She watched Goga emerge from the stables, examining--she gasped as she saw the black scabbard of the Black Sword, unique as it was shaped like a giant fang and she had spotted it before in the stall of Basha’s horse. Why would--had Goga noticed and recognized the Black Sword? Had he stolen it to examine it, or did he know its owner was gone? Basha was going to lose the Black Sword, and it would be her fault for not retrieving it sooner, unless she did something about it. But what could she do to--
She heard the kennel gate open, and the dogs started barking as Gnat looked up, afraid Goga had seen her spying on him, and would enter to punish her. But instead, it was a woman Gnat had never seen before, or at least--perhaps she had seen the woman once or twice in the last few days, but always from afar, and never knowing her name.
“Hello, Gnat,” said the woman, crouching down to Gnat’s eye-level. “My name is Nisa, and I want to help you.”
“Help me?” Gnat said, frowning. “Why?”
“Because we want the same thing for the same people,” Nisa said, nodding at Goga heading for the castle keep. “And keep the Black Sword out of Goga’s hand.”
“The Black Sword? How--” Gnat said, gasping. “How do you know?”
“I recognized it. It was described to me once by--my father,” Nisa said, looking away. “He knows a lot. Anyway, we want the same thing for Basha, and I think we should work together to get it. You can get the Sword, and I--will distract Goga.” Nisa said, biting her lip.
“How?” Gnat said, eying Nisa.
“Just leave that to me.” Nisa said, glaring at Gnat. “Get the Sword when the time is right. You wait a few moments when I leave here, and then follow after me. Do not be rash. Keep to the shadows, and watch out for me and Goga. We may be in a room together. Just be careful, and slip in if you can. I will try to knock him out if it comes to that. Most likely he will be disarmed, and the Black Sword will be left a short distance away from him, that will help.” Nisa said the last to herself. “We need to be quick, and quiet. Hide your face if you can.” She continued, speaking to Gnat this time.
“What about you?” Gnat asked, staring at Nisa.
“I hope to get away from here, but Gnat, you are most important, the Black Sword is important. I believe that may be more important than my life.” Nisa said. “Now be certain it gets to Basha!”
Nisa did as she said, leaving the kennel and crossing over to enter the castle. Gnat waited for as long as she could, and then followed after, creeping as best she could inside, and down the main hallway. In a shadowy alcove, Nisa waved her over, and when Gnat arrived, Nisa thrust the Black Sword in its scabbard into her hands. Nisa winced, recoiling slightly as she clasped her hands together, and grimaced.
“I don’t think he saw me clearly,” Nisa said, indicating the unconscious body of Goga lying on the floor of the alcove, “But at least he saw only me. Now get out of here.” Nisa hissed. Her hands appeared to have blistered.
Gnat hesitated a moment, holding the Black Sword. “If we could be certain that he would never say anything about--” Gnat started to say, staring down at Goga’s helpless body.
“No, Gnat,” Nisa hissed, staring at her. “Don’t think that, don’t you ever think that. You’re too young to be thinking like that. You do not want to go down that way.”
“Why not?” Gnat asked, staring up at her. Her eyes had turned black all the way around, no color or white in them.
“You do not want to go down that way because there is no way back, Gnat.” Nisa said, grasping her and trying to make her focus. “I know, because I have been down that road. You lose a part of yourself, and when it is gone, it is gone forever. Look at me!” Nisa cried. “You do not want to lose whatever innocence you have left. It is valuable. Time is running out. We have to save Basha and his friends, they are waiting for you and the Sword. Go to him, Gnat. Go to Basha. You may lose the Sword if you stay. Goga will wake up soon, or someone else will take the Sword away from you if you slay him. Then will it be worth it? For Basha to lose his life and his weapon?”
Gnat gripped the Black Sword in its black scabbard tightly, trembling with her eyes and teeth clenched as if she might burst forth in a screaming rage at any moment with the Black Sword unsheathed to stab Goga. But then she inhaled deeply and quieted down, sighing softly and shaking her head as her body relaxed. She opened her eyes, and a hazel circle had appeared inside her pupil once more, the white of the cornea as well. “I’m sorry.” Gnat said.
“It’s all right. Now go!” Nisa cried.
Gnat nodded, and ran off with the Black Sword towards the castle door, leaving Nisa alone. Nisa hesitated as she turned to Goga’s body, lying there unprotected... “No.” She said, shaking her head. “Whatever the consequences may be, no.” She moved away from his body before Goga could wake. She would fight him another day, when he could defend himself.
Gnat ran back through the forest as the sunset diminished to the edge of darkness. The Black Sword in its scabbard was clutched in front of her as it had been for most of the way, except for when she had slipped through the hole in the curtain wall. Time was running out, Goga would surely wake soon and, without the Black Sword by his side, he would alert Coe Aela that something was wrong, leading to the discovery of the missing ‘guests’.
She had not let go of the Black Sword at all, afraid she was going to lose it after all of the trouble she and Nisa had gone through to fetch it, and afraid she might turn around and use it on Goga like she had been tempted to do. But she had kept going, because it was important, because she wanted to show Basha he could trust her, and she wanted to be responsible enough to make Janus and Nisa proud of her. She had a lot to live up to.
She made it to the pool and the outcrop, went around to clamber over the rocks, slipping slightly with one of her hands full with the Sword, but she managed to make it to the cave mouth behind the waterfall. “Basha! Oaka! Monika! Fato!” She cried, holding up the Sword in the dark as they approached. “I got it! Now you all need to hurry up, fetch your bags to hand up to me first, and then I’ll help you all out of the cave.”
“Thank you, Gnat!” Basha exclaimed.
“What took you so long?” Fato screeched.
“There was some difficulty,” Gnat said, not wanting to get into it right now, “But with Nisa’s help--”
“Nisa?” Basha said, very loudly and with a brusque undertone.
“Nisa, she knew you, she knew about the Black Sword,” Gnat said, puzzled by his reaction. Surely he knew Nisa was trying to help him?
“The Black Sword? How could she know about that?” Basha asked.
“Is this the woman you saw at the grand banquet hall the other evening?” Monika asked Basha.
“What woman?” Fato asked, starting to get worried.
“Yes, I thought I saw her there, but that’s impossible! She’s back in Coe Baba, or at least she should be.” Basha told Monika.
“She said she was told by her father what the Black Sword looked like,” Gnat said, trying to keep up with the conversation.
“Nisa doesn’t have a father!” Basha exclaimed.
“Who is Nisa again?” Oaka asked.
“Nisa worked at the inn sometimes, Oaka, as a serving girl,” Basha said, turning to him. “She lived with her mother Brigga, who wasn’t married.”
“But Nisa had to have a father, otherwise she wouldn’t have been born.” Monika said, “Someone who lived in Coe Baba or something. What man could have known what the Black Sword looked like, Basha?”
“Probably the Old Man,” Basha scoffed, and then got quiet.
“I don’t know what the matter is between you and Nisa, Basha,” Gnat said, getting fed up with all of this background information she didn’t understand, “But she helped me by knocking out Goga, who had taken the Black Sword out of the stables, so now you have all got to get out of here before Goga revives, and sounds the alarm!”
Several bags were thrown up at Gnat at once, but she only managed to catch two
of them, placing them to the side on the rocks away from the waterfall. The rest of the bags that had fallen back onto the floor of the cave were handed up to her by the group. With the Black Sword resting on top of the bags, she managed to help pull up the members of the group who were attempting to climb the slick cave wall to its mouth, Fato flying over them outside.
Once everyone was out, and started collecting their bags, Basha grabbed the Black Sword and turned to Gnat. “Come with us.” He urged.
Oaka opened his mouth, but Monika elbowed him slightly to stop him from talking. Fato watched the scene intently.
“I…” Gnat hesitated, looking back towards the walls and turrets of Coe Aela in the distance. What if she went back there, only to be caught by Goga and his guards sneaking back in? They would know, through torture, interrogation, or discovery, that she had helped the group escape, and then they would kill her. She couldn’t know she would escape that fate.
Janus and Nisa might or would be caught in their respective schemes, and then they would be killed. She couldn’t know that would happen, but what if it did? What if everything else failed, including the servants’ rebellion Janus instigated? What would she do then? Die alone without any friends? Slave away until her existence ended, probably at Goga’s hands? What if she could escape all of that?
What would Janus and Nisa want her to do? Would they want her to save herself? Would they want her to die alone without them, sacrifice herself for a worthy cause, or find freedom with friends?
She cried, unable to control herself, bitter tears as these thoughts circulated through her head. “I don’t know what to do!”
“Come on, Gnat,” Basha said, nudging her as he and everyone else started moving over the rocks around the pool to start heading south.
Gnat followed after him. “I’m not prepared for this,” She whispered as the humans started running once they hit dry ground, Fato leading the way as he soared ahead of them.
“Nobody ever is!” The falcon called back to the girl, and then cheered.
Something was wrong, no, everything was amiss, Doomba growled to himself, sitting up in his chair and staring out at the shadows circulating about him. The shadows knew his fears and worries, the shadows were a part of him, and as such they reflected his fears and worries as well as shrouded him. He felt almost certain that Lord Fobata and Captain Goga had messed up again, somehow, despite whatever precautions they might have taken in encountering the newcomers chased by the Black Wolves.
The sensations he had felt, perhaps of the Black Sword or one of the other Swords of Arria being used, were upsetting to him, disturbing to say the least when it meant that his enemies had such weapons still in their possession. Weapons? Plural? More than one Sword? This was a disaster! The Knights of Arria were assembling again, the Swords of Arria being brought together, right under Coe Aela’s roof! It was embarrassing, this sort of thing should not be happening, right in the heart of a Follower’s stronghold.
What was wrong with Fobata and Goga? Why were they always getting things wrong? Could they not do anything right by themselves? Did they enjoy having somebody else clean up their messes? Because he was going to have to contact somebody, perhaps Lord Crow and the ‘Maidens’, the Yagiha and Wilama, to take control of the situation before it got out of control, to kill the tiger and his friends. He never should have considered the possibility of possessing the tiger’s body, it was too dangerous to tangle with the problems inherent there; namely, the proximity required for such an operation. It would make him an easy target for the tiger, if the tiger was willing. He should resign himself to the fact that he would have to search for another body, one that was safer, though not so powerful. A pity, Doomba had been looking forward to that day for awhile now.
Did Fobata and Goga enjoy being demoted and ignored in the ranks of Followers of Doomba for their foibles and mistakes? Did they not understand the consequences of their actions, that they had severely affected the progress of Doomba’s elevation to greater power and glory for years now? Did they underestimate their opponents, who could impede both Fobata and Goga in their callings as well as Doomba’s? Did they assume that there was no threat here, no need to worry unduly, despite any hints otherwise? They were wrong, terribly wrong, and it was their fault for being so ignorant. They should have learned otherwise.
Perhaps he should not have expected them to understand the importance of these people to him, that these were his ultimate foes, but surely they would not have missed the Swords of Arria? Even if the weapons were hidden from sight, surely Fobata and Goga would have at least taken the precaution of searching through the enemies’ packs. Was it not obvious? Perhaps the hint of the newcomers being chased by Black Wolves was not big enough. The imbeciles.
After the hope that he had gained when the tiger and his friends arrived at Coe Aela, the hope that Lord Fobata and his brother Captain Goga would deal with them once and for all, to prove that the pair of them were not lousy Followers of Doomba…he had been disappointed, as usual. It made him sick, to think that they were counted amongst his Followers. He should debase them, remove them from his ranks of Followers, were it not for the fact that due to their high status in Arria’s society, and proximity to other noble, significant Followers, they had gained access to an enormous amount of secrets over the years, some of the best-laid plans, identities, and subterfuges ever assembled. They still had been accounted important enough to be involved in such measures, unworthy as they were to receive such status in the first place, especially when Lord Joq himself, the previous Duke of Coe Aela, had been just as dismal in his abilities and loyalty. Despite everything they had ever done wrong, Lord Joq, Lord Fobata, and Captain Goga had still remained Followers of Doomba, because he could not turn them away, or else they might have gone to King Sonnagh and his people with all of their knowledge, and betrayed him, tarnishing all of his plans and schemes.
Even death, killing and disposing of them, was no guarantee of silence, for surely someone might have noticed that something was amiss in their demises, and investigate, while someone else in their employ might have known enough of their secrets to still betray him, and so on. There was no guarantee that nothing would ever go wrong. So Doomba had to do everything he could to prevent catastrophes. He wished that he could stand up, and do everything himself, but he could not. He had a message to send to his Black Wolves in the north.
He concentrated, but then his concentration was broken with another knock at his door. Doomba groaned and shouted, “What is it now? What has gone wrong at the Pits this time?” as a gringrok opened the door.
The gringrok grimaced and said, “Sire, a Trolla is here to report that one of the tunnels in the Pits has flooded.”
“Flooded? This is the final straw.” Doomba insisted. “Something must be done about the Pits! The Trollas have a lot to answer for.”
Chapter 12: Man of Principle
The mark of a man of principle can be found in the way
That he distinguishes himself. Does he show that he
Has fortitude, discipline, a sense of duty and honor as
Well as intellect? Then he is a true man of principle.
A Man of Principle, Mirandor
Goga groaned, eyelids fluttering as he revived slowly, managing to sit up and peer about, trying to recall where he was and what he was doing here. He must have been drinking a lot this evening. He remembered he had seen the Black Sword in the stable when his slightly blurry eyes had glanced over to the stall of one of the visitor’s horses and had spotted the black leather of its hilt and the special curve it had in its sheath, attached to the saddle just left lying on the floor. How careless of them. Why had they done a thing like that? Goga thought to himself, striding over and opening the stall door with a little sway. He dived around the horse when it was startled to snatch up the Sword in its scabbard, throwing away the rest of the saddle that he had dragged along with it. The Black Sword was his, Goga thought to himself, yes, it was…where was it?
Goga wondered, as he looked around where he had been left lying.
“Balnor!” Goga cried. “Balnor and malakel it, I will…” He stood up and swayed, clutching at the wall. “That woman will pay.” He growled. It was always a woman to him.
He remembered her approaching him, a servant, head down with her arms crossed in front of her. But he had not gotten a good look at her face, just her hair, which seemed to blur in his mind between blond, gray, white or red, maybe brown, depending on how the light had…he couldn’t remember. Something was affecting his mind, he could almost swear to it. Must have been the wine. She had knocked him out somehow, and taken the Black Sword away from him. Why? Perhaps she had known what it was, and if she had known what it was…
“Guards!” He cried, staggering towards the castle door and flinging it wide open into the night. “Guards!”
Some of his guards came down from the wall and the guardhouse, and he ordered them to search the servants’ quarters, round up any woman over the age of 15 with blond, brown, red, white or gray hair, and send them to the dungeon cells. Then he asked two of his guards to accompany him to the east wing, where the living quarters for those visitors Lord Crow had warned them about were located. Once there, he flung open the doors, only to find them gone, most of their bags taken as well. He turned about and told the two men to begin a search for the guests, all over the castle and its grounds, but he already had a feeling that they were not here, they were gone. But he had to be certain.
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