“Linien? I've never been there.”
Folt shrugged.
“It's not important that you have. More importantly, you know we plan to inconvenience the governor at least at first, and if possible remove her completely.”
“You plan to kill the governor?” said Saben
“That would be one objective,” said Deel.
“Why?” Saben asked.
The king commands it. Folt shrugged. We were mercenaries but our company has been enlisted with his people for so long we’re invested in the nation. Those lizard men sure can spend a pretty penny when it comes to assassination and violence.”
“You want me to help you kill governor and in exchange, you help me free Jaswei.”
“Among other things,” said Folt. We also have an interest in what you learn from that scroll. None of us had much experience with sacra forms.”
“I only know that the scroll is powerful enough to give me my revenge.”
“Leave the revenge out of it for now,” Folt said.
“Yeah,” said Rina. “Don't go haring off, you could get us all in trouble.”
“Meaning killed,” said Uigara.
Heen smiled at Saben.
“I trust you, sir,” he said.
Saben shook his head.
“Don't say that.” He turned to Folt. “I'll do it, but I want to know your entire plan so nothing gets passed me once we’re in the palace.”
“That's what I like to hear.” Folt’s ugly face grinned.
Saben set to work with them, preparing a plan to distract Hadrian and get into the palace.
Deckard
Deckard returned to the palace, tired and worn and weary from his sojourn in the city above. Despite his lack of need for sleep, he always felt exhausted after dealing with those in the chambers of Mother Mercy. He’d remained in a sunroom with one of the ancient beings of the house for a long while as the world spun below. The elder entity had said nothing to him the entire time.
Deckard had to accept that the ancient being’s silence for the moment.
He avoided meeting with Lady Nasibron and the governor. He needed to rest his thoughts. Making his way up the stairs of the entrance hall, he walked on his own two feet, sparing his sprites the load. They helped carry his robe.
He found Melissa Dorian at the top of the stairs with Elaine Tanlos.
“You know full well,” said Elaine, “Lady Nasibron won't allow it.”
Melissa shrugged.
“I'll ask,” said Elaine.
She wouldn’t take me seriously anyway, said Melissa.
Melissa noticed Deckard approaching on the stairs.
She nodded to him, not quite bowing but still acknowledging his presence. She was a pretty young woman, but Deckard felt the cold, nearly austere presence behind her eyes. She was a suspicious wanted to call to everyone she rendered her suspicions. She reminded Deckard, though briefly, of another woman from the distant past. He reached the top of the stairs and nodded to Melissa.
“Where are you going?” Asked Elaine. She turned to face Deckard.
Deckard shrugged his shoulders. His robe rippled with ill-contained essence.
“I'm going to rest,” he said. “Even an immortal can feel tired sometimes.”
Elaine nodded. Melissa raised an eyebrow.
“That’s not what the songs about you say,” she said.
“Songs can be mistaken,” said Deckard. “If I didn't rest now and then I might go mad.”
“Normal people just collapse and rest,” said Melissa.
“True. I'm not an ordinary man.”
Elaine turned to Melissa.
“Shall we go?
“You can go,” said Melissa. “I can follow shortly.”
Elaine nodded.
“Right, I'll see to meeting with my aunt.”
She bustled off, her skirt swishing about her legs. That girl possessed more openness than Melissa. Deckard wondered if she was too innocent for her good.
Melissa looked at Deckard for a moment.
“Did you want to speak with me?” he asked.
“I did,” said Melissa.
The room suddenly felt cooler, and the warmth of his robe about him did little to preclude the chill. Grateful for the light edge it gave him, Deckard nodded to Melissa.
“Ask your question.”
“The magister's guild master,” she said, “he threatened to take away my sprites what I encountered at the tavern.”
“Thinking of creating more trouble?”
“No,” said Melissa, “not at all.”
Deckard folded his hands, robe sleeves covering them.
“To remove sprites and banes from another,” Deckard said, “one must use a technique called separating. However, stripping the sprites from another using that technique is exceedingly difficult to do with precision. Ripping one free can be done, but those always quickly return to their origin at speed.”
“He threatened to steal my magic permanently,” she said.
“I doubt he has the ability,” said Deckard. “Most likely he was trying to intimidate you.”
Melissa frowned. Her cold, taciturn nature attitude remained.
Deckard unfolded his hands.
“Is that all? I'm quite tired.”
“I don't believe that,” said Melissa.
“My fatigue is mental,” said Deckard. “And I won't be sleeping if that's your question. I only need time to revitalize my mind.”
“Meditation?”
“Not exactly,” said Deckard.
Melissa motioned for him to move past her. He smiled at her gratefully.
Deckard went to his chambers, a small guest room on the second story of the palace. He did not need large accommodations. Though he had many relics back at his own keep far to the north, he rarely brought much with him when he traveled. In the southeast, he carried only his robe and a sword and the sword was almost an afterthought. He had left the blade in its sheath beside his bed. Such weapons were of little use against most maladrites encountered in the ring city, should they be hostile. He generally did not like to carry the sword but brought it with him in case of danger while flying.
Demons and humans alike feared the blades of the demon hunters. Deckard owned just an ordinary steel blade. He had not seen any need to invest the weapon with sprites or banes of his own. The weapon remained an alternative to his bare fists, sprites, and banes.
The hem of his robe trailed slightly as he sank onto his knees.
He let the robe settle about him, then folded his legs and prayed. He did not pray to Mother Mercy, as most in the land of Tancuon would. He doubted she would listen to him. He prayed for guidance from some force that perhaps could transcend her, though he did not know a name for it. Despite the heresy the very act implied, he felt better for performing it.
Deckard finished his brief prayer, then sat for a while longer, drawing a circle of magic symbols about himself with a piece of borrowed chalk on the stone floor. His hand moved gently, guiding the chalk around him perfectly. He needed no compass or stylus thanks to much practice, though his feelings toward ritual magic were mixed.
Such spells took a long time, but they allowed sprites to do more than perform rote functions and ones trained deeply into them.
When a mage was trained, the sprites and banes took different forms frequently. Most of those subsided over time. Deckard, despite the settling of his sprites and banes long ago, still had a few left who could play the variable form. He bent those to absolving his mind of pain.
Melissa
She waited for Elaine for some time. Finally, she heard her friend coming. Friend, Melissa thought, what an odd thing to consider her now. We were enemies just a week ago.
Over the past several days, they had become closer as allies. Elaine brought her books to read to the whole of the hand. The hand grew by leaps and bounds as far as their skills with sprites and banes. The mystic creatures felt closer and more real than ever to Me
lissa.
She could hear them everywhere she went now. Everywhere people or animals lived, sprites and banes flourished in one form or another. She also sensed a kind of hubbub hum deep below the palace, one that drew her attention now and then when she was on the lower floors near the dungeon. The dungeon must contain some kind of hidden source of sprites and banes. Perhaps a prisoner is a mage?
She glanced around the hall, but Elaine was still nowhere to be seen.
Melissa remained willing to wait. However, Elaine's absence began to annoy her. Of course, the other girl was not much for timing. She frequently missed the beginning of lessons, but only always arrived in time to tutor the hand, later in the day. Elaine had taken a detour today as well.
Melissa spotted an unfamiliar man walking down the hall further away. He did not wear the clothes of a gentle servant, but knightly armor common in the north. Heavy armor like that was too warm to wear in such climates as Lowenrane for long. In the chill of the palace, it was even stranger to see someone dressed for battle. He carried a sword in a sheath. And he looked not hostile but lost.
He saw Melissa.
“Where is everyone?” asked the knight.
Melissa shrugged.
“Mostly, the ones I know are training. I don't know where the servants are working right now.”
The knight clanked toward her. His armor moved uneasily, and it must take great effort to keep upright.
Melissa held up a hand to keep him from moving more than necessary.
“What do you need? I can point you in the right direction if you're looking to meet with the governor.”
“I'm not looking for the governor. I'm looking for my daughter.”
“Your daughter?” Said Melissa.
The knight removed his helmet, and Elaine realized why he was wearing his armor inside. The pale skin of the knight glowed with an inner light. He was no ordinary knight, but one who could wield sprites and banes in his own muscles. Some knights to the north trained that way. Melissa guessed that the man was Elaine's father.
“Lord Tanlos?” she asked.
“I am. How did you guess?”
“I've been training with your daughter,” she said. “I’m surprised to see you here. What brought you?”
Lord Tanlos shook his head.
“You're one of the student mages,” he said, “I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Lady Nasibron was summoned for a reason.”
Melissa nodded. Lord Tanlos removed one glove from an armored hand. He offered his bare hand to Melissa.
“In the north, we shake.”
“I've been in the north for a long while,” Melissa said. “I know the rituals.” She shook his hand. “My name is Melissa Dorian.”
Lord Tanlos nodded.
“So you're the one who saved the governor's life.”
“I have that honor,” she said.
“I suppose that's the reputation heroism gets for you,” he said.
Melissa flushed.
“Thank you, my lord.”
Lord Tanlos shrugged. His shoulders clanked. His armor seemed to be weighing on him more, despite his enhanced strength.
“I'm looking for my daughter. It seems that the governor has not informed everyone of the danger approaching the city.”
“Danger?” Melissa asked.
“Indeed,” said Lord Tanlos. “The Kingdom of Nassio in Linien is preparing an attack. We in the north have received new oracles of it.”
“So,” said Melissa, “they sent your army?”
“Just my order of Knights,” said Lord Tanlos. “I could not sway more to follow me so far south.”
From the princedoms in the north, Melissa remembered all too well the danger of apathy toward the other parts of the former empire. After the conquest and the fall the, Mother Mercy’s land splintered. She still ruled everything, though distantly. Princes and governors demanded their lands separated from each other. Melissa knew from her reading, that alliances between the princes and governors were frequent and necessary to keep everything functioning well. She frowned.
“Do we need more help?”
“I'll take whatever I can get,” Lord Tanlos said. “However, I don't expect much from Alliance or Geteren.”
“Has a war been welcomed anywhere in the last hundred years?” Melissa said.
Lord Tanlos laughed.
“Are you studying history or philosophy? Because no one sane welcomes a war.”
“I've read some books. I had some time at night when I was a caravan guard.”
“So that's what took you north?” Lord Tanlos said.
“Given my exile from Soucot as a child, I was reluctant to return.”
“It seems that's paid off for you though. Good luck. Now, must find my daughter.”
“I'll company you,” Melissa said, “I've been waiting for your daughter. She was fetching a book for me from her aunt.”
“The study, then?” Lord Tanlos said.
“Perhaps,” Said Melissa.
“Show me there, please,” said Lord Tanlos.
Melissa led him through the palace toward the study.
Saben
Saben finished listening to Folt’s plan.
Folt and Heen looked at him expectantly. Uigara pursed her lips. Rina looked off into space. Deel paced back and forth behind the rest of them. His footsteps shook the leaky boat. If it had been Saben, he would've wanted to stay still but Deel seemed more confident in the vessel than Saben.
“It sounds fine,” said Saben.
“Fine?” said Folt.
Uigara snorted.
“What does that mean?”
“I could see the plan working,” said Saben.
Folt laughed.
“Of course it will work, but the question is if we can all get out of there in one piece.”
“That’s not part of the mission?” Said Saben.
“For mercenaries, of course.” Folt smiled hideously. “None of us are exactly true believers in Nassio.”
Rina laughed. She bounced a ball against the wall. She hadn’t left the spot where she’d been sitting since Saben arrived. Her back still propped against the bookcase, she caught the ball.
“I wouldn't get into too much trouble for the king,” she said. “He's stingy, anyway.”
“Can you agree to this?” Folt asked, turning to Saben.
“Agree to the plan?” said Saben. “Of course.”
Silently, he cursed the risks Folt had built into his plan. To save Jaswei, Saben saw no other choice.
“Good,” said Folt.
“Remember our goal,” said Uigara, “we can only achieve it if Hadrian is distracted.”
“Quite so,” said Deel.
“And who will lead him astray?” asked Saben. “You have roles for almost everyone...”
In the corner of his eye, Deal smirked.
“I'll be the one to draw Hadrian out,” said Deel, adjusting his glasses. “I'm faster than I look.”
“Don't get caught,” said Folt. “If you do, we won't be able to help you. Hadrian could easily take you to the sky city.”
“I doubt he’d do that,” said Deel, looking pale.
Saben glanced at Folt.
“When?”
“Tomorrow night,” Folt said.
Uigara inhaled deeply and then frowned.
“I think we might be missing something.”
“We could wait,” said Folt.
“No,” said Saben. “Not while my friend is captive.”
“Understood,” said Folt. “What more preparation can we do, though?”
Uigara shook her head.
“Perhaps you're right,” she said, “but I don't like it. I don't like it.”
“Complaint heard,” said Folt.
“Now,” said Uigara, “consider our opposition.”
“Who do you expect?” asked Saben. “Besides, Deckard Hadrian being absent?”
“The governor’s new mages and her so-called ‘hand’ will be
our main foes. As we strike at dinner, they’ll all be gathered together.”
“Do you have a view from above?” said Saben.
“Saben,” said Folt. “what you take us for? We are professionals.”
“Most companies are larger than five people,” said Saben.
“So is ours,” said Folt. “Most of us are currently in Nassio. We're just the best ones to execute the mission.”
“The governor’s life,” muttered Saben, “for Jaswei.”
“That is our deal,” said Folt. “Once we get into the building, I will need your help. We're going to fight a battle even past the guards. Our other goal is to defeat as many of the mages they’ve trained as well.”
“You can count on me. Can I count on you?” said Saben.
“Of course. Now, for our natural opposition.” Folt turned to Uigara.
“The mage hand,” Uigara said, “Is mostly untutored right now. There is the master witch, Lady Nasibron, and her sword servant, Ariel Hekataze. Both of them are dangerous. We should steer away from them as much as possible.”
“Avoid those two. Right,” said Heen.
“If you want to get out of there in one piece,” said Rina.
Folt nodded.
“Next is the governor’s sword servant, we must most likely can’t avoid her.”
“Who is that?” said Saben.
“Suya Nattan,” said Folt with a wistful sigh.
Uigara shook her head.
“Suya has been training with the governor’s hand but she has not mastered much magic yet. Any of us five could defeat her if it isn't up to her blade. As it is, though, I'll deal with her.”
“If you can,” said Folt. “If not, just distract her. Then get away.”
Uigara nodded.
“Once I separate Suya from the governor, then is your time to strike, Rina.”
“Indeed,” said Folt.
Rina rolled her eyes.
“I've been listening the whole time. Don't remind me.”
Folt and Saben looked at her. Uigara gave exasperated sigh.
“Do you understand the plan?” asked Uigara.
Rina bounced the ball and caught it.
Uigara snapped her fingers. Rina shot a glance at her.
“What?”
“Listen to me when I’m talking,” said Uigara.
Demon Scroll Page 18