The Rose and the Skull Page 18

  The two Knights entered together and made their way up the tower stairs to a chamber Jessica called the tapestry room. The walls here were hung with ancient fading tapestries, some of them hanging in shreds, and in the corners of the room stood numerous dusty old racks and frames for the sewing and embroidery of tapestries. A single tall window looked northward toward the wild mountains and the frontier of the Knights' lands. The sky lowered, and rain came down in sheets, hissing against the thick stone walls, while an occasional distant thunderclap rolled and echoed in the empty halls of the castle. Jessica lit several candles and dusted off two chairs near the window.

  "So how did Valian come to join the Knights of Takhisis?" Jessica asked after they'd settled into the chairs.

  "Well, the elves may have cast him out, but he didn't leave Silvanesti. He lived there for years afterward, stealing moments with his beloved whenever he could. It was a deadly and dangerous game he played, for if he'd been caught, they'd have killed him on the spot. That's the elven moral code for you," Alya said, her feelings getting the better of her for a moment.

  "So, as I was saying, he continued to live in the Silvanesti forest, avoiding contact with everyone except his beloved," Alya continued, "but then came the war. The dragonarmies of Takhisis attacked the northern borders of the realms; the elves armed themselves and patrols became more frequent. Valian found it harder and harder to avoid being discovered. He retreated to what was probably the deepest, least explored part of Silvanesti forest. Something happened to him there, something terrible. He refuses even to this day to speak of it, but it is a testament to his will and courage that he survived at all. When Valian was captured by the Green Dragonarmies, his hair was white, just as it is today, and he was ranting like a mad man, claiming visions of the future. The Dark Queen's clerics spirited him away, to probe and question him, and they kept him in a dungeon for many years. Valian claims that in those visions he saw the inevitable creation of the Knights of Takhisis, and that the priests of Takhisis tried to probe his mind for further details. His main concern was the promise granted in the vision that by joining the Knights, he would eventually be reunited with his beloved. So they say that when Lord Ariakan formed the Knights of Takhisis, Valian begged to join. It wasn't until the war that he was finally released from the dungeons and accepted into the Knighthood. The leadership was not yet ready to trust an elf, and only their desperate need for soldiers opened the way for him."

  "And was he finally reunited with her?" Jessica asked, enthralled by the story.

  Alya nodded. "He was part of a reconnaissance force sent to probe the defenses of Silvanesti. After the War of the Lance, Porthios, son of Solostaran, and Alhana Starbreeze returned with a contingent of elves to reestablish the kingdom of the elves. With them came Valian's beloved, hoping against hope I imagine to find him still there. The Dark Knights wanted Silvanesti for their own purposes. The leaders wanted to test Valian's resolve. If his intentions were to betray the Dark Knights, then they needed to discover it before accepting him into the order. If he were true to the cause, he'd make an excellent scout against his kinsmen, and he was. The elves had laid an ambush for the Knights, but Valian spotted it and helped design a counter ambush. The elven kirath, or border guards, were caught, and a bloody battle ensued, but the Knights had the advantage due to Valian's planning. When the last arrow had flown, the Knights were victorious, every elf was slain.

  "That's when Valian found her among the elven dead. He later learned from elven prisoners that she'd never married. Believing Valian lost to her forever, she vowed never to marry and dedicated her life to the ways of the warrior, becoming a scout and ranger under the tutelage of Kagonesti elves. So when Porthios and Alhana returned to try to reclaim Silvanost, she volunteered as a border guard," Alya concluded.

  "That's horrible!" Jessica exclaimed.

  "Isn't it, though," Alya laughed. "It's not at all how a love story should end."

  "Why, in heaven's name, is he still a Knight?" Jessica asked.

  "I don't know. I imagine it's all he has left. They accepted him, provisionally, after the skirmish, and although he has risen to a position of some leadership, he is still only a provisional Knight. He lost his love, he lost his people, all he has left is his honor and the few friends he has made among us, so I suppose he has nowhere else to go," Alya said.

  Jessica shook her head in shocked disbelief. She'd never heard anything so terrible as what she'd just been told. It brought a dreary end to an otherwise pleasant day. The rain beating against the castle walls usually made her feel peaceful and safe, but not now. Wind howled around the towers, and thunder shook dust from the rafters. The old castle mumbled and groaned as though all its ghosts had wakened and were holding conclave in some secret hall. Jessica shuddered with a chill.

  "This is quite a storm for Gildember," Alya said, using the Solamnic name for October. "Is this common?"

  "Very rare," Jessica answered.

  The door to the chamber opened, and Valian stepped into the room. "Our horses are settled in the stable. It seems warm and dry enough, with plenty of feed and hay," he said.

  "Waterstone, my retainer, worked very hard this past summer patching the roof," Jessica said.

  "Ah yes, your dwarf," Valian said blandly. "I'll retire to my room to await mess call." Without waiting for an answer, he turned and strode away, leaving the door open.

  "We don't really have a mess call around here," Jessica apologized.

  "Don't worry. When he gets hungry enough, he'll come down," Alya said with a smile.

  For a long while, neither of the Knights said anything. They listened to the voices of wind and stone, the wailing of the storm. The thunder abated and drew away, shaking the hills to the south. Alya rose and walked to the window. "It's getting dark out," she commented.

  A different pounding echoed from below. Alya stopped. "What's that?"

  "Someone at the door," Jessica said, a puzzled look on her brow.

  "Visitors?" Alya asked.

  "We never have visitors," Jessica answered. The pounding came again. The two hurried from the room and down the long spiral stair to the heavy, double-paneled door at the front entrance. Waterstone was already there ahead of them. They heard him speaking to someone. He seemed to be arguing, for his stony voice rose in pitch.

  "No. No, we have none. Good night to you," he said.

  "What is it?" Jessica called, but the dwarf didn't answer her.

  Instead, he said angrily, "We don't take in vagabonds. Now be on your way. Good night!" He slammed the door and shot the bolt.

  "Waterstone, who was that?" Jessica asked.

  "No one, no one at all, Lady Jessica," the elderly dwarf answered. "Supper is almost ready. I have a lovely roast goose for you."

  "Waterstone, who was at the door? We never have visitors," Jessica demanded.

  "Just some raggedy human and his mangy mutt," Waterstone said.

  "How could you turn him away in this storm?" Jessica scolded.

  "I've seen his type before. Give 'em a hot meal and you never get rid of 'em. Best to send 'em on their way," the dwarf said.

  The pounding on the door resumed.

  Quickly Jessica stepped in front of Waterstone and opened the door, allowing the stranger to stumble wearily inside. The man was drenched from the storm and dripping pools on the floor. He was followed by a large hound of some sort who looked more even more miserable and bedraggled. Both were limping; the hound had old, wet bandages wrapped around its forelegs.

  With a scowl at his mistress and the stranger, the dwarf turned away with a growl.

  "Reorx's bones!" he swore.

  "A Knight of Takhisis," the stranger said with some surprise. "Then it's true." Everyone suddenly turned away as the hound shook the water from her coat, wetting everyone with a fine spray. Waterstone swore blackly.

  Alya then asked, "What is true?"

  "But I thought they were lying. Then it must also be true about… Papa," he said absen
tly, as though speaking his thoughts aloud. He seemed to realize what he was doing, for his eyes suddenly cleared and he bristled beneath his thick bush of a beard. "Forgive me," he said. "A habit of living alone. My name is Nalvarre Ringbow, former priest of Chislev."

  "A priest!" the dwarf exclaimed. "Reorx's black boots!"

  "And this poor bedraggled hound is… "

  "Millisant!" Jessica exclaimed. At the sound of her name, the hound lowered her head and began to wag her tail, slinging water on everyone's shoes. Jessica knelt beside the dog, petting and scratching her behind her wet ears. Millisant replied by licking Jessica's face. "This was one of Lord Gunthar's favorite dogs. How did she get here? Were you sent by Sir Liam?" she asked Nalvarre.

  "Who? No. She was in the company of the three gully dwarves. Did you say she was one of Gunthar's dogs?" he asked.

  "I see there is a story to be told here/' Alya said, "and you are soaked."

  "Oh! I'm so sorry," Jessica said, suddenly remembering her guest. "Please, come in. We'll find you some dry clothes. Waterstone, set another place for supper."

  "The goose isn't big enough for five," the dwarf grumbled as he stalked off to the kitchen. "Someone will have to go without, and I bet I know who that unlucky person will be!"

  After dinner, the Knights related recent events of Sancrist Isle to Nalvarre, bringing him up to date on the change in the Knighthood and the untimely death of Lord Gunthar. The newcomer seemed particularly interested in the manner of Gunthar's death, asking if they were sure about the facts of the Grand Master's demise. They recounted their mission both to garrison this castle and to pick up the trail of a gully dwarf named Uhoh Ragnap. At the mention of this name, Nalvarre nodded, as though finally convinced of something that he long suspected.

  As Waterstone cleared the dishes away, Nalvarre told them his curious tale, how he came home one day to find Uhoh, Glabella, Lumpo, and Millisant firmly entrenched in his house. He told them Uhoh's story of his Papa's death, and everyone agreed that it sounded very much like the circumstances of Gunthar's death. However, Alya pointed out that Uhoh could have heard the story told at the castle before he ran away, and in the usual gully dwarf fashion, imagined himself in an important role.

  "Then you agree. He must have been speaking of Lord Gunthar's death, and not the death of his own father," Nalvarre persisted.

  "Of course! What's more, everyone knows that Uhoh called him 'Papa.' All the gully dwarves did," Jessica said.

  "Where do the draconians fit in?" Nalvarre asked.

  "What draconians?" Alya asked. Valian looked up, suddenly interested. Jessica noted with some surprise that he stared hardest at Alya, not Nalvarre.

  "I haven't finished the tale. Uhoh said that after Gunthar died, draconians appeared on the scene and tried to kill him. He escaped them, and they've been chasing after him ever since," Nalvarre said.

  "Preposterous!" Alya snorted.

  "There aren't any draconians on Sancrist," Jessica said in agreement.

  Valian, however, said nothing.

  "Uhoh insists that draconians are trying to kill him," Nalvarre said, and he related events of the last few days, ending with his discovery of the wounded Millisant and the disappearance of the gully dwarves. "He claims to know a big, important secret."

  "What secret?" asked Valian sharply.

  "I don't know," Nalvarre had to admit doubtfully.

  "Well, did you see any draconians?" Alya asked.

  "No, but I did see Pyrothraxus fly over the valley," he said. "It was the same day. A sure portent of evil, I'd say."

  Jessica gasped.

  "Not only that, but I found a pile of strange dust in front of my door. I didn't see it that night, but in the light of the next day, it was quite obvious. Millisant growled at it," Nalvarre said.

  "Dust? Did it have any kind of shape?" Valian asked.

  Nalvarre eyed the dark elf. "As a matter of fact, it did. The wind had disturbed it somewhat, but it had a vague humanoid outline," he said.

  To everyone's surprise, Valian pounded the table in anger. "Abaaz! Damn!" he shouted.

  "Let's not jump to any hasty conclusions, Sir Valian," Alya said softly, but with steel in her voice. She turned to Jessica. "There must be another explanation. I find it quite hard to credit any reason why draconians would be chasing three gully dwarves halfway across Sancrist."

  "Why?" Valian asked. "That's exactly what we're doing. And what about that pile of dust? It has to be a baaz draconian. They turn to stone when slain and then to dust. I should know. I had enough of the cowards in my command during the Chaos War."

  "I agree with Alya," Jessica said. "There has to be some other explanation. If draconians were roaming all over Sancrist like this, someone would have spotted them by now and raised the alarm."

  "Not if they kill anyone who sees them," Valian said. "Not if some of them are sivaks who have the power to assume the form of anyone they kill."

  "It just seems so improbable," Jessica said.

  "There is only one way to find out. We have to go to this place you talked about," Valian said nodding to Nalvarre. "Town. We have to catch up with Uhoh before the draconians do."

  "My thoughts exactly." Nalvarre said. "We can't leave those poor gully dwarves at their mercy."

  Valian stared at Alya for long moments. Finally, she nodded. "We'll go to Town," she decided.

  20

  No trap, no matter how clever, could be this obvious, A trail of crumbs, rinds, crusts, husks, shells, and cores marked a spoor a blind gully dwarf could follow. Harj thought this statement supremely ironic, considering the quarry of his hunt. Though the quarry had a name, Harj still thought of it only as an "it," an object, a target for his knife when the time came.

  That time was fast approaching, he now knew. His tongue flickered excitedly in the air at the thought of the slaying to come. At first, he'd had little enough enthusiasm for this hunt, but with weeks of failure, his anticipation of the kill sharpened. When first he picked up this newest spoor, he'd left a message on the trail—an encoded pattern of sticks in the elven fashion—giving a likely destination. He let the others know the gully dwarves were headed for Town.

  So now it was with some surprise that Harj found the trail ended at the blank face of a cliff wall. He searched the surrounding area for some time without finding further signs. He began to suspect that he'd been thwarted once again. They'd obviously backtracked somewhere along the trail, but Harj never suspected gully dwarves could be so clever. Unless he got spectacularly lucky, he'd never find their trail in the dark. With night swiftly approaching, he'd have to wait until the morrow to search it out again. He began to suspect a greater mind at work, for the spoor had obviously been left on purpose for him to follow it to this dead end. Perhaps this was even…

  "A trap!" he snarled, drawing his dagger as a twig snapped behind him. He spun round, only to see the rugged scrub terrain common to this area, darkened now in the shadow of the mountains. He crouched, ready to fight or flee, his long reptilian tail thrashing angrily behind him. He licked the blade of his dagger to envenom it with his poisonous saliva.

  "Ssssso, Harj hasssss lossst the trail already," laughed a voice from the bushes.

  Harj angrily sheathed his dagger as a figure robed all in black appeared from behind a boulder. It approached, its robes whispering over the stony trail.

  "These are not mere gully dwarves," Harj asserted as he stared at the cliff face. "No gully dwarf is this smart."

  "He issss not sssmart," the robed figure hissed as it pushed back its hood, revealing a draconian face. "You overthink him. He issss only a gully dwarf."

  "Bozaks know everything," Harj snarled. "If you know so much, why haven't you caught him?"

  "That isssss the kapaksss's job. I am here to assisssssst you, not sssssniff out sssspoor," the bozak draconian lisped.

  Harj's mouth writhed into a sneer, revealing long, yellow fangs made for shredding flesh. "Bozaks let the kapaks do the work, then claim
all the glory." he said.

  "Let ussss not forget we are brotherssss," the bozak warned.

  Harj bowed. "All praise to the Old Master who guides us," he said. "His wisdom is without measure."

  "Well said, Brother Harj."

  "Thank you, Brother Shaeder," Harj replied. "But now what? You said I overthink him… "

  "You expect guile where there issss only ssssssimplicity, even sssstupidity. He doesssss what only an idiot , would do, and therefore you never consssssider other posssssssibilities," Shaeder said.

  "Like what?" Harj asked, his impatience with his fellow draconian growing.

  "They can't sssscale the cliff. It isss too sssteep," the bozak answered, looking up at the rock wall hanging well out over their heads, "and they didn't go around. So you examined the cliff face for ssssecret doorssss?"

  "Not yet, I didn't think… " Harj's voice trailed off.

  "Didn't think what?"

  Harj spun around and quickly scanned the rock wall for any sign of a craftily hidden entrance. In short order, he spotted words carved in very small letters. They read, "Secret entrance. You no see." A little lower down, next to an all too obvious protrusion, were the words "This not latch." With a malicious grin Harj pressed the not-latch and the stone parted, revealing a dark, narrow passage into the cliff.

  With a conspiratorial look at the bozak, Harj entered the passage. Shaeder, the bozak, followed close on his tail. The passage, never more than a few feet wide, wound and doubled upon itself endlessly in utter darkness. They didn't need to see to know they were on the right path, for as they walked, they stepped on the litter of rinds and crusts and husks left behind, but they did have to keep low, because the gully dwarves had strolled easily under the edges and overhangs of rock that Harj had a tendency to crash into. After one particularly painful knock on the pate, he thought he was seeing stars until he realized that he was seeing stars. High overhead, through a crack in the roof of the cave, a few stars glimmered in the black sky.