Of Truth And Beasts Part 20

At least none but perhaps Chane Andraso.

Pa.s.sing through the city's archway, Wynn wasn't given time for awe. Althahk pulled his horse sideways before the wagon, forcing its horses to stop. He pointed off to the right.

"In there," he commanded.

A large barn, perhaps a stable, was built on the ground. With the exception of smooth, rounded corners, it looked much like any barn in Wynn's homeland. She didn't care to be ordered about, but turned the wagon aside. Before the horses had stopped at the wide, closed doors, Althahk gave a shrill, trilling whistle.

One wide stable door slid aside. A bleary-eyed elven male of advanced years stepped out. Only a brief nod of acknowledgment pa.s.sed between him and the commander. Then he turned to nod a greeting to Wynn-and he froze.

Unlike the commander's stern suspicion or the counselor's cold parting words, the stable master just blinked twice, eyes clearing at some wondrous, rare sight.

"Can you stable our horses and store our wagon?" she asked in Elvish, and climbed down.

The stable master almost couldn't turn his eyes from Shade at first. When he did, he looked Wynn up and down with a friendly smile.

"Most certainly, sage," he answered.

Everyone else disembarked as Wynn headed around back to retrieve her staff and begin dragging their packs out. But she paused at reaching for the chest.

"Will the rest of our things be safe here?" she asked.

"Certainly, sage," the elder elf said again.

"How much?" Chane asked, reaching for his money pouch.

Both Chane and Ore-Locks would have difficulty communicating here. Ore-Locks spoke only a smattering of Elvish, and Chane spoke none at all.

"No need," Althahk interrupted in Numanese, and both his men dismounted. "The guild will be notified and handle payment. Now, if you will follow-"

"I'm not going to the guild just yet," Wynn said, and even Chane froze at this.

"Where else would you go at this time of night?" the commander challenged.

"There's something I need to see for myself," Wynn answered. "Unless you have further doubts or reason for interference, I won't keep you from your duties."

Althahk raised an eyebrow.

Wynn started off before even Ore-Locks or Chane could ask where they were headed. Shade fell into step, and at the last instant pulled ahead, pacing a dead line straight at the commander.

Althahk hesitated, stepping aside at the last instant. Wynn never looked back, though she heard Chane and Ore-Locks's footfalls as they hurried to catch up.

All four of them headed down the wide lane into the brighter night lights. The stable might have seemed recognizable, but any semblance of familiarity ended as they walked into the "city" of trees.

Cleared stretches of paths slightly narrower than a common street were paved with packed gravel and natural stone slabs. Gardens and alcoves of flora flowed around made structures and up the tree trunks in tendril vines of glistening green leaves and night-closed flower buds. More earthbound buildings surrounded them than in the outer settlements. Their abundance was matched by tiers of higher structures above, all the way beyond sight in the canopy. In the street, there was a break in the trees above, like a matching road in the sky, where stars shone brightly beyond the haze of a nearly full moon.

Wynn slowed to barely a shuffle as she looked about. She had a sense of where to go from references on this city she'd found in the guild library. Somewhere on its northern side was another arch like the one through which they'd entered, but this exit would lead deeper into the forest.

"Where are you taking us?" Chane asked. "I thought we . . . Wait!"

He grabbed her arm, pulling her aside beneath the shadow of a hanging building wrapped around one great tree. Its underfloor spread out above, shadowing them. The few people about were all on foot, but Wynn spotted what had startled Chane.

More patrollers-the She'ith-approached along the narrow street in a line of tall horses. They carried lances, but these had long and narrow steel tips. Their attire was the same as that of Althahk's trio, and each bore another slightly curved sword in a shouldered sheath. A few had bows and quivers. There were many more of them-more than a dozen at quick count. Unlike the commander, the one in the lead bore a pearl white leaf brooch upon his sash.

"They're all cavalry," Chane noted. "Do you not find that strange . . . for a tree-born race?"

"Yes," Ore-Locks agreed quietly.

"Domin High-Tower once told me they value speed," Wynn said, "being able to quickly traverse their forest or, rather, its surrounding lands."

At mention of his brother, Ore-Locks's expression darkened in silence.

Once the riders pa.s.sed, Wynn took to the street again. She renewed her trek through this strange and beautiful forest-city, wondering how it would look by daylight. Some trees held multiple small structures up and around their trunks, like steps of giant, moss-roofed, shelf fungus with lantern light glowing through curtained windows.

What must it be like to live in a world that moved vertically as opposed to horizontally?

"Why do they live this way?" Chane asked, looking up.

Wynn shook her head. "Domin Tilswith couldn't trace its history back far enough to learn how it began, let alone why. Just another ancient practice that became a way of life."

But she still wondered. Even for elves, it seemed odd to her.

The an'Cran's founders had originally come from this land; thereby they shared the same forebears as the Lhoin'na. But those founders of the far-off Elven Territories had left amid the great war's end. This way of life couldn't have started until after that.

Shade crept out ahead, though she remained within Wynn's reach. Again, although her home was a wild elven forest, these people were nothing like the more clan-based an'Cran. And more than one pa.s.serby stumbled and froze, stunned as they watched a black majay-h leading two humans and a dwarf. Wynn wondered if the majay-h of this land remained barely more than living legend, even among the Lhoin'na.

A cl.u.s.ter of human merchants ambled out of a side path, all Numan, and one of them eyed Shade too long and almost tripped on the heels of his companions. Though he probably just wondered how a wolf-but too tall and lanky-legged-ended up as someone's pet.

"Where are we going?" Chane asked.

"Out of the city," Wynn answered, "and back into the forest."

Again, he raised his eyebrow. "What could be out there that you have to see so urgently?"

"Aonnis Lhoin'n," Wynn answered firmly. "First Glade."

CHAPTER 10.

Staff in one hand and a glowing cold lamp crystal held high in the other, Wynn tried to illuminate their way. Shade was out in front, leading them down a narrow path of flat stones set in the earth. But the walk to First Glade took longer than expected, as the forest grew more and more dense around her.

Endless ma.s.ses of twisting ferns and vines meshed tightly between the trees on both sides. The intertwined canopy overhead blocked out the moon and stars.

"This is foolish," Ore-Locks said from the rear. "We should have gone to the guild and taken rooms until morning."

"You're welcome to turn back and wait," Wynn answered.

A sharp intake of breath came from behind. No answer followed it.

In part, Wynn knew he was right, but she'd been too eager, and Chane couldn't come with her in daylight. Then she glanced back and realized that the sharp sucking of breath hadn't come from Ore-Locks.

Chane's face was so pale in the crystal's light that it bordered on gray. A mere ghost of brown remained in his irises. His eyes s.h.i.+fted rapidly as he peered into the dense foliage.

"What's wrong?" she whispered.

He jerked out the new sword in one swift movement and stiffened to a sudden halt.

"They're moving," he said. "Can you not see? The trees . . . are s.h.i.+fting when we are not looking!"

Wynn grew frightened, though not because of what he saw. She suspected this might happen the closer they came to First Glade-to Chrmun, the great tree called Sanctuary. Chane was succ.u.mbing partially to its influence flowing out through the Lhoin'na forest, even while wearing the bra.s.s ring.

Ore-Locks turned his head, following Chane's fixed gaze. "What is wrong with you?"

"There is nothing wrong with me!" Chane rasped, and pointed back the way they'd come. "That vine over the path . . . it was not there before. I would have had to push it aside if it had been."

Ore-Locks looked behind them, hefting his iron staff and perhaps expecting to see whatever had unsettled Chane. Wynn held the cold crystal with only her thumb and tugged on Chane's sleeve with her fingers.

"I promise you, the trees are not moving," she said. "Focus on me-only me-and you'll be fine."

Ore-Locks shook his head. "It looks the same as before."

"Let's move on," Wynn insisted, still trying to pull Chane around before . . .

Shade circled back and began snarling, her full attention locked on Chane.

Ore-Locks started at the dog's behavior, and then retreated two steps back from Chane and leveled his iron staff.

Chane ignored both of them and twisted about.

"I know what I saw!" he whispered to Wynn.

The light of her crystal showed his irises as colorless. His pale face was coated in a sheen, as if he perspired.

"What is happening to him?" Ore-Locks asked. "What is . . . he?"

This was all Wynn needed. Chane was succ.u.mbing to the elves' forest, and Ore-Locks was openly demanding answers.

The undead, especially anything akin to a n.o.ble Dead, were almost unknown on this continent but for veiled references in forgotten folktales. Ore-Locks had probably never heard the word "vampire," let alone understood what it meant. But he certainly knew of the undead, as any stonewalker did; he'd helped destroy Sau'ilahk.

There was no knowing how a corrupt stonewalker might react to Chane's true nature. A rational guess led to the worst of conclusions. Anyone who thought a mere explanation would settle this was a fool. Chane had done horrible things without remorse that Wynn didn't like thinking about, but the situation wasn't that simple.

"Answer me," Ore-Locks said.

"When nothing else needs my attention," she returned. "And, Shade . . . be quiet."

Shade fell silent, though her jowls still quivered as she watched Chane.

Wynn didn't know if this place heightened the dog's natural instincts, or if Shade simply didn't like the idea of Chane going to First Glade. Or perhaps it was just Chane's obviously decaying state. Wynn could do no more than put off dealing with any of this.

"Lead . . . now," she said.

Shade reluctantly turned and slunk ahead.

"We are not going any farther," Ore-Locks stated, "until you answer me."

"Then leave," Wynn replied.

His threat was a bluff. Ore-Locks would never get what he wanted without her, and they both knew it. He'd never let her go on without him, nor would he challenge Shade and Chane just to stop her here.

He said nothing more, and Wynn took up Chane's free hand, placing it on her shoulder.

"Hold on, and you won't feel so lost," she a.s.sured him. "Chap did the same for me in the forest of the an'Cran."

She'd been affected by that far elven land, for that place not only abhorred the undead, but anyone not of full elven blood. Even Leesil, with his mixed heritage, had fought to keep his wits there. Almost everywhere Wynn had gone in those wild lands, she'd kept her fingers clenched in Chap's scruff.

Chane's fingers gripped down, but Wynn didn't wince. He slid his sword back into its sheath. A bit of soft brown stained his irises once more, but Wynn felt him shuddering.

"Do you want to go back and wait for me?" she asked quietly.

"No," he answered between clenched teeth.

Wynn considered arguing, but turned and waved Shade onward. She was ambivalent at the sound of Ore-Locks's heavy footfalls following along. Then the path split in three directions.

Shade sniffed the air and craned her head, looking up into the branches. Wynn waited in silence, for in this place, she put her trust in Shade's senses. The dog finally trotted along the center path, but Chane made another harsh sucking sound.

"Close your eyes," Wynn told him.

Her crystal cast eerie shadows in the wild underbrush, but something more stood out in the darkness overhead. She gazed upward, raising the crystal, and its light caught on tawny vines as thick as her arm. They wove their way through the high canopy, some of them paralleling the path ahead.

Wynn slowed, looking closer. The vines were smooth, perhaps glistening from moisture, and utterly unlike anything else in sight. She thought she saw grain in them, like polished wood.

-follow . . . tree- At those broken memory-words, Wynn looked down at Shade. How could she follow a tree? Which tree? But Shade pressed on, and Wynn stepped after her.

The farther they went, the more Wynn noticed those strange, tawny vines-and they grew broader, thicker. Smaller ones appeared here and there, perhaps branching off from the larger ones. All were woven into the upper reaches of the trees, and now . . .

They didn't glisten as much as they appeared to faintly glow, as if catching the radiance of the moon hidden from sight.

Wynn traced onward by their faint radiance as she followed Shade, until another light appeared ahead, beyond the forest's tangle. Vines and branches, trunks and bearded moss were like black silhouettes between her and the nearing illumination.

Shade lunged ahead through a break at the path's end.

Wynn couldn't keep up without leaving Chane behind-which she would not do.