Death's Sword Book 1: Finding and Seeking

Chapter 21, part 4: Day 28 ends

One of the strange, duplicate servants came for Susoo and Kleymin about an hour later. Tzumak accompanied them, with Burrowwold trailing along behind. Their guide ushered them into a bare stone room. The wu-jen was there already. "Come in, come in," he urged, whilst placing one palm against the opposite wall. A section of stone sprang open. "The sword," he said, turning and stretching out his hand. Kleymin hesitated then began to draw his blade. Westizal snatched his hand back. "Sheathed, if you don't mind," he said, sharply.

The boy slid the sword, scabbard and all, from out of his sash and handed it to the wu-jen. Westizal gingerly accepted the weapon, then placed it on the floor with great care. Taking a pouch from out of the wall opening, he poured coloured sand in a complicated pattern about the sword whilst sketching gestures in the air with his right hand.

Burrowwold glided up besides Kleymin, his long nose twitching violently. "Earth magic," the gnome whispered, confidently, "I can smell it." Kleymin nodded in agreement while keeping his eyes on the hands of the wizard. While Westizal hadn't done anything to earn his mistrust, Namarth was singing to him keenly, woken up by the magic the wu-jen was weaving over it. Kleymin felt the palms of his hands beginning to itch as the blade called for him.

The wu-jen took a strange object out of his store; it was a circular piece of clear crystal, held at an angle within a stone frame. He set the piece down carefully and stared into it, muttering deep, rumbling words to himself. Kleymin felt the magic touch him, then fade away as the hairs on the back of his neck lay themselves down again. He saw the crystal glow red, then blue, then fade into blackness.

"Hrak! Csheakla! Mir k!plu!" snapped the wu-jen, voice harsh and strained. Sweat poured off his brow. He glared at the crystal, as though trying to force it by his will alone. It remained stubbornly black. "Feirmayne," sighed Westizal, making a hand-motion, releasing the spell. "Take the sword, Kleymin," he said, in a tired voice.

The boy stretched out his hand and took back his sword, sliding through his sash to sit at his waist once more, relieved to have its weight back by his side. He swallowed, suddenly realising how dry his mouth had become. He had felt the magic winding around Namarth and it had made him incredibly uncomfortable somehow. It wasn't natural. It wasn't right. The blade needed to be free. He needed to be free.

As they returned to the refectorium, Kleymin noticed that all his party were there now, plus two of the servants and a tall, slim man he had not seen before. Westizal's eyes lit up with interest as soon as he saw Rana. "Na, calameth ai seran, wo char?" he said, the words rolling musically from his tongue. The elf inclined his head courteously. "Cho Maykofan Elien tai, mo caimethu Grieff Rana," he replied, rising gracefully to his feet. A look of puzzlement flickered across Westizal's brow, vanishing as rapidly as it had come. "Rana Grieff, he of Cheimanetharr infamy," the wu-jen stated, flatly, switching to the common trade-tongue. "May I have the honour of seeing the blade you bear?" he continued.

The elf hesitated for a fraction of a second, then said, in a far more musical version of the same language, "As you are my host and rescuer, I must honour your request." He drew his katana smoothly from its sheath and held it across his body before him. The wizard stepped closer, peering at the blade, then looked straight into the eerie blue eyes of the elf. "Lightbringer," he said, stating it as a fact rather than a question. Rana nodded, slowly. Westizal pulled a face, "Lightbringer, the Champion's Sword and Namarth. I do not like the way the Weapons of the First are getting tied up in this affair."

The Champion's Sword? Kleymin felt compelled to speak and took a couple of steps forward. "The tengu who led me from the caverns – he told me the history of these weapons and named his kodachi as one of them - 'Defender', he called it," he said, hesitantly. Everyone turned to look at him, then Westizal turned to Susoo. "You did not mention Vrakschtek's involvement in this, Inquisitor." There was a slight note of accusation in his tone.