Part Eighty-Three
Tsuki lay his hands either side of Dale's fading body and then bowed to kiss his lips. It was excruciating, for Tsuki had set his body, mind, heart and spirit to draw the larger portion of the pain of the curse from Dale, with the kiss, and into his own body. The magic was not finished with the kiss. The pain had been drawn off with Tsuki's own magic, for Tsuki would not risk binding himself to pain, if there was another choice. The dark spell that had several times touched Dale had left damage within his body, though it had left no mark on his skin, and though Tsuki doubted it was wise, even if possible, to heal such vast damage with a spell, he needed a means to see Dale able to heal and to insure that he would keep his promise and not abandon Dale to life, mortal or immortal, without him…and he did not want to live without Dale.
Tsuki flattened his hands on the stone and surrendered to the calling of the Hitching Post. He had thought he understood before, but now he did. He would cast here a spell of binding, and be bound forever to that binding.
"What is happening?" Ugarit asked, "I swear the air went warm all about me."
"Can he heal Dale?" Duma demanded.
"Do not distract them," Setsugekka said softly, "I can see this is a most complicated spell. My Lord draws power from this sacred place to cast the spell. It will be very powerful."
"I see nothing."
"It is not 'seeing' with eyes," Setsugekka explained. "Those who may wield magic can feel the working of it. My Lord has woven all elements and aspects of himself into…"
"Into what?" Duma shouted, "Is Dale going to die, or not?"
"Duma. It is a spell of binding. Dale will live, if you keep from distracting them."
The pain in Dale's body had lessened to the level of Orc Play, which likely would have been considered torture by other races, but was less painful than what an Orc considered torture, and thus was a level of pain Dale had long ago learned to survive and even to enjoy. It usually meant something particularly cruel was to come, and that rather excited Dale. Perhaps, he thought, Tsuki would drink his blood next, but then he remembered, they had already taken each others blood into their bodies when they cast the spell to banish ill feelings between them.
The rocks warmed around them, and beneath Dale, and even with snow falling through a silver sky, he felt perfectly warm. Tsuki's lips still pressed against his and Dale tasted them with his tongue. He knew it hurt Tsuki. He knew.
Dale had known before Tsuki began the spell. He may trust Tsuki with his life, and more his very soul, but Tsuki was a Wizard, no matter that others said he was not truly one, and a Wizard could weave confusion more skillfully than an Elf using words alone. When Tsuki had said he would take Dale's pain, he had meant he personally would take the pain.
Dale was grateful he sealed the spell with a kiss. He had hoped for it in death, to feel untainted once before he went, so he might feel more likely to be accepted in Blessed Realms. And Dale was happy to forget the Blessed West and remain, with Tsuki.
He could feel the magic being worked. As much as Elves claimed disdain for enchantments other than their own, they had a great ability to sense imbalance and power and presences and Dale knew this was a great spell being worked with a lot of power. And he knew something else, though no elder Elves had spoken this secret, for it was something an Elf would know, even if lost alone in the wild, if they came to the appropriate time in life. He knew the words to speak.
Dale did not shift his lips from Tsuki's mouth, but formed the words in his mind, sang them, to be precise.
When Dale had sung the words once through, it seemed he could hear Tsuki saying the words, only, if possible, in a more ancient version. It did not matter, the meaning was the same.
When the spell was cast, Tsuki pushed himself up until he was able to sit. "My cloak," he said weakly.
"Is Dale…?" Duma asked.
"Only resting." Fei brought Tsuki's bloodied cloak and Tsuki reached into its pockets. He found the eagle feathers Dale had reminded him of and held these in his left hand. "Setsugekka."
"My Lord?"
"Take care of Dale and my things until I return, this especially." He took the Moon Stone from inside his shirt, awkwardly with his right hand, and wiped it clean as he could on an edge of his cloak.
Setsugekka took the seeing stone again. "It will be as you will, My Lord."
"Duma, Ugarit." Tsuki waited until both Orcs looked at him. "Dale is your Chieftain?"
"Yes," Duma answered quickly.
Ugarit looked to Duma first, before she agreed, "Yes, I am of Dale-Chieftain's Clan."
"The spell has removed only some of the curse's pain and damage. He will need time to heal, perhaps months, and help in getting off this mountain. It is your choice whether you seize his whip while he is weak, or defend him during the time he needs to get patched up. He will be strong again, but you will reach the Wood and find Orcs with larger Bands and Clans with many questions before that time."
"I do not understand," Ugarit said, "Where will you be?"
Tsuki gave a nod, then taking up his staff in his left hand with the feathers, leaned into the staff in order to stand. "I have one more task to complete and this time, I will not fail."
"But where?" Duma asked.
Tsuki made a tip of his head and Fei stood and came to his side. He had some understanding of how badly Tsuki was injured and what had befallen him on the platform with the Wizard and Dragon, for he had been the one to escort Tsuki back to this place, and they had spoken. He believed that he now understood what Tsuki was to do with the feathers.
Fei helped Tsuki to remove his shirt. There were some open wounds on his arms and chest, but as his back was turned to the others, they only saw the blue eagle painted on his skin.
Fei took the feathers and used the string remaining from when they had been fastened to Moon-halo's bridle, tied them in Tsuki's hair, which had fallen loose about his head.
Tsuki spoke a word of thanks to Fei, checked that his sash and swords were secure on his waist. Fei offered the scroll with the design of the bomb upon it. Tsuki tucked the scroll into his sash, it should be destroyed, he thought.
"Tsuki, what are you going to do?" Duma asked.
"I am going to chase the Dragon."
"But that's impossible!" Ugarit cried.
Tsuki said nothing, but walked toward the stairs, leaning heavily on his staff.
Fei turned to speak to the others as Tsuki climbed the steps. "I will follow so long as he is on the mountain. Rest now and eat if you can. Dale should be taken to the Elves, unless you mean to take his whip now?"
"He is my father."
"It is advantageous to protect our Chieftain now. When he recovers, he will provide us with useful allies and opportunities."
"I will carry Dale from the mountain. You both may lean on each other as you need. Setsugekka may guard and carry the things we must take with us," Fei said. The others did not question and allowed Fei to go after Tsuki. Fei had been traveling with Dale and Tsuki longer than Duma, and so Duma believe the Man must know what Tsuki and Dale would have done.
Tsuki made his way back to the platform, where the Dragon had been tethered. Every step was pain, but he knew that it would all be over soon, and he kept going.
Fei had sustained some injuries in their battles up the mountain, and he was weary, but he knew that he fared better than Tsuki and kept after him. Fei reached the upper platform just after Tsuki.
Tsuki knew that Fei had followed and thought it fitting the scholar be here to stand witness. He stepped to the very edge of the platform, which hung over the mountainside, lifted his staff, and incanted his summoning spell.
Fei saw Tsuki leap and cried out wordlessly. He rushed to the edge of the platform, so sure that Tsuki would have cast some marvelous spell of flight, or summoned some being to carry him aloft, and he had just jumped.
Fei reached the ledge and looked down. It was dark and he could see no shape below but shadows of the mountains. There was then a great shrill cry and afterward, Fei saw a large winged creature rise from below and set its course north northwest. He was certain he had just seen Tsuki upon an eagle, but it could be no natural creature, for it was so large and powerful. Fei decided, it must have been a spirit in the form of an eagle come to Tsuki's aid.
Laurel had not been in the cell long, for it was not quite dawn, through the grill over the window. She had passed the time in prayers that Tsuki, Fei and their friends would be well. Now the door opened and Laurel saw the stern matronly woman she had been given over to by the guards. There was, just behind her a smaller woman, perhaps of the east, though she did not seem to be of Tsuki's people, or of Fei's.
"Mistress Ursula has posted bond for you. You will be given over into her custody until you are called to answer for your crime by the King or courts. You are not to leave the city or this good woman's custody until King or court decrees. Do you understand?"
Laurel rose, bowed and said that she would surrender herself to Mistress Ursula.
"Come now," the small woman said, "it seems a pity to keep young women such as yourself in the cells where there is work to be done."
"Yes," Laurel said.
She followed Ursula out onto the street in the upper levels of the city, where many Lord's houses, and meeting halls were placed with the city's treasury and several banks and other important buildings. Even as they entered the street, they saw there was a panic.
Since coming to the Capitol, Laurel had learned that unlike a small village, its streets were not silent at night, but near as busy in the day with various night laborers and carousers, but these did not seem drunkards leaving the taverns, and some were of the King's Guard.
"There it is!"
"Dragon!"
"A Dragon is upon us!"
"To the alarm!"
"It is a juvenile," Ursula said flatly, "barely grown its wings. My grandfather slew such beasts frequently, in the old country."
Laurel watched the Dragon pass over, gold and serpent-like, with wings that barely seemed capable of flight. She had no idea how it truly kept itself aloft, but watched as it belched fire and rose higher over the city.
"It is moving west!" someone called down the street.
"It's passing us over! Following the mountains!"
"It is a creature of the east," Ursula said, "I have no idea why it should be flying over these lands."
It was necessary for Fei and those with him to leave some of the armor and gear, but they carried as much as they were able. Fei abandoned his borrowed armor and donned Dale's mail, which was slightly big for him, because they knew Dale should miss the armor when he recovered. Perhaps some Elves might travel here and recover the rest, if they wished it returned.
If they ran across enemies on the way down, they had little chance of fighting through, but most agreed that the Wizard's death had likely cancelled any summoning or holding spells on the fell creatures he had gathered and the road should be safe. Fei carried Dale on his back, which would not have been a large burden under the best condition, being Elves were lightly built, but was difficult now that Fei was so weary.
The might have waited for a night of sleep, but no one really felt the ruined city was truly safe and they shared a sense of urgency in reaching the Silver Wood.
Dale and Ugarit leaned on each other, Duma for the most part on Ugarit. What the two Orcs could not carry, Setsugekka kept. They had abandoned remaining shields and a few spare swords, but there were still some weapons Setsugekka kept for them, including Dale's primary sword and bow, which had been removed from him so that Fei might carry him. Setsugekka also guarded all three of the seeing stones their party possessed.
Duma had insisted on bringing Tsuki's soiled cloak, with many Wizard supplies still in its pockets, but he carried it himself in a bundle.
It was nearing dawn by the time they came to the bridge outside the city again. It seemed difficult to believe they had spent only a night within the city.
Crossing the bridge reminded them all of Beryl's sacrifice on their behalf, and they all feared finding some remains of him.
"There is something moving there," Ugarit said when she saw it. "Not the Demon, something smaller out there."
"Could Beryl be alive?" Duma asked.
"I see no Demon here," Fei said and paused to readjust Dale's weight. The Elf moaned in his sleep. "He is an Elf, if he survived beyond his capability of healing, he would depart the flesh, is that not so?"
"That is the way they make it sound," Duma admitted, "but I know I am mortal, so I could not do it."
"You would not have to with the 'gift'," Ugarit pointed out, "you would already be dead."
"Oh, yes, that would be so."
They could not move faster than they already were, accounting for their burdens and injuries and so they approached the place slowly. There was a foul scent and a wide scorch mark on the ground on the far side of the bridge; it was distinguishable from the earth surrounding it, in the pre-dawn light.
"Here! Friends! Can you help?" a weak voice called. It was Aud. They had thought him dead, and yet he called to them. "Is the young Wizard among you? Do you have clean water or some small device to speed melting of snow?"
They could see, as they came close, a figure cloaked in red sitting beside Aud and also some gold armor that appeared to have been Beryl's strewn on the ground.
"Is that Beryl? Is he alive?" Duma asked.
Aud leaned close to the figure at his side and Beryl whispered to him, for it was he. Aud passed along the message to the others. "Yes, it is Beryl who was companion to us. I found him here during the night. He is injured and asks that his friends remain at a distance. He is able to speak a little, but he cannot walk on his own. Have you clean water? He has asked for it."
"Water. Yes?" Setsugekka asked, lifting one of the waterskins.
"Yes." Duma called to Aud. "Ask him if Setsugekka may bring water. He has met her before."
Aud turned as Duma was still speaking and listened to Beryl. "He says to tell you, Duma, that he has not lost his hearing and you may speak to him. He only asks you do not come so close as to look at him.
"You may speak to him then. Speak your Elven, he may understand." Duma spoke a little louder, to Beryl, "Setsugekka does not speak our Common Speech very well, but she knows a form of Elven. Beryl, if you are injured, let her look at you. She knows some healing."
Beryl whispered to Aud again and Aud spoke for him. "Where is Tsuki?"
"We should all sit and rest," Fei suggested. "Beryl, we will respect your wish, so tell how distant to seat ourselves from you. We would like to hear how you and Aud came to be here together. We will tell you what we know as well. We can use a moment to rest."
Aud indicated a short distance and they took seats on the ground, which was now lightly covered by snow. Setsugekka left the water with Aud to help Fei bring Dale from his back. They lay Dale, who continued to slumber, on the ground.
"Beryl asks if Dale yet lives."
"He is alive," Ugarit answered, but The Sea touched him several times with a powerful curse and Tsuki was not able to completely remove the damage. We must take Dale to the Wood, where he can rest and heal. Duma also is wounded and if he seems energetic and loud to you, it is because I have given him his medicine." Ugarit could see that Duma was not happy she had revealed this. She did not care. These were Duma's friends; they remained allies even when it was not advantageous. "He may collapse before we reach the Wood. The medicine will only give him strength so long without time to eat or rest or heal."
"If he collapses can she carry him?" Beryl whispered. Ugarit was able to hear, though the sound was slight.
"My injuries are small compared to Duma's, or to Dale-Chieftain's. I would find a way. It would be good to enter the Wood in secret."
"Tsuki is alive, though to be truthful, he was also quite injured last we saw him. I was with him until he left the mountain. The weapon we sought did exist, but the Sea had sewn it within the body of a Dragon, and set things so that the Dragon would fly, even if he was destroyed. The Sea and his staff were destroyed. Tsuki was unable to stop the Dragon from flying, so now he has gone after it."
"I saw the Dragon, but was not in a position to hinder it," Aud said. "I woke some time ago. It seems I was poisoned and trapped by the spiders, in their thread, and then abandoned."
"I believe we slew all the spiders," Fei said, "Tsuki and Beryl were also poisoned then, but we retained their bodies. We did not see you."
"Yes. It was right for you to press on, of course. As I said, I came upon Beryl in the night and have given him what aid I can. He wants you all to know that it is now his wish to live, but his injuries are serious and require skilled Elven Healers. If you did not show soon, I would have begun down the mountain with him, but Beryl wished to wait a while longer, to learn if some of you returned. I saw also the Eagle God. That is what Beryl said it must have been."
"Eagle God. That must be the same creature I saw. I believe that Tsuki summoned it to give chase to the Dragon."
Beryl whispered to Aud again and then Aud spoke. "Beryl says there is a chance Tsuki will be able to catch this Dragon if it flies to the Mines. We know roughly the time that passed between sightings. He says Dragons will make their course close to mountains and this Dragon will find ranges enough to take it to the Mines, while the Eagle may make a direct course from here to the Mines and arrive in shorter time. The Dragon did head directly east, as if toward the river, from the sightings I had."
"Beryl, can he, I mean, can you see?"
Aud said nothing for a moment and listened for instructions. "He admits to you that he is blind at present."
"Blind," Fei whispered solemnly.
"Do you want us not to look because you are hideously maimed and scarred?" Duma asked loudly.
Beryl cringed and Aud spread his arms to prevent any from approaching Beryl. "Friends, please understand Beryl's wishes. He remains friend to each of you, but he…he does not wish me to reveal certain things…he does not wish to speak of the battle that took place here, or to have you look on his injuries. You are his friends, but he very much wishes to be among Elves now."
There was silence for several moments and then Duma spoke. "I am sorry, Beryl. Dale would understand better than I, but he sleeps. He almost died. He was in so much pain, and being immortal, he was preparing to depart from his body to be free of the pain, it was so bad. Tsuki came and did a spell and took the pain, but…" Duma shrugged, "The Wizard only touched me with that curse for a moment, but it was the worst thing I ever felt. Maybe something very bad happened to you, and you are not prepared to speak of it, or are unable to describe it. Still, I am happy that you live. It seems selfish to feel that way, when the alternative for you, or Dale would be some Blessed place, but I would feel sad if one of you was not here anymore."
Beryl wept. The stinging told him he yet had the ability to shed tears. He wished to embrace the child, but he knew he could not. Beryl was certain it had hurt Duma that Dale had come so close to death. It likely saddened him still; Beryl could hear it in his voice. Beryl himself was grieved that Dale had been so badly injured. He felt strong affection for the young Elf, as he would have for a brother, or perhaps even a son. He had been unable to keep them from knowing such pain, because he had found his own battle and pain. It hurt to move. It hurt not to move. He also should have departed the flesh, but his determination to remain, to see Tsuki again, to see Dale well again and to see Kato again kept him within his severely burned body, when any other Elf would have died.
Beryl was not even certain the Healers could heal all his wounds.
Beryl sobbed again.
"I did not mean to upset him. I should not have said those words," Duma whispered.
Aud did not know what to say.
"Beryl," Fei called out gently, "I think it would be best for all if we got off the mountain. If the Wood is not safe, we may at least take shelter temporarily with the Men south of the Wood. The woman who is Lady of the region is friend to you? I understand you are not the only one who wishes to return to the wood, but if that is unsafe, I suggest we contact other allies. Please inform us if we can do anything to aid you to travel.
"Beryl has told me how I can help him to move," Aud said, "You need only tell us when you are ready to travel. We will go with you." Beryl whispered to Aud and the Man then continued with the new request, "If we fall behind, do not slow for us, for it is important to Beryl also that Dale and all of you receive what healing you need as soon as possible. He agrees that Fei's plan is wise, but still wishes to find allies in the Wood."
The Grey looked down over the side of the basket suspended in the sky and saw the Blue-robed Wizard he had struggled with fall. It had not been his intent to throw down the Blue Wizard from such a height and over mountains, but to enter the flying contraption, with aid of some winged friends, and have a much needed discussion. The Sky had not been interested in conversation with anyone of the Order and the Grey was now beginning to wonder if the struggle had gone too easily and the Sky had planned this fall.
The Grey could still make out the shape of the Sky as he fell, though he squinted now to track him, and then suddenly a round white something bloomed into being where the Sky had fell. This thing then seemed to fall nearly as a leaf, slowly to one side and then to the other. The Grey decided that the Sky must have had some other contraption to take him safely to the ground if the contraption the Grey was stranded in now failed.
The Grey supposed he ought to discover how to work this thing before he ran aground atop a mountain. Even a Wizard would not wish to be stranded upon this range in winter.
He had just decided that the balloon stayed aloft because the air within it was heated when he saw the Dragon flying along the mountains, towards him. He had made a great study of creatures, not only birds, in his many years as The Brown, and it seemed most suspicious that a Dragon, particularly of this breed, was flying over this region.
They were territorial creatures to begin, who traveled great distances out from hoard and lair only to breed, and furthermore, this one was young to be roaming, even considering that rogue males might travel to seek own territory, and of an eastern breed that had quite possibly never been seen alive in the West. Granted, some put 'west' at the border of the river and some at the border of the mountains, such that the Dragon was now on the very border, but that was a matter for Elven starlight debates; the Dragon was very far west.
The Grey watched as the dragon flew below his basket, for he was now at a great height and thinking, no matter how interesting the Dragon, he better fiddle with the burner and try to lower the balloon or pray that there were provisions to be found on the Moon; the sun was probably much more distant.
The Grey turned to turn the flame, when he felt a shadow cross the sun. He turned and saw a great eagle swoop down upon the Dragon and tear its wing with its talons. The bird was of such size and brilliance that The Grey was certain it was one of his own race in the guise of a bird, as he was in the guise of an old Man.
The Dragon expelled a stream of fire at the bird, who banked away, and sank lower. The Grey grasped the edge of the basket he was in tensely as he leaned over the edge to watch. There was a figure, perhaps a Man, on the eagles back, body pressed flat so as to cause little drag in the air and to allow the wings to beat freely. The Man stood then in a crouch and leapt, as the eagle circled the sinking, flame-spewing Dragon, and sailed through the air, arms spread, and then fell to the dragon's back with a rolling motion and grabbed a hold on its spines to keep from falling.
It was the most impressive stunt The Grey had ever witnessed, including
such time he wore other colors. He had perhaps heard tell of equally impressive
stunts performed by certain Elves, but never seen anything like this untethered
leap between two flying creatures. And over a mountain!