The Questing Game

by James Galloway

  Tarrin stared at her a very long time. "Then what's the difference between a Sorcerer and a katzh-dashi?"

  "The Oath," she replied simply. "The oath of obedience to the Goddess, something that an Initiate does not undertake. It seals the Sorcerer to the Goddess, and in that oath of obedience, he gains the right to call on the Goddess' power directly. Any Sorcerer can use Sorcery, but only those who take the Oath can call on the Goddess for additional aid."

  It was a profound realignment in his concept of the katzh-dashi, but it fit perfectly with what he already knew. The Goddess herself had told him that the katzh-dashi had minor priest abilities. She didn't say what they could do, but she did say that they did have some abilities. The agelessness of the katzh-dashi was the reason that they had access to priest magic, for it was a law set forth by Ayise Herself that no mortal could wield more than one order of magic. The Goddess cheated a bit by making her children a little bit more than mortal, yet not truly immortal. It was enough for the katzh-dashi to be raised out of the definition of mortal and gain access to another order of magic. That was probably why they didn't want the sages to know that they could use minor priest magic, for sages knew of that stricture, and would investigate as to why the katzh-dashi could seemingly defy that basic rule.

  Tarrin licked his lips. "Could I learn this priest magic?" he asked.

  She shook her head. "I cannot administer the Oath. Only the Keeper can do that. And without the Oath, the priest aspect of a katzh-dashi's power is denied to you."

  Tarrin silently mulled through what he felt were contradictory statements. The Goddess had once told him that the katzh-dashi were granted priest powers, but she specifically said that she didn't grant them priest's spells. Now Dolanna comes along and claims that she used priest magic to help her learn the Sha'Kar language. He had no reason to doubt the Goddess, but on the other hand, he had no reason to doubt Dolanna either.

  "Do not worry at it, dear one," she smiled. "I have thought of taking you to Sharadar, so the Keeper of the other Tower could bond you to the Goddess and give you access to magic you can use safely. But it is simply too far out of the way. The opportunity to take the Oath will come in time. Just be patient."

  "Just what can you do with this magic?" he asked.

  "Nothing earth-shattering, believe me," she smiled. "The minor spells of a neonate are not as useful as Sorcery, but there are a few spells that allow us to work very minor magic upon ourselves, something Sorcery will not permit. The spell I used to enhance my ability to remember is just such an example. But in general, any priestly prayer that has a Sorcery conterpart is denied to us. We can only use those minor spells of which no comparative weave exists. It is another limit to our power."

  "But High Sorcery would allow--"

  "And no single katzh-dashi can perform High Sorcery," she interrupted. "Since the katzh-dashi cannot create the weave, it falls outside this rule."

  "So, a katzh-dashi weak in healing flows could use priestly healing instead of Sorcery?"

  "No. The katzh-dashi could perform the weave. The weakness exists within the Sorcerer, not within the Weave. Even a Sorcerer with no access at all to a sphere vital to healing cannot use a priest spell to make up for it."

  "That contradicts what you just said."

  "Sorcery is full of contradictions, young one," she smiled. "It obeys its own laws, and many of them are illogical to us. We can only obey them, without necessarily understanding why they exist."

  "I guess so," he sighed. "And I was getting interested in it, too."

  "I am pleased you are showing interest in Sorcery again," she said. "You should come to our lessons, dear one. We miss your company."

  "I may start coming now," he said. "I seem to be missing out on a whole lot."

  "And we will welcome you," she smiled. "Reniot is beckoning to me. I will talk with you later, dear one, Allia."

  She walked away, leaving a huge riddle in Tarrin's mind. He knew that the katzh-dashi had priestly abilities, because the Goddess had told him so. But she told him that they weren't given priest's spells. She had specifically stated that. But Dolanna said that they could. So who was lying? Dolanna seemed to have proof that she could use a little priest magic.

  Why would the Goddess lie to him? She had never outright lied to him before, and the realization that that seemed to be the case stung deeply. He knew that he didn't need to know everything, but to find out that she had misled him hurt a little bit.

  I never lied to you, Tarrin, the Goddess' voice echoed in his mind. The katzh-dashi are not granted priest spells.

  "But--" he started, causing Allia to look at him, but the Goddess cut him off.

  I said the katzh-dashi are not granted priest spells. The magic they use is the type of priest magic that doesn't require my favor to use. I have to personally approve any spell I grant. The priest magic they use is the kind that doesn't require my direct blessing. It's the magic that they gain just by being in my service, the magic that any priest gains in service to a god. So, to answer your question, we both told the truth.

  "You're splitting hairs."

  True. Because if I told you the truth, you'd start experimenting. I don't think my heart can take it if you start doing that, so I kept the temptation away from you. Even now you're considering ways to get around the Oath.

  Tarrin blushed guiltily.

  Exactly. I'm too old to have my constitution tested by an upstart young Were-cat, she said lightly. So, to protect your faith in me, no, I did not lie to you. Are you happy now?

  "I guess."

  Kitten, sometimes you are so high maintenance, she chuckled, and then the sense of her was gone.

  "I take it you were talking to someone?" Allia asked curiously.

  "The Goddess decided to argue a point of view," Tarrin replied, touching his amulet reverently. "She told me once that she doesn't grant priest spells. Dolanna comes along and tells me that she can use some priest magic, and that made me wonder who was right. I don't think the Goddess likes it when I start doubting her, so she's always quick to step on those kinds of thoughts."

  "It must be nice to be so loved."

  "Knowing that someone can hear what I'm thinking all the time sometimes feels more like I'm being babysat."

  "You are," she teased lightly, giving him a dazzling smile.

  "Well thanks alot," he grunted, flicking her lightly on the backside with his tail.

  Tarrin mulled over what he'd learned for a while after Allia went to go get something to eat, laying in cat form on a rope coil near the bow. But as usual, he could find no answers, and abandoned the idea in favor of taking a nap. The summer sun casting its warmth down on him had destroyed any chance he had of thinking seriously, its welcome heat lulling him into a quick nap.

  He was shaken out of that nap when the ship under him shook violently, nearly spilling him off the rope bundle. Tarrin got to his feet and jumped down, and saw that everyone was running around crazily. Had they hit one of those underwater rocks that they said were liberally spread through the area? That's what he thought happened until the lookout boomed from the crow's nest, "Ship dead astern! It's hooked us!"

  Shifting into his humanoid form, he saw what happened. A sheer rock face was only about thirty spans off the port side, and the ship behind them was still only partially visible behind it. They must have passed right by it as it hid inside a hidden cove, and like a ambushing hunter, it surged from its hiding place to pounce on the unwary prey. He could see a chain trailing from the bow of the ship, and after he jumped up onto the steering deck, he saw that a ballista bolt was lodged in the stern of the ship with a chain secured to it.

  The angler brought along its own fishing line.

  The ship shuddered when a huge winch on the other ship, a caravel, began reeling them in.

  "Do you want me to throw off that harpoon?" Tarrin asked the steersman quickly.

  "Leave it," Camara Tal said as she and Dolanna came up on the steering deck. The Amazon w
as holding a large wooden shield in her hand. "Get under cover, fool!" she snapped at the steersman. "They'll be raking us with arrows any second!"

  "Just let them reel us in," Dolanna told him. "When we are close enough, they will abandon their bows and board. We will deal with them then."

  "Why? We can get them now."

  "We cannot risk any damage to the ship," she said. "A single day's delay could spell disaster. It is best for them to board, where we can deal with them man to man without damaging the ship."

  "Won't they damage the ship?"

  "Not until after they board us and see what we're carrying," Camara Tal grunted. "You don't risk sinking a ship if you don't know what it's carrying." She grabbed Tarrin by the arm. "Let's get under cover. We don't want them to get a good look at our secret weapons until it's too late."

  "We're going to fight them man to man? They outnumber us!" Tarrin protested.

  "We have you, me, the Selani, the Knight, a Wizard, a Druid, and two Sorcerers. That evens the odds," Camara Tal told him with a bright smile.

  "Good point," Tarrin acceded as they rushed off the steering deck behind the steersman.

  Allia and Faalken were at the base of the sterncastle. Faalken was still adjusting his hastily donned breastplate--he hadn't had time to put on any more armor--and had his sword and shield near him. Allia was carrying those two slender short swords she favored, and she silently handed him his staff. "Where is the bug?" Camara Tal demanded shortly.

  "I'm here!" she called from above, landing lightly on Tarrin's shoulder. "What do you need me to do?"

  "Don't do anything until about half of them are on our ship," Camara Tal told her as the first wave of arrows peppered along the empty deck. All the performers were under cover, and Tarrin could see Dar near the bow, hiding under a hatch. "And don't do anything that'll screw up the ship. We're letting them board to avoid damaging the ship, so don't blow it by burning us down to the waterline."

  Phandebrass came up from below, a drake on each shoulder. He was wearing a series of pouches and satchels all over his person, and a wild cacophony of scents were issuing forth from those bundles. "I say, I'm ready, Dolanna," he said seriously, all hint of the lilting, befuddled quality gone from his voice. "What do you want me to do?"

  "Nothing until they are engaged with boarding," Dolanna told him. "And avoid damaging our ship."

  "I have just the spell," he said confidently, taking what looked like a steel rod out of one of his satchels.

  "Let's get out of sight. They'll pull alongside in a minute, and I'd rather not be here for them to shoot at us."

  They crowded onto the staircase leading below, with Faalken at the top with his shield strapped to his arm to protect Dolanna, who stood just behind him. Tarrin was behind the Amazon, and Allia was just behind him, holding onto the end of his tail. Phandebrass and his drakes were at the end of the line, nearly at the base of the stairs. "I say, Knight, what's going on up there?"

  "They're coming alongside," Faalken reported. "They're starting to throw out grappling hooks."

  "How many?"

  "Looks to be about thirty," he replied as Tarrin heard the first metallic clanging as the metal hooks landed on the wooden deck.

  "Are all of Renoit's people out of the way?" Dolanna asked.

  "He's got some that are going to be fighting, but everyone else is below," Camara Tal replied. "I think we can handle thirty. Especially when they'll be busy with boarding us."

  "Allia, I want you to get to Dar as soon as we move," Dolanna ordered the Selani. "He does not know the plan, and I will feel better if he is not out there by himself."

  "Right about now I really miss Zak and the Vendari," Faalken grunted as he drew his sword. "They're pulling the ships together. Any second now. Get ready."

  "I'll go with you, Allia," Sarraya piped. "You'll need someone to watch your back."

  "Just be careful, tiny one."

  "I can handle a pack of unruly pirates," Sarraya giggled.

  "I wish I had that much confidence," Camara Tal snorted under her breath.

  Tarrin could hear the feet hit the deck, the wild shouts from the bandits as they rushed onto the ship and immediately began searching for their hidden opponents. He saw one, a thin tattooed man with bad teeth, appear at the top of the stairs, but Faalken struck like a viper, impaling him on the end of his sword. "I think that's about it!" he shouted as the man gave out an agonized scream. "Go!"

  The pirates at first didn't seem startled that their opponents had been hiding, but Tarrin could clearly see the shock and dismay on their faces by the time he rushed out from behind the Amazon. Dar, seeing Faalken and some of the troupe's men-at-arms jump from concealment and move to engage, had himself come up from the hatch and began weaving together a spell. Fire orbited around his upraised hands, and he pointed both of them at a group of five enemies that were moving towards him. They screamed horrifically as the fire washed over them, winking out nearly as fast as it appeared, leaving the burning men rolling on the deck in agony, tongues of flame eating away at them.

  "Get that magi--" one pirate shouted, but he was cut short when Allia's sword slashed across the back of his neck. Before he could even fall, she was moving swiftly right through the pirates, her light swords flicking and slashing as she moved, moving like a ghost through the slower moving men and leaving a trail of pained cries in her wake. Only one man had the presence of mind to try to stab her with his cutlass, but Allia moved like lightning, evading the man's clumsy thrust and slicing her sword about halfway through his neck as she glided past. Tarrin had learned from Allia, but not even he could match her blazing, inhuman speed and the delicate grace she exhibited when fighting. She looked and moved like the frailest dancer, but any opponent quickly discovered that trying to hit her was like trying to swat a mosquito using a club. She was simply everywhere but in the weapon's path. She was at Dar's side in a scant moment, swords readied to deal with anyone who attempted to kill the young Sorcerer.

  "Face the light of vengeance!" Camara Tal shouted in a commanding voice, making him look at her. He was still behind her, and her challenge had drawn most of the eyes of the pirates to her. And when they looked at her, Tarrin felt the explosion of magic emanate from her upraised palm, sending a blasting flash of light rushing through the onlooking men. It only struck those in front of her; though everyone behind her could see the flash, it seemed to be dim compared to what people on the other side of her saw. They all clawed at their eyes and hunched over, blinded by that brilliant flash of light, throwing the opponents into confusion as more of them swung or jumped onto the deck of Dancer from the enemy ship. After she finished with her magic, Camara Tal drew her sword and faced up against a tall, burly man wearing only a loincloth and carrying a nicked broadsword. She had the man out of balance with only two strokes of her blade, held in both her hands, then she turned his weapon wide and stabbed him through the middle. That proved to him that Camara Tal knew how to use that sword.

  "Chopstick, Turnkey, attack!" Phandebrass ordered his little drakes, then he held up the steel rod and began chanting in the strangest language. It was like a discordant throbbing of sound, and he could sense the power within it as those words triggered a building of magical energy. It became focused through the steel rod in his hands, and then it flooded back into his body. Phandebrass' body flared in magical light, and when it abated, Phandebrass was turned into steel! His skin and clothing looked to be solid metal, and the doddering mage wandered confidently into the host of blinded adversaries and smashed them with his metal hands, sending them to the deck instantly, where they moved no more. He then turned and chanted in magic again, holding both hands up while making a few strange gestures with his fingers. When he was finished, a ball of crackling electrical energy appeared in front of him, and it floated lazily towards the pirate ship, expanding in size as it moved. That made the men still on the pirate ship stop in the middle of trying to board, then scramble for safety on their own ship as the
little ball of lightning floated over the rails of the ships. At first, Tarrin thought it was simply a means to pin them down, until a blast of lightning left the ball and hit one pirate that was trying to dive into a hatch. The man's body shuddered violently as the electrical arc tore into him, then he fell limply to the deck short of his goal.

  Tarrin shook off his amazement at the powers of his companions and moved into the fray with Camara Tal and some of the fighting men from Renoit's troupe, as the blinded men began recovering their sight. When they did, they found themselves facing an unnaturally tall cat-like man, who simply killed anyone within reach. His incredible strength made trying to fence with him moot, for he would simply smash aside any weapon brandished at him then crush the offendor with his staff, or rip out huge chunks of flesh with his wicked claws. Tarrin created an instant panic among the pirates, who scrambled away from him and usually found themselves facing someone that looked less intimidating, but in fact was just as dangerous as him. Renoit's fighters were skilled and efficient, forming up into pairs or trios and engaging the wildly disorganized pirates with the cool confidence that came with having so much firepower on their side. They were strongmen and acrobats, and their professions only reinforced their ability to fight. Some men, like Deward, had a profession that was battle useful. The tall veteran performer stood behind two of his burly fellows, a veritable handful of throwing daggers in his free hand, and he tossed them about with a nonchalance that understated his lethal accuracy. Knives blossomed in the faces, necks, and vital areas of the pirates around him, thrown with a deadly precision that could only be exhibited by a true master of the craft. Deward alone killed a man for every knife he threw, and when he was out, he drew out a heavy wooden cudgel and started smiting the invaders.

  He paused just in time to see Allia fell another foe trying to get at Dar. She kept five men at bay with her slashing, thrusting shortswords and her quick feet, just as apt to wound as her swords. The men trying to get her looked like children trying to catch fireflies, always seeming to be one step behind. The fluid speed of the Selani overwhelmed her attackers, letting her slide among and between them like water, striking with her swords like a snake striking with fangs. Allia was no less lethal than any cobra, causing men to fall around her with every lightning fast, blurring thrust or light flick of her swords. The attackers had never seen anything like her before, and they became so afraid of her that the survivors backed away with no more thoughts at getting at the young magician she was protecting. Dar set two more men on fire as they backed away, and he saw Sarraya's tiny body flitting around them as they flailed wildly, getting in line with one of the survivors. She pointed at a man rushing away from them, and the deck under the man suddenly lurched and bucked. The man was spilled to the deck, and he screamed only once when several lances of wood erupted from the deck and impaled him, lifting him about four spans off the deck as his blood poured down from him. A man with an axe took a swing at the Faerie, who easily flowed to the side, then reached out and touched the man on the forehead with a surprisingly gentle touch. The man looked at her curiously, then he began to scream horribly.