Compendium (28 page)

“What? What?” he yelled, clamoring to his feet and moving toward the holding cells, still a bit confused.

“’Tis my gut,” yelled SainClair. He was doubled over, holding his midsection. “It came upon me fiercely, with demon’s fire. My bowels.” The others looked on in surprise, their faces pressed up against their respective cages. A look passed between them, but none looked up to see Mia peering down from above. The guard moved toward SainClair and fumbled among his robes. Positioned as she was, Mia was unable to see what was happening, but SainClair helpfully clarified.

“Good god man. I canna hold it much longer. We shall all suffer if you canna get me to the facilities. By all that is holy, why is there no chamber pot?”

Keys jingled in the Druid’s hands, but he paused. “I’m, er, not supposed to, er, open the door with no one else present,” he stammered.

SainClair must have sensed him wavering. “This is a medical emergency, man,” he fairly yelled. “The pain, ’tis unbearable. I’m going to shit right here if you don’t get me to a chamber pot.” He groaned again and dropped to his knees. The Druid fumbled with the keys again, but then Mia heard the clink of the key settling into the lock. It was time to move.

The skylight was angled down the sloped ceiling. It let the light in and was open to the elements. She thought the Druids must get rather soggy, given the very open nature of their windows. Then again, with so much tree cover, maybe the rains never made it down to this level. As the ruckus reached its crescendo, she dropped a thick length of vine out from one of the trees and down through the ceiling. It already was secured tightly to a higher branch so as not to obstruct the night lights through the skylight. Within moments the vine was down, and Mia hastily slid down it. Her leather boots landed on the plank floor of the detention room with a soft thud. The Druid had just gotten the pen door open and was trying to drag SainClair out of the cell when he spotted her from the corner of his eye. She immediately grabbed a metal pitcher from the desk and flung it at the guard.

“Hey!” he said, ducking and bringing his arms up to shield his face. Behind him SainClair plucked the pitcher, which was still spewing water, from the air and swung it in an arc, bashing the Druid across the back of the head. The young man crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Mia gave herself a moment to take a deep breath and grin before she quickly grabbed the keys and freed the others. SainClair dragged the guard’s inert body into the pen. Once they were all assembled, and hugs and thumps on the back had been exchanged, everyone began to speak at once, and even though their voices were low, Mia found herself shushing the others.

“We have to remain quiet,” she said. “There isn’t much time. I know where the Shillelagh is, but they’re moving it tonight, so we need to act quickly. When are the guards set to change over?”

“This fool was to be on duty until dawn, although it’s possible that someone could come to check on him before then. Hand me those keys, my dear,” SainClair said, and grabbed the keys from her hands. He walked back behind the desk and inserted a key into a tiny hole in a panel of wood. It didn’t turn, so he tried another, and another, and another. Finally the fifth key opened a panel flush to the wall, and behind the panel was stowed the clerics’ weapons and gear. SainClair pulled a scrap of cloth from his bag and gagged and bound the unconscious Druid. Then he locked him in the pen.

“It’s late, and there aren’t many Druids about, but we’d best get moving,” Mia said. She was still nervous, but she felt considerably better now that she was with the others. She looked over to Cedar, who was buckling a knife onto his belt and fixing his sash over it. He looked up just then, and their eyes locked. Mia felt herself blush slightly. Her heart didn’t seem care that it wasn’t the right time to express her feelings, and her flesh reddened as the blood rushed to her face. He gave her a crooked smile and stepped forward, pulling a leaf from her hair.

“You’re positively filthy,” he said.

“Yes, well, I’ve been crawling around inside hollow trees like a beetle,” she replied, arching her brow. “It tends to make one a bit dusty. If you require me to rescue you perfectly scrubbed and in formal attire, your cell is still there if you’d like to wait. It may be a while, though,” she said, twisting her mouth in a grimace.

Cedar smiled. “Filthy is fine,” he said, and gave her a mock salute. Mia resisted the urge to thump him on the shoulder. They didn’t have time for banter.

One by one, they made their way quietly up the vine, with Cedar, Mallus, and SainClair pulling Borus up.

“You need to serve more of your stew, Brother Borus, and eat less of it,” Mallus said with a gasp as he leaned over with his hand on his side, breathing heavily.

“If ye’d like to partake of me special recipies going forward, son, you’ll do well ter shut yer trap,” said Brother Borus, but he smiled at the young cleric.

They made away from the central guard station as quickly as their tired bodies would allow. “Where are we headed?” SainClair whispered to Mia, as she led the way.

“There’s only one lift to the level where the Druids are holding the Shillelagh. There shouldn’t be any guards, as, according to Compendium, they focus most of their manpower near the lower levels, but it only takes one to sound an alarm.”

SainClair nodded.

“They must be trying to mask its signature by embedding it in a powerful elder, but they got spooked by your presence and now want to move it.”

“How did you find it if the elder masks the signature?” her uncle asked.

“We got it directly by hooking Compendium up to their system. It didn’t need to rely on a sensor to find the Shillelagh.”

“Lucky we have Compendium then,” SainClair said, his eyes clouded and distant.

Lucky indeed.
She lost herself in her own thoughts as the group crept along quietly, all of them tense and alert. Mia was a little unnerved. Compendium was certainly powerful enough to obtain the information, but she was certain Taryn would have warned the other Druids about Compendium.

They reached the transport room with little fanfare, and her uneasiness grew. “I’m going to scout the lift,” she said.

“Don’t you think someone else should do that?” Cedar asked. “You’re the only one who can speak to Compendium, and that bloody book is the only thing that can locate the Shillelagh.”

“You’ve all risked plenty coming here already,” she said grimly. “I should be the one to scout.”

“Nonsense,” said SainClair, in a tone that brooked no argument. “Cedar will scout up ahead. He moves more silently awake than you do dead asleep.”

“Aye,” said Brother Borus, “and we’d best get movin’.”

Mia frowned deeply but could find no fault with their words; Cedar was by far the stealthiest of the group. He stepped into the lift and looked up nervously. Mia unclasped the green cloak from her shoulders and swung it around his. “At least take this,” she said.

She squeezed in next to him to show him the controls. “Push the lever for the level you want, which is this one,” she said, gently tapping the fifth lever. “When you’re coming back down, push this lever,” she said, gesturing to the second one. Cedar nodded, his dark eyes focused on her hands. Mia swallowed hard, resisting the urge to make a scene. She was successful, but she openly stared at him as she gently closed the door on the lift. From the other side, she heard him flip the lever, followed by the faint whir of the mechanism that drew the car upward and away from her. Mia took a step back and held her breath.

34
The Fury 

Lumin Cycle 10152

SainClair grabbed Mia’s arm
at the elbow to still her pacing. Brother Borus stood near the entrance to the transport room, keeping careful watch for any Druids approaching from either direction.

“It’s been too long,” she muttered, mostly to herself. SainClair patted her elbow in what was intended to be a reassuring manner, but the frown lines around his mouth, the slight squint in his eyes, and the furrow of his brows belied the gesture.

“We must wait a bit longer,” he said, but his voice sounded soft and unconvincing.

“He may have been discovered,” she hissed. The thought caused a shooting pain to radiate up her side. “If they’ve found him, it may have accelerated the plan to move the Shillelagh. We’re risking the mission as well as Cedar,” she snapped.

Right after the lift mechanism had begun to churn itself upward, Mia had charged Compendium with the task of following Cedar’s movements and instructing him where to go. The lift had stopped, and he had been moving in the direction of the Shillelagh. Then suddenly Compendium no longer had been able to sense his presence. It was as if Cedar had winked from existence.

“It is possible that the shielding that keeps me from directly sensing the Shillelagh without hardwired access to the system also prevents me from taking any readings in that portion of the Village,” it said.

Even if that were true, Mia didn’t relish the thought of Cedar creeping about with no means of communication deep in enemy territory.

“All right,” she said finally. “This waiting is madness. Time is running out.”

SainClair sighed deeply and scratched his bristly chin with his grimy fingers. Then he nodded. “I suppose we have no choice,” he finally said.

The lift was only big enough to hold two of them at a time, so it took two trips to get them all assembled on the proper level. The night had grown even cooler, and Mia shivered. Whether from the cold or the fear settling in her stomach like a once-fine cheese now green, the electric jolt ran down her spine, through her legs, and into the floor. Following Compendium’s instructions, she led the group along the walkways. Her heart thumped in her chest as she pictured Cedar’s mangled form in a number of gruesome scenarios. She tried to push those thoughts out of her mind and concentrate on not getting the rest of them killed or captured.

“There is no logic in pursuing such thinking,” said Compendium’s calm voice, breaking through the fog in her mind.

Certainly not, but sometimes people can’t help it. It’s involuntary.

“I have spent a lot of time interacting with the minds of people, and it is always fear that is your downfall.”

Well, some people are just proud, or greedy, or mean.

“Ah, but deep down so many of those negative traits can be linked to fear. Desire for power is a fear of impotence and rejection. Greed is born from fear of poverty or insufficiency.”

Well, what about those who are just mean?

“They fear rejection. If they give others cause to hate and fear them, then they will have risked no emotions of their own.”

Are you trying to distract me with philosophical discussion?

“Perhaps,” said Compendium. “I was merely expressing my observation that many human problems can be avoided by not letting yourselves be consumed by fear.”

It’s not that easy.
Mia sighed.
How does a book know what fear is anyway?

“Just because I am incapable of experiencing fear does not mean I am incapable of understanding it and recognizing it when I see it,” Compendium replied.

And I suppose you think I’m letting fear cloud my judgment?

“I certainly can read your fear. As for whether it is clouding your judgment, I suppose that remains to be seen. I believe you were correct when you insisted that we press on or risk the mission.”

At least you’re on my side.

“I don’t take sides,” said the book.

I don’t suppose you can really, but I like to pretend that you’re loyal to me.

“Well, in that case,” said Compendium, “we should turn right at the next intersection in the path. Around the next bend is where I lost contact with Cedar. The elders housing the Shillelagh should be straight down that pathway. You’ll find an entrance to a massive structure built around the elder grove.”

As they approached the elder grove of the Druids, Mia signaled for the clerics to stop behind her. Even from a distance, she saw that the trees stretched skyward in an impressive arc. SainClair pulled a small looking glass from his robe and scanned the path and across the massive trees.

“I don’t see him,” he whispered to Mia.

“Compendium can’t sense him either,” she said. “I think we’d best make for the Shillelagh and hope we find him along the way. We don’t have time to mount a search right now.” Her heart ached to say those words, but they had to retrieve the Shillelagh foremost.

“If something is blocking Compendium’s sensors and transmitters, I’d best confirm its location now,” Mia continued. She pulled Compendium from her robes, and the others huddled around her. She instructed it to show her the schematics it had downloaded from the Village that included the Shillelagh. Compendium marked their location on the map so they could get a clear picture of the direction in which to proceed. Once everyone had a chance to study the details, they brainstormed.

“I expect we’ll meet resistance,” Mia said. “All we need is to get in, grab it, and get out.”

Brother Borus clenched his hands on the massive axes strapped to his waist. “Och, I’m ready for the bastards,” he said, a menacing glint in his eye.

“Me too,” said Mallus. He pulled a metal rod from his belt and extended it into a staff.

“That’s ingenious,” said Mia, nodding her approval.

“I made it myself,” he whispered and winked at her.

Most of them wore armor beneath their robes, varying between finely wrought mail, plate, or some sort of leather cuirass. It wasn’t a side of the Order Mia had seen until this retrieval mission. She had forgone the heavy armor and was glad she did. She never would have survived the climbs and other contortions with a chest plate strapped to her. She gripped the throwing knives that rested along her belt. She had strapped them on before her descent into the detention room, and they were still securely attached to her waist.

“All right,” SainClair said, unsheathing his long sword. “Let’s move in. Stay together. Cover each other, and don’t get killed.”

Mia frowned and nodded at her uncle. It seemed like suicide to proceed directly toward the elder grove, but there were no other entrances, and the trees were much too thick to burrow through in some indirect fashion, as she previously had done. As they walked slowly and quietly, she was struck by the eerie silence of the forest. The drone of the trees’ energy was loud to Mia, but even in such instances, she usually could hear birds, insects, and other manner of fauna.

The dense hum of the trees couldn’t be blocking out the other noises
, she thought.
Compendium, is something blocking the forest noises here?

For the first time since she had activated the auditory communication with Compendium, it didn’t respond. She thought the question once more but again received no response. Compendium’s calm voice was gone. Stifling a slightly greater than small wave of panic rising from her guts, Mia pulled the book from her robes and opened the cover. It still displayed the map, but the interface didn’t change with her thoughts. She whispered at the book, but still nothing. Whatever blocked Compendium from sensing the Shillelagh and Cedar had blocked its entire interface when they had passed into the grove. She tried not to panic any further and kept her thoughts on the task at hand.
At least we still have the map
.

She tucked the book back into her sash and continued the cautious advance toward the entrance to the thickest group of trees. As they moved close, the odd silence grew deeper, even as the vibrating hum coursing through Mia’s extremities grew more pronounced. The power of the trees in the Druid elder grove matched the Order’s, as did their beauty. Mia saw no sign of wildlife among the sprawling giants, but the night lights still flickered through the tree branches, and sporadic gourds released a soft glow here and there from their vines, which curled gently around the delicate smaller branches of the surrounding trees. Visually it was a stunning display of tranquility and peace, which made Mia’s knowledge of their job that much more disconcerting. They crept along for five eternities. With each step, her apprehension grew, raising the tiny hairs on the back of her neck.

At some distance out, they began to pass under the massive branches that sprawled well out from the central trunks, and Mia took a moment to look up, peering into their thick masses. The trunks of the branches were larger than the trunks of many trees in the tropics. Unlike the smaller trees of the Village, however, no structures were settled into the high branches of these elder trees except for the stronghold nestled between them, the entry to which they were headed directly toward.

“How is it that we’ve seen no Druids yet?” Mia asked SainClair, her voice the barest of whispers.

“It’s most certainly a trap,” he said through tight lips, his words reinforcing her own nagging fears.

“Then why are we bothering to skulk about?” she said, her voice slightly louder.

“I’m not sure,” he added, “but this deep silence compels me to keep my voice low.”

Mia chuckled ever so slightly at his quirked eyebrows and his look of confusion as he said those words. “Compendium is frozen,” she said. “Something is blocking it.”

“The Druids must have an artifact or some other method of dampening the transmissions.”

“I don’t understand how they can dampen Compendium here, in the center of their own grove. It makes no sense.”

SainClair shrugged. “I’m not the one to ask,” he said softly.

They approached the entrance to the structure. No Druids jumped out at them brandishing weapons. No trapdoor dropped them down to the earth in one massive fall. Mia grew cold on the inside as they passed through the immense threshold carved with runes and intricately delicate designs in a language she didn’t understand. The wood of the structure nestled among the elder trees looked to her eyes as if it had been crafted from elderwood itself. She considered this likely and shook her head lightly at the thought of the possibility; it seemed such a tremendous waste and a tragedy. She couldn’t fathom the desire to dismantle an entire elder just to make a fortress. She supposed they could have just found one that had come to the natural end of its life, but Mia never had heard of an elder dying. It was lore that their sprouting had marked the beginning of Lumin and their death would mark the end.
Perhaps it’s just stained and manipulated to look like elderwood.
Her body shivered beneath her robes, as if she had entered a structure made of human bones.

The smell of wet earth and wood assaulted her nostrils as they passed through the arched doorway. A long, massive tunnel stretched out before them. Mia scanned the interior of the tunnel, but she was unable to gauge its size. The ceilings were high and curved gracefully above their heads with an eerie life that made her think perhaps the bones had ghosts. The Order tended to light its structures with carefully concealed vines running through the walls in hidden channels, supporting gourds invisibly and making it appear as if they were simply set into sconces. Here vines openly crawled along the walls and up toward the ceiling around them, with gourds dotted among the curling nests and bathing the tunnel in a greenish glow. Mia found the effect at once peaceful and intimidating.

The silence persisted, even as she would expect the thrum of the elder trees surrounding them. It lent an unnatural feeling to overtly natural scenery and did nothing to calm her burgeoning nerves. She grasped at Compendium through her sash. Despite its nonresponsive interface, the book still felt reassuringly warm against her stomach. They proceeded in total silence, the only sounds being the careful footfalls of the clerics on the hardwood floors echoing in the dense silence. According to her recollection of the map, the chamber housing the Shillelagh was all the way at the center of this fortress. It wasn’t a straight shot, however, as the tunnel curved around elder trunks, leaving some corners blind.

Mia pulled Compendium from her sash and examined the map again as they continued down the curving hall toward the center of the grove. Though the clerics’ location was no longer marked among the lines composing the map’s diagrams, Mia could guess it for the most part. Eventually this hallway would give way to a forked set of passages. She grappled with asking someone to man the fork as they proceeded but thought better of it. They likely would have only one chance to escape, so they would need to stick together.

As they approached the fork, she gestured to the others to take the right passage. She was momentarily relieved that the right passageway also was empty, but this feeling mixed with the increasing sense that she and her companions were fodder. They weaved along like this, burrowing deeper into the bowels of the Druid’s elder grove like beetles seeking refuge from a deluge. At last they reached the open doorway that led to the chamber that contained the Shillelagh. As they stood silently, Mia peered quickly around the edge of the entranceway, still holding Compendium in her right hand.