by C S Vass
Logun chuckled.
“Something funny?” Godwin asked. A gust of wind whipped the tail of his black cloak into a sudden frenzy.
“Didn’t sound like just any wolf to me,” the Shigata responded. “They say the easterners are going to bring over the Cult of Ashanimara. Maybe that’s the first arrival. Think that magic sword of yours can hold up against a werewolf?”
Godwin was unamused. “I thought killing demons was your department.”
“Right. You’re just a simple assassin. Such lowly work is beneath you. Still, one could argue that a werewolf isn’t fully a demon. That falls somewhere into the territory between your work and mine, doesn’t it?”
Godwin ignored him and knocked on the door.
At once it cracked open. In the entryway, a long nose poked out from underneath a drooping purple hood. “Password?” the figure croaked.
“End of days,” Logun responded at once. Nodding, the figure allowed them to step forward.
Inside they found a simple, circular room with a small hearth dug into the middle of the floor. Sitting before the fires was Denver Rockhelm. Saebyl’s lord was approaching his fiftieth birthday, but if anything the war had taken years off of him. Hard green eyes stared at Godwin through sparks of fire. A mane of braided, golden hair fell to his shoulders. A tight jaw shadowed by stubble tightened as they approached.
“Lord Rockhelm, it is an honor as always,” Logun said.
Godwin bowed slightly.
“Rodrick, stand guard outside,” Rockhelm said. “Allow no one to enter.”
The hooded figure exited.
“Aren’t you full of surprises,” Logun asked. “A tengu as a personal bodyguard? Some might call that a bit of a risk.”
“If I want your advice regarding my household guard, I shall ask for it, Shigata,” Rockhelm said icily. “Until then, I trust you will remember your primary concern is the war effort, not whatever demons might be lurking about.”
“But of course,” Logun said.
Rockhelm’s nose wrinkled. Godwin was certain Saebyl’s lord picked up the scent of arrogance coming from Logun, but what could he expect? That was the price of dealing with a Shigata.
“You are a welcome sight, Odruri,” Rockhelm said to Godwin. “I heard that Atusto Romulai fell by your sword just this past night. I congratulate you.”
“Forgive me, Lord Rockhelm, but I fear you’ve been misinformed.” Godwin said formally. “Atusto was killed by his own Tarsurian allies.”
Rockhelm’s eyed Godwin angrily. “The gold I give these spies and informants, and this is how they respond. I should have the idiot who told me such dragged through the streets.”
“Worry about that later, Lord Rockhelm,” Logun jumped in. “There’s something more important we have to attend to for now.”
Rockhelm nodded. “Indeed. I was also informed that you have something for me. Is there any truth to that?”
Godwin nodded.
“What then? Why do you hesitate? Out with it!”
“Forgive me, my lord,” Godwin said. “It’s just… I’m uncertain what it is that I have. Before he was killed, Atusto gave me a bottle. He said it contained a message that could only be heard once, and he urged me to be sure someone powerful heard its contents.”
“I see.” Rockhelm observed Godwin with unblinking eyes. “What say you, Odruri? Do you think the man was sincere? Or do you worry he only wanted powerful ears to hear the message because as soon as you lift that cork everyone within a hundred paces will be blown to dust?”
“I’m not qualified to say,” Godwin said. When would these lords and leaders stop treating him as what they wanted him to be and start treating him as what he was? “I’m merely—”
“A simple assassin, yes, I know,” Rockhelm said impatiently. “You’re so fond of reminding me every time the chance for you to do anything useful comes up. Very well. Go on then, open it.”
Logun cleared his throat. “Are you sure my lord? We could open it by ourselves and relay the contents to you. Surely each of us has done enough to prove our loyalty.”
“Shigata, Odruri,” Rockhelm said, leaning in with a grim look. “I have given you an order, and I expect you to follow it. Come now, we’re wasting time. I’ll not hide behind the shield of a bodyguard while valuable intel goes unheeded.”
“Very well,” Godwin said. He lifted the bottle and examined it. The glass was a sea-blue color that looked almost inviting. It was empty, but there seemed to be some sort of energy coming from within it. Focusing carefully, Godwin could feel the slightest vibrations humming against the glass.
“Go on, Odruri,” Rockhelm ordered. “We have nothing to gain from cowardice.”
Godwin nodded. Gripping the cork tightly between his fingers, he pulled it loose. A blast of wind crashed over the room, and immediately a voice began to speak.
“You are certain, Legaso? There can be no mistake about the matter. Tens of thousands of lives will depend on what you’re telling me.”
“Yes, Senator,” a second voice responded. “My spies have said they are absolutely certain. Boldfrost knows the mines he sits on in Iryllium will soon be depleted. He is convinced that in time he will be able to find another way. He is employing legions of alchemists, along with some less-savory sophists, to find a method of exploiting the New Magic.”
“The arrogant fool!” the first voice responded. “He leaves us no choice then. The guardians have told us that each day the pattern of the heavens defies their expectations. If the King in the West truly plans on pursuing this insanity…”
“Senator, will the Emperor understand the significance of this? Will the Senate? For that matter, and please forgive me, Senator, do you?”
“What exactly are you suggesting, Legaso?”
“I’m suggesting, Senator, that this is not just a magical arms race. We know that our guardians started detecting these turbulent events in the heavens at the exact time Boldfrost began his unholy experiments.”
“Legaso, I took you for an alchemist, not a wood’s witch. The timing of these two events happening together is a problem. I will grant you that. But I am not so gullible as to believe that Boldfrost’s actions are causing the stars to shift.”
“Senator, the data suggests that there are far too many parallels to be mere coinci—”
“I don’t want to hear about your coincidences!” the Senator snapped. “It matters not. Either way, this is a crisis. Hercinium is going to want to move, and the worst part about this is that he won’t be wrong! Boldfrost cannot be allowed move forward with these world-threatening abominations.”
“I’m glad to hear you say it, Senator. The information my spies have brought back is deeply unsettling. Boldfrost has somehow been able to move… certain resources out of the Dredjko Mountains. Who knows what vagabonds he has handling such delicate cargo? Even fully trained and experienced alchemists don’t know what they’re dealing with when it comes to these new substances.”
“This is bad, Legaso. You’ve done well to bring me the information. Tell me, your men, they’re trustworthy, yes? Sworn to secrecy no matter what?”
“I would employ spies of no other variety, Senator.”
“Good, good. Have you told anyone else? Does anyone know the extent of Boldfrost’s plans besides you and me?”
“Nobody, Senator.”
“I see.”
“Senator, what are you—no, don’t! I can, no—Agh!”
A grim silence descended over the room. Denver Rockhelm’s eyes burned in the light of the fire while he steepled his hands, lost in thought.
“Well?” Logun asked after several long moments of silence. “Anyone have any idea what the hell that was?”
“Legaso,” Godwin said. “That name sounds familiar.”
“It should, particularly to one of your interests,” Rockhelm said.
“Who was he?”
“Valentin Legaso,” Rockhelm said. “He was a brilliant alchemist in service to th
e Tarsurian Empire. He spent many long years researching ways to heal magical ailments. Vampirism, lycanthropy, that sort of thing. He became deeply involved in the war for information that has taken place between the East and the West over the last several years. I suddenly stopped hearing about him some time ago. Unless this device you’ve brought me is some sort of fabrication, it would seem he was murdered.”
“By an Imperial Senator?” Logun asked. “Didn’t know those dandies could get a little blood and dirt under their fingernails.”
Rockhelm gave Logun an icy stare. “You would be surprised what a member of the Tarsurian Senate is capable of, Shigata. Don’t forget that.”
“Do you know which Senator it was?” Godwin asked.
To his surprise, Rockhelm nodded. “In fact, I do. I’ve met the man twice. Senator Anthony Dyatovo. An influential member of the Senate. He’s best known for leading the terror campaign against the followers of Markus Jantos.”
If Godwin didn’t know better, he could have sworn Rockhelm had a fond smile on his face. “A man who knew how to get things done in any case. He’s been dead for some time. Some unimportant ailment. Or perhaps he was poisoned? Who’s to say anything anymore?”
“Well I confess, I’m at a loss,” Godwin said. “I don’t know what any of that means, but if it helps you, Lord Rockhelm, then I’m happy to be of service.”
“Don’t act like you’re about to leave,” Rockhelm snapped. “I have much to consider. Stay a moment.”
Godwin sighed. He had no business consulting with lords. He was supposed to be resting. Preparing for the events that would take place in two nights.
“So what’s it mean then?” Logun asked. “Clearly you know more about this strange business than we do, Lord Rockhelm. What exactly is Boldfrost’s unholy experiment? Or are you going to kill me for asking?”
“Be silent, you fool,” Rockhelm snapped. “This isn’t the East. I don’t kill men for asking questions, though I might kill you for that disrespectful tone.”
They sat together in silence for a time while Rockhelm thought. The coruscant rings of gold on his fingers flashed in the light of the fire.
At last Rockhelm spoke again. “Senator Dyatovo was not just a man who enjoyed hunting protestors for sport. My sources tell me he was also one of the most hawkish voices in the Imperial Senate, pushing for the sun warriors to invade. It always struck me as odd. He built a reputation as a man who was primarily concerned with the affairs of his home. It seems this magical artifact may have some insight into why.”
“We mustn’t forget the other possibility,” Logun said.
Rockhelm glanced at the Shigata. “You mean to say that this could be a false record?”
“It’s not impossible,” Logun shrugged. “Stranger things have happened. We can’t pretend there’s not a motive for someone to falsify this. It makes it seem as if the war is Boldfrost’s fault. Could stir up some discontent among the western lords. Particularly as we stand on the brink of losing Saebyl.”
Godwin’s heart skipped a beat. He was certain that Lord Rockhelm was not about to allow Logun to speak of Saebyl as on the brink of being lost. To his surprise, he was wrong.
“You have a point,” Rockhelm said solemnly. “But all the same, would they not have gone farther? If this were truly meant to sow discord, would they not have included more information?”
“Perhaps,” Logun admitted. “But then again, the vagueness also makes it harder to disprove. Besides, what if they weren’t looking to stir up immediate, decisive trouble? What if they just wanted to plant that seed of uncertainty?”
Rockhelm shook his head as his eyes moved back and forth. “This is a nasty game. I like it not. What say you, Odruri?”
Godwin sighed. “I am not—”
“You are what I say you are!” Rockhelm snapped, surprising both Godwin and Logun as he leapt to his feet. “I don’t care what you want. You’re the most important sword in this entire city right now. That grants you certain privileges. A seat at the table. You don’t like it? Too fucking bad! This is a war. It’s time for you to stop acting like a spoiled teenage brat. You’re a man grown. Behave as such.”
Rockhelm was fuming when he finished his rant. Panting and red-faced, he slowly sat back down into his seat. “I ask you one more time, Odruri. What do you make of this?”
Godwin relented. While he would rather not answer, he had to admit to himself that Rockhelm had a point. He had been asked his opinion on matters he considered far above his expertise enough times by now that he should know better. When people saw him, for whatever reason, they did not see the same thing that Reinko Assini saw. They did not see the same thing Godwin himself saw when he looked in the mirror. A scared virgin who was lost in his first war. They saw the Odruri.
“I believe Atusto,” Godwin said. Rockhelm nodded, and he continued. “I can give you no proof. Atusto spoke with me telepathically while we were surrounded by Tarsurian soldiers he knew would try to kill him. He wanted me to do the deed myself so that they might not attack. I can’t say I know anything with certainty, but I cannot see why the man would have done things that way if he were staying true to the Empire. When he spoke to me, I heard no lie.”
Rockhelm nodded gravely while he digested the information.
“Lord Rockhelm?”
“Yes, Odruri?”
“Will you report the contents of this bottle to anyone?”
“Not immediately. Perhaps not at all. It goes without saying that neither will either of you.”
Godin waited for him to say more, but apparently the Lord of Saebyl was done. What the hell, he thought. In for a penny, in for a pound. “Lord Rockhelm. Forgive me for asking, but I feel I have to. If what we heard is true, if King Boldfrost is doing something dangerous enough to incite the Tarsurian Empire to attack us when they would rather have stayed at home…”
“Finish your question, Odruri.”
Godwin rubbed the back of his neck. Before he could answer, Logun spoke. “We want to know if the king is a lunatic or a criminal, does the Lord of Saebyl bow first to the crown or will you serve what’s best for the kingdom?”
Rockhelm’s pupils dilated while a smile tugged at his lips. “You can trust that I will be a man of action when my moment comes. That will be all, gentlemen. If you’ll kindly take your leave, I have a war to win.”
Chapter 1
The wilderness stretched like a tree-speckled canvass all around them. Yawning hills with splotches of tough evergreens dusted with snow jutted from a landscape that seethed with demonic energy. Gloomy clouds from the east had settled above several hours ago, shrouding the already bleak world in an even heavier layer of shadow.
“All we need is for it to rain,” Robert said as he glanced at the heavens. “Perhaps we should look for shelter.”
“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Godwin said darkly. “The hamadryads here would just love the chance to gut us in our sleep.”
Robert’s brow wrinkled above two blackened eyes. The Shigata could tell from his puzzled expression and the silence that followed it that Robert neither knew, nor wanted to know, anything about the demonic wood nymphs that made this region of the Chillway their home.
“How long until we reach Iryllium then?” Robert asked to change the subject.
“Not days. Hopefully not a month, though it could be if we’re slow or there are unexpected delays.”
“And you’re quite certain that Denver Rockhelm and Jon Octovos won’t think you’re abandoning them?”
Godwin rolled his eyes. It was not the first time the question had been asked. “They’ll think us dead, Robert, and if you keep tiring me with these pointless questions, it’s all the more likely that they’ll be right.”
Of course, the Shigata had no intention of dying before getting to the bottom of the deepening mysteries that had only become more complicated in the Frost Forest. Why would Lyra, the innocent teenage girl, have suddenly decided to leave her only companion and enter
the most dangerous woodlands in Coldclaw? How did she come across his old master, Reinko Assini? Why did she decide to leave with him and go south to Iryllium?
Godwin cursed. It was as if he were climbing a great mountain, and every time he reached what he thought was the summit, a wall of cloud would dissipate and reveal that the true peak was higher still.
“We’ll get her, Godwin,” Robert said confidently. “She survived the shipwreck and the vodyanoi. She survived Saebyl and the Frost Forest. There’s more to Lyra than what meets the eye. Besides, she’s with your old master. I know your thoughts about him are not happy ones, but still, he is a great warrior, isn’t he? Who could she be safer with?”
Godwin bit his tongue. He did not want to give voice to what he was thinking. The dreadful suspicion that somehow this was all an elaborate trap. That his master, the infamous hermit, had nothing to do with this at all, and it was some other trickster serpent that was coiling around Lyra in the West’s capital.
Sensing Godwin’s discomfort, Robert asked a question on a different subject.
“Cerulio, the elf from the Frost Forest, he said there was something that could stop this time of impending flames and terror. He mentioned Kanjo, the Shigata you told me you were supposed to kill. Do you have any idea what he has to do with this?”
“Not a clue,” Godwin said.
Robert was unsatisfied. “But you told me you found him once using a potion that you brewed. Can’t you do it again? Can’t you do it with Lyra, for that matter?”
Godwin sighed. “No, Robert, I can’t just do it again. Unless you’ve got a snippet of Lyra’s hair or a drop of her blood.”
The easterner’s face quickly reddened. “Of course I don’t.”
“Then we go to Iryllium,” Godwin said. He added bitterly, “Hopefully before the world ends.”
“Enough of your nihilistic savageries, Godwin. I don’t think I can stomach much more of them if we’ve another long journey together. The world is not ending.”