by Fel
"It has to be," he said. "There are Sorcerers in the other two cities."
I do believe that you're right, she said with a silvery laugh.
Dala Yar Arak. The largest city in the Known World, home to millions of people. Capital of the largest, most powerful, and most feared empire on the face of Sennadar.
He had to comb the largest city in the world and find a single book. It defined an impossible task.
"You're not making this easy for me to take, Goddess," he said with a grunt.
She laughed. It's why it's a quest, my kitten. If it were easy, it would be called an errand.
"I guess so."
Remember that you're not alone, kitten, she warned. You're only one player among many, in a game of quests. You're all racing for the same prize, and only one of you can have it. You have an advantage over them, my kitten, but remember that getting the prize and keeping the prize after you get it are two different things. The Questing Game has already begun, and there are players ahead of you, as well as behind. Keep both eyes open, and trust in your friends. They will be there for you when you need them.
There was a short silence. I know that this only adds on to an already eventful day and night, my kitten, but I had no more time. Think about things for me, and know that one can always find forgiveness outside before he can find it within himself. Take comfort in that forgiveness, and let it help you find it within yourself.
"Can I let them know?"
Of course, she replied. They are players as much as you. But when you go, there are five people that you absolutely must take with you. Without them, your chance to succeed is greatly diminished.
"Who?"
Allia, for one, she replied. Without your sister, you would be lost. You would not be a complete family without Keritanima, and trust me, having her Royal Highness' pedigree to throw around could be a tremendous advantage for you. You also need Dolanna, because she is the only one who can soothe you and help you deal with what you are. You need Azakar, for his strength and his lineage, and you will need Dar.
"Dar? Why Dar?"
Not everyone is as valuable as he appears, my kitten, she replied. Dar has qualities that you overlook.
"What about the others?"
Others will certainly join you, my kitten, and you should always welcome friends, she told him. But those five I named, their unique skills and attributes will be a very great boon to you.
"What do I do with them?"
Well, you can start by getting yourself to Dala Yar Arak, she said impishly. What you do when you get there is up to you. But it would be best to get there first, wouldn't it?
"I guess," he sighed. He had thrown off one yoke, and had just taken on another. But at least this driver he could tolerate. His faith in the Goddess was the only reason he could allow it. "I'll find your Firestaff, Goddess, and then I'll make sure nobody can get their hands on it. Then I can be free."
You will be free, she promised, and you will be happy. I will make sure of that. But right now, time is wasting, my kitten. You have to go.
He nodded. "What about the tent?"
I will keep watch over it. You never know, you may come back here some day. I'll make sure that the books are here waiting for you if you do.
He felt...ridiculous. Why was he doing this? He had his freedom in his paws, and he was throwing it away. But it would be an empty freedom, a freedom with a dark cloud hanging over it. If someone else found that strange artifact and used it, it could destroy everything. Tarrin could endure being in thrall to the Goddess, mainly because he was one of the few people he would trust. He felt that she did indeed love him, and that working for her would be a mutually respectful relationship. He was nobody to go on some mad quest. He was a village boy who had started with dreams of Knighthood, and now only had dreams of tranquility. But galavanting off on some search for a lost artifact had never crossed his mind.
Standing up, he stared up at the statue. He wondered when he wouldn't feel numb anymore, and how he would feel about this when he didn't. How he would feel about alot of things. He was still operating in a daze of sorts, an unfeeling state of mind that only allowed his grim tasks of payback to be considered. It was a heightened state of unfeeling, and the Cat had alot to do with it. He stared at the statue for a very long moment, her words echoing in his mind, her choice stretching out before him like a road laced with broken glass.
But there really was no other choice. His little mother was depending on him to make her world safe, and it was something that needed to be done. He wouldn't trust an artifact of that kind of power in anyone else's hands. He would find it, and when he found it, he would destroy it.
It would never threaten the world again. Because he could possibly be alive the next time the Firestaff threatened the balance of life on Sennadar.
Bowing his head, he turned and left the statue, slipping back into the dark foliage that concealed the courtyard from the outside world. Where it was bitterly cold that night elsewhere, in the courtyard and the gardens it was warm and pleasant. But a cold wind emanated from the statue, a cold wind that permeated the maze, filtered out into the gardens, creeping through the gardens and giving the flowers and fruit trees and plants an unknown shock. Not enough to kill, but more than enough to make them close up in defense against the chill, protect themselves from that induced cold. The cold did gather around the tent holding the pilfered books and scrolls, coalescing around it like moths to a flame, and then shimmering into a clear dome of the finest crystal. To protect what was within against the rain, to protect the paper against the marching of time's inexorable advance, to defend against fading and having the parchment turn brittle in the dry protection of the dome.
And then the courtyard fell dark, as the light emanating from the statue faded. The expression on the face of that delicate stone maiden was stoic, resolute, like a traveller heading down the road leading home. A long and twisting road, full of bandits and uncertainty, but with something good at the end of it to make the journey worthwhile.
And the tent with its cache of books stood, books not truly read in all the excitement over finding the tutorial for learning the Sha'Kar langauge, books penned a thousand years ago and more, holding lore and information lost to the world. They sat in their dark chests, protected from the marching of time by the Goddess' dome, sheltered from the rain, cradled like children in the arms of a loving mother.
Waiting.
"Tarrin!" Dar protested as the Were-cat dragged him through the streets of Suld on a bitterly cold, crystal-clear night.
The trip back into the Tower was important for more than one reason. Tarrin swung by his room and picked up all his things, since the Council hadn't thought to clean it out yet. His staff was important to him, and he wanted it back. He had it, along with all his traveling leathers--he would never wear Initiate colors again!--and his personal effects. After that, he had picked up Dar, literally, grabbing his personal chest in one paw and Dar in the other, and carrying the blanket-wrapped Arkisian right out of the Tower. He had the sense not to raise a fuss on the grounds, but when Tarrin used his formidable magic to breach the Weave, suffering a horrible backlash for his efforts, Dar found his objections voiced after they were out of the Tower's earshot.
"I lost my blanket and I'm cold!" he protested. "Put me down!"
Tarrin stopped and lightly set him on his feet, looking at him. He was hopping from bare foot to bare foot to protect them against the biting cold of the flagstones, and his teeth were chattering. He was dressed only in a nightshirt, and it wavered with the cold wind and caused his dark skin to prickle with goosebumps.
"I'm sorry," he said calmly, putting down the chest and opening it. "Let's get you dressed."
"What in the world are you doing, Tarrin?" Dar demanded. "You could have just asked me to come with you!"
"I wanted it to look exactly like what it was, Dar," he said calmly. "An abduction. I'm stealing you."
Dar gave him a look, then laughed. "
I'm not worth that much, my friend."
"You are to me," he said, handing Dar a pair of wool breeches. Dar literally jumped into them, then stepped into the leather shoes he kept at the bottom of the chest, which Tarrin had removed for him. "I need your help."
"Doing what?"
"I found out what the Tower wanted from me," he said in a neutral voice. "I also heard it from the Goddess herself. I, I have something I have to do. So I'm going on a trip. I need your help, Dar. The Goddess said you know things that are important."
"Me? Why me?"
"I have no idea," he replied honestly. "But I need your help."
"Where are we going?"
"Right now, Yar Arak. From there, I don't know."
"Yar Arak!"
Tarrin nodded. "I'll explain it all when I get back to the chapterhouse with you," he said. "I only want to have to go through it once. Even I don't understand why I'm doing it."
"What are we doing?" Dar said plaintively.
They were all there. Darvon, Ulger, and Azakar sat with Faalken at a table in the chapterhouse's main study, a place for the prefect of the chapterhouse to receive guests. Keritanima and Allia sat on a sofa near the fire with Binter and Sisska standing at its ends in protection of the Princess, and Dolanna and Miranda sat on the sofa flanking it. Dar sat on a chair with his back to the fire, a heavy cloak around him as he warmed himself after his bitterly cold journey through Suld. The study was large and decorated richly to impress guests, with a rug from the East gracing the floor, and shields and banners from Knights of fame and history decorating the walls. A long, rich history of brave men and great warriors were represented on those walls, and it was every Knight's dream to be placed among such august names as Arymin, Luthor, Arthos, Beremos, Haldar, Pargen the Crusader, and the most famous and legendary Knight of them all, Marcus Lightblade. There were others there as well, others that Tarrin needed to talk to. Tomas and Janine had been summoned to the chapterhouse, and they sat uncertainly on a pair of chairs placed for them beside Dar. The only Sorcerer left in the Tower that Tarrin trusted, Sevren, sat on the other side of Dar, wrapped in a thick cloak himself, after just arriving in answer to the summons.
They were all still put out with him. He had left with no warning, and only Allia and Keritanima had known he left. And they didn't tell anyone. He had to calm them all down by the time he returned with Dar, getting cool, displeased looks from Dolanna and Miranda. But it was something he had to do alone.
He recanted the events of the night, his dispatching of Jula, and the branding and warning he gave to the Keeper, then he went on to his life-shattering encounter with the Goddess. "I have no idea what I've gotten myself into," he said after finally explaining what it was the Goddess wanted him to do. "Every instinct I have is screaming at me to run into the forest and disappear, but I can't. Not knowing what I know now."
Sevren looked very thoughtful, and Dolanna's eyes were a bit haunted. "I never dreamed the Council would go so far," he said quietly, scratching his narrow goatee. "But on the other hand, if they felt that the circusmstances were truly dire, it shouldn't be a surprise."
Tarrin nodded. "I think that's one reason why I went so easy on the Keeper. I should have killed her. But whoever has been trying to kill me has an agent in the Tower, and I don't relish letting that continue. I may reject the Tower, but I am a Sorcerer. I have friends there, like you, Sevren, and I can't just let this enemy run loose. She may have someone I care for killed, just to spite me."
"It won't be easy to expose her," he said. "The only one with the kinds of resources we'd need to expose her would be Ahiriya, but she can't be trusted."
"Why not?" Darvon asked.
"Because the traitor is a woman," Miranda said calmly. "Any woman in the Tower is a suspect, no matter what position she holds. But I can narrow it down for you, Sevren."
"I'm listening."
"You're looking for someone in a position of authority," she told him. "It doesn't have to be an office, only an experienced Sorceress with ties in the Tower and respect, but someone in an official office would have a better chance at remaining undiscovered. She'll be careful and meticulous, and may have mannerisms that mirror that part of her personality. Look for someone who is compulsively neat, and always preens herself to look her best in any situation. She'll also be very careful, and most likely will eliminate anyone she feels is getting close to her. So I can't stress how carefully anyone searching for her will have to tread."
"That does not excuse them for turning Tarrin Were," Allia said savagely. "They still must be punished. Among my people, an eye for an eye is our motto. Tarrin should have bitten her."
"No," he said with a shudder. "I will never put someone else through what I've gone through, sister. There are some punishments that are too severe."
"But this does open things," Dolanna said. "I have heard the story of the Firestaff. If the time of its activation is indeed drawing close, it explains the chaos I have seen over the last few months. Anyone with knowledge of the legend will be trying to find it. If it is dangerous as Tarrin says, then we cannot allow it to be used. A war between gods would devastate the world." She looked at him. "I cannot help but feel partially responsible for all this. But that is not the reason I will go with you, my dear one. You are a friend, and you have been charged by the Goddess for a task. I will support you, for I too am a true child of the Goddess. What she wills is what I support. I dare believe that she has given us all a choice, else she would have directly ordered us to go. In my case, my choice is with you."
"Count me in," Azakar said. "Tarrin is my Sorcerer. I can't protect him if I'm not near him. I don't much like the idea of having to go back to Yar Arak, but I have my duty."
"I don't think I want to go back to the Tower after what I just heard," Dar said with a shudder. "If Dolanna will teach me, I'll go with you. That way I don't miss anything."
Tarrin looked at Allia. "Brother, my place is always by your side," she smiled. "So long as we can continue together, I do not care where we go."
"Kerri?"
She gave him a fuming look. "This is not what I wanted to do to get away from my father, Tarrin," she snapped at him. "Going to Yar Arak means a ship, and that's my father's domain. It'll be suicide. But if Allia is going for this insanity, I guess I don't have much of a leg to stand on."
"My place is at her Highness' side," Miranda said calmly. "I hope you have room for me."
"I can help you in that regard," Tomas spoke up. "The Star of Jerod is in port right now, being loaded for a trip to the Stormhavens. They had a poor harvest, and Queen Derienne has been buying up food for her people to live out the winter, and she's paying a sum that makes braving the ice worth the risk. After dropping that off, they're travelling to Den Gauche, and then on to Dayisè to pick up goods that'll be brought back up in the spring. I can arrange for a few cabins to be left available. When you get to Dayisè, you can find a ship going anywhere in the world."
"I really appreciate that, Tomas," Tarrin told him sincerely.
"Brother, you are driving me crazy," Allia said finally.
"What?"
"Take those things off!" she demanded.
Tarrin looked down at his arms, at the heavy manacles on his wrists. And when he saw them, his eyes turned hard. "No," he said grimly. "They aren't coming off."
She gave him a hot look, a look that promised that she was far from done, but said nothing further on the matter.
"So, we go to Yar Arak," Faalken said. "I've always wanted to go there."
"It's not what you imagine," Azakar said with a sharp closing of his eyes.
"It will make finding a pearl in a barrel of beads an easy task in comparison," Dolanna sighed. "Dala Yar Arak is the largest city in the world. To find a single book there will be an impossible task."
"And we won't be the only ones looking," Miranda reminded in a calm tone. "We may have to take it from someone else who finds it first."
"Yes," Dolanna agreed.
Tarrin looked down, his curious numbness beginning to wear thin. He would have to face what he had done, very soon. And now he had an extra burden to bear over and above the stark truth of what he had done, what he had become.
What he was.
"I can't thank you enough," he said. "I don't really know how to do this. I'm no crusader or hero. I'm nothing like that. I'm just a villager."
"Tarrin, everyone comes from somewhere," Faalken said with a smile. "Trust me. If your Goddess didn't think you could do it, she wouldn't have asked you."
"You will not be alone, young one," Dolanna smiled. "We will be here to help you, no matter the circumstances."
"If you're going on my ship, you have to get ready," Tomas said. "It leaves at dawn. Captain Kern won't wait around."
"Yes, we should prepare. Do we have monies for an extended trip?"
"The Knights will open the coffers for you, Dolanna," Darvon told her. "I think we can support the activities of Knights sanctioned by the Lord General. You'll leave with enough to get you to Yar Arak and back in comfort." He leaned forward. "And while you're gone, I think the Knights will start entrenching themselves in the city. If Erick is trying for the Firestaff, we may want to be in a position to stop him if he actually manages to get his hands on it."
"Darvon, that is treason!" Faalken gasped.
"It'll be worse if that ass uses it," Darvon growled. "Erick doesn't make a very good king. He'd be a horrible god. The Knights are sworn to uphold the land, not her ruler. If Sulasia is better served by getting rid of Erick, then it's the duty of the Order to carry through with it." He looked at Tarrin. "And this city will always be open to you, Tarrin. You're a Knight, and we are all One Under Karas. We'll always be here for you if you need us. Just call."
"That makes me very very secure, Lord General," Tarrin told him. "If not for you, I'd still be imprisoned. I can't ever pay you back for that."