This story is protected under international and Pan-American copyright conventions. Please remember to donate to Nifty if you're financially able to do so.
MY WEBSITE: http://slckismet.blogspot.com/p/books.html
My email: kavrik@hotmail.com
Pictures of the characters in this story: http://slckismet.blogspot.com/p/my-artwork.html
Picture of the cover art for The Orb of Winter: http://slckismet.blogspot.com/p/news.html
"The Orb of Winter" is now available for download as a kindle book.
Chapter Forty-Three
"Oh my love," Annie said, dropping to Ephram's side. "What have they done to you?" Her scarlet mane fell over Ephram's dented breastplate, and she ran her fingers through his dark beard.
Meanwhile Kian took a step back to the edge of the small boat, salt spray struck him on the chest as a wave careened into the hull. Near him, Akagi worked to get the sail set right.
I owe him everything; I can't believe I was almost turned against him, Ephram thought. Then he looked at Annie. Does she still think me handsome? Will she still want to fuck me? Thomas, please let Henna's magic be enough to fix me.
"They kicked the bloody shite out of him," Kian said. "Henna, is there anything you can do?"
The druidess took Annie by the hand and gently pushed her back. The large-eyed servant of the Great Forest Spirit knelt next to the Crimson Guard, examining his mouth, his broken nose, and the dents in his armor.
"I think we should wait until we get to shore, preferably back to our hiding place," Henna said.
"Our hiding place is compromised," Akagi (dressed in his oyoroi armor) said. "If Hunter could get a message to us so easily, I think that's a red flag for us to seek out a more secure place to hole up and conduct business."
Kian said, "How about the thieves' guild. They'll take us in for the day, give us food and shelter and information."
Fiver hopped up onto a barrel and said, "It's worth a shot. Ephram needs a quiet place to heal."
"I'm all right," Ephram said. "We don't have time. We've got to save Beryl Loftcrag."
"That's funny," Jareck the dwarf said, speaking up. "I heard from a friend of mine he was killed some time ago by a demon that Kahket keeps in her employ. I think his name's Dr. Vampyr."
"Your source lied," Ephram said. "I saw him last night. Or was it two nights ago? I got so little sleep that I'm not sure how much time has passed."
"Careful, laddie," Jareck said. "You may be the leader of our company, but the source was another dwarf. We've a code: dwarf before anyone else. Since this information came from a dwarf, I doubt he lied to me even if he wasn't clan. It's not within our nature."
Ephram rolled his eyes and tried to smile at Annie. But the redhead's reaction was not what Ephram expected. Is she now repulsed by me? She turned her head and wept softly.
"Can I have teeth again?" Ephram asked Henna in a low whisper.
Henna considered this request for a moment. "I can't regrow them, but I have magic that can make dentures that look real enough. Don't worry, you'll be handsome again. I think I can straighten your nose too. It will always look like someone broke it, but it won't be quite so bent."
"I'm in my twenties and going to be wearing dentures?" Ephram asked with a heavy heart. "I don't know how I feel about that."
"Feel lucky to be alive," Shae, the elvish Valkyrie, said.
"What will they be made of?" Ephram asked.
"Porcelain," Henna said, "combined with rubber from a rubber tree. My magic will make the rubber pliable and the same color as your gums. No one will be able to tell a difference, Eph. You'll be handsome again. I promise."
"Handsome's overrated. People don't fear handsome. They fear ugly. All the scars and the broken nose...they kind of suit you," Dallin Christopher declared. "You're a warrior no one wants to mess with." The bard strummed his guitar. "That sounds really good. I think I might call it, `Brave Ser Ephram who had but one tooth in his head.'" Then he laughed, but no one else joined him. "Wow," Dallin said, "too soon?"
"Where do we find a rubber tree in Zanda?" Kian asked. "It's the dead of winter, and the wrong climate, right?"
"I'm a druid," Henna said. "I can call upon the power of the Great Forest Spirit to grow any tree to full height once per day. I just need some earth to do so."
"Any tree?" Kian asked.
"Yes. If I know about it," Henna replied.
"That's useful," Kian replied. "There's plenty of abandoned lots and ruins in Zanda. I'm sure you can find a place to plant a tree and harvest some sap that will go unnoticed for a few days."
"My thinking exactly," Henna said.
"If you think Beryl Loftcrag's alive, I'll rescue him," Kian said to Ephram.
"You're not going in alone," Ephram replied. "He's my friend. I'm not staying behind."
"Suit yourself," Kian replied. "I suppose there's a part of me that doesn't relish going into the Librarium Apocalypto by myself. The place is rather scary."
"Scary? An interesting choice of words from an assassin. It shakes my confidence just a wee bit," Fiver said.
Kian shrugged. "I'm just speaking my mind. I get afraid like the rest of you, just maybe I hide it better behind this helmet. You should see the place. It's built atop a mountain that looks evil enough. It rises from a huge hole with a putrid green lake at the bottom. There's something in those waters too...something nasty."
"The Lemortis Corpiem," Henna said. "In Zandan that means, `The Skin that Swims.' They are demons that live within the Well of Zanda."
"Riiighht," Kian said. "S-Something nasty, just like I said."
"Uh guys...when were you planning on going? Rumor on the street is that Kahket has already gone into labor. The place will be crawling with soldiers and clerics loyal to Zandine," Brunhilda said. "The ursuuli in town are planning on a demonstration of arms in her honor at the training grounds of the Cataclysm Slayers tomorrow morning."
"Her last labor took three days," Fiver replied. "This time will be different. She's sacrificing her children to bring some abomination called Typhon into this world. We don't want to be in Zanda when that happens."
"There's no way we can flee here in that time," Shae said. "We're fucked."
"We could if Eph summoned his dragon," Akagi said. He was steering the boat now and the shore of the Holy City was drawing closer. "What was its name again?"
Ephram cleared his throat. "Xaquerysilver."
"Ah," Akagi said. "Perhaps it's time to communicate with him and ask him to fly here and rescue us. Maybe bring along two other dragons so that all of us can fly away from this place? Otherwise, I fear we may never escape in time, especially if your friend is very wounded."
"I can't call Xaquerysilver," Ephram said. He rummaged in a satchel and pulled out a shattered silver dragon egg. Inside one half lay a mummified creature with wings. It was covered in dried yellow resin. "I communicate with him through this. When intact, I can write a message on the surface of the egg using a stick. It's a magical message that instantly disappears and transmits into the mind of my dragon. When he gave it to me, Xaquerysilver said to keep it safe for we could communicate across great distances with it. He told me if I ever broke it, only powerful necromancy could fix it. And we don't know any necromancers."
"But it can be fixed," Brunhilda said. "We just need to find a necromancer, right? Surely there's some for hire."
"Ah yes, spread some gold in the street, and word will find its way to all of our enemies within a day. That sounds like a splendid idea," Shae declared.
There's a school of necromancy," Fiver added. "We could check there."
"And how would we do that and not attract suspicion?" Shae asked. "I suppose you'd have us go up and ring the doorbell? Or perhaps present ourselves to the Blades Acuaruum soldiers at the gate?"
"That's a school of evil hags," Jareck said, leaning on his axe. "And half the girls wouldn't have the kind of necromancy you're talking about anyway. To fix that dragon egg, we'd need the most powerful necromancer in that school. Maybe someone like the headmaster himself or one of his professors."
"He's Kahket's lieutenant. There's no way we could go to him for help," Dallin said.
"I know someone," Kian declared. "I've made a...friend...there. She might be able to help us, and her necromancy is strong."
"How strong?" Fiver asked.
"Strong enough to create a huge undead ogre," Kian replied.
"Well that's it then. You have to make her fix that thing," Dallin declared. "As soon as we're ashore."
"I'm exhausted," Kian declared looking to the east. First dawn had already started to break on the horizon. "I've to sleep, or I'll make a mistake. Even now, I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. By the time we get to the Spendthrift Mistress and into the guild, I'll be dead on my feet."
"It's fine," Henna declared. "I need all day to help Ephram. Hunter can rest and then go to the school of necromancy and see if he can beseech a favor from his contact there. We can spare the time."
"No we can't," Brunhilda said. "They'll be combing the streets for Ephram."
"We have to!" Henna yelled. "Listen...we have to take the time. We have to do this now."
"There may be some time before they go looking for Ephram," Fiver said. "When the Dreaded Irtemara goes into labor, celebrations fill the streets. Apparently, that's how they do things around here. Tomorrow, there's at least three different parades taking place. Then the whole city will be in a partying mood. Timeron knights will want to keep Ephram's disappearance under wraps to avoid drawing the eye of Zandine himself."
"I don't know what contact you've made in the academy," Annie added, "but I would seriously doubt that anyone there would help us. The place is overrun with wicked people. They treat women horribly, and it's run by a tyrant. You would be a fool to trust any student or teacher. All necromancers without exception are selfish creatures...it's the nature of the art because power corrupts."
"You sound like you've been there," Brunhilda declared. "Or have had dealings with necromancers in the past."
This startled Annie and she looked up at the black-skinned ursuul warrior. "I-I haven't. I've just heard things."
She's lying, Ephram thought, staring at Annie. He'd seen her react this way before. But why is she lying?
"Are you sure your friend will help us?" Fiver asked Hunter, whiskers twitching. "Hunter, this is serious. We need that egg functional. If you must fuck her to convince her then you need to take one for the team."
"Nice," Henna said. "Because getting fucked is what every woman wants."
"Oh spare me your feminist platitudes," Fiver said. For a rabbit, he looked awfully put out. "Even without seeing his face, you've got to admit that Hunter's body in that armor makes panties wet. And everything I've heard of that school makes me think that the girls inside are desperate for a nice hard cock between their legs."
Henna's cheeks flushed, and she looked like she might say something but held her tongue at the last moment. In fact, Fiver's outburst was followed by a good minute of dead silence, broken only by the wind and the crash of waves. No one it seemed had a fitting response.
Kian knelt and gathered the egg shards from Ephram and put them into a pouch which he tied to his waist. "I swear to you, I'll get this egg repaired."
"Thank you, friend," Ephram said, managing a smile despite all the terrible recent events that had befallen him. "And thank you all for believing in me and rescuing me. I'd almost given up hope in there."
"Hunter, why are you wearing full Timeron knight regalia?" Shae asked. "Don't get me wrong, because, as Fiver pointed out, it looks quite nice on you." She glanced at the bunny, and those eyes brimmed with venom. "I'll also deal with my wet panties later. But since when did you join the knights?"
"It's a disguise," Fiver said. "A damn good one at that. Our money on this assassin was well spent."
"No...he's a Timeron knight," Ephram replied.
"Githius's beard," Akagi swore. "How's that possible?" The ronin gripped his kanabo in one hand while keeping the other on the tiller.
"It's a long story," Kian told them, voice showing his exhaustion, "but I'm not a traitor. I had to get knighted in order to rescue Eph. The plan worked really well."
"It did when I wasn't trying to throw a spanner in the works," Ephram said, wincing as Annie pressed a cold wet cloth to his lip. "That stings."
"I'm sorry, my love. But you need to let me clean your wounds," Annie said.
"Getting knighted into the Timeron army, much less the gold spurs, sounds like a very interesting tale indeed," Dallin Christopher declared. "I insist that you share it with us when we have the time."
"All right," Kian said.
The boat pulled up to a silent and empty pier, and Kian jumped across to tie the rope to one of the abutments. Then they disembarked with Ephram coming up last (and leaning heavily on Annie).
"Lead the way to the...did you call it the Spendthrift Mistress?" Akagi asked Hunter.
"I did. It's not far," Kian replied, and then took point. He motioned them to follow him through some of the alleys.
In this, the hour before dawn, the alleys filled with the smells of breakfast being cooked, the sound of sizzling bacon in iron skillets, and housewives plumping dough for the ovens. There were voices from inside homes and taverns, businesses, and yards, as people stirred to get their blood pumping before too much of the day got away from them. Akagi draped Kian in a huge horse blanket they had on the boat, and using some bailing twine, he fashioned it into a decent cloak. They also did the same for Ephram. This way, as they proceeded forward on the route to the Spendthrift Mistress, no one would notice their passing.
Once they arrived at their destination, Kian spoke with Otis who forgave him for not having the proper passphrase and showed them all into his cellar. They talked at length with fingers wiggling.
Is that a secret language? Ephram thought. It must be. Who knew that the thieves of the world could carry on two conversations at once?
Ephram thought this was a curious place to have a thieves' guild and was surprised when Kian pivoted a wine rack out of the way to reveal a clandestine passage. At that point, Kian took over, and led them onto the main floor of the guild. However, Ephram could smell porridge cooking in the kitchen, so knew that someone was up and making breakfast.
"Hunter, who lives here?" Ephram asked Kian.
"The refuse of the city," the assassin replied. "All those who have no one to turn to and are forced to ply a trade or face death on the streets."
A girl with drab dishwater brown hair and wearing a muslin smock appeared in a doorway at the bottom of a steep set of stairs. Face dirty, and smile downcast, she rubbed her eyes and blinked several times in the subdued light of the room. However, when she saw Kian, her brown eyes instantly gained a bit of sparkle to them, and her smudged cheeks dimpled with a smile. Ephram placed the girl at between seven and nine, and she ran over to Kian to give him a hug about the waist.
"Hunter, are you hear to stay with us?" the girl asked.
He put his hand on her back and rubbed the child gently. "Maybe for a while. We need to talk with Nightmaster Brusenna. Can you take us to her?" Kian asked.
"Why do you have your helmet on?" the girl asked him.
Kian knelt and said, "My companions don't know what I look like. But if I let you take it off, will you lead us to Nightmaster Brusenna?"
She nodded, smiling.
"Go ahead then," Kian said.
She reached out and tugged on his helmet. It was heavy, so Kian helped her.
What Ephram saw when Kian handed the girl his helm induced the same reaction in everyone else.
At his side, Annie tightened her grip on Ephram's left hand. "Gods...he's handsome," Annie whispered.
It immediately made Ephram hot in the cheeks and neck.
But Ephram couldn't dispute the fact that here knelt a physically gifted youth the likes of which he'd not seen even in a Valion army of almost a million athletic men. The thing that most grabbed Ephram's attention was the command that Hunter obviously had over his diet. At first glance, Hunter had essentially non-existent body fat coupled with an exotically high amount of muscle and beautiful bone and cartilage structure. And as Ephram had predicted some time ago (from Hunter's immature quips) the boy was barely a man. In fact, Ephram wouldn't use that term in any circumstance save for the fact that he owed Hunter his life. This boy was so young, he wouldn't need a razor for several years. Smooth skinned and striking, the angular rugged cuts of Hunter's jawline met the viscera of his veiny white neck with solemnity. His prominent narrow nose might look huge on someone else if it weren't perfect for the planes of this narrow, long face; thin like the blade edge of an eagle's beak and with "barely there" nostrils. A high bridge flowed into an almost vertical forehead that cast shadows over Hunter's eyes. Lovely white-blond hair clumped sweaty and wet against his flesh; it flowed over his delicate ears and hung as sideburns that came to about mid-ear. And he had an attractive, flat mouth with lips touched by only a drop of pink color. Freckles over Hunter's nose bridge and on the flesh beneath his eyes combined with dimples when Hunter smiled to make him into the most adorable Timeron knight there ever was.
"What's your name, girl?" Kian asked.
"Cassandra," she said, staring into his eyes.
"So where can we find Nightmaster Brusenna?" Kian asked her.
She grabbed him by the finger and when he stood, she pulled him along to a stair that led up to the Nightmaster's office. Of course, everyone followed Kian up those steps to a door wrapped in sheep leather, stained brown and riveted with brass buttons.
Little more than a windowless room somewhere, the group packed inside while Kian gave the girl a gold coin. Nightmaster Brusenna waited patiently, seated behind a large desk with one broken leg. It was propped up on a brick to keep it level.
"That's a lot of money," Fiver said.
"I have about two-thousand gold crowns. I've got to make it last until I get paid again, but giving a little away here and there to those who need it more than I is good for the soul," Kian said.
"What if she gets beat up for it? Or robbed? Fiver asked.
"You're kind of an unpleasant fellow, aren't you? Did something happen in your life to make you so negative? She'll split it with several people," Kian replied. "Breakfast isn't free you know. They have to pay for it."
"How do you know?" Fiver asked.
Kian glanced at the hare-foot. "I grew up in one of these places. That's how they all work. Everyone pitches in to provide a roof over their head and food on the table."
"Hunter," Nightmaster Brusenna said after Cassandra had left, "Please come in and shut the door."
Kian did as he was told. The place was cramped with all of them there, so everyone stood instead of taking a seat on the threadbare couch or on the two wooden chairs before the Nightmaster's desk.
"I know what you want, and I'll allow it for one day. All of you can stay in the chapel today. You'll have to make your own beds. Markain Kragar says he'd like to talk to the druid about healing herbs while they tend to the Valion's wounds."
A knot between Ephram's shoulders eased a bit as he heard that news. He didn't realize how much pain he was actually in until that happened. Now it felt unbearable, and he ached in just about every place.
"Has there been any alarm raised at the Keep of Anghul yet?" Kian asked.
"None," Nightmaster Brusenna answered. "I'm sure they already know that their prized prisoner has escaped, but for some reason they're keeping it quiet. Today is the first day of a grand festival to welcome Kahket's spawn into the world."
"Only to see it sacrificed by the Israfil," Fiver added.
"Correct. There's fear in the streets. The population doesn't know what to expect when Typhon is called into this world by the Dreaded Irtemara."
"Will anyone think of searching here?" Kian asked. "I don't want to put anyone in danger, but I for one am exhausted. However, I'll seek out another lodging if this at all puts you out."
Nightmaster Brusenna considered this for a moment. "We're well hidden here. And the Timeron knights know little about you that's the truth. I doubt they'll find us here. By the time they can do a thorough door-to-door search, I expect you'll be completely gone, and we'll have abandoned this place to different safe houses in the city."
"You can disperse the entire guild?" Kian asked.
"We can. To twenty-four safe houses no bigger than this room. They don't have any secret passages or otherwise to call attention to them," Nightmaster Brusenna said. "Furthermore I only know the location of half. The Daymaster knows the location of the others. That way they must capture both of us to seize the entire guild and its treasures."
"That's kind of brilliant," Akagi said. "I admire thieves and their industry."
"That's only because you've never had anything stolen," Dallin said. "I had a harp taken once. I've missed that thing ever since."
"Can't you just buy a new one?" Kian asked.
"The strings will never feel the same. It was one of a kind, that harp," Dallin said with a sigh.
Ephram noticed that Annie just stared at Hunter, swallowing occasionally, and wetting her lips with her tongue.
What is she thinking? Ephram thought. Maybe I don't want to know.
"Hunter can lead you to the chapel," Nightmaster Brusenna said. "If that concludes our business, then please leave. Someone here smells like death."
Several eyes looked at Ephram.
"The dungeons beneath the Keep of Anghul are hardly stellar accommodations," Kian apologized for Ephram. "Thank you, Nightmaster."
She nodded, and they followed Kian out and down the stairs.
When they reached the bottom, a boy with black hair and brown eyes and wearing what looked like new boots waved at Hunter. Then a few more boys still rubbing sleep out of their eyes sprinted over to him and gave him hugs. Kian scooped one or two up and tickled them, making burst of laughter bounce from the walls.
"I'll be along in just a bit," Kian said to Ephram. "By the way, this is Renfro." Kian took turns introducing the young boy to each and every one in his company.
"Hunter," Renfro said, "look at my new shoes."
Another girl, brunette and with rosy cheeks and about ten years old, parroted that by yelling, "Hunter!" but Kian was busy and just held up a finger.
"Those look awesome. Better than mine, in fact," Kian said. "Would you be upset if I stole them?"
"Hunter!" the girl yelled out again.
The boy said, "Your big feet would never fit in them. And besides you bought them for me."
"I did, I don't remember that," Kian said playfully. "You think my feet are big?"
"Hunter! Hunter! Hunter!" the girl screamed.
"What? What? What?" Kian said stepping over to her. "What do you want?" he asked with a soft baritone. "Why are you screaming at me?" He smoothed the girl's hair from in front of her face.
She giggled, blushing heavily, and handed him a drawing. "I drew a picture of you," the thirteen-year-old girl said.
Kian grinned and looked at it. All done in finger-paint, the thing looked both good and terrible at the same time. "I love it," Kian said, handing it back to her. "What's this part here?"
"That's your face," she said.
"Oh!" he said. "I see the blue paint now. Are those my eyes?"
She nodded.
"Tell us about giants!" more kids yelled. Kian just shook his head as the cooks were bringing out breakfast.
"Tethyr's Teeth," he swore. "There's so much to say about giants. Are you sure?"
"Yes!" a half dozen shouted.
One of the cooks started passing around a bowl for each kid to deposit a copper farthing and Kian called him over with a finger and said, "I'll buy today. For everyone in the guild. How many kids are there?"
"One-hundred twenty, sir," the man said.
Kian swallowed hard, did some mental calculations, and gave him three gold crowns from a pouch at his side. "That should cover it. If there's change, please keep it."
"Will do, Mr. Hunter, sir," the man said, tweaking his mustache. He examined the gold and then went back into the kitchen with a lift in his step.
Annie tugged on Ephram's hand and they followed Shae and Brunhilda to a door emblazoned with the holy symbol of Tethyr. It lay at the end of a hall lined with wood paneling and with a stone floor. Ephram had spent many years studying religions of the world, and he'd never encountered the holy symbol of Tethyr in any major city until now. Given, this place was quite hidden from prying eyes, but it still validated Ephram's idea that there had to be hidden temples and churches in every town...even Citadel Raven. In the holy city of Thomas, one of the duties performed by knights was to root out illegal religious practices so that one-hundred percent of the population devoted themselves to Thomas. However, seeing what was going on here made Ephram think that particular policy a bit too draconian. This was especially true of faiths that faced persecution if they made their presence known.
As they walked into the chapel, Ephram took one last look back and saw that Kian now knelt in a crowd of young teenagers that seemed equal parts girls and boys. Renfro now sat perched on Kian's back and had his arms around his neck, others laughed at his jokes. Dark circles forming around Hunter's eyes were the only thing that even hinted at the assassin's fatigue. Still, he chatted on, answering questions about swordplay, allowing the kids to touch Bloodbane (he kept a firm grip on the handle) and giving kids a ride around on his back while telling them everything he knew about giants, which was quite a bit as it turned out.
"They love him," Annie whispered. "They absolutely love him."
"He's quite handsome," Henna said, cheeks flushing, "and...charming. It wasn't what I expected. That's not the face of an assassin."
"I don't think anyone expected that to be hiding behind that helm," Akagi said. "But druidess, please remember that there are us mortals out here that still need love." He pursed his lips at her and Henna pushed him away.
"You're incorrigible," she said, waiting for Ephram to walk in before closing the door.
Once everyone was in the room, Markain Kragar cleared his throat, getting Ephram's attention.
"You must be Ephram Skye," the short old man said.
"I am, sir," he said.
He motioned for Henna to go ahead and close the door. Then he gestured at several pallets on the floor. "Ser knight...if you'll lay on that northern one and begin disrobing, the young druidess and I will give you a drug that will help you sleep. Then we'll wash your body and tend to your wounds. From the looks of it, much magic will be needed from the both of us to fix your horrible injuries and deformed bones. Some will have to be broken again in order to set properly."
Ephram nodded, and went over to the pallet by the wall. The breastplate was so wedged on and dented Annie needed to cut the straps with a sharp knife just to get his cuirass off. Once revealed, Ephram's chest glowed with bruises. Worst of all were the breaks to his legs that had been healed (through powerful magic) to where one thigh was an inch shorter than the other.
When nude, Markain Kragar brought over a blanket and put it around Ephram's broad and battered shoulders. Then he administered a white milk to him in a porcelain bowl.
"This will kill all your pain," Markain Kragar said. "You may have strange dreams. It is distilled from the poppy and quite powerful."
Ephram accepted the bowl in both hands, and then put it to his lips. It tasted sweet and warm, and almost immediately he felt his pain wash away. Markain Kragar took the bowl back and motioned for Ephram to lie on his back. Already feeling dizzy, Ephram did as instructed and lay his head back upon the rolled up cloak he intended to use as a pillow.
"Count backward from ten, ser knight," Markain Kragar said.
"Ten, nine, eight..." Ephram said, eyelids getting heavy, "seven... six...five..." And at last a warm darkness rose up and swallowed him whole.
The complete novel is now available for download at http://slckismet.blogspot.com/p/books.html