Riyun woke to birdsong and surprising warmth. He climbed out of his bedroll just as Javika sat up in hers. The candles had burned out during the night, leaving wax puddles in the corners and a pleasant floral aroma, yet there was a faint hint of light. It was enough to reveal just how close their bedrolls had been, closer than he’d intended.
Rather than complain or demand an apology, the Biwali warrior immediately turned to preparing her backpack. “The sun is bright today.”
“No rain.” Riyun stretched. “I’m going to scout the ruins.”
“Find a place also for me to ‘scout.’ I had too much to drink last night.”
He snorted, then he dressed in shirt and pants, eschewing armor but taking his Devastator. Snoring rumbled from the blanket-covered doorway of Lonar and Hirvok’s room, and the slightest smell of ale hung in the air. They would regret their partying soon, but they would survive.
There was still a breeze, but there was no more of the whistling through the ruins. Riyun’s boots scuffed over chunks of ancient stone and squished where mud covered the ground. After a quick recon, he headed down the steps into the basement trench the bearded wizard used as a toilet. It was foul smelling but seemed like a reasonable solution for someone living alone in ruins. Even the risk of contaminating the lake from flooding seemed remote, given the precautions taken.
That reason and precaution seemed to make the strongest argument for working with the old man. In a crazy world teetering toward disaster, someone reasonable and cautious was exactly what was needed.
As Riyun climbed the final steps, still belting his pants, the old man shuffled from the house. Rather than annoyance, he chuckled. “Poor form of me not to tell you to make yourselves at home. I’m not used to having guests, though.”
“People in my profession tend to be self-starters.”
“I’m relieved to hear that. And I’ll be more relieved in just a moment.” The wizard winked and made his way down the stone steps into the area that held the trench. “Good news, by the way.”
Riyun turned away. “What’s that?”
“I thought about your offer last night and have decided to accept.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Your team really brings back memories of youth.” Fassyl raised his voice over the sound of splashing. “As a young man, there was a time where I would embrace such an opportunity joyously. The smiles of the young ladies—”
“Yeah, about that. You need to keep your hands to yourself.”
The tinkling sound tapered off. “Keep my…” The wizard sighed. “Outworlders and their bedeviling nonsense. I made no advances. Can a man not simply touch a woman in conversation?”
“If she says so, sure. Otherwise, hands off.”
After a moment of grumbling, the old guy stomped up the steps, red-faced. “Our world is different from yours. Perhaps you should remember that you are a guest here.”
“We can’t forget. That doesn’t change the rules: Hands off.”
A deep growl rumbled in the wizard’s chest. “Not as if I can do much about it, anyway.”
“Just respect everyone you’re dealing with, and we’ll all be fine.”
Fassyl scratched the wrinkled scalp beneath his white, wispy curls. “Are all mercenaries so sensitive where you come from?”
“Only the good ones.” Riyun grinned. “I’m saving you from yourself.”
“These women, they’re killers? That’s good. They’ll need to be cold-blooded in their dealings with Meriscoya.”
“They’ve seen what he can do. You get us in close, we’ll take care of the rest.”
“The artifact.” The old wizard ran his tongue over chapped lips. “Despite all her faults, Tarlayn was right. This is the key to defeating Meriscoya.”
“Then why didn’t she use it before?”
“A good question! I’m surprised it took her so long to realize this was the answer. Despite all her faults, she was quite capable.” He patted his belly. “Quite. But so am I, and I was never limited by the notion that a wizard who relies upon an artifact is a weak wizard.” He looked around, perplexed. “Strange that my furry little friends haven’t come around yet. I was going to introduce you to them.”
“Furry—?” The rabbits! Hirvok and his late-night stew! “So, then you know this artifact pretty well?”
“Hm? Oh, yes! You would have done better coming to me first.”
The confidence in the old man’s face was infectious. Riyun had to remind himself that Tarlayn had also been sure of her ability to stand against her former student. “If this artifact is so powerful, why didn’t Meriscoya take it for himself?”
“Ah! The young man is arrogant! He shared Tarlayn’s disdain for artifacts, and he had other problems.”
“What other problems? Something we can use against him?”
“Well…” Fassyl glanced to the south. “I doubt you can take advantage of most, but there were a few challenges he faced that might be exploited.”
“I’m listening.”
“Very well. Perhaps it would be better to share over tea and breakfast.”
“I’ll gather the others.”
With the old man still searching about for his missing rabbits and making soft kissing noises, Riyun made his way down to the lake and cleaned himself in the cold water, then headed back to the basement to wake Lonar and Hirvok. Javika had already headed into the ruins to take care of her needs. Riyun thought about how she would react to Fassyl’s unwanted advances and broke into a belly laugh that drew a hiss from the sergeant.
“Hold it down, will you!” Hirvok groaned and a moment later scraped through the hall and up the steps, followed by the equally pale-faced towering tweak.
Javika showed up in the small dining area several minutes later, looking refreshed and curious. As Fassyl and Quil set out bowls of some sort of hot cereal, Riyun whispered an explanation to her. By the time the hungover duo made their way into the kitchen, the wizard had finished his cereal off and was starting on his second cup of tea.
Fassyl set his mug down and cupped his belly with his pudgy hands. “It sounds to me as if you haven’t been given much history on the man you seek to kill.”
Hirvok poured steaming water into a mug lined with cracked tea leaves. “We know he wants us dead, and that makes him a problem.”
“Hm.” The wizard’s head bobbed. “He’s a complicated young man.”
Quil licked the last sludgy residue from his wooden spoon, silvery eyes locked on Riyun’s. The pseudo set the spoon down. “Perhaps it would be most educational to begin with his childhood.”
Hirvok sneered. “Always trying to live through someone else’s memories, huh, Quil?”
Riyun jerked a thumb toward the corner farthest from where everyone was huddled. “Take a load off, Hirvok.”
The sergeant flashed angry, bloodshot eyes, then dropped to the floor where he’d been told to go. Surliness was the price to be paid after too much drink, at least for Hirvok.
Riyun nodded at Quil. “I’d like to hear about his history, as Quil said.”
The old man chewed on his beard, and his eyes seemed to drift far away. “Well, he came to the Lyceum when we were still seeing maybe one or two students a year. He was older than most, not blessed with the early revelations of the gift like many. And he resented that. He resented a lot of things.”
“He was as old as the Outworlder students who came later?”
“Nearly.”
“And he resented them. Is that correct?”
“Yes. But that was much later. He was full of anger long before they came.”
Naru leaned closer to the wizard. “Was Meriscoya an outsider?”
“Oh, without a doubt. Born in the Sigath Desert or somewhere nearby to a family that came to money in their later years, he was seen as a ridiculous upstart who had no business training among the gifted.”
Born? Riyun couldn’t recall hearing about the desert. Did that change anything? “What’s the significance of being born in the desert?”
“Well…” The chubby wizard glanced at those surrounding him. “It might be different where you come from, but here, your homeland and your family status…they matter.”
Symbra looked away. “It’s the same everywhere.”
“Then you can understand, he resented being looked down upon. There were rumors of controversy about his birth in the first place. His mother being infertile and the like. And when he excelled as a student, the irritation became even more of a problem. He took to proving himself, humiliating others. In particular, he enjoyed flaunting his successes before those who had preceded him in studies yet had fallen behind.”
Poor but with access to money. A hard-working student. Ambitious. Resentful and spiteful. It seemed like a dangerous mix to Riyun. And it sounded a lot like the Beraga Naru admired. “This all led to his disdain for artifacts?”
“Oh, I’m sure at some level it played a role. After all, accepting the power of an artifact would imply diminishing his own greatness. From what Tarlayn said, Meriscoya spurned the notion that he should rely upon anything other than his own abilities. She said he dismissed artifacts as unreliable and ultimately vulnerable to those who understood the ways of the Chaos Abyss. Her own teachings didn’t help.”
“I wonder if he regretted that when she burned him.”
The old wizard stroked his beard. “I would very much have liked to have seen his face, actually.”
“You’ll have your chance.” Riyun grinned. “If you’re still planning to go with us.”
“Why else would the great prophet bring you here if not to recruit me?”
“My question exactly.”
The old man laughed. “We share some views, I see!”
“So you’re joining us?”
“I am. I’ll accompany you until we’ve stopped the mad wizard.”
Quil cradled his chin in interlocked fingers. “If Meriscoya was such an exceptional student, why would he resent the appearance of Outworlders?”
“Hm? Oh! Well, perhaps he saw in them something of himself. After all, most were older—adults, even. You mentioned that yourself, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, there you have it. Oh, and most took to the training easily.”
“And there is a belief that wizardly energies are finite?” The pseudo glanced at Riyun. “He saw them as competitors?”
“He saw everyone as a competitor. He was quite ruthless, especially…” The old man pursed his lips.
Riyun crossed his arms. “Especially, what?”
“Well, one of the things Meriscoya resented all along was the way some of the older students laughed at his…” Fassyl tugged on his beard a little harder than before. “As a young man, there were some concessions made to how he was trained. To speed his learning, there was less of an expectation of participation in community elements within the Lyceum. He wasn’t given what amounts to mundane chores. He wasn’t expected to follow all the rules the other students followed. And over time, those advantages played a role in his rapid growth as a wizard.”
It was like a light going on for Riyun. “And those same advantages were given to the Outworlder students?”
“Despite his protestations. From what I heard, this became a significant sticking point for him. He became abusive and turned away even Tarlayn’s…personal attentions.”
“And this is what led to him becoming what he has become?”
“Indirectly. From what I heard, he left the Lyceum, retreated to his tower, and swore that he would prove them all wrong.”
Naru patted Quil’s hand when the pseudo started to speak, then batted her eyes at the elderly wizard. “Um, how was Meriscoya hoping to prove them wrong? Was it a specific thing?”
The old wizard seemed to puff up, then glanced back at Riyun and sagged. “The Chaos Abyss.”
“He intended to take control of the Abyss?”
“Tarlayn was never sure, or at least she was never clear about it. We didn’t talk much by then. But yes, she suspected he wanted all the power for himself. He took some students with him. One of them returned quickly and said Meriscoya had gone mad and was pursuing…other disciplines.”
The hacker and pseudo exchanged a worried look, then she smiled pleasantly at the old man. “Any idea what those disciplines were?”
“No. Unfortunately, I was cut off for the most part.”
Riyun set his cooled mug in the stone basin the old man cleaned his dishes in. “Whatever his intent, he certainly seems to have succeeded. And now, it appears he’s completely snapped.”
Symbra got up from the table. “After discovering what he discovered about the Abyss, I think that makes sense.”
That got the old man’s attention. “You know what he discovered?”
Riyun tensed. “We have a good idea. I also think we have a better idea now of just how unstable he was to start. That’s what’s important.”
Lonar staggered past. “If we’re heading after him today, we should get going. Our drone was acting all sorts of impatient when we were coming up from the lake. I’ll get my gear.”
Naru got to her feet. “Mind if I join you? I’ve got some questions for Alush.”
“Sure. I think he’s sweet on you.” The big man snorted, then groaned and rubbed his brow.
“You going to be okay?”
“I’ll sweat it out on the trail.”
“Ew. Remind me not to get downwind of you.”
“You should know better by now.”
Fassyl’s eyes stayed on the young hacker until she exited the house. “She seems to trust the prophet, if this truly is him.”
Riyun pushed a shutter open enough to watch Naru. She jogged away from Lonar once the drone made itself known with a short series of sapphire flashes. “You think it’s dangerous for her to trust Alush?”
“I question all prophecies, and that makes all prophets suspect, now doesn’t it?” The old man smiled smugly.
“Well, he’s going to be our guide, so we’ll be counting on you to keep an eye on it.”
“But of course. Now, I need to pack. I haven’t much to carry with me, so it shouldn’t be long.”
“Time for everyone to get ready.” Riyun waved for Javika to follow, then headed outside.
He double-timed it to high ground, fighting the annoyance at how easily she kept up with him. When they reached the perch Hirvok and Lonar had used for overwatch, Riyun dropped to a knee. It had cooled some since he’d woken, and there was a hint of gray in the distance.
Javika stood at his side, focused now on the ruins. “You are concerned.”
“Something’s bugging me, and I can’t put a finger on it.”
“The old man is jealous of her relationship with the drone.”
“Her name is Naru. And yeah, he’s jealous. She’s a cute kid, and he’s lonely.”
“And she sees Tawod in the drone.”
Riyun bowed his head. How had he missed that? “That’s worse than I was thinking. All her talk about interfacing with the drone, and the way it was talking to her…”
“A prophet that would take advantage of a young woman in pain—it seems strange.”
Strange indeed. It was just another problematic mystery that Riyun would have to keep an eye on, another potential threat at their back.
But it wasn’t the only one bugging him. “This artifact.”
“Yes?”
“Does it worry you at all that it injured Meriscoya, even though he supposedly doesn’t believe in them having power?”
“He could have been surprised.”
“I guess. But…”
“You do not trust it.”
“I’m not sure.”
The Biwali warrior stared at the dark clouds. “Time passes quickly. We must soon be sure of what we trust and what we do not.”
She was right. At some point, they were going to have to start eliminating threats and uncertainties, or their mission would be doomed. Unfortunately, Riyun still had nothing but questions when they needed answers.