Samuel knew the man well. ‘Lomar!’ he said with hushed excitement. ‘I can’t believe we have found you.’
‘Well, more accurately, you have merely arrived, and I have found you. Now come. I sent those agents of the Queen away to fetch us some water and I don’t want to be here when they return and find you are not sons of the leader of the Purple Beetle Tribe.’
He began away and they followed him away through the streets.
‘Don’t speak,’ he whispered to them,’ and keep your faces covered until we get indoors.’
He led them for what seemed like an hour, crossing the frantic squares and streets. Merchants from the far east had never been treated well in Cintar and here, surrounded by so many of the desert people and in constant fear of having their skin colour or habits give them away, the irony was tangible.
Finally, theyslippedindoors into a rather large and surprisingly cool dwelling. The walls were clean, covered with mottled orange clay, while the windows were slatted and drawn shut to keep out the heat of the day. Lomar gave them water in large,glazed mugs and they drew down their veils and pulled off their headscarves before collapsingonto a mound of firm cushions that had been piled on the floor. There was no sign of any chairs in the room at all and it seemed not to be the Paatin custom to use such things.
‘Samuel, I am astounded to see you here,’ Lomar said, smiling with gladness. ‘And Eric, too. What a wonderful moment. I have been waiting here all this time, desperately wondering how I was going to cope all by myself. Who are these others? Where is Master Goodfellow?’
‘Heis dead,’ Samuel explained, at which point Lomar immediately made one of his ritualistic gestures against evil. ‘Grand Master Tudor also. They accompanied us from Cintar, but we have had some terrible setbacks. Many of our starting party did not make it here. Do you know Balten?’ Lomar only shook his head. ‘He is a member of the Circle.’
Lomar eyed the man suspiciously. ‘I have heard rumour of them,Samuel, but I do not think this is such good company to keep.’
Balten only sipped at his cup and ignored the remark.
‘I am not so keen on his company either, but he has proved to be of assistance. We can talk of it later but,as you will learn, we are not really in the position to pick and choose our allies at this point. Master Celios also accompanied us from Cintar, but he stayed behind nearby. Whether by choice or not, he seems to be helping the Circle to keep watch on us.’ To this, Lomar nodded thoughtfully. ‘This is Sir Ferse. He came as an aide for Master Celios, but now is going to help us retrieve the Empress.’ At this, Lomar raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘Finally, we have some representatives from the nation of Koia: Ambassador Canyon and his god.’ They each nodded their heads on introduction.’
‘I am short of words. What an intriguing assortment to find before me. I am sorry to meet you allundersuch circumstances, but,as much as it is worth, Ibid youwelcome.’
The Emperor in Sir Ferse nodded solemnly, but there was no response from Canyon and the woman, who did not understand his Turian tongue.
‘What news of the Empress? Have you found her?’ the Emperor asked.
‘I believe I know where she is,’ Lomar explained, ‘but she is unreachable. There is a network of tunnels beneath the mountain that holds all the Queen’s captives. The entrances are guarded by soldiers at all times, and Paatin wizards keep constant watch around the palace with a mesh of spells. Worst of all, the stone of the mountain itself is magic resistant. The nearest I have been is within sight of the entrance and I could already feel the magic-quelling power of the stone at work. I cannot think of any way to get in.’
‘You’ve been here all this time and that is all you have come up with? Getting into the dungeons is actually very simple,’ Balten said with a smug smile.
‘How is that?’ Lomar asked him.
‘Surrender, of course. The Queen is only keeping her hostages in hope of luring the Saviour of Cintar to their rescue. Here he is,’ he added, gesturing to the magicians. ‘She asked for him to be sent and he has been delivered. What better way into the palace?’
‘That is madness,’ Lomar responded nervously. ‘The Queen is renowned for torturing and testing her captors. The local people say it is better to die than be dragged into her cells. She pits her prisoners against each other for her general amusement. I think it better to avoid the dungeons at all cost.’
‘It’s true, getting out may be more of a challenge, but this is why we have come, after all. I will take Samuel to hand himself over and ensure that the guards know who he is. The others can wait here, in hiding, and come to our rescue when required. It may take some time, but once Samuel can retrieve the relic, I’m sure we can think of some way to escape the city and makeour wayback to the Valley of the Ancients.’
‘We also need to save the Empress and her son, and then slay the witch,’ Eric said. ‘We will need to tread carefully until we can free them. We cannot risk them getting harmed.’
‘True,’ Baltenagreed. ‘At present, the Queen possesses the greater advantage, but I think we will have littleopportunityto do much from outside the palace. As Lomar has said, sneaking in or out would be nearly impossible, and he is the only one who can move comfortably outside. We would be in constant danger of beingdiscoveredbecause of our looks andourinability to speak their tongue. In truth, I think we have little choice but to begin our task from the inside.’
‘I agree,’ Lomar said. ‘It will be dangerous. But here, everything is dangerous.’
‘Why just take Samuel?’ Eric asked.
‘Firstly, because he is the one she actually wants and,secondly, he also has the uncanny ability to remain completely invisible from magical detection. He can sneak about the palace to his heart’s desire once he is inside. The more of you that go with him, the more danger there is. I can escape at any time once the task has been completed, but I do not want anyone nearby at the time. It would be very dangerous for them.’
‘And what are we to do?’ the Emperor asked. ‘Just wait here?’
‘Yes,’ Balten replied. ‘Keep as quiet as you can and stay out of trouble. Let Lord Lomar take care of you and,whatever you do, never leave this refuge.’
Samuel considered the plan carefully. As long as he had his ring,he would not be worried and,with Balten beside him, the two of them would be more than a match for any witch. ‘Very well. I agree.’
They talked more until the cool evening came andthenthey ate cross-legged on the floor,devouringthe flat bread and tender,seasoned meat that Lomar fetched for them from outside. As darkness fell over the city, coloured lanterns were raised along the streets and music played from all corners-horns and flutes and stringed instruments, all playing their individual melodies, somehow in harmony. Male and female singers alike crooned and warbled aloud until late, when the sounds dimmed and the crowds began returning to their homes. One by one, the rescuers retired to bed, until Samuel was left alone with Lomar, standing atop the roof of their hideaway and looking over the sleeping city.
‘It will not be easy, achieving what we have set out to do,’ Lomar stated.
‘I did not think it would be, but we have little choice,’ Samuel replied.
‘You have always had a choice, Samuel, we all do, yet you have striven on, always doing what you felt as right. I had little idea when I first met you that you would become such a hero.’
‘I have never been a hero. I’ve only ever done what I had to. Few choices I have made have been for valiant reasons.’
‘Ah, but perhaps that’s what makes you stand out, Samuel. You feel you have made no choices, but it is your noble nature that drives you. A coward will always run from the difficult choices, but it is in your heart to run towards them.’
‘You give me too much credit, Lomar. Many others have done as much asI haveand more. In fact, many of those have sacrificed themselves so I can stand here today. All I have that has kept me alive until now is luck-and I hope it stays with me a little longer.’
‘Don’t start on that,’ Samuel told him. ‘I’m not superstitious.’
Lomar only laughed. ‘Yes, I remember. Still, we all do what we can, don’t we? The mountain and the sky do not notice the affairs of men and to them our lives pass in the blink of an eye. Yet, occasionally, a man comes who can blot out the sky-who can move the very mountains that ignored him.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘We all sometimes do what we must, or avoid doing what we know we should do, but we cannot escape out destinies, Samuel. That is all I am saying. When I saw you becoming the great magician I had always hoped for, I was worried, for in every man is the seed of good and evil. I am glad you have turned out like this, but even a good man can be forced into making bad decisions. I just want to tell you this, because we have few true friends in life and you have become one of the bestin mine. We magicians know that well, always being buried in our studies and duties as we are. I don’t know what will happen in the coming days, but I am glad we met, Samuel. The world will become a better place because of our friendship. That is all I mean to say.’
‘Thank you, Lomar. I feel the same. Do you sense something bad in the air?’
‘Onthe contrary, Samuel. I feel something wonderful. I know that all this will turn out for the best. It is only the enactment that will be difficult for us. If we can get through that, I am sure happy days will be waiting for us. I have been thinking of that moment for a long time and I’m glad our struggle is nearly over.’
‘True. I can’t wait to put all this behind us. Everything has been too complicated for far too long and Icrave for a simple life.’
‘We are like trees, Samuel. We start off small, yet grow into great and splendid things. We can accomplish much in our lives, but even we magicians are still only made of wood. We grow our branches as full as we can, but the fire of our magic consumes them. We must keep growing if we want to feed that fire, but what a terrible equation it is. If our branches grow too heavy, we will crack; if the fire grows too great, we will be consumed. What a sorry life it is to be made of wood.’
‘What are you saying now?’
‘Only that I am tired, Samuel. Our obsession with magic consumes us,andone day, if we are not careful, it will burn us to our core. For once, I would like the chance to sit still and rest,and forget that I am a magician. Our duty has laden us with so many burdens, I feel my boughs are about to break.’
‘You surprise me, Lomar. I never thought I would hear such words from you, although I do not disagree with you. I am not sure if we can give up our ways. Magic is in our nature. It would be hard to separate the fire from the wood once it has begun to burn.’
‘But I feel the day is coming when this particular tree will be shedding its leaves andgettingready for winter. That will be a wonderfully dull time indeed. Our lives as magicians are set. We have access to all manner of powers and abilities, yet we can never share in some of the most precious experiences that the common folk enjoy every day.We cannever enjoy having a babe in our arms and having it look up at us with trusting, loving eyes. We can never experience that child growingupand fulfilling, even exceeding,our hopes. Nay, being a magician is a curse and we are denied the most sacred human act of creating young and prolonging our species. We are just drones to support the nest-watching, not being. What a curse it is.’
‘Your heart weighs heavy tonight, Lomar.’
‘It’s true, Samuel. I have been waiting in this city too long and I’m afraid my spiritisnotitsusual self. I can’t say how glad I am to see you. I don’t look forward to seeing you in danger, but I am ashamed to admit I am glad you are here.’
‘This business will all be done soon. Come-let us rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day.’
Lomar agreed and they returned inside to find their beds.
Morning came and Balten led Samuel through the crowded streets, climbing steadily until they neared the foot of the palace, built into the side of Mount Karthma. Just as Balten had warned, as soon as they nearedthe entrance, the guards came running with their spears lowered, and Balten had to jabber at them feverishly until they believed him. He had to draw off his headscarf to prove his point and desperately motioned for Samuel to do the same. The men seemed hesitant and looked as if they would skewer the pair anyway, but another quick burst of gibberish from Balten had them leading the two magicians into the open maw of the great palace entrance.
‘Well, it looks like your plan has worked,’ Samuel said.
Balten replied hesitantly. ‘So far. Let’s see what happens after this.’
Their escorts marched them into the cavernous palace. Thebuildingwas open and airy, filled with water features and decorations;rich tapestries and translucent,billowing curtains. At first, it seemed as if they were heading upwards and Samuel thought they may be going to have their audience with the Queen already, but they took an abrupt turn into a corridor that led them through a layer of spells and into the side of the mountain. Dark tunnels led away from the main passage and each looked ancient and foreboding, dark and uninviting. Already, Samuel could feel the magic-muting properties of the mountain at work around him. The sensationwas dim, but seemed to grow stronger with each stephe tookalong the corridor.
‘I can feel the stones at work already,’ Samuel said.
‘This mountain is where they sourced the stones for your School of Magic,’ Balten stated, ‘and the stones of the Mage Cell in the palace.’
‘All the way from here? How did the mountain possibly get such power?’
‘No one knows-not even Cang. These rocks are older than anything else upon the earth. Their creation is a mystery.’ He was then quiet as he listened to the guards’ banter. ‘It looks like we will not be meeting the Queen just yet,’ Balten muttered.
The guards argued somewhat as they escorted the two and Balten only had a moment’s notice to warn Samuel, before the two were split up.
‘It sounds like they were expecting us. The Queen is going to test our mettle. She could make us wait quite some time down here. Don’t do anything foolish.’
‘I won’t.’
‘And one more thing. Give me your ring.’
‘What? Of course not.’
‘If you don’t, they will take it anyway and everything will be lost. Give it to me and I will return it when I can. Quickly!’
Samuel had no choice but to obey the insistent magician for,either way,he would lose it. He secreted the thing to Balten and the man tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it with a gulp.
‘What are you doing?’Samuelasked Balten with alarm.
‘Don’t worry,’ Balten appeased him. ‘I can get it back later. I’ve swallowed much larger things before. Your ring will be a simple matter to retrieve.’
‘I’m not sure I will want it back,’ he said, but Balten was too busy to reply.
The guards him gave him a rough jab with the points of their spears and Samuel was parted from Balten; the guardsturnedhimaway and into a dim side path.
Another group of guards was waiting at a branch and the first lot handed Samuel over to them. These guards were shirtless and brutish-looking,as if they had spent years under the earth. They were lucky if they had five teeth between them, and they gawked at Samuel with bloodshot, puffy eyes. They lacked spears, but each held a jagged-toothed dagger with loosely veiled desire to use it. One of them grabbed a length of rope and bound Samuel roughly around the wrists and turned his pockets inside out, searching him roughly. They pulled him through a further series of dank passages. It was cold and damp here and already the stifling sense of the mountain above had Samuel feeling halfsuffocated. He could feel the effect of the mountain, but that did not worry him so much as he had feared; he had long grown accustomed to being separated from his magic. It was more the enclosed space that had him worrying and the terrible feeling of an empty pocket without something jiggling within it.
/> Eventually, they came to a length of rough-hewn passage that had four iron doors along one side. One of the escorts rushed ahead and, throwing his lantern aside, drew three great sets of locks open on one door and laboured topullit open. They pulled Samuel towards the gaping doorway and he only had a moment to see that there was pitchblack awaiting inside, before they pushed him in and through, slamming the door shut behind him. Three rattling clanks sounded as they bolted the door behind him. They left him in complete darkness, chattering awhile amongst themselves, before he heard them sidle back away along the passageway from whence they had come.
Samuel stood perfectly still for the first few moments, controlling his breath and scouring the darkness with his magician’s senses. Anyone else would have been completely blind, but as hissightsprung into clarity, he could make out the faint energy that seeped from the very stone. It took some time to make out his surroundingsandfound that he was in a small and empty cell that had been hacked from the bare stone without precision, leaving the sides rough and uneven. The ceiling was a cluster of smooth stalactites that hung to various lengths. Slowly, as he focussed his senses around the cell part by part, he gained a greater idea of the walls surrounding him. There were some torn rags strewn on the floor and so Samuel collected these together then sat himself upon them, opposite the door,to wait.
He had no idea how much time had passed before the door opened again, except that he had waited many hours, then slept, and then waited again. And he had repeated that cycle at least twenty times without interruption. In that time, he had eaten nothing and had drunk only the drops that formed on the tips of the stalactites above him. He could only reach two of the spikes flat-footed, and one more by standing on his tiptoes and reaching up as far as he could with his tongue. In this way, he had persisted. Without such sustenance, he had no idea how he was supposed to have survived.
He had sensed figures come creeping down the corridor at times, stopping outside his door in complete silence before padding away hurriedly. He had sat still and ignored them all. He supposed it must have perplexed them that he made no sound, but not enough to have them open his door to see what had become of him.
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