The Taleweaver
Escape

The lightblinded him at first when he entered. For a few dizzying momentsHarbend was only aware of the sudden pain before his eyes got used tothe change. After that he was able to discern differences and sawseveral sources of light. Great lamps hung from the ceiling and amultitude of smaller ones cast their flickering lights from the wallsthey were fastened to.

They were ina large hall with a shining floor made from polished marble, and thatstony mirror reflected and magnified glittering candles and thesteady, yellow, light from bulbs of glass or crystal.

Magecraftershad been at work here. That much was certain. Skilled ones at that.Translucent statues slowly moved in eternal dance, almost lifelike.The beauty stunned him, and the ever-present trader in him struggledto value what he saw. He knew he really shouldn't translate art intogold when he could simply enjoy it, but he'd spent too many yearstrading to avoid it.

Harbendbriefly wondered if he was so far gone he would eventually try to seta fixed price to Nakora and the repulsion following the thought wasgreater than his fear of being here. He gave her a guilty look andwas grateful she couldn't read his mind.

StartledHarbend looked at Neritan, but she only gave him a strangely amusedstare and shook her head.

Iwon't tell. I'm notthat cruel.The words were inside his head, and he knew she'd spoken silently tohim. He sighed. The Mindwalker showed some integrity at least.

With afeeling of unease Harbend crossed the hall. He fought the urge todraw his weapon. Better to appear as inconspicuous as possible ifthey should meet anyone.

Movements atthe far end of the hall caught his attention. At first he thought hesaw more of the beautiful statues, but then he realized they were menin white robes.

Arewe to fight our way in here? Harbend thought in dismay.

He hopednot. He tried walking through the hall as if he had every right to bethere with the others trailing him. It was of course not to be. Henever knew what gave them away, but one of the robed men cried out inalarm and pointed at them.

Nakora brokestride behind Harbend and ran for the closest exit while Neritan usedher powers, and the men facing them started walking aimlessly aroundthe hall, sometimes bumping into each other.

Harbendcaught up with Nakora and he heard Trai or Escha breathing hardbehind him. This time, it seemed, they would stay together.

They cameout in another hall, a smaller one this time, but no matter how muchHarbend had hoped for it to be empty he was soon disappointed. Theysprinted across the floor. Bad, very bad. The castle was too wellguarded. They could as well have sprung a trap around themselves,even though somewhere in his mind knowledge lingered telling him thattheir presence hadn't been known to those living here beforehand.

Nakora,help me!

She was theexpert in matters like these, but she seemed to be following him intothe madness rather than taking the lead, and he had no idea of whathe was getting them into. He chose a corridor at random.

Then a soundsurprised him. Singing in the distance. Well, why not? Whoever livedhere apparently appreciated art. It didn't matter much to him though.They didn't have time to admire whatever beauty was to be found hereany longer.

"Nakora,where to?"

"To thesinging," Neritan answered instead. "That's a ritualbeginning, and I think it involves those we search for."

Harbendlooked for confirmation in Nakora, and when she nodded he took to hisfeet again. There were no grand halls here, not even small rooms topass through, only endless corridors with doors lining their sides,all of which had no other exit apart from their windows. Harbend hadtried a few of them just to be certain.

Theycontinued running. Rounding a corner Harbend skidded into an armoredman. They both fell to the ground. Before Harbend had time to realizewhat had happened Nakora ran the soldier through with her sword.After that there was only chaos.

Angry yellsand the sound of fighting disturbed the sinister procession. ToArthur the disturbance was all too welcome. Members of their escortbroke away to meet whatever was attacking the castle, but to hisdismay most of the armed men kept their discipline and stayed close.

Arthur sworebetween gritted teeth. There had to be a way. He searched for thesource of the sound of fighting, but it had to be in another part ofthe castle. It did, however, sound like it was coming closer.

"What'shappening?" Chaijrild asked.

A glimmer ofhope glistened in her eyes. So, she'd come to the same conclusion.Good, then she would at least be a little bit prepared if a chance toescape materialized.

"Idon't know. Better than waiting."

"Shouldwe run?"

Arthur gavetheir guards a worried look, but it didn't seem any of themunderstood what they were saying. He looked at Gring and was met bywhat had to be a smile. She must have changed something with themagic that allowed him to speak with people no matter what languagesthey knew.

"Notnow," Arthur said turning to Chaijrild again. "Just beready to follow me later." Ifthere is a later.

Hecouldn't afford to trash her hopes at this moment. She needed tobelieve.

Sudden painof hunger knifed him. A good sign. If he was able to ache for foodagain he might be able to act as well. Too much time spent in apathy.It was more painful to feel afraid, but with pain came the urge tostay alive. He started to search for opportunities. Nothing.

Somethingitched at his armpit and he scratched it.

Mygun? No, they took it.

He thoughtof bringing out his wallet to bribe his captors, but they probablydidn't take federation money here. The absurdity of the thoughtbrought a crooked smile to his lips while he fingered his waistpocket -- and then it hit him.

Bloodyhell, that's not my wallet!

He gropedunder his jacket. He still had his gun. How? He was certain they'dbeen disarmed, but he admitted his memories of the last days weren'tall too clear.

There shouldstill be a few rounds left. Armed with artificial self confidenceArthur staggered along with the procession waiting for the firstmoment to add to the confusion he now clearly could hear was comingcloser.

Between themNakora and Trai made short work of the soldiers they ran into. Afterthat the wild rush through the corridors continued. Three times theymet armed men, and three times Trai and Nakora displayed their deadlyskills with fire and steel. Then the corridor opened up ahead ofthem.

Harbenddidn't even bother with peering out into whatever room or hall theywere entering. Nothing could have prevented anyone there from hearingtheir approach.

He ran outinto a long hallway. Threw himself flat on the floor to avoid beingcut down by men coming their way. He rolled.

Arthur!Gods!

Finally theyhad managed to come to the right place.

"Trai,archers to your left!" Nakora's voice cut through the noise.

A red,hissing inferno raced away. Battle cries of men running to meet themin combat turned to screams of fear and pain.

A man inbone white robes faced him. Harbend slashed wildly with his sword.Killing was not as important as to make room now. The man fell. Ifstruck or not Harbend didn't know. It didn't matter. He continuedtowards Arthur.

"Arthur!Run you whore son!"

Chaijrildstruggled with one of the robed men. Arthur wheeled low on his feetand kicked the legs out from under the closest guard before throwinganother to the floor. In a few moments the outworlder had managed tofree Chaijrild and ran to Harbend with the girl in tow.

Gring didn'tstruggle with her guards. She tore them apart limb by limb.

Gods!Mother slaughtered chicken like that!

Arthurmanaged to cover the distance to him. Then robe after robe went up inflames. Trai was put his powers to a ghastly test.

SuddenlyArthur staggered and almost fell. He caught his balance and limpedall the way to Harbend, Chaijrild still in tow. An arrow stuck outfrom Arthur's lower leg.

Arthur cameto his knees. Suddenly, accompanied by short roars of death, mendropped with blood spurting from exploding torsos. With hands claspedto his ears in a vain attempt to shut out the awful sound Harbendrecognized the disgusting device Arthur had used in the mountainpass.

Resolvewavering the guards fled. Harbend, sick with the killing, could onlywatch helplessly as Trai threw long coils of fire consuming anyonecaught.

"Arthur,we should go. Follow Neritan."

"Notbloody going anywhere without Gring!"

"Gods!Take the girl and follow Neritan! We shall get Gring for you."

To Harbend'srelief Arthur did as told, and Harbend could concentrate on makinggood on his promise. He followed Nakora and Trai in pursuit of theirenemies.

"HelpGring and get out!" he shouted, but they only continued running.

Stridingover the battleground he caught sight of the Khraga. She was breakingthe back of a man in leather armor and seemed oblivious to what washappening around her. Harbend looked for more dangers, but they werealone, if he didn't count the broken bodies littering the floor.

"Comeback! I have her." No answer. "Gring, Gring!"

At last theKhraga had the sense to listen. She looked down at him, took a fewstep, and for a moment Harbend was afraid she'd mistaken him for yetanother target. Panic rising in him he wondered what it would feellike having his bones crushed by her immense muscles. She stopped.

"Whereis Arthur?" she asked.

He wouldn'tdie, not now at least. "Neritan, a friend, is helping him andthe girl, eh, Chaijrild out of here."

"Where?"

Harbendpointed at the corridor from which they had come. "Protectthem."

"Iwill." Gring strode away.

Harbendstared after her. How appropriate. The only one who followed hisorders without questioning them was the hairy death machine. He shookhis head in bewilderment and shrugged.

Escha cameup to his side.

"Now wereplace Nakora and Trai and then we return," Harbend said.

Escha gavehim a nonplussed stare in return. Harbend started to explain andstopped himself. Gods! Without a Mindwalker when he desperatelyneeded to be understood.

"Fetchour partners?" Escha asked in Veric.

Harbendsighed with relief. "Always a pleasure to work with educatedmen."

Eschagrinned and they started in the direction Nakora and Trai had takenearlier.

How comethat lost in the middle of an enemy stronghold the only thing hecould think of was how much he'd come to respect the silent mage athis side. Harbend knew, deep inside himself, he ought to be fearful,but he was strangely reassured. Escha had proved himself time andtime over again. Maybe that was it, the knowledge they could be outof harms way in moments should the mage deem is necessary. Harbendfrowned at the thought. No, there was more to it. Strange as the menfrom Khanati were, their loyalty was no less strong than any he hadseen in Khi, or Keen for that matter.

Harbendsmiled. When they were out of this he would give the mages therespect they deserved, visibly so. Tradition be damned. Out here,where you could trust nothing more than deeds done, vague promises ofoptional help at a later time carried little worth.

He was,Harbend realized, slowly reevaluating which traders back in Keen hewould consider friends in the future, and he was glad that therestill were those he would call friends when he came back. If he cameback.

Harbend'sline of thought was cut short by approaching steps. Several feetcoming closer. Nakora and Trai must have run into trouble.

Traisuddenly burst into the room. He shouted something Harbend didn'tunderstand.

"ShieldKhars. Mages reducing magic," Escha explained quickly.

"Here,Trai. We have them," Harbend shouted.

Trai didn'tanswer. He didn't move. Strangely still he flashed a stupefied smile.Harbend stared, searching for the reason. A horrible gurgling soundforced his attention from the pursuing Khraga behind Trai. A spearpoint stuck out from Trai's neck.

Gods!When?

There wouldbe no surviving that.

Somuch blood.

It ran downthe arms as the mage desperately clutched his throat in a futileattempt to save himself.

"Trai!"

Harbendthrew himself flat. The anguished voice behind him carried a threatof death. Never stand in the way of an angry mage, and Escha had tobe far beyond mere anger now.

A wave ofpower radiated through the hall.

Arewe jumping?

When helooked up he was still there.

Roarsof disbelief and fear had taken the place of power now. The chargingKhraga stood on their knees, bleeding. Harbend looked again andscreamed at a sight that would plague his nightmares for the rest ofhis life. Escha had used his gift to jump after all, but in an awful,horrible way. The warriors charging them weren't standing on theirknees. Most had fallen over now, and there was nothing left belowtheir abdomens, nothing but gaping holes from which blood andintestines flooded the floor. Yells of shock and fear from furtheraway in the castle told Harbend where their lower bodies had gone. Heheaved and heaved until there was nothing left to throw up.

He had toget up. They were far from safe yet. Unsteadily he stood andstruggled for balance as if many hours drunk. He turned. Behind himEscha screamed madly, all sense of humanity gone from his eyes. Onlythe raging fire of an animal in intense pain remained there.

"Escha,we need you. Please come with me!"

Escha didn'tanswer. Harbend hadn't expected him to. This would take more thanonly one try.

"Escha,please!"

Still noreaction, only those raging eyes staring in incomprehension at Trai'sbody. Maybe this was what Arthur had experienced when he found hisfamily murdered. It didn't matter. Without Escha they would be caughthere, wherever here was.

"Escha,we must jump!"

"Theyhave to die! All must die!"

"Escha!They are too many. If we stay there is no revenge, only us dying."

"Theymust die!" There was no reasoning left in the Khar, only a madhunger for revenge fueled by the loss of a lover.

"Escha,please!"

Anothersurge of power. Parts of the building crumbled around them. Harbenddidn't even have to guess what had happened, and so he just ran to beelsewhere before the roof collapsed over him.

Legs workingon their own accord bore him away from the crumbling room. Harbendwas still running when a deafening sound announced that the columnshad given way and the roof came crashing down behind him. Harbendnever saw the corridors and halls he passed through, and no oneopposed his flight as he escaped the collapsing nightmare.

Then onlycold darkness. Harbend staggered out into winter. Temporarily safe hefinally had time to turn his worries from his own situation to theothers.

Nakora!Where was she? He swiveled, but there was no one there.

He recalledthen that he'd never caught sight of her. Had she died before theymet Trai or was she another victim of Escha's rage? Harbend sunk tohis knees in despair.

Then asteely resolution paying no heed to the futility of his decisionfilled him. He had to go back for her.

He made itthrough the entrance hall and was about to run into the maze ofcollapsing corridors when he suddenly heard Nakora's voice behindhim. Harbend turned in surprise.

"Whatare you doing?"

"Youwere lost, I went in search," Harbend stammered.

"Idiot!Not alone, will you never learn?"

Harbend juststared at her. "How?"

"Noquestions, come!"

He followedher out the way he had entered. "How?" he repeated when hewas surrounded by darkness once more.

"Awindow. Found mage Hwain. We have Escha."

Harbendstill didn't understand, but he followed Nakora nonetheless.

WatchingHarbend running into the horrible, collapsing castle almost unhingedNakora, but she managed to replace enough courage to go in after thefool trader.

Now she ledhim to where the others were. The window had been pure good luck.Without it she'd never have known how close to the main entrance theyhad found Arthur. Climbing down the wall had been easy, and to herrelief Neritan had the brains to lead Arthur and the girl out.

Gring hadbeen there as well. Then the surge of power from inside the castleand Neritan demanding that Gring help her climbing the very wallsNakora had come down. They came back with Escha, and they had donesomething to him.

Now theywere all gathered close to the orchard.

Escha spoke,no it was Neritan who spoke through Escha. Nakora looked at him, her.It was unnerving to recognize the golden mage in the body of the darkskinned Transport Mage, and Nakora missed part of what Neritan said.

"...sostrong. Can't promise I can hold him. We should jump approximately towhere the caravan is, but they will know." With the last wordsEscha, Neritan in Escha's body, looked at Gring who nodded inresponse.

"Whatis it?" Nakora asked.

"Wewere brought here by jump mages. They'll come after us," Gringsaid.

In a flurryof wind the world became nothingness. It was different from whenEscha had jumped them earlier, but Nakora knew they were indeedjumping. Away from the nightmare.

The worldwas white again. The whiteness of snow and open plains. She couldnever have guessed that the sight should fill her with such relief.It was almost like coming home, almost.

She turned,looking for the relative safety of the caravan, but it was nowhere tobe seen. Approximately, how close was approximately? The rest of theday? Another days walk? One full day away and the caravan could aswell be back home in Ri Khi, at least if Gring was right aboutpursuers jumping to catch them.

Harbendstood at her side. Stupid, loving Harbend who'd come to her rescuenever knowing she needed none. He'd risked his life for her, not ather orders. No one had done that before.

He did havea noble face, a very dirty noble face, but it was hers to admire. Thegaze he gave her sent a wave of pleasant warmth through her body.Tonight, maybe, if they were still alive by then.

"Theyare here." Neritan's tired voice broke Nakora's thoughts aboutlovemaking.

"Who?"Nakora asked already knowing.

"Idon't know exactly, but I felt them jumping here. They are close."

Nakoragroaned. What could they do now? Trai dead and Escha in stupor. Shemet Gring's eyes. No, not her as well! There was something defeatedin those large eyes, and the Khraga looked less like a death bringingnightmare and more like a child who was afraid of getting slapped forbeing naughty.

Gods!I don't need this. Wedon't need this. Whereis the warrior?

"Gring,we fight and then we die. No dying without fighting."

Nakoralooked in despair at the Khraga turned child. Then the sound ofsoldiers closed in on them.

The fight,if it could even be called one, had turned sour from the onset. Theywere too few to meet the enemy head on, and when Neritan promisedthey were indeed close to the caravan they decided to flee, and nowHarbend was crouching between two heaps of snow having lost sight ofhis friends.

Arthur hadkilled one man with his device, and the sound had been enough to givethem some well needed respite, but then Arthur said there would be nomore thundering help from his side.

A rumblingfrom behind spelled either more trouble or some much needed help.Hopefully the latter. The escort should have been here by now if itwould ever come to their aid.

Harbendducked and rolled in the snow. Nowhere to hide out here. The snowcrept inside his clothes and started to melt. The cold was agonizing,but he didn't dare to move before he knew what was happening.

Another roarfrom behind. This time he decided to take the risk. Nothing to loseany longer. Harbend stood on his knees trying to be ready to fightback, but weaponless there wasn't much he could do.

It was theescort. The battle mages he had hired but never got to know duringthe journey threw lances of fire over his head aiming for targets hecouldn't see. If they were here men on horses couldn't be far away. Awave of relief washed through him. They were safe, or as safe as theywould ever be this far from Keen.

CaptainLaiden roared curses at full throat, and the incredibly foul languagefilled Harbend with a warmth that would have had his mother frown indisgust at him if she had known. Then the thunder of hoofs passed onboth sides of him as the escort joined the fray.

Harbendstaggered to higher grounds.

Ahead of himTrindai's men loosed their crossbows while charging. Then they rodeinto the disarray they had created, slashing with drawn sabers asthey rode through the thin line of soldiers. They wheeled theirhorses, line almost unbroken, and charged back. The third chargescattered the enemy who retreated, and when Nakora's troops joinedthe fight the retreat turned into a rout.

OnceHorse-lord Vildir Kanir had told Harbend that a soldier must fight orbreak, and that fighting was surviving. He hadn't understood it then,but as he watched the slaughter in front of him he wondered where hisuncle's cavalry commander had learned the lesson. Harbend hadexperienced a skirmish, even seen men killed as a young man, butnothing like this. Khi didn't war on anyone, but there were clanfeuds, and Harbend had a sickening feeling the word feud didn'treally describe what happened when two clans failed to resolve theirdifferences with diplomacy.

He staredout over the battlefield and saw the soldiers from Ri Khi dispatchingwounded men begging for mercy. Only the escort from Keen refrainedfrom the butchering, and he could almost feel their distaste for thesight they shared with him.

There hadnever been much of a battle, and now it was only murder.

The screamswere almost as awful as the sight. Harbend helplessly watched woundedmen having their arms and legs cut away before they were finallykilled. Soldiers cut off fingers to get rings from men still aliveand screaming in pain and shock. The snow, once even and white wasnow trampled and dirtied by blood and the scattered remains ofbodies.

Harbend knewparts of his own history. Once the armies of Khi had earnedthemselves a very bad reputation. Apparently some of the reason forthat had become a damning tradition still upheld by the descendantsnow living in Ri Khi. He turned in disgust and walked away. Therelief he once had felt was gone and there was only revulsion left.

Free! Theywere free again.

It waswonderful to be alive.

Arthurstaggered into the waiting arms of a woman he didn't remember seeingbefore. Somehow he knew they must have jumped and he finally dared tobelieve they were safe again.

Safe. Nolonger a prisoner sentenced to death. He relaxed, and with reliefcame some kind of absolution, and he lost consciousness.

Harbendfaced Trindai. He felt as if he was the one reporting to the captainrather than the other way around, but he was too tired to bother.

"We gotthem all back," Harbend said tiredly. "Any more trouble?"

"Ithink we made it," Trindai answered.

"Wedid, but please, replace someone to take care of Escha!"

"Whathappened?"

"Theygot Trai, and we failed even to bring his body with us."

"Oh,darkness! How?"

"Aspear. They were too many."

Harbenddidn't want to say that Trai had been too careless, that he had takenan unnecessary risk. Why sully the memory of one already dead? MaybeTrai had challenged danger too overtly, but it had still beenHarbend's decision to rescue Arthur. Nothing would change that. Theresponsibility would always remain his, and for the second time sincethey left Verd he'd allowed people who trusted him to die because hedeemed it necessary. His wants. His needs. Always what he thought wasfor the best -- as if he had any right to choose who got to live andwho had to die.

Harbendturned in search for Nakora. He needed someone sensible, someone whodidn't look at him in awe or gratefulness, and of the three whodidn't, Nakora was the only one he had the strength to meet.