by Dave Skinner
“There he is,” Mearisdeana said as they entered the inn’s common room. “I recognize him from Waysley, but he looks well used.”
Manda remembered him from Waysley also, and she agreed he looked older and diminished somehow. He had his head together with two young women seated at the table, but looked up as Mearisdeana spoke. He was on his feet when they arrived at the table.
“Is that you, Mearisdeana?” he asked. She pushed back her hood and smiled. “Well met, Wizard.”
“Well met yourself,” he said before giving her a long embrace. He pulled back eventually and held her at arm’s length. “There is someone upstairs you will want to see, but first…” He turned to Mearisdeana’s companions. “Manda of Gore, it is good to see you again. I have been seeking you, but it appears that fate is moving faster than I thought.” He turned to Nailmoe. “And I assume this is your husband, Mearisdeana?”
“No,” Mearisdeana responded. “Adamtay was needed at home. This is Nailmoe, a close friend and protector.”
Micka echoed Nailmoe’s name in a strangled whisper. Andoo looked at her. “Let me introduce my companions, my niece and apprentice, Micka Toran and the Traveller, Ta’Lee, a dancer of some renown.”
Manda saw the Traveller nod her head to acknowledge them. The other woman, Andoo’s niece, was flushed and flustered, and seemed unable to tear her eyes from Nailmoe.
“Shall we move upstairs?” Andoo asked the young Traveller girl. “Good,” he continued when she agreed.
***
Micka stole quick glances at Nailmoe as they made their way through the inn’s common room and up the stairs. His size was the first thing she had to reconcile in her head. He was big, but not as large as she had pictured when she had read Memoirs of The Bathing Guide. She tried not to think of the bathing guide’s story as she followed the others because she felt a flush of heat if she did. Even looking at Nailmoe’s back as he walked ahead of her was causing her pulse to quicken and goosebumps to creep up her arms. She rubbed her hands across them and gave herself a pinch and a command to end the nonsense. They stopped at one of the rooms on the second floor. The Dancer knocked.
“Come in,” she heard a female voice say.
Lee entered the room while Andoo motioned for the Dragon People to precede him. She heard the Dragon Woman exclaim the name Bray, and saw her rush across the room and throw her arms around the young Traveller. He responded by hugging her with one arm while his companion looked on with a questioning expression.
“Mearisdeana, what are you doing here?” Bray asked when she stepped back. “I never expected to see you again. Why are you here? Has the spell somehow drawn you back?”
The Dragon Woman smiled at him. “We are here by choice. We—” she seemed to notice the bandage beneath his shirt. Pulling the shirt open slightly revealed a small amount of blood seeping through the dressing. “You are hurt. Did I cause the bleeding when I hugged you?”
“No, Mearisdeana, I received an injury a few days ago. It was mostly healed, but Andoo had to open it again because of an infection. He is to heal it again as soon as we are sure all the poison is gone.”
“Poison? What have you got yourself into?”
“It is not important. Why are you here? That is what I want to know.” Bray scanned the people in the room. His eyes paused on Nailmoe then continued on. “Manda, it is good to see you again. Is Ran with you?”
Micka watched a pained expression flit across Manda’s face. “No,” she stated bluntly. “He has chosen to navigate a different course.”
Bray shook his head. “I am sorry to hear that, my friend. Ran has always been something of a... fool.”
“We should all find a seat,” Andoo suggested. “I realize you would all like to get reacquainted, but there are world-crushing issues to be addressed.”
After introductions were shared, Bray took a seat on the bed with his back resting against the headboard. The fancy man, Aramas, folded himself awkwardly into a cross-legged position by the bed. The Adel girl matched Bray’s position on the other side of the bed. The Dancer and the Dragon Woman chose the foot of the bed. Manda swung the desk chair around and straddled the seat as she rested her arms on the chair back. Micka closed the door and sank to the floor. Nailmoe followed her example and sat with his back against the wall. Micka felt a tingle when their arms brushed. Andoo unhooked his cloak, held it at arm’s length, intoned a spell Micka did not recognize, and let go. Instead of falling to the floor, the cloak floated into the shape of an armchair into which Andoo sat. Micka decided she needed to learn that spell.
“Before the battle of Waysley, Bray, Ran and Mearisdeana came to me for help,” he began. “Bray and Mearisdeana were linked by a spell concocted to capture and hold a demon. I was able to dissolve the spell, but in the process I became aware of a shared destiny between Bray and Ran. After things returned to normal in Waysley, I threw a few spells designed to let me view further along their shared destiny. What I found was interesting enough to make me continue. I knew I needed to look further and more closely for greater detail. I utilized a wizard’s sight spell to look down the path destiny has chosen for Bray and Ran. I was disturbed by what I found, so disturbed that I attempted to influence matters. I worked for two years, it seems.” Andoo smiled at Micka before he continued.
“I was not successful, but I did manage to see to the end. Well, to the most probable end.”
Bray was the first to break in on the silence the wizard’s words had spread across the group. “How does my destiny have anything to do with your’s?”
Andoo looked at the young man. Micka knew what was to be revealed. She felt the weight of fate lying heavy on the room.
“Bray,” Andoo continued, “your destiny is linked to all others on this world and beyond. Your’s and Ran’s destiny touches the lives of every living creature, all the animals of the fields and forests, every man, woman and child, all of us, and judging from the presence of Mearisdeana and Nailmoe, it now encompasses the lives of all the Dragon People. Our two worlds have been linked, our cause united. We need each other to survive what is coming.” He turned his attention to the Dragon People.
“Mearisdeana, Nailmoe, you are friends and, as such, are entitled to our help, but understand that what comes behind you could be the death of this world. The Council of Wizards has declared you as undesirables. They will try to stop your people from coming here. They believe that the necklace you wear Manda, Mearisdeana’s necklace, must be destroyed. They are charged with stopping your passage across the gulf to our world, unaware that you have already arrived.”
Micka heard a sharp intake of breath. Manda jumped to her feet and felt frantically at her neck and under her bodice. After moments she stopped. “It’s gone,” she announced. “The necklace is gone.”
“When was the last time you had it?” Andoo asked.
Manda thought for a few moments. “Before I left the ship to come here. I must have lost it when those drunks blundered into me and knocked me down.”
“I find the loss suspicious,” Andoo said. “But there is nothing to be done about it now. There are numerous steps to be taken to secure our survival.”
“Does our being here help?” Nailmoe asked.
“It helps, but it has also complicates things. At the meeting, some argued that blocking your people from coming here would solve the problem, but you are already here. There is a chance to change our destiny by getting your people here and then destroying all links across the void. It is one chance, but we must also make ready in case our efforts fail.”
Andoo turned back to Bray. “We have to stand together as one army, Little People and Big, North Lake, South Lake, all of us, or everything will be destroyed.”
“I will fight,” Bray told him. “That is all I can do.”
“Yes you will fight, but you must also take command. The cities of North Lake will never join with those of the south while the current King of Nadia sits on the throne. You must reclaim your birth
right. You must unite the cities—”
“Wait!” Bray interrupted Andoo. “What you ask is not possible. Aside from the fact that my uncle wants me dead, I have no desire to be King of Nadia. I have put that behind me. I am what I wish to be, so find someone else to depose my uncle. I will help Mearisdeana with whatever it is she needs. I will fight, but I am no longer the Crown Prince of Nadia.”
“You are wrong, my Prince,” Aramas said, as he rose to his feet. “You are the true heir to the throne and the last of the royal line. You killed the other one, you may recall. I do not believe you can or will walk away from your destiny.” He turned to the wizard, “I will talk to my prince about this, but it would help if I could hear the rest of the story. Who are these Dragon People you speak of, and what are the links you mentioned?”
Bray was scowling at Aramas, but there was no anger in his voice when he spoke. “I also would like to know what Mearisdeana is doing here.”
“It is a long tale,” Mearisdeana said. “Telling it over a meal would be advisable—”
“And some wine,” the wizard added.
“I agree. Listening is thirsty work,” Nailmoe added.
“But, I was going to say,” Mearisdeana stated, “it would be advisable to have my words limited to friendly ears.”
“There is a long table in the yard at the back of the inn. I am sure the innkeeper would allow us to use it for a meal. I will ask him,” Lee stated.
“And if he agrees, I will make sure nothing said at the table is overheard outside the yard, but first Adel and I must attend to Bray’s injury. Shall we meet for dinner in one turn of the glass?”
***
“I have the necklace, Master, but the captain of the Red Witch still lives. She has a protector like nothing I have seen. Like an armoured man, but smooth of movement, like the armour was a second skin. I thought I had him. My knife must have been stopped by his armour but, by the Destroyer, I thought I had gutted him.”
Sim sat with his legs crossed on the floor in front of the fireplace. The flames cast flickering highlights on the cat’s eye crystal he held in his hands. Verity’s voice emanated from his diminutive face inside the globe. “Bring the necklace to me immediately. It sounds like destiny has taken a jump past my plans, but having the necklace will allow me to identify the spell involved. I may still be able to block their passage.” His image within the globe flickered once, twice, and then stabilized. “Bring it back now, delay for no reason,” Verity finished.
The image faded, leaving Sim holding a palm-sized cat’s eye crystal which disappeared into his pouch.
“Do you have to leave?” the waif asked. Her eyes reflected moisture and disbelief. “I want you,” she sobbed.
Sim shouldered his pack and started for the door. He could hear the girl following. “Go back,” he turned and growled at her as he yanked the door open. Turning away from her was more difficult than he thought it would be. “I will return, I promise,” he told her.
He stepped forward and saw the axe. He arched backwards and ducking under the blade. The axe skimming passed his face, and bit into the doorjamb. Jerking erect, Sim spun around and sprang back towards the waif’s smiling face, and her low held blade. The knife tore into him.
“A present from the Bentmen of the Point,” she told him. “Pettra’s brother sends his regards.” He felt the point rotate and push into his chest from below. Very professional, he thought. The knife was pulled free and then wiped on his shirt. The waif’s face appeared.
“I will take these baubles,” she told him as her knife slit the bottom of his pouch. The necklace and the globe spilled out. Pouching the goods, she ducked under the axe and entered the hallway. “Leave it,” she commanded the Axeman who was trying to pull his weapon free. Sim failed to hear them move off.
Chapter 37
Wet Foot Wanda’s inn backed onto a small area of mostly dry ground used primarily to grow herbs and vegetables. The smell of oregano added to the taste of the meal. A long harvest table located close to the back door proved to be a fine dinner table that seated all. Bray listened quietly to Mearisdeana’s explanation about her people’s war against the demons, and Andoo’s explanation of the disaster he said was coming and his struggle to stop it. Finally, the wizard told of how Bray must return to Nadia.
“That is unacceptable.” Bray stated. He had practiced this speech a few times in the turn of the glass. “I cannot and will not return to Nadia. My uncle wants me dead for killing his son. He has assassins everywhere.” Bray shook his head in disbelief. “I am a Traveller now. I do not have, and I do not wish to have, any connection to the Nadian throne.”
Bray had recovered quickly once the infection was removed although the sense of a wound persisted. His recovery was making him irritable, especially for stupid ideas like this. He spoke directly and forcefully to Andoo. “Return to Nadia and claim the throne, you say, and I say no! I want nothing to do with Nadia. My uncle and I have both drawn blood. We are even, honour has been served. I want nothing more to do with him or his city.”
“What you want, Bray, has little to do with what is about to happen,” the wizard stated. “You are locked into a path. Destiny has taken a hold on you. The effort to bend this destiny to your will is enormous, but it is a task which must be done, and is yours to undertake. You must do everything possible to master your path if we are to survive. We are inconsequential; we have already been drawn to you. You have captured us, and all we can do to survive what is coming, is to support you. But that does not mean we have to fight at your side. We have to help Mearisdeana’s people. If we fail to help them, they will be destroyed. We cannot allow that to happen. It would mean the complete destruction of their civilization and of an ally necessary in the fight that is coming.”
Bray looked away from the wizard’s face. He needed to suppress the anger Andoo’s words were causing. He let his eyes wander to the back of the inn where he noticed two individuals leaning against a support post for the porch roof. Their features were hidden in the late evening shadows, but the light from the windows displayed their outlines clearly. Their shapes suggested he should know them and then the taller of the two moved to stand erect. His head became lit from behind by a light from the kitchen. Bray jumped up. He would recognize that unruly hair anywhere.
“Waycan?”
“Hello, Bray, excuse us for listening. We were reluctant to interrupt.” Waycan stepped off the back porch and came towards the table. The shorter person did the same.
“Mother,” Lee exclaimed as she jumped up. The two women embraced lovingly while Waycan continued forward.
“Hello, Andoo. You look tired, my friend, too much wine perhaps?” The two men’s arms met in a warrior’s clasp.
“Not enough wine, I think,” the wizard stated. “Tinker delivered my message, I assume.”
“Yes, the council has been informed, word is being spread. I was sent to gain clarity. What I have just heard helps my understanding, but please excuse me for a moment.” Waycan stepped up to Bray and pulled him into an embrace.
“It does my heart good to see you, Waycan,” Bray said.
“Mine too, boy, mine too.”
Bray felt a hand fall on his shoulder and then Kat was in his arms. He held her tightly, unable to believe the emotions that were coursing through him. She drew back to look at his face and must have seen his tears, for she pulled his head down and whispered, “It is painful, my son, but remember we belong to the Mother. We must dance to her music.”
More chairs were called for, lamps were lit, and introductions made before the meeting proceeded.
The Wizard of Waysley stood and made a hand motion that caused his wine glass to ping three times. “We should continue. A decision is needed, and tomorrow some of us go to welcome Mearisdeana’s people, and stop the Destroyer.”
“Yes,” Bray stated, “exactly. I will go with you to fight this enemy.”
“Your part in this battle, Bray, starts with you claiming the
Nadian throne. Nadia controls Bernadice and Arcadia. They have blood ties all across the north shore. We need the North Lake cities in the same way we need all others. Without them we will fail.”
Bray felt his frustration building again. For years he had dreamed of returning to Nadia, but in the final moments the Tawshe way asserted itself, in a taste of stew. Now he was being forced to leave his chosen life again. A black sulk of despair touched his soul. He refused to meet the eyes around the table.
“Tomorrow,” Andoo continued. “Mearisdeana, Nailmoe, Micka, and I will leave with Manda on the Red Witch. We head for the grasslands north of The Point. Adel should also accompany us.”
Brays head snapped up as did Adels. “Wait!” Andoo held a hand up. “Before you say anything, hear me out. Adel has the strongest link to natural magic I have ever seen in any person. It is her responsibility to be trained, and I am the one to undertake it. I do not claim to know what destiny has planned for her, but I think she has an important and dangerous role to play. She must be ready. Would you not agree, Bray?” Bray scowled at Waycan and then looked to Adel for support.
“I believe he is right, my love,” Adel said. “You know how I feel about magic. I cannot get away from it, but if I am to use it, I must be trained. I will find you again as soon as I am able.”
“Kat, Lee, and I will go with Bray,” Waycan said.
“And I,” Aramas added.
“As you wish,” Waycan continued, “but a change of your clothing will be required. We will take the road as a Traveller family. We will spread the word as we go.
***
Mearisdeana found Bray the next morning. He was sitting alone at the back harvest table. “I must leave,” she told him. “It is unfair, Bray, I know, but my people are waiting on me. It has been discussed, and we all agree upon the place where my people may crossover to this world. Nailmoe and I must get there. We leave now.” She stepped forward and slid her arms around him. Holding him tightly she continued. “I do not know if Andoo Toran speaks the truth, but I think you have to listen to his words.”