by Jeff Wilson
“You do have a connection to the dark, and you do alter its pattern, you just happen to be doing it in a very specific way. You bend and reshape the dark in a way that conceals. It makes you invisible to someone like me.”
Edryd might have failed to grasp this concept, if not for what he had discovered that afternoon. He had observed what Seoras was describing. He hadn’t understood its function then, but it was clear now.
“I spent all of this afternoon trying to replicate the effect. Unfortunately you were not there for comparison, but what you are doing defies study and observation, so maybe it wouldn’t have helped. I managed a crude and flawed version, but you saw through that a moment ago. What you are doing is incredibly stable and far more complex.”
Edryd didn’t want to tell Seoras how effective his crude and flawed attempt had really been, but Seoras was right, it hadn’t been the same thing.
“How can I do something like that when I can’t actually shape?”
“It is proof that you are shaping all the time, even in your sleep,” Seoras suggested confidently. “There is something profound at work here, some knowledge that was lost even before the Sigil Order was destroyed. You and I can rediscover it.”
The worry was gone from his teacher’s mind. He had become so excited that he had forgotten whatever it was that had been troubling him. Seoras didn’t care who Edryd was, he only cared who it was he might become. The shaper had a singular obsession, and that was uncovering the secrets that had once been mastered in an earlier age by the Knights of the Sigil Order, and he saw Edryd as the means by which he could achieve that goal. This conversation was forcing Edryd to make alterations to the plans that were even now in the process of unfolding, and he was going to need to be ready to make some rapid adjustments.
“This isn’t what you came here to tell me,” Edryd said, trying to sound unimpressed. He knew that Seoras was here about something even more important.
“That discovery, this skill of yours, it is no minor thing,” Seoras replied. He was surprised by Edryd’s even reaction, and he was further impressed by his students having somehow divined that he was here for another purpose. “I did also come with a warning,” he said. Fear was encroaching once more upon the shaper’s mind. “You need to leave the island.”
This was not amongst any of the things that Edryd could have imagined Seoras might say, and he was unable to form a response.
“I know you think I have tried to keep you here, but you have made false assumptions on that subject. Logaeir wants to keep you here, and so does Esivh Rhol. I have an interest in you as well of course, but I have only been trying to keep you safe in a very dangerous place.”
Edryd could not accept this as the truth. The only person Edryd needed protection from was Seoras. Ignoring Esivh Rhol, it was troubling that Seoras knew Logaeir by name. Rather than confirm a connection to Logaeir, Edryd focused on the other man.
“What does Esivh Rhol want with me?” Edryd asked.
“He’s interested in you because I’m interested in you. When he learned of what you had done to Hagan and Cecht, he decided right then that he wanted you working for him.”
“I have had no dealings with the Ard Ri at all,” Edryd said, reacting with disbelief.
“Rhol has Vannin tracking your movements, and he made the harbormasters deny you any other means of employment. They all also have instructions to refuse you passage off of the island.”
Edryd didn’t know what to believe. He had assumed that Vannin worked for Seoras. He would have to see what Irial could tell him, because he wasn’t ready to believe Seoras.
“And this Logaeir, he is one of the Ascomanni?” Edryd asked. He didn’t know how much Seoras knew, but he had to at least pretend to be ignorant.
Seoras fixed his eyes on Edryd in long penetrating stare. “The soldier friend you were speaking to just now obviously came here on an Ascomanni ship, and will be leaving on one as well. Don’t tell me you don’t know who Logaeir is. He’s probably in the cottage right now.”
“Why would he be here?”
“He will be expecting you to help when the Ascomanni attack An Innis,” Seoras suggested. “Probably hopes that you can keep me away from the battle when it happens.”
His guesses were all hitting the mark, if they were guesses at all. Denying any of it would amount to much the same thing as proving the suspicions. Whatever Seoras thought he knew, there was nothing to be gained by confirming it for him.
“If you really haven’t met him yet, you will be interested to know that he is the one who is attacking ships around An Innis claiming to be the Blood Prince,” Seoras clarified. “None of this matters though. It isn’t Esivh Rhol or Logaeir that I came to warn you about.”
“No,” Edryd laughed, “why would the interests of the ruler of An Innis, or the leader of a company of pillaging warriors pose a threat that would merit a warning?”
“There are worse things that frequent this island, I can assure you,” Seoras said. “I am about to have some unpleasant houseguests. They may be here as soon as tomorrow.”
“Draugar,” Edryd guessed.
“Not a correct name for them,” Seoras confirmed, “but yes.”
Edryd recalled a conversation he had once had with Irial, and this felt eerily like an echo of that earlier discussion of these creatures. She worked for the man, and so must have picked up on how he spoke of them. Still, it bothered Edryd how closely Seoras’s reaction to the term draugar had mirrored Irial’s. “Reason enough to be away when they arrive I suppose,” Edryd concluded.
“They are following rumors of the Blood Prince and at least one of them knows you on sight,” Seoras replied, clearly thinking that Edryd was not taking the news seriously enough. “These creatures cannot be killed and they are more dangerous than you know. Logaeir did you no favors by making use of your name.”
“No, he didn’t,” Edryd agreed. “He will realize that he has done himself some harm too when he ends up face to face with an angry immortal creature wanting to know why he isn’t me.”
“That might be funny to see, if he had any chance of surviving the experience,” Seoras said, laughing as he imagined it. “He is about to get his first up-close look at a true Ash Man.”
“I will be glad that I am not him then,” Edryd joked.
“If he tells them where you are, you will wish you weren’t you,” Seoras warned.
“I will stay away until they have gone. I’m only too happy to take a few days off while you catch up with these friends of yours.”
Seoras reacted with a look of concern. He couldn’t tell if Edryd was being serious or not. “That isn’t good enough,” he said. “These creatures won’t kill you Edryd. They will bind you and deliver you to my master. You will be forced to serve him unless you leave the island tonight.”
It wasn’t that Edryd needed convincing. He just didn’t know where he would go or how he would get there. The Ascomanni encampment wouldn’t be safe; the draugar would be hoping to find him there. A better option would be too flee by ship. Logaeir would have plenty of incentive to leave with him.
As if anticipating Edryd’s concerns, Seoras offered a solution that was more of an order than it was a suggestion. “You leave the same way you came, across the causeway. They don’t like being near anything deeper than a few feet of water. If one of them should pick up your trail, it might be hesitant to follow it across.”
Edryd did not much enjoy the idea of spending time with Logaeir as a travelling companion, but getting away in his fastest ship still seemed like a better idea. It wasn’t an alternative he wanted to share with Seoras though.
“A few miles inland, there are some old ruins,” Seoras suggested.
“These would be the same ruins that haunt the dreams of the inhabitants of Ann Innis?”
“They are not dangerous,” assured Seoras. “At least not in the way that people think they are. But they are old—predating the last age. You in particular should find
them interesting.”
“All right,” Edryd agreed. “I can forage for a while. While I was on the mainland on my way in, I noticed plenty of wildlife.”
“I will come when it is safe to return,” Seoras promised.
“I need to know one thing,” Edryd said. “Who is this master of yours?”
Seoras paused, considering the question. “I think that is something I’m not prepared to explain just yet,” he answered. “It is enough that as yet he has no hold on you. Just know that it would be a bad result for both of us if that ever changes.”
Edryd could see that Seoras was not going to explain any more than he had.
“I can’t stay any longer,” Seoras said. “There are preparations I need to make before morning.”
“Don’t let me stop you, I will be off of the island before the night is over,” Edryd promised.
Edryd watched Seoras fade into the distance before making his way back to the cottage. Logaeir better still be there, he thought to himself. Surely his patron amongst the Ascomanni would be able to appreciate the wisdom of getting far away, and doing so as quickly as possible.
When Edryd returned to the cottage, Logaeir was still there. He was standing alongside Irial and Krin, all crowding the entrance as Edryd opened the door.
“What was he doing here?” Logaeir demanded. “Why were you talking to him? What were you talking about?”
“He came to warn… ” Edryd began to explain.
“He knows who you are,” Logaeir said, anticipating that Edryd would surely confirm his fears.
“He overheard me talking with Ruach. That did give it away,” Edryd admitted. From the other end of the room, Ruach and Oren looked on in confusion. They did not know who it was everyone was talking about, or why they were all so concerned.
“He came to warn you about something?” Irial asked, bringing things into focus.
“Draugar will be in An Innis, possibly as soon as tomorrow morning. They have come looking for me.”
There was a collection of audible gasps as nearly everyone in the room reacted. Oren and Ruach took the information evenly, probably convinced that there were no such things in the world, but Krin, Logaeir and Irial were all well aware of the truth. Eithne was there as well behind everyone else, looking appropriately worried.
“This isn’t uncommon,” Irial said, trying to build the argument against overreacting to the news. “They come regularly, several times a year. It doesn’t mean that they know you are here or that they are looking for you.”
“They don’t know that I’m here,” Edryd agreed. “But they do know that an idiot, who has been boldly flying the banners of the Blood Prince, has been capturing ships and cargo in and around An Innis.”
Logaeir’s face went white. He didn’t even notice the insult, he was too aware of the danger he had put himself in.
Krin seized the opportunity to put forward a plan. “The two of you need to get on my ship, and we need to sail as far away from here as fast as we can,” he concluded. Edryd was glad to learn someone was thinking along the exact same lines that he was.
“No,” Logaeir said. “They are looking for Aisen, but when they start tracing the source of these rumors, it will lead back to me. If they don’t find someone, they won’t stop looking and we will have to keep running. I can’t afford that, it will ruin everything.”
“If they find and kill you, might that not even more thoroughly ruin your damned plans?” Krin argued. “I’m not saying that would trouble me much, but I wouldn’t expect you to stay and face down one of those things.”
“I’m not an important part of my plans,” Logaeir countered somewhat oddly, seemingly lost in thought, unaware that he was sharing those thoughts with everyone. “Aisen is, and so are the Ascomanni, but—“
“When are you going to learn that that name is dangerous?” Edryd shouted, tired of hearing Logaeir utter the name which he had so often and so unwisely put to ill-use. “Throwing it around, especially right now, is going to end up getting someone killed.”
Edryd’s anger shocked Logaeir back into a more coherent state. “You are right of course,” he agreed, surprising Edryd. “This is my fault,” he admitted, “so I think we can all agree that it is appropriate that I take the necessary risks to fix it.”
“Risk your own life, not everyone else’s,” Edryd responded. “You may not want to take Krin’s offer, but I will be getting on his ship and leaving tonight.”
“Hold on,” said Krin, “let’s hear what he would do instead.”
“What did Seoras say?” Logaeir asked.
“He wants me to cross the causeway and hide in the forests on the mainland,” Edryd said without any trace of enthusiasm.
“I think that’s the right thing to do,” Logaeir said, sounding uncertain.
“Seoras will be so pleased to hear that you agree with him,” Edryd said with an exaggerated sharpness which bespoke his low opinion of the idea.
Undeterred, Logaeir continued to explain. “It is important to remember that they don’t actually know you are here. If we run, it will signal that we knew they were coming. They would reason out that Seoras warned you. But if they learn that I am an imposter, they will leave once they have confirmed it. I will make them see what they are probably already expecting. It will even make them dismiss any future news that places you here as just more false rumors.”
Edryd had to admit the reasoning was sound. Logaeir seemed reckless and frivolous, but only if you were not paying close attention. He had a mind for strategy that had to be respected.
“I would still rather go with Krin,” Edryd said to Logaeir. “If you don’t want to come along, that’s up to you.”
“Let’s try Logaeir’s plan first,” Krin said. “It will be his skin in the fire. If it goes wrong, we will still be able to get you out of here.”
Things were not going well. Logaeir had persuaded the only person here with a ship. Irial stepped close to Edryd. “I need you to give this a chance,” she whispered. “We have plans that will come to nothing if you leave now.”
Edryd was embarrassed. He had given no thought to what he had promised Irial. In a room that included his subordinates, a woman and a young girl, and two criminals, he was distinguishing himself as the biggest of cowards. None of them are being hunted by draugar, he thought to himself, and then felt even worse, reflecting with shame on his selfish reaction, knowing that these people were all taking dangerous risks on his behalf.
“All right,” Edryd said, “we go with Seoras’s plan.” He wasn’t going to call it Logaeir’s plan; he was feeling too spiteful for that. Either way, Irial’s endorsement had set Edryd’s path. He had no choice but to see where it led.
Chapter 14
The Construct Chamber
Dark shapes were silhouetted in the midmorning sunlight, revealed now as arched walls which loomed above the bed of pine needles that Edryd had slept in. He had spent the night shivering in the cold after having made his way to the edge of the ruins and finding it too dark to either build or locate better shelter.
The oversized stonework structures made Edryd feel small, but they were dominated by another even more impressive feature of the landscape, massive towering trees which cast everything in perpetual shadows. Edryd could not get a sense for the scale of the place. There were no forests like this in Nar Edor, and while he had seen even larger stone constructions, including the Port Citadel, none of those could be compared to the sophistication of the buildings in this ruined city. The structures were pitted with age, but it only added to the beauty of the intricately shaped blocks that created complex spans and rising columns throughout the diverse architecture.
Seoras had said it predated the last age, which would put the civilization that built all of this more than a thousand years in the past. Edryd could easily believe that the ruined city was at least that old. Looking like something grown out of the rocks of the forest, the city had lost much of what once would have marked it a
s a place of human habitation.
Compelled by an overpowering desire to explore, the appeasement of which became his most immediate concern, Edryd passed on beyond the crumbling walls, drawn in toward what he imagined to be the still pulsing heart of the city. Guided by skeletal remains of buildings long since reclaimed by the forest, Edryd wandered into the depths of the place and lost all track of the passage of time. The morning was all but spent when Edryd reached an opening where five evenly spaced towers, positioned in a circle, anchored the center of the city in place.
Four of the towers, seemingly unaffected by time, stood proudly still, each of them pristine and perfectly smooth in appearance, as though formed from uniform and unbroken dark grey granite pillars. The fifth tower lay collapsed in a circular mounding of broken rubble piled to more than double Edryd’s height. In the midst of these spires, at the center of a slightly inclined hill, a set of wide spiraling stairs led down into the earth.
Edryd hesitated when he came to the steps. He had no means to light the way. Curiosity won out over the pounding in his veins that warned him to stop, and it continued to force him forward when after a single turn of the stairwell, the light began to disappear. Edryd kept a hand on the outer wall for stability, and was greatly startled when it abruptly fell away. The stairway, now supported solely by a thick central pillar, extended just one more turn before the passage emptied onto a landing at the bottom, but Edryd did not know this yet. He conquered the remaining descent only by fighting against a growing terror that intensified with each downward step that he took into the darkness.
Once he reached the floor, Edryd did not dare leave the foot of the stairs. Echoes from his footfalls on the stairwell had made hollow sounds which suggested his enclosure within a vast open expanse. He felt that if he were to move from where he was, he would never find the landing again. The darkness was complete. Not even a bare hint of light made it this far from the opening in the ceiling. He wondered if he might get a little illumination at the height of the afternoon when the sun was directly overhead, but Edryd didn’t intend to remain in this place as long as that.