Lorimal's Chalice

Part Four - The Chalice

by Jane Fletcher


Disclaimers: see Chapter 1

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Chapter 7: The Cairn and the Remembrance
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        For all the opulence of their room, Tevi and Jemeryl were held as virtual prisoners. A guard was always outside their door. Servants came regularly to attend to them and occasionally the interpreter would arrive with questions but they were never allowed out. The time dragged on. For diversion, they requested chalk and a slate and Jemeryl gave Tevi her first writing lessons.
        By Tevi's estimation, it was in the early morning of their fifth day in the dwarf city that news finally came of Levannue. Tevi was practising her letters, sitting cross-legged on the floor, which she found preferable to the low chairs. Jemeryl was stretched out on the bed, feeding the last of her breakfast to Klara and watching the concentration on Tevi's face with an expression of amused affection, when the door opened and the interpreter returned in the company of two other dwarfs.
        Tevi scrambled to her feet to greet the visitors, expecting further questions, and Jemeryl swivelled around so she was sitting on the side of the bed. The interpreter was a small yet extremely rotund figure, stout even by the standard of dwarves. Unlike the others, he wore only the most token attempt at armour, a light chain surcoat on which the securing buckles were left undone, so the mail flapped loosely over his bulging stomach. Tevi studied his girth with interest. She had frequently wondered whether he was pregnant or simply overweight.
        "We found the one you hunt. You get ready to go now." the interpreter said in his rasping tones.
        "Does she know that she's been found?" Jemeryl asked.
        "How we tell what a sorcerer know?" The interpreter talked briefly with one of the other dwarves. "We think not. We careful were."
        "Is she far away?" Tevi asked her own question.
        "Four, five hours. No more. We give you food. We take you there. What else you need now?"
        "I don't..." Tevi started to say.
        Jemeryl interrupted. "Could you get my friend a lantern? I can make my own light but she might need something..." she paused, avoiding Tevi's eyes. "In case we become separated."
        "We see. Pack you, now. Soon be here the guide." After rigid bows, the three dwarves left.
        "What did you mean about becoming separated?" Tevi demanded as soon as they were alone.
        "Levannue is a very experienced sorcerer. She may defeat me." Jemeryl replied, while shoving items into the saddlebags. She stopped abruptly and turned to face Tevi. "Is there any point in me asking you to stay here?"
        "None at all."
        "It would be wisest. Or you could go to the entrance and wait for me there. If I didn't show up within a day, you could try and get news back to the Guardian."
        "I'm not leaving you." Tevi said firmly.
        "I'd be happier knowing you were safe."
        "But how would I feel, knowing you were in danger? Anyway, it's irrelevant, you're going to beat Levannue." Tevi picked up a bag and started to help with packing. She forced a smile. "...or I'll never forgive you."
        Their guides were ten heavily armed dwarf warriors. They arrived just as Tevi and Jemeryl were tightening the final drawstring on their bags. The dwarves formed a silent, surly line in the corridor outside the room. One presented a small brass lantern to Tevi. She slipped it into the top of a bag with a meaningful glare at Jemeryl.
        The captain of the dwarf band spoke. "We go now." His accent was so guttural as to almost make the words unintelligible, but it was a relief to the two women that he understood at least some of their language.
        The departure through the network of streets added little to their scant knowledge of the dwarf city. Tevi suspected the circuitous route was chosen to avoid things the dwarves did not want seen. Their hosts had shown an intrinsic love of secrecy. Apart from Jemeryl's conjured globe, the only light they saw was on an altar-like structure, glimpsed briefly in the distance. The party skirted a large auditorium, with a frozen crystal fountain at the centre, but their escort would not let Jemeryl stop to examine it.
        Soon, the inhabited sections of the caves were left behind. For a time, they travelled on level paths hewn into the rock. The route then continued into natural caverns with slick, treacherous, sloping floors. The caves seemed to stretch on forever. The party scrambled, climbed and slid their way for several more hours, until the dwarves stopped in a large cavern.
        The captain pointed to narrow slit, opening half way up one side of the chamber. "In there. She sleep."
        He began to climb the rough rock wall, heedless of the dislodged stones that bounced echoing to the floor of the cave.
        "Won't she hear?" Tevi asked, confused.
        "No. She sleep I say." the captain threw over his shoulder.
        "What does he mean?" Tevi turned her questions to Jemeryl.
        "I'm not sure, but we might as well go and look."
        "And just hope a surprise attack isn't required." Klara added.
        They dropped their packs and followed the dwarf captain. The cracked surface presented an easy climb to the cleft in the rock wall. When they reached it, they saw the opening was the entrance to a sloping shaft about twenty feet in length. It was so narrow in parts that Tevi and Jemeryl were forced to squeeze through sideways. By the time they edged into the low-roofed chamber beyond, the dwarf captain was leaning against the wall, waiting for them impatiently and pointing at something the middle.
        The space before them was maybe fifty feet across. The floor was hollowed out like a dish. Across the ceiling ran lines of small stalactites. In the centre was a shimmering transparent green sphere encasing a limestone block. Lying motionless on this platform was Levannue.
        "Oh, of course." Jemeryl exclaimed, under her breath.
        "Is she alive?" Tevi asked softly.
        "Yes. She's created a force field around herself and gone into a trance. There's no need to whisper. We won't wake her - the roof collapsing wouldn't do that."
        "How long can she stay like this?"
        "Indefinitely. Entranced sleep is easy to induce. You can set when you want to wake and even have an energy influx so you don't need food. The drawback is that you still grow old, but that's no longer a problem for Levannue."
        Tevi took a few steps closer to the barrier and studied the sleeping sorcerer. "I wonder if this hasn't been her intention all along - the reason why she came north. She could stay here a hundred years, even a thousand years, and not come out until people have stopped looking for her. She could wait until everyone who knows what she'd done is dead."
        "You could be right. These caves are a good place to hide. The dwarves might have found her, even without our advice, but they couldn't get to her and they wouldn't have gone rushing out to tell anyone. In fact, they'd have made a very good guard. And, even if rumours did get back to Lyremouth, what would they have been? Simply a tale of a mysterious woman, asleep in a distant northern cave."
        "So can we leave her here and go for more help from Lyremouth?"
        Jemeryl thought it over. "We don't know how long she means to stay put. She might be merely sleeping out winter and be gone by the time we return."
        "Is that likely?"
        "She can't be certain the ghouls got us. She may well be intending to spend decades in a trance but she doesn't have to do it here. The safest thing, from her point of view, would be to move to a new secret location come spring, before we have a chance to return with reinforcements." Jemeryl drew a deep breath. "And we can't risk losing her again."
        "So what now? Can you break down the barrier?" Tevi asked.
        "Yes."
        "What can I do to help?"
        "Nothing, except stay safely away."
        "There must be something." Tevi protested.
        "There's nothing you could do, except be a weak spot. If Levannue directed an attack at you, I'd have to drop my own defence to shield you." Jemeryl reached out and squeezed Tevi's shoulder. "I'm afraid I'm in this one on my own. Come on; let's go back to our packs. I might as well have something to eat first."
        They returned to the outer cavern and found some provisions in their bags, however neither of the women had much appetite. The thought of the coming battle left Tevi's mouth dry. Food stuck as a hard lump in her throat and she found it impossible to swallow.
        Jemeryl stared sombrely at her meal but made little attempt to eat. "I would be so much happier if you were a long way away from here."
        "There wouldn't be much point. Levannue must realise that I'm the only one, apart from you, who knows where she is. If she kills you, she'll chase me all the way back to the Protectorate to keep her whereabouts a secret."
        "Maybe." Jemeryl sighed.
        In unspoken agreement the pair stopped the pretence of a meal and packed away the unwanted food. The lantern was lit. Jemeryl faced the entrance to Levannue's chamber and squared her shoulders.
        "Whichever way the battle goes, it won't take long. If I don't come out after it goes quiet, you should sneak back into the cave. Even if I don't kill Levannue, I might injure her. If she's weak or unconscious it will be the best chance you'll get to finish her." Jemeryl turned her head so her eyes met Tevi's. "Wish me luck."
        Tevi wrapped her arms about Jemeryl. "Take care. I love you."
        "I know and I love you."
        Tevi closed her eyes and kissed Jemeryl's mouth very slowly and deliberately. She didn't want to even consider the idea that this might be the last time but she couldn't stop herself making mental notes, as if trying to impress on her memory how it felt to hold Jemeryl in her arms and feel their lips and tongues moving together in soft exploration.
        Jemeryl was the one who broke away. She stared for long seconds into Tevi's eyes. "I'll always love you. Please, never forget that."
        There was nothing else to be said and no other excuse for delay. Jemeryl slipped from the embrace and then, with Klara on her shoulder, climbed to the opening and disappeared from Tevi's view.

* * * * * *

        Nothing had changed inside the chamber. Levannue lay in her enchanted sleep; Jemeryl viewed her foe uneasily. It would be a straightforward trial of strength. Surprise was on her side but Levannue had years more experience. Jemeryl reached up to stroke the magpie. Klara was probably her best weapon, allowing her to attack Levannue from two directions at once. It might make the crucial difference.
        She sent the magpie to a perch on the far side of the chamber and then grasped her sorcerer's staff firmly in both hands. The force field was a knot in the sixth dimension, unbreakable to the ungifted, but easily loosened by those who could see it for what it was. It was a simple exercise for Jemeryl to reach out and strip back the bonds.
        The force field burst apart in a storm of light and sound. Jemeryl was prepared for some sort of booby-trap; even so, she was knocked to the ground. A bruising rain of broken stalactites fell around her. The blast left her momentarily blinded and deafened. She fought her way to her feet, rubbing her eyes clear of dust, and saw that Levannue was also recovering from her violent awakening. The two sorcerers studied each other coldly. Only the distant echo of dripping water broke the silence.
        "Will you surrender?" Jemeryl asked.
        Her answer was a slashing kick of raw power, ripping through the ether, but the attack was miscued and easily parried.
        The fight was brief. Three times Levannue sent balls of white lightning hurtling towards Jemeryl. A desperate effort was needed to dissipate the bolts before they struck and Jemeryl was pushed backwards by the force. Then, she made her own assault, opening a drain under Levannue and attempting to suck all heat into the rock below. The older sorcerer dammed the out-flow of energy, responding more quickly than Jemeryl would have thought possible. The speed of the riposte loosened Jemeryl's hold on the lines of power. Immediately, Levannue caught and twisted the eddying forces, ready to subvert the flow for her own use. However she had committed herself to a path of attack and shifted her guard.
        Jemeryl seized the chance. From a mesh with Klara, she sent a hail of invoked darts towards her enemy's back that caught Levannue by surprise. The older sorcerer raised a shield, moving with frantic haste, yet she only just reacted in time and her defence was awkward and unwieldy. Her aura was knocked off balance and her grip on the lines of power weakened. Before she could recover, Jemeryl struck out, aiming at the ether rather than her shielded opponent. The shock waves tore control of the sixth dimension from Levannue's persona. Again, Jemeryl ripped open the drain, and this time there was no way for her opponent to counter the freezing onslaught. Ice washed over Levannue's feet, flowing up her legs in a surging tide.
        Levannue's eyes fixed on Jemeryl in horror and despair. "NO!"
        A last pleading hand shot out towards Jemeryl. The sound of Levannue's scream faded. She flung back her head and raised both arms to the ceiling. Thunderbolts shot from her fingertips. As the encircling ribbons of ice reached Levannue's heart, the roof of the vault came crashing down about their heads.

* * * * * *

        The last beams from Jemeryl's light-globe were swallowed in the depths of the cleft. Tevi shuffled backwards to sit resting against the opposite wall with her eyes locked, unwavering, on the opening. In the lantern glow, it was only a faint suggestion off a black shadow on the rock face.
        Long minutes dragged by with no apparent action. The effort of staring into the darkness made Tevi's eyes sting and the growing sense of helplessness inflamed her nerves. There was nothing she could do, no exertion in which to lose either the tension that set her hands shaking or the fear that settled as a dead weight in her stomach. She let her attention be caught momentarily by the dwarves, standing several yards away and muttering among themselves in their rasping guttural language. However, they provided no more than the flimsiest of distractions.
        The first explosion had Tevi leaping to her feet, drawn to the shaft entrance. After two indecisive steps, she halted. A heavy silence again claimed the caves, while the last echoes rumbled away through the dark underworld. Even the dwarves stopped talking and stood like Tevi, staring upwards. For a time, nothing was heard. Tevi began to wonder if the battle could be over already, and then three ear-splitting roars boomed from the inner cavern. For half a minute, the sounds of raging chaos rose and fell, until all was overwhelmed in the most violent explosion of all. The ground shook. A billowing jet of dust erupted in slow motion from the fissure while, in the background, the pounding of falling rock went on and on. And then, all was quiet.
        It took a moment for Tevi to register the meaning of what she had just heard before she sprinted across the cave and vaulted onto a thin ledge running just below the fissure. She balanced the lantern in a niche in the rock, which freed her hands to gain a more secure hold. At the very edge of the entrance, a large flake of limestone, a yard in length, had chipped loose from one side and was now wedged across the shaft. Further beyond, Tevi could see other dams of rubble blocking the way, until all vision was lost in the clouds of dust that eddied and glittered in the oblique rays of the lantern. She wrapped her fingers around the first block and threw all her strength into the struggle to pull it free, heedless of the abrasions torn into her hands.
        The dwarf captain stood below her. "All dead. We go now."
        His shout was ignored.
        "We go now." he repeated irately.
        At the shaft entrance, Tevi had one knee braced against the cave wall. Every muscle in her body was straining in the effort to shift the jammed rock. She changed her hold to pull upwards and out, and was rewarded when she felt the stone under her hands shift slightly. Slowly, the rock was jerked clear, leaving deep lines gouged in the sides of the fissure. When it finally shot free, it nearly took Tevi with it in its crashing fall to the floor of the cave. The captain yelped as he dived out of the way of the resulting avalanche. The muttering of the dwarves ceased abruptly. Tevi slid into the shaft until she met the next blockage. This consisted of smaller debris that were quickly plucked free and tossed away.
        The captain climbed cautiously to the opening. He stuck his head over the edge, careful to dodge the flying stones. "We help. Then you go." he suggested.
        Tevi stopped her work and looked back. "You'll help me get through to her?"
        "We think rock. We good, or fall more rock. We good."
        The offer seemed genuine and sensible. Tevi nodded and edged out of the shaft to make way for her replacements. Within seconds, the captain's barked commands oversaw a relay of dwarves working in the fissure, passing back the broken stone. The stream of excavated rubble built up in a mound on the floor of the cave while Tevi paced impatiently.
        Twice, the dwarves met with more stubborn obstacles, so that Tevi, with her greater strength, was called on for help. Once, a fresh fall of loose chippings caused a momentary panic but, in less than an hour, a route had been cleared to the inner chamber. Tevi was the third to slip through. She turned up the wick on her lantern and looked around.
        The cavern had been reduced to half its size from her previous visit. The right side was now lost under huge fractured slabs. Piles of smaller rubble littered the floor between deep cracks that radiated out from the rockslide. Of the stalactites, only a few broken stubs still hung from the ceiling. Just to the left of the entrance, a mound of boulders hid her view of part of the chamber. Tevi stepped forward. The area behind had sustained less damage and, lying unconscious in a clear patch, was Jemeryl.
        All other considerations were forgotten as Tevi rushed to her lover's side, scrambling over smashed boulders and skidding on fragments of broken stalactite. Her panic eased only when she had her ear pressed to Jemeryl's chest and heard the heartbeat. In the yellow lamplight, Jemeryl's face was deathly pale and her pulse was quick and erratic. Yet, she was definitely alive. The surge of relief left Tevi feeling light-headed. When she was again able to think clearly, she raised her head and looked around at the devastation. It was obvious that either Jemeryl had been very lucky, or she had been able to protect herself from the main force of the collapsing roof.
        The sorcerer lay sprawled on her back, covered in dust and small chips of rock. An out-flung arm was trapped between two larger stones. The arm was bent back sharply just below the elbow and was undoubtedly broken. Blood had trickled from several cuts on Jemeryl's face, while still more flowed from a gash below her knee. Dark bruises marked her skin. There was nothing life threatening, although Jemeryl lay deeply unconscious. A gentle shake to her good shoulder got no response and only the whites of her eyes showed when the lids were pulled back. Tevi sat back on her heels and felt the niggling onset of returning fear.
        By now, the whole band of dwarves was inside the cavern. What seemed to be an argument on the fracture forms of limestone had broken out between them. Tevi ignored the babble, until a more excited outburst of words caught her attention. The dwarves had gathered around something hidden behind two large slabs in the centre of the chamber. The captain had climbed onto a nearby boulder and was posing in arrogant fashion. Tevi stood and went to see, even as she guessed the probable cause of the commotion.
        Levannue was lying on the floor. The edge of a large block had fallen across her left side, crushing her ribcage and arm. The white ends of broken bone and torn flesh protruded from under the rock, while the force of the impact had sent blood spurting from ears, mouth and nose. Other stones had cracked her skull and mangled her right hand to pulp. Levannue's legs from mid-thigh down were buried under a pile of rock. Blood formed a red carpet on the stone beneath her.
        There was no need to test her pulse to be sure that Levannue was dead. Tevi's brief doubt that this might be an illusion was also rejected. Jemeryl had said the dwarves were immune to that particular sort of magic - and, if Levannue were still able to cast spells, she would have no need to disguise her condition.
        Tevi looked down at her lifeless enemy, aware of a confusing array of emotions that she was too drained to distinguish. The task given to them by the Guardian was complete, yet Tevi felt no sense of victory. She started to turn away when her eyes caught sight of a saddlebag half buried in the rubble to the right of Levannue's legs. It came free after a few sharp tugs. Tevi slung it over her shoulder and returned to Jemeryl. Meanwhile, the dwarves had apparently decided to complete the work of the rock fall by erecting a cairn over the dead sorcerer's body. Tevi left them to it and paid no further attention to their actions.
        A makeshift splint soon had Jemeryl's broken arm strapped securely to her side. Tevi lifted the unconscious woman and carefully made her way towards the exit across the rubble-strewn floor. The dwarves were occupied in taking every carryable rock to pile on Levannue's body. They scurried about the cavern in preoccupied silence but, just as Tevi reached the shaft opening, one of the dwarves gave a startled cry.
        Tevi looked across the chamber. The dwarf had levered up a limestone slab. At first, in the wavering lamplight, it was hard to see what had caused the excitement and then Tevi spotted the black and white feathers crushed on the ground - all that was left of something that had once been a magpie.

* * * * * *

        It was a slow, painstaking job to manoeuvre the dead weight of Jemeryl's inert body through the fissure, all the while taking care not to further damage her broken arm. Eventually, they emerged from the shaft to the outer cavern, with just the last, awkward drop to the cave floor left. By the time Tevi reached the spot where the packs had been deposited, the sound of voices announced that the dwarves had finished Levannue's cairn and were returning. Hopefully, they would soon be ready to depart. Tevi was relieved. There had to be some sort of healer in the dwarf city and Jemeryl needed skilled medical attention as soon as possible.
        In Tevi's impatient frame of mind, it took a tortuous amount of time for all the dwarves to reappear and collect their gear. She cursed their indifference as they argued and fussed over nothing; although, once they were ready, two of them did volunteer to help her by carrying the saddlebags. Another took the lamp, which left Tevi free to concentrate on Jemeryl. Even so, the journey was a painful battle over the rugged limestone formations. Tevi's hands were full and her main focus was to protect Jemeryl from harm, so she let her own body absorb the knocks as she slid on glasslike floors and crawled over jagged stone barriers.
        After ten minutes of travel, Tevi's knees, knuckles and shoulders were bruised and cut. Her whole world was focused on the search for safe footholds, so she did not notice when the blackness in the distance started to give way to grey. She continued unaware until the first faint beam of natural daylight fell across her path. Then she looked up, surprised. It had been an unquestioned assumption on her part that they would return to the city, however after another five minutes of scrambling the whole group were standing, blinking, in the open air.
        Dusk was not far off. Low clouds shrouded the mountains and an ice-cold wind snatched at Tevi's face. The scent of wet earth told of rain not long past. They had emerged at the bottom of a sheer cliff-face. A broken slope of scree cascaded into the woods fifty yards below. Beyond that, a broad valley enclosed a small lake, ringed by mountains to west, east and south. To the north, a silver river flowed away through a marsh. This was not the spot were they had entered the mines or anywhere else Tevi could recognise.
        "Why have we come here? Where..." Tevi's words broke off in confusion.
        The captain pointed down the hill. "You go now."
        "You can't mean that. You said you'd help."
        "We help. We find enemy. We take you her. We take you out cave. You go now."
        "Jemeryl needs help and we can't travel without our horses."
        "All done. No more. You go." The captain voice was becoming strident.
        "At least give us back our horses." Tevi protested.
        "Horses gone. We eat. You go now."
        "We can't."
        The mood of the dwarves had been growing more hostile. At a sign from the captain, two dwarfs pulled their bows into sight, although not yet drawn. Other dwarves loosened axes from the straps across their backs. It was an unmistakable threat. Torn between outrage and bewilderment, Tevi backed slowly away. The captain picked up the saddlebags and hurled them past her, down the slope, then stood scowling belligerently.
        "Go."
        Tevi held the captain's eyes for the space of a dozen heartbeats but, even if her hands were not burdened by Jemeryl, the odds would be hopeless. There was no option except to turn her back on the angry dwarves and walk away. Tevi placed her feet with care on the loose footing and showed what disdain she could by refusing to hurry.
        The thrown bags had bounced and rolled down the slope, and finished up entangled in the undergrowth beneath the first trees. With Jemeryl in her arms, it was not easy to pull them free, and get them slung over her shoulder. Tevi looked back towards the cave. The squat figures of the dwarves, guarding the entrance, were almost hidden in the dark interior. Watery daylight just touched the outlines of helmets and axe blades. Tevi's face twisted as she bit back the childish urge to shout futile threats. After a last, bitter glare, she turned and plunged into the forest.
        It was dark under the trees but sheltered from the worst of the cutting wind. Tevi was compelled to force her way through a tangle of small branches, using shoulders and arms to shield Jemeryl, until she met a winding deer track heading downhill. The trail allowed her to make better progress through the woods, although with no clear idea where she was headed. Wind swept across the branches overhead in sighing waves, shaking dead leaves loose. Twigs cracked beneath her feet. The route twisted between lichen covered tree trucks and humped tussocks of moss.
        After half a mile, the track crossed a shallow river that gurgled and leapt over steps eroded into the bedrock. The forest canopy was broken above the water, but the light falling through the gap in the branches was sullen and dim. Leaden clouds, hanging above the treetops, were darkening to black with the onset of dusk. The shifting white plumes of foam shone with a luminous quality in the gloom. Soon it would be too dark to travel. Tevi halted by the river and looked around.
        Slightly upstream, a jutting limestone platform overhung a dry, level bank. The recess was further sheltered from the weather by a dense clump of thicket on the windward side. A drift of leaves was piled high on the ground. It was as good a place to stop as any she was likely to find. A quick check revealed no sharp stones under the leaves. Tevi spread a blanket and lay Jemeryl down gently. Plenty of dead wood was near at hand, quick to burn. Soon Tevi had flames racing over logs in a blazing campfire. The red glow washed over the rough rock wall and chased shadows through the matted bushes, dancing wildly in the gusts of wind.
        Tevi made a thorough examination of Jemeryl and tended to her within the limits of their medical resources. Apart from the broken arm, Jemeryl's injuries were superficial and, despite the most careful search, there was no sign of a major blow to the head. Tevi's shoulders slumped. It was the result she had feared - Jemeryl's coma was due to magic; either Levannue's attack or the loss of Klara. The condition was beyond the ability of any ordinary person to understand or help. Tevi did not know what to do, how long the coma might last or how dangerous it was.
        Exhaustion and despair overwhelmed Tevi. For a while, she sat, staring blankly into the darkness beyond the fire. The cries of animals in the forest depths rose and fell on the wind. Small things nearby burrowed through the leaf litter. There was no telling what might came to the stream to drink that night, but Tevi could not keep guard alone, now Klara was not there to watch over them as they slept.
        Tears of pain and guilt rolled silently down Tevi's face. She had been forced to leave Klara's remains as the dwarf had found them. Jemeryl's needs had come first. Yet, the magpie had deserved the cairn and the remembrance, far more than Levannue the traitor. Tevi could not go back to rectify the omission. All she could do was pray that she would not have cause to build another cairn, for Jemeryl.
        Tevi busied herself with the last few tasks about the camp - anything to occupy her hands and thoughts. She banked the fire to keep it safe until morning, and then there was nothing else she could do except try to sleep. Tevi slipped under the blanket and snuggled close to Jemeryl's unmoving form. For once, there was no reassurance in the shared body warmth. After a long, long time, Tevi drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * * * * *

        Tevi awoke in the dreary half-light of the next dawn. Jemeryl's arm was pressed into her back. An icy wet mist rolled through the forest, condensing in large globular drops on every surface and dripping from branches. Damp air deadened the splashing of the nearby stream. It felt as if the cold had welled up from the ground and seeped into Tevi's bones.
        There was no sound from Jemeryl. Tevi shuffled around to look at her. The sorcerer had not stirred all night. Her lips were bloodless white and her features flaccid, beyond the relaxation of mere sleep. Tevi reached out in dread to touch Jemeryl's cheek. Her own face crumpled in relief to touch skin that was cold, but soft. The muscle and tendon underneath still held firm. Tevi's fingers slid to Jemeryl's throat. A butterfly-like pulse beat there and the faint wisp of breath from Jemeryl's lips floated away on the cold air.
        Tevi crawled from between the blankets and removed the covering of turf from the campfire. Embers still glowed red deep within the ashy remains. Soon, they were fanned back to life. Tevi moved Jemeryl closer to the fire and tried to chaff warmth back into her arms and legs. In Jemeryl's weakened state, the cold might be the finishing blow.
        Food and drink were also an issue. Despite the sick tension knotting her stomach, Tevi forced herself to take care of her own needs, but she could do nothing for Jemeryl. She managed to pour a little water into Jemeryl's mouth but could not prompt her to swallow and the liquid dribbled out from between slack lips.
        Meanwhile, the light had grown into an overcast grey morning and the last of the mist had been blown away. Tevi buried her head in her hands and wondered what to do with the day. There were not many practical options. It was dangerous to return to the mines and pointless to stay where they were. If Jemeryl should recover, there was still a long trek by foot before they could reach any human habitation and winter would be fast upon them. The only sensible thing was to make a start on the journey and pray that Jemeryl would survive to complete it.
        Jemeryl would have to be carried, which meant the baggage needed rationalising. Tevi pulled everything from the three saddlebags, to see what could be discarded. In the bag she had reclaimed from beside Levannue's body was a small bundle wrapped in a woollen cloth. Even before she removed the covering, Tevi knew she held Lorimal's chalice. She cupped it in her hands and stared at it angrily.
        The scratched metal surface mirrored the grey sky. It seemed such a small, ordinary thing to have caused so much trouble. In a moment of anguish, Tevi pulled back her arm, ready to hurl the chalice into the forest, but stopped. She could not leave it for someone else to find and misuse. Then everything she and Jemeryl had done would be wasted. Instead, she contented herself with ramming the chalice as hard as she could into the bottom of the largest bag.
        There were a few hard decisions before everything was complete. Tevi swung the heavy pack onto her back and flexed her shoulders to settle the weight evenly. The forest was cheerless as she set off between the dank trees with Jemeryl in her arms. Her route switched between animal trails, branching and twisting down the hillside. A spongy layer of moss and leaf-litter covered the earth beneath her feet. It muffled the sound of her steps. At first, the underlying earth was firm but, after an hour of travel, it started to soften and moisture oozed into the depressions left by her feet.
        Tevi stopped. The trees were thinning out ahead. Between the knotted trunks, she saw waving bands of reeds and, beyond them, the grey glint of open water. It was Tevi's intention to follow the river she had seen from the mouth of the cave. Hopefully, it would cut a passable route through the mountains. If they could keep heading north, eventually they must cross the Old West Road.
        Tevi turned aside and began forcing her way around the edge of the lake. It was not easy. The animal tracks snaked to and from the water but none went in the direction she wanted. The beasts that made them were interested solely in visiting the lake to drink. Under the trees, was a knotted mass of undergrowth. In the open, the long grass concealed a quaking bog that sucked at Tevi's boots and threatened to imprison her.
        It was an hour off midday before Tevi finally reached the point where the out-flowing river emerged from the marsh. For the first half-mile, it was just dozens of trickling paths through the reeds but, as the streams coalesced, they grew in speed and power. After another mile, the basin around the lake was left behind and a river rushed, tumbling, down a narrow valley. The water cut deeply into the rock of the mountains. Sheer cliff faces overhung the river and both banks were lined with eroded platforms of rock. Glass-like sheets of green water swept over the broken boulders on the riverbed.
        The rocky embankments allowed Tevi to make better progress than in the forest or the marsh, yet treacherous patches of wet moss slicked the smooth surfaces. With Jemeryl in her arms, travel was a constant fight for balance. Even with her potion-enhanced strength, Tevi was forced to stop for frequent rests.
        It was at one such break, in late afternoon, that Tevi thought she saw the signs of a path running along the opposite bank. This was confirmed half a mile downstream where a well-marked ford crossed the river to her side. For a short way, this new path kept low on the bank. Then it began to climb the hillside and was lost from sight amidst the trees. The path was clearly much used. The few blades of grass on it were trampled flat and, imprinted in the mud, were the fresh marks of dwarf boots.
        Tevi studied them thoughtfully. She had no wish to re-encounter the dwarves but the path would be safer and quicker than the riverbank. There was also a strong likelihood that it would join with the road leading to the dwarf mines. Once she reached somewhere she recognised, it would not be hard be to retrace the route back to the Old West Road. On the other hand, although the river was still flowing due north, there was no saying it would not loop around, or that its banks might become impassable. A few nervous jitters unsettled her stomach but Tevi turned her back on the river and took to the dwarf road.

* * * * * *

        For the rest of the afternoon, Tevi followed the path while it climbed out of the wooded valley and ran across the less densely covered uplands. The stubby trees were interspersed with bands of gorse that rattled in the cold wind blowing over the hilltops. As evening approached, the sinking sun finally broke from under the clouds, brightening the scene, although adding nothing by way of heat. The oblique rays cast a stretched yellow light over the scene.
        Dusk was falling as the path rolled over one more ridge. The terrain ahead of Tevi dropped into a shallow valley that deepened and broadened as it snaked away westward. The dwarven path bent east, climbing to the head of the valley and disappearing over the hilltop. Gorse and patches of light thicket covered the upper valley slopes. A band of stunted trees filled the bottom. Directly opposite the spot where Tevi stood, the ruins of a village clung to the hillside. Crumbling masonry rose above the straggly vegetation, marking the remains of at least thirty buildings with broken doors and gapping windows.
        The wind at Tevi's back stiffened; an icy blast stung the exposed skin of her neck. She glanced over her shoulder. New clouds were piling up from the south, thick black thunderclouds that looked too heavy to hang in the sky. Tevi could smell the charged air, carried on the gusting wind. As if to emphasise the point a distant roll of thunder echoed over the mountains.
        Memories of Graka urged Tevi to flee the ruins but the coming storm made finding shelter a necessity. Jemeryl would not survive the night in the open. The ruined village was the best shelter they were likely to find. Tevi's heart pounded as she left the path and scrambled down the hillside, but the dangers of the ruins were hypothetical, while the dangers of the storm were not. As she crossed the small stream at the bottom of the valley, the wind rose in earnest, snapping at her clothes. Rain begun to fall, pierced with hail.
        The nearest of the buildings was only a dozen yards from the stream. The roots of a young birch had ploughed through its walls. Mounds of rubble lined its base. Other trees grew wild over the site, but the ruins had not been deserted for long - 40 years at most. The remains of wooden doors hung from rusty hinges; tiles still covered many buildings, while the last rotting tatters of thatch flapped from other roofs. Tevi began to climb the hillside, searching anxiously among the ruins for signs of life - or other activity.
        The first two structures she passed were completely derelict and offered no shelter. The next was more substantial, a long low building with a wide entrance at one end. Tevi peered in. A central hallway ran the length of the building, lined with empty doorways on either side. It had possibly been a dormitory block or a store. Now the far end was open to the sky but the remaining two thirds kept their roof. Tevi halted by the first inner doorway. The room inside was intact except for a few missing tiles in one corner of the ceiling. The hole let a little rain trickle down the wall and soak into the ground but, apart from this, the floor was dry. Blown leaves and light rubble littered the ground. It looked as if a fox had made a meal of a rabbit in one corner, but there was no other sign of recent occupation.
        Tevi lay Jemeryl down and went in search of dry timber. Outside, the wind was blowing in gusts that grew in strength with every minute. Rain whipped across the hillside in stinging belts of sleet. The thunderclouds had reduced the light to darkness. It would be easy to get lost if she went far, but the remains of a door still hang aslant on rusty hinges at the entrance. The old timbers were dry and half-rotten, and easily splintered by a few well-aimed kicks.
        Soon Tevi had a fire blazing within a hearth made from a circle of bricks. A row of old nails lined the lintel above the door. Tevi impaled the edge of one blanket on them, so it hung down, keeping in both the heat and light. It was not likely that anyone would be about on such a night, but she had no wish to advertise their presence.
        Smoke from the fire rolled and eddied in a layer under the ceiling before slipping out through the crack in the far corner. The blanket over the door snapped as wind gusted down the hallway and, overhead, the tiled roof creaked and rattled, while the pounding of rain rose and fell.
        Jemeryl lay motionless beside the fire, wrapped in a second thick blanket. At no time during the day had she showed signs of waking. Now her breathing was growing weaker and the pulse at her throat less stable. A bluish tinge mottled the skin on her cheeks and temples.
        While the storm roared over the mountains, Tevi sat watching her. Jemeryl was weakening, fading before her eyes... dying. Tevi turned away, fighting back tears. The fire taunted her with its cheery light, mocking the memories of hearth and home. In a fierce mood, Tevi snapped wood in her hands and fed it to the flames. She knew she should eat and sleep but could not bring herself to care enough to do either.
         She could think of nothing to do - at least nothing helpful but, if Jemeryl died, she would return to the mines and see what havoc she could wreak. A suicide attack. Jemeryl had said the dwarves valued revenge. Tevi was sure they would understand.





Continued in chapter 8


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