Frozen Prospects (4 page)

Betreec
bustled around the suite of rooms, pulling shrouding cloths from a
pair of light spheres, while her husband, I'rone, packed the group's
possessions into an endless series of bags that were cleverly
designed to easily tie onto gurra harnesses.

For
all Va'del didn't have much in the way of baggage, the other three
seemed to have an endless array of items, all of which took more
than a color cycle to pack.

The
time sphere had advanced to a dark yellow by the time the little
bundles were all arranged to I'rone's satisfaction.

The
massively-muscled Guadel looked at the time and then grunted at a
number of empty bags. "Still no food, and we haven't seen the
slightest hint of the other things we asked for."

Jasmin
nodded sharply. "Nor have we seen their stock of trade jewels.
You know that sorry excuse for a Headman has something dirty up his
sleeve."

Betreec
looked up from the chair and table where she'd been preparing their
breakfast and made calming motions. "None of us like it any
more than you do, beloved. Especially in light of other things
we've learned here." She looked at Va'del out of the corner of
her eye as she finished speaking, but there was no way of knowing
just how much of their unhappiness really had to do with Va'del.

Unaware
of the thoughts crashing around Va'del's head, the older woman
continued. "Despite that, we can't take the kind of direct,
violent action you would like us to. The code and laws are too
important to dispose of. We have to work inside them."

Jasmin's
ice-blue eyes hadn't calmed down in the least. "Deciding to do
away with the Captain of the Guard and then proceeding to make every
able-bodied young man the equivalent to a part-time guardsman isn't
normal. He's all but building an army. Rather than patting him on
the back for suppressing any and all real information about us, we
should bring in ten or fifteen Guadel and forcibly remove him from
power."

Jasmin
momentarily looked like she was about to continue her argument, but
then looked at Va'del and sighed. "We'll do it according to
the code of course, but I maintain that serious problems are going
to be caused by this Headman in the future. The Council would be
far better off making sure that this village is visited more than
once every year. This hands-off policy they've adopted can only
lead to trouble."

Va'del
tried to file Jasmin's words away for later analysis, but he didn't
know enough yet to put them in the proper context.

Sara
and Pa'chi were waiting for the group when they left the guest
rooms. Va'del's friend looked up at him with green eyes that were
shiny with unshed tears. "You're really going away?"

Unable
to speak past the lump that'd suddenly developed in his
throat, Va'del simply nodded.

In
a whisper Pa'chi continued. "I won't see you again. Sara told
me you'll never be allowed to return to this village, and I already
know I'll never get the chance to leave."

Va'del
attempted to smile and lighten the mood a little. "It's okay,
you'll be better off without me. Once you aren't always trying to
stick up for me, Jas'per and the others will leave you alone."

Pa'chi
shook her head violently. "None of that matters. Sara says
you'll be in a better place. I'll miss you Va'del. I'll miss you a
lot."

Before
he could think of anything else to say, Pa'chi wrapped her arms
around Va'del's neck in a desperate hug. He opened his mouth to
comfort her but she turned and ran away as the tears finally started
trickling down her face.

##

Va'del
reached up with mitten-covered hands and adjusted his hood slightly
to try and keep the cold air further away from his face.
It didn't seem to help
much, but there wasn't anything else in the desolate landscape to
serve as a windbreak. As far as the eye could see, there was just
snow and ice broken by the occasional rock crag that'd been
scoured clean.

He
hadn't been outside since his parents had taken him out on short
trips as a child. It had been so long ago he'd forgotten just how
cold it was outside the shelter of the caves. The chill cut right
through his gurra wool clothes, but the light was almost as bad.
He'd never imagined light could cause his eyes to hurt, but Jasmin
had explained it was possible for things to get even brighter.

The
argument in the guest rooms before they left had given Va'del a
vague idea of what would happen, but events had still played out
much differently than he'd expected.
If
Betreec and I'rone's course of action was the more peaceful,
non-confrontational way of handling things, I hate to think of what
Jasmin's plan was. Maybe for I'rone to start killing random people
until their demands were met?

When
I'rone demanded the customary parting gift of food, and sufficient
clothing and equipment to outfit Va'del, the Headman had looked
nearly ready to attack the Guadel with his bare hands. It had been
obvious Ma'del wanted nothing more than to order Jas'per and the
others to attack the Guadel, but everyone in the cavern had known
I'rone was capable of killing them all without breaking a sweat.

The
food and equipment had arrived a few minutes later, at which point
Ma'del had curtly informed Betreec that since his village would no
longer be trading with the Capital, the Guadel wouldn't be given any
of the trade jewels scheduled to be sent down with the next caravan
to the lowlands.

I'rone
hadn't displayed any emotion at the obvious slight.
Instead he'd reminded Ma'del that the testing of youngsters wasn't
dependent on trade with the Capital, and any attempts to prohibit
the Guadel from continuing their traditional duties would be viewed
as open rebellion.
I've
never seen Ma'del truly speechless. It's a good thing I'rone got us
moving before I ruined everything by laughing.

For
all that the day started out with excitement, it'd quickly
devolved to unprecedented levels of monotony. Walking across the
crusted snow was made simultaneously more difficult and easier by
the steel-spiked platforms I'rone had helped him strap to his shoes
as they'd left the caves. After just a couple of cycles Va'del's
legs were burning and tingling from the unaccustomed weight.

The
gurra he was leading wasn't any happier to be out in the cold than
he was, and frequently pulled back on its lead, tiring his arm and
causing it to ache.
And I
can't switch hands because the other arm is broken. I don't think
I've ever been quite this physically miserable in my entire life.

Just
when the teenager felt he could go no further, the party reached an
outcropping of rock that served to protect them somewhat from the
wind, if not the cold.

I'rone
opened up one of the small bags on the gurra he was leading and
pulled out objects which he passed to Betreec, who in turn handed
them back to Va'del. "Drink this. All of it, and eat the
dried meat too."

Va'del
looked back to Jasmin who had taken the last spot in the party as
they'd set out, and saw she'd already secured provisions of her own,
and was consuming them with a greedy abandon that seemed to indicate
he'd better get on with it or he'd miss his chance.

The
break wasn't as long as Va'del had hoped, but it proved long enough
for him to finish the curiously-sweet beverage inside the water skin
and make substantial progress on the meat.

When
the party set out once again, their path angled slightly upward and
Va'del found that his breathing grew ragged and forced despite their pace
being no quicker than before.

Time
seemed to grind to a near halt, and for a while Va'del found himself
looking back frequently to verify they were really making progress.
Eventually he ceased to care; it took all of his energy, physical
and mental, just to pick up his feet and move them a few inches
further up the trail.

Va'del
had long since passed the point where he thought he couldn't go on
by the time I'rone finally led the group into a smudge of darkness
that turned out to be the narrow entrance to a fairly sizable cave.

By
the way they moved, Betreec and Jasmin wanted to collapse to the
hard, rock floor, but they both joined a seemingly unfatigued I'rone
in stripping packs off of the gurra, and setting up camp.

One
of the first things Betreec did was to pull a thumb-sized ruby from
a pocket hidden underneath her outer layer of clothing, and
carefully position it near the mouth of the cave. Va'del suppressed
his curiosity as Jasmin directed him in a variety of tasks, keeping
him occupied until he noticed his breath was no longer billowing out
in a white cloud.

By
the time the gurra were stripped, rubbed down and fed, Va'del found
himself loosening the ties on his coat. Betreec continued to
shuffle about placing several more dimly-glowing gemstones in
different locations inside the cave. By the time camp was set up,
not only had the air temperature reached comfortable levels, Va'del
found that he was no longer gasping for breath.

Jasmin
looked at the amazement on the young man's face and smiled as she
shed her last bulky layer of cold-weather clothing.

"The
stones are somewhat like the glow spheres in your village, but they
serve a different purpose." Pointing to the one by the door,
the Guadel continued. "That one holds the heat in and keeps
the wind out. Others provide slight amounts of heat which we can
use to cook on and warm the cave, and one of them holds the air in,
making it a little thicker so we can breathe more easily."

Magic,
they're powered by magic.
Overcome by amazement, Va'del found all kinds of questions charging
to the surface of his mind, but he suppressed them. He was still
unsure how Jasmin would respond.

Betreec
looked over and must have divined what Va'del was thinking. With a
laugh like tinkling bells, and kindness in her violet eyes, she
pointed at Jasmin. "Don't be scared of this one, Va'del. She
does get somewhat...excited from time to time, but she is also as
patient as anyone I've ever met when it comes to those who have the
great luck of being part of her family."

Sensing
he might finally get answers to some of the questions building
inside him, Va'del plunged ahead. It had become obvious that the
three were more than just companions.

"You're
all married?"

"Yes.
I'rone and Betreec for many years, and then I joined them later. I
know it's not something you'd be used to, but among the Guadel such
groupings are typical."

The
idea of such a marriage was almost more than Va'del could
comprehend, but he chose to continue with a more conventional line
of questioning.

"How
do the spheres work?"

Jasmin
smiled once again, and Va'del realized those smiles somehow warmed
her pale blue eyes. "That's quite the question. You
knew, I assume, that Sara could do unusual things."

Va'del
nodded. "Yes, healer magic."

I'rone
shook his head from where he was examining harnesses. "Magic
is magic."

Jasmin
seemed almost as startled by the interjection as Va'del, but she
nodded to her husband and continued. "There are those as would
argue magic isn't the proper name for it all, but he's right, it all
flows from the same source. Healing, is just one aspect of a larger
whole."

The
slender Guadel had pulled a small gemstone of her own from a pocket
somewhere while she was talking and placed it in a hollow in
the center of the cave floor. Pausing for a second in
concentration, Jasmin smiled as the stone suddenly started to glow.

I'rone
handed his wife a basin filled with snow, to which she some
water before placing it over the depression. "Those
with the innate ability to perform magic, like Sara, Betreec and I,
can, with great effort, eventually alter the nature of precious
stones so they tap into the same place we touch to perform the
wonders you would call magic."

Va'del
nodded absently, not sure that he understood everything he'd just
been told, but satisfied to let it simmer in his mind before asking
for further clarification. "Why am I here?"

Jasmin
looked at Betreec for a second before answering. "Va'del, just
like not everyone has the ability to learn to become a healer, not
everyone has the ability to become a Guadel like I'rone. You do,
which is why you're here. We hope to be able to train you to
one day help protect the People."

Va'del
had been more than a little shocked at Jasmin's declaration that he
might one day end up a Guadel. A few days previous, the idea of
becoming as terrifying as I'rone would have scared him more than
just about anything else. He no longer felt that way though. He'd
come to realize the Guadel were all human,
even I'rone. Va'del was
convinced I'rone wouldn't have enjoyed cutting down Jas'per and the
others, but however much he might have regretted the deed later, it
had been obvious he'd been ready to kill whomever he needed to.

Betreec
gently cleared her throat, and Va'del realized his attention had
wandered from the book he was supposed to be reading.

The
older woman looked at him with a smile. "I know reading about
the laws surrounding the villages and their interaction with the
Guadel isn't the most exciting past time, but the knowledge you'll
find in there is vitally important to the People as a whole, and us
as Guadel specifically."

Jasmin
looked up from where she had been sitting motionless against the
gray rock wall of the way cave for the last half cycle and winked at
Va'del. "You may never be the legal scholar I'rone is, but I
think if you give it a chance, you may find it all more interesting
than you would have guessed."

Not
likely, this is dryer even than the stuff I had to read back home.