Pathfinder Tales--Reaper's Eye

by Richard A. Knaak

  Daryus grunted in obvious pain. He shivered, but did not fall.

  “Go,” he managed to mutter. “I’ll try to distract him a little longer.”

  “Daryus! Run!”

  “No. I stand … with you.”

  It was a gesture she could appreciate, but now they both faced certain doom. She couldn’t understand why Tzadn didn’t see the sense of her words. Instead, in trying to destroy them, the demon’s actions would only make its presence even better known to that which hunted it. It was almost as if something else was agitating the Reaper—

  She peered over to where Toy’s corpse lay. Not at all to her surprise, the demon eye not only remained open … but active.

  Without a word, she ran past a startled Daryus to the body. As she reached it, the mouth opened and hissed.

  “The patron is not finished!” came Toy’s voice. “The patron would have—”

  “The patron can go to whatever hell it came from!” Shiera snapped, brought the heel of her boot down as hard as she could on the staring eye.

  The orb splattered nicely. Toy’s voice cut off.

  Shiera looked at Tzadn.

  The Reaper paused. Silence filled the chamber.

  Aware of just how fragile the moment was, she took a deep breath and shouted, “Tzadn! Listen to me! We are your only hope!”

  The shadow veered toward her, then paused again. Taking that as a good sign, Shiera continued, “The link to the other demon is gone! There’s nothing else threatening your location, save your own fear! Return to your sanctuary! We’ll obscure all knowledge of this place, make certain that no one will ever know of you! I meant what I said before! You know you can trust me! You’ve seen inside my mind, and I’ve seen in yours…”

  As she spoke, Shiera did her best to instill in each word the utter honesty of her belief. It was not the way of demons, but perhaps it would make the difference.

  “I understand the danger to you. I know all you want is your safety, and I can appreciate that! You gave the priests and their people much in return for protecting you, but some legends still spread! I am from a calling that does nothing else but ferret out secrets. I am what you need to guarantee that no one like me follows, that no other witch will ever seek you out to demand power! To the end of my days, I will see that there is no Tzadn, there is no Uhl-Adanar!”

  The shadow hovered. As the seconds turned into a minute and the minute into two, Shiera began wondering if at least she could do something to get Daryus and the crusader to safety.

  Then the remaining priests who had lingered at a distance continued their retreat into the walls and ceiling. Moving backward, they began climbing into their appointed spots, their bodies resuming their flat, painted forms.

  Heart pounding, Shiera allowed herself a brief smile. The demon had accepted her words, her terms. She had meant everything, and that had made the difference. She was more than willing to keep any clues she uncovered concerning this place and its contents from ever being discovered again.

  The last of the guardians reverted to paintings. The shadow shifted slightly, and one scythe slashed across the floor.

  The ruined bodies of the other mummies faded into mist. The mist spread throughout the chamber, touching every area where the destruction of a guardian had left a space among the painted figures. As the trio watched, the missing images reappeared—which to Shiera said that, for all the three’s efforts, Tzadn could have restored all his servants whenever desired. It was not a comforting thought.

  With slow, deliberate steps, she returned to Daryus. As she neared, he whispered, “This is all good, isn’t it?”

  “I think so, but—”

  The shadow swelled. It filled the view before them, rising so high that it finally touched the ceiling.

  And then the Reaper lashed out at the roof of the chamber, sending tons of stone falling.

  * * *

  Daryus grabbed Shiera’s wrist and started running.

  At his side, she shouted, “I don’t understand! It knew I was right! It knew I had the best plan for it!”

  “It’s a demon!” he shouted back. “It may follow an entirely different logic—like, if everyone’s crushed under tons of stone, then no one can ever betray it! Seems quite reasonable to me!”

  He peered over his shoulder just in time to see the demon spreading toward them, the two scythes slicing at the rest of the chamber as the demon grew. The Reaper was growing at an alarming rate, and Daryus doubted they could escape in time.

  “Over here!” Shiera suddenly ordered. She tugged so hard that she actually managed to pull him in the direction she wanted. At the same time, she gestured for Harricka to hurry and join them.

  Daryus still had his doubts they would escape the chamber, but as Shiera reached the wall, she ran her hand over the spot before her. Daryus saw nothing, but the wall opened.

  “I thought it looked like … I don’t know how I—” she blurted.

  “Never mind! Go through!” Daryus all but shoved her ahead into the opening. Then, as Harricka approached, Daryus unceremoniously grabbed her arm and pushed her on, too.

  Daryus turned to take one last glance at the demon, which now all but filled the room. Tzadn seemed unperturbed about the tons of stone coming down from the areas above. The eye continued to stare in the direction the trio had gone, and for a moment Daryus swore he heard a cold voice in his head. He couldn’t understand what it said, only felt a compulsion to run as fast as he could.

  He jumped after the others. To his surprise, he slid down. For a moment, there was only darkness …

  “Here he is!” Harricka shouted, grabbing him.

  “I see two horses!” Shiera responded in clear disbelief.

  “One is mine,” the captain answered. “I think the other belonged to that cur who tried to kill you. I’ll get them. Take him!”

  Shiera came to his side. Daryus regained his balance, then looked around. They were outside the tomb, out in the cavern city proper.

  “I was hoping this was one of the ancients’ emergency passages,” Shiera explained. “I was lucky.”

  A rumble that reminded him of thunder made Daryus look up at the ancient building from which they had just escaped.

  “We’re not out of it yet, are we?”

  “Regrettably, no.” As she answered, the entire temple-city shook violently. Large portions of the rock ceiling broke off, some of them crushing in the roofs of the nearby buildings.

  Harricka returned with the horses. “Do you know of an exit?”

  Shiera grabbed one set of reins. “We have to make for the temple on the other end! It’s the only way!”

  At that moment, more of the ceiling collapsed, some of it directly over them.

  “Move!” Daryus shouted.

  Shiera leapt onto the one horse, Harricka on the other. Daryus rushed to joined Shiera, only to hear a grunt from the captain. As he looked, she slumped over in her saddle, the piece of rubble that had struck her head clattering away into the darkness.

  “You go on! We’ll follow!” Daryus ordered Shiera.

  Nodding, she rode off even as more rubble fell. Daryus checked on Harricka, saw that she breathed well enough, then jumped up behind her and urged the horse on.

  He raced after Shiera, at times losing sight of her but always aiming for where he remembered the temple had stood. Twice, they had to divert from the obvious route as collapses cut off those paths. It seemed to Daryus that the ride took forever, but then finally the entrance came into view.

  Shiera did not pause. She rode right into the temple. The crusaders followed behind. Daryus believed he knew what Shiera intended and hoped it would work.

  The horses’ hooves echoed loudly as they entered. Shiera rode up to the dais, then jumped off her mount and peered down at the base. Daryus could not see what she was doing, but suddenly a small dust devil rose before her. Several small glowing spots appeared by her hands.

  “Be ready! I’m going to try to send you to t
he border near Kenabres!”

  “You can do that?”

  “I think so.”

  It was not as confident a statement as he would have liked, but it was all they had. However, one thing disturbed him. “How will you follow?”

  “There’s a way to make it operate on its own for a brief time. Get ready to ride through!”

  He held the reins tight. As he watched, the cloud swelled in size. An image formed—a landscape he thought he recognized.

  “Ride now!” Shiera ordered.

  Urging the horse on, Daryus rode up the dais, clutching Harricka tightly. The image swirled before him.

  Daryus rode through, praying that he would not simply crash into the wall beyond.

  A sense of displacement he had felt once before overtook him. Daryus sought to keep focused, but then the horse stumbled and it was all he could do just to keep both the captain and himself from falling off.

  Finally, after several long moments of struggle, he brought the horse under control. Turning the animal about, Daryus looked for Shiera.

  There was no sign. No cloud. No image. Nothing.

  Shiera was still trapped in Uhl-Adanar.

  30

  ESCAPE

  Shiera had known all along that she would not be able to manipulate the arcane device so that she, too, could escape the temple-city. What mattered was that she had saved both Daryus and Harricka.

  Uhl-Adanar continued to shake violently, but for the moment, the temple remained intact. Shiera considered her options and found none.

  An unsettling clattering sound, like the cracking of ice or the breaking of glass, echoed from beyond the temple. Despite herself, Shiera stepped from the dais and started for the entrance—

  A smoke-colored, glassy substance burst through the doorway, crushing the entrance and everything else before it.

  It took her only a moment to recognize it as the same substance as the Reaper’s Eye.

  In its midst appeared single burning orb.

  Shiera backed up to the dais, where she fought to calm the remaining horse while awaiting certain death.

  The oncoming stone paused. The point of light stared directly at her, and she finally dared to step forward. It struck her that the Reaper now appeared somewhat calmer.

  Of course! That’s what all this crystal is—he’s shielded himself again. The Eye was now gigantic, feet thick. To him, the loss of Uhl-Adanar must be a small thing compared to his magical protections.

  Something clinked by her feet. She looked down and saw a circular medallion akin to the one Raffan had carried. The side facing up bore the smoke-gray image of the wolf.

  She picked it up. As she did, Shiera felt a compulsion to look at the other side.

  The rune emblazoned there was a simple arrangement of curved lines, yet somehow managed to seem sinister. Several clearly suggested a wing, and a hook to the right seemed almost like a raptor’s beak …

  The sense of dread she felt upon gazing at the image made her understand immediately what this other side represented. “This is … the other, isn’t it?” As usual, Shiera received no answer, but somehow knew that she was correct. “I’m supposed to take this and do as I said I would, but also watch out for signs of this one?”

  Without warning, the medallion shimmered. Shiera gasped as images flooded her mind. After an endless moment, she managed to choke out, “I don’t understand. Could—?”

  But Shiera got no farther, as from the great stone, one scythe extended …

  * * *

  Daryus circled the area in vain. He could find no way to return to Uhl-Adanar. Shiera was trapped with the demon—

  The air just ahead shimmered.

  Shiera rode through at a breakneck pace. As she neared, Daryus noticed that she almost looked as if she were not even conscious. She would have ridden past him if not for his quick reflexes. He pulled up beside her and seized the reins, managing to bring her horse to a halt only a few yards after.

  For a moment, she simply stared ahead. Then, as if awakening, Shiera blinked and looked at him.

  “Let’s get as far away from here as we can, as quickly as we can,” she suggested breathlessly.

  He did not argue. Checking Harricka again, he rode along with her at as safe but as fast a pace as they could manage. They would not make it out of the Worldwound that day, but at least they could put some distance between themselves and the spot upon which they had been deposited.

  Hours later, as they made camp, Shiera took over where the captain was concerned. She studied Harricka’s wound. “A strong blow. She may not wake up for some time. I think we need to bring her to a healer.”

  “We’ll need another day at least to reach the edge of the Worldwound from here.” Still, Daryus knew he would see to it that his former comrade was brought to someone she could trust.

  Shiera nodded. “If we could only—”

  Too late, Daryus sensed the slight movement.

  Harricka suddenly stood straight. Although he had removed her sword earlier, she now had in her hand a dagger he had seen on Shiera. Daryus knew the captain well enough not to try drawing his own sword. The dagger would be in his throat before he moved a muscle.

  “Your sword, Daryus Gaunt. Drop it gently to the dirt, then kick it away.”

  “You are mad,” Shiera started. “He saved—”

  Dropping his weapon as ordered, Daryus cut Shiera off. “Your words will not change her mind. Save your breath. Harricka, she is not part of this.”

  “I have no quarrel with the Pathfinder, only gratitude. She is welcome to leave whenever she likes, if that is her choice.”

  “I’m staying with Daryus.”

  Harricka cocked her head. “You always had a way of drawing those who would stand beside you, Daryus Gaunt. I know. I was one of them.”

  “Harricka, just leave her be and I’ll go with—”

  “No!” Shiera paid no heed to the dagger. “This has gone on far enough! What was so vile about his crime?”

  “He broke his oath to the order. He protected the lives of renegade demonspawn—”

  “They were farmers,” Daryus interjected. “They couldn’t help their births. There was nothing demonic about their nature, only their blood, and they overcame that.”

  “They broke the law—”

  “A law that treated them like enemies! They weren’t saboteurs, Harricka. They just wanted to live free.”

  Harricka kept the dagger steady. “So, you would do it again?”

  “I would do it every time.”

  To Daryus’s surprise, Harricka tossed the dagger at Shiera’s feet. She deliberately turned her back to them as she located her sword on the other side of the horse that had carried the two.

  Shiera quickly scooped up the dagger, but Daryus left the sword where it lay.

  Hooking the sheath at her side, Harricka mounted. Once atop the horse, she rubbed her head near the wound. “Kept me unconscious until shortly before we stopped. It still throbs. Old Machiah should be able to treat it. You remember him, Daryus?”

  “Of course. He saved many of us with his battlefield dressings.”

  “I think he’ll outlive us all.” The captain adjusted her place in the saddle. “He’ll be sorry to hear that you died.”

  Daryus stiffened. “Harricka—”

  She shook her head. “I owe both of you my life, but you know that’s not why I’m doing this. I saw you long enough, Daryus Gaunt, to see the man I fought beside. You are neither devil nor coward. You betrayed the order, but only because you would not betray your code. When you said you would do it again, even facing trial and death, that put a finish to the matter.” The captain turned the horse. “One animal will do good enough for the pair of you. My only requirement is that you steer clear of Kenabres. There are a few who still know you by sight, and most are there.”

  Daryus reached a hand to her, but Harricka looked away. Without another word, the crusader rode off.

  “What does this mean
?” Shiera asked him.

  “It appears I’ve just been pardoned … so long as I stay clear of Kenabres.”

  “Some pardon. You deserved better. You deserved a lot better.”

  Daryus didn’t answer. He only stared into the darkness after Harricka. Stared … and marveled.

  * * *

  Shiera didn’t say much more to Daryus that night. Not only was it clear that he still had much to mull over after the captain’s astonishing departure, but she herself had much, much to think about. Only when morning came and the decision about what to do next was upon them did she finally say something.

  “You never asked about what happened at the end in Uhl-Adanar.”

  “You lived. You escaped. That was all that mattered. The rest is your choice to tell.”

  Shiera appreciated his honesty and directness. “Then let me tell you.”

  He worked on readying the horse as she revealed what had taken place after he had ridden through. Daryus listened silently, only speaking when it was clear that his companion was finished.

  “So the demon just cast you out of the temple-city?”

  “Yes. Right after it gave me the medallion.”

  Daryus frowned. “You made a pact with it? With a demon?”

  “Well, not in blood or anything like that, if that makes a difference. I just made a promise that made sense to keep, anyway. I did what I had to for all of us to survive.” Shiera cocked her head. “Am I worse than a pitborn now?”

  “Probably only as a farmer.”

  It took her a moment to recognize the joke. She smiled. “There’s one more thing to consider.”

  “Only one? Out of all this?”

  “I was dealing with a creature who thinks in terms of eternities. Tzadn has been hiding for centuries. Millennia even. It’s quite possible—very likely even—that nothing will happen during my lifetime … or that of any children or grandchildren I might have. Even longer.”

  “Or it could happen tomorrow,” he bluntly reminded her. “Even tonight.”

  “Hmmph. I prefer my way of thinking.”

  “As you like.” He finished with the animal. “I’ve made some adjustments with the balance. We should be able to ride together for quite some time, at least until we can buy another horse. Then I can return you to Nerosyan and fulfill my contract.”