Fifthwind (20 page)

"First,
we went south to Deagon's Bluff. I was surprised to find that not
many people down there were aware of our troubles up here. In fact,
they said that the forests were the safest in years, because of a
sudden and unexplained absence of thieves." Mason chuckled, "I
wouldn't exactly call it unexplained from our point of view. Either
they're all dead, or they were smart enough to leave. After that, we
covered the east and north pretty well, but what's going on west of
here is anybody's guess. There's a lot of strange things going on out
there. No animals, strange lights and sounds at night..."

Ben
didn't need to hear more about strange occurrences. What mattered was
the threat and how it could be dealt with. He got to the point
foremost on his thoughts, "How many?"

Mason
looked back at his men and shrugged with a noticeable wince. "More
than we can deal with by ourselves. I hope you've managed to put
together more men while I was gone."

Vincent
scooted forward in his chair and interrupted, "Ben is on top of
that already. Now tell me, did you find anything else?"

Mason
raised his eyes to meet Vincent's. He then spoke in a slow, even tone
so as to emphasize his message, "There are men among them. Twice,
we saw men moving within their ranks. Worse yet, the Murg seem to shy
away from them, as if they were afraid." Mason quickly added, "Just
two mornings ago we saw a man in a gray robe with a big group of
them, and they were literally cowering before him. I don't know
exactly what to make of it, but one thing's for certain. It can't be
good."

Ben
glanced at Vincent who offered no argument. It seemed that the threat
of The Core's involvement was now more plausible. "Where did you
see this?"

"On
the west side of the Torn river about a day out. It was a pretty big
group of them, but not the biggest we saw. Just this morning, north
of Babbitt's tower, in the forest behind where the Captain's place
used to be, is where we saw the most. There's a ring of statues out
there not more than five miles in. That's where we saw at least fifty
Murg."

"Fifty!"
Kyla repeated, her voice shaking. "We can't defend against that
many!"

Mason
nodded gravely. "Doesn't matter if we're ready or not, they're
massing their numbers in preparation for a concentrated assault.
They'll be here tonight."

No
one doubted Mason's ability to read troop movements. He had spent too
many years engaged in war and planning battlefield tactics to misread
the subtle signs of an enemy. If he judged that there would be an
attack, then the attack would come. It was only a question of when
and how strong.

"What
kind of statues did you find out there?" Vincent interrupted again
and eagerly awaited an answer.

"Murg
statues," Mason answered. "Maybe about a dozen in a circle."

"Was
there a girl?" Vincent asked, excitedly reaching for Kyla's hand.
"Was there a statue of a young woman in the same area?"

"No,"
Mason said.

Vincent
stood and urged Kyla to her feet. There was a clear sense of urgency
in the way that he moved. "I have to see for myself. Show me
where."

"Maybe
you didn't hear me right. There are at least fifty of those things
massing out there, and I can assure you that it's not the place you
want to be right now. Besides, we've only got a few hours to get our
defenses in place." Mason glanced back at his men, and then to Ben.

Ben
understood the look, and said what Mason had not. "It's going to be
big."

Mason
spoke clearly. "They're going to come in hard and fast. We should
be able to hold them off through the night, but that just buys us
another day."

Vincent
interrupted, "I've got to see those statues!"

"Those
statues aren't going anywhere!" Mason admonished. "It's going to
have to be later."

"Then
when?" Vincent snapped.

"It's
not going to be today," Ben answered, and then turned to the
Sergeant. "Mason, once you and your men have eaten, give me a full
assessment of what you know. I'll need numbers, locations, and your
best guess of their capability."

"Yes
sir."

Ben
stood and walked for the door. "And make sure no one leaves."

Outside,
the snowfall was increasing. The inn across the street now looked as
ancient as it truly was. Cold, gray stones dusted in white as they
had been every winter for nearly twenty centuries. But this winter,
the world was returning to the time of their youth, a time when the
world was different. Ben walked in a general northward direction,
lost in his own thoughts.

He
looked out at the townsfolk slowly coming into the center of town,
and almost forgot that there was imminent danger lurking just behind
the sunset. The light snow, the people bundled up and running last
minute errands, the outdoor kitchens preparing the evening's meat...
to an untrained eye it might all look innocent, almost festive. But
to Ben, it was the quiet anxiety of preparation.

Kishell
Springs was like any other trading town on any other mountainside.
Yet, it was anything but normal. The forest was now alive with
unnatural things, and the very air he breathed flowed with an energy
that threatened to change his understanding of the world and how
things were supposed to work.
Why here? Why now?

Mason's
proclamation that an attack was imminent did not surprise him. He had
always suspected that the first real snowfall would bring whatever
events were in store for Kishell Springs. That time had now come, and
there was no point in ignoring the inevitable.

Ben
moved his hand through the air before him and closed his eyes. He
could not feel the Fifthwind in any physical sense, but he knew it
was there.

"It's
really quite beautiful, isn't it?"

Ben
smiled at the music of Kyla's voice; he never tired of hearing it.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, but did not turn to meet her.

"The
snow?" he finally answered. "I've always like the snow."

"I
was talking about the Fifthwind." Kyla moved up to stand beside
him. She wrapped her arm around his, and then placed her hand back
under her cloak for warmth. She had in effect linked herself to him
in a position that allowed her to place her cheek against his
shoulder. Ben did not object.

"I'm
not sure about anything anymore. I'm confronted with an enemy I know
virtually nothing about." Ben shook his head, "The Fifthwind is
bringing us a lot of grief. So many unnatural things..."

Kyla
tightened her grip on Ben's arm. "You still don't understand. It's
the absence of the Fifthwind that's been unnatural for so long. You
see Ben, the world isn't changing, it's
healing
. Things are
returning to the way they should be." Kyla moved around to face
Ben. "Yes, there will be things that are difficult, changes that we
do not desire, but there will also be beautiful and wondrous things."

Ben
said, "The Murg are massing in the woods, preparing to attack us,
and you speak of beautiful and wondrous things..."

"Yes,
the Murg are terrible, just as a bear or a pack of wolves can be
threatening, but they are a natural part of this world, the world as
it should be. What is unnatural is that there are malevolent men
using these beasts to bring fear and destruction into our lives."

"What
do you know of The Magus Core?" Ben asked. Through Vincent, he had
come to know the story of Stonewall and how there were those who
sought to control the power of the Fifthwind. Vincent had called them
great sorcerers, terrible men who had become greedy in their pursuit
of power. Still, despite everything he had been told, the tactician
in him needed to understand more of this enemy on his doorstep.

"They've
passed down their knowledge from generation to generation, waiting
for this time to come. They're intelligent men who you'd never pick
out of a crowd. For centuries, they've lived secretly among us in
positions of influence and repute. Waiting..."

"Do
you think we've seen them here in town?"

Kyla
frowned. "It's likely that we've shared a meal or two with them,
but so many have come through here in the last few months, it's
impossible to know for sure."

"Yet
you still feel that this is a wondrous time, a time of beauty."

Kyla
smiled and nodded. She turned and took Ben's hands in her own and
with almost girlish delight she said, "Let me show you."

She
removed Ben's gloves, then her own. Taking his hands in hers, she
cupped them into a bowl shape. She closed her eyes for a moment and
whispered a few words, then opened her eyes which were now a
brilliant crystal blue. Instantly, Ben's hands grew warmer.

He
kept his eyes locked on her face and the warmth on his hands was
comforting in the cold. She was smiling with a glow of excitement, a
beautiful radiance. She looked as if she was lifting her face against
the sun's warmth on a summer day. Slowly, her eyes returned to their
normal cool green shade.

"Now
look," she said.

Ben
looked down at his hands and failed to hide his surprise. Floating in
his cupped hands was a fantastic purple flame. A fire that danced in
that small void but did not burn. He instantly felt his mood lift, a
happiness came over him that he had not felt since childhood.

"It's
so pretty—" Ben
started.

Kyla
beamed her white teeth at him and nodded. "Now,
really
look
at it. In the way that only you can."

Ben
closed his eyes and wrapped his mind around the two of them. As
expected, he lost all awareness of color, but that did not detract
from the beauty around him. The flame no longer burned purple, but
hung before him in white brilliance. The flame in his hands seemed to
reach out and entwine itself around the two of them, embracing them
in a slow swirling dance of mutual harmony.

More
relaxed than he had been in weeks, Ben allowed himself to drift
upward out of his body and to a vantage point high above the scene.
There, floating on the wind, he truly began to understand what Kyla
had tried to say. He could see the Fifthwind as wispy strands of
smoky energy that converged on the flame from every direction. It
seemed to draw its very existence from the stones of the adjacent
buildings, from the nearby trees and even from the air itself.

In
that moment, Ben realized that he too, was part of this wondrous
flowing energy that bound all things. He now understood what Vincent
had told him. He had let go and become part of the greater
consciousness of the land. He could feel the world in a way he had
never experienced before.

Ben
fell weightlessly back into his body and opened his eyes. He knew
that he was near to crying, but didn't care. He watched through
watery eyes as the flame in his hands dissipated.

He
looked up and said, "Thank you for giving me that."

"It
was always there for you to see. You just needed a little nudge. Did
you see all the beautiful colors? It was like silk ribbons dancing
around us in a summer breeze."

"I
can't see color when I use Mindsight, but it was still beautiful.
I've never felt so in-touch with the things around me."

"You've
gotten better with your skills. You didn't even seem to try this
time."

Ben
reached out and caressed Kyla's arm. "This changes everything,"
he said, suddenly feeling stronger, like a man who had just found
something long-lost and dear to him. He had found determination and
purpose.

Kyla
took on a serious look. "Mason's right, isn't he? We're going to
need as much help as we can get."

Ben
looked to the white sky that had now turned more of a dingy gray.
There were only a few more hours until dusk and there was so much to
do. He turned his eyes toward the north and squinted as if trying to
see the enemy massing in the distance.

There,
he saw a slow procession of townsfolk moving toward him carrying
blankets and belongings as they ambled steadily toward the center of
town.

He
sighed, and then took a deep breath, subconsciously accepting the
responsibility of defending these people. Somehow, it did not feel
like a weight upon him, but more of a privilege. He was ready.

He
moved to Kyla's side and put his arm around her shoulder giving her a
gentle squeeze. "Sometimes a soldier has got to just listen to his
instincts. And, right now, mine are telling me that we'll be
alright."

Kyla
leaned into him and nuzzled against his shoulder. Ben couldn't see,
but he knew that she was smiling. At least, he knew that he was.

"Sir,"
Mason said as he approached with heavy feet through the snow. "I'm
sorry to interrupt your quiet moment with the young lady, but we have
things to do."

"Of
course, Mason." Ben said. "I'm ready for your report. What can
you tell me?"

Kyla
smiled and lifted up on her toes to give Ben a quick but passionate
kiss. "I'll go help these people settle in. Don't stay out here too
long. Promise me."

Before
Ben could react to the show of affection, she had already turned her
back and was moving down the street toward the Masked Pig. Even
though he knew she would not hear him, he muttered after her, "I
promise."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"Stop
doing that," Mason said.

Ben
kept his eyes on Kyla until she vanished through the front door of
the Masked Pig. He was not entirely surprised with her show of
affection, but he was certainly thankful for it. He returned his
thoughts to the present but even then, he was slow to react to
Mason's words. With a far away look on his face, he muttered, "Stop
what?"

"Smiling,"
Mason said. "It's bad luck to be smiling on the day you're going to
die."