Crown of Steel (Chaos Awakens) (11 page)

"No, I mean ... what?” Haley was confused.

Kassa sighed in exasperation. “I shared her bed as a man would with a woman. We made love.”

Haley's jaw had dropped and it was her turn to blush. She'd never even heard of such a thing. “But how does ... what do you ... I don't ...”

Kassa shook her head. “That's not important, and there is nothing wrong with her having the desires that she does. The part of this that upsets me, the reason I don't want to talk about it, is because I did not want to be with her like that. I did it out of necessity, and it makes me feel ashamed. So you see, there is nothing you can do to repay me. I just don't want to discuss it any further, alright?”

Haley nodded her head once, all pride she'd had on pushing the topic suddenly gone. Sometimes she fooled herself into believing that she was worldly and adult, but something like that was so far beyond her understanding that she suddenly felt very young and confused. Haley was willing to let the subject drop as they resumed their normal walking pace, but she realized that even though Kassa wanted nothing in return other than to put it all behind them she really owed the older woman a large personal debt. Kassa had paid for Haley's healing with her body and her shame, and those were costs that far outweighed any amount of gold. Even though Haley didn't understand it all, she knew about the agony of living in the shadow of a deep shame.

"Where do you think Xandrith is going?” She asked Kassa, attempting to push away the discomfort of their previous conversation.

Kassa didn't answer immediately, and when she did so it was with some hesitance. “I think he's headed for Yillan Reach.”

A chill passed down Haley's spine. She'd never been to the Reach herself, but she knew of the place from Xandrith's retelling of the events that had taken place there. Yillan Reach had been a prosperous city until the mages’ dabbling with powers beyond their understanding had backfired and drawn an old enemy of theirs back from the void to which that enemy had been cast. Haley had seen one of the Drayid monsters. It had come for Xan in the night, a horrible blending of metal and decaying flesh. The thing had almost killed Xan, but luckily Haley had been able to catch it unaware. Yillan Reach was also the place where Kassa had been killed. It was a city of nightmares.

"I don't think he'd go back there.” Haley offered. “Why would he want to after all that’s happened?”

"I think he's after the Great Vault, the object that created the mechanna monsters that ... that killed me.” Kassa was obviously ill at ease discussing that particular topic.

The Great Vault had been mentioned in passing on several occasions by Shawl in regards to Xandrith's possible final goal, but Haley wasn't entirely certain what exactly the vault was or what was inside of it. Xan had once explained to her that the mages had trapped their enemies inside of the vault, and it had driven those people mad and made them turn into creatures like the monster that Haley had saved Xan from. She'd also heard Xan's history with the mage Tibsenth and how the old mage had believed that there was an evil god trapped inside the vault. None of that, though, gave any indication as to why Xan would be seeking the Great Vault. It seemed to Haley that it was an object of evil and something to be avoided.

"What does he want with it?” Haley finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Johndin believed that the Great Vault was actually a prison, and that there might have been something trapped inside of it that could help us. I know he tried to convince Xan to look into it before he left, and it's possible that he's doing exactly that now.”

The younger woman frowned, skeptical. “Xandrith said there was an evil god inside the vault. It wanted the world to fall into chaos or something.”

Kassa nodded once. “When he first arrived at Shawl's cabin that is exactly what he believed. Johndin seemed to believe differently. He believed when the two gods fought it wasn't the one who desired chaos that was locked away. Instead he thought that the one who wanted chaos had proven stronger and trapped the other inside of the prison of his own making. The fight between them exhausted the chaos god, though, and he ended up sinking into the earth to rest while the magical energies of the world rebuilt. Johndin believed that the god of chaos was stirring and getting ready to make his move on our world's magic, and that the only solution was to free the other god who'd been trapped inside the Great Vault for all these years. He hoped that the trapped god would fight his counterpart and preserve our world.”

Haley still wasn't certain. That seemed like a dangerous course of action. What if the old mage was wrong? Shawl was a clever man, and he knew an awful lot, but the risk if he was wrong was phenomenal.

Kassa wasn't quite done with her story yet. “To make matters worse, there is a chance that the god of creation, the one who might be trapped in the Great Vault, could be completely insane. The prison was corrupted when the god of chaos closed it improperly, and then later it was further corrupted when the mages used it to destroy the Drayid. Shawl believed it was quite possible that even if the god of creation was still alive inside the prison, it may have gone mad like the Drayid have.”

Haley just shook her head. “Xan definitely shouldn't open that thing. What will happen to the Drayid if they get out? And what if the thing inside simply destroys him before decimating the world? Opening that vault is a terrible idea.” She said firmly, deciding beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would have to stop Xandrith if that was what he intended.

Kassa shrugged her shoulders, looking tired. “I don't think Shawl is wrong, though. I think the Trolls are rising up, and I think they're bringing something terrible for the world with them. If the god of chaos has been sleeping down there, biding its time all these centuries, we could be on the cusp of the end of the world. Xan might be doing the only thing that offers us even the slightest glimmer of hope.”

The box mustn't be opened at any cost.
A corner of Haley's mind stated with a demanding urgency, and she was again stricken by the notion that the thought, while mirroring her own, still felt alien. She looked uneasily down at the axe on her hip. Xan had warned her that there would come a time when the blade would awaken, but she'd almost allowed herself to believe that it wasn't going to happen to her. She pushed that notion from her mind for the time being, though she'd have to be more careful going forward. If the axe was starting to have its own say in things Haley needed to be able to differentiate her own thoughts from those implanted by the axe.

"No matter what Xan is doing," she said after a moment of collecting her thoughts, “we still need to find him. He shouldn't be out there alone. Xandrith isn't as indestructible as he believes himself to be.”

Kassa looked to Haley. She seemed a little troubled, but finally she replied. “We haven't talked about this yet, but I know we both have to be thinking about it. What if we find Xan and he's not really the Xan we knew anymore?”

The younger woman looked away, unwilling to meet the older, wiser eyes of her companion. “That's not going to happen.” She said stubbornly.

"We can't afford to think like that, Haley. Both of our lives may depend on us being ready for the worst. What if we find Xandrith and the last of his humanity is gone from him? Remember what he was like before he left. Shawl said that his troll side had awoken, and we need to be ready in case we come upon him and find that he isn't human anymore, at least not in the ways that matter.”

"Xan wouldn't let that happen.” It wasn't a good reply, or even a logical one, but it was the only thing Haley could think of to say.

Kassa just sighed heavily. “You're almost as stubborn as he was.”

"As he is.” Haley added fiercely.

Kassa couldn't help but let the barest of smiles touch the corner of her lips at her younger companion's stubborn dedication to her point. “As he is.” Kassa said with a nod. The conversation ceased as they picked up their pace.

They walked for four long days before they reached a hilltop that overlooked the makeshift tradesmen's camp. It wasn't exactly what Haley had been expecting. She'd pictured it as a large collection of carts and craftsman interspersed with tents, almost like a giant market square with all kinds of different traders selling their goods to one another. The reality wasn't a fraction of that. There were maybe a dozen carts rolled up around a wooden long house. The perimeter was surrounded by heavily armed guards, mercenaries by the looks of their equipment. They were all wearing various types of masks that covered at least the bottom halves of their faces. It wasn't difficult to tell that they all looked ill at ease. Other than the guardsmen there was no sign of anyone moving about outside of the long house. There was a large bonfire being managed by more of the mercenaries. The smell coming off the fire made every hair on Haley's body stand on end. She knew that particular stink only too well. Human flesh lent a distinct quality to the air as it smoldered. 

"I don't like this place." She said quietly to Kassa as they looked down upon the trader's camp.

The other woman nodded. "We'll get our information and be gone as soon as we can." Kassa answered. The expression on her wolf-masked face was one of clear disquiet. With that she started her way down the hillside, trudging through the icy grass and the thin layer of snow above it. The weather was getting warmer as they moved further south from the mountains, but it was still frigid.

Haley pulled her cloak tightly around herself and grabbed her axe beneath it. The cool and comfortable hilt of the weapon sent a surge of calm confidence through her as they drew closer to the camp. The smell of burning human flesh grew thicker in the air and she had to force herself not to gag on it as the stench became almost overpowering. As they drew within range of the outskirts of the camp, two of the mercenaries broke off from their positions and began moving to intercept them. Haley felt a sudden urge to strike them both down as quickly as possible, but she knew that was irrational. These people weren't her enemies yet, but they would be if she attacked them. The temptation was strong, though. 

The first man to approach them was an average looking mercenary. He wasn't tall or short, but he was well muscled and dressed in a flexible set of medium leather armor, the type that allowed for quick movement at the expense of not being able to turn away the blows of the heaviest weapons. He wore a sword at each of his hips, but he carried a large two handed axe as he approached Kassa and Haley. His eyes were cold and impassive. What could be seen of his face was drawn tight with tension.

"Are you expected?" He asked, though the tone of the question implied that he thought this was doubtful. The second guard approached just as he began speaking. This man was taller than the first and wearing a heavier set of armor. He had only one weapon, a broadsword, but it was drawn and resting easily on his shoulder. His mask was painted red and black like the face of some kind of demon and it covered his entire countenance. He didn't speak.

"No, but we're not interested in staying long. We're looking for information." Kassa answered smoothly.

"You won't find any information here. In fact, if you're not a member of the tradesmen's guild, you won't find anything here. I recommend you move along if you don't want any trouble." The guard said, flicking his head towards the trail leading away from the camp and back out into the wilderness.

"That's a cold welcome for someone just looking to ask a few questions." Kassa's voice had taken on a surprising edge of malice.

"These are cold times. We've had trouble with strangers recently, and so they're not welcome anymore. That includes yourselves." He gestured down the path away again before adding. "I've no desire to cut down a woman and a boy, but I will if I have to." Haley frowned at being called a boy, but she didn't reply. Wrapped in her cloak, with her hair cut short, and wearing the mask, there was really no indication that she was female. Even if she hadn't been wrapped in the cloak her body wasn't particularly curvy. Still, it made her angry.

"Fair enough. I have no desire to gut a few mercenaries over a couple bits of information, so I guess we're at a standoff." Kassa replied with a half-grin coming through the wolf mask that echoed the kind Xan would have worn in the same situation. It was a dangerous expression. Xan had killed people with that expression still plastered on his face.

The larger mercenary barked a bit of laughter. "I like her." He chortled. "Doesn't matter, though. We can't let you in. We've had plague walkers," he gestured towards the bonfire. "And before them we had some mages come in and cause problems. Only guild members are allowed in now, and then only if they have trade to be done."

"We're hunting a mage. A fugitive." Kassa jumped on this thread quickly, seeing an opportunity to get the information they needed. "He may have been one of those who caused you trouble. He'd have come through here a few weeks ago, by himself probably. He had strange tattoos over most of his body, was above average height, and probably wore a knife on each hip."

The two mercenaries looked at each other. It was clear they had seen Xandrith, but they weren't convinced they should be sharing any information.

"Any information you can offer us would be invaluable." Kassa pressed.

The smaller mercenary shook his head. "We can't go off telling you anything. If the guild heard we were blabbing they'd hire someone else to do our job, and this is a good paying position. I'm not risking losing coin just to spread some rumors around to anyone that cares to ask."

The bigger man shrugged as if helpless. "You should move along before the others get interested and come over. You're going to attract some unwanted notice if you're here much longer."

Haley could see their opportunity to gather information slipping away from them. A moment of inspiration struck her as she remembered some old advice she'd been given by Xan. She reached up and pulled off her mask which drew the attention of both of the guards. The shorter man looked her straight in the eyes before his gaze traced the horrible scars down one side of her face. Then he wouldn't look at her anymore. The taller man's eyes also followed the scars, but they settled on her eyes.