The Serpent Tower

Chapter Sixteen

Sardec hustled the Foragers through the gates of the House of Three Swans. The crawling sensation between his shoulder blades decreased. He had feared something the whole time they had made their way along the street. He had felt deeply uneasy ever since their meeting with Lord Ilmarec.

“I thank you for your efforts to get me here safely,” said Lady Asea.

“It was my pleasure as well as my duty, milady,” said Sardec. They exchanged smiles of such warmth that Sardec immediately understood the strain they had both been under.

“Perhaps once I have had a few minutes to recover, you will visit me in my chambers. We have much to discuss and little time to do it in.”

Sardec knocked on the door of Asea’s suite. He had spent the intervening time checking lines of fire from the windows out into the street and he was happy that things were as well arranged as they could be.

“Enter,” said Asea.

He made sure the door was closed behind him. In a house like this you could never tell who might be listening. She saw the direction of his look, and said, “Don’t worry these chambers are warded.”

“What is happening?”

“ Lord Ilmarec is planning a great sorcerous ritual. His damned fortress seethes with more power than I had ever expected to find in this poor drained world. Even here, behind my own wards, my head is all but splitting.”

“I am afraid my knowledge of sorcery is less than great, milady.”

“The flows of magical energy here are the greatest I have sensed since we left Al’Terra. Lord Ilmarec not only commands an impregnable fortress but the greatest amassing of sorcerous power in this world.”

“He was not bluffing then when he said he would destroy Lord Azaar’s army.”

“No. I do not think he was bluffing.”

“You think he plans to summon something?”

“I don’t know. I do know that there is more magical energy bound within the walls of the Tower than I have felt since setting foot on this world.”

“Bound…”

“There is something within the Tower that generates tau in enormous quantities, in amounts I have never felt since we left the home world.”

“I have never heard of such a thing.”

“Nor I. It was not there when I last visited Ilmarec. At least it was not active.” Sardec considered this. There could only be one possible source of such power.

“You think Ilmarec has woken some ancient device of the Serpent Men.”

“That seems the most likely explanation. The energy is strange and tainted.”

“In what way, tainted?”

“There are traces of corruption in it. It is not pure tau. Such stuff existed on Al’Terra. Using it drove some sorcerers mad.”

“You think he has dabbled in forbidden sorcery and gone crazy.”

“Ilmarec has access to the tainted power. He channels it through the jewel in his amulet. He is drawing on its energies enormously for his own purposes. It is quite possible that it might have driven even one of his experience insane.”

“So the Serpent Tower and all its alien weapons are in the hands of a maniac?”

“I fear it may be so, and that even Ilmarec may not be able to harness so much power. I tremble to think what might happen if it runs out of control.”

“What was that thing with him, Lady? His bodyguard.”

“A demon of an ancient sort. That he could raise it here speaks of how much his power has grown in recent years. I did not think it was possible for anyone to contact the Planes of Ahenna from this world. I could not.”

“What ritual do you think Ilmarec will perform?”

“I wish I knew. With the energy of the Tower, he could summon an army of demons.”

“That is not a reassuring thought. That would be insane.”

“Ilmarec no longer seems entirely sane.”

“You think he would move against us?”

“He has the future Queen of Kharadrea in his power. He has access to Elder World sorcery and weapons. From his point of view, he is in a very strong position. He very well might.”

“Do you think he could be persuaded to stand beside us and against the Dark Empire?”

“What can we offer him that he does not already have? How can we force him to allow our army safe passage? He can sit up there in his impregnable fortress and laugh at us.”

“Then there is very little we can do.”

“I believe I may have the means to put a man inside the Tower.”

“What good would one man do? Unless he can open the gates for us. Even then we would have to dash up that causeway under the gaze of the Serpent’s eye and its green light.”

“I think it would be better to think in terms of what we can get out rather than what we can put in.”

“You mean to rescue Kathea? We would still have to get her away from here, and that might prove difficult. That accursed light can sweep anything from the surrounding countryside.”

“If you have a better plan I am willing to listen, otherwise you might want to hear me out.”

“Please proceed, milady, and forgive my lack of courtesy.”

“I will need the use of some of your men, particularly the one called the Halfbreed.”

“Why him, milady?”

“He has the talents I require and as a half-breed he will be more receptive to the magic I need to work.”

“Whatever you require I will provide if it’s within my power, but how can you get him inside?”

“There are certain sorceries. They are risky but they must be attempted. Once they have been woven one man might be able to pass the gate guardian.”

“To do what?”

“To locate the Queen and bring her out.”

“Do you really think that is possible? Won’t it put Kathea’s life in jeopardy?”

“If Ilmarec meant to kill her, he would have done so already.”

“There’s a difference between killing someone you hold secure and who is of use to you, and killing someone who is in the process of escaping and will become your sworn enemy if they do so.”

“Thank you for pointing the obvious out to me, Lieutenant.”

“My pleasure, Lady,” said Sardec, grinning. She smiled back.

“There are other possibilities we need to consider.” Sardec did not like the tone in which she said that.

“What you said about Kathea applies just as much from our point of view as Ilmarec’s.”

“What are you saying, Lady?”

“I am saying it would be better for Kathea to be dead than against us.”

“I am not sure I can countenance assassination, Lady Asea.”

“Even if it means the defeat of our country, and its fall to the Dark Empire?” Sardec considered this. Asea was right, of course. If Kathea had turned against them, all her subjects would too.

“Ilmarec seems to be just as much against the Dark Empire as we are,” he said, to give himself more time to think.

“Are you absolutely certain of that, Lieutenant, and are you absolutely certain it will stay that way. At the moment, we have only his word for it, and he seems quite mad.”

“It would be best if we had Queen Kathea alive,” he said.

“Agreed, but if we cannot?”

“Then as a last resort, and only as a last resort, she should be killed. There is another alternative I am surprised you have not suggested.”

“What is that?”

“We could have your man kill Lord Ilmarec.”

“I am not certain that is possible. His bodyguard is all but invulnerable.”

“But if it was possible?”

“If the opportunity arises, I agree it would be the best.”

“It is something to factor into our plans then.”

“Yes,” she said. “It would be best.”

“It probably won’t come to it. And anyway, the odds are not much in our favour.”

“I know this is a desperate roll of the dice, Lieutenant, but what is the alternative — to do nothing and wait for disaster to roll over our army and our country? Military solutions are impossible. We could not get Ilmarec out of the Tower with a score of dragons and an army ten times the size of Azaar’s. Not in the next few years, anyway.”

“What do we need?”

“A plan of the Tower. Fortunately I have one.”

“You have?”

“In a life as long as mine you learn to prepare for any contingency, Lieutenant. When Ilmarec took the Tower as his residence, the possibility that we might need to get him out of it arose.”

Sardec looked at her. That scheme must have been born at least five centuries ago. He thought of the use such a plan might be put to: to get an assassin inside the Tower for instance.

“We also need a plan for getting us out of the city unnoticed and a way to keep ourselves safe while we do so.”

“All of these things can be managed. We will also need a way to get your man into the Tower.”

“I have thought of it. We will need to contact the local thieves. I will send some men to get what we need.”

“What makes you think they will help us?”

“I have done business with them before,” said Asea. Somehow this knowledge did not surprise Sardec. “If you will excuse me, Lieutenant, I would talk with my agent.”

“As you wish.” Sardec bowed and left.

“I have a task for you, one that is very dangerous,” said Asea.

“You want me to kill Tamara and Jaderac?” Rik thought he had better bring the matter of Tamara up first, just in case Asea was about to.

“Not at the moment. I want you to enter the Tower of the Serpent and free Queen Kathea.”

Rik laughed outright. “Perhaps you would like me to grow wings and fly you to the moon as well. The Tower is impregnable. Trust me, I am an expert.”

“I can get you inside.”

“Then you are a magician indeed.”

“Sorcery won’t be necessary, at least not on my part.”

Rik studied her carefully. She was serious. Perhaps she had figured out a way to get him into the Tower. Still, it was madness. Even if he could get in, he would be one man, in a strange place, filled with evil sorcery. Kathea was bound to be guarded. How was he supposed to find her and bring her out alive? It was impossible. He said so.

“Nonetheless I fear we will have to try.”

His laugh was mirthless now. “What do you mean, we? I am the one being asked to go in.”

“Rik unless Kathea is freed and Ilmarec disarmed, this war will be lost before it’s even started. We may as well go home and wait for the legions of the Dark Empire to roll over our borders, for they will eventually, if we allow them to take control of Kharadrea.”

“I am not sure my committing suicide will help the matter.”

“I admit the chances of success are slim but we have no option.”

“Again I hear that interesting use of the word we, again. Will you be coming with me?”

“Unfortunately, no. The Tower’s guardians would detect me immediately. They would not detect you, for reasons I have already explained.”

“Because I am a Shadowblood?”

“Perhaps you would like to say that a bit louder. The local Inquisitors may not have heard you.”

“I don’t think it makes much difference who kills me, do you? Ilmarec’s guards or the Inquisition.”

She appeared to consider the question seriously. “The Inquisition will see you suffer before you die. They will scourge you, and their techniques will show a good deal of refinement.”

Rik heard the veiled threat. He knew without having to ask that she would hand him over to the Inquisitors if he did not serve her purposes. “You would do that?”

“I do not want to, Rik, but you should also remember that you and your friends were directly responsible for Uran Ultar being unleashed. That is a matter the Lords Inquisitorial would be greatly interested in.”

And there was another threat; it was not just him who would suffer but his friends also. Rik was surprised to discover that he did care about that — just a little. He had always thought of himself as a supremely self-interested man, but he would not want anything bad to happen to Weasel and the Barbarian if he could help it.

“This is not fair,” he said, realising even as he said it just how childish it sounded.

“Life is not fair, Rik. You know it and I know it. Only children protest otherwise.”

“It seems to me that it’s a lot less fair for me than it is for you.”

“I can see why you would think that, but then you are not in any position to judge my life.”

“Heaven forbid that I should do that.”

“I understand that this makes you bitter, Rik, but there is an upside to all of this.”

“I would be glad if you could explain it to me.”

“If you succeed, the rewards will be immense.”

“How immense?” He could not help himself. He was a Sorrow street-boy. His cupidity and curiosity were both aroused by her statement.

“You will have both my gratitude and the gratitude of the Queen.”

“Gratitude buys no chickens.”

“You will be rewarded and you will be a hero. You will be the man who single-handedly changed the course of the war. There will be a good deal of gold, estates, I could even see to it that you are adopted into my clan. You have the blood and you have the appearance, and if you were successful you would have such prestige that none would question your right to it. The Terrarchs would rather believe that one of their own did such a deed than a human.”

There was indeed an upside to what she was offering. She was holding the door open to a world of immense wealth and privilege, to a life of luxury such as not even the wealthiest human could dream. She was appealing to his vanity, and his need for a place in the world too.

He knew that what she said was true. He would have proven his worthiness to be a Terrarch. More than that he would have shown he had done something that none of them could do, that not only was he as good as they were, he was better. It was a potent image to lodge in his mind. Of course, in order to achieve all this he would have to survive. Another question struck him.

“Won’t there be questions asked about how I did this? Won’t people wonder about how I beat Ilmarec’s wards and his demons?”

She smiled sensing her triumph, the change in his attitude. “I will tell them my sorcery shielded you. I have already begun explaining this to Lieutenant Sardec.”

“And if I survive this, you will teach me sorcery.”

“If you still wish it.”

“I have your word as one of the First.”

“You have my word.” If he lived he might become wealthy, famous and noble. He would also have access to the world of secret knowledge he had always thirsted for. He considered his position. If he disobeyed Asea his death was certain. He might try killing her now and making his escape but he doubted he would get far. All that would happen was he would find another route to the gallows. For all her talk he doubted Tamara would help him once the deed was done.

If he succeeded he could be rich beyond his wildest dreams, and powerful too. He could step out of the shadows and into the sunlight.

“Let me hear your plan,” he said.

“It is quite simple,” she said.

“All the best plans are.”

“We need to conceal you in one of the carts going in to the Tower.”

His heart sank. He had been expecting something much cleverer and more devious. She caught his expression.

“You saw for yourself what happened when we went through the gates of the Tower. The sentries are overconfident. They do not check the carts because they know that the demon will spot the life force of anyone concealed within them and sound the alarm.”

She caught his interest with that. “Spot the life force?”

“Yes. Demons do not see as humans do unless they are bound into a mortal form. They see the souls, the life energy of living things. The being within those gargoyles does not have eyes such as you possess. It does not need them. It sees souls as patterns of energy, as powerful sorcerers do when they use mage sight. They see the aura of things. A man concealed within a pile of sacks would still be visible because his life force would be distinct and unique. It will not see you.”

This was news to Rik. A question sprang into his mind, related to what she had told him earlier. “If that is the case, why can’t your people use magesight to spot the Shadowblood? Surely the absence of something is as noticeable as its presence. If you see a living man without an aura, you would know there was something wrong.”

“It’s not that simple, Rik. The Shadowblood could alter their auras at will. You do not have their skills. Just their raw gifts. Hopefully for this, it should be enough.”

“How do you know this power will work against the guardians of the Tower?”

“Tell me, Rik, what did you feel when you passed through the gateways into the Tower?”

He considered lying. The truth sidled out anyway. “Nothing.”

“Every other person that passed through those doorways felt something. They felt the presence of the demon observing them. You did not feel it, because it did not sense you.”

“That seems flimsy evidence at best.”

“Rik, one of us here is a sorcerer with two thousand years of experience. That person is not you. I suggest you listen to me. This is my field.”

There was no answer to that so he just stared at her sullenly. She continued to speak. “There were such guardians on Al’Terra and the Shadowblood bypassed them unnoticed. The risk is worth taking.”

“It’s a risk worth me taking anyway,” he muttered. She pretended not to notice what he had said. “What will I do once I am inside? Surely they will spot me once the cart is being unloaded.”

“You will simply pretend to be one of the carters. People see what they expect to see, and everyone knows that the gates are impassable by outsiders. Find a place to conceal yourself, wait until nightfall and then head into the Tower.”

“What if I can’t?”

“I rely on your ingenuity, Rik. You have demonstrated it before.”

“If you will forgive me for saying so, it’s not much of a plan.”

“No, it’s not. But it’s the best I can do.” She gave him a look full of sorrow and pity and desperation. The mask had slipped and he suddenly saw exactly how desperate she was that she should contemplate this. She had helped break an empire and now she was forced to rely on a half-breed boy to save everything she had helped build. If they failed here she would lose more than her life’s work. She would lose her life.

Then again, at this moment, she was not risking very much, only his life. He had already been furnished with ample proof that the Terrarch Lords of the world did not consider it worth a great deal.

Once more, his thoughts turned to escape. If what she said about his bloodline was true, he would be very difficult for them to find, if he could get out of their sight. Then again, he would be a stranger in a war torn land, an enemy to both sides, with no friends and no resources. He told himself that was a position he had been in before but that did not make things look any better.

“Tell me more of these Shadowblood, were they truly undetectable? Was there no way to find them by sorcery?” She smiled almost as if she was reading his thoughts.

“There are always ways, if you have the tools.”

“What do you mean?”

“If I had a lock of your hair, or a sample of your blood or anything else intimately connected with you, I could find you.”

“How?”

“There are creatures of the aether, demons if you will, who have senses of what- for want of a better word — we will call smell, a thousand times keener than a bloodhound. With something to trace, they can find anything.”

“Why did you not use them on Al’Terra?”

“We did. And sometimes they worked. And sometimes they were baffled by more powerful sorcery. We were not the only ones who used magic, Rik. Rest assured, wherever you go I can find you.”

He thought back to the lock of hair she had taken back in the tent. “You lied to me,” he said.

“No, Rik, I just did not tell you the entire truth. I will destroy the lock when it is no longer needed.” He felt angry and foolish, but realised that anger would do him no good in this place at this time. He needed to get himself under control if he was going to survive. “What can you do to help me on this mission?”

“I can provide you with maps of the Tower’s interior. I can even provide you with a guard’s uniform. I can provide you with some unusual weapons as well.”

That sounded more promising. “What can you give me? Magical weapons?”

“No. Those would be noticed by the guardians. Such weapons have auras just like any living things. They are imbued with magical energy. I can give you poisons…”

“What do you want me to do — poison the water supply?”

“No, I will give you magebane, which is extremely painful to anyone using magic, and I will give you drugs that will heighten your speed and strength.”

“I will need those.”

“There is one thing, Rik. If the opportunity should arise to acquire the glowing necklace that Ilmarec wears on his neck, take it. All the sorcerous defences of the Tower are tied to it. Given time, I could make good use of it.”

“I’m sure he will notice if I take his amulet.”

“Not if he is dead. That would solve a number of our problems.”

“You are saying that if the opportunity should arise, I am to kill Ilmarec.”

“You are a soldier. He is the enemy.”

“He is a Terrarch Lord. I am a human. Burning at the stake is the penalty for such a killing.”

“Not under the circumstances. This is war.”

“His retainers might, if they catch me.”

“Then best see that you are not caught.”

Rik glared at her. He could not help but feel that he was being bundled off on a suicide mission. If he succeeded Asea would grab most of the glory, for it would be her spells that protected him, or so she would claim, and he was in no position to contest that. If he failed, she would still be safe in this mansion, a rich wealthy Terrarch lady. As he had always been his whole life, he was trapped and in the power of the world’s rulers. He did not really have a say in what was going on. The best he could hope to do was sneak away, and even then he knew that, if ever they caught up with him, the penalties would be grave.

“You are looking very thoughtful,” she said.

“I am merely contemplating my chances of success,” he said. “They are not good are they?”

“No,” she agreed. “They are not.”

“Is there anything I can do to improve them?”

“You could try prayer.”

He looked at her, not sure if she was entirely serious.

“How are we to acquire a cart?” he said.

“There is a man who will help you. He is a power among the thieves in this city. I believe you have already made his acquaintance. His name is Black Tomar.”

Rik kept his face impassive. What was the connection between Asea and the local gang boss? “Why should he help us?”

“Because he will, believe me,” she said. Rik suppressed a shiver. He wondered how much contact Asea had with Tomar, whether he knew of what had happened- what had been said- with Tamara the other night.

Asea smiled almost as if she were reading his thoughts. “Give him this coin. He will know you are my messenger.”

She placed an ancient gold coin on the table. Rik picked it up and inspected it. It was a very old one, its face almost worn away; someone had indented a strange pattern on its edge, he could feel it with his finger. Rik slipped it into his pocket.

“Anything else?”

“You should be very careful, Rik, about who you talk to and what you say,” Asea said. There was a strange edge to her smile. How much did she know, he wondered?

Rik stamped the mud from his boots, wiped the rain from his forehead and followed Weasel and the Barbarian into the Snake’s Head. He cursed the weather, and he cursed the strange light from the Tower even though it lit the gloomy streets. There was something about that hellish glow that made the space between his shoulder blades crawl.

The tavern was full of worried-looking men and the kind of swift coming and going common in thieves’ haunts in times of unrest. There were a lot of opportunities out there right now. The knowledge made Rik’s fingers tingle and he felt almost tempted to go out and join in the looting.

Instead he worked his way up to the bar, behind Weasel and the Barbarian. A big, craggy-looking man greeted them with a raised finger to the barman. Three drinks were swiftly poured and placed in front of them. From this Rik deduced the man was Black Tomar, the owner, who Weasel had come to do business with the other night. He glanced around half-hoping to see Tamara, but there was absolutely no sign of her. He wondered if he would ever see her again. He pushed the thought aside; now was the time to be about Lady Asea’s business.

“Good evening,” Tomar said by way of greeting. His eyes flickered over Rik with more than casual interest. It was swiftly done but he was aware of the scrutiny nonetheless.

“Greetings, matey,” said Weasel in his most open, peasant manner, always a sign that he was most on guard.

“I am surprised to see you on a night like tonight,” said Tomar. “I thought you would be inside the House of Three Swans or maybe even still up at the Tower with Lord Ilmarec.”

“So you know about that then?” said Weasel.

“Hard not to notice when you see a company of foreign soldiers go up Snake Road.”

“I suppose so,” said Weasel. “You thought any about what we talked about last night?”

“Yes. You can tell the Quartermaster his reputation precedes him, and I’ll be happy to do business with him.”

“Glad to hear it,” said Weasel. Tomar gestured them over to a quiet alcove, a place where he could watch business go on around him but could not be overlooked or overheard.

“To tell the truth,” he said, which Rik always assumed was a sign that the speaker was going to do anything but. “I’m glad to help. I’ve never been keen on the Purples- what man could be? The Scarlets have always been better for our sort, even if not by much.”

Rik revised his opinion. That seemed an eminently sensible statement. Perhaps Asea was right about this man after all. He certainly hoped she was. Weasel nodded and said; “Aye, not by much, but by enough.”

“Your Lords are not the only ones Ilmarec has been talking with. That strutting ponce, Jaderac has been up in the Snake Tower, and so has his little girlfriend, the one who likes to hang out in bars and pick up soldiers.” He nodded at Rik at this point.

“Likes a bit of rough, does she?” asked the Barbarian with a leer. “I wondered where you had got to the other night.”

He gave Rik a look that was half appraising and half admiring. “Wish I knew what your secret was with the ladies, Halfbreed.”

“Charm,” said Rik. “Not something you would know anything about.”

“What’s this about the Easterners being up in the Tower,” Weasel asked.

“They come and go with a bit less pomp than your Lady Asea, but they’ve been up there a few times.”

“Sure?” asked Weasel.

“As this tavern is the Snake’s Head.” It did not surprise Rik. The Terrarchs were political animals. It seemed only normal that Ilmarec would play both ends against the middle.

“Any idea what they talk about?”

“None at all. It’s hard to get men inside the Snake Tower on a regular basis. They tend to disappear. Old Ilmarec is a sorcerer- who knows what he is capable of — and then there are those gargoyles on the walls. They put the fear of the Shadow into my mind I can tell you.”

“You mean those things above the gates?” Rik asked.

“Aye, lad. Never met a man yet they did not spook.” The looks on the faces of the Barbarian and Weasel told him they agreed. He wondered what he had missed and how he had missed it. Maybe Asea was right about his background, or maybe it was something else entirely. There was no way of telling.

“Now supposing we wanted to get somebody through those gates,” said Weasel.

“Can’t be done. The Guardians spot everybody.”

“What about cart drivers?”

“They are counted in and counted out. All of them are regulars too, known to the guards. You are surely not serious about this.”

“Lady Asea said I should give you this,” said Rik suddenly. He took the gold piece from his pocket. Tomar smiled at the glint of gold but a strange look came over his face when he looked closer at the coin. Rik noticed him running his thumb over the edge where the indentations were. A glance told him that Weasel and the Barbarian had noticed all of this too.

“So the time has come, has it?” said Tomar.

“Yes,” said Rik, although he was not sure what the big man meant.

“This coin pays for all,” he said. “Then all the old debts are settled. Tell her Ladyship that.”

“I will. Now, assuming the Guardians of the Gate can be bypassed, is there any way into the Castle.”

“There’s always a way when you want something smuggled into or out of a place,” said Tomar. “Even the Tower.”

“Glad to hear it,” said Rik.

“There’s a catch,” said Tomar.

“What’s that?”

“Stuff can be smuggled in. Providing it’s not alive.”

“Great,” said Rik sardonically. “Tell me more.”

“Before I do, there is something else I should tell you about Lord Jaderac.”

“What about his high and mightiness?” Weasel asked.

“His servants talk- well they always do, don’t they? I reckon he is planning something against your lot soon. The servants are in fear of their lives and there’s tales of all manner of spooky stuff going on in that mansion.”

“Tell us more…”

“They say he has coffins in there — the eastern type- sarcophaguses they call them. They say he sleeps in one but I reckon that’s just talk, although you can never tell with some of the easterners.”

“What has that to do with the Lady Asea?” Rik asked.

“One of the girls overheard them talking, Jaderac and his bint, and he was saying he had something special in one of his coffins that would deal even with the great Lady Asea. The girl was scared near to death by the way they were talking. She refuses to go back to the house.”

“Just tittle-tattle,” said Weasel.

“Might be,” said Tomar. “I am just telling you what I heard, but Kara is a hill-girl and she does not frighten easily.”

“If you say so,” said Weasel. He looked at Rik. There was a question in his glance. He seemed to be looking to Rik for a cue.

“So shall we talk about how to get into the Tower?” Tomar asked. “I can get you drivers and we have a special cart that’s sometimes used to take stuff in. Impossible to get men in though. The demon always spots them.”

“There may be a way to deal with that.”

“Care to tell me how?”

Rik shook his head. “Tomorrow. We’d best be getting back. I suppose we’ll need to warn her Ladyship about this sorcerer.”

“It might be nothing,” said Tomar.

“It might be everything,” said Rik. “We’d better go.”

Already he felt uneasy, as if something might be waiting for them, outside in the dark.