Don Bassingthwaite - World of traitors

“No!” said Tariic. He looked to Munta. “What about honoring Haruuc?”

“Keraal didn’t kill Haruuc,” Munta said. “Chetiin did. Keraal can fight. He must be allowed to fight.”

“No weapons, then!” snapped Tariic. “He fights with nothing more than he has now.”

Dagii looked Tariic over and nodded. “I agree.” Tariic seemed relieved-relief that turned into renewed fury as Dagii added, “Let him fight with the chains he wears.”

“I won’t allow this!” Tariic said. “It can’t be allowed to happen.”

“You’re not lhesh, Tariic.” said Munta. “The decision is Geth’s. He is Haruuc’s shava.”

The old warlord looked to him. So did Tariic. And Dagii. And Keraal. Geth drew a breath and let it out.

“Keraal fights. Five battles wielding the chains he wears.”

Keraal bent his head in acceptance. Tariic’s eyes flashed. He turned and strode out of the cell, pushing past Dagii. Munta frowned after him, then looked to the others. “I’ll summon the keeper and make the arrangements. We’ll need to have a fight added to the games today.”

Munta left, leaving Keraal with Geth and Dagii. The chained hobgoblin glanced between them, then bent his head again to Geth. “Ta muut,” he said. You do your duty-the simplest way of saying “Thank you” in Goblin.

Then he turned to Dagii. “Paatcha!” An offering of honor.

Dagii made no response-none was needed. He stepped out of the cell as the dungeon keeper, grumbling about warlords changing their minds, and a pair of guards arrived. Geth glanced once more at Keraal as he stood still for the keeper to unlock his chains, then went after Dagii. “Honor between enemies?” he asked the young warlord.

“A good enemy is better than a bad friend,” Dagii said.

“You didn’t come down here to shame Keraal into fighting, though.”

A smile flickered across Dagii’s face, then was gone. “No. That was just luck. I came looking for you.” He leaned close for a moment. “Midian has returned to Rhukaan Draal.”

Geth’s gut twisted. “Get messages to Ashi and Ekhaas and let them know. We’ll meet tonight.”

19 Sypheros They met in the small room high in Khaar Mbar’ost where they had once met with Haruuc and where he had revealed his plan to seek out the Rod of Kings. Once again, Aruget stood guard outside the door. After Haruuc’s assassination, Ekhaas had wondered if the warrior could be trusted, but he already knew some of the truth behind the rod and had kept his silence. He could be trusted.

Ekhaas saw Aruget’s ears rise slightly as she and Ashi approached. Duur’kala magic had erased the aches and cuts of their battle against Makka, but there were still bruises. In addition, Ashi walked like an angry cat, full of rage and ready to lash out. Aruget said nothing, though; just opened the door for them.

Geth and Dagii, on the other hand, weren’t so restrained. “Rat!” Geth said, leaping up out of a chair by the room’s only window. “Were you in a fight?”

“A fight that ended too early,” said Ashi. She snapped her teeth on the words.

“Makka is in Rhukaan Draal,” Ekhaas explained.

Dagii’s ears lay back. “The bugbear Marguul chief from the mountains? What’s he doing here?”

“I’d say looking for revenge. He looked like he’d been traveling and he seemed to be alone.” She described their fight with the bugbear-and his escape.

Geth growled. “That’s all we need,” he said. “An enraged bugbear trying to kill you.”

“Trying to kill us,” Dagii corrected him. “He had Ashi, Ekhaas, and me captive. I doubt if he’d end an attempt at vengeance with just Ashi and Ekhaas. He may even be looking for you-it wouldn’t take much to link us together.”

“How would he have found us?” Geth asked.

“He knows my name. He might have started with that.”

Geth’s eyebrows jumped. “You told him? You told him your real name?”

Dagii shrugged. “There was no reason to hide it.”

“He may not be coming after anyone anymore,” said Ekhaas. “Ashi left him with a bad wound. If he doesn’t get to a healer, it could kill him.”

“Let’s hope,” Geth said.

“Let’s not.” Ashi’s hands opened and closed as she moved around the room. “He’s still got my sword-Kagan’s honor blade.”

“We’ll find it,” Ekhaas assured her. “One way or another, we’ll-”

A knock on the door interrupted her. The door opened and Midian Mit Davandi slipped through. Geth gave a genuine smile, probably the first one Ekhaas had seen from him in ten days. “Midian.”

The gnome’s sun-browned face was flushed and his pale hair damp with sweat as if he’d been running. “Sorry,” he said. “I had to call on the Zil ambassador. She’s trying to keep track of all the Zils currently in Darguun in case there’s trouble.”

Ekhaas had never been to Zilargo, but she’d heard it was a strange place, ruled by a blend of gossip, co-operation, and subtle coercion. Then again, an entire race that was no bigger than goblins, without larger hobgoblin and bugbear cousins to rely on for physical might, probably would develop different ways of dealing with the world. Certainly it showed in their history-the gnomes of Zilargo had never fought a war, preferring to hide behind policies of conciliation and neutrality. It seemed to work. The nation still existed in a pocket between humans and dar when by all rights it should have been overrun long ago.

Midian caught her looking at him and his blue eyes flashed. “I have something for you, Ekhaas. I found it in the ruins I was investigating at Bloodrun.” He produced a small object and tossed it to her. It was a Dhakaani coin, black with age and badly corroded. A hole had been punched through one edge. Once it would have been threaded on a cord, the face of the emperor on the coin looking outward, to make a kind of simple amulet. They were common artifacts in all eras of the empire. She looked for the dynasty name on the coin, frowned, and glanced at Midian.

“Koolt Dynasty. Early empire. The ruins at Bloodrun are late empire.”

“Wrong, duur’kala,” Midian crowed with delight. “Dig down and you find that the late empire ruins are built on top of early empire ruins. Did the Kech Volaar know that? I don’t think so!”

Ekhaas glowered at him. Tariic had hired Midian to join the quest for the Rod of Kings without Haruuc’s knowledge. The gnome had proved to be clever and resourceful, but it had taken time for Ekhaas to admit respect for him. He was a researcher for the Library of Korranberg, a scholar, and a historian-and as such a bitter rival to the duur’kala of the Kech Volaar. Her clan kept the glorious history of the Empire of Dhakaan alive through tales and the careful collection of artifacts. Scholars like Midian turned vibrant history into dusty reports and stole Dhakaani artifacts from their rightful keepers. In fact, when Senen Dhakaan had first learned Midian was in Darguun, she’d demanded his death as a grave robber and thief. Haruuc had overruled her, and when he was handing out rewards for the recovery of the rod, had granted Midian official permission to investigate some of Darguun’s many ruins. Ekhaas had eventually come to like the gnome. Most of the time.

She flicked the coin back to him and his fingers snapped it out of the air. He tucked it away and turned to Geth and Dagii, his expression sober. “Your message was slow reaching me-the messenger showed up at the ruins suffering from dust fever. I tried to treat him, but we didn’t have what he needed. I stayed with him until he died, then came to Rhukaan Draal.” His face darkened. “It wasn’t easy to hear about Chetiin. If Haruuc had discovered the rod’s power, though, I suppose he did the right thing.”