Shadow Blizzard (71 page)

We said nothing for a while. I checked the bags, Kli-Kli gnawed on her carrot. Invincible twitched his little pink nose.

“I see you’ve made friends with the ling.”

“Uh-huh. Honeycomb decided the mouse would be better off dining at the king’s table. I don’t have anything against the little beast.”

“Are you going to stay in Avendoom for long?”

“I don’t know. For as long as I’m needed. In any case, I’ll stay until everything settles down. Then I’ll go back home. I have to help my grandfather.”

“With his shamanism?” I chuckled.

“Yes, with his shamanism,” she chuckled in reply. “Maybe you shouldn’t go away?”

“Yes, I should,” I sighed. “There’s nothing to keep me in Avendoom. I’ve already put all my affairs in order, and the magicians … I should leave before they remember about me and the Rainbow Horn. The Master won this round of the Game, in spite of everything.”

“There’ll be more rounds to come. If the magicians lose the Horn, Valiostr’s in for trouble in three hundred years’ time.”

“I shan’t live that long. They can find some other fool to get the Horn for them,” I laughed.

“You will live that long,” she said, giving me a serious look. “You’re a Dancer.”

“And how are all our friends?”

To my great regret, I hadn’t managed to see any of them.

“Egrassa’s in Zagraba. He’s the head of the house now. I think our elf friend’s really got his hands full—the orcs gave the dark ones a really bad mauling. There’s talk of uniting all the dark houses. Egrassa could be top elf in the Black Forest before you know it!” She grunted delightedly. “The Wild Hearts have gone back to the Lonely Giant. They told me to say good-bye, they couldn’t just hang about here any longer. Before he left, Hallas palmed the h’san’kor horns off on the Order for a mountain of gold pieces. He bought an entire trade caravan of wine and a heap of other stuff, just like he was going to do with Deler. They’re already restoring the Lonely Giant, have you heard?”

“Yes. It’s a pity I didn’t get to say good-bye to them,” I said sadly.

“It is. By the way, Eel asked me to give you this,” she said, holding out a long bundle.

“What is it?”

“How should I know? You don’t think I’d go rummaging in other people’s things, do you?”

I politely ignored that and unwrapped the bundle. Just as I thought—it was Eel’s “brother” and “sister.”

“The Garrakian told me you knew what to do with these.”

“I do. How will he manage without them?”

“The king gave them all new weapons. Much more beautiful than the old ones.”

I wrapped the two blades in the cloth and set them beside the saddlebags.

“If you see Eel, tell him I’ll do everything he asked.”

“All right. Listen, about the Commission…”

“Yes?”

“You realize they’re not going to pay you fifty thousand gold pieces? The Commission was annulled.”

“Don’t worry, Kli-Kli, I understand.”

“But when the king found out what happened, he decided that wasn’t very fair.”

“And?”

“Well, here’s a royal pardon for you,” she said, handing me a charter rolled up into a tube. “The king pardons all your wrongdoings. Frago Lanten will be absolutely raging. And here’s some money for you. As much as they could manage…”

“And how much could they manage?” I asked, taking the heavy bag from the gobliness.

“You understand, after the war the treasury’s completely empty,” Kli-Kli began cautiously.

“Listen, just tell me, will you?”

“A hundred fifty gold pieces. It will be enough for a start.”

“Well, now,” I said with a nod. “That’s not bad at all.”

As I put the money away, I thought about the other two hundred gold pieces I’d taken from For’s secret hiding place. My old teacher had left the nest egg for me specially. So now I had quite a tidy sum.

“And there’s something else. Egrassa asked me to give you this.”

Kli-Kli laid a string of smoky yellow topazes in my hand. The same ones that Miralissa had worn at Balistan Pargaid’s reception. I breathed in sharply. These stones were valuable. Very valuable. But they had belonged to Miralissa … and that made them more valuable than any amount of gold.

“I’m afraid I’ll never bring myself to sell them, Kli-Kli.”

“I know,” she said with a smile. “I think Egrassa knew, too. And by the way, he said the doors of the House of the Black Moon will always be open to you.”

“It’s not likely I’ll ever be in Zagraba again. But thanks for the offer.”

We stopped talking. We both realized it was time for me to leave.

“Where will you go now?”

“First to Isilia, then by ship to Garrak. I’ll visit For—he’s in Hozg now—and I have to deal with Eel’s business. And after that … We’ll see. Maybe to the Lowlands.”

She gave a little nod.

“Is it time?”

“Yes.”

“Lean down.”

“What?”

“Lean down, you blockhead!”

I obediently leaned down and she kissed me on the cheek.

“You can go now.”

I climbed into the saddle.

“Be seeing you, Kli-Kli.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head sadly. “We’ll probably never meet again; I think you understand that as well as I do.”

“Well, maybe sometime,” I said awkwardly.

“‘Sometime’ and ‘never’ are very similar. The world’s too big for us to meet, and some day you’ll go to join the shadows. I know that. So good-bye forever, Dancer in the Shadows.”

“Good-bye,” I sighed. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Likewise.” She cleared her throat. “Only when you go, don’t look back until you reach the city gates. That’s a bad sign for goblins.”

I nodded, looked at her one last time, and touched my heels to Little Bee’s sides. I kept my word and didn’t look back once. Although I wanted to very badly.

*   *   *

Although it was early morning, the Chicken Gates leading out of the city to the west were standing wide open. The guards were playing dice, and they took no notice of the solitary traveler leaving Avendoom at such an early hour. But then, our glorious servants of the law weren’t taking any notice of the beggar who was sitting right beside the gates with his clay cup for alms.

The vagrant was wearing dirty boots and a hooded cloak that had seen better days. He was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, and when he spotted me, he held out the empty cup. I stopped Little Bee, reached into my purse, and tossed him a full gold piece. The beggar took the money and gave me a dignified nod. I nodded back to him and rode on.

When I’d ridden a quarter of a league from Avendoom, I threw the charter with the royal pardon into the ditch at the side of the road. I’d lived all this time without it and I could manage without it for the same number of years. I looked back. The walls of Avendoom were shrouded in light morning mist. I took a deep breath of the cool air.

Sagot take me, but that felt good! It was spring, after all.

“Forward, Little Bee,” I said, and didn’t look back again.

Glossary

Annals of the Crown
-
the most ancient and detailed of the historical chronicles, maintained by the elves since they first appeared in the world of Siala.

Avendoom
-
the capital of the northern kingdom of Valiostr. The largest and richest city of the Northern Lands.

battery sword
-
a variety of sword with a midsized blade that can be wielded either with one hand or both.

Beaver Caps, or Beavers
-
soldiers of Valiostr, armed with heavy two-handed swords. Each soldier bears the title of “Master of the Long Sword” and wears a beaver-fur cap as an emblem to distinguish him from the soldiers of other units. These forces are used as a reserve striking force, to recover all kinds of difficult situations in battle. During military action the Beavers are also accorded the honor of guarding the banner and the king, taking the place of the royal guard.

bidenhander
-
a two-handed sword with a blade that can be a yard and a half long. They usually are designed with a massive handle, a heavy counterweight that is usually round, and a broad crosspiece. Sometimes the armorers would add massive metal spurs to prevent the blade running right through the opponent.

Border Kingdom, or Borderland
-
the kingdom beside the northern outcrops of the Mountains of the Dwarves and the Forests of Zagraba.

Borg’s link
-
named after a general of ancient times who invented the chain formation, in which every single soldier plays an indispensable part in repelling an attack.

brother and sister swords
-
the names of the two swords in the special school of swordsmanship that is widespread among the nobility of Garrak. During combat the weapons are held at different heights in relationship to each other. The “brother,” a narrow, double-sided blade held in the right hand, is used both for slashing and for thrusting. The “sister,” a shorter blade with no cutting edge, is only used for thrusting blows. The weapons are either carried behind the back or in a double scabbard.

Canian forge work
-
weapons made from the steel mined in the Steel Mines of Isilia. The steel is worked in the famous smithies of the kingdom’s capital, Cania. Following special processing and forging it acquires a ruby color and a unique quality—on encountering steel of a different type it emits a melodic ringing sound like small bells, or a shriek of fury. For this reason Canian-forged steel is also known as Singing Steel, Shrieking Steel, or Ruby Blood.

Chapel of the Hands
-
the assembly of the supreme priests of Sagot.

Cold Sea
-
the northern sea of the Western Ocean. It washes the shores of Valiostr and the Desolate Lands.

Commission
-
the agreement that is concluded between a master thief and his client. The thief undertakes to supply the item required or, in case of failure, to return the client’s pledge and a percentage of the total value of the deal. The client undertakes to make payment in full on receiving the article in which he is interested. A Commission can only be abrogated by the mutual consent of both parties.

Crayfish Dukedom
-
the only state in the Desolate Lands.

crayfish grip
(coll.)
-
a grip from which it is impossible to escape. The expression derives from the common saying that the men of the Crayfish Dukedom have a strong grip, and once they take you prisoner, you will never get away alive.

crayfish sleigh
-
in the Crayfish Dukedom, men who had been executed were transported to their graves on sleighs. Hence the meaning of this phrase—if the crayfish sleigh has come for you, death is at the door.

Crest of the World
-
the highest mountain chain in Siala. It runs from north to south across almost the entire continent. The crest is very difficult to cross and the lands beyond it are almost entirely unexplored.

Defender of the Hands
-
one of the highest positions in the hierarchy of the priests of Sagot.

Desolate Lands
-
the forests, stretches of open tundra, and ice fields in the far north. They have been settled by beings of various kinds, several of which constantly attempt to gain entry to the Northern Lands of Siala, and only the unassailable Mountains of Despair, the Lonely Giant fortress, and the Wild Hearts hold back their invasion of the world of men. Ogres, giants, svens, h’varrs, winter orcs, and dozens of other races and varieties of creatures inhabit these vast territories. People also live here, savages and barbarians who are subjects of the Nameless One. In all the Desolate Lands there is only one human state, the Crayfish Dukedom on the Crayfish Claw peninsula.

In the far north of the Desolate Lands, beyond the Needles of Ice, lies the dwelling of the Nameless One, whom savages captured by the Wild Hearts’ scouts mention only in reverential whispers.

Disputed Lands
-
the lands lying alongside the Forests of Zagraba, between Miranueh and Valiostr.

djanga
-
a rapid, rhythmical dance, very popular in Zagorie.

Djashla
-
the kingdom of the mountain people that lies alongside the Crest of the World.

Djok Imargo, or “Djok the bringer of winter”
-
the man who supposedly killed the prince of the House of the Black Rose. The Long Winter began as a result of this murder.

Doralissians
-
a race of goat-people who live in the Steppes of Ungava.

Doralissian horses
-
a type of horse bred in the Steppes of Ungava and valued throughout the Northern Lands for their beauty, speed, and stamina.

dralan
-
a commoner who has been granted a title by a duke; the title is not hereditary.

drokr
-
an elfin fabric that is proof against water and odors and does not burn in fire.

D’san-dor
(orcish),
or the Slumbering Forest
- a forest that lies in the Desolate Lands, close to the spurs of the Mountains of Despair.