A Crucible of Souls (Book One of the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence) (72 page)

The young man raised his eyebrows and smiled.
“
As you wish. My name is Aidan. I’m the leader of a band of men and women oath-bound to seek out evil and wrongdoings in the empire and bring the perpetrators to justice. We have a commission from the emperor himself, though it is under our previous leader’s name.
”

“
By the sword, unless I miss my guess,
”
said Gazija.

“
If necessary,
”
replied Aidan smoothly.

Vasile had the impression he’d had to justify their actions before.

“
Though evil takes many forms and seldom submits itself without a struggle. By its very nature, it resists righteousness.
”

Gazija coughed into his hand.
“
Indeed. Please continue.
”

“
I was leading my band on the trail of a few sorcerers…
”
He broke off as Vasile cleared his throat loudly. Gazija gave Vasile a sharp look, eyes narrowed, then turned back to Aidan.

“
Excuse me, but did you say you were leading them?
”

“
Ah. Well… at that stage I wasn’t.
”
Aidan stared at Vasile.
“
Circumstances later led me to take over the leadership.
”

“
I see,
”
said Gazija without inflection, face expressionless.
“
Continue.
”

Aidan hesitated, frowning at them both before restarting his story.
“
We followed them to a town, where we found they had imprisoned some women…
”
His voice grew colder, and his face turned grim.
“
They were not just prisoners. They… were being forced to breed, to have babies.
”
His voice broke on the last word, and he looked away, distressed. Both the sorcerer and the swordsman with him shifted their weight and looked down at the deck.

“
We don’t know their purpose and don’t care to. We rescued the women, but the sorcerers escaped. We were still tracking them when Mazoet here appeared and they turned on us. A young boy and girl. We’re in his debt. Without his sorcery to counter theirs we would surely have perished and wouldn’t be able to bring you this news.
”

“
Ah. A bleak tale indeed,
”
said Gazija.

Quiss’s jaw worked silently, clenching and unclenching. Mazoet stood still and unblinking, staring at Gazija.

The elderly man rubbed both hands together, warming them against the chill night air.
“
Vasile, is what they say true?
”

All eyes turned to him. Under their stares, he nodded confirmation to Gazija.
“
Yes,
”
was all he said.

“
That settles it then. We have much to discuss and plans to make.
”
Gazija turned to Mazoet.
“
Please get these gentlemen comfortable and assign them quarters. We should have enough to spare. Let’s meet again early in the morning, once we have a good night’s sleep. It’s late. Oh and Mazoet… you did well.
”

The three men followed Mazoet and left the deck reluctantly, inundating him with questions, casting frequent glances back towards Vasile, Gazija and Quiss. Once they were out of sight and their voices had receded, Gazija coughed yet again and shook his head.

“
It’s worse than I feared,
”
he said. His face creased in pain.

Quiss gripped the rail with both hands until his knuckles went white.

Vasile shivered, not from the cold.
“
These men, Aidan and his companions, what are you going to do with them?
”

“
Aidan and the others are with us now, whether they know it or not. They’ll eventually be drawn into this conflict, with or without our help. And I for one don’t spurn gifts when they appear before me.
”

Chapter Fifty-Four

Caldan’s automaton was failing. It wobbled as it walked and couldn’t maintain a walk for more than a few moments without falling over. One leg moved a half beat behind the others. On the surface the rods were covered in different colors — yellows, blues and purples, as if returned to a furnace and heated to different temperatures.

From her chair near the stove, Miranda looked at the poor thing as it stood close to the door of her warehouse.
“
Caldan,
”
she called.
“
I think you should do something about it. It’s no good to us anymore and… I hate to see it like this.
”

Since finding Simmon imprisoned, Caldan’s mood had been dark, and he didn’t feel like talking, only speaking when Miranda asked a direct question. She looked similarly despondent, though she hadn’t known any of the guild members.

He looked up from a book he was studying, a thin volume with pages covered in tiny writing. He grimaced and closed the book, taking care to place a piece of paper to mark his page.

“
I know. But I can’t bring myself to…
”
He waved a hand towards the construct.
“
Destroy it.
”

“
The way it looks now is depressing. There isn’t any reason for us to use it… is there?
”

“
No,
”
said Caldan with a sigh.
“
I guess you’re right.
”

He accessed his well and linked to the automaton for the final time. He could sense the damage the forces flowing through it had caused — fractured metal inside the rods, varying temperatures as different sections wore out faster than others. Once the slide into degradation started, it increased in pace swiftly. With a thought, he closed the smith-crafted links and it clattered to the floor in a jumble of rods and wire.

“
Oh,
”
Miranda exclaimed with a sad smile.
“
It’s almost as if it died.
”

“
It was never alive, at least not in any real sense. It was imbued with a rudimentary intelligence, but what it could do was limited. With what I learned from
crafting
that one, I can greatly improve the next.
”

Over the last few hours he’d been toying with more metal rods. Longer and thicker, they were connected with actual joints rather than wire fastenings. On the whole, the new construct appeared larger and heavier to her, thicker of limb and body.

“
Do you need the metal for anything?
”
She pointed at the pile on the floor.

“
Yes. I can always sell the parts or melt the metal down and reuse it.
”
He picked up the now limp automaton and tossed it into his open sack. Miranda winced as it landed with a clatter.

She approached him from behind as he returned to studying the parts for his new construct and placed both hands on his shoulders. He trembled at her touch then went still.

She squeezed lightly.
“
It’s not your fault, you know. There wasn’t anything you could have done to save them. The Indryallans planned this well.
”

Caldan’s head dropped. He wanted revenge on them for Simmon, for the Protectors, but… there’s nothing he could do here with their tight grip on the city. And Simmon had set him a task.
“
I know… but I keep thinking there was something I could have done… If I had done something differently, this could have been avoided. I don’t know what.
”
He clenched his fists, frustrated.
“
If the masters didn’t see this coming, then I know there was nothing I could do.
”
He tilted his head back to look at Miranda.
“
Thank you.
”

“
Oh, I didn’t do much. I wanted to make sure you knew you couldn’t have stopped what happened. You’ve lost a lot in only a few days — the new home you made for yourself, the friends, the place you had found, somewhere you fit in, where your talents would be appreciated.
”
Miranda let go of his shoulders, walked to the stove and poured herself another cup of tea.
“
There are still people who care for you. I know you haven’t had people like that for a long time.
”

“
Who?
”

“
Me, silly.
”
Miranda took a sip of her tea.
“
I’m just saying it’s all right to care yourself. For others.
”

“
I do,
”
began Caldan then hesitated.
“
I’m… not used to it, that’s all.
”
He toyed with a piece of smith-crafted metal.

“
Caldan, I…
”
Miranda broke off with an irritated frown as a loud banging came from the door.

Caldan leapt to his feet with one hand on the sword grip, ready to draw. Miranda placed her cup on the table and crossed the room.

“
Who’s there?
”

“
Elpidia,
”
replied a muffled voice.

Miranda sighed in relief, while Caldan remained still, alert. She unbarred the door and clicked the lock open.

Elpidia’s face shone with sweat, and she was breathing heavily. She looked harried and agitated. Behind her, the shopkeeper, Amerdan, followed her into the room. Elpidia raised an eyebrow at Caldan and his readiness. He relaxed and placed the sword back on the table next to his sack.

Elpidia wore travel clothes, a worn, heavy skirt and a shirt under a thick jacket. She carried a backpack and a leather satchel.

Amerdan smiled as he saw Caldan. He was also dressed for travel but wasn’t carrying anything other than a few belt pouches and two sheathed knives.

“
There’s a commotion in the streets,
”
exclaimed Elpidia.
“
The Indryallan soldiers are all over the place, searching for someone.
”

Caldan exchanged a glance with Miranda. It was more than likely they had discovered Simmon with the sword and knew someone had been inside the guild and spoken to him before he died. What the master knew was enough to cause the invaders problems, if the truth became known, though proving what they had done would be close to impossible.

“
Yes,
”
said Amerdan.
“
They’re combing the streets and stopping anyone who wears a crafted item and taking them for questioning.
”
He gave Caldan a quizzical look.
“
It sounds like they are looking for anyone associated with the Sorcerers’ Guild.
”

Elpidia gingerly lowered her satchel to the ground and shrugged off her backpack, dropping it to the floor with a thud.

“
Why are you both here?
”
asked Caldan.

Elpidia snorted then spoke.
“
I told you I’d come. Did you think I wouldn’t? Remember our talk? My research is critical.
”
She looked at the stove.
“
Is that tea, my dear?
”
she said, addressing Miranda, who nodded.
“
Lovely. I’ll fix myself a cup.
”
She crossed the room and peeked into the teapot.

“
And I felt I had to do more,
”
Amerdan said.
“
Miranda told me of this place, though I admit I expected you two to be long gone.
”
He looked at them expectantly.

“
We had some things to do,
”
replied Miranda.
“
We plan on leaving the city as soon as we can.
”

“
What? No!
”
burst out Elpidia. She looked pleadingly at Caldan.
“
My… research.
”

Caldan held up a hand.
“
Peace. You’ll get what you want, though you might be safer if you came with us.
”

Miranda looked sharply at him but remained silent.

Elpidia’s agitation diminished, though she still looked worried.

Amerdan leaned against a wall, unconcerned, giving each of them a measuring glance before he spoke.
“
I will be coming with you,
”
he said quietly.
“
If that is acceptable. His tone implied it should be.

Miranda cursed.
“
I told my contact there would only be two of us. He’s not going to be pleased. With four the danger goes up ten times, as will the price.
”
She ran a hand through her hair and rubbed the back of her neck.
“
I don’t have many ducats to spare.
”

Amerdan smiled and reached into a pouch at his waist. He placed a stack of coins on the table. Gold ducats.

“
That should be sufficient, I assume.
”
Giving Elpidia a look, he added,
“
For her as well.
”

“
I… can’t pay you back,
”
Elpidia wailed.

Amerdan waved her protest away.
“
Think nothing of it. There may come a time when you can help me in return.
”

Elpidia nodded thankfully.
“
I’m grateful. There isn’t anything for me here… not anymore.
”

Caldan regarded the woman. Leaving the city with Miranda would have been tricky, but four people made it much more difficult. Someone had to warn the empire about what was happening here. He sighed. They couldn’t abandon Elpidia and Amerdan now, and he had a feeling Elpidia would follow him whatever happened. And with her damned compass she could pursue him wherever he went.

Which reminded him… He held out a hand.
“
Give me the compass,
”
he demanded.

Elpidia’s face went red.
“
You… Miranda told you, then. You know why I needed it.
”
Her mouth tightened into a thin line.

“
She did. And I do know. But it’s served its purpose, and I don’t like the idea of someone being able to find me like that. Especially not with what’s happened.
”

Looking distinctly unhappy, Elpidia pressed the crafted item into his palm with a sour look. Caldan slipped it into his pocket.

“
Did you hear where they’re holding the people they took off the street?
”
he asked.

Elpidia shook her head.
“
They took them towards West Barrows, but where in that district we didn’t hear.
”

“
Probably the keep, then,
”
said Amerdan.
“
It makes sense for the Indryallans to set up their headquarters there. Especially since it looks like they want to keep everyone content and have a smooth change of power. They’ve also set up kitchens along the docks and are feeding the poor.
”

“
They’re letting people go, though?
”
Miranda asked.

“
From what we heard, yes. After questioning they’re released.
”
Elpidia hesitated, frowning into her tea cup.
“
They look like they’re trying to keep the city running as if nothing has happened. In fact, with all the good projects they’ve implemented, most people have welcomed the change.
”

“
They don’t mean well,
”
growled Caldan.

Elpidia turned to look at him.
“
How can you know?
”

“
I know,
”
he said flatly, feeling a chill.
Because they force people to kill against their will,
he wanted to say.
“
We need to leave as soon as possible. You can come, if you want. Miranda, where is your contact?
”

Miranda blinked.
“
Today, he said he would bring word sometime. That’s the best he could do at short notice. I think they’re taking advantage of the blockade and using their tunnels to make a lot of ducats. I suspect we’re in a queue.
”

“
So, nothing we can do but wait.
”