Troy Denning - Faces of Deception

Bharat remained curled into a ball "It is not what you think," he Pleaded "I was only looking…"

"Only looking?" Rishi reached behind the treasure chest, plucked the rucksack out of the snow, and asked, "What is this for?"

He hurled the bag at Bharat, who flinched, then raised his chin defiantly.

"Our split was supposed to be even…" Bharat said, "and now you are ready to take two thirds!"

"Of course! Now I must go with this fool into the High Yehimals," Rishi said, then paused, seeming to realize what he had said, and spun toward Atreus. "Pay him no heed. Bharat has always been a thief and a-"

"Yes," Atreus interrupted, "one is known by the company he keeps." He pointed at Rishi's bare feet and added, "You'd better get dressed. You won't be any good to me with frostbitten feet."

Rishi glanced down at his toes, then ducked beneath the wagon and began to dig for his clothes.

Atreus finished lacing his boots, then slipped his heavy woolen cloak over his shoulders and stepped out into the morning. The air was calm and clear, with the last stars fading from sight and the orange dawn spreading across the frigid sky. The yaks stood a short distance down the hill, tied nose to tail for easy leading. The one in the rear had a pair of canvas bags secured to its shaggy back. Over the shoulders of the other lay a blanket and ropes, ready to secure a rucksack full of gold.

Yago came pounding out of the morning dimness, a half-eaten marmot dangling from one hand. "What..happened?" he huffed. "I heard a bang."

"The trap on my treasure coffer." Atreus gestured at the open basket. "Bharat didn't think a third was fair."

"I meant no harm!" Bharat protested. "I was only going to take my half-"

"Bharat, this is the last time I'll warn you about taking me for a fool," Atreus said. When the Mar fell silent, he turned to Yago. "Keep an eye on him while you finish your breakfast. I'll get us ready to go."

Leaving Bharat to Yago's watchful eye, Atreus retrieved the yaks and unpacked the beast in the rear. He found Bharat's belongings in the first bag and what remained of the food in the second.

"What a disgraceful thief," Rishi commented, now fully dressed. "He meant us to starve. I will cut his throat, and then we can be on our way."

Bharat swung toward the sound. "Two thirds of the gold is not enough for you? Now you must kill me for the rest?"

"It is better than you deserve," Rishi said, "but we have no time for a proper punishment." He pulled one of his small knives and started toward Bharat.

Atreus caught Rishi by the arm. "I thought Bharat was your friend," he said.

"A friend does not steal his friend's gold," Rishi snarled.

"It's not yours yet," Atreus reminded him. "The gold does not. belong to you until we reach Langdarma."

Rishi's golden face darkened to the color of mahogany and he said, "Oh, begging your pardon, here I go getting ahead of myself again." He held his dagger out toward Atreus. "Of course, the good sir wishes to punish the thief himself."

"The good sir does not." Atreus replied, pushing the dagger away. "As a matter of fact, I'm quite happy with how things turned out."

Rishi frowned and asked, "You would let a man steal from you?"

"If it is the only way to learn the truth, yes." Atreus took Bharat's arm and pulled the Mar to his feet but continued to speak to Rishi. "Had you tried to open the coffer, I would have known you have no idea where we are going. But since you're willing to wait for a larger share of the gold, I know we're near the edge of my map."

"This was a test?" shrieked Bharat. "You blinded me to find if I was telling the truth?"

"He didn't do nothing," said Yago, crunching a bone. "You're the one who tried to open the coffer. You deserve what you got."

"Which isn't as terrible as it could have been," said Atreus, guiding Bharat to the front of the wagon. "Your blindness will pass."

Bharat sighed in relief, then furrowed his brow and clutched Atreus's arm. "And what of our bargain?" he asked. "Was that only to see if we were telling the truth?"

"If you will honor it, then I will." Atreus said as he helped the Mar into the wagon's passenger seat.

Bharat did not release Atreus's arm. "But the split will be even, of course."

"Even?" Rishi asked. He was beside them in an instant "Are you going to Langdarma? I am the one taking more risk."

"Our agreement is already more than fair, Bharat" agreed Atreus. He peeled the Mar's hand off his arm. "Be happy with the gold you're receiving now. It's enough to make you wealthy many times over."

Bharat shook his head stubbornly. "But I am a bahrana, just as Rishi. My share should be half. Anything less is to call me a tarok."

"Only by the backward customs of Edenvale," countered Rishi. "The good sir and his gold come from the far realm of Erlkazar. We should honor the custom of that land, where it is the habit to honor a man's value and not his position."

"But we met in Edenvale," Bharat said, turning his head away. "I will abide by its customs, or by none at all."

"If that's your choice, I'll rekindle the fire." Atreus reached up to take the Mar's arm. "By tomorrow or the next day, you'll see well enough to start back with the gold I've already given you."

Bharat's unseeing eyes grew wide. "And now you are trying to cheat me out of even my miserable third!" he shouted. "I am coming with you, whether you like it or not."

Bharat folded his arms and let Atreus and the others pack the wagon and harness the yaks. Then the small company set off on a cold and solemn ride. They spent much of the morning angling up a wind-blasted mountainside, until their route joined several others and rounded the shoulder into a steep alpine gorge. The distant roar of a mighty river began to rumble up from a tiny ribbon of water thousands of feet below, and the road became little more than a perilously tilted track.

Rishi stopped the wagon so they could look across the river. On the opposite side of the gorge lay an immense plateau of snowy hummocks and leafy green willow bushes. In the untold distance beyond stood a remote wall of ice-draped mountains, as jagged as ore's teeth and so high they were scratching tiny furrows of white cloud into the belly of the passing sky.

"The Spine of the World Dragon," Rishi announced, pointing at the peaks. "The valleys on your map lie there."

Without any trees or animals for scale, Atreus could not quite comprehend the magnitude of the mountains. To him the range looked like the brink of the world, a sheer barrier of ice-coated spires as high as it was impassable.

"Men can live there?" asked Yago, incredulous.

"If it is the wish of the mountain gods," said Bharat. He was facing the peaks, though his sightless eyes were fixed on the sky above. "But more often, it is their wish that men die there."

"And how could a cowardly rug seller who has never ventured beyond the safety of the roads know such a thing?" demanded Rishi. He glanced over his shoulder at Atreus. "Pay Bharat no mind. It is said the Mar were born there, and of course that is where we shall find Langdarma… if we are strong enough."

For the first time Atreus wondered if he was strong enough. On his map, the peaks were little more than circles of fanning lines, with the names of the valleys written along serpentine spaces below. There was nothing to suggest the staggering height of the mountains or the sheer rugged-ness of their ice-caked flanks. That a paradise could be hidden in such a place seemed impossible, and yet the sight made Atreus believe in Langdarma all the more strongly. Sune taught that beauty had to be guarded, and he could think of no better protection than those mountains.

"Perhaps the good sir and his servant would hide now?" asked Rishi. "Several roads pass along here, and we are certain to meet many foolish Mar who would be most alarmed to see Ysdar's devil riding in a yak wagon."