Fisher left the Kheri Inn and walked to the park where the speech would be given. A knife fight had drawn a large crowd, and dozens of Jiadin were cheering for their favorite fighter. The noise was deafening. Fisher turned and left the park and headed down a narrow alleyway that passed behind the administration building. The back door to the building may have been unlocked, but it hardly mattered. Two mean looking Jiadin stood outside the back door with swords drawn. They glared at Fisher as if daring him to approach. The spy walked quickly by the doorway and did not look back.
At the mouth of the alleyway, another crowd of Jiadin were gathered. Two groups of warriors appeared to be squaring off against each other. Swords were drawn and insults were being thrown with abandon. As Fisher tried to exit the alley and move past the crowd, one of the Jiadin pivoted, his sword pointing towards Fisher’s chest. Fisher immediately backpedaled into the alley to avoid being sucked into the brewing fight.
As Fisher turned around and headed back along the alley towards the park, he saw the two guards in the distance. He stopped walking and leaned against the wall in the darkness. He was finding nothing out and walking around Meliban was dangerous, and not because he was a spy. It was just a dangerous city to walk around at night. He sighed with frustration and moved into a small alcove between the buildings, dropping to ground to sit with his back against the building. He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the distant shouting so that he could concentrate and think of some reason for Clarvoy to travel to Meliban.
A noise forced Fisher to open his eyes, but it was not the loud noise of boisterous shouting. It was the soft click of a single person’s footsteps. Fisher gazed into the dimly lit alley, the only light coming from the full moon high overhead. He heard the footsteps coming closer. Fisher was not sure what intrigued him about the sound of footsteps in the alley, but he held his breath as they came closer. A figure walked past the small alcove, and Fisher nearly gasped. The man was out of sight within a second, but Fisher was sure that he had recognized the Jiadin warrior. What bothered Fisher about recognizing the man is that he was positive that Brakas was already dead.
Fisher rose slowly from the ground in the alcove and crept to the corner of the alleyway. He peered around the corner at the Jiadin warrior walking along the alley towards the park. Brakas stopped near the two guards stationed behind the administration building. The three men exchanged words, but it was too far for Fisher to hear what was said. Fisher was about to ease out of the alcove and follow Brakas when the two guards ushered the Jiadin warrior into the administration building. Fisher frowned as he heard the door slam and a bolt thrown to lock it.
While he might not find out why Clarvoy was coming to Meliban, Fisher knew that following Brakas could lead to important information. He immediately dismissed his thoughts of Clarvoy and looked upward to find a way onto the roof of the administration building. His eyes followed the roofline until they came back to the alcove. Seeing that the buildings were connected, Fisher entered the alcove again and peered upward. He had not brought any rope with him, but the alcove was narrow. His eyes peered into the darkness for a handhold to begin his climb. Wedging one foot on each wall, Fisher reached up and grabbed an indentation in the wood. His fingertips ached as he moved his feet higher and looked for the next imperfection in the wooden walls.
It took Fisher much longer than he cared to spend to climb to the roof, but he had no other choice. His fingertips were raw and bleeding from wood slivers that had pricked his skin. Fisher wiped the blood on his clothes and ignored the pain. He walked cautiously along the roof of the administration building, placing each step with care. His eyes scanned the roof for any type of hatch that might allow access into the building, but he could not find one.
Fisher sighed noiselessly as he realized that he was missing a valuable conversation. He moved to the edge of the roof and stared down. There were several windows on the second level of the administration building. As far as Fisher could see, they were the only way that he could gain entrance to the building. He chose a window at random and leaned over the edge of the roof above it. He could barely see into the dark room, but he sensed nothing moving in it. Fisher straightened up and removed his pack. He pulled a knife and cut the straps from the pack and tied them together.
There was a small wooden beam that ran along the edge of the roof. Fisher laid one end of the strap over the beam and jabbed his knife through it. With all of his might, he pushed the knife as deep as he could into the beam. He tied a not in the strap where the blade had slit it so that it would not continue ripping. When he was done, Fisher lowered his body over the side of the roof, just above the chosen window. Hanging from the wooden beam, Fisher reached out and carefully griped the strap, hoping that it could hold his weight.
When Fisher let go of the roof with his second hand, he heard the fabric of the strap start to rip. For a few terrorizing seconds, Fisher hung immobile. The strap held and Fisher exhaled slowly. Very slowly, Fisher lowered himself on the hanging strap. When he was at the right altitude to enter the window, he stretched out one foot to snare the window ledge. Pulling with his foot, Fisher managed to get his second foot in the window before the strap snapped. His hands immediately let go of the strap and flew out to grasp the window frame. He caught the frame with one hand and pulled hard. His body tumbled through the window.
Fisher half expected to slam into the floor, notifying the whole building of his entrance. As luck would have it, the Jiadin who occupied the room had moved his bed under the window. Fisher landed on the bed with minimal noise. He immediately sprang from the bed and placed his back to the wall beside the door, a knife automatically sliding into his hand.
When no one came in response to the noise, Fisher put his ear to the door. He could hear faint voices, but nothing else. He decided to risk opening the door. The spy eased the door open and peered out. The corridor was dark, as the evening torches had not been lit yet. He slipped out of the room, silently closing the door behind him.
Fisher tiptoed along the corridor until he reached the stairs leading down. The voices became louder, and light from the first floor spread upward to paint the stairs a ghostly yellow. Fisher dropped to the floor and crawled forward so he could peer down the steps. He stared in fascination as Brakas stood talking to half a dozen Jiadin. One particularly large man was standing toe to toe with Brakas. They appeared to be arguing.
“Why don’t you try listening for a change, Harmagan,” shouted Brakas. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life in this hole of a city?”
“Don’t push me, Brakas,” the large man retorted. “Meliban might not be much, but right now it is my city, not yours. If you don’t like the way things are going around here, just keep on moving. You already have enough Jiadin dead on your watch. That fiasco in Khadora cost us many fine warriors.”
“How many times do I have to go through this,” scowled Brakas. “What happened in Khadora was not my fault. The person who portrayed me was a fake. I don’t know how he did it, but I wasn’t even there.”
“Look,” interrupted another Jiadin warrior, “this arguing doesn’t do anything for any of us. Khadora is ancient history. Why don’t you tell us why you have come here, Brakas? Then we can be about the business of doing nothing for a while.”
“Alright,” Brakas sighed. “I actually came to help you guys. There is no reason that Jiadin warriors should be forced to live in some wooden city when the riches of Angragar are available.”
“And you know where Angragar is?” taunted Harmagan.
“If I knew,” Brakas shook his head, “would I be standing here now?”
“Then what is the point of flapping your gums?” spat Harmagan. “We don’t know where it is either.”
“But Wyant does,” smiled Brakas. “And he is coming here tonight or tomorrow.”
“Wyant wouldn’t give us the correct phase of the moon,” Harmagan shook his head. “We have asked him a thousand times already. He just won’t say.”
“Perhaps you haven’t asked him properly,” smirked Brakas. “You said this was your city. How can you let Wyant come and go as he pleases without answering a simple question?”
“Are you insane?” asked Harmagan. “You are proposing that we try to force Wyant to reveal where Angragar is? Are you trying to get us all killed?”
“Wyant is going to kill all of you?” balked Brakas. “You men are no longer Jiadin warriors. You are all clova. You sit around this city all day being fattened up for the kill. You are all a herd of clova.”
Harmagan’s face turned red with rage, his features contorting as his hand went for his sword. Brakas swiftly stepped close to the large Jiadin and grabbed him by the shoulder. Harmagan’s face turned from rage to fear as his body began to spasm. His fingers fell away from the hilt of his sword as his arms began to twitch uncontrollably. Suddenly, Harmagan fell to the floor and curled into a ball, his lips quivering as he sobbed.
“Don’t ever think about pulling a sword on me again,” snarled Brakas. “I will not stand for it.”
The other Jiadin warriors backed away from Brakas, but their hands were conspicuously held away from their swords.
Brakas sighed and shook his head as he looked at the other Jiadin warriors.
“It looks like I will have to do this on my own,” Brakas declared. “Don’t mention to Wyant that I am in town when he arrives. I will find out the location of Angragar before he leaves Meliban. The rest of you should start preparing the men for a long ride. Go on! Get out and start getting your men sober.”
The Jiadin warriors fled the administration building through the front door. Brakas stood for a moment staring at Harmagan who was still curled up on the floor. Brakas shook his head and spat on the Jiadin leader before exiting the building. Fisher stared at Brakas as the man left the building. There were several things about Brakas that bothered Fisher. The story he told about being impersonated didn’t make sense. Aakuta had declared that he had killed Brakas, and Fisher believed the dark mage.
What bothered Fisher even more was the weird angle of Brakas’s left hand when he stood normally. Most people’s palms face their legs when their arms hang at their sides. Brakas’s left palm faced forward. By a strange coincidence, the only other person that Fisher knew with such an abnormality was the spy that he had seen just recently on the Island of Darkness. It was the only thing extraordinary that Fisher had noticed about Clarvoy.
Now that Fisher knew what Clarvoy was up to, he had to find a way out of the administration building, and a way to foil the spy’s plan. Fisher was not prepared to jump from the second story window into the alley. That meant that his only exit was down the stairs, and that would force him to walk right in front of Harmagan. Fisher thought about his situation for a moment and then rose from the floor. He walked normally down the stairs and in front of Harmagan.
The Jiadin leader’s eyes opened in alarm when Fisher walked by, but he said nothing, the shock to his body still gripping him. Fisher searched the lower floor and found the kitchen. He rummaged through the supplies and found a loaf of crusty bread and a barrel of ale. He broke off a large chuck of bread and filled a mug with ale. He carried the food into the main room and knelt beside Harmagan.
“Bite the bread,” instructed Fisher as he pried the Jiadin’s mouth open and shoved a corner of the bread into his mouth. “Try not to think about the pain. It will go away.”
Harmagan’s eyes looked confused, but he bit down on the bread. Fisher grabbed the Jiadin’s legs and pulled them to straighten the man’s body.
“Chew it slowly,” advised Fisher. “Just concentrate on chewing the bread. Think of nothing else.”
The Jiadin leader closed his eyes, but Fisher could see the man starting to chew. After a few moments, Fisher noticed the man’s muscles cease quivering. Harmagan opened his eyes and stared at Fisher.
“I have a mug of ale here,” declared Fisher. “It will help you if you can stand to drink it yet. Do you want it?”
Harmagan nodded and bit off a chunk of bread. Fisher helped the Jiadin into a sitting position and handed him the mug of ale. The Jiadin continued to stare at the spy.
“Who are you?” the Jiadin finally asked. “I have never seen you before.”
“No one who seeks to harm you,” Fisher answered mysteriously. “I am just trying to save your life.”
“I would have died?” questioned the Jiadin leader.
“You might have,” nodded Fisher. “Your body started to shut down from the shock. In a few moments you would have lost consciousness. Whether you ever woke up from it or not…”
“I will kill Brakas for this,” snarled the Jiadin.
“I would not advise it,” Fisher shook his head. “At least not alone.”
“Do not insult me,” snapped Harmagan. “He just caught me off guard before. If you say otherwise to anyone, I will kill you, too.”
“You are in no condition to kill anyone right now,” sighed Fisher. “And do not worry about me talking to anyone. Besides, my words were not meant to taunt you. The man that you call Brakas, is not who he claims to be. Brakas is dead.”
Harmagan’s eyes clouded with confusion. He sipped the ale and then nodded.
“I had heard that he died,” Harmagan said, “but Brakas claims that that was an imposter.”
“This Brakas is the imposter,” stated Fisher. “Brakas never knew any magic. How do you explain his attack on you? If that was not magic, what was it?”
“Your words make sense,” nodded Harmagan, “but I don’t know you. You could be a spy for all I know.”
“What or who I am is of little importance to you at the moment,” replied Fisher. “Be thankful that I was here to save your life.”
“Well, be useful,” scowled Harmagan. “Go out and rally my men. I want Brakas dead and his head brought before me.”
“They won’t be able to find him,” replied Fisher, as he finally understood how Clarvoy managed to move at ease on the mainland. He did not use disguises per se. He used illusions to portray others. “The man is a mage, Harmagan. He will change his looks now. He could be anyone. He could be among the very men you order to find Brakas. Do you really want him to attack you again?”
Harmagan shuddered at the thought. He swallowed the last piece of bread and drained the cup of ale. “Help me to my feet,” he ordered.
Fisher complied and helped the Jiadin leader stand up. Harmagan took a couple of cautious steps and nodded triumphantly.
“At least I can still walk,” he sighed. “What am I supposed to do then if I can’t find this wizard?”
“The only thing that you can do is to safeguard Wyant when he arrives,” replied Fisher. “If someone tries to attack Wyant, you will know who it is. Then you can have your men kill him.”
“You are clever,” grinned Harmagan, “but you are not Jiadin, are you?”
“Today, I am Jiadin,” smiled Fisher. “Tomorrow, who knows? What does it matter? You know that I mean you no harm.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter much,” conceded Harmagan. “The Jiadin are no longer what we used to be. That much Brakas had right. We have become clova to be fattened up for slaughter.”
“No, my friend,” smiled Fisher. “The Jiadin will ride again, and soon. The Time of Cleansing is coming, and a million enemies are coming with it.”
“You believe in that nonsense?” frowned Harmagan. “No one can put a million men together.”
“I believe it,” nodded Fisher. “I have seen parts of the armies coming to attack us. The Jiadin’s mettle will be tested. Your men should be making ready. This war will not be for clova.”
“I hope you are right,” grinned Harmagan. “Even if you aren’t right, I like your words. What should I call you?”
“Call me Scarab,” chuckled Fisher, “and I think you truly know that my words are true. You just abhor the waiting like any good warrior does.”
“Well, Scarab,” Harmagan asked, “do you know where Angragar is?”
“I do,” nodded Fisher, “but you know that I will not tell you. Why are you so anxious to know?”
“Why?” frowned Harmagan. “Why do I want to know where the lost city of riches is? You can’t be serious?”
“Oh,” smiled Fisher, “but I am. The riches of Angragar are not the type of riches that would interest you or your men. The riches that are spoken of are spiritual in nature. You cannot spend them. Besides, the Free Tribes inhabit Angragar. Would you truly lead your men against them?”
“No gold?” frowned the Jiadin leader. “You are lying to me.”
“For what purpose?” posed Fisher. “If there was any gold there, would not the Free Tribes have already taken it? The one you call Brakas is interested in Angragar for an entirely different reason. He is part of the evil that is coming to invade this land. He seeks Angragar so that Vand’s armies can plot its destruction. The rumors of gold and treasure that he spreads gains the cooperation of a hundred thousand Jiadin who dream of the spoils. Think about it, Harmagan. Is there any doubt in your mind that Brakas was trying to use you and your men?”
“The Jiadin have been used by everyone,” sighed Harmagan. “We tire of it.”
“Not entirely true,” retorted Fisher. “You have been manipulated by Vand’s people over and over again. It is always the same people pulling your puppet strings. Grulak was the first. Zygor and Brakas were the last. You may think the Khadoran lords used you, but Zygor and Brakas were behind that whole plot.”
“What about Rejji?” asked Harmagan. “Isn’t he using us now?”
“Is he?” asked Fisher. “Look around you. Is Rejji making you stay here? He is trying to rally you to fight the evil, but isn’t that in your own best interests? The Jiadin will be exterminated just as quickly as the Free Tribes when Vand’s armies invade. All he is trying to do is to get you all working together. I don’t categorize that as using you.”
“You make a lot of sense, Scarab,” replied Harmagan. “I just wish that I could believe your words. The Jiadin would join with any tribe that stood for defending Fakara from outsiders. I just can’t believe in this evil army that everyone says is coming.”
“What will it take to get you to believe it?” asked Fisher. “Do you want me to take you to the Island of Darkness and drop you off? That would certainly prove it to you. Unfortunately, you would be dead after just a few moments of belief. That wouldn’t do any of us any good.”
“I just want an enemy for my people to attack,” Harmagan sighed with frustration. “Can you give me that?”
“It won’t be long now,” promised Fisher. “Already the city of Duran has been destroyed.”
“Duran?” asked Harmagan. “Where is that?”
“It is a city in the Sakova,” answered Fisher. “Thousands of people were slaughtered. Every man, woman, and child was killed.”
“Women, too?” frowned Harmagan. “Surely they took them hostage?”
“The Motangans want no hostages,” Fisher shook his head. “They plan to annihilate every living person.”
“The Sakova is far away,” Harmagan shrugged after a few moments of silence. “A war there means nothing to the Jiadin.”
“Really?” retorted Fisher. “Meliban is no farther from the Island of Darkness than Duran. You could be next to be invaded.”
“Who knows about the destruction of Duran?” asked the Jiadin leader.
“I thought everyone knew,” shrugged Fisher. “It happened some time ago. It is thought to have been a trial run to see how our armies react. The real invasion is close at hand.”
“I will ask Wyant when he arrives,” stated Harmagan. “If he confirms what you have said about Duran, I will finally believe the stories of the coming war.”
“Fair enough,” smiled Fisher. “When is he due to arrive?”
Just then, several Jiadin burst through the front door. They slid to a halt and looked around the room.
“Where is Brakas?” asked one of the men.
“He is gone,” answered Harmagan. “Why do you want him?”
“Wyant is in town,” answered the warrior. “We want to be there when Brakas makes him tell us where Angragar is.”
“Brakas left town,” Harmagan stated. “Have every group commander report here immediately. I want them all here before Wyant arrives in this building. Is that clear?”
The men nodded and ran out of the building. Fisher moved to leave as well, but Harmagan called to him.
“Where are you going, Scarab?” he asked.
“To get lost in the darkness,” Fisher replied. “I am not one who cares for the light. I have to find out where Brakas has gone.”
“Stay, fellow Jiadin,” smiled Harmagan. “I don’t want you out of my sight before Wyant arrives. I want his answer to the question about Duran to honest.”
“I will promise not to speak to Wyant,” countered Fisher. “I really must go.”
“You don’t want to be seen by Wyant,” Harmagan grinned. “And here I thought you were working for him and the Free Tribes. Would he recognize you by sight?”
“No,” Fisher replied. “My duties require that few people know me. Your men would probably recognize that I am not a Jiadin and that would call attention to me. That is attention that I cannot afford.”
“Put your mind at rest,” grinned Harmagan. “Few who call themselves Jiadin today are really from the original Jiadin tribe. Most of the current Jiadin joined under Grulak. In fact, most of my original kinsmen are long dead. I will introduce you as Scarab, my long lost brother.”
Fisher thought about the value of having a validated Jiadin identity. He knew that it could be valuable one day.
“Why would you do this for me?” asked Fisher. “You must know by now that I am a spy. Why open up the entire Jiadin tribe to my snooping?”
“Because I like you,” grinned Harmagan. “You not only saved my life, but you have been open and truthful to me. Besides, I do not fear anything that you might find out snooping on the Jiadin. Stay and listen to Wyant. Afterwards you can give me your thoughts on what he says.”
“You want me here to validate what Wyant says,” laughed Fisher.
“You are quick, little brother,” grinned Harmagan. “If Wyant confirms your words about Duran, then I can believe everything you say. Seeing as I can believe you, I will ask you what you think about what Wyant tries to feed us. In the end, we will all have the truth.”
“I will stay,” smiled Fisher. “I do not have to know Wyant well to know that he will tell you the truth. Rejji would not have it any other way.”