Escana (3 page)

Jakob stared down at the dirt on
his clothes, then back at the man. 'I was running from my father,' he
said, feeling more confident about the response this time.

'Ah yes, I heard about him. The
fierce new local Warden, must be a tough man to live with.'

Jakob
smirked,
he
remembered
that
much
at
least.
'He's
better
on
the
road,
I
don't
spend
a
lot
of
time
with
him
at
home.
We're
still
settling
in
and
I
have
other
places
to
go
to
stay
out
of
his
way.'
The
cave,
behind
the
waterfall.

The
man's infectious grin broadened. 'Incidentally, I am searching for
the Warden. Are we far out from Escana?'

Jakob
pointed west now that he'd got his bearings back. 'It's about four
miles in that direction, just keep following the path and it'll join
onto a larger one. Follow that and you'll come across it.'

'Thank
you lad, I'll be on my way now. I'm sure you have other things to be
getting on with.' Without further comment the man hobbled off around
a bend in the road.

Jakob
felt a compulsion to visit the cave again. He vaguely recalled
discovering it. It had been whilst scouting the area as he was prone
to do and he happened to spot a log had been caught on the lip of the
waterfall. It tore a rent in the curtain concealing the cave for the
briefest of moments, then the water carried it over and it vanished
into the spray.

He
had dismissed it as nothing but the event kept needling him
afterwards, as if demanding his attention. He had climbed the rocks
adjacent but could think of no way to get underneath the waterfall
and into the cave.

It
had been brash and foolish of him, but it had worked. He had taken a
leap of faith and launched himself into the waterfall, it had nearly
drowned him.

Well,
that wasn't entirely true, the waterfall was not at fault here, it
had been the murky stagnant pool he had plummeted into that had
nearly done him in after cushioning his fall. When he had coughed up
enough water he had turned his eyes upward and discovered the cave.

He
shook his head, why was he thinking about the cave so much all of a
sudden?

He
looked down at his clothes, they were soaking wet, when had that
happened?

Staring
up he saw that he had already made it to the rock face leading to the
lip of the cave. Had his feet taken him there without even realising?
Was he reliving a memory or creating it?

He
didn't enjoy the ensuing climb, the slippery rock face didn't lend
itself to scaling and the places to put his hands were at a minimum.
He hauled himself over the edge into the cave and lay there, panting.
Unlike his previous daydreaming he remembered every agonising moment
of his climb, why was he so tired?

'Good.
Good,' came a voice.

Jakob
jerked his head up at the sound, peering into the gloom of the cave
and finding his feet.

'Your
mind is gradually coming to terms with the translocation. It may be
some time before you can recall every detail of your summoning.'

'Who
are you?' Jakob asked the darkness, a growing sense of unease forming
in his gut.

The
man tutted at him. 'You have already had the liberty of asking me
that question before, I give you the same response. Who I am is of no
importance, now listen carefully.'

There
was something in the way the man said those last words that drew
Jakob's utmost focus. He felt woefully ignorant of the man's
intentions.

'As
I said before your interruption, your head should be righting itself
now to a degree that I can speak more freely with you. You are not
from here, do you recall that much?'

Jakob
vaguely recalled the bridge, as if trying to spy the image from under
the murky water of the pool. Yes, there had been another life, it
seemed vague and fuzzy and inconsequential. He nodded cautiously.

'Good.
Good,' the man repeated. 'You have done well to remember that much.
Do not trouble yourself with further recollection, it will come back
to you in its own time.' He paced back and forth as if searching for
the best way to continue. 'Yes, you had a previous life, one of great
misery and suffering. As of now that is at an end. Over time you will
recall more of both what you were and who you have become, first it
is of the utmost importance that I tell you why you have been brought
here.'

Jakob
sensed a great yearning open up in him, he had been brought here for
a reason, he needed to know his purpose. His eyes were beginning to
grow accustomed to the darkness of the cave, the stranger appeared to
be sitting on a stony outcrop jutting from one of the walls.

'The
Empire has survived for a time beyond measure. Through wars and
usurpers and invasions and the changing of things. I am what you
would call a seer, I pluck the threads of both possible pasts and
futures and I know this much: those who now oppose the Empire almost
certainly have the power to destroy it. Furthermore, unless they are
sought out and dealt with their destruction of the Empire will cause
the world as we know it to descend into anarchy.'

Jakob
nodded, it was all too clear now. 'You have seen that it is I who
must put an end to the usurpers.'

The
man chuckled, 'How presumptuous, but yes, I believe this situation
would be similar to so many of your stories, indeed you might find
the parallels unnerving. You are the chosen one cursed with the
weight of prophecy, I am the wise and elderly teacher who bestows
your quest.'

He
should have been terrified by this prospect, he had read enough of
his own drafts to know that for every story of heroic triumph there
was one with horrific consequences. Why was he so eager to rush to
his death?

'I
know what you're thinking,' the man said with a smile creeping over
his tangled beard, as if answering the unspoken question. 'You can't
understand why you desire this beyond all other things.' He walked
forward into the dim light and poked a weathered finger into Jakob's
chest. 'You have been nothing all your life, constantly yearning for
a chance or opportunity to arise that never came. You have lived in a
world that has beaten you down innumerable times for the impertinent
hope that you hold close to your heart.' He waved his hand wildly
toward the light outside. 'This is your opportunity to be something.
You have been blessed with powers beyond your comprehension,
abilities that you never had in your past life. Now is the time to
act on that, now is the time I tell you why.'

Jakob
sat in silence, trying to take in everything the man had said. Powers
beyond his comprehension? Could he leap out of the cave and sprout
wings? What did he mean?

The
man chuckled, 'I wouldn't advise it, it would be a very short-lived
flight. You are here to serve a higher purpose than scaring birds.'
His face darkened, as if recalling an ugly memory. 'It is not within
my power to speak of their names, they are most powerful and
dangerous individuals who you must find yourself. Know this though,
their presence will be obvious to you and you will see them for who
they are. They are known simply as The Six. Six individuals with
enough power and influence to destroy an Empire that spans over three
oceans. They must be stopped and it must be you that accomplishes the
deed.'

A
surge of confidence ran through Jakob unbidden, he had been thrust
into a new life and given purpose, he intended to make the most of it
even if he must do it alone.

'You
will not be alone,' the man said, clearly reading his thoughts once
more. 'There will be others. You will not know them as you will The
Six, yet your threads will be weaved together in a way that you will
find impossible to ignore.'

Jakob
hauled himself to his feet, there was an undeniable truth in the
stranger's words, an assurance he couldn't quite place. He found the
honesty refreshing if a little forward, yet for reasons he couldn't
quite place he trusted it implicitly. 'What happens if I refuse to
accept? What if I don't think this is real? What if this is just
another dream?'

The
man nodded. 'Good questions, important ones to ask given your current
state. I offer you this in response: if this is another dream, there
is no harm in exploring it like every other. If this is real and you
refuse then you will simply be sent back to the institute. The choice
is yours.'

Had
he really expected any other answer? The man was right, even if the
option to go back was a possibility, why would he take it? What had
he to go back to?

'I
see you have made your mind up.' The man stood up now, eyeing him
kindly. 'Good. Good. I shall leave you in peace and finally pay a
visit to your Warden.'

Without
further comment or even a glance at Jakob, the man took a running
jump and flung himself out of the cave entrance.

Jakob
scrambled over to where the man had leapt, peering frantically
through the spray in the hopes of finding something, yet it was as if
he had never been there.

H
e hadn't
spent much time in the cave after that, pausing briefly to change out
of his soaked clothes and into a set he kept in the cave before
making his way through the woods and back toward the path.

He had searched the area
surrounding the waterfall thoroughly and there was no trace of the
man's departure. There was an odd sensation in his head, as if
something was trickling down the inside of his skull. He didn't want
to admit the possibility that the whole conversation may have been an
illusion, he had questioned his sanity enough in the past.

What was wrong with him? Even the
most simple of events that made up his past seemed slippery and out
of his reach. Every time he tried to recall there was a sharp stab of
pain as if he had upset some delicate process going on in his mind.

There was nothing he could do
about it now. He had a task at hand at it was best to stick to it for
now.

Focusing
instead on the path before him, Jakob set off in the direction of
Escana, the small hamlet where he had recently moved, hoping against
hope that his father wouldn't chase him out a second time.

There
was a wonderful sense of naivety about Escana, it lent itself
willingly to the stereotype of being a quiet, out of the way farming
community. The people here led simple lives untouched by poverty or
war, talk of which seemed far away and only important to those who
wished to seem educated and worldly-wise. Everyone knew everyone
else, even the traders and caravans that would pass through on their
way were largely familiar faces.

There
were few saints in Escana, the people here were much like people
everywhere. The only difference from city folk was they knew that in
an area with so few people that their crimes wouldn't go unpunished.
It had become all too apparent to the resident troublemakers that the
new Warden was not a man to be crossed.

Jakob
knew his father was a harsh man, one that could instil fear and
obedience in others, but he couldn't understand where his preceding
reputation had come from. His every inquiry into the topic had either
been hushed or outright ignored and there was no way he was going to
ask the Warden again. Not after the beating he had given him last
time.

Jakob
had always chalked it up to resentment on his father's part, his
mother had died in labour and that was something he'd never been
forgiven for. As much as he tried to shake the irrational sense of
guilt, the death of his own mother was forever on his hands and that
fact was reinforced with every disapproval his father could muster.

Why
was he thinking about this? What good would it do to replay the
various moments of his life over and over in his head?

A
large shadow loomed to his right, his feet had decided to take him on
a detour to the Chipped Flagon tavern.

His
father had been quite explicit in his request, though calling it a
request would have given the wrong impression of the man. When Thom
the Warden requested something, you didn't say no. This time he had
'requested' Jakob stop wandering around the forests like some
lonesome child and seek employment in the tavern. Apparently a job
had already been lined up for him and all he need do was make an
appearance.

Even
though Jakob had been a city-dweller he couldn't help but marvel at
the imposing size of the place. Four stories tall and with the girth
of several barns, the Chipped Flagon must have bewildered the locals
upon construction. He had seen bigger buildings of course, the
Daelovian cathedral sprung to mind in all its opulence. There was
something special about the relative isolation of this one that made
it loom even larger in his eyes.