Deals and Dangers

by Kay L. Ling

  “Barsam and Dullum! They were my tenants,” Eneff said. He shook his head in amazement. “I’m glad to hear they’ve left the O.D., but if The Emanicus learns where they went, Aberell may face an attack like we did today.”

  “Let’s hope they don’t find out,” Kaff said. “If Ertz and Elias couldn’t stop the shadow, I doubt Aberell’s gem masters can.”

  “I suspect Elantoth has been the test site all along,” Marrid said. “If The Emanicus had been successful today, I think they would have attacked the other fortresses.”

  “If you’re right, you saved all the fortresses, not just ours,” Tyla said.

  “They won’t give up. They’ll try again. Maybe something different next time, so you have to be ready for anything,” Marrid said.

  “Now that S is a woodspirit again, she’ll be helping them,” Kaff said worriedly.

  “She’s been helping them all along. She isn’t one to settle for second place, so I hope she doesn’t take over.” Arenia said.

  “You overthrew her before, you could do it again,” Franklin said. “You didn’t overpower her, you outsmarted her, and that may be the answer this time.”

  Tyla nodded. There was an undiscovered solution out there somewhere. The question was, could they find it before S and The Emanicus seized total control of Ahmonell.

  Chapter 44

  “Do you want to question Rimwick today?” Tyla asked Marrid as they drank their morning raaka in the office. They’d been up late the night before, discussing The Emanicus and sharing information, and Tyla wasn’t fully awake yet.

  “Go for it!” Loud Mouth said. His cage was open so he could leave whenever he wanted, and it felt like old times having him here.

  Tyla glanced at the cage. “Maybe you should visit Franklin today. I bet he misses you.”

  “No way. This is where the action is. Are you trying to get rid of me?”

  “Of course not,” Tyla said, hiding a smile.

  “Rimwick may not be shocked by Tabik’s condition,” Marrid said. “The Emanicus neutralized Havinth and Sethan. They have a history of this sort of thing.”

  “True, but I hope it unsettles him, anyway.”

  “I’ll make him talk,” Marrid said, dropping a javid into her cooling raaka. “I’ve been thinking of strategies, and if it’s all right with you, I’d like to tell him S is a woodspirit again.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea? We want him to think The Emanicus is falling apart. That might give him the opposite impression, don’t you think?”

  “Maybe not. Look at it this way, if they really wanted S to be a woodspirit, wouldn’t they have restored her sooner? Suddenly they change her back and flee to a new hideout. If you ask me, that doesn’t sound like they’re winning.”

  “I see your point.”

  Marrid toyed with her mug, a thoughtful frown on her face. “I’d like to know whether restoring her was part of their original plan or whether recent events forced them into it. Rimwick may know.”

  “I’m with Marrid,” Loud Mouth said. “Tell Rimwick and see what he says.”

  Tyla gave the bird a stern look. “If you’re going to stay during a meeting, please be quiet.”

  Loud Mouth ruffled his feathers indignantly. “I thought another opinion might be helpful.”

  “I would like to offer an opinion as well,” the spell book said.

  Tyla groaned. “Go ahead.” There was no point in objecting, the book would give its opinion, with or without her permission.

  “I suspect this was not part of their original plan. If Sheamathan regains her gem powers, she will try to dominate them as she did their ancestors. Why would they take that chance?”

  Tyla shrugged. “They have the Focal gem. Maybe they think they’re powerful enough to subdue her.”

  “Many of her previous supporters were powerful gem masters,” the book said. “Phennius Rimwick certainly was, and I have little doubt she would have turned him into a breghlin if he had been trapped with her in the Amulet.”

  “What?” Marrid paused with the mug halfway to her lips. “Rimwick’s ancestor was allied with Sheamathan?”

  “Yes, we found him on a list of supporters,” Tyla said.

  Marrid set down the mug. “That could work to our advantage. He knows what she did to her supporters.”

  “All right, tell Rimwick his associates restored S, and see what he says.”

  “Good decision,” Loud Mouth said.

  “I concur,” said the spell book.

  Tyla gave Marrid a look that said see what I put up with?

  Marrid smiled. “Could I borrow your leebstone book?”

  “Sure.” Tyla took it from the top drawer and handed it to her.

  “I’ll reproduce the illustration of Sheamathan with Emanicus gnomes. That way, we won’t have to wait for a newssheet.”

  Even though Tyla knew what to expect, she felt a chill as Sheamathan’s form took shape among the gem masters.

  “There,” Marrid said, turning the book toward Tyla. “I think I captured it well, considering I was looking at the illustration through a dendrite ball. When should we visit Rimwick?”

  “Now, if you like. We’ll check on Tabik while we’re there.”

  When Tabik saw them enter the cellblock, he came up to his cell door. His hair was disheveled and had bits of straw in it. “Have you come to let me out?”

  “Not a chance,” Tyla said. “Are you tired of our hospitality already?”

  “I demand you release me. I’ve done nothing to deserve this treatment.”

  “Sure you have. You just don’t remember it,” Tyla said.

  “You’re lucky you’re alive,” Marrid said. She went to Rimwick’s cell and studied him through the bars. He was lying on his side, mouth open, snoring gently.

  He looks familiar even with those lumps and deformities. He was posing as a normal gnome last time I saw him, she told Tyla telepathically.

  Really? Where did you see him?

  Mierek City. I’m sure of it.

  Ben and Tina Ann saw him at Emanicus headquarters. They said he was from Mierek City.

  He used to attend the Lesser Counsel meetings, which are open to the public. He must have gone there, hoping to influence officials. I’ll wake him now, telepathically.

  Rimwick gasped and leapt from his slab as if the straw were on fire. He looked completely disoriented.

  “Do you know who I am?” Marrid asked.

  “Marrid. What are you doing here? Have Elantoth gnomes captured you, too?”

  Marrid laughed. “No, I’m here by invitation.”

  “The dungeon is part of the official tour?” he asked sarcastically.

  “No. I came to see you.”

  He came closer. “Why? What do you want?”

  “Answers. I don’t understand your organization’s fascination with Sheamathan. You hold her in high regard. The Eight despise her. Her own sister considers her a criminal and wishes they weren’t related. Anatta contacted me yesterday, more than a little upset. Who do you suppose appeared on the front page of Woodspirit News and Views?” Marrid opened the leebstone book and showed him the illustration.

  Rimwick’s expression said he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He came up to the bars for a closer look. “No!” He started to tremble, and he was so pale Tyla thought he might faint.

  “So, you weren’t expecting this,” Marrid said.

  “They’re making a mess of things!” Rimwick cried.

  “I’m sure it would be different if you were there,” Marrid said.

  Tyla didn’t think Rimwick had heard Marrid. His eyes had taken on a distant look as if he were reliving scenes from the past. Finally he said bitterly, “Felith knows better than to turn her back, and so should the others. And yet there they are, smiling as if it’s a wonderful thing. Dark gems take them all! It’s dangerous to make deals with her. She can’t be trusted.” He went back to his slab and sat down.

  “I can’t set you free
, but if you cooperate, I’ll go easier on you,” Tyla said. “Tell us more about The Emanicus and their plans.”

  “I hate you more than I hate them. I have no intention of helping you. Go away.”

  “We have other informants, so we’ll find out eventually. You may as well tell us what you know. I’ll reward you for cooperating.”

  “Oh really,” he sneered. “What will you give me, extra straw for my slab? Two slices of stale bread instead of one?”

  “Think it over,” said Marrid. “If rewards won’t tempt you, I can think of less pleasant inducements.”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “Yes,” Marrid said bluntly. “I have a wonderful idea. We’ll put you in a cage outside Elantoth’s wards. The next time there’s a shadow attack, we’ll find out what happens when the shadow touches a living being.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “Don’t try me.”

  Rimwick scrubbed his face wearily and sighed. “They plan to lure fortress officers into battles in public places so the officers can’t hide behind fortress wards. Once they’ve whittled away enough officers, they’ll take over the fortresses. Are you satisfied? Now go away and leave me alone.”

  We may as well, Marrid told Tyla. I probed his mind while his defenses were down. He doesn’t know any specific plans, probably because they hadn’t formed any when he was with them.

  When they returned to the office, they found a plate of freshly baked seed rolls on the desk. Loud Mouth had dragged one off the plate and was eating it.

  “Hey!” Tyla said, startling him.

  “Thought I’d better see if they’re any good. They are. Well, don’t just stand there. How did it go?”

  Tyla glared at him, hands on hips. “Must you make a mess all over my desk? If you’re going to steal a roll, take it to your cage and make the mess there.”

  “Steal? I’m sure one was meant for me.”

  “Take it and go.”

  Loud Mouth flew back to his cage with his half-eaten roll.

  “I too am curious,” said the spell book. “Were you able to obtain information from Rimwick?”

  Tyla and Marrid sat down. Tyla took a roll and motioned for Marrid to help herself.

  “Yes, Marrid got him to talk. He was horrified to learn The Emanicus has changed S back, so that wasn’t part of their original plan. They hope to draw fortress troops into battles, kill them, and seize the fortresses.”

  “That is how Sheamathan acquired Elantoth,” the spell book said. “She killed most of the gem masters, and those that survived hid the most cherished weapons and artifacts and abandoned Elantoth. Those were dark days.”

  “We can’t let history repeat itself,” Tyla said. “No one is going to seize Elantoth again.”

  “Outcasts are still learning to use Dark gems, and they have no military training. If your side strikes now, they’ll have the advantage,” Marrid said.

  “We’re not ready either. Fortress officers need the militias to help them fight the Outcasts. They may be more prepared elsewhere than we are in the Amulet. Elias is still distributing gems and teaching the clans to use them. And don’t forget, The Emanicus will use the Focal Gem to support Outcast troops.”

  “They can only support one group at a time. What if there were concurrent attacks?”

  Tyla considered that. While they were defending one group, the rest would be on their own. Perhaps they could help each group briefly, rotating their assistance to help all the combatants, but that would be confusing as well as exhausting.

  “I don’t think they could handle several battles at once very effectively,” Tyla said. “And they’d probably have to rest for days afterward.”

  “Precisely. The situation begins to look more hopeful when we think it through,” Marrid said. “To do their troops the most good, they would need to be on site, watching the battle unfold. There is only so much they can do remotely, so keep that in mind as well.”

  “But even without Emanicus support, the Outcasts have an advantage. They have Dark gems,” Tyla said, wishing it didn’t always come down to that. She wanted to think dark powers wouldn’t make much of a difference, but she had a hard time believing that.

  “Dark gems have their downside. Using them frequently and for long periods of time has harmful effects. The Outcasts will discover that, and when they do, they’ll have two choices. They can continue to use them and suffer the consequences or they can limit themselves to regular gems.”

  “Even benevolent gems can be used in harmful ways.”

  “Yes, that’s true, especially many of the rare ones.” Marrid finished the roll and brushed seeds from her clothing. “I have a lot of books about the Great Upheaval, written by woodspirits. Sheamathan’s supporters believed they’d hold important positions after the war and be respected despite their witnesses. But even before the war ended with Sheamathan and her most loyal supporters trapped in the Amulet, many had gone insane, and others had crippling deformities. They were fools to think they’d share in her glory.”

  “So, the ones who didn’t follow her into the Amulet were punished, too,” Tyla said, glad they hadn’t escaped justice.

  Marrid nodded. “When your team brought down the Amulet barrier, we learned about the breghlin. I know Sheamathan altered her supporters to create a servant race, but I believe her followers had already become quite breghlin-like during the war. Many had severely twisted bodies, and those who weren’t insane had the mental capacity of youngones. If Emanicus gnomes have read the same accounts I have, they know they must gain control of Ahmonell quickly or they’ll be unfit to rule.”

  “Maybe we should draw out the war until they’re all invalids or insane,” Tyla said.

  “Maybe so.”

  They both fell silent, mulling that over.

  “May I point out a flaw in your reasoning?” the spell book asked.

  “Please do,” Tyla said.

  “As yet, we do not know whether Sheamathan has regained her powers. Assuming she has not, and Emanicus gnomes want to conduct the war themselves, they must remain sane and functional. If you push them to their limits and they see they cannot win, they will turn to Sheamathan for help.”

  Marrid let out a long breath. “The book is right, Tyla. If it comes to a choice between letting Sheamathan come to power or losing the war, they’ll give her back her powers.”

  “Either way we have a problem,” Tyla said gloomily. “If we use the strategies that are most likely to defeat The Emanicus, we may end up with Sheamathan as our opponent instead, and that would be worse.”

  “Far worse,” the spell book agreed.

  Chapter 45

  That evening, Tyla heard from Pentar. Barsam and Dullum had been very open with him, sharing new information about Emanicus plans, and it all tied in with what Rimwick had said. Outcast troops, both Nopes and gem masters, would raid businesses in the main commercial districts, stealing everything from food to gems. Gnomes with gem powers might fight back, but most shop owners didn’t have gem powers.

  Outcasts would cause disturbances in public offices, destroy artwork in local parks, and create general mayhem. With so many requests for assistance, officers would have to respond to calls alone or in pairs, making them easy targets.

  In the past, officers had never feared for their lives. They could handle crimes involving one or two Outcasts, and if there was a large disturbance, they used gems to make the offenders peaceful and cooperative. Now, the balance of power had shifted in favor of criminals. In a crisis, Pentar would summon the militia.

  Armed with this new information, Tyla held a strategy session with Olissa, Marrid, and Ertz. They came up with recommendations, and Tyla was anxious to share them with Pentar, but first she needed to tell him about the mission to the Amulet and admit she was holding an Emanicus leader—actually two—in the dungeon.

  She timed her call for the end of the day, so Pentar could go home and digest what she told him. He was amazed to hear Tyl
a’s team had found the hideouts and captured Tabik. He was even more amazed to learn that Tyla had been holding Rimwick for months and that Marrid claimed he was an Emanicus operative from Mierek City.

  When Tyla finished filling Pentar in, she shared her committee’s recommendations. Marrid had suggested officers raid the O.D. and confiscate the Outcasts’ gems, but Pentar said that would be easier said than done. He’d rather give the Outcasts a chance to denounce The Emanicus and voluntarily hand over the gems. His officers would tack up notices offering defectors asylum in a warded location and payment for surrendered gems. Even if the Outcasts guessed the warded location was Aberell’s dungeon, they might still be agreeable. It would be better than fighting for the Emanicus, and once the war was over, they’d be free. Pentar was willing to risk retaliatory attacks since attacks were inevitable no matter what he did. He would redouble efforts to train the militias and pass out weapons used during the Great Upheaval.

  Tyla wasn’t in regular contact with the other commanders since most considered the Amulet a backward region, so Pentar spoke with the other commanders over the next few days. They liked the idea of reducing the number of potential combatants. Some of the Outcasts who sought sanctuary might be Nopes with neither gem powers nor gems, but even so, there would be one less fighting for The Emanicus.

  “We don’t have an Outcast District, so I’m the only commander who can’t participate in the plan,” Tyla told Ertz as he prepared to leave. She wished he would stay longer, but Pentar faced Outcasts armed with Dark gems and her greatest threat was long-distance Emanicus attacks. Marrid could help with that.

  “Do you feel guilty because you face less danger than the others?” Ertz asked as they started down the passageway to the rear entrance. “Remember what you endured while others lived in safety. And as the war progresses, you may be asked to send troops to other regions. Aberell will surely see action, as will Mierek.”

  “Why were so many battles fought here during The Great Upheaval?” Tyla asked.

  “Because the Mydorian portal was here, and Mydorian mercenaries were streaming through to support Sheamathan and her Outcast forces. Your region quickly became the focal point of the war.”