Raveler: The Dark God Book 3 (37 page)

“Safe as stone,” Talen mused. “Do you think that’s where that saying comes from?”

“After hearing Mokad’s awful horn, I think that’s exactly where it comes from. They were deep in the rock where that sound could not reach them. Although the woman did say they have patrols, so they don’t stay there all the time. The Creek Widow thinks those patrols not only look for threats but also gather in the dead they can find.”

Sugar imagined the souls hiding there had probably debated whether or not to help those that were being killed on the battlefield at Fort Echo. If they helped, they’d reveal to the enemy their location. But maybe they couldn’t stand by and just watch. Maybe the dead saw their children and grandchildren about to be taken to the slaughter and refused to hide. Either way, she was happy they had come.

Talen said, “There’s more than one cave in this land. Maybe our parents found a different refuge.”

“Let’s hope,” she said. “But if they’re with others, I don’t think they will be keen on us finding them.”

“Why?”

“Because if these locations were to be known, if they started to be noised about in the world of the living, it would only draw those that would feed on them. I think the woman that helped me was deciding whether I would be allowed to go back to my body. The Creek Widow thinks that the only reason she let me return was because the dead had already stormed forth to help in the battle and revealed their presence.”

“She would have killed you?” Talen asked.

“I don’t think she would have let me go back to my body,” she said.

Talen shook his head. “So not only do we have to watch for skir and Walkers, we also have to watch for our own. You’d think the world of souls would be perilous enough without our own hunting us.”

She said, “The dead aren’t the only ones in trouble. What news do we have of Ke?”

He looked down. “Shim’s spies know nothing. He was being held in Blue Towers the same time you were. That’s the last we know.”

“I’m sure he’ll turn up,” Sugar said, not knowing what else she could say.

“I’m going after him,” Talen said.

“Has Argoth approved that?”

“He will. I’m not going to leave him out there.”

Sugar nodded.

“But that’s a matter for another time,” Talen said. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something else.” He held out the sack in his hand. “I brought this for you.”

Sugar took it, placed it on a rock, and opened it to reveal a wooden box the size of a cabbage. The image of a sparrow had been burned into the lid.

Talen said, “I made it big enough for your da’s skull, but I think the other things from your mother will fit as well. The straw ought to keep it all from jostling, but you might want to use some cloth.”

She didn’t know what to say. The thin panels of wood had been worked carefully, with dovetailed joints, making all the parts lock together into a tight box. The sparrow was beautiful. “Did you burn that?”

“Some of it. There’s a Vargon carver who I convinced to help with those tricky feathers.”

She slid the lid open. Just today Da’s skull had been knocked and chipped while in her sack. But it would fit perfectly in here. “The box is beautiful,” she said and reached out and squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”

He glanced down at her hand, then up into her eyes. “I owed you, for Nettle at the very least.”

His gaze made her heart beat just a little faster, and that surprised her. He smiled and brought her hand up and kissed the back of it. When he released her hand, the brush of his lips lingered.

He said, “That lot from Bain brought a lute and some drums. They’re going to be playing tonight. A celebration before we leave tomorrow. A celebration to turn our minds toward happier things. I’ve had a number of women try to arrange a dance for their daughters.”

“Oh?” she said.

“I’m all the rage,” he said and grinned.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, aye, you’re certainly something.”

“I kept one dance free.”

She waited.

“I was hoping you’d join me in the Banner Dance. This time I thought I’d get my request in early, before some weaver with a dainty nose locks you up. We wouldn’t want you to suffer through that again.”

“I don’t know,” she said wistfully. “He did wear some very fine cloth.”

“I’ll borrow a silky woolen tunic. What do you say?”

“Find a red one, and I might consider.”

He shook his head and sighed. “You are a hard driver.”

“Ho!” a man shouted. She turned to see Urban, Soddam, and Withers approaching. Legs sat on Soddam’s wide shoulders.

“That Urban’s all finery,” Talen said. “I bet he’s got a tunic I can wear.” He looked over at her as if testing her response.

“The Mistress told me to stay away from foreign men.”

“You certainly took that advice to heart, didn’t you,” Talen said.

“Ah, Talen,” Urban called. “Zu Sleth himself.”

“How do your wrists feel?” Talen asked.

“Human,” Urban said. “I thank you very much, my monster-slaying friend.”

“The bits I couldn’t get will probably grow back.”

“At that time I’ll return to our illustrious raveler.”

“You’re leaving?” she asked.

“I left a skeleton crew on my ship,” Urban said. “And there are others who did not come with me on this journey. Shim is going to need eyes in the outside world. He’s going to need allies, because sooner or later he’ll return to the cities of men. You know he will.”

Sugar nodded.

“Why don’t you come with us?” Urban asked, his dark eyes glittering. “My offer still stands.”

Sugar looked at Soddam and Withers and back at Urban with his fine face that set so many women’s hearts pattering. But there were so many people here to train in the lore. So much that needed to be done for this people to survive the coming winter. They needed every hand to help.

“I wish I could go,” she said. She felt as if she were saying good-bye to family—an uncle, a grandfather, and someone, well, not a brother, but certainly not just a friend, even though she wondered how old Urban was.

“I figured you’d say that,” said Soddam. He let Legs down, then took her in a large embrace. “The Six love you.”

She hugged Withers next. “I brought your skenning back,” she said and held out the belt he’d lent her.

“No, girl, you keep that. You remember old Withers.”

“But you said—”

“When I die, I’m going to stick with Urban’s ship and haunt all the other men,” he said. “And when I put into port, I’ll look for the ways. I have myself a few other weapons. I’ll be fine.”

“It’s a pity you can’t stay and teach me more.”

Urban put a hand on Withers’s shoulder. “Our cook needs a steady hand to keep him in the right path. Besides, you’re not going to be doing much of any walking for some time. And when you do, I suspect you’ll have Talen here to watch your back.”

Withers rubbed his bony hands. “We’ll come back for her. A year’s enough time.”

Urban looked at her earnestly. “Maybe in a year, you’ll reconsider.” His look turned mischievous. “But you still owe me for that black eye. I think a kiss for finding you is appropriate.”

Talen’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly.

“Anything for the man who saved me and my brother,” she said. Then she stepped past Urban and gave Soddam a peck on the cheek.

Soddam laughed. Urban shook his head, then took Sugar’s hand. “To one of the best ferrets I think we’ve ever had. Be safe.”

“I will,” she said.

“Farewell, Purity’s daughter. You would have made our ship lively.” Then he too kissed her hand.

“Come now,” the Mistress called out. “Leave his dishyness to those of us with the experience to handle him.”

They all turned to see her walking up the hill toward them.

Urban said, “I believe I’m in peril.”

The Mistress huffed, gave Urban the eye, then sized Soddam up appreciatively. “Now there’s the figure of a man.”

Soddam cleared his throat. “We do have an extra bed on our ship.”

“Are you asking me something, my large fellow?”

“Just stating a fact.”

“Tempting,” she said. “But you’re going to have to try harder than that. Unfortunately, I’m here to fetch Sugar and Talen. Lord Shim wants to hold a meeting.”

* * *

Talen sat in the meeting held upon a knoll apart from the camp. Uncle Argoth and Aunt Serah were there as well as Shim, Matiga, Eresh, Sugar, Legs, and Nettle. River would have been there, but she was already with the Spiderhawk woodikin queen.

Commander Eresh spoke first. “Back on the coast, the rivers, for a good many miles inland, are not safe. The Bone Faces control the land, the waters, and the skies. I’ve never seen anything like it. We won’t be going back there anytime soon. Nor would we want to. I think there will be a war unlike any we’ve seen between the Bone Faces and the Western Glorydoms.”

“We need more lore,” the Creek Widow said. “I think it’s time we try to open the Book again.”

Uncle Argoth shook his head. The whole side of his face was dark with a huge bruise. “We can’t afford to lose any one of us in an experiment.”

The silence stretched long, and then Talen spoke. “Maybe we’ll be able to open the book in the future, but I think I have a more immediate solution.”

All the eyes turned on him.

“If we need lore, why don’t we take it from those who possess it?”

“And how do you propose to do that?” asked Eresh.

“I can free a thrall from its master,” he said. “So why don’t we free a few Divines? We’ll put our own thralls upon the ones we catch, and then we’ll make them share every last bit of knowledge locked up in their brains.”

Eresh’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He grunted.

Shim said, “We can do that?”

A smile crept across Uncle Argoth’s bruised face. “We know how to make thralls. If the boy can wrest an urgom from a Skir Master, I’m sure he can sever what links a Divine.”

Eresh said, “That boy’s smart, which is surprising, seeing he’s related to you.”

Argoth looked at the Creek Widow. “Why didn’t you leave him on the other side of the mountains?”

“Because she couldn’t resist me,” Eresh said.

The Creek Widow shook her head and smiled.

“Here’s my question,” Eresh said. “Why limit ourselves to Divines? A couple of those earth monsters might come in handy. Why don’t we see if we can’t free a few Kragows from such a load?”

Now it was Talen’s turn to be put on his heels. He really didn’t want to face another one of those. “I don’t think normal thralls will work on them.”

Eresh said, “We won’t know that, my boy, until we’ve tried.”

The Creek Widow said, “This is all fine and good. But we have thousands to feed. Hunting Divines will provoke retaliation. You’ll be hounded and chased by dogmen and Guardians and whatever else they can bring to bear. Do that now, and we risk everyone down in those camps. We need to make sure our people are safe and secure before we begin such things.”

“Agreed,” said Shim.

“Agreed,” all the others said.

“We’ll find a place and overwinter,” Argoth said, his eyes glinting with purpose. “Maybe move again. We’ll look at the Book to see if it can be opened. And then we go hunting.”

The next day, the people of Shim and the few woodikin the queen had assigned to travel with them struck camp and moved out. Scouts on horses rode out to find the next camping site and water. Others were assigned to find food. Still others ranged miles behind and on the flanks of the host to watch for enemies.

Just as they were about to depart, Talen found Sugar and Legs. They chatted for a few minutes, verifying they had everything packed. Nettle soon joined them. And then they set out as the lines of people moved forward. The multitude was told to spread out so as not to wear too heavily on the land. And so they traveled in small groups and would continue to travel this way for a number of days, hoping to obscure their path.

They traveled twenty miles that day. They traveled thirty the next and the next. Talen sent his roamlings behind to watch their rear, but every time he did, he found the land empty.

As they walked, people came to him to be raveled. He still felt the hunger inside of him, strong as ever. Every time he got close to a living thing, he longed for the Fire and soul. But now that he knew what that hunger was, what he was, it didn’t frighten him. Not as it had before.

He was part Devourer, yes, but he was also human down to his bones. And the man would be the master. It must be, for when the moment of crisis came, when he and the others took the fight to the enemy, he was determined not to be a scourge, not the curse of a dark god, but a blessing.

* * *

Weeks later, a dog padded into the temporary camp on the other side of the Wilds. It had a salt and peppered brown coat. One eye was blue, the other brown. Two hooded crows flew in with it.

The dog sniffed the fading scent of many humans. There wasn’t much scent left, but there was enough. The dog and crows were hungry. Together they caught and killed a fat snake. When they’d finished eating it, the dog padded out of the old camp and followed the scent that led into the vast waste beyond. The crows squabbled over the last bits of skin, then sprang to the air and followed.

The End

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Terms & People

Political Hierarchy

While there are many variations, the basic power hierarchy in the realms of the Western Glorydoms flows from the Glory down:

Glory

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Lesser Divines

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Territory Lords and Warlords

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District Lords and Village Bailiffs

There are still some small areas of the known world ruled by barbarian kings or chieftains, but almost all these pay tribute to one Glory or another in the form of treasure, slaves, or Fire. The major western glorydoms include Kish, Koram, Mokad, Mungo, Nilliam, and Urz.

The Six Orders of the Divine

Fire Wizards

Kains

Skir Masters

Guardians

Green Ones

Glories

Infamous Divines include: The Goat King, The Witch of Cath, and Hismayas, the ancient lord of the sleth.

Major Mokaddian Clans with holdings in the New Lands

Birak

Burund

Fir-Noy

Harkon

Jarund

Mithrosh

Seema

Shoka

Vargon

Koramites

Hogan

River

Ke

Talen

Sparrow & Purity

Sugar

Legs

Harnock

Mokaddians

Argoth & Serah

Nettle

The Creek Widow (Matiga)

Lumen (The missing Divine of the New Lands)

Rubaloth (Skir Master of Mokad)

Rose (Sister to Argoth, wife of Hogan the Koramite)

Shim (Warlord of the Shoka clan)

Armsman

Every clan has various martial orders within it. The ranks of the vast majority of these orders are filled with those who are not full-time soldiers, but farmers, laborers, and craftsmen. However, there are orders in some clans of elite and sometimes professional soldiers. These are the orders of the armsmen.

Bone Faces

Barbarian raiders from the South who have begun striking Mokaddian holdings by sea.

Dreadmen and Fell-maidens

Those without lore who are endowed by Divines with weaves of might. When such weaves are worn, they multiply the wearer’s natural mental and physical abilities. However, the weaves carry a cost: worn too frequently, the body wastes, consuming itself to fuel the magic.

Escrum

A weave that binds the wearer to a master, allowing communication over long distances.

Frights

Not completely of the world of flesh, frights feed on Fire. They most often prey on the sick and dying, attaching themselves like great leeches.

Godsweed

An herb with properties said to repel some creatures such as frights and the souls of the dead. The smoke from one thin braid can rid a house of an infestation for many weeks. But its effect does not discriminate between frights, ancestors, or even the servants of the Creators. Hence the saying: take care to appease those you’ve chased with smoke.

King’s Collar

A weave wrought by a special order of Divines called Kains. Such collars not only prevent a person from working magic, but also weaken the wearer, making those captured easier to handle.

Kragow

A weilder of the strange lore of the Bone Faces.

Military Units

A fist is made up of 8-12 soldiers. A hammer contains 2-4 fists. A terror contains 4-6 hammers. The leaders of these units are called fistmen, hammermen, and terrormen. A cohort contains 4-6 terrors.

Skir

Orders of beings that inhabit the heavens as well as the deep places of the earth and sea. While invisible to the naked eye, many do exert power in the visible world and can be harnessed by those knowing the secrets. But not all are useful to man. Many orders of smaller Skir are deemed insignificant, while other powers are so dreadful none dare summon them.

Stone-wights

A vanished race whose ruins are found in the New Lands. Some claim plague or war took them. Others find evidence they were destroyed by the Six themselves.

The Six

Seven creators fashioned the earth and all life therein. However, upon seeing the flaws in what he and the other six Creators had wrought, the seventh, called Regret, wanted to destroy the work and begin again. The remaining Six, whose names are sacred, refused, but they were not able to overcome Regret. And so it is that the powers of both creation and dissolution still struggle on the earth.

Sleth

Another term for “soul-eaters.” In Urzarian tongue it literally means “The East Wind,” which dries and kills life. Applied to those who, in rebellion of the Glories, use an unsanctioned form of the lore of the Divines. They are beings and orders of beings supposedly twisted by their polluted draws. Said to have gotten their lore from Regret, one of the seven Creators who, having once seen the creation, realized its flaws and wanted to destroy it.

The Three Vitalities

All life is made up of one or more of the three vital powers. There are many names for these life forces. The most common terms in the western glorydoms are Fire (sometimes called Spirit), Body, and Soul. There are rumors, among those who know the lore, of lost vitalities: powers that have passed out of human ken.

Weaves

Objects of power. Some can only be quickened and handled by lore masters. Others, wild weaves, are independent of a master and can be used by those who do not possess any lore. Weaves may be made of almost any material; however, gold is used most often for the wild weaves given to dreadmen.

Woodikin

Creatures that live in great families beyond the gap in the wilds of the New Lands. About half the size of a man, they are ferocious and spilled much blood in the battles fought with the early settlers. Although rare, single woodikin are sometimes seen in human lands.