81: IN SEARCH OF DRAGONS
(Talea’s story)
Apparently, Baelosh’s lair was a week’s ride from Bahl-Nimian and quite a bit longer than that if walking. Talea wouldn’t have minded the walking so much, but she knew Xivan wouldn’t have the patience for it. The only difficulty as far as Talea saw the matter was that she had never ridden a horse before.
Horses were strange and terrifying creatures. Janel had loved to go on about their qualities at absurd length, but Talea had never understood the appeal. She’d been pleased to discover Kihrin had nearly the same impression of them, but then realized it was just that he had the same impression of these particular horses. Apparently, they were inferior to the Quuros variety, and he even went so far as to suggest they take a quick trip back to Quur to retrieve “proper” horses. Talea didn’t care; all horses seemed equally capable of dumping her on her head.
Xivan was rather bemused to discover she’d neglected Talea’s education this way, and quickly promised she’d give lessons. And after that, it wasn’t like Talea could say no, was it?
Kihrin vanished for a few hours, leaving his harp behind. When he’d returned, his clothing was a bit more rumpled, he looked like he’d gotten into at least one fistfight, and he had a lot more metal—enough coin to easily buy all the supplies they needed.1 Once that was done, they made a quick exit from Bahl-Nimian.
Well. They tried.
There was only one entrance or exit from Bahl-Nimian. This came in the form of a narrow cleft in the rock face that could only be navigated single file. In turn, this resulted in some interesting logistical difficulties, which made necessary a system of flags and two full-time watchmen stationed at each end of the canyon whose only job was to signal to each other when the way was clear. So there was a line on either side of merchants, travelers, petitioners, and all the other unsavory characters who might ever need to travel to a place like Bahl-Nimian, each waiting their turn with varying degrees of patience. Tempers often flared, which Talea had to imagine resulted in later visits to petition the Lady of Vengeance.
By the time they made it out of the city, it was dark, but no one seemed keen to turn around and go back inside to find an inn. Thurvishar summoned lights so the horses (which they walked) wouldn’t trip in the dark. With that precaution taken, they traveled for several hours before making camp for the night and giving the rather confused horses a brushing and their evening meal.
Rebel loved the horses, would make a nuisance of herself tangling herself in their legs, and generally seemed just thrilled at this turn of events. She seemed equally thrilled at the opportunity to make the acquaintance of each of her new traveling companions and petition them for belly rubs.
Xivan carefully walked Talea through the process of caring for the horses, which in Talea’s case was a somewhat anxious chestnut gelding named Fidget. Talea wasn’t at all sure about this whole process, which was smelly and annoying. Fidget twice tried to bite her, although the gelding settled down a bit after being brushed, which he evidently enjoyed.
Senera still wasn’t talking to Thurvishar, but she watched him. Usually out of the corner of her eye, when he was looking elsewhere, and then pulling her gaze away with an angry shake of her head when she realized what she was doing.
Talea decided it was probably best not to let Senera know she’d noticed.
“Are you going to play for us?” Talea asked Kihrin that evening, because why bring a harp along if it was never used.
“Sure, there’s no reason—”
“I wouldn’t,” Thurvishar said.
Kihrin looked at him strangely, as if debating whether to be insulted or not.
“All dragons like music,” Senera had explained then. “Let’s not have Baelosh find us before we can find him.”
The harp stayed in its case.
The next morning brought more caring for the horses, until Talea was starting to wonder if people who kept horses were ever allowed to do anything else. She supposed she understood now why this was considered a full-time job. And then came the actual riding of said horses, which felt like half a sex act that managed to skip all the fun parts.
Talea was quite certain she was going to hugely regret everything in her life come evening.
At one point while they rode, Talea noticed Xivan pull her horse up next to Kihrin, and whispers of their conversation drifted back on the air toward her.
“What’s going on with those two?” Xivan asked, pointing up ahead with her chin toward where Senera and Thurvishar had managed to be riding right next to each other while pointedly ignoring this fact.
“Ah. I believe certain truths came to light after you left. Senera’s still trying to decide just how she feels about the matter.” Kihrin visibly shrugged. “Any more than that really isn’t any of my business.”
“Huh. So what I heard before I left … Did Senera really betray you?”
Talea thought that was an excellent question. It was her opinion that a person who would betray one ally would sooner or later betray others, and she liked Senera. It would be rather disappointing to discover disloyalty formed a foundational piece of the woman’s character.
“I’m not sure what she did counts as betrayal. It’s not like she made any secret about where her loyalties lie. But we assumed she was telling us the truth, and it turns out that was foolish of us. We really should have known better.”
“So it was enemy subterfuge?” Talea interrupted, then swallowed when Kihrin looked back at her in surprise. “I mean, I couldn’t help but hear.”
Kihrin snorted. “Yes, I suppose it was. But honestly”—he addressed that comment back to Xivan—“the way Janel talks about you, I never would have thought you were the sort of person to have any misconceptions about Relos Var’s nature.”
Xivan glanced down at Urthaenriel at her waist, then back at Talea. Their eyes met. “No. No delusions at all. Although Relos Var has always played fairly with me.”
Kihrin laughed in a rather nasty way. “My brother is smart enough to save his lies and betrayals for special occasions.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re better,” Talea said. “You’re a D’Mon, after all. I know what D’Mons are like.”
He half turned in the saddle. “I’m not a D’Mon by choice, you realize. After all, I—” At that moment, his own horse, a mare named Wander, tried once more to go off the road to nibble on tasty cactus flowers. Since Kihrin was distracted, this time she actually succeeded. Talea started to laugh—
—which was when Fidget decided this was a fine idea and followed right behind Wander. That forced Xivan to rescue both of them, and by the time everyone was back on the road, the topic of conversation seemed frustratingly closed.
The countryside outside Bahl-Nimian was bleak, surprisingly hot during the day, equally cold at night. The dry land was full of plants, but they were all prickly things one Should Not Touch. There was a kind of beauty to the landscape even so, to the way the cactus would occasionally flower and the way the wind eroded the edges of the sandstone cliffs, creating layers of color, all rose, red, orange, and yellow. It didn’t seem like the sort of place pale people might hail from, but then just because most Quuros—Talea included—had grown up thinking that all Doltari were white-skinned didn’t make it true. Talea had also always thought Doltar was a single country, not a collection of city-states who were at best loosely aligned and more realistically in a constant state of warfare.2 The area on the other side of the mountain range to their south was evidently colder and wetter, so she imagined that was probably much closer to Senera’s ancestral homeland.
Talea was indeed miserable by the time they made camp and even more so because Xivan wouldn’t let her skip taking care of the horses. At least Fidget seemed to take a little pity on her and only tried to bite her once, but then he seemed tired too. After Talea finished, Senera offered to help heal her soreness, which Talea gratefully accepted.
Really, Senera couldn’t be as bad as Kihrin claimed.
Talea tried to ignore the way Kihrin was staring at her, but finally she sighed and sat down next to him. “Can I help you?” she asked.
Even by the firelight, she could see his blush. “Ah, I’m sorry. I thought I was being at least a little discreet.”
“Not really. I thought you were in a relationship with Janel?” She usually found it best to address this sort of thing quickly.
“Oh, I am. It’s not that.” Kihrin shook his head. “I was just—” He made a face. “I was just thinking how proud Morea would be.”
Talea felt his words like a punch, although she knew he’d meant no malice. “I suppose she might. I don’t really think about it.”
“I shouldn’t talk about her. Truthfully, I didn’t know her for long.” He smiled sadly. “But don’t worry. I’m not making a play for you. And Janel’s told me that—what’s the expression?—you run with mares.”
“True,” Talea lied. Theoretically, she ran with the whole herd, the same as Janel did, but hadn’t indulged in running with any men in a rather long time. And certainly wasn’t about to start now. Men were just so exhausting.
Kihrin picked up pebbles and started tossing them into the evening fire. “So how long have you and Xivan been an item, anyway?”
Talea’s eyes widened. “Uh, we’re not?”
“Really?” He looked sideways at her. “I’d assumed you were. I’ve seen the way you look at her.” Then he sighed. “Oh. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Talea felt the blood rising to her cheeks. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she lied again, not so skillfully that time. She scrambled to her feet. “Excuse me, I have to … something with the horses.” She left quickly.
As it turned out, Xivan actually did need her to help, with cooking instead of horses, so that distracted her from extremely annoying royals and their extremely stupid comments. Senera could have cooked as well, and she made several very disparaging comments about the fact that neither of the two men could. Which Thurvishar tolerated and Kihrin ignored.
“What are we doing about Baelosh?” Xivan finally asked. She’d made a meal she hadn’t eaten herself, and she watched patiently while the others did, but it seemed her tolerance had finally come to an end.
“If it’s all right with you, I’d prefer it not involve killing myself in order to give Baelosh a chance to ‘finish the job,’” Thurvishar said. Rebel was currently lying down against his leg, which Senera seemed to be tolerating. Probably because forcing Rebel to move would have revealed that her dog’s “betrayal” was bothering her.
Senera snorted.
Thurvishar regarded her calmly. “You think I’m being unreasonable, I suppose?”
She lifted her chin. “Completely. Inconsiderate and rude. Honestly, you’re so selfish sometimes.” The corner of her mouth lifted.
Talea was all but holding her breath. She was fairly certain this was the first time Senera had directly spoken to Thurvishar since the night before. Talea realized Kihrin seemed equally enraptured.
Thurvishar tilted his head. “Guilty as charged.”
Senera coughed and repositioned herself by the fire. Her voice took on a more serious tone as she continued staring at the other wizard. “All joking aside, you’ve actually fought Baelosh. That makes you our only expert.”
“Who told you that, by the way? The Name of All Things?” Thurvishar asked.
“Yes.” Her mouth twisted. “Relos Var asked me to find out the past lives of a number of people. You were on that list.”3
“I see. Apologies for the interruption. Please continue.”
“Well, Baelosh and Simillion had a legendary feud. I have to imagine that he still wants to kill you, and the fact that you’re reincarnated wouldn’t stop him. So you’d make excellent bait.”
Kihrin leaned forward. “Yes, but the problem with bait is that the fish tend to swallow it before they find out there’s a hook attached.”
Senera shrugged. “Much as neither of you want to believe me, Relos Var cares what happens to you. He’d be incredibly upset with me if I allowed either of you to come to harm.”
Kihrin started to say something and then bit down on whatever it was. Instead, he asked, “Where is Relos Var, anyway?”
“I couldn’t say,” Senera replied smoothly. “It’s not like he checks in with me.”
Xivan said, “I don’t care where Relos Var is right now. I care where Baelosh is and how we might convince Baelosh to stop protecting Suless.”
“Oh, that part is quite simple,” Thurvishar replied. “We just need to give him a reason to think what he wants has gone somewhere else.”
“Isn’t it a shame that simple things are often so difficult,” Talea said.
“But what does he want?” Senera asked. “What will he chase if given the motivation?”
Thurvishar seemed surprised. “You haven’t—?” He waved a hand. “Never mind. He loves tsali stones most of all, but any gem will do. Green gems in particular, but you may have noticed he won’t shy from diamonds or other priceless jewels. But not pearls, not amber.”
“So it’s just what you said, isn’t it?” Talea said to Senera. “You were right all along.”
Senera’s mouth twisted.
“At least we have confirmation of what you suspected,” Xivan told her, “before we actually have to face Baelosh.”
Senera nodded. “True. Let me check a few things.” She began setting up her scribing setting—paper, brush, ink, and inkstone—and was effectively dead to the rest of them while doing so.
“So bribing Baelosh to give Suless up is an acceptable solution?” Kihrin asked Xivan. “Although we don’t know how Suless convinced Baelosh to help her in the first place. We might have a problem if they’re old friends.”
“Suless doesn’t have friends,” Xivan answered.
“Aha!” Senera looked up from writing. “Perfect. I have the location of the D’Molo emerald mines in the Dragonspires. Richest strike anyone has found in three centuries. That should convince Baelosh to go elsewhere.”
“Great, that sounds—wait.” Kihrin paused and frowned.
“How many people live or work near those mines?” Thurvishar asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. Twenty thousand or so?” She rolled her eyes as both men gave her shocked looks. “He’s a dragon. Baelosh is going to kill people no matter what we do. Short of killing the damn creature, which we can’t do, there’s no solution to this problem where people don’t die, including doing nothing at all. At least this way, most of the people killed will be Quuros.”
“And I refuse to embrace the loss of any human life as the more acceptable solution,” Thurvishar replied. He studied the wizard. “If I opened a gate, could you keep it open for five minutes?”
“Oh please. I could keep a gate open for a lot longer than that. I could enchant you a Gatestone if necessary.” She tilted her head. “Why?”
“Because I know where Baelosh’s Cornerstone is. Which means we don’t have to tolerate twenty thousand deaths as an acceptable loss. Because you’re wrong; we can kill Baelosh.” Thurvishar pointed to Xivan. “We have Urthaenriel. One gate spell and we’ll have everything we need.”
Kihrin’s eyes widened. “You want us to go back to the Blight.”
“Not you,” Thurvishar said quickly. “You’ll stay here. But if we open it from this side, we shouldn’t have to worry about chaos storms.”
“You’re assuming Bevrosa’s still there,” Kihrin pointed out.
“You’re assuming Bevrosa’s still alive,” Thurvishar said.
Kihrin fell silent.
“Who’s Bevrosa?” Talea asked.
“A very brave woman,” Kihrin answered. Then, apparently realizing that was at best half an answer, he added. “A morgage leader, who as of a week ago, was the holder of Wildheart. And Thurvishar’s right; she’s probably dead.”
The name Wildheart didn’t mean anything to Talea, but Senera’s eyes widened. “You were serious about killing Baelosh.”
“You said that short of killing him, there’s no solution where innocent people don’t die. Fine. Let’s kill him.”
“Possible, but not probable!” Senera protested.
“No,” Xivan said.
Both Senera and Thurvishar pulled up short. There was a beat of silence as the others looked at each other.
“No what?” Senera asked. “No, it’s not possible?”
“No, we’re not going to kill Baelosh,” Xivan said. “Going after Suless is dangerous enough without trying to take down a creature that normally requires an army. This isn’t what I’m here to do, and I won’t risk any of us doing it. We’re here for Suless, not Baelosh. That’s final.”
Talea beamed at Xivan even as Senera and Thurvishar started to loudly protest.
“Can Wildheart be used to control Baelosh?” Kihrin’s voice somehow cut through all their chatter even though he’d spoken quite softly.
Everyone looked at Senera.
She raised her hands. “How would I know?” She immediately made a face as she realized what she’d just said.
Senera grumbled and reached for the Name of All Things.
Recovering Wildheart ended up being a logistical juggling act. Senera could open (and keep open) the necessary gate, but Senera couldn’t reclaim the stone, because apparently the owner of a Cornerstone couldn’t use a second one. Xivan couldn’t even pick up the stone because of Urthaenriel. Senera suggested Talea hold Wildheart, but Talea refused, because she too periodically needed to hold Urthaenriel. Kihrin wasn’t stepping a single foot anywhere near the Blight and in fact preferred to be several miles away when the portal was opened.
That left Thurvishar to reclaim Wildheart, assuming Bevrosa had indeed given her life to ensure the rest of her tribe escaped Vol Karoth.
Which turned out to be the case.
Thurvishar came back with the green gem in his hand and a grim expression on his face. Talea went over to him and put a hand on his arm. “Was it bad?”
Thurvishar made a face. “Based on what I saw, I think some of them got away. But clearly not everyone.”
Senera collapsed the gate, scowling. “Great, morgage escaped. Can we move on now?”
Thurvishar stopped and then turned to face her. “Those people’s ancestors volunteered to keep watch over a monster so toxic, he distorts the very land around them. They did this even though the Korthaen Blight is an alkaline desert and they were a water-based race. They have done this job with faithful and loyal dedication for over a thousand years. And their reward for this? Now they’re about to be a dispossessed people with no homeland, no one who will ever be willing to take them in—because they’re morgage—and a whole group of them just sacrificed most of their people to allow my friends and me to escape. Perhaps, just perhaps, show them a modicum of respect. They’ve earned it.” He stalked past her, heading toward the horses.
Talea bit her lip. She’d rarely seen Thurvishar quite so angry before.
Senera seemed quite taken aback. “Noted.”