Riverwind

Chapter Eight

Rivenwind walked with Gooldmoon across a sunlit field. Brilliant white clouds scudded from horizon to horizon. All around them was the sound of chimes tinkling in the wind.

“Are you happy?” asked Goldmoon, her smile as bright as the day.

“Very happy,” Riverwind replied. He saw his beloved, the field of green grass, and the blue sky. He did not see the truth.

Small, dark-haired Li El looked up at the plainsman. “It made me glad to have you back,” she said, appearing to him as Goldmoon. “I thought you would never return.”

Riverwind halted and passed a hand before his eyes. “I don't-I don't remember how I got back. Or why I returned.” He turned suddenly to the image of Goldmoon. “I only know that I love you.”

“There has been trouble,” Li El said calmly. Her small hand was lost in Riverwind's grasp, but she squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Plotters have tried to overthrow me.”

Riverwind tensed. “Loreman,” he growled.

“Yes, that's the one.” Li El seized on every bit of information the plainsman offered. “He wants to kill me, my love.”

Riverwind pulled the sorceress to him. “No one shall harm you, not while I live.” Li El smiled, her cheek pressed against his chest. The sound of his pounding heart was loud in her ear. She asked him to say it again. “No one shall harm you while I live,” he said fervently.

They resumed their walk. The Que-Shu village came into view as they topped the hill. It was only a dim outline, for Li El had not sharpened the details of her illusion yet. She needed more of Riverwind's memories in order to make her spell strong and believable.

“Should we go back?” she asked.

His hand went to his empty scabbard. “I've lost my saber.”

Li El touched his hand. “I have a sword for you,” she said. “There's much to be done.”

The scene dissolved, and Riverwind found himself in a dim building. He thought it might be the Lodge of Brothers-and as the image of the lodge grew in his mind, so did Li El's illusion. He did not question how they had suddenly come to be there. Riverwind was like a sleeper, to whom all the strange occurrences of a dream are logical.

Goldmoon offered him a long, heavy sword, pommel first. Riverwind accepted the weapon.

“This isn't my saber,” he said vaguely.

“No, brave Riverwind, but it's the finest sword I could find.” This was the first true thing Li El had said. The sword, in fact, had belonged to the great Hest, twenty centuries ago. In his time, Hestantafalas had been counted a giant among his elven brothers, so his sword was nearly the proper size for Riverwind.

Lights flared in the lodge. Riverwind was confronted with three attackers, all of whom looked like his old foe, Hollow-sky. He raised his new sword.

“This cannot be!” he declared. “You are dead-all three of you!”

“They are evil!” Li El said urgently. “You must save me!”

The three images of Hollow-sky attacked. Riverwind met the center one, parried, and slashed right and left to ward off the others. The center Hollow-sky twisted his face in a grimace of pure hatred. He thrust his short, straight blade at the plainsman's chest. Riverwind fended off the attack, grasped the hilt of Hest's sword with both hands, and brought the blade up in an underhand swipe. The keen point caught this Hollow-sky in the chest. The scowling attacker gave a shriek and lost his sword. He reeled away, and Riverwind thrust through him.

The foe to his left attacked next, though he seemed shrunken and shorter than the Hollow-sky Riverwind remembered. There was no time for reflection, as this enemy scored a cut across Riverwind's cheek. Blood flowed, and sweat stung the plainsman's eyes. This Hollow-sky shrank further, and his ears grew points. Riverwind was confused. This was not his dead foe from Que-Shu. But still he fought; a terrible compulsion drove him to charge the smaller man and bowl him over. Riverwind raised his point high. The fallen warrior lifted his empty hands in a plea for mercy. Riverwind held his blade back.

“Kill him!” Goldmoon cried. “He would kill me if he had the chance!”

Riverwind stared at her. Though strong-willed, Gold-moon knew the quality of mercy well and cherished it. His beloved would never say such a thing. Riverwind stepped back. For an instant, Goldmoon, too, seemed to be shorter than he remembered. Then, she was her beautiful self again. A golden aura surrounded her and it reached out and touched him. His qualms were washed away. Goldmoon would never ask him to do anything that wasn't right. He must kill to save her.

With the second Hollow-sky dead, the third showed considerable reluctance to fight. His blade met Riverwind's only twice before he dropped it and fled. Riverwind, panting heavily, asked Goldmoon if he should pursue the fleeing Hollow-sky and slay him.

“No,” she said coolly. “He will do no harm.” She surveyed the bloody lodge hall. “You have done well. You are an excellent champion.”

“What?”

“Never mind,” Li El said. “Go and rest now. Later, we will find the plotters and wipe them out. You must be strong, my brave Riverwind. Only then will I be safe.”

He came to her and tried to take her hand. His fingers were stained with blood, and she avoided his touch. River-wind's face was troubled as he looked at his hands. “I'm sorry,” he said. He didn't wish to stain her white skin.

“Don't worry,” Li El replied, though she regarded his still outstretched hand with distaste. “I'll come to you later. Go now and rest.”

Still holding the sword of Hest, Riverwind wandered off in a daze. He passed through some golden curtains and spied a low stone couch. There were no such curtains or couches in the Lodge of Brothers, but still he did not question the illusion. The sword dropped from his hand, and he lay down on the couch, exhausted.

Li El surveyed the scene in the hearth room of the palace with satisfaction. Riverwind had fought and beaten three of her best guards. Her illusions needed some minor improvement, but by the time he went against the rabble led by Mors, Riverwind ought to cut quite a swath.

“He fights well, doesn't he?”

Li El broke out of her reverie and saw Karn lurking among the statues of Hest's dead heroes. “Why are you skulking there? Come out!” He did.

“The giant is just the tool you need to crush Mors,” Karn said bitterly. “I wasn't good enough.”

She looked toward the golden curtains. “Yes,” she said softly. “He will be perfect.”

Karn went to the first dead warrior. “Rjen,” he said. “A good swordsman. Did you have to let the giant kill them?”

“This is not a game, Karn.”

He stood over the second slain elf. “Mesk. He and I trained together.”

Li El rubbed her slim white hands together. “Stop being such a child,” she said tersely. “I had to test the strength of the illusion I've cast on Riverwind. And so I did.”

Karn's shoulders sagged. “So what is next, Highness?”

“When the barbarian wakes, I want you to muster two cohorts of the Host. You will take them out and scour the cavern for Mors.” Li El adjusted the folds of her golden robe and slipped her hood up over her dark hair. “Oh, and find the soldier who ran away just now. What is his name?”

“Prem. His name is Prem.”

“Yes. Find Prem and put him under arrest. I won't have cowards serving me. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Highness.”

Li El swept from the room. Karn watched her go. His anger at Riverwind's usurping of his place was gone. He had buried it as he had buried countless other hurts inflicted on him by the ambitious, unstoppable queen of Hest. Li El was merely using the outlander to reach their goal. Once they had attained that goal, the barbarian would be of no further use and he would be discarded. He was merely a tool. Karn was still lieutenant of the Host. He was still the son of Li El. Her chosen champion.

Vvelz received Mors's permission to show Catchflea the Blue Sky People's collection of objects brought down from the surface. Vvelz believed there might be useful things amid all the junk, things to use against Li El. He hoped that Catchflea could sort through the debris and identify the artifacts of the Empty World.

Catchflea and Vvelz picked their way up an ancient staircase littered with loose stones.

They came to a cleft in the rock wall of the cavern. It wasn't an obvious opening; projecting rocks had been chipped in such a way as to cast shadows over the hole. Vvelz slipped through, beckoning Catchflea to follow.

A squarish chamber had been cut out of the rock. Blue globes were distributed along the wall in cut niches. Catchflea let his hand rest gingerly on the nearest one. The blue light within quivered and roiled around. Sadness gripped the old man. This feeble light had once been a living, breathing Hestite. He wondered if it had been male or female, good, kind, lazy, homely. Did it still live inside the sphere? Did it yearn for freedom or the release of death?

“Come along,” Vvelz urged. Catchflea took his hand away.

Stacked at the rear of the room were all sorts of things. Catchflea saw a stand of longbows, with only frayed bits of bowstring clinging to them.

“Those could be very useful,” he said, pointing to the bows. “If you had strings-and arrows to shoot.”

“What are arrows?” Vvelz asked. Catchflea blinked. He told Vvelz, with many hand gestures, the parts and practice of archery. The sorcerer was amazed.

“In the old chronicles, it was written that warriors could slay enemies at two hundred paces, but I always thought they threw spikes or daggers at each other!” He picked up a longbow of seasoned yew. “How could we make strings for them?” he asked.

“Well, I'm no bowyer, but I've seen men weave strong twine into bowstrings, then seal them with beeswax.”

“Twine? Beeswax?”

Catchflea mopped his brow. This wasn't going to be easy.

“Twine is string, combed out of fibers like cotton or flax.” Vvelz had no idea what he meant. Catchflea kicked about in the assorted goods and found a hank of rope. He showed this to the sorcerer. “Twine is thin, tough rope.”

“Can you make this twine from rope?” the elf asked.

“I might, yes, though I'm no craftsman.”

Farther along they found a few quivers full of arrows, though the feather fletching had rotted off most of them. Catchflea gave the quivers to Vvelz to hold, and they continued to poke among the piles of surface world goods.

Most of it was trash: leather shoes and belts so old they'd dried out and curled up into tight rolls, an assortment of rusty woodworking tools the Hestites had taken for exotic weapons.

“What is this?” Vvelz held up a nasty-looking device.

“A brace and bit. It bores holes, yes.”

“Pah, that's ghastly!”

“In wood, Master Vvelz, only in wood,” Catchflea assured him.

Then they came to a great selection of jars and pots. Catchflea squatted down and lifted one lid after another. Spices. Moldy nuts. Wooden buttons.

“Your scouts must have waylaid every traveler in Ansalon to gather this assortment,” Catchflea muttered.

“They had strict orders,” Vvelz said. “Never to take large items or those things that are highly valued above. There's enough gold and gems in Hest already.”

The old man found a jar full of chestnuts. They had dried, splitting their skins. He peeled one and ate it. It was so good, he grabbed a handful and nibbled them as he crept from pot to jar to pot.

“Tell me. Master Vvelz, who is Di An? She seems very close to Mors.”

“Just a digger girl, a barren child. She's quite adept at prowling tunnels and stealing small items. As for Mors's affection, I believe they have known each other a long time. There's a rumor that it was Di An who first found Mors after he was blinded and driven out of Vartoom. She took care of him until he was strong again.”

Catchflea spat out a chestnut shell. “And you, when did you join Mors?”

Vvelz dipped a finger in a pot of cracked pepper. He tasted the black powder and coughed violently. “Poison!” he gasped.

“No. Pepper.” Catchflea put a pinch in his mouth. It burned, but not very much. “We use to flavor food.”

Vvelz's eyes were watering. “You Empty Worlders must have iron stomachs!”

Catchflea chewed and swallowed the last of his chestnuts. “Master Vvelz, would you tell me how it came to be that you chose to work against your sister?”

“Ha-ha-shoo!” Vvelz sneezed and rubbed his nose. “Does it matter?” he sniffed. “Is it not enough that I risk my life to help Mors's cause?”

“It matters, yes. It occurs to me that if Li El wanted a spy close to Mors, you would be an excellent choice.” He folded his arms across his chest. “A spy, or even an assassin.”

Vvelz turned his left hand palm up. His eyes widened, and he uttered a short, archaic spell. Catchflea quickly stepped back from him. A spark glowed in the sorcerer's upturned palm. The spark grew into a small flame.

“You want to know, do you? Can you understand if I tell you? I have spent my entire life under the thumb of my heartless, ambitious sibling, who always considered me more servant than kinsman.” Vvelz spoke slowly and softly. “She crushed good and wise sorcerers, whose only fault was not realizing the power of their opponent. She took the love of a brave warrior, bore his son, and then raised that son to hate his father. Her crowning achievement was using Karn to betray Mors. She gave the diggers an entire half-day of rest so that they could attend the ceremony she had prepared for Mors's blinding. That day was-that ceremony was…”

Words failed Vvelz, and he squeezed the flame tightly in his fist. Sparks anddroplets of fire splashed to the floor. “I am ashamed she calls me brother. I will see the end of Li El, no matter who I have to side with.”

Both men were silent. Vvelz was lost in dark thoughts of his sister, and Catchflea, discomfited by the tragic tale, looked beyond the elf's shoulder at the pots. There were so many. Pots and pots of-

“Pepper!” cried Catchflea.

“What?” said Vvelz. “Are you stricken?”

The old soothsayer rushed by Vvelz. “No! No, pepper is the answer!”

Catchflea swept an arm around in a half-circle. “There must be fifty pounds of pepper here,” he said. “If all Hestites are as sensitive to it as you are-”

Vvelz's expression had brightened. “I begin to see! You mean to put this pepper in the warriors' food?”

“No, better! Throw it in their faces! They'll be so smitten with sneezing and weeping, your Blue Sky People will be able to disarm them easily. Riverwind can be rescued that way, too.”

“Why won't our people be sneezing?” Vvelz asked.

The old man froze, his enthusiastic expression giving way to consternation. Then, his face brightened once more. “Why, give them kerchiefs to wear!” he exclaimed. “It will work! Let's tell Mors right away!”

But Mors was not impressed. “I'd rather see you repair these bow-things you found,” he said with annoyance. “I would rather strike the Host from long range than close in with unskilled fighters and toss dust in their faces.”

“Master Mors, even if I could fix all the bows, you would not have enough to make a difference against the entire Host. And archery is not a skill easily learned; it takes much practice, yes.”

“How much practice?” Mors said.

“In Que-Shu, boys are taught archery not long after they learn to walk. A lifetime's practice makes them peerless archers.”

“My people have only to hit close ranks of warriors,” Mors insisted.

Vvelz intervened. “Perhaps we could adopt both plans. The bows will cause great harm to the warriors' spirits, and the pepper will send them to defeat.”

“I don't like it,” Mors grumbled. “True warriors do not fight by throwing dirt in their enemy's eyes. It's not honor-able.”

“Is it honorable to blind their captain and chase him from the city like a worthless beggar?” Vvelz said, knocking Mors's rod from his hand. The blind elf leaped to his feet.

“You gutless hand-waver! I may be blind, but I can break your neck with one hand-”

Di An, who had been listening quietly to all this, grasped Mors's leg and said, “Good Mors, don't hurt him. Master Vvelz seeks only to counsel you.” She retrieved Mors's staff and placed it in his hands. The blind warrior's rough hand gripped her small one.

Mors relaxed. “What is your point?”

Di An looked at Vvelz. The latter said, “You do not owe Li El honorable combat. She is the one you are fighting. The Host is merely her instrument.”

The scarred eyes turned to the sound of Vvelz's voice. “And Karn? What do I owe him? Stinging powder? Darts flung from two hundred paces?”

“You could forgive him,” Catchflea said softly. “He has served Li El all these years, and that should be punishment enough.”

“It was his choice,” Mors said, sitting back down. “Bring the bows and the pepper from the hiding place. We will scourge Li El with flowers if that's what it takes. As for my son, if he will follow us to the world of blue sky and sunlight, I will try to forgive him.”

“And if he won't?” asked Vvelz.

“Then he can lie in the tomb next to his mother.”

Two cohorts, almost a thousand warriors, tramped in ragged lines across the floor of the great cavern. Karn had divided them into four units called Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, and Garnet. He commanded the Ruby Division, and Riverwind was with him, under one of Li El's illusions. He thought he was tracking Loreman and Hollow-sky after their attempt to kill Goldmoon.

“I've not been in these mountains before,” Riverwind said. The wheat field they were crossing was tall and sparse. Wind was uncommon in Hest, but a slight, swirling breeze stirred the weak stands of grain.

“The wretches have hidden from us for years,” Karn said, eyeing the plainsman uncertainly. Talking to the bewitched giant was like talking to a sleepwalker. Karn wasn't sure what the outlander saw or heard in his present state. Shame burned deep in his heart at having to employ this overgrown lout. Karn believed that he was good enough to crush the rebels; he didn't need a befuddled giant to assist him.

Riverwind felt the circling wind and smelled the ever-present smoke in the air. Yet he saw the plain of his homeland under a golden yellow sun. His heart beat fast. Gold-moon was safe only if he could catch and slay the evil men who wanted her dead. His long legs covered the ground in great strides, and his escort was strung out in a long line, trying to keep up.

“Slow down,” Karn said irritably. “Infernal giant,” he added under his breath.

Riverwind did more than slow, he stopped. His keen eyes caught a glint of steel on the slope of the mountain ahead.

“There,” he said, pointing.

“What?” said Karn, shading his eyes from the brazen sun.

“Someone is up there. Carrying a sword. It must be them,” Riverwind said. His pulse quickened in his chest.

Karn saw, not the illusion of mountains, but the abandoned temple where his ancestors had once worshiped. “You're wrong. We checked there already. The diggers must be dispersed in small bands throughout the caverns.”

'They are there,” Riverwind insisted. He started off at a fast lope.

“Wait! Halt! I command here!” Karn shouted. Riverwind slowed. Goldmoon had told him to obey this short fellow. Karn hustled up. “Remember, you do as I say!” he said hoarsely. “That, ah, mountain is infested with evil spirits. Our quarry would not be hiding up there.”

“Why not? If I wanted to hide, I'd go where evil spirits were rumored to live. Ghosts would keep visitors away.”

The other soldiers had caught up and were listening with evident interest. The giant's words made sense to them.

“Goldmoon said to search the tunnels in the south wall- I mean, mountain range. An army of rebels could hide there.” Those were Li El's orders. Besides, Karn reasoned, nobody would dare hide in the ancient temple.

Riverwind did not advance toward the temple, nor did he turn. The rest of Ruby Division slouched to a halt behind the plainsman. “The enemy is there.” He raised a long arm and pointed again at the distant temple.

Karn had had enough of the outlander's arrogance. “Form a line of march!” Karn raged. He cursed at thЈ Hestite soldiers until they formed two parallel lines. “Now stand there until I order you to move!” To Riverwind, he said, “You will obey my orders without question, understand? Her Highness-Goldmoon-expects you to do as I say.”

Riverwind looked down at the man. “Yes, Captain.”

The Ruby Division made off for the south wall. Riverwind walked slowly alongside the column, his gaze still fixed on the abandoned temple, which he saw as a mountain. He had seen the glint of steel there. He really had.