Path of Transcendence 1: Ultimatum of the Nameless God (29 page)

Even though I am circulating ki through my body, mind and soul, I am not meditating. My attention is focused on Perzey's sleeping form, on the bed next to mine. To give his healing magic time to work, Garion has kept her sedated the entire time we have been here.

With the sun long set, Garion's little recovery ward is lit by candles. Their flickering light blurs the edges of the shadows in the room, but accentuates the gauntness in Perzey's features. Injuries and a lack of solid food have taken their tool on her. If it were not for the deep tan of her skin, she would look like a corpse.

“When are you going to stop doing that?” Standing in the doorway, Garion sighs.

I shrug. “I don't feel any pain.”

“Your body needs time to heal just like your woman's. If you keep playing with ki that way, you still might kill yourself. Why don't you try practicing with mana or psi instead?”

I raise my eyes to Garion. “What do you mean?”

Garion looks puzzled for a second. “Don't you know that you are a Trinary?”

I stare blankly at Garion, as I process his words. The Trinity consists of the body, the mind, and the soul. The Powers of the Trinity are mana, psi, and ki. A Unary can use one aspect. A Binary can use two aspects. A Trinary can use all three aspects of the Trinity.

“I can see you are not one of the Possessed, but you are from the same place as the minds and sometimes souls that are Possessing people, are you not?”

I nod. “You're right, but what do you  mean by 'minds and sometimes souls?'”

Garion's eyes seem to focus inward for a moment. “Right now, this woman has the mind and soul of a Possessed, and except for fragments, the original mind and soul are gone. That is new and abnormal for a Possessed. In the past, every Possessed had a part of its original mind and either its partial or entire soul, while the Possessor's mind was sitting on top of it. That was a completely abnormal arrangement, and while I could see it, I never understood how it was achieved. Sometimes the soul would be in the same condition as the mind, with the Possessor consisting of both mind and soul, but that was very rare.”

Garion pauses staring at me. “I have see thousands of Possessed, and there was one exception. I once saw a Half-Dvergar in the crowd. He had a mind and soul that did not match his body, but they still fit it like a hand in a gauntlet. They had the signs of a Possessed's mind and soul but were not riding the original mind and soul. Like this woman, the originals did not exist, except as fragments, but in his case the fragments had been neatly severed and tied back onto themselves. It was the most abnormal thing I have ever seen done to two people. It has been nearly fifty years, but I have never forgotten that single glimpse. Until I met you, I was never quite certain he was one of the Possessed.”

“Ha. Yeah, that would have been me, but how do you know that? I met my fair share of priests, and none of them had a fucking clue about what we really were. How do you know so much about our minds and souls?”

Garion smiles, a self-mocking expression. “I may be a failure as a Medium, but I have the Gift of Sight. I can easily read your patterns, anyone's patterns, anything's patterns. Patterns are an open book to me.

“You are so gifted in all aspects of the Trinity, it is disgusting. Anyone I have ever seen, who has been called a prodigy or a genius, looks mundane in their abilities, when compared with your potential. As near as I can tell, as ki adept, you have only tapped a little more than a tenth of your potential. Once your body heals again, you will be on par with almost any Master Adept you are likely to meet.”

I snort. “How the fuck are you a failure? Your healing is better than anyone I have ever met, with one possible exception.”

His self-mocking smile returns. “That is all I am. No matter how strong my healing, it is all that I can do with the Power the Forest Lady gives me. I can never become a real priest.”

Mediums channel Power from their gods. Maybe other Powers too, but I have never had that confirmed or refuted. I am not really too clear on the specifics and know nothing about the mechanics, but I do know that all real priests are Mediums. The Paladin's of most religions are as well. Other than that, I do not know anything about Mediums.

“I see.”

From my ring, I take out the black sword.

Garion stares at it for a long time. “It is broken. The patterns are too fragmented to ascertain what they once were, but from the complexity, it was once a powerful weapon. The metal it is forged from is not mortal. The pattern is so abnormal that it cannot really be called a pattern. I have seen an item from beyond this mortal realm. I was told it was Elemental. That metal is probably Elemental in nature.”

I frown. “Thanks. I can feel some kind of Power but wasn't sure what, since I couldn't feel anything like soul link points.”

“If you were to find a smith who could reforge it, that metal would probably make an excellent base for an Item of Power.”

I put the sword away. I am not sure, when I might have the opportunity to get it reforged, but I will hang onto it. I heard tales of Elemental weapons, both when I played Taereun and after the Great Fuck Over, but I have yet to encounter one. I never met anyone who knew what they really were, either.

Garion smiles wryly. “I have even less talent in the Trinity than most mundanes, but I know a great deal about how to train it. Would you like me to teach you some basic exercises to start building your control over your mana and psi?”

“Sure …”

Fwoosh! BOOM!

“What the fuck?” The sound is one I have heard hundreds of thousands of times, a fireball or meteor type spell, a fairly powerful one at that.

Fwoosh! BOOM! Fwoosh! BOOM! Fwoosh! BOOM! Fwoosh! BOOM!

Garion's face turns ashen. “Who would attack Bogwater, with such powerful casters?”

“BRING ME THE HUMAN CALLED BRAND! IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, WE WILL RAZE YOUR PITIFUL HOVELS TO THE GROUND!” Even being distorted a bit from the amplification magic, the voice is clearly the DokkAlfar leader.

The sounds of running feet and screaming are audible, getting closer and louder.

“DokkAlfar.” I begin to equip and arm myself.

Garion puts a hand on my shoulder. “You cannot fight them. You will die.”

My laugh is sepulchral. “I've been murdered once, and I'm still here. Besides, that DokkAlfar fuck owes me, and I'm going to collect.”

“One hundred heartbeats. Do not use more than a third of your ki for more than one hundred heartbeats. Your body can survive that long.”

I cannot keep the smirk off my face. “I thought you said just circulating ki would kill me.”

Garion's frown is self-righteousness incarnate. “You are someone who does not know how to hold back. I can see it in your pattern. You have developed through pushing yourself until you break, over and over.”

I put equipment and weapons in a simple silver bracelet and hold it out to Garion.

“If I die, give this to Perzey.”

Garion takes the bracelet. “You said you were murdered once and are still here.”

I shrug. “Shit happens.”

Outside the street is filled with people running away from the delta side of town. To the east, the skyline is filled with smoke. To the north and south, raging fires are consuming the buildings near the docks, with only the middle of the town relatively untouched.

The roofs of the nearby buildings are only about twenty-five to thirty feet high. It should be an easy enough jump. Taking hold of a stronger flow of ki, I focus it into my legs and jump. When aiming to grab the edge of the roof, I clear the roofline by a good ten feet or more. Interesting, I do not think I used that much ki. So, are the muscles of legs that much stronger?

From the peak of the roof, I have a much better view. Occasional fireballs seem to all be coming outward from the River Square. It is more or less in the middle of the docks, and the Rivermen's Guild, Stevedores' Guild, and Boatbuilders' Guild all have the headquarters there.

Using the rooftops for my road, I quickly travel to a point near the docks, one that gives a good line of sight into the River Square. Staying below the peak of the roof I am on, to not be outlined against the fires to the north, I observe the activity in the square.

Only five DokkAlfar soldiers are visible, four of them flanking one, who has to be the Captain who attacked us. At least nine more should be somewhere in the vicinity, but I cannot see them. There are also just two of the archers visible, but four DokkAlfar dressed in leather robes are with them. Those have to be the casters.

In front of the DokkAlfar Captain, a man wearing silver-washed chainmail is kneeling, with his head pressed to the cobblestones. His tabard marks him as a watch commander. It is not surprising that he is submitting to the DokkAlfar, only an idiot or a lunatic would oppose them. Behind him are another seventeen watchmen, all kneeling to the DokkAlfar

It is time to start the party. I take out Stone Feather Death, and nocking an arrow, take aim at one of the archers. There is no guarantee that I can kill the casters in a single shot, they could have a variety of mana based shields up.

As the bowstring slips from my fingers, the arrows leaps toward the archer's head. The shifting light from the blazing buildings and billowing smoke, make it nearly impossible for the archer to spot the arrow in flight. Punching completely through the archer's head, the arrow leaves a trail of blood, bone fragments, and brain matter in its wake. A shifting pattern like blue-white lighting and a shimmer give testament to the shield around the caster, when the arrow shatters against it.

One dead and an unknown number to go. Crouching low against the roof, I move out of the line of sight of the DokkAlfar in the square.

“No! Please, no! AAAARRRRGGGHH!” The screams come from the direction of the square, and more screams follow.

A mocking smile twists my lips, I cannot keep it within. The DokkAlfar are pissed. Their leader thought they would have an easy time capturing me, if they terrorized the town, but now one of his minions has died.

“HUMANS, IF YOU DO NOT TURN THE RENEGADE BRAND OVER, I WILL RAZE YOUR ENTIRE TOWN!”

Two massive fireballs streak upwards from the River Square, before arcing lazily down, to land in the far south of the town. That is the section where many of the rich merchants have built their mansions.

Things are getting better and better. No matter how long I live, I will never shed a single tear for the losses of any merchant or politician.

“YOU MISSED ME, DOKKALFAR PIGS! HAHAHAHAHA!” Enhanced by my ki, my shout and laughter ring out loudly over Bogwater.

“Who is that?”

“Is he that Brand?”

“If we give him to the DokkAlfar, they'll go away!”

“Where is he?”

“Get him!”

The voices drift up from the people on the streets. They are trying to flee form the DokkAlfar, and they actually think they can take me? Even the ones yelling to get me, do not know where I am. It is almost enough to make me laugh.

As my circle takes me close to some fires again, the streets empty out. Anyone left is cowering inside their home or workplace, with the candles and lamps extinguished. I drop down in a deserted alley and make my way to the docks.

Climbing on top of a stack of barrels, I have a relatively clear view of the square again. The four casters are standing in a square, with the rest of the DokkAlfar encircling them. A faint shimmer, apparently in the form of a dome, is barely visible, covering them all.

Fear me, you DokkAlfar fucks. I am going to kill every one of you.

Laying out four arrows on a barrel next to me, I nock a fifth to my bowstring. I am over a hundred yards from the square, but that is not far with my arrows' speed of flight. Taking a full breath, I begin to fire.

Fwoosh! Crack! Fwoosh! Crack! Fwoosh! Crack! Fwoosh! Crack! Fwoosh! Crack!

The dome is clearly visible now, with dozens of fracture lines spreading through the energy from the impact point of my arrows. All five of my arrows struck within a circle only an inch or two in diameter, and the successive impacts have the protective spell on the verge of shattering.

“Where is he?” The fierce anger is clear in the DokkAlfar Captain's voice.

“Somewhere along the docks, Priest-Captain, but I cannot see him.” One of the casters is pointing in my general direction.

Priest-Captain? Is the DokkAlfar leader a Medium? If that DokkAlfar can call on Yggr and actually be granted Power, it could be a problem. I need to find and kill the missing DokkAlfar. An ambush, while fighting the Priest-Captain's group, would finish me.

The Priest-Captain spins, his helmet focused on the caster, who stares back calmly.

“Do not use that title here! Even if it is unlikely, there may be an animal or two that understands DokkAlfar speech.”

Slipping down behind the barrels, I belly crawl into an alley between two warehouses. Rising to my feet, I silently jog toward the west. The wind is coming off the lake to the south, and the fires are being pushed to the north. The smoke from the fires is rushing ahead, making breathing uncomfortable.

Did I hear a sound? I pause, listening for it to come again. Despite the background roaring from the fires, I thought I heard the distinct ring of metal on stone. Closing out the sensory input of all my senses but my hearing, I focus on the sounds, searching, separating, sorting. There, I have it! Above me, a faint scraping of metal on stone is barely audible.