by P. G. Thomas
“Twenty,” answered Jasmine, who was now standing behind Lauren.
Jaykil quickly glanced at his hands, then Breax’s, “She is correct. Now imagine stacked high by same number.”
“What?” asked John.
“Four hundred,” answered Lauren.
Breax held up one hand, “Now on my fingers, count the stacks of beer mugs.”
When the dwarf pointed to a finger, John counted, “Four, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty.” He then gave his head a shake. “Two thousand years?”
“About the same amount you drank since we went home, isn’t it?” stated Lauren.
“A beer a day, three on Saturdays, two on Sundays. I don’t think so.”
Jaykil continued, “One day you may master numbers. Now count your number again.” Then he held up three fingers.
“Six thousand,” exclaimed Lauren, and then she looked at John. “Are we getting close now?”
“Maybe.”
Then Lauren added, “Now double it.”
“Why?”
“We’ve been gone eight years, so is your liver feeling old yet?”
“I’ll let you know in four years.” John reached for the mug beside him, “but beer here doesn’t count.” He then turned back to Jaykil. “What’s that number then?”
“The years Father guided dwarf,” replied Jaykil.
John nodded. “How many years did dwarves stack cut beards in the mountains?”
The dwarf held up four fingers.
“Four thousand years?” stated John, “There’s more in those mountains than just granite.”
“What do you mean?” asked Lauren.
“Four thousand years of carrying beards from lost souls to be interned in all of those mountains. This world, their pain of losing a loved one, the stories relived over and over, the history not forgotten but stacked sky high. It’s possible there has been a residual effect from their emotions that has manifested a presence in those mountains.”
Lauren shook her head in disbelief, “How many?”
Breax pointed up, “Count the stars at night,” then he extended his hand with four fingers raised, “and on my fingers count again.”
The unimaginable number shocked John, “Who were you fighting?”
“These lands once many called home, and Father smiled on all. When you first arrived at Ironhouse, the grand stairs were surrounded by large paintings. Do you not remember,” asked Jaykil.
“The one with the—giants and polar bears is still there,” replied Lauren, “but they painted over the one that had dragons on it.”
“Both attacked dwarf,” Breax advised, “Others also: men with scales, spider tribes, and clans disgusting like orcs.”
“Spider tribes?” asked Lauren.
Jaykil nodded, “Cave dwellers where they found and tamed giant spiders. Into the fights they would attack from ceilings high.”
“Many others,” stated Breax, “but to history, lost are the names.”
“You guys love stories, so how can they be lost?” asked John.
Jaykil nodded, “As the stories were long, much granite was needed. In the oldest mines, we found their granite carved stories. Bards with paper and ink scribed those marks from granite to paper, returning the stories lost to the dwarf libraries.”
“Does Ironhouse have a library?” asked a surprised John.
Breax nodded, “Ironhouse is old, and we have the largest library.”
“Sons of a bitch, why didn’t anybody show me it?”
“Unchosen,” replied Jaykil, “Words and history, both have power, so all dwarf protect them like rare gems.”
“Then how did the names get lost?” asked Lauren.
“The stories were long, and granite is hard,” began Breax, “When the hand grows tired, the chisel slips. Since we cannot undo the mistake, a new word new lived in granite.”
Jaykil looked to the ground, “Dwarf birthed many words this way.”
“What happened to all of these—creatures or whatever?” asked John.
“Mother,” replied Jaykil.
Lauren looked shocked, “She killed them?”
Breax shook his head, “Her actions in ink are not written, but one day, dwarf woke, and our enemies were no more. We wared for so long that dwarf did not know how to stop. Then brother battled brother—until Mother offered peace.”
Chapter 14
Jedimac was wearing his mask in order to hide his features. He had altered his voice accordingly before talking to the five Black Watch members who sat in front of him. “These names, you are sure about all of them.”
The five also had concealed their faces, but it was Tillman’s voice who responded. “From the records we examined at the Darkpaye bank, these are the six wealthiest residents, who all had transactions that suggested deception.”
Jedimac was glad the mask hid both his look of disappointment and surprise. “You gained access to their bank?”
One of the larger thieves spoke, “After we had convinced the night cleaning crew they needed some temporary help, we called a few who excel at defeating locks.”
“Of the cleaning staff?”
“Bottom of the Key. People throwing all sorts of garbage in it,” replied the second sizeable thief, “We contracted them to clean it up.”
Jedimac, confused by the missing name, turned to the three small masked men, “So explain to me what you found.”
In turn, the three described how they examined the balances, cross-referenced the connections, and followed the simple backtracking, discovering the true purpose of the transactions to purchase extensive properties.
Then Tillman held out a piece of paper that contained both names and several addresses. “We believe these two run the Darkpaye assassins guilds, as there was an equal distribution of funds to both, most likely to ensure balance. While one of those locations will be their house, the other is most likely their guild, as the records showed no other properties they owned. When we examined their accounts, there were numerous payouts to ‘employees,’ but no acquisitions of assets, suggesting an abnormal activity. The second account did receive payments from Zymse Darpac, rather large ones also.” Under his mask, Tillman smiled, “We also examined the transactions of Zymse Darpac, like you requested,” though Jedimac had never made it. However, Jedimac was aware that while Tillman always kept his head buried in the books, it was constantly turning to listen to nearby conversations. “Even though he had large initial deposits, over the years he has withdrawn great amounts, yet over the past few years, his withdrawals have decreased, like he has a new income source or decreased his living costs.”
Large transaction fees to the assassin guild. To cover expenses to Alron? “What is next?” asked Jedimac.
The first large thief smiled behind his mask, “The Council hall. A lot of gold headed that way, and according to our little friends, we need to follow it.”
Once the five had left, pulling out several small slips of paper, Jedimac began writing notes in the thieves’ code to reorganize the Black Watch. Since he already had a squad watching Zymse, now that he had the six power names, he wanted to know everything about them that he could. Then he penned two specific notes, to the squads primarily composed of assassins, writing down the last two names with the addresses, telling them to investigate all. When the first runner arrived that night, he quickly exchanged messages, advising the new ones were a priority.
*******
Scanning the mirrors, Steve wondered how to explain geo-sync satellites and high-resolution cameras to Gayne. Then the one he had set to the side, thinking it a waste of time, showed the splendid carriage of Zymse on the polished surface. Focusing on the scene playing out, he watched Zymse approach the door, banging on it with anger. Why would he be at the animal shelter? When nobody answered, Zymse called to one of his guards who kicked it open, but his visit inside was short, only adding to his anger. An hour had passed before Steve saw the carriage, and once again, it was not where he expected
it to be. It had arrived at the deserted building where the guards had tried too hard to blend in. He watched intently for an hour, wondering if Zymse would leave it carrying a small child, but when the one clad in black returned to his carriage, his hands were empty. During the rest of the day, the carriage remained absent from the magic mirrors.
*******
That night, reporting their observations from the day, when Steve scanned the group, there was a distress in his eyes. “Zymse Academy, who let the birds in?”
“Why are you looking at me?” asked Logan.
“It was me, Dude.”
Steve shook his head, “Why?”
“Don’t like the guy. Since he treats everybody like crap, I thought he should receive some of the same.”
“I think I’ve said this before.” Have I? “Quit screwing with Zymse. Nobody, I mean nobody, is to take any action against him. If one more thing goes south on him, he’ll know somebody’s plotting against him. One event, he might be wondering, but with two, he’s starting to think about a connection. If one more thing happens, you can be sure he’ll start to take defensive actions. DID I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”
Scanning the group, Lauren’s voice was cold. “He’s right. I saw the look in his eyes today. We don’t do anything until we know where Sam, Hope, and Brooke are.”
After a moment of silence, John asked, “What else did you see?”
“To be honest, I thought he would go back to his compound, but he showed up at that animal shelter, and even had one of his men kick open the door. When he came out, he looked more pissed, if that’s even possible.”
“Animal shelter? Is there a grandfather clause in your last order, Dude? General?”
Steve reached for a mug of beer, “You’re going to make this worse by telling us what?”
“When I met some friends at the dump, I found the men who captured my kids,” After quickly describing them, Steve acknowledged they sounded like the men he talked with inside the shelter. Then Zack continued, “The last time I saw them, they were feeling down, so my friends, more or less, asked if they could stay for lunch.”
Lauren’s hand slammed the table, “The next person who does something, anything, without first checking with me—you’ll regret it. If you’re even thinking about farting upwind from that bastard, you had better tell me first, and Logan, I wasn’t talking about you.” Picking up her staff, she went up the stairs, quickly followed by Ryan.
“They captured my children, so what did you want me to do?”
“Wait,” suggested Logan, “until the triplets were free.”
“Okay, I screwed up. I smelled the scent on them, and the strays were angry with those two. I didn’t know they were best friends with him, but we’ve a bigger problem.”
Steve groaned.
“I went to visit Zymse today, and nobody saw me, but, General, a carriage with six Bastards showed up.”
“This is worse than I thought,” began Steve. “It’s too early for those six you heard about to have been released. That means right now, it’s ten to six, and shortly it’ll be sixteen to six, which means he’s escalating their re-education. Zack listen to me very carefully. Tomorrow, you’ll return to the prison, finding out all of the information you can. I need to know how many guards there are, how they’re armed, and any security they have, or anything else, but you won’t take any action against any of them.”
Since the look in Steve’s eye reminded Zack of his uncle, he just nodded.
*******
Lauren waited until the servants had brought out breakfast the next morning. After they left, she calmly started, “Since I had troubles sleeping last night, I counted the number of ways I could punish any that did something they should not.” Then she looked to Jaykil, “and I used all of the dwarf numbers,” but only Jasmine and John understood the abnormal reference. Then she concluded with, “What’re we doing today?”
John blurted out his quick response, “I’m going with Gayne and Mirtza to the school.”
“Eric, I need you to drive a carriage to the pizzeria,” began Lauren. “With everything that is happening, it might be better if your sword was by my side.”
With Steve advising he would be watching the mirrors, Logan offered to keep Ryan company watching Zymse, but Zack had already left for the Bastard prison.
*******
When the carriage pulled up behind the pizzeria, Lauren had one of her Earth Guards summon any Earth Daughters on the fourth floor. Helight Woodwild had a hard time navigating the top level, as it was crowded with youths freed from the Sun. After twenty minutes, he returned with Shelick, Joyat, Suzli, and three of the new Earth Daughters. Upon entering, they greeted Lauren, and all at once, started talking about the help they had been providing. Holding up her hands for silence, Lauren pointed to Joyat.
“Earth Mother, with so many gifts in the forest, we have benefited many, and the house is full of those who also want to help. Daughter Krisp has selected more for your blessing, and Brother Croy has chosen those capable of protecting.”
Lauren felt the short staff resting beside her on the seat, “I’ll talk to her about that later. Where is she?”
“Mother lives in her heart now, as she travels the town helping both us and those in need.”
“I’m pleased,” replied Lauren, “and I have a new gift to show you today.” Then she called to Eric, asking him to take the carriage to an abandoned lot where she knew the plant grew. Once her Earth Guards had inspected the area, Lauren led them to the back where it had sprouted bearing the gifts. She knelt beside it, caressed several large leaves, pulling off a small branch that had numerous green fruits hanging from it. Handing one to each, eating one herself, she then addressed the six. “This plant is growing all over the Bright Coast. Above the soil, it bears fruits, and roots of many kinds beneath it grow. Caress the leaves, taste its bounty, touch it, so that you’ll know it. Then tell all of the families that hunger how to find it, and that it’s a gift from Mother, that she hasn’t forgotten her children. However, tell them not to harm or harvest the central root, as if they do, it will bear gifts no more.”
Each of the girls took another bite of the green fruit, and with the sweet juices flowing down their chins, they bent down, introducing themselves to the new gift from Mother.
Then Lauren walked over to Jasmine.
“How long shall it last, Earth Mother?”
“Hopefully long enough. It should feed the multitudes, and with all of them thanking Mother, it should wake her from her sleep.” Lauren then looked up at the blue sky, absent of clouds. “It looks like Sister has understood John’s message, so her forests should be healing soon. Let’s just hope we’ve done enough.” Mother, prepare to wake, as your children’s thanks will be like Father’s thunder. Calling to the Earth Daughters, they all returned to the pizzeria.
*******
When Jedimac selected his seat this day, he already knew three of the Calicon Councillors would be absent, as informed by the messages he had received. Arriving early, he wanted a seat that afforded him a good view, a quick escape route, and a wall to guard his back, resulting in a long wait for all of the elected members to take their seats. With time on his hands, recalling the books about Darkpaye, he was unable to remember seeing the six names that Tillman had given him, unlike the never-ending references to Zymse Darpac. Two factions? One wants the Bright Coast, the other the Newlands? That does not make any sense! Can I use one against the other? Is there any like or dislike that I can barter favor with? How do I use this to win favor with the Shadow Council—and both Mothers? For over an hour, he imagined the various possibilities of how he might be able to arrange the assorted pieces, so they played his game. When the bell rang, calling the meeting to order, his focus shifted to the show on the lower level.
Before the clerk could read any outstanding business, one of the Darkpaye members stood, complaining about the increasing crime north of the Key River. Then a second did the same, and by the ti
me the meeting should have ended, each Darkpaye Councillor had spoken similar concerns. When the few Calicon members tried to protest at the redundancy of their testimony, those who held the majority refused to yield the floor.
Just before the meeting was about to end, one stood. “Since we need to protect ourselves, I call for the north to segregate. All those in favor of a vote next week, raise your hand.”
It was no surprise to see all from Darkpaye raise their arms, as those watching born in the Bright Coast raised their voices in protest.
*******
Zack landed on the prison roof, transformed into a squirrel, quickly gaining access to the inside, and then the ground level. Changing into a mink for its superior smelling abilities, he scampered to the farthest barred door close to a set of stairs, hastily climbing them. After several hours of exploring the dark halls, he felt confident that the only residents of the top three floors were rats, which walked on four legs, and proceeded down to the ground level. Understanding the layout of the building, he decided to first search the back corridors, identifying forty rooms that had fresh scents, and in several, he could hear snoring. Rounding one corner, hearing sounds of pain, he cautiously worked his way to the next corridor.
The place reminded him of a cheap traveling carnival horror show where somebody had built a hallway in the back of a long trailer, adding scary music, and a set of stairs at both ends. Inside their homemade hall, they added doors with barred windows, allowing the customers to look through at their slightly animated, gruesome, and crude scenes. The last, always having somebody in costume, who jumped up to scare the customers. However, in this hall, Zack knew that the sounds of whips biting into flesh, muffled screams of pain, and the searing of freshly branded flesh were real, not a recording that blared out of a broken speaker found in a dumpster: it was the sounds of Bastards being tortured.
At several of the doors, he climbed up, looking through the barred windows, and saw Bastards hanging from their feet as their bare branded backs were whipped. When he smelled singed flesh, he passed by those doors, being afraid he would be unable to forget the sights. Having been there for hours, determining that eighty to a hundred Darkpaye torturers were present, he was unsure of what other information he could provide. Having examined the crude main wooden doors and numerous windows, he had found no visible signs of security other than door guards to warn of intruders. Even after watching several leave and arrive, he saw no evidence of secrets to gain access. Beyond whips and brands, the only weapons he saw were swords and daggers. When a gong sounded, calls echoed throughout the halls for all to stand present, resulting in the muffled screams turning into anguished sobs. Hearing doors starting to open, he ducked into the first open one, crawled behind a cabinet to hide, but then he heard several people enter.