The World of Alderest - VI - An Unexpected Journey - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Solyma's eyes were still closed and her breathing shallow and irregular when the fire was finally started. Tancred had found them a small cave, once an animal den, but now long unused. It would be a tight fit for so many people, but a single fire would easily warm it and the others were already gathering brush to keep the wind out.

"Will she live?" Jaric asked as he watched Amadrin move her hands in circular motions over Solyma's still body.

"I...hope so," Amadrin said with a frown of concentration on her face. "The poison is strong and the wound deep. Alone, I would be able to heal either. But both of them make this extremely difficult." She dipped her hands and made pulling motions as blackened clots of blood rose from the wound in Solyma's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Jaric asked with more than a trace of fear and wonder in his voice.

"I'm trying to extract the poison from her blood," Amadrin said as she made another pulling motion and more clotted blood rose from the wound to join the others hovering over Solyma's body. "But I can't take too much of her blood at once." She gritted her teeth and Jaric could see the sweat dripping down her forehead. "I think someone used magic to make this poison, it's a miracle that she survived at all." More blood rose out of the wound followed by a greenish vapor. "Stay back while I dispose of this," Amadrin said as she made another motion.

The blood and vapor swirled and gathered together before dropping into the fire. A foul smell filled the cave for a moment until a conjured breeze swept it outside. "That's all I can do for now," Amadrin said. "We need to let her rest and restore herself before I can tend to that wound."

"Thank you," Jaric said. "I don't really know how to tell her this, but-" he trailed off and Amadrin could see him blushing. "I think I've fallen in love with her. I always thought my duty would come first, but there's something about her, the way she lives life and revels in it." He clenched his fist and hit his thigh. "I don't even know if she has someone in her life or not. I don't even know where she was born or if she has family." He sighed. "But I want to know. I want to."

"Then ask her, knight," Amadrin said with a kind smile. "Solyma is a loving person and I'm sure she will return your love if you offer it to her."

Just outside, standing guard with the others and waiting for Amadrin to finish with Solyma, Tancred's hearing caught Jaric's words. Nothing, not even Laros's keen eyes, saw the momentary blaze of anger that swept across his face and ignited his eyes.

---

Solyma breathed the smell of the cherry blossoms as she spun through the dance, her light training sword dipping and swaying with the motion of her body. She rose on one foot, her arms outspread and paused for a second before slowly sinking back down and swaying into a long circular sweep of her sword.

Her breathing quickened as she moved into the second set of the dance, her motions quickening as she spun and leapt through the small yard behind her house. She dipped and jumped, her legs spinning cartwheels as she sank low on the ground and swept her sword across the grass and then brought it up parallel to her face. One more graceful leaping kick and finally a flip with a half turn to bring her to the end of the dance.

"Wonderful," Rahem said as he leaned against the doorjamb and smiled at her. "You're a natural."

"Thank you," Solyma said as she wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and set the light wooden training sword back in its sheath.

"How many lessons have you taken?" he asked as he stepped out into the yard and stretched. The spring had been wonderfully mild with cool mornings and warm evenings that seemed to go on forever. Two years since they had been married and he loved her even more, he thought as he sat on a small wooden bench beside her flower garden.

"Just five or so, Master Shavas is a wonderful teacher," Solyma said as she sat down next to him and leaned against his shoulder.

"I'm glad you went," Rahem said. "Things are getting...tense in the city with the raids. There've been more riots and murders in the last month than all of last year. I hope it will calm down once the Emperor deals with the Ilchites."

"You'll be careful, won't you?" Solyma said as she curled up closer to Rahem and felt his arm around her shoulders.

"Of course I will," he said with a smile she could hear. "I have to come home to you."

---

"Cushion her head!" Amadrin snapped to Tancred as Solyma writhed on the floor of the cave. They had forced Jaric's belt between her teeth to keep her from biting her tongue and Tancred was doing his best to keep her from striking her head against the floor.

"What's happening?" Jaric asked frantically.

"She's having a seizure, you idiot," Tancred growled as he tried to keep his folded cloak under her head. "How long until you calm her down?"

"I'm doing my best," Amadrin said as she continued the weave over Solyma with the help of Penelope.

---

Solyma screamed and struggled against the hands holding her wrists. "No!" she screamed again as she twisted and pulled. "He can't be, he isn't! He's supposed to be home, he's never late for dinner. Never! Let me go, I have to get home, dinner- dinner- I need to-!"

"Solyma, please," her uncle said as he kept a firm hold on her. "I'm sorry."

"He can't be," Solyma sobbed as she slumped against him, tears coursing down her face. She clutched once more, weakly, on her uncle's chest before she collapsed to her knees. "He can't be dead. I don't- I won't-" she said. "Are you sure?" she sobbed as she covered her face with her hands.

"Yes, I'm sure. I saw him with my own eyes," Leceres said as he knelt by her and rested his hand on her shoulder. He had had to do this too many times over the years, had had to face too many new widows.

"Why? Why was he there? He wasn't supposed to be on duty today," Solyma said as she scrubbed the tears from her face and slammed her fist into her uncle's carpet.

"He was in the market when the riot broke out," Leceres said as he gently lifted Solyma onto the couch and poured her a stiff shot of brandy. "The Ilchites say that he was helping them get away from the mob when-" he paused and handed her the brandy. "When someone stabbed him."

"Why did he have to be so stupid?" Solyma said dully as she took a deep gulp of the brandy. "He was always doing things like that."

"His job-"

"-his job, I know," Solyma said. "That's why I love him." She looked up into her uncle's eyes and slumped forward, her hands cradling the glass. "Should I say 'loved' now?" she said faintly as she stared at the fire.

---

Jaric sighed as Amadrin tightened the bandage around his left wrist. "I didn't think she was that strong," he said to no one in particular as Amadrin knotted the bandage.

"I suspect it was the seizure," Amadrin said as she sat back against the cave wall and brushed off the front of her dress. "You'll be fine, she didn't manage to break anything. Just make sure you keep that bandage tight and keep from moving your wrist."

"For how long? I can't use a shield like this," Jaric asked as he scooted around and leaned against the wall besides Amadrin. Solyma was sleeping fitfully, still occasionally whimpering and saying words in a language that Jaric couldn't understand. The fire had been banked for the evening and only Tancred was outside on guard. The others were trying to get what sleep they could before leaving in the morning.

"Not too long," Amadrin said. "A few days, less if I can work on healing it. I would tonight, but Solyma drained me." Jaric nodded and tried not to stare at the visible circles under the queen's eyes.

"Alathan, then what?" Jaric asked in a quiet voice he watched the smoldering embers of the fire.

"I contact my embassy there and the Prince," Amadrin said. "Once I'm able to contact them, I will be able to refute whatever Loradros has told them about the attack."

"What did he hope to gain by staging such a blatant attack?"

"He most likely wished to kill me and Penelope in a particularly gruesome and public manner, thus securing support for him as he ascended to the throne. I imagine he would blame either Alathan or Collamnus for the attack and declare war."

"Why would he want to go to war?"

"Collamnus has had possession of some mineral and fishing rich areas just to the north of our border, Alathan has its mineral wealth and the Prince's workshops. Either would be a prize to seize. Or perhaps there is another reason or no reason at all, Loradros was always a hard one to read."

---

"There was a reason why I stopped running around adventuring," Solyma said as she slogged through the rain damped undergrowth of the pine forest. The air was warm and humid from the afternoon thunderstorm that had swept across them with the speed and fury of a Vorchrestian chariot team. "I had a very nice tower, did I ever tell you about it, Jaric?"

"No," Jaric grunted as he pushed a low hanging branch out of his way and wiped sweat from his forehead. Everyone was soaked with sweat and rain water. Most were too miserable to speak except for Tancred who seemed to be enjoying his unlife and its benefits immensely. While the others were surrounded with mosquitoes and itching from bites, Tancred walked without trouble or sweat. "You never did."

"I miss it, Hector would bring me breakfast in bed and I'd eat while watching the forest outside my window," Solyma said as she swatted at a mosquito. "The forest was a lot nicer than this one, less insects for one thing."

"We never would have had to leave if someone hadn't decided to try her hand at summoning," Hector said from behind Solyma.

"That was a mistake," Solyma said.

"Oh, yes, a mistake like taking that young woman and-"

"Quiet," Solyma snapped.

"-tying her to the-"

Solyma turned and lunged at Hector just as he dodged back out of reach and floated up into the branches.

"I should have made that crystal into a rod!" Solyma yelled up at him after she tripped and clawed her way out of the underbrush. "At least I could have gotten some pleasure out of it!"

"Yes, I've got a pair of leather gloves in your bag which say otherwise," Hector said dryly.

"What's he talking about?" Jaric asked.

Solyma glared at Hector before she turned to Jaric and smiled sweetly.

"Oh, nothing, just business between mages and familiars," she said. "Now, did I ever tell you about the time I saved the kingdom?" She grimaced as Hector's laughter floated down from above her.

---

"What, Kerrith?" Solyma said drowsily from her makeshift bedroll. The emergency caches that they had plundered hadn't had much in the way of amenities. Weapons, armor, and rations, yes. Good bed rolls, blankets, and pillows, no. What whomever had stocked the cache thought was a bed roll made Solyma think of an old burlap sack.

"We're going scouting," Kerrith said, a shadowy shape against the stars poured across the sky.

"Take someone else," Solyma said as she rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face in her arms.

"Jaric and Laros need to stay here and guard the camp, Penelope doesn't know how to scout," Kerrith said.

"Then take Tancred or Ismene, they're good at sneaking around. Or Hector, take Hector. Dammit, don't even bother, just get him to look around himself. He's a gods be damned scrying crystal with a helmet."

"Ismene and Tancred are already gone, they're looking for the trade road," Kerrith said as he knelt by Solyma and pulled the top layer of the bed roll off of her. "And Queen Amadrin says that using magic to scout might attract attention."

"Fine, fine," Solyma groaned as she rolled over and sat up. "Where are we going?"

Kerrith pointed to the east where, up the slope of the mountain, could be seen a bright speck of light, unwavering in the darkness of the night.

---

Solyma stepped into the hall and looked around in silence. Pillars carved from the mountain and inlaid with veins of gold and silver supported the vaulted ceiling high over head. Shadows flickered and played among the tops of the pillars, even the dozens of braziers and torches were unable to completely dispel the darkness lurking around the edges of the hall.

At the end of the colonnade, seated upon a simple wooden backed chair, was a woman. She was slender and tall, her pale gold hair softly gleaming in the light of the braziers that flanked her. She looked up as Solyma approached, the hood of her white silk robe falling back onto her shoulders to reveal her finely chiseled features.

Green eyes shone in the firelight as the woman smiled and stood before bowing deeply. "Welcome, oh saviors," she said in a bitter voice.

"And who are you?" Solyma said as she lowered her sword and looked around the hall. "Nice place you've got here."

"Deshala," the woman said with a smirk. Solyma stopped and looked the woman up and down.

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" she asked as she sheathed her sword and leaned against one of the pillars.

"No, I should have known better than to expect a demon whore to know about me," Deshala said as she sat back down in her chair and slowly crossed her legs. "You may approach, knight," she called out to Kerrith.

"You're bowing to her?" Solyma said. "She's just some jumped up mage living in a fancy cave!"

"She's the God-killer, Solyma," Kerrith said in a low voice as he stepped closer to Deshala and saluted.

"How do you know? Because she says her name is-" Solyma waved her hand at Deshala.

"-Deshala," she said.

"-yeah, Deshala," Solyma finished.

"Her face is known to every child on Alderest," Kerrith said in a soft voice as he looked at the woman sitting upon the simple chair. "Everyone knows of the five God-killers, the ones who ended the wars of the ancients."

Solyma snorted and tossed her head before wincing at the pain in her shoulder. "I could look like her too," she said as she spun a quick weave about her face. Deshala's face had replaced her own as she smirked back at the woman on the throne.

"It has been a while since I last saw my face," Deshala said as she stood and walked over to Solyma. "I suppose I must prove myself to you?"

"Not really, we're just wasting our time here. We should be leaving," Solyma said and then yelled in shock as she felt the weave around her face evaporating. "Very nice counter, Deshala, but I could-" she fell to her knees in shock as she felt the power radiating out from the woman standing in front of her.

Solyma clenched her eyes shut as weaves formed and spun themselves out of the air at the command of Deshala. Light from their power blinded her, leaving dancing spots of color on her vision even after the magic had run its course. Eyes watering, Solyma stood shakily and looked at Deshala again.

"Fine, you could be this Deshala he's talking about," Solyma said in an unsteady voice as she saw the weaves that had been concealed beneath thousands of layers of magic. The weaves were of a strength she had never seen, even among the court of the Emperor of Kathaln. They coursed through and over Deshala's body, weaves of strength, speed, power, health, and protection. "How long did it take you to learn to do that?" she finally managed to say.

"Centuries," Deshala said as she let the weaves cloaking her power settle back around her body. The countless threads of magic entwined about her faded into invisibility as she walked back to her chair and sat.

"How old are you?" Solyma asked as she ran a hand through her hair and discovered that her shoulder no longer hurt. "You did that?" she said as she flexed her arm.

"I am five thousand, five hundred, and seventy-one years old," Deshala said with a faint smile. "And yes, I did that."

"My lady, we apologize for intruding upon your sanctuary, we did not know," Kerrith said.

"Um, yeah, sorry about that," Solyma said. Best not to upset a person who was called a God-killer. "We were hoping you were Alathian patrol."

"You're quite close to the trade road, I can give you directions to it and the nearest guard post," Deshala said. "But before you leave, I would speak to you of the future."

---

The screaming woman was starting to get on Tancred's nerves when her companion finally got her to quiet down. He supposed he shouldn't have swung down out of the tree like that, especially in the state that his clothes were in. But that was no reason to start screaming for a guard patrol while hitting him with the horsewhip.

"So, is this the trade road?" he said as the woman's companion, a tired looking grandmotherly-type, finally wrestled the whip out of the woman's hands.

"Yes," the older woman said as she eyed him suspiciously. "Are you a bandit?"

"That depends if you have anything worth stealing," Tancred said with an easy smile that set off more screaming at the sight of his teeth. "Sorry, inappropriate joke."

"I should say so," the older woman said as she finally pushed the younger woman into the back of the wagon they were riding on. "Who are you and why did you drop down in front of us like that?"

"My apologies, I am Tancred Guiscard, Lord of Shadow Waters Manor," he said as he brushed some of the worst offending dirt off his tattered shirt. "I'm terribly sorry about my appearance but I was out hunting when I lost my horse. And fell down a cliff into some water and then had to fight off a bear and a mountain lion." And it's all true, except for the horse part, Tancred thought to himself as he smiled again, this time without showing teeth.

"And you're a Dathuz," the older woman said with a scowl.

"Please, please, that's such an outdated term, madam," Tancred said with a shake of his head. "I'm a simple vampire, it's been ages since I've even thought about flying around in the forest to sup from young maiden's necks."

"I'm not giving you a ride to the next guard post, noble or no," the older woman said as she tugged on the reins and urged the horse around Tancred and up the road. "But it's just a few miles up that way, I'm sure you can walk it."

---

"What? Where are-" Solyma said as she sat up in the damp undergrowth of a drainage ditch. She glanced around and saw Kerrith staggering to his feet. A two-handed sword, it's blade shining like a sliver of ice, was stabbed into the paving stones of the trade road in front of him. A scabbard made out of black leather inlaid with silver lay beside it. "What's that? And how'd we get here?" Solyma brushed off the seat of her pants as she stood and felt the fading buzz of weaves. "Deshala must have portaled us."

"Do you remember what she told us?" Kerrith said quietly as he stepped up onto the road and looked at the sword. It was almost as tall as he was. "I-" he paused and reached out for the sword, his hand stopping just before touching it. "I don't-"

Solyma watched as his face contorted in sudden pain and horror. She reached out to him and then drew back when he snatched up the sword and held it aloft before him. "I agree!" he screamed out to the sky. "I'll do it and may my soul be damned!" With those words he stabbed the sword back into the road, splitting the stones like they were made of porcelain and sinking the blade almost to the hilt.

"What did you agree to, Kerrith?" Solyma said quietly as she fingered the hilt of her sword and carefully stepped closer to him. "Kerrith?"

"Leave me," he said through his teeth as he sank to his knees and bent forward to rest his forehead on the pommel of the sword. "Just leave me be."

"I wish I could do that," Solyma said as she knelt by where his shield lay in the drainage ditch and picked it out of the mud. "But we need your sword. We're being chased by assassins, remember?" She held out the shield to him. "Come on, let's get back to the others and tell them we've found the road. The sooner we can get to Alathan, the sooner we can end this mess."

"Give this to Selene, you know her?" Kerrith said as he stood and dug into the pouch at his waist. He pulled out a small velvet covered box and held it out to her. "Tell her, tell her-" he stopped and closed his hand around the box. "No, better that I keep it. I'll give it to her myself. Tell her I'm sorry, tell her that if I don't return that she should-" Kerrith stopped again and picked up the sword, its blade hissing as he drew it from the stone. "She should love again and live for herself."

"And why can't you tell her this?" Solyma asked irritably. "Or just send her a letter maybe? If you're going to break off whatever you have with her, the least you could do is tell her yourself."

"I have to go," Kerrith said as he slid the sword into its sheath and slung it over his back. "I hope I'll see her again. Just tell her, please. As a favor to me, Solyma."

Solyma sighed. "Fine, fine, just take this shield, it's heavy," she said as she handed over the shield. "I'll tell her as a favor to you. You didn't tell anyone about the whole summoning fiasco. But after this we're even, I hate getting involved in this type of relationship. You start off giving someone a message to meet someone else at the fountain and pretty soon they've got you feeding them poetry while they hang around some tart's balcony."

"Thank you, Solyma," Kerrith said as he picked up the shield and slid it onto his left arm. "May Adramas watch over you and guard your path."

"Err, thank you. May Shilek watch your back in the filthiest of taverns or something," Solyma called back as Kerrith moved off down the trade road. "That's not the way to Alathan! Hey, Kerrith!" Solyma swore as the knight moved off the road into the forest, somehow managing to keep his new sword from tangling in the undergrowth.

"What's his problem?" Tancred asked from the drainage ditch on the other side of the road.

"How long have you been there?" Solyma asked without turning.

"Long enough to hear that disgusting bit of sentimentality," Tancred said as he climbed out of the ditch. "Oh, Solyma, please, please take my message of eternal love to my beloved!" he said as he rolled his eyes. "From what I hear, she's getting rather lonely with him being off at work all the time. I guess rescuing the damsel in distress from the horrible mage will get you far, but he'd better bring her some flowers soon." He glanced over at Solyma. "You're actually going to do it?"

"Sure," Solyma said as she eyed Tancred's muddy clothes. "I owe him that much. Let's get back to the others, I want a hot bath and decent meal tonight."

Continued in Chapter 9

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