Chapter Forty-five

Somber Salutations


I awoke on my back. My muscles were slowly becoming less stiff. I could feel my toes again, and my head was throbbing. Kneeling over me was who I first thought was Kima, but soon realized was a half-elf with red hair. She seemed to be a druid, which fit with her olive skin and hazel eyes.

I let my arms drop. I was no longer in K'varn's chamber, but Allura's tower. The architecture was distinctive enough that I knew where I was. I wasn't sure how I'd got there, but I was glad for it.

A deep voice greeted me awake. "Our tribe is not lost."

"Welcome back!" a cheerful, yet somber Melima said. I looked around at my friends standing around me. Keothi, Naidaroe, Melima, Kutsool, Allura, Ari'yasa, Sephra. There were two missing.

"Where's Kima and Sindus?" I asked. I hoped that they were resting, or waiting to be restored as I had just been.

Melima looked down with sorrow. "They didn't make it, and they're not coming back."

"You were the only one that we could save," Keothi said.

"No..." I weakly cried out, then blacked out again.

I awoke again to my head being cradled and my cheek gently patted by Ari'yasa. The news had been too much for me in my weakened state.

I slowly sat up then buried my face in my hands. This was all my fault. I should have tried to convince Kima to just get out. Now not only was she gone, Sindus was too. What kind of leader was I? What kind of friend was I? I was the only one they could save? What had happened to the others? I had a resurrection scroll!

The druid had already stood, and turned to leave. I reached out to her, I knew how powerful of magic that must have taken. "Thank you, so much."

She nodded with a sad smile and left. We were in the middle of Allura's main chamber, and everyone took a seat in the center of the common area, except for Sephra, who sat against the far wall with her head in her hands. I cried into my hands again.

I looked up and saw Allura with tears on her face as well. She picked up the chestplate of Kima's armor. "I knew something had happened when— Long ago, when Kima and I first knew each other, I placed a spell on her armor, so that if something happened to her I would know.

"Her life force was connected to this armor so that if she ever...died, I would be able to know. Which is how I knew something happened. When I talked through my stones..."

She looked at Sephra. "I'm glad you kept one. This is the only way I could keep track of you. If you had used them all, I would not have been able to help you.

"I put that spell on her armor knowing that she always wanted to go on adventures, she always wanted to be the one to do the right thing, to right the wrongs in the world. And from what you have told me, what happened, this was the right thing, and she sacrificed herself for the greater good.

"It was her mission, it was her quest to destroy this evil. And you truly have, if what you tell me is true. Though you did not bring her back, I am eternally in your debt. I hope that maybe one day I can— I'm going to do everything in my power for you to try and get them back. Sindus, and Kima.

"There are magics out there that are powerful enough, but sometimes they can be dangerous. I do not have the power myself to bring them back, but there are those who can. The magics are extremely rare, only the greatest of clerics can cast these spells. I would have to call in every favor I know— But I'm glad it wasn't a total loss."

She looked to Kutsool. "I'm afraid you are very far from your homeland."

He looked back with some confusion. "Yeah, where are we?"

"You are in Emildan." He looked back at her with bewilderment in his face. It was evidently indeed far from home. Most likely he was from the Dwarven mountains near where I'd trained under Shadow. How had we gotten back?

Allura was lost in thought. I didn't understand half of what she was talking about. It sounded like K'varn was gone, and Kima had sacrificed herself in the process. But what had happened to Sindus?

I took a deep breath. "How long was I out? What happened?"

There was a pause, and Melima reached for my hand. "It hasn't been long, maybe an hour and a half."

That seemed incredibly short. We'd defeated or escaped K'varn and returned to Emildan in under two hours? I was sure I'd been out for days. Melima continued. "Tawariell, I am so sorry to inform you, you already know that Sindus is no longer with us, and neither is Kima. Both died nobly. Both were vital to our survival in this experience and our mission, with Sindus on our team."

She began to cry as well. "He actually was the one who brought out the chest of beads from the treasure place. You remember that small chest of black beads or pearls that we've had for forever?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I remember you were pulling them out, then I went out."

Melima nodded sadly. "Mathematically, if we had pulled out a handful of those we could have destroyed anything that we needed to, but we didn't. We couldn't find the means and the time to get everybody out safely. Sindus was trapped against the wall and hit with a grey ray. We all thought he just disappeared. Everything that ever was Sindus, except for his things and his armor, was gone in an instant.

"We knew at that moment that it was time to end things. So, instead of pulling a handful, I tossed the chest at Kima, who somehow got underneath the beholder. In her last moments before she was petrified herself, she threw down the box and completely blew up the radius of the room and killed every enemy, along with herself, in self-sacrifice. That is how we got out.

"Oh, and you're probably wondering how we got here. That is all thanks to Allura. She was notified after Kima died, through her armor, that something had happened. So she called through the stone she'd given Sephra and told us to get somewhere safe. Once we were out of the city and safe, she teleported to us and was able to get us back here through a teleportation circle.

"So, Tawariell, you really haven't missed too much timeline-wise, but events-wise, that's where we're at."

After a moment Kutsool interjected. "Your large friend here carried you from the chamber all the way through, out the temple, and down the side through to the tower."

I turned to Keothi with tears in my eyes and a heart full of gratitude. I remembered how heavy pieces of other petrified statues we'd seen had been. And he'd gotten me back in one piece! "Thank you Keothi, I owe a lot to you."

"I would not have done otherwise." I felt honored to have such devoted friends. There was another long pause of somber silence.

I turned to Allura. "How long were we gone? I tried to keep track, but once we were underground it was hard to tell."

Allura thought for a moment. "From the time that you left my tower, it's been nearly eighteen days. I was starting to get worried, the stone that I found you with, I can scry on it, and I hadn't been able to see you for a while. But it's been about eighteen days."

I stared at her for a moment. By my count, we'd only been gone ten or eleven days. That was an entire week longer than I'd thought. There was no way that was how long we'd been underground, and I'd even accounted for a day or two there!

It was silent again for a moment. Then Kutsool looked up. "Where's that ale?"

I guessed it had been talked about while I was either stone, or unconscious. Allura apologized and snapped her fingers. A couple of servants came with a couple of trays of ale. I politely declined, my head was murky enough as it was, but Kutsool took two mugs, chugging one then slowly sipping at the other. "I haven't had a good ale in a long time."

Keothi looked to Allura. "We of course are appreciative for all the help that you have thus far said. This encounter has opened my eyes more to things that we will need if we are to help rid this world of more evil. I am able to fight physically, but I feel very weak against magic, against things that affect the mind. Is there anything that you would suggest to help us, or me in particular?"

She pondered for a moment. "Well, those who are strong physically do tend to, sometimes, be a little weaker in the mind, but there are some things in this world that can help, but probably the best things that can be there for you are those that are around you, to help you when those things go awry.

"I was once in your shoes. I once was where you were. And it is hard to see those lost to you. It is hard to see things that once were to not be. I know how the rigors of time can change things, but with those around you, you can come out victorious regardless.

"As I said before, there are magics in which we can possibly bring someone back to us who was taken from us prematurely. Obviously in the grand scheme, if fate be what it is, we can restore them. If it was not meant to be, then it was meant to be their time. But we can try our best, and pray to the gods that they hear us, and that their soul may return to us."

Allura excused herself to arrange things for the evening. Slowly chatter began to happen. People wanted to sleep, Melima wondered what the brain thing had been, Ari'yasa wanted to have more potions with us, Keothi wanted to find ways to prevent his mind from being altered, so he wouldn't attack us again. I was just glad he was on our side. Melima told us what she had learned about one of her spells during the fight, that she could escape grapples.

Soon Allura was back, carrying a tea tray. "We can at least start with this, and a meal will be ready in about a half an hour."

"After this meal, is there a way you can get me home without me taking a week and a half to two weeks to get there, traveling across this country?" Kutsool asked.

"I believe I still have enough in me. Do the Thunderbrands still keep a teleportation circle?"

"I believe their teleportation circle is still working. If you are able to do that I can go there."

"Excellent. We can arrange that after the meal."

Allura blankly sipped a cup of tea, then addressed the rest of us. "You are welcome to stay in my tower as long as you wish. If there is anything I can do at my disposal, please, let me know. We will try to find a way to restore our friends." She gestured up the staircase she'd come down the last time we were there. "There are rooms prepared for you, available for you to use while you remain here in my tower. If, and when the time is right, we will make our way as you had originally requested, to be able to use my airship for whatever purpose you see fit."

"What can we do?" Melima asked.

"Pray, I guess." Allura was numb, I could tell even in my awful state.

"Do we call in favors? My dad's a king," Melima offered.

"It is possible. Your father is a powerful mage, is he not?"

"Yes, one of the most." I was a bit surprised, Melima hadn't been getting along with her father very well, especially learning about Sephra, but I suppose grief does strange things.

"He may also possess that power," Allura said.

There was a long, sad pause. Finally, Allura looked up again. "Please, stay as long as you'd like. Rest, recover."

She caught my eye. "You have suffered much, and I hope we can recover your friend, your lost one."

I nearly started crying again. What did she mean that I had suffered much? We all had! I was still alive! But I was grateful for her genuine concern. "Thank you. And I sincerely hope that we can recover Kima as well."

"I will talk to the sanctuary of the Platinum Dragon. Talk to the head priest, and see if he has the ability. I have not spoken with him in much time, he is not a good friend of mine, but there may be something we can do."

A servant came in, informing us that our meal was ready. We walked up to the dining room, smells of all kinds of food wafting from within.

I hadn't seen so much food in a long time, since the feast in Raishan after our victory in defending the city. There were all sorts of food on the table. Meats, vegetables, fruits, and breads. Everyone piled food on their plate to their heart's content, and ale was flowing freely.

Naidaroe and Keothi seemed to be having a contest to see not only who could eat the most, but who could drink the most. The little half-elf put the goliath to shame. She drank much more than Keothi, seemingly unaffected by the ale. Keothi was obviously drunk, laughing loudly at anything remotely funny. Naidaroe punched him in the arm. "My captain was a goliath, and I could drink him under the table too, so there!"

Kutsool ate vigorously as well. Now that his armor was off, we could see how emaciated he was, having been captive and tortured for weeks. It did my heart good to see him enjoy a hearty meal.

At first, I didn't feel like eating much, my heart was too heavy. But as I ate, my appetite grew. Being petrified had left me weary and exhausted. Eating helped me gain my energy back.

About halfway through the meal, I asked Allura a question I wasn't sure if I wanted the answer to. "How goes the Goblin war? Has Raishan held?"

She paused for a moment, then swallowed. She avoided eye contact. "Raishan was taken, about a week ago."

"No..." I bent over the table, putting my head in my hands again for... I'd lost count of how many times that night. My appetite disappeared again.

"From information and intel our people have gathered, most of the town was evacuated as the horde drew closer, but we were not able to hold the line. There is another defensive line set up near the outskirts of the town."

She finally made eye contact with me. "But it is now under the horde's control. The council has asked the Gnomish leaders for more reinforcements so we may push them back. It has not gone as well as we'd hoped."

She gave me more details about where the line was being held, and that they were able to hold that line better. "Though we know that the majority of the townsfolk were evacuated to the nearby towns that were around. Most of them, from what we understand, have made their way to Midlan, or to one of the other towns along the Daen."

She looked at me with compassion in her eyes. "Hopefully those who were there are safe for you."

"I hope so too. They're all fighters." Lorcan I knew would be in the most danger, being a soldier, but I had a newfound concern for my parents. Would they have fought to hold the line as I had? I now knew that at least my father was a highly trained fighter.

Desserts were brought out, and we finished the meal. Kutsool nodded to Allura. "I think it's about time I got home."

He thanked us and said his goodbyes. I had to thank him as well, and Keothi told him he was a great warrior. Kutsool nodded in appreciation. "I hope that in time we will meet again. If you are ever near the Greenspine Mountains, come to the Dwarven stronghold and look me up. There will always be a warm meal and a good mug of ale. Most outsiders are not welcome, but I will make sure an account is given of Vox Imperium. And if you ever need entrance, you ask for me, and I will make sure your entrance is granted. Thank you."

I held up my finger. "Odd question, have you ever met a ranger, calls himself Shadow?"

He thought for a moment. "I didn't get outside the mountain much, so, unfortunately no, sorry."

"That's alright, I just know he hung around the Dwarven areas a lot."

"Not too much goes on outside the mountain. Plenty under the mountain, but not too much outside."

He and Allura went up the spiral staircase that went along the outer wall. All the doors were along the inside of the stair, and I couldn't tell how far up the stair may have gone.

A few minutes later, Allura returned. "Well, he has returned home. Why don't we all get a good night's sleep and we can decide what to do in the morning? I know there's people to contact and things to be done."

We all gratefully accepted the invitation of sleep. We made our way up, and soon found doors with our names intricately carved on placards, one room for each of us.

Though the rooms were on the inside of the tower, they each had a window to the outside, overlooking the city. Each room was different, but seemed to fit our tastes well. Naidaroe's room looked like a ship's bunk, Melima's was richly decorated and had a four-poster bed.

Mine was more like a cottage room, and smelled of pine. The bedframe was finely carved oak and the ropes underneath were taut. The straw tick was brand new and ever so soft, but not as soft as the goose down pillow. Around the room were wooden carvings hung on the walls and chest of drawers, mainly of animals. Deer, bears, squirrels, beavers. It reminded me of home.

Home, Raishan. Taken by the horde. I hoped my parents were safe. I cried for the city I loved. I cried for Sindus and Kima. I cried until my exhaustion overtook me and I fell asleep.