Descent Into Darkness (Book 2) (10 page)

THEY MADE CAMP THAT
night, which Wil said was due to the fact that most caravans had to be checked and logged when they entered the city so that the temples knew what supplies were coming in. That meant each person, all of the cargo, and even the Vilathos and their owners all had to be recorded. The temples could then appropriate whatever they needed, at a discounted price, before the rest of the materials could be sold off. It all was very official sounding, but it seemed like a giant waste of time to Ean, and Wil agreed.

Getting up early the next day, Ean was surprised to find Trait standing by the wagon where Ean had been retrieving his shovel from each morning. As soon as the man saw Ean coming, he shuffled about in place for a moment and looked as if he was about to walk off, but finally something made him stay in his spot and wave Ean over.

"You did some good work for me, lad," the broad man said, rubbing his hands together. "I didn't receive a single complaint from any of the wagon drivers or the shovelers behind your position. I know you offered to work for your ride, but I never let good work go unrewarded. Here."

Reaching into his pocket, the man pulled out a few coppers and a silver piece. "Now, that's not what a normal worker would make for a few days of service, of course. If you are looking for a job, I could handle hiring you on full time as a shoveler. You would make a great deal more as an actual employee of mine."

"Uh, thanks. I'm a healer in training, but I could use some extra money. Let me think on it a few days," Ean said pocketing the money. With the man finally in front of him, Ean couldn't help but ask about the conversation he had wanted to have with him the first time they met. "Trait, you seemed a bit put off before about the fact that I'm from Rottwealth. Why is that?"

The man looked at him for a few moments, rubbing his hands together faster now. He looked around a few times before putting an arm around Ean's shoulders and drawing him in close. When he spoke, his voice was low.

"Listen lad, I don't know what got you to leave your little village, but out here, things are a lot more dangerous. Especially if you go around telling everyone where you're from. Lots of rumors about Rottwealth, most of them created by the temples, and none of them good. Very few of us know the actual truth, which is far less shocking, but certainly serious since all of the temples are behind it."

"Well," Ean said, letting the frustration show in his voice. "Can you tell me what the big secret is then? I met a few people in Rensen that didn't seem bothered by the fact I came from Rottwealth."

"Sorry, but as a Hawkpurse, I'm sworn to secrecy by my own temple. If I were to break that and anger the deity, Drenks, it could mean the ruin of my entire family. Just listen when I say it's in your best interest not to bring up your village, alright?"

"Fine, thanks, I guess, for the advice."

Not knowing what else to say, Ean started walking him towards the supply wagon. Trait reached out though and caught his arm.

"No need to work today, why don't you just sit and enjoy the view as we make our way down. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lot to do." Trait walked off, shouting orders as he went. With nothing else to do, Ean headed off towards Wil's wagon.

He found Wil and his family just as they were climbing up and securing the oxen.

"Don't have to shovel today?" Wil called down to him. "That's nice. Nothing beats riding to the edge of the city. You get to appreciate how big it is compared to the lake, and at the same time how small of a city it is compared to the Unyielding Wall."

Gesturing towards the impossibly high wall far in the distance, the older man chuckled lightly to himself.

"It might be a foolish thought, but I would love to head out east some day and actually see the Wall up close. Touch it, you know? Actually experience something so great that it's even supposed to keep the gods out of whatever is on the other side. Can you imagine that?"

Phil reached down and helped Ean up onto the wagon. Wil was still considering what mysteries dwelled beyond the wall as the wagons started to move, prompting Phil to take the reins. Once the wagons reached the road, Wil seemed to shake away whatever thoughts had been taking up his attention.

"Now Ean, you remember everything we've been talking about these past couple of days, correct?"

"Yes, everything," Ean said, nodding to Will. "I'll make sure that my sister doesn't do anything stupid as well." It wasn't likely that he could stop her, but hopefully she would behave for however long they were in the city.

"Good, good. Than instead of bothering you any further, I'll let you enjoy the ride." Leaning back, the man placed both hands behind his head. Ean copied the movement and watched as they approached the city.

This close, and framed by the morning sun, Lurthalan seemed even more impressive than it had the evening before. The first thing you saw as you approached was the construction of the city wall. In some places it looked finished and in others only an outline of its foundation or a few stones marked where it would continue. Where the road met the path of the wall there was a completely constructed gate with two small towers off to each side.

Sitting to the left of the tower and outside the wall was a four-story building constructed of pale unpainted wood. The walls appeared to be covered in a variety of animal skins, making up a patchwork of different colored pelts. No windows or any other identifying marks were visible, only the hide coverings. Scattered around the building were various tents and a large gathering of people moving around them.

Pointing, Ean nudged Wil with his other elbow. "What's that building?"

Following the direction Ean was pointing, Wil grunted.

"That's the temple of Avien'zia, and a place you should avoid."

"Why?"

"The Goddess of the Hunt attracts all kinds of hotheaded followers trying to prove how tough they are to each other."

"Tough?" Ean's ears perked. After all, the purpose of leaving Rottwealth was to find someone tough enough to face the mine monster. "Tough as in Heroes?"

"There's probably a few, but mostly you'll find hunters, sell-swords, and those who think they got something to prove." Wil glanced over at Ean, looking him up and down with slight disapproval. "A fresh-faced kid like you wouldn't last ten minutes in the crowd around Avien'zia's temple, so take my advice and stay away from there."

"I will, thanks." Ean certainly had no desire to get tossed around by a bunch of thugs, so he would happily avoid the temple. He would avoid all of them while he was in the city if he could help it. Let other people spend all their time praying and showing off to the gods. He had no need of them.

As they slowly moved down the hill, Ean was able to see clearly past the wall and into the city. To the left of the entrance were a few larger buildings and many smaller ones. Most of those looked to be made of the same smaller stones that the caravan was hauling. Streets curved and stretched in every direction, the buildings growing more packed together as the roads ran deeper into the city.

Circling the lake on the left side of the river were the docks. Small wooden houses sat clumped together tightly, while a long expanse of wooden piers stretched out over the lake. Almost a dozen small crafts sat in the water--boats were what Wil had called them--or were tied up to the wooden floor. They bobbed slightly in the water, with the boats that were tied closer to the river bouncing more.

Just off the docks, where the lake emptied out into the river, a large stone bridge arched high over the water connecting the two sides. Past the bridge on the right side of the river, three large buildings sat close to the lake's edge with another one larger than even the Sawmill in Rensen or anything Ean had ever seen before.

From the side visible to Ean, it was a huge domed structure made entirely of stone. The dome itself was made of what appeared to be a dark white stone, almost grey in color, while the rest of the building was pitch black. There were no windows or doors anywhere Ean could see, unless the opposite side was different from the rest of the building.

"Wil, how about that building. What is that one?"

"The larger of the two is known as the Endless Tombs. There is a smaller building attached to it on the other side that you can't see. That's the temple of Kaz'ren. The Endless Tombs are the resting place of the dead, where the Soulbearers live. You've seen a Soulbearer before, right?"

"Yes, I saw a procession of them on their way to Rensen after the bandit attack. Even talked with one of them, a man named Kel."

Wil's eyebrows raised and the man turned to better face Ean. "In all my years, I've never heard of a Soulbearer talking to anyone. They stop talking as soon as they put on those robes. Sure you can talk at them and they listen, maybe respond with a nod or shake of their head, but I was always under the impression that they never spoke. You sure he was a Soulbearer and not someone that just happened to be traveling in the same direction?"

"I'm sure. He had on the same outfit and everything. The whole line of them stopped while he talked to us and then started moving again once he was done."

"I see..." Wil was staring at Ean now in a way that made him feel very uncomfortable. It was as if Wil was looking at a snake and trying to determine if it was poisonous or not. "Well," the man finally said, "I've been wrong about things before. If you don't mind, I think I'll relax a bit. Lots of work to do once we get down there, so I should take advantage of my free time now."

Without another word, the older man gave him one more strange look before turning his attention back to the road. Ean, meanwhile, was trying to figure out how he always seemed to put his foot in his own mouth. He continued to ponder this until the wagons came to a jarring stop. They had arrived at the entrance.

Wil told Ean to remain seated, while he and the rest of his family tended to the oxen and basic wagon maintenance. It was going to take a while for the guards to take down the names of all new arrivals, inspect their inventory, and take statements as to the nature of their visit.

Only a quick jog away now, Ean could see that the majority of men and a few women outside the temple were hunters. He noted that they wore animal skin shirts and pants and thick leather boots with padded soles. The majority carried a bow or had one leaning nearby, and each had at least one knife strapped to his or her belt. The tents around the temple also gave the telltale signs of hunters: skins laid out on drying racks, unskinned animals strung up to drain, and multiple fires cooking nothing but racks of meat.

There were a few people moving about the camps that clearly were not hunters. Ean's attention was immediately captured by a woman with an unusual dark red complexion. She had short black hair streaked with a thick strand of red the same shade as her skin. Standing a head taller than most men, she moved
confidently amongst the group. She wore a loose fitting gray shirt and thick leather pants. A variety of small blades hung around her waist.

Ean thought he knew everything possible about the human anatomy, but he had never heard or read anything about humans having crimson skin. There was something slightly off with her mouth as well, but at this distance he couldn't quite make out what it was. The woman was fascinating, something completely new and unexpected, and Ean couldn't help but stare. Until he realized that she was staring back at him. And fingering one of her knives.

Snapping his head quickly back around after being caught staring, he cursed himself for already failing to follow Wil's advice. The man had said that many of Avien'zia's followers tended to take the most innocent gestures as a challenge. Shaking his head, Ean slowly counted to ten before turning to see if the woman was on her way over to give him trouble.

It took a few moments to find her, but she was heading in the opposite direction, her short hair swaying as she moved around the tents. He couldn't see her face, but he watched men take one look at her and quickly get out of her way. Ean couldn't blame them. The stare she had directed at him from so far away had made him flinch. Best to keep his attention off those around the temple of Avien'zia, and just wait until he could enter the city.

That wait turned out to be most of the day. By the time one of the guards or bookkeepers or whatever they were called got to his wagon, the sun was already starting to make its decent into the western horizon. The man that arrived asked him questions that Ean found pointless, and then finally let him go.