came when the provincial lord first rose to power. We didn’t know how bad things would get. They had some scuffle with their rulers in Tellos and needed our help. They promised to assist us destroy Lord Raejo if we would assist them in navigating the swamp to help them find some treasure.”

  The Tome Vaenti, Fiona thought, but she didn’t want to arouse suspicion by telling them that she knew what they had done in Morrordraed.

  “In any case,” the bald man continued, “We did help them. But rather than stay and help us in our fight against Raejo, the bastards betrayed us. Nearly fifty of our best warriors were ambushed and imprisoned because the Vaentysh Boys betrayed our plans to Raejo. We believe they offered us up in exchange for free passage throughout the province.”

  “Fifty of your best fighters?” Fiona asked, shocked. If the other villages were the size of Barrowbog, then fifty capable fighting men was a devastating loss. Fiona realized that if the room she was in made up the remaining men that were willing to fight, then Raejo had taken well over half of their force.

  “Yes,” the bald man said. “But it gets even worse than that. One of the Vaentysh Boys, a powerful wizard by my reckoning, wanted to help us. He tried to alert us to the plan to betray us to Raejo. But even he met an untimely end. Their leader killed him and left him unburied in the swamp. Only, he wasn’t yet dead, just mortally wounded. One of my soldiers found him and with his last words relayed what had happened. He was buried here in Barrowbog afterwards.”

  Fiona felt a chill run down her spine. It had to be Downcastle. It was the only thing that made sense. He hadn’t even told Fiona that his last act was one of defiance to Rodrick.

  “A troubling story, I know,” the bald man continued. “While the Vaentysh Boys were here, they spoke constantly of the superiority of their precious Vaentysh blood. We took it as a combination of arrogance and childishness, but perhaps there was something much more sinister behind all of their secret blood talk. In any case, it hardly matters now. Be glad, Fiona, that I am not so quick to shove people into categories based on such fickle nonsense as their blood. I have not written off all Tellosians as scoundrels, and I think there will be a way for you to help us.”

  Fiona nodded. “Thank you. That’s all that I ask.”

  The bald man nodded, content. “Then we get back to the matter at hand. Some of you want to sit and wait, others say it’s best to attack quickly. I am of the mind that attacking quickly would be best—if we could. But our brothers have been placed in chains, and even now rot in the dungeons of our provincial lord. I say this! Rather than going on the offensive and striking at Raejo, we act in self-defense and move to free our brothers. Only then will we be able to salvage our struggle for liberation and move Raejo from his ill-earned throne.”

  Another burst of murmuring erupted at this new proclamation though this time the group seemed to be of a single mind.

  “Justice for our comrades!”

  “It’s about damn time!”

  “We’ll free them and it’s off for Raejo’s head!”

  It went on like that for several minutes. Fiona waited patiently while the rebels celebrated. At last, their bald leader put his hands in the air.

  “Hear me! There is much to plan before we will be ready for this endeavor. This will be our most dangerous task to date, and I will confer with you all individually to determine who is best suited for what tasks. Information will be kept on a strict need-to-know basis. We will need sober minds and brave hearts for this endeavor. Prepare yourselves!”

  Still, their joy could not be contained as they whooped and slapped each other on the back, grinning broadly at the prospect of reuniting with their allies. Looking around that room, Fiona felt strangely cold. These were men she would fight alongside, but they weren’t truly her friends. This wasn’t truly her place.

  She wouldn’t allow herself to think of it. Whatever the future would hold, she could still make herself useful for the time being. And the fact that these men hated the Vaentysh Boys just as much as she did, well, that was just a bonus.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The meeting ended on a joyous note for the rebels. Their task determined, their bald leader agreed to send the message once plans had been properly made and they could rejoin each other. They left the basement slowly, in groups of two so as not to attract unwanted attention. It was close to midnight, and a thick blanket of clouds swept the stars away from them.

  “Fiona,” Jet said as they stepped into the street. “I can’t thank you enough for deciding to help us. I hop
e that it wasn’t too much, being questioned like that.”

  Fiona laughed. “If you think that was bad then remind me never to bring you to Haygarden’s court.”

  Jet chuckled and placed his hand on the back of his head. “Well, in any case you don’t have to do this. You could stay with Geoff the entire time if you wanted. It’s not like you owe me or my father for letting him stay with us.”

  “Oh, is that what this is about? Well, let me assure you that I’m not trying to pay anything back. I had to give them a reason that would resonate with them, but I’m really doing this because I believe in it. I’d help you even if your father wasn’t taking care of Geoff.”

  He granted her a rare smile.

  “You should do that more often,” she laughed. “The brooding gets a bit old after a while.”

  Grinning, he shoved her lightly. “I don’t brood!”

  “Do you have a better word for grimacing while you stare off angrily into the distance?”

  “Shut up.”

  They spent a few quiet minutes enjoying each other’s company. Outside, under the cover of darkness with nobody else around, it almost felt as if they could forget about the struggle that was to come soon and simply enjoy their lives. But it couldn’t last for long.

  “We should split up on the way back to the village,” Jet said. “It’s the safest way to make sure that Raejo’s men aren’t following us.”

  “All right, if you’re that eager to get rid of me,” Fiona said.

  To her surprise she saw Jet’s cheeks redden. “I’m not eager to get rid of you. I just don’t want Raejo’s men to track us both from the same place to the same place. I’ll take the long route. It’s safer it—”

  “Okay, relax. I was just joking,” she said. “I’ll see you back at your house.”

  Jet didn’t leave. “I know you were joking. But, I wanted to say… I don’t know.”

  She gave him a cockeyed look. “Good talk, that really clears things up. I’ll see you back—”

  His lips pressed against hers. A long moment passed before she realized that he was kissing her. Suddenly Fiona found that her heart was racing. She hadn’t realized it but her hand had instinctively shot to the demon-pommel blade on her back. But she didn’t draw it. Her stomach soared as she realized that she actually liked what he was doing. His hand was on the back of her head and even though she could smell garlic from the stew he ate for dinner on his breath, it wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

  It was over all too soon.

  “I’ll see you back at the house, Fiona,” Jet said as he quickly ran off towards his home.

  Fiona’s heart was pounding as if she had just been attacked, but she felt weirdly relaxed. It was dawning on her that she had just received her first kiss.

  “Well that was lovely.”

  Fiona turned on her heels. Walking slowly towards her was a short figure wrapped in a thick black cloak with the hood pulled up.

  “Can I help you?” Fiona’s eyes narrowed.

  “I was hoping you could help yourself. But that remains to be seen.”

  Fiona’s eyes narrowed, and she quickly crashed back down from the high she was just on.

  “I do hate to interrupt a special moment, but I couldn’t have you just standing here defenseless and lost in thought. This is Morrordraed, Fiona. It’s dangerous here. You need to keep your wits about you.”

  Suddenly Fiona found herself inexplicably angry at the interruption. The demon-pommel blade was in her hands.

  “Maybe you should worry about yourself, friend. After all this is Morrordraed and as you’ve pointed out it can be quite dangerous.”

  That earned her a laugh from the shrouded figure. “Too true, Fiona, too true.” There was something odd about that voice. She couldn’t quite place it to an age range or a sex. The only person she had ever known to have a voice like that was…

  “You!”

  “Yes, me,” Shifter said. The godling kept their face concealed as always.

  “How are you… why are you…”

  “Don’t worry, Fiona. I’m not here to pester you and I hope you won’t pester me. I have my own business in Morrordraed that requires urgent attention. I hope to be back in Tellos tomorrow.”

  “How did you get here so fast?”

  “You should know better than to ask.”

  Fiona frowned. Anytime Shifter showed up the godling usually had nothing more than vague cryptic advice that heralded some new series of troubles she would need to contend with.

  “Why have you come to me then, Shifter? I’m in no mood to entertain riddles tonight.”

  “Riddles? No, I have none for you. But I do have a question. Have you succeeded? Did the psychic Naerumi heal you?”

  “No,” she said flatly. “She refused.”

  Shifter nodded. “I see. Then why do you remain? Haygarden awaits your return.”

  “Haygarden can keep waiting. It doesn’t look like I’m going to make it back.”

  She half expected Shifter to say of course she would. She expected the godling to suddenly have some answer, or at least a new hope for her even if it required some new plan that would require all of her effort and skill. Even if it was crazy.

  “That’s unfortunate. I take it that you understand you don’t have long to live then.”

  “Splendid analysis. Yes, Shifter. I realized that. Unless you sent me halfway across the world on this ridiculous mission for laughs and really you could cure me with the snap of your fingers this whole time.

  Shifter lifted their hand and snapped. “Feel better?”

  “Fuck you!”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes! I can’t believe I keep listening to anyone who had anything to do with Haygarden’s court. Geoff is the only one of you who has half a brain in his head, and even he didn’t listen to his better judgement when we came here. Don’t you understand? I was always going to die, but now Geoff probably will too. What’s Haygarden going to do when its Lord Defender is gone? What will you tell the people of the city when the Vaentysh Boys start fire-bombing the streets again and there’s nobody to lead a unified defense?”

  “Any city whose defense rests on the shoulders of a single man will not stand for long.”

  “Agreed,” Fiona spat angrily.

  Why did the damn godling have to show up now? Things couldn’t be any worse, and just in the middle of a single nice moment, a brief fleeting pause from the misery around her that allowed her to forget herself and have just a shred of happiness, he had to float in and rip it from her.

  “Why are you here?” she asked Shifter.

  “I see you only have one sword,” the godling replied. “What happened to the other one? Did you lose it?”

  “Yeah. I lost it. Fell down a well.”

  “A shame. It was a beautiful weapon. Though you never quite seemed to like fighting with the two swords at once, so I guess it was largely decorative. I’ll admit it does have a certain weight to its presence that could be quite intimidating to a mortal.”

  “Why are you here, Shifter?” Fiona was starting to grow angry.

  “A simple matter. Haygarden business. But you’ll die soon, so it doesn’t really matter as far as you’re concerned.”

  The bluntness of the godling never failed to catch Fiona off-guard.

  Shifter went on, “I just wanted to see what kind of condition you were in before I make my way through the swamp. But don’t feel too bad, Fiona. At least you have that boy. What’s his name?”

  “If that’s really all you came here for then I think it’s time for me to go. Shifter… can you heal Geoff? He’s ill. He has some kind of fever but he’s saying all of these crazy things. He doesn’t know where he is. Can you heal him?”

  “No. I’m sorry, Fiona. I would if I could. I have precious little magic now as it is, and none of it is in the healing arts. Maybe I could do something if things in nature were less turbulent, but it’s only been two years since the Moonwood has unleashed its mag
ic back into Tellos. I struggle with even the simplest tricks now, and I’m very unfamiliar with the workings of Morrordraed.”

  Fiona sighed. It was too much to hope for. “Fine,” she said. “Well, goodbye then Shifter. Tell the court what happened. I’d hate to think of them sitting there waiting for us to come back.”

  * * *

  Fiona made her way back into the village as the first rays of sunlight peaked over the horizon painting the sky a sleepy red-orange. Inside she found Jet sleeping peacefully in his corner of the house. Harken was nowhere to be seen. She immediately moved over to the form of Geoff Hightower and found that the old knight was still awake though he looked half asleep despite the fact that his eyes were open. His brow was thick with sweat.

  “Geoff,” she whispered. She went to fetch him a cold cloth to place on his burning forehead.

  “I’m sorry, Fiona,” Harken’s voice said from behind her.

  She turned abruptly. “You startled me.”

  “My apologies. I was gathering some more herbs outside. Fiona, I can’t have you cling to any more false hope. I’ve seen many men take this route, and none who have progressed as far as he has make it back. I know it hurts, but I believe it’s better that you know this while he’s still with us. Your friend if going to die from this illness.”

  Tears welled in Fiona’s eyes while Harken spoke. She felt her stomach clench into a tight ball of rage. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!” she snapped. “Geoff is stronger than whatever other men you’ve tended to. He’s not like the others. He’s going to beat this just like he beats everything!”

  Harken bit his lip. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave the two of you alone.”

  Fiona turned her attention to the old knight. His breathing was raspy and irregular and there was a sickly sweet smell about him. She met his emerald green eyes with her own and saw the undeniable truth even if she couldn’t bring herself to accept it.