The Five Elements (21 page)

"Now," Tom said from over one shoulder as they walked, "you can pretty much go wherever you like about ship, but best to stick to the quarterdeck when abovedeck. That's the deck we're on. Most of the time it's the least busy and the safest. Would hate to see you get tangled in some ropes and swept overboard." Tom turned to her and winked. "Belowdeck, mind the engine room. It's off-limits to everyone but the cap'n and ship's officers and engineers." They passed by a series of metal pipes that stuck out from the quarterdeck's flooring to ascend into the great balloon. There were seals to prevent leaks and, as Shanna stepped past, she felt the heat radiating from them. "Hot gas," Tom said, noticing her inspection of the pipes. "It's what gives us lift. Propulsion comes from aft propellers." Past the pipes was a companionway leading down into the ship's belly. They had to wait a moment as a procession of four mates appeared one at a time carrying casks over one shoulder. Once the way was clear, Tom hurried them down. At the bottom, they found themselves at a sort of square junction, with open doorways at each side. Tom chose one, leading them through a short hall to a ladder leading down again. At this next lower level, they followed a passage where several times they had to scrunch against the wall as others passed in the opposite direction. Tom used one such opportunity to relate some tidbits about the airship. The decking, ribs, and hull, where the most strength was needed, were constructed of hardwoods—oak mostly—while most of the interior spaces were walled off with softer, lighter woods. Though space was at a premium on any ship, on an airship, Shanna was told, weight, or lack thereof, was paramount above all else. Curious, Shanna asked how the
Griffin
was able to fly, or rather, what produced the hot gases. "Inflation engine, ma'am," Tom said. The inflation engine, Tom explained with unexpected passion, was located at the center and bottommost point of the hull. Fed by pumice, which he described as something like black glass, the engine was akin to a blacksmith's bellows except that the resulting gases were cleansed then routed through shafts and into the balloon. It was these gases that lifted the balloon—and the ship—heavenward. Tom went on to describe more about the gases—how the inflation rate correlated directly to the amount of lift—but most of it sounded like so much of the gibberish she too often heard from Aaron that Shanna readily tuned the details out. She remained polite, though, nodding when expected, but seized the opportunity to change the subject the moment Tom paused for breath.

"What do you do on the ship, Tom?"

"Cabin boy, ma'am. But only for now. I'm working my way up to engineer." That explained his fervency with regard to the engine. "Been serving onboard the
Griffin
for three years now. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm getting there. So far, I’ve only been allowed to tinker with the gyros. Oh, you may not have seen those. There’s a pair of them docked aft. Think of them as ‘personal transports’. They can only carry one or two at a time, so we don’t use them often."

As the latest round of airmen for whom they’d stood aside moved past them, Tom took the lead once more.

Shanna, again noticing that Tom wore no shoes, took the opportunity to ask him about their absence.

"Cap'n's punishment, ma'am," Tom said without stopping.

"The captain took away your shoes as punishment?"

Tom glanced at her and smiled. "No, ma'am. Lost my shoes in a game of crutchit."

Shanna knew the game well. In Norwynne, she'd had a lucky hand with the dice more often than not.

"I'd already won'em back, but when the cap'n found out we'd been gamblin' and what I'd wagered, he decided to make me walk around without my shoes as punishment. Didn't want me putting holes in my socks, so ain't got those either. Don't worry, ma'am, cap'n just wants to teach me a lesson. I'll get'em back soon enough."

Then they were at their destination: a door dark lacquered and elegant. Tom grabbed hold of its brass knob and said, "Master Nee isn't here. He's off talkin' to the cap'n. If he were here, I'd knock first." He winked at them both, then led them into a room whose luxury instantly impressed Shanna. Wainscoting wrapped the walls, moldings accentuated the crevices and corners, and plush carpeting was laid at their feet. It was well furnished, too, with a small divan, a hardwood writing desk, a padded hammock, and a pair of high-backed chairs. Most notable of all was a low table set at one side, for upon it was the Element. Still hidden away beneath its covering, Shanna nonetheless knew—no, felt—it was there. No sooner had Shanna's gaze locked onto it when Erlek Abn Nee entered right behind them. His sitheri guards were thankfully absent.

"Leave us," the savant said as he strode directly through the group of Shanna, Mirna, and Tom.

Tom obeyed instantly, though he managed to slip Shanna a wink before he vacated the room. Mirna took a moment to whisper to Shanna. "I'll see that your belongings are delivered to your room, Sh—milady." Then she was gone as well.

Erlek removed his robe, paying her no attention at all until he asked, "Did you have a nice conversation with our good clan lord?" Beneath the robe he wore a simple, drab pair of cotton pants and a tight shirt buttoned from the neck, where a scarf was wrapped, down to frilled cuffs at the wrists. The robe did much to hide the man's skeleton-like frame. Without it, he was downright cadaverous. Despite this, there was vigor in his limbs and the spark of life in his eyes. "I imagine he told you all sorts of things about me, did he not?"

Shanna pulled her gaze from his gaunt form and met his stare. "We didn't talk about you."

Erlek considered her answer, then, satisfied, changed the subject. "You no doubt wondered why I allowed you to walk freely just now."

"You said your sitheri were overzealous," Shanna said, "that they might kill me if given reason. You also said you wouldn't harm the others as long as—"

"Yes, yes, both true. But my guards were occupied. The dwarves have no love for me. You must have learned at least that much from Engus Rul. I would not be surprised at all if he offered to turn a blind eye while you fled." Seeing right away the denials forming on Shanna's lips, Erlek waved his hand in dismissal. "It matters not. There are, however, reasons I offered you such liberty. First, to show you that you are not a prisoner—not in the truest sense of the word, leastwise—and second, because you know, just as I do, that our paths have been linked by the inexplicable flows and eddies of Fate. I think we both knew it the moment you invoked the power of the Element."

Shanna's gaze went to the hidden object. "Invoked?"

Erlek took a seat in the chair at the opposite side of the desk. A soft knock at the door interrupted him before he could say more.

The door opened, admitting a boy perhaps a year or two older than Tom who wore the same ship's attire—though this boy wore shoes—and who carried a tray of hot tea and ship's biscuits. Erlek's expression became one of amusement as the boy's face drained of color and his hands shook so that the tea cups rattled on the tray. He somehow managed to place the tray on the desk without dropping it or spilling, whereupon he clumsily sloshed tea into two cups. He withdrew with a hasty bow and nary a word spoken.

Erlek lifted one of the cups and sipped from it. A gesture invited Shanna to sit and take the other. She did, though she sat on the divan, which was further from Erlek than the opposing chair. He didn't seem to notice. Erlek took another sip of his tea, then he spoke. His voice was low and he spoke slowly, as if he meant to add emphasis to each word.

"I found Tool—I don't recall his true name—in a seaside village, far to the south, along the coast of Kallendor." Kallendor, Land of the Horse Lords. It was a mythical place to Shanna. "Like you, he was gifted. Unique, you might say, in that he was able to elicit a response from the Element. You can imagine my dismay when you killed him."

Shanna gulped down the tea she'd just sipped, causing herself some discomfort as she coughed. She wasn't sure if the savant expected her to say something. Erlek went on before she had a chance and especially before the unpleasant memories of that act of murder played themselves over in her mind. She'd never killed—never really hurt—someone before. But Erlek's boy had gotten what he deserved. She'd no doubt about that.

"It took years to mold him into my Tool. At first, I offered him friendship, until he looked upon me as a brother. Then, I offered compassion as only a parent could. Last, when he was thoroughly enamored with me, I broke him. I will spare you the methodology. It was not pleasant. When he was nothing more than a whimpering, quivering, sobbing boy, who pulled away at the mere lift of my finger—when he was irrevocably
mine
—I brought him back, lifting him up as my apprentice. If he seemed impetuous or cruel," Erlek said, shrugging, "he had learned pain and fear, and wished to expunge himself of the memories by visiting the like upon others. It is a common enough thing amongst the abused."

Shanna shifted uncomfortably. "Why are you telling me this?"

Erlek returned his tea cup to the tray. Then, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair, he said, "I tell you this because I haven't the time to do the same to you. Make no mistake, if my plans did not now come to fruition so rapidly, if events did not culminate so quickly, I would break you. You would be mine just as Tool had been. But, as I have said, there is no time. Instead, I offer you a partnership." The savant pushed away from the desk and moved to where the Element lay concealed. He looked at Shanna once, a quick glance to measure her interest. She was fixated on nothing else. With a flourish, Erlek revealed the thing that was the Element. "Behold," he said, "the Element of Earth."

All of Shanna's expectations, all of her thoughts of powerful, golden artifacts, every idea she'd concocted about the sheer magnificence of such a device were dashed in that single moment, for the Element was nothing more than an earthen bowl sitting upon a simple wooden stand. In disbelief, thinking her eyes somehow deceived her, Shanna stood and approached it. A closer examination did nothing to alter her initial impression. The Element was an empty, clay bowl. Nothing more. Shanna wanted to laugh.

"
This
is the Element?" She did laugh then. "I don't believe it! It's a—"

"Look closer," Erlek said. His tone was flat, revealing neither annoyance nor impatience. "Do not let your eyes be the only sense you see with. Open yourself. You feel it, do you not?"

She did feel something, a tingling sensation, almost like a chill, as if the bowl, though still, seemed to exude something that reached out in waves to encompass her.

"Where does it come from?" Shanna asked, mesmerized now.

Erlek returned to his chair. Shanna hardly noticed until the savant's voice sounded from behind her.

"From a place that is lost to most people's memories. It was created a long time ago, by a people long vanished from the world. Have you heard of the druids?"

Shanna had not. "Did they create it?"

"No. But ones who had once been druids did. Driven by selfishness and greed, a contingent broke from the druid hierocracy to form their own sect. Fancying themselves 'elementalists', they reneged on their vows, devoting themselves not to the earth, but to themselves. You see, a druid's most solemn vow was to serve Uhl, to protect and nurture the greater world around us all. The elementalists wanted no more of this. In place of their sacred druidic oath, they swore a new one, not to serve the earth, but to master it. To this end, these elementalists met in secret, creating the Four Elements, the four devices to bind and control the power of each of the natural elements of Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. Such blasphemy could never be tolerated by the druids. The elementalists knew this just as they knew that the creation of the Elements would draw their former brothers and sisters like moths to a flame. Draw them it did. The ensuing conflict was… unimaginable."

"Did they kill them?" Shanna asked, not turning from the Element.

"Not all of them. Not at first anyway."

Behind her, Erlek poured himself more tea. "For, you see, the elementalists were a farseeing lot, and so they planned for every eventuality. Rather than allow the Elements to fall into the hands of the druids, who would surely destroy them, they charged four of their number with a special task. They were to take the Four Elements to the furthest reaches of Uhl and there secret them away. The four were dispatched, each carrying one of the Four Elements to a different locale. Then, when they'd fulfilled this duty, they took their own lives. All except one, that is, who thought to hide from the druids' all-seeing eyes. For a time, he did. But whilst in hiding, others the druids had captured—those who had not been of the four—were subjected to questioning, then torture, and finally, death. The druids learned of the elementalists' plan to send the Elements away, but not the devices' locations. Only the four knew where the devices had been hidden. The most the druids could therefore learn was the names of those four individuals. A name, however, can be powerful. In time, they found the remains of the three who had killed themselves and, finally, the one who had refused this final duty. Even under duress, he defied them, refusing to divulge the whereabouts of the Element he had hidden."

Erlek paused for a moment, lost in his own thoughts. When he next spoke, his words came in a rush. "The druids burned him alive and scattered his ashes to the Four Winds. This was four or five hundred years ago. Kingdoms have risen and fallen in that time. Entire civilizations have crumbled to dust. The druids themselves have faded from history. Their fate is one of the great mysteries scholars still brood over. The Four Elements were never found by them or anyone else and memory of the devices faded along with both druid and elementalist until no one knew any of it had ever even existed."

Shanna finally turned to look upon Erlek. "Yet
you
know about all of it. About the druids and the elementalists and the Elements. They hid the Elements so that no one—not even the druids—knew where to find them. Yet you found this one."