IX
The assassin knew a faster route, using the winds and air currents, and yet it took them three days straight to reach the Academy, and Styx's ranting and cursing didn't make them faster either. The Elf had been quiet most of the time. At first, the assassin had been curious and asked Nym about the Inquisition, but when he experienced the echoing voice of the Amber-Elf in his head, he soon asked him to shut up. More than once, Styx had been tempted to just toss the Elf into some valley and fly without him, but if something should happen to Maera, Nym might be the only one with enough knowledge of the Inquisition's plans to help him.
In every waking moment, the angry voice from the back of his mind asked Styx if he had gone completely nuts. Part of him was actually surprised about his willingness to endanger his mission by departing too soon and taking that damn Elf with him. He would never do that for anyone. Well, for Arkail probably. But in Maera's case, things were utterly different, and Styx tried to cling to that thought as the raging voice threatened to drown out his own thinking. When he dozed off for just a short moment, the shadowy figure that almost looked like him confronted him once more, now clearer than ever, still shrouded in Amber dust. The eyes of the other one were glowing dangerously, and Styx could see his sharp teeth flash as he grinned contemptuously at him.
Rakash… Don't you even think about risking your pathetic little life for someone who doesn't even care about you. Forget her.
I can't. She needs me.
The only one who needs you is yourself! You'll only get yourself killed.
But it hurts.
Fine, let it hurt! Savor the pain. Get pissed. Kill every damn human in the entire Academy if you must, but in the end, you know that I'm the only one who can make you feel better.
You're not real.
Oh, but I am. And you know it. I can make all your stupid little worries disappear in the blink of an eye.
Styx shivered.
Liar.
Remember the last meeting we had, back in the swamps, in the mind of that pretty mage? How good it felt to let go, how the pain slowly vanished? And then, seconds before I was able to cure you from your suffering, in your pigheaded stubbornness, you refused my generous offer. I just wanted to help, Rakash.
You don't…
Surrender to me, Rakash!
"No!"
Styx woke up, covered in sweat. He was vaguely aware of the assassin staring at him from his place behind the griffin's ears.
"Is anything wrong?", he asked over the howling wind.
"I… I just thought aloud if it might be smarter to take the southern pass", Styx lied.
"Don't think so. But you seem to have come to the same conclusion", the assassin replied.
"Yeah, guess so."
Styx used all his willpower to stay awake now.
Finally, with every minute seeming like an eternity to Styx, they saw the silhouette of the Old Thaumaturgan Academy among the other buildings of the town on the horizon. The griffin circled around the roof, looking for a place to land safely. Styx looked out nervously for broken windows, burning wood, anything that might look suspicious, but he didn't see anything. Maybe he was going batshit for nothing, and Maera was just fine, waiting for him. He hoped so with all his heart.
"You get in and find the Archmage, he'll take care of the Elf. I'll look if everything's alright", Styx told the other assassin. They opened one of the doors that connected the roof with Maera's chambers right below. Styx stormed inside.
"Maera! Maera, you there? Answer me, please!", he shouted.
The room didn't really look like anything out of the ordinary had happened. There was no mess, no bloodstains or traces of a fight. But Maera was not there, and her owl's perch was empty as well. Styx blinked in confusion. Maybe she was down in the cellar with the alchemists? Styx started to think that all the fussing might have been a false alarm, but then something unusual struck his eye. He froze in shock.
A large round table had been pushed to the center of the reading chamber, where her favorite desk normally stood. In the middle, an Inquisition longsword was rammed into the wood, piercing a parchment to the table. As Styx carefully got closer, he saw that there was a stain in the shape of a hand on the paper.
"No, no, no, no, NO! Fuck, no...", he muttered as he drew out the damn sword and took a look at the crumbled parchment. His name was written on the paper, and printed above was the shape of Maera's hand. He knew her hand and had no doubt, he recognized her four delicate fingers and the short, pointy claws. It was printed with blood, dried and dark. Her blood, he presumed.
Styx felt so sick and raging with anger all the same that he couldn't decide whether he wanted to throw up or stab somebody. A ton of emotions floated through his boiling head like flakes of ash in a fire. With slightly trembling hands, he turned the paper around. On the back, there was a short text:
"If you want to get her back, come to the Valley of Akenash. Come fast, and come alone, or you'll never see her again."
It bore the Inquisition's sigil, a cross on purple wax. Nym had told him true.
And he had come too late.
"Styx! Finally, you are here!", a deep voice called him.
Styx didn't react at first. The world around him sounded like his head was wrapped in wool. His blood pounded in his ears, his vision blurred and he felt like he was in a nightmare.
Not her. Not Maera.
"Styx, listen to me!" A shove from the Archmage brought him back into reality. A tall Dark Elf with blue-and-grey fur-trimmed robes stood before him. "They came in the night, two days ago. They really knew what they were doing, nobody noticed them enter. We discovered that Maera was missing only yesterday, and when we saw that the message was for you, we decided to wait for your return. Since the Inquisition apparently keeps her as a hostage, we didn't want to endanger her life with hasty actions."
"I..." Styx desperately tried to regain his composure. He didn't want the others to know that he was this close to losing his mind. "I need to leave, right now. No matter what. It is me they want, and it's my fault they captured Maera. How the hell do I get to the Valley of Akenash? Anybody of you bookworms got an idea?", he asked.
The Archmage turned around to the other researchers and Librarians who had gathered around. All of them looked sad and lost. Styx hated them all the same, for they didn't do anything to prevent this, those fools. Most of all, he hated himself for not being there.
"Poor Maera...", some Librarian said, shaking his head. "Bryn wanted to help her, but she was tied to a perch and hurt her wing and leg when she tried to rip free. She's down with Master Cornix, she'll be fine soon, at least."
"Oh great, an owl has more courage than any of you pathetic wimps", Styx growled. Surprisingly, that comforted him a little. Hearing that Maera's beloved Bryn had been killed would have been too much. At least she was safe here, and not in Akenash with Maera. Frowning, Styx remembered that the Elf had mentioned this name before. Some Restoration Mage had started to take care of Nym's wounds, treating him with golden glowing charms as Styx strode towards him.
"Hey, Elf! You said something about Akenash, didn't you? Speak, asshole! Where is it?", Styx snapped at Nym.
"I can tell you where exactly to find it, but it is a dangerous place. I'll mark it on a map for you", Nym's voice echoed.
"Abbyss of the Dark Brotherhood has already been informed", the Archmage remarked.
"Ah, finally, someone who is able to get his shit together!", Styx said annoyed. "I'll gather everything I need, while Nym prepares the map and then I'll wait for Abbyss. There's no time to lose!"
He just wanted to get away as fast as possible, away from all those cowards, off to Maera. He felt that he couldn't suppress his panic much longer, and he really didn't want the others to see how shattered he was. The other Librarians and the Archmage left the room while Styx ran here and there to Maera's shelves to gather his equipment. Not much time passed until the Dark Brotherhood leader appeared out of nowhere on the window ledge, but it seemed like an eternity to Styx.
"Abbyss! Finally! You heard what those Inquisition assholes did?", Styx asked the old Dragonelf.
"I told you I had a bad feeling about this. The Bigot really wants you, and he'll do anything to get you. Did you find the rune?"
"What...? That's what you are worried about? They kidnapped Maera!"
Abbyss kept an icecold, straight face while Styx yelled at him.
"Did you find the rune?"
"Fine, I got it. Here you go, take the damn thing. Anyway, I need to leave as fast as possible. Got any tips for me?", Styx asked, throwing the rune to him.
"Yes, I have. Stay."
"WHAT? You gotta be kidding!"
"I'm serious. Stay. It is a trap, most obviously. You're going to get captured, and then they'll question you, torture you and kill you. And her as well. Leave Maera, stay and survive", Abbyss said.
"Fuck, no! How can you say that? She's a Dragonelf like you, she's basically part of the family!", Styx shouted angrily.
"The Inquisition will kill her if you don't go, and if you go they will kill her all the same. It doesn't matter, but if you stay you'll live. It's not like you to risk your own life for someone else, you've never done that", Abbyss stated.
"I... I know, and normally I wouldn't risk my ass for nobody! But... It's different this time, okay? She's in that trouble just because of me", Styx said. Abbyss was right, he realized. In every other place and time, he would never even think about risking his butt for another person, no matter who it was. He had sort of risked his life for his buddy Arkail, back when they killed Emperor Barimen, but Styx had done that also for himself and because he fucking hated humans, and only because he never really was the person of interest. The Orc was the center of attention, and he, the sneaky Goblin, stood out of the breach. Stay out of danger, be discrete, survive. That's why he still lived, because he had learned to keep his head down. The thought of stepping right into the snakepit gave him the shivers. But this time... Thinking of leaving Maera to the Inquisition just to stay out of trouble filled his heart with such a burning pain that he just wanted to scream. He couldn't take it, no fucking way.
"I'm not going to change my mind. I'm saving Maera and kick the Bigot's sacred ass! Hard. You gonna help me get to the Valley of Akenash or what?", Styx said firmly.
Abbyss looked at him thoughtfully with his enigmatic light-grey eyes. He didn't say anything for a long while, and Styx felt like the ancient Dragonelf was judging him by looking inside him. After what felt like forever, Abbyss seemed to have come to a conclusion.
"Take this with you. You might need it." He handed Styx the runestone he had stolen from Candidus. "You'll know how to use it when it's time." Styx took it with a shrug and stuffed it back in his bag.
"Well, if you say so... How am I gonna get there?"
Abbyss whistled. With a loud whoosh created by huge wings beating the air, another griffin landed in front of the window. Styx took a step back. It was Gendry, one of Abbyss' personal griffins. Its feathers were white and brown mottled, with a black crest. With eery silver eyes it stared down at Styx.
"Gendry is quick, strong and she will help you reach the valley faster than any other transport, and she can blend in her environment just like you. But she will only take you to the edge of the valley before she returns to me. After that you'll be on your own", Abbyss said.
"Thanks. I take being on my own any time", Styx replied and went back to Nym to get his map. The Elf had marked the route for him.
"I wish you good luck, Emet", Nym's voice said. "Akenash is a fateful place for both of us."
"Yeah, whatever. I'll be back, you can count on that!"
Styx went to the window and climbed on the back of the griffin. A cold wind was blowing outside, and the afternoon sun was hidden behind lead-grey clouds. According to the map, he had to fly far into the east.
"Don't die", Abbyss said seriously.
"I won't", Styx replied, tugged his hood over his forehead and gave Gendry the signal to depart. Flying high up into the shrouded, windy sky, he left the Library behind, which soon disappeared in the mist.