Lost Empires - Faces Of Deception Part 3

Bharat's insincere smile remained on his face as he said, "No apologynecessary. The captain was indeed a very big liar. He made me angry as well."

"Ignorant Mar like him are what made Queen Rosalind reluctant to help you,"Rishi added as he hefted a sack of rice into the wagon. "Someday, I will give youhis tongue."

"Thanks, but no thanks."

Atreus grimaced, then moved the rice to the front of the cargo bed. They finishedre-packing the wagon quickly, leaving a place between the carpets so he and Yago could lie down and hide when they pa.s.sed someone on the road.

That night, Atreus had Yago stay close to the treasure basket and politely refusedto go to his bed inside the wagon until Bharat and Rishi had gone to theirs underneath it. His caution was somewhat unnecessary. Only he could open the cofferinside the treasure basket and it was too heavy for either Mar to carry off, but hewanted them to know he was thinking about the possibility as much as they were.

The next day dawned clear and cold, as did most in the Yehimals. After a breakfastof warm yak milk and cold barley, they traveled a few hours up to the end of the valley.There, much to Atreus's amazement, the road started up a mountainside longer andsteeper than the one they had crested just the night before. As they ascended, therhododendron undergrowth vanished, giving way to silver-barked bushes Atreusdid not recognize. The trees grew smaller and closer together, and the breezebecame cool and thin. The valley in which they had camped the night before seemedas distant and low as had the plains of Edenvale, and still they climbed. When theafternoon mists came, their breaths turned into billowing clouds of vapor, and a chilldampness sank into their bones.

They continued to climb for three more days, the forest eventually growing thin andpatchy, sometimes vanishing altogether when the slope became too steep or rocky.The wind nipped at their ears, and their own breaths kept them swaddled in perpetualclouds of white steam. Gradually, Atreus pretended to let his guard down. He neglected to remind Yago to keep a close watch on the basket, then started to go tobed first. He paid less attention to his treasure and complained more often aboutfatigue and cold. He even had Yago forget to take the basket with him when he went tosleep at night, and still the Mar made no attempt to steal his gold.Eventually, they crested this mountainside too, and began to cross an endlesssuccession of ridges and valleys. often, they traveled miles through alpinemeadows far above the timber-line, then descended into deep valleys full mist and mountain bamboo. Several times a day, they met Yago caravans coming in theopposite direction. Atreus and Yago would hide beneath the carpets while Rishiand Bharat stopped to gossip, for travelers in the Yehimals had long, ago learnedthe wisdom of pausing to hear what lay ahead.The news was always of Ysdar's ugly devil, and the accounts grew increasinglyexaggerated. Tales such as his ogre having slaughtered a herd of yaks, his Mar servant maiming all the children in a village, and the devil himself murdering anentire company of the Queen's Men were common. Of course, no one couldname the places where any of this had occurred. Rishi and Bharat seemed to findthese stories a great amus.e.m.e.nt. After hearing one, their moods grew as jocularas Atreus's did foul. Eventually, the two Mar stopped translating the reports for their master, knowing that the latest accounts of his outrages would make their "goodsir" even angrier than their refusal to repeat what was being said about him.

Twice after hearing that the Queen's Men were approaching, Atreus, Rishi,and Yago had to hide in the rocks while a patrol searched the wagon. The inspections went much the same as before, save that Bharat now accepted them as a matter of course and insisted on having his rugs neatly stacked insteadof strewn all over the road. The rucksack continued to draw comment, as the soldiers could not imagine a merchant abandoning his goods to go trekking through the mountains.Finally, the morning came when Atreus opened his treasure basket to check the coffer inside and saw scratch marks on the bra.s.s latch. He was less surprised todiscover his companions had tried to break into the chest than that Yago had notheard the attempt. The ogre had slept beside the basket all night without noticing athing.

Atreus closed the lid and said nothing, though now he began to worry. So far, they had not reached any of the valleys or mountains named on Sune's map, and the thought occurred to him that Rishi might not know how to find the Sisters of Serenity after all. Perhaps the two Mar were simply leading him about blindly, waiting for their chance to rob and abandon him*or worse. Given the hideous rumors coursing through the mountains, they could murder him and be hailed as heroes. Atreus and Yago began to sleep in shifts, napping in the wagon and closing their eyes at night only after they were certain the two Mar had slumbered off.

They had been traveling little more than a ten-day when Bharat, preparing theirusual supper of fried vegetables over rice, turned the oil jar over and nothing cameout. He cursed and hurled the vessel against a rock. As it shattered, he turned to Rishiand spoke in rapid Maran. Rishi shook his head and made an angry reply, thenglanced across the fire to where Atreus was sitting.

Atreus signaled Yago with a glance, then gathered his legs beneath himself andreluctantly shifted his weight to the b.a.l.l.s of his feet They were camped well above the timber-line, huddled on the lee side of a boulder with a snowstorm blowing in,wrapped tight in their cloaks and burning dried yak dung they had gathered along the road. At the moment, the last thing Atreus felt like doing was fighting off a robbery attempt.

The two Mar continued to argue in their strange tongue of melodic syllables andguttural clicks, now entirely oblivious to their companion."Use Realmspeak," Atreus said. "I don't like being left out of arguments... particularly when they're about me." Bharat turned at once, his ever-ready smile plastered across his face, and said, "Ohno, the good sir is not to be deceived. We are not arguing about you... we are notarguing at all."

"We were only discussing a small matter, which is of no importance to you," added Rishi. Atreus scowled at the shards of the broken oil jar and said, "We are four companions traveling together. What is important to one is important to all."

Rishi shrugged, then glanced at Bharat and said, "Very well. I suppose it must besaid. We are running out of food. This is why Bharat is upset."

Atreus studied Bharat until the Mar's counterfeit grin began to twitch, then asked, "Why should we be running out of food? You knew we would be going to the Sisters ofSerenity."

"Just so, but I knew also that the Queen's Men would be searching for you," Bharatreplied. "What would they think if they found food for three men and an ogre in a wagon with only one driver? I did the best I could."

"And you made no plans to replenish our supplies?"

Bharat fell silent and glanced away, fl.u.s.tered.

"It is the soldiers," said Rishi, coming to his rescue. "They are making things difficult."

"Ah yes, the soldiers," Bharat said, his gaze swinging back to Atreus. "With all the rumors they are spreading, it is too dangerous to buy anything from the villages.These mountain Mar are terrible gossips, always asking questions and looking underother people's carpets."

"Bharat is very discouraged by this," Rishi said. He gestured at his companion's ample stomach. "He is not accustomed to missing meals. No doubt, it would help if he had something else to think about. Perhaps you could pay him what he has earnedso far through his loyal services?"Thinking the request a reasonable one, Atreus reached for his belt purse*thenremembered where he had left it and pulled his hand away.

"Very clever, Rishi," he said.

"Good sir?"

"What happens when I open the coffer?" Atreus asked. "Do you plant one of yourlittle throwing daggers in Yago's throat, and Bharat another in my back?"

Rishi's eyes went wide. "Never!"

"Why not?" Atreus glanced from Rishi to Bharat. "You know you can't slip the lock.I've seen the scratch marks where you tried." Bharat's jaw fell, and he turned to gape at Rishi in feigned outrage. "You? Arobber?" "Bharat, don't play the innocent," Atreus said, shaking his head. "It would be amistake to a.s.sume that because I am ugly, I am also stupid. You're in on his plan."

"Plan?" Bharat tried to look indignant. "What plan?"

"You aren't taking me to the Sisters of Serenity at all." Atreus did not try to keepthe bitterness out of his voice, and Yago rose, curling his big hands into fists. "Youbrought me up here to rob me."

"Not true!" Bharat protested. "We are only two days from where your map starts."

Without quite realizing what he was doing, Atreus stepped around the fire ands.n.a.t.c.hed Bharat up by the collar. "Don't take me for a fool!" Rishi was up instantly, pushing himself between his friend and Atreus. "Oh, Bharat would never do that," he insisted. "Never in a thousand lifetimes!"

Atreus released the Mar and stepped back, surprised by the depth of his rage. Hehad to clench his fists to keep his hands from trembling, and his face and ears were so full of hot anger that he no longer felt the cold bite of the wind."I'm sorry if I frightened you," Atreus said, "but I warned you. Nothing makesme angrier than being treated as though I'm stupid."

Bharat glared at him from the opposite side of the fire. "We do not need you!" hespat. "It is you who need us! How would you find your Langdarma without us? Whatwould happen if we told the Queen's Men about you?"

"You don't want to find out," growled Yago.

Atreus met the Mar's angry stare, and neither of them said anything.

It was Rishi who finally spoke. "Perhaps this is my fault to some small degree.

Perhaps I have, most inadvertently and only through the best of intentions, misled the good sir in a manner most trivial and unimportant."

Atreus scowled. "How would that be?"

"In a tiny way that will have no impact whatsoever on the ultimate outcome of ourendeavor, as is evidenced by the heavy presence in this part of the Yehimals of the Queen's Men, who are most a.s.suredly here only because the Sisters of Serenity must be somewhere nearby."

"Rishi, are you telling me you don't know where the Sisters are?"

"Not at all! I have a very good idea where they might be," Rishi said, then took a step backward. "It is only that I have never actually ... seen them myself. But I have traveled to one of the valleys on your map, by means of a secret caravan route used by certain, uh ... traders from Konigheim. If we can find this trail, I am confident we will eventually find the Sisters of Serenity. As I have said, the Queen's Men would not be gathering in this area if our destination was not near."

Atreus groaned and fell silent, pondering his slim chances of reaching the peaks without the help of his two companions. Given his ignorance of the Yehimals and the unlikelihood of "Ysdar's devil" receiving help from the superst.i.tious mountain people, he realized that Bharat had been right. He needed the Mar more than they wanted his gold.

Atreus turned to Bharat "You can take me to the valley at the edge of this map?" "Did I not say so?" Bharat's voice was still filled with disdain. "The closest is onlytwo days away."

"Then you will have your payment in two days."

Atreus went to the cart and pulled his treasure basket out, placing it on theground beside the fire. He lifted the lid, then reached inside and touched the wooden coffer, placing his palm over the magic ward that sealed the chest. Hedid not bother to hide this from the two Mar, as only his touch would release theenchanted lock.

Atreus opened the coffer, revealing the ma.s.s of golden coins inside. He grabbed a handful and pa.s.sed them to Bharat. "This gold means nothing to me, and it will only prove a burden in trying to reach Langdarma. After I amcertain that you have led me to the edge of my map, you can take your thirdand leave."

"My third?" Bharat gasped.

"That does not seem fair?"

"Very fair!" Bharat gasped again. Despite his words, his gaze remained lockedon the chest. "It is far in excess of what I expected, but a third?" He glanced inRishi's direction. "Why not half? After all, it is my cart we are using... and my yaks."

"Rishi will accompany me to Langdarma." Atreus withdrew a second handfulof coins and pa.s.sed them to Rishi. "Save for the small portion I save for thepa.s.sage home, the rest of the coins will be his."

"The good sir is too generous," said Rishi. Like Bharat, he could not take hiseyes off the coffer's contents. "I hope you will make your pa.s.sage home a comfortable one."

"I'm glad you're both pleased." Atreus closed the coffer, then listened to the telltale hiss of the magic lock reactivating itself. "But if you don't like my terms, you are free to leave with what I've given you already.""Leave?" gasped Rishi. "Oh no, I am most happy to go with you as far as you wish.""And you will take one of my yaks with you," offered Bharat, "to carry your load andprovide milk and warmth in the high places where there is none."

"Good. Let us hope we'll all be happy men in two days." Atreus said as he closed the lid of the cargo basket. "Until then, we can put this unpleasantness behind usand sleep well."It did not escape Atreus's notice that as he spoke, the eyes of the two Marremained fixed on the basket. He shook his head, then took the pot and went offto milk the yaks. It was someone else's turn to worry about his gold.

Chapter 5.

Atreus's first sound sleep in many days ended with a clap of thunder, then a flashso bright he saw it inside his eyelids. He threw aside the carpets he had been using as blankets and sat up, looking out the back of the wagon toward the fire pit. It wasthat gray time just before dawn when first light started to kindle a pearly sheen in theprevious night's snow. Yago was nowhere to be seen, having risen early to hunt forsomething furry or feathered to supplement his inadequate diet. In the ogre's emptybed kneeled a pudgy silhouette, hunched over the open treasure basket and pressing palms to eyes. The figure took its hands away, then swiveled its headaround aimlessly.

"Blind!" The voice was Bharat's. "The devil has blinded me!"

Rishi scrambled out from beneath the wagon and ran over to the treasure basket, barefooted and uncloaked despite the deep snow. When he saw the lid lying open, he pushed Bharat into the smoldering fire pit and began shrieking in angryMaran.

"In Realmspeak, Rishi," ordered Atreus. He dug out a boot and began to pull iton. "How many times must I remind you?"Rishi switched instantly to Realmspeak shrieking, "Thief!" He kicked Bharat in the ribs. Bharat rolled into the snow and curled into a ball. "Have mercy, my friend. You arekicking a blind man!""You were stealing my gold," Rishi accused, and kicked him again, this time in the back.

"That's enough, Rishi," Atreus ordered. "He's no good to us injured."

Rishi kicked Bharat one more time, then turned toward Atreus. "What good is he tous now?" he asked. "Who can trust a thief?"

Bharat remained curled into a ball *It is not what you think,* he Pleaded *I was onlylooking __* "Only looking?" Rishi reached behind the treasure chest, plucked the rucksack out of the snow, and asked, "What is this for?"

He hurled the bag at Bharat, who flinched, then raised his chin defiantly.

"Our split was supposed to be even..." Bharat said, "and now you are ready to take two thirds!"

"Of course! Now I must go with this fool into the High Yehimals," Rishi said, thenpaused, seeming to realize what he had said, and spun toward Atreus. "Pay him noheed. Bharat has always been a thief and a*"

"Yes," Atreus interrupted, "one is known by the company he keeps." He pointed atRishi's bare feet and added, "You'd better get dressed. You won't be any good to mewith frostbitten feet."

Rishi glanced down at his toes, then ducked beneath the wagon and began to digfor his clothes.

Atreus finished lacing his boots, then slipped his heavy woolen cloak over his shoulders and stepped out into the morning. The air was calm and clear, with the last stars fading from sight and the orange dawn spreading across the frigid sky. Theyaks stood a short distance down the hill, tied nose to tail for easy leading. The onein the rear had a pair of canvas bags secured to its s.h.a.ggy back. Over the shouldersof the other lay a blanket and ropes, ready to secure a rucksack full of gold.Yago came pounding out of the morning dimness, a half-eaten marmot danglingfrom one hand. "What . .happened?" he huffed. "I heard a bang."

"The trap on my treasure coffer." Atreus gestured at the open basket. "Bharatdidn't think a third was fair."

"I meant no harm!" Bharat protested. "I was only going to take my half*"

"Bharat, this is the last time I'll warn you about taking me for a fool," Atreus said. When the Mar fell silent, he turned to Yago. "Keep an eye on him while you finishyour breakfast. I'll get us ready to go."

Leaving Bharat to Yago's watchful eye, Atreus retrieved the yaks and unpackedthe beast in the rear. He found Bharat's belongings in the first bag and what remained of the food in the second.

"What a disgraceful thief," Rishi commented, now fully dressed. "He meant us tostarve. I will cut his throat, and then we can be on our way."Bharat swung toward the sound. "Two thirds of the gold is not enough for you?Now you must kill me for the rest?" "It is better than you deserve," Rishi said, "but we have no time for a properpunishment." He pulled one of his small knives and started toward Bharat.

Atreus caught Rishi by the arm. "I thought Bharat was your friend," he said.

"A friend does not steal his friend's gold," Rishi snarled.

"It's not yours yet," Atreus reminded him. *The gold does not. belong to you until we reach Langdarma."

Rishi's golden face darkened to the color of mahogany and he said, "Oh, beggingyour pardon, here I go getting ahead of myself again." He held his dagger outtoward Atreus. "Of course, the good sir wishes to punish the thief himself."

"The good sir does not." Atreus replied, pushing the dagger away. "As a matter offact, I'm quite happy with how things turned out."

Rishi frowned and asked, "You would let a man steal from you?"

"If it is the only way to learn the truth, yes." Atreus took Bharat's arm and pulledthe Mar to his feet but continued to speak to Rishi. "Had you tried to open thecoffer, I would have known you have no idea where we are going. But sinceyou're willing to wait for a larger share of the gold, I know we're near the edge of my map."

"This was a test?" shrieked Bharat. "You blinded me to find if I was telling thetruth?"

"He didn't do nothing," said Yago, crunching a bone. "You're the one who tried to open the coffer. You deserve what you got." "Which isn't as terrible as it could have been," said Atreus, guiding Bharat tothe front of the wagon. "Your blindness will pa.s.s."

Bharat sighed in relief, then furrowed his brow and clutched Atreus's arm."And what of our bargain?" he asked. "Was that only to see if we were telling thetruth?"

"If you will honor it, then I will." Atreus said as he helped the Mar into the wagon's pa.s.senger seat.

Bharat did not release Atreus's arm. "But the split will be even, of course."

"Even?" Rishi asked. He was beside them in an instant "Are you going to Langdarma? I am the one taking more risk."

"Our agreement is already more than fair, Bharat" agreed Atreus. He peeled the Mar's hand off his arm. "Be happy with the gold you're receiving now. It's enough to make you wealthy many times over."

Bharat shook his head stubbornly. "But I am a bahrana, just as Rishi. My shareshould be half. Anything less is to call me a tarok."

"Only by the backward customs of Edenvale," countered Rishi. "The good sir andhis gold come from the far realm of Erlkazar. We should honor the custom of thatland, where it is the habit to honor a man's value and not his position.""But we met in Edenvale," Bharat said, turning his head away. "I will abide by itscustoms, or by none at all."

"If that's your choice, I'll rekindle the fire." Atreus reached up to take the Mar's arm. "By tomorrow or the next day, you'll see well enough to start back withthe gold I've already given you."

Bharat's unseeing eyes grew wide. "And now you are trying to cheat me out ofeven my miserable third!" he shouted. "I am coming with you, whether you like itor not."

Bharat folded his arms and let Atreus and the others pack the wagon andharness the yaks. Then the small company set off on a cold and solemn ride. Theyspent much of the morning angling up a wind-blasted mountainside, until theirroute joined several others and rounded the shoulder into a steep alpine gorge.The distant roar of a mighty river began to rumble up from a tiny ribbon of water thousands of feet below, and the road became little more than a perilously tiltedtrack.

Rishi stopped the wagon so they could look across the river. On the oppositeside of the gorge lay an immense plateau of snowy hummocks and leafy greenwillow bushes. In the untold distance beyond stood a remote wall of ice-draped mountains, as jagged as ore's teeth and so high they were scratching tiny furrowsof white cloud into the belly of the pa.s.sing sky.

"The Spine of the World Dragon," Rishi announced, pointing at the peaks. "The valleys on your map lie there."

Without any trees or animals for scale, Atreus could not quite comprehend the magnitude of the mountains. To him the range looked like the brink of the world, asheer barrier of ice-coated spires as high as it was impa.s.sable.

"Men can live there?" asked Yago, incredulous.

"If it is the wish of the mountain G.o.ds," said Bharat. He was facing the peaks,though his sightless eyes were fixed on the sky above. "But more often, it is theirwish that men die there."

"And how could a cowardly rug seller who has never ventured beyond the safety ofthe roads know such a thing?" demanded Rishi. He glanced over his shoulder atAtreus. "Pay Bharat no mind. It is said the Mar were born there, and of coursethat is where we shall find Langdarma ... if we are strong enough."

For the first time Atreus wondered if he was strong enough. On his map, the peaks were little more than circles of fanning lines, with the names of the valleyswritten along serpentine s.p.a.ces below. There was nothing to suggest the staggering height of the mountains or the sheer rugged-ness of their ice-cakedflanks. That a paradise could be hidden in such a place seemed impossible, and yet the sight made Atreus believe in Langdarma all the more strongly. Sune taught that beauty had to be guarded, and he could think of no better protectionthan those mountains.