Quest for Lost Heroes (18 page)

'All that gold,' said Beltzer, 'and I didn't get a single piece of it.'

'You have your life,' Finn told him.

Beltzer swung on him. 'And what is that worth?'

'Enough!' roared Chareos. 'We have a comrade on the other side. Now cease your arguing and let me think.'

Within a circle of boulders, within sight of the Gateway, Maggrig lit a fire and they all gathered around it. 'You want to go back, Blademaster?' asked Maggrig.

'I don't know, my friend. We were lucky to escape the first time. I should think they would place guards on the Gate - and that makes it doubly perilous.'

'I think we should go back,' said Beltzer. 'I'm willing to risk it.'

'For the boy or the gold?' asked Maggrig.

'For both, if you must know,' Beltzer snapped.

Chareos shook his head. 'No,' he said, 'that would be foolhardy. Kiail is alone there, but he is a resourceful lad. Finn marked the trees and if he still lives Kiall will follow the trail back to the Gate. We will wait for him here.'

'And what if you are right about guards, eh?' enquired Beltzer. 'How will he get past those?'

'My guess is that they will be watching the Gate to see who passes from this side. He may have an opportunity to run at it.'

'Aren't you forgetting something, Chareos?' asked Mag-grig. 'If he chooses the wrong time, there is no knowing where the Gate will take him.'

'As I said, he is resourceful. We wait.'

For some time they sat in silence. The wind picked up, gusting the snow around them; the fire spluttered and little heat seemed to emanate from it. 'We could freeze to death waiting here,' grumbled Beltzer. 'At least it is warmer on the other side.'

'It is colder than it ought to be,' remarked Finn suddenly. 'When we left the thaw had set in. The weather should not have turned so swiftly.'

'It has not necessarily been swift,' said Chareos, drawing his cloak more tightly about his frame. 'When I first looked beyond the Gate I seemed to be there, frozen, unable to move, for an hour at least. You said it was but a few heartbeats. Well, we were beyond the gate for a day - that could be a week here, or a month.'

'It better not have been a month, Blademaster,' said Maggrig softly. 'If it is, we are trapped in this valley for the winter. And there is not enough game.'

'Rubbish!' snorted Beltzer. 'We would just pass through the Gate and wait for a few of their days, returning in spring. Isn't that right, Chareos?'

The Blademaster nodded.

'Well, what are we waiting for?' asked Beltzer. 'Let's go back and find the lad.'

Finn bit back an angry response as Beltzer pushed himself to his feet. Just then a spark lifted from the fire and hung in the air, swelling slowly into a glowing ball. Beltzer's mouth dropped open and he took up his axe. Chareos and the others stared at the floating sphere -watching, astonished, as it grew to the size of a man's head. The colour faded until the globe was almost transparent and they could see the Gate reflected there, and the snow gusting around it. Finn gasped as two tiny figures showed inside the sphere, stepping through the miniature Gateway.

'It is Okas,' said Beltzer, peering at the ball. 'And the lad with him.' He spun round, but the real Gateway was empty. The scene inside the floating sphere shimmered and changed; now they could see Finn's cabin, and a warm fire glowing in the hearth. Okas was seated cross-legged before the blaze, his eyes closed. Kiall sat at the table.

The sphere vanished.

'He found the old boy,' said Beltzer. 'He found Okas.'

'Yes, and arrived back before us,' continued Finn.

The four men stood. Chareos doused the fire and they set off through the snow.

*

In the cabin Okas opened his eyes. 'They come,' he said.

'I had begun to give up hope,' replied Kiall. 'Twelve days is a long time to be trapped in that jungle.'

Okas chuckled. 'They left before we did. But I know how to use the Gate.' He stood and stretched. A small man, no more than five feet tall, he was round-shouldered and pot-bellied. He could have been any age from sixty to a hundred, and looked as if a stiff breeze could snap his bones. Yet he had walked through the snow clad only in a loin-cloth and had appeared to suffer no discomfort, neither through cold nor exhaustion. And he left barely a print on the snow, as if his weight was no more than that of a bird. He looked up at Kiall. 'So tell me all you know about the Great Khan.'

'Why are you interested? I don't understand,' said Kiall.

'I was here when he led his armies into Drenai lands,' Okas told him. 'And again when they marched against Bel-azar. Strong man, the Khan. Great man, perhaps. But he is dead, yes?'

'I don't know much about him. He conquered the Drenai and the Vagrians. He died some years ago; he is buried in the tomb of Ulric.'

'No, he is not,' said Okas. 'He is buried in an unmarked grave. But I know where it is. How did he die?'

'I do not know. His heart gave out, I would suppose. That is how most people die - even kings. Are you sure Chareos is coming?'

Okas nodded. He poured himself a goblet of water. 'I sent them a message. They come. Fat Beltzer is disappointed. He wanted to go back through to the jungle to find you - and to be rich. Fat Beltzer always wanted to be rich.'

'He is your friend?'

'All men are my friends,' said Okas. 'We are all of the Dream. But, yes, I like very much fat Beltzer.'

'Why? What is there to like?' Kiall asked.

'Ask me again in half a year. I will sleep now. I am older than I look.'

Kiall thought that barely credible, but he said nothing. Okas sat down before the fire, crossed his arms and slept upright. Kiall blew out the lantern and lay back on the bed by the wall.

The others were coming. The search for Ravenna was under way.

He slept without dreams.

*

It was a further two days before the exhausted travellers reached the sanctuary of the cabin. Beltzer was the first inside. He hoisted Okas into a bear-hug and spun him round until the little man laughed delightedly. 'How come you still live, fat man?' he asked. 'How come no one kill you yet?'

'They do keep trying,' replied Beltzer. He put the old man down and stared closely at his wrinkled skin and rheumy eyes. 'By the Source, you look all but dead yourself.'

'Soon,' said Okas, smiling. 'The Dream calls. But I will stay a little while with my old friends.' He turned to Chareos, who had shed his ice-covered cloak and was stripping his wet clothes from him and standing before the fire shivering. 'You and I, we speak,' Okas said. 'Back room good place.'

'This minute?'

'Yes,' answered Okas, moving through to the workshop. Chareos pulled a fresh tunic from his pack and dressed, then he walked to where Okas waited. The old man reached out and took his hand, holding it firmly for several seconds. 'Sit down,' he ordered, 'and tell me of quest.'

Chareos explained about the raid on the village, and Kiall's love for Ravenna. The others are coming along for different reasons. Beltzer is a lost soul, down from the mountain. Finn fears his death will leave Maggrig alone.'

'And you?'

'Me? I have nothing better to do with my life.'

'Is that true, Chareos? Do you not carry a dream?'

'Another man's dream. It was never my own.'

Okas clambered up on the edge of the work-bench, and sat down, his short legs dangling less than half-way to the floor. He looked closely at Chareos. 'Not your dream, you say. So, you also do not understand nature of this quest, nor where it take you. Tell me of Tenaka Khan, and gate-tower night.'

Chareos smiled. 'Do you know everything, Okas?'

'No, that is why I ask.'

'He climbed up to sit with us and we talked of many things: love, life, power, conquest, duty. He was a knowledgeable man. He had a dream, but he said the stars stood in his way.'

'What did he mean by it?'

'I don't know. He was no youngster then. Perhaps he meant death.'

'How did he die?'

'As I understand it, he collapsed at a feast. He was drinking wine and his heart gave out.'

'What happened then? After feast?'

Chareos spread his hands. 'How would I know? They buried him in Ulric's tomb. It was a great ceremony and thousands witnessed it. Our own ambassadors - and others from Ventria and the east - attended. Then his eldest son, Jungir, became Khan. He killed all of his brothers and now rules the Nadir. What has this to do with our quest? Or are you merely curious?'

Okas lifted his hand, the index finger pointing up, and spun it in the air. Golden light streamed from the ringer, forming a circle. Other circles sprang up, criss-crossing the first until a sphere hung there. He dropped his hand and traced a straight golden line. 'This line is how you see your quest; flat, straight, start, finish. But this,' he said, raising his eyes to the globe, 'is how it really is. Your line is touched by many others. I know your secret, Chareos. I know who you are. You are son of last Earl of Dros Delnoch. You are heir to Armour of Bronze. And that makes you blood relative of Tenaka Khan and descendant of both Ulric and Earl Regnak, the second Earl of Bronze.'

'That is a secret I hope you will share with no one else,' whispered Chareos. 'I have no desire to return to the Drenai, and I want no one seeking me out.'

'As you wish . . . but blood is strong and it calls across the centuries. You will find it so. Why did Tenaka Khan let you live?'

'I don't know. Truly I don't.'

'And the
ghosts-yet-to-be
?'

'Just another riddle,' answered Chareos. 'Are not all men the ghosts of the future?'

'Yes. But in the Nadir tongue the phrase could be translated as
Companions of the ghost
, or even
Followers of the ghost
. Is that not so?'

'I am not skilled in the nuances of the Nadir tongue. What difference does it make?'

Okas jumped down to the floor, landing lightly. 'I will take you to Nadren village where Ravenna and the others were held. Then we see.'

'Is she still there?'

'I cannot say. I will pick up the spirit-trail at her home.'

Okas returned to the main room, where Kiall had lifted a heavy bundle to the table-top. When he opened it golden objects fell across the wooden surface, glinting in the lantern light. There were armbands, necklets, brooches, rings, and even a belt with solid gold clasp.

'Oh, joy!' cried Beltzer, dipping his huge fingers into the treasure and lifting a dozen items clear. 'Chareos said you were resourceful, but he didn't do you justice.'

'With this we should be able to buy back Ravenna,' said Kiall.

'With this you could buy a hundred women,' countered Beltzer. 'When do we share it out?'

'We don't,' Kiall stated. 'As I said, this is for Ravenna.'

Beltzer reddened. 'I worked for this too,' he said, 'and you must have stripped it from the bodies of the men I slew at the Gateway. Part of it is mine. Mine!' He scooped up a handful of golden objects and began to cram them into his pockets. Kiall stepped back and drew his sword, but Beltzer saw the move and swept up his axe.

'Stop this foolishness!' roared Chareos, moving between them. 'Sheath the blade, Kiall. And you, Beltzer, put back the gold.'

'But Chareos . . .' began Beltzer.

'Do it now!'

Beltzer slammed the gold back to the table, and stalked off to sit by the fire. Chareos turned his angry eyes on Kiall. There is truth in what he said. Think on it!'

Kiall stood silently for a few moments, then he relaxed. 'You split it fairly, Chareos,' said the young man. 'I will use my share to buy Ravenna.'

Finn stepped to the table, lifted a single ring and slipped it on his finger. 'This will do for me,' he said. Maggrig chose a wristband. Chareos took nothing.

Beltzer stood and glared at the others. 'You will not shame me,' he hissed. 'I will take what is mine!' He shovelled a number of items into his deep pockets and returned to the fire.

'We leave at first light for Tavern Town,' said Chareos. 'We will buy extra horses there. Since you are now rich, Beltzer, you can buy your own - and all the food and supplies you will need.'

'You tell me I face great danger - and yet you do not know from whence it comes?' asked Jungir Khan, his manner easy, his voice cold. He lounged back on the ivory inlaid throne and stared down at the shaman kneeling before him.

Shotza kept his eyes on the rugs below him, considering his words with great care. He was the third shaman to serve Jungir Khan; the first had been impaled and the second strangled. He was determined there would be no fourth. 'Great Khan,' he said, 'there is a magic barrier at work which will take me time to pierce. I already know where the magic originates.'

'And where is that?' whispered Jungir.

'From Asta Khan, sire.' Shotza risked a glance to see the effect the name had on the man above him.