The Path of Giants

by B. T. Narro

  “The Thieves’ Guild is putting up that much of a fight?”

  “I wouldn’t say a fight. They are resorting to threats and traps in hopes of scaring Leon and the other sorcerers away. But Jennava knows them, and she knows the city. They will have to give up eventually as more of them are caught.”

  It sounded frustrating for my peers. It also sounded like it was where I should be as soon as I was done healing whoever needed my help.

  “What happened with the krepps?” I asked.

  “Everything went very well.”

  I had missed the most recent visit from the krepps. The first time Grufaeragar had brought the other krepps—when they had finished off Cason as a help to me—most of the trade goods they had brought with them were not anything the king was interested in. All of us were disappointed, to say the least. In one whole barrel was nothing but rocks. Another contained dirt. The krepps had claimed that dirt and rocks from Hammashar were honorable, because they were kreppen.

  It had been difficult for the king to deny the request for trade without dishonoring them. But the krepps had brought one barrel full of silver. It was quite a shock to see them open it after the other two contained dirt and rocks.

  In exchange for the silver, the king had offered an assortment of silk and pillows, something the krepps seemed incapable of creating on their own. But there were a whole mess of other things the krepps were interested in that the king wouldn’t give up for rocks and dirt.

  They hadn’t stayed for long. There wasn’t much room for all of them in the castle. They said they would be coming back, but their return trip happened while I was away.

  “The krepps brought a material Souriff had mentioned to the king,” Kataleya explained. “It’s called Valaer steel. The krepps aren’t able to melt it, so it isn’t valuable to them.”

  “Valaer steel?”

  “Yes, I’ve heard legends of it. There’s no metal sturdier, but that makes it problematic. Even the king is unable to find a blacksmith who can melt it now that we have it in our possession. The king was hoping Charlie might be able to melt it with his mtalia, but even he is incapable of changing its state from solid to liquid. There is one last hope. There is one blacksmith who is known to have the hottest furnace in Lycast, but he’s in charge of the industrial complex in Koluk. There’s too much risk in bringing the Valaer steel to Koluk while the Thieves’ Guild is still active there. The plan is to have the blacksmith heat up the metal as hot as possible and then have Charlie attempt to melt it.”

  “I see, but what about Valinox and Endell?”

  “That’s mostly what I have been speaking to the king about. He believes Valinox has brought Endell to the group of Cason’s men who escaped with his coin. They are likely going to meet a small army from Rohaer in the forest, where it is difficult to find them. One of two likely scenarios will then happen. One, they will all go back to Rohaer together, Eden and Endell with them. Endell will probably lead the inevitable attack on Lycast later, because he knows how everything works here. The other possible scenario is that they will pass off the coin to a few trusted people, who will bring it to Rohaer to support the massive army the king there has gathered, while the rest of them come back and create chaos here in Lycast. This would be to weaken us.”

  That seemed like the more likely scenario to me. Even with much of the king’s coin, Rohaer couldn’t support an idle army for long. A group that size had to keep moving, foraging and hunting on their way to us. But they couldn’t. It was Souriff’s sister, Failina – the goddess of erto—who maintained a heavy snowstorm that blocked the path between Rohaer and Lycast. They could pass through the forest, but travel would be difficult without roads. It seemed unlikely they would make it with everyone still healthy and ready to fight.

  I wondered if Eden and Endell had known each other before this, if they knew this was the plan all along. Valinox was powerful, but he didn’t seem to be the kind of complex plotter that this kind of plan required. His plans were simpler, like when he got into the castle grounds and got out with the king’s treasure, but left Cason behind. Or when he gave Eden a callring to use when the castle was vulnerable, so Scarlett and others loyal to him could attempt to kill Grufaeragar and start a war with the krepps. That had failed as well.

  Kataleya seemed tired and worried as her face held a tense expression. “Did anything happen with the witch after I left?”

  “Not really.”

  I knew I would have to tell her and the others about Eden’s attack, but I needed more time to figure out what I planned to say.

  “Do you still trust her?” Kataleya asked.

  “I do.”

  “What about all of her ingredients for curses?”

  “I gave them back to her.”

  Kataleya didn’t look too pleased as she kept her head forward, but she didn’t speak of it.

  Soon we had made it out of the keep and up to the second floor of the apartments. A warm feeling entered my chest. I didn’t know when I would be sleeping in my room again, especially if I was to travel to Koluk tonight, but I did look forward to it.

  We stopped in Reuben’s room first. He was lying on top of his bed covers, his ankle bandaged.

  “Jon!” he said as he sat up excitedly. Then he winced as he put his hands over the bandage without touching. “Those bastard thieves. Can you heal me?”

  “Sure, but what happened?” I made my way around his bed.

  “A goddamn bear trap—argh!” He screamed as I started to heal. I didn’t need to take off the bandage. I could feel what kind of damage it had done.

  “There you go,” I said when I was done, breathing hard as if I had just run up a few flights of stairs.

  “Thank you!” He quickly took off the bandages. “I’ve been miserable for days.”

  “How did you step in a bear trap?” I asked, trying to keep the judgment out of my tone.

  “They have traps everywhere, Jon! We thought we finally found their den, so we broke in to surprise them. But they must’ve left clues to lead us there on purpose. It was dark and covered in bear traps. I’m sure someone else would’ve stepped in one if I hadn’t first.”

  “There are two other injured,” Kataleya told me.

  “Right!” Reuben said as he practically hopped out of bed. “Aliana and Charlie.”

  We made our way into Charlie’s room nearby. He seemed to be asleep as he lay under his covers. As I got closer, however, I could see that he didn’t look well. There was a sheen of sweat on his forehead, and his face was a little puffy.

  “Charlie?” I asked.

  He murmured and turned his head, but his eyes didn’t open.

  “They must’ve been cursed,” Reuben said.

  “Aliana too?” I asked.

  “Yeah, her too. There was a scuffle in the streets while we were trying to arrest someone for questioning. Charlie was cut as he tried to melt the man’s blade. Aliana was stabbed as well when she tried to help us wrestle him to the ground. We figured a witch must’ve come by and collected their blood from the street after we left.”

  I took off Charlie’s sheets. There was an odor of death that spoiled the air. I put my hand over him to feel for a curse.

  “It’s not a curse,” I said after a moment. “It feels more like a sickness.”

  Reuben clicked his tongue. “Must’ve been poison then. It was on the man’s blade.”

  I let out a heavy breath. “This is going to take a while. It’s everywhere.”

  “I’m glad you came when you did.”

  “Why didn’t someone come to get me sooner?” I asked before I began.

  “They’re slowly improving,” Kataleya answered. “Even if they do smell a bit. I figured you would be here in the morning, anyway. I just arrived last night. Having someone fetch you wouldn’t have saved any time.”

  “All right, I’m going to start now. I could use some water.”

  “I’ll get some,” Kataleya said.

  Reuben took t
he chair from Charlie’s desk and sat facing him, a concerned look on his face. “Hang on a little longer, Charlie. The poor guy has been uncomfortable for a while now. He hadn’t slept much until recently, the pain too much.”

  “Aliana will be okay during this time?” I asked him.

  “Charlie has it worse. He was cut first.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  I hadn’t met a single member of the Thieves’ Guild, and I already despised every one of them. By the time I finished healing Aliana, lunch was called.

  I hadn’t seen Hadley for a while now. I hoped she was all right.

  I had received a number of hardy and well-appreciated meals from the people I’d visited during my trip around Lycast, but no kitchens were equipped like the king’s. I was eager to get to Koluk and help Leon and the others, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy this meal.

  There were only five of us. Usually the boys and girls did not sit together, but Kataleya and Aliana sat across from me, Charlie, and Reuben. I grew more concerned about Hadley as the meal went on, but I trusted the king wouldn’t have put her in the dungeons without at least speaking to me first. I hoped he’d come to the same conclusion as I had, that the help of a witch would go a long way when dealing with these thieves.

  “They haven’t been eradicated yet because they’ve been in hiding,” Reuben was telling me as we ate. “Most of the time we’ve been in Koluk, we’ve been investigating who they are and what they are doing.”

  “When we’re not running into traps,” Aliana added.

  I still hadn’t told anyone about the attack on the road. I had been too busy healing to figure out how much to divulge about my bout with Eden. The king would find out from Hadley, but I didn’t believe even Hadley had noticed Eden’s reluctance to kill me.

  “They clearly want us to leave,” Reuben explained. “They’ve made it clear through warnings, but they can’t keep hiding for long. We captured a few of them who are now in the dungeons. They will talk. The rest of them know this. They will soon be the ones leaving, and by choice if they’re smart.”

  Aliana had a disapproving look.

  “You don’t agree?” I asked.

  Reuben scoffed. “The ranger is always bitter. She’s a pessimist, Jon. I think she always has been.”

  “I’m just realistic,” Aliana retorted. “How many times have you been wrong about the thieves, Reuben? No, how many times have you been right?”

  “We have them where we want them now,” he said, clearly avoiding her question. “The king’s scouts are already watching for signs of movement, in case the thieves leave and try to take advantage of another town.” Reuben turned his attention back to me. “His majesty is not too worried about one or two of them leaving and going elsewhere. None seem to have much capability with sorcery, if any at all. They cannot face us. It’s just a matter of time before they give up.”

  “They have held back,” Aliana argued. “They have chosen not to kill any of us when they could’ve. None of their traps were lethal.”

  “Do you know how difficult it is to make a lethal trap?” Reuben countered. “They’ve done everything they can.”

  “You haven’t felt what I have,” Aliana insisted with a loud voice. “They’ve been around us many times, a whole lot of them, and they don’t attack. They just want to scare us into leaving.”

  “I have felt them, too! You know I’m working on the same skill.”

  “Then why have you never spoken up about sensing someone?”

  “Because you always do first!”

  “I don’t believe you can track.”

  “You—you don’t believe me?” he asked incredulously. “How dare you call me a liar! Would you like to test me, then?”

  “Yes, actually, I would!”

  I looked at Kataleya. Usually she was the one who could fix a situation like this, but she just stared down at her plate with a sad look.

  Charlie seemed frightened, meanwhile. “Please don’t fight,” he muttered, but it didn’t do much to pacify the mean looks Aliana and Reuben were giving each other.

  “The witch and I were attacked on the road,” I blurted.

  “You were?” Kataleya asked, looking up from her plate with a concerned expression.

  “By Valinox and Eden.”

  “What?” Reuben jolted up from his spot on the bench. “How close to the castle?”

  “They are long gone, Reuben,” I told him, then gestured for him to sit back down. “Valinox took off with her. It was after he broke a few bones of mine and Eden impaled me with a couple daggers.”

  “Why didn’t he stay and kill you?” Charlie asked bluntly. But I just smiled at him.

  “Well, because Hadley had taken a bite out of his neck, for one.”

  “Hadley the witch?” he asked.

  “Yes. And secondly, he just about broke her in half when he threw her off him. He must’ve used too much strength, because we heard a roar from the forest. It scared Valinox off even though it was nowhere near us.”

  “I heard that, too,” Kataleya said.

  “So did I,” Reuben agreed. “But I had no idea what it was.”

  “Valinox seemed to think it was Gourfist,” I said. “So I’m inclined to think so as well.”

  “Does that mean he’s awake?” Charlie asked fearfully.

  “Hadley says he probably just woke up for a moment. She seems to know more about him.”

  I caught a number of strange looks from my peers.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Did the two of you do something together on the way here?” Aliana asked.

  “What?” I blurted.

  “I just thought, from the way you speak about her,” Aliana added.

  “He was like that even after just meeting her,” Kataleya told Aliana. “He had some sort of dream where he spoke with her, and now he trusts her.” Her tone made it clear how little she thought of me in that moment.

  “Kat, she fought against Valinox when I was attacked,” I explained as calmly as I could. “What is there not to trust? I’m sure she’s explaining the same thing to the king right now, and soon he will agree that she’s only here to help.”

  “Are you telling the truth that you weren’t romantically involved with her on the way here?” Reuben asked.

  “I am telling the truth.”

  “After her heinous crime to Kataleya’s father, I sure hope not,” Reuben said.

  “What did she do?” Charlie asked.

  So Kataleya had told Reuben while Charlie and Aliana were unconscious from the poison. I wondered if it was just because Kataleya wanted to get it off her chest, or she knew Reuben would take her side in this.

  “Jon, it’s difficult for me to speak about. Will you tell them?”

  “What she did was wrong,” I said, glad for the chance to explain it instead of having Kataleya do it. “I found it hard to trust her after, but she changed my mind when she helped me take on Valinox.” I tried to quickly breeze through what she had done to Whitley’s body. “She took the essence of Kataleya’s father without permission.”

  Charlie dropped his fork. “But how?”

  The problem with describing it quickly was that I had skipped over a very important detail—that Kataleya’s father had been killed.

  Kataleya excused herself from the table with a shake of her head.

  “Kat?” Aliana asked.

  “I’m sure she just doesn’t want to hear it,” Reuben explained. “Go ahead, Jon. Tell them what happened at her house. Then tell them what your witch did.”

  Without much of a choice, I gave Aliana and Charlie the brief version of Endell’s visit ending in the murder of Whitley Yorn. Aliana muttered a few phrases of shock as she looked over at Kataleya, who was leaving the dining hall and had probably left her appetite here. I went on to briefly explain the dream I had when I’d first spoken with Hadley, and how she showed up the morning after I requested her to come to Yorn Manor. I concluded with the details about her
taking the essence from Whitley’s body.

  Aliana muttered a few more phrases of shock, while Charlie wore a look of concern.

  “So what does this mean about Endell?” he asked.

  “It means I’m going to kill him myself if I get the chance,” Reuben said. “Whitley was an honorable man who did great things for this kingdom. Hell if I’m going to let his cousin get away with this.”

  We all stopped to listen as the sounds of Kataleya’s aggressive voice echoed through the dining hall.

  “But she must have told you what she did to my father!”

  We all quickly left the table to rush out of the dining hall, finding her at the entrance to the great hall. She must’ve bumped into the king, who seemed to be coming in with Hadley, a retinue of guards behind him, including the king’s councilman.

  “She explained everything, Kataleya,” the king replied with a calm and collected tone. “And she has taken an oath to stand against Rohaer and Valinox.”

  “She could still betray us in other selfish ways without aiding our enemies,” Kataleya said. “Accepting her like she is one of us is an insult to my father.”

  “You will come to understand why I did it,” Hadley said.

  Please just keep your mouth shut right now, I tried to tell her with a look. She seemed to get my point as she tensed up and stopped talking.

  “Sire,” Kataleya pleaded. “How can we possibly benefit from a witch, anyway?”

  “Kataleya, you will give her a chance. If she causes more problems than she is worth, then she will leave.”

  “You must at least punish her!” Reuben said. “To dishonor Whitley Yorn like that…it’s a dishonor to every noble!”

  Barrett stepped forward. “Reuben, there’s more to it—”

  But a woman entering the great hall stopped him. Not a woman, I realized. An elf.

  “Excuse me,” she said with her accent.

  “Eslenda?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

  The king spun and suddenly appeared worried. “What is it?”