“What will you do, Sorcerer, when you grow hungry?” Tavin asked, taking the tins when Laedron forced them into his hands.
“We each left the city with enough in our packs to feed us for a few weeks. Don’t worry about us. We have plenty left in our other bags.”
Tavin opened the door. “Your generosity is uncommon, especially in these lands and certainly in these times. We thank you.”
Laedron gave him a nod, waited for the door to close, then turned to Marac. “You seem anxious. Is something on your mind?”
“We’ve been talking, and I think we need to discuss this.”
“Yes?”
Marac took a deep breath. “We have concerns about helping these people. What they ask, we think, isn’t reasonable, Lae.”
“Really? Why do you think that?”
“They’re asking us to retrieve an ancient artifact so that they can continue living forever? It’s unnatural. If they were meant to have the gift of eternal life, I think that they would’ve been born with it.”
“Can you not see the suffering in their eyes? We can’t just leave them, Marac.”
“And why not? What stake have we in this?”
Laedron rubbed the back of his neck. “You? Little to none. For me, it’s a bit more complicated.”
“Explain it to us. Make us understand.” Marac sat on the edge of the paltry table, its supports creaking with the added weight. “Right now, I don’t think any of our hearts are in it.”
“Even you?” Laedron asked Valyrie.
“He’s right, Lae. We have to have a reason, some acceptable purpose, if we’re expected to risk our lives for them. We have to know that what we’re doing is right.”
Have they turned her against me? Or is this a result of our earlier arguments? And Marac, how could he question me when we’re so close to the answers? “The Uxidin have kept magic alive for thousands of years. Without them, it might have been lost along with the rest of history’s secrets. To think, they shared the blessings of magic with mortal men, and now, mortal men have a chance to repay that debt-through us.”
“The weight of the world isn’t on our shoulders, and the debt isn’t ours alone to pay,” Marac said. “The odds are clearly against us, and what would we gain from it? The warm feeling of knowing that a few mages living deep in some ruins somewhere have benefited from our generosity?”
“Not everything comes with monetary rewards, but I’m sure the Far’rah could arrange that, if it suits you,” Laedron said, the disdain dripping from his words.
“You needn’t take that tone with me, Laedron Telpist. After all we’ve been through, I would’ve thought I could speak my mind without disrespect.”
What has happened to me? Relax. Breathe. Calm yourself. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Marac.” Laedron rubbed his temples. “I’ve just been given some bad news.”
“Lae, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you at a time like this,” Marac said, rushing to his side. “The spell is fading? We’ll find a way, my friend. We won’t let-”
“No, no. Nothing like that. Tavin seems confident that I will live despite what’s happened of late, but he told me of the Kiveshes; we may be hunted since we were responsible for Andolis’s death.”
“Kiveshes?”
“When we found the body of the guard in the alley back in Azura, the tattoo on his neck was written in Zyv-” Laedron stopped to correct himself. “Nyreth.”
“Ah, yes, the assassin in black.” Marac pointed at himself. “It’s my burden alone. I dealt the killing blow.”
“I don’t think they’ll care who actually killed him. We all had a part in it. Except Valyrie, her involvement was mostly kept secret.”
“They’ll have trouble finding us out here. For now, we have other things to consider,” Brice said. “At this moment, we have to decide if we’ll help the Uxidin by getting this book of theirs.”
“Through an army of those Trapper things?” Marac asked. “Deep in some old abandoned temple against some powerful mage? I respect you, Lae, and I understand how you feel, but I have to say no. We beat Andolis, but we were nearly killed in the process.”
Marac is against me. Does he not trust me? Is he afraid? “What about the rest of you? Val?”
“No, Lae. We have no business getting in the middle of things that don’t involve us. It’s too risky.”
Staring at the floor, Laedron pursed his lips. Can I trust her after this? Can I depend on her to be at my side if she would choose to run at the thought of danger?At the inference of difficulty? “And you, Brice?” Need I even ask? He trembles at any suspicious sound.
Brice glanced at Marac and Valyrie, then stood and joined Laedron on the other side of the room. “I’m with you, Lae.”
“You?” Marac asked, standing with his arms folded. “The one afraid of his own shadow? The one scared of noises in the dark?”
Brice tilted his head. “What of it?”
“I’m just shocked at the sudden change of heart, Thimble. Now, you’re the brave one?”
“No, not brave. Nothing like that. Not even close.”
“What, then?”
“We said that we’d help Lae. I’m standing beside him until the end. He’s brought us this far, and he saved my life.”
Smiling, Laedron put his arm around Brice’s shoulders. “Thank you. We’ll do it together.” He slapped Brice on the back, then gazed at Marac. “You asked me once if I was sure. You said that was all you needed to know. Well, I’m sure, Marac Reven. We must see this to its finish.”
Marac thought for a while, sighed, then turned to Valyrie. “We can’t split up, can we?”
“No, I suppose not.”
“Then, we’re with you, Lae.”
“I’m not going to force you two.”
“No.” Marac walked over to him. “Whether it’s home or the depths of some old temple, we go together or not at all. We won’t abandon you.”
“If we’re to go forward, you must give up your fears and doubts. You must know that we’ll succeed; merely believing in it won’t be enough this time.” Laedron put his hands on Marac’s shoulders and stared into his eyes. “You have to know, the way you know that the sun rises in the morning, the way you know your own name. All of you.”
“Do you believe that, Lae?” Brice asked, a hopeful look in his eyes.
“I know it as a fact. With my friends at my side, I can’t see it any other way.”
“Let us speak with this… what did you call him? Far’rah?” Marac asked, picking up his belongings.
Laedron grabbed his pack, opened the door, and found Tavin in the next chamber. “We’ve come to an agreement.”
“And that is?”
“We will speak to Far’rah Harridan and see about retrieving the tome from Kareth.” Everyone in the room paused from eating, as if the name carried with it a fear strong enough to still a beating heart.
“We don’t speak of him. It makes it easier on us if we don’t speak of the one responsible for all this misery,” Tavin said. “I will take you to the Far’rah.”
Tavin led them through a door Laedron hadn’t noticed before, into a narrow corridor, then to a circular chamber with a man clothed in dirty purple cloth kneeling in front of a shrine of some sort.
“Far’rah? These visitors would like to see you,” Tavin said.
In the center of the room, a circular stone altar had been built, and light shone straight down upon it from a bright, luminescent gem. Simple pine furniture-a bed, a desk, and a chair-sat in the far corner.
Without looking up, the man said, “There was a time when I would see guests, Tavingras. That time has passed.”
“This time, it’s different, Far’rah. They have come to retrieve The Bloodmyr Tome for us, to wrest it from Kareth’s grasp.”
“How is this time any different from any of the others? Those who came before have failed. Has it been so long that you’ve forgotten the empty promises of all the would-be rescuers?” He stood and turned to them. His pale skin glowed in the dim light, his flowing silver hair an unlikely match compared to his youthful countenance. “What makes you believe these mortal children would stand a chance against Kareth and his Trappers?”