The Cost of Betrayal

3

A swift kick stirred Harruq from his dreams. He grunted, forced open a single eye, and then shut it when he saw Qurrah frowning down at him.

“What do you want?” he asked, the phrase coming out as a single, drowsy word.

“Sunrise nears. Get up.”

Then Qurrah dropped Harruq’s heavy leather armor onto his head. The warrior groaned in response.

“Why should…”

“My life depends on you,” Qurrah said. “You’ve never been trained before. Here is your chance. Now get up.”

“Fine. Fine. Fine.” The bleary half-orc rolled the armor off his face and glared up at his brother. “Remember, I’m doing this for you.”

“I doubt you will let me forget,” Qurrah said, vanishing down the stairs.

N o games,” Harruq said. He stood behind the tower, his armor buckled tight and his blades in hand. Dew covered his boots. A soft breeze sifted through his hair, the scent of morning awakening his mind. It was still cold in the shadow of the tower, the grass short and thick. The King’s Forest stretched out before him, the woods wide, their branches intertwined along the top canopy.

“This is no game,” Haern whispered, his body an inch behind Harruq’s. The half-orc startled, then blushed red with anger and embarrassment.

“You said you’d be waiting for me out here,” he said.

“Do you always expect people to be where they say they will?”

“Only those not trying to kill me,” he grumbled.

Haern approached the forest, pulling his hood lower on his face. “The most deadly are the ones you think wish you no harm,” he whispered.

“Yeah, yeah,” Harruq said, motioning with his two swords. “Aren’t you all smart. So we going to fight or what?”

The assassin’s hands emerged from within his cloaks, his sabers drawn and ready.

“Have you ever been beaten before?” he asked.

“Of course not. Would I still be alive if I had?”

Haern’s saber was on his throat before he could move.

“Yes,” the assassin whispered, his breath warm on the half-orc’s ear. “Because I have beaten you, yet you still live.”

He turned away, blatantly putting his back to the furious half-orc. Harruq’s temper flared. Roaring, he charged. Condemnation and Salvation hungered in his hands. Haern waited until the half-orc was almost to him before leaping into the air, high above Harruq’s head. His knees curled to his chest as he looped around. When he landed, both his sabers stabbed forward, jabbing into armor without penetrating.

“Your hatred gives you strength, but it renders you stupid,” he whispered from underneath his hood. An elbow shot back, trying to smash the assassin’s nose. It caught air instead. Haern ducked underneath, spun on his feet, and froze, his sabers once again resting on Harruq’s throat.

“When I ask you something, I want a real answer, not some cocky bullshit,” he said through clenched teeth. “Do you understand me? Now have you ever been beaten?”

“Yeah,” Harruq said, his hate still churning like a trapped fire. “Just once, to an elf.”

“What was his name?”

“I don’t know! He had the strangest weapon I ever saw. It was a bow with blades along every which way.”

Haern stepped back, his sabers vanishing beneath his cloaks once more.

“Dieredon? You fought Dieredon and lived?”

Harruq shrugged. “Guess I have.”

A soft chuckle escaped the assassin. “You have fought one of the very best there is, half-orc. Your swords never came close, did they?”

“He ambushed me,” the half-orc countered. “Wasn’t a fair fight.”

“Of course he ambushed you,” Haern whispered, slowly shifting his body left and right, his cloaks swaying. “An intelligent fighter doesn’t give his opponent a fair chance. You think it fair you have the muscles of an ox while your other foes are mere mortals?” His movements picked up speed. Haern’s cloaks whipped back and forth through the air.

“What the abyss is your problem?” Harruq shouted.

“You!”

Haern leapt, his body rotating at blinding speed. Cloaks whipped up and down. Harruq brought up his swords to block but had no clue where the assassin’s sabers were. Instinctively, he crossed them and braced his legs. One saber slid over the top, nicking his chin. When the mass of gray landed, the other saber cut upward, separating the two swords. The first, still high in the air, sliced straight back down, between the small opening the other had created, then thrust forward, unblocked.

Harruq stood there, swords shaking in his hands, as the tip pressed against his throat. A drop of blood trickled down his neck.

“Why did you bring me out here?” he asked. “To humiliate me?”

“So you may survive,” Haern replied. “Your strength is great, and your speed decent, but you are reckless. All your attacks are obvious, beginner routines.”

“I don’t need to listen to this.”

“You will listen!” The assassin’s leg snapped forward, smashing his foot against Harruq’s groin. The half-orc dropped to his knees. Haern bent down, grabbed him by the hair, and yanked his head back so that he stared straight into his burning blue eyes.

“We are to be a team,” he whispered. “We must trust each other. You’ve seen, and felt, what I can do. I have fought impossible odds, and I have escaped without a scratch. You possess greater strength than most alive, and ancient blades from a time long past, and you act as if these alone will grant you victory. It is arrogance, Harruq Tun, nothing more.”

“Go burn in the abyss,” Harruq spat. Haern’s kick broke his nose. He continued whispering as the half-orc moaned.

“I consider my point proven. I am the greater fighter, half-orc. I do not possess greater strength. My blades do not contain the magic yours do. I have spent a lifetime in training, and I have learned from those better than me.” He chuckled softly. “My very first master broke my nose on our opening day of practice. I guess I have passed on that tradition.”

Harruq struggled into a sitting position, glaring at the assassin as blood ran down his lips and neck. Haern tossed him a white rag. Neither spoke as he cleaned himself, then held the rag to his nose. The morning dew vanished as the sun climbed higher in the sky.

“Are you ready to listen?” Haern asked. The half-orc nodded. “Good. I hold no anger against you, so hold none against me. It will simply lengthen things. Go inside and ask Delysia for a healing spell. Then, if you are willing, come back outside. I’ll be here.”

“In the open?” Harruq asked.

“Yes,” he replied, his smile hidden. “Right here in the open.”

Harruq stood and sheathed his blades. He dropped Haern’s rag as blood continued to drip down his face.

“You’re a bastard, you know that?” Harruq said.

Haern nodded. “Yeah. I know.”

With that, the half-orc went in search of Delysia.

S omething’s not right, Brug,” Tarlak said, staring at a map of Veldaren divided into several colored districts.

“What you mean, Tar?” Brug asked. He was dressed in his bed robes, and his eyes were still dark from sleep. Before the wizard answered, there was a knock at the door.

“Come on in, we’re decent,” Tarlak answered. Qurrah stuck his head inside, his robes clean and his hair straightened.

“I will be in Veldaren for a bit,” he said.

“Oh, alright, well you better take this then.” The wizard pulled open a drawer, closed it, pulled open another, and then took out a metallic pendant, which he tossed to Qurrah. A quick examination showed it to be a rectangle with a small yellow square in the center.

“What is this?” Qurrah asked.

“That’ll let people know you’re one of us,” Tarlak explained. “It’ll also get you in and out the gates without too much hassle from the guards.”

Qurrah bowed in thanks, and then slipped back out. When the door shut, the wizard turned back to his map.

“Lola’s not sent word to me since spring,” he said, continuing where he left off. “The Muggly brothers haven’t contacted me since summer, and Jerend’s offered no useful information for months now.”

“Perhaps because things are quiet,” Brug said from his seat in a comfortable padded chair.

“Thief guilds don’t stay quiet,” Tarlak said with a shake of his head. “Not even the neutered ones the nobles have created here in Veldaren.”

“Then what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking,” the wizard said, tapping his red goatee, “that somehow my contacts are expecting more money by not talking to me.”

“You think they’re being bribed?”

Tarlak glanced at Brug, who seemed disgusted with the prospect.

“I hope that is the case. If it is, Haern can get us new contacts. I’ve got a more worrisome idea, though.”

“Which is?”

Tarlak frowned at the multicolored districts, representing the territory of Veldaren’s thief guilds. “That somehow the guilds have developed plans that make feeding me information no longer worth the copper.”

Brug scratched at his beard, thinking over the idea.

“Can’t be planning something that big without us knowing,” he said. “Besides, Haern’s the Watcher. Any one of them guilds gets out of line, and he’ll come and set things right. A scary thought, though, the guilds working together.”

“I hate thieves,” Tarlak moaned, pulling his tall yellow hat down past his eyes.

“Half our business is keeping them in line,” Brug said, hopping from the chair. “You’re like a miner saying he hates the mountain but loves the gold inside.”

“That’s why I prefer to pay others to mine for me,” Tarlak said with a grin. “Have you finished the pendants for our new members?”

Brug shook his head.

“Had trouble deciding the animal. Figured Harruq’s would be a scorpion. Saw that one on his chest, so that makes sense. What about Qurrah, though?”

“Make it a scorpion, as well,” Tarlak said. “They’re brothers.”

“And the elf?”

The wizard shrugged. “Go ask her. She seems a bit friendlier.”

Brug half-saluted, then left. Tarlak leaned over the map, pondering schemes that might simultaneous earn every thief guild higher profits. Any that came to mind were either too farfetched, or too frightening. Brug popped his head back in five minutes later.

“Strange girl, that elfie is,” he said.

“What animal did she pick?”

Brug made a go-figure motion with his hands. “She wants a spider as well as a kitten.”

“As in one creature, or both?”

“Never heard of a spiderkitty before, so yeah, both.”

Tarlak chuckled. “Compromise. Make one, but have it be both a spider and a kitten.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“You’ll figure it out.”

Brug rolled his eyes and slammed the door.

Q urrah wandered through the streets of Veldaren, blessedly silent in the early hour. No merchants hawked their wares, and the few men and women that wandered about were busy with whatever task forced them from their beds. Qurrah preferred the company and secrecy of cities to the green of the forests. He always felt uneasy amid the tall trees, as if part of his blood recognized them as home, but the other half rejected all their comforts. It was in the dust, dirt, and stone of a city that he felt he could go about unnoticed. More importantly, he could let his mind wander.

His path led him straight to the fountain in the center of town. He stared at the great king of old, whose loyalty to Karak had been unfailing.

“What purpose do you have in my life now?” he asked that statue. The stone gave no answer, which was no surprise. It was a relic of an era many seemed desperate to forget. What if the stone could talk, Qurrah wondered. What if its mouth opened and words of a god came through? He stared, wondering, until he thought he saw the lips of the statue begin to crack, as if desperate to open. He stepped back, frightened, and that was when he saw the girl.

She sat atop the edge of the fountain, one leg dipping in and out of the water. Her black hair hung over one shoulder, trailing down to her waist. His eyes took in her soft face and pale skin. She hunched over her legs, which were exposed below the knee by a fairly common skirt cut uncommonly high. Her right arm extended outward. She clenched her fist, and the veins in her arm swelled. In her left hand, she held a dagger.

Qurrah’s reaction was a mixture of shock and curiosity as he watched her cut the flesh of her arm. The movements of her dagger were not random. She turned the blade this way and that, forming separate runes. She showed no sign of pain or pleasure. The girl seemed completely apathetic to her mutilations as her bright blood dripped into the fountain, staining the water scarlet.

The half-orc glanced around, realizing he had been staring. He was intrigued by how the few people passing by showed no surprise at what the girl did. A few frowned as they went on their way, but most ignored her. Qurrah walked away, then turned about, resting his back against a small shop facing the fountain. His curiosity awakened, he patiently waited. For what, he did not know.

As time passed, and more and more people filled the center, the girl ceased her cutting. She raised her arm to the sky, turning it so she could better see the runes she had carved. A smile creased her face, and she giggled. She put the dagger into her pocket, not caring her sleeve and dress were soaked with her own blood.

The girl hopped down, turned to the fountain, and splashed the statue king. Qurrah’s stomach twisted as she drank the waters. A man swore at her as he walked past, but this only elicited another giggle as faint red water dripped down her lips and neck.

“Staring at Tess, eh?” asked a voice behind Qurrah. The half-orc glanced back at a powder-covered baker standing next to him. Both watched as she left the fountain and traveled south, drops of blood trickling off the end of her fingers.

“Is that her name?” Qurrah asked.

“Tessanna, actually. Tess rolls off the tongue easier. I take it you’ve never seen her before?”

“No, I have not,” Qurrah said.

“She’s a weird one,” the baker said. “Guards keep telling her to stop, but she keeps on, anyway. She scares me, and I’m not too easily spooked, if you know what I’m saying.”

“Bloodletting has been done in your apothecaries for centuries, why should that frighten you so?”

The baker chuckled and cracked his knuckles.

“You seen her eyes?” he asked.

“What of them?”

“No good telling you, then. Greet her sometime. Look her in the eye, and if you don’t get shivers, then Ashhur made you of sterner stuff than I.”

Qurrah smirked at the final comment but gave no reply. He started toward home, but then stopped.

“That girl,” he asked the baker. “Tessanna, does she come here every morning?”

“Certain as the sun,” the man replied. “By the time I get here, the fountain’s always colored red, and she’s dancing off like a little princess.”

“Thank you,” Qurrah said, dipping his head in respect. He wandered the rundown parts of southern Veldaren, lost in thought. He had come to Veldaren to think of his future, but Tessanna had given him far more immediate concerns. With the sun high in the sky, he returned to the tower, his mind decided. That next day, he would not miss Tessanna’s arrival. When the blood began to flow, he would be there to watch.

T he sound of sword hitting sword was clear and loud from behind the tower, so Qurrah circled around, remaining quiet and pressed against the stone in hopes of catching the battle unseen. He succeeded, and the sight was a worthy reward.

Harruq stood panting before Haern, his arms low and dragging as if the weight of his swords was too great to bear. Sweat dripped off his face. His entire body shuddered with each breath. Haern faced him, his face and body covered with an elaborate combination of cloaks. The tips of his sabers poked out from the folds.

“…movements have slowed with your exhaustion,” the assassin was saying as Qurrah neared. “You were not fast enough when we started, what hope have you now?”

“You should be sucking air yourself, assuming you’re human,” Harruq said. “We’ve been out here since sunrise!”

“Do you see my movements slowing?” Haern asked. He struck, his sabers a blur. Harruq blocked the first couple before a desperate parry missed its mark. Steel pressed against his throat.

“Not possible,” the half-orc said. “You can’t be less tired than me. You just can’t!”

“When was the last time you were fully exhausted?” Haern asked, pulling back his blade. Without warning, he thrust it straight at his chest. Harruq slapped the thrust wide. He countered with his other hand, only to have it brutally blocked, pushed aside, and then ignored. Metal thwacked against Harruq’s chest armor. Haern did not halt, though, instead repeatedly slashing that exact same spot. All the while he spoke.

“When was the last time you were beaten? The last time you felt no chance of victory? Tell me half-orc, when was the last time you were a coward and surrendered?”

“Never!” Harruq screamed, slashing with all his remaining strength. Haern rolled, the powerful swords smashing the dirt.

“Exactly,” Haern whispered, his voice soft yet still heard in the commotion. His foot shot upward, nailing Harruq’s kidney. The follow up kick mashed his already sensitive nose. Qurrah winced as blood ran freely. “I will exhaust you. I will defeat you. I will make you collapse in surrender, convinced you cannot win.”

The butts of the sabers cracked against Harruq’s thick skull. Condemnation and Salvation remained stiff in the dirt as the half-orc fell onto his side, silent but for his gasps of air. In this silence, Haern’s words were clear and powerful, yet still soft and quiet. Despite his distance, Qurrah heard every word, convincing him there was magic involved with Haern’s constant whisper.

“You will learn to fight me,” Haern said. “Even after defeat. After exhaustion. After hurt and humiliation. When you can stand against me, to the very limit of your body, then we may truly begin. Your speed, your strength, your mind: they will all grow these coming days, if you are willing. That is the one thing I cannot help you with.”

He left Harruq lying there, dazed, exhausted, and furious.

“Tell Delysia your brother needs more healing,” the assassin said as he walked past Qurrah, not at all surprised by his presence.

“Will he learn, or will you merely increase his scars?” Qurrah asked, his words dripping with sarcasm.

“You know him better than I,” Haern said, gesturing back to his protege. “Why ask me?”

Qurrah glanced at his brother, who was an ugly mess. A grin spread over his face.

“Because you’re conscious and he’s not,” he said before retrieving the priestess.