“What?” Amaréya asked, “This hall is not an illusion?”
“I’m good,” Slippery Slued replied, “but not that good. This hall is really Cahloon’s.”
“Something happened when the Adorant stepped inside the tent,” Quiet Surata ventured. “I felt it. It was like a freezing burst of air moving below our feet, and then we ended up here, in this odd place.
“I see,” Corintus said. “A safety mechanism perhaps? Maybe Cahloon thought the Adorant and her companion were after her?”
“Maybe. Who knows? The point is that we don’t know how to get out,” Slued said.
Corintus scanned the room. “I have a little girl who is vanishing and we need to speak to Cahloon.”
“What’s strange,” Quiet Surata interjected, “is the silence. We’ve been in Cahloon’s tent on several occasions, and it’s always the quietest place in Tirkalanzibar, but it’s never this silent. This place is eerie.”
“What’s that on the walls?” Corintus asked. “That wasn’t there a moment ago.”
The four walls of the hall had been gray and unadorned when they first walked in, but now a fresco covered them with a stone maze. Cobblestone paths slithered between massive dark monoliths, while blue torches hanging from the megaliths cast a spectral light on the pathways. In that pale light, four painted phantasm creatures stood, each on a different wall.
“That’s been there all along,” Slippery Slued explained. “Hypnosis narrows your field of vision, and your mind compensates by adding features in the background that are not there. The maze was too much for your mind to take, so it replaced it with bare walls.”
“I see,” Corintus said. He looked at the ground, and jumping over each blue circle, walked to the innermost ring. “Could you all come here and tell me if you feel anything different?”
They joined him inside the circle. The sleeping group of people lay to their left, a short distance outside of the fifth circle.
“Nothing,” Amaréya replied. “Why?”
Corintus looked at the others and their answers were equally disappointing. He shrugged his shoulders. “I thought perhaps the circle was special. That’s all.”
“Mr. Slued,” Amaréya called out, unsure how to address the famous thief. “Why can’t we leave the way we came in?”
Quiet Surata shook her head. “It’s a Mobius Gate,” she explained, “a kind of magical trap with no inside and no outside. When you walk through it the first time, you enter the trap, but after that, whenever you go through it, you end up where you started from.”
“Then whoever set up that trap doesn’t want us to get out that way,” Corintus reasoned. “Either they want us to be trapped here, or they want us to leave this hall by a different door.”
“There are no other doors,” Krom objected. “I’ve checked.”
Corintus nodded. “And you must have done a thorough job,” he said while looking intently at the wall. “Tell me, Krom, how high do you think these walls are?”
Krom eyed the hall as if he were seeing it for the first time. “Fifteen, maybe twenty feet?”
“You would think so, and that would be reasonable. How far would you say the back wall is? Ten, twenty feet?”
Krom glanced at the back of the hall. “I would say so.”
Corintus released one of his Silent crossbows from his belt and locked the two pieces together. “This crossbow can shoot a dart to a distance of one hundred and fifty feet.”
They watched him load a dart with a cylindrical body. “This is a tracer,” he explained as he pulled out a short fuse from the hollow end of the dart. “We use it to signal a position at night. Watch as I fire it toward the back wall.” He pulled two firestones from his belt and used them to light the fuse, which he then quickly set in place on the bow. He aimed and released. A blinding spark lit the tail of the dart and they followed it as it streaked through the hall along a wide arc. They saw it drop to the floor without reaching the wall. It lay on the floor where it continued to burn brightly.
“That’s one hundred and fifty feet away.”
“Impossible,” Krom said. “I touched that wall with my own hands. I went around looking for a hidden door. This is—”
“High magic,” Quiet Surata said. “The hall is growing.”
“Or,” Slippery Slued offered, “it isn’t a hall at all.”
“All right, so someone is growing this hall, either to help or to hinder,” Corintus said. “Amaréya, what do you make of it?”
Amaréya had been following the conversation the way she would a military strategy. “Well, if Cahloon has a bazaar, then she runs a business. In Gordion, I grew up around business people. They must profit or they suffer. This hall is not business friendly, which means it’s hurting her financially. She is not in control, so this has to be a hostile takeover.”
“A what?” Quiet Surata asked.
“A hostile takeover,” Amaréya said. “That’s when one merchant curries favor with the royal palace to take over the sleeping quarters of a competitor. In Gordion, having sleeping quarters in the palace is a real mercantile advantage; you can keep an eye on all the business transactions that happen at night. Once you are known and trusted by the community of merchants, you can end up with a guaranteed stream of income. Hostile takeover is very common in the palace.”
“Why is it called a hostile takeover instead of takeover?” Krom asked.
“Because there is a friendly takeover, a neutral takeover, a partial takeover, a shared takeover, and many other ways to try to outmatch or take out your competitors.”
“So, you think this is a hostile takeover?” Corintus asked, steering the conversation back to the current situation.
Amaréya nodded. “Cahloon is nowhere to be seen, and the hall has not stopped growing.”
“Why is it growing?” Surata asked.
“Simple,” Amaréya explained. “Someone does not want us to look for an exit in these receding walls.”
“So, they cause the hall to grow?” Krom asked. “That’s insanity.”
Amaréya shrugged her shoulders. “To someone without magical powers, perhaps, but to a magician, growing a hall is no different than you or I unsheathing a blade.”
“Especially,” Corintus continued, “if this is not a real hall, but another illusion of sorts.”
Krom gave a shout of alarm. “Look! The walls—”
The hall shrunk so fast they instinctively ducked. The walls rushed toward them in complete silence. From the corner of his eye, Corintus saw the woman he knew as Tara lift her head right as the back wall reached her. She screamed and shielded her face with her arm, but the wall went through her and the other sleeping clients as if they were a mere shadow. The hall was now the size of a large room, and still it continued to shrink. In a terrifying instant, they all thought the walls would flatten them, when a ring of blue light suddenly flashed from the outer circle and the hall stopped shrinking.
Slowly, carefully, they rose back to their feet and looked around. A dim light seeped from the circles, and the hall became a medium-sized room.
“That was—” Quiet Surata said.
“Astounding,” Slippery Slued completed. “If I could only do that with hypnosis! Imagine the possibilities.”
“This seems to confirm Your Ladyship’s analysis,” Krom said.
Amaréya smiled. “You have shown courage. You would be a worthy opponent of the Empyreans. I shall want my blade to get a taste of your blade,” she added, addressing Krom.
He bowed, a hand on his heart. “Thank you, Your Ladyship. Your compliment means much to me. It would be an honor and a privilege to spar with Your Ladyship someday.”
“Well, today is not that day,” Corintus cut in. “Look at the walls. I mean the creatures on the walls,” he corrected. “Look at the creatures, the four creatures on the walls.”
They examined them carefully.
“The maze has proportionally shrunk, but otherwise, it is exactly the same as bef
ore,” Slued said.
“Not quite,” Corintus replied. “The size of the painted creatures did not change at all.”
The creatures were each a strange amalgam of pigs, frogs, eagles, monkeys, and other animals. Their skin was pale blue, as smooth as leather, and glistened as if they had stepped out of a body of water.
Corintus pointed to the last creature. “When I first looked, monkey over there, was looking squarely at us. Now it’s looking away to that spot over there.” He grabbed a hook dart, tied a thin rope to it, loaded it on his crossbow, and released it toward the shadow of a monolith. The dart disappeared in the shadow as if it was a hollow in the wall.
“A door!” Krom exclaimed. “It’s high up on the wall. When the hall was much bigger it would have been impossible to spot.”
Corintus nodded. “The monkey is inviting us into the maze.”
“What if it’s a trap?” Quiet Surata asked. The other four gazed at her. She smiled. “Yes, I get it. We’re trapped already, so what’s the difference?”
The ground rumbled and the walls of the room stretched as if made out of rubber. The outer circle flashed another bright blue beam, weaker than the first, and the walls settled back into their current position.
“I don’t think we should delay any further,” Amaréya said. “Someone, presumably Cahloon, is holding the hall together for us to enter the maze. We should go now.”
“Hey, where’s everyone?” asked Slippery Slued as Corintus slipped two special handles onto the thin rope. “What happened to all the people that were here before?”
“They disappeared behind the walls,” Corintus replied. “Most likely they are back inside Cahloon’s tent, the real tent. Now set your feet against the wall and simply press on this hidden lever to release the grip of the handles on the rope. Release, and they will keep you in place.”
A short moment later, Quiet Surata, Slippery Slued, Krom, and Amaréya stood on a small platform high up the wall. Corintus caught the two handles that his wife carefully dropped, and he clipped them back onto the thin rope when they suddenly heard a snap and a painful creak followed by a shearing sound as if something were being sliced apart. The walls rose at breakneck speed, tearing away from the hall. Corintus was yanked up by his rope.
“Corintus,” Amaréya yelled, “quickly; the hollow is closing!”
Corintus climbed faster. He could see a slab slide over the opening. Krom took a short blade, and holding it with both hands, thrust it into the seam between the slab and the wall. The slab stopped moving, but they could hear it grind against the dagger, and they knew the small weapon would not be able to hold it open much longer. Deftly, Corintus reached the edge of the entrance where Amaréya and Quiet Surata pulled him in. He landed on his feet, looked at his wife and winked. “It’s always a great day when two beautiful women save your life.”
Amaréya looked at Quiet Surata and said, “This is a joke of my husband. I have yet to understand the humor in it.”
Quiet Surata quickly glared at Slippery Slued and Krom. “I agree. Men. Sometimes, you have to wonder.”
“I understand now better than I did before,” Amaréya continued matter-of-factly, “Now I can at least recognize the joke.”
“And what happened before?” Slippery Slued asked. “I mean, when Your Ladyship did not understand the joke?”
An Empyrean blade found Quiet Surata’s throat. None of them had seen Amaréya’s hand flinch.
“She’s using the dull edge of the blade,” Corintus said quickly. “She’s not attacking you. She’s just explaining what would have happened.”
Slowly, Amaréya’ sheathed her blade. She patted Quiet Surata on the shoulder and smiled. “See, now that is a proper joke. An Empyrean joke. They are funny.”
“Brace yourselves!” Krom yelled. “The ground is shrinking!”
The floor vanished and they fell in a tumble inside the maze. Luckily, they suffered only minor injuries and contusions.
Wearily, Corintus got back up on his feet. “So here we are,” he said.
Short torches cast a dim light, leaving much of the maze in darkness.
“Anyone know what these creatures are like? What they can do?” Krom asked.
“You mean the creatures on the wall?” Slippery Slued said. “Not the faintest idea. Why do you ask?”
“Because, the monkey we saw before? Well, he’s right overhead,” he added pointing up.
The creature with the body of a monkey, the head of a rhino, and two hoofed legs extended its eagle-like wings and gently glided down. It landed smoothly on top of the wall and looked at them with large eyes.
Unfazed, Slippery Slued waved. “Hello. Who might you be, and why did you bring us here?”
The creature cocked its rhino head and in a hushed, deep voice said, “You are not who I was expecting. She must have come another way. Where is she?”
“Who? Excuse me,” Krom said. “Who are you talking about? Who are you expecting?”
“Follow me,” the creature replied. Not waiting, it took flight and they stood, uncertain what to do next.
“It’s safe to follow this creature,” Amaréya said. “Its girth and strength, its familiarity with this maze, and its magical powers are clearly superior to our combined strength. We stand nothing to lose by following.”
Since no better option presented itself, they followed at a safe distance. Whenever the creature wanted them to change direction, it would land on the wall and wait for them to get closer before taking flight again. Time slowed as they kept moving through identical pathways with the same torches that burned at the same rate without ever being consumed. Eventually, they reached an open platform connected to the maze by six archways. There, the creature landed in the center and waited for them to catch up.
“I lost a gold pin in the maze,” the creature said. “Help me find it.”
Confused, they glanced at one another.
“You lost a gold pin in this maze?” Slippery Slued asked. “And you want us to find it for you?”
“Find the pin and everything returns to normal.”
“But why did you have to bring us here to tell us this?” Corintus asked. “You could have told us that much earlier.”
“This is the safest part of the maze. Everywhere else, there is danger.”
“What’s in it for us if we find the pin?” Slippery Slued asked.
“You will be rewarded,” the creature replied.
“Now that’s music to my ears,” said the thief, beaming. “How big is this maze, do you know?”
“A maze is like a planted tree. It continues to grow.”
“Why am I not surprised?” The young man sighed. “Nothing ever comes easy. All right, when was this maze planted, so to speak?”
“More than a five hundred sun cycles ago. Maybe. I don’t exactly remember anymore.”
“It’s big,” Krom said. “We’re in trouble.”
They fell silent for a moment. The maze extended in the far distance in all four directions.
“That’s impossible,” Quiet Surata said. “No one could find a pin in a maze that big, not even in several lifetimes.”
“Come over here,” Amaréya called. She was standing near the edge of the platform. “Look down below, and then look up above,” she said.
“Of course,” Slippery Slued exclaimed. “This is a huuuuuge maze … it’s a multi-level, very big maze,” he said peering down. “Lots and lots and lots of levels. I agree with Surata. That’s an impossible feat.”
“Then we die,” the creature concluded with a peaceful finality that took their breath away.
Corintus sat cross-legged on the platform. He looked at the creature and tried to imagine a normal person with a human-sized challenge. “What happened?” he asked. “Maybe if you tell us what happened and why this pin is important, we may find a way to help you.”
The creature cocked its head and looked at him. “I was attacked. A vicious enemy took me by surprise. I was wounded. I
came here to hide. The maze protects me. In my haste, I lost the pin.”
“What does the pin do? Why is it so important?”
The creature hesitated for a second. “It’s a powerful spell. With it we can leave the maze. Without it, I am too weak to do anything.”
“Does this pin have any distinctive features? I mean, how would we even recognize it?”
“This spell looks like an ornate hairpin with a single diamond. In the Spell World, you can hear it constantly repeating my name.”
“Aha, now that’s a bit of a good news,” Corintus said. “That’s something that might help. So, what is your name?”
The semblance of a smile appeared on the creature’s strange face. “You have not guessed already? I am Cahloon.”
“Sureï the Sorcerer spoke often of the need to protect the world from the Seer to come, and ever since, the general consensus of the Baalite Orders has been that the Seer is one, acting alone, and holding the fullness of the power of the Letters. The Order of the Adorants, however, believes in dual seership. Allegedly, Umthuu of Oriapur, the foundress of the Adorants and the constant companion of Sureï the Sorcerer, shared with her followers what Sureï told her, namely, that Seers of power always come in pairs. Ever since, the Adorants have believed in a female Seer. They also teach that the female Seer is by far the strongest of the two.”
–Teaching of Oreg, High Priest of Baal.
Right after she vanished in front of Hoda, Karadon, and Vily, Aquilina stood in Tyrulan—the strange world she had fallen into when she was six years old. Tyrulan was the name she had given to the extraordinary vast plain with no discernible features, which was as wide as the sea, and yet, as small as a cup. A world where left and right, and up and down were mere concepts, words that ascribe an air of familiarity to this utterly alien space. Taking a forward and a backward step could lead to a different location than the starting point, but even “location” was a relative term, since there was nothing to distinguish one spot from another in the grayness of Tyrulan.
However, to Aquilina, Tyrulan was a world of wonders where the sounds of the real world sprouted from the gray ground as silent and colorful filaments. Like an exquisite fluorescent flora, they rose and vanished in continuous motion, reminiscent of ocean waves in their ebbs and flows. As new, bright plants rose, others dissipated quickly or slowly, and this illuminated ballet happened in a silence so profound that Aquilina could not even hear her own breathing. If she exhaled quickly or forcefully, she would see a bright filament shoot from her mouth and fade before reaching the Tyrulian ground. It was to this soundless world that she came in search of her father and mother. Two sounds produced in close vicinity in the real world were, in this strange world, two filaments standing side-by-side. In Tyrulan, a full sentence would then be a cluster, and two people talking created a dance between two ephemeral groups of evanescent plants. Her parents usually spoke civilly and seldom interrupted or talked on top of each other, and that exchange in Tyrulan resembled a peaceful dance with a twist: her father spoke in long sentences, whereas her mother preferred shorter utterances that looked like quick bursts of colors. Naturally, there could be others who spoke in a like manner, but by touching a filament, Aquilina could then hear the voice speaking the words. Thus, her plan was to look for two clusters of sounds that behaved like a conversation between her parents, then she would know if the sounds belonged to them. This plan was based on her experience in the gardens of the Teshubian royal palace where conversations occurred in secluded, well separated alcoves. But when she stepped inside Tyrulan this time, she was dismayed when she saw the massive blinding jungle representing the tens of thousands of sounds stemming from the City of Caravans. Wiggling filaments trod on one another like caged beasts fighting for survival.
The Wretched Race (Epic of Ahiram Book 3) Page 7