The Towers
Copyright (C) 1997 by Charles Tryon
1: The South Road
"Breakfast is served." GreyEagle awoke suddenly to the sharp rap and voice at the door. The first fingers of the morning light were just beginning to caress the room, and the sounds of the city stirring itself to wakefulness filtered in through the open window. As the fog of sleep slowly lifted, memories of the night began to drift back to GreyEagle, and she sank back into the pillows to savor their sweetness for a while. Then she remembered the note Schimray had left for them the evening before and forced herself to get up. Breakfast at sunrise he had said. She stepped to the wash basin and splashed the cold water in her face. As she dressed, she glanced down at the bracer on her arm. It sparkled brightly in the morning sun, and she wondered what the others would think when they saw it. Would they would guess that it was from Schimray and resent his special treatment of her? She shrugged. If anyone made an issue of it, she would have to deal with it then. She came down the stairs to the commons room and the smells of bacon and eggs, pancakes, ham, fresh jams and jellies jumbled together to tease her senses. A table had been set in the center of the room and fresh water, light ale and wine were plentiful. Schimray was seated at the far end of the table, and he nodded pleasantly to her as she came into the room. GreyEagle took the seat on his right and smiled back warmly. Recuahc was there already enjoying himself. He was certainly one who enjoyed the morning, GreyEagle thought as she rubbed the sleep from her own eyes. He smiled broadly at the others as they came down to the table in ones and twos. Sucaba came down last of all, and as soon as Schimray saw him, he motioned for the mage to take the seat at the end of the table opposite him. Sucaba was in a foul mood, and glared back at anyone who dared look at him. He treated the serving girls rudely, and muttered about their clumsiness. When Schimray indicated the seat of honor, Sucaba at first hesitated, giving the other a strange look, but then he silently moved to the seat indicated. Plates were brought out, heaped high with steaming food, fresh baked breads and bowls of fruit. Their mugs were never empty, and as soon as one platter was finished, it was whisked away and replaced with another full one. After half and hour of steady eating, even Ormec was satisfied, though he was careful to save one last plateful to nibble on as the table was quickly cleared. "I trust everyone has had enough to eat," Schimray finally said, leaning back and grinning at the dwarf. "We have much to discuss of the future, but I think that it would be better to move out to the stables, where we will have a little more privacy. And," he added, looking at Sucaba and the silent one, "it will allow the two newest members of your party to join us." He stood to his feet and walked out the rear door towards the stables. The rest quickly rose to follow him. Ormec gave the plate of food which he had so carefully saved one last sad look before he snatched a napkin, spread it out on the table and emptied the plate into it. With a smug look on his face, he carefully folded up the small bundle and carried it out with him. As they approached the stables, GreyEagle thought she heard a low rumble, like the sound of thunder from a distant storm, a sound more felt through the souls of her feet than heard. Two thin wisps of smoke curled lazily out through the great doors of the stables, and a couple of young stable hands stood there, their eyes wide and their faces ashen. The dragon slowly emerged when Sucaba called him and squinted up at the bright morning sun. Slowly, carefully, he stretched out his legs, one at a time, and his great black talons glinted sharply in the morning sun. "A bit cramped in there for a dragon, wouldn't you say wise one?" he said to Schimray. "Still, I have had to put up with worse." He reared back on his hind legs and stretched out his wings to their full width, and the two stable hands fell to their knees and covered their heads. Horton glanced over at them momentarily, and a smirk crossed his face, revealing the long white daggers which passed for teeth. "My greetings to you, wise one," he said with a bow. "You may depend on my service, though in a few hundred years the tables may turn." Schimray bowed in turn. "And until such time, we know who is the master, do we not?" Horton let out a low rumbling chuckle. "So long as it is to our mutual advantage." The dragon turned to the silent mage and looked him over carefully. His eyes almost seemed to blink shut. "So, a rat it is, and a talking one at that," he chuckled. "I had thought better of you magic user. No matter. We will see how your little circus act performs now that everyone is watching it." The silent mage regarded the dragon coolly, never batting an eyelash. The dragon slowly turned to face the others. "The rest of you, I already know. Have no fear dwarf fighter. I will not eat you for dinner, not just yet at least," he added with a wink at Ormec. "The magic user I will continue to carry on my back as I have always done. You may depend on me to scout for you, hunt for you, and even fight for you." There was a grinding sound and GreyEagle saw the dragon's black claws tear through the ground in front of him as if it were water. "No, you will not regret your decision dwarf." Ormec regarded the dragon carefully. "We will see about that, no doubt. In the mean time, I'll be watching you, not that it'll do any good, mind you." The dragon chuckled quietly. "Glad he's on our side," Recuahc whispered to Conrad, giving the gnome a nudge with his elbow. "He's not huge, but he's big enough for me." "He's still too big for my taste," Conrad snorted. "I'm just as glad that he spends most of his time up ahead of us with Sucaba, though I must admit that makes it harder for us to keep an eye on him." "Even harder when they're invisible," Ormec added. Sucaba chuckled quietly. "Good morning all!" a shrill voice interrupted from behind. GreyEagle spun around to see Raal walking up to them, standing on his hind legs. She almost choked when she saw the rat. He now sported a brilliant red cape, complete with a golden "R" embroidered in its center. A sword and scabbard were fastened at his waist, and on top of his head rested a miniature version of the silent mage's own wizard cap. "Pardon my tardiness," he said with a bow, "but of course I could not join you within the inn as you broke your fast." Sucaba too seemed amused at Raal's appearance, and flashed a brief smile toward the silent mage. The dragon regarded the rat for a moment, and then with a slight snort, turned his attention back to Schimray. "Good of you to join us Raal," Schimray said as he smiled at the Sumatran. "Now that we are all here, I will outline your next journey," Schimray cleared his throat. "I have decided that, in the interest of time, you should tackle both of the next two towers before returning here. If things go well, I may be able to meet you on the road somewhere with directions to the next tower. If not, I may have to send instructions to Sucaba some other way." "You will journey to the South from here. The journey is long, but I have attempted to make it as swift as possible. You will travel south along the trade route with a merchant caravan, posing as a special guard contingent, although I doubt you will see much action. Once you reach Suzail, you will board a merchant ship and sail east through the Lake of Dragons and into the Sea of Fallen Stars. You will follow along the southern coastline until you reach the Vilhon Reach. At the port city of Arrabar, the fleet will exchange its supplies for its return trip to Suzail. You however, will leave the fleet there and continue south along the route known as the Golden Road, passing through Ormpetarr and Innarlith and into the Shaar." "Once you have reached the branching of the road at Kormul, you must make a decision. Your first choice is to turn west along the route and follow it to the Shining Sea. From there you will have to return east along the shores of the river Talar, past the forest to a small range of mountains. It is within these mountains that the tower stands. The second choice is to leave the route at Kormul and head south, skirting the forest there. You will have to cross the river Talar at some point and then head into the mountains." Raal listened intently as Schimray spoke and using a small stick, began to scratch a map in the dust. GreyEagle bent over to look, still careful to not get too close to the rat. Raal backed away to give her a bit of room. "Please excuse my rat-scratching," he said, tipping his hat. "It makes me nervous with so many boots about." GreyEagle backed up slightly to give the rat more room. "After you have finished with that tower," Schimray went on, after he had given Raal's map a nod, "you will cross the river and follow it northeast to Rethmar. You will follow the trade route east to Kholtar where it clings to the edge of the Great Rift. It is within the Rift that you will find the third tower, standing on the banks of the lake which lies at its center. The cliffs which line the Rift are high and treacherous, though people have been known to scale them. The lake may also be reached by going to the northern end of the Rift and tracking back upstream along the river Shaar where it flows through the Landrise." "I have heard stories of this place," Recuahc interrupted, "and it is not known to welcome visitors." "It is true that the Rift crawls with those who feed upon the unwary. The spirits of those who have been lost there are said to still roam the shores of that dark lake." Schimray smiled. "I will leave it up to you to decide how to reach the tower." Schimray reached into his robe and produced several pouches. "I suspect you are waiting for these," he said as he handed them out. "Inside you find 100 platinum pieces as initial payment for the next two towers." When he had finished handing out the payments, Schimray looked around at the group. "I wish to make one additional item very clear however." The excited chatter which had started up over the pouches of money quickly died away at the sound of his voice, and GreyEagle could feel a trickle of cold sweat running down her back. "Any stars which you may find in the future are to be considered a part of the towers. They can only be used in conjunction with the towers, and as such, you will bring them back to me. I have already been given the star you found in the first tower. At one time there were twelve stars, with one master, but I do not know how many have survived the ages, or if you will be able them." "How about giving us the equivalent gem value, so no one is tempted to steal them?" Trouble asked, fidgeting. Schimray laughed. "You will be adequately compensated for whatever you find." He then smiled most unpleasantly. "I am not at all worried that any of you would be so foolish as to try to steal one of the stars, for it would be difficult to hide something of such power from me, and I would be very disappointed if my faith in you was abused. Enough of that though. It is time to prepare to leave." "Who will be our contact in this merchant caravan?" Sucaba asked. "I will take you all there shortly to meet those responsible for the caravan." "Do we expect payment from them, or have they paid you?" Schimray smiled at Sucaba. "I have not paid you enough already for your services? But do not worry -- the merchants will compensate you well enough for your troubles." Sucaba scowled. "Just what we need. Some crowd of fat merchants and crying babies to tag along with and slow us down. I don't like it, but if you insist." "I do insist, and I believe that you will find it faster in the long run. The less trouble you encounter along the way, the better off you will be. There is no reliable or safe route South from here other than by sea, and I figured that you would appreciate earning a few extra gold pieces along the way." "No harm in that," Ormec added, "but I can think of better ways than traveling by ship." Trouble laughed. "What, the brave dwarf cowers at the sight of water? Should we tie you to the mast if the waves threaten to wash you overboard." Ormec fumed and was about to say something, but GreyEagle quickly interrupted. "Who do we contact on the merchant ship?" Schimray put up his hands to hold off the questions. "I have taken care of all of that already. Things will be clearer when I take you to meet the caravan." Sucaba quieted down, but GreyEagle didn't think he looked satisfied. "A boat!" Trouble grumbled. "What is there to do on a boat?" "Why fish of course," Sucaba laughed. "We will purchase the equipment before we leave Suzail, and I will teach you all the fine art." "Well," he said with disgust, "at least there is some money in it." He turned to Recuahc. "Looks like you'll get your chance to do some climbing if we go down into this Great Rift. Or maybe we can all ride Horton." Sucaba glared at him silently. "Do you have maps again for us?" GreyEagle asked. "The territory is unfamiliar, and I would hate to became lost." "Yes," Schimray said, searching through the pockets in his robe. He found two scroll cases and handed one to Sucaba and one to GreyEagle. GreyEagle pulled out the map and quickly traced out the route which Schimray had described. The map covered a large part of the lands, extending far beyond the range of her own knowledge. The journey ahead of them would indeed be long, and she could only guess at what dangers might lie ahead of them. Last night, she had felt an overwhelming sense of peace being with Schimray, but now, with the imminent prospect of leaving once again hanging over her, she felt a nagging sense of loneliness. Recuahc looked over GreyEagle's shoulder at the map. "I would certainly enjoy the chance to do some climbing," he said excitedly. "Who else here considers themselves at home dangling from the face of a cliff?" GreyEagle's head reeled just thinking about cliffs. She swallowed hard and looked down. "Thank you, but I would just as well leave the climbing to others. Cliffs and I don't get along well." The memory of spending three cold nights stranded on a narrow ledge with a twisted ankle before her brother had found her caused a shiver to go down her spine. Recuahc shrugged. "I suppose we could go by the river. I always wanted to learn to fish. The Rift sounds more dangerous, but then it might be more of an adventure." His eyes sparkled with glee. "You won't have to worry about finding more adventure," Conrad said, "or more boat rides for that matter. We will already have one boat ride on the way to the first tower, and the rift surrounds the second." He scowled. "I don't really want to climb either. The top of a horse is about as high as I care to get. One small gnome doesn't stand much of a chance when falling from any height, let alone bouncing down the side of a mountain. Now under the mountain, that's an entirely different matter." "If we are ready then," Schimray said, "I will take you to the caravan. The merchants are waiting for us there." He turned and headed up the path to the road, and the others quickly fell in behind him. Horton, still stiff and cranky from his tight quarters, stretched out his neck a few times and dusted off a few remaining pieces of straw which still stuck to his gleaming black hide before following behind the increasingly impatient Sucaba. Schimray led them through the city and into the heart of the market district. They created quite a stir as the dragon walked along at the tail of their little procession, occasionally stopping to sniff the various goods on display at the countless stands and vendors along the way. When he found something to his liking, he made no effort to hide his thievery, and the white faced merchants did not dare to stop him. GreyEagle watched the dragon as they walked. It was hard enough trying to understand the men in the group, but the two new members of the group had her completely baffled. Even the rat had her confused now. First, hissing, insulting and disgusting, and now a dashing little fighter, complete with sword and cape. She looked around for Raal, but he was nowhere to be seen. She looked to the silent mage to see if the rat was with him, but still could see no sign. The mage seemed to be enjoying himself though, stopping here and there to examine the various stands that they passed. He stepped back from a bouquet of roses that he had been smelling and smiled at GreyEagle. He too continued to be an enigma to her. Eventually, the open air stalls of the market gave way to a series of large warehouses. Schimray stepped to the door of one of the buildings and knocked loudly. The door was quickly opened to admit the group to a large room within. The room was dark in comparison to the bright sun of the morning, and it took some time for GreyEagle's eyes to adjust, but she could immediately pick up the heavy aromas of expensive spices and fine woods. This was no small operation to be dealing in such wares. When her eyes finally adjusted, she saw that there were five men waiting for them. The first was a huge man, dressed in finely polished armor and bearing the markings of an officer. The others were from the merchant class, and well off by the look of the heavy gold rings on their fingers. The officer stepped forward and shook Schimray's hand warmly before he turned to surveyed the group standing there. "So what have you brought me this time Schimray? They don't look like much," he said with a frown, "but if you say they can do the job, that's good enough for me." "Looks can deceive," GreyEagle said softly, but the man apparently did not hear her. "Have I ever let you down?" Schimray laughed. "I suppose not. Now a dragon is interesting though. How fearsome can that he look?" he asked, pointing his chin towards Horton. The dragon reared up on his hind legs and spread his wings out to their full span. He bared his teeth in an evil grin, and with a snarl, let out a small puff of smoke and flame which licked the air over the heads of the merchants. They squealed and quickly took cover, cowering behind Metzler. "Uh, okay, yea, that's quite good enough," one of them stammered. "You can stop now, please." "We will most definitely not be putting on a display while we travel to Suzail," Sucaba added sharply with a quick warning glance in Horton's direction. "The dragon and I will be scouting ahead invisibly. That way, we will be able to bring back advance knowledge of any threats." "Yes, yes, splendid idea, of course," the fattest merchant squeaked. "No need to tie you down with all the rest of us in the wagons." "A lot of fun you are," Horton grumbled quietly as he sank back down on all fours. The merchants slowly emerged from behind the officer and brushed off the little bits of ash which had settled onto their finery. In a short time, they had restored their dignity somewhat and looked just as pompous as ever. The officer smiled as he watched. "Yes, I believe that you will do well enough. You will receive five gold pieces each when we reach Suzail, and twenty five more when we reach Arrabar. You will be a complimentary guard group -- my regulars will take care of the routine matters. There are increasing rumors though of pirates attacking along the coast, and we may need some assistance keeping them off. Schimray has assured me that you are the men for the job." Looking around, he noticed GreyEagle giving him a dirty look. "And one woman," he added tentatively. He gave her a quizzical look, but then shrugged. "I am Captain Metzler, and these other gentlemen are the merchants you are being paid to protect. Above all else you are to protect their lives. Are there any questions?" GreyEagle eyed the captain carefully. There had been an edge in his voice when he had belatedly acknowledged her presence, and it made her uneasy. "The only question I have," Horton said, "is do we get regular meals and is there a berth big enough on your boat to accommodate my needs?" Sucaba winced. Captain Metzler laughed. "You will have plenty enough to eat, and if your cabin is too small, we can arrange something on deck for you. If it rains or the seas get a little rough, it might not be as comfortable as below deck, but you will have enough space." GreyEagle stepped forward. "GreyEagle here, at your service," she said with a slight bow. "I do have one small request. As the one woman on this group, I ask for no special favors, but a small bit of privacy now and then would be appreciated. Also," and she gave the captain a level stare, "sailors, I have been told, can be a rowdy lot. While I assume that you run a tight ship and that there should be no problems, I would be most grateful if you would inform your crew that I will not tolerate any nonsense or harassment, and that I am well prepared to deal with any who might perhaps be a bit slow to learn." She smiled and bowed slightly to the captain. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the silent mage roll his eyes and walk away. The captain nodded silently, but she was still not sure how seriously he took her. "Good," captain Metzler concluded when there seemed to be no further questions, "I will meet with you here at noon." With a wave of the hand, he turned and walked from the room with the four merchants scurrying after him. In the short time that they had to get ready to leave, GreyEagle returned to her room at the inn to pack up her things. She carefully cleaned and polished her armor before putting it on. When she had finished stuffing her few belongings into her pack, she sat down on the bed and looked around at the room. Images of the past two weeks flooded her memory -- the longing, the pain, the feeling of Schimray's touch. The time seemed like it had passed in the twinkling of an eye. She didn't want to leave again, but this time it was not out of fear. The prospect of months on the road away from Schimray discouraged her. Still, there was work to be done, and time was slowly ticking away. She looked down at the bracer on her arm. The patterns engraved into its surface and her memories of the night were now inextricably intertwined. It was those memories that she would have to hold on to for strength in the coming weeks and months. She had no idea how long she sat there dreaming, but she suddenly realized that it was finally time to leave. She sat down at the small table in the room and hurriedly wrote out a note:
Schimray my love,
My heart is filled to overflowing with memories of last night. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined how I would feel in your arms. The memory of the sound of your voice is my laughter and song. You have given me these, and they will not be taken away again. Now however, my heart is heavy with the thought of leaving again, but leave I must. The shadow of the dark creature and the maiden it holds there forces itself into my memory again, and I know I must go. I know not what I will be able to do when I finally face it, but I will face it, and only one of us will emerge on the other side. As I travel, I will think of you. The wind and sun will speak your name to me, and the rain till bring your gentle touch. The creatures of the fields will remind me that you love me, and the birds of the air will carry my love back to you. If I do not return again, take comfort in their telling, for they will never cease to speak to you of my love.
GreyEagle The paper bore the stains of falling tears.
Next...
7 April, 1998