Rage of the Diamond's Eye (The Guildsmen Series Book 1)

by Becker, Shawn

  “I protest this iniquitous decision,” Margas said thunderously. “You have given no consideration to the Elementai, nor has your King!”

  Cassius drew himself up confidently. “If I had any consideration to give, Master Magi, I would consider throwing this object into the Stormrage Sea. As it is, I have no say in this matter. It is the King’s Word and since this diamond was relinquished in his realm, it is King Jalled’s right to say who can claim it.”

  “How convenient for the King since he plans to store the Purestone in his own city!”

  “You may take your disagreement to the King,” said Cassius with an edge that warned the Magi to drop the subject.

  Margas pounded on the table with his fist. “We have every right to that diamond!”

  “The King recognizes your right, Master Shek, but he believes that the House has more of a right to it.”

  Margas looked to Sajiix, whose tired eyes were locked upon the Purestone. “Mirhan, you have had dealings with this knight before. You are known to King Jalled. Rise and support the Arcanum in this acquisition!”

  It seemed to take Sajiix hours to draw his gaze away from the dormant gemstone. He rose slowly, unsteadily to his feet. With a quiet voice unknown to Cassius, the Amethyst Magi spoke. “The Purestone should go with the Chancellor.”

  There was a moment of shocked silence as the majority of those familiar with the Magi took time to consider his words. From the back, Cassius heard Ayce choking on whatever drink he was currently imbibing. The Guildsman wondered once again what had happened to Sajiix when he attempted to use the Purestone, for this was not what anyone expected. For years, Sajiix had championed his search for the Gemstones of Val’Cryys to a near obsession. His desire to find one and study it was one of the reasons why he was removed from the Defender’s Guild. Now there was one within arm’s reach and he was suggesting that it be taken by a political enemy?

  “You fool!” Margas said with clenched fists. “How can you side with those that despise us so readily?”

  “I have touched the Purestone and in doing so I have touched upon the presence of a god,” Sajiix told him with some of the power returning to his voice. “I felt its judgment. I felt its fury. We are not meant to hold it. Let the Chancellor deal with it.”

  Margas shook his head in disbelief, staring around the room at the faces that confirmed an already made decision. “Very well,” he spoke, all emotion gone from his voice. “I will report this to the Elementai and we will see what happens next. As for you,” he leaned close to Sajiix, but Cassius could still hear his threatening whisper, “I would suggest you and your apprentice return to the Arcanum with all due haste. The Elementai will want to hear why you did not aid us in this.”

  Margas straightened and regarded Cassius with an icy countenance. “May I assume that my companion Erak will continue to be given quarter until he is fully healed?”

  The Guildsman nodded. “Of course, he will be well tended to. Your Diamond Magi…will his remains need to be consecrated?”

  “His family has been notified and they are coming to collect his body,” the Magi answered. “Erak will be collected once he can travel.”

  “Very well,” Cassius nodded. “There is no rush. He may stay as long as he desires. We do not consider you our enemy.”

  “You may not think so, knight. But, I cannot speak for the Elementai as a whole.”

  Without a word of farewell, Margas Shek stepped away from the table and walked briskly to the shadows underneath a wide staircase leading to the second floor. There was a brilliant flash of lavender and then he was gone.

  Cassius regarded Sajiix with a wary, yet respectful eye as he slowly lowered himself back to his seat. Kaelyn put a comforting hand on his arm and both drew inward once more. The Guildsman then turned his attention to Chancellor Tevic, who was no longer praying, but smiling with a crazed benevolence.

  “Diathanos has guided me to agree with your King’s wishes. We and the Eye of Diathanos shall take leave of you and return to the High Temple in Kaalé,” he said with an enraptured tone. “He has shown me the folly of political masterminding and we will strive to become a House for all who seek the light of purity and the sanctity of healing. He blesses me with his gift as he blesses all of his children.

  “Even those who have betrayed him,” he said with a gentle smile at Cassius.

  It was meant to be compassionate, but Cassius could not help but shudder at its disturbing lucidity.

  The Chancellor then stood and held his hands out expectantly. Cassius gestured to Myst, who quickly produced the diamond from the worn pack at her feet and stepped hurriedly to the center table to give the man his gift. Once relieved of the diamond, Myst returned hastily to Tair’s side, the relief on her face quite evident.

  Tevic’s eyes were alight with joy as the raw, jagged gemstone began to emit a soft white radiance. The Chancellor began to weep as he stepped away from the table. Cassius watched him leave with his two Protectors near. As they stepped outside of the inn, the Guildsman heard a roaring cheer presumably coming from the gathered Diathanos regiment. The sound of booted feet marching away from the building led to an almost relieved silence.

  Slumping into his chair, Cassius lay his head down upon the cool wood of the table, happy to be removed from any further responsibility of the damned diamond.

  35

  Tair’Lianne sat at a corner table downing the last of her third ale while hearing another story from those that called themselves the Guildsmen. She sat across from Myst, who was listening to Tienn describe an encounter they had with a cave dragon in Bornos seventeen years ago. Every so often, Ayce would add a comment or Sajiix would be asked to confirm the date it occurred. Cassius would also add his thoughts, which led to some of them arguing over who was there, when it happened, and why they bothered. It became a bit ludicrous as the night grew long and the number of ales grew even longer.

  At first, Tair had no desire to attend this small party filled with old people and their tales of younger days. It seemed important to Myst, however, so she agreed to go with her – plus the free ale was a genuine bonus.

  The four men sat at a long center table, laden with dirty crockery, candles, and empty mugs. On one end, sitting alone and quiet, was the swordswoman Kreena. She nursed the same ale she had kept close all night, taking light sips as she listened. On the opposite side of the table was the golden-haired apprentice of Sajiix. She looked as bored as Tair felt, but she seemed to take advantage of the free spirits.

  The true owner of the Golden Harvest Inn had long retired for the night. He had graciously tapped a single keg for the group and had his cook prepare them a large roast and a pot of vegetables swimming in light gravy. He refused to take payment, however, saying only that he was grateful to still have a business to run. He asked only that the group snuff out any lights and allow the fire in the hearth to die down. The candles were now burned halfway to their nubs; the lanterns were nearly empty of oil; but the fire still roared, popped, and snapped as Tienn continued to feed it.

  Tair found herself smiling and even laughing every so often – but she contributed that to the amount of ale she was drinking. Tienn was describing Sajiix’s reaction to the moment the rare beast emerged from its lair.

  “I came out of that hole not even realizing the dragon was behind me,” he said with a chuckle. “Sajiix could only stand there, staring over my head with his mouth wide open.”

  “You did not see it,” Sajiix explained. “You came sliding down that rock pile as though nothing was wrong, but you did not see that dragon’s head slowly slip out from the crevasse above. It just perched there, staring at me.”

  “It was probably trying to decide which of you to eat first,” Cassius joked.

  “When I finally reached Sajiix, I could tell something was not right,” Tienn said after another sip of ale. “But before I could do or say anything, Ayce starts screaming like a barn owl.”

  Ayce laughed. “I came around tha
t corner and saw a head the size of a milling wheel complete with fangs and eyes as red as embers. I scream, ‘Dragon!!’ and ran back the way I came!”

  “Knocking me and Tienn over into her egg nest,” Cassius added with a roll of his eyes. “She was not happy.”

  “How did you get out of that?” asked Myst with genuine concern.

  “It took some explaining,” Tienn smiled. “But she finally realized we were not there to steal her eggs.”

  “Explaining?” Tair wanted to know exactly how they made themselves clear to a dragon.

  “Cave dragons, or any dragon for that matter, are very intelligent creatures,” explained Sajiix as he rooted for a piece of carrot on the plate before him. “We were ignorant of the fact and she enjoyed herself immensely as we stumbled about her lair. She finally let us know that we could communicate by calling us names.”

  “She called you spring violet,” Ayce giggled.

  “She called you dog-boy,” Sajiix countered.

  Myst leaned forward. “So, did you kill it as the Baron requested?”

  Cassius shook his head. “It turned out that the Baron was nothing of the kind. He was just the leader of a gang of bandits trying to make a quick bag of gold. The dragon never once came near their village, but he had seen it crawling along the rocky sides of the mountain paths. He hired us to kill it so that he could go back and collect its scales.”

  “Cave dragon scales are extremely valuable,” added Tienn.

  “What did you do?” Myst had to know.

  “We apologized,” Tienn told her. “Then we returned to the village and informed the ‘Baron’ that the beast was dead.”

  Myst shook her head. “So, you allowed him to journey back into the caves, knowing that the dragon would…”

  “Eat him?” Sajiix suggested. “Yes, we did. Such was the price for attempting to fool the Defender’s Guild.”

  At that, all four men made a sort of grunting and coughing noise and slammed their tankards together – with Ayce completely missing. This got them to laughing again. Even Tair let out a giggle.

  “I remember stories about the Guild from when I was a child,” Kreena told them.

  All four men looked at the dark-haired swordswoman dressed in a mock-up of an officer knight’s uniform. Her cherubic face was flush from the sudden attention, but her dark eyes were serious. Her youthful visage was not lost on the older men and they lapsed into silence as Kreena continued.

  “Poppa loved your tales. He often hoped I would join your Guild, but you had closed your doors before I was of age,” she said with a wistfulness that sobered the celebration. “Why did you do this?”

  Tair could feel the mood of the gathering fall into an icy repose. Ayce took a long drink, Tienn’s eyes scanned the stairway, Cassius cleared his throat uncomfortably, and Sajiix stared down at the worn wood of the table.

  “There were circumstances…” Cassius’s voice fell to an indiscernible mumble and then silence.

  Sajiix cleared his own throat. “It was decided that I was…that my obsession for the Gemstones of Val’Cryys was interfering with the Guild’s decree.”

  “The simple fact, Miss Kreena, is that we no longer functioned well as a team,” Tienn said, defending the Magi. “Our friendships had been tested too far.”

  Kreena was thoughtful for a moment and then said, “But you’ve been sitting here all night joking and talking as though you were all still friends. And your teamwork was quite evident during the Zynnashan attack.”

  Another round of silence descended upon the team. Suddenly Cassius regarded Sajiix with a stern eye. “I was wrong about you,” he said to the Magi. “The Purestone was within your grasp for the first time in twenty years and you let it go. You allowed Tevic to take it, knowing the trouble it would cause you at the Arcanum. That was not the act of a man obsessed.”

  Sajiix’s eyes remained on the table, his fingers rubbing upon an unseen mark on its surface, “I did that to avoid a fight between the Magi and the Houses of faith. If I had championed for Margas – he would have tried to take the diamond by force.

  “Alas, I am afraid that I have only staunched the bleeding, my friends. When word reaches the Elementai that House Diathanos has been holding Magi against their will and that they have taken the diamond from our grasp, they will seek retribution…and Tevic will not give it to them.”

  “Do you think they will fight?” Cassius asked.

  “I think there is a storm coming,” Sajiix said, his eyes now upon his former friend, “A storm that cannot be averted, but one that must be prepared for.”

  Ayce let out a sardonic laugh. “That sounds cheerful.”

  Sajiix said nothing else, nor did Cassius, but the two nodded to one another, acknowledging the basic fact that this was something to keep an eye on from both sides.

  “I wish to join your Guild,” Kreena announced. “I have nothing left here now that Captain Longvaale is dead. His replacement will not see me as he did and I still want to be a part of something that matters.”

  She looked at Cassius and then shifted her gaze to Sajiix who lifted his hands in a mock gesture of defense. “Cast your eyes away from me,” he told her. “I have no say in this matter as I am not in this Guild.”

  “Would you be?”

  Sajiix slowly lowered his hands, watching Cassius carefully. “What?”

  “If we were to ask you, would you come back to the Guild?” Cassius’s voice was not mordant. He was asking the Magi to come back.

  Tair took another swig of her ale, watching with renewed interest. In the silence that followed, she could see Tienn and Ayce exchange hopeful glances. The Magi stared hard at the dark-skinned Guild leader and finally shook his head.

  “If you were to ask me I would have to regretfully decline,” he finally said.

  Ayce and Tienn released disappointed breaths while Cassius stood back with his familiar straight-edged posture and folded his thick arms over his chest. “I have never understood you,” he said with an exasperated sigh. “You throw a fit when we don’t invite you, then you snub us when we do!”

  “Calm yourself,” Sajiix urged. “I have pressing matters that need attending to at the Arcanum; matters that require a delicate touch. I cannot be at two places at once, Cassius. But I am grateful for your offer.”

  Cassius unfolded his arms and nodded. He might not have liked what the Magi said, but Tair could see that he accepted the tone of his voice. The Guild Master smiled at Kreena and instructed her to pack whatever it was she wanted to bring to Kaalé, for they left in the morning.

  “Late morning!” Ayce threw in with a loud belch.

  Kreena shook hands with each Guildsman, her smile chastened only by the cheerless thought of abandoning any chance of becoming a knight.

  “And what of you?”

  It was Tienn who spoke and he was looking in Tair’s direction. She lifted a thumb and pointed at herself to confirm that it was indeed her he was referring to, but his eyes were not on hers. They were on…

  “You didn’t!”

  The moment the words left her mouth, she could see Myst’s guilt pouring out.

  “No, I didn’t,” Myst objected. “We only discussed it.”

  “Discussed it?”

  “With Tienn,” Myst expounded. “He believes we should both join the Guild…”

  “...and?” said Tair with her lips pressed tight.

  “...and I think we should join.”

  Tair moaned and slammed her head upon the table.

  “Think about it, Tair. Free room and board,” Myst urged. “We get expert training and can become a part of something that matters.”

  “Not to mention living with rules and expectations,” Tair snarled. “We might as well be living in Joram’s Bend again!”

  “Tair, I can’t continue living on the road, stopping at every flophouse and tavern along the way to gamble what we have to make enough to eat or sleep on.” Myst’s voice was pleading, but it was also compiled o
f merciless finality. “We deserve better.”

  “We will be told when to wake up, when to eat, when and how to fight…this is better?”

  Myst shook her head. “It is better than sleeping out in the snow this winter.”

  She had a point.

  Tair was also tired of trying to forage for food and shelter in every city they arrived in. The gambling money never seemed to last and there have been times when they had to dig in garbage for something to eat. The cold and snow would make it worse. She still felt as though she were being domesticated. Tair didn’t want to lose her edge with a continuous supply of food, clothes, and warm and dry quarters.

  Still, they could always leave in the spring, she reasoned.

  “Fine,” she muttered.

  Myst gripped her friend’s arm with a quick squeeze of thanks and turned excitedly to Tienn, “We’re in…if you will have us.”

  A small cheer erupted in the room as Ayce lifted his tankard and shouted a bawdy welcome.

  “Pack what you own tonight, for we leave at dawn,” Cassius told them. “Stragglers will be left behind. We should be able to cross through Laedar’s Gap before the first snows make it too difficult.”

  “We can reach Vaasgar and retrieve Morgath and Ro’byenn,” Tienn suggested.

  The sound of wood scraping against wood jarred everyone in the room as Sajiix and Kaelyn rose from the table.

  “Leaving?” Tienn asked.

  Sajiix nodded. “Just to our room,” he told him. “I am too tired to put forth the effort to shadow walk to the Arcanum. Besides, the longer Margas blathers about my supposed betrayal, the less inclined others will be to believe him. We will take our leave to get some rest.”

  Ayce let out a barking laugh. “Right, of course you will,” he said with a leering grin at Kaelyn, who properly ignored him.