Brian Kittrell - The Immortals of Myrdwyer

“People call me ‘Lae’ for short, but my full name’s a little longer. If you want a name that long, go ahead, but come up with something shorter for casual conversation.”

“I will, Master. I hope that you return to visit us sometime.”

Although Laedron knew that he likely would never return to Myrdwyer-or Lasoron, for that matter-he grinned courteously. “Take care of yourself. Here.” He reached out, took the creature’s crystal fingers in his hand, and gave it a handshake. “This is one way we say goodbye in my country.”

“Goodbye, Master,” the Trapper replied, and Laedron wondered if he detected some inflection in the statement, as if the creature was beginning to develop emotions of its own. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that this thing was sad at our departure.

After exiting the tunnel, Laedron looked around to get his bearings, spotting the old temple not far from where they stood. The trail led them around the temple, to the steep hill on the other side, and back to the path Tavin had taken them along earlier that day. Tavingras, you would have been amazed at the things we’ve seen since your passing. Kareth’s quarters, The Bloodmyr Tome, and even a sentient race of crystal beings, newly born by the death of their master. He smiled until he remembered Harridan and the rest of the living Uxidin, and he wondered how he would explain the events that had occurred beneath the temple, what he would reveal, and what he would need to hide.

Long into the evening, they reached the secret entrance of the Uxidin shelter, the ancient pine with an inscription in an arc. Laedron cast a spell on each of his companions to make them ethereal, and once they had entered the tree, he passed through himself.

The horses stirred at their approach, and Brice said, “I’ll stay here. Fetch me when you’re done.”

“You don’t want to see how it ends? To know the answers to the mysteries?” Laedron asked.

“I’ve seen the end already. It ended with Kareth’s death, and those answers are yours, Lae. So long as you’re satisfied, I’m satisfied.”

Marac swatted Brice on the shoulder. “For the first time in a long time, I agree with Thimble. You go on ahead. Give Harridan the pages, ask your questions, and at last, we’ll be headed home.”

“Home,” Brice said. “Hardly seems like a real place.”

“I’ll wait here, too, Lae,” Valyrie said. “Those people fill me with a sense of dread.”

“If that’s what you want, I’ll go alone. Back in a blink.” Laedron descended the stairs.

* * *

“Have you come to tell me that our little plan succeeded?” Harridan asked when Laedron entered. “Tavingras does not return at your side, young mage?”

“Indeed.” Laedron closed the door. “Your strategy worked. Kareth is dead, and beside him lies Tavingras.” He presented Tavin’s broken wand, and Harridan took it.

“You speak as if you have disdain for what we’ve done.” Harridan, his staff tapping at every step, paced the room, then stopped and removed his cowl. “You were there. If Tavingras fell, Kareth was just as dangerous as we had anticipated. Why so cold?”

“One of your men is dead. I thought that you might feel a little sadness at that fact.” Laedron looked away from Harridan, choosing instead to stare at the floor. The man seems to have no feelings about it, except for the glee at Kareth’s demise. Did Tavingras have any idea what kind of man he served?

“Tavingras was a good man, but he knew his task and was well aware of the dangers involved. So long as Kareth and the Trappers held a stranglehold on this forest, we had no hope of recovering.”

“Kareth is the only one who has met his end. The Trappers remain beneath the temple.”

“Kareth’s death didn’t release them from his spell?” Harridan’s face flushed, and he pointed at the door. “You’ll have to go back and finish the job. I won’t suffer their existence for another second.”

“They’ll not bother you.”

“No? Those things have been the cause of a number of deaths of our people. What makes you think that they would have a sudden change of heart?”

“Something happened in those caverns, something that’s difficult to explain,” Laedron said.

“I suppose you should tell it, then. If we’re to live alongside them, we’ll need to know the dangers.”

Laedron nodded. “Kareth had an amulet by which he controlled the Trappers, and Valyrie shattered it with a well-aimed arrow. Unable to control them, Kareth succumbed to them. His essence was ripped from his body, and the Trappers took it into themselves.”

“Good. What happened next?”

Good?I wouldn’t wish such a fate on my worst enemy. “The essence changed them. I have no way of telling, but I think they took in far more than just Kareth’s life force, for he had many soulstones imbedded in his flesh.”

“Monstrous,” Harridan said, shaking his head.

The man may not be made of stone after all. “Indeed. A horrid sight to take in.”

“Then, you fought those Trappers?”

“No. As I mentioned, something happened. Something changed about them. After a while, they started speaking to us.”

“Oh? And what, pray tell, did they say?”

“To make a long story short, they wanted us to be their new masters, and we refused. I told them that they would be their own masters, make decisions for themselves, and that the caverns beneath the old temple belonged to them.”

“You gave them our land?”

Then he goes and says something like that. Laedron sneered, having taken enough attitude from Harridan. “Did you even know about the caverns? Would you have ever known if I hadn’t told you? I witnessed the creation of a new race, a new form of life, and all you care about are your petty land rights?”

“Calm yourself, Sorcerer. I only mean to find out what implications this has for the rest of us.” Harridan scratched his chin. “Did they discuss any terms for peace?”

This must be handled carefully. If I’m too hasty, the end result will be nothing short of war. “Yes. They merely wish to be left to live in their caverns and travel the forest without hostility. If you and yours make no transgressions against them, they will maintain peace.”

“Simple enough.” Harridan came closer and put his hand on Laedron’s shoulder. “Do you earnestly believe that they’ll uphold their end of the bargain?”

“Yes, and I believe it more than I’ve ever believed anything. If the peace is broken, it will be by your hand alone.”

“Then, I shall have to explain these things to my people so it doesn’t happen,” Harridan said, extending his hand. “Now, the more important matter. The tome?”

“The answers to the many questions I have should come before I give it to you. Things that I still haven’t been given an opportunity to ask.”

Harridan sighed and leaned against the altar. “Very well. Ask your questions.”

What should I ask first? I have so many… “What is a regnant magister ?”

“That is quite an old term indeed. Who told you of that?”

“My teacher. Her name was Ismerelda, and she was Uxidin.”

“In the old days of the empire, the chief of the Azuran scholars was known as the regnantmagister , and when our people spread out across Bloodmyr after the empire collapsed, they retained their old titles and established new seats of learning around the world. It is a term that one doesn’t usually hear outside of Uxidin lands, but she must have had a school amongst mortal men.”