Original: To Fire It Shall Return

Chapter 3

When Kelden awoke, it was to the sound of activity in the kitchen, the room immediately next to his. Still yawning, he passed through the connecting door, leaving Karim behind to sleep. Kelden nearly allowed the approval to show in his face as he saw Lelahn, wolfing down her meal like a starving cub. That will put some meat on those bones, he thought. Her bandages had been removed and there was no trace of injury, due to Alainna's Healing, a specialty of any member of the White Guild. Alainna was bustling around the room in an uncharacteristically hen-like way. She nearly shoved him into one of the wooden, soft chairs at the large table in the centre of the room as she put some food in front of him.

"Eat," she admonished him. The sound of her voice prompted Lelahn to look up from her plate, startled at his presence. She paused only long enough to narrow her eyes at him before returning her concentration to her food.

Kelden gazed at Alainna for a moment. She was still as young-looking as Lelahn for all her motherly activity. He wanted to take her aside and ask her what, if anything, Lelahn had said to elaborate on her disturbing statement the night before. He began to chew on the cold cereal that Alainna had given him, resolving to ask her when he had finished. As he ate, his thoughts turned to the man who had terrorized Koranna and kidnapped nineteen children for no reason that he could see. Who or what was he? Who had sent him? And why?

His cogitation was interrupted by a knock at the main door. It echoed hollowly up and down the corridors.

He shot a questioning look at Alainna who shrugged confusedly and moved off to answer it. Curious, Kelden stood up and walked over to the kitchen door where he could see the main entrance-way, ever followed by Lelahn's green eyes.

Alainna hurried down the corridor toward the main doors of her stronghold. Probably another mortal 'hero', here to ask my help to fight a dragon or some other nonsense, she reasoned. But some sense was telling her that wasn't what she would find on the doorstep.

She pushed open the door. Years of experience prevented her from making the mistake Kelden had, and the door swung open slowly. Alainna was greeted by a grisly sight. Two people, or rather, beings, one male, one female, were shivering in thin, leather clothing on the platform in front of the door. The male was covered with coarse, black fur and had a long, rat-like tail that dragged in the snow behind him. Rising out of the wide hairy shoulders was a grotesquely small head, also covered with fur; however, human intelligence shone out of those wide, staring eyes.

The other was human-looking from the neck downwards, however her head was covered with cancerous lumps that seemed almost to quiver and shift as if there was something under the skin. When she opened her mouth to speak, she showed sharp, uneven teeth.

Alainna stepped back, planting her feet and whipped out her dagger. The ruby on the hilt, identical, except in size, to the one on her amulet, flashed ecstatically in the candlelight. Freed of its sheath, the small knife was revealed to be made of a transparent crystal that refracted the flickering candlelight.

"Wait!" The woman held up one hand and Alainna could see tiny claws on the tips of the fingers. "We have been told that the White Sorceress lives here. I am Norath and my people are in terrible danger. Will you take me to see her, please?" The woman's words whistled as she struggled to speak them around her teeth, but the need in her voice was evident. Alainna flushed, sheathed her dagger, and straightened, trying to regain her composure.

"I am the White Sorceress, my name is Alainna. I apologize for my reaction; my land is also troubled and we must be wary of visitors"

"I see," Norath said neutrally. The disbelief was apparent in her eyes though Alainna put on her most convincing smile, "May we come in?"

Alainna, Kelden, and Lelahn listened while Norath and the other visitor - Ferris - related their story, while sitting around the kitchen table. They had come from the Badlands, a dangerous, desolate area that lay between Alainna's Anata and warm Mecco where the Black Wizard's fortress stood. That explained their appearance; people conceived in the Badlands were often born with deformities. Those who were born Normal were usually adopted by willing families north of the border, but this was very rare and the other Badlanders were generally shunned and feared. Three of the cities in the Badlands were being terrorized by the same 'monsters' as Koranna, only they were called 'Dark Knights', the meaning for which was not explained.

After Norath and Ferris had finished speaking, interrupting each other in their haste, Alainna sent them out of the kitchen in order that the others could discuss it.

"I think we should help them, Alainna." Kelden burst out. "If only to find out what involvement the Black Wizard has in all of this and maybe put a crimp in his plans."

"Not only that." Lelahn said, eager to take Kelden down a notch. "We have no guarantee that the Black Wizard is even involved. What we do know is, these people are human beings too and deserve the help of the White Sorceress." She finished, batting her eyelids haughtily at Kelden. I was getting to that, he thought savagely.

"I agree with both of you." said Alainna, overriding the impending argument. "I will go to the Badlands and help them. Either of you who wants to come is certainly welcome."

"I'll go." Kelden and Lelahn said in unison.

"Very well then, it's settled, we'll all go and help the Badlanders," Alainna said, pointedly ignoring the glare they were exchanging across the table. She stood and left the room to give the Badlanders the good news.

They left at dawn the next day, strapping packs filled with food and supplies to the white Horses that had arrived during the night. For the first time since Kelden had become an Observer - nearly 90 years now - he changed into his traditional wizard's garb. He discarded his brown tunic and loose pants (Lelahn put these on, muttering something about not being comfortable in Alainna's clothing), and donned a white cloak, tunic, and a silver breastplate. Around his neck he hung his silver amulet which displayed a diamond inset. Out of habit from the long time he had had to hide his identity, he tucked the magic talisman under his shirt. From his belt hung a long sword, also inlaid with a diamond on the hilt. Unlike Alainna's ruby, the diamonds didn't have a symbol carved into them. Alainna paused as she came outside to take a second look at Kelden. Astride his Horse, framed by the brilliant red of the rising sun, he looked incredibly dashing; like he could outshine the sun, she surprised herself by thinking. Looking at him there, Alainna felt a twinge of… what? Could it be that in their three-hundred years of friendship she had never thought of… that? She shook her head, Impossible. It would never work.

Lelahn caught the queer look in Alainna's eyes and smiled inwardly, better her than me, she thought, seating herself firmly in the saddle of the brilliant white mare. She patted the hilt of the shortsword Alainna had given her proprietorially. She had never used a sword before but was confident she could do it if given the chance. She eyed the staircase nervously; it looked awfully narrow and steep for horses. She had been told that the Guild had sent them up last night. (Whatever 'the Guild' is, she thought), but she couldn't see how they could have gotten here so quickly. Unless they flew here, she thought with amusement.

She watched as Kelden guided his horse easily over to the Badlanders, who were looking decidedly out of place and nervous on the backs of the magnificent white animals. They've probably never ridden a horse before, she thought somewhat contemptuously, ignoring the fact that she had never ridden one either. Still, she decided to tune in to what he was saying to them.

"We're going to take off now so keep your wits about you. Just follow me and let the horse do the work. Norath, you take Karim." He said, handing her the tiny white lizard. Karim popped into Norath's breast pocket and sat with his head poking out, blinking impetuously. "Just give him the directions and he'll relay them to me. You shouldn't have any problems keeping your seat, but if you do, have Karim give me a yell. I don't know what we'll do if something serious happens, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." The Badlanders looked somewhat reassured at his words, though Lelahn had no idea why since she hadn't understood half of what he'd said. He trotted back over to the edge of the staircase and nodded to Alainna, who took one final look around, smiling encouragingly at Lelahn. She was still wondering what 'take off' meant when she felt a lurch as the horse leapt straight up into the air, gliding without wings out over the dizzying drop. In panic, she nearly lost her balance and she clutched madly for support, tangling her fingers in her Horse's mane and prompting a whinny from the offended animal. Alainna appeared beside her, Sharra perched serenely on her shoulder, to make sure she was back in her saddle.

"You could have warned me." she grumbled.

"He did," Alainna answered with a smile.

They reached Garothan, the first City - as the Badlanders called it, though it should really have been called a village - in just about six hours. A village was really the only accurate way of describing it; twenty or so long wooden buildings grouped irregularly around a central meeting place, dominated by a huge fire pit. Stacks of harvested vegetables and irregular piles of steaming meat dotted the area and some sort of leathery skin was being stretched on sticks beside some of the buildings. Clearly the Badlanders had a very primitive lifestyle.

Hours before the party had passed out of Anata and into the Badlands. The borders had been marked by a gradual thinning of trees as the lush forests gave way to stunted trees and then to dry, patchy, silent grasslands as they continued south. The countryside seemed desolate and oppressive, though the area immediately surrounding the village consisted of cultivated farmland.

"It takes great effort to tame the land and make it grow, but each City grows enough for its needs," said Ferris by way of explanation as the travelers dismounted painfully. The relatively smooth ride, with no hard bumps, helped, but, six hours was still a long time to be sitting down.

They had landed in the common area in the rough centre of the village. Garothan seemed to be constructed in concentric circles: a fire pit in the centre, presumably for cooking, then those queer rectangular buildings strewn haphazardly around; then beyond that, farmland. People, or rather, Badlanders had begun to gather around the newcomers, whispering, seemingly in awe. It's probably not often that they see people from Anata, Alainna reflected. Lelahn seemed to be getting a bit nervous as the crowd got larger, each newcomer seemingly more grotesque than the last. She was probably not used to seeing so many people at once, particularly like the Badlanders. Alainna decided to get this mission over with quickly. She leaned toward Ferris and whispered so the crowd wouldn't overhear.

"I didn't see the tower as we flew over."

Ferris whispered back, his voice high and piping, "We didn't want to alert the Dark Knight to your presence, so we avoided the area."

"Will you take us there now? We have two other Cities to visit and we don't know how long this will take."

"Certainly," smiled Ferris, "but first you must meet the Chief." He and Norath directed the three visitors into a nearby building. The long, rectangular building was revealed to be a sort of communal sleeping area with shelves laid with blankets and pillows lining the walls. In the centre was another fire pit, far smaller than the one outside. Alainna looked up to see a hole in the ceiling through which the smoke could escape. The ground was soft and sandy under the soles of her slippers. The far end of the building was partitioned off by a curtain that hung from the ceiling and stretched from wall to wall. The curtain was made of a dark, leathery material that the Badlanders also seemed to use for clothing. It was probably the end result of whatever they had been doing to those skins on the sticks outside. Alainna wondered disinterestedly what the animal it had come from looked like, it didn't seem like the Badlanders kept cows. Norath let out a piercing whistle that seemed to serve the purpose of announcing their presence and then ceremoniously pushed part of the curtain aside, slipping through without revealing what lay beyond. Alainna followed without pausing, and after a moment Kelden and Lelahn joined her. Ferris remained outside, saying to Kelden that he would 'let the others know the Chief is occupied.' As if the word hasn't probably traveled around this village three times by now, thought Kelden as he passed through the gap between the curtain and the wall.

Beyond the curtain was a small room. Sunlight filtered from another hole in the ceiling through a cloud of smoke. Unfortunately, very little of the smoke seemed to be escaping. Through the haze Kelden could barely make out a huge figure sitting among the numerous cushions that littered the otherwise bare sandy floor. As he came closer, he saw that the figure was a woman. Her massive folds of flesh and mountainous breasts rolled in great undulations as her bare, doughy arms moved in what looked like a welcoming gesture.

The four sat down in front of the woman, trying to hide their discomfort at the smoke, which seemed thickest around the woman herself. She lifted a thin tube, which seemed to be smoldering at one end, to her mouth and sucked on it. As she did so, Kelden saw she had no less than seven fingers on her hand. That was the only evidence of deformity - that and her enormous bulk. Ashes fell from the end of the tube as she pulled it away from her mouth and exhaled more smoke into the air. In fact, there was a great profusion of ash all around her, some still burning. Kelden wondered that she didn't catch fire.

"Who is the leader of your party?" she boomed. Her voice was deep, but husky as if she had a burr stuck in her throat. As she spoke, her eyes traveled over them, skipping over Norath and coming to rest on Kelden. He forced himself not to recoil in disgust as they traveled appreciatively over his robust, muscular figure. Never had Kelden been more uncomfortably conscious of the beauty that several lifetimes of Working magic had given his body. He understood now why he had been warned since early childhood never to travel to this desolate region. He doubted that Badlanders would steal children from their beds and eat them, but their grotesque forms made his stomach twist. They were certainly not suitable for children's eyes. He wondered how Lelahn was reacting; she was still so young. Not for the last time, he wondered if it had been a good idea to bend to her wishes and bring her along. He came back to himself as he noticed that the Chief's bloodshot, yellowed eyes were no longer locked on him and that Alainna was speaking.

"I am the leader. My name is Alainna and I am the White Sorceress." Her voice was rich and melodious, as sharp a contrast to the rasping tones of the Chief as her figure.

"You have come to save our children." It was not a question. "I'm afraid I cannot show you the hospitality you are used to, but we do always have spare beds. The day is still young; however, perhaps we will all be lucky and you will not need them, no?" As Kelden puzzled through the alien grammar, Alainna nodded.

"Perhaps. I am hopeful. We have had a similar incident in one of our cities and that may help me to rescue your children in a timely fashion." Kelden had never heard her speak this diplomatically. He suspected that, like him, she wanted to get this meeting over with as quickly as possible.

"Please tell me," said the Chief, "What are the names of the other people in your party?"

"Lelahn and Kelden," answered Alainna, pointing to each in turn. Now the woman's eyes were back on him, like huge boulders ready to crush him. She smiled, revealing yellowed, dirty teeth.

"Perhaps you will return when you are finished at the other Cities. You must have many tales of battle to tell."

She seemed to be waiting for him to answer. He forced the words out past the lump in his throat. "Maybe I will."

He felt faint.

After a few more pleasantries were exchanged, they escaped from the dark, choking prison, and soon emerged into the noon sunshine. As they followed Norath and Ferris out to the tower, leading their Horses, who thankfully, had not been disturbed by the crowd, Kelden drew up next to Alainna.

"Please don't make me go back there!" he said in a low voice, only half-joking. She smiled at him sweetly. "You sure? I'm sure I can arrange it if you want." He heard Lelahn snicker behind him and was about to make a retort when they suddenly emerged from the buildings and saw the tower.

Like the one in Koranna, it was an impregnable-looking, cylindrical block of volcanic glass, shining in the sun. It was sitting in the middle of a cornfield and Lelahn wondered how it had gotten there. She asked the question of Norath who answered in a subdued tone.

"Someone working in the field saw it come out of the sky and land where you see it now. Men on Horses just like the ones we rode here, except black, were holding thick ropes that held it in the air. They lowered it to the ground and then flew away." Lelahn was about to ask another question when she heard Alainna hiss as she drew breath sharply. Lelahn followed the Sorceress' gaze to a Badlander and her child who were approaching the tower from a hundred metres away. At the doorway, the mother and child embraced. Then the mother said a few words into the child's ear and turned away. Both were crying and the child clutched desperately at his mother's skirt as she stumbled away. The child seemed to be only eight or nine years old but as his mother moved out of sight, he turned and squared his shoulders, moving into the building.

Throughout the course of these events, which had only lasted a few seconds, Alainna fought with Kelden, trying to pull free of his hold and aid the mother and child.

"Let me go! She doesn't have to do this!" she cried, while Kelden tried desperately to quiet her.

"Alainna, listen to me." he said, overriding her distraught cries, "Corin failed because that Knight had time to prepare for him while he was covering the tower with powder. If anything looks amiss, this one will take off too and we'll never have the chance to save any of the children." The logic of this cut through Alainna's emotions and she stopped struggling. She did, however, turn away, unable to watch as the child marched inside.

Lelahn didn't quite know what to make of her new companions. She hated and feared Kelden even though she knew the feeling was irrational. She had the impression he didn't like her very much either, though that was probably just a defensive reaction to her feelings about him. However, Alainna was something else. Lelahn had been taught to fear and venerate the wizards and sorceresses, simply because they were powerful. The White Sorceress, especially, as the most powerful of all, was a terrifying force. Yet this warred with the universal belief that the White Sorceress was the epitome of good; the ultimate maternal force. Lelahn had never understood why the most pure person in Anata would cultivate such a terrifying image. She could not imagine that Alainna would treat anyone with anything but the quiet kindness and respect that she had shown her. The Sorceress's reaction to the sight of a child - a Badlander, no less - in danger only reinforced her belief that the image of a terrifying demon had been cultivated by jealous men who perhaps had been refused some selfish service, and had no basis in fact. In this she was partly correct.

When the door to the tower had closed and the scene was silent again except for the wind rustling the corn and the muted sounds of a sobbing mother in the village behind them, the party began to discuss their strategy.

"I think a frontal assault would be best. Get in there, kill the bastard, and get out before anyone has time to react," suggested Kelden. Lelahn's first reaction was to dismiss the idea but she forced herself to put aside the instinct and think it through logically. A quick frontal assault would give them the advantage of surprise. If they were lucky, the Dark Knight wouldn't have time to escape. Reluctantly, she nodded her agreement. She saw surprise flicker across Alainna's face and put on an indignant expression; she wasn't that predictable, was she?

"All right then," said Alainna, taking the leadership role, as always. "When we get inside, we'll split up. If you get into trouble, send Karim for help," she said, turning to Kelden. To Lelahn she said, "You don't have the advantage of a familiar, so I don't want you alone. You, Norath and Ferris can go together." Lelahn nodded grudgingly. She didn't like feeling that she was being nursemaided. The five of them moved quickly across the exposed field and up to the tower. Before they went inside, Lelahn noticed that broken cornstalks were sticking out from underneath the massive structure, confirming Norath's statement that it had been flown here. It had sunken a few inches into the soft soil but there were no footprints or other marks that would have indicated digging or anything of the sort. Well, she thought, at least we know there won't be any dungeons. At this she felt understandably relieved. The door swung open under Alainna's touch and they all moved inside.

Inside the tower, Kelden could see only a staircase made of grey granite that stood out starkly against the black walls. It wound up sharply until it disappeared around a curve. Lit torches burned at intervals on the wall.

"Well," said Lelahn quietly, "Looks like we won't have to split up after all." All five of them drew their weapons as they closed the door behind them but no attack was immediately forthcoming. Twin red and white flashes lit up the room as Kelden and Alainna drew their weapons. As a precaution, Kelden also produced a torch from the pack on his back. He was the only one wearing one. It held torches, rope, magic powders, whatever they had brought in the packs on the Horses that they had thought they might have needed in the tower.

He muttered a fire spell rather than wasting the precious matches and the end of the torch burst brightly into flame. Alainna reached out for it, intending to take the lead, but Kelden pretended not to notice and started up the stairs. He felt her glare on his back and suddenly realized what that must have looked like. He didn't intend to take the glory by being the first to encounter whatever was ahead, he simply knew that the front was one of the most dangerous places and he didn't want the White Sorceress - arguably the most important person in the world - endangering herself more than she had to. A hundred years ago, the White Sorceress had been killed without appointing a successor and The Guild had been thrown into chaos until Alainna had defeated the Black Wizard and been given the position. Kelden remembered that time with uneasiness and didn't want to repeat the experience. He knew he couldn't protect her forever, but for now, he took the lead up the echoing staircase.

The tower was utterly silent and for the first time Kelden found himself wondering what happened to the children when they entered the tower. He had assumed that the other Dark Knight had taken them with him when he left Koranna, but what if he had simply killed them? He couldn't think of any reason to do so, so he tried to convince himself that something else must be going on. However, try as he might, Kelden couldn't hear a single cry or any other sound that could be attributed to a frightened child. Meanwhile, they continued up the winding staircase. Kelden's shoulders grew more and more tightly knotted as he wondered what would be around the next turn or whether, when he did find something, he would be too tired to fight it. He felt his legs beginning to turn to lead and heard Alainna's heavy breathing at his shoulder.

"This is worse than your staircase, Alainna." he cracked. She didn't answer, her breathlessness not permitting her to make a sound. So he continued to walk in silence.

Finally he noticed that it was getting brighter and realized that they must be getting close to the top. As he reached the top, he saw an open space with the Horses and chariot standing in the middle. Most of the children were lying scattered around the floor, unconscious or dead, he couldn't tell which. A few could be seen inside the chariot itself, but they weren't moving either. In his haste to get to them and make sure they were all right, fatigue finally bested him and he caught one sandal-clad toe on the top stair, sending him sprawling.

That mistake saved his life.

As he automatically tucked into a roll, he saw the swipe of a blade miss his head by inches, cutting through where he would have been if he hadn't fallen. He came out of the roll on his feet, with Karim miraculously unharmed. He brought his blade down before the Knight could attack the others. The Knight brought its blade up just in time to parry Kelden's blow, not that it would have done much damage had it landed. The Dark Knight matched its name perfectly. It was fitted head to toe with armour, stained black, and carried a heavy broadsword and shield.

While the Knight was kept busy fending off Kelden's sword, Alainna stepped in with her dagger and stabbed upwards through a gap in the armour at the base of the skull. The Knight collapsed in a gush of blood. Everyone stepped quickly out of the stairwell, ignoring the body of their vanquished foe and fanning out to examine the children. Alainna was first out and looked up from the nearest child, who happened to be the one they had seen going into the tower. She called out to the others,

"This one's alive!" This was quickly echoed as the others examined the other children. There proved to be twenty-four in all. As everyone else began to gently awaken the children, Kelden noticed smoke rising up from the slit in the face of the helmet of the dead Knight and a smell of burning flesh. He quickly stripped off the helmet and waved away the thick puff of smoke that rose up, but the Knight had turned into a whitish ash, leaving no clue as to its identity or nature.

Kelden dropped the helmet, which connected with the floor with a hollow clang.

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