Guardian_Rise of the Nature Walker Page 7

  “The Qatu can verify that, can he?” Nehrys snapped at him. Teeand nodded, thinking it wiser to keep quiet. “Well, he’d better. You going to leave her standing’ out here in the pub alone, are you? I’ll not have our locals thinking we’re running THAT kind of pub, Teeand,” Nehrys said, looking Tairn up and down. “Get in the house, you daft man!”

  Teeand did as he was told, pulling Tairn along by the arm. “What did she mean by that,” Tairn whispered to Teeand, “THAT kind of pub?”

  “I’ll need to find you something else to wear, dearie,” Nehrys said to her, taking her by the hand and leading her up the stairs to the bedchamber she shared with Teeand. “Did you not think you might need to wear something proper when you left your home this mornin’?” Tairn looked down at her new dwarfish body and gasped. Her robe had not survived the illusion, and she was currently wearing her brown trousers and nothing but a scrap of fabric wrapped almost discreetly around her chest. Throwing her arms around her chest protectively, she cursed silently when they were too short to reach all the way around her torso.

  “My apologies, ma’am,” she said. “I didn’t think about…um…I’m terribly sorry, and would appreciate anything that you could loan me to…cover up…um…” She paused as she noticed Nehrys staring at her. “What?”

  “You talk like an elf,” Nehrys said. “High elf at that. Never mind.” She took a cloak from the cupboard and tossed it to Tairn. “I’ve seen all kinds living with Teeand, I have. Nothing much surprises me anymore.” The dwarf crossed the room and paused at the door. “There are more clothes in m’ closet there, and I’ll have some dinner on the table soon if you’re hungry. Just come back down when you’re ready.” She left the room and after a moment of staring at the door Nehrys had just shut, Tairn fell to her knees, sobbing into the cloak with exhaustion.

  Nehrys stirred the pot on the stove in silence. Teeand slipped up behind her and wrapped his arms around his wife. Before he had a chance to dodge, she popped him in the head with the wooden spoon, leaving a meaty stew stain across his forehead. “What was that for, woman?” he whined as he darted away to avoid a second blow. He took a towel off a hook on the wall and wiped off his face as Nehrys turned to face him, her eyes blazing.

  “Where have you been today, for starters? Why do you go away to drink, Teeand? We run a pub for goodness sake!” She put her hands on her hips to wait for an answer, giving him the look he had seen drive his children to confess any number of transgressions.

  “I was down at the Outpost, darlin',” he said. “You know it’s safer for me there, there’s no fightin’ allowed. I can’t even unsheathe my sword there; blasted thing pops right back into the scabbard. Bloody Guardian magic.” Teeand grimaced. While he wasn’t against its use in battle, he was not the biggest fan of magic. Warriors were not taught to use magic, only weapons and the force of their will, so he had only the experience of having magic used against him for comparison. The Guardians had placed a magic spell on the Outpost right after the Forest Wars making it impossible for anyone to draw a weapon on anyone else in anger, and Teeand was still not sure that it was always a good idea.

  “Aye, ‘tis safer there for you as your temper’s still that of a youngster,” Nehrys conceded. “Why can’t you just stay here, though? We need you here, Teeand, here with your children. I need you to help me in the pub. I need you here, Teeand, I need my husband.” Her words were full of emotion, yet her voice remained steady and her eyes remained angry. A pounding on their door interrupted her thoughts. “What now? Well, get the door, then? After that you can explain to me who that female is upstairs rummaging through my clothes.”

  Teeand hung his head as he crossed through the kitchen into the sitting room. “Who is it?” he barked.

  “Open up, you stinky old dwarf,” Sath said, trying not to laugh. Teeand froze on the other side of the door. “Tee? You there?”

  “Aye, hold on Cat, hold on…” What was he going to do with Tairn? Oh, this could go horribly wrong very fast. Sath pounded on the door again, so Teeand said a quick prayer to the All Mother that it would work out and opened the door. He found himself staring at Sath’s waist. “Someone forgot to cast a shrink!” he said, forcing a laugh. Sath cursed in Qatunari, cast a spell he had learned from a shaman years earlier that would make him smaller, and then strolled into Teeand’s house. He clapped hands with Teeand, and the dwarf pulled his friend into a bear hug. “Always good to see you, old friend,” he said. “It’s been too long.”

  “Aye, and much has happened, Tee. I’ve come in search of your hospitality – and your counsel, if I’m honest.”

  “Always, Sath, always, come on in. Nehrys has made up a pot of stew and there’s plenty to share.” Teeand shut the door behind Sath and cast a worried glance up at the stairs, just in time to see Tairn scamper away from the staircase. This would be tricky at best.

  Tairn stumbled back into the room where she had changed clothes from her perch on the stairs. Sath? Here? She swore softly in Elvish under her breath. Now what? She quickly re-cast the illusion spell that made her appear as a dwarf female, took a deep breath, and went downstairs to the kitchen.

  Nehrys looked up, and then inclined her head toward the sitting room. “Come to help me, have you? They’re in there,” she said. “Sath Clawsharp, old friend of my Teeand’s.” The smile spread from Nehrys’s mouth up to her shining green eyes. “He’s kept my Teeand safe many a time, brought his sorry hide back here to heal up, has Sath.” She giggled, a sound Tairn thought to be a bit out of character for the dwarf female. “Sorry,” she said, “I meant RAJAH.” The way she exaggerated the word made Tairn grin. “Now, go on in there, Bailee, and I’ll have the food on the table soon.”

  Tairn took a deep breath and walked through the doorway into the sitting room. The sight of Sath made her halt and turned her stomach over. Her knees turned to water and she had to grab the closest chair from the table to keep herself upright. Teeand and Sath both looked around.

  “And who is this, Tee? Can’t be one of your little ones, she’s far too pretty,” Sath said, getting to his feet and extending a hand. “Sath Clawsharp, at your service, ma’am,” he said, beaming a toothy grin at her.

  Tairn stared at Sath, unable to move. Teeand jumped in between them. “Sath, this is Bailee, I don’t know if you remember her or not?” The dwarf took a deep breath as Tairn turned her stare on him.

  Sath cocked his head to one side, studying Tairn. “I do remember a Bailee, but my brain must be getting muddled from too much fighting because,” he leaned in closer to Tairn and took a sniff, frowning, “the last time I saw Bailee she was not a dwarf… who smells like an elf.” His teal eyes narrowed, but he stepped back from her. Mystical symbols flashed about the handle of his quarterstaff as its magical connection to him flared to life. “High elf, if I’m not mistaken?”

  “You sure, Sath?” Teeand said, the desperation creeping in around his voice. “It has been a long time since you’ve seen her.”

  “Not that long, Tee,” Sath snarled. Nehrys stamping her foot on the floor in the doorway interrupted them. The Qatu quickly placed his staff by the door.

  “I said, dinner’s ready, you lot! Weapons down!” she snapped. Tairn scampered over to Nehrys’s side and claimed a chair on the other side of the table. To her shock, Sath slid into a seat right next to her. Teeand sat across from Sath, and then shot an apologetic look at Tairn. Nehrys ladled them each a steaming bowl of meaty stew, then went back to the kitchen for mugs of ale. She finally sat down between Tairn and Teeand, and then surveyed the occupants of the table. “Right, what’s wrong with the lot of you? You’re about to put me off my tea with all those sour looks.”

  “Nothing at all, darlin',” Sath said, beaming a toothy grin at Nehrys. I’m just worn out.” He took a big mouthful and smiled as he chewed. “It’s been too long since I’ve had your cooking, Nehrys,” he said through a mouthful of stew. “Too long.”

  “Clearly all that time hasn’t improved yo
ur table manners,” she said, grinning at him. Teeand smiled. Sath had a way of making his wife laugh that Teeand had lost the ability to do long ago, and he liked to see her happy.

  “Aye, you’ve got me there,” Sath said, helping himself to another mouthful. Chewing, he turned his attention to Tairn. “Whassa matter, Bailee? I’ve never known you to turn away a meal as fine as this one,” he said, wiping his mouth off on the back of his hand. Grimacing, Nehrys shoved a napkin at him. Sath took the napkin and beamed a winning smile at Nehrys. “You love stew, if I’m not mistaken?”

  “You’re right,” Tairn said, and then immediately wished she hadn’t. Sath’s head spun around at the sound of her voice. She put a spoonful of the stew in her mouth and chewed slowly, all eyes suddenly on her. Just as she swallowed, Sath pushed his chair back from the table and stood up, snarling and pointing at her.

  “Teeand, please tell me that you had nothing to do with this,” he growled. “Tell me that you don’t know who…WHAT that is?” Tairn stared right back at Sath, afraid to look away from his burning gaze.

  “Now, Sath, sit back down, I can explain,” Teeand said. Sath roared as he slammed his fist down onto the table, causing all the bowls and mugs to jump and Nehrys to hop out of her chair.

  “RIGHT!” she shouted. “I’ll not be having this at my table!” The other three looked at her sheepishly as she marched over to the door and flung it open. “Get out of my house until you’ve settled whatever it is that is going on here,” she said, pointing out the door. “GET OUT!”

  “Nehrys, flower, I’m so sorry, I can explain,” Teeand said, going over to her and trying to take her hand. She drew it back and punched him squarely in the chest, causing him to double over in pain.

  “I said outside until it’s sorted!” she yelled. Sath and Tairn hurried out the door, with Teeand shuffling along behind, clutching his midsection. All three of them jumped as Nehrys slammed the door behind them.

  Sath shook off the spell that made him dwarf sized, then turned on Tairn, lifting her by her shoulders, shaking her to make the illusion fall away, and then bringing her close to his face. “What are you doing here?” he snarled. “Answer me! Did that rat bastard of a wizard send you here to kill off everyone I love? Was Kazhmere not enough?”

  “Sath, calm down,” Teeand said, jumping up and grabbing one of Sath’s arms. Dropping Tairn, Sath shook the dwarf off his arm. “I knew who she was,” Teeand said. The Qatu spun around to look at his oldest friend. “I brought her here.”

  “She’s charmed YOU?” Sath roared.

  “If you’d shut your furry face a moment, Sath, I’d explain what’s going on here,” Tairn said. Teeand turned to look at her in surprise and Sath charged at her, growling, so she hurled a spell at him. Hundreds of multicolored butterflies surrounded the Qatu as he sank back away from her, a contented smile spreading across his face. “Now, Tee, I need to get out of here,” she said. “He will kill me when he comes to and if you want my help to get Gin back from Taeben…well; I can’t do that if I’m dead.”

  Teeand shook his head. “You don’t know him like I do. He will see reason,” he said. Tairn looked away from him, scowling as she folded her arms across her chest. Luckily, the cloak that Nehrys had given her was big enough to cover her no-longer dwarf sized body. “Tairn, you listen here, you’re stayin’ and that’s final.” The dwarf signed loudly. “Blimey, how did I end up surrounded by so many stubborn people?” He took her hand and led her over close to Sath, then retrieved a club from its resting place by the door. “Now then, don’t you worry, I won’t let him do anything too stupid,” he said, and then hit Sath in the back of the head, breaking the spell.

  Sath spun on his heel as the magical butterflies scattered and faded from view. Roaring, he lunged for Tairn but was stopped by the same spiked club Teeand used to clip the back of his head. With the club at the Qatu’s throat, he held Sath back while still holding Tairn by her wrist.

  “You need to hear her out, Sath,” Teeand said through clenched teeth. “By my BEARD, why am I always stuck in the middle between you and females!”

  “Speak,” Sath hissed at Tairn. “Make it fast.” Teeand dropped the club and let go of Tairn. She told Sath the same tale she’d already told Teeand. As he listened, Sath’s eyes narrowed and then filled with tears. He turned away from them for a moment, wiping his eyes with the back of his fur-covered hand. “So I’m supposed to just forgive you now, am I?” he said, his voice a low growl. He turned slowly and met Tairn’s gaze. “You put my son in danger and you…you were responsible for the death of my sister and now, best of all, TAIRNEANACH, you helped that wizard make off with my…with our Gin!”

  Tairn held his gaze. “You’re right,” she said. “Everything you just said is the truth. It is entirely my fault. All of it! Where we go from now is up to you. I am begging you just to let me help…let me make this right if I can. Then you can do whatever seems fair to me, but first let me help, please? What do you think?” The high elf bit her lip as she tried desperately to keep up a brave façade.

  Sath snarled at her as he leaned in close, his teeth gleaming. “What do I think? I think you and I should go talk in private, perhaps out of earshot of Tee’s lady wife and young ones, that’s what I think.”

  Teeand stepped in between them. “Now, listen Sath, do you really think I would…”

  “Shut it, Tee.”

  “Yep, that’s it.” Teeand’s war hammer flipped up into his hand from his belt as though it had been there all along. “If you want Gin back then you’ve got to let Tairn help us,” he said, waving the hammer at Sath’s nose. “You don’t let her help, it’s over. You kill her, it’s over. After we find Gin and you get her back, then…”

  “Who says I want her back?” Sath said through gritted teeth.

  “Fine. You don’t want her back. Whatever. But I want her back, Sath.” Teeand looked up at his friend. “She’s my oldest friend, next to you, and I can’t leave her to whatever that wizard has planned. I won’t.” At the mention of Taeben, Sath tightened his fist, causing his knuckles to crack. Tairn startled in spite of herself, and grimaced at the malicious grin that spread over Sath’s face. Teeand cleared his throat and both of them looked back at the dwarf. “So if you will help me and Tairn, we’d be glad to have you along and I can promise you that you’ll have first crack at the wizard once Gin is safe. If you aren’t interested, I still won’t let you have that little talk with Tairn until at least I’ve found Gin, so you can either be patient or put ‘em up.” The dwarf tightened his grip on the hammer’s handle. “I’ve no wish to fight you, mind, but I’m willing to if that’s the only way out of here with Tairn intact.”

  Sath glowered at Teeand, and slowly his anger faded into a smile, and then into a laugh, and then into a bellowing chuckle. “Tee, you’re the most logical dwarf I’ve ever met,” he said, clapping his friend on the shoulder and almost knocking the dwarf off his feet. His gaze turned to Tairn and hardened immediately. “As for you, can you cast a spell that turns you into an inanimate object?” he asked, his teal eyes narrowing.

  “Yes, why?” she asked.

  “That’s the only way I’m traveling with you,” he said. “I think that’s fair. Now…can you become something small enough to fit in one of my backpacks?” He opened his haversack out toward her and she peered inside, and then shot a questioning look at Teeand, who nodded his head.

  “Aye, I can. I just need to see something first, like a belt or a glove,” she muttered. Teeand disappeared into the house a moment, leaving Tairn and Sath alone. He glared at her and she put an extra step in between them. After a bit of yelling with Nehrys from the house, Teeand re-emerged with a glove in his hand and a new skillet-shaped wound on his forehead. Tairn frowned, but took the glove from him. She put it on the floor and then looked up at Sath and Teeand. “Once the spell is complete, please make sure you get both gloves as I will not be able to move to tell you which one is me. When we arrive, you need only to remove bot
h gloves from the pouch and replace them on the ground and I will remove the illusion.” Sath nodded at her gruffly. “And as for you, Qatu, no tossing me in a lake or fire pit, yeah?”

  I won’t let him,” Teeand said, patting her on the arm. “Now get on with it, please? We need to get moving.”

  Tairn nodded her head. She concentrated on the glove that was on the ground and spoke the words of the spell. There was a flash of light; and then where there had been a high elf there were now two gloves. Sath scooped them up off the ground, wadded them up into a ball and tossed them into his haversack. Teeand glared at him.

  “What?” Sath said. “That made me feel the best I have all day.” Teeand chuckled and started for the city gates, Sath behind him. “Where are we headed, Tee?”

  “Outpost, Fabled Ones Grand Hall,” Teeand said. “We can look over maps there, plan a strategy, and the fact that it is in a central location will allow us to get to wherever we are going quickly.”

  “Right,” Sath said, shaking off the image of Gin in the palace the last time he had seen her, ice blue eyes watching him as he stalked away. “I’m right behind you, Tee.”

  Nine

  “This will not work,” Taeben hissed as he crept down the staircase toward the magical archway that led to Kalinth’s floor of the Western Tower. “I should never have agreed to this.”

  “Keep the faith, pet. I will not let him hurt you.” The affection in the sorceress’s voice, coupled with her clawed fingers against his back, turned his stomach. “Just a bit further now.”

  “Yes, I remember very well where the monster sleeps.” How many times had she forced him to relay messages to Kalinth when he was her prisoner? Taeben could walk this part of the Western Tower with his eyes closed. “Close enough, I think.” He looked around the room and was surprised to feel a bit of the old anxiety creeping up into his throat. Due to Kalinth’s size, there wasn’t much left on this floor but empty space. It was divided into two rooms, one considerably larger than the other. He had only ever been in the larger room, and his skin broke out in a cold and clammy sweat as he remembered those training sessions. It was here in this space that Salynth had first taught him how to form the bond, and she had not been as careful as he had been with Kazhmere in practice in her chambers above. “He is sleeping, I suppose?”