The Verdent Passage

by Troy Denning

  The mul paid no attention to the apology. "It's a good thing Anezka came with us," he said, pointing at the vast forest below. "Without her, we'd never be able to find Nok in all those trees."

  FOURTEEN

  Singer

  Agis woke to a peculiar serenade of dulcet chirping, underscored by the gentle patter of a soft rain. Without opening his eyes, the noble rolled over on his bed of groundcloud—the name they had given to the forest's undergrowth of puffy fungus—and yawned. Languidly he reached out to embrace Sadira. Instead of her soft skin he touched something plump and warm, covered with coarse bristles. The chirping grew softer and more melodious.

  "Who's there?" Agis asked. As his grogginess cleared he remembered that in order to reduce the jealous tension in the group, they had all agreed to sleep alone.

  The noble opened his eyes and, in the pale dawn light found himself staring at a row of six sapphire eyes. Below the gemlike orbs, a pair of flexible fangs grasped a wad of groundcloud and stuffed it into a hairy mouth. As the creature ate, it rubbed two pairs of shiny forelegs together, producing the serenade that had awakened the noble Four more legs supported the drum-shaped body upon which his hand rested, and a great lemon-colored abdomen hung suspended from its rear quarters.

  Gasping in alarm, Agis jerked his hand away and reached for his sword. The huge spider reacted by scurrying up a silk cord running from its abdomen to a white web overhead. There it remained, dangling upside down and rubbing its forelegs together to produce gentle, soothing tones.

  The noble sat up, carefully watching the singing spider. He was astonished to see that, as he had slept, the creature had woven a solid, tentlike web high overhead, anchoring it to the jointed trunks of four dancing conifers. Although the web rolled and undulated as the wind twisted the trees into different shapes, Agis could not complain about the shelter offered by the spider's handiwork. Outside his tent fell a steady drizzle, but he remained as dry as if he'd been sleeping beneath the roof of his own mansion.

  There were a dozen similar canopies in the area. Below each, a chirping spider fed on the groundcloud. Sadira, Neeva, and Rikus were each covered by web. Only Anezka lay exposed to the rain, curled into a wet ball and shivering in the cold. Apparently the halfling had fallen asleep during her watch, for she rested on the ground some distance from her bed.

  The spider above Agis chirped tentatively, then reached for the ground with two legs. Chuckling at his instinctive revulsion to the creature, the noble put his sword away. To his surprise, the spider descended on a thick strand of silk and landed at his side. It resumed feeding, chirping in a contented tone that made Agis appreciate just how peaceful the forest morning was. In contrast to the ruddy sunrises of the Tyr Valley, the dawn light here was soft and lush and green, the cruel sun hidden behind a thick morning fog.

  Growing reflective, the noble looked at his dozing companions. Their bodies were tense and restless, as if even in their sleep they were cringing against the lash—or, more likely, dreaming of the day they would kill those who held them in bondage.

  "What am I doing here, Singer?" Agis asked, assigning a name to the arachnid. He suddenly felt acutely aware of the vast differences that separated him from his fellows. "My ancestors would think me crazy to risk the Asticles estate and name for the sake of slaves."

  The spider chirped a few playful notes, then moved closer to Agis and rubbed its bristled body against his leg. The noble guessed that the thing wanted him to rub its back, but he could not bring himself to touch it again. He fell slightly chagrined for letting the spider's appearance put him off, but no matter how friendly the beast was, it remained repugnant.

  Instead he said, "Still, we know what's right, don't we? If my ancestors had acted on principle instead of fear, perhaps we wouldn't need to worry about what Kalak is planning for his games."

  As Agis spoke, a curtain of moss parted on the other side of camp. A pair of halflings slipped into view and silently crept toward a nearby spider tent, their footsteps muffled by the patter of morning rain. They resembled Anezka in size and appearance, save that they were both male and clothed only in shaggy breechcloths. The rain washed the filth from their bodies in long streaks of black mud. In their hands they gripped flint-tipped spears, and on their belts hung short daggers of sharpened bone.

  The noble was about to wake his friends when the two halflings gently laid their spears aside and rushed the spider they had been sneaking toward. They did not snap a branch or create any sound that Agis could hear, and even their target seemed unaware of their presence.

  Grabbing his sword, the noble crawled toward the exit of his tent. Singer scuttled around to face the direction he was going. It chirped what seemed an inquisitive tone and followed, but neither it nor any of its kin paid any attention to the halflings' presence. Agis paused, wondering why the spider at his side did not seem alarmed. Either it could not see that far, or its kind was some sort of halfling pet or herd animal.

  An instant later, he had his answer. The halflings' target whirled around to meet its attackers. The spider's chirping changed to a single screech of alarm, then it fell silent and frantically tried to climb into its web. Simultaneously, Singer and all the other spiders scrambled into their webs, continuing to chirp in agitation.

  The halflings' prey was not fast enough to reach its web before the two hunters tackled it. As the little men wrestled their prey to the ground, Agis stepped into the cold rain and called, "What are you doing?"

  The halflings, who had both drawn their bone daggers, looked toward Agis. The noble motioned toward his shoulder satchel. "If you're hungry, we have food enough to share."

  Though Agis spoke in a congenial tone, the halflings obviously took the stranger's words as a threat and rushed out the back side of their quarry's tent. They disappeared into the forest as silently and as quickly as they had come, leaving their spears behind.

  Behind Agis, Rikus cursed, then Neeva cried, "Get away, you hairy brute!"

  Sadira was apparently the last to awaken and see the spiders. She screeched once, then called, "Where'd these come from?"

  Agis did not answer, for he was still trying to catch a glimpse of the halflings. Unfortunately, it appeared that would be difficult. He did not see so much as a branch waving in their wake The only sign that they had even been near the group's camp was the spider they had attacked, which had climbed into its web and was chirping angrily. The other spiders relaxed and began to rub their legs together in lively, spirited songs.

  Rikus was the first to reach the noble's side. "What's all the noise about, Agis?" the mul demanded, his bone twin-axe in one hand and his satchel in the other. "You're not scared of a little spider, are you?" He gestured at a nearby tent, where the spider had already dropped back to the ground on its silk cord.

  "The spiders and I get along well enough, especially since I like to sleep dry," Agis answered, holding one hand palm-up in the icy rain now soaking him. "I scared away a pair of halflings."

  "Halflings?" Neeva asked, stepping to then sides.

  Before Agis could answer, Sadira joined them, her satchel already slung on her back and Ktandeo's cane in one hand. She was using her free hand to brush a, her shoulders and hair.

  "You can stop preening," Neeva said. "After a few minutes in this drizzle, you're going to look as bad as the rest of us."

  Sadira regarded the others with an air of distaste.. "I can live with that, I suppose. You don't see any webs on me, do you?" she asked. "I can't stand webs."

  Neeva rolled her eyes, but turned the half-elf so she could inspect the sorceress's shoulders. "No webs."

  "Good," Sadira answered, breathing a sigh of relief. "Now, what's this about halflings?"

  They were over here," Agis said. "I scared them off, but maybe we can coax them back out."

  "Halflings are too skittish for that," Rikus grunted "Anezka would have a better—"

  The mul was interrupted by another spider's screech this time from where Agis ha
d been sleeping. He turned and saw Anezka beneath his silken canopy, wrestling with Singer.

  "Anezka, no!" Agis shouted, rushing toward the small woman.

  He was too late. She lifted the steel dagger he had given her, then plunged it into the spider's abdomen. Singer stopped struggling, but continued to rub its legs together in plaintive, agonized tones.

  As Agis approached, he saw that the spider lay on its back. Anezka sat astride its thorax, having opened a long gash in its abdomen. Pushing at the halfling with the four legs closest to her, Singer weakly struggled with its attacker and chirped out its agony.

  Anezka plunged her arm into the slash she had opened in the spider's abdomen. She felt around for a moment, then gave a quick jerk and pulled out a handful of froth-covered eggs. Singer's legs moved more frantically, filling the air with a loud howl. The other spiders responded with sad melodies.

  Agis grabbed the halfling by the shoulders. "What are you doing?"

  Anezka's arms were covered with green slime from the spider's abdomen. She scowled at him and, by way of explanation, began to eat the eggs.

  This was more than the noble could stand. He grabbed the halfling and threw her to the ground as far away as his strength allowed, paying no attention to where she landed. Next, he turned to the spider, which was now chirping a pained lyric. Intending to put Singer out of its misery, he unsheathed his sword—but found he had no idea how to kill the spider quickly and painlessly.

  "Agis, your back!" cried Rikus.

  The noble spun around and saw Anezka raising her dagger to throw at him. Rikus leaped to the halfling's ad slapped her arm as she released the weapon. The knife plunged into the ground at Agis's feet.

  The noble looked from the dagger to Rikus. "Thank you."

  "I'm only paying you back for what you did at the cliffs. Now we're even," the mul answered gruffly. At the same time, he grabbed the halfling to prevent her from making another attack. She growled incoherently and struggled against Rikus's grip.

  "It's not very smart to throw our guide around like that," Neeva said, fixing her green eyes on Agis's face. "What are you so upset about, anyway? It was just a spider."

  "Spiders or not, these are friendly creatures," Agis said, gesturing at the canopies over their heads. "It would have been just as easy for them to string their webs someplace else, and then we would have had a wet, cold night."

  "I suppose so," Sadira said, joining them. "But we don't need any more hard feelings in the group right now. If Anezka wants to eat a spider, let her. After all, it's her forest."

  Once again, Agis was reminded of the differences between himself and his four companions. The gladiators had spent their lives fighting for the amusement of others, so to them the spider's agony must have seemed a small matter. No doubt, even Sadira had seen—or even suffered—much worse on Tithian's estate. It was no wonder that they regarded the beast's pain with indifference, whereas the noble, who had purposely shielded himself from such unpleasantness, regarded it with horror and revulsion.

  Even considering the differences in their backgrounds, Agis was outraged at the halfling's cruelty. Having someone in his company behave so callously made him feel as he thought Tithian must, simply doing what was necessary to survive. If he was going to risk life, property, and name, the noble was determined to do so in the cause of principle, not practicality.

  "I don't care if Anezka is our guide," he said. "I won't stand for needless torture, by her or anyone else."

  "If it will make you happy, ask her to kill her breakfast before she eats it, but don't start a fight over it," Neeva said. She pointed at the center of Singer's body. "Now, if you want to put this spider out of its pain, strike there— deeply."

  Agis did as she suggested. As his sword plunged through the spider's body, its legs stopped writhing and it died quickly. "Thanks," he said, cleaning his blade on the groundcloud. "How did you know where I should strike?"

  "We've often fought giant spiders of one son or another in the arena," she explained, turning toward where she had left her satchel. "Let's get on with our journey."

  Agis picked up the dagger Anezka had thrown at him, then went to where Rikus held the hauling. "In my company, I'd appreciate it if you'd be more selective about what you eat and how," he said to the small woman.

  Rikus shook his head in derision. "Only a noble would be soft enough to worry about eating a spider."

  "Perhaps," Agis replied, not taking his eyes from Anezka. "But I'm serious about what I say."

  The noble put the halfling's dagger in his satchel. He had intended to return it to Anezka as a sign of good faith. From the way she had stared at him, however, he knew the halfling would only have used it to attack him the first time his back was turned.

  After Agis slipped his satchel onto his shoulder, Rikus released the halfling. Anezka angrily gathered her tilings, then led the party down the crest of the ridge, moving through the forest as effortlessly and as silently as though she were walking on barren, level ground. Behind her, Rikus and Neeva crashed through the trees with all the grace of a matched pair of boulders tumbling down the hillside. Sadira followed the gladiators, carrying Ktandeo's cane in one hand and grasping at tree fronds with the other as she fought to keep her footing. Agis came last, carefully weighing each step, yet cursing under his breath as he slipped with every fifth or sixth footfall.

  They descended along the top of the muddy ridge for over an hour before it abruptly ended in a sheer cliff. Without pausing, Anezka simply changed directions to avoid the precipice. She moved down the side of the ridge, descending its steep slopes with the grace of a rock leopard. The others followed more laboriously, punctuating the soft patter of raindrops with the sounds of their passing: snapping sticks, tumbling rocks, and occasional cries of alarm as they slipped and fell to the ground.

  After some time, they heard a faint hiss coming from the gully at the bottom of the ridge. Rikus and Neeva drew their weapons, carrying them at the ready position. Agis unsheathed his sword, and Sadira silently considered the spells she had memorized at the moment.

  Anezka laughed at them and continued down the hill. The hiss grew louder, changing into a steady, loud sizzle that echoed off the trees. Agis tried to imagine what kind of strange creature could be making the noise, but he had never heard anything like the sound and failed to think of a single possibility.

  At last they tame to a break in the underbrush. Rikus and Neeva stopped dead in their tracks. Sadira and Agis quickly stepped to either side of the two gladiators, then also stopped, their eyes wide with shock.

  A twenty-foot ribbon of water blocked their path, flashing silver and white as it ran down a narrow, rocky channel. Agis stood at the stream's edge, listening to it roar and gurgle as it flowed down its jumbled course. Anezka waded out into the stream and began to drink.

  "Where does it all come from?" Rikus asked, taking his satchel off so he could fish out his waterskin and fill it.

  "From the rain," Agis answered, also fetching his waterskin.

  "There's too much water for that," Neeva said. "It would have to rain every day to keep this gully full."

  "What makes you think it doesn't?" Sadira asking her hands at the dense forest around them. "Plants need water. This many plants must need a lot of water."

  "Rain every day?" Rikus scoffed. "That's impossible. I've seen five rainstorms in my life, and that's a lot for someone my age."

  "Perhaps the rain is attracted by magic," Agis suggested, his mind wrestling with the problem of how something as wondrous as a forest could exist. "If sorcerers draw their magic from plants, maybe plants can make magic that causes it to rain."

  "There's no doubt that something magic is at work here," Sadira said. "But who can say what? It could be the forest itself, or it might be something else. I'm not sure we'll ever understand—and maybe we shouldn't."

  "No, that's where you're wrong," Agis countered. "If the forest can exist in the mountains, then it can exist in other part
s of Athas. For that to happen, we need to understand what makes it grow first."

  Rikus finished filling his waterskin. "The noble's soft in his head as well as his body," the mul mumbled.

  "I don't know about that," Neeva said. "Did you see his faro orchards? If anyone could grow a forest, I think if would be Agis."

  "My thanks, Neeva," replied Agis, encouraged by her support. "If I could just five in the forest for a year—"

  "Whatever Kalak has planned for Tyr would be done and over," Sadira said. "Maybe we can make Athas green with trees someday, but not now." She pointed downstream. Anezka had left them and was already far ahead, picking her way silently along the stream bank. "Let's try not to lose her again. I'm afraid she won't come back for us."

  They quickly closed their waterskins, then crashed down the gully in pursuit of the halfling. Eventually the ravine descended into a deep, steep-sloped canyon, and the stream transformed into the frothing waters of a wild river. The whole canyon trembled with the power of the mighty watercourse, and the thunder of its torrents overwhelmed every other sound within the valley.

  Although the drizzle had finally let up and the sun was baking the rocky shoreline, Anezka continued without letting the party stop to marvel at the river. The halfling led the way along the shore, and eventually they came to a trail overhung by mossy tree boughs.

  As they stepped onto this path, Agis caught sight of a quaking branch out of the corner of his eye, then glimpsed the silhouette of a halfling hiding behind the tree itself. The halfling was pointing a small bow at Rikus's back.

  "Rikus, down!" Agis called.

  The mul obeyed just before a twang sounded from the small man's hiding place. A tiny, foot-long arrow sailed over Rikus's head and lodged in the bulbous trunk of a frond tree. When Agis looked back to the attacker's hiding place, the halfling was no longer in sight. Neeva and Sadira swung around with their weapons ready. When Agis drew his sword, Anezka disappeared into the forest on the opposite side of the trail.