Keith Baker - The Shattered Land

“Explain swiftly or I will tear the answers from your mind,” she said, her voice cold and hard.

“Helped you …” Gerrion gasped.

“Lei and Pierce!” Daine said. “What did you do to them?”

Lakashtai traced one finger across the back of Gerrion’s neck, and he convulsed in pain.

“You’re closer … closer to your goal,” Gerrion said. “The map. Magical … teleportation. We escaped your enemy, moved closer.”

Lakashtai hissed and shoved Gerrion’s head into the ground with a swift blow of her hand. “How dare you? Abandoning the others to save your own miserable skin.”

As angry as Daine was, he was still surprised by Lakashtai’s viciousness. The kalashtar was usually so calm, and she’d hardly seemed to care about Pierce or Lei. Now Gerrion was writhing on the ground as the light flared around her fingers.

“Don’t kill him! We still don’t know what he’s done.”

“Nor do we need to, because he’s about to undo it. Aren’t you, guide?” Lakashtai released Gerrion and stood up, her face twisted in anger. The halo around her hands slowly faded.

“I can’t,” Gerrion moaned. “Look … down. Ground.”

The stone beneath their feet was just a cracked shard of an ancient plaza. Once it might have been a mirror of the map they had seen before, but if so war and weather had destroyed it long ago.

“There’s no going back,” Gerrion said. He’d rolled onto his back and was slowly catching his breath, and his gray skin glistened with cold sweat. “I thought the others were on the map. I swear. It’s too late. Now it would take us more than a day to get back to the boat, and even if the others survive, there’s no telling where they’ll have gone by then. Just find the Monolith. Do what you came here to do.”

“Unacceptable!” Daine said. “I don’t care what happens to me. We are NOT leaving them behind.” He pondered. “The boat. They’d return to the boat. It’s the only place we all know. They’ll return there and wait for us.”

“If they survived.”

“Pray that they did.” Lakashtai said. She had regained her composure, but Daine could still feel her anger, like a burning itch at the back of his mind. “Now get on your feet and show us the way back, and the next time you feel like doing something clever-don’t.”

Gerrion slowly rose to his feet. “I didn’t mean to abandon them. Truly. I thought they were on the map.” Whether it was pain or sorrow, his voice was still shaking, and he kept his gaze trained on the ground. Daine was still filled with anger, but the half-elf seemed so dejected, so pathetic, that it was difficult to hate him.

But he could certainly try.

“Just show us the path. Now,” Daine said.

“We can’t travel through the night.”

“Can’t we?” Daine said. He glanced at Lakashtai, and a flicker of emerald fire played across her fingertips. “Somehow, I just don’t feel like sleeping.”

“You don’t understand. This is the forest of fire. There are things that come in the night-forces even you can’t fight. We need to take shelter.”

“Even if that’s true, I don’t see many safe havens out here. Don’t tell me there’s a comfortable inn nearby? The Fool’s Rest?”

Gerrion closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Finally he opened his eyes and stared at Daine, trying to keep his voice level. “There is a settlement nearby. Hunter-gatherers. I’ve dealt with them before and I’m sure I can convince them to give us shelter.” His voice finally broke. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, I swear! I just wanted to help. If you want to return to the boat, we’ll go back, but you’ll never make it without me-and I promise you, travel into the night and you won’t live to see the morning.”

Daine struggled with his emotions and fears. In his mind, he saw Jode in the sewers of Sharn, and he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Lei to the same fate, but the voice in the clearing had offered a chance to surrender. Even if they were outmatched, it was possible Lei and Pierce were unharmed-and they knew how to take care of themselves. He had to believe they were still alive, and for all his bravado, he was tired, and a march through the night would leave him with no energy to battle whatever they might find on the other side. He glanced at Lakashtai.

“What do you think?”

She shook her head ever so slightly. The anger had evaporated, and once again she was calm and collected. “This is Xen’drik. No doubt there are dangers in these jungles we know nothing about. It seems we must trust him. This may have been a mistake after all.” She glanced at Gerrion, and her eyes flashed. “Be warned, another such mistake could be fatal.”

“Of course,” Gerrion said. He wiped his brow and ran a hand through his hair, smoothing out his pale locks. His manner was still subdued, but he had recovered a hint of his former jaunty demeanor. “Follow me then. We’ll reach the city within an hour, and be on the path again by dawn.”

The gray man waded into the field of orange grass, retrieving his light-sphere. The vegetation was densely packed, and progress was slow. “There should be a path once we reach the treeline,” Gerrion said. “These weeds-they’re seasonal. Rapid growth.”

Daine’s thoughts were still on Lei and Pierce and the strange metal giant they might be fighting even now. They were warforged. Lei can fight warforged . Even through the fog of concern, he could still see what an excellent opportunity this was for an ambush. Tall grass, poor lighting-Daine could barely see the trees themselves, let alone anything that might be hidden around the treeline. Swordsmen crouching in the weeds, a few archers scattered among the trees. Wait until the enemy reached the center of the meadow- there -then strike.

He was off by five feet.

He dropped down the instant he heard the whiirr . Something flashed over his head, a spinning object thrown with considerable force-an axe? Knife? He ducked down into the grass. “I’m going to kill you, Gerrion!”

Daine . Lakashtai’s thoughts filled his mind. I have been struck with a wooden weapon with sharpened points. The wound … it is not deep … but … I fear poison. Were you … injured?

No , he thought. He kept still, his blades before him, listening for any sound of motion. Their enemies would be spread across the field. In the darkness, perhaps they thought that he’d been hit and had fallen to the ground. If they were using poison, they would wait for the venom to take full effect before closing in. Did you see Gerrion? Was he part of this?

No response. He heard the sound of shifting grass, but he thought it was a body falling to the ground, and the light suddenly faded.

Lakashtai?

Nothing.

So. Attacked by unknown enemies. Either Gerrion has betrayed us, or he’s just led us into a trap. Perhaps Pierce and Lei were the lucky ones .

He waited, listening.

Do they think we’re all dead? Could they have left?

No. It didn’t make sense. Surely anyone who would go to this effort would want to confirm the kill-or to strip the bodies. If Gerrion was involved, he knew Lakashtai had gold.

Then he heard it. The faintest whisper of wind in the grass-but there was no wind. Someone was moving toward him. Possibilities flashed through his mind. Riedran soldiers? More warforged? Psychotic kobolds? The stranger wasn’t carrying any sort of light, and the footsteps were almost silent. Daine carefully set his sword on the ground, shifting his dagger to his right hand. This needed to be close and quick. Once he would have drawn comfort from the Silver Flame. Now he cursed any god that might be listening.