by Eve Forward
“You mean we’ve gone through all this filth for nothing?” snarled Valerie in disgust. Blackmail leaned back against the wall, and Kaylana sighed and stooped to pat a small rat that had wandered out of a crack to sniff at her sandals. Kimi looked around, and Arcie took off his cap and scratched his head in thought.
“Flowing stair ... wait a tic. Kimi, what time is high tide here?”
“Around four, this time of month ... why?” Kimi looked at him.
“What time are it now?”
“Close to it,” said Sam from the shadows. “Half-past three or so, I’d say.” He’d always had a good timesense.
“Then wait,” said Arcie. “Just sit here and wait.”
They waited. Kaylana fed the rat a few scraps of bread from the pockets of her robe, and Arcie lit up his pipe again, despite warnings from the others about the flammable gas pockets. Valerie, bored, carved sigils in the moss with her fingernail, and Blackmail just stood against a wall, unmoving. Sam decided to strike up a conversation with Kimi.
“Kaylana said that was a piece of wyvern eggshell you had back in your room,” he began. “How did you happen to come by that? I’ve never seen such a thing before.”
Kimi sighed, and took out a dagger (she drew it lefthanded, Sam noted, and the weapon was in fairly poor condition; it obviously had not seen much use) and began to pry up bits of moss from the floor with it absently.
“That’s a long story ... but, seeing as we don’t have much to do here anyway, I’ll tell it. Back a couple years ago, after I was on my own, I was in a tavern and I heard a group of men talking about how they were going to go kill the wyvem. This wyvem, it used to live out on the sea-islands you can just see from the docks. The fishermen and traders had learned to avoid coming within about fifty ship-lengths of the island, or the wyvem would attack them. It was pretty simple, as they didn’t need to go that close to get to the fishing waters or the trade routes. Sometimes it was even considered lucky to see it, if you were far away.”
“I should think that would be one of the qualifications, certainly,” Sam put in with a smile. Kimi nodded.
“But these men got the town very upset about it, accusing them of cowardice that they let the evil thing survive out there, and bully them away from better fishing waters and whatever treasure it had stolen from the sunken ships, that it must be keeping out on that island. Finally one of the fishermen volunteered to take them out there on his boat, under cover of night, so that they could kill it, for a share of the treasure.
“Well, as I said, I just happened to be listening, and I thought, ‘Treasure, that would be a nice thing to have around the place.’ I found the ship the fisherman spoke of, and when they set sail that night I was hidden in one of the cargo holds, which they really should put better locks on. By the way, I don’t suppose you have any use for a couple pounds ofelgerite, do you?”
“Nope, sorry ... I’m not much of a cook. Ask the nasty with the raven.”
“Didn’t think so. You’re an assassin, aren’t you?”
Kimi inquired cautiously.
Sam nodded. “Don’t worry though. We’re... I’m, not quite as insane as people would have you think.”
“I was going to say, you don’t seem so, except for that you’re running around on this weird quest of yours. Anyway, where was I?”
“In the cargo hold, with the elgerite.”
“Right. So anyway, the boat pulls up into the shallows, and the men, all armored and all, slip off into the water, and I follow them. It’s pre-dawn dark, no moon, IS and we climb ashore. They head off inland, talking about spoor and lairs, and I follow, mousey quiet, behind them. It’s getting paler up dawn when we get to a big cliffside, with a ledge and a sort of scraped-out hollow in it. I can’t really see anything yet, but the men are all excited and there’s this smell in the air ... we’re working our way closer, sort of up and along the cliffside; it was really rough and easy to climb, but high; I guess the wyvem needed the drop in order to take off. Anyway, just as we’re coming in closer, the sun comes over the horizon, and we see it. It’s all curled up at the mouth of the hollow; that’s what made it look so dark. It’s a shiny, blueblack color, like a beetle, all tiny little round beady scales, about so big-” She indicated a size about twice that of a tellin, about the circumference of a circle formed by the thumb and forefinger. “The men all grab for weapons, I don’t notice because I’m looking at the wyvern. I didn’t even notice if it had any treasure visible. It looked so unreal ... but just then, the wind changed, in the wyvern’s favor.
“It woke up with a noise like a huge snake. It looked huge ... later they said it was only twenty-three feet, twice with the tail... but it was like this mass of black scales and spines and wings that kept uncoiling and unfolding, making a noise more angry and evil than anything I had ever heard. I was terrified, but all I could think of was how deadly beautiful it was. The men were all expecting it to fly, but it didn’t ... it just sat there, wings puffed out, coiled up like a snake to strike, with a crest of spines all around its head that it rattled, and its eyes were orange. I thought it didn’t have legs at first, but then I saw them, tucked up in the coils; just rear legs, like a hawk’s. I thought: It’s scared, it wants us to go away, to go away and leave it alone. The men had all been expecting it to charge, I know, and they were all ready for it, but it just sat there, hissing and swaying. Once it spat at them, a spray of yellow mist, poison I guess, but it was too far away, while the men talked amongst themselves. Then they all unslung bows and crossbows and started shooting.
“They were good shots, I’ll admit that. That wyvern was spattered; some of the arrows bounced off the scales, but most of them, at medium range, went into the wings and neck. The wyvern hissed, almost more a scream than a hiss, backed up, and struck, spitting again. The men all dodged and fired again. The wyvern thrashed around, trying to defend its lair and attack at the same time ... and that was when it saw me. I was hiding a little behind the men, higher up the cliff, behind a rock, watching, and suddenly its eyes met mine.” Kimi paused. “I never want to look into eyes like those again. That creature was so evil, so dark, and yet had a spirit and pride and will so many times greater than mine ...” She shivered. Sam nodded sympathetically, and Kimi continued.
“Then one of the crossbow bolts took it in the throat. It was gurgling and hissing, and when it tried to spit poison again, it only spat a cloud of blood. They charged at it, waving swords and axes, and it met them head on, blocking the entrance to its lair. There was chaos and blood and shouts and hisses flying, and I crept closer, to see if there was any treasure. From out of the battle I suddenly saw its head come up, and look at me again, looking at my very soul. Then it turned, and seemed to try to fly; it leaped, but as its wings came up one of the men chopped into its shoulder with a huge sword, and it jerked and tumbled down the cliff, taking half the men, shouting and cursing, down with it. The others, yelling encouragement, ran down the slope after their comrades, where they were all pounding and slashing at the poor beast.
“I ran into the cave, of course; it must have been a pretty amazing treasure to have had the wyvern so intent on defending it. But when I got there, it was only a hollow about half the wyvern’s length in depth, lined with palm fronds. As for treasure; there was stuff there, but it was all junk! Bits of brass from ship parts, bottles, lumps of quartz, some pieces of a mirror ... shiny things. And in the middle of the shiny things was an egg.
“I don’t know why I wanted something so bulky and useless, but I grabbed it. You saw the shell, it was about the size and weight of a watermelon. I came out of the hollow and looked down to where the battle was just ending. The wyvern was so battered and bloody you could hardly tell what it was. One of the men had its head pinned with a spear while another was slowly chopping through its neck with a war-axe. I saw its eyes turn, ever so slightly, and look up at me a last time, as they slowly glazed and unfocused. I ran down the far side of the cliff, the men too busy in their
butchery to notice me.
“I couldn’t swim back to the boat with the egg, so I hid away-from the cave and the shore with it. I found some gull’s chicks and brought down a seccerbird with my sling, and was cooking them when the egg started to hatch.
“It happened so fast I wasn’t sure what was happening. It rocked, making clicking noises, and then I saw a tiny hole in it. The hole suddenly split into a crack, and then the egg broke in two, and this tiny wyvern, about as big as a cat, fell out. It was like soft leather, no scales yet, all slate-gray colored, spines and wings all floppy and soft, its eyes closed. But I could see it was in trouble. It flopped on the sand and rolled over, kicking weakly and wriggling like a lizard. I picked it up, tried to help it somehow. It tried to bite me, but its jaws didn’t seem to want to function. Its breathing was all bubbly and weak. I tore off bits of the seccerbird, and tried the chicks too, but even when I got the food to go down its mouth it would just puke it up all over me again. It was so limp, so weak, and I could feel its heart going, too fast and too faint.”
Kimi stabbed at the moss with the dagger. “I tried everything I could think of. But it died before sunset, just stopped moving. It opened its eyes right before it died. They were blue, but they had the same look in them as the mother wyvern’s.”
She was quiet a moment. “After the wyvern was dead, ships started coming over the next day to explore the island. I met up with one of the explorer parties and said the wyvern had captured me and brought me there last year, but I had escaped. They took me home, and I brought that piece of shell with me.”
“Listen!” Arcie said suddenly, holding up a hand for silence. “D’you hear it?”
They were all quiet a moment. Past four, Sam noted.
And in the silence, along with the occasional drip of the moss, there was now a faint noise, a soft muted rush of flowing water, combined with a faint cold breeze that smelled of fesea.
It took them some time to locate the direction the breeze came from; from a tunnel blocked by fallen rubble and mud, which collapsed away when a blocking wooden beam was removed. They went down the passage, the sound of flowing water growing louder, when at last they turned a corner and saw.
In the center of a half-round room, a wide stone staircase led up into the darkness. The smell of the sea was strong here, and the phosphorescence was thick. The stairs shone brilliantly with fresh seawater running down them from above to vanish into cracks in the floor. The slimy algae that covered the stair glowed like fireflies. The rushing of the water echoed in their ears.
“That’s a flowing stair, all right,” admitted Valerie.
“Yes, and if it weren’t flowing, we would not be able to climb yon,” pointed out Arcie, indicating the top of the stairs. A rusted coil of wire was attached to a plank of mossy wood that the flood of the water kept propped open. It was designed to pull the door closed when there was no pressure from the other side. Valerie frowned, sensing something.
“There is magic nearby,” she commented.
“That would likely be the Test, then,” said Kaylana.
“Come, let us find it. We climb the flowing stair.”
Easier said than done to scramble up the slippery, icecold steps, but they managed. They went through the opened door, Kimi leading, and came out into the center of another half-circle, moss-covered room, with no other openings except the tiny vents in the floor that allowed the tide to pour in and down the stairs. The room was dimly lit by the moss and cold.
And empty.
“Empty!” cried Arcie. “Well, now what?”
“It said spin and see,” offered Sam. Arcie responded by revolving rapidly until he resembled a small rotund tornado, then collapsed, shaking his head.
“Nowt, just the room going in circles.”
“The magic is strong here,” said Valerie with a frown.
“I can’t pinpoint it though.”
“Maybe we found the wrong stair?” suggested Kimi.
“Unlikely that anyone would go through this much trouble for a false lead,” answered Kaylana.
“Spin,” said Arcie thoughtfully. Barigans loved mental puzzles in the form of riddles and the like, and Arcie was no exception. “Spin from coming up yon stairs ...”
He stood at the head of the stairs, turned around, and walked straight to the wall there, the diameter of the halfcircle. The wall was covered with soft moss. “Kimi, come here a sec...”
The two thieves inspected the wall, then began tapping it, searching for hidden caches. Kimi felt along the faint cracks in the moss as Arcie tapped along the wall.
Tap tap tap tap tuk-
“Hell, Kimi, lemme borrow that dagger a moment...”
Arcie took the dagger and made a cut along the wall.
Suddenly, with a soft sliding noise, a huge carpet of moss fell away from where it had been loosely growing and clinging to an intricate mosaic of tiles.
The mural they stood before depicted faraway lands, forests, wolves, clockwork, and treasure. The central figure was the Wilderkin Hero, Jasper Dunthwittle, who had died in service to his kin in the resettling days after the Victory. He had long hair and pointed features with a fairly serious and matter-of-fact expression. He stood next to a half-opened door, with a key in his hand.
The Wilderkin in their own society were a fierce, proud people, staunch defenders of their territory, with trained foxdogs as their companions. But let them wander from that society and move in the cities and ways of humans and the other sentient races, and they soon degenerated, or evolved, into a cheerful, friendly, fairly naive little people.
“What does that inscription say?” inquired Kimi, pointing to the angular, ancient runes over the pictures.
“Hmm ...” Valerie inspected them. “Here is Jasper’s Test of skill, for Scout and Locksmith’s ...”
“That means ‘sneakthief,’ basically,” opined Arcie.
“Hush, Barigan! This translation is difficult.’-Lock smith’s place to fill. Stealth and quick of hand and eye, you alone this Test must try.”
“That means only one of us?” Sam asked. Kaylana nodded.
“It would make sense. One of us, of the ... locksmith profession.” A faint smile hovered around her mouth.
“Well, there’s two of us ... Mr. Macrory, do you want to do it?” asked Kini. Something in the eagerness of her stance hinted to Arcie that the young thief was rather interested in daring the legendary quest herself; he was well content with that.
“I’m too old for such things, Kimi... why don’t you give it a go?” he said with a smile.
“Right!” she said, drawing her rapier. “What do I do? How does it open?” She walked up to the mural, tapped it, and then pushed on the key in the hand of the figure of Jasper. There was a shimmer, and she vanished into the mural, as though she had walked right through it.
“She’s gone!” exclaimed Arcie. “Now what?”
“Now we wait, I suppose,” said Sam.
They had rested only a few minutes when something happened. A sudden brilliant explosion of light from the mural, and a figure, moving impossibly fast, crashed into the floor in front of it, as though fallen from midair. The eyes of those watching recovered to see Kimi lying twisted on the watery ground, eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling. They ran to her, but there was nothing they could do. Her body was already stiffening.
“She is dead,” pronounced Kaylana. “As though fallen from a great height.”
“Dead ...” Arcie whispered, staring.
Sam had seen death many times, but he never enjoyed it. Blackmail patted Arcie’s shoulder in consolation.
“This is a bother,” grumbled Valerie. “Well, you’re next, Barigan.”
“What?! Me? Nay!” cried Arcie, jumping away from Kimi’s body and the Test mural. “No one said anything about-death!”
“Arcie,” said Sam, taking him gently by the shoulder, “Kimi was barely a journeyman ... used to street thieving. You, on the other hand, are a Guildmaster.”
/>
“Was a Guildmaster,” retorted Arcie.
“Now, I know you don’t have any obligations regarding Kimi, but this Test needs to be done. You’re the only one who can; I’m not much good with lockpicks or traps. But you, you’re the best.”
“Can, mayhap. Won’t, definitely.” Arcie folded up his arms over his broad chest and looked away.
“Arcie. Do you want Kimi to have died in vain? For all those years of thievery to vanish forever, for a whole way of life to die, Fates! A whole world to die ... all because you wouldn’t do a simple test of your skills?”
“Better them than me, I always says. You want heroics, you ask a hero!” Arcie did feel saddened by Kimi’s death, but his own immediate danger was far more important.
“Argh!” fumed Valerie in impatience. “Regardless of this Test and the time we are wasting here, the thought of all those magical relics and treasures lying unclaimed within the Test makes me itch!”
“Magic treasures?” Arcie asked, turning around slightly. Sam noticed a faint twinkle in Kaylana’s eyes.
Meanwhile, Blackmail gently stooped and picked up Kimi’s still form from the floor, holding her in his arms, out of the water. Valerie ranted on.
“Drat! All the ancient magical gemstones and weapons, too powerful for the new worlds, so the Heroes thought! Sealed up in the Tests! If I could only get my hands on one of those super-powerful magical daggers or something...”
“I’ll do yon Test,” said Arcie, decisively. He struck a noble pose. “For poor departed Kimi. Borrow one of your daggers, Sammy?” the Barigan asked, flipping the birch-handled one the assassin had had in his boot, up and down in his palm. Sam rolled his eyes.
“Borrow, yes. Good luck, you rotund sneakthief.”
“Thanks, ye spindle-shanked maniac,” answered Arcie with a cheerful grin.
Arcie stepped up and tapped the key in the mural with his finger and vanished.
“Are there really all kinds of magical treasure in the Test?” Sam asked. Valerie smiled her famous shark smile.
“Would I lie, my dear little assassin?”