by Gary Kloster
"I did what I could," Jiri said, looking into those blank eyes. "And I brought it back. What more do you want?"
Jiri dropped her eyes to the ground in front of the statue. There were shoots of green there, just like everywhere in the clearing. All-in-Ashes may have cleared a circle of death here when it came, but the jungle was already rushing back, a tide of life that would reclaim this clearing. In a few weeks, it would be green. In a year, it would be gone, and this statue would be buried by plants and vines.
That would have to be enough.
Jiri took a breath, and took hold of her magic.
The soft earth in front of the statue went softer, became mud as the water from the air and the ground all around rushed into it. Quickly, before it could begin to dry in the afternoon sun, she called to the earth. The mud in front of her bubbled, distended, then rose. Hands reached out of the hole, spade-shaped hands wrought of earth and stone, and they shoved the mud out and to one side. The hands disappeared back into the hole again, then came back out, not so fast but efficient, strong. In a short time, the little elemental Jiri had summoned had dug out a hole deeper than she was tall.
When the spirit was done and gone, its body slumping back into the ground, Jiri went to the edge of the narrow pit it had made, the kindi she had carried back with her from Lozo heavy in her arms. She stared down at it, a lumpy ball of silver-gray metal strands, with only the tips of All-in-Ashes' wings sticking out. The iron embedded in those ebony wings glowed dull red with heat, and the smell of smoke and ash filled Jiri's head.
"Shani," she said softly. "I wish..." What? What can I say? What can I do? I can't—
I can.
Carefully, Jiri set the chain-wrapped kindi down on the ground beside her. Then she reached into the over-large shirt Morvius had given her and pulled out a pouch. She reached inside and carefully untangled the carved bone animals of the necklace from Shani's spearman kindi.
Oza's necklace. The last bit of him that she had.
"Oza," she said, the necklace smooth and heavy in her hands. "Thank you. You trusted me when no one else would. You saved me. I owe you everything, and I will spend my life repaying that debt." A tear slipped down her face and splashed across the carved bone wings of a bird. "It's going to be hard. I couldn't save you. Or Thirty Trees. But I saved what was left of the Mosa. I saved Kibwe. Maybe I saved the Expanse. But I'm not done. Not until I see you again. Until then..."
Jiri forced her hands to move. She took the necklace and wound it into the strands of chain that she had wrapped tight around All-in-Ashes' kindi. "Go with Shani. Teach him to control the fire, like you taught me. Be strong for him, with him. Save him. Like you saved me."
Jiri took her hands away from the kindi and sank them into the red dirt, whispering her magic into the ground again. From the earth, thick hands of stone rose up, gathered the kindi and pulled it down into the hole. Jiri knelt beside it and watched the elemental pull the dirt and mud back into the hole, covering the kindi and then smoothing out the ground in front of the Mango Woman, leaving it looking as if it had never been disturbed.
Jiri looked up. The Mango Woman was still staring at her, her blank eyes hard.
Sera offered to take that thing, to give it to her church to lock away. Like a trophy. Jiri had just shaken her head, and to her credit that was all Sera had said about it. I didn't have to bring it here, though. I could have thrown it into the boiling mud with the kindi I took from the biloko. Or thrown it into Smoking Eye. I could have, but...
Jiri frowned at the Mango Woman. "Don't look at me like that. You didn't destroy it either, when you the chance." All that power, all that fire, just waiting to be used...
With a shudder, Jiri turned her back on the statue and walked away.
Nothing was worth that. Nothing. At least Patima had taught her that.
Up ahead, Linaria and Morvius and Sera were waiting, and beyond them Kibwe, and beyond that the whole wide Mwangi Expanse. Green and growing, hungry and dangerous, beautiful and alive—and all hers. The day and night of it, the life and death of it—all of it was in her, with her, and she would fight for it as long as she lived in this world.
"Jiri?" Linaria called. "Are you done? We have some mangoes, and Morvius says he found some kind of red taro root."
Red taro root? Jiri pulled up short. The only red plant that grows around here that looks like taro is fireweed.
"Oh," she said. "Oh no."
She started to run back to the camp, but it was hard to breathe when she was laughing that hard.
About the Author
Gary Kloster is a writer, a stay-at-home father, a librarian, and a martial artist—occasionally all in the same day, very rarely all at the same time. His short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Fantasy, Apex, Intergalactic Medicine Show, and Writers of the Future25, as well as on paizo.com, where his short story "The Gem"—a prequel to this novel, starring Jiri and Oza—is available for free.
Gary lives in a Midwestern college town, an island of super-science, geekdom, and good Korean BBQ drifting in a vast sea of corn, with a tribe of genius-introvert-geek girls. You can find him cluttering up the Internet at garykloster.com.
Glossary
All Pathfinder Tales novels are set in the rich and vibrant world of the Pathfinder campaign setting. Below are explanations of several key terms used in this book. For more information on the world of Golarion and the strange monsters, people, and deities that make it their home, see The Inner Sea World Guide, or dive into the game and begin playing your own adventures with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook or the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box, all available at paizo.com. Readers particularly interested in the Mwangi Expanse should check out Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Heart of the Jungle.
Abadar: Master of the First Vault and the god of cities, wealth, merchants, and law.
Abyss: Plane of evil and chaos ruled by demons, where many evil souls go after they die.
Andoran: Democratic and freedom-loving nation to the north of the Inner Sea.
Aspis Consortium: Unscrupulous world-spanning trade organization devoted to uncovering and selling relics, among other concerns. Often finances adventuring expeditions.
Bard: An artist or performer able to harness his or her innate magic through art. Often cross-trained in combat and other adventuring skills.
Baregara: Apelike demon with a second mouth in its chest.
Bekyar: Human ethnicity from southern Garund, often associated with the slave trade, demon worship, and ritual scarification.
Biloko: Small, reddish humanoids that prey on other sentient beings. Capable of unhinging their jaws like snakes in order to swallow prey whole, as well as luring prey with their magical song.
Bloodcove: Port city at the mouth of the Vanji River on the western coast of the Mwangi Expanse.
Bloodhaze Mosquitoes: Species of mosquito that grows to monstrous size and carries sleeping sickness.
Bonuwat: Human ethnicity from southern Garund, found primarily on the coasts. Its people are known for their expert sailing and fishing.
Calistria: Also known as the Savored Sting; the goddess of trickery, lust, and revenge.
Charau-Ka: Race of intelligent, demon-worshiping apes in the Mwangi Expanse that prey on other intelligent creatures.
Cheliax: A powerful devil-worshiping nation located north of the Inner Sea.
Chelish: Of or relating to the nation of Cheliax.
Court of Hateful Smiles: The inner court that rules Usaro under the Gorilla King.
Demons: Evil denizens of the plane of the afterlife called the Abyss, who seek only to maim, ruin, and feed on mortal souls.
Druid: Someone who reveres nature and draws magical power from the boundless energy of the natural world (sometimes called the Green Faith, or the Green).
Dwarves: Short, stocky humanoids who excel at physical labor, mining, and crafts.
Elementals: Beings of pure elemental energy, such as air, earth, fir
e, or water.
Elves: Long-lived, beautiful humanoids identifiable by their pointed ears, lithe bodies, and eyes that appear to be all one color.
Expanse: The Mwangi Expanse.
Fever Sea: Region of the Arcadian Ocean on the southwestern edge of the Mwangi Expanse.
Garund: Continent south of the Inner Sea, renowned for its deserts and jungles.
Garundi: Human ethnic group found primarily in the desert nations of northern Garund.
Goblins: Race of small and maniacal humanoids who live to burn, pillage, and sift through the refuse of more civilized races.
Golems: Artificial creatures constructed magically and given life by spellcasters.
Gorilla King: The sentient gorilla who rules Usaro, reincarnated by the power of the Demon Lord Angazhan.
Green Faith: General name for a variety of spiritual practices by which some spellcasters draw power from the natural world.
Half-Elves: The children of unions between elves and humans. Taller, longer-lived, and generally more graceful and attractive than the average human, yet not nearly so much so as their full elven kin. Often regarded as having the best qualities of both races, yet still regularly discriminated against.
Halflings: Race of humanoids known for their tiny stature, deft hands, and mischievous personalities.
Inner Sea: The vast inland sea whose northern continent, Avistan, and southern continent, Garund, as well as the seas and nearby lands, are the primary focus of the Pathfinder campaign setting.
Iomedae: Goddess of valor, rulership, justice, and honor.
Irrisen: Realm of permanent winter far north of the Inner Sea, ruled by the descendants of the Witch Queen Baba Yaga.
Keleshite: Of or related to the Empire of Kelesh, far to the east of the Inner Sea region.
Kibwe: Major city in the eastern portion of the Mwangi Expanse.
Kindi: Small, carved figurines invested with a portion of a soul through powerful magic.
Mwangi: Of or pertaining to the Mwangi Expanse; someone from that region.
Mwangi (ethnicity): Several different dark-skinned ethnicities native to Garund, often lumped together into a single category by northerners, including the Bekyar, Bonuwat, Mauxi, and Zenj.
Mwangi Expanse: Sweltering jungle region south of the Inner Sea.
Ndele Gap: Pass through the mountains on the eastern edge of the Mwangi Expanse, used frequently by trade caravans.
Nidal: Evil northern nation devoted to Zon-Kuthon, the god of torture.
Nidalese: Of or pertaining to Nidal; someone from Nidal.
Ocota: Large lake in the middle of the Mwangi Expanse.
Paladin: A holy warrior in the service of a good and lawful god. Ruled by a strict code of conduct and granted special magical powers by his or her deity.
Polyglot: Collective name for the many interrelated dialects of the Mwangi Expanse.
Rovagug: The Rough Beast. God of destruction.
Shackles: Pirate isles southwest of the Inner Sea.
Shory: Ancient empire, now long since fallen into obscurity, which was most famed for its flying cities.
Sorcerer: Someone who casts spells through natural ability rather than faith or study.
Taldan: Of or pertaining to Taldor; a citizen of Taldor.
Taldane: The common trade language of the Inner Sea region.
Taldor: A formerly glorious nation that has lost many of its holdings in recent years to neglect.
Thirty Trees: Village near Kibwe in the Mwangi Expanse.
Umdhlebi: Deadly carnivorous trees capable of magically luring prey into its clutches.
Undead: Dead creatures reanimated through magic.
Usaro: City of intelligent, demon-worshiping apes in the Mwangi Expanse, ruled by the Gorilla King. Widely feared by the Expanse's humanoid residents.
Vanji: River in the western Mwangi Expanse.
Wara: Name for the tribal leader in certain villages in the eastern Mwangi Expanse.
Wererat: Rodent lycanthrope; someone who can change from a humanoid to a rat and back again.
Wizard: Someone who casts spells through careful study and rigorous scientific methods rather than faith or innate talent, recording the necessary incantations in a spellbook.
Zenj: Human ethnicity native to the jungles of the Mwangi Expanse. The darkest-skinned and most populous of the southern peoples.
Acknowledgments
I owe a great deal to a lot of people for making this book possible. To my Mom and Dad, who put up with me sneaking books in everywhere and let me spend my weekends gaming in my friends' basements. To everyone in All Rights Reserved, my local writing group—Jaleigh Johnson, Elizabeth Shack, and Kelly Swails—and my online writing group/con posse, the West Writers: Julia Dvorin and Heather McDougal. All of you have listened to me whine very nobly over the years. And to my editor at Paizo, James Sutter, who was not only amazing to work with, but put up with my occasionally unique approach to grammar. Finally, I want to thank my daughters, Corinne and Camille, for letting Dad write.
Sometimes.