It was late. The sun had gone down long before, and was replaced by the dim, infusing light of the Skybands and the moons. Most of the ancient city was bathed in that soft, gentle light, except for one small area, in a clearing about a longspan from the arena, where a large campfire cast harsh, flickering red and yellow light against the buildings surrounding that little square. There were no tents or other structures around the fire to show a campsite, only two rather unusual beings sitting on opposite sides of the fire, sitting on fallen building stones. One of them was an unnaturally tall Were-cat, the other an obviously undead being garbed in shimmering silvered armor. Not hours before, the two of them had been the most bitter of enemies. But time and events had changed that, not a mean feat given the Were-cat's mighty temper and long memory, changed their relationship into something not really friendship, but something that extended a certain amount of trust in both directions. Both knew that the other was no longer any threat, and that allowed them to coexist peacefully.
They hadn't spoken since Tarrin left Jegojah at Faalken's tomb. In reality, he didn't really know what to say. The Doomwalker-if that was still what it was-had been his most hated enemy when he woke up. And now… now he was not. The vicious battle between them didn't inspire any hatred in Tarrin, nor did any of its past actions, for some reason. Yes, Jegojah had killed Faalken, had tried to murder his sister, and had been continually harassing him for years, but that was only because it had no other choice. The ki'zadun had captured Jegojah's soul, and that meant that he had to obey them. The alternative was utter annihilation, or, in the most recent case, being given to a Demon. From what he'd learned of Demons from Shiika and others, utter annihilation would probably be the more attractive alternative. He could look at Jegojah and remember everything that had happened between them, but it was almost like it had been someone else doing it. Tarrin had suffered enough rages to know how that felt, to feel like there was another person inside him controlling his actions, and he transplanted that sense to the undead warrior. In his eyes, Jegojah was without blame, and it was as if the slate had been wiped clean.
But he was still a stranger, and Tarrin found that he feared Jegojah purely on those feral lines. But that was a fear that he had learned to at least partially subdue, for limited amounts of time, so he found that he could tolerate his presence. So long as he stayed where Tarrin could see him and kept his distance.
Tarrin wasn't sure why the undead warrior was still here. He was free now, free to do whatever he wanted, and from the looks of it, he certainly had something in mind. He had retrieved that nasty magical sword that had put cuts on Tarrin that still hadn't healed. But instead of saying his farewells and leaving, he remained. Sitting on the other side of the campfire, content with the silence. He had no reason to stay, so why was he still here?
"It grows late," Jegojah finally said, looking up at the sky. "This land, it is not safe to wander after dark, yes. Where is the Faerie?"
"She'll be along," he replied. "Why are you still here?"
"Jegojah has plans, but nothing that can't wait a day or two, no," he replied. He drew that wicked sword of his and looked at the blade, the glowing white eyes caressing its length. "Jegojah will see ye safely out of the ruins, yes, and well on the way. Then Jegojah will leave ye, and attend to matters. Yes."
"What matters?"
He looked up at Tarrin, a rather vicious smile on his leathery face. "Revenge," he said calmly. "For five hundred years, Jegojah has suffered under the heel of the ki'zadun. When Death, she came for us, Jegojah pleaded for the chance to strike back, avenge Jegojah against the tormenters. Death denied Jegojah, but Pygas did not." Pygas. That was a name Tarrin didn't often hear. Pygas was a minor godling, a demigod, whose sphere was revenge. "Pygas granted Jegojah a year and a day, yes, a year and a day to hunt down and destroy Kravon. Kravon, and his band of Wizards that helped enslave Jegojah. Suffer, they will, for forcing Jegojah to do their evil. Yes."
That answered a few questions. Tarrin had been wondering how Jegojah had remained behind when Faalken had moved on. If Jegojah had been granted time to get back at the ki'zadun, then it made sense things the way things happened as they did. It explained why his armor had changed. He was no longer a Doomwalker, but he was still an undead force. Only free-willed, and with vengeance on his mind. Tarrin very nearly pitied Kravon. If Jegojah still had his Doomwalker powers, there was nowhere that the Wizard could hide from him, and no way to keep him at bay. Once Jegojah caught up to him, he'd use that evil weapon of his to bleed the Wizard dry, and he'd probably take his own sweet time about it. Revenge was best when it was slow revenge, to make the victim fully understand and appreciate why he was dying.
"Just stab him a few times for me," Tarrin said grimly. "Kravon owes me quite alot of blood."
"Jegojah will, Were-cat, yes. Jegojah will bleed the cursed Wizard just for ye. Yes." The undead warrior looked at him. "Jegojah knows that ye do not blame Jegojah, but Jegojah still offers apologies. Much hardship, Jegojah has caused ye. It is not something Jegojah wanted himself."
"I know," he replied quietly. "You weren't to blame."
"The foul Soultrap," he spat. "It corrupts the soul. Virtue, Jegojah once had, yes. Virtue and honor, but the damned Soultrap blackened Jegojah's soul, made him enjoy doing harm and spreading misery. This quest for revenge, it is as much a chance to right wrongs, yes, as it is a chance to bleed Kravon. Jegojah will avenge lost honor." He sheathed that ugly sword of his and looked at Tarrin unwaveringly. "Lucky, you were, to pull Faalken from the Soultrap before his honor was lost, yes. The Soultrap is ten times worse than any Succubus' seductive smile."
Tarrin snorted, then chuckled. "I know a Succubus. Believe me, that's a pretty good example. And it makes me understand exactly how you felt." Tarrin still remembered Shiika's strange power to enslave the will. If the Soultrap was anything like that, then he fully understood and appreciated the horror that Jegojah must have endured, the horror of having something invade his very soul and twist it to its own ends.
"Ye know a Succubus?" Jegojah asked curiously.
"Well, from what I've seen, she's not an ordinary Succubus. Not even an ordinary Demon. She's no sweet maiden, but she's nothing like the Demon's I've heard about in stories. Maybe it's a front, but maybe it's not. Maybe even Demons can have goodness in them."
"A nice Demon?" Jegojah said, then he cackled. "That would cause the universe to explode, yes."
"Maybe," Tarrin acceded with a wry smile. "She's not gentle or kind or anything like that, but she's definitely lacking that fundamental evil that I've heard is in Demonkind."
"How do ye know?"
"I'm not sure," he replied. "But I do."
"Tell Jegojah of this Demon," he asked.
Nodding, Tarrin started more or less at the beginning, and recanted a good deal of his struggle against Shiika. He left out some of the more intimate or embarassing parts, but he related a pretty much well factual accounting of the events of Dala Yar Arak. He also explained what happened when Shiika kissed him. "It did this to me," he said, motioning at himself. "It seems that a Succubus' kiss drains the life force out of people, and in a way, it ages. She couldn't kill me with her draining kiss, but it made me age. It took a while for my body to catch up, though," he remembered.
"Jegojah wondered how ye came to grow," he cackled. "Jegojah should have asked, yes. Shocked Jegojah, it did, in every sense of the word. Such power, never had Jegojah expected it, no."
"I noticed that," Tarrin said, not a little bit of satisfaction of the memory of Jegojah's shocked face washing over him. It was a very sweet memory, even if he no longer considered the Doomwalker an enemy. "Anyway, after that, I got pretty much well angry. So I decided to kill the Emperor, pin the Succubus in place, and then go looking for the Book of Ages while I had her indisposed."
Jegojah cackled loudly, stamping his boots on the ground. "Jegojah knew he liked ye, Were-cat," he said with a wide grin. "Ye really did in the Emperor of Arak?"
Tarrin nodded, but his expression was somber. "Him and a few hundred innocent bystanders. I'm not very proud of that." He shook it off. "Anyway, while the Succubus was trying to dig herself out of the rubble, I invaded her palace and found the Book."
"Do ye have it now?"
Tarrin nodded. "I can't show it to you, so don't ask. If I bring it out, its presence will tell everyone exactly where I am."
"Then don't," Jegojah said quickly. "Danger, Jegojah will not bring it to you, no. What happened next?"
"That's pretty much it," he replied. "Me and Sarraya fled Dala Yar Arak with the book, with about half the Empire of Arak hot on our heels. We're trying to get back to the West now."
"What of the Selani and the others?"
"They left by ship," he replied.
"Good. Jegojah feared ye and the Faerie were the only survivors. Their safety, it is important to Jegojah, yes."
"Why?"
"Their safety, Jegojah threatened, yes. Jegojah carries burden enough knowing Jegojah brought Faalken low. Jegojah wishes not for any more suffereing, no."
That ratcheted up Jegojah's standing in Tarrin's mind by several notches. "If you don't mind, where are you from? Originally."
"Jegojah comes from Shace," he replied. "Jegojah was born in the year 768, some fifteen hundred years ago by our calendar, yes. Jegojah died in battle during the War of Seven Swords."
That was a war between Sulasia and Shace. "What was it like back then?"
"Much different," he replied. "Almost everyone could use magic, yes. Children were forbidden to learn magic, but most adults knew at least a cantrip or two."
"Why were children forbidden to learn magic?" Tarrin asked curiously.
"Because, Were-cat, magic in a child's hands is dangerous, yes," he replied. "The rule, it was originally set forth by the Priests, to prevent Wizard magic from tainting possible future priests, but it was a rule of common sense, yes, so it was obeyed."
"The strictures concerning orders of magic," Tarrin remembered. "If a child learned Wizard's cantrips, he couldn't access any other order of magic from then on."
"Exactly," Jegojah replied. "The origins of the War of Seven Swords, they are lost on Jegojah. All Jegojah knew was that he had an enemy to battle, yes. Jegojah commanded the Silver Knights, a great army, but Jegojah's army, it was no match for katzh-dashi and their High Sorcery, no. Jegojah died in the face of Sorcerer's Fire."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Jegojah holds not a grudge against the katzh-dashi," he said calmly. "War is conflict. Their orders, they were simply obeying them, as Jegojah was his own, yes. Much is lost to Jegojah after that, until Jegojah felt his soul being ripped from its eternal rest, pulled back from the Realms Beyond and placed into that thrice-damned Soultrap." Jegojah almost seemed to bristle. "Such began Jegojah's imprisonment. Used Jegojah, they did, for their dirty work. There were two before Kravon, but Kravon, he was the worst. The others did not torture Jegojah for fun, no. Kravon often summoned Jegojah just to torment Jegojah. Jegojah had no doubt that had Jegojah defeated ye in fair combat, still Kravon would have given Jegojah's soul to his pet Demon. May she suck the marrow from his bones," he spat.
"She?" Tarrin asked curiously.
"A marilith," Jegojah answered. "They are Demons of great power, yes. They are women with the lower body of snakes, and have six arms. But their appearance and powerful magic, they are not their main advantage, no. Marilith are the most cunning and intelligent of all Demonkind. Kravon, he summoned the marilith to help plan battles, something they do very well."
"Battles?" Tarrin asked quickly. "What kind of battles?"
Jegojah cackled. "Jegojah's soul was trapped in the Soultrap, and Kravon often carried it around with him. What Kravon does not know is that Jegojah could hear what was going on, yes, hear through the Soultrap. Jegojah had been inside it for so long that Jegojah learned how to come close to the surface, close enough to hear through the prison walls. Jegojah knows many of Kravon's plans." He looked quickly at Tarrin. "Much anguish, Jegojah thinks it would cause, if all of Kravon's carefully laid plans were brought to ruin," he said with a speculative look. "Ye be a Weavespinner, a sui'kun. Know ye the art of distant communication?"
"I do," he replied immediately.
"Good. Ye can help Jegojah break the ki'zadun over his knee."
"Any way I can," Tarrin said soberly.
Listen very closely to this, kitten, the Goddess warned in his mind. Very, very closely.
If anything, that told him that he'd better pay attention. Jegojah was about to say something very important.
"Jegojah does not know all the details, but he knows enough. All the unsettled activity in the West, it is caused by the ki'zadun. Jegojah knows that they have incited Daltochan to invade Sulasia, that they have incited war between the Ungardt and the Tykarthians. This, they do, as a means to get ki'zadun forces to lay siege to Suld. They seek to destroy the Tower of Six Spires, raze it to the ground, yes. They think that if they can destroy the Tower, they can defeat ye and gain the Firestaff unopposed."
"How do they plan to do that?"
"It goes thusly," he said, standing up and coming over to Tarrin. He sat down on the block beside him, drew a dagger, then leaned down and quickly etched a rough map of the West in the sand before them. "Began, it did, some fifteen years ago, from what Jegojah remembers. In Shace. The ki'zadun, they killed King Armond and caused civil war, turning Shace into what it is now," he said spitefully. He was obviously a patriot to his kingdom. "This, they did, because Sulasia and Shace have been solid allies for many many years. Their first move was to isolate Sulasia. After this, ki'zadun agents managed to infiltrate the courts of the kings of Daltochan and Draconia, and did it so well that both nations are but puppets to Kravon's seat. Kravon rules the central marches of the West, and their armies became his to command. After this, the ki'zadun lured into employ the Fae-da'kii, the Woodland kin that reject Fae-da'Nar, with promises of unlimited humans for feed and torment after the ki'zadun took over. Managed, they did, to secure the services of Quicklings, Harpies, Vampires, Lamias, Leucrotta, Penangallen, Dopplegangers, and many other fell creatures, and used them, they did, to crush all resistance from the Goblinoids and bring them under the Black Network's rule.
"After ye appeared, the rest of the plan went into motion," he began, drawing lines in the sand. "The agents of the ki'zadun gathered up the Dal armies and invaded Sulasia with Goblinoid reinforcements. Afterwards, they commited enough border atrocities in Ungardt to incite those warrior people, and managed to frame the Tykarthians. Then they sent their Fae-da'kii to the Stormhaven Isles, to whip up such a row that the Folk there closed off their islands, yes. The next phase, it is happening now, yes. The Draconians have mached into the Bone Fields, and intend to destroy their ancient enemies, the Tykarthians. What they don't know is that the ki'zadun have commited more atrocities in Ungardt and laid the blame on them. This will rally all the Ungardt clans, and a very ugly war will ensue to the north, a war that will leave none but the Ungardt standing."
"But what's all this for?" Tarrin asked curiously.
"Ye not be schooled in the art of warfare," Jegojah noted. "All this, it was done to completely isolate Sulasia. With all its neighbors either engaged in wars or in disarray, Sulasia, she can get no support, no."
"But why would they get involved in a war between Sulasia and Daltochan to begin with?" Tarrin asked.
"Because of the Goblinoids, for one, and later other unnatural things," Jegojah replied. "Tykarthia and Ungardt and Shace, they would not interpose in a war between Sulasia and Daltochan, but should forces of Ogres and undead skeletons and Demons and other vile things appear, that would rally forth the the humans of the West to face this unnatural foe. The Dals and the ki'zadun have done well, yes, very well to hide the true numbers of the Goblinoids that aid the army. A few battalions of Waern and Dargu and Trolls are enough to catch the eye, yes, but not enough to raise a general cry. Long was it known that some Goblinoids cooperated with the Dals in limited means. Certain treaties and rules existed, yes, to keep Goblinoid and Dal from eternal warfare in the mountain terrain they share. No stretch, it would be, to see some limited numbers of Goblinoids allied with the Dals to fight a common enemy. But the numbers of these forces the ki'zadun will use, they will raise alarm all through the West, all the way to Yar Arak, Godan-Nyr, and even Arathorn and Valkar."
Now Tarrin understood. Jegojah was right. So far, the rumors of Goblinoids hadn't raised much of a fuss in other kingdoms. But when word got out that there were huge numbers of very unnatural creatures attacking Sulasia, that would unite the humans together in common cause to fight off these unnatural foes.
"I see now, but why such a force?" Tarrin asked. "It wouldn't take something like this to capture a city."
"Suld, she is not an ordinary city, Were-cat," Jegojah replied. "It is a very well defended city, and add to that, yes, that it is the home of the Tower of Six Spires, and the katzh-dashi. It would take an overwhelming army to take Suld, because the ki'zadun knows that if they were to attack Suld, the Goddess of the Sorcerers would rise up and personally intervene."
"If they know that, then why are they bothering to try?"
"Because they have a god of their own," Jegojah replied. "Did ye not know that the ki'zadun seek the Firestaff not for themselves, but to free Val?"
Tarrin was stunned. He did not know that. They were going to use the Firestaff to free Val, the rogue god that the ancient sorceress Spyder imprisoned?
Jegojah chuckled. "Jegojah, he sees that ye did not know," he said. "That is what all of this is about. The ki'zadun, it has long been the dark organization of Val, and its objective is to free their god from his prison. Entrapped, Val is, but he still can wield some power in the world, and that power would be used, yes, to allow the ki'zadun to attack and take Suld. They seek to raze the Tower, for it is the central power of the Goddess and the katzh-dashi. Without the Tower and the Goddess, Val would have no serious opposition to finding the Firestaff."
"The power of the Sorcerers isn't based in the Tower," Tarrin objected.
"It is, yes," Jegojah countered. "All gods, even Val, are represented in the mortal plane by an icon, an object, that represents them here. Destroy that icon, and the god loses contact with the world until he can create another. And that can take centuries. Spyder entrapped Val's godly spirit into his icon, forcing him into the mortal world, which drastically reduced his power. Even an Elder god like the Goddess of the kazth-dashi is restricted in this manner. But in the case of the Goddess, if her icon was to be destroyed, the Weave itself would change, and it would no longer be close enough for Sorcerers to touch. All other magic would still work, but all the katzh-dashi would lose their powers."
Tarrin gave Jegojah a shocked look. Mother, is that true? he had to ask.
It is very true, my kitten, she said seriously. If they destroy my icon, my power will be lost to my Children. That means that all the Sorcerers would be stripped of their powers, and I doubt very many would survive it. The Weavequake it would cause would be catastrophic, akin to another Breaking. Only the weakest of my Children, those least connected to the Weave, would survive the disaster.
"The ki'zadun, they think they know where the icon of the Goddess is, yes. In the Tower of Six Spires."
Tarrin knew exactly where and what it was. It was that statue in the center of the hedge maze. That statue never seemed to be a statue, it had always seemed alive. Well, in a way, it was alive. It was the physical representation of the Goddess, and from it, from her, all magic into the world flowed. The Heart was not in the middle of the center Tower, as many believed. The true Heart was in the middle of that maze. It was merely overshadowed by the Conduit that came up through the center Tower, using it as a diversion, a shield, to conceal the icon's presence.
"So, the strife in the West, it is but a plan to get a large enough army, filled with all manner of powerful and dark creatures, close enough to Suld to destroy it before the rest of the human world rises up to intercede." Jegojah looked at Tarrin. "All of this is, it is being done to banish your Goddess from the mortal world. Yes."
Tarrin was awed, and he was horrified. It was a clever plan, clever and thorough. They could get rid of the Sorcerers, remove Tarrin, and get to the Firestaff unopposed, all in one fell swoop. All they had to do was take Suld. It was a very well-formed plan, he had to admit, looking at it, and had been successful up to that point. The conditions were indeed perfect for what they were doing. Shace was as good as in a state of civil war. Daltochan was well into Sulasia, and Tykarthia and Ungardt were fighting. Sulasia had no allies, no help to beat back an invasion from undead legions, hordes of Goblinoids, members of the Fae-da'kii, or even some Demons. If they could get that force to Suld, then there was a very good chance that they could take the city before the other kingdoms came to their senses and moved to aid Sulasia.
The enormity of it was nearly overwhelming. Had he been standing, Tarrin would have sat down. Hard. "What do we do to stop it?" Tarrin managed to ask.
"Well, a plan uncovered is a plan easily thwarted," Jegojah said. "Unfortunately, Were-cat, we an only warn the Tower, yes. They can take steps, if possible. But honestly, there is little we can do, yes. Little more than warn."
"More than that," Tarrin said, his mind turning. "It seems that the best way to stop them would be to let them continue with their plan, let them get to Suld, and find out that there's a force at hand capable of defeating theirs."
"Risky, but workable," Jegojah said. "If Jegojah commanded, he would ambush their forces some distance from Suld, so that the city itself is not at risk, no. Fighting that kind of battle, it is risky, especially considering the price of defeat. Yes."
Tarrin remembered the terrain around Suld. "It wouldn't work," Tarrin said. "There's a large empty plain between the city and the forest suitable for a battle like that, but the high ground is on the east, and it abuts the forest. That would put the enemy on high ground if we lined up on the plains, or would allow the enemy to hide its forces in the forest if we occupied the ground beside it. Neither are workable."
"Those both, they are very bad moves," Jegojah grunted. "Right, you are, Were-cat, yes."
"And since you can't fight a battle on that scale in the forest, you'd have to pick a defensible area. Unfortunately, the only defensible area would be the city walls."
"Right again," Jegojah nodded. "Surprising, ye are, Were-cat. Intelligence, it is not something they attribute to you, no."
"Then let's surprise them," Tarrin grinned at him. "So, what we need to do is assemble an army capable of dealing with theirs. They'll have Wizards and undead and Demons and Fae-da'kii. Well, we'll have Sorcerers, Priests, alot of war veterans in Suld, maybe some Were-kin if I can lure them out to fight, whatever mercenaries we can get our hands on-" his eyes brightened-"and gunpowder."
"Gunpowder? Jegojah, he does not know of this."
"The Wikuni make it. It's an explosive mixture of ingredients. They use it to propel big steel balls at high speeds. They call them cannons, and they're fifty times more destructive than a catapult."
"Ah. Jegojah sees the use of it, then," the undead warrior agreed. "But your assets, they will not be enough, no. The force marching against you is vast, Were-cat, yes. Almost uncountable. Kravon, he has taken years to assemble this army, and hidden them in Daltochan and the moutains surrounding the Petal Lakes. Every unscrupulous mercenary from Suld to Saranam is enrolled in his force, and that is just the humans in it, yes."
That term must have been old, if even Jegojah knew of it. From Suld to Saranam was a phrase meaning all over or everywhere.
"Then we just need to match his numbers," Tarrin said grimly.
"Where will we find such troops?"
"I know of a few places," Tarrin said, standing up. "We'll start with Kerri."
"Kerri? Who is this?"
"Keritanima-chan Eram. The Queen of Wikuna."
Jegojah looked at him, then cackled brightly. "The Wikuni with you? She is the Queen?" Tarrin nodded. " Vai avignon! Happy news!"
"If I asked, Kerri would ferry over her entire army," he explained. "I don't think the ki'zadun would be expecting to face the Wikuni, and their Vendari allies."
"True, but the Wikuni, they are far away. And their ships, they can only carry so many. Kravon will be attacking Suld about a month after the passes melt their snow, yes. We may not have time to move all the troops we need, no."
"I know, so we'll have to find some other troops somewhere." He reached into the little belt pouch at his waist, and pulled out the black medallion device. Shiika had given it to him, through Anayi, and told him that if he ever needed her, he could use it to talk to her. He certainly needed her now. Even Shiika would understand the chaos that would ensue if the ki'zadun managed to banish the Goddess. Maybe she would help. He stared at it a moment, pondering what twists of fate had brought him to this juncture.
"What is that?"
"Salvation," Tarrin said, gripping it in his paw. "And maybe damnation."
There was no help for it. "Shiika," he called in a strong voice.
The answer was immediate. "It's been a long time, Tarrin," she said with an amused tone. " What do you need?"
The sound of her voice conjured up the nasty spat they had had, but that had been a long time ago. "I need you," Tarrin said. "I need you and your Legions, and I need them now."
"My Legions? What on earth for?"
"Right now, a massive force is marching on Suld, and if they take it, the damage they could cause would be catastrophic. The Sorcerers would cease to be, and the people chasing me will get the Firestaff, because I'll be ceasing along with the rest of the Sorcerers. We can't let that happen."
"Hmm. My spies have been reporting some very unusual activity in Sulasia, and in the entire West for that matter. Is it really that serious?"
"I've heard it from someone who heard it all, Shiika," he answered, glossing over what Jegojah told him. The undead warrior waited patiently for Tarrin to talk, correcting him on a few minor points.
"Well, hellfire," Shiika said curtly. "It makes sense. If they can knock out the Sorcerers, the path to the Firestaff will be much less cluttered. And I'm not about to let that happen," she said hotly. "I was granted leave to stay here so long as I helped protect the Firestaff. Well, I'm not about to back out of my side of the bargain. You contact that Wikuni hothead of a sister of yours, Tarrin, and you arrange her to bring as many ships as she can to Dala Yar Arak. I'll load them from keel to pennant with Arakite troops and send them to Suld. My Legions are crack soldiers, Tarrin, and I'll send by best generals to lead them. And expect a few other contributions. I'll send the Cambisi ahead of the Legions, and they'll set up to face whatever hellspawn the other side is employing."
He was shocked she agreed so quickly. "Why are you doing this?" he asked quickly.
"Because this is more of a home to me than the Abyss ever was," she replied. "I don't want my comfortable life upset, and this will definitely upset my life. Besides, there's a certain agreement between me and the Gods. They tolerate my presence here so long as I helped them with certain things from time to time. Well, this sounds like one of those things they'd have me help with."
"You were right, Were-cat, yes," Jegojah chuckled. "She is not a normal Demon, is she?"
"Who is that?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Tarrin grunted. "Shiika, I need you to go find a Sorcerer's Amulet, a real one. You can get one?"
"I already have a few hundred of them. Any specific one I need?"
"No, just carry one with you," he replied. He wasn't sure he wanted to know where or how Shiika came across so many amulets. "I can use the amulet to speak to you."
"Ah, so you've crossed over, have you?" she said brightly. "That was an old Weavespinner trick."
"Yes and no," he answered. "Just be careful, talking through the amulets isn't completley secure, so we have to be careful. You know Sha'Kar?"
"I'm a Demon, Tarrin. I understand all languages."
"I didn't know that. How does it work?"
"It's too hard to explain, so leave it until later. The spell is about to end, Tarrin. Talk to that Wikuni of yours and get those ships here. I'll send some troops out on our own ships, but the Wikuni will probably pass them on the way. I'll send my daughters to Suld, and if you want, I'll have Anayi stop and pick you up."
You can't do that, Tarrin, the Goddess warned.
"I'll be moving on foot, Shiika. I can probably go just as fast on foot as it would take Anayi to get here and fly me there."
"Fair enough. Just warn the people in Suld that my daughters are coming. It wouldn't be very nice for them to be attacked when they arrive."
"I'll see to it."
"Good. I'll be coming personally with my troops, so I'll see you when we arrive."
He wasn't sure if he wanted that or not, but it wasn't like he had much choice. "Alright. See you then."
"Good luck, Tarrin," she said, and then the little black amulet in his paw crumbled to dust.
Jegojah cackled. "Ye know many strange people, Were-cat," he said with a smile.
"It's about to get worse," Tarrin said, taking hold of his amulet. "Ariana."
Now he understood why the Goddess wanted her to have an amulet.
"Tarrin? Where are you? I can hear you, but I can't see you."
"It's hard to explain, but I don't have time. You once said that you couldn't repay me enough for what I did for you. I'm about to test that."
"It sounds serious."
"It is. Can you talk to your king and arrange for him to meet me? I'm at the city ruins some distance northwest of the Cloud Spire."
"I know where that is," she said. "I told him you were the one that saved him, so I'm pretty sure that he'll agree. It'll take us a couple of days to fly out there, though."
"I'll wait for you. It's important, Ariana. Very important."
"Alright. I'll go talk to him right now. Are you well, Tarrin? Did everything go as you hoped?"
"More or less," he replied. "Just go. I'm going to contact you again in about an hour."
"Alright. I'll talk to you in an hour, then."
"Good luck."
"I don't need luck," she said in a coquettish voice, then he broke the connection.
"Who was that?" Jegojah asked.
"An Aeradalla, with ties to the throne," he replied.
"Many strange friends ye have, Were-cat, yes," Jegojah smiled.
"I wouldn't trade them for an army of normal friends," he said adamantly.
"Well said," the undead warrior said with a nod.
Tarrin settled himself, then cast out a distance. "Keritanima," he called.
The answer was almost before he finished speaking her name. "Tarrin!" she said happily. "How are you? Are you alright?"
"Hold on," he said in Sha'Kar. "I'm going to tell you to do something strange, and please don't argue with me. This is very, very important."
"Well, if I have to," she said in a lilting, amused tone. "I'm not much used to taking orders from base commoners, you know."
"Just say that again when we're face to face, Kerri."
"I'm not that stupid, brother," she laughed. "What's so serious that you'd order me around?"
"Kerri, I need you to guide me," he said. "Touch the Weave and hold as much of it as you can. I know you and I know your touch, so I should be able to find you. Just keep at it for ten minutes. If something doesn't happen in ten minutes, let go of the Weave and contact me."
"That sounds pretty strange, but I'll do it," she replied. "Alright, I'm ready. Whatever it is you're going to try to do, go ahead."
Tarrin broke the connection and looked around. The nearest strand that he could touch was, fortunately, on the other side of the square. "I'm going to go over there and talk to Kerri in a very secure way, Jegojah," he told the undead warrior. "I'll be asleep until I'm done, just so you know."
"Very well, Jegojah will watch over ye, yes," he said, standing up.
It felt odd, it sounded odd, that Jegojah would be watching over him, but things were just like that in Tarrin's life. He padded over and sat down, placing his body directly within the small feeder strand that would be his gateway into the Weave. "If I don't wake up within thirty minutes, go find Sarraya," he told Jegojah. "She'll be able to wake me up."
"As you say," the undead warrior said, taking up a watchful stance and scouring the surrounding cityscape with its eyes.
Tarrin joined with the Weave easily, almost as easily as standing up, and sent his consciousness into it. He first went to the Heart, felt the basking radiance of the Goddess on his soul, but he ignored that as best he could as he searched the thousands of small stars and strands for a sense of Keritanima's presence. It wasn't easy with so many of them, but his intimate familiarity with his sister allowed him to discern which of those thousands of stars was hers. Every Sorcerer, even himself, was represented in the dark void of the Heart by those stars, and now that he knew which was hers, he could use her star to guide him to her physical body.
He marveled a moment at how quickly he had picked up on this strange ability. Perhaps the goddess was tinkering again. He had only done it once, with Jenna. But he had been in the Heart before, and he knew about the stars, so it seemed only simple logic to conclude that using one's star to find the Sorcerer's location within the Weave was possible. Tarrin couldn't discern physical location, for the Weave didn't restrict itself to mortal reality. It transcended that, going into time as well as space, and to find Keritanima, he had to find her location within the Weave. The star was but a representation of her, but he could use the sense of it to find Kerri in the vast network of the Weave. Something like giving him her scent, and that would allow him to track her down.
It didn't take long. He had the sense of her now, and he could feel her imprint in the Weave, since she was in direct contact with it. He felt her radiant presence from a distance, and he moved through strands until that sense of her was directly before him. This was the place. He wove together that projected image of himself, and then pressed his consciousness into it.
He opened his spectral eyes to find himself standing in a luxuriously appointed cabin. The cabin was rocking slightly, and the bay windows at the rear of the cabin showed him a vast panorama of empty ocean. Keritanima was aboard her ship, travelling towards Suld. She was sitting in a lushly padded chair, staring at Tarrin in shock. As was Miranda, who was standing beside Keritanima, holding a bundle of yarn in her delicate hands.
"Tarrin!" Keritanima squealed, jumping out of the chair.
Before he could do anything, he raised his arms in defense against her. "Kerri, no!" he said immediately. "This is an Illusion!"
It did no good. She bounded across the cabin and hurled herself at him, arms outspread-
– -then crashed unceremoniously to the carpeted deck, passing through his phantasmal body.
Miranda started giggling behind her hand, then broke into outright laughter when Keritanima rolled over and looked up at Tarrin's rueful expression. He missed his sister, missed her desperately, but just seeing her like this was almost as good as being with her. He'd see her again for real, see her soon, but for now this was good enough. It didn't make him feel lonely, as he feared it might have, instead it reminded him of his beloved sisters in positive ways. His love for his sister bloomed from inside him, causing the Weave surrounding them to shimmer in an unusual fashion.
"Tarrin, why didn't you warn me!" Keritanima complained, pulling herself to her feet. "And how are you doing this?" she asked curiously.
"Don't try this, Kerri," he warned immediately. "It's something you can't do. Yet," he added. "I can't stay like this very long. It costs me a great deal, so let's cut through all the happy chatter and get to the point."
"That's Tarrin, all right," Miranda laughed. "You look… taller. Much taller. Is that really you?"
"It is," he grunted. "I'll explain what happened the next time we're together. For real," he added. "Kerri, do me a favor and Ward this place as tightly as you can. Make sure that a mouse can't even hear what I'm about to say."
"Hold on," she said. She was still in contact with the Weave, so she started quickly. Tarrin could actually see the weaves take form, then solidify to create a Ward of impenetrable qualities, something that stopped sound, passage of living beings, even defeated magic. She layered it against the walls, floor, and ceiling of her cabin, and the speed and expertise which she demonstrated when weaving it showed him that she was very experienced in Wardcraft. It had probably been a very handy trick back at home, where everyone and his brother was a spy.
"Very nice," he complimented.
"I've had alot of practice," Keritanima smiled that toothy smile, sitting down again. "Now, what's so important that you'd start showing off new tricks that you know I'm going to try to learn?"
Tarrin grimaced. He forgot about that. She would try to learn, no matter how many times he told her not to.
"You've been keeping up with what's going on in the West?" he asked.
"As far as Sulasia goes, yes," she replied. "I'm ferrying over ten thousand Vendari and a few divisions of regular troops. I'm also bringing over some cannon to help the Sulasians."
"Then you're off to a good start," he grunted. "They're going to need more, sister. As many as you can get there, as quickly as you can." Tarrin then repeated what he learned from Jegojah.
"How can you trust that old bonesack?" Keritanima challenged. "He may be lying."
"He has no reason to lie, Kerri, and think about it. It explains quite a few things, and it makes sense. Has anything I said surprised you, outside of the end of it?"
"Well, no," she admitted. "We knew that someone was stirring up trouble in Tykarthia, but we couldn't figure out why. And we knew old King Armond had been assassinated, but we could never find out who did it."
"I'm glad you can admit that much," he said. "How cold has it been in the West?"
"What kind of question is that?" Keritanima asked.
"Armies can't move through snow," Miranda reminded her gently. "These attacking armies that are hidden in Daltochan and Draconia can't move until the snow in the mountains melts."
"Precisely," Tarrin said with a nod to Miranda. "Jegojah said that it'd be about a month after the passes melt to where they're passable that the armies would reach Suld."
"Miranda, get our map," Keritanima said. "Let's move to the table and take a look."
"Let's move this along, Kerri," Tarrin warned. "I'm projecting myself over a few thousand leagues. You wouldn't believe how much it costs me."
"Then I'll talk fast," she said with a smile. Miranda went to a satchel in the corner and pulled out a rolled parchment, and Tarrin moved his image to a small table near the bay windows in the back of the cabin. Keritanima and Miranda surrounded the table with him, and the mink Wikuni unrolled the map. It was a map of the northern kingdoms of the West; Sulasia, Tykarthia, Draconia, Daltochan, and Ungardt. Tarrin recognized many of the names on it, but some were unfamiliar to him, even in his home kingdom. "Alright, here's Suld," Keritanima said, pointing. "Now, there are only two ways to march from Daltochan and the Petal Lakes to Suld. One is from the east, from around Aldreth. The other is from the west, coming along the coast, hooking around the Skydancer Mountains."
"Why don't they just use this pass here?" he asked, pointing to a strange pass marked on the map, with a little triangular symbol at the head of what looked to be a wide gorge. If he was reading the map correctly.
"He'd lose half his army trying to use that pass," Keritanima told him. "It's very treacherous. Besides, even if they did, they'd still have to either move east or west, to avoid the Scar. And they'd be much better off doing that in friendly territory. Every step they take in hostile territory is a step laced with danger. You don't go wandering in circles on opposing ground. The locals have a bad habit of taking big chunks out of your army."
"I forgot about that," Tarrin fretted. "So, which way do you think they'd go?"
"West," she said, pointing. "This up here is all open land, after you get out of the Darkwood. If they come from the east, they'll have to traverse a great deal of forest terrain, and no army moves well through forest, no matter how good the roads are. Add the fact that every villager and farmer up that way has one of those nasty Sulasian longbows, and you'd understand why you wouldn't want to move an army through there."
"I can see that," Tarrin said. "So, answer my question. How long?"
"I can't really answer that, Tarrin, I'm not a soothsayer," she said. "We'll have to have Allia find out what the weather's like up there. Hmm."
"What?"
"Well, we know that the Dals have already invaded Sulasia from the east," she noted, looking at the map. "It looks like what they're doing is drawing all the defenders eastward, and then they'll move their main army in from the west. The Scar will keep the Sulasian army from scouting them out. Then they could detach a part of their army to come up from behind the Sulasians, and grind them to dogmeat between their armies."
Both Tarrin and Miranda were staring at her. "Well, that's how I'd do it," she said defensively.
"It makes sense," Miranda said with a cheeky grin at Tarrin.
"It does," Tarrin said. "Jegojah would probably agree with you. He should, after I show him this."
"Really, Tarrin, how can you be so calm around that bonesack?" Keritanima demanded. "It's already tried to kill you three times."
"Someday you'll understand," he told her. "I'm running out of time here, sister. Let's keep to the subject at hand."
"Spoilsport," she grunted. "It all hinges on how much time we have," she reasoned. "If the passes melt early, then we have a problem. If they melt late, then we have more time to set up. Ugh," she grunted. "No suitable defensive positions anywhere. I hate to say it, but the only place to set up would be Suld itself. It's risky, but I don't see much help for it."
"We thought the same thing, but we were looking at an invasion from the east, not the north," Tarrin explained. "Since there are already enemy armies moving in from the east."
"What, the bonesack didn't think of them moving across Draconia and Tykarthia first?"
"I think he thinks that they'll come the fastest way," he replied. "Since they already occupy some Sulasian territory, then it might be shorter."
"Not really," she replied. "What they'd gain in distance, they'd lose in rough terrain. Plus they'd have to come through the Sulasian army, and that might slow them down more than they'd like. You can't hide an army like that for very long, and from the way you explained it, speed is critical for them."
"He made it sound that way," Tarrin replied. "Oh, yes, how many ships do you have around Arak?"
"Alot," she replied, "but they're all merchantmen. They're not military."
"That's not an issue, sister. Shiika offered her Legions, if you'd come and pick them up."
"You talked to the Demoness?" Keritanima gasped.
Tarrin nodded. "I'm not going to turn my back on any help, Kerri. Shiika's Legions are well trained and strong. If we can get them here, they'll make a huge impact."
Keritanima laughed ruefully. "I don't see much choice," she winked. "You'll just make me if I say no."
"I'd rather not do that, sister."
"I know," she smiled. "Sad that a Queen can't even be her own boss. Any other possible allies, while we're here?"
"I'm going to try to convince some of the Aeradalla to help," he replied. "I happened to do their king a very large favor about a month ago, and I hope to collect. I'm not going to ask the Selani, because I doubt they'd help anyway, but I might see if I can convince some of Fae-da'Nar to help when I come through the Frontier. Even a single pack of Were-wolves can make a difference."
"It could. Were-kin detest Goblinoids. For the chance to kill Goblinoids, you very well may get some volunteers."
"Speaking of Were-wolves, that's a good place to start. You remember Haley, back in Dayise?"
"Of course I remember him," Keritanima replied, then her eyes widened. "He's a Were-wolf?" she asked in a gasp.
"It's a secret, so don't pass it around," he warned. "See if you can get a messenger to him and ask him to arrange some kind of meeting with a Druid. Haley may be a good place to start. He can get the information to the Druids, who will tell everyone else. That way they'll already know what's going on when I get there."
"You don't want me to try to recruit?"
"You can try, but I don't know if you'll be successful," Tarrin shrugged.
"Diplomacy may be a good place to start," Keritanima mused. "If we can get the Ungardt and the Tykarthians to stop fighting, it'll seriously mess up the enemy's plans."
"My mother may be able to help there. She's the daughter of a very respected Ungardt Clan-Chief. I can get a message to her through Jenna. My mother can make my grandfather do just about anything. Even stop a war."
"This is why I never want to cross your mother," Keritanima laughed. "So, we can hamstring them in the north, and maybe get enough Shaceans to stop fighting with each other and mass an army to reinforce the Sulasians trying to stop the Dals. Maybe even convince Arkis to send some of their troops."
"How will you do that?"
"I'm a Wikuni, brother dear," she grinned. "I'll negotiate. By the time I'm done, I'll own Emperor Barad's entire army." She looked at the map. "If we can get them there in time, anyway. I really need to know what the condition of those passes is. I can't make suitable plans unless I have some solid information to go on."
He was starting to get very tired. He didn't have much time left. "I'm going to have to go in a minute," he said. "It sounds like you can handle things on this side. I'm not going to have enough left to contact Allia until I rest, but don't you dare go and blab all of this, sister. Talking through the amulets isn't secure, else I wouldn't be doing this now. Let me explain it to her when I can talk to her." He looked down, at the map. "We're not going to be able to work like this, so you need to get to Suld as quick as you can. I'll be stepping it up to get there as fast as I can, and Shiika and her generals should be arriving about the same time as me."
"Alright. I'll send every ship available to Dala Yar Arak and pick up your pet Demoness' army," she said with a slight frown. "I'll also send for some reinforcements, but I can't take too many men from home."
"Why not?"
"Politics," she grimaced. "If I strip the army, the nobles may get bad ideas without someone there to keep them in line."
"I thought you stepped on them."
"Wikuni nobles unstep very easily, Tarrin," Miranda cut in. "They'll cooperate until they see an opening. Then they'll exploit it for everything it's worth."
"Kill them," Tarrin said in an offhanded manner.
"I can't do that!" Keritanima gasped.
"It's easy. Send orders for your men to round up and kill all the nobles. Then they won't be in your way anymore."
"That's barbaric!"
"It's effective," he said bluntly.
"It'll start a civil war!"
"If there's nobody left to challenge you, who are you going to have left to fight you for your throne?"
Keritanima stared at him, then exploded into laughter. "It sounds like an easy way out, but believe me, brother, it's not. Not that I didn't think of murdering the lot of them about twenty times a day for five months."
"It's your kingdom," Tarrin shrugged. "I'm about to lose this image, so is there anything else you need to talk about? Just do it quickly."
"It seems like an awful short time."
"I've had a busy day," he said shortly. "If I were rested, I could have stayed here an hour."
"Nothing pressing comes to mind, at least more pressing than anything else," she said. "When can you come back?"
"After I rest."
"Then we'll hammer out the details then. I'll think about this and propose a plan when you come back."
"Alright. I'll tell Allia as soon as I regain some strength, and then I'll figure out some way for all three of us to talk at the same time. Privately." He fretted. "This would be easy if we were in the same place."
"Reality is a pain sometimes, brother," she grinned. "That image of you is starting to get fuzzy, so I think that this is the end of our visit. I'll see you soon, Tarrin. Be well, keep your eyes on that bonesack, and-oh, yes. I love you very much."
"I love you too, sister," Tarrin replied with a warm smile. "Keep her out of trouble, Miranda."
"Always, Tarrin," Miranda said calmly, giving him a gentle smile. She still hadn't changed. Still quiet and inobtrusive, and watching absolutely everything that went on around her. Still one of his dearest friends.
It was hard to go. After so long being separated from Keritanima, he didn't want to leave her, even this surreal image of her. She was his sister, and they should have been together. Months and months apart, and now he had to leave her once again. But now he knew that he could see her whenever he wanted, that she was only a moment away, and it made him feel much, much better. With Keritanima's help, he could find her whenever he wanted to see her.
It didn't feel like a goodbye. It felt more like "until tomorrow."
Tarrin regretfully withdrew from his image, and sent his consciousness flying back to his body back in the desert.
He opened his eyes to a sight he'd never thought he'd see. Sarraya was sitting on Jegojah's shoulder, listening intently as he explained what was going on with their little sand map. "Sarraya!" Tarrin said in surprise. "When did you get here?"
"A while ago," she replied as they both looked at him. "Jegojah here said you went off to talk to Kerri. What did she have to say?"
The curtness of it took him off guard. "Well, she agrees with most of it," he replied uncertainly. "She thinks they'll attack from the north instead of the east, Jegojah. She thinks they'll move across Tykarthia then hook around the Skydancer mountains, then march down the coast."
"Hmm," Jegojah sounded, looking down. "That path, it appealed to Jegojah at first, yes, but the Toothwood, it is in the way. Safer, it would be, to come down the mountain pass and march across Sulasia, yes."
"Toothwood?" Sarraya asked.
"A dark wood of danger in southern Tykarthia," he replied.
"Jegojah, there are no forests in Tykarthia. They cut them all down to make ships."
"Ah. Jegojah, his mind is a thousand years behind us, yes," the undead warrior said ruefully. "Jegojah, he needs a current map."
"That's no problem," Sarraya said, gesturing. He felt her touch her Druidic magic, and a large vellum map simply appeared on the ground before them, a very large map depicting the entire West. "This is as current as yesterday afternoon," she chuckled.
"I take it Jegojah explained things?" Tarrin asked.
"He was filling in the details after a hasty summary," Sarraya replied. "At least that was after we tried to kill each other."
"You didn't!"
"What can I say? I'm a barbarian," Sarraya grinned at him. "You're a bad influence on me."
"The Faerie, she appeared but seconds after you entered the trance, yes," Jegojah said with a calm expression. "She thought I meant to attack ye, yes. When Jegojah, he surrendered his swords, the Faerie, she stood down, yes."
"You have too much attitude for someone so small, Sarraya."
"I'm a big girl now," she grinned as Jegojah studied the map with palpable intensity.
"You think what he says makes sense?"
"It all fits, Tarrin," she replied seriously. "It all fits together a little too well to be a fantasy he conjured up."
"That's what Kerri thought too," he replied. "She doesn't trust Jegojah, but she can refute the logic of his claim."
"Kerri sounds like a smart girl."
"The smartest woman alive, Sarraya," Tarrin said seriously. "When Kerri does your planning, you can't go wrong."
"The Wikuni, she has a point, yes," Jegojah finally announced. "Without the Toothwood, Tykarthia, it is the safest way to go. The Sulasians, they would be trapped between the Dals and the force marching down from the north, yes, and they would be annihilated. That would leave Suld defenseless."
"Kerri figured the same thing," Tarrin said. "You'd make a good general, Jegojah."
"Jegojah, he was a general, Were-cat," Jegojah said with a smile and a glance at him.
"That's getting annoying. Why do you keep saying your name all the time?" Sarraya asked churlishly.
"Jegojah, he knows no other way to speak," the undead warrior said uncertainly.
"You're using Shacean grammar with Sulasian words, and it's getting on my nerves!" Sarraya snapped at him. "Try saying I or me instead of Jegojah!"
"No wonder it takes a Shacean ten minutes to say hello," Tarrin mused. "I never knew their language was so complicated."
"Je-uh, I, me will try."
"No, I, me! Just I!"
"I-I will try, yes," he said with a glance at his shoulder, where the Faerie was located. "The Faerie, is she always this way?"
"Usually," Tarrin said dryly. "Somedays she's worse. She must be in a good mood."
"The Wikuni, she has a point," Jegojah repeated. "Je-I will think on this."
"I can't do anything else right now. I burned up all my strength talking to Kerri."
"How is she?"
"Doing fine, Sarraya. It was good to see her again. I thought it would make me homesick, but it had a completely opposite effect. I'm in a really good mood now, for some reason."
"You just found out that you're not as alone as you thought," Sarraya said with a warm smile.
"I guess you're right," he agreed.
"Hungry? I can whip up something refreshing for you."
"No more of that Centaur ale," Tarrin warned. "I dont' see how they move after drinking that stuff."
"They don't," she laughed.
"Let's try for something that won't put me out," he said. "And settle in. We're going to be here a while."
"How long?"
"Until Ariana gets here with her king," he answered. "How long has it been?"
"Ye were sleeping about twenty minutes. After a good meal, time, it will be, to call to her again, yes."
"So, what? Two days?"
"That sounds about right," Tarrin said. "I need to recover, and I don't want to start moving until I'm fully rested. Waiting for Ariana just gives me a valid excuse to be lazy."
"As if you were ever lazy," Sarraya laughed.
After a hearty meal of roasted boar-swiped from some inn's hearth, no doubt-Tarrin helped Sarraya set up a camp and arrange a good store of firewood to last the night. Jegojah stood up after looking at the map and sheathed his two swords, which were laying on the ground nearby. "Jegojah- I need to look about, yes," he said. "There may be Sandmen about, and if there are, needs be to chase them off, yes."
"Be careful," Tarrin said.
"The Sandmen, they cannot kill the dead, no," Jegojah shrugged, then marched off into the night.
As soon as the undead warrior was out of sight, Sarraya zipped into him so hard it stung. She hugged his neck exuberantly, digging her tiny fingers into his skin. "I was worried!" she exclaimed in a hyper voice.
"What's with all this emotion?" Tarrin asked in surprise, prying the little Faerie loose and holding her in his paw.
"I didn't want to look gushy around it," she said primly, though her eyes were bright. "It may think you're a mama's boy."
Tarrin gave her a strange look, then laughed helplessly.
After calming Sarraya down and assuring her that he was alright, he kept his appointment with Ariana. "Ariana," he called.
"I'm here, Tarrin. So is King Andos."
"Good. Will you come meet me?"
There was a long silence.
"I can't hear what Andos says, Ariana. The only one I can hear is you. What did he say?"
"Oh. Sorry, I didn't know that. He agrees. We'll start out in the morning. We should be there two days after that."
"I'll be waiting for you. I'm going to be camped on the northwestern edge of the city when you arrive."
"We'll find you, don't worry. I told you we'd see each other again."
"So you did. See you in three days."
"Until then."
Tarrin broke the connection, letting his amulet go and staring at the fire. Two days of rest. He could use that, definitely. He'd have to exert himself tomorrow to talk to Allia, and probably talk to Keritanima again, but he'd be more than fully recovered by the time Ariana and her king arrived. He was bone-tired now, tired enough to let the important events of that long, busy day drain away from him. He'd ponder the significance of them tomorrow, but for now, about all he wanted to do was sleep.
And sleep he did. Shapeshifting into cat form, he curled up by the fire and immediately went into a sound, deep sleep. With Sarraya and Jegojah-whom he now trusted, for some reason-he would be well protected and secure. So he slept the sleep of the safe, a sleep untroubled by worries or fears.
For now, all was well.
The next morning dawned windy and strangely warm. Sand blew through the city in eddies and swirls, and Tarrin was forced to don his visor. It was obvious that a sandstorm was blowing in the area, but from the look of the morning sky, it was well south of them, and they would only catch the fringes of it. The seasons were turning, and they were coming out of the storm season, into the relatively calm time that passed for spring in the desert. The sandstorms were fewer and further between, and they lacked the savagery that the winter storms packed. By early summer, all the storms would be over, and the Selani would enjoy a four month respite from the blowing sand, until the cycle started all over again.
Breakfast that morning was little more than berries and hard bread, for the wind was too strong to keep a fire going. Sarraya huddled against his shoulder and neck to protect herself from the gusty wind, with its stinging sand carried along in it. He'd been awakened to those conditions, mainly by being showered by embers from the fire, but even in cat form he was utterly immune to their heat. It was strange for the wind to blow so, but then again, the proximity of the sandstorm was the reason. They were catching the edges of it, and the worst of it was about to blow over them. That meant that they had to find shelter.
"Jegojah, he came through blows like this," the undead warrior noted as they moved to knock down a tent before the wind took it with it. "This desert, it is a challenge for the living, yes?"
"The Selani thrive here," Tarrin called over the wind. "They've been here long enough to know how things work."
"The Selani, your friend, you will call her today, yes?"
"After the storm blows over," he shouted back over a loud gust. "It takes concentration for me to do it, and it's hard to concentrate when you're getting a face full of sand." He put stones over the tent canvas, as Jegojah did the same on the other side. "Odds are, Kerri has already talked to her and told her to expect my call. Besides, it's a few hours earlier in Suld, and that means that she's probably not awake yet."
"Jegojah, he forgets about that sometimes," he grunted loudly enough to be heard over the wind.
"Around about noon, I'll try," he called. "It should be calm by then, and Allia will certainly be awake."
"Nothing else, we have to do, no," Jegojah shouted. "The camp, this would be a good time to move it! After all, taken it down already, we have, yes!"
"You have a point," Tarrin acceded. "It's not easy to see in this, but we need to find shelter anyway. Let's go find a good building and wait it out!"
"What about the tents?"
"We'll leave them here," Tarrin shouted. "Sarraya and I can just Conjure them back to us when we want to set them up!"
"Conjure? Ye know Druidic magic?"
Tarrin nodded, pulling his braid out of his face as the wind slapped it against his visor. "I'm a Were-cat, Jegojah. All Were-cats have at least some Druidic talent. And since we're technically not mortal, I get around the stricture against being able to use only one order of magic."
"No wonder Jegojah, he could not best you!" the undead warrior cackled in that hideous voice. "Too many tricks, ye know, yes!"
"Don't sell him short," Sarraya called. "He whipped you fair and square, with and without magic."
Tarrin was a bit startled that Sarraya would insult Jegojah that way, but the undead warrior just laughed. "That he did!" he admitted. "It was an honor to battle you, Tarrin of the Were-cats! It was a loss for Jegojah, but an honorable loss, it was, yes!"
"Let's save the reminscing until after we're in shelter!" Tarrin called.
Finding shelter was a very simple affair. They had but to enter the closest of the buildings that were still standing. Tarrin was too large to fit in the door, and had to shift to cat form to get inside. Jegojah just barely cleared the door, and the ceiling was literally scraping his helmet as they entered a dust-choked chamber with a stone table in the far corner, by the door. Tarrin was careful to shapeshift back so he was squatting down, shifting from a seated position as a cat, which allowed him to clear the ceiling by a comfortable amount. He couldn't stand erect inside the buildings, but he had a very flexible spine, and could stand if he stayed severely stooped over. But it was easier for him to simply sit.
"Small buildings," Jegojah noted. "Not human."
"We think it's a Dwarven city," Sarraya told him.
"Mala Myrr," Jegojah said immediately. "Even in Jegojah's time, the rumors flew. A lost Dwarven city swallowed up by the desert. This place, it must be it, yes." He looked out. "Jegojah, he remembers other rumors. Mala Myrr was supposed to be close to a fabled city called Amyr Dimeon. The Heavenly City."
Tarrin knew exactly what Jegojah was talking about. The city of the Aeradalla would fit that description perfectly, but Tarrin wasn't going to tell him that. That wasn't his secret to divulge. "If there is another ruin from the past out there, we haven't seen it," Tarrin told him.
"Nope," Sarraya mirrored. At least she picked up on that and wouldn't make any embarassing comments.
They waited out the storm in relative silence after that. Tarrin napped with Sarraya curled up inside his furry ball, and Jegojah sat and read from books that Sarraya had conjured for him. Being undead, Jegojah didn't sleep, and the books gave him a means to pass the time. They'd also let him catch up on modern history. Jegojah's world was still five hundred years in the past. He had alot of catching up to do.
The storm blew over by midmorning, and they moved on. They left the city and set up a good camp right on the edge of it, with a half-crumbled city wall giving them a border on one side, and a pile of rubble hemming them in from the west. The result was a nice little niche that would catch the light of a fire nicely, and it was large enough to accomadate five tents. What made it most attractive was that a strand ran vertically from the ground just inside that old ruined wall, giving him easy access to the Weave.
As Sarraya conned Jegojah into helping her erect tents, Tarrin sat down directly within the strand, achieving physical contact, then grabbed hold of his amulet. "Allia," he called.
"Kerri told me you'd call out to me," she replied immediately. "And that you'd want me to do something for you. Given Kerri's excitement when she talked to me, it must have been something pretty interesting."
"I do need you to do something for me," he said. "First, are you alone?"
"Dolanna and Dar are with me. I'm in Dolanna's apartment."
"That's good enough. Alright now, listen carefully, sister. Touch the Weave, and hold as much of it as you can. Do that for about fifteen minutes. If nothing happens in fifteen minutes, let go and then try to contact me."
"As you wish, my brother. I'm ready."
Quickly and effortlessly, Tarrin separated his consciousness from his body and joined with the Weave. As before, he found himself hurtling through the strands, into a Conduit, and then he was again in the Heart. It was as it always had been before, an unfathomably huge abyss of utter darkness, that darkness pierced by the stars that represented all the Sorcerers, and the strands wavering very faintly behind them, barely visible in the consuming darkness held at bay by those stars. The sense of the Goddess was as it had been before, and the glorious blazing light of her illuminated the very core of the Heart, destroying the inky blackness that sought to consume the light. He looked up into the black sky of the Heart and found her eyes looking down on him, felt her smile, was infused by her love, and he felt utterly content.
But he wasn't there to bask in the radiant aura of the Goddess, no matter how lovely it was to do so. He reached out with his senses, reached out and felt for that distinctive sensation that identified his sister in the Weave. Allia's star was out there, and after a few moments of intense concentration, he managed to identify it. Using that star as a reference, he cast out his senses into the Weave, feeling for the physical reflection of the energy he felt from Allia's star. Allia wasn't as strong as Keritanima, so her presence wouldn't be as striking as it had been for his Wikuni sister. But she was close to the Heart, both physically and spiritually, so it didn't take him long to lock onto her. As he had done before, he travelled through the Weave, travelled to her physical location, then constructed an Illusion, cast it into the space near her, then pushed his consciousness into that projection.
He opened his spectral eyes, and found the three of them staring at his Illusion in shock. Dar, who was a natural with Illusion, had mouth hanging open, and Dolanna looked as if she was staring into the eyes of a Wraith. Allia stared at him a bit wildly, then laughed. "Tarrin? Is that you?" she asked. Allia was hard to surprise, and even harder to keep surprised. Tarrin felt a wild surge of joy at seeing his beloved sister once again, but the emotion of it was overwhelmed by the pressing need to tell them what was going on, while he had the strength to do it.
"Yes and no," he replied. "What you see is nothing but an Illusion, Allia. I'm still in the desert, but I've learned a trick to allow me to reach through the Illusion. It's very draining, so I can't stay this way for long. Only long enough to pass on certain information and give you a few warnings." He turned to Dolanna. "Dolanna, could you Ward this place? As tightly as you can?"
She seemed to recover from her surprise. "Certainly, dear one," she smiled. "Is that a factual representation of you?" she asked.
"Unfortunately, it is," he grunted. "I know, I'm taller. I'll explain how that happened when I get to the Tower, because it'll take too long to explain, and I can't waste any time."
Dolanna skillfully Warded the room against all prying eyes and ears, and then nodded to him. As always, Dolanna's weaves were strong, efficient, and well woven. Dolanna was an excellent Sorceress.
"Alright then, on to serious matters. Dolanna, Allia, you have to convince the Keeper to prepare for war."
Tarrin went over everything that Jegojah told him, then related much of his conversation with Keritanima. Dar and Dolanna blanched quite a few times as he almost casually dropped a cartload of shocking news on them in a very short time, but Allia looked rather sober, almost grim.
"It's a pretty clever plan, Dolanna," Tarrin said, addressing his teacher. "Clever and thorough."
"Very clever," Dolanna said absently, tapping her chin with a finger, as she often did while in deep thought. "It does not leave us with much room. You say that Shiika is sending her Legions?"
"And herself and her daughters," he replied. "She wanted me to have you make sure that her daughters aren't attacked when they arrive. They'll be on our side."
"The same ones that tried to kill you, Tarrin?" Dar asked.
Tarrin nodded. "At that time, we were on opposing sides. Now we have a common interest."
"War often makes strange allies, Dar," Allia told him calmly.
"Very strange," Dolanna agreed.
"In a couple of days, as soon as I'm sure Jenna is up to it, I'm going to have her tell mother to have Grandfather stop the war with Tykarthia," Tarrin said. "Grandfather can do it, especially if mother is standing behind him holding her axe. The Ungardt will be a little sulky over not having someone to fight, at least until we can convince them to help us fight off the ki'zadun. Ungardt love a good, rousing war. This will certainly pique their interest."
"Are you certain that your mother can do such a thing?" Dolanna asked.
"My grandfather can," Tarrin said confidently. "He's chief of one of the biggest clans. He can call all the chiefs together and explain that the Ungardt were deceived into fighting against Tykarthia, when they didn't do anything wrong. Ungardt may love a good war, but they don't fight unless they have a good reason. As soon as they find out that the atrocities that started the war with Tykarthia were actually the work of the ki'zadun, they'll apologize to the Tykarthians and then come after the ki'zadun."
"Sounds like the Ungardt have honor," Allia said approvingly.
"Something like that, but not as refined as you, Allia," Tarrin told her. "Kerri beat it into me that the most critical thing I can do is have you find out what the weather's like in Draconia and the Petal Lakes. That's where the ki'zadun is massing their army, and they can't start marching until the snow melts."
"That will be easy," Dolanna told him. "The Citadel of the Hill is on the Tykarthian border. They can find that out for us."
"They should be warned of what's coming," Dar said.
"Not yet," Allia told him. "This is best kept a secret for now. Let us not tip our hand just yet."
"That's a good idea," Tarrin agreed, "but you're going to have to go to the Keeper and tell her about this. But only the Keeper. That spy is still loose in the Tower, so you can't have it get out that you know they're coming."
"We have had no luck finding her," Dolanna sighed. "She has buried herself so deeply that there is not even a hint of her anymore. Those few who knew of her are dead, and nobody has seen any assassins moving about."
"They're not supposed to, Dolanna."
"Tarrin, this place is like a prison," Dar told him. "There are guards everywhere, and Sorcerers watching each other. A mouse can't run across a countertop without three reports of it landing on the Keeper's desk inside ten minutes."
Tarrin chuckled. "Sounds like you're quite serious about it."
"The problem is that some suspect that our spy is adept at either Mind weaves or Illusion, or perhaps both, and is hiding her tracks," Dolanna told him.
"Jula can find her," Tarrin told them. "Set her to finding the spy. Jula's nose and her magic will ferret her out."
"That, is not a bad idea," Dolanna said after a moment of thought. "Since she is Non-human, our spy cannot use Mind weaves to turn her mind aside from its task, and Jula's senses will penetrate any Illusory disguise."
"Were-cats are born hunters, Dolanna. Have Triana point her in the right direction and set her loose. Jula will find the spy."
"It is a good suggestion, Tarrin. I will have a talk with Triana about it."
"Do that. We can't make any serious preparations until that spy is found and removed. Until then, you're going to have to move carefully."
"I should talk with the Lord General, and ask him to return with the Knights," Allia proposed. "The Knights on the Tower grounds should calm things greatly. The danger to Suld itself should convince him that it is time to stop the self-imposed exile."
"He deserves to know what's going on anyway," Tarrin told them. "He's a brilliant military man, sister. He can give you a great deal of help, and his status and rank will make sure things get done."
"True," Dolanna agreed.
"I'm starting to get tired, so I have to go very soon. Just do what you can as quietly as you can until Jula finds that spy. I can't be doing this every day, so the person who's more or less in charge of this little operation is Keritanima. She's in the middle of it, and most of it depends on her and her ships anyway. So if you have questions about anything, she's the one you need to take them to."
"Alright," Dolanna said. "Keritanima would be the best choice."
"Just remember that using the amulets isn't totally secure, so be very careful what you say."
"That is going to cause problems," Dolanna told him. "Some things must be said."
"I know, but since none of you can do what I'm doing now, there's no other way."
"What are you doing, Tarrin?" Dolanna asked curiously. "I can feel your weave, but not you."
"That's because I'm a couple thousand leagues east, Dolanna," he replied. "My body is in the desert."
"How can you weave all the way over here then?" Dar asked curiously.
"It gets very complicated, Dar," Tarrin told him. "Let's just say it's a trick that I picked up. I'll explain everything when I get to the Tower."
"I will hold you to that, dear one," Dolanna promised.
"I have to go now. Sarraya is tugging at my ear for some reason. Just let Jula loose, then step back and let her find your spy. I'll do this again if it's something important." He looked at them, his friends and his sister, and he felt the same thing as he did when looking at Keritanima. Not homesickness or an ache to be with them, but a calm, serene knowledge that all of them-any one of them-was always within his reach. He could see them and talk to them any time he wanted, and that considerably softened the impact of being so far away from them. Until he could hold Allia in his arms and have her scent wash over him, looking at her and knowing she was well and good was enough for now. "Be careful and watch out for each other."
"Farewell, Tarrin," Dar called.
"May the Goddess watch over you, dear one," Dolanna smiled.
"May the Holy Mother put the wind at your back and sweet water in your path," Allia said with luminous eyes.
"Be well," he nodded, and then let the Illusion unravel. He pulled his awareness back to his body, to where Sarraya was yanking on his ear urgently, and opened his eyes. "What?" he demanded in a surly tone.
"Tarrin, you won't believe this!" Sarraya said with a laugh.
"What?"
"Guess who I saw in the city?"
"Well? Out with it!"
"Var and Denai!" she laughed. "They must have followed us!"
"They didn't!" Tarrin said hotly, standing up.
"Of course they did," Sarraya grinned. "This is outside their clan territory. They're trying to catch up with us."
"I warned them!" Tarrin seethed. "When I get my paws on them-"
"Oh, hush," Sarraya said in a curt tone. "Since Jegojah here isn't a threat anymore, what harm is it to let them come with us? I miss them. They're much better travelling companions than you two sourpusses."
Tarrin glared at her, then he broke out laughing, for some mysterious reason. She was right, of course. Even he missed them, and they could still be useful in guiding him to the mountain pass quickly. Time was now an issue, and he had none of it to spare. Var and Denai would save him many days of floundering around.
"Alright, alright," he chuckled. "Go get them, Sarraya. But make sure they know that I'm very unhappy that they followed us."
"Ooh, I get to tell them about all sorts of nasty plans you have for them," she said, rubbing her hands together. "This is going to be so much fun!" Then she darted off into the city.
"Not much, it takes, to please her, yes," Jegojah chuckled in that cackling tone.
"Not much," he agreed, standing up.
"Did the talk go well?"
"Well enough. I've warned everyone. Now it's up to Kerri to bring it all together and hammer out a plan. Knowing her, she'll have something by tonight."
"This Wikuni, she must be something special, yes?"
"You have no idea," he said with a nod. "There's nobody in the world like Kerri."
"So what now?"
"Now, we wait," he replied. "After I talk to the Aeradalla, we'll start out."
"Then Jegojah, he will wait as well. Until ye be on the way, Were-cat, Jegojah, he will stay with ye, yes. Two days, it is not a great matter, no. Time, plenty remains, yes. A boon of ye?"
"What is it?"
"More maps, Jegojah needs, yes," he said. "An understanding Jegojah, he needs, of the terrain. A better idea of the ki'zadun's movements, Jegojah seeks, yes."
"No problem," he told him, forming the image of detailed maps of the kingdoms involved in the plan, then touching his Druidic power and willing them into existence. They appeared in his paw, four maps rolled up together, one of each of the three kingdoms, and a map of the Petal lakes. He handed them over to the undead warrior.
"Jegojah thanks ye, yes. Time, he is moving, and Jegojah has much to learn."
Tarrin ambled off towards the firepit. He was hungry, and a meal of bread and berries wasn't enough this time. He was going to conjure up some beef, and wait for Var and Denai.
And read them the riot act when they arrived.
He didn't have long to wait. By the time he was finished eating, Var and Denai were jogging up towards their camp, coming in from the city. Jegojah was studying the maps that Tarrin had Conjured for him, and he could already see that the two of them were decidedly nervous. No doubt that Sarraya had filled their heads with all sorts of wild stories. He was pretty angry with them. He had no idea what possessed them to follow him. He specifically warned them of the danger, and of how angry it would make him. But they did it anyway. They came into camp looking like children caught stealing the pie, heads low and expressions anxious.
But looking into Denai's face told him everything he needed to know. Of course they followed him. Selani didn't just let friends go off and face danger alone. Denai looked pretty nervous, but underneath it was a look of concern and almost haughty pride at what she had done. Denai wasn't about to let Tarrin go running off into danger alone. It wasn't the Selani way. Selani thought of we long before they thought of I. Obviously, Denai had more or less adopted Tarrin in her mind's eye.
"You have no idea how lucky you are that there's no more danger," Tarrin growled at them. "If you'd have come two days earlier, I may have killed you myself."
"Then the danger is passed?" Var asked calmly.
"Jegojah, he was the danger, yes," the undead warrior cackled. "But Jegojah and the Were-cat, they have come to an understanding. Enemies no longer, the Were-cat and Jegojah are, no."
"Who is Jegojah?" Denai asked.
"He is," Tarrin said, pointing at Jegojah. "Certain peculiarities of language makes him speak of himself in the third person. You'll get used to it."
"I meant to ask why you were sharing a camp with a zombie," Var noted.
"Zombie, no," Jegojah told him. "Revenant, Jegojah is."
That made Var's head pick up. "And who is your target?"
"None here, Selani, no," Jegojah replied. Revenant. That was an old term, something that his father had told him about. It was an old soldier's tale that sometimes, men who were murdered violently sometimes rose from the dead and tracked down their murderers. When they killed them, they went on to their rest. They were called Revenants. Jegojah said that Pygas had granted him a year and a day to avenge himself against Kravon. It clicked that it must have been Pygas who was responsible for the Revenants, and that they were very real. "Jegojah, he and the Were-cat share a focus on the man Jegojah hunts. Both, this man has harmed, yes. When Jegojah strikes, he will strike for both."
"Then may the Holy Mother bless your hunt, Revenant," Var said seriously. "The enemies of Tarrin are enemies of the Selani."
"Jegojah accepts the blessing proudly, yes," Jegojah replied ceremoniously.
"You're getting off the subject, Var," Tarrin said hotly. "Why did you follow me? I warned you what would happen if you did, but you did anyway!"
"We don't leave friends alone," Denai said bluntly. "You think something as small as a little threat is going to stop us, Tarrin? My father threatens to kill me on a daily basis. It loses its impact after a few years."
Tarrin blew out his breath, then threw up his paws. "I give up," he announced, then he stalked away from them.
"Don't worry, he's already decided to let you stay," Sarraya said grandly as he walked away. "He didn't kill you. That's always a good sign."
Var and Denai assimilated themselves into the camp, and back into Tarrin's life, with shocking ease and speed. By the time he returned, they had their own tent, had hunted down a stray sukk somewhere, and were roasting parts of it over an efficiently dug firepit, lined with stones and with a spit erected over it. Denai was tending the meat as Var and Jegojah looked over the maps. Jegojah was, from the sound of it, debating with Var over troop movements and possible weaknesses in trying to set up a defensive picket at the Citadel of the Hill, to slow the ki'zadun down.
"What are you doing?" Tarrin asked them.
"The Selani, he wanted to know what Jegojah was studying, yes. So Jegojah, he explained things."
Var looked at Tarrin. "Your city is in danger?" he asked quickly.
"It's not the city that worries me, Var," Tarrin replied. "What the ki'zadun is doing is trying to banish my Goddess from the world. They can't destroy her, or get rid of her permanently, but if they succeed, there's a very good chance that it will kill most of the Sorcerers, any with strong ties to the Weave. Including me."
"This cannot be allowed to happen," Var said adamantly. "The enemies of our friends are our enemies. My clan will stand against this force that threatens your goddess."
"This isn't your war, Var," Tarrin told him.
"It is now," he said bluntly. "You are shida to my clan, and if you know anything of us, that makes you as one of us. The Clan does not abandon its own."
"I'm not asking for your help, Var," Tarrin told him. "This is a matter that doesn't concern the Selani. No need for you to get involved."
"It is our matter if we say it is our matter," he countered. "The Holy Mother herself will command me to call the Clan, no matter what you say. Just as you are shida to us, you form a bond between the Holy Mother and your goddess, who are sisters. The Holy Mother will not turn her back on a sister in need. And I will not disobey my Goddess, not for any reason."
Tarrin turned that over in his mind. He didn't want to inconvenience the Selani, but he couldn't deny that having a Selani clan aiding in the defense of Suld would make a significant impact. The Selani were devastating warriors, and a single clan would be more than a match for entire armies of opponents.
"Alright then," he surrendered. "If, and only if, the Holy Mother commands it of you, I'll allow it. I won't disobey the Holy Mother either. She may not be my patron, but her symbol is branded on my shoulder, and I took a vow to obey her. I don't go back on my word."
"Then you are a dutiful son as well as a friend of the Clan, Tarrin," Denai told him with that charming smile.
"I will pray to the Holy Mother and ask for guidance," Var said, standing up and walking some distance away. Tarrin had no worry that Var would simply say what he wanted to say. Var was Selani. If Fara'Nae told him no, he would abide by that decision. His own motivations had no place in it. Tarrin was still a little wary of dragging the Selani into waht was purely a human affair, but he wasn't about to turn down any offers of aid. He would be insane not to accept Selani warriors. They were some of the greatest warriors alive.
"Jegojah, he thinks that the ki'zadun are in for a very bad shock," Jegojah cackled. "They hope to surprise the Sulasians with fell beasts and magic. Jegojah, he thinks that they will be the ones surprised, facing Sorcerers, Sulasians, Ungardt, Wikuni, Vendari, Fae-da'Nar, Druids, Arakites, Demons, and now Selani. Jegojah, he hopes to see the look on Kravon's face, yes, when the truth is revealed."
"It would be worth it, wouldn't it?" Tarrin chuckled. Jegojah was right. The ki'zadun had gone to alot of trouble to amass a frightening army of nightmares. Well, now the katzh-dashi were going to be facing that frightening horde with a wide variety of similarly frightening beings, beings feared more for their abilities than their appearances. The Vendari, the Ungardt, and the Selani were three of the finest races of warriors on the face of Sennadar, and they would be fighting on the same side, against a common foe.
Tarrin did want to see Kravon's face when he saw his worst nightmare take the field against him. To see a united world standing against his Demonic horde, an alliance of the best warriors the world had to offer.
It would be very much worth it.
To: Title EoF