by Murray, Dean
Thawed Fortunes
by Dean Murray
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 by Dean Murray
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 1
Va'del kept expecting the cold to stop bothering him, but if anything, the closer they got to the Capital, the more it bit at his extremities. He'd come to realize that truly untiring viciousness could only be found in nature.
The teenager slowed for a moment and looked back to make sure Jain and Cindi were still following him. Jain's face was hidden by the elongated hood of her coat, but Va'del had learned to read more into her posture over the last two weeks than he would have thought possible.
While Va'del was watching, Jain went from a state of obvious exhaustion to walking with the perky little bounce she used when trying to convince him that she'd be fine. Va'del shook his head in amazement. Physically Jain had been through more than he and Cindi put together, but she hadn't complained even once.
Satisfied that Jain was exhausted but not on the verge of collapse, Va'del's gaze strayed to Cindi. If the trip had been the hardest physically for Jain, Cindi had been the one to suffer the most emotionally.
The older woman had been a member of the Guadel, the elite group responsible for protecting the People and serving as a court of last resort, for more years than the younger pair had been alive. She was one of the most stubborn, opinionated people he knew, but all those years of service still deserved better than she'd received.
Losing a spouse to an avalanche, and then being forced to leave their body buried under tons of snow, was about the worst way to lose someone. Cindi hadn't complained, not really, but Va'del had noticed that Jain practically had to force the older woman to eat. Va'del hadn't stopped worrying about Cindi any more than he'd stopped worrying about Jain, but he'd finally decided there was nothing to be done but get her home. Hopefully her friends would be able to do more for her than he or Jain had managed so far.
When Va'del had first met Cindi, he would have flatly refused to believe he'd ever feel anything but hatred and resentment for the older woman. He'd had his heart set on becoming a candidate, and then eventually a full Guadel. Cindi had been determined to ensure that neither event ever happened, and had done her best to build a case for why he couldn't ever be allowed to achieve that dream.
When Jain's life had been on the line Cindi had come through despite Va'del's doubts. Rather than insisting that she and Va'del return to the nearest village, she'd helped him follow the bandits back to their cave. She'd then proceeded to augment Va'del enough for him to fight his way in and rescue Jain.
The ability to use magic to strengthen their husbands beyond the limits imposed on normal men was a key part of what allowed a woman to become a Guadel. Similarly, being able to trust someone enough not to fight the mental invasion augmentation required was necessary for a man to become a member of that privileged group.
For all that the ability to augment or be augmented was a vital requirement, it wasn't the only one, and the Guadel seemed to operate under many rules that Va'del didn't know about in addition to the ones he had figured out.
One of the chief laws seemed to be that the link, and the augmentation that flowed from it, was only to be shared between husband and wives. There were occasional exceptions allowed for those women who had chosen to sponsor a young man as a candidate, but even that was rare.
Worry over what kind of punishment might be awaiting them once they returned to the Capital had resulted in several fitful nights, but he'd been unable to get a straight response from Cindi. Each time he'd attempted to talk to her, she'd looked at him with pain-filled eyes, and he'd choked the words back down.
The woolly pack gurra behind Va'del bumped him with its head as the wind picked back up, reminding him they needed to get moving again. Gently tugging on the pack animal's lead rope, Va'del set off down the winding trail.
The little party traveled for another color cycle before the dark smudge on the horizon grew enough to be identifiable as one of the two main entrances to the Capital.
Jain and Cindi, obviously on the last dregs of their strength, stumbled into the cave entrance and Va'del followed with a sigh of relief. This had been the worst trip he'd been on yet. Hunger had played a factor as the provisions they'd taken from the bandits had been less than expected, but he suspected it had more to do with the fact that he'd been in charge on this trip.
He'd always known that constantly battling the environment took a lot out of a person, but adding in the recurring worry that some mishap was going to result in one of them being seriously injured had been more depleting than he'd expected. Making it to the Capital meant he'd finally be able to wake up and not still be hungry and exhausted from the day before.
The guards who emerged from the near darkness at the first bend in the tunnel weren't the smiling, friendly pair Va'del expected. Instead, there were no less than five heavily-armed men, all of whom looked like they expected a dozen bandits to come swarming into the caves at any moment.
Va'del felt himself tense up until he remembered that nobody at the Capital knew the trio had destroyed the bandit threat. Increased security was just a side effect of the attacks and not anything for Va'del or the others to worry about.
The teenager continued to think that until Alir, a guardsman trainee who'd never liked Va'del, realized who was approaching.
"Sir, that's trainee Va'del."
The large, stocky guardsman who seemed to be in command of the contingent wasn't anyone Va'del recognized, but the older man had his weapon out and pointed towards Va'del almost before the teenager knew what was going on.
"Please keep your hands away from your weapons, trainee. Under the authority of the Council, I hereby place you under arrest until the Council members can question you regarding the events reported by Guadel Cindi."
Va'del felt a lifetime of respect for authority war against the habit of command he'd picked up over the last few days, and the inherent injustice of what was happening. With both Jain and Cindi between him and the guards, there was nothing they could do to stop him from drawing his weapons, but challenging five to one odds when he was unaugmented was nothing less than suicide.
Cindi broke the momentary standoff, shaking herself as if to force her mind back from somewhere distant. "You will ignore that arrest order. There have been further developments since my last written report to the Council. You'll treat this young man with all due respect until I get things straightened out."
Alir laughed before his commander could respond. "On whose authority?"
The commander shot his impetuous trainee a look that said words would be exchanged later, but let the comment stand.
Cindi seemed momentarily confused. "On my authority as a Guadel, obviously."
The guards all shook their heads. "No disrespect intended, mistress, but I know all the Guadel by sight, and you aren't one of them. You're most assuredly not Guadel Cindi as you tried to imply. In fact I can't think of a Guadel that you look
less like. Even if you were who you claim to be, the orders couldn't be overridden by anyone less than someone from the Council."
Cindi looked back at Va'del, obviously unable to believe what was going on, and then the same realization flashed in her eyes that had just occurred to him. The woman who'd left the Capital nearly a month ago had looked very little like the woman standing before the guardsmen now. She'd lost so much weight that her clothes hung around a frame that was only slightly more than half as big as it'd been previously. Even more drastic was the way she'd aged since Oh'scir had died. Try as he might, Va'del couldn't blame the captain for not recognizing her.
Something changed in Cindi's expression, and for the first time since they'd saved Jain, some of her old fire was back. "Fine, send one of your men for a Councilor and we'll clear the record right now."
The Captain shook his head again, and movement behind him revealed the presence of newly-arrived guards with crossbows. His expression seemed to say that he wasn't going to back down, and he was even less likely to send for one of the Guadel to come running like some kind of errand boy. Not based on nothing more than the say-so of an old woman and a couple of kids.
Va'del placed a hand on Cindi's arm and shrugged as she looked at him. "We aren't getting anywhere. There isn't anything left but to let them take me while you get everything straightened out."
Jain's sharp intake of breath eloquently stated how she felt about the idea, but after meeting Va'del's gaze for several seconds, Cindi finally nodded. "I'll get you out of there as quickly as I'm able."
As the guards roughly disarmed Va'del and then closed ranks around him, Cindi shot the Captain a look that should have frozen his blood. "Treat him with as much respect as your orders allow, or by the Powers you'll be sorry before I'm done with you. My word on it as a Guadel."
There was a small chance the threat would be enough to encourage the guardsmen to be gentler than they otherwise would, but Alir's spiteful gaze indicated otherwise.
Chapter 2
The Captain may have indeed planned on treating Va'del with a modicum of respect, but Alir plainly wanted him as miserable as possible. The time-telling glow sphere that would have provided light, and an idea of how long Va'del was imprisoned, was removed within minutes of the officer's departure. Va'del had always preferred the darkness, but as the light reflecting off the passageway walls grew steadily weaker he realized he'd never really known complete darkness. There'd always been a glow sphere nearby and even when they were covered, they still didn't produce the kind of impenetrable shroud he was now forced to endure.
Heat was also denied the teenager, as was food. Va'del was able to partially slake his thirst from a trickle of water that made its way down from the higher levels of the city, but otherwise spent color cycle after cold, hungry color cycle waiting for some indication he hadn't been forgotten and left to die.
The confinement, which had started out unpleasant, quickly became all but unbearable as physical deprivation combined with the oppressive darkness to beat at Va'del's reason with a force he hadn't believed possible.
After waking, cold and weak, for the second time, Va'del realized he'd been mindlessly rocking back and forth for several minutes.
Even if Cindi has gone back on her word, Jain won't forget about me. I know that much, but she isn't a Guadel. How much can she really do? She'll go to On'li and Javin, but what if they won't help me anymore? I was warned not to do anything to worsen relations between the Capital and the villages. Maybe On'li decided I've brought the avalanche down on my own head, and consequently deserve my fate.
When the soft light of a glow stone finally made its way down the corridor leading to Va'del's cell, he found himself suppressing tears of relief.
The massive figure behind the guardsman holding the glow sphere gradually revealed itself as Javin, and Va'del felt a wave of relief wash through him as he saw the white-haired Guadel and On'li, his delicate-looking wife, who were the closest thing the teenager had to family.
Javin was one of the quietest people Va'del had ever met, but he currently looked angry enough that he might have given the guardsman a tongue-lashing if On'li hadn't beaten him to it.
"You will release this young man into our custody immediately, and then let your commanding officer know there will be an investigation into why this prisoner's rights were so soundly violated."
The guardsman looked for a second like he would argue, but taking in Javin's size, his paired weapons, and the almost notorious reputation of the Stephens bloodline, thought better of the idea and quickly unlocked the cell door.
Va'del tried to get up, but he was too weak to stand. Javin quickly realized the problem and picked him up, carrying him out of the prison with surprising gentleness for someone so obviously built for violence.
On'li kept looking over at her husband like she wanted to start asking Va'del questions, but the large man shook his head, so she sighed, covered Va'del up with a cape, and then set off at a brisk pace.
Several minutes later, gentle hands pulled the heavy gurra-wool cloth away from Va'del's face, and Javin set him down on one of the low, metal chairs typical to the homes of the People.
It wasn't until Va'del saw Mar'li, On'li's sister-wife, that he realized they were back in the suite of rooms Javin and On'li rated as Council members.
Javin's tiny second wife was several decades younger than On'li, and almost completely opposite in temperament from her sister-wife. Where On'li was forceful and talkative, Mar'li was shy, and, until she felt comfortable with people, spoke even less than Javin did.
If Va'del hadn't seen the fury in the younger Guadel's eyes as she looked at him, he wouldn't have believed she was even capable of anger, but as it was, he found himself drawing back in fear that she was angry at him.
On'li patted the teenager on the shoulder and shook her head. "Don't worry, that's most definitely directed elsewhere."
Mar'li nodded as she hurried over to the tiny space she used to supplement the meals provided by the communal kitchens.
About the time Javin's second wife handed Va'del a cup of steaming tea, Javin returned from the other room with a set of fresh clothes that looked like they might fit Va'del. "It's dishonorable. She has a right to be angry."
On'li sighed. "The whole business is wrong, but we've known that from the first. When those guardsmen arrested Va'del they didn't know he'd just helped accomplish what the entire Council has been trying to do for months. You can't blame them for carrying out the orders they've been given, it is just the logical result of all of the enemies the poor boy seems to make simply by breathing."
Mar'li shot her sister-wife a disbelieving glance, and the older woman continued before anyone could misunderstand her. "The way they treated Va'del afterwards was inexcusable, but we'll see the proper people punished for that. No use crying over it now."
A part of Va'del wondered if he should be angry that On'li seemed to be minimizing what had happened to him, but he found as he warmed up from the tea and got some of Mar'li's food inside him that he was actually starting to be grateful she was treating him like a capable adult rather than someone who was damaged and in need of coddling.
On'li let the teenager get through most of the food before checking the time sphere one last time and sighing. "I'm sorry we can't give you more time to recover, but we've got to have you at the Council session in a quarter color cycle. Change, and then we'll find out what we need to know on the way."
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On'li had motioned for Javin to lead the way, so she could watch Va'del while they walked. He's starting to look a little better now. In some clean clothes with a little bit of food down his throat, but it's going to be several days still before he'll be fully recovered. I hope he can make it through the Council session.
Once I figure out who was responsible for throwing him in that Powers-forsaken hole without food or heat, I'm going to see them run out of the Guard. I can't imagine Garth would want that kind of filth amo
ng the men he commands, but if that isn't the case, if he fights me on this, I'll see him stripped of his rank and thrown out as well. If we can't keep the Guard from violating rights, none of the rest of this matters--we're only a step away from our entire civilization falling apart anyway.
On'li took a calming breath and thanked the Powers once again that Va'del was bouncing back so well. She wouldn't have blamed him if he'd turned into a sobbing wreck, but politics had always been a game of appearances. As long as Va'del could look and act like a candidate, there was still a chance that they wouldn't lose the fight.
On'li brought her attention back to Va'del's responses to her questions, noting differences between his story and the original report they'd received from Cindi. Unsurprisingly, his story matched up very well with the story Cindi had related just minutes after On'li and Javin had returned home. Her atonement was a small thing against all of the half-truths she'd sent back previously. If only Jain and Va'del had returned a few days later, after On'li and Javin's caravan had already reached the Capital. That would have saved Va'del days of suffering, but it was too late to do anything but try and save Va'del from the potential punishments awaiting him.
Just as On'li finished reviewing Va'del's answers, they arrived at the Council chamber and there wasn't time for any more questions.
As always, Javin led the way into the room, almost as if to ensure that there weren't any enemies secreted in the rough-cut, circular chamber. Even after centuries of relative prosperity, the Council chamber was more or less unchanged from how it had been when the Goddess had first led the People into the mountains.
There was more light now and the chairs had been replaced, probably many times, but nobody had ever spent the time to do the kind of fine finish work that was often seen in some of the living quarters. Not for the first time, On'li reflected on how that simple fact really did embody everything the Guadel were meant to be. Servants and protectors rather than rulers. The current Council spent far too much time playing with people's lives and dreams just to gain political advantage over each other. They'd begun the transition from rough but honest to ornate and useless.