Bound to the Abyss (24 page)

Sure, he might have started helping because he had been forced into it, but now he realized that he actually wanted to ease the suffering of people and save lives. The trust those villagers had placed in him, the gratitude he saw in their eyes, had filled an empty space inside of him. He couldn’t explain it, but for the first time in his life, he felt peace about the path Cleff had chosen for him. As long as what he had done to his body and the powers that came with it didn’t get out of control …

His powers. Ean had never really thought about them as his before. Drawing runes, summoning creatures -- they had all seemed like borrowed skills before. What he had done to that man, changing him the way he did, reinforced that it was a permanent part of him now.
 

It frightened him.
 

The ability to channel pure energy from the Abyss could cause a number of problems, especially if he found he couldn’t control it. What if he was healing someone and accidentally changed them with the power? What if he was helping Jaslen up and changed her? He could never live with himself if he changed her. He would need to be careful.

A tingle at the back of his neck made Ean turn around. The door opened and the blur that marked Zin’s presence slinked in. The blur paused in front of the door for a moment, and then the imp materialized into view. He flashed Ean a smile, his lips stained red. Bits of …
 
something … were stuck in his pointed teeth.

“You really can feel that I’m near, can’t you?” Zin phrased it more as a statement than a question. “Well, what’s our plan now, oh great hero of Rensen? Are we off to another village to puff up our egos, or are we going straight to the city to find a solution to the monster problem in Rottwealth?”

Ean ignored the sarcasm in the imp’s voice. “Filling yourself up with some of the local rat population, are we?” The imp simply gave him a mocking bow. “Well, regardless, I have a few questions for you.”

“Oh joy, more questions that I probably have no answers to. I can’t wait to be called a liar some more.” Zin gave a quick glance at Bran and then motioned in his direction. “Are you sure they are questions that you want him overhearing?”

Shrugging, Ean took a seat on the bed. “He can hear whatever he wants; nothing I want to know matters that much. Besides, he’s had enough Burnbeer to keep him out for a while longer, I think.”

“Alright then, ask away. Just don’t get mad when I don’t know the answer.” Taking a seat in front of the bed, Zin began to pick at his teeth with a clawed finger. When he dislodged a piece of meat, he stuck it back in his mouth and swallowed it down.

“I just love how positive you always are,” Ean said. “What do you know about Scars? Rips in the fabric of whatever separates this world and the Abyss?”

The imp froze, a claw jammed deep in the back of his mouth. He looked at Ean unblinking for a few moments, then slowly pulled his hand out of his mouth.
 

“Listen very carefully, Ean,” Zin rarely called Ean by his name. “A Scar is a very dangerous event. If you know about them, that means you heard about it from someone. Is there a Scar nearby?”

“The villagers have said that there is one a day or two up the road on the way to Lurthalan. They aren’t sure how long it’s been there.”

The imp let out an uncustomary growl. Pacing back and forth, the imp’s eyes were squinted and a small grimace showed off some of his teeth. He was mumbling something. When Zin stopped, he swung around towards Ean so fast that he almost leapt off the bed.

“We have to wait until it’s gone,” the imp said, a finger pointed right in Ean’s face. “We can’t go messing around one of those Scars; it is way too dangerous.”

"I get they are a connection to the Abyss, but it's not like they could just draw a person in, right?"

"No, you don't get it," the imp said, clenching his hands together. "They are dangerous because of what they can do to the local animals. They are dangerous because of the men that will do whatever it takes to close them and kill anything else they find even remotely touched by them." His eyes closed for a moment, and he took a few deep breathes. "And most importantly, they are dangerous because it is possible they were created by something trying to come out of the Abyss."

Ean let it all sink in. The first part wasn't surprising; the innkeeper's wife had said as much, and he had witnessed first-hand how the energies from the Abyss could change something like the troll they had faced. The second must be the Seekers, but how did Zin know about them? Ean was pretty sure that no one in his village knew about them. Unless of course he was talking about someone other than the Seekers, which meant even more potential problems for them. He would have to figure out who Zin meant.

But it was the third thing that had him really thinking. Creatures could actually escape from the Abyss? His ignorance of the types of creatures that lived there was starting to become a problem. He would have to start prying more information out of Zin as they traveled. It wouldn’t be easy, of course. The imp always found ways to change the subject whenever the Abyss came up. But time for that later.

“Let’s start with the people you mentioned. The innkeeper’s wife told us about a group called the Seekers. Are they the same people you are talking about?”

The imp shook his head. "Never heard about them before -- they a religious group? I suppose it must be. Someone dead-set on closing a Scar has to be an Alistar fanatic. Anyone else would be too afraid to go near them, and with good cause."

"Zin," Ean cut in. "How do you know all of this? Have you ever come out of one before, when you lived in the Abyss?"

The imp waved him off. "No, of course not. It takes a group of beings of considerable power working together to open one, and they usually wouldn't let anything else through. As for random ones, I've never seen one in my entire lifetime. You have to remember, the Abyss is a huge place. The chance of being in the right place at the right time when a Scar naturally opens is practically nonexistent. The only way most of us creatures get out is by being summoned."

Zin was good at answering questions without actually answering them, but Ean was getting tired of getting the run around. “Then how do you know so much about our world? In all of the years I’ve known you, you haven’t mentioned once how you know so much.”

Another dismissing wave of the imp’s little hand almost sent Ean into a rage, but he held himself together as the imp continued speaking.
 

“You’re not focusing on the important things here. If something opened that Scar, it was probably a group of Nar’Grim, which would mean one of them could have escaped and could still be close to the Scar. Their kind are not something you would want to meet.”

“What’s so terrible about these Nar’Grim? You’ve never mentioned them before.”

A tiny shudder ran through the imp. “The Nar’Grim control most of the levels of the Abyss, except for the lowest three levels. Immensely powerful beings, they manipulate most creatures through fear and pain. They are behind most of the different schemes that go on down there.”
 

Zin let out a short laugh that was devoid of any actual humor. “I wouldn’t be surprised if one or two didn’t control a great deal of things up here as well. Even one loose in your world could be disastrous.”

“How could they get away with anything up here? Wouldn’t most people be afraid of something from the Abyss? Like you said, followers of Alistar would hunt them down.”

The imp let a dark laugh. “It would take an army, or someone just as powerful as one, to kill a Nar’Grim. I would imagine most people wouldn’t even realize what it was anyway.”
 

Getting back to his feet, the imp took on a lecturing tone. “You see, Nar’Grim change themselves to look like your average human, although tall for your kind. They’ve spent decades mastering that deception down in the Abyss. They’re jealous of your kind. The freedom you have, the power and authority you have over each other. Half of the things they do in the Abyss are their twisted versions of what you do up here. They have their own leaders and organizations, they build extravagant homes for themselves, and they just love to plot and disrupt the plans of others. Up here, without more of their kind to get in the way, a Nar’Grim could gain power quickly. It wouldn’t surprise me if there wasn’t one already in control of some town, or manipulating the temples in some way.”

“Alright,” Ean said, taking it all in. “But then why should I worry about one if it got out? It wouldn’t have any interest in me. I can barely control what little I understand about my abilities as it is. I’m no threat.”

 
“It would be interested in this.” Taking Ean’s right arm, the imp peeled back his glove enough that some of the glowing tattoos on his skin became visible. “A human tied by this to the Abyss? A human that can summon creatures, and is becoming stronger every day? Ean, to a Nar’Grim you are probably the most interesting human alive. Let’s just hope that if there is one or two in this world, they have no idea you exist.”

Wonderful. Now, he not only had to worry about the Seekers finding and killing him, he had to worry about becoming the plaything of one of the most powerful creatures in the Abyss. Enough was enough. Zin had to know way more about the tattoos. It was time Ean found out.

Lashing out, Ean grabbed the imp by the arm. Usually that feat was near impossible, but with the imp still holding onto Ean’s arm, it was easy to grab him. Zin tried to bite down hard into his hand, but Ean’s glove lessened the impact to a slight pinch. The imp shook his head a few times, then sighed and gave up. Sitting with his shoulders slumped, he looked up at Ean with questioning eyes.

“I want some answers, Zin.” Ean was trying his best to sound intimidating, but the shock of actually catching Zin had caught him off guard. “I want to know everything you know about my tattoos, and don’t try to lie to me again.”

“I’ve told you everything a dozen times now! The tattoos help you channel the energy from the Abyss better and protect you from being changed by it. They will slowly grow and cover more of your body as your own power grows.” He tugged at his arm trying to get it free for a moment, then gave up again. “And I guess they let you feel when anything else that’s been touched by the Abyss is nearby. That’s all I know, so let me go already.”

“No, you’re still hiding something. Why would these Nar’Grim take that much interest in me? It has to be more than the few things you’ve told me about the tattoos.”

“Nope, that’s more than enough to get their interest.” The words poured out of his mouth while his eyes darted around. They mostly went between the still sleeping mound that was Bran and the door.
 

“They love collecting odd things,” he continued on. “One even specifically hunted me down, because I could speak an actual language. Kept me around for I don’t know how many years …”

“Hold on a second,” Ean cut in. “You mean to tell me that your kind can’t speak? Not even some strange imp language?”
 

Zin shut his mouth, his eyes darting around faster now. Had he finally gotten the imp to slip? He gave Zin’s arm a little shake.
 

“Start talking, Zin. Why can you speak and the rest of your kind not be able to?”

“It’s nothing -- I’m just a weird mutation.” The imp’s feet were squirming about. Ean was sure if he let go, Zin would be halfway across the room before he could blink. His speech increased in speed. “You saw what the energy from the Abyss does to creatures. I’m just a fluke.”

Ean was just about to call him out for lying when the door opened and Jaslen walked in with the bag of food. Dropping it on the floor, she turned and gave Ean and Zin a warm smile. Which apparently was Zin’s cue to let out a scream.

The imp began to whimper. Before Ean could open his mouth, Jaslen shoved him so hard, he almost fell off the bed. He caught himself but let go of the imp. Zin took advantage of the opportunity and jumped behind Jaslen and grabbed onto her skirts.

“What are you doing to Zin?” Jaslen scolded. “Look, you’ve scared him.”

“Now wait a minute. I was just …” The look she shot him made his jaw snap shut. She knelt down and patted Zin on the head.

“It’s alright. I won’t let that bully bother you anymore. You can just stay by me for a while until Ean learns to treat you better, ok?”
 

Zin nodded and flashed her a big, toothy smile.

This isn’t over, Ean mouthed at him before climbing to his feet. Walking over to where she had dropped the food bag, he reached down and opened it up. It contained dried meat, vegetables and fruit. It was enough food to get them through a quarter of the season if they were careful, and the journey to Lurthalan was only supposed to take five or six days.
 

He closed the bag up and left it by the door to retrieve later. It would be one of the few items they would take with them on the journey ahead. They were also going to keep their money handy, Bran’s sword and Jaslen’s bow, of course, and a few other miscellaneous supplies. Everything else would go into his Pocket in the Abyss.

“Are your things ready?” He tried to make his voice as normal as possible, but he was slightly annoyed at Jaslen. She had jumped to the imp’s defense without even attempting to find out if he had a reason to be grabbing the imp.

“I suppose so,” she said in a flat tone, “although, I can’t exactly ask him.” As if in response Bran let out a loud snore. A small smile appeared on Jaslen’s face for an instant, and she sighed. “We’re ready, I suppose.”
 

That small smile expanded into a grin. “Which means you get to show me again how you create that Pocket of yours.”

“Of course.”

Although Jaslen was quick to anger, she was just as quick to smile and offer forgiveness. That was one of the reasons he admired her so much. Ean took a seat next to the rest of their supplies piled in the center of the room. Jaslen and Zin joined him, with the imp keeping a safe distance away from Ean’s reach.
 

Ean wiped the floor with a gloved hand to clear it of any dirt or stones they might have tracked in. Content with the space he was going to use, Ean placed a finger on the ground and began to mentally run through all of the runes he would use.