Iorrjaer

Chapter 27

Yophiel stood before the adventures, proud and righteous, in the cascading light of sunset she saw just how crudely constructed the house was and noticed that, not only was it crudely constructed, but it was also crooked and misshapen. The voice of Chami echoing in her head telling her that she was now given unconditional power.

 She saw the house as two boxes stacked on top of each other and that the top box was not even with the bottom and slightly turned so that the corners of the top portion stuck out. She could hear voices from within and recognized that they were of those who came before her. Others that had been given the same gift as she but had been deemed unworthy of fulfilling the gifts desires; or had proven unable to fully harness its power.

She inhaled deeply and casually touched the pouch of coins that Victor had given her and then, with the other hand, reached up and felt her new braid. The others looked on in confusion, save for Malka, who watched in dismay.

She steeled her heart to the hesitation she was feeling. There was no more reason for her to feel shy or lesser than the others. She had finally received what she had been wanting all along - Chami's blessing. They were here in Ockburg, the journey on the road was over and now that she had Chami's blessing, Sorâth and Graphiel's threat to return her to Ockburt no longer applied.

She brushed past the group as if they were not there and in her passing, muttered under her breath, "I will see that Chami burns you all."

She entered the house and lavishly inhaled the aroma of the insectoid, beetle-like carcases that still lingered in the air. She inspected the crusty build up on the walls and windows as she made her way through the house towards the back, towards the stairs, where the voices were the strongest. They were echoing feelings of remorse for not being strong enough to withstand the burden bestowed upon them.

Outside, the group conferred around Malka. Hasmael stood up and Bethar climbed up and took his spot on the orc's shoulder. They joined the others and Hasmael decided to kneel so that he and Bethar could be at a normal level with the others.

"Looks like the larva is still active, after all." Malka said, remorsefully. "I had hoped that that stew would have been powerful enough to kill it."

"I fear that this is our hag at work." Sorath said, stoically. "The hag... or I fear, Kêdêmel."

"I think that there might be a silver lining here," Bethar said, standing proudly on Hasmael's shoulder. He had noticed what Yophiel had muttered under her breath and had at first ignored it but now he realized its relevance. "She still thinks that it's Chami."

Malka pulled back for a second as Sorath considered the possibilities. Graphiel crossed his arms and then brought one hand up to his chin to stroke the five-o'clock shadow that was filling in.

"She said, or I'm assuming Kêdêmel said, that Jörcnir failed." Bethar summarized. "I think that he's made a fatal mistake: He possessed Yophiel. We know that she's been refusing to acknowledge Hasmael,"

"That's right!" Malka burst. "She pointed to Sorath. Called you...Paen?"

"Paen is my father." Sorath said and then understood what Bethar was working towards. "She thinks that I am Jörcnir..." There was a hint of a question in his tone.

"Think about it." Bethar offered eagerly. "This whole trip she's been on and on about Chami's purity. Always on Hässy being nothing more than a pigger. Half paying attention to us but always listening and absorbing the information. The problem, for her, what we can use, is that she was only partly paying attention and has the facts mixed up."

"She's told Kêdêmel that Sorath is Jörcnir." Malka stated. "This is brilliant. Truly!"

"Isn't Hasmael Jörcnir?" Graphiel asked.