Chapter Four: In Which No One,
Except Maybe Moriko, Has Much Fun
Except Maybe Moriko, Has Much Fun
oriko had seen Diluvian drag Maris away, but knew that she could not help—at least, not at the moment. She sped through the forest to the meeting house, burst into the room, and nearly tripped over Maris's abandoned and forgotten sword belt. Stumbling to keep her feet in her terror, the woman stormed over to her father and grabbed the front of his shirt, hefting his huge form to his feet with sudden strength.
"What in the nine hells have you done?" She hissed, a blazing white inferno lighting up her eyes.
Froderich fell slack in her grip. One of the councilmen pried Moriko away from Froderich, then pushed her to the ground. The aura of power around Moriko faded as she hit the floor. She lay there, shaking.
"Another attack like that, Moriko Shaw, and you will be exiled," the man hissed.
"He's poisoned your minds!" she clamored indignantly, pulling herself to her feet.
Froderich recovered his composure and growled at her. "We did what needed to be done. That man was unsafe."
"You did what he ordered you to do!" Moriko shot back.
"This is not a woman's business. Leave, Miss Shaw," another councilman ordered. The other members nodded sternly in agreement.
Moriko glared at them all, stars starting to swirl in her eyes again before she closed them and turned away. She snatched Maris's sword and belt as she left.
"Foolish girl," Froderich growled as the door slammed shut behind her.
Somewhere to the south, Diluvian's head snapped up from the set of shackles that he was fastening around Maris's wrists. His eyes narrowed. He paused, sniffed, and then returned to locking the shackles. Maris's limp arms dropped awkwardly across his bare chest. Shaking his head, Diluvian rose and rushed back up the stairs, magically locking the door as an afterthought.
"Master!" He called finding the blood mage sitting behind a large map, his back to him. "Did you feel that just now?"
"Yes, yes, Diluvian. It's little to worry on. You can take her," he murmured without turning.
"This complicates things immensely," Diluvian argued, spreading his hands before himself in exasperation.
"Hardly. The plan is already in motion. The wine will be there within days, and I brewed that myself. It will not fail. Besides, no one can say no to your pretty face, Diluvian. Worry not, Lokgil is already ours."
Diluvian forced himself to respond amiably, "As you say, Master. You are wiser than I."
"Yes, yes, Diluvian. I'm busy preparing our next move. I'll call for you in an hour or so."
"As you wish." Diluvian said sulkily, leaving the room before his master noticed anger brewing. Anger was a weakness. He needed to be calm for what came next, and he knew just who he wanted to take his anger out on...
Several hours later, Froderich burst into Moriko's room. For once, she was there. He grabbed her shoulders and shoved her against the wall. "What the hell did you think you were doing back there?" he bellowed.
"Speaking the truth," Moriko answered quietly.
"You embarrassed me in front of the entire council!" Froderich exclaimed, pushing her to the floor. "I want you out of here. Tonight!"
Moriko brushed herself off and picked herself up. "Then I will leave."
"No!" Several children screamed below.
"Silence!" Froderich ordered, stamping his foot several times. "Do not return," he warned her. "You are not my child, " Froderich hissed, his voice low enough that it stayed shut up tight in that little room, "You know this, as well. You don't belong. You're not natural," he paused, his accusing eyes boring into her, “Demon.”
Moriko’s eyes filled with stars. "I know that!" she cried. "I know it well!" There was no point denying it. Not now.
"Be out by sundown." Froderich left her, met at the third floor by several silent, angry children.
Moriko began to pack what few things she needed. She froze mid-reach when she spotted the white parcel stashed under her cot and the sword belt she had set beside it. She sighed, strapped on her own sword, and threw a midnight blue cloak over her shoulders. One last time, she glanced at Maris’s items and then grabbed them. She stuffed the parcel into her pack and tied the sword onto the side before hoisting it all onto her back and starting down the ladder.
She managed to make her way through the wave of children, slowly, trying not to make eye contact. Nelia sat at the kitchen table on the first floor, biting back tears.
Moriko smiled sadly at the woman before leaving through the back door, trudging toward the pine forest that surrounded the city, knee deep in snow.
The light was sinking low behind the skeletal pines.
The howls of the mountain wolves seeped out from the gloaming dark.
The clouds clasped the copper sun, and choked out its strange light.
It was a poor omen for the coming hours.
Maris lurched into consciousness, feeling drugged to the toes. Diluvian's presence had that effect on him after a while. He wasn't really sure why, but it probably had to do with the way Diluvian poked around inside of Maris's mind. Raking through Maris’s brain was a favorite past time.
"Ah, still awake?" Diluvian asked, his voice still velvety despite being blatantly bored, "I love the way you resist, my Maris. I have to tell you that. Eventually most others crack under my influence. But you're still hanging in there. My compliments," he gave the victim an affectionate pat on the head.
"Go to hell," Maris whispered, his words running together.
"Not without you, my Maris. You know, I have to tell you, when my master proposed the plan to me I had doubts. But you went along perfectly."
"Plan?" Maris mumbled.
Diluvian pinched his cheek affectionately. "In good time, my dear, it'll all become clear to you in time."
"Why, though?" he whispered. "Why kill these people? Why take their land?"
Diluvian shook his head, his black hair falling like an inky shield, gleaming in the torchlight, "Ah, my Maris, how you amuse me," he smiled sweetly at him. Maris shrunk back, revolted. "Now, now. Just a parting shot, Maris. I have to keep my strength up, after all."
Maris shrunk back as far as his chains would allow, but Diluvian cornered him and wrapped a firm arm around the man's neck and shoulders and descended on him, his eyes narrowing maliciously. He bit Maris's bottom lip open with his teeth and let the blood gather on his lips for a moment before running his tongue over Maris's lips and chin, the bard shrinking, shaking, squelching a scream. That was what Diluvian wanted, after all. With another dark smile at Maris, Diluvian pressed his lips to the bard's again, and that was all it took. Before Diluvian tore his lip a second time, Maris screamed. He flailed, emptying his lungs as he frantically tried to push Diluvian off, but in his drugged, chained limbs were useless.
However, Diluvian had gotten what he wanted, and released him, smiled triumphantly, licking a spot of blood from his own lips. "Sleep well, my Maris. Tonight Lokgil will fall for me. Until later."
As he swept himself from the cell, Maris was hardly breathing. His terror was enormous. Almost as all-consuming as his guilt.
"Diluvian," the blood mage said quietly, motioning his apprentice to stand closer to the map. "I've been thinking about this predicament."
"Yes, Master?" Diluvian responded automatically.
"The hidden city, Lokgil...we can't play them against anyone else, as we did here, in Angles. They don’t have any rival cities. They don’t have enemies. They have no one. But there's one more thing you can do before we set in."
"I thought I was going tonight, my lord, to seal it?" Diluvian blurted out, trying not to be angry.
"Patience. These folk must be lulled, coaxed like children until they understand," the man murmured. "Now, you made an important beginning there today. However, there is more, much more, that can be done—things to be planted, things to be obstructed, things to be sabotaged. We must be thorough."
"Of course, Master."
"Diluvian, you will do this for me," the mage lowered a virulent scowl on his apprentice. "You will see that this is done perfectly, or I'll make you wish you were dead."
Diluvian nodded his head, staring at his toes. "Yes, my lord. Have faith; I am your unwavering servant. You may count on me."
"Good. This is what will be done, Diluvian. Pay sharp attention. I had to draw this map myself, and I will not explain everything twice. Understand?"
"As always, my lord." Diluvian said obediently, although his patience was grating down to a fine, taut hair.
"Master, are you certain that it was this way?" One of the servants called up to Diluvian, his face pinched in pain. He'd been carrying the wine barrel for nearly two hours.
"Of course I'm certain," Diluvian snapped, "It's the same route I took when I was tracked our runaway."
"Master, can’t we rest?" pleaded another.
Diluvian pressed his palm against his forehead. "Only a moment. We must nearly be there now."
"And may I ask where you are going, sir?" A quiet voice cut through the normal forest noises as the group stopped.
Diluvian looked around for a moment before spotting Moriko. "Ah," he exclaimed, exhausted, "To Lokgil. Are you familiar with these woods? I fear we've turned ourselves around somewhere."
"I am," Moriko was balanced on a tree limb, arms crossed over her chest, the hood of her cloak shadowing her face.
"Would you be so kind then as to show us?" He asked, a hopeful smile on his striking face. Part of his charm was his exotic appearance. He didn’t dress like others, and he wore his dark hair unbelievably long. His skin was almond-dark, and his face was narrow, almost feminine. "I can pay you for your trouble."
"I have no need for your money," Moriko replied easily, moving to stand on the branch. The flash of a sword caught Diluvian's eye.
Diluvian nodded, undaunted. He was obviously unarmed, wearing a loose-fitting set of ruby robes that tied at the waist, and a gold tunic underneath it. He had paired the foppish attire with a couple of simple-looking medallions and a pair of gold-edged sandals.
"A little cold for sandals, isn't it?" Moriko observed.
He smiled, looked at his feet, then back up at her. "I couldn't find my boots, and they matched the outfit."
"How . . . quaint," she muttered. "So, you are searching for the hidden city?"
"Yes," he responded eagerly, then added a little more slowly, "I must fill a debt that I owe the city, and I've come to deliver it."
"What debt would someone owe to Lockgil? They are not particularly open to strangers," Moriko was suddenly curious. She knew this was the man who had taken Maris, and she didn't trust him.
"One of my charges escaped, and I traced him to the city. After they held him for me, this was the least I could do to show how thankful we are." Diluvian explained, looking vaguely relieved.
"Held him for you?" Moriko muttered under her breath. "As I recall, he was rescued and given a place to stay for the night. There was no holding him for anyone."
"You don't understand," Diluvian sighed, his brow furrowed. "He's a very sick man, and he needs to be cared for. I had to take him back, or he would have wound up hurting himself. Surely you must have noticed his arms."
"Aye," she shot back. “Care to tell your own side of the story?"
"He's deeply disturbed in his mind, miss. I'm sorry, I feel awful for telling you this. Nothing we've done to help him seems to reach him. It's not the first time he's escaped, and I do admit, he's a very exhausting patient."
Moriko tilted her head, watching him closely. She could not believe a word he said. Yet, he looked perfectly honest. "Why offer a gift to a city that does not need it?"
"Its needs are of little interest to me. I only want to offer proper thanks."
“And if they do not accept it?"
He shrugged. "I don't know why they wouldn't want it, but if they don't want it we will simply take it home and try to return with something more palatable. The master of my discipline will be insulted, but I think he'll understand. I'll donate the wine someplace else." he glanced over his shoulder at the men, slumped against the heavy casks.
She shook her head. This man was a good actor. "Is it normal to treat patients harshly, as you did a few mornings ago?"
"You saw us then, I take it?" he asked with a slow, somber smile. His shoulders slumped slightly.
"And if I did?" She asked, stars slowly beginning to swirl in her eyes.
"No matter from it," he assured her with a sigh. "It's just that it's as terrible to watch as it is for me to have to do. As I said before, very few things work with him. He's difficult. He takes violence upon himself, so violence is the only thing that will make him obey, unfortunately." He paused, his brown hands fidgeting restlessly, "It's a terrible thing, really. I wish it were otherwise."
"Do you expect me to believe what you are saying?"
"Why would I lie?" he asked sadly, his eyes filled with too many emotions to accurately name.
It was the extreme number of emotions that assured Moriko that he was definitely not telling the truth. "To hide your true identity, your plots… there could be a million reasons."
Diluvian shook his head again sadly, suppressing the urge to kill. Instead, he smiled sadly, and said, "I bring my thanks and I'll be gone. The end of it."
"Which brings us right back to the beginning of the conversation," Moriko replied, climbing further into the tree. He said nothing, and only fixed her with a politely curious smile. "Well, you see, you are actually heading away from the hidden city," she called down to him as she continued reaching higher into the pine tree, moving swiftly to the boughs of another without hesitating over the jump.
"Truly?" he asked, looking incredulous.
"Told you," one of the men muttered to his neighbor.
Diluvian gave them a stern glare that clearly communicated that minions should be seen and not heard.
"Truly." Diluvian shifted as she appeared behind him all of a sudden. He turned to face her again, smiling, looking slightly confused, but he said nothing. "You see, you're currently heading north east. The hidden city is in the south west of here," she explained patiently.
"Ah." Diluvian responded belatedly, his mouth half-open, looking quite foolish.
She stared up at him, a small smile on her face. There was still something quite childish and naïve about her, and yet there was an unimaginable wisdom in her eyes, too. "Yes?" she asked after a few moments.
"Of course," he said awkwardly, looking extremely embarrassed. "Would you be so kind to show us, then?"
Moriko pondered this idea for a moment. "Well, you see, I would, but I have this strange feeling that you already know where the city is, that you have known all along."
He raised his fine black eyebrows. "If I knew, then why would I be making a fool of myself right now?"
"As I said, there are many reasons for your actions, I'm not a mind reader, I cannot pick out the exact one."
"Why do you suspect me?" he asked, frustrated and tired, closing his eyes for a moment. He rubbed his temples. "I'm sorry for being short with you, but I've had a long day. This isn't the ending to it I had in mind."
“I don't trust anyone easily, especially not blood mages," Moriko answered simply.
Diluvian's face contracted into one of complete, horrified shock. "How dare you insult me!"
"It's the truth, isn't it?" She vanished, her voice floating down to him from the trees. She giggled, much like a child. "It is, isn't it?" she repeated.
"It absolutely isn't," he said tersely, looking abhorred, and faintly sick. "The thought is a disgusting prospect alone."
"Really?" Moriko asked quietly.
"Really," he said firmly, glaring straight ahead at the trees, not caring if that was where she was or not.
"I must admit that, to someone like myself, it would be. But, to a man like you," she sighed, "to a man like you, the idea is probably quite wonderful."
"In what way?" he asked, horrified. "Wait, no. I know enough to know that I don't want to know more, so, please, don’t answer that.”
"You're a good actor, but your emotions and lack of innocence give you away."
"I'm sorry?" he furrowed his eyebrows at his servants, who were staring blankly back at him.
"Yes, quite a good actor," she murmured. He said nothing, his face unchanged. "You know, I could play this game all day," she announced, her voice behind him again.
"Please don't," he said wearily. "I don't like being toyed with, and I’m not sure what I ever did to you to deserve your games. Insults."
"No insults meant, dear sir. ‘Tis only a game. You must understand that I will do anything to keep you out of that city." Moriko presented herself at last and threw back her hood, revealing the tortuous galaxies of stars that had settled into and grown in her eyes.
He watched her, unimpressed, and said at last, very, very wearily, hardly suppressing a groan, "Why?"
"Because it means quite a bit to me," she replied.
Just as Diluvian opened his mouth to say something, a different voice sliced through the forest. "K'TRANCE!" It bellowed, its owner galloping down the path on a tall chestnut horse, his blue coat billowing out behind him. "What in hell are you doing sitting in the forest? I wanted you to deliver those before I arrived. This looks highly unprofessional, now. What's the meaning of this?"
The color sucked out of Diluvian’s face, and he crouched down until his forehead touched the snowy forest floor.
"Get up, you useless fool," he growled, his horse stopping in front of the young man.
Diluvian rose again, looking balefully at his master.
"Explain yourself!" He demanded.
"We-we got lost, my lord. Somewhere we turned around in the forest. We've been wandering for hours. And then she stopped us," The words spilled out in a rushed, sputtering slew of syllables, and Diluvian looked more exhausted than ever.
"k’Trance, you were sitting right on top of the city. Fool. Get this to the city so this thanking-rubbish of yours can be finished by dusk. I need you to go out after that girl that went missing yesterday."
Diluvian's face turned a shade paler, and he nodded numbly, his eyes wide. "Yes, my lord." He turned to the men, who had been watching apprehensively, and said briskly, "Well then, you heard him. We're nearly done. Up with them, again."
The men groaned and grimaced, but the wine tankards were lifted again, and the man on the horse took the lead, Diluvian following dejectedly in his lord's wake, the tankard carriers lumbering along behind. They did not notice the childish laughter that faded through the forest behind them. Diluvian, however, did notice, and barely prevented a frown from rising to his mouth. He remained silent, and pretended to pay it no heed.
The man led them straight into the city, which had been around a hairpin turn, no more than twenty paces away from where they had stopped. What they did not realize was that, as they walked, the wine was slowly draining from the tankards. Moriko had opened each of them during her game with Diluvian.
"Master?" One of the men looked at Diluvian, "Mine is leaking."
Diluvian furrowed his brow and shut off the nozzle on the barrel, then noticed to his own dismay that the others were all open as well. Grimacing, he lashed out and shut them with his magic. Frowning, he tried to assess how much had been lost. Quite a lot, he decided finally. "My lord," he began drearily, "A fair portion of the wine has been drained."
The man glared back at him from the saddle. "Then fix the problem before someone notices. Back into the forest, and transfer what was lost."
"That would be a waste of time and energy."
"Do it," he said, his eyes narrowing.
Diluvian nodded meekly and reluctantly returned to the mouth of the forest. He gathered his arms over his head and whispered a set of words, watching as a clear line of red rose into mist above the white forest path. Taking a choked breath, he forced the mist into the cracks between the barrels' boards. Exhaling, he trudged back to the gathering to watch while a contingent of villagers gathered. His lord was pontificating, lavishing them with his thanks, and wishing the hidden city a long period of peace and prosperity.
Diluvian tried his hardest to look interested and gracious. In truth, he really was tired. He hadn't slept in nearly two days, and that irksome bit of magic had been the last straw. He still had plenty of power stored up, but his mind was growing weary.
"We thank you for this generous gift, sir," Froderich had taken the role of spokesmen. Several murmurs ran through the crowd. Most were not murmurs of agreement; only the council members were smiling with appreciation.
"Of course," the man on the horse smiled graciously. "We're grateful for your help. We'll be on our way again presently, though. Other things to tend to, I’m afraid."
Froderich nodded and bowed to the man. "Thank you!" he said again.
"Of course," the man said lazily. "K'Trance?" he hissed, waking Diluvian from his daydream. "We're leaving."
"Ah," Diluvian murmured faintly, and turned around with the men. He walked beside his master's horse as the party retreated from the city. After they had turned the first hairpin bend, the man on horseback had transported himself home. Yawning, Diluvian motioned towards the men as if shooing them away, and they disappeared into vapor. Then, somewhat slower than was his usual, he murmured the transport spell himself, and also disappeared.
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Bonus Diluvian:
