Chapter 7: Inside the Tower
"If you want him to make the first move, you have to let him know you are interested," Artur suggested as he leaned over the table next to me.
"What do I need to do, hit in the head with a brick?" I asked, flipping through pages of the book in front of me, looking for Artur's name.
"Flutter your lashes or something. Women are supposed to be experts at subtle signals."
"Subtle. Me. Two words not to be used in the same sentence." Two guesses who the object of this discussion was.
"OK, well, try this one. The next time your two are close, and he looks into your eyes. Close them about half way, and just sort of tilt your chin up a little,"
I started laughing as he did his kingly best to demonstrate the technique.
"I'm only trying to help."
Still laughing, "I know, it's just, I've never had to deal with men who were actually... I don't know... polite about these sorts of things."
"And what are you used to?"
"Nice shoes, wanna fuck?" I offered.
He shook his head in disgust.
"Besides I thought you didn't like Logain."
"He's harmless now, and a gentleman. He carries himself well, in spite of the situation. And you need a man."
"Do I now?"
"Yes. Without a doubt. When I do find a way to move beyond this world, I want to know you are taken care of. Perhaps if you could persuade him to leave this place, the two of you could go somewhere..."
"We've already talked about it. He's convinced he wouldn't make it out of the city without someone recognizing him. He doesn't want to 'put me in danger'."
"A valid concern. One which can be addressed."
"I'm working on it. Just call it Plan B1/2." I pointed to a paragraph at the top of the page in front of me. "This has you in it. That's a reference to the Aryth Ocean campaign, but what's this word here?"
And so our work continued.
The first thing I'd had to do was figure out how to read this Old Tongue. It was theoretically related to the language we were speaking, but since I was hearing English, that didn't help much. I tried reading the older language aloud, hoping that whatever magic was translating their words for me would work .
It didn't
So I tried writing it down. I could read their Common like English, but when I wrote in English, the Sisters who were willing to help me couldn't read it. I could copy their figures. There was no way around it. I had to learn the language. And I had to learn it from scratch because I had no way to relate it to the current vocabulary.
Writing proved to be interesting as I had never had to use quill and ink before.
I didn't want to waste more time than I had to, so I asked for some books on Hawkwing. Artur's problem suggested a starting point. With my own problem, I didn't have a clue where to begin.
I set myself up a little table in the corner of one of the libraries, and dug in.
One of the Brown sisters - I don't remember her name - took the time to give me a few introductory grammar lessons, but most of the time, Artur would stand over my shoulder, read a sentence and then tell me the translation. I'd copy it as well as I could, and deconstruct the grammar myself. It was slow going, but I'm good at this sort of thing.
As we read through the legends, Artur recalled more details of his life. Together, we slowly filled in the holes which I hoped would lead us to why he was stranded here instead of going... wherever dead people went to in this place.
Sometimes the dust and dark and lamplight would get to me and I'd take a book out to the gardens. Logain and I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time together, but we did meet for lunch every afternoon.
One afternoon as we were waiting for him to show up, I busy trying to recall what I knew from ghostly literature of my own plane of existence, trying to put it together with what we had learned of His Majesty's life.
"In the stories I've heard, Artur, there are a few standard reasons why people get stuck. Sometimes, if they die violently, they get confused. You were sick for a long time, so we can rule that one out."
He nodded.
"Sometimes they are attached to a person and a place for sentimental reasons. Or an object. Sometimes a sword or a piece of jewelry. A house."
He shook his head. "I won't say I didn't enjoy my wealth, but nothing like that could keep me here."
"OK, so that leaves us with two options. Either someone bound you here against your will, or there's something you still have to do that you haven't done yet. Any sort of binding would have to be a form of this Warder thing they do, which I can't get any of them to talk about."
"I've got a theory on that, if you'd care to hear it," Logain offered.
"Fire when ready.," I said, snuggling back against him.
"I think the Warder bond is a form of Compulsion."
Artur looked at him sharply. I whistled softly. "Don't let any of Them hear you suggest that." Compulsion, I had learned, was a particularly nasty use of the One Power which had been outlawed for over three thousand years. At lower "levels" it allowed a form of mind control. At higher intensity it was rumored to be able to remove whole episodes of a persons life, to be replaced by versions more to the channelers liking.
I was not supposed to know this.
However, in three months I had become a bit of a fixture at the Tower, and I could get access to nearly any book I wanted. I doubted anyone really knew how much command of the Old Tongue I had acquired in that time. Life had taught me that forbidden or taboo information could often be the most important information a civilization had to offer.
Besides, it was fascinating.
"So, you think Compulsion could hold after death."
"No. I don't. I think you need to look somewhere else for your answer."
"So what do you need to do?" It was a rhetorical question.
Logain answered. "Have you read the Karethon Cycle yet?"
"The what?"
"The Karethon Cycle. Prophecies of the Dragon."
"No. LTT died centuries before Artur was born. What could he possibly have to do with anything?"
"Everything is tied to the Turning of the Wheel. Lews Therin was a Dragon. The first. There will be another. I did not arbitrarily decide to throw my life away on a useless war. There have been...signs...which indicate the Dragon has already been reborn, that He is alive somewhere in the world. Everything in the Pattern is tied to Him."
"So you're saying that somewhere in these Prophecies, there might be something about Artur's little psychic velcro problem."
"I think so. Yes. What's velcro?"
"Never mind. It won't be invented for centuries. So, Karethon Cycle." I filed it away, and we slipped off to grab lunch.
It hadn't taken me long to figure out that I did not need to be here. Tension dripped from the walls in this place. No one seemed to trust anyone else. In a Tower full of women, though, what could you expect. 600 chicks running around, at least 20 were bound to be on the rag every day of the week.
I tried to stay in the library, or in the garden, and not speak to anyone I didn't have to. The more I found out about these women, the more I started to agree with Artur. No telling what they'd do to you if you really pissed them off. And I seem to have this talent for pissing people off.
I agreed to help them with copying work in exchange for staying in the Tower, which I still think was a mistake. The first night I stayed there, I started having dreams. Strange dreams, about an old crumbling castle that bleeds, and red stone gates. I'd close my eyes and open them in the middle of a chessboard, surrounded by talking animals.
Logain thought I should tell one of the sisters, but I didn't know who I could trust. They all seemed to have a secret agenda - even the ones I liked, and they had a way of twisting words which made you think they were not quite lying about the simplest things.
The longer we stayed at the Tower, the more paranoid Artur became. He tried to be patient, and help me with my translating, but I could tell it was unhinging him - and His Majesty wasn't all that stable to begin with.
Istarted working my way through the Karethon Cycle. Apparently the dead walking was supposed to be a sign of the end of the world approaching. But Artur was the only dead guy I'd met and he had been around for a while. It was worth a shot though.
I found the final piece of the puzzle completely by accident one day while flipping through a philosophy textbook that had seen better days. Or it found me. Hit me right between the eyes as I was standing on a chair trying to reach a magnifying glass. The chair slipped out from under me and I landed flat on my ass.
The book that hit me fell open on the floor, to a veyr prettily illuminated picture of a battle. At the front of the line, a man in gaudy armor raised a carved horn to his lips. I read aloud the first words on the page, "The Grave is no bar to my call.. "
"Are you all right?" Artur asked. He had been on the other side of the bookshelf when I took my tumble.
"Fine. What's this?" I asked him, holding up the book.
"Horn of Valere. According to pophecy, it must be found before the Final Battle. But they've been hunting for it for over a thousand years with no luck."
"Prophecy seems to be a real pain in the ass. What's it do?"
"Calls back dead heroes to fight for the one who sounds it," he said, sounding bored.
"Say that again."
"Calls back dead heroes..." He stopped.
"Like you?"
"No. That's not possible."
"Why not? Its worth a shot."
"Have you been listening to anything I've said. No one..."
"Pshaw! They weren't me. And you. We can find it. We find it. We find this Dragon fellow. We get him to blow the horn. You do what you gotta do and when its done, you can go back to your wife."
"You make it sound so simple."
"A walk in the park," I said, more emphatically than I meant to.
"None of that solves your problem."
"One thing at a time. We might find something on the way. Come on," I said, struggling to my feet, replacing the chair. I picked up the book I'd been reading, folded it irreverently and stuffed it in my pocket.
Artur raised an eyebrow.
"It's an old philosophy book. Really old. I found it stuffed way back in the corner under a pile of dust thicker than the book. No one will miss it."
He just smiled and shook his head.
I went back to my room and started packing. It took all of ten minutes since I hadn't acquired anything but that book since I got here. I tossed my cloak over one arm and went off to find Logain.
I found him in the gardens, under the willow. He'd been here long enough that they no longer felt a need to post guards - er, attendants.
"You're leaving."
"Yeah. I am. I've got a lead and I can't follow it here."
"I knew it wouldn't be much longer. Lead?"
"Artur and I are off to find the Horn of Valere."
"Which most likely does not exist and never did. I don't know whether to try to change your mind, or wish you luck."
"Wish me luck. And keep working on that escape plan we talked about. If things don't work out, I'll come back here and bust you out of this place. Ok?"
He nodded, a small smile playing across his lips. He glanced around to make sure no one was near enough to be paying attention to us. He reached under his cloak and handed me a small book.
It was a copy of the Cycle I didn't recognize. The symbol on the front of the book looked like a Yin Yang without the dots. I stuck it in my pack quickly.
I wanted to leave before anyone got suspicious, but I didn't want to leave him. He had been the closest thing to a friend - other than Artur - that I'd had in a long time. I put my arms around his neck and pressed my face against his chest, willing the tears to back off. He hugged me back.
I heard Artur behind me offering instructions. "Close your eyes and tip your head up. Now."
I raised my head, just a little, eyes half closed and he kissed me.
It wasn't a little peck on the lips, either. Not a friend type thing at all. One of those brain melting, god-don't-stop-or-I'll die sort of kisses where you forget that you have to breathe again eventually. When he let go of me and stepped away, I was panting.
Damn him. And damn Artur for being right.
He was smiling. "I will hold you to your word. Goodbye, Lyse."
"Never say goodbye. It suggests you won't be coming back."
"Then safe journey." He turned to the left and bowed to Artur. "Farewell, Your Majesty. May you find your wife well and waiting for you."
Artur, who was actually standing to the right and a bit behind me nodded approvingly and returned the bow. "I told you that boy was alright."
"Oh, you did, did you?"
We walked to the gate in silence. I was afraid if I said anything else, or if he touched me again, I wouldn't be able to make myself leave.
I paused to flash him a peace sign before walking out the gate. "Catch you on the flip side, Legs."
I made a good, brave show of it, ignoring the questions of the guard at the gate as I headed for the stable. Inside, my stomach wrapped itself up in knots.
Here we go again.
