“Stillwater, Odare,” he spoke to the tree branches overhead. “I’m ready for you to come meet me.”
There were startled oaths in the camp a moment later as three imps appeared in the air.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Silas told the other humans, who gaped at the spectacle, or who raised weapons defensively. “I’ll be back soon.”
The imps closed around him, and the group vanished.
“What did I just see?” Stash asked aloud.
“I hope it was the same thing I saw!” Jimes exclaimed. “Did Silas and a bunch of sprites just appear and disappear?”
When Silas returned to the healing spring shore, Riesta was out of the water, and removing the last of the other imps from the water as well.
“Your friends advised me that I should start doing this,” she immediately told Silas. “I’ve tried to be as gentle as possible.”
“The gods will praise you themselves for your gentleness,” Fowler spoke up.
“Silas is not rough with us, which is also good,” Odare pointed out.
“We’ll wait until they are all awake, and then they can carry us back to the camp at the same time,” Silas told the Mover, as he knelt by Lexy’s body once again. He studied her features, noting for the first time that her cheek bones were high, and her chin was sharp, and her eyebrows had delicate curves above the wideset eyes that had always given her a look of placid complacence, except when she had looked angry.
“I thought that you and Mata were perhaps a couple still,” Riesta spoke quietly over Silas’s shoulder.
Her words implied something about Silas and Lexy, he knew. He wasn’t offended, just surprised by the comment.
“I’m not sure what my relationship with Mata is anymore,” Silas answered, without looking away from Lexy. “But I did not have a relationship with Lexy here. We were just companions in combat,” he said. “Until now.”
The imps were all awake and dressed, he saw, as he heard the low buzz of their chatter.
“Help me pick her up,” he asked of Riesta. The girl moved without hesitation to help him cradle Lexy in his arms.
“We’re ready to return to our land,” Silas announced. “Thank you all for your help with this journey.”
The imps took his words for the hint that they were, and the small blue personages moved into positions around their humans, then lifted them away upon the inexplicable trail through gray space.
The camp broke out into an uproar when the group arrived at the clearing, and the imps separated themselves from their passengers.
“Farewell and thank you, my friends,” Silas spoke.
“Thank you all,” Riesta echoed.
“We are sorry to meet under such circumstances, Silas-friend. We hope to meet again in happier times,” Odare spoke for the group, and then the imps disappeared.
“Great gods of everything!” Wither exclaimed. “What have you done?”
“Is Lexy okay?” Octavia asked, as she immediately noticed the relaxed condition of the bundle in Silas’s arms.
“Lexy is dead. She died in the fight against Maze,” Silas bit each word off sharply.
“Dead?” Stash cried.
“The Ivaric guards ambushed me,” Riesta spoke up, “and Maze joined the fight against me.
“Silas and Lexy happened to be nearby and joined the fight, but Lexy fell with a knife in her chest.”
“And what do the sprites have to do with all of this? Who even knew they were real? And they can just appear and disappear!” Ditto exclaimed.
“They are imps, not sprites,” Silas mechanically answered as he lay Lexy down and let Octavia examine her. “They have powers to move across great distances, and they carried us to a spring with magical healing waters. I thought maybe the water could save Lexy, but it was too late. The knife wound was too severe,” he explained.
“And then you thundered your threat to Maze?” Jimes asked.
“Not a threat,” Silas spoke slowly. “It was a promise.” He looked up at the sky and spotted the stars through the open spaces in the leafy boughs overhead. “I need to send more messages,” he commented mostly to himself.
“What is our plan now?” Stash asked, as he knelt next to Octavia. The thief looked heartbroken over the loss of Lexy, who he had traveled with for weeks.
“I’m going to send messages to Amenozume and Barnesnob,” Silas said calmly. “That’s tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll give Lexy a funeral. And after that, I’m going to go destroy Maze.”
He turned away from the others, not yet in a mood for companionship or conversation as he tried to absorb the pain of Lexy’s death. He wanted to simply tell people things, things that would make him feel better, rather that converse and listen and understand.
He faced towards Amenozume first, where it would still be slightly earlier in the evening.
“Sloeleen, this is Silas calling. Silas is speaking from Avaleen, calling Sloeleen in Amenozume. Sloeleen, I want you to tell Lumene and Carlton that it is time for Carlton to come back to Avaleen. Avaleen is going to need his leadership. I am going to attack the leader of the Ivaric forces in Avaleen, a magician named Maze, and I am going to destroy him,” Silas felt satisfaction in making the boast. “I hope Carlton will start the journey back to Avaleen immediately, so that he can help re-establish control of the city. I don’t want to stay here long.”
Silas paused, then went on with the difficult part of the message. “Lexy is dead. She died here because of Maze.
“Don’t delay,” he hurried on, his voice catching momentarily. “Message from Silas, complete.”
He exhaled, trying to drain away some of the emotion.
Silas collected his thoughts. He had planned out his campaign and needs hastily, as he had walked through Avaleen on his way back from the Healing Spring. Calling for Carlton to return had been the first step; next, he would embark on his second step.
“This is Silas, in Avaleen, calling to Vertuco, Speaker at the palace of Barnesnob. Silas requests to speak to Vertuco,” Silas began his communication. “Vertuco, I request assistance from Barnesnob. I have been inside Avaleen city, and learned that Maze, a priest of L’Anvien, oversees the city on behalf of Derith of Ivaric. I am going to defeat him and set Avaleen city free from Ivaric’s rule.
“I request that Barnesnob send forces who can patrol the city and maintain order once Maze is defeated and dead,” Silas spoke.
“I will leave Avaleen as soon as the city is secure, so that I can continue the war against Ivaric. The sooner Barnesnob’s forces arrive, the sooner I’ll be able to carry out that campaign,” Silas added. “Send forces soon,” he urged. “This is Silas, ending his message from Avaleen to Vertuco of Barnesnob.
He finished the conversation, satisfied that he had pressed his case forcefully. As he considered the message, he realized that he heard Jimes’s voice also sending a message via the Wind Words. The message was in code, a code Silas didn’t know and couldn’t interpret. He remained motionless, listening to the words, until he heard Sloeleen’s name, and realized that Jimes was ending a message to Amenozume.
What would his friend have told the Speaker on the island, Silas wondered? He turned and walked back to the camp, where the others were warily eating their evening meal, watching him warily. His anger and abruptness had set them all on edge, he realized. He could address that by speaking to them. And he was ready to speak to them. They were his friends, and he owed them an explanation of what he expected would come next.
“I’ve just sent messages to Amenozume and Barnesnob,” he spoke loudly enough to address everyone.
“I’ve asked Amenozume to send back the nobleman Carlton to Avaleen, so that he can help restore rule to Avaleen, once Maze is dead. And I’ve asked Barnesnob’s palace to send forces to Avaleen to help maintain order in the city, once Ivaric’s forces leave,” he told them. “What did you tell Amenozume?” he singled out Jimes with the question.
“I told them that you were madder t
han I had ever seen, and it is frightening,” Jimes said forthrightly. “And I told them that Lexy was dead, that she died by your side, and there was nothing that could have pleased her more than to be in a battle with you.”
Silas paused, surprised by the comment. He knew that Lexy had wanted to fight against Ivaric; he hadn’t considered whether it mattered to the girl whether she was with him or not.
“Will we bury her tomorrow?” Stash asked.
“Yes, we will,” Silas agreed. “We’ve got time. The city will still be there when we finish giving her our respect.”
There was silence that Silas took as agreement on the burial, and he found a bite of dinner for himself, then sat down. He was isolated from the others to some degree, he realized; his own emotions and behavior had separated him from them. But it was something that couldn’t be helped, he told himself. Losing Lexy had been very upsetting.
“Do you expect your messages will bring results?” Wither and Stash came to sit with him.
“I’m going to plan to act as if they will,” Silas answered. “I’m going to fight Maze no matter what, and defeat him. So, either we put someone in place to rule the city, or the country will fall into chaos.”
“Just as simple as that?” Wither asked.
“I’m going to kill Maze,” Silas answered matter-of-factly. “After that, I hope we can find a way to keep the peace in Avaleen. Having help from Barnesnob seems the most logical way to do it. But I intend to carry on after Ivaric.”
“If you can wait a few days, I’ll go back to Barnesnob and personally lead a peace force back here,” Wither promised.
“It makes sense, Silas,” Slash spoke up. “I know the underside of this city. It’s not evil like Ivaric is, but it’s a sound plan to want to have some guards here keeping order until the new regime is established. I think sending for Carlton was a good idea, but he’ll need a little time to get things organized and pick out the people he wants to help run the country.
“You are going to be able to truly do this, aren’t you?” he asked cautiously.
“I believe I can,” Silas spoke softly, not upset by the implied doubt. “Krusima spoke to me in a dream,” he recounted. “He told me I can do more, that I can stretch myself. I believe him. I believe he knew I was going to have to confront Maze, and he gave me the message in order to be prepared.”
“Well, I know you and the gods have a special relationship. If you think they’re guaranteeing this, that’s good enough for me,” Stash seemed satisfied.
“So, it’s agreed, I’ll leave tomorrow and head straight to Barnesnob to make sure we have forces coming, and you’ll wait for my return?” Wither asked for confirmation.
“I’ll wait,” Silas grudgingly agreed. “Not forever, but I’ll wait for a while.”
“I’ll hurry,” Wither pledged. “I’ll leave before dawn tomorrow. Just give me time.”
Silas nodded in agreement.
“Good. I’ll tell the others,” Stash smiled, and the conference came to an end.
Wither left early the next morning, while Silas was still asleep. Keen was on guard duty and wished the Barnesnob guard well as he crept away in the darkness and started on his journey.
The rest of the squad spent the morning digging a grave for Lexy, working slowly as they used sticks to excavate a suitable resting place on a small hill that was covered in wildflowers. Silas and Stash had known the Amenozume rebel the longest, and they spoke of her fervor and loyalty in a few awkward words as a memorial service, before she was placed in the grave and covered over with earth and stones.
“Let’s go into the city and get some materials to make a marker for her,” Silas suggested after everyone quietly returned to the campsite.
“You promised Wither you wouldn’t kill Maze just yet,” Stash warned.
“And I won’t,” Silas protested. “This is really just a shopping trip.”
“I’d like to go,” Octavia volunteered. “I could find some additional healing herbs, perhaps, in the market if we go shopping.”
Silas sat in silence for a moment, considering the suggestion. He hadn’t decided what he thought about Octavia after her desertion and then return to the battle group. It seemed unfair to not give her a second chance, he decided.
“Alright. Wrap my eyes to hide them, and we’ll go see what we can find,” he agreed.
The trip to the city proved enlightening. The streets were swarming with people, many of whom seemed to be preparing to leave the city.
“Everyone wants to flee before the Abomination comes to take Maze,” the vendor at the market explained casually as he sold creams and herbs to Octavia, while Silas stood by. “Many are fleeing to the north; they’re the ones who supported and pandered to Ivaric; they’re going out the north gate to try to find safety under Ivaric’s rule in the north.”
“Is Maze still here?” Silas spoke for the first time. He’d let Octavia speak for the pair of them up to that point.
“You bet he’s here. Want to see his handiwork? Go to the north end of the square and look at the soldiers’ bodies hanging from the wall. Maze said they were trying to desert, so he hung them as an example,” the man behind the tale said. His clothes were a patchwork of repairs on a very old jacket and trousers, a testament to the man’s authenticity as a resident of the countryside, Silas decided. In his own home village, there had been no shame in patches on clothes to make them last longer.
“Are there desertions?” Silas asked.
“What do you think? When the entire city hears the Abomination speak and threaten, what do you think folks decide to do? I think they’re all smart,” the herb seller declared as he handed a bag to Octavia.
“It seems smart to me,” the healer agreed in a small voice. “I’ve got what I wanted,” she told Silas. “What do you need?”
“Some wood carving tools,” Silas answered.
“You ought to go to the stall three rows over. There’s a man there who sells tools,” the herb seller said.
“Thanks, we’ll go. Octavia, lead me there,” Silas spoke, and they walked through the market to the stall where a man sold wood carving tools.
“I want to carve a headstone for a friend’s grave,” Silas told the man when Octavia stopped in front of the stall where a table held dozens of tools.
“You’re a blind man; how can you carve?” the stall holder cackled. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard all day. Well the second stupidest – there’s some who really believe this Abomination is coming to Avaleen. There’s no such person, so he’ll never be here, will he?” the tool salesman laughed coarsely.
“Pay him for the tools we need,” Silas told Octavia. He put his hand on three carving blades, tools like he had used in Brigamme as a youth, when he’d carved in the timber that was so abundantly available in the mountain forest.
“How’d you know to pick those three?” the stall holder asked in astonishment as he held his hand out to accept the coins Octavia quietly spilled into his palm.
Silas leaned in close to the man, then pulled his blindfold up, revealing the colored eyes that marked who he was.
“I just know, believe me,” Silas replied. He spoke gently as the man stared at his eyes, while the color drained from the frightened face. “And if I were you, I’d get out of Avaleen,” Silas advised softly.
He pulled his blindfold back into place. “Let’s go see the bodies hanging on the wall, and then we’ll go back to camp,” he instructed Octavia.
“Why do we have to go see the executions?” Octavia asked. “I don’t want to see more death.”
“Seeing it will remind us why we have to fight Maze,” Silas told the girl, and she woodenly walked up the aisle of stalls to the north wall, where four bodies hung from ropes, several feet off the ground where they could be observed by all passersby.
“Alright,” Silas said. “We can go now.”
Octavia quietly led him back to the east gate out of the city, where Silas again made a wind f
lurry disorient the guards so that the pair of visitors easily passed out, and then returned to the campsite in the woods near the city a little later.
Silas sat quietly that afternoon and carved a slab of wood from a fallen tree, giving Lexy a name and a heroic testimony, then he planted the slab in the soft, fresh dirt of her grave that evening, as the western sky turned red.
“That’s all I can give you for now,” he said softly, before he returned to the campsite for the evening. “But I’ll give you revenge soon.”
The next morning, the second, larger group of fighters from Heathrin arrived along the eastern road and set up position in the camp.
“Did you have any trouble along the way?” Keen asked the new arrivals.
“No, we just had to stay out of their path; a lot of Ivaric soldiers seem to be withdrawing back north to Ivaric. Sounds like there’s some kind of curse on them now?” Reese tried to explain what they’d seen and why.
“Here’s their curse right here,” Ditto pronounced, pointing at Silas, and then the story of the hostilities in the city were revealed to the newcomers.
“This is Vertuco, calling Silas, Vertuco of Barnesnob sending a message to Silas,” Silas stepped away from Ditto’s narrative just before it wrapped up, as a message arrived from the Speaker of the palace of the southern nation.
“Silas, I have conveyed your message to the Traders Council. A member of the Council – one who you may know – has spoken in favor of the proposal to send an army to help you secure Avaleen,” Vertuco announced.
“Katjen of the Council spoke in favor of the plan and testified to your great powers. She has persuaded the Council that you will succeed, and that our traders will prosper from the re-establishment of free trade with Avaleen once again.
“I hope this news brings you satisfaction, Silas. Send confirmation of receipt. This is Vertuco, speaking to Silas, the Abomination,” a chuckle seemed to hang off the end of the last word, and the message was finished.
“Vertuco, this is Silas. This is Silas the Abomination, just outside Avaleen, sending a message to Vertuco, the Speaker of the Palace in Barnesnob.
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