“What did you see in your dreams?” he asked. When Ashok hesitated, he added, “If you don’t wish to speak of it-”
“They weren’t dreams,” Ashok said. He saw his father, the hounds, Lakesh’s corpse. “They’re memories.”
Vedoran nodded. “Of the time before you came to Ikemmu.”
“Yes.” Lost in thought, Ashok wasn’t sure how much time passed, but when he looked up, Vedoran was still standing there, watching him. His eyes were impossible to read.
“What is it?” Vedoran said.
“Why do you not worship Tempus?” Ashok asked.
Briefly surprised, Vedoran recovered and sat cross-legged on the floor next to Ashok’s bed. His scabbard scraped the stone. He unbuckled his sword belt and set the weapon on the floor next to him.
“I feel,” Vedoran said, hesitating, “like I don’t want to be controlled. My father served Netheril, and then he escaped it, for the reasons many shadar-kai did-because he didn’t want to be a servant to a controlling empire ruled by a dark goddess. Ikemmu is not Netheril, but if he were alive, my father would see it in the shadows of these towers. Should we have come so far, only to have our choices limited now? To have our future decided by clerics who whisper an invisible god’s words in Uwan’s ear?”
Ashok saw the burning was back in Vedoran’s gaze. With his fists clenched in his lap, the sellsword radiated such anger, a controlled fury that threatened to consume him from the inside out. Ashok didn’t know how he could stand it.
“But this city,” Ashok said. “It’s different from any place I’ve ever known. I’ve seen places that were numb to the gods’ influence. Maybe the shadar-kai weren’t meant to walk unguided. Maybe we need some hand to keep us from wasting ourselves.”
“Are you thinking of taking the oath? Of embracing Tempus?” Vedoran said. His voice was neutral, but Ashok read his stunned expression. Ashok was hardly less affected himself.
What would it mean if he swore loyalty to Tempus? Would Uwan and the others truly accept him as one of their own? The implications of what he considered roiled inside Ashok. His father and brothers, they would all be dead to him, as he was to them. His old life and everything he had been would be washed away. Then could he finally escape those caves, the memories of blood and fire?
Vedoran waited, tense beside him. Ashok chose his words carefully, sensing that for Vedoran, more rested on his answer than idle conversation.
“I think,” he said, “that I need to learn more about this god, so I know what I’m swearing my life for.”
“All that you need to know of Tempus rests in Uwan,” Vedoran said bitterly. “You see how the recruits look at him, the worship in their eyes. Now you’re becoming one of them.”
“I’ve decided nothing,” Ashok said.
Vedoran nodded, but Ashok saw the anger and-worse-disappointment in his eyes. “I shouldn’t be surprised,” Vedoran said. “Whatever memories you battled in your sleep, Ikemmu must seem a paradise by comparison. But beware, Ashok, of putting your faith in this city and in Uwan. You may come to regret it.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Vedoran left him to regain his strength, and when Ashok awoke again, he didn’t remember dreaming. Nor did he know the day; he heard no bells tolling, and the room was empty.
Ashok sat up. There were fresh clothes lying at the foot of his bed. He checked his armor to make certain the parchment sheets hadn’t been found. As he was donning the bone scales, there came a tentative knock at his door.
“Come in,” he said, his voice still rough from sleep.
A dark one entered the room with a trencher of bread and meat and a cup of water. He handed Ashok the food.
Ashok thanked the creature and bit into a chunk of bread. The bland crust tasted amazing. He couldn’t remember when he’d eaten last. He scooped up the pink meat and juices with his crust and ate it all while the dark one waited.
The little humanoid shifted from foot to foot, his right hand clutching the knuckles of his left. He was a bit shorter than Darnae, but he walked in a stooped manner, his shoulders, arms, and knees curling inward toward his stomach. His eyes were dark and watery in a pudgy face.
When Ashok had finished the food, the dark one said in a low voice, “Lord Uwan instructs me to give you a message.”
“What is it?” Ashok asked.
“I’m to say that if you’re feeling up to the task, you should come to Lord Uwan’s chamber. For a private meeting.”
The food settled heavily in Ashok’s stomach. “I’ll come now,” he replied. “Do you know what it’s about?”
The dark one’s expression turned sly. “I wasn’t to say,” he said.
“But you do know,” said Ashok.
The creature’s eyes gleamed wickedly. “Perhaps,” he replied.
Ashok thought of pressing the point, then decided against it. He already knew what the meeting was about-of course he did. He was being summoned to answer for his actions in the training yard. Better he hear it from Uwan himself instead of the creature.
The dark one led Ashok out, and they climbed the winding steps. The walk seemed to take forever. When at last they stood before Uwan’s door, the dark one left Ashok. He knocked on the door and immediately heard Uwan’s voice beckoning him inside.
Ashok saw the painting first, the beautiful cityscape above the long rectangular table. He was surprised to see most of the chairs at the table filled, and even more shocked to see the occupants.
Uwan sat at the head, of course, but Vedoran, Chanoch, Cree, and Skagi all occupied places down the table. At Uwan’s right hand sat Natan. There was an empty chair next to the cleric that Vedoran, seated on the other side of him, pulled out and indicated for Ashok.
“The time has come for you to decide your future, Ashok,” Uwan said. “Sit down. We have much to discuss.”
Uwan leaned forward and clasped his hands together on the table top. In the middle of the table, spread out, was a map of the Shadowfell plain. Ashok recognized the Aloran Tor and several other landmarks. By their locations, he could tell his own enclave was about a six day journey to the north.
“I’ve summoned you here,” Uwan said, glancing at Ashok and his companions, “because you’ve all proven yourselves to be exceptional warriors. I’ve watched you train, seen your strengths, your weaknesses and your faith.
“I have a journey that should you undertake it will require all of your efforts working in concert. I am not ordering you to complete this task. Every shadar-kai in this room who volunteers for this mission will do so of his own free will.” Uwan glanced meaningfully at Ashok. “Will you consider the mission I propose?”
“Yes, Lord Uwan,” Chanoch said at once, and Skagi and Cree were quick to add their assent.
“I will consider it,” Vedoran said.
Ashok looked at Uwan. He had not expected such a proposal at all. He felt off balance, as if everyone in the room knew more than he did. A journey outside Ikemmu? He’d not been outside the city’s walls since the day he’d tried to escape.
“Will you consider this mission, Ashok?” Uwan repeated, when the silence stretched.
“Yes,” Ashok said uncertainly. He didn’t know what to think.
“Thank you,” Uwan said. He addressed Natan. “Will you tell them, my friend?”
The cleric nodded and cleared his throat. “Thank you for agreeing to hear Uwan’s request,” he said. “My own tale is a simple one. I am a servant of Tempus, and I have been blessed with the gift of Sight. The warrior god has chosen to grant me visions of what will come to pass in Ikemmu’s future.”
He paused. Ashok felt Vedoran stiffen beside him. He stared down at the table, his black gaze boring holes in the map.
“Several nights ago, Natan received such a vision,” Uwan said. “Tempus showed him that Negala has returned to the plain.”
“The bog witch?” Skagi said. “Close to Ikemmu?”
Uwan shook his head. “Many miles distant,” he replied. “The
city is in no immediate danger.”
“Who is Negala?” Chanoch asked.
“That’s right, you’re probably too young to know her,” Skagi said, which made Chanoch’s face flush with embarrassment. “She’s a hag, a creature twisted by the shadows.”
“She’s like the nightmare, in human form,” Ashok said quietly. He remembered his father telling him a tale of encountering the witch. Her bog was merely an illusion, a part of her mind she could alter at will.
Uwan looked at him sharply. “You know Negala?” he said.
“No,” Ashok said. “But I know what she is. She moves her swamp around the Shadowfell according to her whim. She’s an annoyance, nothing more.”
“Bog may be an annoyance, but you can still die in it,” Skagi said.
“Agreed,” Uwan said. “She must not be underestimated, as this mission will take you straight across her domain.”
“Why?” Vedoran spoke up.
“Shall I tell them?” Uwan said, speaking to Natan.
The cleric shook his head. “If you please, my Lord, I’ll do it,” he said. Natan leaned back in his chair, and the lines on his face made him look ancient, though Ashok guessed he couldn’t be much older than himself.
“A little over a month ago,” Natan said, “a decision was made that instead of dispatching an entire caravan to search the Shadowfell for beasts to capture and train, it was more feasible to send out a smaller scouting force to search for hunting grounds, watering holes, anyplace the shadow beasts might be likely to gather. Such a force could range farther than a caravan and be able to return to the city faster with its intelligence.
“We sent out a band of ten shadar-kai,” Natan said. “Our best scouts. One of them was my sister, Ilvani. Their party disappeared. They never returned to the city.”
Natan paused as if to gather himself. Uwan continued in his stead. “We dispatched patrols to search, but their trails went cold. No bodies were ever found. I believe, and Tempus has confirmed it in Natan’s vision, that some or all of the party are still alive. They were taken prisoner.”
“You believe Negala has them?” Vedoran asked.
“No,” Natan said. “I saw the hag’s lands in my vision, but Tempus pointed me beyond them. Somewhere on the other side of the bog is where we will find our people.”
“We’ve had wizards watching with farseeing spells, waiting to see any sign of Negala’s bog,” Uwan said. “Patrols have been ranging far out from the city, and a few days ago, they saw the bog had appeared.”
“Where?” Skagi asked.
“Five or six days journey north,” Uwan said, indicating the map. “We don’t know how large Negala’s domain is-it could be a stone’s throw or miles of treacherous land. Your mission, then, is twofold: go to the surface and cross Negala’s domain in safety, and once on the other side, find the missing party and return them to Ikemmu.”
Uwan fell silent, waiting for their response. Gradually, Ashok heard Chanoch, Skagi, Cree, and Vedoran accept the mission one by one, but Ashok didn’t speak. He was staring at the map, comparing the landmarks in his mind with the journey north to Negala’s bog.
The Aloran Tor. But he’d been running from the hounds long before he’d stopped in the mountain’s shadow. They’d chased him away from the enclave and his father’s confrontation with the party that had been approaching the caves.
Hemmed in from both sides. The hounds … and Ikemmu’s scouts.
“Ashok,” said Uwan.
Dazed, Ashok looked up. The leader regarded him half in expectation, half hope.
“Natan hasn’t told you the rest of his vision,” Uwan said. “Perhaps that will influence your decision. Natan?”
“Yes,” Natan said. Ashok thought he spoke with reluctance. “Before you came to the city, Ashok, Tempus showed me a vision of your face. I knew you, before you came here.”
“I don’t understand,” Ashok said. But he was beginning to, and it frightened him more than anything ever had.
Uwan said, “Tempus foretold your coming, Ashok. We believe He sent you to us to find our people. He’s chosen you to aid us.”
“But I am not his servant,” Ashok said, aware of Vedoran’s tense posture beside him. He could feel the heat of the shadar-kai’s gaze.
“It doesn’t matter,” Uwan said. “Tempus has chosen to work through you. Will you answer His call?”
The silence in the chamber was unendurable as everyone waited for Ashok to form an answer. How could they expect so much, when Ashok couldn’t find a coherent thought?
For a moment, Ashok wondered if he was still locked in a strange and terrible dream and just didn’t know it. They were asking him to seek out and rescue a party of shadar-kai that had likely been attacked and slaughtered by his father, his brothers and other warriors who’d once fought beside Ashok.
His enclave relied on secrecy to protect their domain. They didn’t take prisoners. Yet Natan insisted that some or all of them were still alive, so something must have changed in Ashok’s absence.
But if he told them the truth, if he revealed that he’d led shadow hounds away from his enclave so its warriors could more easily capture and kill Ikemmu’s citizens … he was as good as dead.
All those thoughts converged in his mind, and Ashok felt lost. The silence dragged on. They were all staring at him, he could feel it.
Finally, he couldn’t stand it any longer. “May we speak in private?” he asked Uwan.
The leader must have seen the desperation in Ashok’s eyes. He nodded at once. “Of course,” he said. “Would the rest of you excuse us, with my thanks?”
Chairs scraped back as Natan and Ashok’s companions left the table. Vedoran was the last to leave. He got up stiffly and headed for the door.
“Vedoran,” Uwan called to him.
“Yes, my Lord?” Vedoran answered. His tone came off unmistakably cold, though Uwan didn’t appear to notice.
“You will lead the party,” Uwan said.
“My Lord?” Vedoran replied.
Ashok raised his head. Vedoran’s face was like a mask that had cracked at the edges. He’d never seen the shadar-kai look so shocked.
“You’re an exceptional warrior,” Uwan said. “The others are skilled, but they lack your discipline and grace. I trust you to guide them on this journey.”
Vedoran bowed at the waist. “I will, my Lord. My thanks,” he said fervently.
When he’d gone, Uwan put his palms flat against the tabletop. He studied Ashok’s face. Ashok couldn’t imagine what he read there, but after a breath, Uwan smiled slightly.
“Are you afraid?” he asked.
Ashok swallowed. The emotions he was experiencing were unlike anything he’d ever dealt with before. His heart beat an unsteady rhythm in his chest. He was in no danger of fading, yet he felt as if he was. That was the best way he could describe his fear. “Yes,” he said.
“Good,” Uwan answered. “It’s humbling, and it should be, to see the gods at work in our lives.”
“How do you know I’m Tempus’s agent?” Ashok asked. “I told you I’ve never followed the warrior god. What if Natan is wrong?”
“He’s never been wrong before,” Uwan said.
“I tried to kill one of your people,” Ashok said. “You have no reason to trust me.”
“Don’t I?” Uwan said. He stood, restless, and began pacing the room. He stopped before the portrait of the city. “I’ve been the Watching Blade in Ikemmu for twenty years. During that time, I’ve executed countless warriors for crimes against our people. Disobey orders, endanger the lives of your fellow shadar-kai, betray our people-these are the highest crimes in Ikemmu. Discipline is paramount to the survival of this city, to say nothing of our race. The shadar-kai are built for self-destruction. It is how we were made, but it doesn’t have to be who we are.”
“It’s the only way I know,” Ashok said.
“I don’t believe that,” Uwan said. “When you ran across that field and attacked
Skagi, what was in your mind?”
Ashok remembered Lakesh’s face, the blade in his hand. Another brother dead.
“I thought he was going to kill Cree,” Ashok said.
“And you were trying to prevent that, at the cost of your own life,” Uwan said. “What higher service could you render to Ikemmu than to give your life for one of its warriors?”
Ashok didn’t know what to say. He wanted to tell Uwan the truth, to unburden himself of the awful knowledge of the leader’s misplaced faith. But he couldn’t bring himself to speak. He remembered what it was like, waking up in the dark cave with his father, when he’d thought that Ikemmu was only a dream-a hope conjured by his desperate imagination.
The enclave was his nightmare. He couldn’t go back to it. There was only one thing he could do.
“I accept your mission,” he said. His voice became stronger with his conviction. “Whatever it takes, I’ll find your missing people.”
He couldn’t meet Uwan’s gaze. He felt the leader’s hands come down on his shoulders and squeeze.
“Thank you,” Uwan said. “Tempus guide and go with you.”
Tempus guide me? Ashok thought bitterly. Tempus had known who he was all along. Ashok might be able to deceive Uwan and the rest, but the god was sending the perfect person to rescue the missing party, the person who knew the enemy’s strengths and weaknesses best.
Uwan released him, and Ashok started for the door.
“One more thing,” Uwan called after him. “I think you should take the nightmare with you. He would be a presence to be reckoned with, should you encounter trouble along your journey.”
“Is that wise?” Ashok said. The last time he’d ridden the beast, he’d thought he was in control, yet the nightmare had ridden his mind into near madness.
“The fire will burn a path through the witch’s domain,” Uwan said. When Ashok only stared at him, Uwan laughed. “Never mind,” he said. “Go and join your companions.”
Ashok nodded and left the chamber.
When he stepped out into the hall, he found Vedoran and the others waiting for him. Natan was not among them. For a breath, nobody spoke.
Unbroken Chain (single books) Page 13