The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) (40 page)

“Wait here.” Shann got up and cast her eyes about the chamber. She sifted through the bleached skeletal remains, trying not to speculate what or who they might have come from. All of the pieces were broken or too small or not the right shape. Then she suddenly remembered her staff. She pulled the two halves of the broken staff from her belt.
Yes. These should work.

Shann placed them beside Lyall and quickly began ripping strips from her own clothing. Then she lashed the broken staff pieces to either side of Lyall’s leg to form a makeshift splint.

Lyall’s brow was covered with perspiration and he looked pale. “You look as if you’ve done this before. I didn’t know you had healing skills.”

Shann smiled as she worked. “From time to time, Gal would treat travellers’ injuries at the inn. Pretty soon she gained a reputation for it. She would let me watch and even help sometimes…There. Can you stand up now?” Lyall struggled up to stand on his good leg, using his staff as a crutch. “Don’t put any pressure on it,” she counselled.

Lyall looked about him. “Which way?”

Shann considered. Her plan, such as it was, had been to return the way she had come. It was obvious, however, that Lyall would not be able to make the climb out of the shaft in his present condition. They would have to find another route.

“How many exits do you think these caves have?” Shann asked.

“Probably several.”

Shann recalled her descent into the fissure. “Air from the Fire Pits rises. If we follow the flow of air, then we should find a way out.”

Lyall grimaced. “All right, let’s see if we can find a way to the surface. After you.”

Shann lifted the lamp and surveyed the chamber. She located two new passages. One seemed to have a stronger air current. “I think we should try this way.” She waited for Lyall to hobble over. Then a thought struck her. “One moment.” She made her way back to the nest and hefted one of the bones, raising it over her head.

“Shann, what are you doing?” Lyall called.

“I’m going to smash these eggs.”

“No.”
Lyall declared firmly.

“But…why not?”

“Because the serpent is guilty of nothing except trying to survive, just as we are. We are the ones who invaded its domain. We should let it be.”

Shann let his words sink in, lowering the bone harmlessly as she did so. Lyall had a unique way of looking at things. Yet she found herself agreeing with him. This creature, fearsome and terrible as it was, was not her enemy. It was an astounding creature that was itself part of a unique world that one individual was bent on destroying for his own ends. If she were to commit such a wanton act of destruction–revenge–would she not in fact be serving the very purpose of the person she most despised? Fortified with this insight, and a renewed sense of purpose, Shann, the little orphan girl from Corte, rose to her feet once more. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

~

“I can’t believe it. You mean to tell me that you let Shann go down there on her own?” Alondo was sitting up now, squinting in the early morning sunlight. His scarlet coat looked dusty and worn, but he was remarkably recovered, thanks to Boxx. And he was demanding answers.

Keris felt as if she were being accused of a crime she hadn’t committed. “I did not ‘let her go’. She went before anyone could stop her. She was…upset. I tried to reason with her that it was hopeless but she wouldn’t listen. The next thing I knew, she had gone after Lyall on her own.”

Boxx was sitting on its hind limbs, watching the exchange between the two Kelanni curiously. Alondo was not letting up on the interrogation. “How do you know she went underground? She might have just gone off somewhere.”

“The girl took the lamp from my pack. Besides she was… determined. You know how she is when she gets that way; she doesn’t listen to anyone.” Keris was rapidly losing patience. “Look, every moment we stay here is dangerous. We have to leave. Boxx, can Alondo travel?”

The Chandara replied in its childish tone, “Alondo Can Travel.”

“Then we must leave, now.”

Alondo managed to stand with effort. He met her squarely.
“I am not leaving them behind.”

Boxx’s eyes were like black beads, almost pleading. “The Key. You Cannot. You Must Not Leave Lyall And Shann. It Is The Key. It Is The Key.”

Keris had no idea what the Chandara was babbling about, but she had no time for its ramblings. She gave a massive sigh. “All right then. We will get you and Boxx to a safe place. Then I will come back and go down there after her.”

Alondo’s fierce determination melted as quickly as it had arisen. “You are going alone?”

“Yes, well, acts of rank stupidity seem to be the norm for this group, don’t they? Besides, you are in no condition to go.”

“At least take Boxx with you,” Alondo urged. “They might be injured. Boxx can help.”

It made sense. Keris addressed the little creature. “Will you come with me to look for Shann?”

“I Will Come,” it squeaked.

“Good. Then it’s agreed. Let’s pack up so that we can move Alondo somewhere safe.” Keris turned away and hurriedly began assembling her gear.
A shout
. Alondo’s voice. Keris reached instinctively for her staff, but even as she did so, a part of her registered that the shout was not one of alarm, but of something else.
Elation?
She looked to where Alondo was pointing. Out of the clouds of wafting steam and smoke a miracle was stumbling. It was unmistakably Lyall, his fair hair dishevelled and his clothes torn, supported by the tiny figure of Shann.

Keris ran towards them, then stopped several paces off, adopting her stoic stance, staff upright, expression drained of emotion. It was as if the arrival of Lyall and Shann had suddenly restored balance. Equilibrium. She was herself once more. Detached. In control. No more were people looking to her for leadership, demanding that she solve all of their problems. Keris stood apart from the celebrations, letting the outflow of feelings from the others wash over her like surf crashing against a granite coast and then ebbing to leave her intact. Secure. Indomitable.

Alondo had already covered the distance to Lyall and Shann, all thoughts of his lingering injuries forgotten. He was feeling their arms and their faces in an apparent effort to confirm that his eyes were not playing tricks. “Are you all right? How…how did you get out?”

Shann helped Lyall to a sitting position. Boxx was bobbing up and down. “It was all quite easy, really.” Lyall touched his injured leg experimentally. “After Shann found me and I regained consciousness, we followed the air currents. Eventually we found a shaft with a fairly gentle incline and crawled our way to the surface. We heard the serpent, but never saw it again.” He looked down at Shann. “I owe her my life.” Shann looked down at the ground. Alondo was beaming at them both.

Keris continued to stand guard. Checking the perimeter. Watching over them like a parent, keeping children safe from their own foolishness.

<><><><><>

Chapter 25

It was the most breathtaking sight that Shann had ever seen. It seemed to go on forever. Shades of crimson and azure blue, topped with myriads of whitecaps, stretched to the very horizon. Waves reared up, breaking against the shoreline. Flocks of birds swooped in and out of the surf, their shrieking cries drifting upwards to Shann’s ears.

“The Aronak Sea,” Alondo announced theatrically, with a wave of his hand. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Shann’s eyes were wide as dinner plates. “It seems to go on forever.”

“Maybe it does,” Lyall speculated. “Over there, some way below the horizon, lies The Great Barrier of Storms. If the sea extends beyond the Barrier, then who knows how far it goes?”

They were strolling down a chine which led through a meadow of yellow and purple grasses. Alondo was on Shann’s left, with Lyall to her right. Keris and Boxx followed a little way behind.

The party’s spirits were high. Keris had led them to a steep but navigable cut through the eastern wall of the canyon, so that they cleared the Pits in less than a day. Boxx had done an amazing job of treating everyone’s injuries, although it pronounced itself extremely tired afterwards–the act of healing seemed to sap its energies. Lyall had even carried it for a while. It seemed fully recovered now, as it trotted next to Keris.

The change in the air was palpable. Instead of oppressive heat and sulphurous steam, there was fresh air and cool sea breezes. Shann was mesmerised by the immensity of the sea. She pointed at a distant shape moving over the water. “Is that…a ship?”

“It certainly is,” Lyall declared. “Ships ply up and down the coast between Leota, Sakara and Kalath-Kar, as well as many of the smaller settlements. They carry everything from moba root to gold.”

“We will be at Sakara by this time tomorrow,” Keris announced from behind.

Alondo whipped his hat off and threw it into the air. “Whoo hoo!” He ran to retrieve his hat and settled it back on his head.

Shann chuckled. “You’ve been there before, I take it?”

Alondo nodded. “Lyall and I spent some time there a few years ago. It’s probably my favourite place in all of Kelanni.
You’re going to love it
.”

Keris snorted. Shann, Lyall and Alondo all turned round to look at her. “It’s a lawless place,” she retorted, “a den of thieves and cutpurses.”

“That is
not
true,” Alondo countered, “the lawless part, I mean. They have very strict laws in Sakara. And the Asoli are always there to keep order.”

“Asoli?” Shann enquired.

“Yes, they’re the city watch. You’ll notice them right off. They have green jackets and large plumed hats–almost as nice as mine.” Alondo grinned expansively.

“The Asoli are the eyes and ears of the Guilds,” Lyall explained. “The Guilds run the port city. There is an uneasy peace between the Guild Master and the Prophet in Chalimar. The Keltar and the Prophet’s soldiers could probably overrun Sakara and the lightly armed Asoli would not be able to do much about it, but holding on to the port would require a major investment of troops and resources that are currently being used to secure and refine the lodestone ore. So the Guilds pay a healthy stipend to the Prophet, in return for which they are largely left alone.”

“The Asoli are a joke,” Keris cut in. “Ask him what would happen if they saw someone steal your purse. Go ahead.”

“Redistribution of wealth is legal in Sakara,” Alondo returned, without waiting for the question.

Keris scowled. “
Redistribution?
You mean theft.”

“Theft…commerce…it’s all the same really.” Shann looked puzzled. “Look,” Alondo continued, “If I make something and sell it for more than it cost me to make, then that’s a kind of stealing.”

“That’s profit, not stealing,” Keris corrected.

“It all amounts to the same thing,” Alondo shot back. “If Shann does a day’s work for me and earns a quarter astria, but I only pay her an eighth, it’s no different than if I went to her at the end of the day and stole the eighth from her. In Sakara the only difference is that they recognise all dishonesty for what it is and declare it to be legal. I have always found the fact that the Sakarans are so honest about their dishonesty to be quite refreshing.”

Keris shook her head. “You’re not even making any sense.”

“Indeed,” Lyall agreed. “That’s all a part of his enduring charm.”

“Why, thank you,” Alondo removed his hat and bowed expansively. “Actually, theft, as you call it, is highly regulated by the Guilds, along with all forms of commerce. Stealing from children, the elderly or any vulnerable people is strictly forbidden, as are all forms of violence. No-one ever gets attacked in Sakara. I doubt the good citizens of Chalimar or Corte or Lind could say the same, especially when the Keltar pay a visit.” He looked back at Keris pointedly.

“Keris is no longer Keltar,” Lyall reminded him.

Alondo grinned from ear to ear. “Then she should love it in Sakara.”

~

Shann sat by the fire with her arms wrapped around her knees, looking out to sea. Ail-Mazzoth’s gentle light lent a tinge of pale pink to the breakers. The red sun sat low behind her in the western sky, dominating the night.