by B N Miles
“What do you think?” Cam asked.
“I think it might be reckless,” she said. “And somewhat foolish. But with your magic and enough warriors, it can be done.”
Cam nodded. He thought she’d say that. He knew she wouldn’t openly defy him in front of the others, but in private she’d tell him the truth. He appreciated that about her, but sometimes he wished she would take her pledge to him a little less seriously.
Her life and her knife, she’d said. Her body and her blade. She was his, all because he’d saved her during a battle, risking his own life I the process. She’d grown to be his closest advisor, and he appreciated her candor and insight, but sometimes she was too deferential of him when others were around. He’d have to talk to her about that soon.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go see if we can find Key and Felin. Maybe Key’s in a better mood.”
“She was in a bad mood because of you, remember,” Miuri said, a smile on her lips.
Cam sighed. “I remember,” he said.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Miuri slipped her hand through his arm. “She’ll get over it. And maybe you’ll propose the right way next time.”
Cam laughed a little and leaned against her. “You think I should? I mean, you wouldn’t mind if I married Key but didn’t marry you?”
“Marriage doesn’t mean much to Elves,” Miuri said. “We don’t pair off for life like Humans do, mostly because we don’t die. We have lovers, and sometimes those lovers last a very long time, but rarely do they last forever. To Elves, marriage is meaningless, only actions and desires.”
“Elves are weird,” Cam said.
Miuri laughed and tugged him along. They walked out into the hallway together, and Cam felt a little bit better. His desire to do something productive was finally coming to fruition, and if he could organize an actual attack on the wolves, no matter how small and inconsequential, he knew he’d finally feel like he was doing something to save lives.
And Miuri was right about Key. She’d get over it soon enough.
When she did, Cam would propose again, but make sure she knew it was because he loved her.
4
Cam searched through the Mansion for an hour, looking for Key and Felin. Miuri left him and went off to speak with Gwedi about their possible moves against the wolves, and so Cam wandered the halls alone with a lamp held high, being careful to watch the symbols carved into the floor.
The symbols marked passages and cave directions. Some symbols would lead to the main entry cave, and some symbols would lead to other residential sections of the Mansion. The whole system was enormous, and there were tunnels that led to caves that hadn’t been carved out by people. Any of those tunnels were dangerous and were always marked with signs or blocked off entirely. The Wardens were constantly warning villagers to stay away from those tunnels, because one too many men had gone missing and died alone in the dark over the years.
Cam passed more people as he traveled further into the western part of the Mansion. The eastern half was only partially populated with people from his own village. He started there, checked on Key’s parents, and even tried to find Theus. But nobody was in their quarters, which wasn’t a huge surprise. The Wardens had been giving out jobs to every villager and making sure people remained productive and busy on the orders of Lord Remorn. Anyone was welcome within the walls of the Mansion so long as they were willing to pitch in and help out with daily tasks for the greater good.
He passed bathing houses and communal quarters and drinking rooms where men and women gathered to play dice and drink the weak beer that the Wardens brewed. There were rooms filled with women cleaning clothing over large cisterns of water, scrubbing them clean on rough rocks. Cam saw storehouses, enormous rooms filled with weapons and armor being repaired by men and women. He saw forges where the fires burned so hot that his skin began to sweat just lingering in the doorway. He saw men lined up in long rows carving bows and fletching arrows.
The Mansion felt deserted sometimes, but he knew it was constantly alive and buzzing. Walls had to be cleaned, repairs had to be made, food had to be distributed. Even arguments had to be administrated, and the Wardens had their own system of justice that involved higher level Wardens judging disputes. The Mansion was like a city inside a mountain, buzzing with life and activity, and though Cam felt far away and isolated over on the far eastern side, every time he came over to the west half and walked the halls, he was reminded of what he was fighting for.
All those villages, all those people. So many had lost everything—their lives and their homes destroyed, loved ones missing or dead. And yet they continued on, they pitched in with work and fought and laughed and drank. It was Humanity at its best, and he had to admit that he felt a swell of pride walking through the organized chaos.
After an hour of searching, he found Felin and Key tucked in the back corner of a communal mess hall. There were several other groups of men and women, mostly average villagers in plain white, gray, and beige colored tunics. Most people had bowls of sticky rice and steamed vegetables with a delicate white sauce and fresh elk meat in front of them. Cam spotted Felin and Key talking to each other. Felin was eating with her fingers, shoveling her meal into her mouth, but Key wasn’t touching her food.
Cam approached their table and Key looked up at him, stopping herself midsentence. She sat with her back to the wall on a wooden bench that wrapped around the whole perimeter of the room, broken up by arm rests and a few seat cushions for the elderly. She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him. Felin looked up and a smile came across her face for just a second until she began to eat again, shoveling the food into her mouth. Cam couldn’t help but smile at her, even if Key was glaring daggers in his direction. Felin was a wolf deep down, and she tended to eat like one. He had no clue how she didn’t choke on her food.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked Key.
She shrugged and gestured at a small wooden chair. The room was large, and conversations echoed up toward the ceiling where lamps were hung and burned bright. There were about ten different tables, some of them long and rectangular in the center of the space, and some of them smaller and round and set along the walls, like the one Key and Felin were occupying.
Low-level circle Wardens served food and beer to anyone that wanted it. There were kitchens with enormous fireplaces down a side passage to their right, where the cooks made meals for the entire Mansion. Wardens came and went with big trays stacked high with wooden bowls, hurrying off to various parts of the Mansion where workers would need their afternoon lunch to keep them going.
Cam pulled out the chair and sat. It creaked under his weight and he shifted himself so he could lean forward and look toward Key. Felin kept shoveling her food into her mouth, chewing and swallowing with alarming speed and intensity.
“Look, about earlier—” he started, but Key cut him off.
“It’s fine,” she said.
“Doesn’t look like it’s fine.” Cam spread his hands. “I’m trying to make it right.”
She sighed and shut her eyes for a second then forced a smile. “I know,” she said. “And I appreciate it. I’m just having a hard time dealing with my parents right now and I shouldn’t take it out on you.”
Cam let out a breath. “And I shouldn’t have made you feel like I only want to marry you as a favor.”
She smiled a little more and tilted her head. “No kidding,” she said. “I’m a delight and you’re lucky I tolerate you.”
“Can’t deny it,” he said. “Although I’m the big, strapping, handsome man of your dreams.”
“Fair enough,” Key said.
“You two make me want to vomit,” Felin said through a mouthful of rice. “But this food is delicious and I don’t want to waste it.”
Key laughed and Cam felt most of the tension drain away from them.
“How was council?” Key asked.
Cam made a dismissive gesture. “The same,”
he said. “Elders want to complain about lodgings and meals and jobs. Remorn wants to pretend like we can’t do a thing about what’s happening out there without the army.”
“So nothing got done,” Key said.
“Exactly.” Cam leaned back and crossed his arms. “But Remorn did mention one interesting thing.”
Key raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“His scouts found Teemly village,” he said. “They were raided by wolves.”
“I’m not sure I’d call that… interesting,” Key said. “Isn’t that where Arter and his boys went?”
Cam nodded. “But they’re not dead. Well, I don’t know about Arter, but the villagers are mostly prisoners.”
“Hm,” Key said, tilting her head. “That is interesting, but how do we know they won’t just kill them all anyway?”
“They won’t,” Felin said. Her eyes flashed for a second and Cam thought he saw some anger there. She was having a hard time dealing with the fact that her people were the enemies now, and Humans tended not to have a great amount of respect for the wolves that were slaughtering whole villages.
“Are you sure about that?” Key asked. “Maybe your pack wouldn’t, but others might.”
“That’s not how it works,” Felin said. “There’s no profit in killing prisoners. They’ll be made slaves like all the others and sent north to work fields or mines or something.” She shrugged a little. “I don’t know what happens to slaves, to be honest. Never took one.”
“That’s good,” Key said, frowning at her.
“Regardless of what happens to them, Teemly isn’t that far from here,” Cam said. “Frew thinks we can get together a party of warriors and try to free those prisoners.”
“Really?” Key asked. “I know Frew’s the only Elder that really wants to take the fight to the wolves, but that’s bold, even for him.”
“I think he’s as sick of talking as I am,” Cam said. “Felin, do you think that’s possible? I mean, how many wolves would typically guard prisoners like that?”
Felin frowned at him. She put her bowl down and leaned back in her chair.
“Depends on the pack,” she said. “And on the prisoners. If they’re mostly women and children and the elderly, they wouldn’t guard them too closely. If they lost a few, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. But if they have warriors mixed in, that would be a different story. Warriors are worth much more.”
Cam let out a little grunt. It was strange hearing his people talked about like they were cattle.
“If we gathered fifty men, could we do it?” he asked.
Felin shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said.
“Could you guide us there?” Cam pressed. “Or at least give us an idea of how your people would structure their defenses?”
She nodded slowly. “I’d do that for you,” she said.
“Thank you.” Cam reached out and touched her hand. A smile broke across her face, and he smiled back before turning to Key. “What do you think?” he asked.
She shrugged. “If Felin thinks it’s possible, and we can gather enough warriors, I think it’s worth trying. We’re doing nothing inside this mountain.”
“I agree,” Cam said. “Would you be willing to talk to Theus? See if he’s up for a little work, find out what he thinks, and see if he can spread the word. And check to see if he’s doing okay. Dagan’s talking to people, but it can’t hurt if we have you and Theus out there as well. I just… don’t want to face him right now.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Key said.
“Thank you.” Cam took a deep breath and sat up straight in his chair, a grin slipping across his lips. “It feels good to be doing something for once.”
“I agree,” Key said. “We’ve been training so hard for the past week, but there’s only so much we can do without real fighting.”
Cam laughed a little. “That’s not really the point, you know,” he said. “We’re going out there to help people, not test our skills.”
She shrugged and grinned right back. “Maybe that’s what you’re doing, but Miuri’s been showing us some cool stuff.”
Cam shook his head and smiled as Key laughed at him and started to eat. He settled back in his chair as Felin finished her bowl, tossed it down onto the table and sucked in a sharp breath.
“Done!” she said. “Gods, you’re so slow, Key. You’d never survive a pack.”
“Is it really so hard?” Key asked. “I mean, is there really so much competition.”
Felin nodded. “Everything’s a competition,” she said. “Especially eating. If you don’t get in there and eat your fill, you’re liable to go hungry.”
“It’s not like that here,” Cam said. “You can take your time, you know.”
She gave him an odd look and poked the bowl with her fingers. “But I just won,” she said. “Why would I give that up? I’m the Alpha now.”
Cam leaned toward her and raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were supposed to fight for being the Alpha,” he said.
She rolled her eyes. “What a silly Human idea,” she said. “If all we did was beat each other up to show dominance, we’d be pretty hurt and weak all the time.”
Cam exchanged looks with Key and shook his head as Key shrugged and tucked into her food. He leaned back from Felin and crossed his arms.
“Well, I’m the Alpha in this pack,” he said. “And you’d better get used to it.”
Felin laughed and rolled her eyes again. “What a Beta thing to say.”
Cam sighed and ran a hand through his hair as Key laughed at him.
“All right you two,” he said, standing up. “Go get to work when you’re done eating. I’d better find Dagan and see how it’s going.”
“Good luck,” Key said, her mouth full.
Felin hopped to her feet and pressed herself against Cam. She hugged him and kissed his neck. “Don’t worry,” she whispered in his ear. “I might be the pack’s Alpha, but you’ll always be my Alpha.”
“I’m not sure I know the difference, but I’ll take it,” he said. He kissed her lips and squeezed her hand.
He marveled for a moment at his wild girl and how quickly their relationship had progressed over the last week. They were much closer, and Miuri and Key were both very accepting of her. Although Cam still wasn’t completely sure about Felin, he could feel that bond growing stronger, and he wanted to explore it more.
Felin beamed at him, her cheeks a little red. He looked back at Key, nodded, released Felin’s hand, and walked off smiling to himself.
5
Cam descended a long, dark tunnel that sloped in a gentle spiral. There were no steps, no lamps set in the walls at even intervals, and the sounds of the Mansion began to drift away as he walked. The only light shone from the single lamp Cam held up and away from his eyes.
Cam felt entirely alone. He thought he could feel the mountain buzzing above him, like the rocks were alive and moving against each other, grinding in slow shifting patterns. He ran his fingers down the rough wall with his free hand and felt the passage of time on his skin. He took deep breaths and steadied himself as he continued along the spiraling path, and once the slope began to get too steep to walk anymore, stairs appeared cut into the floor in the gloom.
He began down the steps, the spiral getting tighter. Lower and lower he went, deeper into the cave. The stairs were uneven, and Cam continued down in caution, but soon he reached a landing.
The cavern ahead of him opened up into the inky blackness. He stood there for a moment and held out his lamp, but he couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of him. He took a step forward and listened, inhaling the slight sulfurous smell, then a smile slipped across his face.
He heard water dripping into a pool. Just a soft inkling, gentle and quiet.
Cam walked further into the room and found the first lamp. He lit it then walked in a wide, long circuit, lighting more and more lamps, some set into the walls, some lying on the floor, and some perched on ston
e podiums carved from what Cam assumed were once stalagmites. He saw that the walls were smooth and carved with ocean motifs, waves and seaweed and ships wrought into the rock.
When he was finished lighting all the lamps, he stood in a fairly large room with a rectangular body of water sitting in the center, cut directly into the floor. More ocean motifs wrapped around its exterior, and tiles were set at regular intervals, depicting boars and flowers and trees.
Next to the entrance was a set of rectangular boxes stacked on top of each other, and inside each box was a large cotton towel. They were public towels, and people were meant to dry their bodies off with them before dressing. Towels were washed by the Wardens and restocked when necessary. Cam thought it was an obscene luxury, but the Mansion could afford to treat its guests like royalty.
He didn’t know how the Mansion builders had made this room. He knew hot springs existed all over the region, and he knew there were villages that took advantage of them. But somehow the Mansion builders had carved a bathing pool into the rock and used warmed hot spring water to flood it. The pool was moving, very slowly, as more water filled into it and the old water drained out. That kept the water fresh and warm, and Cam thought it was the most incredible thing he’d ever seen.
He put down his lamp, unbelted his sword, and began to take off his leather armor. He placed it gently on the ground, smiling a little at the memory of his father teaching him how to put it on and take it off. He removed his tunic and his pants and stepped down the carved stairs that led into the pool.
The water was light blue, slightly cloudy, and warm. It felt like slipping into a bed of blankets, and he let out a breath as he relaxed backward. There were benches all around the edges carved into the stone, and the pool itself wasn’t very deep. He could stand in its center without any issues, the water coming up just below his armpits. It was big enough to seat twenty people, though Cam had never seen more than one or two people in this particular bath at a time. There were other bathing pools scattered throughout the Mansion, and he used this particular pool because it always almost always empty.