The Game of Fates (34 page)

“Why
would anyone wish to go down there?” Trallik asked, amazed that an entire sea
could exist below him.

“There
are many reasons,” Kale said as passed through what appeared to be a guard
station.  “The area is exceptionally fertile, full of giant mushrooms larger
than the ones in the upper reaches of the underdark, sightless fish the size of
a kobold or even larger swim there, but mostly it is for the mineral riches to
be found at such depths.  For me, however, it was to find an expedition that
was lost.”

Following
old Kale and his grandson Kale through the well carved passageways and smaller
ante-chambers, Trallik and Trikki soon found themselves in a massive stone
amphitheater.  Stopping in stunned amazement, the two young kobolds looked
around themselves.  The entrance they had come through was set high above the
sand-covered floor of the massive hall.  A wide stone road formed a ring around
the upper edge of the oval-shaped amphitheater, and row after row of stone
benches were carved out in progressively smaller circles until they stopped
abruptly just before the sand of the amphitheater’s center.  The entire place
could seat literally thousands of kobolds, Trallik estimated, and wondered why
they would have made it so large.

“This
is where our people used to meet, before the Deep Gen came to be, back when my
father led the Kale Gen’s Stonemason Warrior Group down here,” the old Kale
spoke, almost reverently.  “At that time the lore master fused his mighty
spells with the skills of our warriors to create this place, being an
accomplished weaver of the magic of The Sorcerer’s Covenant that he was.”  Shaking
his head, the old Kale continued wistfully, “I believe he always wanted to see
the two gens reunited, but it was not to be.”
“And when the Deep Gen formed after refusing my grandfather’s right to rule
them, the loremaster stayed loyal to my grandfather, leaving all the creations
he had helped form in his hands,” Kale explained.  “There’s more than this, my
friends, though this is certainly the largest of the old loremaster’s
creations.”

“Aye,”
the old Kale’s face seemed to gain strength and a look of nobility at the
mention of his legacy, “I miss the old fellow, I do, and how I wish that young
usurper had never turned my gen against me!” 

The
younger Kale did not elaborate on his grandfather’s statement.

In
almost reverent awe Trallik and Trikki followed Kale and his grandfather a
quarter of the way around the amphitheater to another passageway, one with
stairs spilling down from it to a large box at the edge of the amphitheater. 
This
must be where the lord of the gen was meant to enter and descend to his place
,
Trallik thought.

Plunging
into the ornately carved entranceway, the group could feel a change in the air,
the comforting warmth that spilled from the entrance was a welcome change after
their travels in the cooler caverns of the upper underdark.  From what had to
be the far end of the passageway a gentle, warm light pierced the darkness in
front of them.

As
the group came to what was obviously a council chamber, Trikki stripped off the
deer fur, Trallik helping her fold it up before he stuffed it under one arm.  A
mighty throne of deep green marble commanded the far end of the chamber, two
tables of the same stone extending out from either side of its cut-granite dais
like the arms of a giant, encompassing the entire far half of the chamber.  The
golden veins that ran through the green stone glittered in the light of the
three ever-burning globes that were set in the ceiling.  Trallik guessed that
these, as well as the stone that Kale had used to light their way, must have
been fashioned by the same magic that had helped build the amphitheater and
much of the stonework they had seen in the home of the Kales.

“And
here, my friends, at one time my great-grandfather once sat in judgment and
ruled the kobolds who now call themselves the Deep Gen,” Kale explained as they
all stood taking the sight in.  Turning back to the young pair, he continued. 
“But for now, it is but a useless heirloom, though my sons do love to play on
the tables,” he said, the nobility of his features creasing in a gentle smile.

As
if on cue, the air was split by the laughing and shrieking of several whelps,
the noise of it all dutifully magnified and carried by the dome of rock carved
out above the council chamber for that very purpose.  A pair of older kobold
whelps came running out of a side passage, followed in short order by a whole
host of much younger whelps, the mix of them all laughing, crying, shouting, or
just panting.  In a flash, the pair of older whelps were up on the marble
table, running down the length of it toward the throne.  Some of the younger
whelps tried to get up on the table, the smarter ones simply running along side
it, trying to catch up to the two older whelps.

“Trallik
and Trikki, may I introduce my children… and some of their cousins for that
matter,” Kale said as he loosened the packsaddle from the goat, letting it drop
to the ground so the goat could join in the fun.

“And
my great-grandchildren!” the old Kale’s wispy voice interjected.  After a
moment he continued, “Well, many of them anyway.”

T
rallik had been in too much awe
to notice Trikki’s discomfort.  The entire time that they had followed Kale
here to his home the tension inside her had been building and building.  Now,
as she sat on the fur of some large animal surrounded by the entire family that
called itself by the name of the old Kale, Trallik couldn’t help but notice,
and he was now beginning to suspect what the problem was. 

The
food had been magnificent.  The choir of little whelps that Kale’s lifemate
Kamia had organized were amazingly cute and surprisingly well-rehearsed, their
high pitched voices striking a resonant harmony with each other in the domed
chamber.  The one in front who hadn’t been able to stop picking his nose
reminded Trallik entirely too much of one of his younger brothers, though he
hadn’t thought of them since the morning of the Trials of Caste.

Through
it all, however, Trikki had kept eyeing a pair of males that had to be only a
couple of years older than them.  When she and Trallik had first come in, these
two had shown cruel smiles of recognition.  Throughout the dinner and the
entertainment, they had pointed at Trikki from time to time, laughing at what
could only be jokes or stories that they were telling each other.  Trallik had
been able to brush it off at first, for the sake of their host, the spearman
Kale, who didn’t seem to notice.  Now, however, as the meal had drawn to a
close and Kale had spoken words of closing, one of the matrons of the Kale
Family stood waiting patiently for the young couple to come to their feet and
follow her, motioning to the entrance just behind the pair of jackals.

With
deliberate motions, Trallik lifted Trikki to her feet, the bounce in her step
having lessened and a heaviness having clearly settled into her heart.  Though
others might have mistaken it for fatigue from their journey, Trallik saw the
link between whatever the two males were laughing about between themselves and
the pain evident in her eyes.

Thanking
their host sincerely, Trallik’s eyes hardened again as he approached the
jackals.  He didn’t know why they were tormenting his beloved, but he wouldn’t
stand for it.  Stopping next to the two, he let go of Trikki’s arm and put a
hand on the hilt of each of his long knives.

One
of them, seeing the look in Trallik’s eyes, backed up quickly, bumping into his
snickering companion.  “Hey now, we don’t want any trouble!”

“Why
are you two tormenting my lifemate?” Trallik asked, the look in his eyes only
made more fearsome by his still battered features.

“Hey,
if you want to join yourself to a Temptation from Sultry’s Family, you go right
ahead!” the other said, his hands held up showing he didn’t want a fight.

“Speak
plainly,” Trallik spat, his face a mask of contained anger.  “What is this you
speak?!”  The chamber had gone silent as everyone turned at the sharp exchange.

Trikki
grabbed Trallik by the arm.  “Trallik, please!  Not here!  Let’s go!” she
pleaded in a low, urgent voice.

Looking
at Trikki in confusion, Trallik could see the pain and desperation in her eyes.

“Please,”
she stroked his arm, “let’s not talk of this here.”

Confused,
Trallik allowed himself to be led away as Kale came up behind them.  The two
young males scurried away as he approached.  With a thoughtful look on his
face, Kale stood looking as the two pairs of kobolds disappeared down separate
passageways, the young mated pair to a private guest chamber and the two young
sons of his grandfather’s leader of scouts toward their assigned quarters. 

It
was clear to him that someone had to find out what these young scouts knew of
Sultry’s Temptations.  Running a family of honor took discipline and standards,
and these two may have put the family’s reputation at risk.

Equally
disturbing, however, was the revelation that Trikki had left the Shallat Family
and had become one of Sultry’s Temptations.  Had he known, he would have
dropped the young couple off with someone else’s family.  He certainly didn’t
need the troubles that one with that type of a history could bring.  He would
have the matrons keep a close eye on them all.

Kale
shook his head.  No, she didn’t seem to be on that path anymore.  Perhaps it
was best that he had brought her here.  Perhaps in time she would open up so
the poison she must have drawn into herself might be drawn out and cast aside. 
In time… if the weight of her deeds wasn’t too great already, that is.

“Please,
forgive me!” Trikki pled weakly over and over again with the young warrior as
he stood with folded arms and a hardened, blank look on his face.  His back was
to her now, the impact of the revelation having stripped away much of his
ability to feel anything.

A
wave of emotions had ripped through his young heart.  First was shock… shock at
who she was, shock at how he’d been so blind, shock at the fact that he’d
joined himself to… that!  Then, after several moments, his shock had turned to
anger.  They had fought for a while, him accusing her of using him, of loving
him as little as she must have loved others in the past, of only joining
herself to him to escape slavery at the hands of the orcs, and many other such
statements that tore through her heart until Trallik had turned away; there was
nothing left to tear.  By the end of his tirade, she had collapsed in helpless
tears.

Now,
as she lay on the rug in the center of the ornately carved room, Trallik began
to feel the first hints of despair coming into his heart.  The thoughts that
ran now through his head were dark and depressing, the pain he was feeling as
intense as his love for her had been… or perhaps still was.

After
quite some time the storm of his anger and the flood of its resultant
depression began to wash away, leaving him completely devoid of any emotion. 
He was numb.  Trikki, unable to cry anymore, and unable to stand his smoldering
silence as well, had finally curled up in a ball on the floor and fallen into a
fitful sleep, rocking ever so slightly even in her sleep. 

Though
he felt no emotion, his instincts did eventually kick in.  Walking over to her,
he could feel that the colorless fur of the great blanket that served as their
bed was wet with her tears.  Unrolling the deer fur, he threw it gently over
her sleeping form.  Whatever dark dreams possessed her mind, she didn’t seem to
notice the fur; the slight rocking continued unabated.

Taking
his belts and kit in hand, Trallik numbly did up the buckles and straightened
the pouches and two fine fighting knives that had been his loyal companions
through so much trouble.  Looking numbly one last time upon the sleeping form
of the kobold he thought he loved, Trallik turned and walked out the doorway.

“Greetings,
young Trallik,” the voice came from the benches to the side of the entrance. 

Trallik
turned in surprise, his startled nerves had a long knife out before he realized
who was there.

“You’ve
no need of that,” Kale said gently, holding out a hand in a downward gesture.

Shaking
his head, Trallik sheathed the long knife.  “Sorry about that.  Warrior’s
instinct,” Trallik explained clumsily.

Kale
only smiled.  “I understand, my friend.  It’s a reaction you should keep. 
There are many dangers in the underdark that a kobold must guard against. 
Come,” he gestured at the bench next to himself.  “I see you’re troubled.  Tell
me what ails you.”

Trallik
closed his eyes.  He really didn’t want this right now.  He just wanted to go.

“Come,
my friend.  At least sit for a while.  If you’re determined to leave, perhaps I
can at least tell you how to find your way back to the surface, though I think
there’s a young female that will miss you terribly.”

Trallik
looked up at the older warrior with annoyance, but he came and sat next to him
anyway, knowing that if he didn’t get directions that he’d likely never find
his way out of the underdark.  If that meant he had to suffer through some
pep-talk, then so be it.  He only hoped it would be short so he could get on
his way.

After
a few moments of silence, Kale spoke.  “My young friend,” he started.  “I would
like to say that I know how you feel, but that would be disingenuous of me.  My
lifemate is the daughter of a Deep Gen leader caste.  How I convinced him to
give me, an outcast, his eldest daughter is another story.  Nonetheless, she
was and always has been faithful to me.  Her heart has been mine and my heart
is hers.  We have bound our hearts together through these years, and through
our devotion to each other.  She is a prize that is perhaps more than I
deserve.”

The
talk so far had done little more than depress Trallik again.  He could see no
qualities in Trikki, nor future like what Kale described, with her… especially
after tonight’s all-out fight.  His heart was torn in half it seemed, for in
many ways he still loved her and longed for her, yet every longing was rebuffed
by what he felt was her betrayal at not having shared with him who she was.  

A
thought had been slowly distilling upon his mind while Kale was talking, that
perhaps she wasn’t that anymore, that perhaps she’d left that life behind. 
Even as the thought occurred to him, he cast it aside.  But the thought
wouldn’t be cast aside that easily and seemed to stick in his mind, just out of
his foremost thoughts, waiting in the wings where mercy might find it when the
time came.

“I
couldn’t help but overhear what those young scouts said about your lifemate,”
Kale ventured.  His acknowledgement was a further blow for Trallik.  “And I see
by your pain that they did not speak falsely.”

The
emotion had begun to flood back into Trallik’s numbed heart.  Tears started to
flow yet again as the two of them sat staring out into the darkness of the amphitheater.

“How
could I not have seen who she was?” Trallik sobbed in utter misery.

“I’m
sorry for your pain,” Kale said after a few moments.  He waited for the sobbing
to begin to subside.  “I know it hurts a lot when we feel that someone we love
has betrayed our trust.”

Trallik
nodded his head, the flow of tears beginning to stem.

“Especially
when we love them with all our hearts,” Kale said gently.

Trallik
hesitated, then nodded slightly.  In a moment, he began to cry again.  “I loved
her so much.  How could she have used me like that?” he exclaimed into the air,
the sound carrying across the amphitheater where it echoed, bringing the
question right back to him.

Trallik
shook his head.  Several moments of silence passed.

Finally,
Kale broke in.  “Have you thought that she might have left that life off? 
Perhaps finding you was the last step to leaving that life behind.  Perhaps she
was waiting for the right time to tell you of her past.”

Trallik
shook his head.  “No.  She didn’t want to come back into the underdark.  Now I
see why.  If we’d not come down here, she could have kept it hidden forever.”

Kale
smiled gently.  His speech was calm and timed to give Trallik time to feel the
impact of his own words each time he spoke before Kale responded.  “If she had
meant to deceive you, I doubt she would have followed us here,” he said.  “I
think she probably just didn’t know how to tell you, and was searching for the
right way and time to broach the subject.”

Trallik’s
face was marked by pain and numbness.  Did he want to believe Kale?  Somewhere
deep inside him he knew he did.  From somewhere in his heart he ached to
believe that she hadn’t meant to deceive him, and that she had left that life
behind.  Somehow, his pain and numbness both began to recede.

“I
couldn’t help but hear your argument through the wall between us,” Kale
confessed.

Trallik
looked at him like he’d just slapped him.  Were there no secrets?