by Murray, Dean
Va'del's legs didn't burn from exhaustion like they had the first few days of the trip, but they were still very tired. On the plus side, it had warmed up somewhat since the caravan had started descending down the mountain, and some of the guards and Guadel who'd made the trip before had started talking about what the lowlands were like.
All of the younger members of the caravan, whether guards, Daughters or gurra tenders, had created mental checklists of the various signposts they would see along the way, and eagerly marked each off as they encountered it.
The fact that they would be entering an entirely different world hadn't truly sunk in for Va'del until the caravan had arrived at the way cave with the Guadel family and small detachment of guardsmen tasked with watching the mountainside for groups trying to scale the cruel slopes. The way cave had been too small to accommodate such a large group, so most of them had spent a cold night in their emergency tents, all too painfully aware of the fragile bubble of warmth and light just a score of feet from them.
The entire caravan seemed to be restless to arrive, eager to return to, or become acquainted with, a place where warmth was the rule rather than the carefully guarded exception. Even more incredible to Va'del was the way people were talking about all of the colors. As long as he could remember people had talked about the warmth down in the lowlands, but this was the first time anyone had told him about the variety of colors to be found below the snowline.
The teenager craned his neck in an attempt to see what had caused everyone to slow down, but they'd come up to a curve in the trail, so it was impossible to determine what exactly was going on. Frost bumped into Va'del in a way he'd learned to interpret as meaning that Vi'en was impatiently crowding the poor gurra. Va'del sighed, patted the gurra consolingly, and took another couple of steps forward despite the fact that it really wasn't safe to follow the person in front of him quite so closely.
As Va'del came around the rocky outcropping, he was surprised to find it masked the entrance to what turned out to be an amazingly large cave.
Si'mon saw Va'del pause in wonderment and waved him on through. "Aye, it's amazing. Near big enough to locate a village here, but it's too close to the lowlanders. We've never really had the ability to defend ourselves completely from them as would prey on us. The mountain has always been our first line of defense."
Va'del nodded and continued on into the vast, irregularly shaped cavern, looking around until he found the piece of rough floor where Javin's family had stopped and started unpacking. Despite his persistent fears, On'li had come through on her promise. Despite the warning, Va'del had still nearly been struck speechless the first night when Jain had appeared to eat with Javin's family.
Jain still wasn't completely happy with the way things stood, but at least this way the two of them got to spend several cycles together each evening. Vi'en didn't like it, but there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop him from eating with the leaders of his bloodline, and she had no right to dictate who they could or couldn't invite to eat with them.
After so many days on the trail, everyone knew their duties, and Javin and Va'del led the gurra away to the oblong stable area. The pair quickly stripped packs off of the beasts, and then Javin began ferrying the bundles that they'd need for the night back to their little campsite while Va'del fed the creatures and checked to make sure none of them were developing any problems.
Javin finished up with the packs and returned just in time to help with the last two beasts. They didn't have to go outside and collect snow for water because someone had drilled a hole through the roof of the cave, and once a heat stone was placed on a specially constructed platform underneath the channel, the snow above began melting and a trickle of water made its way down into a long trough built for the gurra.
A quick look around was all it took to find another, more centrally located basin, which fed from a separate opening with the purpose of serving the needs of the humans. It wasn't a very fast flow, but once all of the heat stones were set up and the interior of the cave warmed up to comfortable levels, it looked like they'd have an overabundance of water.
Their part of the chores done, the pair returned to their section of floor. Jain looked up from the pair of pots where she was fixing dinner, and smiled at Va'del, but there was as much warning in the expression as there was welcome.
Oh, Vi'en decided to stay and eat with us tonight. I wonder why. She usually chooses to eat with her old friends.
On'li finished arranging her, Mar'li's and Javin's bed rolls next to each other, and then leaned back with a sigh. "The best part about this way cave is that all of the extra water will mean we can bathe for the first time in days."
Javin nodded and then fixed Va'del with a look that the younger man knew meant that they'd be sparring tonight. Javin wasn't one to let a chance to get clean go to waste, not when it meant he could first run Va'del around until they were both sweaty and completely exhausted.
Jain announced that dinner was ready, and after dishing up a plate for herself and one for Va'del, sat down near enough that they could talk, but not so close as to be improper.
Vi'en sniffed disapprovingly and directed a look at Va'del that seemed to say she could read his thoughts and they were all dirty. Jain moved as if to open her mouth and give the older woman a piece of her mind, but Mar'li placed a hand on her arm and calmed her with an understanding look.
On'li's entire family had been hugely supportive during the entire trip. Their help had gone a long ways towards ensuring that things weren't awkward anymore between them and Va'del, or them and Jain. It had also helped that On'li had privately told Va'del she wouldn't have let him go through with the marriage to Vi'en if she'd realized how unreasonable the other woman was going to be.
On'li handed a plate to Javin and then took a seat between her husband and sister-wife. "Vi'en, I noticed that you haven't cooked yet this trip. I think it's about time you took a turn."
Va'del's wife shot the other Guadel a nasty look. "The men haven't cooked yet, why should I have to?"
"Javin and Va'del take care of all the gurra, including yours, each and every night. That exempts them from having to take a turn cooking. You on the other hand haven't done anything other than bounce back and forth between us and your friends in an attempt to avoid having to do any work. Not only that, but I rather doubt you've bothered linking with Va'del since you married him. Cooking isn't spelled out under the list of duties required of a female Guadel, but that is. If you don't link with him, he can't become used to fighting at an increased speed, which in turn could result in people dying."
Vi'en swelled up like a gurra trying to avoid being harnessed, and all but spit her words at On'li. "You're not the head of my bloodline and I'll thank you to stay out of things that are none of your business."
Javin shrugged his massive shoulders. "That may or may not be the case. Do you really want us to visit with Va'ma and his wife and determine your exact status once and for all?"
Vi'en spent the rest of the meal studiously ignoring the rest of them, and then left as soon as she was finished. Va'del had been pretty sure the other woman hadn't liked On'li before, but it was pretty evident things had gotten even worse in that area now. That didn't necessarily worry Va'del though as long as Vi'en didn't take her frustrations out on him.
Once they were finished, Va'del and Javin both handed their plates to Mar'li, and stood. Jain looked at Va'del wistfully, but he knew if he offered to try and delay Javin for a few minutes that she'd tell him she had plenty of other stuff to do with the other Daughters in the caravan.
Almost as if she'd read his mind, Jain smiled, the expression lighting up her dark blue eyes. "Go on, I'll see you after everyone's had a chance to clean up. Si'mon will no doubt choose to mark the occasion with a reading from the Teachings."
With a shrug and a wistful look of his own, Va'del picked up his practice weapon and followed Javin to the far end of the way cave. The irregular walls came together in a s
pace only slightly wider than two people, and then opened back up into an oval chamber. Light spheres had been placed at regular intervals around the edge of the room, creating an odd set of shadows.
One of the guardsmen chuckled as Va'del stepped closer to examine the texture of the rock. "Careful there, lad, these walls bite."
Most of the Guard was still treating Va'del like a candidate rather than someone only a single step away from becoming a full Guadel. It rankled, but Javin didn't seem to have heard the comment, and Va'del wasn't sure what else to do, so he ignored the guardsman, instead taking a closer look at the wall. Unlike the outer chamber, which had been made of fairly unremarkable gray stone, the walls here were a darker rock, interspersed with concave, shiny spots that a cautious test revealed were as sharp as any knife he'd ever held.
"It's a type of glass. Like lowlander mirrors, but black. Too brittle for working." Javin had reappeared at Va'del's side, and seemed to think his curiosity was perfectly natural.
"Did you want to train together, or would you rather spend some more time against the others closer to your age?"
Va'del looked over to the small knot of figures practicing at the far end of the room. Even if he hadn't recognized Se'ath's tall, blond figure among the trainees, he probably would have decided against the idea, but the sight of Be'ter's best friend made the decision for him.
"No. If you don't mind, I'd rather stay with you."
A brief look of something that was probably concern passed over the Guadel's face, but he promptly masked his thoughts and nodded. "Very well. Mind the wall."
Javin wasn't quite as fast as Va'del had expected, but he was as strong as he looked, and still knew tricks that the younger man hadn't ever seen. For a while Va'del was able to forget Vi'en, and all of his other worries, losing himself in trying to keep Javin's weapons from his skin.
During one of the times when the pair had stepped back to catch their breath, Va'del looked over and saw Mar'li standing nearby. Looking shyly up at her husband, the younger Guadel shifted back and forth from one foot to the other. "I thought maybe once you and Va'del were finished we could link for a little while tonight."
Javin reached out and tenderly cupped Mar'li's youthful face with one scarred hand, in a gesture that seemed to have levels of meaning Va'del couldn't even begin to guess at, and then nodded.
Va'del watched as Javin found another Guadel willing to face off against him. The two men saluted each other and then attacked, moving like snow leopards, executing blindingly quick strikes that flowed from one technique to another in a seamless chain.
Looking over at Mar'li, Va'del was surprised to see a small smile on her face despite the obvious fact that augmenting Javin was quickly tiring her out. Then again, that shouldn't be so surprising. She's inside his mind, sharing a closeness that most normal people never experience. Will I ever share that bond with Jain again?
Chapter 17
The caravan was only a day away from Crimson Rocks Village when the bag'ligs attacked. Va'del was walking along, tiredly dragging Frost forward by his lead rope, when he heard a strangely-familiar, high-pitched whistle and then suddenly yells erupted from the people around him.
The sub-Guadel had just enough time to toss Frost's lead rope back to Vi'en, and then the humanoid creatures came lurching and bounding out from behind a stone outcropping to the east. Each of the beasts was about half the height of a man, with abnormally long arms and a thick black mat of hair that covered everything but their face. The bag'ligs moved awkwardly, which combined with their high-pitched whistle to make it seem like moving was painful for them, but they devoured the ground between them and the caravan with surprising quickness, moving sometimes on two legs, other times on four.
I didn't know there were bands this big.
Va'del's weapons appeared in his hands without conscious thought, and then he clashed with the first of the beasts.
The bag'lig reached forward with a hand full of filthy claws, its scarred face twisted in an expression that no human face could have replicated, only to drop dead as Va'del's sword found its heart before it could get close enough to strike. The next beast lunged at Va'del's throat with yellow, rotting teeth only to howl in pain as the sub-Guadel stepped to the side and used the dagger in his left hand to score a mortal blow.
As the main body of the creatures finally reached Va'del, a powerful, intrusive presence hammered at his mind, trying to get inside and take up residence in the most private parts of his being. The distraction nearly resulted in Va'del's death, as he almost mistimed the parry on a blow that would have cut through his heavy coat like it wasn't there.
Va'del felt the guardsmen on each side of him stepping forward as if to take some of the pressure off of him. They could tell there was something wrong and were trying to protect him, but Va'del knew it was his duty to protect them. Working with a desperate quickness, Va'del cut down an adolescent bag'lig just before it hamstrung the guardsman to his left, and then stumbled as the force crashed into his mind with enough power that it felt like it would shred his sanity and leave him a gibbering husk.
Pulling himself to his feet as Guadel from the front and back of the caravan crashed into the bag'ligs like an avalanche, Va'del suddenly realized that it must be Vi'en who was trying to enter his mind. Jain had always metaphorically stood at the doorway to his mind, politely asking for permission to enter. Vi'en seemed determined to batter her way in as if affronted that he'd dare keep her out.
The bag'ligs were recoiling away from the Guadel now. Even beasts with such limited intelligence were able to sense that meeting the figures on each wing would result in their deaths, so instead they pushed with renewed fury against Va'del and the few guardsmen surrounding him.
Dancing just outside of Va'del's mind was the power he needed to cut through the bag'ligs with inhuman speed and grace, but as he tried to lower his mental defenses and complete the link, he found that something inside him, below the level of his conscious control, refused to allow her entry into his mind.
A scream of frustration made its way past Va'del's lips, and he threw himself at the bag'ligs before him, fully expecting to die.
The next several seconds were a nightmare of teeth, claws, and steel. Va'del stabbed and slashed with all of his rapidly-diminishing strength as he and the men to either side of him took wound after wound.
It was obvious the best they could do wasn't going to be good enough. Bag'lig corpses piled up before them, and still the beasts came, climbing over the bodies like poorly-finished golems and throwing themselves at the humans who'd killed so many of their fellows.
Va'del cut one beast out of the air, and then turned to try and dodge a large male coming from his left, but he was too slow. The impact knocked him down as the bag'lig's claws found purchase in his body. The sub-Guadel just managed to get his arm up to protect his face, and then the creature was suddenly knocked away from him as Javin kicked it with enough force to shatter unaugmented bones.
Another Guadel joined Javin, driving the bag'ligs away from Va'del and the fallen guardsmen, but Va'del found it hard to focus on their rapidly shrinking forms.
##
On'li was so deeply immersed in the power dancing back and forth between her, Mar'li and Javin that she almost didn't hear him yell her name. Luckily, the relentless training from her time as a Daughter was still strong enough for her to remain minimally aware of her surroundings even in the most consuming link. As the Guadel opened her eyes, she saw men huddled around a figure while Javin alternately yelled her name, and called for a healer.
Calling for Mar'li, On'li ran up the mountainside as fast as her tired, old body would let her, somehow sure she knew exactly who it was that was bleeding their life away on the snow.
Javin and one of the guardsmen were pressing bandages against the worst of Va'del's wounds in an attempt to hold the boy's life inside him until a healing could be done, but it was obvious from his ashen skin tone and the wide crimson pool around h
im that he'd already lost dangerous amounts of blood.
On'li reached for the blazing power that set her apart from other women, pulled it up through the earth, forcing it through her trembling body to give it useful form. His heart. I have to keep it going, but it needs something to pump. There, these parts create the blood, force them to create more.
Mar'li joined On'li, throwing her power at the wounds, closing off broken blood vessels and making the skin come together so that the new blood wouldn't leak out like the old.
Already exhausted from augmenting Javin during the fight, On'li knew she needed to stop touching the power before she did herself permanent damage, but she held onto the searing flame until she felt additional minds arrive and take over.
Dropping out of the healing meld, On'li opened her eyes and tried to pick up the conversation between Javin and the guardsman next to him.
"...so sudden, he must have been wounded before he could establish the link. We kept waiting for him to link but it never happened. I thought we were all dead until you circled around to take the pressure off of us." The guardsman's manner didn't match his words, and On'li wondered what it would take for the guardsmen to start treating Va'del with the respect his new position required.
Javin shook his head angrily, obviously picking up the same hint of accusation. "A wound deadly enough to prevent the link wouldn't have allowed him to fight for so long. There was no link."
An imperious figure stood up from where it had been working on one of the fallen guards, and stalked past a pile of bag'lig corpses, their scarred faces no less ugly in death than they'd been in life. "That's right, there wasn't any link because the fool shut me out of his mind. Because of him, these men died, and everyone else could have been killed. Bob'ae was never easy to link with, but this boy still belongs with the candidates, he has no control."
On'li surged to her feet with energy she wouldn't have believed she still had, and slapped the other woman. "He isn't the problem. You are. Marriage doesn't give you a free pass into his mind. You have to earn the right to link with him so you can fulfill your duties to him and to the People. You're the reason they died, and you are the one who put us all at risk. All because you've never bothered to even try and earn his trust."