THE CHILDREN OF THE SPIDER, Part 5
There was a shrine to the Old One located a few hundred yards from Crowe's main gate. Like all such shrines, it wasn't built to be artful or imposing - the seven sandstone slabs that represent the Old One only stood a little over two yards tall and were quite plain. However, the shrine did seem to brood over the grim collection that was piled around it.
Old skull fragments were scattered for yards in all directions. Some intact skulls were yellow with age and well-gnawed by scavengers. Others still had tattered vestiges of flesh, while a few were quite fresh. A young Blood ranger had just deposited a new Creed head. She was sitting cross-legged before the shrine, obviously deep in meditation.
As Jonah and I approached, a few field rats stirred in the nearby underbrush. At the edge of a small copse of trees, a feral dog rested on his belly as he watched us cautiously. When they had the chance, they would honor the Old One in their own way.
Jonah and I waited for the ranger to finish. After she got to her feet, she bowed in silent apology for delaying us, and then backed away from the shrine. Fragments of bone crunched beneath her boots.
I dug out a coin and flipped it to her. As it spun through the air, you could see that it was stained with the blood of the Creed that I'd just killed. The surprised ranger caught the coin in midair.
"Good work," I told her as I touched my foot to the head she'd left behind. "Get a meal and something to drink."
The ranger smiled respectfully, bowed again, and headed towards the village gate.
I piled the heads of my dead Creed before the shrine. Two quick claps served to awaken the spirits. Then Jonah and I bowed our heads and opened our souls.
The question on my mind was obvious: I needed to make a decision concerning Jessica and my family. This was a chance to quietly consider my options.
I didn't expect to get an actual response.
"How's it going, Ben?" the First Spider asked.
I was stunned. While I do hold to the faith of my people, I'd never expected any aspect of it to appear in front of me. That's the realm of priestesses and shamen - not of a Spider warrior.
It took a moment for me to snap out of my dazed astonishment. Then I took a deep breath and bowed deeply.
"I'm well," I replied shakily. "It's a privilege to meet you, most honored lord."
Yeah, that was a weak response, but I couldn't think of anything better to say.
The First Spider was a medium-sized man with a wiry build. His hair was white and short, but his face was only faintly lined. His eyes were a deep brown. His clothing was nondescript: tan-colored trousers, some sort of well-worn canvas footwear, and a short-sleeved shirt. Despite his apparent age, his upper body was slimly muscular.
He seemed... ordinary. And he looked a lot like my father and grandfather. And, I suppose, me.
We were standing on the highest landing of the great Empire tower. Below us, the isle that some call Mahatan was spread out in a sprawling vista. A sudden wash of home-sickness came over me. Actually, I'd only been on the landing once before. It's a sacred place and my people do not visit it casually. The one time I'd been there had been the most important day of my life - and the worst.
The landing is focused around a tall bas-relief of the First Spider carved into a granite slab that abuts the tower itself. The carving depicts the First Spider in his full war-garb, although - of course - the bas-relief doesn't show the red and blue colors that you see in the oldest paintings. However, the sculptor had done good work with the tracery of fine lines that covered the First Spider's form-fitting attire.
There was no sign of the priestesses who maintain the landing, but flowers and other offerings were scattered at the base of the carving. Spider images - some made of gold and fine jewels, while others were simply carved from wood, or woven from straw - were also present. The priestesses do not seem to consider the offerings of the wealthy to be any better than those of the poor. I've always respected them for that.
A cool seaborne wind stirred the flowers and rippled through my hair. It was going to be a chill evening.
The First Spider glanced at the votive carving.
"I've always liked this one," he told me thoughtfully. "Yeah, some of the details are off... but it's still good work. And getting that much granite up here must have been tough."
I didn't have the vaguest idea how to respond.
"Cat got your tongue, Ben?" the Old One added gently. He was smiling at me. Despite his words, there were no cats anywhere to be seen. Some tales tell of a cat-like woman who was a friend, lover, and enemy of the First Spider. If that was some kind of reference to her, what would she be doing with my tongue? Or maybe it was some kind of warning? Everyone says that the spirits can be enigmatic.
James - Lord Ashe - makes it sound so easy when he describes his dealings with gods, spirits, ghosts, demons, and other denizens of the worlds beyond. I'd been in the spirit realm less than a minute and I was already baffled.
"I... don't know how this happened," I admitted to him. Maybe I sounded a little helpless. "I made an offering to the Old One and then I ended up here."
"Your call got forwarded," the First Spider said with an amused nod - and once again I had no idea what he was saying. He was smiling and his brown eyes seemed to twinkle. "So tell you what, Ben, I'll do the talking. Do you want me to be formal, cryptic, and awesome? Or would you like something that's easy to understand?"
"Easy, my lord," I managed to choke out.
He nodded. Then he put a hand on my shoulder.
"Okay, here it is: Jessica can't come back to Nyack just yet. And she can't show up with revenge on her mind. If she appears too soon, then she and a lot of innocent people will die, and nothing good will come of it. She has a role, but it isn't time."
I nodded slowly. Actually, I'd been thinking something similar.
"Also, your grandfather is a problem," the First Spider continued slowly. "Go back to the city and do whatever has to be done. You need to prepare the way, otherwise there will be nothing but carnage."
Now there was something grim in his eyes.
"You have to take responsibility," he added. His grip on my shoulder strengthened.
"Responsibility..." I repeated softly. That word is central to the teachings of the First Spider.
"It comes with power," the First Spider responded just as quietly. "And when you were made into the Dark Warrior, you were given a lot of power."
"Yes, my lord," I said. Then I bowed humbly.
He nodded. Then a wide grin came over his face. "And tell Jonah that I love his name," he added.
After that, he touched me on the forehead...
With a pained grunt, I opened my eyes. I was back at the shrine on the outskirts of Crowe. I was laying more-or-less on my back, but Jonah was sitting next to me. My upper body was cradled in his arms.
A young shepherd-boy was crouched next to Jonah. He was watching me with deeply concern eyes. Behind him, a half-dozen sheep were crowding close to us as they warily kept an eye on that suddenly interested-looking feral dog.
Jonah and the shepherd helped me to slowly sit up. They were obviously worried.
"Dammit," I growled. Then I rubbed the side of my head. It hurt. I'd apparently just missed falling flat on my face.
"You collapsed," Jonah told me unnecessarily. "Were you hurt in the fight with the Creed? I checked for injuries, but you don't seem to have any. Did you get hit in the head?"
"I'm fine," I said as I carefully climbed to my feet. Jonah took my arm and helped me up. The young shepherd immediately put his shoulder under mine and also helped me. Through my dizziness, a part of me noticed that he was strong for his size. He was almost certainly Blood.
"Maybe you shouldn't be standing?" the boy suggested. If I had to guess, he was no more than fourteen summers in age.
I ignored him and Jonah and looked at the representation of the Old One. If it's possible for seven stacked stones to look amused, the shrine did so.
"What the hells was that about?" I asked it irritably. "Do all of you great spirits know each other?"
The stones didn't respond, which was probably a good thing for my state of mind.
"Uncle Ben..." Jonah began worriedly. He had an arm around my shoulders, just in case I started to fall again.
"I need a drink," I interrupted him.
Jonah nodded. Then he looked at the shepherd. "Thanks for your help," he said.
The boy nodded and stepped away - perhaps startled by my borderline blasphemy. Then he whistled at his tiny flock and began moving them across the road and into an adjacent field. The stray dog watched the sheep leave with an obvious aura of regret.
I kicked one of my Creed heads in the dog's direction. His eyes brightened as he edged closer.
Then Jonah and I began staggering towards the gate.
Six samurai and a crowd of civilians were at the gate. The samurai were checking everyone who wanted entrance. They examined us curiously as we approached. Obviously, the samurai had seen me collapse.
"Are you hurt or drunk?" the eldest of the samurai asked when it was our turn to enter. He was looking at me carefully. I was grateful that my cloak was covering my chain-shirt and badge of rank. As Lord Ashe's senior samurai I shouldn't be making a public spectacle of myself.
"I'm not hurt," I growled back, "but I definitely plan on getting drunk."
The samurai bit back a smile.
"We were in a fight with some Creed," Jonah said hastily. "I think he got hit in the head."
The samurai gave Jonah a long look. "You're the guy that helped bring in that wagon, aren't you? I saw you jump off and head back down the road."
"I had that honor," Jonah replied formally. Then he became less stiff. "How did it go for the soldiers in the wagon?"
"The ones who got here alive stayed that way," the older samurai told us gruffly. "Most of our healers are with Lord Crowe, but an old Folk apothecary is still in town. He lent a hand."
The samurai eyed the blood that was soaked into my clothes. Making a decision, he gestured for us to pass through the gate.
"Just ask anyone and they'll tell you where the healer lives," he told us as we entered the village.
Once we got to the center of the village, Jonah made me sit on a stone hitching post as he entered a local shop. After a few minutes, he returned with a bottle. Then we took turns downing burning slugs of raw moonshine. That was what it took to finally clear up my dizziness.
"Do you want to tell me what happened back at the shrine?" Jonah asked.
I spent a moment trying to figure out what to say.
"Once we're done with Jessica, I have to go to Nyack," I told him.
Jonah blinked in surprise. "Why?" he asked. That was a reasonable question. Only the other day I'd been less than interested.
I took another slug of moonshine.
"I may have to kill someone," I told him.