Chapter 14
Do you know anything…?
"Ah," John paused. "So Irenicus is 'good'?" His smile was sardonic; speaking of a vein of irony that had arisen from that simple statement that he found he rather enjoyed. "Someone must have changed the definitions when I wasn't looking."
"Theoretically… no, he's just on the side of 'good', because he's one of the pawns for the World-Makers of 'good alignment' – which is something I don't particularly understand, since not all of them consistently show conventionally 'good' behavior. Alignment doesn't define them, like it doesn't define our actions." Meri replied. Through all her speech, the only parts of her that moved were the serpentine neck and the sleek head – the rest of the flame-wrought body was eerily still. If not for the heat and the light that the bird produced, John would have thought that the creature was just carved of crystal, so perfect were the feathers, without the curls and wisps that he normally associated with free-burning naked flame.
"Excuse me, Lady," Arundel spoke respectfully, also a little overawed by the pure presence of Meridian – she dominated the room, drawing all attention towards her, moths to a flame. "But…"
"Yes, I know you lot are anxious to be going," Meri interrupted, again giving the impression that other than John, she was paying the rest as much attention as one would pay attention to an individual grass stalk in a vast field. "Anything else you wish to ask me?"
"Would you know anything about Irenicus' intentions… or his real name?" John had asked Yoshimo whether the thief knew the last question, and he hadn't. Nor had Arundel or any of his contacts…and John was wondering if name-magic worked here.
"His intentions?" Meri tipped her head to one side. "Hmmm. I cannot tell you, nor can I tell you his name. That you may find out later."
"But you know it?"
Meri did not answer, but carefully began to groom one flight feather until John sighed and broke the silence. "Fine. More rules?"
"Ah! You are beginning to understand. I was wondering if I had chosen well." Meri said happily, and John could not decide whether or not she was mocking him. "The tide will go in a few hours, and I suggest the lot of you go to the docks immediately." She twitched her head, stirring the gorgeous crest whose embedded sapphires twinkled like so many grotesque eyes, then abruptly disappeared. Only the scorch marks remained as evidence that the encounter had actually taken place.
John blinked and took a step forward, and heard a voice in his head. : This is a harder way to communicate… but it would be convenient. You don't mind if I poke around, do you? :
"I do bloody mind if you 'poke around', thank you!" John snarled. The others stared at him, startled, and he flapped his right hand at them irritably.
: You'd look less insane if you just spoke with your mind, : Meri commented mildly.
John decided to ignore her.
"Is she gone?" Yoshimo asked curiously, as John put out the candle flames and picked up the candles.
John handed the candles to C'halhn and shook his head, and then tapped it in one finger. "In here, apparently."
: Not really… if I was truly manifest in your head, your blood would have boiled. :
"So she can hear us?"
"I'm ignoring her," John said shortly, feeling a near-overwhelming sense of irritation, mostly fuelled by the knowledge that he had no control whatsoever over his life at the moment. His strong craving, perhaps it could be called, for independence made him hate his puppet-masters, a hot, bitter and impotent hatred that caused him to want to do something destructive. Before the new stowaway inside his…wherever could comment, John hastily added the thought that whatever he wanted to do that was destructive, he was not going to use his 'new' magic to do it.
: Spoilsport. :
**
As they walked to the Docks in the early morning sunshine that drew long shadows on the cobblestones John wondered if he should bother trying to 'scope out' Peregrine. The cleric kept to herself calmly, and didn't seem to be disturbed by Entreri's pointed silence. She only spoke when spoken to – Arundel sometimes was so friendly that he reminded John of a golden retriever – and only mentioned religion and her Goddess when asked about it. She was so self-effacing that it was beginning to get on his nerves.
He had the distinct feeling that she was, while volunteering as little information about herself as possible, gathering as much about them as possible.
: Do you want some psychoanalysis? : Meri asked curiously in his mind.
: Will you get the hell out of my head? :
: No. Even if I had a choice, I like it in here. You're…interesting, and I always do this to my wielders, because it's the closest thing to living that I can get to. : Meri's voice seemed gleeful. : And I can help you… some of your mental defenses are rather pathetic. :
: Get out! :
: Be reasonable, I can't, unless you kill yourself, : Meri paused. : And I don't need to remind you where you will go if you tried that. In any case… do you want me to talk about your party members? :
: Why don't you just shut up? :
: Fine. : Meri still seemed unperturbed. : Don't accuse me of being unhelpful. :
They passed under the great stone arch that marked the section of the city that was the Docks district, and as if on cue, could hear the distant squawks of seagulls that circled lazily overhead and the shouts of traders. Stone steps, warm in the sunlight led gracefully downwards in large stairs to their left or right, stone arms that curled the upper platform with buildings set in the centre of the district, the one on their right leading to that platform, and the one on the left curving down to the lower platform that led to the ships and the sea. To their left, behind the left stair, was the looming bulk of the headquarters of the Shadow Thieves, though the guards at the many doors to it seemed to be ignoring them.
"The Docks," Arundel said, somewhat unnecessarily. "Our ship is Feather's Fate, ostensibly a merchant ship heading for Calimport. The ship has a rather idiotic name in my opinion, but she looked fast and seaworthy."
"She'd have to be," Entreri said dryly, "Given the number of people out for her captain's blood."
They passed the Thieves guild, ignoring the guards with equamity. It was quite amusing, actually… both sides behaving as though they were schoolgirls and boys that had just broken off some sort of Relationship.
The lower platform held many stalls, mostly selling fish, the scent not really pleasing - John noticed Entreri in particular trying to hold his breath, but the panther purred and looked hopefully up at John, nudging his leg with one large paw.
"I don't believe you really like that stuff," John muttered down at it. "See the flies?"
It sniffed, jerking its chin away from him as though in disdain.
Crates had been stacked haphazardly on the slicked cobblestones here, and the smell of the sea – salt, water and rubbish – was battling with the smell of fish for dominion. Ships had been moored to the various jetties, and it was with some difficulty that they managed to pick out Feather's Fate from the forest of masts. Dodging through the crowd, they made it through into the ship, her crew shooting them suspicious looks – though they seemed to be ignoring the golem. Arundel must have fiddled with something again. One man – Yoshimo identified him as the first mate – directed them to go below deck to the captain's cabin to meet Saemon.
The ship was all graceful lines and scrubbed surfaces, and even the crew did not look as disreputable as John had unconsciously thought them to be. He had somehow identified Saemon with the conventional image of 'pirate', and decided that he had probably been influenced by too much of the wrong sort of literature.
Below decks, the corridor seemed somewhat cramped, though wide enough to move crates through. Probably allowing maximum space for storage and armament, John thought, remembering the neat square hatches at spaced intervals on the side of the ship for cannons. Some of the sailors below deck that they met directed them to an unremarkable door near the front end (there was probably a nautical term for this, but John couldn't be bothered to find out) of the ship.
Entreri knocked on the door, and after a beat, someone inside said, "Come in."
As they filed into the room, John noted that the 'cabin' didn't seem to belong to the interior of a ship at all. The floor, different from the dull planking outside, was smooth, polished mahogany, at times blanketed with rich carpets that seemed to be the equivalent of Persian carpets. On the walls, also wood-paneled, was a large map of the world, painted skillfully onto canvas and carefully labeled, but other than that, the walls were unadorned and seemed starkly blank. The wall directly to the north of them consisted of several large French windows, though they obviously could not be opened, and the heavy curtains with their rich tassels had been pulled back to allow the sunlight to filter in. There was a glass coffee table in the centre with scrolls stacked haphazardly on it, flanked by two comfortable-looking, brown leather sofas and a love seat, close to a neat bed at the east wall with rich black satin sheets.
"Greetings," Saemon said, his voice carefully flat, neither threatening nor cheerful. The corsair was sunk into the love seat, watching them warily. He was dressed in a sky-blue doublet with breeches of a darker shade and leather boots that reached above his ankles, apparently unarmed. Other than a ruby ring on the ring finger of his right hand, he wore no jewelry or any other adornment. His eyes were an odd shade of blue that hinged on being violet, and his short blond hair was straight and neat, giving his head a rather sleek appearance. His features could conventionally be called handsome, well formed and symmetrical…it fit part of his image as a womanizer.
John nodded slightly. If Saemon wanted to play, they could as well. "Nice of you to take us free-of-charge to Brynnlaw, Captain," he said, straight-faced.
"What can I say?" Saemon shrugged. "Your werewolf friend was very persuasive. Do sit down." His eyes swept over them one by one, and came to rest on Peregrine curiously.
Entreri put a hand on John's shoulder before he could, and touched the leather of the sofas, then looked them over searchingly. "These used to…"
"Be trapped, yes, but I removed them," Saemon said, pointing at a small pile of evil-looking mechanisms under the table. "I knew you would be able to see them if they had been set, but how you actually realized that they had been…"
Entreri snorted. "The material of the seats are obviously slightly lower than their intended height." He sat down on one sofa, cautiously, and the rest followed his example. Well, nothing happened…
: Saemon's not so stupid as to try and kill the lot of you while you're still so close to him. : Meri remarked. John ignored her.
"We'd set sail in half an hour or so," Saemon said in a manner of introduction. "Your rooms will be shown to you later – I trust they would be comfortable."
"We'd be sure to check them for traps as well," Yoshimo said drily.
"You have nothing to fear from this ship, myself, or my crew," Saemon said coolly. "The ships of the Black Talons currently do not venture this far, but I am sure that if the lot of you disappear I would not be able to hide from them." This last was said with a glance at Entreri, who nodded grimly. "I will take you to Brynnlaw as agreed, then we will part ways from there."
"Do you know anything of Irenicus?" Arundel asked.
"Other than he is a powerful mage? Little. I do not know what he strives for or why he has kidnapped the lady K'yanae."
"He kidnapped her?" Entreri frowned.
"I apologize," Saemon said smoothly. "I meant at first, before the Cowled Wizards intervened. I also know nothing else about how to get into Spellhold, but you might want to find the wizard Talik in Brynnlaw – I've heard that he is about to attempt to leave the Cowled Wizards, and he might be happy to give you some information about them. Or you could ask the Pirate Lord himself, if you can get an audience with him."
"And about Bodhi? I think it's quite strange that a guild war starts around the same time that evidences of Irenicus' existence in Athkatla came up," Entreri said coldly. Apparently there had been some information that the assassin hadn't shared with them. Evidences? What evidences? Or was the assassin just playing a bluff?
Saemon looked down at his hands for a moment, then seemed to come to a decision. "Bodhi is Irenicus' sister," he said, his tone as flat as ever.
"What?" Arundel blinked. "But she's a vampire!"
"That has nothing to do with why they are brother and sister."
Some thing seemed to click together. Irenicus' poise – the last time he had seen that sort of grace, the person in question had been elven – a certain relative of his that was an alternate-world Zaknafein. It probably explained the grotesque skullcap as well, which served to hide the ears… but why would Irenicus want to hide his elven heritage?
"Irenicus is an elf?" Arundel seemed to have some difficulty in catching up. "Well, well."
"Why?" John asked.
"Bodhi is from Suldanesselar. So it stands to reason that Irenicus is from Suldanesselar as well… and the family Irenicus there is quite old." Arundel frowned, deep in thought. "I thought at first that it was just a coincidence that the Irenicus we know and that family had the same surname. Strange. Members of the family are revered and close to the Queen. Though I haven't kept track of it or its descendants, I wonder why…" Arundel looked at Saemon for an explanation.
"I don't know anything else," Saemon said, glancing nervously at Entreri, who was playing with the hilt of Vortex. "I swear."
"They wished to be whole again," Peregrine spoke suddenly. "I heard Irenicus speak of that when he was…experimenting."
Ah yes. She had said something about having been an 'experiment' like John, Y'vair and K'yanae had been. Apparently there had been laboratories secreted around Amn.
"Whole?" John grasped, not understanding. "What?"
"I do not know," Peregrine flushed slightly. "I apologize for my ignorance."
The frightening thing about that, John thought, was that she actually seemed to mean it.
: Of course she does. Peregrine is at once complex and uncomplicated. :
: Shut up. :
Saemon's eyebrows knitted for a brief moment as he glanced at Peregrine, then he turned his head away.
"If they are members of the Irenicus family as I know it," Arundel said, "Then I truly do not understand why they have left Suldanesselar, or why they have turned into what they are – were, in Bodhi's case – today."
"Maybe they were kicked out," John suggested. "From the city."
"That could be it…but they must have done something truly terrible," Arundel stared off into space for a moment. "To be whole again… the elves could not have done that, surely… Sorry," he smiled sheepishly at the others. "My brain was wandering."
"Do go on," Entreri twitched his fingers at the elf irritably.
"Ah yes. I was just thinking – one of the punishments for crimes that deserve a fate 'worse than death' for Suldanesselar – that I've heard, mind you – is the removal of what makes an elf an elf. Don't ask me what that is – I don't know anything else about it," Arundel made a face. "Even though I am an elf. Apparently it's such a terrible punishment that most victims die from the process, or kill themselves afterwards, because, to quote something I read that mentioned this once – their years of life afterward are hollow and without meaning."
: They lose their soul, is that it? : John pushed a question in his mind grudgingly.
: Yes. You've lost yours before… half of yours, at least, so I think you'd understand what the elves feel. :
: Is that what happened to Irenicus and Bodhi, then? :
: Maybe. : Meri seemed smug.
: So they're catching people to try and pry their souls out of them? :
: Maybe. :
: I'm wasting my time talking to you, right? :
: Maybe. :
After talking a little more about the subject, the ship lurched suddenly, and began to move. Saemon nodded idly. "I cannot show myself on deck until we're a good ways out of sight of Athkatla. I hope you will enjoy your journey." This last was said with a definite tone of dismissal.
"We'd know where to find you when we want you to fetch something," John agreed, smirking, as he got up. "Don't go too far."
"Quite." Saemon said, a touch of annoyance entering his voice for the first time.
**
John quickly lost count of the days since they left Athkatla. It seemed pointless to try… and after the novelty of having a floor that didn't stay stable wore off; he proceeded to be bored. Mainly he lurked inside the cramped cabin that he had to share with Yoshimo and the panther and attempted to sleep, despite the cat's frequent endeavors in getting him to accompany it above decks. John couldn't see what the point of that was either – all one could see was a vast expanse of sea – and several large, foul-smelling sailors that shouted at each other. Besides, he had the knack of getting into people's way, unintentional or not, and he didn't particularly want one of those six-foot-tall, muscle-bound apes to lose his temper and hurl him overboard.
Entreri seemed equally bored – bored enough to agree to learn how to play dice and some card games with Yoshimo and Arundel. John sometimes watched them, but never joined in – in games of chance, he usually won. Cheating with magic was amusing, but it tended to upset the opponents, and those three were heavily armed all the time. John sometimes wondered if they wore their weapons to sleep – Yoshimo certainly always kept his katana in arm's reach of his bunk.
The golem was apparently somewhere in the hold, the only place large enough to keep it without it getting into the way most of the time. The sailors didn't – couldn't – notice it, after all.
At this point of time, John watched Arundel deal out cards. The four of them were in John's cabin, with Arundel sitting next to John on the lower bunk, Entreri cross-legged on the floor and Yoshimo on the only chair. The panther lay on the upper bunk, with only the occasional rumble of a purr to signal that it was still there.
"Where is that cleric?" Entreri asked as they played, with little curiosity in his voice. Peregrine could never be found during the daytime, even for meals, and was only around for dinner. She had one cabin to herself, though it usually didn't look slept-in. John felt some surprise that it was the assassin who asked this, since Entreri usually ignored her as much as possible.
Arundel shrugged. "Where she goes is probably her own business, unless you want to spend time trying to follow her."
Entreri snorted. "Her? Hah."
"You still haven't said why you dislike her." Yoshimo smiled innocently when Entreri glared at him.
"I don't dislike her," Entreri said, staring at his hand of cards. Occasionally he would change their positions. "I find her presence uncomfortable. She reminds me of what could happen if I… give in too much to my other self." The assassin seemed to be grasping at words to explain this.
"The wolf?" John clarified.
"Yes." Entreri leant against the wall. "I bid four of swords."
Yoshimo made a face. "Pass." He rubbed his nose. "I agree, she acts very much like a falcon-turned-human, instead of the other way around. The way she walks and moves…but why does that happen?"
"Why?" Entreri frowned at Arundel's bid of wands. "Pass." He watched Arundel put down a card, then conscientiously picked out one from his hand. "Many reasons. Other than the things that can go wrong during the Turning – if it is traumatic, it could damage the link between the selves, and so on… there are other factors, such as in the first few unstable weeks or months. When you make some sort of…agreement with your other side. Sometimes, if you don't have guidance from an older were, you may make disadvantageous agreements… like giving the other self too much influence in your movements."
"This agreement… like a treaty?" Arundel asked curiously. "Is it different for everyone?"
"In fine detail, yes," Entreri shrugged. "Take K'yanae and Zaknafein. K'yanae seems to operate on…mutual consent from both herself and the wolf. Every action is agreed on, whether in wolf form or…humanoid form. The wolf can help with strength or speed spontaneously, and K'yanae is an active observer when in wolf form – if she wants she can influence the movements."
"Zaknafein, on the other hand – he seems to be totally committed to self-control and independence, and his wolf is the same. They started off hating each other, I believe, fighting every time on which shape to be in. It took years to actually come up with an agreement – specifically, that Zaknafein has control over shape in the day, and the wolf has control over shape at night. He can still take wolf shape in the day, or elf shape at night, but in the day, he has the final say on what shape, and so on. There are no spontaneous actions from either side – each side must ask first… basically, his relationship with his wolf is different."
"Which is better?" John found himself asking, interested.
"Better? It depends on your personality, I was told," Entreri watched, hawk-like, as Yoshimo drew a card. "K'yanae enjoys having a sort of dual personality that is at the same time, one whole – while Zaknafein finds the very idea abhorrent. He is fiercely separate…a whole in himself, and his wolf the same." Entreri shrugged. "Both relationships seem to work perfectly well."
"And yours?" Arundel hesitated. "If you don't mind us prying."
"I haven't come to a definite agreement yet," Entreri's expression seemed to darken. "At the moment the both of us have only agreed that we must work together to free K'yanae. After that – we will seek…guidance from her." He looked at the cards again. "I play eight of cups."
Since the rest of them had the definite idea that he didn't want to talk about this, the conversation was diverted onto more neutral veins of talk, such as where the best daggers came from. Eventually John leant against the wall and dozed off, lulled by the chatter. The welcome darkness was broken when he heard Meri's voice in his head.
: Wake up. I think you want to hear this. :
John blinked and straightened up; rubbing his eyes, and grumbled in his mind at the phoenix. He realized that Yoshimo was speaking.
"…And where have you been?"
Peregrine stood in the doorway, a quirk at the side of her mouth that could be a smile or a grimace. "Flying. It's a beautiful day."
"Is there something wrong?" John irritably attempted to chase away the vestiges of sleep and a cramped back.
"Nothing much… just that I'd thought you'd like to know that Saemon Havarian is avoiding other ships. It's rather clear from a thousand feet up." Peregrine explained.
"Ah. But Saemon is a pirate, so I'd think…" John stopped. Who was he to say anything, having never encountered this sort of pirate before? "Then again, you have a point."
Peregrine's quirk turned into a smile for a fleeting moment. "Saemon has something in his possession that he seems quite afraid of. Him avoiding the other ships may have something to do with it."
"What is it?" Arundel asked.
"It's the blade of a rapier." Peregrine tapped her chin, thinking. "And it seems to be made of silver, some sort of silver alloy that doesn't tarnish and stays sharp. Other than that, I can't seem to find anything unusual about it."
"How do you know he's afraid of it?"
"By what he said, apparently some things – a lot of things – are looking for the blade. What they are, and what it is, he hasn't said."
"You've been talking to him? Entreri raised an eyebrow. He sniffed once, then frowned. "You smell of him."
Peregrine nodded, the jerky action very bird-like. "I thought you might pick that up, werewolf."
"What have you been doing?" John asked, his tone a little cold.
: Let her explain, Constantine. :
Peregrine's mouth quirked upwards at the side again. "Gathering information. There's little else to do, and Saemon Havarian is interesting."
"You've been sleeping with him," Entreri said bluntly.
"I have," Peregrine admitted equably. "As I said, he is interesting." She stepped into the cabin and closed the door.
: Ward the room against prying ears, Constantine. :
: How? :
: You're actually listening to me! I am so touched. : Meri seemed to laugh inside his mind, amused. : You do it like this… :
John's fingers moved of their own volition, apparently, tracing symbols in the air. As the rest looked at him in surprise, the walls, ceiling and floor glowed briefly in blue, then seemed to return back to normal.
"Impromptu lesson one: warding against eavesdroppers," he said, as a manner of explanation.
: No 'thank you', or 'that was lovely'? :
: I thought I had to learn spells from scrolls? :
: You don't have to, actually… but that would extend your…repertoire. :
"Useful," Peregrine nodded. "So. He was attempting to splinter me from the group. It was quite amusing listening to him."
"And his arguments…?"
"That the lot of you were headed towards certain death," Peregrine's expression was inscrutable. "I was bored, so I played along, until he mentioned a few things I thought you mind find interesting. He works for Irenicus."
Arundel sighed. "Somehow, with this group, nothing seems surprising anymore."
"And apparently there's a surprise waiting for you on the docks of Athkatla in the form of vampires, so I'd suggest we be careful," Peregrine said.
"What if we arrive in the day?" John asked.
"We wouldn't, if he can time it correctly," Peregrine replied drily, "And I have every confidence that he can." She seemed unused to speaking so much, and appeared uncomfortable. "I will continue to play along with him for a while…until it ceases to amuse."
"It's rather dangerous, isn't it?" Arundel asked worriedly. "What if he finds out?"
Peregrine shrugged. "Well, if I suddenly disappear without a trace, you'd know who to approach." She seemed either unaware of the fact that she could die, or uncaring of it.
"Did we keep stakes, or holy water?" Arundel asked mildly.
"I can make holy water," Peregrine smiled. "But stakes…"
"Arundel, Yoshimo and I don't need them," Entreri tapped the hilt of his falchion in emphasis. "You and Constantine can keep out of the way…unless Constantine wants to pull another stunt like the one in Bodhi's crypt." He raised an eyebrow at John.
"Thanks, but no thanks," John said dryly, "Blacking out for a few days tends to lose its novelty after a while."
**
When Peregrine left, Yoshimo asked the standard question. "Can we trust her?"
"There's nothing we can do about it," Entreri spread his cards on the ground neatly. "I call Game."
Yoshimo and Arundel looked. Arundel sighed. "Game to you." He put down his cards.
"Same," Yoshimo passed his cards to Arundel, who picked up all the cards and started to shuffle.
"I think she can be trusted," Arundel said, as he expertly manipulated the cards, "But nothing's ever certain, is it? We knew from the start that Saemon would try something. I just hope we'd end up at the right place. At most we'd just refuse to get off the ship until sunrise."
"And how to explain that?" John smirked.
"Well, out-worlder…you could always say it's a custom of yours," Arundel winked. "Talk a bit about terms like 'Earth-Mother' and 'Eye of God', and so on until their eyes glaze over."
"The sailors might try to force us out," Yoshimo pointed out.
"They could try," Entreri bared his teeth in a smile. "Close fighting in enclosed areas would not benefit them… and if I know it, Saemon needs to get out of Brynnlaw quickly after dropping us off, so he cannot afford delays."
"All the more so to try and get us off instead of listening to excuses," John pointed out.
Arundel shrugged. "Maybe we could tell him beforehand that we can only get off the ship in the sunrise? Or we could just pull him off the deck with us and threaten to cut his throat if anything happens. We don't need him anymore after that, I believe – if the signal device is still with you."
Entreri nodded and patted his pockets. "It's with me."
They played a few more games, and as John began to doze off again, several sharp raps sounded on the door. "Come in," Arundel said, without looking up.
The door opened to show Peregrine. "I just thought you'd like to know that the sailors think a gale is coming up," she said mildly.
On cue, the ship rocked suddenly and violently to the right.
--
Little Notes and References:
Saemon Havarian: Sorry, I couldn't find his description, so I had to make it up. If he appears in the actual FR fiction books and doesn't match what I've made him out to be here, my apologies…
Alternate world Zaknafein: This is the Zaknafein that appears in 'Rebel Heart', and is 'related' to Constantine in the sense that he's a member of that world's Constantine family, known as Con'staen'tyn.
Longsword blade: Yes, I know the Silver Sword is supposed to be a broadsword, but I want it to be a rapier here.
