by L. Itram and Ben Yackley Main * Story * Setting * Cast * Illustrations * About * Comment

Chapter 14: Crossing Paths (Posted on 3/25/03 )

Kai paced back and forth across the deck of the little ship, a magnetic compass in one hand and a small bottle containing an even smaller flower in the other. "South now," he called out. "No, wait, south-southeast again."

In the chart room, Viola made a note on her map, then turned to the brass funnel set in the wall by the door. "Keep heading straight."

"Straight it is," Luen's voice echoed through the speaking tube. "Let me know when you want to switch off."

"Gimme another ten minutes or so," - that was Kinto in the boiler room - "an' I'll take the wheel over. How long we got, anyway?"

"At current speed we should reach the Verguston coast in a few hours. Ye can speed up if ye like, looks like they've stopped veerin' about. Kai?"

"Still the same," he hollered back.

"We ain't gonna get much more speed outta this thing," Kinto grumbled.

"Don't worry about it," even through the tube they could hear Luen's smirk. "They probably figure they've lost us."

"Aye, and they would ha' if not fer Kai's idea ta use one o' his plants as a sensor."

"Yep. Tricked-out boat like that one burns chroma like nobody's business, and leaves a pretty distinctive trail. It may be able to outrun any other ship on the water, but they forgot who's after them..."

Just as Viola predicted, they reached land shortly before sunset - specifically the green forested coast of Levend. "Sure is a change from Grandegear," remarked Kai, keeping lookout on deck.

"Aye, Levend is mostly forests and hills," said Viola, a note of worry in her voice. Even from a distance, the distinct shape of the landmass distinguished itself from any other of the continents they had seen so far; it was smaller than Aezo or Tximist, but full of gentle rolling hills and seemingly completely covered in tall trees.

The trail led to a small, unremarkable cove on the northern coast but then doubled back toward the ocean. The mages decided to check the area anyway on the off-change that Rose had dropped off her passenger. Sure enough, Kinto quickly picked up Auli's trail, only a few hours old and leading into the misty forest. "You'll get t'see plenty more plants, Kai," Kinto joked as they followed the trail.

"And more maginaria, I hope," grumbled Luen. "I'll need a replacement." He was certainly glad to get his pouch of chroma crystals back, but the loss of Clorin bothered him more than he liked to say. He had a reputation for laziness in his classes, but the truth was that he saw no point in spending extra effort unless the results were worth it. Clorin certainly was, and he had put hours into befriending and later training her and now that little thief had stolen those hours away from him. Losing Nhaal -- or Nhil, as Kai had whimsically named the little "puppy" after they discovered it no longer possessed its spell-eating abilities -- was a more minor annoyance. The multicolored maginaria was valuable by virtue of its rarity, but nothing special otherwise. He'd never been able to train it or even to figure out what its skills were, apart from slobbering at the mages and upsetting Clorin.

The hilly evergreen forests of Levend - as Kai quickly noticed - were quite different from the swampy lowlands of Aezo. The trees were much larger, blocking out the dark cloudy sky. Live ground-cover was sparse, though dead leaves and pine needles muffled their footsteps. Animal life was even sparser, or perhaps just extremely shy. It was, he noted, an eerie, silent land, made only more eerie by the ever-present mist that rolled lazily around the bases of the trees, floating up from burbling streambeds just out of sight range.

Viola was silent, choosing not to share her thoughts.

Eventually, they reached a low wooden fence which bordered a well-traveled road - a series of long planks set lengthwise into the ground and worn down by the traffic of countless travelers and carriages. More comfortable to walk upon than a forest trail, to be certain, but impossible to track anyone along.

"Which way now?" asked Luen.

"If there's a road, there must be something on both ends," commented Kai. The others stared at him. "Well, it makes sense, doesn't it?"

"So we just choose at random?" asked Viola.

"Hmmm. Left leads away from th'coast," said Kinto.

"Away from salt water sounds good to me."

Half an hour later, they reached a signpost announcing Verguston, 3 miles further.

Luen and Kai exchanged glances. "That's the capital, right?" Kai finally asked.

"Aye," was Viola's only response.

"Which means it oughta have inns," Kinto pointed out.

"We didn't get much sleep last night, either," added Kai.

"Least you weren't on a boat," grumbled Kinto as they headed past the sign toward civilization.

Viola trailed after them. Verguston was low on her list of places to visit this year, but she couldn't very well argue. She consoled herself with the thought that the capital city of Levend had inns aplenty; there would be no need to visit a certain little run-down neighborhood just south of Spruce Street.

Meanwhile, in Verguston, Auli huddled in an alleyway just southeast of the busy intersection of Spruce and Pine streets and argued with herself. Or so a passing observer -- unable to see the large etched coin cupped in her hands -- would have assumed.

"The news must've reached the city by now; I can't risk showing my face! Why did you have me come here of all places?"

"Two reasons. Do you still have the crystals you stole from the summoner?"

"Yes. He didn't have my Nhaal, though."

"That does not matter. He had others."

"Yeah, yeah. Look, Dav, can we discuss splitting the spoils after -- "

"You want a new identity, yes?"

"Yes," she said slowly.

"I know someone here who can help you."

"Great!" After a slight pause, "You said there were two reasons...?"

"You'll meet the other soon enough."

Meanwhile, in the stormy jungles of Kyria, on the top surface of one of that continent's gigantic weightless boulders tethered in place by the thick rainforest vines, Zeph Goldenedge was engaged in a life-or-death battle -- though at this point the death was more likely to be that of the birdlike beast in front of him.

It was easily ten times the young swordsman's weight, with a fifty-foot wingspan and a sharp heavy beak that it threatened to skewer Zeph with in those moments when it wasn't in the air raking at him with its talons. It was, Zeph noticed between dodging blows, actually a remarkable-looking creature, with bright blue and purple feathers and a long flowing tail. It wasn't entirely avian, however; Zeph had never known birds to have more than two legs, but this one had four, all of them attempting to grab onto him and threatening to tear him apart.

It was a prolonged battle, Zeph and the creature exchanging and dodging each other's blows until a lucky swipe of his sword across one of the creature's legs gave Zeph an advantage he wasted no time in pressing. Another swing and two of its legs were neatly severed. Ignoring the monster's shrieks, he brought his sword around in a backhand arc that removed the creature's head and most of its long neck. The battle was over. Leaving the dead beast, he strode back through the undergrowth. After a dozen steps he turned aside and carefully parted the giant ferns. Four large eggs sat in a rude but well-hidden nest of grass. Three were mottled green and white, the fourth was a pale translucent blue. Zeph carefully lifted the shining blue egg - which wasn't an egg at all, as it turned out - away from its companions and held it up to the afternoon sunlight. "I've done it," he whispered in awe. Then, realizing there was nobody around, he repeated himself a bit louder. "I've done it! I've found a Shard of Heaven!" Destiny had led him to this jungle, just as destiny had so tragically singled him out to be the instrument which would fell the Lord of Shadows. He had known this all along, but somehow seeing the stone in his hands brought home to him the enormity of his Quest. He tucked it safely away in his pack and then focused his mind as he had been taught.

Teacher, I have found it.

A voice spoke into his mind. You have done well, Zeph Goldenedge, and are truly worthy of your name. Now it is time for you to return to Levend to do battle against the Lord of Shadows himself.

But what must I do with the Shard?

All will be explained in due time. Venture forth to Verguston. I shall contact you once more upon your arrival. Go forth, Hero; your destiny awaits.

Zeph opened his eyes and turned back toward the coast, miles outward and miles downward. He felt as if he could see the entire world stretching before him - a world he had traveled for months - or was it years by now? - in search of the object he now possessed. Now it was time to return to his homeland, to Levend, and finally fulfill his destiny as a hero.

The following morning, rested and refreshed, the mages set about on their own quest, namely trying to find Auli the largest city on Levend. Luck had been with them thus far: according to several locals, she had arrived in Verguston the previous day.

"Headed to this section over here," said Kai, pointing at a crudely drawn map he had purchased from one of the shops, despite Viola's insistence that such things were only intended to separate tourists from their money. "South of, uh, Soot?"

"Spoon," said Kinto, leaning around Kai's shoulder. "Definitely Spoon."

Viola glanced at the map. It was horribly inaccurate and nearly illegible, but anyone familiar with the city could identify the smudged landmarks and make a reasonable guess at the streets surrounding them. A newcomer, however, would be hopelessly lost. Spoon Street. Soot Street. They could spend all day searching for either of those but eventually Auli would have to make her way back downtown. Or would she? One could live one's whole life in Levend and never stray out of the safety of the slums. Viola knew that as well as anyone and Auli, a native of Shattered Hill - an ocean away but cut from the same cloth - would come to the same conclusion. She might leave the city tomorrow or next year; the mages might or might not catch her trail again when she did so.

There would be other Shards, perhaps. Other Shards, other swordsmiths, other chances to earn her magehood. Right?

"-- have to do," Luen was explaining to the others, "is head to Spoon Street and ask around this little neighborhood you say she's hiding out in."

Kai nodded, "Can't be more than a few blocks wide. I don't know about this bit here, though," he pointed at a particularly tangled patch of ink. "We'll need directions to get through that."

"Hoi, Viola. You okay?" Kinto snuck over to her as the other two buttonholed a passer-by and tried to make sense of the map.

"No, ye dunna want Pine," the man was arguing, "Look, will ye listen? Go north on Douglas, that's this street o'er here, and then west on Apple, past tha clock tower."

"But that's halfway across town!"

"An' which one o' us is the one livin' here, hm? Ye said ye wanna go ta Spoon so --"

"Spruce," she told Kinto.

"Huh?"

"Look, maybe we got the name wrong." That was Kai. "Maybe it was Soot."

"Soot? Where do ye think ye are, Grandegear? Soot, indeed. No, I'm telling ye if ye want Spoon ye'll have to --"

"It's Spruce Street," she said more loudly, stopping the argument flat. "Spoon is --" she waved a hand vaguely, "-- somewhere in the market quarter. What ye're lookin' at is Spruce."

"Why didn't ye say so in tha first place?" grumbled their would-be guide. "If it's Spruce ye --" he stopped short as Viola whisked the map out of his hand and spun around to face the others.

"I'll get ye there," she said, "if ye promise me we find Auli an' leave. Not a bit o' dawdling." With that, she spun around again and strode down the street without even a backward glance to see if the others were following.

"What's up with her?" whispered Luen as the three hurried after Viola, who led them unerringly through ever narrower and shabbier streets.

"Beats me, you'd think she'd be happy to -- oh." At first glance there was nothing especially unusual or illuminating about this new street. It had the same shadowy, corners and the same deserted buildings with boarded-up doors but open, broken windows. Packs of ragged teenagers slinked past them eyeing the group speculatively only to be frightened away by Viola's deadly glare.

"Oh?" asked Luen quietly, though their guide showed no sign of hearing them.

"Doesn't this place look familiar?"

"Kai, I've never been to Verguston before in -- oh."

"Oh, what?" Kinto glanced back and forth like a man at a party who didn't get the joke but knows it must've been a darn good one.

"Kinto, you remember that dream we told you about? The one everyone else had while the shaman was chewing you out?"

"Y'mean th'one about Viola's -- oh."

"Yeah."

Kinto looked at Viola's back with a touch of sympathy. "No wonder she's snappish. She didn't plan on comin' home, either."

Intentionally or not, Viola was leading them down the same route Iff had taken. In a couple of minutes they would come upon the street where the orphanage had once stood, though the chances of its still being there were minimal. In between here and there, however, was an elderly woman rushing toward them with an expression of surprised joy on her face. Viola stopped so suddenly that the others nearly crashed into her.

"Someone's in a hurry," commented Luen.

Kinto, who had been in the lead and watching Viola carefully ever since they entered her home neighborhood, was the only one who saw her shoulders tense and heard her whisper "Oh no..."

The others stepped aside, but instead of hurrying past the stranger stopped and threw her arms around Viola. "Jane, ye've returned!" she exclaimed, not noticing the younger woman's lack of response.

"You must be mistaken, ma'am," said Luen from the back of the crowd.

"No she's not," corrected Kinto, who had caught a glimpse of an all-too-familiar expression on Viola's face.

"Viola, what's she talking about?" asked Kai.

Realizing that the joyful reunion wasn't going the way it should, the older woman stepped back and looked down at her "Jane" with a puzzled expression. "Jane? Vi-viola? Ye canna tell me ye dunna remember yer dear old nanna Margaret...?"

The young Levendish woman -- really little more than a teenager -- stood by her bed in the little dormitory (When did it get so small and dingy? a tiny corner of her mind wondered), frantically stuffing clothes into a suitcase, and occasionally having to pause to straighten out the mess. It wasn't the amount of clothing gave her trouble, but rather the two extra hands -- although at times she was hard-pressed to remember which hands were the originals and which where the extras. No matter, she would figure that out eventually, along with these new abilities the old man's device had given her.

Featherglass, she had already decided. Featherglass was where she would go next. She had innate (though newly acquired) powers and every intention of learning to use them to their fullest extent. Furthermore, she had read that the founding purpose of Featherglass was to train those destined to be mages so that they might use their powers responsibly. No doubt it was originally meant to refer to Kashendans and those born with unusual powers, but now they took in any Instilled regardless of background. So it only made sense to get yourself Instilled first, right? Her thoughts were slightly muddled but she knew her logic was sound. It was just the shock of so many changes, not to mention the worries about leaving and having face Nanna Margaret, the head matron of the orphanage, who, of course, just had to show up right on cue as she was thinking about her and --

"I canna tell ye I approve o' this, Jane," a voice interrupted her musings.

"What's done is done," she responded, not turning around.

"Aye, and I will nae ask how ye came into tha money or tha desire ta get yerself Instilled. But leavin' yer family, Jane? That's too much!"

"I cannae stay here, Nanna. I've seen where me future lies and 'tis nae in this town. I'm off ta Featherglass."

There was a heartfelt sigh from behind her. "So ye are, dear. Tha best place for a newly Instilled lass, I suppose."

That was a surprise. She had expected having to fight Nanna tooth and nail, or at least a violent argument ending with her slamming the door on her past. But she wasn't going to play the sweet little girl, even if Nanna was being agreeable.

"What I want ta know afore ye leave, though," the older woman was continuing, "is why ye did it."

She spun around to glare at her adopted mother. "Because I was nae about ta spend me life in the backwaters o' Levend."

"Verguston is tha capital, dear."

"Aye, Nanna," she said with exaggerated patience, "An' we're in the backwaters o' Verguston. As I was sayin'," she repeated firmly, "I was nae about ta spend me life here livin' off the streets an' eventually --" a hand waved vaguely as if to encompass all the little goals and lives of her neighborhood, "-- bein' a shopkeeper or some wife o' one or growin' old takin' care o' motherless babes." That was a low blow and she knew it. Margaret had grown up in the orphanage, taking care of her own siblings and all the other younger children before taking over the post of matron from her own Nanna. But all she said was, "There's much o' life in between those two extremes, dear."

"I cannae expect ye ta understand," Jane -- no, not Jane anymore, never Jane again -- responded, slamming the suitcase shut and nearly hitting her own fingers in the process. "I knew I could handle the power -- the ol' man said most o' them cannae do it. I knew I could an' I needed ta do it. I been readin', Nanna. Not that rubbish about heroes an' legends that ye give ta babes afore bedtime, but the truth."

"Ye always were fascinated by tha histories, Jane. That's why I insisted ta tha younger Lady Slightbrush that we purchase more o' them. 'Tisn't fair ta deny a lass an education, no matter how poor we be."

The girl spun around, holding her suitcase like a shield. "Then I can only thank ye fer the inspiration, Nanna. But readin's nae enough anymore." She took a deep breath. This is where the arguing begins. "And I'm nae yer Jane anymore. From this day on, me name is Viola Longdawning."

She expected shouting or tears. She didn't expect the little smile on the matron's face as she answered, "Ye made that up yerself, dear, did ye?"

"Aye!"

"Well, I canna say but it suits ye, with yer new violet fur an' all. But ye'll always be me Jane no matter what ye call yerself or where ye go. An' if ye must follow tha way o' those history books, please promise ye'll return someday so's I know ye've made a success o' yerself."

"Jane" promised, of course, but "Viola" never intended to keep that promise, knowing full well what would happen if she should ever return.

Yet here she was.

"Aye, I remember ye, Margaret..."

The old matron looked relieved. Viola had the sudden absurd thought that perhaps Nanna had really worried that the Instillment would make her forget her past. If only I could be so lucky, she mused.

"Will ye come inside fer some tea, dear? Introduce me ta yer friends from Featherglass?"

"Sorry, ma'am," said Luen, "but right now we're --" He stopped as Viola held up a hand.

"I think we can spare a bit o' time," she said quietly but firmly. Knowing Nanna Margaret, this would be the only way to get out of yet another set of promises.

Tea went better than she'd expected. They sat in the library -- "Tha most comfortable surroundings fer people whose lives must be full o' books", Margaret had said and nobody had dared to contradict her. Some of Viola's happiest childhood memories had been spent in that library and she was secretly grateful to her old nanna for not insisting on the musty guest parlor or the crowded and cluttered dining room.

The tea was fragrant and the small-talk was fairly painless. Margaret must have guessed that Viola's homecoming was less than voluntary and realized that she would not get an emotional outpouring or even a fairly detailed account of the past several years. After just enough questioning to satisfy herself that "her Jane" was doing well in school, eating properly, and generally happy with her decisions in life, she turned the conversation to the others.

Kinto lost interest as Margaret and Kai launched into a discussion of herbal remedies and went to look at the selection of books. He was slightly curious as to what sort of reading "little teeny Viola" had been doing that made her decide to make such a drastic change in her life.

"Hey, guys?"

Luen woke from his light doze and tried to look as though he'd been paying attention all along. "What is it?"

Kinto pulled a thin volume off the shelf and brought it back to the table. "Does this look familiar to anyone else?"

"Er, not really," said Kai.

"'Tis just a children's fairy book," sniffed Viola.

Margaret gently took the book from his hands. "I haven't seen this one in years. Thomas Goldenedge and the Lord o' Shadows. Frederick loved that story, ye remember Ja-- Viola?"

"Aye," responded Viola, trying to be nonchalant. Despite her claims to have broken with her past, she was secretly pleased that her old nanna was finally willing to recognize her new name. "But Kinto is nae Frederick."

Kinto rolled his eyes. "Y'remember that annoyin' kid Zeph, at least?"

"Yeah," said Kai, finally making the connection. "He used to go on about some Lord of Shadows and needing the Shard to defeat him."

"Right. I spent a week on a boat with that guy. His last name was Goldenedge, too."

"Please come in. Davro has told me about your ... situation."

Auli looked around the shabby bare room, her attention drawn to the long table -- or perhaps it was a platform -- which filled most of it. Papers and notes were stacked neatly on one end, but did little to reduce its uncanny resemblance to some sort of sacrificial altar. Suspended from the ceiling was a large machine which resembled an enormous telescope. She noticed that the old man was waiting for her answer.

"Er, yes. Then you'll realize that speed is of the essence," she attempted to compose herself so she would appear competent and in charge. It was always so easy to pretend to be the meek, helpless little library researcher when I was really the one pulling the strings. Why is it so much harder to play the other role in the charade? Belatedly she handed him a small cloth package. "He told me to give you these. The payment --"

Her host held up a hand, "Has already been negotiated with him. You need not concern yourself with that. Let's see what we have here." He unfolded the handkerchief and examined the stolen crystals. "This one is no good," he pointed at the checkerboard stone. Auli opened her mouth to protest: if he was any sort of expert he ought to know that a multicolored maginaria would fetch a fine price indeed on the black market. "But that one," he continued, ignoring her, "is perfect."

"It's -- great, good, glad you like it..." Auli trailed off. She wasn't likely to get much for the green one. It had a nice color, but she'd seen bigger for sale. Still, if that was his payment for disguising her, she wasn't about to argue.

The wizened old man ignored or did not notice her hesitation. He handed back the remaining stone and her handkerchief, then limped over to the telescope and started adjusting it. "If you will be so good as to lie down on the table. Normally I wouldn't try to force a maginaria to unite, but --"

"Unite?!" exclaimed Auli. "Hold on, you're going to Instill me?"

"Indeed. Why else would you be here? As I said, normally it's not a good idea to force a possibly unwilling maginaria but your employer stressed the urgency of the situation." Something about Auli's demeanor -- or perhaps the horrified look on her face -- suggested that she wasn't following the same script. "You didn't know, then?"

"He...doesn't tell me much," she responded weakly.

The alchemist folded his arms and glared at her. "I'll make an exception and force a maginaria in, but you'd better tell Davro I won't work with two unwilling patients no matter how 'persuasive' he decides to be."

Auli gave him the most chipper smile she could manage under the circumstances. "Can I have a minute to think about it, then?"

"Of course. Please don't take too long, though. I have an appointment this afternoon and you, presumably, have places to be." He sat himself down on a chair near one of the darker corners and made a show of browsing through his notes as Auli tried to compose her thoughts and ignore the menacing and extremely distracting equipment.

New identity, indeed. Trust Davro to come through on his promises. She had been hoping for something a bit more superficial, though - just enough to throw the guards off her tail, and then she could go home. Or could she? If the Grandegearian authorities knew where she was from - and if those mages had tipped them off to her, they probably would - then going home wasn't really an option and neither was a temporary disguise. But ... Instilling? To intentionally afflict herself with the Shattered Hill curse? Not that anyone else would see it as such, not if she never returned to Almanaque. But it was the principle of the thing ... wasn't it? Besides, she'd picked up some rather odd facts about Instilling during her time at the library, back in the beginning when she was looking for a way of 'curing' her sister and cousins, before she'd realized that looking normal didn't do a darn thing for you if you had no money to move out of that dead-end neighborhood. Disturbing facts about people who'd done what Davro was trying to make her do. They said it wasn't just your body that merged with the maginaria. You had voices in your head telling you what to do; sometimes you ended up with a completely different personality. Pico had a reason to distrust Instilled mages -- they were the sort who would give up their very identities in exchange for more power. Of course, poor Pico failed to realize that it was the mage, not the power, that was the real danger; the downtrodden Cotani were far from being a threat to ordinary citizens and never had an old identity to give up.

But wasn't that the point of coming to Levend? said a treacherous little thought in the back of her mind. To give up my identity. Wasn't that what I asked Davro for in the first place? He should've known that I wouldn't ... but what's the alternative? Spending my whole life running? Or being punished -- possibly fatally? Grandegearian criminal justice wasn't exactly a useful topic to research back in Almanaque -- being punished for something I didn't even want to do in the first place.

She sighed and turned back to the table. As if sensing that her decision was made, the old alchemist creakily raised himself to his feet. "Well?" he asked.

Oh well. I've always been good at pretending to be someone I wasn't. This can't be much different. "Yeah. Let's get this over with." She swallowed the lump that had developed in her throat.

"I'm not leading you to the gallows," he said with half a smirk, watching her plod toward the table and lay down. Auli flinched inwardly, wondering just how much Davro had mentioned in his "persuading" of this ancient mage.

He pulled the telescope-like device down and finished adjusting the settings. She caught a glimpse of the green crystal before he turned the "eyepiece" end to point at her chest. "I'm not going to lie - this will probably hurt quite a bit. Especially since that maginaria is a rather feisty and wild one."

Great, I'm going to have a feral beast running around my brain.

"You're not backing out again, are you?"

"I might if you keep stalling," she snapped.

"I'm only trying to keep you informed. Or would you prefer I follow your employer's lead?"

"Sorry... I'm just a bit tense, okay?"

He turned back to the instrument with a brief nod. "I'll try to make it as quick as possible, since an anesthetic potion is out of the question. The pain is more than physical, you see... Once this is over, you'll need some time to become accustomed to your body. Davro has agreed for you to remain here for a few days after the procedure. You'll be safe from your enemies here and you can stay in my granddaughter's room."

Trying to picture the sinister old man with a happy baby perched on his knee took the edge off her fear ... until he pushed the switch.

"Ready?"

"Will I still be me?" she asked as the green glow engulfed the machine.

"I've never lost a patient yet," he responded, stepping out of sight. Which, she realized as the room dissolved into brightness, was no answer at all.