Sunday, 35 Chillbone 204 [continued]
Illyan stares impotently at the door to the Craftwright home. It
starts to rain. A passing seabird craps on him. Illyan gets the
message and returns to the cellar dispiritedly. As the council enjoy
some refreshments Thorn says that he has worked out why Vitor killed
the baron, and it is all Krais's fault. Thorn reminds the group
of when Krais was sparring with Corporal Cole, and the captain noticed
the fighting style that Krais was using and Krais said he had been
taught by Vitor. Obviously, this revealed to the captain and to
the baron that Vitor was a threat to them, and Vitor was compelled
to kill the baron. Krais is less than thrilled with this theory,
nor the fact that the rest of his friends think it makes some sense.
Now the council moves on to the part Kaylas was interested in.
Kaylas has already prepared Esher Walker and his grandfather Sigmund
and now settles back to listen to the results. The theory that the
baron was not all he appeared is taken seriously. After all there
are some genuinely unanswered questions - why would the baron come
to Bear's Reach at the end of autumn knowing he would be trapped
here to the Spring?
However, the fact that this theory can be traced back to Vitor
is a problem. Rasputin Fisher (quite reasonably for a change) asks
why the council should trust the word of a self-confessed murderer.
And also, even if this information is correct what are they actually
going to do about it.
"Suppose Vitor was right and the baron and his men are nothing
but thieves," Rasputin begins, "what do we do about it?
Do we challenge them when they return from the forest? Do we fight
them? Can we fight them? But suppose for a minute we do fight them
and we win, or we order them to surrender and they comply…
what happens then? Do we disarm them and send them into the wilderness?
To do that is to sentence them to death. So do we keep them here
as prisoners? But if we do where do we put them? and who will guard
them? and where will the food come from to feed them?"
Rasputin shakes his head with exasperation. He poses many good
questions, but has none of the answers. No-one in the council has
any answers. "This is very serious," says Konig Njedelstrom,
"I will consult with Hunched Mother. She will know what to
do. And if we fight then my lads will be ready to fight."
"But we don't even know if the baron's men are untrustworthy,"
states Sheldon Miller. "We can find out," says Tarn slowly.
"There is one person in town who could tell us that."
The realisation that Janus Thomsett is still upstairs in the inn
dawns on everyone. "Let me and Barvin have a few words with
him," says Tarn. "We'll get to the truth of it."
After everything he has gone through, no-one is willing to say no
to Tarn and so he gets his way, this time.
Talk now turns to why the baron would want to come here, if not
for the king's gold. Kaylas has had enough listening to this and,
despite his friends' attempts to reign him in, marches up the stairs
and barges into the meeting.
"It's the tower!" Kaylas states with a sense of flair
and drama far beyond his years. Sigmund immediately tells Kaylas
to remember himself, but Esher points out that Kaylas has the right
to come before the council and state any case. "Although most
people knock first," he adds.
Kaylas is allowed to state his case. He says that the imminent
emergence of the tower in the sea can be the only thing that would
bring the baron out here at this time of year. He didn't come for
the money in the village, he came for something that is inside the
tower. "The only way to make the village safe is to make sure
Malkor doesn't get his hands on this thing. It might even be something
we can use against the soldiers. We have to go in there and get
it. I would like to volunteer myself and my friends for the job."
Downstairs in the cellar, this statement is met with a significant
amount of swearing and plots are quickly hatched to speed Kaylas's
demise. Upstairs, Esher regards Kaylas coldly. "And these friends
would be?" he asks. Kaylas smiles are names Illyan, Krais,
Arax, Nits and Thorn. "To do this would be a terribly dangerous
thing," says Esher.
"Wholly too dangerous," says Sigmund. "Do you know
what happened to the last people who went into that tower? Havelock
- tell Kaylas what happened to them." Havelock Weaver who has
been silently recording the proceedings now looks up from his notes.
"The last time the tower rose was thirty years ago. A party
of travellers from Uris arrived in town a few days before. They
were led by an Odyssian cleric, there was a druid, a wizard, a half-orcan
warrior like Nits, a halfling and a bard. They went into the tower,
but they never returned. There were orcs inside. Shortly later the
entire town was attacked by orcs."
Kaylas accepts the risk, but argues unless they take the risk then
the entire town could be in jeopardy. "Very well," says
Esher, "the council will vote on your proposition. Although
I will add the proviso that no-one should be made to go against
their will. This comes of some relief to those downstairs.
The vote is quickly taken. "A mission of certain death you
say," muses Lorik, "and Illyan is going to go? I vote
to support the motion." The chance of getting rid of Illyan
is enough to get Benjamin Dyer to vote for the motion as well. Tarn
votes for it because of the obvious chance of booty that Krais will
bring back to him. Finious Cooper doesn't care about the result
and flips a coin. He also votes in favour. Konig votes in favour
because Rasputin votes against. Esher, Ras and Sheldon vote in favour
as long as the parties agree. Shul, Sigmund and Gellem vote against.
This might cause something of a rift between Kaylas and his grandfather.
Esher has the other party members summoned from the cellar (where
he knows they were listening) and they are asked whether they agree
to accompany Kaylas. Krais doesn't get a chance to reply as Tarn
confirms that his son "volunteers". The others, mainly
out of a sense of duty to Kaylas, say they will go although they
are not happy about. Kaylas is happy, and giggles uncontrollably
at this turn of events.
The council meeting soon breaks up. Kaylas takes the opportunity
to quickly slip away and visit his grandmother, Yelanna. The party
members want to immediately follow and lynch him, but there are
other matters at hand. Being a Sunday, Illyan must make his weekly
check on the progress (or lack of it) of Krais's mother, Salia.
Krais, who was about to leave for the Dyer place to see Kaleena,
waits to hear what his friend has to say on the matter.
Salia is in bed, as she has been for the best part of four seasons.
Illyan opens the curtains and lets a little fresh air in the room.
Krais and Mab watch from the doorway. They are joined by Tarn who,
although he dislikes Illyan, still very much wants his wife restored
to him. Illyan reports nothing has changed, and Salia's condition
remains as much a mystery as ever. He is about to leave when he
hears a voice that seems to come from Salia. It says: "Soon."
Only Illyan hears the voice, but he quickly tells the others what
he heard. Illyan senses that something has altered about Salia.
He reaches out and touches her forehead, the body convulsed as Illyan
inadvertently looses a holy ravage upon her. The same power that
burned the tree in the Whittenwood affects Salia Thorn, and for
the same reason: she is evil.
Tarn and Krais dismiss such rubbish, but they cannot dismiss the
fact that Salia is no longer moving or breathing. Illyan's touch
has killed her. However, the healer is not about to give up. He
employs all manner of spells, each casting more desperate than the
last until eventually he restarts Salia's heart. A cursory divination
reveals that her condition has greatly worsened, and she may not
have very much longer to live.
Tarn, though grateful that Salia still lives, can't help thinking
that Illyan caused this in some way and therefore kicks him out.
Krais is incredibly concerned (as is Mab). Thorn, who watched the
entire scene, is less than tactful. He says that he has heard stories
about possession. Illyan affirms that something was speaking, and
it wasn't Salia. He admits that the reason he has not been able
to cure Salia may be that she was never suffering from a disease
in the first place. But what has made Salia so ill? What happened
one year ago to bring her to this state?
While all this is happening, Arax is back at the Old Mill. He has
mastered two new spells that he hopes will make life much easier.
One is an invisible servant to do Trevane's cleaning and painting,
the other allows him to mould snow into interesting and amusing
shapes.
Eventually he tires of this and heads off the graveyard. The necklace
he wears is still something of a mystery and he wants to find out
more. Arriving at the tomb of Scarman Thorn, Arax wonders if there
is anything contained within that might shed light on his situation.
After all, in his vision (or whatever it was) Rhiannon Thorn was
defending the tomb. Age has produced cracks in the stone, some of
them large enough to get his hand in, but he cannot find anything
suspicious. It might be a different story if he could remove the
lid, but he has not the strength for that.
At the Grushko farm house, the pipe-smoking Yelanna Grushko is
shocked by her grandson's boldness. "Kaylas, no," she
says firmly, "you are not to go to that tower." Kaylas
points out that the venture has been ratified by the council. Yelanna
has several entire accurate but wholly unprintable things to say
about the council. She is excessively concerned for Kaylas's safety
- a concern that seems to go beyond a normal reaction.
Kaleena Dyer arrives at the inn in the early evening. She immediately
throws herself around Krais. After everything that has happened
over the past few days - Tarn being arrested and nearly killed,
Vitor's revelation and escape and now the news about his mother
- Kaleena offers much more than sympathy. She is particularly upset
about Vitor herself. "He was good to me," she says. "He
helped me through a difficult time." Remarkable the number
of lives that the provost managed to touch.
Kaleena says that she will do all she can to help Krais. She obviously
means it, and Illyan wonders once more why the pair are not engaged.
Krais says that there is something that she can do. Krais explains
his forthcoming "suicidal adventure" at the Tower. He
wants Kaleena to look after Mab, to make sure that nothing happens
to her and to prevent her from following him if she can. Kaleena
is surprised that Krais would make such a request (she was expecting
quite a different one). However, she agrees and takes the chance
of going to talk with Mab immediately.
Meanwhile, Thorn has left his companions and is searching town
for all the gold that the baron's men took from the townsfolk. After
several hours of fruitless searching in rooms and stables about
the inn, Thorn is forced to conclude that the soldiers took the
tax money with them when they left to track down Vitor. This is
extremely annoying.
Kaylas, Krais, Thorn, Arax and Illyan meet outside the inn. It
is the end of the day. A wind rises from the west and the clouds
above party part revealing the comforting glow of five moons. Vítaeous
is full and it is no longer the dark of Terranor. This strikes no-one
as unusual. The aurora is particularly spectacular this evening.
The brilliant rings in the sky above are pulsing in a myriad of
colours. Then they feel a change in the air. The hair on their necks
stand to attention as a huge sweep of energy arcs through the village.
A wall of colour passes through the centre of town, across the
beach and out to sea. Several miles from the shore it stops abruptly
and erupts skyward taking hundreds of tons of water with it. For
an instant, illuminated by the glow, they could almost see a structure
out there in the waves. Then the water crashes down, and the colours
fly back through town with a bolt of tremendous force.
The fish market is flattened. Several smaller shacks belonging
to members of the Walker family are literally blown away. The blast
explodes through the inn taking the southern wall with it. For a
second the whole structure quivers slightly and then comes crashing
down, the top floor crushing what was below!
There are people trapped inside the inn and immediately the party
rush to help. They can hear the cries of the wounded and the dying.
Wood and stone moves and Mab struggles free of the debris. Krais
hurries over to see if she is all right, but is suddenly pushed
back by an invisible blow.
Mab jerks backward, as if she has been pulled by an unseen force.
Suddenly, she rises up into the air. Five feet. Ten. Twenty. Beneath
her, slowly coalescing in the cold night air is a creature. A four-armed,
wolf-headed monster with chitinous skin and burning red eyes. Two
of its arms end in wicked claws, the others in razor-shaper pincers,
and it is one of these pincers that has lifted Mab from the ground.
Mab struggles in its grip. As she does the pincer bites deep into
her flesh drawing blood that runs free from Mab covering the creature's
forearm. The creature snarls at the sky. Then with a sickening snip
it closes its pincer. Mab doesn't scream. There isn't time. Blood
fountaining around her, Mab drops to the ground in two halves.
Krais screams and races toward the monster attacking it with all
his might. The other party members notice what is happening around
them. In the sky above a murder of skeletal, vulture-like creatures
is descending upon the town, and the rubble of the inn is stirring.
Malformed beasts with bloated bodies and hideously thin, simian
limbs, rise up from the ruin. The party flees.
Illyan is snatched up by one of the flying creatures and borne
into the air. Hs struggles briefly until a second creature swoops
in attempting to steal the prize. Illyan is torn in two by the competing
creatures. Kaylas and Arax quickly seal themselves in the Old Mill,
but Trevane's magically enchanted barrier is no barrier to these
creatures. The pair over overwhelmed and devoured by the poisonous
beasts. A fleeing Thorn is killed as a diving vulture creature tears
his head from his body. And still Krais battles the creature that
killed sister, oblivious of the destruction of the town around him.
The demon takes a long time to even notice Krais is there, but when
it does Krais's death also comes swiftly.
Vítday, 36 Chillbone 204
Krais wakes up in a cold sweat. It was a dream. He didn't meet
the others outside the inn yesterday evening, he retired early.
It was all a dream. But such a vivid dream. His door opens and Mab
bursts in. She is sobbing uncontrollably. Krais sits up in bed and
does his best to comfort his sister. She had a dream too. And in
the dream she died.
Everyone in Bear's Reach has had the same dream. Breakfast in the
tavern is again a sombre affair. No one can understand it. At the
Chandar residence Shul (who normally has an answer for everything)
is completely dumbfounded. Kaylas finds his grandfather shortly
after breakfast. There are things left unsaid between them, but
today Sigmund has other concerns.
"We were foolish," says Sigmund. "Then you know
what it meant," asks Kaylas. Sigmund nods. "It was a warning
from Mortis. A warning of what may come to pass. We should not have
imprisoned his cleric unjustly, and we should not have turned his
interrogation over to Tarn Brewer. Last night was Mortis slapping
our hand. If we don't give Janus Thomsett his freedom, Mortis will
make good on his threat."
Such visions are certainly in keeping with the ethos behind Mortis,
although Kaylas has never heard of it on quite such a scale before.
However, he is willing to defer to Sigmund's judgement in this regard.
What should they do? Kaylas says that he can have Thomsett removed
from the inn. Sigmund says that Kaylas has done more than enough
recently, and it is his responsibility.
Thorn blames the dream on Rod and goes to look for him in the morning,
but Rod cannot be found. Illyan enters town early in the day where
he is met by Kaylas. Kaylas tells Illyan what Sigmund said about
the dream. Illyan is not convinced, he is inclined to speak to Kvar
Njedelstrom about it. However, although Illyan doesn't find Sigmund's
theory convincing his position as high priest of the Church of Land
will ensure that most of the village does believe it. Kaylas has
a theory: he thinks that Janus Thomsett might be able to shed some
light on what is plaguing Krais's mother. He intends to go to the
inn and have a word with him later in the day, but he thinks it
is more important to speak to chronicler first. Kaylas volunteers
to round up Arax and Krais and meet back in the town square.
Illyan looks for Thorn. While so doing he notices Lorik Craftwright
entering the Njedelstrom home. This strikes him as quite odd, but
he has more pressing concerns (at least for the moment). Eventually
he finds Thorn. Before Thorn does anything else he is determined
to speak to his grandmother about the dream. This suits Illyan,
so the two of them go to speak with Kvar. Kvar doesn't subscribe
to the Mortis theory. She thinks the dream was a vision, a portent
of things to come. In the dream Vítaeous was full, that puts
it between the 1st and the 7th of the month. To his dismay, Illyan
finds himself more able to believe this interpretation. Which means
(worst case scenario) the village will be destroyed in somewhere
between 15 and 22 days.
Kaylas and Arax find Krais more and more agitated and irrational
after his father's near execution his mother seemingly hopeless
state. It is to his benefit that Kaleena arrived earlier in the
morning and has been doing her best to comfort Krais for the best
part of two hours. Illyan's confirmation that Salia's condition
(although stable) is significantly worse than it was this yesterday,
hit the youth hard. Salia can no longer talk and although she has
moments of wakefulness, she is becoming less and less coherent.
Avoiding both Tarn and Mab for fear they might want to join the
group on this quest for now information, the three head to meet
up with the others with Kaleena refusing the leave Krais's side.
Kaylas, Arax, Kaleena and Krais meet up with Illyan and Thorn.
After a brief discussion regarding the dream, Kvar and the imminent
destruction life as they know it they head to the home of Havelock
Weaver. Grint Brewer is again present at Havelock's and again hears
the most recent account of his mother's health. Grint takes the
news stoically, but stays to hear what Havelock says.
Although Havelock is unconvinced that an event that took place
so long ago could have any bearing of Salia's illness, he sees the
conviction of Krais and produces the old ledgers from that time.
Although Krais is unable to remember the exact day that his mother
fell ill, he is able to narrow it down to the space of a couple
of weeks. Havelock looks over that period.
Three things of interest happened in that time. The Njedelstroms
brought back a tremendous whale into Bear's Reach, that was almost
three times the length of their fishing boat. Raven Njedelstrom
entered the Church of Water and became Curran's apprentice. Finally,
and most suspiciously, the travelling healer called Rellick - the
man who taught Illyan his Art - arrived in town.
The seven are immediately suspicious of Rellick. They bid Havelock
and Grint farewell and try to decide what to do next. Thorn thinks
it is something to do with the tower, Kaylas agrees. Rellick was
carrying something that wanted to get to the tower. He arrives in
Bear's Reach, dies and the thing passes on to Salia where it waits
until the tower returns. The reason Salia's condition has deteriorated
is because it is getting much closer to the tower rising.
Illyan isn't sure. He thinks that this might be part of the truth,
but Rellick didn't just come to Bear's Reach and die. He lived at
the Forester Lodge for a season before passing. By the time Rellick
died, Salia had been sick for a whole season. Arax points out that
such a fact doesn't make Rellick's arrival within days of Salia's
sickness any less suspicious, nor does it rule out a link between
the two. Krais is impatient with talking. He wants to be doing something.
Illyan thinks that something can be done, "I'm going to speak
to someone who might know something," he says.
In truth, there are two people who might be able to shed light
on the situation. However, as one is generally unavailable and the
other is mad Illyan takes the simpler option of investigating Rellick's
grave. He, Krais and Kaleena head out to the Forester Lodge where
Rellick is buried. Meanwhile, Arax and Thorn head to Old Mill and
Kaylas returns to his original plan of seeking out Janus Thomsett.
The walk to the lodge takes about half an hour. Upon arrival the
three discover that the soldiers under the direction of Corporal
Cole made some headway on rebuilding the lodge. The fallen tree
has been moved and much of the detritus cleared away. Several new
logs from Darnavan's Forest have been prepared to repair the wall.
All that is lacking is the will and the man-power.
The group skirt the lodge to a small garden behind it. Traditionally
the Foresters have been buried here rather than in the town graveyard,
so when Rellick died three seasons ago it seemed appropriate to
put him here. Exhuming a grave is not an entirely pleasant business
at the best of times, but Krais is determined. He is even willing
to attack the frozen ground with his hands before he is given a
spade by Illyan.
For the best part of two hours Krais digs with a manic fervour.
He eventually has to rest after he has excavated a hole five feet
deep. Illyan then stops him. He is sure they didn't bury Rellick
that deeply. His remains are not here. They are missing, and that
disturbs Illyan greatly. The time has come to talk to his mother
about this.
In the meantime, Kaylas enters the inn and speaks to Barvin. Barvin
rather unwillingly takes Kaylas down to the cellar where Janus Thomsett
is being held. The scrivener is tied to a chair and absolutely terrified.
Barvin refuses to leave and is present for the interview. Janus
begs Kaylas to get him out of here. The Brewer family are mad and
all terrify him - "especially the girl".
Kaylas doesn't reveal that plans are afoot to release him. He asks
Janus whether he had a peculiar dream last night (he did not). He
mentions Salia's condition and asks whether Janus could have a look
at her. Janus agrees, although as a Scribe, possessing entities
are not really his forté. He has a few spells that might
be use, however, so if Kaylas can get him out of this chair then
he will help.
With Krais's aid, Thomsett is released and taken up to Salia's
room. Thomsett confirms that an evil presence is inhabiting Salia.
He is not sure whether or not the presence is actually possessing
Salia or simply living there. However, he can reveal no more. He
is more of a librarian than a demon-hunter. Janus is given over
into Barvin's care and Kaylas promises to do what he can to see
him freed. He then goes to see Esher Walker about securing Janus's
freedom only to discover his grandfather has beaten him to it, and
Janus will shortly be released into Sigmund's care.
Illyan, Krais and Kaleena eventually wend their to the Dyer residence.
No home in Bear's Reach is further away from the Forester Lodge.
At the home they are met by Kaleena's father, Monty, who berates
his daughter for being out all the day when she should have been
at home helping then. "She was helping me!" Krais explodes
angrily, but before he and Monty can descend into an argument Kaleena
takes her father and skilfully manoeuvres him into an adjacent room,
where she can he heard explaining the situation to him in words
of one syllable.
Krais swallows his temper as he and Illyan go to see Illyan's mother.
At the door Illyan informs Krais that he should go in alone. He
doesn't know what state his mother will be in, and doesn't want
to frighten her. Illyan knows this will be a trial as he enters
the small room set aside for his mother and tires to get some sense
from her.
Lyssa Forester is sitting on the small bed when Illyan enters,
her knees drawn up to her chest, and staring out of the window.
At the sound of the door she turns to her son and is immediately
on her feet. "Illyan!" she declares and embraces her boy
with the love and fervour of someone who doesn't have much time.
Illyan is delighted to see that her mother has returned to her senses,
even though he knows it will only be a brief respite from her madness.
"Everyone had the same dream," Lyssa says quickly. "This
is a bad omen Illyan. Something is brewing I can almost taste it
in the air. I don't like this, I don't like this at all." Illyan
does his best to calm his mother slightly. He asks her about Rellick.
"Rellick?" Lyssa replies. "You believe he has something
to do with all this?"
Illyan says they suspect that Rellick may be in some way connected
with Salia's illness. He tells her that Rellick's remains are missing.
Lyssa doesn't quite know what to say. She didn't even know that
Salia was sick, so all-consuming has her madness become. Illyan
urges her mother to think about anything she can remember about
Rellick. "He spent more time with your grandfather than he
did with me. I can't remember, Illyan. Illyan, it's getting more
difficult to think…."
There is fear in Lyssa's voice now. "Oh gods, I'm losing it
Illyan. I can feel myself slipping away." She grips her son's
hand in a mixture of love and desperation. Her next words are said
with supreme effort. Rellick once said that he died with unfinished
business. That's all I can remember. All I can think of to say.
Illyan, I'm losing it, I'm…."
Lyssa's face transforms in a picture of vacant ecstasy. She greets
her son as if she has only just seen him. She enquires how his father
is, and whether the pigs have been poked enough. It is with difficulty
that Illyan leaves his mother and returns to a sympathetic Krais
who lays a hand on his friend's shoulder. Illyan looks out of the
window at the darkening sky. He tells Krais there is someone else
to try, but they cannot make that journey until the morning.
Thorn returns to the Njedelstrom house later in the day to do his
duty in the kitchen. Remarkably he finds his brother, Salmon is
already there. Salmon is in an uncommonly good mood, and is punctuating
his work with brief bursts of song and the occasional giggle. This
is so out of character for him that Thorn is forced to ask what
has happened.
Salmon is suddenly overcome with a sense of fraternal duty. He
puts his arm around Thorn and says, "Let me tell you something
little brother. Something about women. You shouldn't wait around
much longer. There aren't many of them free in town you know. You
should stop thinking about Mab Brewer, you're not going to get anywhere
there. Aim for something you can get, like Lanna Chiesa."
"Lanna Chiesa?" Thorn is shocked. "She's only a
season younger than you," Salmon says sagely. "And she
may not be much to look at right now, but she is going to grow up
you know. Mature. Her mother was quite the looker in her day."
Thorn regards his blatantly unmarried brother with a mixture of
surprise and annoyance. "And have you 'seen' this then?"
he asks. "No, no. I'm just trying to pass on some of my wisdom,
so that one day you can be as fortunate as me." Thorn bites.
"And how are you fortunate?" - "Ah, glad you asked.
I am going to be married!"
"Really?" Thorn is excited now and happy for his brother,
"To who?" Salmon says, "To Emmaelia Craftwright."
Thorn takes a brief reality check. "Emmaelia Craftwright? Illyan's
Emmaelia Craftwright?"
"Well," says Salmon, "Dael is Illyan's child, but
the pair aren't married and never will be. Lorik came here this
morning and sorted things out with Dad. And that's that." Thorn
asks if Rod is happy with Emmaelia have a child. "There are
many men who wouldn't be willing to take on another man's child,
it is true, but I am not one of them. I do have some experience
with children. I remember when Rod was that age."
Thorn asks other questions of his brother and discovers that Salmon
has not met with Emmaelia since the matter was decided by their
fathers. He doesn't see why she should object. Every girl wants
to get married after all. However, it has not been officially announced
yet, so Salmon asks Thorn to keep it to himself. Thorn initially
agrees to this, but finds the secret burning a hole in his hat all
through dinner. By late evening he can't take it any more and runs
off to the Dyer property to tell Illyan.
Illyan is not happy to be woken by Thorn. He is even less happy
when he hears the news. He paces up and down his small room. He
doesn't know what to say, or where to put himself. He feels uncommonly
murderous toward Salmon. Thorn points out that this isn't Salmon's
fault. He wants to marry. He's been lonely for years. Illyan accepts
this (at least intellectually) but he still can't get his head around
this. He needs to talk to Emmaelia. Thorn asks Illyan not to mention
his part in conveying this news as it is supposed to be a secret.
Having spread chaos, Thorn returns to his own home before he is
missed, leaving Illyan to mull over these shocking revelations.
Terday, 37 Chillbone 204
Illyan doesn't sleep all night. At least this means he is in town
early in the morning. He and Krais meet outside the inn just before
dawn. Illyan tells Krais that they have a fairly long journey through
the woodland ahead of them, but at the end of it they should get
some answers. The pair stride off toward the New Mill and the bridge
that takes them into Darnavan's Forest. Illyan allows himself a
lingering look at the Craftwright home and wishes he could talk
to Emmaelia, but there is no time.
The pair have not left town for more than half an hour when all
hell breaks loose in the Njedelstrom house. Thorn is woken by screaming,
sobbing and running feet. It is the sound of terrified children.
Lighting the oil lamp he sees Salmon is sitting up in bed across
from you blearing into the gloom. Footsteps run past the door to
your room. There is more screaming and a terrible wailing. It sounds
as if all the pains of the world have been visited one unlucky person.
Instinctively Thorn knows that Rod is responsible.
Throwing open the door Thorn sees his cousins cowering at the end
of the hallway. Truss's sons Bartok and Halbad, and Gunwale's son,
Yaddagon, are beside themselves with fear. Thorn is surprised that
even Bartok, the most level-headed child you could hope to meet,
has been reduced to the state of a gibbering imbecile. However,
he does have enough self-possession to point down the hallway.
Thorn looks down the hall (which seems longer than he remembers
it). At the end, about thirty feet away, is a single wooden door.
Beyond is the room that the three children share with Rod. Telling
Salmon to look after the children, Thorn determines to go and check
it out. The wailing of the children and the pleading that he shouldn't
go do little to embolden Thorn, but his desire to give Rod a good
birching overcomes any trepidation he might feel.
Thorn walks to the door. It is slightly ajar and the insides are
in darkness. He tries to push the door open, but is suddenly overwhelmed
with the same icy fear he felt fleeing the evil tree in the Whittenwood.
Within seconds he back at the end of the corridor with Salmon and
the children. Salmon disregards his brother's advice and also tries
to enter the room, to much the same effect. There is something sinister
inside. It is definitely time to alert the rest of the family.
Within half an hour the distraught children have been sent to their
mothers, and numerous burly Njedelstroms (including Konig and Twoshoes)
have tried to enter the room but found their courage lacking. Thorn
has gone outside to find the storm-shutters closed. He attempts
to enter the room from under the house down Rod's crawl-way, but
he cannot bring himself to do it. Inside, the water priest, Raven
Njedelstrom, stands as close to the room as he dares and uses his
powers to see if anything magical emanates from within. He senses
nothing. Obviously they need someone who specialises in matters
arcane. Konig sends Raven to summon Arax.
From his breakfast table, Kaylas notices Raven run down the hill
and then return a few minutes later with Arax in tow. Feeling vaguely
curious he goes to get dressed and wander over to the Njedelstrom
home. Meanwhile Thorn explains to Arax exactly what is going on.
Arax, who remembers his experience with the evil tree only too well,
isn't sure what help he can be, but he will certainly give it a
whirl.
Arax strides toward the room. Most of the Njedelstrom family is
cowering right at the end of the corridor. Only Thorn is at his
shoulder, and he has decided to bring a very large harpoon with
him (just in case). Stopping an appropriate distance from the door,
Arax uses a simple cantrip to throw the door open. However, although
they can see indistinct shapes inside, it is obvious they will have
to enter.
At first, this is beyond both of them, and both run back down the
corridor. But Arax is not to be beaten by this and although a further
attempt is still beyond Thorn, Arax grits his teeth and enters.
The first person to do so. With the storm shutters closed the room
is extremely dark, and there is a sense of dread in the air, not
unlike the feeling in the Whittenwood several days ago. Arax steps
into the room and something cold and wet brushes against his face.
Something runs down your cheek. Blood… Arax casts a light spell.
Strips of flesh are hanging from the ceiling. Like ribbons.
Arax exits the room quickly. He reports his findings to Thorn,
Konig, Twoshoes and the others. He says that there is no sign of
Rod unless the strips of flesh are Rod. Arax doesn't voice this
suspicion but he can see that the entire family is thinking it.
Konig says that this is a matter the "hunched mother"
must be made aware of. He immediately organises his family (and
Arax) into a search for Rod.
Arax and Thorn head off together to check the environs for Rod.
Arax thinks there may be more to discover in the room, but he doesn't
really want to check it out alone in case whatever ripped up all
that flesh is still in there. The pair meet Kaylas and apprise him
of the situation. He agrees to help look for Rod.
In the meantime, a few miles north, Krais is confused when Illyan
leads him to the Forester Lodge and then heads west into Whittenwood.
Illyan explains that he is taking Krais to see his grandfather -
or more accurately his great, great, great grandfather: Morris Forester.
Krais barely remembers the tales of Morris. He was a half-elf as
well, but if he still leaves then he must be well over a hundred
seasons of age. "129," says Illyan, and urges Krais not
to reveal to anyone that Morris still lives. He prefers his privacy.
After about an hour the pair come upon a small shack almost entirely
covered by trees. Illyan knocks on the door and when he does not
hear a reply he enters. The shack contains a fireplace a hard bed
and various tools and utensils but no Morris. Krais is wondering
what they should do next when an arrow thuds into the doorframe
an inch away from his right ear.
"Stay where you are," calls a voice from somewhere in
the impenetrable Whittenwood. Krais raises his hands slowly and
informs the voice that he has absolutely no intention of going anywhere.
"Illyan," comes the voice again from somewhere else in
the green, "what made you bring one of them out here? Didn't
you not remember what I said I'd do, Illyan?" Krais moves to
speak, and a second arrow strikes the wood a whisker from Krais's
left ear.
Illyan calls to the trees. He explains that this is his friend,
Krais and that they need his help. "My help?" the voice
chuckles, "Why would I help any of them?" Illyan explains
that Krais's mother is dying, possessed by something. "And
why is that my problem?" asks the voice. It is much nearer
now.
Suddenly Krais feels a hand on his shoulder. He is spun around
and forced against the wall of the shack. A knife is at his throat
and he is staring into the eyes of an impossibly old man. His features
are scored with innumerable lines of age; many teeth are missing,
his hair is wild, his pointed ears long and curled. But the eyes
are sharp and so is the knife.
"Krais? Krais Brewer? You're Galen Thorn's grandson?"
Krais says that he is. "And your mother is Salia? Galen Thorn's
daughter?" Illyan says it is so. "Listen carefully to
me, boy," says Morris Forester pushing his blade a little closer
into Krais's neck, "if you ever tell anyone that I'm here,
if you ever say one word I'll find you and I'll kill you. Do you
understand?"
Morris throws Krais to the floor and turns to Illyan. "And
I should do the same to you. What do you want?" Illyan tells
Morris about Salia and about their theories and then he speaks of
Rellick. "I took his body. Dug him up the night you buried
him," Morris says, still keeping a wary eye on Thorn. "Why?"
asks Illyan incredulously.
"Because he asked me to," says Morris, happy to tell
the pair the truth if it means getting rid of them quickly. "Rellick
said he had business unfinished in his life. Told me he was tainted
with something. Said on death he had to purified. Made me dig him
up and carry him over to Mannell Falls. I had to stand on that flat
rock under the falls. Did some sort of elemental ritual. Then I
put the bones to rest."
Morris is ether unwilling or unable to expand on what he has said.
He doesn't know what Rellick was afraid of happening. Illyan doesn't
see how going to the falls and finding Rellick's body will help
- besides the Mannell Falls runs straight off White Bear Peak and
is thirty miles away as the crow flies. Krais is sorry that this
investigation has come to a dead end, but he is not sorry to leave
the Whittenwood and Morris Forester. Morris warns Illyan to think
more carefully before coming out to see him again. "You've
been living among these people for too," he says. "You
think you can be one of them but you can't. They'll always turn
on you. They'll never accept you." And with that cheery advice
the pair walk back to the village.
A Murder of Crows
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