Troy Denning - Faces of Deception

" Till them mountains crumble," Atreus whispered.

It was the last line of the Shield-breaker requiem, spoken only in honor of faithful warriors whose memories the tribe promised to keep alive. Atreus ran his hand over Yago's face and closed the ogre's one good eye. He was overcome by such a profound sense of guilt that he broke into a sweat and had to turn away.

"I am so sorry, my friend," Atreus said grasping the ogre's cold arm. He could not look at the ogre.

"I should never have brought you here. This is my fault."

"I am not so certain," said Seema.

She kneeled next to Atreus and began to go through Yago's cloak. The Dweller let out a warning whistle and slithered closer, but she ignored the monster and continued her search.

"What are you doing?" Atreus asked.

"Was the Dweller not looking for something?" She pulled a handful of small stones from Yago's pocket, and her face fell in disappointment. "Gems," she said. "This is the reason he was attacked. But why did Yago not listen to me? I warned you all not to touch the Dweller's jewels."

"Yago did listen to you. He didn't steal those," Atreus said. He took the gems and tossed them in the Dweller's direction. "Back in Rivenshield, we have chests filled with jewels."

Seema frowned, confused. "How come the stones were in his pocket?" She had hardly asked the question before her jaw dropped. "Rishi!"

Atreus nodded and rolled Yago onto his face-a Shield-breaker custom to protect the eyes of the dead from crows-then stood and started back up the passage at a hobbling trot

Seema grabbed her bucket and followed close behind. "You don't think…"

"I do," Atreus said. "Rishi set this up so he could steal the

Fountain of Infinite Grace… and everything else." "I saw him hit the wall," Seema said, her voice far from confident "He did not even groan. He had to be dead or unconscious." "Or a good actor," Atreus added. "And Rishi is a very good actor."

By the time they found their way out of the Dweller's warren, Atreus's wounds ached as terribly as his heart. His whole flank was sore and swollen, and every step sent a fresh rush of agony surging through his joints. He did not care, nor did he make any concession to his injuries, pushing his body through its torment as only a man raised by ogres could. The question in his mind and Seema's was the same: had Rishi planned Yago's death?

They knew the answer as soon as they climbed out of the tunnel. Save for a faint aura of radiance still lingering over the Pool of Gems, the alabaster palace was as dark as a crypt. Even from the edge of the vast chamber, they could see that the stairs into the temple were dry, as was the hallway leading to the exit Rishi had stolen the Fountain of Infinite Grace, and no doubt everything else on the altar as well.

"I'll kill him!"

"You mustn't say such things, not even for what Rishi has done," Seema told him in a voice as sad as it was gentle. "Your anger will destroy you as surely as his greed has destroyed him."

"It's Yago that his greed destroyed," Atreus countered. His hand ached from clutching the knife so hard. "And Langdarma."

"I do not see how that makes him different from you. Had you awakened ugly tomorrow, would you have left the cup in its place?"

Atreus answered in a bitter voice, "Now I'll never know, will I?"

He set off toward the exit, not looking at Seema. She was at least half right The results for Langdarma would have been the same whether Rishi stole the cup or he did. Perhaps it was a blessing to have escaped the temptation. Had he yielded, Atreus had no illusions about how he would have felt about himself.

Atreus reached the exit and stepped out onto the gallery, then heard Seema gasp as she followed him through the door. The reflecting pool below had turned as brown as the Dweller's blood, and the meadow beside it had faded to the dead gold of parched grass. Even the vast valley of Langdarma itself was fading from emerald to amber.

At the edge of the meadow stood the milky-winged figure of the Sannyasi, weeping tears of silver. Atreus's rage turned instantly to remorse. Had Seema not been standing behind him, he would have retreated into the palace and gone to lose himself in the Dweller's warren.

The Sannyasi's silver eyes rose and lingered on him, looking less angry than shocked. Atreus could not bring himself to move or speak. It required all his strength simply not to look away.

After a time, Seema took Atreus's hand and led him down the stairs. "Have no fear. The Sannyasi would never harm us, no matter what we have done."

This seemed a small consolation to Atreus, whose own guilt was eating away at his insides. He would almost rather have been stricken dead on the spot, but there was still the matter of Rishi to deal with.

The Sannyasi watched them descend the stairs and cross the meadow, then turned his silver gaze on Seema alone.

"You brought this man here?"

Seema stared at the ground and said, "Him, and his friends Rishi and Yago."

Something inside the Sannyasi appeared to collapse. His wings drooped, he seemed suddenly smaller, and his eyes grew old.

Seema continued, "There was a fight. The Dweller killed Yago. Rishi stole the cup of shining waters and probably six other sacred items as well."

The Sannyasi only nodded and turned to look out over the valley. He remained silent for a long time, then spoke without looking at Seema.

"You have done the unpardonable. Langdarma will suffer terribly for it. I doubt your healing magic will return."

Seema squeezed her eyes shut, but could not quite keep the tears from flowing down her cheeks. "I understand," she managed to say.

"There is more." The Sannyasi still did not look at her as he said, "I will go and organize a search for this Rishi and the Seven Sacred Gifts. If they are not recovered, I fear you must leave Langdarma and never return."

Seema started to nod, but this was more than Atreus could bear.

"You're not being fair," he said. "Seema isn't to blame. I forced her-"

"That is not so," interrupted Seema. She grasped Atreus's arm. "My reasons for bringing you here were as selfish as yours for wanting to come. To claim otherwise is to cheapen what there was between us."

The word "was" hit Atreus like a hammer. Though he had already guessed the price of his betrayal, this was the first time Seema had confirmed the loss.

The Sannyasi studied Atreus for a moment and said, "I am sorry. This pain I cannot bear for you."

"And what of his wounds?" Seema gestured at Atreus's mangled side. "Will you heal them?"

The Sannyasi glanced down at Atreus's knife, still brown and crusted with the Dweller's blood. "The wounds will heal in time, but for now it is better to let pain temper his violent heart."

"Temper my violent heart?" Atreus's anger returned in a flood. "You don't know violence until you've traveled with Rishi Saubhari. He's a murdering thief who won't hesitate to kill everyone you send after him. Help me catch him, and you'll save a dozen lives."

"And take one." The Sannyasi's eyes grew stern and he continued, "You are as much a killer as your friend, and I will not help in your wickedness. To slay a man over the shining waters would be an evil beyond redemption. It would draw a cloak of darkness over Langdarma so black that the Serene Ones would never find us again."

The Sannyasi paused to calm himself, then spread his wings and turned toward the edge of the meadow.

"You will not defy me in this."

He stepped off the cliff and dropped into the valley. A moment later his silver wake was curving around the Turquoise Cliffs into the basin where Seema lived.

As soon as the gleaming trail had faded from the sky, Atreus turned to Seema and said, "I have no right to ask you for anything, and I'm not asking for myself, but your Sannyasi doesn't know Rishi."