Chapter 22
The wooden box never sat quiet right. Under the arm it cut into the ribs, between both hands it was awkward and off balance, it was far too big for a bag. Raphtune the Missing was glad that he would soon see the last of the damn thing.
Rosin strode behind him, still dressed in the grey cloak Raphtune the Missing had taken from the tower. It had been a terrible few months since the unfortunate but unavoidable end of Shaol. The guardians of the temple had done an effective job at removing, almost, every person from the belly of the fortress though they were not skilled enough to catch Raphtune the Missing, but then few were.
During one of the many nights spent dodging through the hidden passages and forgotten rooms of the fortress Raphtune the Missing had thought to go back to the temple and help himself to another handful of books for his trouble and then realised Shaol had been a terrible influence on him. His plans were working, as they usually did, so he stuck to them.
The white of the midday sun shimmered across the lake, the water caravan was preparing to turn around and head back to the city. Raphtune the Missing had no reason to fear the Orsil, they behaved as he knew they would.
As the pair had walked from the tunnel into the city and as they tried to become lost in streets of Tarlnath on the way to Raphtune's den, a Battlemaster had appeared from a side street and thrown himself at Rosin's feet and started to beg for forgiveness. Until that point Raphtune had not thought about what was happening in the city, but then he realised that no clerk had emerged from the fortress to give a blessing, no cart had come to accept the Orsil's offerings. The Clerics had abandoned them, the Orsil had convinced themselves, refusing them the only love they had in this world. It was unknown to them that the last of clerics had fallen to the black blades months earlier and the fortress was now empty.
Rosin was no fool without any prompting from Raphtune, she turned her face away from the pitiful Orsil with disgust and marched confidently around the sobbing heap. Raphtune swung away from his den and towards the main gate at the edge of the city, waited as the Orsil guards hurried to raise bars for Rosin and the two marched into the surrounding barrens.
There would be more sent to replace the ones that had fallen, no doubt. Zeria would not give up its outpost so easily and the fortress would, most likely, be repopulated with a new guard who will be shocked to find the fortress strip bare.
The guardians from the temple had taken every corpse below the fortress and did their best to clean away trace of blood from the halls and rooms. The stairs smoked for two months as the guardians burnt the city beneath away. When Raphtune had finally decided to leave the safety of the tunnels in the fortress and descend the steps, there was nothing left except the ash and melted metal the guardians had not swept away.
Raphtune the Missing could never quite ascertain if the Clerics knew of the temples that sat buried below the fortress. Someone had found them before Shaol led the doomed trek into the depths, maybe it had been the Clerics that had been chased from temple, maybe it had been another.
Either way, none had been as great as Raphtune the Missing, who now held two of Tarlnath's secrets and walked freely from its walls. Though, he did admit to himself, the city was certainly a worthy adversary and one he would not battle again.
The pillar of red stones sat in a pile by the lakes edge, a curious marker in the empty lands. Raphtune the Missing glanced at the water caravan, a handful of Orsil were nervously watching the pair.
"Your Master will not be watched by you," yelled Raphtune the Missing.
The Orsil quickly scattered and returned to their slaves who were taking up the straps attached to the sled.
Raphtune the Missing put the box on the stones and waited, this was where the Saquaari illusion had told Shaol to meet it and this is where Raphtune the Missing would be done with this leg of his travels.
Rosin shuffled next to him.
"This will be over soon," assured Raphtune the Missing.
"Good," Rosin signed with her hands.
Raphtune nodded and smiled back.
In the distance, a figure approached and as it got closer Raphtune the Missing saw it looked like a man dressed in the common clothes of peasant. It looked young, no older than Shaol, its hair short and black. Raphtune the Missing stiffen, he disliked power, it was always unpredictable, a thought that caused him to rub his swollen and scarred hand against his trousers, it was still purple and red even after all this time.
"Where is Shaol?" asked the illusion when it was close enough to speak.
"Dead," replied Raphtune the Missing flatly.
"Who was responsible?"
"He chose his fate."
"I was hoping you would protect him."
"Raphtune the Missing can do many things but he cannot save a man lost to that place."
"I tried," it said quietly shaking its head.
"You failed."
There were so many questions for this thing, about Tarlnath, about Shaol and his powers, about the awkward box carried through for so many months, but it would never answer such questions and if it did they would likely be lies. Questions would just be a waste of words and the words of Raphtune the Missing were very precious.
"Your box, then."
"Thank you," said the thing with a smile as it took the box in hand.
"You will honour any dealings with Shaol," said Raphtune the Missing a hardness in his voice, "and you will take all the kids from the water caravan."
"I will."
"You are in debt to the all in Tonra's storehouse and in Yor's. And, of course, Rosin here."
"I am."
"And Horsuun is in the fattery, you will give him a place where he will find peace."
"That may be difficult."
"You will do it," said Raphtune the Missing dismissively and then added, "are you able to restore Rosin's speech?"
"No but I have a place where it will not be a burden."
"Then, we are done for today," said Raphtune the Missing with a nod, "where will I find you when I am in need of your magic?"
The illusion looked down at Raphtune the Missing and smiled, Raphtune the Missing simply held its gaze.
"You will find me in the tower to the between of these two lakes. You are always welcome in it walls."
"There is nothing between the lakes."
"There will be."
"Then, I leave you to your debts."
Raphtune the Missing turned to Rosin.
"Thank you for your assistance, it has been a pleasure cowering in the shadows with you," he said with a broad smile and a bow.
Rosin scooped Raphtune the Missing up in her arms and hugged him tightly, Raphtune the Missing grinned to himself as he was lowered back to the ground, then without a word to the two, he turned to the west and looked out across the empty lands of nothing but stone and dirt. He hoped the First Kingdom would not be as trying as his detour through Gart.
The End
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