by Des Pensable
She was suddenly no longer an accidental participant in whatever the game was that the Mentarin were playing. They had deprived her of a father and a real mother. She was no different to the rest of the Elendari. She had been used and abused by the Mentarin and she was angry about it, incredibly angry. She was no longer fighting just for Aquitain, now the fight was more personal.
If Darkmantle was her father then she was born on Moonmist and as such she had a genuine claim to the throne. If they needed a vengeful Queen to unify them, then they would get one in her. The Tempest Queen. They would remember her for hundreds of years after she died.
‘Mandy, are you alright?’ said Aquitain at her sudden silence. He had noticed the change in her heart beat and her stride had become more purposeful and hurried.
‘Yes Tain! I’ve never been more alright.’ she said but he could tell something had changed. She had made a decision.
After five minutes total silence where she fantasized over what she was going to do to the Lord of the Mentarin when she caught him, she remembered that she had kept a special bit of news from Aquitain.
‘Tain, there’s something I haven’t told you yet. I saw Zephira and Alpha?’
‘What! Why didn’t you tell me before.’ he said with a panicky voice.
‘Well you’re not going to like what has happened at all.’ she said. ‘Remember I told you about that horrible bitch that called herself Lash. Well that was Zephira. Prendergrass blocked her memories and gave her a new identity. Even worse, she was sleeping with Darkmantle, my father.’
‘By the Powers, Mandy, that’s terrible. She’s my cousin and she was ... my best friend for the whole of my life.’ said Aquitain, ‘and I was just beginning to like that bastard Darkmantle. What about Alpha?’
‘That’s the strange thing! It didn’t talk to me. It was hanging around her neck like a pendant on a chain and it looked like it was coated all over with silver.’
Aquitain mentally went through a list of possible silver coating effects.
‘That may not be that bad. They have probably coated it to stop any communication between it and anyone else. At least they’re not dead.’
He remembered something that he had heard about Lash. Prendergrass had said at the ball that she had joined the lizards in capturing Argenta. He told Miranda and together they began to work out what must have happened.
Ishteth the Yith High Priest had some deal with Darkmantle to jointly capture Argenta. Ishteth had blocked Alpha and given Zephira to Darkmantle as a gift. Darkmantle had got Prendergrass to give her a new identity and then used her as both a fighter and sex slave. They had somehow got Snowbelle out of the way and worked out a way to capture Argenta. Zephira had stayed at Argenta with Ishteth during the ball. Ishteth had again dominated Zephira, eliminated Darkmantle’s troops stationed there and captured Argenta for himself.
‘But why would Ishteth want Argenta?’ asked Miranda thoughtfully.
‘I can answer that.’ said Aquitain. ‘I heard from someone that Ishteth said that Mudrun used to belong to the Yith and they wanted it back again. I’ll bet they are going to open a permanent gate between Argenta and the Yith home world. That way they could use it as a staging area to bring in unlimited Yith troops and supplies. Through it they could capture the whole of Mudrun and later perhaps Moonmist as well.’
‘By the gods, that’s a terrible thought Tain. There just aren’t enough people on Mudrun to defend it against even a few thousand Yith. They could take over the world in weeks. We’ve got to warn the Druid’s Council. Maybe they can work out what to do.’ replied Miranda.
‘And if they attacked Moonmist in its present state of disunity, they would capture it easily as well.’ said Aquitain, ‘but I can’t see the connection between the Yith and the Mentarin and where’s Snowbelle?’
‘By the gods, this is sounding worse and worse. It sounds like we could be in the middle of a Yith invasion, what are we going to do?’
‘The key to the Yith problem is Argenta. We need to recapture that back. Are you a gatekeeper there?’
‘No, I thought ... mother said that there could only be one gatekeeper at a time.’ said Miranda.
‘Apparently she didn’t know there could be more than one. Llanlorian made me a gatekeeper on Astaria while she was still a gatekeeper herself, so we’ll need your mother’s help to get in.’
‘The Yith might also have been the ones that captured my gate world, so we’ll have to capture it back as well, and then we can deal with the Mentarin.’
‘By the gods, we’re going to be busy.’ chuckled Miranda.
‘We’ll have to raise an army and to do that I’ll have to be Queen.’
‘So you really want to be Queen do you?’ asked Aquitain. ‘I thought that was all some sort of game.’
‘It was before, but now it’s different. Gemelica is on the side of the Mentarin and we need to unify the Elendari and the Llanlleans, which are now all my people. They all know Darkmantle, with help from him and with you as my champion; we will be able to do it!’
‘By the Powers, if they wanted chaos they’ll get it with you Mandy. If you want to be Queen, then Queen you’ll be! I only hope we live to enjoy the benefits. I’d really love sitting up on our thrones watching all those naked women enter the ball room wearing only their glamour.’ said Aquitain
‘Oh. No you won’t! If I’m Queen then I will stop that stupid idea. They will all have to wear clothes!’
‘Princess Miranda, Lord Warden, we’re almost at the Hidden One settlement called Banshee.’ said Navarro.
‘May I suggest that the Princess reforms as a Newman and you all cover your faces. The Hidden Ones all wear a chafra like Gizel. While the Elendari don’t mind showing their bodies to anyone, the Hidden Ones prefer absolute personal privacy and there may be problems if you are uncovered. May I also suggest Lord Warden that you don’t let it be known that you can see through their chafras.
Miranda lay down so that Tigerlilly could get off then shifted to her Miranda Newman body form.
‘Okay.’ replied Miranda, ‘I have no problems with that.’ and she created an illusory chafra with a hood over herself and another over Tigerlilly.’
‘That’s new.’ said Aquitain. ‘When did you learn to create illusions?’
‘When I was being tortured by Pendergrass and the guards.’ she replied. ‘Thanks for sending Binki to help me when I was being tortured. I don’t know what would have happened without him.’
‘Binki?’ queried Aquitain.
‘Oh sorry.’ she chuckled. ‘That’s what I called him.’ And she opened her hand and a small green bear appeared and looked at Aquitain with interest.’
‘I remember now Mandy. I didn’t know where you were so I sent little illusory construct shaped like a passion flower using a dream sending to remind you of our love. They usually only last a short while after they have been received but you have changed and reinforced it somehow making it last longer. You could have sent it back with a message if you wished.’
‘Really! I never knew that. Perhaps if I need you in a hurry in the future then I can send it.’ she replied.
‘It is likely to be a part of your sorcerous abilities. Can you remember creating illusions when you were younger before you became a druid?’ he asked.
‘No, but come to think of it. I used to imagine storms starting and growing before they did. Maybe they were like illusions that changed to become reality.’
Navarro produced a small wooden wand and cast a glamour shaped like a chafra on himself.
Five minutes later the party crossed a flat bare piece of rocky ground and stopped at a sturdy wooden gate set in a mossy grey stonewall a little taller than a Newman. A dim yellow magic ball held in a bracket over the gate illuminated the area around the gate for several paces.
Two stone gargoyles were standing on the stone wall, one on each side of the gate. A bell rang and a minute or two later a welcoming party of two chafra clad people came out
of the gate one bearing a lantern. They whispered briefly with Gizel, and then with Navarro, before finally inviting the group in through the gate.
On either side of the path were rows of plants of various types.
‘I recognize some these plants.’ said Miranda. ‘They have medicinal properties.’
Further down the dirt path were some stone buildings, with roofs that covered with slate tiles. They passed several small grey rock buildings and stopped outside a larger one that was near a cliff face, which rose up above them. The guide whispered briefly to Navarro then left.
‘We are to wait in this building until after moonrise.’ said Navarro.
They entered the building through a coarse cloth curtain and found four simple wooden bunks; a table and several chairs. On the table was a pitcher of water, some rough ceramic mugs, a box containing some food and a lantern. Rather than use the lantern Navarro rested his light staff against the wall and sat down on a chair. Miranda sat opposite him and poured herself a mug of water and sampled some food then called Tigerlilly over and fed her some food and drink.
‘I haven’t been here before.’ said Navarro starting up a conversation.
‘I’ve visited Rosanllea several times over the past couple of years but always at the other settlement which is smaller than this one. She’s an excellent healer and has brought a lot of relief both physical and mental to the suffering among the Hidden Ones. She has a special interest in problems of the mind and has been able to help several runaway slaves forget their mistreatment at the hands of the Mentarin.’
‘What do you know about the Hidden Ones.’ asked Miranda
‘From what I have heard they were predominantly rejects from Elendari society. Initially they were people that disagreed with their Lords or the Queen and were banished. They gathered in small groups and fought amongst one another until a very brutal Lord was banished by the Queen. He and several of his guards joined one of the larger groups, killed its leader and took over, then over the next few decades built it up to what became known as the Hidden court.’
‘He openly challenged the Queen on several occasions and there have been a number clashes between them over the years but neither side has been able to get the upper hand. The Queen has superior numbers and better fighters but the Hidden Court has plenty of places to hide in the mountains so the situation became a stalemate.
The interesting thing is that the Hidden Court is much more tolerant of people with mutations than the Queen. Consequently, most of those born with mutations sooner or later have ended up in the Hidden Court increasing its numbers at the cost of the Queen.’
‘It’s said that at the Queen’s spring ball all the people there are naked by her decree to show to each other that they are pure and have no mutations. The situation is the opposite among the Hidden Ones. The decree here is that all wear the chafra in public to hide any mutations allowing all persons to be equal.’
Aquitain thought that this was all very interesting, but he was keen to know more about the Mentarin.
‘You said that you escaped from the Mentarin.’
‘Yes I did. I was one of the workers in the factory but when they moved me to a new area I was shocked and horrified at what they were doing so I spent several weeks planning an escape and with a lot of luck and the help of Burlop, the Salamad, I escaped.’
‘Can you tell me about Burlop and his people?’ asked Miranda.
‘Burlop is a true amphibian that can breathe water or air. They go on land but prefer to stay in or near the water. They seem to be just as intelligent as you or I but they prefer to talk using that strange mental talk of theirs. They are quite peaceful but seem to hate the Mentarin. They helped me to set up the safe houses we use to help the slaves escape.’
‘I don’t know how much you know about the geography of Moonmist but it’s shaped like a ball with various parts separated by mountain ranges. We’re currently on the edge of what’s called the Mentarin plain and the mountains separating the Mentarin from the Elendari.’
‘On the other side of the plain is another mountain range, which separates the Mentarin from the Salamad. Burlop said that there was an icy sea there where his people live in underwater dwellings. I’d like to go there sometime, but haven’t had the opportunity yet.’
‘What does the Mentarin factory make?’ asked Aquitain.
‘I wondered how long it would take for you to ask me that question.’ said Navarro.
‘Do you know it’s instant death for anyone to talk about that place. All the workers swear a blood oath to never reveal what happens there. Unfortunately, I am bound by the oath as well and I don’t wish to die at the moment.’
‘You said earlier tonight that you knew a little about magic?’
Navarro’s turned a little white.
‘I ... err ... learned my trade in ... err ... Panmagica quite a while ago.’
‘Really. I know a few people there.’ said Aquitain. ‘Who with?’
‘I really can’t answer that.’ he replied with a terrified look on his face.’
‘Oh. It has something to do with the factory.’ asked Aquitain.
Navarro nodded.
I may be able to fix that if you wish. It seems that you have an implanted aversion to talking about the place. If it were a blood oath you would probably be unconscious by now.
‘You might be right. I found my blood oath sample and destroyed it but I’m still afraid to talk about things there. Could you really fix this aversion?’
‘Aversions are strange things. They can cause considerable fear and stress. They are like bad habits. They are easy to start but damn difficult to stop. I could start you on the road to fix it but it will probably take quite a while before you are cured.’
‘How would you do it?’ asked Navarro seemingly quite interested.
‘Well it involves putting you under hypnosis and implanting a magical suggestion to counter the aversion.’ replied Aquitain.
‘I’ll think about it.’ he replied.
‘I know a little about the factory.’ said Gizel, ‘and I haven’t taken the oath. I have helped Rosanllea when she was attempting to heal the trauma in the minds of some of the factory workers.’
Navarro jumped up and ran out of the building covering his ears with his hands shouting ‘I don’t want to hear.’
Gazel smiled and said.
‘Men can be such idiots. You have given me so much hope that we can rid the world of the Mentarin curse. I will tell you of what I know.’
‘The factory makes magic items of all sorts which they sell on many worlds. They say that they can make more powerful items, more cheaply than anywhere else in all the worlds. How they do this I don’t know. There is one other very interesting thing I heard. Several of the men spoke of it in their nightmares but would not dare speak of it when they were awake. It is guaranteed to turn their legs to jelly. The Cadalthian. I don’t know whether it’s a person or some object or whatever.’
‘That’s very useful information. Thank you Gizel.’ said Aquitain searching his mind for anything that sounded similar but coming up with nothing.
‘Have you heard that name before?‘ he asked to Miranda through their mind link.
‘No never.’ she replied.
‘You better not mention it to Navarro he seems really troubled about anything to do with this factory business.’
‘You’re right aversions are nasty things. Why don’t you call him back here again.’
‘Hmm. This Gizel is much more than she seems.’ thought Miranda.
Miranda attracted Gizel’s attention and they had a few words together.
‘Tain can you mindlink Gizel and me together. I’d like to talk with her about women’s business.’
Aquitain linked them together and watched their facial expressions for a couple of minutes, lost interest and returned to his own thoughts. Miranda and Gizel talked for more than an hour then parted amicably and Miranda lay down cuddling Tigerlilly on the bed and w
ent to sleep.
Once Miranda was asleep Aquitain decided to turn his mind to something that was long overdue – Slivver.
Slivver now new more about Miranda and Aquitain than anyone and that was far too dangerous, as they knew almost nothing about him.
He asked Gizel to lift him onto the bunk that Miranda was sleeping on and moved to a position where he could see Slivver then sat down as if guarding them. He watched the others in the room for a while until they had no interest in him then struck Slivver with a domination attack. Curiously, Slivver was ready for such an attack. He had a Tower of Will up and his mind had retreated into it.
‘I knew you’d try this.’ he said.
‘What will Miranda say when I tell her you ambushed me in the night when she was asleep?’
‘She’ll only complain if I kill you and then it’ll be too late for you. So come out and come clean. Who are you working for? What are you up to?’ demanded Aquitain.
‘I told you everything you need to know. Trust me. Miranda does.’
‘You’re too smart for a parasite. You know Newmans too well. I want to see your spirit aura.’ said Aquitain.
‘I just bet you do and what will you do then, read my mind? Unlock my secret memories. Is this how you treat your friends. Friends that have saved your life on several occasions.’ replied Slivver.
‘Slivver if you think you can appeal to my emotions you’re wrong. In this crystal body I have no heart and no emotions. I will be a lot rougher on you if I have to destroy that Tower of Will to get at you. If you’re going to remain a living friend you had better come out and let me look at your spirit aura and answer my questions.’
Slivver was quiet for a few seconds considering his options then deciding he had none, collapsed the Tower of Will and allowed Aquitain to dominate his mind. Aquitain put himself into a state of autohypnosis and used the Forth Mantra of Yith to examine the spirit aura of the puppeteer. He was shocked. It looked like it was a Newman spirit that had been grafted to a lowly creature spirit.