The Grand Crusade (54 page)

Resolute folded his arms over his chest. “When an elf is bound to his homeland, he enters thecorüesciand is greeted by its keeper. The keeper is bound to it. As long as he lives, it will remain. I had assumed that whoever the keeper of thecorüesciat Saslynnae was, he had left the world with others, but yet lived.”

“Were all the keepers those original princes?”

Trawyn shook her head. “No. There are rituals that allow others to assume that mantle. The names are not known outside the adult population, and not mentioned to those who are not yet adults. I know of Magarric’s name only because I know the history of the creation of the homelands.” Kerrigan frowned. “How do you know he’sthatMagarric?” Both of the elves pressed a hand to their breastbones. Resolute’s reply came in a whisper. “I just know.”

Oracle came up onto the wheeldeck. “Magarric is awake then?” The human mage’s jaw opened. “You knew?”

She laughed. “Iseemany things, Kerrigan.Knowingis different. I have his name because I happened to be up here when he introduced himself.”

Resolute rested a hand on Oracle’s shoulder. “Yes, cousin, he is awake. He can get us into thecorüesci. He says Will is there waiting.” Oracle smiled. “Now there are other things I know.”

Kerrigan gathered Qwc up, wrapped him in cloth, and tucked him inside his shirt. “What do you know?”

“Many futures narrow to a point here. Few pass through to blossom fully beyond.” She turned to face north. “Within the day the Norrington Prophecy will be proved true, or its falsity will kill us all.”

Kerrigan happily took his position in the ship’s bow as the Vorquelves pulled hard for Saslynnae. The ship came around a headland, then plunged in toward the port. He recalled having sailed into Rellaence, Loquellyn’s capital. Even with the melancholy that had seized him at that time, he had been astounded by its beauty. His heart had been lifted despite his mentor’s lying dead in the ship’s cabin.

He felt no such lift from his first vision of Saslynnae. The hillsides around the city were overgrown with some low black growth that looked to Kerrigan to be mildew. Red vines like blood vessels twisted over the landscape, wrapping around the dark, leafless carcasses of trees. Ugly little bushes the color of dried blood, thick with thorns, sprang up in tufts here and there.

What once had been magnificent buildings, shaped of wood and almost appearing to have been grown in place, now served only as foundations for the mildew and vines. Fungi, varicolored and gigantic, clung to buildings, most of which had crumbled to some extent or other. In fact, aside from the docks and a few poorly constructed warehouses, only one building had resisted corruption.

Banausic pointed. “That is thecorüesci. The courtyard before it is overgrown, but Chytrine had it cleared when she wanted to use it.”

Kerrigan nodded and measured the distance from the docks to thecorüesci. He figured jt was five hundred yards, but they were all uphill, along a road that meandered across the face of the hill. Buildings lined it, and while none of them looked inhabited, gibberers could be hiding anywhere. Moving to thecorüesci, they would be very exposed. A volley of arrows or draconette shots would kill them all.

Except me. Kerrigan shivered as he imagined the rattle of draconette balls bouncing off his armor while his friends died around him. He’d seen close-up the wounds the weapons could create, and had no desire to see his friends thrashing and bleeding.

He turned and waved Resolute forward. “No one is waiting for us.”

Resolute shaded his eyes with a hand. “Two hours until sunset. Most of the Aurolani are sleeping. Those keeping watch will see one of their ships coming in.”

“I could put them to sleep, too.”

“If we need to.” Resolute patted him on the shoulder. “We just want to move fast. We get Will, we get out.”

“But if things go badly, I can cast spells as I see fit?”

“Yes, Kerrigan, I trust you.”

The Grey Mister piloting the ship brought it toward a dock and the word was passed to ship oars. The Vorquelves hauled them in, then began to gird themselves for battle. Trawyn and her handful of survivors had full coats of mail and, as the ship scraped along the dock, they went over the side with cables to secure the ship. Aside from a dozen Vorquelves designated to remain with the ship and Oracle, the rest of the company ran down the dock and to the shore.

Kerrigan, with Qwc in a converted wineskin strapped to his body, ran toward the head of the pack, behind Resolute, Banausic, and Trawyn’s people. Magarric ran beside him, and Bok behind the both of them. He’d left Rymramoch’s box back on the ship, warded with enough spells to deal with legions of Aurolani. Behind came the Grey Misters.

He could feel eyes on him, watching him. All of the buildings, though wrapped in the scarlet weed and furred with the black growth, did not seem abandoned. The space behind doors and windows might be dark, but he just knew Aurolani lurked there.

“Resolute, they are waiting for us.”

“I know.”

“How?”

“Logic. Scrainwood was present when Oracle said Will was waiting for us in thecorüesci. Chytrine’s tried to get in, but couldn’t.”

“It was the dreamwing.” Magarric winced and hissed his words. “They sought me, but dreamwing changed my essence enough to elude them. Had they killed me, it would have fallen.”

Kerrigan ran a bit faster to come abreast of Resolute. “If you knew they were waiting, that this was a trap, why did you let us fall into it?”

“Kerrigan, think for a moment.”

“Yes?”

“You once lifted a ship out of the sea and smashed it.”

“I remember.”

“So, how difficult will it be for you to reach out and crush a tower full of gibberers?”

The youth hesitated for a moment. As rotten as they were, the effort would beas nothing.To kill that easily

He shivered.But if it saves my friends

“You could have told me that was your plan.”

Resolute laughed as they rounded the last corner in the road. “Had I thought you needed preparation, I would have.”

The company moved into the courtyard before thecorüesci. Some of the thornbushes had grown up from between cobbles and red vines wrapped themselves around the bases of columns. The mildew clung to stones, but thinned as it neared the building. The Aurolani plants stopped ten yards from thecorüesci, and as Magarric walked forward through the Loquelves, the very building glowed as if a ray of light had burst through the clouds to illuminate it.

The building itself looked akin to a bit of tree root that had grown up out of the ground. A thin bark covered it save at the round portal door. The edges had thickened as if the tree were growing around a lopped limb, and the wood within the circle alternated rings of pale and dark wood.

Magarric paused in front of the doorway and closed his eyes. His chest rose and fell as he took deep breaths, and a sweet scent entered the air. The door itself

appeared to be sweating, or covered with dew. The droplets began to run down the wood, which slowly evaporated.

The Vorquelf entered the portal, then turned slowly and spread his arms. “Welcome, all of you, to thecorüesciof Vorquellyn. He you seek awaits within.” Magarric turned and waved them after him as he passed into the elven hall.

His jaw slack, Kerrigan entered thecorüesci. Beyond the door was a broad, crescent-shaped landing that led to a score of stairs. They descended to the floor of a long hall. The columns supporting the roof were all thick oaks, growing there inside the building as if they were outdoors. The roof rested upon their canopy of leaves, all of which displayed brilliant autumnal colors.

Magarric all but skipped down the stairs. When his foot touched the main floor, the two nearest trees began to change. Their leaves flooded with green, beginning at a light spring color, then deepening to a dark color rich with life. The ancient elf moved with no signs of pain at all, and almost seemed to regain his youth as he moved deeper into thecorüesci.

Kerrigan started after him. Halfway down through the columns, he spotted one tree that had not recovered its lively colors. It remained red and gold, and fallen leaves surrounded it. In their midst he also spotted something black and anomalous, but until he was almost on top of it he couldn’t tell what it was.

A stone forearm had thrust itself up through the floor’s woody flesh. Thick fingers clawed at the air. The hand was far too huge to be Will’s, but Kerrigan knew Will was in there nonetheless.

“Resolute, what do I do?”

“Get him out.”

“I know that. How?”

A rippling crack of thunder came from the landing, snapping Kerrigan’s head around. A dozen draconetteers—turekadine, it was easy to tell by their size— had shot into the last of the Grey Misters heading down the stairs. The shots that did not hit Vorquelves gouged splinters from stairs, walls, and floor. Magarric cried out and dropped to his knees, but Kerrigan didn’t turn to look at him. He knew none of the draconettes could have hit him at that range and, besides, they had a greater problem than Aurolani sharpshooters.

The front row ofturekadineparted and withdrew to reload. Up through their ranks came a tall, slender elf with flowing golden hair, bearing an emerald staff. Pale, as Trawyn had once been, the elf would have been beautiful save for her empty eye sockets. Kerrigan could still feel a cold gaze sweep over him.

“That’s asullanciri?

Resolute nodded. “Quiarsca.”

She descended a step as another rank of draconetteers came up behind her. Around them came the frog creatures Trawyn had callednyressanü. They bore axes and leaped down the stairs. They brandished their weapons at the swiftly retreating Grey Misters, then hacked at the dead and dying on the stairs. When

the axes bit through bodies, or missed altogether and just hit wood, Magarric jerked and cried out.

Thesullanciriopened her arms. “Fret not over how you will free the Norrington. We will do that. Thank you for opening the way to us.”

“Resolute, what do I do?”

“Get him out.”

“We’ve gone around this once already.How?.”

“I don’t know. Just do it while I go kill asullanciri.” Resolute drew Syverce, then motioned the Grey Misters aside. “I am going to kill you, Quiarsca.”

She laughed almost melodically as he began to trot toward her. “Ah, Resolute. Always so determined. You might want to kill me, but I won’t let you get that close.” Quiarsca pointed at him. “Shoot.”

Draconettes came to shoulder and hammers were cocked back. Theturekadinetook aim, tracking Resolute as he came. They waited as each one of his long strides ate up the distance. Already he’d gotten within their range. Every step brought him closer to them, closer to her, and closer to death.

Norright now! Kerrigan gestured, using the very spell to which Resolute had alluded before. It was the telekinesis spell he’d learned long ago, which allowed him to lift a ship, or would allow him to crush a tower. He could have just swept them all out of thecorüesci, and likely that would have been a more effective way of using the spell, but something in Resolute’s words resonated inside him.

Icouldcrush towers. Kerrigan smiled, and made his goal much more modest, but equally devastating.

One of theturekadinegrowled an order and fingers tightened on triggers. Hammers fell, touching the burning embers of match cord to the fine firedirt that primed the weapons. A thin jet of white smoke marked successful ignition. From the pan the fire raced into the barrel, where it started other firedirt burning. The powder combusted swiftly and the hot gas it created expanded quickly. The lead ball and cloth patch clogging the barrel began to move forward, racing faster, as the fire and gas pushed it along. In the blink of an eye it would go from standing still to blasting through Resolute’s chest.

Or would have save for Kerrigan’s efforts.

Instead of crushing towers, he’d just pinched the draconette barrels shut. The shot hit the closed end of the weapon and, in two cases where Kerrigan’s effort had cracked the metal, the barrels exploded and sprayed Quiarsca and somenyressanüwith hot metal fragments. With all the other draconettes, the pressure in the barrel continued to build and sought the easiest route out. That turned out to be the joint between the fire chamber and the barrel. The draconettes exploded, driving the fire chambers or lock mechanisms back into the faces of theturekadine.

Trawyn screamed a war cry in ancient Elvish and sailed forward at the head of her group. Grey Misters rallied and flew after them. Moreturekadinewith

conventional weapons appeared at the head of the stairs, and thenyressanüleaped into the battle. Calmly, as if she were out for a stroll, Quiarsca descended, then stopped and drove the pointed base of her staff into a step.

Magarric howled as if he’d been stabbed.

Kerrigan whirled and saw the elf writhing on the floor. His hands and face were covered with little cuts. Small dottings of blood spotted his shirt.He created thecorüesci.He is linked to it, and it to him. Kill him and it dies, but damage it and you damage him. Kerrigan looked down at the stone hand clawing its way up through the floor.Of course.

Kerrigan deliberately faced away from the battle and knelt beside Magarric. He grabbed the old elf by the shoulders, spun him around, and dragged him into a hug from behind. Magarric thrashed as more draconettes shot and the echo of Quiarsca stabbing the floor again filled the building. Kerrigan hung on tightly and forced the cacophony of screams and explosions from his mind.

He opened himself to the flow of magick and quickly sought a current full of power and purity. He reached out and captured it, then directed it into a healing spell. He cast it on Magarric but, try though he might, he could not escape being dragged into the vortex of pain that filled the old elf.

For Kerrigan it was all but unimaginable. Magarric had been alive before Spritha and Men entered the world. He had lost kin and friends; he had loved many times and known heartbreak many more. The creation of Vorquellyn had been joyous, but the knowledge that something greater was being destroyed to give it birth tore at him. He had seen so much, had lived so many lifetimes, then had his realm taken from him, despoiled, and left to fester in corruption.