Soldier Song (The Teralin Sword Book 6)

by D. K. Holmberg

  Now that they were with Novan, they were heading toward the coast, thinking to catch transport across the sea. From there, Novan believed he could find the guild, and once they did, Endric wasn’t sure what he was expected to do. Somehow he might be able to see things that Novan couldn’t, though he wasn’t entirely sure what that might be.

  “I still think Senda would be the better fit for this,” Elizabeth said.

  “And I happen to disagree,” Novan said. “It has to be believable, Elizabeth. There are those within the guild who know me. They know the kind of person that I am, and they would know the kind of person I would choose as an apprentice.”

  “Would you choose anyone as an apprentice were you not forced?” Elizabeth asked.

  Novan glanced over at Endric, watching him. “Were it not for his commitment to the Denraen, I do believe that Endric would make an excellent historian. Not that I think he should change his career path, but there is a reason Urik feared him.”

  It was the second time that he’d said that to Endric, and he suspected that this time was just as much for his benefit as the last.

  Did Novan think Endric might change his mind?

  And maybe he would. He didn’t love the idea of what they were doing, but now that he understood it was more than about the guild going silent, and that it had something to do with the Denraen losing access to their line of knowledge, he felt a greater need to be a part of it, even if he wasn’t certain what exactly there was for him to do.

  “What will they do?” Endric asked. He looked at the rest of the Denraen, his gaze lingering on Senda and then Pendin. “When we are doing whatever it is you intend for me to do, what will the rest of them do?”

  “Because we need to head to the south, it might be beneficial having soldiers with us.”

  “These lands are Deshmahne controlled?”

  “Not where the guild has much of a presence. The Deshmahne remain little more than a cult,” Novan said.

  “We both know that’s not quite true,” Endric said.

  Novan tipped his head, nodding. “Perhaps not entirely the truth, but they aren’t completely dangerous. The Deshmahne have posed no danger to anyone within the southern continent. That is something we have heard quite clearly.”

  “And that’s the reason my father has not attempted to attack.”

  “He hasn’t attempted to attack for quite a few reasons,” Novan said.

  Endric arched a brow at Novan. “You know what my father plans?”

  “I generally know the way your father thinks about these things. He would ensure the Denraen hold peace, and in that regard, your father is doing exactly what he needs to, but there are some of us who begin to wonder if the Deshmahne might be hiding something.”

  Endric laughed bitterly. “Begin to wonder?”

  “Your experience with the Deshmahne isn’t the same as everyone’s,” Novan said.

  “They attacked in Vasha.”

  “They did, and they failed. Everything we have been able to determine has told us that failure has given them reason to pause. They have decided to reevaluate their goals, and—”

  Endric raised his hand, cutting Novan off. “I might be able to believe the Deshmahne have chosen not to attack, but I have a very hard time believing that they have reevaluated anything. I’ve seen firsthand what the Deshmahne are willing to do. Don’t try to tell me that they have decided that attacking doesn’t fit with their agenda.”

  “Endric—”

  He raised his hand again.

  Novan nodded. “Perhaps you will learn something on this journey, then.”

  “Perhaps I will,” he said.

  They continued riding, and they reached a pass heading through the mountains about midday. It was an easy enough pass to travel along, and as they went, they paused near a stream, allowing the horses to drink. From there, they headed deeper into the mountains. The journey reminded him of his time in the Antrilii mountains, though he was thankful he didn’t need to worry about groeliin. They shouldn’t have any way of ranging this far south. The Antrilii should keep them confined in the northern mountains.

  Every so often, Endric thought he saw flashes of fur and his heart leaped, the hope that he might see one of the merahl coming to him, but there should be no merahl in these mountains.

  “What is it that you see?” Novan asked as they wove through the pass. It was a wide pass, and it went up a shallow incline before heading back down into a valley.

  “Nothing,” Endric said. “I think it’s just my imagination.”

  “And what are you attributing to your imagination? Is there something out here?”

  “There are times I think I’m having memories. Nothing more than that.”

  “Memories of what?”

  Endric glanced over. “I had a difficult experience in the northern mountains. Without the help of certain allies, I might not have survived it.”

  “You speak of the Antrilii.”

  Endric shook his head. “I speak of the merahl,” he said softly.

  Novan chuckled. “The merahl. They are an interesting creature. Descended from a noble race, and they maintain much of that nobility. I think that only the Antrilii truly appreciate them.”

  “I appreciate them,” he said softly.

  “Then again, you would.”

  Endric glanced over at Novan. “Is that because I’m descended from the Antrilii?”

  “It’s more because you had an experience with the merahl that made you appreciate them,” Novan said.

  After pausing for a while, they continued onward. More and more, Novan took the lead, and by the end of the day, they had reached the far side of the pass. In the distance, Endric swore he could hear the ocean, though he knew that was nothing more than his imagination. The ocean still had to be at least a day or two away, and when they reached it, they would still have to find transportation.

  “How is he,” Endric asked as Senda approached. He indicated Pendin, watching his friend. He had been quiet for the best part of the last day or so, and Endric caught him looking at Elizabeth, though he couldn’t tell whether it was an expression of anger or whether there was something else.

  “Pendin is the one you worry about?”

  “I worry about you, too, but not as much as I worry about Pendin.”

  “You should worry about us. I don’t like where this is taking us,” she said.

  “To the south?”

  She nodded. “I know how you feel about the Deshmahne, and I worry about what you might do when we reach there.”

  “I think I’ve proven myself lately,” Endric said.

  “You have proven yourself, it’s just that I—”

  “You worry about whether I have the necessary self-control.”

  “I didn’t think I had to. Over the last few years, you haven’t given me any reason to question your self-control, but when it comes to the Deshmahne, I’ve learned your control is not always what it should be.”

  “I’m not going to race after the Deshmahne and put us in danger,” he said.

  “I know that. When I think about it, I know that. It’s just that there are times when I still wonder.”

  “I’m not sure what to make of that,” Endric said.

  “I’m not either. That’s just it. I don’t want to question you, but there are times when you don’t give me much choice.”

  Endric stared at her for a moment, wondering what to say. Maybe there wasn’t anything to say. She was right that he did have an eagerness when it came to the Deshmahne, and try as he might to ignore that, he couldn’t let go of it.

  Maybe that was his father’s last great challenge for him. Dendril hadn’t necessarily wanted him to make this journey, but now that Endric was here, was this what his father had wanted him to prove?

  And if he did, why have him come with this group?

  Endric knew his father had a bright mind, and with that bright mind, he was almost as cold and calculating as Urik had been. What had
he planned?

  “I think we should camp for the night,” Novan said.

  Endric glanced over at Senda. “If this is a conversation you think we need to continue, I will.”

  “It’s not. I trust you. Really I do, it’s just that—”

  “It’s just that you don’t, not entirely. If you did, you wouldn’t worry about what I might do when it came to the Deshmahne.”

  After all the years of stability, all the years they had been in Vasha, he was surprised she would still see him as that impulsive person.

  Then again, Senda was often able to pick up on things he couldn’t. Maybe she saw him as impulsive because he still was. Regardless of what he wanted to believe of himself, maybe Senda saw the impulsivity within him and feared for him. It could be her way of trying to protect him. Endric wouldn’t put it past her to do so, and really he should be willing to recognize faults within himself.

  They found a place to camp near a stream. Pendin helped get a small campfire going, and it crackled softly. They passed around dried venison, and there was a somber air over everything.

  “How do you expect us to get to Boastin,” Endric asked Novan after they had settled for the night.

  “Boastin is easy enough to reach, and the ports are good, so they should allow us to take a ship south from here, and once we hire the right captain, we can make a rapid crossing.”

  Endric didn’t love sailing, not anymore after what had happened near Salvat, but there was no reason to let his previous experiences cloud what they needed to do. And it was what he had agreed to. Hadn’t he known that traveling this way meant going by sea?

  If anyone should have difficulty, it would be Senda. She was the one who had very nearly died on the journey before. He didn’t sense any trepidation from her, but then, she had traveled extensively since then.

  “We might as well begin to discuss what is entailed in you serving as my apprentice,” Novan said.

  Endric let out a heavy breath. “That’s exactly what I want to do right now.” He glanced over at Senda. “I still think she’d be a better fit for this.”

  “They would recognize that I would never have Senda on as my apprentice.”

  “Why not?”

  “No offense to Senda, but there would be differences between us. The apprentice and master relationship is predicated on the ability of the apprentice to listen to the master.”

  “You don’t think I could listen?” Senda asked, leaning forward. There was a dangerous edge to her voice, and Endric was pleased that it wasn’t directed at him this time.

  “That’s not it at all, and I think you know it. It’s more the questions you ask would be in line with the questions I ask.”

  “I don’t understand what that has to do with anything,” she said.

  “Think of it like this. When you are working for a contact, do you want one who has the same information as someone else, or do you want someone who has a unique perspective?”

  Senda’s brow furrowed. “You know a unique perspective is the most important.”

  “Exactly. And when it comes to an apprentice, it’s much the same. Having a unique perspective would be the primary objective I would be looking for. The rest of the guild would know that about me. If I had an apprentice who was too similar to me, and the questions asked were too much like those that I would ask, it would raise suspicion.”

  “I don’t know whether that is intended as a compliment or not.”

  Novan chuckled. “You can take it however you want,” he said.

  Endric viewed it as a compliment. It meant Novan thought Senda was enough like him that it would draw attention. “What would you like me to learn?” Endric asked.

  Novan reached into the pocket of his cloak and pulled out a thick journal. He handed it over. As Endric took it, he flipped through the pages and found that they were blank.

  “You need to begin documenting.”

  “Documenting?”

  “Observing. Record what you see, and I will make notes on that. You will hand me your journals at the end of the day, and from there we will decide what else we need to work on.”

  “Why do I get the sense that you intend to treat this as if it’s a real apprenticeship?”

  “How else should I treat it?”

  “You realize that I am a high-ranking Denraen.”

  “And in this situation, your rank means nothing. You are my apprentice, and my apprentice will do as I say and will report to me everything that he observes, particularly things that he has questions about.”

  “Careful, Novan. If you push this—”

  Novan raised his hands. “I’m just sharing with you what would be expected of my apprentice.”

  “I have a feeling that this is more than that, at least to you.”

  Novan grinned and winked at Senda.

  Endric turned to Senda. “Why do I get the sense that I might wish this was you by the time this was all over?”

  “He’s your friend,” Senda said.

  Endric let out a heavy sigh. “What else do I need to know, historian?”

  “About what?”

  “About how I document. Is there anything in particular you would expect me to be doing?”

  “A historian will document what they see, and occasionally there will be comments made in the margins, and it is these comments where you can raise questions about the meaning of what you observe. No other place should you add your own interpretation. It should only be observation, and you use that observation to help you identify what it is that you are looking at.”

  “And is there anything in particular you think I should be looking at?”

  “The same as what I will be looking at,” Novan said.

  “And what’s that?”

  “We will be watching the guild.”

  “It occurs to me, Novan,” Elizabeth started, scooting toward them. The fire crackled near her, and she stared at Novan, keeping her gaze locked on him. “We know very little about the guild itself.”

  “What is there to know?”

  “As I said, it seems that there is very little known about the guild. How does one become a member of the guild?”

  “There is an acceptance process. A full guild historian must put forth a member for elevation within the guild. Once they do, the testing can take place.”

  “What is involved in the testing?” she asked.

  “It varies. Each guild member present at the guildhall gets to ask their own questions. When they do, they are granted the opportunity to help decide who gains entry. It is how the different guild members control the structure and function of the guild.”

  “Why wouldn’t they want more members?” Endric asked.

  “Generally, the guild does want more members, but there are times when they want to eliminate specific influences.”

  “Such as you?” Elizabeth asked.

  “It’s possible,” Novan said.

  Endric frowned. “Why wouldn’t the guild want you in it?”

  “I have too much of an opinion on matters, and I am well known for my willingness to intervene if I think it’s appropriate,” Novan said.

  “He meddles,” Elizabeth said, looking over at Endric and then Senda. Pendin sat off to the side and remained silent. “He doesn’t want to say it, but his meddling has annoyed the rest of the guild. Now, the Conclave probably feels very differently.”

  “You might be surprised,” Novan said.

  Elizabeth arched a brow. “The Conclave doesn’t enjoy the fact that you put yourself into situations like that?”

  “The Conclave would rather myself and others with a similar inclination were more reserved with how we choose to get involved.”

  “A particular inclination? By that, I presume you mean Brohmin.”

  “You need to be cautious,” Novan said to her. “There are some among us who would rather not have our names dispersed openly.”

  “I doubt anyone would recognize that name.”

  “Br
ohmin?” Senda asked.

  Endric glanced over at her.

  “The name Brohmin is quite well known. It’s one I’m sure all of the Magi, at least any who have come of age, would recognize.”

  “Why?” Endric asked.

  “Well, the name Brohmin is tied to a man hundreds of years ago who the Magi helped elevate in stature. They view him as a failure and feel as if he were responsible for a great devastation.”

  “Yes, well, the Magi often have a skewed perspective on things,” Novan said.

  “How long ago was this?” Endric asked.

  Senda waved her hand. “Five hundred years or more. Why would somebody name their child after him?”

  “What makes you think they named a child after him?”

  “It’s not that common of a name,” Senda said.

  Novan stared at her for a moment. She began to frown, and Endric glanced from her to the historian, wondering what it was that passed between them. There was something, though knowing the two of them, he doubted he would ever learn what it was.

  “You still haven’t told me what else you would like me to be doing,” Endric said.

  “I have told you,” Novan said. “I expect you to make notes in the journal, and you will need to allow me to see those notes so that I can make comments. That is what would be expected of my apprentice.”

  “Do we really need to go through all of this for this farce?” Endric asked.

  “It might be a farce, but it’s one that will gain us entry. From there, then we can decide what more we need to do.”

  “Why this city?” Endric asked.

  “Why what city?”

  “The one we’re heading to. Why would the historian guild be here?”

  “The guild moves,” Novan said. “There is a desire to not stay in any one place for too long. Doing so would allow others to recognize the location of the guild, and plenty would prefer that not happen.”

  “Why?”

  “For a variety of reasons, but the simplest is that there are people who search for the master archives,” Novan said.

  “The master archives?”

  Novan nodded. “The master archives are the original copies made by the historians. They are used by the historians to make their notes, and it’s the one place where people are able to leave an interpretation. The copies are meant to be free of interpretation, and they are meant to have nothing more than the observations of the historian. I hadn’t realized the archives moved until recently. Perhaps I should have kept my focus upon the guild, but I let it lapse, and now my connection to the guild has slipped.”