Shadows of the Heavens
Part 1: Blood in the Forest
Gareth Lewis
Copyright 2013 Gareth Lewis
The trickle of water over the stones almost lulled Adajo to sleep as they sat watching it pass. A yawn from Kuon told him he wasn't the only one affected.
They'd been there hours, almost half the day, and would remain at least until the examiner arrived from Song of the Sun. The city was over an hour away at the fastest run, and they had no way of knowing how soon an examiner would be available. They could be here all night.
At least the weather hadn't yet turned, remaining comfortable. It'd get cooler at night. He hoped something would happen before, since Kuon – as senior enforcer – would pull rank so he could get home for dinner.
Approaching footsteps drew their attention, from the wrong direction to raise their hopes. The inn's cook, Tsen, approached along the woodland trail, a bundle under one arm. He eyed the scene, slowing as he got closer.
'Nothing to see,' said Kuon. 'Move along.'
'Nothing to see?' said Tsen, taking a wide detour about the obstruction. 'You've noticed the dead body, haven't you?'
'Don't get too close, and move along about your business,' said Kuon.
Tsen opened his mouth to say more, but didn't get the chance.
'Move along citizen,' Kuon said in his official voice.
'Okay, Kuon, keep your face on.' Tsen shook his head as he moved on. 'Assume we'll see you tonight?'
Kuon didn't respond, his irritation hidden behind the white enforcer's mask. With only a few enforcers in the village the mask offered little anonymity. It and their dark green uniforms proffered a degree of authority, with the mask serving to obscure their rank so they could address any circle below the most senior of magistrates as an equal. Not that there were any of that rank nearby.
While it didn't bother Adajo – it didn't interfere with their job enforcing the peace – Kuon was occasionally irked by the lack of regard shown them.
Muttering, Kuon rose and stretched his legs. 'Why oh why must we sit guarding this idiot, who's starting to smell? Old Jaevo would've said carry 'im back to the village and let the examiner look at 'im there when he bothers turning up.'
Jaevo, the previous local administrator, had died. His replacement, Munzo, disliked the posting, and had an aversion to venturing into the wilds. His definition of wilds was anywhere beyond sight of a building. Officially he should've observed the scene until the examiner arrived, but contented himself with strictly following the dictate that the body shouldn't be moved.
'I thought you were glad to get out of patrolling?' said Adajo.
'That was hours ago.'
'Before you missed a meal.'
'By Uleth, yes. How are we supposed to perform our duty weakened from starvation?'
Adajo's mask hid his smile. 'Didn't you have breakfast this morning?'
'Why d' you think I haven't collapsed already? This magnificent physique requires regular reinforcement.' While slightly wider than Adajo, Kuon hadn't yet reached a point which could be called fat – though not from lack of trying – and his attitude gave him the appearance of being permanently at ease.
He returned to his rocky perch with a sigh. 'You realise that when he turns up, the examiner'll probably need one of us to accompany him.'
'Which'll be me,' said Adajo.
'Quick to volunteer there, aren't you?'
'Stating the obvious. I can't see you risking missing another meal.'
'No, I think you were a bit quick. Looking to become an examiner?'
'Sure. We could do with one around here. Might work out who goes eating all the pies from the...'
'One time! One time I overindulged, and I never hear the end of it.' He rocked back on his perch.
Adajo had to admit that learning from an examiner held a certain appeal. Whether he'd want to be one was a different matter.
More minutes passed before they heard footsteps, this time from the village path. One of the village boys appeared, leading the examiner. The examiner stopped. They spoke, the boy ran back towards the village, and the examiner advanced.
They rose to meet him.
He wore a white mask similar to theirs, its features more angular – slightly off-putting – which worked with his black uniform to present an imposing figure. While enforcers maintained the peace and dealt with simple violations of accepted behaviour as defined in the Book of Law, serious violations without an obvious culprit required an examiner to investigate.
Water Dances on the Rocks was too small a village to have an examiner of its own, having too few violations serious enough. It currently had only three enforcers. They intended taking on a fourth when someone wanted the position, if only due to the area they patrolled. Li was currently investigating an incident at one of the outlying farms, and it would take him most of the day to travel there and back. Longer if the situation warranted it. That wasn't even half way to the edge of their jurisdiction.
The examiner focussed on the body as he approached, only turning to offer a nod of greeting as he halted a few paces from the deceased.
Adajo felt himself stand a bit straighter. He didn't think it was just the uniform and mask. The examiner exuded a calmness which made Adajo feel self-consciously lax, as though he should have been standing guard over the body.
A glance showed Kuon seemed less affected by the presence, or at least not in the same way. He was defensive, taking accusation from the calmness.
'What are the facts?' said the examiner, his voice calm as his eyes scanned the area surrounding the victim.
'He's a scholar from the university in Song of the Sun,' said Kuon. 'Name's Lanu Kilipa. He's here with another scholar, Sisama Varnu, investigating the ruins. Varnu found the body on his way there this morning. Probably moved it, but nobody else's touched it.'
'Where is he?'
'Back at the inn. Recovering from the shock.'
'When was Kilipa last seen?'
'Less than half an hour before, by Varnu. They'd set out together after breakfast, but Varnu forgot some tools and had to go back. He found Kilipa like this. It's not a frequently travelled path, and could go days without being used.'
The examiner crouched to inspect the body, initially with his gaze.
Shifting impatiently, Kuon broke the silence. 'You don't need both of us here, do you? Our other enforcer's out at the farms, so no one's patrolling the village.' Not that he'd do much patrolling.
'You may attend your duties. My thanks for your aid.'
Grunting, Kuon set out towards Water Dances on the Rocks, giving Adajo a glance in passing.
Moving for a better view of the examiner's inspection, Adajo watched him delicately check Kilipa's pouches. A prod resulted in a muffled tinkle of coins. 'Robbery seems unlikely,' said the examiner.
'Not many bandits,' said Adajo. 'Never this close to the village.' It offered few pickings, although it sometimes hosted a few driven from richer lands. They were rare, and there hadn't been any in a while. A few seemed to think the depths of the Forest of Tears offered sanctuary. Those stupid or foolhardy enough to venture too far in were rarely heard from again.
The Forest was the last true wilderness within the empire, nothing like the maintained woodlands in more civilised parts. Even locals rarely went far into the Forest proper, limiting themselves to the lighter woodlands bordering it. Generally you'd have to go a way into it before it got dangerous, but it had plenty of depth, taking days to reach the centre if you were stupid enough to try. Adajo wasn't sure he believed the stories of rakshaas living in the heart of the forest, but the known faun
a was sufficient discouragement.
'Your observations of his wounds?' said the examiner, not looking up.
This caught Adajo off guard, and he rushed to marshal his thoughts. Obviously he'd been burned, but the examiner would expect more than that. 'The burning is confined,' he said, steeling himself as he again inspected the damage to Kilipa's chest and face. 'It burned away the clothes in front of the wound, but not beyond that.'
'And?'
Focussing on the wound, Adajo had trouble seeing anything other than a badly damaged person. 'I'm sorry,' he said, averting his eyes.
'The burning appears even,' said the examiner. 'The attack struck an area around a foot wide and a foot and a half high with a single blast, powerful enough to cause these burns. The body shows no sign of struggle, or of his arms being raised defensively. Nor is there evidence of him having instinctively tried to smother it, implying it killed instantly. The evenness of the damage says he was struck straight, rather than at an angle.'
'What could cause such damage?'
The examiner didn't reply, leaving Adajo with the obvious answer: an invocation.