The Hekamon

by Leo T Aire

  She anticipated screams. Expecting the very mountain itself to scream at her through the mouth of the cave. Standing as she was, just a few hundred yards away from the tallest of the peaks.

  She cowered beneath the near vertical wall of stone, that towered above her and crushed her with its sheer presence.

  Yet, there were no screams.

  It had not been long since the bearers of the two other torches had run into the cave. Not much more than a minute, it should have been enough time. Long enough for Kormak to have caught Galvyn. Perhaps he had been mercifully quick.

  If so, her brother could emerge from the deathly silence at any moment. He would walk out, with the deed done and honor restored. At least, Kormak would think honor was restored. She would know differently. Not that she would say anything. How could she? What use would the truth serve now?

  Still no screams, or sounds of any kind, and no sign of Kormak, either. What had happened?

  Enough time had passed, Alyssa realized, not for Kormak but for herself.

  The paralyzing shock of her brothers sudden and untimely appearance wearing off. The dawning realization of her own thoughtless and panicked reaction to it. She would have been in trouble, yes, but she had thrown Galvyn to the wolves. She had to help him.

  She immediately entered into the cave, walking quickly at first and then running. The torch only illuminating a little way ahead, but it was enough. She was agile and nimble, skipping past fallen rocks and over the uneven ground. Her confidence growing, she moved faster until she was at full sprint. Her heavy miner's boots now protecting her feet from the sharp rock underfoot. So this is why they wore them.

  Within a minute she was already a long way into the tunnel. Had they really come this far? There had been no other passage leading off, not that she had seen. They must have come this deep and she was terrified at what she might find ahead.

  "Kormak," she screamed into the darkness desperately, "Stop."

  If there was a reply, she hadn't heard it, nor could she have. Not over the sound of her own breathing and heavy, echoing footsteps. She wasn't interested in a reply though, just making herself heard and making her brother relent in his pursuit.

  Her desperation mounted, heart pounding and tears welling up. Galvyn must have run with such fear to have outrun Kormak for this long. Her brother was fast, even faster than she, Galvyn must have been terrified to have stayed ahead of him.

  Alyssa was about to scream out again, when she saw something ahead. A glowing light and at the speed she was running she reached it in no time at all. As she did, she could see by the light ahead of her, that the tunnel widened and became a cavern. Could this be the end? What might she find here?

  Entering the cave, she slowed and could see from where the light was emanating, a single burning log laying on the ground. Why was it there? Which of them had dropped it and why?

  She had a feeling of foreboding, this was not a good sign, this could not end well. None would give up their light in this all pervading darkness without good reason.

  Moving deeper inside, Alyssa saw, by the light of both her own torch and the one on the ground, that this wasn't the end of the tunnel. Instead, the passage veered left and continued further into the hillside. Maybe even to the Hekamon itself, so deep were they into the mountain.

  Yet there was a torch on the ground, why was it there? If the tunnel continued on, why drop it? Then she heard, and understood.

  "Alyssa." a voice called to her from the darkness.

  The reverberating sound helped her make sense of her surroundings. Half the cavern floor was rock, half was crevasse. A long, deep scar in the rock opened up along the right side. The meager light of the burning log and the uneven shadows making it hard to distinguish.

  "Kormak?!" she said, seeing fingertips on the ledge, her voice a mixture of relief and confusion.

  Her brother's voice, one of terror, "Help me."

  Kneeling down and peering over the edge, Alyssa looked at his predicament, and he looked back at her, his eyes fearful. His attempt at a smile flickered only briefly, "Quickly, I can't hold on much longer."

  She nodded and looked along the ledge to weigh up her options, gasping at what she saw there. Galvyn was hanging from the ledge, as well, they had both run straight on and over.

  Alyssa looked at him and held his stare.

  Galvyn's expression was one of fear but there was something else too, a haunted look. She wanted to turn away but couldn't, seconds past, it felt longer, it felt an eternity. His eyes conveyed a message, but she closed her mind to it, she understood too well.

  It took her brother's voice to drag her away.

  "Alyssa, you need to move quickly," Kormak pleaded.

  He was right, she could help. She had to help.

  Jumping to her feet, Alyssa reached for some twine on her belt. Less than rope but more than string, it was something that she could make many uses of. She had been cutting lengths off for snares and could have done with its full length now, but she hoped there was enough.

  She placed a loop in one end, and the other she wrapped several times around a two foot high stalagmite growing out of the cavern floor. Water seeped in and the rock was slippery, with its incisor shape rising to a point. The life line would not hold, she realized, and she would have to support it herself.

  Taking the looped end, she went back to the edge of the crevasse and showed it to Kormak, so he understood its purpose, before lowering it down and finding she had measured it perfectly.

  "Wait! Not until I say." She urged, going back to the rock around which the other end was bound, and holding it place so it wouldn't slide off the anchorage. "Now."

  The lifeline went taught as Kormak placed his foot in the loop and gave it his full weight. The tie held and so did the twine itself. A break at that moment might have sent her brother careering down, but instead he was able to leverage himself onto his elbows, and from there, drag himself onto the ledge.

  With her brother safe, Alyssa leapt up from where she had been holding his lifeline and hugged him. He was shaking and exhausted from the exertion of holding on.

  "Sister, thank you," he said, between gasps.

  "Quickly, we must help Galvyn. The twine won't reach but together we can pull him up." She said, and tried to move to Galvyn's location further along the ledge but couldn't, Kormak's hug had turned to a restraint.

  She looked at him but he shook his head.

  "We must," feeling a rising panic. She would need her brother's help, she wouldn't be able to pull Galvyn up alone.

  "We can't," he said, impassively.

  "Kormak," she said, trying to calm herself and find the right words. How could she say that Galvyn hadn't done anything wrong. "It wasn't how it looked—"

  "It's too late."

  For a moment she wasn't sure what he meant. It couldn't be undone? She couldn't talk their way out of it? But it was the look of finality in his eyes. A look that said the matter was closed, and there was nothing more that could be done, even if he wanted to.

  She shook her head, with tears starting to well up and looked to the ledge. It was hard to be certain in the faint light, yet she knew. Alyssa pulled away from her brother's hold and stepped to the edge of the crevasse.

  Galvyn was gone.

  She stood there, looking into the darkness below, tears rolling down her cheeks and falling into the abyss.

  Kormak stood next to her. He seemed to exude some sadness, also. Perhaps because it had nearly been his own fate, it had brought him some sympathy for his foe.

  Reaching down, he took a small rock from the ground and dropped it over the ledge. It fell for some time, before the sound came back of it hitting the hard rock of an unseen floor in depths below.

  Neither of them spoke, the long silence of the rock's fall said it all.

  102

  The light of the candle extinguished, Tregarron placed the lantern on the shelf along side the others, before removing his coat and placi
ng it on a hook. He acknowledged the guards leaving for the night, before joining Kate and moving into the courtyard of the fort.

  They made their way to the keep, where he opened the door for his wife and followed her into the corridor that lead to the great hall. He had barely stepped inside and closed the door, when he heard Lord Jephson's voice.

  "Captain, Kate, are we making progress," Jephson said, striding from his chancery and meeting them halfway.

  "I think the situation is now under control and matters will shortly be resolved," he replied, before Kate gave him a look indicating she thought that might be an optimistic assessment.

  "Good, good," Jephson said, before seeing Kate's reaction and giving them both a look that suggested they elaborate.

  "There are still issues to iron out, it's true," he said, reassuringly, but Kate added her own take.

  "We can't rule out a potential threat from Fennreans," she said, causing Jephson eyes to narrow with suspicion and Tregarron's to roll, despite his attempts to give nothing away.

  He had learned never to warn Jephson of threats. The man was naturally suspicious and reticent at the same time and saw potential plots everywhere.

  If told things were calm he would think it the calm before the storm. Told it was stormy, then would think he was being rushed to action and say things would blow over.

  If told there was a threat, would assume Tregarron was angling for more resources, which he usually was.

  This time, though, Jephson seemed more willing to take the warning at face value, looking to him for confirmation. He indicated that what his wife had said was true, and, after a thoughtful pause, Jephson spoke again.

  "I was worried that might be the case. Kate would you be so kind as to check on Brigantia for me. Please ensure her tower is secured, more so than normal. I will need you to be vigilant until I'm satisfied the threat has passed," Jephson said, before turning to him. "Captain, I need to be fully briefed."

  "Of course," he replied, and while Kate moved to the west tower, and Brigantia's quarters, he followed Lord Jephson to his chancery.

  Once the two of them were inside, Jephson made a point of ensuring Kate was through the door of the west tower, before closing the chancery door and turning to him.

  "Does Kate know?"

  "About?"

  "The prophecy I was given, about the tattooed woman and the destruction she would bring?"

  "No. At least, I don't think so. She hasn't learned anything from me anyway."

  Jephson walked over toward his desk, "Just now, she gave the impression she was aware of the situation. She seemed to understand the potential dangers and the connection with the necklace."

  "Kate heard how the fugitive suspected of stealing the necklace was treated, and the violence he was subjected to, once on the Fennelbek side of the bridge. Since that man is likely to know the Fennrean necklace was given to me, she is wary for that reason," he said, watching as Lord Jephson started opening and closing desk drawers.

  "Yes, and you gave it to me," Jephson said, distractedly. "Kate is right to be alert to the dangers, even if she doesn't know why," now looking under papers laying on his desk.

  "The matter concerning the prophecy of the tattooed woman was dealt with many years ago," Tregarron said. "If there was ever any truth in it, it was over long ago. The necklace is probably just a coincidence, such patterns are common amongst Fennreans."

  "We can't be too careful, the warning I was given came from no ordinary woman," Jephson said, giving up searching his desk. "What did I do with it? You didn't take it with you again, did you?"

  "No, it must be here somewhere, I saw you put it in your desk drawer," he replied, glancing around the chancery briefly, then watching as Jephson started to search a wooden cabinet.

  "I hear there was another man taken to priory, who is he and what is his condition?" Jephson's asked, his voice muffled and accompanied by the sound of things being moved around inside the cabinet.

  "Jervay wouldn't tell me, or even let me speak with the man for that matter, saying something about confidentiality."

  This caused Jephson to stop his search and face him with a look of disgust.

  "What? The pryor has ideas above his station. What if the injured man is involved in some way, Croneygee might well have put up a fight. He is getting on in years but was a scrapper in his day," Jephson said, moving to search a cupboard.

  "I did consider that possibility and was contemplating a forced entry to the priory so that I could establish the facts for myself, when I received a report from two of my men. It's more likely that the person responsible for the attacks is a Coralainian who has crossed the Rhavenbrook Bridge into Fennelbek. The man taken to Jervay is almost certainly another of his victims."

  Jephson, finding no sign of the necklace in the cupboard, went back to his desk and sat down. His focus turning to the Coralainian.

  "Tell me what you have found out about the fugitive."

  With his lordship seated, Tregarron sat down, too.

  "It's my understanding, that he is a thief called Hayden. Not only did he steal the Fennrean necklace, he may even have stolen the Plautius Gauntlets from the Halvyon Temple vaults."

  "Then he is no ordinary thief. Stealing those gauntlets would not only be extremely difficult, but also an act of sedition, a capital offense in Coralai. They would take that crime very seriously."

  "They would take it seriously, and I know for a fact that they are."

  "How?"

  "One of the Coralainian prisoners is the son of the saceress, recovery of the relic is clearly a priority."

  "We have the son of the saceress in our prison?" Jephson said, incredulous at the revelation and slowly getting to his feet. "Do they know, do you think?"

  "I don't know yet."

  Tregarron watched as Jephson started to pace the room, thinking about the implications, "Might they try to release him, by force I mean?"

  "Their behavior is unpredictable on this matter, we don't have much by way of diplomatic ties."

  "It's lucky I have ordered in more guards from the villages," Jephson said, deep in thought. "They will start arriving tomorrow."

  "I'm sure the authorities at the Halvyon Temple will seek a settlement on the matter first," he said, and it was and idea that seemed to get Jephson's attention.

  "Some financial recompense you mean?"

  "Yes," amongst other things, "We can inform them that there was a Coralainian attacking Demedelites and we arrested suspects. They will tell us it was a rogue, an absconding thief. We can tell them, that, if they compensate us appropriately, the prisoners can be released and the matter closed."

  "Yes. Do you think they were in any way involved in the assault on Croneygee?"

  "I think not, most likely it was this Hayden fellow who was responsible. It seems he was looting valuable items to fund a passage north, from what information I have been able gather. Coralai wanted him, we wanted him and it looks like the Fennreans have him."

  "No outcome would have been good for the thief but that was probably the worst of the lot," Jephson laughed, "It would seem that, not only has justice been done, it's been more than done. Which is my favorite kind of justice."

  "I think we can consider the fugitive apprehended."

  "So it would seem nobody got away this time then, eh, Tregarron," Jephson said, with a knowing smile.

  Tregarron didn't respond, and certainly didn't return the smile. Jephson wasn't just his senior officer now, he had always been that.

  It wasn't Jephson's competence or leadership that commanded the loyalty of his men, it was the things he knew. Tregarron felt his fury rising at the sight of the man's smirk and let some of his anger show, to indicate he thought it no laughing matter.

  "So," Jephson continued, clearing his throat and moving on from the sensitive subject, "What of Croneygee's apprentice, was he an accomplice?"

  "I did think at one time that the boy may have been involved," he said calmly, "but I
now suspect he made the mistake of doing some under the counter work for this Hayden fellow. Repairing the stolen Fennrean necklace without Croneygee's knowledge when he should have been doing other things. When I took the necklace, it stopped his game. Then, when he heard Croneygee had been hurt by the man he had conspired with to undercut his boss, he might have realized he could be in trouble and panicked."

  "Where is he now?"

  "I don't know. He's likely going to try and lay low for a while. I will place guards on his lodgings for a few day and see if he shows up."

  "Might he have come to harm do you think? This Hayden sounds dangerous."

  "The innkeeper said he left before Hayden, and at that point it seems he was unarmed, but Hayden did not then go south has expected. It's not impossible he met up with Galvyn again. Their leaving separately may have been a ruse, too, along with his claim of heading to the pass. I suspect that it's unfortunate for Galvyn if they did cross paths again."

  "Unfortunate? It would serve him right. Croneygee takes him under his wing and that's how he repays him? I'm pleased with how you dealt with this matter, Captain, and I know you've wanted more assistance with your duties here, so I will consider making the extra manpower I'm bringing in a more permanent arrangement." Jephson said, returning to look for the necklace in the drawers he had already searched.

  "I would appreciate it."

  "It has been some time since I last spoke with Vondern, I will have to arrange a meeting, if the necklace is valuable, I will return it to him, for the right recompense of course."

  "Yes, that might work. We will have to see if they have anything they can give us in return."

  "Yes, good point, there is little of value in the swamp."

  "I'm sure they will have a few things we can take off their hands, I have something in mind. Of course, he might suggest you destroy it."

  "You mean like last time?"

  Tregarron thought of the symbols on the pendant, and of burning and screaming, "Yes."

  "If I can find it, that is. Are you sure you don't have it?"

  "Quite sure."

  "Where could it be? In the morning, I'll ask Brigantia if she's seen it."