The Hekamon (4 page)

Alyssa looked at the imposing mountain, and then to the
eastern horizon, "What about at dawn and dusk? The sun is a
little to the north then, in the summer anyway."

"Yes," he laughed, "the glade will get
some sun then, and if we don't get a move on we might get an idea of
how it will look."

"Yes, it's getting cold, let's get back."

His sister was right, the breeze was picking up and it
had an edge to it. He looked up at the movement of the clouds that
dotted the night sky, to determine the direction of the wind.

"The wind's coming from the north."

"That would explain it," Alyssa said, giving a
shiver.

The northerly winds might be bringing the chill air but
also meant the weather could be predicted for a few hours ahead.
Kormak could see there were a few clouds, but not rain bearing, and
there was no rain on the horizon.

Scanning the whole sky, his gaze
moved to the limit of his view south, and the ridge line of the
mountains, before continuing along and settling on the highest peak,
rising up two thousand feet or more above him.

As he stood, looking at the imposing rock face,
something grabbed his attention. Directly above him and about
two-thirds of the way up the mountainside, he saw a light. It glowed
and flickered for a few seconds before disappearing.

Kormak waited, not blinking and not breathing but seeing
nothing more. He was sure he hadn't imagined it.

"Are we leaving?" Alyssa asked, her voice a
little distant since she had already set off.

"Yes," he said, breathing again but keeping
his eye on the mountain.

In this darkness and at that distance, it would be
impossible to make out anything other than the light of a torch. Had
he seen torchlight? What else could it have been? If so, it must have been Coralainians, since only they use the caverns and
tunnels that were rumored to run through the mountains.

"Is everything okay?" Alyssa asked, more with
impatience than worry. "I'd like to get home now."

Kormak stared at the mountainside for a few more
seconds, before turning to his sister, "Everything's fine, let's
go," he said, picking up the bag, putting it over one
shoulder and giving a cursory look up at the mountain once more.
Nothing to concern us anyway, he thought to himself, before catching
up with Alyssa, where the two of them followed the path of the
stream, down through the glade and back into the forest.

Taking the lantern hanging from a hook on the ceiling,
Tansley left the woodshed and closed the door. It should only be an
escape route, he told himself, as he moved to the counter and brought
the rabbit skin pouch up from the shelf underneath. He had started to
use the tunnel as a way of trading with Fennreans. Their illicit
herbs not something he should be dealing in but they were proving
lucrative.

It had come at the cost of having to reveal the
whereabouts of the tunnel to Kormak, and now his sister, too. He had been
wary of doing so, with the reputation of the swamp dwellers
being what it was. Yet in his experience, they didn't seem as bad as
they were made out to be. Tall, strong and fresh faced, must be all
that outdoor living. They spoke funny though, and the swamp left its
mark on them, on Kormak especially. If his face tattoo was intended to
evoke menace, it worked. It was the sign he was a ferguth, an
enforcer of the marshes.

Placing the lantern on the counter Tansley opened the
pouch and checked the clay vials once again, their pungent odors
filling the room. He'd accidentally revealed to Kormak
that the empessence herb was worth more than the rest. That might
have been a mistake. Or perhaps it was for the best, they should
focus on the herbs that made the most business sense. Truth be told, a
few of them he would just throw away, so as to be rid of the stench.

Having finished sorting the vials, his attention was
drawn to the silver necklace that lay enticingly among them. Lifting
and inspecting it by the light of the lantern, he could see his first
appraisal had been correct. The fine silver chain was of the highest
quality and the attached pendant had been crafted by an artisan. A
mixture of intricate engravings and etchings resulted in a variety of
patterns that seemed to change and transform depending on how the
light struck it it. Tansley held it close to the lantern to study it
in detail.

The main pattern on the pendant was of a series of
spirals, a triple whorl motif. He had seen something like it
before, he was sure of it, and in the context of the other runes and
symbols, it was undoubtedly a piece of Fennrean jewelry. He would
have identified it as such, how ever it had reached him, but
seeing it taken from the neck of the tall Fennrean girl left him in
no doubt.

He continued turning the pendant over in his hand,
marveling at the exquisite engravings, before moving his attention to
the chain. He could see that Kormak had been skilled enough to remove
the necklace without his sister noticing, but not so skilled to do so
without breaking it. That was a pity, it was a beautiful piece
otherwise.

He chuckled to himself, Kormak must have really wanted
the gauntlets, this necklace looked to be far more valuable. Holding it up
by the chain, Tansley let the pendant spin. Admiring its shimmering,
ethereal glow in the candle light, before closing his hand around it
tightly. He would make preparations to sell it.

His dealings with Kormak had been intermittent and the
journey for the ferguth was a risky one. The young man was outside
his territory and there was no guarantee he would be back. Anyway, in
the time it would take him to get enough herbs together to buy back
the necklace, his sister would likely have forgotten all about it,
giving it up as lost.

Since Kormak had only ever shown interest in his
military wares, he would offer him a few rusty swords in return for
any more herbs he was able to bring. The young Fennrean would have to
accept and could hardly cry foul, it was he who had stolen it.

Tansley realized, that if he was going to sell the
necklace, he would need to get it repaired first, and for that he
knew just the person. Someone very skilled in making and repairing
chains and inexpensive, too. And as luck would have it, he would be
seeing them tomorrow on an errand he needed to run.

Searching around his shop, he started busily preparing
for the following day's journey. It was well past midnight and he
didn't want to be rushing around in the morning. Finding a hessian
sack he started to place some of his damaged stock in it. Leather
bracers, boots, some studded pauldrons and helms. Practically
worthless in their current condition but an armorer at the Serfacre
workshops would get them back into an acceptable state for display
and sale.

With the bag filled and tied, he leaned it against the
wall behind his counter. After making sure his hut was locked, he
climbed the stairs for bed, and as he did, his mind turned to the
Fennrean girl.

Of all the fabrics to choose from, it was interesting that she picked out the rag that she did. He'd found it
discarded in the stream that ran behind his hut a few weeks earlier.
It was quite possibly the most worthless item in his store. Tansley
shook his head in amazement at the girl's poor taste, while making plans for what to do with her necklace.

Tomorrow, he would give the damaged stock to the master
armorer, while the broken necklace, he would give to the man's young
and skillful apprentice to repair.

Climbing into bed, Tansley blew out the lantern. He
needed to get some sleep, he had a busy day ahead of him.

His patience was wearing thin, "In your own time,
Aegis," Decarius said, trying to contain his anger. They had not
got far in the last hour.

"This is a bigger drop. I can't do it."

"It's ten feet at the most. Hang down, let go and
you'll fall less than three feet."

After some cajoling, Aegis finally made it down and
tucked his hands under his arms for warmth, "My hands are
freezing and the rocks are icy. Can we rest?"

"We can rest when we reach the glades below, let's
try the next step, I'll help you," he said, guiding the boy to
the edge and starting to ease him down.

The irony of his needing to help and protect the son of
the saceress wasn't lost on Decarius. At any other time, news that
Aegis had fallen off the mountain and been broken and bloodied on the
rocks below, would have given him no greater pleasure. This was the only
time that such an event would cause him dismay.

Not only
would it derail their plans, it might even result in his own death.
As undeserving Aegis was of the privilege, he was a person of
importance. Tribunals would be convened, testimony required,
retribution demanded. Decarius knew he could lay the blame on
Gregario if need be, but that would mean losing a useful acolyte,
something he'd rather avoid doing.

"The ledge we are trying to drop down to is too
narrow," Aegis complained, "Can we find a different one?"

"Gregario, help him down," he said, unable to
disguise the contempt in his voice.

Gregario stepped over to have a quiet word in his ear.
The gusting breeze meant the man had to raise his voice above that of
a whisper to make himself heard, "Keep your anger in check
Decarius, one more day and it will be over."

"I can't put up with him for another hour, let
alone another day. You deal with him," he seethed, before
dropping down to the ledge below, to show that it was indeed wide
enough.

It had not occurred to him that he would have to almost
carry Aegis along with him, the feebleness of the boy irritated him
immensely. To think Aegis was being lined up for the position of
kentarch. The leading officer of the militia. As such, the boy would
be leading men who had seen combat, fighting men, warriors, heroes.
Men like himself.

"Move," he shouted up, and watched as Gregario
encouraged the laggard.

While he waited for them, Decarius found his mind
wandering. He recalled the moment Volusia had told him she
was making him acting-kentarch, and how Aegis would take the command
from him when he came of age at twenty one. This was an honor, she'd told him, to hold the post until her son could take over. An
honor? To be no more than an interim leader and then replaced by
an imbecile. It was an insult. The only consolation being, that
Volusia's decision to prepare Aegis for promotion to such an
important position, had strengthened the feeling against her.

"This is a lot of effort for a bag of old gloves."
Aegis said, struggling to climb down before making it to the ledge
below.

What did he say?

"They are the Plautius relic, don't speak of them
in such a fashion," Gregario shouted down from the column above,
giving Decarius a worried look. On seeing his expression, Gregario
called to him, and started hurrying down, "Decarius, stay calm."

"Old gloves?" Decarius shouted, grabbing
Aegis. "The Plautius Gauntlets are the Eagle Standard of
Coralai, when it falls into enemy hands it brings shame on us."
He was incredulous, the boy spoke of them as though he would soonest give them
up.

"I know that, it just seems a lot of effort, that's
all."

"A lot of effort? One night through the Eyrie?"
Suddenly he was manhandling Aegis towards the precipice, and was in
his face, screaming at him, "Men have spent years and given
their lives defending this position." He was lifting the boy off
his feet, holding him over the edge. Did he have no honor? This
coward was going to be the leader of their militia? A boot to the
face and be over with it.

"Decarius, stop," Gregario was shouting,
dropping down onto the ledge.

Decarius'
mind raced with the possibilities.
Why
can't I just throw Aegis off the mountain?
Gregario would nobley take the blame, suffer the punishment and be
lauded for his sacrifice by all right minded people. A selfless act
for the good of Coralai.

Volusia could be dealt with in other ways, with new plans formulated.

"Decarius man, calm down." Gregario pleaded,
trying to pull him back from the brink.

The swirling, strengthening wind joined the fray, and
Decarius thought it to be on his side, howling and grabbing at Aegis'
cloak. Feeling it too, the boy started screaming in terror, yet it
felt like the gale was dragging them all off.

"Decarius this is wrong, you must stop, no good can
come from it." Gregario shouted, holding on to Aegis, wrestling
for control, pulling him back towards safety. "The mission is
paramount, we must not fail," Gregario said, his voice
threatening to be carried away by the wind, but the man's words had
proven forceful enough.

He
had been set a task,
he
must fulfill his mission
.
Decarius relented and started to bring Aegis back to solid ground.
Once the boy had found his feet, the three of them moved closer to
the shelter of the cliff face. The boy huddled into a corner of the
cliff and Gregario placed himself between them, breathing hard,
staring at him and mouthing something. Decarius couldn't make out
what, but he didn't need to, the look said everything, and Gregario
was right. One more day, that was all.

It was being at the Eyrie again. It had brought it all
back to him. The horrors of warfare and the disregard for human life. It was
contagious. He had to maintain control, he knew that, and looking at
his terrified young companion, realized he couldn't afford to break
what little spirit the boy had, or they would never get down. If
anything he would need to toughen him up, put some backbone in him.

He moved closer and turned the boy's face to him.

"Much was sacrificed for Coralai. Many lives were
lost and the Eagle Standard is the symbol of all that we fought for.
If you are to be its bearer, don't disrespect it," he said. His
tone was forceful but he had managed to suppressed his rage. His
word's seemed to have the desired effect.