by Daniel Casey
“Yeah,” Declan moved slow but eventually got himself up into a seated position, “think I will though.” He looked around the yurt, blinking several times. “My mouth tastes like metal.”
Goshen stood and came over with a bota in hand, “This is just water.”
“That’s unfortunate.” Declan gladly raised the bota.
“North to where.” Kira demanded. Roth scowled at her.
“He’s going up pass Medves to the taiga.” Jena broke in impatient.
Kira flinched, “There’s nothing up there.”
“I have to take Colm to my hearth.”
“What?”
Declan waved to Roth, “I could use to eat too.” Roth passed down a plate of bread.
“If you’re going north with the boy, what are we supposed to do?”
“I thought you were coming with us to the Cathedral.” Fery asked.
“Didn’t you just hear what Goshen said?” Kira snapped.
“She’s asking you to go with her still.” Jena defended.
“I know what she’s asking.”
“End it.” Declan yelled, then groaned as he chewed the naan. “You need to come with me to the Spires.”
“What?”
“Why?” Goshen asked.
“I need to get the rest of the coin coming my way and to do that I need to present you.” Declan paused and looked as if he was going to vomit, then began eating again.
“So that’s a good point,” Wynne said, “Who is your employer?”
“You still haven’t explained why you were following us?” Kira added.
Declan sighed, “I was hired by the Jacobean Spire to make sure you two didn’t die and made it to Lappala in one piece.”
“Why not just join us?” Goshen asked.
Declan nodded, “That makes sense; you would’ve welcomed me with open arms.”
“Well, no, you’re right.”
“How did they know about our mission?” Kira asked.
Declan punched Wynne in the shoulder, “This is where you come in.”
“What’s he talking about?” Goshen asked.
Wynne glared at Declan, then looked at Goshen and Kira, “The Rikonen Alders paid for Asa Salda, the corsair we fought at the Cruor, to abduct Kira and bring her to them.”
Goshen looked shocked, but Kira nodded, “You weren’t a part of that decision though. You only came to the council afterwards.”
“Still,” Goshen was indignant, “You’re responsible for all this?”
Kira held Goshen’s arm, “We’ve already been over this. It’s the reason Wynne and Fery came with Roth and me, to atone for what their leaders did.”
Goshen gnashed his teeth, “Still.”
“More to the point,” Declan broke in, “Rikonen got the information from someone high up in the Cathedral, one who knew that you two were being sent on a mission with the purpose of dying.”
“That makes no sense.” Goshen said.
“You weren’t picked randomly or casually. You were sent to Lappala because certain people were certain you would die in route.”
“What people?” Goshen asked.
“I don’t know who’s involved in the conspiracy but it’s made up of some very high ranking members.” Wynne said.
“So then…how did the Spires find out about us?” Kira asked.
Wynne and Declan spoke over each other, “I told them.”, “He told them.”
“Why?”
“I’ve been working with a group of Kyrios to end the Blockade. Trying to fix what the Alders have been mucking up.”
“They hired me on his information.” Declan added.
“Wait…”
Roth raised a hand, “Whoever sent you on your mission wanted you to die on the way. Asa told me as much, he claimed he was hired to do so.”
“Really?” Wynne said. “And what happened to him?”
“He took your contract to get more coin for the same contract.” Roth reached into a shirt pocket and pulled out a bloodstained envelope, “This is a marq giving the holder the authority to draft soldiers of the Spires under the aegis of the Cathedral.”
“Where did you get that?” Goshen asked.
“Asa had it.”
“Which means…” Wynne began.
“Whoever sent him after you has to at least be part of the Vicegerents’ circles.” Goshen finished the thought.
“Spire soldiers acting under the auspice of the Cathedral are now spread out, dead and rotting, all over the Siracenes?” Jena gave a sad laugh.
“It’ll only be a matter of time before other come looking for those units.” Fery said.
“No one knows the way to the Cruor.” Roth replied.
“Trackers can still do the job.” Jena said.
“By then, we’ll be all well away.”
“Why did they want us dead?” Kira muttered.
“That’s what we need to find out. That’s why I’m going to the Cathedral, to meet with the contact that the council had.” Wynne said turning to Roth. “You still haven’t said what happened to Asa.” Roth ignored him.
“I should go with you.” Fery said to Wynne.
“No, you need to go to the Spires with them.” Wynne pointed to Kira and Goshen.
“The Kyrios we know there, they’ll be better able to explain what is going on.”
“I don’t know how much I like the idea of wandering into the enemy’s capital after killing its men.” Goshen said.
“They don’t know we did,” Declan said, “Besides, we’re not going to be meeting in public. Nothing about what’s been going on has been above board.”
“If anything that will put us more in the know.” Goshen said then pointed to Declan, “And you’re going to need help to get back there.”
Declan smiled, “I don’t mind the company, but I’m just in this for my pay day.”
“You don’t have any worries about your Kyrios finding out you killed Silvincian soldiers?” Kira stared at Declan unflinching.
“For an alm, you’re getting pretty menacing.”
“I’m not an alm anymore.” Kira whispered.
“Why do you have to take the boy north?” Fery asked Roth.
“My name is Colm Bene.” Colm said flatly.
Fery nodded as an apology, “Why do you have to go north with Colm.”
“I’m responsible for him now,” Roth tore the last piece of naan in half and split it with Colm, “I’m the reason his father was killed, I’m the reason his home was destroyed. I owe him a life.”
“What’s in the taiga? Why not stay at the Cruor?” Kira asked.
Roth was hesitant, chewing slowly, “I was raised a Caretaker.”
“A what?” Declan asked.
“A Caretaker.” Wynne said, “I didn’t think there were any left.”
“Well, there are more Athingani, let’s put it that way.” Roth replied.
“I don’t know what that is.” Fery said.
“They are an order of lore keepers, scholars really.” Kira said airily.
“They use to have a presence in every city and sent a representative to every wealthy house, every landowner. They kept histories.” Goshen added.
“Servants. Bookkeepers.” Jena mocked.
“Hardly so,” Wynne said, “Caretakers kept and maintained and practiced all the know skills.”
“So you know everything do you?” Declan said looking at Roth.
Roth shook his head, “Everything you’ve said is wrong and completely right.” He drank from a bottle he had brought with him. Declan’s eyes grew wide and he motioned for it; Roth passed it along.
“So then, the taiga is where…” Kira prompted.
“It’s where my order’s citadel is,” Roth said, “I’ve been needing to go back there for a long time and now, with Colm, I must. There will be others there to help him.” Colm didn’t look at the others or at Roth, but simply stared into the brazier flames.
“So you’re leaving us.”
Kira said.
“This takes precedent over your situation,” Roth said evenly, “But I still owe you as well.”
“You don’t,” Jena said assertively, “You don’t owe them anything; you don’t owe us anything. You don’t have to do any of this.” She stared up at the ceiling of the yurt looking angry.
“I’m not going to argue with you about this again.” Roth said quietly.
“What have we decided then?” Goshen asked. “Because we can’t just keep talking, we need to act.”
“You, Kira, Fery, and Declan will leave for the Spires once Declan is healed properly.” Roth replied, then he pointed at Wynne, “You are going to the Cathedral to find out more about who sent Asa after Kira and why. And, I suspect, to try to negotiate the Cathedral’s intervention regarding the Blockade. As I said at the beginning, I’m going north with Colm.”
Fery broke in, “What about Jena?”
“Yeah, what about Jena?” Jena asked.
Roth looked over the fire toward her, “Jena will tell us what she’s going to do once she’s decided.”
“You could just ask me.”
“I’ve already asked you to do too much.”
“That’s not my point.”
“It’d be easier to travel if we did so looking like a family.” Roth said. Jena just continued to stare up, but Kira’s face twisted and Colm’s betrayed the briefest glimpse of hope.
“Who’s going to clean up your mess?” Jena asked.
There was a long silence. Wynne spoke to Roth, “They should be buried, not left to the birds and the wolves.”
“Would you do that?” Roth asked.
Jena sat up, “I would.” Roth smiled and nodded.
“So what then? What happens after we all go our separate ways?” Goshen pressed.
“We’ll need to meet up again, figure out what needs be done once we know more.” Wynne asserted.
“Do you all even have an end in mind?” Jena asked.
Wynne shrugged and Roth said nothing. Finally, Kira spoke up, “We need to put an end to the Blockade; we need to stop war from happening.”
“So nothing ridiculously out of reach.” Jena replied. There was a beat and then Colm started laughing, which opened up the others. Passersby moving quickly through the rain and mud caught glimpses of a warm fire, heard hearty laughter, and felt a bit less oppressed by the sour evening.
EPILOGUE
The sound of the fountains’ allowed Amar-Sin’s mind to wander. He felt the cool air on his skin as he gazed up through the stone latticework of the gazebo. Farther away, than he could ever imagine the flawless beryl sky seemed to be forever motionless. These moments, when he allowed himself to indulge his sentimental side, were coming less and less. The idiocy of the cartel’s junior members was deepening, as was their endless clamoring for more of the stores of bithumin to be sold north. Larsa and Sippa were no longer listening to him and Ruppik and Erudu were in a constant state of needing handholding. Amar-Sin closed his eyes tightly trying to banish the thoughts of his fellow Ensi from ruining his solitude.
His face tightened, then relaxed. As he opened his eyes, he did see the distant square of blue sky but rather Umma’s face, inverted and grinning cheerfully at him. He didn’t flinch as he sat up from the stone bench, making room for her beside him.
“Am I being summoned?” Amar-Sin spoke, the weariness thick in his voice.
Umma sat, said nothing, and continued to grin at him.
“I thought I could at least have a morning to myself.”
Looking down at the bench, Umma ran her hands on the stone. “You’ve made it so warm. How long have you been out here?”
“I came after waking.” He stared out into the garden. “It was dark. There were still gems in the sky.”
Umma made a face, “That’s a queer thing to say.”
Not looking at her or giving any outward reaction, he merely muttered, “I suppose it is.”
“Erudu needs you to speak to Tibir. Tibir wants Larsa to drop his petition. Larsa has gained Kish’s support. Adab has actually decided to take action herself and has instructed her caravans to double their exports. There is a debate going on right now in the chamber between Sippa and Ruppik that is about to explode into a proper quarrel.” Amar-Sin raised a hand for Umma to stop. The two sat in the quiet listening to the babble of the fountains.
Umma didn’t let the stillness linger, “Erudu believes Tibir will challenge Sippa’s place. That the challenge will sway enough of the rest to either follow Adab’s example or join Larsa.”
Amar-Sin stood up and sighed. “What of the northerly traders?”
“The spies.” Umma said matter of fact. Amari-Sin nodded and motioned for her to follow him as he began to walk down a slate path that snaked through the high hedges.
“From what Kish has reported, they apparently weaseled their way into his registry by impersonating dignitaries from The Cathedral.”
“It never occurred to Kish or his officers that we have never done direct business with the Cassubians before?”
“He clearly thought he could orchestrate some sort of windfall.” Umma smirked.
“So it was this that emboldened Larsa and Adab?”
Umma nodded, “They wouldn’t have let such an opportunity pass them by.”
“My question now is ‘what is the count?’”
As they neared the towering terraces the garden thinned somewhat but mosses and ivy were up at least three stories. They came to a large bronze door upon which was a seemingly infinite design of squares within squares. Umma reached out, her small hand taking ahold of a large knocker. She raised it, then let it fall sending a dull, but deep and lasting knell. The silence between them was pure, Amar-Sin was waiting patiently but it was clear Umma was avoiding answering his question.
The door slowly opened away from the two revealing a lone sentry dressed in a black cataphract holding a golden staff with a rounded tip. He stood motionless as Amar-Sin gestured for Umma to go ahead of him. As she stepped forward the sentry spun in its heel and began walking down the torch lit stone hall. The hall ran parallel to the gardens for about forty feet until it terminated in an open platform. The sentry folded back a gate and stood awaiting the two to step inside.
“We will need to secure at least five more while keeping our current bloc of eight intact.” Reluctantly, Umma spoke up as she stepped onto the platform. Amar-Sin stood before her just outside of the platform, his hands clasped behind his back. He nodded slightly, his expression emotionless as he stared at her. Umma met his gaze with hers of clear irritation. Finally, Amar-Sin stepped onto the platform. The sentry almost immediately pulled the gate closed and came over to stand next to a winch on the inside; his hand griped it and waited.
“The seventeenth terrace.” Amar-Sin said and the sentry began to crank the winch. The platform didn’t move until the sentry was finished and had released another lever. There was the briefest tremor as the platform began slowly to rise. An intricate latticework resembling the design on the bronze door made up the wall facing the garden and Amar-Sin stood before it watching the garden below shrink away.
“I will tolerate no more dissension.” He spoke evenly and without malice. “If they do not see fit to support our decision let them know that their partage will be purchased by me and they will be manumitted from any further obligation to the cartel.”
Umma blinked startled, “They’ll certainly realize that even you don’t have enough to expel them.”
“I do have enough.” Amar-Sin said. “I have more than enough to not only buy out the undecideds and our bloc but to excise nearly all those that oppose us.”
“They why don’t you?” Umma asked.
Amar-Sin gave another heavy sigh, “For the exact reason I am standing against these fools.” He turned to face Umma, “It is vital that we have the stores we need and the necessary leverage over our clientele to be maintain the conditions we have grown accustom to.”
Umma nodd
ed. He continued as he stepped closer to her, standing shoulder to shoulder, “The bithumin is all but exhausted. I’ve already spent a ridiculous amount effort convincing these fools of a plain fact. I will not relent now and allow us to give into our fear. Especially for merely more coin.”
“It would be a mistake to underestimate just how much the new partners covet the northerly gold.” Umma whispered more to herself than to Amar-Sin.
“I underestimate no one.” He swiftly replied turning slightly toward her but still not looking at her with is hand raised. He kept a single finger in the air pointing to nothing, “I have devised a definitive method for securing our future. It tolerates no hesitation, admits no doubt, and abides no irresolution. This shall happen. That is the end of it.”
“I wish you would’ve been this unyielding when they first dissented.” Umma smirked.
“I am no absolutist.” Amar-Sin scoffed just as the platform ached to a stop. The sentry pushed in the lever and jerked the winch apparently locking it in position. He moved deftly, unlatching and opening the gate for the two.
The hall that opened up before them was airy, full of light, with similarly dressed sentries every fifteen feet. Umma and Amar-Sin stepped out walking side-by-side. After they passed the second sentry, Amar-Sin gently took Umma’s hand.
“And of these interlopers?”
“They are likely dead.” Umma answered.
“Likely?” Amar-Sin felt her tense.
“They were pursued into the Ura vein; our enkaras assured me that the two were severely wounded. It was decided to allow the mine consume them.”
Amar-Sin nodded, “You, of course, remembered that the Ura vein emerges nearly halfway to the Avostos.”
Umma grimaced, “There’s no way they’d be able to find their way.”
“We were fairly certain that there was no way outsiders could steal their way into our registry. And yet…”
“What would you have me do?” Umma snapped.
They reached the end of the hall and stood before a black oaken door that seemed to shine it was so well polished. A smile crept across Amar-Sin’s face, “You will have Rava Din follow up on the enkaras’ pursuit.”
Umma shook her head, “No, that’s not needed. We can easily…”