The Chronicles of Lumineia: Book 02 - The Gathering (33 page)

Unable to
figure out more, Braon sighed and allowed a little of his emotions to show
through. “We have faced numerous challenges, but are working through them as best
as we can. I understand though that you need assistance with an issue?”

Her posture maintained
the tenseness that he'd noticed, but her expression took on a sympathetic look.
"I am sorry to have to add to your burden, but we are struggling with
supplies."

Braon's
eyebrows knit together before he could stop them. "Do we have insufficient
resources?"

Ayame
dismissed that with a wave of her hand. "We are fortunate to have enough.
The problem we are facing is that the merchants' guild continues to raise its
prices."

"They
want to make a profit off this war," Braon stated, not quite able to quell
the flash of anger he felt.

Eri caught his
attention with a quick shake of her head. "Not all of the merchants feel
that way, but the guildmaster and many of his masters do. The rest have no
choice but to follow their guild."

"What's the
price for a basket of flour?" Braon asked. He needed an idea of how much
the merchants were charging. In a typical harvest, a basket would cost a man
ten copper.

"Three
gold pieces," Ayame said. "They tripled their price this
morning."

Braon growled,
and again felt a rush of anger. A single gold piece was over forty times the
norm. Three gold pieces was a fortune. Doing his best to keep his voice even,
he said, "Are all their prices marked up in a similar fashion?"

"Regrettably
yes," Ayame said with a shrug. "Until this morning, I believed we
could still pay their prices without using every copper in the treasury. Even
with the added currency from all the gathered races, there is not enough coin
to cover the cost of this battle unless the prices are lowered."

 "Have
you spoken to the guildmaster?"

"I
have," Ayame replied, and Braon caught the furious look that passed across
Eri's face. "He was . . . less than cordial."

"He said
she could pay it or go hungry," Eri muttered, causing Ayame to throw her a
warning look.

Braon was
appalled, and he tasted fury at the way the queen had been treated. He was
aware that the merchants' guild had raised their prices, but it was not what he
felt he had authority to remedy. The guilds had always been autonomous from nation
or people, and for him to interfere would be tantamount to declaring war on the
guild.

"There is
more," Ayame said.

"What
else are they doing?" Braon asked, unable to grasp what would cause a man
to jeopardize all life for the sake of coin.

"They
have begun selling charms that will protect the soldiers from harm," Ayame
replied, disapproval lacing her tone.

"And they
are fake," Eri added in a matching voice.

Braon frowned
and rubbed his forefinger into his thumb. He could not risk alienating the
merchant guild. If he did that, it would destroy the best supply line for his
army. At the same time, he couldn't afford not to. What he needed was a way to
circumnavigate a direct confrontation.

He doubted persuasion
would work with such a man, unless that persuasion came in the form of payment.
He grunted at that idea and discarded it, loath to support such behavior. Just
as easily he dismissed other positive motivators. Reluctantly, he considered
fear. It was not an incentive he'd used before, and was a line he'd sworn to
himself he would never cross . . . but some choices weren't always black and
white. This appeared to be one of them.

If he did
cross this line, there would be no going back, and he would be forcing men to
choose the right. It rankled that he had to make such a choice, and felt wrong
somehow, but he had no other option. They were at war, and the only hope they
had was of staying united.

"Thacker?"
Braon asked, and the man stepped to his side. "Have Newhawk gather a
detachment of guards. Then collect the guildmaster—discreetly—and take him to
the Lake Road." He hesitated, reluctant even now, but Thacker raised an
eyebrow and he thought of Brynn. In a toneless voice he said, "Have
Newhawk explain to him that he has a choice."

Turning away
from the surprise he saw reflected in their eyes, he said, "Tell him he
can fight on the front line . . . or lower his price. Then inform him he will
stop the trade of illicit goods—" He cast a chilling look back at Thacker.
"—or I will have him executed for fraud. It is time for him to decide if
he wants to join the gathering.

"Or fight
against it."

Chapter
26: Whiteout

Endless tracts
of white tundra sprawled away from Taryn, erasing any semblance of location.
Fortunately for all of them, Kell had a keen sense of direction and had
travelled in the northern tundra before. While Trin and Jack complained about
the cold and the fact they had been forced to leave their steeds behind, the
massive troll led the way.

Dressed in a
kilt formed of leather strips, sandals, and a brown cloak that bulged with the
curving sword on his back, the troll didn't even flinch at the icy climate. Only
Jack had been bold enough to ask if he were chilly. Kell had jerked his head
and grunted a negative, leaving Trin disappointed. Since they had departed
Astaroth the troll had spoken just fourteen words, and at that rate Trin would
lose the bet he'd made with Jack.

Liri shivered
next to Taryn, pulling her cloak closer to her body. “Blasted wind,” she
muttered. “Two days in the cold is three too much for me. I wish I was at the
beach.”

Taryn smiled
but didn’t respond, instead focusing on the darkening clouds overhead. For the
last two hours, the sky had taken on an ominous import, with black clouds moving
in their direction and then passing above them. The wind had picked up, driving
the storm with freezing blasts of arctic air. Kell had quickened his pace an
hour ago and had turned east of due north, heading towards a small collection
of hills. It soon became clear they had no hope of crossing the distance before
the storm broke.

Less than a
quarter of an hour later, the storm crashed over them with a fury. Wind howled and
lashed their clothes, forcing them to lean into the gale. Snow filled the air,
spinning and swirling before finding a resting place on the ground. Glancing
sideways, Taryn saw Liri struggling, so he reached out and pulled her close,
wrapping his own cloak around her shaking shoulders. Her body felt cold against
his side, but his heart sent a burst of heat through his body at the contact.
Matching the storm's intensity, he felt a barrage of thoughts clamor for
attention.

Does she
want me to hold her? What if she doesn't? What if she pushes me away?
The
ideas were distracting and maddening at the same time, surprising him with
their urgency. Now as he pressed her thin body against his and felt his
mounting concern for her, he began to wonder if Jack had been right. Over the
last few days he'd examined every encounter he'd ever had with her, but still
felt at a loss.
What if she really felt as he did? Was he wasting precious
time? Or would he lose his friend if he voiced his feelings? What was he
supposed
. . .

—A piercing
sound lanced through the storm, animal and threatening. Taryn’s eyes snapped
up, seeking the source at the same time every member of their group stopped and
gathered inward. Kell turned his head, growling, “White tigron.”

Trin started.
“A
white
tigron?”

“Its hunger
will force it our way,” Jack said, serious for once. “They're more dangerous
than a southern tigron because of it.” Jack had already dropped his pack and
drawn his weapon, his eyes squinting into the blizzard.

Kell dipped
his huge head in agreement, casting Jack an appraising glance. “It will take
down someone separate or weak.”

“So it will go
after Jack,” Trin drawled with a straight face, drawing his longsword. "And
that makes twenty-five my friend."

"Twenty-four,"
Jack snorted and cast him a withering glance. “And I am still going to win.”

Taryn listened
to their banter as he studied the tract of land he faced, but he wasn’t fooled.
Trin always coped with fear in the same way. He’d once said that his sense of
humor was as good a mental armor as any.

“How are we
going to see it?” Liri asked, her teeth chattering.

“We won’t,”
Kell replied in his deep voice. “Until it attacks.”

 “There!” Mae
raised her voice.

Taryn spun to
see her pointing to a boulder a hundred yards to the west.

After a moment
of silence, Jack said, “You don’t need to warn us about the snow, it’s not going
to kill you.”

She threw him
a blistering look but he only chuckled.

“I saw a flash
of movement,” Mae said, her voice a little uncertain now.

“It’s OK, Mae,”
Trin said. “What did you see?”

The small elf
shook her head, “I thought I saw something.”

Liri cursed
and the uncharacteristic behavior caused Taryn to blink and look at her. He’d
never heard her curse before.

Ignoring his
expression she grumbled, “This storm isn’t going to let us see anything coming
at us. I can't see a dozen yards.”

Before Taryn
could reply Siarra grunted, “I might be able to give us some room to see.”

Jack snorted,
his expression doubtful. “You can stop a full storm?”

She shook the
gathering snow off her blond hair and answered, “Not stop, but maybe . . . redirect
it.” She gestured at the wind driven snow swirling around them. “But with so
much wind it will require almost all of my focus to maintain it. If a tigron
attacks, I will be unable to help.”

The wind
whistled past them as they considered the trade-off.

“Let’s do it,"
Liri said. "Together we should be more than a match for it, even without
Siarra.”

Siarra addressed
Kell first, “Why don’t you take the eastern flank since that is where Mae saw
it. Taryn you take the north while Jack covers the south. Trin and Mae will
watch the west. Liri, you stick to the center with your bow. And spread out, I
am going to need some room.”

Without
waiting for a response she crouched and took a deep breath. Taryn took his
place but threw his sister surreptitious glances as the air around her began to
shimmer. Without warning she blew out her breath and spun in a circle, her arms
extended. Instantly the wind changed direction, spinning from the Oracle like a
tornado. Air compressed and popped as it was manipulated by Siarra, exploding
outward into an expanding dome of protective wind magic. Inside the magical
shield the remaining snow settled to the ground, and gradually the air cleared until
Taryn could see for two hundred yards. He caught a glimpse of empty whiteness before
he heard Trin and Mae cry out in alarm.

Whirling east,
he saw a massive beast spring from the snow. Just as Jack had described, it
looked like a tiger, only much, much larger. Broken by black stripes, its white
body surged across the snow in effortless power. Bounding towards them, it
snarled as it blew through snowdrifts with ease.

Taryn leapt
towards it as Liri shouted, “East side!”

Taryn, Kell,
and Jack reformed between the charging animal and their friends just as the
animal roared, a blood curdling sound that shook the very ground. In a flash
Taryn morphed his bow and drew back an enchanted arrow. From behind him, a
bowstring twanged and he glanced back to see Liri on the ground with her bow in
hand. He released his at the same time Liri sent her second missile. The two
arrows streaked towards the fearsome cat—but missed. Impossibly, the Tigron
dodged each arrow. In less than five seconds the beast had crossed a hundred
yards, and had closed the gap enough to strike.

Taryn morphed
his mothers bow back into a sword and braced his feet—but the tigron shifted
direction, and lunged past him. Unbelievably agile, the great cat carved a path
between
Taryn and Jack, knocking them aside before they could bring
their weapons to bear. Tumbling to the ground, Taryn twisted his body and
landed in a crouch in time to see the beast wrap its huge paws around Siarra’s
tiny form—and carry her out of sight.

“NO!” Taryn
cried, his heart stuttering at the thought of losing his sister. With icy veins
he sprinted towards where they had disappeared, praying he made it in time.

 “Siarra!”
Taryn yelled, plowing up a pile of snow. Picking up speed he leapt over the top
and skidded to a halt, dumfounded.

In front of
him Siarra stood petting and soothing the fearsome cat while it sat back on its
haunches. Her short elven form couldn't reach his shoulder, and the tigron had
to stoop down so she could touch his enormous head. Behind Taryn the others
tumbled into view, while Kell bull-rushed right through the drift, sending snow
cascading in every direction. All of them came to a halt beside Taryn.

“What in
Skorn’s name are you doing!?” Jack bellowed.

“I tried to
tell you there was no cause for concern, but no one was paying attention to
me,” Siarra said.

“But it
pounced on you!” Liri exclaimed. “I thought you were dead!”

Siarra shook
her head and hugged the head of the huge cat, eliciting a deep purr. “No, she
wasn’t trying to kill me, she was just so excited to see me.”

“Wait . . .”
Mae asked in shock. “Excited?”

Siarra sighed.
“Tigraes is her name, and at first she meant to kill us, but when I spoke to her,
she seemed very happy. Apparently she knew my mother.” Her eyes met Taryn's,
“And
your
father.”

Taryn blinked.
“When did Tigraes know them?”

Siarra
shrugged. “She says that Ianna healed her once, and that a red-haired man was
with her. They told Tigraes that we would need her help, and tasked her with
waiting for us.”