Nights of Villjamur

TWENTY-FIVE

Starlight was all that was available to guide Brynd around this labyrinth of streets. They turned and twisted at various angles, and Brynd recalled how when he had first explored them years ago, he had been puzzled how they backed around on themselves, always leading him in the opposite direction. A shortcut here, a hidden path there, and you found yourself arriving at unusual junctures, some new territory not only in locational terms but even within your own psychology.

But tonight was different. He knew exactly where he was headed.

There was a permanent ethereal sheen to the stone from which the city was built, and to travellers it would look like some ghost construction, nothing real. He might have been walking in a dream.

He eventually found the right door, knocked, waited. It was answered by Papus herself, the leader of the Order of the Dawnir, clothed totally in grey, with only her face visible beneath her hood, which she held down as she stepped out into the moonlight. Under her chin, her medallion was just visible, though its symbol of an upright palm held no meaning for him.

‘I received your message,’ she whispered, her words turning to mist in the chilly air.

‘Do you think you can help?’ A sense of urgency had crept into his voice. Shifting weight from foot to foot in the cold, he rubbed his hands together impatiently.

‘Possibly.’ She glanced into the darkness behind, closed the door and stepped out into the alleyway.

They continued through the night, stepping over mounds of litter left at the rear of clustered housing, and it took them an hour to make their way to Caveside.

The city docks were used daily by the fishermen who pushed out their kayaks or larger vessels in constant relays, day and night. Each hunted different species of fish from the contiguous seas, sometimes beyond. Their catch fed the city, and despite the closure of the gates, the docks would remain open, now the only free route in and out of the city. Soldiers were stationed everywhere to prevent the smuggling in of refugees on boats. City guards, recognizing their commander, greeted him accordingly. Through a tunnel of houses to his left he could see starlight glistening above the water.

Papus herself had been quiet, preferring silence to conversation, and Brynd was fine with this. He had a lot to be thinking about anyway. They’d worked together before, and Brynd had already told her of his next mission, of his requirements.

Most cultists desired little involvement with Empire business. They were a complete mystery at times, had their own agendas full of hidden intelligence, and the balance of power could shift between their orders overnight, leaving a whole new arrangement to be negotiated. He knew less about their relics, of course, since they used their own methods to keep them secret. They had done so for thousands of years, and some of these orders were as old as Villjamur itself.

He led Papus to one of the large granite buildings at the far end of the harbour, a featureless structure with no windows at the front. He knocked on the door, which was answered by a female soldier from the Second Dragoons. She saluted him.

‘Are they here?’

‘Aye, commander. Downstairs.’

She stood to one side as the two of them stepped inside. This was one of the military gaols, and they entered a room about fifty paces long lit by four lanterns. Metal bars lined one entire side, behind which waited the figures he had ordered to be brought in.

‘Here they are,’ Brynd gestured. ‘Draugr.’

‘Draugr are just myths.’ Papus stepped closer.

The imprisoned figures were difficult to see in the dim light, all huddled together against the rear wall.

‘We’ve found them here on Jokull, wandering around aimlessly, though another group attacked my unit earlier – and I noticed one at Dalúk Point, though I’d no idea what it was then.’ He came and stood next to her, resting one hand on a bar. On the floor was a puddle of black liquid, which he assumed to have seeped from one’s wounds. ‘One of my men described them as draugr, and he’s quite an expert on such things. Anyway, it seems these things were already dead when they attacked us on that occasion, but this lot seem fairly harmless.’

Papus didn’t react, merely eyed the group for some time before she said, ‘Bring one closer to me. I hardly believe such myths survive on Jokull.’

Brynd called out, and three uniformed women unlocked the gate and, with caution, ushered one of the creatures out. The thing stood motionless as Papus examined it closely, trying to deduce answers. Brynd followed her gaze as she moved the lantern up, down, sideways, skimming light across different parts of the naked torso. This one would once have been a woman, her body now exceptionally anaemic; her skin was stretched taut around bone, so the ribs extruded as if she were a famine victim. Yet beyond minor visual signs of putrefaction, she was still alive.

‘Can you tell me anything?’ Brynd said.

‘Well, this one certainly appears dead.’ Papus replaced the lantern on the wall. ‘Yes. Quite dead,’ she repeated.

The three soldiers returned the draugr to its cell, then returned upstairs out of earshot.

‘I don’t think it’s actually a draugr,’ Papus said, ‘not in the true sense, at least.’

‘No?’ Brynd folded his arms expectantly.

‘No, I think these have been brought back to life by other means.’

‘But how?’ Brynd asked. ‘And by whom?’ He watched Papus, and could see the confusion registering on her face. It struck him then that she was clueless. For someone of such advanced knowledge, that was alarming.

‘I don’t know how exactly, but I’ve my suspicions about who is responsible.’

‘Who?’

‘Dartun Súr, of the Order of the Equinox.’

Brynd was surprised at the answer, a cultist so close to Villjamur. ‘He keeps a very low profile normally, doesn’t he?’

‘He does, yes, but this is very much like something he’d be capable of. I’ve heard rumours of him being able to preserve life; though that sort of thing isn’t common knowledge, not even in our cultist circles.’

Pretentious cow. You’re only human, like the rest of us. Brynd said, ‘Well, your circles aren’t our circles, Papus, so please enlighten me.’

Papus appeared to ignore his sarcasm. She was probably too concerned with feeling as unknowledgeable on the subject as he was. ‘Well, this isn’t right if these creatures are being used to… kill.’

‘And once they start killing, the bastards are difficult to stop,’ Brynd muttered. ‘The ones who attacked us had to be chopped in pieces, and burned, just to be sure. If it’s really your friend Dartun, then he’s breeding them to kill.’

‘You think we’re all friends?’ Papus asked. ‘You should know better, commander. Anyway, I suspect he’s up to something serious at the moment.’

‘Something I should know about?’

‘No, this is strictly a cultist issue, so it can be solved by us alone, commander.’

Brynd’s tone became more menacing. ‘I know you sects have had your fights and bickering in the past, but so far you’ve always kept it to yourselves – that’s fine. Now, you’re affecting the rest of us, and you’re endangering the lives of Empire soldiers. And Bohr knows what you’re doing to ordinary citizens out in the country.’

‘I’m not doing anything,’ Papus snapped. ‘There’s some other trickery being misused, involving some ancient relic no doubt. But I now thank you for making me aware of it.’ She turned away.

‘What, you’re just going?’ Brynd said, surprised at how annoyed she was getting.

‘And what did you honestly expect me to do, commander?’ she said, frowning. ‘I’ve told you, this is some ritual I have no experience of.’

‘Can’t you help us at all?’ Brynd said. ‘I’ve got to leave the city shortly, and I’ll be out of Villjamur for some time. I’d prefer to know that something was being done meanwhile to investigate this matter, because I’ve no idea if we’ll come across any more of these things. This lot may seem pretty docile, but they can transform into savage killers. They’re not to be taken lightly.’ He grasped one of the bars as he gazed at the draugr again. ‘There are too many strange things happening these days. It’s as if this ice brings with it a certain madness.’

‘I’ll do what I can, Commander Lathraea, but not for your sake, or even the city’s. This business has much larger implications, if Dartun really has gained access to the elements of life and death. There are things that could change the world as we know it. Think on it, commander. If people can be brought back to life in such quantities, think of the implications.’ Papus drew her cloak around her and walked silently up the stairs.