Death's Sword Book 1: Finding and Seeking

Chapter 10, part 1: Day 14, Day 15

Chapter 10: Day 14, Day 15

Kleymin slowly picked his way down the side of the mountain. What was an easy trail for a tengu was a very difficult trail for a human, even one trained as Kleymin had been trained. He wore a leather cloak over his shoulders, which kept him warm and dry and also served to disguise the sword slung over his shoulder. The rest of his clothing and weapons were formed into a tight pack he had strapped to his back to leave his arms free to keep grip on the way down. A doku was on his head, water dripping from its rim. An unseasonal light drizzle had been coming down for most of the two hours since he had left Vrakschtek's lair. The mountainside was grey in the rain, with heather, bracken and a few stunted bushes adding little in the way of colour.

Looking around, Kleymin could see few signs of life; a couple of mountain goats blending into the far side of the valley, a couple of crows making lazy circles in the air. Yet there was something that made him uneasy. He looked around again, more thoroughly, searching for hunting beast or ambush. Nothing. He paused for a moment, sniffed the air but caught only the scent of the rain. He moved down onto a goat-trail, an easier path to follow. He heard a low moaning noise, from behind him. He turned. Still nothing. Again, behind him, louder now. He span about, fingers tugging at a cord tied to his belt.
As the scabbarded blade slid from his shoulder to his hip, hilt brushing his finger-tips, he saw the view in front of him blur. Several figures stood revealed. Seven or eight warriors in full armour, three with arrows nocked ready. Two others, resplendent in their robes. One of these wore blue and gold, the other red and gold, like the warriors. The tableau remained frozen for a while. The Grand Inquisitor was the first to move. She took a step forward, saying, "Well done, Tzumak. Something interesting has indeed crossed our path." Then, more loudly, "Give yourself up to us, boy. I would talk with you, ninja-that-was. Come with us to Cheikatoma - or die here." Her stance and that of her sohei offered no other choices.

Kleymin licked his lips, not liking the odds. He shifted his feet slightly, gaining a more even footing on the slippery hillside. Then he gave his reply, starting with a little bow, "Honourable Inquisitor, I beg your forgiveness but I cannot accept your generous offer. My path takes me away from Cheikatoma. Another time, perhaps." Tzumak smiled slightly at this; it was well-spoken for one as young as this ex-ninja appeared to be. One of the sohei to his right shifted slightly; her armour creaked. Kleymin flicked a glance at her, then his attention was on Susoo once more. She gazed on the small, ragged, damp and slightly pathetic figure on the mountainside. "Kill him," she ordered, voice bleak.

Three arrows were loosed as one, the other sohei scrambling forward. Kleymin swept the sword from its scabbard. With a clear, ringing note, it chopped the arrows out of the air. Kleymin stepped forward, danced lightly to one side. The backstroke dipped below a parry and sliced straight through one warrior, armour and all. Howling from the impact, Namarth returned to the on-guard position before Kleymin. "Hold!" shouted the Grand Inquisitor, her voice rising to a sudden parade-ground roar. Her men froze in instant obedience. Their eyes remained fixed on the boy. Susoo strode forward, the red streaks in her hair gleaming damply. "Where did you get that blade?" she asked, voice shaking slightly.

"It found me in the caverns below Cheikatoma," replied Kleymin, watching carefully for her reaction, his heart still pounding. He managed to keep the surprise at the speed of his strokes with the sword from his eyes as the Grand Inquisitor peered into them. Susoo paled still further. "You are aware of its nature and history?" she asked. Kleymin nodded, slowly, not taking his eyes off hers. "You will not come with us?" she asked again. The boy shook his head. "I will trust you spoke the truth, then, when you said that your path leads away from Cheikatoma. Go, and take that blade with you, the faster the better." She looked narrowly at the boy who stood before her, bloody sword in his grasp. "You know, boy, I think I pity you," she said.

Kleymin eyed her warily, then cautiously picked his way past the warriors. Keeping Namarth unsheathed in case of further surprises, the boy put some distance between himself and the others. The last time he looked back, the Inquisitions' forces had not moved, taking great pains not to watch which way he travelled. He began to head towards a stream where he could cut off his tracks. No use getting caught out more than once on his first day as a man with a death warrant on his head. He cursed himself quietly for not thinking more about his training as he made his way further out of sight of the Inquisition.

He had one more surprise that day. When he came to clean the blade, prior to sheathing it once more, he found it clean already. No trace of blood remained. He stared at the weapon uneasily before returning it to its scabbard. Slowly, he eased the sword into position on his left shoulder, then tied the thongs that held it in place. He swallowed once, nervously, then continued walking towards the west.

Back in the valley, Susoo talked with Tzumak once she had ordered her sohei to a safe distance. "We shall return to Cheikatoma, where you will inform our master of what has occurred. You recognized the blade, of course?"

Tzumak nodded slowly, "By your reaction to it, yes, I have. I agree with you; it is undoubtedly -" Susoo held up one hand in imperious warning against naming the sword. She continued, after a brief pause, "Doubtless, you will have to inform your College?"

Tzumak bowed and murmurred, "A regretful necessity, Grand Inquisitor." Susoo stared at him, coldly, calculatingly. "Then get as high up the heirarchy as you can before you give any details and under no circumstances are you to name that weapon. I will have your head if you disobey me on this." Tzumak was in no doubt that the Grand Inquisitor meant exactly what she said. "We must aid the boy, yet without drawing the attention of the klchzak to him. A policy must be formulated on this, as swiftly as possible." Tzumak nodded his agreement, "It would be best if the policy were formulated by the Inquisition and the College of Thaumaturgies alone, at this time. To limit the numbers of those who have to be informed," he explained, hastily. Susoo gave him another cold look, judging the mage in her mind. "I think I understand you, Judge-Mage Tzumak. Those decisions are not for me to make, however. I will leave that to the appropriate authorities, although I will pass on your recommendation." She smiled at Tzumak, who cursed himself inwardly. If any trouble arose because information was kept from the other authorities, his College would take the brunt of it. And through the College, he would suffer. That was what she was saying. 

 "There is one other regretable necessity," added Susoo, "These warriors must die before we return to Cheikatoma, lest they reveal something inadvertantly. Unless you can wipe their memories for them, of course?" Tzumak shook his head, "The spell for that would belong to the College of the Mind, rather than that of Ensorcelments, Grand Inquisitor. I have received no cross-collegiate training." Susoo shrugged her shoulders, "A pity." She turned to the waiting sohei and waved them in to her. Once they were gathered around, she gave the order, "I regret that, because of what you have witnessed here this morning, you must die. At least it is an honourable death. Fall on your swords." With scarcely a moment's hesitation, they obeyed, plunging blades directly into their own chests.

The two Inquisitors walked slowly out of the valley, ignoring the little group of bodies clustered together on the valley floor. One of the crows ceased its circling and glided in to land near the corpses. It waited for a moment, then hopped closer. With a low caw, its mate flapped in to land heavily besides the first. They would feast well today.