Rainmaker's Staff
by Tanya Reed
Well, here it is, folks. The final chapter in a story it's taken me a year to tell. I want to thank everyone who reviewed through this whole thing—Lady Lestat, Pog Mahon, quelofox, Aryea, Trinitystargazer3, KatmuEllon, Sunflower18, Katya S, katia1, Half-elf, bookwrangler, and loopylulu (I hope I haven't missed anyone.). As a matter of fact, thanks to everyone who read and didn't review. You've made posting this so much fun. I'm both sad and relieved that it's over. I want to give a well deserved hand of applause to my beta Flickguy/Darren Blake. Sometimes he was slow, but he always gave a great beta, and he made this story be all that it could be.
Anyway, I hope that you like the ending and that it leaves you feeling satisfied.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sydney and Nigel any more now than I did when I wrote this a year ago. If someone wants to give them to me as a gift, I will not turn them down. :)
------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sydney," Nigel asked, brushing damp bangs from his forehead, "are you sure we're going the right way?"
They were striding through almost waist deep grass, and the sky above them was threatening rain. It was such an unusual sight, that Sydney found herself continually looking up. She also remembered the conversation she and Nigel had had and wondered how dangerous the rain in the Wounded Lands might be. Where would they find shelter from falling swords or splattering acid?
"Look at the sun," she answered, just a little grumpily. The pending rain had made the air heavy and muggy, though the sun was slightly visible through the clouds. "You're better at this than I am."
"Sorry, Syd, it's just the rain clouds are making me nervous."
It was as if he had been reading her mind. "Yes, we should probably seek sh..."
She stopped in mid-sentence as a loud crack rent the air. Before she had time to even wonder what it was, Nigel's arms flew up in the air and he disappeared from view, falling downward.
"Nigel!"
Quickly, Sydney knelt and peered down the hole his body had made with its passing. "Nigel, are you all right?"
There was a grunt and then he answered, "I think so."
"How far did you fall?"
"Wait a minute." He was a shadowy form in the darkness because of the clouds overhead until he said, "Light."
Their globe light came on to show he wasn't just in a hole in the earth but a manmade room.
"I think I fell into someone's basement."
Curiosity made Sydney say, "Watch out, I'm coming down."
The hole was only about eight feet deep, and Sydney knew she could make it easily. There was a sturdy tree nearby that, with a bolt from her crossbow, would be able to help both her and Nigel get out. Turning around, Sydney lowered her legs down into the hole, dangled for a moment, then dropped beside her friend. She took a good look at him, searching for injuries. He was dusty, with his hair sticking up at all angles, but he looked relatively unharmed..
"You're sure you're all right?"
"Fine. Just bruised pride."
Accepting this, she looked around at their surroundings. It was a simple room with an earthen floor and rotted wooden walls backed by more earth. Antyhing else that might have been held in the room had disappeared long before. It was stark and musty.
"It's empty," Nigel said unnecessarily.
"Maybe it was used for food storage," Sydney mused, circling the room and studying what was left of the rough planks. "Nigel, do these seem older than what we saw in the castle's tunnels to you?"
"It's hard to tell in this crazy place."
"And look..." Sydney strode forward and peered between two boards. "I don't think this is earth. Nigel, bring the light."
He came over and raised the globe to give her a better view. The light revealed a passageway that had been boarded up. Sydney looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Nigel shrugged in response.
Something told Sydney she should go down the hidden corridor. She reached out and pulled the rotten wood from the hole. It didn't give more than a faint protest. Nigel had been right about one thing. With the special properties of the Wounded Lands, the passage could have been built the day before or five thousand years ago.
Sydney made the hole big enough to slip through and turned to motion Nigel to give her the light. Holding it so that it illuminated the way, she stepped into the corridor with Nigel close behind.
"Sydney..." the whisper floated to her down the corridor.
She stopped short and Nigel bumped into her back. She barely heard his quiet, "Oomph."
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" he asked crossly, straightening up.
"A voice."
"I didn't hear anything, Syd."
Sydney frowned and started walking again, this time slowly.
"Sydney..." It was so faint that she wasn't even sure she heard it, but it sounded like Karolyne. She hoped the Wounded Lands weren't driving her crazy. Either way, she knew she had to find out where the tunnel led.
The two of them had been walking in silence for several minutes when Sydney felt something drop onto her head. In annoyance, she reached up and ran fingers through her hair.
"Uh, Syd..."
She tuned to look at Nigel as something brushed her shoulder. She wondered if there were bats on the ceiling.
Nigel was looking up. Sydney sighed and did the same. The sigh caught in her throat and her skin began to crawl.
She shivered and whispered, "Roaches. I hate roaches."
The ceiling for as far as Sydney could see was covered in them. There were so many that they looked like a living, heaving blanket. They crawled over and around each other, fighting for position. Sydney was nauseous and creeped out at the same time. Every once in awhile, one would drop to the floor and start skittering away.
"Why did it have to be roaches?"
"Because this world hates us," Nigel replied, moving closer to her.
Sydney wondered briefly if the soft sound of the bugs moving over one another had been what she fancied as Karolyne calling her name. After all, she didn't think she had ever been awake when The Rainmaker appeared to her. Even so, she was loathe to turn back.
She shuddered and started moving forward again. She was even able to fight the impulse to throw both arms over her head so she'd get no more roaches in her hair. If Stewie could walk through roaches, then so could she--though she'd skip the little squishing dance he'd done.
"Do you think we should turn back?" Nigel asked.
"No." She shook her head. "Something tells me we need to find where this tunnel leads."
He sighed. "Who am I to argue?"
Sydney flashed him a smile over her shoulder, then braved her way through the cockroach-infested hallway.
"Sydney..."
Nigel stopped and clamped a hand on her arm. "Did you hear that?"
She looked at him with some relief. "Did you?"
He nodded. "I think someone is whispering your name."
"Karolyne."
"I beg your pardon?"
"The Rainmaker. She wants us to find the Staff."
"And you know this because?" He looked slightly incredulous.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said and moved on.
He hesitated, saying, "I might," before hurrying to catch up.
The corridor ended abruptly, stopping Sydney short. The strange thing was that, while the walls were earth, the dead end was hewn stone.
"Nigel, look at this."
He came forward to stand beside her. "Someone blocked it up?"
"Why would someone block up an innocent hallway? There must be something hidden here."
Nigel's face lit up. "Do you think it could be the Staff?"
"Maybe." She studied the wall thoughtfully. Some of the stones seemed to stand out from the rest, but at first she didn't know why. After a few seconds, she realized there was a subtle color difference in these stones from the ones around them. "Look at this. I think whoever put this here wanted whatever was behind it to be found eventually. There may be a trigger."
Nigel came up beside her and peered at the stones. Almost immediately, he said, "You mean the colors."
It was a statement not a question. She watched him as his wheels visibly started turning. Her element might have been instinct but, when it came to logic, Nigel outclassed her.
"I think they form some sort of pattern. It's all balanced...except this one. This one shouldn't be here...or there should be a similar one on this side," Nigel commented eventually.
"What does it mean?"
He reached forward and gently touched the stone. "We're supposed to press this one?"
Nothing happened.
Nigel shrugged. "Well, it was just a theory."
"Maybe not push it," Sydney tapped her lip with a finger, "but something...something..." She looked at the stone that should have shared the color of the one Nigel had pressed. "This one. This one's the key."
"Do we push?"
Sydney trailed long fingers over the stone. Where the others had a rough texture, this one was smooth except for a few nicks that were obviously deliberate.
"Hey, Nigel, feel this."
"Hmmn. Five parallel lines. The middle one seems to have a bump..."
He rubbed at the bump with his thumb. There was a grinding creak and part of the earth wall began to recede. As it pulled back, Sydney could see stone stairs leading into the darkness. Without hesitation, she started down. She was happy to see that the cockroaches didn't extend to the stairwell.
She heard Nigel behind her, his feet a little tentative where hers were sure.
"Be careful, the steps are a little uneven," she warned.
The steps went down deeper and deeper, twisting around. The dampness of them clung to Sydney's lungs and made her cough. Eventually, they reached the bottom, where they found themselves in a large chamber made of the same strange stone. The floor was colorfully tiled, with representations of the sun, clouds, rain, and snow. Sydney told the light globe to brighten so they could see the full glory of the room.
In the brighter light, they could see a small dais on the far side. On this dais, a large staff was standing, its wood dark and gleaming. Carvings travelled up and down its length. Like the floor, these were representations of different types of weather. It was beautiful. Sydney and Nigel took a step forward involuntarily. Finally, they had found it.
"They wanted this to be a tribute," a soft voice said behind them. "I don't think they realized that they trapped me here."
Sydney and Nigel whirled. Standing behind them, on the bottom step, was the woman Sydney had been seeing in her dreams. This time she looked as real as Nigel. Her light brown hair was done up in a neat braid and her white dress was pristine and flowed around her slight body. Sydney could see the freckles dusting her nose and the paleness of her skin. She looked into Karolyne's brown eyes and, more than ever before, was hit by the pain.
Nigel gave a squeak and stumbled backwards. He would have fallen if Sydney hadn't gripped him firmly.
"Hello, Karolyne," Sydney said calmly.
"Karolyne?" Nigel asked.
"Yes, Nigel. Meet The Rainmaker."
Karolyne smiled at him, though the smiled didn't reach her eyes. He shifted so that he was standing slightly behind Sydney and didn't return her smile.
"I've been waiting for the two of you for a long time. It will be such a relief to pass on the Staff."
She stepped down from the steps and held her hand out to Sydney. After a second's hesitation, Sydney took the offered hand. It was warm and solid. If she hadn't known that the Rainmaker had been dead for centuries, she would have thought it flesh and bone.
"I'm so weary, Sydney. I just want to rest. Maybe I'll even be allowed to see my children once more."
"We'll be honoured to take your Staff to Theri," Sydney told her sincerely. "Thank you so much for saving our lives."
"Am I missing something?" Nigel asked timidly.
"I've seen The Rainmaker before," Sydney admitted. "She woke me when the vines tried to kill us."
"I couldn't let my only hope for peace die...and I've come to like the two of you. You have a strong bond that makes you completely loyal to each other. That's a rare thing. It's not always easy to accept someone for what they are and love them unconditionally without trying to change them. I found this once myself...and lost it."
"...uh..." Nigel protested, "...we're not..."
The look she gave him was kind. "Friends, lovers, it doesn't matter. We just want the people we love to love us back no matter what we do or what mistakes we make."
Nigel glanced at Sydney, meeting her eyes briefly before nodding. Karolyne had just cut to the heart of their relationship. Sydney felt as uncomfortable as Nigel, hearing it out in the open like that.
Brusquely, she said, "So, what now? Do we just go up and take the Staff from the dais?"
"There are magical protections around it. That's why I'm here. I have to help you get through them. I cannot disarm them myself because, as real as I seem to you and Nigel, I am not really alive. My spirit is here, but my body is not. I will not even be able to help you in the fight that comes."
Sydney stiffened at this. "Fight?"
"The ones who follow are even now coming down the corridor. They have found you."
"Damn" Sydney swore. "I was hoping we'd seen the last of them when they fell off the cliff."
Now that Karolyne had warned them, Sydney could hear faint footsteps. She curled her lip in disgust, hoping that their trackers were enjoying the roaches. Metal rasped as Sydney drew her sword and handed the light to Nigel. He backed away, towards the Staff. The Rainmaker went with him, touching his arm so he wouldn't stumble into the magical traps.
He jumped at her touch but stopped as she wanted. Sydney struck a defensive pose and waited tensely for their pursuers to descend the stairs.
There were only three of them. The woman was missing, and Sydney wondered if the cliff had killed her.
"Not you again," she said.
"Look," Bouran said, pointing. "Roj, the Staff."
The grey haired man smiled, and it was chilling. "With that, we'll never have to worry about Telurra fighting back."
The youngest man just grunted in answer.
"You'll have to get through me to get it," Sydney told them, her voice cold.
"You don't think we've come this far to let one lone woman deny us our goal, do you?" the one named as Roj asked scornfully.
"And I've come too far to let you take the Staff."
The men spread out and started circling her. Their blades were drawn and gleamed in the light of Nigel's globe. As she tried to watch all three at once, Sydney hoped that Nigel would stay with the Rainmaker.
"I would have thought you learned your lessons the last two times," Sydney taunted, waiting for someone to make a move.
"You're cocky, treasure hunter," Roj sneered back, "but you're not leaving here alive. Lurac will have the Staff."
"We'll see about that."
Suddenly, both Bouran and Roj made a lunge for her at the same time. Sydney dove to the side, surprising the young man whose name she didn't know. She rolled, coming up and sweeping his legs out from under him. He fell against Bouran, and the two of them went down heavily. Sydney twisted as she straightened, catching Roj's second thrust on her blade.
"Too slow, old man," she grunted, pushing him away.
Their swords met a couple more times before Sydney heard the other two untangle themselves and get to their feet.
She turned slightly so she could once more see the three of them. The youngest looked at a point over her shoulder, which distracted her, so that she almost missed Roj's next stroke. She managed to catch it and kick out at Bouran, who was closing in at the same time.
"He's going for the Staff!" the young man cried.
Both Roj and Bouran took their attentions from Sydney for a split second. It was enough. She struck swiftly, knocking the sword from Roj's hand and whirling to kick at Bouran's stomach. Yorn's brother fell backwards, doubled over.
Sydney saw her last opponent running towards Nigel. She dropped her sword and reached for her knife, prepared to throw it. Nigel looked startled to see the man bearing down on him. Sydney expected the man to attack Nigel, but, instead, he pushed her slight assistant to the side. A bright flash filled the room, and the man screamed shrilly. The scream cut off abruptly as he instantly disintigrated. Nigel's face went completely white, and he gripped Karolyne's arm.
Sydney took all of this in at a glance before whirling to face an unarmed Roj. She sheathed her knife, preferring hand to hand. Then, she raised both of her fists, giving him a questioning look.
He lashed at her, quick and strong. She caught the blow on the wrist of her left hand and threw him her right, catching him on the jaw. He shook his head, but before he could recover, she hit him again.
In anger, he roared and struck at her. Sydney was just a little slow and pain went through her as his blow struck her cheek. Giving him a look that usually made Nigel blanche, she tried to hit him again, but he blocked it, and aimed another punch at her. This one was strong enough to knock her over.
Sydney was done playing.
Getting up, she whirled, aiming a kick for his head. He hadn't seen it coming, and it was his turn to fall to the ground.
"Syd!"
Sydney heard Nigel's cry and turned quickly. Even so, she would have been too late to deflect the sword blow. She heard a crunch and saw Bouran's face go from triumph to surprise as he crumpled to the floor. Behind him, Nigel stood with the Rainmaker's Staff in his hand, his face flushed and glowing from his contribution.
"Thanks, Nige."
Roj was groaning and struggling to get to his feet, so Sydney turned and, kneeling, gave him a punch hard enough to make his eyes roll back in his head.
"Not leaving alive, huh?" she grunted, watching with satisfaction as Roj collapsed to the floor.
----------------------------------
"So, how was Nigel able to get the Staff when the young thief couldn't?" Theri asked, her eyes wide.
Four of them sat in the summer cottage's study about a month later. Sydney and Nigel had arrived the night before, demanded food and baths, and then beds. Now well rested, they told Theri of their adventures. She was especially interested in the fact that Lurac had purposefully caused the drought.
"Karolyne helped me," Nigel replied. "She was the only one who knew how to disarm the protection spells. We were working our way through when he just rushed right past, and...well..."
"He was fried," Sydney supplied.
Rayzi shook his head. "I can't believe Yorn's brother is a traitor. Yorn is completely trustworthy."
"Well," Nigel said slowly, "brothers aren't always alike. My own brother, for instance, is a slimy, back-stabbing..."
"Nigel."
"He is, Syd."
"You have a brother?" Theri asked, curiosity in her voice.
"Yes," Nigel said slowly.
Sydney saw him wince slightly and could see he was waiting for questions that would reopen a wound that hadn't even begun to heal.
"He's not as smart or as good looking as Nigel is, he just thinks he is," she broke in before Nigel could say anything else.
Nigel's eyes widened at this, and Sydney smiled at him.
Theri shook her head. "He doesn't sound very pleasant."
This made Nigel smile as he said generously, "He's not so bad, I guess."
This unexpected declaration made Sydney laugh. That was about the nicest thing she'd ever heard Nigel say about Preston.
She reached to the four foot piece of wood she had propped against the table. Taking it in her hands, she stood and held it out to Theri.
"I believe this belongs to you."
The young princess had been eyeing it since Sydney brought it downstairs, and now her face lit up as she accepted it. A glow shimmered around her for a half a second before disappearing, leaving a smile on Theri's face in its wake.
"It's wonderful. I don't know how to thank you."
"Just bring health back to your people...and don't forget the sacrifices Karolyne made for them." Sydney knew that she herself would never forget The Rainmaker.
"I can do that."
"I know. She wouldn't entrust it to anyone but you."
The princess, who still seemed more girl than woman to Sydney, threw her arms around Sydney in a giant hug. "I knew we had chosen right the moment I saw you and Nigel. If you ever cross over again, you are welcome to all I can give."
Releasing Sydney, she then went to Nigel. "And thank you too, Nigel."
Sydney watched in amusement as Theri gave Nigel a kiss on the cheek. He blushed and smiled, unable to meet her eyes.
"It was Sydney mostly," he mumbled.
"Don't be so modest, Nigel," she argued before blushing herself and quickly moving away.
"So," Sydney said,, "Who do we see about getting home?"
Rayzi winked at her, declaring, "That would be me."
"Great." Then she glanced at Nigel. "Are you ready?"
She knew that he found the history of Telurra fascinating and, from the way he was looking at her, its heir as well. Sydney remembered the wistful way Nigel had spoken about getting to really know the culture there. Though she let no sign of it show on her face, internally she held her breath.
Nigel had been watching Theri shyly, but at Sydney's question he straightened and said quickly, "Yes!"
She bit back a sigh of relief and just said, "Good. What do we do?"
"You just have to be standing close together," Rayzi replied, motioning with his hands.
Nigel stepped towards her until they were just a hair's breath apart.
"Now, this might be a little unpleasant," the mage continued.
Sydney scowled, remembering the last time and steeling herself for the nausea. She felt Nigel's hand gently grip her arm and she patted it reassuringly.
"Are you ready?" Rayzi asked.
Sydney nodded, deciding to keep her eyes open for this trip. She wanted her last view of Telurra to be the beaming face of Theri as she held her Staff and looked forward into the bright future of her people.
THE END