Sentinelspire

Chapter Sixteen

Fault's quarters-he didn't consider it a home so much as a place to store his meager possessions; his home was the wild-were in the smallest of the Fortress's many towers, a squat stone cylinder that overlooked the gardens and pools round the western falls. This meant he had to walk through most of the Fortress from the main gate, and the most direct path took him past the Tower of the Sun, which dominated the center of the Fortress.

His hunter's nature-the part of him in tune with the pulse of the wild-did not like the Tower. He'd never liked it. Even before the Old Man's madness, it had been little more than a crumbling relic of the long-dead Imaskari Empire. Now, covered in vines, flowers, and foliage of every sort, it ought to have appealed to him. It was, after all, the wild taken root and flourishing in the midst of a citadel of stone. Still, there was something… wrong about it, something that made Sauk's skin crawl and made him want to grind his teeth and look away.

Still, it was that very wrongness that brought him by the Tower whenever he was about. He would often go far out of his way to pass the Tower's main gate that led into the overgrown courtyard. As much as the place raised his hackles, his hunter's nature also knew that the best thing to do with an enemy was to keep a careful watch.

Returning from his vigil on the mountain, still bare-chested with his shirt thrown over one shoulder and the dust of the mountain covering him, Sauk strolled past the main gate of the Tower of the Sun. The walls of purple stone surrounding the massive cylinder of the Tower could scarcely be seen through the riot of vines, leaves, and flowers that had grown over the wall and spilled into the street. Only the main gate remained clear, and as Sauk approached it, four men-veteran blades, every one-walked out and onto the pathway. Sauk knew them. Everyone was loyal to the Old Man and had not been brought into Talieth's plot. But if they had any suspicion of the conspiracy, they'd never given any sign.

"Vasilik!" Sauk called out.

Vasilik, a blond and bearded Illuskan, was the only blade in the Fortress who could look Sauk eye to eye, though he lacked the half-orc's bulk. With his pale skin and long hair, the man looked like the famed barbarians from so many bard's tales, but Vasilik had been no more than muscle for one of the guilds in Waterdeep before joining the blades of Sentinelspire.

"Well met, Sauk," he said. The other three stopped at his side.

"How fares the Old Man?" asked Sauk.

A look of reverence-almost of awe-passed over the men's faces. One even lowered his eyes, almost as if in prayer. Fools, thought Sauk.

"Hale as ever," said Vasilik. "He has ordered all the blades and servants from his Tower, for tonight is a holy night. A night of preparation and contemplation. Would you care to join us?"

"Where will you take your vigil?"

"Under the oaks in the Garden of Winged Horses," said Vasilik. "We would be honored if you would join us." "I will consider it."

Draalim, a small Calishite whom Sauk knew often posed as a merchant throughout the Sword Coast, spoke up. "All the faithful must prepare, Sauk. The day draws close."

"It does indeed," said Sauk, and he walked around them.

Valmir watched the last of the bright green tail disappear into the foliage of the tree. He'd been watching the snake for some time. First as it crawled out from the bushes that lined the pathway to the fountain, then over the lawn. It had come within spitting distance of his bare feet before sliding through the grass to begin winding its way up the tree. Probably hunting birds' eggs. Gods knew, this time of year the trees would be full of them.

Valmir'd been lounging under the tree since finishing his exercises. He'd been teaching himself a few spells here and there-mostly little cantrips or invocations to help in his line of work. But since becoming one of the blades of Sentinelspire-or more correctly, since charming his way into Talieth's bed-she had begun teaching him more powerful spells. Beyond moving silently, unlocking a door, or covering his scent from hounds, Talieth's spells had true power. He'd mastered only one so far, but he'd been practicing the rest. Still didn't quite have the fourth order of finger movements down, but he was getting close. A nearby boulder still bore the scorch marks from his few near successes. But doing the damned finger motions tired him out, and Valmir had never been one to hesitate from a good rest.

The Star Fountain-so named because of the star blossoms that dominated the surrounding foliage and dropped their petals into the singing water beneath the fountain-was his favorite place to spend the morning doing absolutely nothing. Here, under the shade of the massive old oak whose roots sank into the fountain's pool, there was plenty of shade, and most of the bees left him alone, preferring the sunlight amongst the star blossoms.

Birds overhead began making a terrible racket. That snake must be getting close to a late breakfast, thought Val. The birds were so noisy that Val saw Sauk passing by on his right before he heard him. The half-orc was bare above the waist. He carried his shirt and a big leather satchel in one hand.

Valmir started to call out, but he thought better of it and closed his mouth. Sauk seemed very deep into his own thoughts. Valmir had been with the band when one of Talieth's personal guards had made the stupid mistake of looking at Sauk at the wrong moment. Val had stood with the others and watched while Sauk beat the man nearly to death. Chiganis had survived, which Val couldn't quite make up his mind about. He didn't like the bastard, but he wasn't sure if the man deserved to die that way just because of a look the half-orc had deemed disrespectful.

Sauk happened to glance Val's way as he passed. He stopped. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing at all," said Val, and he did his best to keep the insolence out of his voice. No easy task for him. "You?"

"Been out."

"On the mountain?"

Sauk nodded. His black mood seemed to be gone, but one could never be too sure. He nodded a farewell and turned to leave.

"Sauk?"

The half-orc stopped and turned. "How's Taaki?"

Sauk's eyes narrowed. "She'll live. Why do you ask?"

Val feared he'd trod onto thin ice. "Just concerned is all. She healed up yet?"

"If I were you," said Sauk, "I'd concern myself with other things. But then, I suspect you're nothing but relieved now. Am I right?"

"I don't get your meaning." "Our quarry didn't make it back."

"And why would that relieve me?" said Val. "I'll admit I didn't much like it when the bastard tried to blind me with his cooking, but… relief? I don't follow. Relief that he's dead?"

"Yeah," said Sauk. "I think you're relieved he's dead. Or you ought to be, if you're smart."

"What makes you say that? You and Talieth said he was our best hope for…" Val looked around. In the fortress, one never knew what ears and eyes might be lurking. "You know. If we're back where we started, why would that relieve me?"

"Because as long as I've known you, Val, you never think of we, of us. You're all about you. And unless you're damned stupid-and I don't think you are-you had to know that Kheil's return might have… changed your situation. Looks like you are back where you want to be. Eh?"

Valmir scowled. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, enjoy the bed while you can. Things change." He glanced at the boulder that had been the target of Valmir's earlier attempts at the spells. "And keep practicing the magic. Something tells me you're going to need it."

Sauk smiled-though there was no kindness in it-then tossed his shirt over his shoulder and walked away. Val watched him go, and it occurred to him that he hadn't seen Talieth all morning.