The Oracle had spoken to Brandi about Liam. The Oracle made another successful, but pained attempt to remain lucid long enough to explain why she must not see her father until the right time. She had told her that the motivation for many of Liam’s decisions were heavily based on the loss of his daughter. Had he known she was alive, he would likely have sought her out and taken her to safety.
Brandi knew the Oracle was right. In the deathworld, time was much different from the world of the living. Viebke had told her the Mikraino referred to it as the ‘Everything’, and Brandi concurred. It was as if, to the dead, the past and future were all a matter of memory, and there was no present. It was this overwhelming understanding that had kept Brandi constantly on the edge of panic for months on end. She had been able to make a satisfactory peace with this new knowledge only by grounding herself with a purpose in the world of the living.
She knew she still had a long journey ahead in understanding the bridge that she had forged between the worlds, but now she had a focus in helping to save Jeandania. More importantly to her, she was able to return to her father and to Rhoie. She had been dead. She had dissolved into the Everything, and she had come back.
Brandi was not adept at divining the future or past from her connection with the deathworld, but it enhanced her intuition about such matters. She knew that the Oracle had been right and that it had been necessary to hide her survival from her father until he was fully committed to his cause and to his people. Now, after his speech at the gates of Sarhani, she knew he was.
~Æ~
Rhoie, Maclamar and Travis sat in a home owned by the World’s Greatest Living Smuggler. The house was chosen because of its unique location. Like many other houses, it was built against the actual city walls, and while it was illegal to build windows into these walls, Maclamar had made several small spy holes through the thick stone. Maclamar removed a mirror and two paintings from the wall to uncover three such spy holes, and the three stood at their respective stations, observing the activity below. Beneath them was the military bay, a large storage area at the opposite end of the city to the city gates.
“By Katchek, there are thousands of them,” Rhoie remarked.
“Seventeen-thousand-six-hundred-and-eighty-four,” answered Maclamar. “They actually had quite a few defections, who are on their way to Foster, but they will also bring in conscripts.”
“Come, Mac. There must be an advantage here somewhere, but I certainly can’t see it,” Travis challenged.
“There is always an advantage if you look closely enough,” answered Maclamar.
“Or if you cheat,” observed Travis.
“Cheating is just another word for creativity. I find those who use the former term generally lack the capacity for the latter,” replied Maclamar. “There is an advantage here. Foster is likely already at Sarhani. The King won’t be ready to move for two weeks, and then it will take another two weeks to get there. They must bring so many to support their army – cooks, cleaners, blacksmiths, doctors – it’s a moving city. It will give Foster some time. And, of course, it might take them a little more than two weeks to make the journey.”
“How is that?” asked Travis.
“The King has been quietly rebuilding his army over the last several months; new swords, armour, and a whole fleet of new wagons,” he answered.
“And how is this good for us?” asked Rhoie.
“I own the warehouse where he keeps his wagon wheels,” he answered. “I give them about two days before they start to have some problems.”
“Very creative,” observed Rhoie.
~Æ~
Darryck had given Liam a cursory tour of the grounds, and now led him to his quarters. Filos and Lyra were standing in the corridor. Darryck stopped a few paces ahead of them.
“We just thought you should get a feel for the place,” Darryck said. “There will be time enough to become familiar with Sarhani. I’m sure you need your rest.”
“Thank you, Darryck,” answered Liam, then he embraced him again. “It’s so good to see you and your men alive and well. And I’m so glad that you are here.”
“Thank you, sir,” replied Darryck with a smile. “I can honestly tell you I’m very glad to be here. I speak for the men as well. Now I’ll leave you to Filos and Lyra.”
Liam turned to them. “What a splendid place. Remarkable architecture. It is a bit old, but I think we can defend her.”
“I know we can,” said Lyra. “Liam, listen. There is one more person we want you to meet today.”
“This may be a shock to you,” said Filos. “We just wanted you to understand something before you go in there.”
“Okay, now you’re starting to worry me,” he answered. “What’s the matter?”
Filos answered, “For very good reasons, we were both sworn to secrecy.”
“And so begins the intrigue,” Liam sighed and turned to Lyra. “You are keeping secrets from me now?”
“I was under orders, Liam,” she answered. “We both were. I’m sorry, but I think I understand why.”
“Well, I’m sure you had your reasons, but I don’t like secrets. Please remember that in the future,” he said to both of them.
“Yes, sir,” said Filos, bowing his head.
“Liam, I’m sorry,” she said. “I promise I will not keep secrets from you again.” Lyra also bowed her head, seeming near tears.
“Alright, then. What’s this secret? Who is this person?”
Filos opened the door to his quarters, and there standing in the middle of the room, was Brandi. It couldn’t be Brandi, though. Brandi was dead. Who was this woman?
“Daddy?” Brandi said through tears, and then ran across the room and jumped into her father’s arms.
The smell of her hair in his face and the shape of her body in his arms left no doubt that this was, indeed, his daughter. There were questions in the back of his mind, but he would get to those later. Now he was feeling something he had been sure he would never feel again, his baby girl in his arms. It was the most joyful moment he had ever known.
~Æ~
Rhemus paced back and forth across the room. He and Kaila were about to meet two more of his kind. Filos waited with them. They were coming with another named Maurious, and they carried something very valuable with them.
“This is a time of great uncertainty,” observed Rhemus.
“Indeed, my young friend,” came a response from the doorway. Rhemus sensed an old and experienced energy, an energy much like Filos’s; one he trusted immediately. And he sensed that two Mikraino walked in behind him. He was relieved to find they did not have the murderous intentions Kaila had when they first met, but they still possessed a remnant of animosity.
Filos rose from his seat and walked over to greet the old man with a warm embrace. “It has been a long time, my friend.”
“Several generations, I believe,” Maurious answered.
“You know each other?” asked Kaila.
“We have shared much together. Unfortunately, our meetings always seem to be in times of distress,” answered Filos.
“And you must be Kaila?” Maurious asked warmly.
“Yes,” she answered, and curtsied awkwardly.
“And of course, you must be Rhemus.”
“Yes, sir. It is a pleasure to meet you,” he said with a respectful bow.
“I have brought two very good friends of mine who are most anxious to meet you. This is Kienten, and this is Rutain.”
Rhemus bowed to them, and the bow was returned.
“So Filos, I was in the north visiting the Gantas only a few years ago. You are well missed, my friend.”
“Ha, thank you, Maurious. I’m not sure with whom you might have been speaking, but I appreciate the message.”
“Thank you for coming,” said Rhemus to the others.
At Rhemus’s invitation, everyone sat down on cushions laid out on the floor. The two Mikraino sat on either side of Maurious. Rhemus could sense that
they felt protected by him.
“I know you must have had some difficulty coming to me,” Rhemus began.
Kienten answered, “Confusing for us. For the rest, very difficult.”
“What do you mean, Kienten?” asked Rhemus.
Rutain responded by showing the Æhlman Message Box.
Kienten explained, “In here you are not what you are to others.”
“In the box?” asked Rhemus.
Rutain nodded emphatically, and handed the box to Rhemus.
“I see,” he said, examining it. “Then you understand who I am?”
The others nodded cautiously. “Some,” answered Kienten.
“I will explain the rest. This box ...” Rhemus said as he concentrated. “It is full of answers, and still more questions. The one to whom it belongs travels here now. We know him. His name is Travis Milarae.”
Rhemus looked down at the box for a moment longer. “But there is more, so much more.”
~Æ~
Liam was walking alone towards the council chambers; and the first meeting of his advisory council. It was his third day in Sarhani. He was troubled about Brandi, but the elation of her survival was still overriding any other concerns. She had told him about her experience, and her new pathway to the deathworld. How terrifying it must have been for her. Still she had been working on his behalf all these months. It was astounding to him. He was uncomfortable with Lyra’s deceit, but how could he be angry? She had saved his daughter. Brandi summarised it best though. She said, “This is very confusing for all of us. We are all just trying the best we can. We can try to put the pieces together later. Right now the King is amassing an army to come and kill us. We need to focus on that.”
That really was the old Brandi, back from the dead, and she was right.
Maurious emerged from around a corner.
“Maurious, join me, please. I believe we are headed to the same place,” he said.
“Of course, sir,” replied Maurious.
“Please call me Liam.”
“I think not,” replied Maurious. “Perhaps some time, when all this is finished, we can drink some ale together alone, and I will call you Liam. But you are our leader now, sir, and assuming this role completely may be a necessary formality.”
Liam shook his head as they walked. “I never thought I would meet the Old Man in the Swamp, much less have him call me sir.”
“I look forward to calling you Your Highness.”
Liam sighed and replied, “There is much to be done before that day.”
“Of course, sir. I must say your people are coalescing quite well. There are always differences to be addressed in a group of people this large and this disparate.”
“Yes, it starts small. A person from one town automatically mistrusts a person from another. To address this problem, I began organising teams for tasks, deliberately mixing people from different towns. They reluctantly acquiesced to my authority. Of course there are squabbles, but working on a problem together is a great uniter of men. It is how I once organised men under my command.”
“I have observed the same result in other situations, sir. I have also noticed that the people’s fear of Lyra and the Mikraino has abated. In fact, they seem to have a genuine affection for them.”
“I think Lyra deserves the credit for that. As far as I know, she has been using pure charm, and none of her other skills, but she has certainly won the people over. It is amazing what a simple compliment or kind word can do.”
“Indeed. You are a lucky man to have a woman like her in your life.”
“Indeed,” Liam agreed. “She also has a natural protective instinct towards the Mikraino that I think has seeped into the people here. They all seem to want to care for them.”
“What of General Riley?” Maurious asked. “These people were all told that he was responsible for the carnage at Anderath.”
“The truth seems a powerful enough tool for that problem. When they heard that it was really General Theron and Gastious, under Arconus’s orders, who were responsible, they became more steeled against the King, and sympathetic to Riley.”
“Ah, yes. Counter propaganda. That is good. When people find the truth they are even more inspired than they were from the lie. What do they think of Gastious then? He has made quite a sacrifice for the King’s lies.”
“Yes. As much as I hate the beast, I can’t help but admire his loyalty.”
“There is nobility in Gastious. The King is not worthy of so loyal a servant.”
“I agree. The people here fear him. In truth, so do I,” Liam answered, as they reached the door to the council room. Liam reached for the handle to open it.
Maurious gently blocked the handle from his reach. “You would be a fool not to fear him, but I would not recommend sharing that information with anyone else. You are the Great Liam Foster. Whatever fear or doubt you harbour must be yours alone to bear. None of your people must feel it. You are The One Who Cannot Be Killed, the Wind Wielding Steel.”
“Is that what they call me?”
“That is who you are,” answered Maurious, opening the door.
~Æ~
Arconus sat at the head of his conference table. Theron, Gastious, and Argus sat with him.
“Theron, what have you to report?” he demanded.
“Our progress has been slowed.”
“The carriage wheels?”
“Yes, sire.”
“Make an example of those who have failed us,” Arconus demanded.
“Our numbers are falling, your majesty,” warned Argus.
“More defections?”
“Yes, sire.”
“What more can we do to deter this?” inquired Argus. “The roads are lined even now with the heads of defectors whom we have discovered.”
“Line the roads with the heads of their families, too,” ordered the King.
“Yes, sire,” Theron answered.
“Gastious, how are you feeling?” asked the King.
“I am ready to serve, sire.”
Arconus looked him over. He was still swollen and grotesque, and obviously fatigued, but he would be strong enough. “I have arranged for you to meet Antok, Oktook’s son, who now leads the Bok. You are to meet at the base of the mountains, five leagues outside of Sarhani, in five days.”
Gastious tried not to let his apprehension show. “Sire, of course. I shall leave tomorrow. May I ask their ... disposition?”
“Yes, Gastious, their loyalty is questionable. They have been unhappy with their encounters with the Talons of Freedom. They wish for vengeance and to prove themselves. But they also crave independence and their own territory. So to sweeten the deal, I have granted them full control of the lands in the northeast in return for their help.”
“Some of that land is controlled by Nevulia, isn’t it, sire?”
“Yes. But for now, I believe we should let the Bok and the Nevulians work that out.”
~Æ~
It was time to start the meeting. Filos, Lyra, Rhemus, Kaila, Darryck, General Riley and Maurious sat on stone chairs around a stone table in the ancient council chamber.
“Well, my friends,” greeted Liam. “It seems you have emerged as my advisory council.”
Liam went through introductions. He was certain they all knew each other by now, but he felt it appropriate to add some formality to their first session.
Then he began. “Maurious, as you are the most experienced among us, I wonder what you might be able to tell us about this place.”
“I have read a few things about this city,” Maurious answered after a moment. “It was built by a people called the Euchadorians. They were a very intelligent people, very gifted with art and language. In their language, Sarhani means the palace on the water, or the floating palace. It implies both floating in the sky and floating in the water. Quite a beautiful image, really. It loses something in translation. But to the point, I understand they left this palace to build a new one, far to the south.”
“Why would they have abandoned such a splendid palace?” Liam asked.
“It is not entirely clear. They may have been pushed out, or they may have chosen to leave as more aggressive peoples encroached from the north and east. All we know is that they set out to build a new city, Shrihani, the palace in the ice. I know nothing more than that. It’s a pity that their culture was lost.”
Liam nodded agreement. “Well, friends, as you know, we are greatly outnumbered and outmatched in weaponry and training, but at the very least, we have a magnificently defensible position. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Euchadorians for providing us this place. The mountains protect us in the west. Our northern boundary is a part of the canyon, where the river protects us below. The walls around the city at one time must have been very impressive. They still offer some protection, but there are many weak points. Now, what do we have available in terms of weapons?”
General Riley answered, “It seems most of our force has brought with them their own weapons. Swords, knives. Few are of good quality, but we have a fair representation of the country’s professions with us, including several blacksmiths. They have already set to work.”
“A fair representation, eh?” Filos asked.
“I’d say,” General Riley nodded.
“Any lawyers in the group?”
“Not that I can recall,” he answered. “Why?”
“Pity, we could have used them on the front lines.”
No one said a word for a moment, then Maurious suddenly burst into laughter. The surprise of the great Maurious breaking out in giggles set Liam laughing, and the rest joined in.
Finally, as the laughter died down, Kaila had to ask, “What’s a lawyer, anyway?” This made the group break into laughter anew.
Liam was grateful to see smiles on their faces. “Well, even if none of them have come to help us fight, it seems the lawyers have done their part,” Liam said. “They helped bring laughter to our council.”
“You do bring up an important point, Filos,” said General Riley, getting back to business. “We have quite a few volunteers, but few who know how to fight. We will need to train them.”
“Of course, general, and I can think of no better man for the job,” said Liam.
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