The top three floors of the Great Tower were designed for the accommodation of the knights. It was, of course, all stripped bare now, but with nowhere else to go, Kiri ended up wandering around the third floor. More particularly, she found herself drawn to the rooms at the front of the third floor – the suite of rooms once inhabited by the Knight Commander of the Order of the Star.
There wasn't a great deal of difference between those rooms and the rest of the tower – the same white stone, the same high ceilings, the same practical design. It was true that the upper floors had windows, which the first two floors did not, but the windows were merely narrow, transparent parts of the wall.
The Commander's suite consisted of three large bedrooms, three offices, a small conference room, a lounge and a bathroom. Presumably, it was designed for the three founders of the Order, Asharron, Tirrell and Kershel. In fact, it had probably been Kershel himself who had designed it, if the stories were true.
Kiri trailed her hand around the walls of the empty rooms. These chambers had seen over a thousand years of history, but there was no sign of it. There was no dust, no wear, not even any scuff marks. The Tower seemed almost newly-made, just standing ready for her to move in and start building up the Order, the same as the founders had done so long ago.
And it could have been hers, too. Well, not really, not realistically, but she'd had the chance. Even though she had been offered the position, she hated to think what would have happened if she had just accepted without telling them the truth. But even so, she couldn't help wishing that she could have accepted, that she could have become Commander.
She leaned against the wall and let herself daydream for a while, imagining how it could have been. People of goodwill from all across the northlands would flock to her banner. She would build up the Order of the Star better than ever before. Evil would flee from her knights, and she would preside over a new age of peace and prosperity. The Arrel Plains, no, the whole of the northlands would be made new, and even the lands of the Empire…
Kiri snorted, breaking from her reverie. Rebuilding the Iskeni Empire, no less! She couldn't even rebuild the Order. Her daydream had been absurdly sketchy, only serving to reinforce her lack of skills. She wasn't even a proper fighter!
No, she couldn't rebuild the Order, but perhaps she could rebuild herself. Having been invited to become the Commander, surely they wouldn't deny her the chance to become a knight. It wasn't exactly the fulfilment of her dreams - there had been too much darkness, horror and death. But perhaps now she could find her place in the world.
Except… what would it be like? She had a better idea, now, of what it meant to be a fighter. It would be hard work, very hard work, especially since there were so few knights left. And following orders. She had always preferred doing her own thing, but, as a knight, she would have to do what she was told. She stared off into the distance, envisaging a lifetime of blood-soaked drudgery stretching ahead of her…
It would be better than being a cleaner! She shook off her melancholy and stood up straight. Brooding about the future wouldn't make it any better.
But she would have to give up the Panoply. She looked down and stroked a hand over the beautiful armour, rubbed the pommel of the sword, the butt of the mace. But perhaps she could earn them back. She could work her way up to Commander, the proper way of doing things.
She looked around the Commander's suite. No, it was not to be hers today, but maybe in the future… She smiled to herself, feeling her future take on credible shape.
As she turned to leave the room, a thought ran through her mind, You belong here.
Kiri froze. The thought had been in her mind, but it hadn't been her thought. She looked around cautiously, but there was no-one and nothing to be seen.
Another thought came. Salkirimarillias, Knight Commander of the Order of the Star.
Kiri's eyes popped open and her mouth went round as she realised what was happening. She placed her hand on the wall. 'Kershel? You can talk?'
The thought came back clearly. Yes. Kiri, you must become Commander.
'What? I must? Wait, wait a moment. How come you're talking now? You weren't before.' Kiri's mind reeled, not just because she was talking to Kershel, one of the founders from so long ago, but also from his bizarre declaration. She had to be Commander?
I have been alone for six hundred years. It has taken time to remember how to speak again. That is why I need you.
'You need me? What for?'
I… am a tower. I cannot speak. I cannot move. I have no magic. The magic of the Tower is bound up in its protections and I cannot use it. But you… you are an Elf. I can draw on your magical nature - to speak, to… to affect the world.
Kiri blinked, absorbing this information. 'So it was you, that fixed the Sword, and the Mace, and fought off the lich. But then … what was that when I first came into the Tower? Was that you, that… peaceful feeling?'
You needed peace. You were suicidal. I took away your pain.
'What? No, I wasn't. Well, I was, but that was the day before.' Now Kiri was becoming confused. What did Kershel mean? What was he talking about?
Listen, Kiri. This is important. You must become Commander. I need you, and you need me.
'No, you listen to me,' She told him angrily. 'I've already turned down their offer, and I can't do it anyway. I'm only sixteen.'
In truth, you did not turn it down. You merely told them who you were. You did not refuse the offer, and neither did they withdraw it.
Kiri frowned round at the walls with a mixture of confusion, irritation and anger. It was hard to argue with someone who wasn't even physically present. Except as a white stone wall. 'What difference does that make? Now they know that I'm sixteen, they won't want me as Commander. I don't have the skills. And I don't want to be Commander.'
They will accept you, I will persuade them to. And I know you are young. I will help you, as I have been helping you.
'Helping me? How have you been helping me?' Kiri felt a prickle of fear. She wasn't sure what, but there was something very disturbing about Kershel's words.
I know that you are not a natural leader, and that you have little experience. But I have over a thousand years of experience and so I have shared it with you. I have used it to help you.
Kiri stared at the wall, her fear rising with his ominous words. Kershel's cryptic revelations were starting to make sense. A horrible sense. 'What have you done?' she demanded. Even as she spoke, she was backing towards the door.
You're nothing but a pile of shit-encrusted bones! Remember that? The critical words at the critical moment. They were my words. You were speechless, so I gave you the words that you needed. And I have done so ever since you entered the Tower. Commands, training schedules, plans - do you think you could have done it without me? I gave you what you needed to win, and I can do that in the future, too.
'You… used me! Used me like a puppet!'
You would have died without me… Kershel argued.
Kiri didn't listen. The roar of panic filled her mind. She had to get away! She spun about and raced for the door.
STOP! Kershel's shout hit Kiri like a blow, stunning her. She stumbled and fell, only her outflung hands keeping her from slamming face-first into the wall, but she couldn't stop herself from sliding to the floor. Panting desperately, Kiri tried to stand again but all her strength seemed to be gone.
Kiri, listen to me! Kershel insisted. Have you forgotten Tarkeros? He certainly has not forgotten you. He will hunt you down, wherever you go.
Kiri ignored him. Unable to stand, she tried to crawl away.
You humiliated him and destroyed his army. He cannot let that go unanswered. He will kill you and anyone who gets in his way… such as your father.
His words finally reached Kiri's panicked mind. 'My father?'
Only in the Order will you be safe from Tarkeros - and only the Order can give you the power to defeat him. Otherwise you will simply be prey - you and everyone around you.
She tiredly sank to the floor, putting her back against the wall. It was true. She had almost forgotten about the lich. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder, waiting for him to come to kill her. And the only way to prevent that was to kill him first. Which, as Kershel had just pointed out, she could only do as a member of the Order.
'So I have to become a knight. I accept that. That's what I intended to do, anyway. But I won't be your puppet. I don't have to be Commander.'
Perhaps… or perhaps not. Right now, the knights are discussing possible candidates for Commander. Their first choice at the moment is Marshal Peracor.
'Marshal Peracor! He retired twenty years ago! He must be nearly seventy by now.'
Yes, he is old, conservative. Not likely to make changes… like allowing women to become knights. Kershel suggested pointedly.
'Surely he will realise…' Kiri trailed off. It was all too likely that a hide-bound old man wouldn't recognise the need to make changes. Commander Vayrlan hadn't seen it, either. She bit her lip, thinking it over.
There is little time. The knights may make a decision at any moment. Kershel prodded her.
'All right! I'll do it. But they probably won't accept me anyway.'
They will. I will persuade them.
'You'll talk to them?'
No. I can only talk to you, or another Elf, or other magical creature. But I can influence them.
'You'll… manipulate them? Like you manipulated me! You can't do that!'
Time is wasting. What is your answer?
'How can you do that? Messing with peoples' minds! That's evil!'
No, it is not. But if you wish to discuss the nature of Good and Evil, I suggest you wait until another time. Now choose, before it is too late.
Kiri silently seethed at Kershel's arrogance and bullying manner. But there was no alternative, nothing she could think of. Becoming Commander seemed to be her only way out. Then something occurred to her, a way to make it less onerous…
That is acceptable. Kershel declared.
'Wha?' Kiri was startled that he had been eavesdropping on her thoughts, and glared at the walls.
Quickly, now. You must inform them of your decision.
With one last glare, Kiri turned and made her way back down to the second floor. She ignored everyone still sitting around in the briefing room and pushed open the library doors. The knights, all seated around a table, looked up as she entered. Before anyone else could speak, she made her announcement.
'I have considered your offer and have decided to accept. I shall become your Commander.' They all looked surprised. Kiri was more annoyed, as she realised that Kershel was influencing her choice of words. Leave me alone, she thought at him, I can do this myself!
She felt him withdraw, and then realised that he had been suppressing her nervousness as it rushed back. Before she could panic, she plunged on. 'I will be Commander for a year, to rebuild the Order, just until the Order is secure again…' She realised that she was perilously close to saying too much, to starting to babble, so clamped her mouth shut and waited for their response.
She didn't need to wonder, she could feel what they were thinking. Or rather, what they were being made to think. Kershel's influence was marvellously subtle. There was no push to get them to accept, but a gentle overlay and then leading of their emotions.
First, an acknowledgment of their surprise, which then turned to understanding as they realised what she was proposing. There was relief, then, pleased relief at the hard decision being made, which finally became thankful acceptance. Grateful smiles appeared on their faces.
Morten held out a little longer, as he seemed to think it through, but eventually he too smiled and nodded his acceptance.
It was all very smooth and skilfully done. Kiri hated it.
Chapter Thirty Two - CommanderKiri's first act as Commander was to have breakfast. As she chewed her way through a plate of ham, eggs and toast, she thought through all that would need to be done. Now that she was in charge, there was much to be organised. Annoyingly, Kershel kept pushing ideas into her head. Even more annoyingly, he had many good suggestions, most of which she hadn't considered.
However, it all amounted to three basic goals: Repair the damage to the fortress; Recruit new knights and men-at-arms; Hunt down the lich Tarkeros. Which was easier said than done.
She finally pushed her plate aside and looked up to see Daven loitering by the library door. 'Daven,' she called, and he turned to her. 'Could you get everyone up here? We need to discuss what comes next.' He nodded and trotted off.
You should prepare an agenda for the meeting. Kershel told her. It will look more professional.
Kiri frowned in irritation, but he was probably right. She remembered that she had parchment, pen and ink in her satchel and pulled them out to write up some notes. Just as she got set up, Morten walked in, with one of the other knights – Telfur, she thought – and he came over to speak to her.
'We were just getting ready to scour out the remaining undead,' he said. 'We really need to get that done right away.'
Kiri nodded in acknowledgment, but there was time for that later, it was still early morning. 'There are some things we need to sort out first,' she told him. He frowned slightly, but turned away to take a seat at the table. Telfur sat beside him, and the two began talking in low voices as Kiri resumed her writing.
She finally managed to put together something resembling an agenda, and looked up to see that everyone was present, the last few taking their seats. However, the brunette lady still hung back at the door, the little girl at her side as always. They looked unsure as to whether they were supposed to be there, so Kiri beckoned them over. The two of them had stayed around this long, they deserved to know what was going to happen next.
Jordan placed a chair at the head of the table and grinned at her. Kiri smiled back at him as she gathered up her things, to move to her new place. She sat and waited for the others to settle. Then gulped, as they all turned to look expectantly at her.
Would you like some help? Kershel asked archly.
Kiri ignored him, forced back her trepidation, and, with a glance at her agenda, started the meeting. 'All right, I've called you here to, to make sure that you all know what's going on.' She realised that she was speaking too fast, stumbling over her words. She took a deep breath, and forced herself to slow down.
'The first thing is that I'm going to be Commander for one year, as an interim measure while we reform the Order. And that reform is in every sense of the word, since there are a lot of things that need to be changed.' She stopped and frowned down at her agenda, wondering if Kershel was influencing her speech again. It annoyed her that she couldn't be sure, but she had to keep going.
'One change I'm making is that men-at-arms may become knights.' She looked up to see the woman Sarriren give a huge smile. Most of the other men-at-arms also appeared delighted, but one man seemed dubious, and another simply shook his head. Well, she had expected that – becoming a knight would entail extra responsibilities, which not everyone would want.
Morten frowned. 'Are you sure that's a good idea, Kiri? Commander,' he corrected himself. 'They don't have the training.'
'They are at least experienced soldiers, which is what we need, so they should get the best equipment and the higher rank. It's better than, a lot better than relying on green trainees.' Kiri noticed Daven flush as she said that and sighed. She didn't want to upset him again, but it was true – an army of boys like him would be a disaster.
'We'll need to undertake a lot of recruitment anyway, but all recruits will go through basic training first – no-one will become a knight-trainee until they have shown that they are up to standard.' She hoped that Daven wouldn't think that this was aimed at him as well. 'Oh, and another thing – we won't use the term men-at-arms any more. Instead, they'll simply be soldiers of the Order.'
That was a minor change, and no-one objected. Sarriren, though, looked pleased – men-at-arms didn't specifically exclude women, but it wasn't exactly inclusive either.
'I also want to recruit priests, into the Order itself, rather than as helpers.'
Jareth shook his head. 'I don't know that that would work. I mean, priests have to answer to their temples first, so being part of the Order as well…' He trailed off, still shaking his head.
'I'm aware that there might be difficulties, but I think we can work it out. And the same for mages.' She looked to Gedrassis. 'If you could write to your old master, see if he knows anyone who might be interested…'
'Hmmm, yes. There's always one or two who want to become battle-mages or adventurers, I suppose they might consider it.' He didn't sound very positive about the idea.
Kiri winced at the cool reception her ideas were receiving. She had hoped that the others would be more enthusiastic about the opportunity to transform the Order.
It is only to be expected. Kershel told her bracingly. New ideas always take some time to be accepted.
Encouraged, Kiri continued with the next item on the agenda. 'We will also need to re-build the command structure. Considering that there's so few of us, it would be silly to set up a bunch of new marshals. Instead, there will be captains in charge of each chapter-house.'
'Captains?' Telfur exclaimed, 'We haven't had captains for years, it's been a long time since we had enough people to need them.'
'Yes, well, that will wait until I can inspect the chapter-houses, which we'll incorporate into our first patrol.'
A cacophony of voices broke out. 'Patrol?' 'You want us to patrol – in winter?' 'How can we patrol, there aren't enough of us!' Kiri waited for them to quieten.
'Yes, of course we're going to patrol, that's what the Order is for.' She glared at them all, certain on this one thing at least. 'If we're not going to patrol, we might as well not be here. And yes, in winter. Monsters and brigands go out in the snow too.'
'And our numbers?' Morten asked.
'Well, they'll be small patrols,' Kiri conceded. 'Actually, more like surveys to see where the main problems are. But we have to be out there, to let people know that we're still active. Stories about what has happened here will be all over the northlands by now, and we have to show that we're still in business.'
Morten nodded, accepting her point. Some of the others didn't look so convinced, but that wasn't important right now.
'Back to the point about our command structure. I will need one Marshal as my second-in-command, and that will be Morten.'
'What? No!' Morten erupted, 'That won't work. I told you, I'm half-barbarian!'
'So?' Kiri asked. She didn't see the problem.
Morten sighed and dropped back into his chair, running a hand through his hair. 'I know that you don't get many barbarians up here, but in the River cities, especially Venkenka, barbarians are regarded as scum – criminal scum. There's no way that they'll accept me as a Marshal. I wouldn't have even been allowed in the Order if my father wasn't a knight!'
Kiri suspected there was a story behind that, but now wasn't the time to ask. 'I think you are the best person for the job, so I'm offering it to you. Do you want it?'
Morten sighed, looked down, then met Kiri's eyes. 'Yes, I do,' he admitted. 'But it will make our job harder. It will be harder to get recruits, especially in Venkenka.'
'And why would we even want recruits who cared about you being half-barbarian?' Jordan demanded.
'Good point,' Kiri commented. 'But that brings me to my final item. At the moment, we don't even know if we can afford to take on any recruits. We can't really make any detailed plans until we have cleared the fortress of undead and salvaged everything of value, until we know exactly what our resources are. So unless anyone has anything else they'd like to raise…?' Kiri braced her hands on the table, preparing to rise.
'There is one thing,' Jordan said, raising his hand to get her attention. 'The Winter Festival is tomorrow. It seems to me that would be the ideal time and place to announce that we're recruiting.'
Kiri blinked in surprise. She had almost forgotten about the festival. It seemed so long since she had been making plans with Marly… She shook off that thought and rose to her feet. 'That means that we'll need at least a vague idea of our financial situation by the end of the day. So I want everyone outside, ready to kill undead, in half an hour. Morten, Jordan – make sure everyone has the best equipment available.'
They all looked at her, seemingly waiting for something more. It didn't feel right for her to say Dismissed! or some other military-style command, so she simply said, 'Get to it.' They got the message, pushing their chairs back and trooping out of the room.
Kiri waited until they were all gone, then collapsed back into her chair, heaving a huge sigh of relief that it was over. She wasn't sure how much she had been in charge of the meeting, and how much had been Kershel, but she felt utterly drained.
You did well. Kershel said. I only supported you, most of that was your own doing.
She wasn't sure she believed him. The idea of having him inside her head was extremely disturbing, but she had to admit it was useful. She didn't think she could have gotten through the meeting without him.
Then she noticed that she was no longer alone in the room. The young lady and the child had come back in, and were looking at her hopefully. 'Yes?' she asked. 'Did you want something?'
The lady drifted a bit closer. 'I was wondering,' she began timidly, 'what do you want me to do? I know I can't do much, but I'll do whatever I can to help!' she declared with earnest fervour.
Kiri looked blankly at them. She couldn't even remember their names.
Kershel supplied the information. Astani. She is sixteen. The child is her niece, Rymi, aged five.
'Astani,' Kiri said. 'Do you have any family you can go to?'
Astani shook her head, tears in her eyes. 'All my family were here in the fortress, and now they're all dead. Rymi is all I've got left.' And she hugged the little girl to her side.
'Are you interested in becoming a soldier?' Kiri asked, but the flash of panic on Astani's face was answer enough.
Kiri sighed. 'All right. I'm sure we can find something for you to do. But you will have to learn at least the basics of fighting – this is a fortress, not a palace.'
The brunette looked scared, but nodded. 'If you want. But what should I do right now?'
The storeroom.
'You can begin an inventory of the storeroom. There's a lot of things in there, so it will take ages, but you can at least make a start on it.'
Astani nodded, evidently pleased that she could make herself useful.
Tell her to bring Gedrassis down to the storeroom, too. There is something I want to show him.
Kiri relayed Kershel's request, and Astani ran off to fetch the mage, Rymi scurrying along behind.
'And what was that about?' Kiri asked aloud.
Come. I'll show you. And he directed her through the dining room, downstairs to the storeroom. Between the storeroom and the larder was a wall occupied by empty shelves, and Kershel told her to shift them.
She laboriously heaved the shelf unit out of the way against another wall, revealing a stone wall inscribed with the eight-pointed star of the Order. Suspecting that it was a secret door, Kiri examined it, but found nothing.
Astani, Rymi and Gedrassis finally arrived. 'So, what's so special?' Gedrassis asked.
Place your hand on the star.
Kiri did so, and the entire wall sank in then swung to one side, revealing another staircase leading even deeper beneath the fortress. Kiri's eyebrows rose at the sight, but after a moment she started down the stairs, with the others following behind.
Crystals embedded in the walls started to glow as she descended, illuminating the stairs. They continued straight down, until Kiri estimated that they went down over a hundred feet. Only then did they come to a landing. The stairs turned, and went down even further, but there was a door on the landing and Kiri pushed it open.
She entered a small hall. There was a door at the far end, and more doors down each side. A couple of battered tables stood in the middle of the room, along with some equally battered chairs. Some ragged but comfortable-looking armchairs sat against the walls in little clusters. It all looked completely ordinary – except that the entire room, and everything in it, was saturated with magic.
It glowed in Kiri's sight, a white luminescence with little pulses and curls of blue, red and yellow. Oddly enough, the magic wasn't actually doing anything – it had simply soaked into the room. Gedrassis stepped past her.
'What is this place?' he asked. Not seeming to see anything unusual at all, he wandered across the room and opened one of the doors. Kiri flinched away as a flare of white light erupted from the doorway. As the brilliance faded, she looked back to see that Gedrassis had entered a library, where every book glowed with magic.
This is where I practiced my magic. Kershel said – unnecessarily, as Kiri had already realised as much. My libraries, my laboratories…
Gedrassis made a sound of startled awe as he pulled books from the shelves and stared at them. He rushed through the library, seemingly trying to touch everything at once. He paused at the door, looking wildly around the hall, clearly trying to decide which door to open next.
He raced across the room and opened the door opposite, revealing a large laboratory, full of strangely-shaped glassware, braziers, cauldrons and too many other things to take in. Gedrassis stared at it all, then ran to the next room.
This one held a workshop, one end set up with a forge and metal-working tools, the other with a bench, vice, saws, chisels – all the paraphernalia of a wood-working shop. Kiri inhaled the aroma of wood.
The room at the end was simply bare stone, but stone marked with many burns, stains and curious gouges. After that was a storeroom, with shelves full of strange items, and the air full of strange odours which set Rymi sneezing.
The last room was another library, which Gedrassis eagerly examined, before he raced off again on another circuit of the rooms, with Astani and Rymi following after, delighted but a little bewildered. Kiri just stood back and smiled at the mage's antics.
Kiri. There is more I need to show you. Downstairs.
Kiri left the room and continued down the staircase. She guessed that she had descended another fifty feet when the stairs ended at another star-marked wall. Kiri needed no prompting to place her hand on the star, and the wall swung open.
The room beyond was a crypt, a large circular vault. Three tombs lay in the centre of the room with stone effigies atop them, and more tombs lined the walls in small niches, with statues of their occupants. Although there were over a hundred niches, no more than twenty were occupied.
This is where Commanders of the Order have been interred since the Founding. It has been sealed since the mage-haters took over, but now that there is a true Commander once again, I open it to you.
Kiri looked in wonder at the statues of past Commanders, but turned her attention to the three central tombs. The middle one held an effigy of a stocky, armoured woman, a sword clasped to her chest. Even with her eyes closed, seemingly in repose, there was an air of strength and purpose about her.
The tomb to the right bore the likeness of a slender woman, with features similar to the first. She simply looked to be asleep. Kiri turned to the third tomb, which held an effigy of a man in mage robes.
'Kershel? This was you? You were a half-Elf?'
Yes. Did I not mention that?
She snorted. 'There's a lot you didn't mention.'
True. And there is one more thing. Push my tomb to the right.
By now, Kiri knew better than to be surprised, so she simply did as he said. The entire sarcophagus reluctantly slid to the side, revealing a dark hole and more steps going down. A chill wind rose from the opening.
A secret tunnel. It only leads out into the valley, which is inconvenient, but you may find it useful.
Kiri frowned. Truthfully, she would have found the tunnel a lot more useful if she had known about it a couple of days ago.
You are now Commander. Only now do I disclose my secrets to you.
And Kiri just had to accept that.