Avatar - Tantras Part 11

VI.

SCORPIONS.

Cyric crawled through a tangle of heavy branches on the north sh.o.r.e of the Ashaba. The underbrush served to camouflage his quaking, half-drowned body as the thief heard the sound of the nightmares racing across the sky above the bridge, then watched as Kelemvor, Midnight , and Adon were taken away by the a.s.sa.s.sins.

I'm lucky I'm not with them, the thief thought. In fact, I'm lucky to be alive at all!

After the dalesman's arrow had caused him to lose his grip on the tree in the river, Cyric had been dragged beneath the surface by a powerful undertow. Only by grabbing for handholds and footholds along the sleep, slimy wall of the riverbank had the thief been able to save himself. When he finally broke the surface of the water, he was past the bridge.

Cyric had remained hidden beneath an overhang in tin-hank and watched the events on the bridge untold. He saw Midnight 's protective sphere burst and Kelemvor become a panther and savage the dalesmen. Two men had escaped the creature's fury - the young, blond guard they had met in Shadowdale, and a shirtless, red-skinned, bald man. Cyric was uncertain of either man's whereabouts.

The hawk-nosed thief had seen Midnight and Adon resurface, then drag themselves up the bank opposite him to the woods at the southern end ofBlackfeatherBridge. There had been a brief moment of relief as Cyric watched Midnight move toward the sh.o.r.e, but that feeling laded as he realized that Adon had survived, too. The very thought of the weak-willed Sunite infuriated the thief. Worse, he simply couldn't understand why Midnight protected him. It was that kind of foolish behavior from both Midnight and Adon that made me realize I'd be better off without them, the thief decided as he crawled up the bank. And from Kelemvor's lame performance in the non-battle with the a.s.sa.s.sins. He gave himself up! Cyric cursed silently - the thief had added the fighter to his list of people too sentimental to be trusted.

Still, Cyric did feel some remorse over the fact that he couldn't help Midnight escape from Bane's a.s.sa.s.sins. She would be disappointed in me, the thief suddenly realized, then grew angry at himself for being concerned about the mage's feelings at all. Anyway, he concluded, wherever she's been taken, she probably believes that I'm dead.

Perhaps it was best that way. There had been a strong bond of friendship between the thief and the mage - at least there was before the trip down the Ashaba - and Cyric knew that that type of bond could easily get in the way of his plans. Although he didn't care if Adon's blood might have to he spilled in his pursuit of the Tablets of Fate, Cyric did not relish the idea of harming Midnight . She knew things about him that no one else alive would ever know. Still, he realized that he could trust her, that she would not betray him. Were situations reversed, Cyric was sure that his friendship would not prove as unshakable as the mage's.

As the thief moved some branches out of his way, careful not to allow them to snap and reveal his position, he pulled himself up the embankment. The small expanse of woods Cyric faced had to be an unnatural growth, a product of the physical and mystical chaos that was infecting the Realms. That was the only explanation the thief could think of to reconcile the presence of a grove of trees in an area that had appeared barren on all his maps. Although there had been no sounds that would accompany unusual activity in the woods - or signal the presence of the two remaining dalesmen - he was quite nervous about being discovered while he was still unarmed.

Making his way to the top of the embankment, Cyric found himself staring into the eyes of the blond guardsman, Yarbro. The younger man's armor had been discarded, probably to help him avoid drowning. He still had his sword, though, and that sword was now raised against Cyric, its point grazing the thief's throat.

"It seems there is going to be some justice served here after all," Yarbro hissed as be grabbed the thief by the arm and tossed him to the ground.

Cyric was about to leap at Yarbro in a last-ditch effort to bring the guardsman down when he heard the sound of a branch snapping off to his left. Out of the corner of his eve, the hawk-nosed thief saw the deep, red skin of the bald man who had escaped from the bridge. Mikkel raised his bow and nocked an arrow.

"You're making a mistake!" Cyric gasped. The thief quickly ran through a long list of lies and half-truths that the dalesmen might just believe. "I'm as much a victim as you are," he said after a moment, his voice full of emotion.

Yarbro's sword wavered for an instant. The young guard paused, then pulled his lips back in a grimace. "Oh, really?" he growled. "And why is that?"

"Kill him!" Mikkel snapped. "Just kill him so we can get to Scardale and try to catch the other butchers!" The fisherman took a step toward the thief.

"I don't think so," Yarbro said. "Not yet. Not until I hear a few more of this killer's fantasies."

"What I've been through is no fantasy," Cyric groaned. "The sorceress cast a spell on me. She made me her p.a.w.n. My will has not been my own... not until this very moment." The thief rose to his knees and looked up at Yarbro. "Think for a moment. I helped to save Shadowdale from Bane's troops. It was under my command that more than two hundred of Bane's soldiers met their deaths. I personally put an arrow in Fzoul Chembryl, Bane's high priest and leader of his clergy. Why would I have attacked him if I were a spy for the Black Lord?"

"Perhaps you wanted Fzoul's job," Mikkel scoffed. "I understand that a.s.sa.s.sination is the preferred method of advancing one's career in Zhentil Keep."

Cyric shook with barely restrained anger. "TheTwistedTowerwould have fallen into the bands of Bane's forces were it not for me!"

"That's ancient history." Yarbro feigned a yawn as he allowed the tip of his sword to ease down and touch Cyric's throat again. "More recently, you killed a half dozen of our men when you helped the mage and the cleric escape from theTowerofAshaba." The guard paused for a moment, waiting for Cyric to respond. "Do you deny it?"

"No," Cyric mumbled.

Mikkel nodded and raised his bow once more. "Then you must die!" Yarbro said. "In the name of Mourngrym, lord of Shadowdale, I pa.s.s judgment on you!"

Yarbro started to back away from Cyric. The thief looked at Mikkel, who stood ready to fire an arrow into his heart. Cyric knew that if he didn't say something right now, he was a dead man. "It was the witch!" the hawk-nosed man cried. "You saw what she did to Kelemvor! She turned him into a panther, a mindless beast!"

Yarbro held up his hand and Mikkel lowered the how. "How do you know that?" the blond guard asked, moving back toward the thief. "You were in the water. You couldn't have seen anything that look place on the bridge."

"That's right," Cyric said flatly. "The raven-haired sorceress boasted of what she was about to do when the skiff got close to the bridge. I tried to stop her and the cleric from harming you. That's how the boat capsized." Cyric paused for a moment and drew a deep breath. "She cast her spell anyway, and as a result, your men died."

Mikkel moved close to Yarbro's side. "Is it possible he's telling the truth?"

A spark jumped to life in Cyric's heart, and the thief silently breathed a sigh of relief. The fools had taken the bait. They were his. "Yes! You have to stop her!" Cyric cried as he rose to one knee. " Midnight cast a spell on me before you captured her at theTempleofLathander."

"But you didn't see her between the end of the battle and the beginning of the trial," Yarbro said. "How could she cast a spell on you?"

"I didn't have to see Midnight for her to cast a spell over me," Cyric whispered. The thief held his hand to his side, over the wound he had received in northern Cormyr. "I was injured before we reached Shadowdale, and the mage kept the weapon - smeared with my blood." Though he knew little about how magic really worked, the thief knew enough about human nature and popular beliefs to create a sufficiently ominous spell to frighten the dalesmen. "She tasted my blood from the weapon. That allowed her access to my soul later on, after the battle. She twisted me, forced me to do what I would never do on my own!"

Yarbro looked toward the bald fisherman, then back again to Cyric. The thief bowed his head.

"You must believe me - I want her blood as badly as you do," Cyric growled, without looking up. "She and the cleric exchanged laughs over the dying men's screams at the tower. They told stories of how they had lured Elminster away from the battle and murdered him in theTempleofLathander."

Yarbro's face turned white with anger. Cyric looked up at the dalesmen. One more item on the scales, the thief decided. That should tip them in my favor.

"The cleric boasted of leading Bane's spies into theTempleofTymora. It was he who soaked his hands in the blood of the murdered priests and painted Bane's symbol on the wall." Mikkel gasped, but Cyric went on. The thief stood up now and held his open hands out to the dalesmen. "They are the killers, and they are the ones we must find and put to death for their crimes!"

Cyric paused for only a moment, then lowered his voice and spoke softly to the dalesmen. "And if you must kill me after we have found them, I will make no move to stop you," the thief murmured. "All I desire is to hear the screams of those two monsters before I die!"

Yarbro and Mikkel backed away from the thief. The guard lowered his sword. The fisherman put away his bow. Cyric smiled and put a hand on each of the dalesmen's shoulders.

"Come with us, then," Yarbro said. "'Together we shall find the mage. Then we'll make her pay!"

Cyric could not believe his good fortune. The idiots actually believed his wild story! "She's already on her way to Scardale," the thief volunteered helpfully. "Bane's servants must have had orders to rescue them. We should follow them to the city."

Cyric and the dalesmen walked into the woods for a hundred yards, following the course of the river. They found the fishing skiff impaled on a thick branch. Obviously it would never be seaworthy again. Mikkel gazed at the small boat, thinking of the splendid times be had shared with his partner, Carella. Kicking the boat loose from the snag, the fisherman watched as it sank into the Ashaba.

"We take the road, then," Yarbro said flatly as he turned from the river and headed back into the woods. Cyric quickly followed the guard, and Mikkel soon joined them. After leaping from the bridge, as soon as they had struggled to sh.o.r.e, Yarbro and Mikkel had rushed to the camp the dalesmen had established in the woods at the north end ofBlackfeatherBridge. There they took three horses - one for each of them to ride and the third as a pack animal. The other horses they sent down the road, away from the bridge. Now the two survivors of the hunt, along with Cyric, found the proud animals and loaded the mounts with the few supplies they had gathered.

But as they got ready to ride, Cyric realized that Yarbro and Mikkel were exhausted. The lack of sleep they had endured during the ride from the Standing Stone and their frightening experiences of the last few hours had drained the last sparks of energy from the men. Cyric was still alert, though, and he knew that the men needed rest more than anything. So the thief set about to ensure that they would never get any if he could help it.

"We must ride hard and try to catch them before they're in Scardale too long," Cyric said hurriedly as he leaped onto his horse. "If they get to the city before we do, they'll have a chance to disappear in the crowds, perhaps even catch a boat to Zhentil Keep. Then we'll never find them."

The hunters nodded. "For now, you ride in front," Yarbro sighed as he mounted his horse. "You don't get a weapon until we say so... and never forget that our cold steel is at your back."

Cyric kicked his horse into motion. "Of course. I would feel the same way if I were you. All I ask is that you allow me the opportunity for vengeance when the time comes."

"Aye," Mikkel said, stifling a yawn. "That we promise."

Cyric sensed that Yarbro hadn't believed his story as completely as he first thought. It hardly mattered. They had allowed the thief to live. Once the party stopped to rest for the night, the hunters would belong to Cyric. After he dispatched the weakened, exhausted men, he would take their supplies and set off for Scardale alone.

After an hour's ride, the forest gave out, and the barren expanses of Featherdale loomed before Cyric and the two dalesmen. Looking back, the thief half expected the mysterious forest to shimmer and vanish, or the trees to uproot and follow them. Yet nothing strange occurred.

The riders left the riverbank to avoid a curve of the Ashaba to the north in order to follow the most direct route to Scardale. After an hour's ride over the dull flatlands of Featherdale, Cyric spotted a handful of riders in the distance, riding toward them. "What do you want to do about those riders?" the thief asked as he turned slightly in his saddle.

"We have no quarrel with whoever it is," Yarbro snapped, a slight tinge of nervousness in his voice.

Cyric reined his horse; to a stop. "We could try to avoid them, but they might think us cowards or criminals and set out after us if we do."

A frown creased the young guard's face. "Just a minute! I'm trying to think," Yarbro growled harshly.

"There isn't much time, of course," Cyric continued. "If we ride right now, we might stand a chance of escaping from them."

"A moment ago, you seemed to favor facing them," Mikkel said, confused. He stopped his horse next to Cyric's.

The hawk-nosed thief smiled. "Well, either way might be dangerous. There are many things to take into -"

Yarbro shook his head violently. "Be quiet! I can't hear myself think!" Mikkel frowned at the blond guard.

The thief smiled. Good, he thought. This kind of conflict will make it easier for me to stay alive a little longer in the company of these yokels. Cyric turned back to Yarbro. "Aye," he said condescendingly. "That's the problem with these situations. You need a clear head, plus a bit of hindsight, to judge them properly. If I may be so bold -"

"You already have been," Yarbro barked. "Now shut up! You're making my head swim!"

"Am I?" Cyric said softly, almost meekly. "It's not my intention, I a.s.sure you." The thief turned away and did as he was told.

After a moment, Yarbro drew his sword and laid it across his lap. "We do nothing," he said, sounding pleased with himself. "We'll simply stay here and wait to see what they do." In a short time, the riders had approached to within about a hundred yards. Their dark clothing and coats of arms became clearly visible, and Cyric identified them at once. "Zhentilar," the thief said flatly. "Probably just a wandering band. I doubt that they're on any special mission. All that should concern them is staying alive."

The dalesmen were tense and nervous as the riders approached. If they handled themselves properly, the dalesmen could avoid a conflict with the larger band. However, their frightened expressions and slightly quavering voices would probably give the hunters away no matter what they told the Zhentish troops.

The band of Zhentilar stopped about fifty feet from Yarbro, Mikkel, and Cyric. The leader of the company, a burly, black-haired man, rode forward a few steps. "I am Tyzack, leader of the Company of the Scorpions. These are my men - Ken, Croxton, Eccles, Praxis, and Slater."

Each of the black-garbed travelers nodded as his name was called. They were all well tanned from days of riding, and their clothes were worn and dirty. After a quick scan of the company, Cyric could not help but notice that one of the "men" in the company, Slater, was actually a woman.

Tyzack crossed his arms, and there was an uneasy silence for a moment.

Cyric leaned toward Yarbro. "You're supposed to respond," the thief whispered. "And I shouldn't be the one out front. It makes it seem as if I am in charge."

Yarbro led his mount past Cyric. The thief eyed the hilt of the guard's sword as he pa.s.sed. Of course, Cyric didn't dare make a move for the weapon with Mikkel still at his back.

The blond dalesman cleared his throat. "I am Yarbro... a hunter of the Dales. With me is Mikkel, and Cyric." The nervous pause was far too lengthy to he missed by the Zhentilar.

Tyzack looked around at the barren fields surrounding the two parties and laughed slightly. "You're a bit out of your element, huntsman. Are you lost? Unable to find your way hack home?" A low rumble of laughter ran through the Zhentilar.

"They mock us," Mikkel hissed in a hoa.r.s.e whisper.

"Better that than attack us," Cyric hissed to the fisherman.

The leader of the Zhentilar eyed the dalesmen for a few moments, then looked back to his company. Ren, a wiry, golden-haired young man, nodded, and Tyzack smiled. "Heading to Scardale, are you?"

"That's correct," Yarbro said. "And we are in a bit of a hurry, it you don't mind."

"Not so fast, dalesman," Ren called from behind Tyzack. "Tell me, what is it you hunt? You've come a long way to track your game."

Mikkel moved his horse past Cyric. "We only wish to be on our way," the fisherman snarled. "Will you let us move along?"

Tyzack spread his arms in a flourish. "Was there ever any question?" The Zhentilar signaled his company to move forward. "I didn't realize you required our permission."

Cyric cursed softly. It was clear that the Zhentilar had no intention whatsoever of letting them go. I'd better make the best of the confusion, the thief thought to himself.

Yarbro turned to Mikkel and Cyric. "Ride on," the guardsman said, the words catching in his throat. Yarbro and Mikkel flanked the thief as they rode toward the Zhentish soldiers.

As the companies came close to one another, Eccles, a wild-eyed Zhentilar with flaming red hair, spat on the ground in front of Mikkel's horse. "I'd spit on you, dalesman, but it would be a waste of water," the fighter harked as he got close to the red-skinned fisherman.

Mikkel stiffened in his saddle. "Zhentish dog!" he cursed bitterly.

"What was that?" Tyzack screamed, holding up his hand. The Company of the Scorpions halted.

"He called your man a 'Zhentish dog!'" Yarbro said flatly and reached for his sword. The Zhentilar quickly unsheathed their weapons as well.

Cyric considered his position. Yarbro and Mikkel still were on either side of him. The Zhentilar were formed in pairs, with Tyzack and Eccles in the lead, followed by Croxton and Praxis, then Ren and Slater at the rear. There's nowhere to run to, the hawk-nosed thief realized, and I have no weapons.

Eccles held a broadsword in his right hand and ran his left, with the reins wrapped around his wrist, through his red hair. The fighter trembled with rage. "Well, Tyzack?" the wild-eyed Zhentilar asked breathlessly.

The black-haired leader of the Company of the Scorpions casually looked over his shoulder at his band. "Kill them all," he said calmly.

Fingers digging into the mane of his horse, Cyric prepared himself.

"You're dead men!" Eccles screamed as he kicked his horse into motion. "Dead men!"

Cyric had leaped from his mount before the first blow was struck. He landed on the ground near Croxton, a red-bearded man with a flat jawline and thick, bushy eyebrows. The Zhentilar's lips curled back in a grimace as he saw Cyric fall, but he ignored the thief and rushed at Yarbro. As he raced past the guard, Croxton struck the young man in the face with the back of his mailed hand. Yarbro fell backward off his horse and landed beside Cyric. The thief saw seething hatred in Yarbro's bloodshot eyes.

Slater, the only woman in the ranks of the six-member band of Zhentilar, produced a crossbow and leveled it at Mikkel's face. She was no older than Midnight , Cyric realized as he watched her take aim at the fisherman, yet her features were as battle-worn as any man's he had ever seen. Her eyebrows had been completely shaved off, and her brown hair was cut short. Lips that might have been full and sensual were dry and cracked. She bit one side of her lips as she smiled and prepared to kill the fisherman.

Eccles rode past Mikkel and slashed him across the arm with his sword. Croxton and Praxis flanked Cyric and Yarbro. It was clear that the battle was over.

"Wait!" Ken yelled. "Where's the fun if we merely slaughter them? Let's give them a fighting chance... and than we can slaughter them!" The golden-haired Zhentilar turned to the company's leader. "Well, Tyzack?"

"I have no objections," the black-haired soldier said, a wolfish grin crawling across his mouth. "What do you propose?"

Ren pointed to Mikkel with his sword. "Get off your mount, dalesman."

The fisherman did not move. Ren leaned forward on his horse and pointed to Slater, who still had her crossbow trained on the red-skinned dalesman. Ren smiled, revealing a mouthful of rotted teeth. "If I tell her to wound you, it might take days for you to die. I'm about to offer you a chance to live."

Yarbro wiped the blood from his mouth. "Get off the horse, Mikkel. Let's hear what they have to say."

All eyes turned to Mikkel as the fisherman slowly dismounted and sat on the ground.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Cyric slowly started to creep backward, away from the hunters. Then a high-pitched whistle caught his attention. The thief looked up and saw that Slater had aimed her crossbow at his heart. She nodded toward Yarbro, and Cyric moved back to the young guard's side.

"So, the coward would leave his friends behind," Ken growled as he turned to Cyric. "I imagine your own skin is the one you value the most."

"Of course," Cyric hissed softly.

"By Bane's black heart!" another of the Zhentilar exclaimed. "A dalesman who speaks the truth!" The speaker was Praxis, a sandy-haired man with steel-gray eyes who towered over Cyric and Yarbro on his horse. "Perhaps we can have some sport from this after all."

"This is no sport!" Eccles snarled, nervously running his hand through his hair. "Dealing with dalesmen is only sport when it takes place in the arena." The wild-eyed Zhentish soldier turned to Cyric. "Do you know what we do to 'honest' dalesmen like you in the arena?"

As he looked into Eccles's eyes, noting the tinge of madness that lay behind them, Cyric suddenly thought of a way out of this dilemma. "I know a good deal about Zhentil Keep," the thief said, narrowing his eyes. "I was born there." Both the dalesmen and Tyzack screamed "What?" at the same time. Cyric smiled a half-grin and nodded slowly. "I am an agent of the Black Network. These dalesmen held me prisoner and would be most happy to see you kill me."