by D A Godwin
“Tormjere!” he exclaimed, clapping him on the shoulders. “What happened to you?”
“It’s a long story, but I’m glad to be back.”
“I’m sure. Sorry to have kept you waiting. I usually have warning when anyone comes to visit, and I need to get an apprentice to let people in. Come on upstairs where it’s more cheerful. I hardly ever use this room.”
Honarch led him to the second level, which contained a kitchen with a small table and chairs and a trio of more permissive windows. “Something to drink?”
“What do you have?”
Honarch winced. “Just water, I’m afraid. I hear that Cogan over on the shore brews a good ale, but I don’t do much entertaining so I rarely keep any here.”
“Water sounds good, actually.”
“How are you?” Honarch asked as he poured two mugs.
“Fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” Tormjere answered more defensively than he should have, judging from the appraising look he received.
“Well, you disposed of a demon and somehow managed to bring the army that was chasing us to a standstill, and then you vanished. I doubt you’ve been idling the time away, but I won’t pry. Yet. When did you get here?”
“Yesterday afternoon.”
“I’m sorry I missed you then. I sometimes join the evening meals, but I was deep in my research. Did you see everything we’ve built on your way in?”
“Only in passing. It’s different than what I remember.”
“That’s an understatement. Fewer goblins, more food, and… well, you remember. It’s almost civilized now. Shalindra or Birion would be the best ones to show you around. I tend to stay here most days, which suits everyone just fine, I believe.”
“So what do you do?” Tormjere asked.
“Study, experiment. If there’s any trouble, I assist with defending, but that’s becoming less frequent. It’s a lot quieter now than when we first arrived.”
“I’m definitely eager to hear how this all came about, but why did you bring everyone all the way out here? There are countless valleys closer to the Forge with everything you needed: water, game, trees.”
“Other residents,” Honarch added. “You remember the ogres, and wolves, and wyverns and whatnot we encountered on that adventure with Treven? And even with all that we faced we were still lucky. I think the only reason we didn’t have to fight more often is that we were such a small group and never stayed in one place long enough to be found. This time there were hundreds of us, and our passing did not go unnoticed. We were attacked by something different almost every day. Wyverns are prevalent in far more of these mountains than you might expect and are highly territorial. This was honestly the safest place we stopped.”
“Even with all the goblins living here?”
“I… might have taken care of them already, on an earlier visit.”
Tormjere raised an eyebrow.
“One village was destroyed and the other all but abandoned when we arrived, but that’s definitely a tale for another time. Come. I want to show you something up in my study, at the top of the tower.”
He led the way further up the steps that continued to spiral around the outer wall of the tower, passing a landing with a door to the interior at regular intervals that marked each level.
Honarch paused at one of the landings. “It’s a lot of steps, I know.”
“What is it with wizards and towers, anyway?” Tormjere asked. “Just have a need to gaze down on everyone?”
Honarch threw him a black look and resumed the climb. “It has to do with the contamination of energies. When you’re working, you want to guard against any type of interference. There are some rather cumbersome spells that can mitigate the effects, but the easiest thing to do is remove yourself from unintended influences.”
“You have to get away from everything?”
“Exactly. For best results, you can either go as far up or as far down as possible.” He shrugged. “Up has a nicer view.”
Having experienced what the opposite direction had to offer, Tormjere could not disagree. They eventually reached a landing that had to be near the top of the tower and entered a room which occupied the entire floor. The furnishings were sparse but functional and the walls largely bare, save one which contained an ornate bookshelf half filled with books. That caught Tormjere’s eye immediately, as more than one of those books were edged with a faint hue, reminding him of the library in the abbey of Amalthee in Kirchmont.
“Where did you get the books?”
“Felzig. Well, indirectly.” Honarch crossed to the shelves and selected a small, leather-bound tome. The surface had once been tooled in an intricate pattern but was now smoothed by constant use. Tormjere recognized it instantly.
“Felzig’s spellbook?”
“One of them,” Honarch answered. “I’ll never understand why laymen assume that each wizard has only one, as if everything we know could reside in a single work.”
He handed it to Tormjere.
“That was one of three he carried with us when we left Kirchmont. There’s a rather complicated incantation in the back that will bring this entire shelf and its contents to the caster.”
“Interesting.”
“Astounding. Felzig, for all his flaws—”
“Like wanting to murder us…”
“…was exceptional at his craft. I’ve heard of similar retrievals of smaller objects but nothing on this scale.”
Tormjere returned the spellbook to the shelf as Honarch went to the desk and rifled through several drawers. “Speaking of Felzig… Ah, here it is.” He tossed a dohedron to Tormjere. Each jewel embedded in the golden surface of the multifaceted, apple-sized device twinkled with a faint light as his fingers brushed across it.
“You killed another wizard?”
“Of course not,” Honarch huffed indignantly. “You’re the one who likes chopping people up with your sword. I made it.”
“Where did you get the gems?”
“From the ones my former master so kindly left us. You still have any of yours?”
“Somewhere.” The pouch with Tormjere’s share was still buried under a rock in Kenzing, if no one had found it. The memory of his home and family was unexpectedly strong and jarring, and he quickly suppressed it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’ll bet making that took some time.”
“The instructions were in one of the books I retrieved. I had to teach myself all manner of spells related to gem crafting and metalworking, and it took me almost six months, plus another to work out a code that was usable.” He produced a folded sheet of paper with a series of colored dots beside different words and letters. “Here’s what I came up with. Most of it works with these three stones, which can all be reached with one finger.”
“Your handwriting needs some work,” Tormjere observed.
“Penmanship was never my passion. My studies would go much faster if I had an apprentice or at least a scribe I could trust with dictation.”
Tormjere started to return the device, but Honarch held up a hand. “Keep it for now. I need to see how well it works, but I’m short on volunteers offering to help.”
“I get the feeling you aren’t the most liked person here.”
Honarch’s expression soured. “No matter what I have or haven’t done, or what I try to do now, people are still distrustful. I don’t blame them, really. For all they know, I’m still part of the Conclave.”
“The Conclave did their best to kill us, and if you can drive off wyverns and clear goblin villages singlehandedly, you’re beyond anyone’s control.”
“Well, I don’t know that I could do all that, but I’ve achieved a lot.” His smile returned. “I may be Felzig’s equal now, though more likeable, I would hope. But there is no end to what can be learned. Should I live a hundred lives, I doubt I would ever tire of discovering new things.”
Tormjere glanced back at the bookshelves. “I can add to your collection, I
think.”
Honarch looked interested. “How?”
With a mischievous grin of his own, Tormjere reached inside his tunic and withdrew a small, nondescript bag.
Honarch looked at it for a moment, then his eyes grew wide. “Is that what I think it is?”
Tormjere stuck his arm into the sack far enough that it should have come bursting through the bottom. When he pulled it back out, there were two books in his hand.
“Where did you get that?” Honarch asked.
“Someone left it lying on a table.”
“And the books were in it?”
Tormjere avoided the question and withdrew two more. “I picked these up at the same time. They just looked interesting.”
“You certainly have a knack for grabbing important things, don’t you?” Honarch said, so eager to view their contents that he was attempting to skim through two of the books at the same time. “You’ve some talent for magic; are you certain you don’t want to keep them?”
“I’ve gotten all I care to from them.”
The answer seemed unsatisfactory to Honarch. “Well, I’m glad you’ve been able to study, but if you ever want something to read you’re free to try any of the works I have. Did you ever master anything more than the small flame?”
“I’ve picked up a thing or two, but nothing like what you can do, I’m sure. What’s happening here in the valley?” Tormjere asked, changing the subject. “I understand your reasons for coming this far, but has everyone been content to hide rather than finish what we started?”
Honarch gave him a curious look. “There was no going back and saving the Kingdom, if that’s what you mean. I don’t know exactly what transpired between Shalindra and the king, nor do I wish to, but no one who followed her over the mountains has a place in his realm now. Their homes were seized in the best of cases, burned in the worse.” He shrugged. “At this point it hardly matters. People have become used to living here, for all its hardships.”
Tormjere moved to a window and looked across the valley. It was an idyllic town they had created, and likely a predictable life, but the wilderness that surrounded it was far from tamed. He wondered if Kenzing had been as raw as this when his grandfather first settled there. “Have you seen any demons?”
“None,” Honarch answered. “They disappeared the same time you did. Were you expecting anything different?”
Tormjere was thankful he was looking away, as the relief he felt almost certainly reached his face. He was not too late. “Of course not.”
Honarch set the new books on the shelf, and joined Tormjere in looking out the window. “So, what are you planning on doing now that you’re here?”
“Whatever I need to.” Tormjere winced uncomfortably and put a hand to his forehead.
“Are you ok?”
“Just hungry, I think. I should probably head back.”
* * *
Enna watched Shalindra rub her temples as the last of the councilors filed from the room.
“Another headache?” she asked. Shalindra seemed to be having them more frequently with every passing day. “You push yourself too hard, of late.”
Shalindra waved aside her concern but looked tired as she stood. “I feel the need for some air. Would you walk with me?”
“Of course.”
They left the castle and turned in the general direction of Elurithlia’s temple, but Shalindra said nothing and seemed to have no specific destination in mind.
“Why are we here?” Shalindra asked suddenly.
“That is a very broad question.”
Shalindra’s forehead wrinkled in thought. “Not in a philosophical sense, but here, in this valley.”
“Because it is our home,” Enna answered, stating the obvious even as she braced herself for where this was headed.
“That is not the reason we came here. This place means something.”
“You know that answer as well as I. Elurithlia’s presence is palpable, waxing and waning with the seasons. It was a group decision to come here and see what we might discover.”
Frustration began to creep into Shalindra’s voice. “But we have not yet achieved the peace and prosperity we prayed for, nor have we found any sign of Her will.”
Enna dreaded this conversation, one which they had endlessly debated but never resolved. Though she felt Shalindra’s frustration just as keenly, she was certain that what both of them needed lay within this valley. She had also looked for signs of whatever that might be, but discovered nothing of what once made this valley the second most holy nexus of Elurithlia’s might. They just needed more time.
“It is more than just the problems with the planting and the mines that are troubling you, isn’t it?” Enna prompted.
“I have been thinking again about what it means to be Her Guardian. I cannot believe that so precious an artifact as Shining Moon was given to me so that I might safeguard a village in the middle of the woods.”
She was returning to the unanswerable question that had driven countless discussions over the years. Despite all of their prayers, Enna remained no closer to an answer than Shalindra was.
“If I am truly Her Guardian then it must be for a reason. I feel as if I have been hiding from my duty more so than from the Ceringions and my father.”
“No one would accuse you of cowardice,” Enna protested. “You have a responsibility to these people who followed you here. That is not something which can be set aside for personal fulfilment. When Elurithlia is ready, She will give you a sign.”
“What if She already has, and we are simply unaware of what we saw?”
She was becoming far more agitated about this topic than usual, and Enna could easily guess at the cause.
“Are you sure this isn’t because he came back?”
Shalindra seemed to wrestle with the question. “That is possible, but I feel it is something more. We have huddled in the shadow of the Three Sisters for years, simply surviving. I begin to doubt that I will find answers here.”
Enna cast her gaze towards the sharp peaks of the mountains to the north, equally conflicted. Regardless of the cause of Shalindra’s sudden shift in attitude, she was correct. The mountains were a sacred symbol to those who worshiped the moon, wrapped tightly into the oldest lore of their faith. From somewhere in or near this valley they could invoke Alta Amalia, the sacred ceremony which would allow the person performing it to speak directly with their goddess. It was that promise of divine communion which had called her people here ages ago. Because of that, Enna had been only too willing to follow Honarch’s suggestion to come here, eager for any excuse to stand in Her presence. Yet the valley had provided less than what either of them had prayed for. Enna knew of only one other place where they might find others capable of giving them direction, but to go there could well be more dangerous than returning to the Kingdom, if for vastly different reasons.
“Thank you for listening,” Shalindra said. “There is little we can do until the planting is complete, regardless. I will seek Her wisdom tonight and pray that She may guide my decisions.”
“Do not worry,” Enna said in parting. “Her patience and Her love know no bounds. Elurithlia will provide us with clarity when we are ready.”
“You are correct, as always with these matters,” Shalindra said. “I should take comfort in what we have accomplished, rather than dwell on what we have not.”
“Do not let these endless clouds or the arguments of the council dampen your spirits. Set both aside for a time and seek Her wisdom. The sanctuary will be empty for hours, and no one will disturb you.”
Enna came to a stop and allowed Shalindra her peace. Shalindra smiled her thanks at the gesture, but from the way she continued walking with her head down, such thoughts were a heavy weight upon her.
Enna watched her go. She would have to find some way to help, but was at a complete loss for what else to try. Motion in the corner of her eye caused her to turn, and she spied Tormjere returning from the directio
n of Honarch’s tower.
She fixed him with a narrow gaze and waited for him to approach. His brow was furrowed in thought and his eyes were so dark that she could almost see herself reflected in them, which somehow annoyed her even further.
“You don’t look happy to see me,” he said by way of greeting.
“You don’t look happy to be here.”
“I’m trying to put my unhappiness behind me. It isn’t always easy.”
“So it’s just behind you then? No explanation, no apologies?”
“What should I be sorry for?”
“Some sign of remorse would be a good place to start.” She seethed with barely contained anger. “Maybe sorry for not coming back? Sorry for not helping? Or perhaps sorry for not letting anyone know you were alive?”
Rather than allow him the satisfaction of a response, she turned and stormed away.
Tormjere did not follow. The past could not be changed, even if it needed to be, and their attention had to be on what was coming. He squeezed his hand into a fist to keep it from shaking and tried to ignore the emptiness that twisted restlessly in his stomach.
Deepening Night
Tormjere crouched silently on a rock, waiting. Morning mists lent the trees around him a faded and ghostly appearance, and left his cheeks damp as they drifted lazily past. The forest had just returned to its usual quiet when he felt Shalindra touch his mind.
What are you doing?
He looked up through the branches above him to the soggy overcast that had dominated the sky every day since his arrival.
Exploring. It’s nice to be beneath the trees again.
Were you so far removed from them?
Too far. Too long.
Then I am thankful you are back where you belong. Have you seen the size of the rabbits here?