Sunset of Lantonne (80 page)

“Problem?” Nenophar asked, startling Raeln. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah. Great. I was just letting them finish a conversation.”

“Listening in is more like it, not that I object.”

Raeln glowered at the man, then wrenched the broken door open, cutting the discussion between Greth and Ilarra abruptly short. Both looked startled and guilty of something. After a second, Raeln saw Greth toss aside the fur mantle Raeln had worn on their way to the city.

“Isn’t that mine?” Raeln asked, pointing to where Greth had hid the mantle.

Greth winced and looked around, as if unsure what to say. Finally, he answered, “Yeah, it’s yours. We were worried you two might get captured, and I needed to get your scent. Just in case, you know.”

Raeln looked to Ilarra, but she was pointedly avoiding his eyes. They clearly did not want him to know what they had been talking about, and he could not entirely fault them. He guessed they both had figured out how he was starting to feel about Greth and did not want to bring up anything about the man’s plans to Raeln. For that, he wanted to thank them, but knew that would require him admitting he had been spying on them.

“We did find it,” Nenophar said, breaking the awkward silence in the room. “Therec holds a staff that bears several Turessian rune-words. It is badly worn after all these years, but it is the same one I remember.”

Nenophar beckoned for Raeln, which he realized was a request for the parchment where he had written out the symbols as he remembered them. Digging it out of his jacket, he gave it to Nenophar, who smoothed it out and laid it on the floor in front of Ilarra.

“Is that the name I think it is?” Ilarra asked, eyeing the parchment. “I’m still not good at reading Turessian, but would this be a reference to him or ownership?”

Kneeling beside her, Nenophar tapped at a thorn-like protrusion at one edge of the symbol. “Ownership or self-reference. It belonged to him. This is his staff.”

Greth let out an overdramatic sigh. “Can someone please tell the ignorant wolf what that says? They didn’t teach us Turessian back in the pack.”

“The first symbol says ‘of Turess.’ The next is something about being bound by oath,” Ilarra explained. “The founder of the Turessian people centuries ago. He’s the one who wrote all of their laws and the belief system that guides them to this day. Everything they’re doing now may well have ties back to him. If they’re looking for his possessions, that makes it even more likely he set this in motion more than two thousand years ago.”

“A little more than two thousand two hundred, I believe,” Nenophar corrected. “You are correct, though. His prophecies were meant to guide them for millennia. Still, I knew him to be a very reasonable man who wanted peace among the nations, not war. More perplexing would be their use of the undead in the army. That was certainly not his way.”

“Wait, you’re saying you knew him?” demanded Raeln. “You couldn’t be more than thirty or forty years old.”

Nenophar’s features shifted abruptly. “Illusion is not my only skill, Raeln,” he warned, his hair slowly growing longer and changing color from its usual brown to a pale blonde. “I am far older than you might expect. Trust me when I say Turess was not the sort of man to leave orders for his people to do this. They’ve made this decision apart from what he taught.”

“Do we know what the staff’s purpose is?” Ilarra asked Nenophar. “What can it do? I doubt they’re marching an army to Lantonne for a trophy of their founding father.”

“They actually might. The Turessian people are rather sentimental, but you are probably correct. What it does, I have no idea. Moreover, I have to wonder what other trinkets they came looking for that they stopped in Altis first. There must have been something there they wanted even more.”

Raeln looked down at the bracelet he wore. He pulled at it, intending to show it to Nenophar and Ilarra, but it would not budge. He could not turn it without twisting the skin of his forearm or pry it away without causing pain. The silver may as well have been melted into his flesh, and from what he could tell, there was not even any fur poking out from under it. Grimacing, he pulled his sleeve over it again, deciding he would need to find a better time to ask them about it.

“There is another issue,” added Nenophar, glancing over at Raeln, then back to Ilarra. “Lantonne is sending its army to kill a dragon in the wilderness southwest of here, though Altis has done the same. There is no way to know who would arrive first.”

“Kill?” Ilarra asked, sitting up quickly, her eyes wide. “Can that even be done?”

“If it is still asleep, perhaps. I would like to do something about that, with your permission. I have no way of knowing how long I would be gone, but you would have both of the wildlings to protect you until I can return.”

Greth spoke up then, cutting off Ilarra as she opened her mouth to answer Nenophar. “Why is this such a big deal?” he demanded, drawing an annoyed glare from Nenophar. “If the old god dies, it’s one less thing out there trying to kill us all. If it doesn’t, it’ll be as angry at the armies attacking it as any possible thing I could compare it to. Even if they did kill it, I’m guessing it’ll take a good number of undead down with it. This is a win for us either way.”

“Greth, you are missing the larger picture of how the world works,” snapped Nenophar. “If that dragon dies, the impact to the forces of magic in the region will wake not only other dragons, but any mystical creature within hundreds of miles. Most of them will not even know why they were awoken, but they will be very angry. Even the creatures escaping the quarry north of Lantonne will be drawn into the area, trying to find out what the sudden change was. In short, the war will embrace the whole region, not just the humanoids. The backlash will decimate the region for centuries.”

“Then why attack it in the first place?” Greth asked.

“That is the part I have yet to determine. Lantonne appears to be reacting to scout reports that Altis marched on the dragon first. Why the Altisian army would do so—even under the influence of Turessian mindsets—I have no certain ideas. Only the Turessians know for sure. My suspicion is that the Turessians are using this as a ruse to pull the Lantonnian army away from the city.”

Raeln looked over at Ilarra, cocking his head to ask her what her thoughts were. She nodded back at him, closing her eyes briefly before opening them again and giving him a sad and worried look.

Clearing her throat to keep Greth from arguing with Nenophar, Ilarra explained, “Dorralt is sending the armies into the mountains to kill the dragon. The whispers I’m hearing sound as though they intend to fall back and let the Lantonnian forces do the fighting for them. They’ll then follow our army in, change any fallen soldiers into zombies, and resume attacking the dragon before it can recover.”

“But why?” Raeln pushed.

“They want to add a dragon’s knowledge to theirs,” she said, looking down at her lap when Nenophar fell into a seated position in front of her. “They’re also hoping it will teach them new magic…old magic, I guess. All Turessians can pull wisdom from one another, so having a dragon would definitely be an asset. Dorralt wishes to be a god.”

“Not to mention a giant zombie dragon would pretty much win the war.” Greth buried his face in his hands. “Can anything else go wrong?”

Nenophar continued to stare at the floor in shock. “Likely little could be more devestating to the region. All the more reason I will need to hurry.”

“Can you do much to help a dragon?” Raeln asked, thinking back on the woman Nenophar had killed in the keep and contrasting that against the size of the armies he and Greth had seen coming from Altis. “I’m not even sure you can save yourself against two armies. This might be suicide.”

“You are likely right,” Nenophar replied with no hint of sarcasm. “It is worth the risk, though. Even if I can buy the dragon time to wake before it is attacked, it will stand a far better chance against the forces coming for it. Should the dragon survive both attacks, I have to assume it would be at least moderately grateful, and we certainly could use any allies we can get, even if this one only intends to defend its lair.”

Raeln thought that over and had to agree that it made sense, assuming anyone survived the encounter.

“I say we all go,” Raeln answered. “Four of us will do better than one. Ilarra’s magic would complement Nenophar’s once it returns, and the two of us can help keep the soldiers of either army off of the two of you.”

Nenophar smiled at that and Ilarra paled visibly. Patting Ilarra’s hand to ease her concerns, Nenophar turned to Raeln. “I appreciate your offer, but I will go alone. I need the three of you to get the staff from Therec. Letting him run around like an imbecile with it during a war with the Turessians is a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Do we have a plan for that?” asked Greth, his face still in his hands.

“I don’t,” admitted Nenophar. “Ilarra’s job is to take the staff from Therec, by force if necessary. I put my faith in the two of you to get her there or get Therec to her. The wildling people have always impressed me with their ability to survive, so I believe the two of you will come up with some way to make this work out.”

Ilarra spoke up next. “When will you leave?”

“Immediately,” he told her. “With magic and a good bit of luck, I can be in the mountains before midday. Hopefully, that will be fast enough. It should be, given that I know which cave they are headed for.”

Without another word, Nenophar got to his feet and headed for the door, patting Raeln on the shoulder as he passed. Raeln watched the man go, the door clattering closed behind him. For a long time after, the three people remaining in the room said nothing.

“Two hours or so to dawn,” Greth noted, pulling a large pelt over himself as he lay down. “We all need to sleep if we’re going to go harass the regent today. It could be a very long time until we get to sleep again.”

Raeln stood where he was as Ilarra bedded down as well. For months, he had slept close to Greth under the premise that they were safer that way and it was easier to stay warm in the wilderness. It had been a pleasant delusion for him, but he realized it was finally at an end. He had no excuse now and did not want to put the man in an uncomfortable position by bedding down near him. They could remain friends, but Raeln knew now there would be nothing more than that.

Turning almost in place, Raeln sat down in front of the door and closed his eyes. Meditation had grown difficult of late, his mind often wandering when he tried to relax. Even so, he intended to try, even if he spent the whole time Greth and Ilarra slept trying to look like he was lost in meditation and happy about sitting where he was.

The rest of the short night, he found himself perking up and listening every time he heard Greth roll over. He wondered if there was any chance he had been wrong about what he had heard. All he wanted, all he prayed for, was that Greth would at least come over to keep him company. He expected nothing more and hoped for nothing less.

No one came to disturb him until well past dawn, when it was time to go.

In our early days as a people, all too often I saw those who wished to ascend in status seek to poison or otherwise act against good people in underhanded ways. I am ashamed of our people for accepting this as long as they did. When I could, I have had such people executed, whether they were justified in their actions or not, as their methods cast our people into distrust.

I have long tried to impress upon my people that we are not seeking to undermine the other nations. If we take over another nation, it is because they needed or wanted our help. We will not act with suspicion, even in our own lives. This empire was built out of cooperation and mutual benefit, not proof of might.

Teach your children and theirs that all who have a grievance or wish to challenge another should do so in the light of day. They should make sure the one they challenge knows the challenge is happening and who wished it. Not one person should die without knowing why.

Even an enemy you have no respect for should still be aware of who they wronged in their last moments. We are a noble people, and I expect all to act that way.