Lodestone Book One: The Sea of Storms

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter 17

 

The rain had eased to a gentle teasing drizzle. Three Kelanni and one Chandara sat around a small fire near the edge of the Eastern Plains. The Kelanni had blankets pulled over their heads in an effort to try and keep dry. The blankets steamed slightly in the heat of the campfire.

Despite their victory at the tower, the air smelled of defeat. Even Alondo appeared subdued. Earlier, he had broken out rations of dried raleketh meat and handed them around. Shann had done little more than pick at hers.

The injury on her arm no longer hurt, but her mind still seemed conscious of it somehow. Boxx had done something to the wound. At the time, she thought that the creature was just performing some peculiar ceremony and she did not have the inclination or the strength to object. In a few moments, an odd sensation suffused her arm, like hot needles, yet strangely, not unpleasant. Instinct told her she should pull away, but her body did not want to. After a while, she realised that the pain was gone. She probed the area of skin experimentally and to her great surprise, it appeared to be whole. The Chandara sat up on its hind legs, eyeing her curiously. She rubbed her arm. “Thank you.” Satisfied, the odd little beast dropped to all sixes, waddled off and lay down, its head resting on the ground.

The conversation was subdued, mainly because none of them wanted to talk about the only subject on everyone’s minds–what were they going to do now. Back across the open plains, smoke could still be seen rising from the tower, commingling with the dark clouds overhead, barring passage to the other side of their world. They had been guided there by Annata, the woman from the past, yet the device she had used to communicate with them was silent now and she herself was long dead, bones turned to dust and washed away by centuries of rain. They were on their own, burdened with the knowledge of impending disaster, yet powerless to prevent it.

A dark shape moved across the brooding sky and descended to the ground near the campfire. It moved into their midst, the lambent firelight casting its visage in flame and shadow. The face grinned. “Greetings, people.” Keris looked up at Lyall, and then looked back at the fire. No-one spoke. “I have good news,” he began. “There does not seem to be any sign of the Prophet’s men. If the soldiers who confronted us at the tower have returned to their masters, then they have no doubt reported that we gave them a sound thrashing. I think it will make them think twice about attacking us again.”

There was still no answer from anyone. Lyall carried on, “I’m very proud of you all. Everyone was magnificent today. You all did a terrific job.” Keris made an odd snorting noise. Lyall looked at her with an inquiring expression. “Keris?”

“…A terrific job,” she repeated. Lyall allowed her to marshal her thoughts. She continued staring into the depths of the fire as she spoke. “Well let’s see…we… sustained injuries, failed to prevent the destruction of the tower, our only means of travel to the other side of the world and almost got ourselves killed in the process.” She picked up a stick and threw it savagely into the fire as if to punctuate her final word. “Terrific.”

Shann found herself reluctantly agreeing with Keris’ assessment. She wondered what she might do now. Go back and try to free the tributes at Gort again, maybe? If she were killed in the attempt it would hardly matter, as they were all facing destruction anyway. Or she could simply go back to Corte, find Gallar if she was still alive and wait for the end. She found neither prospect very appealing.

Lyall did not seem at all flustered by Keris’ outburst. “Did they teach you to give up so easily in KeltarSchool?” Keris looked away from the fire for the first time and stared at him. Lyall stood his ground. “Look, none of that matters...all right, it’s a setback, to be sure. But we are alive and well. And the fundamentals have not changed. We know that the Prophet is out to destroy the Kelanni and we have to get to the other side of our world to stop him.”