I don’t know.
What happened here, in Shigmar, where we are not so absolute as the kortexem, when the Council saw the marks more visible?
We were condemned to death.
So what would happen in the city of absolutes, the home of your order?
They would kill me.
The kortexi deflated; Myron reached out to Blakstar with his mental hands, surrounded by green light. The others followed the Headmaster’s example, reaching out to comfort him.
Are you suggesting, Headmaster, Blakstar thought, that there is no absolute good or absolute evil?
No, Myron replied, but it is dangerous to think only in absolutes. Look at what happened here in Shigmar. The Council, and many kailum, saw the marks on all of you and concluded you were all evil and should be destroyed. And yet, you fulfill all the signs of the prophecy: why else would Gar be expending so much energy and so many resources to destroy you? It is because he recognizes who you truly are, and he also recognizes the power of words and signs. What most fail to realize is that signs and words only have power to harm us if we give to the signs and words the power to harm us.
Huh? Blakstar thought, confused.
If we empower the word or sign, we attach significance to the sign; if the significance we attach is negative, then the sign becomes negative to us. However, it is not the sign itself that is negative, but the significance we attach to it. So, we harm ourselves by choosing to see a sign as negative, or evil, and so ultimately, we are harming ourselves; no one does it to us.
Yes, I see, master, Klaybear put in. I saw that happen in Klare’s mind, after we severed the compulsion placed there by Gar, himself. As I, with the help of the One and others, knit the pattern of her mind back together, I saw that the pattern had been subtly altered, and so no longer appeared to be the sign we associate with Gar, and evil.
What compulsion? Klare’s voice asked.
Nevermind, Klare, Myron thought. You have to go and help both Storga and Tevvy; I do not know how you will get past the soldiers that I am sure Ghreis has sent into the sewers looking for you.
Thal interrupted. I do not think he will send any. Before he left, he warned us against Mistress Storga and Master Wegex, saying he did not think they were convinced of our innocence, but that he was.
That may be true, Myron thought back, but do not trust anyone you meet, for I fear that very few, if any, will be convinced that you are anything other than evil. Send Klare, or Tevvy, if you run into anyone. We still have to get you out of Shigmar and on your way to collect the second key, and we have to do it before we are surrounded by hostile forces.
I need my horse, Blakstar thought, and the rest of my equipment.
We all need horses, Thal added.
When I get out of here, Myron replied, I will see if I can get them somewhere outside the city, near the waterfall.
We cannot get out that way, Headmaster, Thal said, the path has fallen away.
Then I’ll get them out and near our private entrance to Shigmar.
It shall be as you say, master, Klaybear thought.
Take us back to our sanctuary, Sir Blakstar, Thal thought, we have work to do.
Chapter 3
Reconversion of the fallen orders requires subversion, and subversion requires persons inside the fallen orders and their cities; only through these agents operating within the fallen orders and their cities do we have any hope of bringing them back into the right path and worship of the true god of this world. . . .
from Chronicles of Eklor, First Series, Lectures of the True Sedra
Lecture by Sedra Eklor in the atno of the order 10 (atno 78, standard reckoning)
“How can we find him?” Blakstar asked. “I was only given an elementary knowledge of tracking, not enough to follow the awemi through stone passages; we need a seklesi.”
Klaybear shook his head. “We have not the time to get one, or debate over what we should do.”
Klare picked up a pack from the shelf, and filled it with healing supplies from the shelf. “We need to go now,” she said.
Thal sat at the table of their sanctuary, tapping his new bracers with his left hand. He looked down at his verghrenum and spoke. “You two go . . . ,” he started to say, then stopped, looking closely at the white leather strapped on his right wrist. He noticed the large eye-shaped symbol of Melbarth embossed onto the top, then saw, for the first time, that there were smaller symbols of the others they had seen: a crown, a hand, a water vessel, and a dagger crossed with a key. He looked up. “Do your verghrenum have other symbols on them?” he asked.
“I never really looked at mine that closely,” Klaybear replied, “we were distracted at the time.”
“We have to go, now,” Klare said, an edge to her voice.
“What happens to your verghrenum,” Thal went on, ignoring Klare, “when I do this?” He raised his left hand, index finger surrounded by white light, and touched the small hand symbol.
Klare’s eyes went to her bracelets at the same time as her husband’s hand went to his one of his bracers.
“They feel suddenly warm,” Klaybear replied.
Thal looked at Klare. “And yours?”
“The same,” she replied, forgetting for a moment that she was leaving.
“Interesting,” Thal said. He moved his finger, still glowing, to the water vessel symbol. “And yours, Blakstar?”
The kortexi’s hand went to one of his verghrenum. “I feel it,” he said.
Klare shook her head. “Klaybear, we must go!”
“But this might help us,” Klaybear protested.
Thal had already moved his finger back to the hand symbol, touched it again, and said, “Klare.”
The bracelets warmed on Klare’s wrists.
“Do you feel anything?” he asked, looking at Klaybear.
Klaybear shook his head.
“I’ve got it!” Thal exclaimed. He still held his finger on the symbol.
“What?” Klaybear asked.
“Don’t you see it?” Thal asked.
“No,” Klaybear began, then paused, his eyes narrowing. “I see it–try it with Tevvy’s symbol.”
Thal nodded, lifted his finger, moved it to the crossed dagger and key symbol, then said, “Tevvy.” A white thread shot from Thal’s finger to the northeast. He lifted his finger and the thread winked out. He moved his finger to the crown symbol, said, “Delgart,” and a white thread shot just west of south, straight toward Holvar. He lifted his finger, touched the same symbol again and said, “Marilee.” White thread in the direction of Holvar. Again, and he said, “Rokwolf.” A white thread shot east and up. “That’s odd,” Thal said, “I though your twin brother was in Holvar: this thread points back toward the school of Shigmar.”
“That is odd,” Klaybear said. “I wonder what it means?”
“What are you two talking about?” Blakstar asked.
“Well . . . ,” Thal began, but Klaybear interrupted him.
“There is no time to explain,” Klaybear said. “We’ll go see to Mistress Storga. You two can go find Tevvy. As soon as we finish, we will move toward you.”
“How will you find us?” Blakstar asked. “And how do we find him?”
“I’ll explain as we go,” Thal replied.
Klaybear and Klare went south, retracing their steps back to the dungeon level of the school. Thal and Blakstar started north.
“Northeast?” Blakstar whispered.
Thal nodded. “He went to investigate the voices we heard somewhere near the center of the sewers.” His voice was muffled, having followed Klare’s lead in wrapping a cloth around his face. The kortexi’s face was uncovered.
“We should take the first passage east,” the kortexi whispered, “that should move us closer to the center.”
They soon came to a crossing passage, the way north bridging the western branch of the river and opening up; the crossing passage ran east-west, next to the underground river, but a wall separated the pass
age from the western branch of the river, giving them some cover. They turned and followed it, stopping as the passage teed. Blakstar looked carefully to the north, knowing that they must be near the center of the sewers. The north passage bridged the river next to the point where the western branch met the main branch of the river; he could see the central area.
“It looks empty,” he whispered back to Thal, then he crept across the passage to the wall, crouched, and looked over the low parapet of the bridge running north. He waved Thal to follow him, then, bending low, moved quickly and quietly to the north end of the bridge. Seeing no one, he signaled to Thal, who hurried up behind him.
“I did not think,” Thal’s muffled voice said, “that kortexem knew how to sneak around; isn’t that against your code?”
“Ha, ha, ha,” Blakstar whispered sarcastically, but he smiled. The central area was square, with a set of stairs going up at the center of the area; the main branch of the river flowed south from here, with branches going both west and east. The area was clear, so Blakstar slipped across to the west side of the stairs, crossing a passage going west next to the river. He looked carefully around the corner, and he saw passages going north and east. He signaled Thal, who moved to his side quickly.
“There are passages going both east and north,” he whispered. “Which way?”
Thal touched his finger to the symbol on his left bracer, whispered the awemi’s name, and pulled his finger off quickly. “North a little,” he said, “then east.”
“Good,” Blakstar replied. “The east passage is open, running next to the eastern branch of the river.” He looked again, to be sure there was no one, then moved into the northern passage. They followed it north until a passage turned to the east; they turned east, followed this passage until it crossed another north-south passage. Thal touched the symbol on his wrist, then nodded north.
“I think we are getting close,” he whispered.
“We must be under the northeast quarter of the city,” Blakstar replied. The kortexi looked carefully around and saw no one, so they moved north. The passage was short, ending in blank walls.
Thal touched the symbol again, whispering Tevvy’s name; he saw the white string go directly east, and up. “He is just above us, on the other side of this wall.”
“How do we get to him?” Blakstar asked.
Thal shrugged. “Maybe there is a way up, around here somewhere.”
They backtracked south, then turned to the east. They found a stairway going up, but the gate was locked and rusty; the dust on the stairs was undisturbed.
“I don’t think anyone has gone this way,” Blakstar noted.
“Maybe you could try your tracking skills,” Thal suggested.
“I’m not very good,” Blakstar protested.
“Just try,” Thal said.
The kortexi went back to the crossing, looking intently at the floor; it looked like there were tracks leading north. He turned that way, followed them, but then stopped about ten feet from the end of the passage. He looked up at Thal, who had been following him. “They end here,” he said.
“End?” Thal asked, “what do you mean.”
“They just stop.”
“Did they turn around?”
“I don’t think so, but there are tracks going both ways.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “You don’t suppose someone brushed them out?”
Thal stepped forward, hands glowing white. “Does it look like they turned either way, or continued straight?”
“Straight.”
Thal ran his glowing hands slowly over the north wall. When nothing happened, he turned to his left, running his hands carefully over that wall. Again, nothing, so he turned to the east wall, and the wall started to glow. Thal traced the outline of the teka, examined it for a moment, then touched a spot about chest high. A section of the wall slid back, revealing stairs going up.
“We are lucky,” Thal said.
“Why?” Blakstar asked.
“Whoever went through this door last was in a hurry,” Thal replied, “so he did not take the time to reseal it, and reactivate the teka trap protecting it.”
“Maybe they did at the other end,” the kortexi suggested.
“Only one way to find out,” Thal shrugged.
When Klare climbed up through the grate, following her husband, she went straight to where Mistress Storga lay, hands glowing green. After she had passed her hands over the inert Mistress of Novices, she turned to Klaybear, who was standing by.
“You’ll need to give her some strength,” Klare said, “she is very weak, and we may still lose her.”
“I think she is too ornery to die so easily,” Klaybear noted as he knelt beside her head. He placed his green-glowing hands on Mistress Storga’s head; he drew energy from the air around him, channeling it into Mistress Storga.
“Don’t draw it from me!” Klare snapped.
“Sorry, dear.” After a moment, he spoke again. “That should be enough to get started, since we only need to stabilize her.” He lifted his hands from her head, and the green glow surrounding his hands winked out. “Then we should get out of here before anyone shows up.”
“What’s the matter, dear?” Klare asked. “Didn’t you like your cell?”
“Since I did not know where you were, and since they were going to deprive me of my life, no, I did not like my cell,” Klaybear replied grimly.
“At least this time, I’ll be there with you,” she said.
“That will be some comfort,” Klaybear said. “So, who would get to watch the other one die?”
“I was only teasing,” Klare pouted. “Now, see if you can move any of that rock, while I finish my work here.”
Blakstar stood with Thal at the top of the staircase, listening. “I hear nothing,” he whispered after a time.
“Let’s go in,” Thal whispered back.
The kortexi reached for his sword, but Thal stopped him.
“I think it would be better,” Thal began, “if you just knocked them out.”
Blakstar nodded.
“Besides,” Thal added, “it is so quiet in there, maybe you won’t have to,” he finished with a grin.
Blakstar grabbed and twisted the handle, pushing the door open carefully. They saw a small square room, with a door on the opposite side. Crates were stacked on either side of the room; some stood open. The kortexi stepped into the room, followed closely by the maghi. There was another door to their right. Seeing no one, Blakstar moved to the door and listened; after a moment, he opened the door slightly and looked in. He saw a staircase going up, and he heard the sounds of voices and movements overhead. He carefully closed the door and turned to Thal.
“Sounds like there are many people up there,” he whispered. “Let’s hope that Tevvy isn’t one of them.”
Thal shook his head. “I don’t think he could be,” he replied softly, “the line led up and straight east.”
“He could be higher up, then,” Blakstar noted.
“I don’t think so,” Thal said. “He felt very close. Let’s try that door.”
Blakstar nodded and moved quietly across the room, pausing again to listen at the door. “Sounds empty,” he whispered, then carefully turned the handle and stopped. “It’s locked,” he told Thal, troubled by the fact.
“Aah,” Thal said, drawing out the word, “a use for the thief.”
A spasm of anger gripped the kortexi. “Now is not the time for this,” he hissed. “How do we open this locked door without alerting the people upstairs?”
Thal pointed. “Use the key,” he noted.
Blakstar looked to where he pointed and saw a key hanging from a nail driven into the frame of the door. He took it and unlocked the door, replaced the key and slowly opened the door. This new room was even smaller than the one in which they stood, hardly more than a cell. He saw Tevvy hanging between two wooden pillars, gagged and eyeing them. Blakstar rushed into the room and pulled the gag out of Tevvy’s mouth.
“How did you get here?” Thal asked, noticing a figure crumpled in the corner of the room. “And what happened to him?”
“No idea,” Tevvy replied, “on both questions. I was following the soldiers’ tracks when somebody hit me over the head. I woke up hanging here some time later. A short time ago, he came in to question me, I assume, but his eyes went blank, and he fell where you see him there.”
Thal handed his dagger to Blakstar, then moved over to examine the fallen figure. The kortexi took the dagger and cut Tevvy’s bonds.
“Well, it cannot have been long,” Tevvy said, rubbing his shoulders, “I don’t feel much pain.” He looked up at Blakstar. “How long has it been since I left?”
Thal answered from where he knelt by the fallen figure. “Less than two hours, near as we can tell.”
“How is it that you are up?” Tevvy asked Blakstar.
“They closed the door,” the kortexi replied, “so Klare and I have had a full night’s sleep. Klaybear and Thal traded off, so only got half a night’s sleep each.”
“That room,” Tevvy said, shaking his head and now rubbing his wrists, “I’m still unclear about it, so I’ll just take your word for it.”
“Nor do I understand,” Blakstar replied, “so we are on the same horse.”
“He’s alive,” Thal said.
“I think he must be black maghi,” Tevvy noted.
Thal nodded. “He might have been.”
“What do you mean?” Tevvy asked.
“I said he was alive,” Thal continued, “but his mind has partially unraveled, so when, and if, he wakes, he might not know who he is, let alone, remember his art.”
“How is this possible?” Tevvy asked.
“We should get out of here,” Blakstar noted, “before anyone upstairs notices that he has not come back up.”
“Or that I have not started screaming,” Tevvy added.
Thal seemed to ignore them. “I don’t have a very good mind for maps, Blakstar,” he began, “but you remember when you cut the green string connected to the morgle?”
The Redemption, Volume 1 Page 35