Neversfall

Chapter Fifteen

"Very tidy," Jhoqo said, prying the sword from Adeenya's limp hand. He nudged her body on the floor of the holding cell with his foot and sighed.

Marlke groaned as he rose to his feet, the motion causing his gut wound to spill forth a new gobbet of blood. "How was I to know that wench was here?" he asked, wobbling on unsteady legs before continuing. "I asked around for her, but no one had seen her. I figured she was off somewhere bossing someone else around, and this was the best time to handle things. I was trying to think ahead."

"Thinking is exactly what you weren't doing," Jhoqo said.

"It doesn't matter now. She's out of our way. You know, I can't say I'm sorry to see her go. Acting an underling to that one…" Marlke screwed up his face.

"Give me some rope. We need to bind her before she rouses," the Maquar said as he knelt to position Adeenya's arms behind her back.

"Tie her? Just kill her," Marlke said.

Jhoqo said nothing.

Marlke pulled a coil of rope from his belt and tossed it to the man. Jhoqo proceeded to tightly tie the unconscious woman's wrists together. The dwarf slumped against the wall, his face taking on a dull pallor. He glared at the formians who stood silently in their cells as if the scene before them had not just played out.

"I'm going to enjoy gutting them too," the dwarf said.

Jhoqo finished his knots, tugging on the bindings a few times, and stood, pleased with his work. He removed a pouch from his belt and fingered through its content for a moment before fishing out a small vial of brackish liquid. He placed the pouch back on his belt and uncorked the vial. His placid face wrinkled as the fumes from the vial hit his senses. He held the slender glass at arm's lengths but still suffered from the scent. It smelled of cockroaches, like the acrid tang that comes from insects who live, eat and survive on death and filth.

"What are you doing?" Marlke asked.

"She could wake at any moment. We do not want that," Jhoqo replied. "This will keep her down."

The Maquar commander rolled Adeenya onto her back and moved his hand along her jaw, tracing the lines of her face. He pulled her chin down to open her mouth and tilted her head. Still shrinking from the nauseating odor of the vial himself, Jhoqo inclined the vial until a drop fell into Adeenya's open mouth. Jhoqo gently closed her jaw and settled her head back to the floor.

"There. Now she won't bother us for a while," Jhoqo said. He turned to Marlke. "I find it hard to believe that working with her would have been unpleasant. By my observations she's a fine officer, possessing a good head on her shoulders and strong-though certainly misled-morals."

"Aye, good-she's a wonderful person," Marlke said. "Now, give me a hand, will you? I know you've got a lovely elixir somewhere in that pouch of yours. Let's have it."

"No," Jhoqo said without looking at the dwarf. His eyes were trained on Adeenya, his hands on his hips. "I don't think that would be prudent."

"No? I'm bleeding out here," Marlke said.

"How do you suggest I deal with this?" Jhoqo asked, pointing at Adeenya.-

Marlke's face wrinkled as he said, "Deal with… you kill her, of course!"

Jhoqo shook his head. "Why would I do that? It will turn the rest of the Durpari against me and draw unnecessary attention," he said. "Besides, she's a fine officer, and that's a terrible thing to waste."

"Her men? Her? Once she's dead, they're my men!"

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Jhoqo said. "Do you feel that you've earned the responsibility of leadership?"

"What are you doing?" Marlke said. "Give me that potion… I'm dying! I can already see two of you." Marlke tried to climb to his feet, but his shaking arms would not lift him from the floor. He flopped back to the floor with a moan. A long moment passed as the dwarf rolled onto his side to once again look upon Jhoqo. The flush of his anger slowly drained away as his body lost blood. The puddle of his own gore grew around him, expanding every moment. The smooth stones resisted the fluid, spreading the crimson stain.

"Are there three of me yet, or does it only go to two?" Jhoqo asked. "I wouldn't know as I've never died before. But that's obvious, I suppose."

"Help me," Marlke stammered.

"Now, why would I do that?" Jhoqo asked. "If I let her live, I gain the chance to train a fine officer and show her the truth of the world. She's partway there. I feel confident I can guide her the rest of the way."

"If you let her live? What are you saying? She'll tell everyone it was me in here, trying to kill the beasts." "Of course she will. It's the truth." "They'll lynch me!"

"It's difficult to punish a dead man," Jhoqo replied.

Marlke squinted and tried to push himself to a seated position, but his hands slipped in his own blood, slamming his chin hard to the floor. He rolled his head to one side and pleaded, "He won't like me being dead, and you know it."

Jhoqo smiled, ignoring the remark and said, "Besides, you do not have the trust of her men. Why would you? You're incompetent. If she dies but you live, I will certainly lose control of them. They will be none too happy when I accuse her of being a traitor, but she will be alive to face a fair trial. That should keep them civil enough."

"But you cuffed her on the head. Had to be you, she'll see that," Marlke said.

Jhoqo nodded and began to pace as he said, "True. I suppose. But then, to everyone else's eyes, I wasn't sure if both of you were involved or not. I was doing what I had to in order to protect the lives of our prisoners. I think they'll understand. Even she'll have to understand that I meant no harm."

Marlke's lips, turning a purplish blue, moved but no sound came at first. After a few attempts he managed to speak. "You can't…" he started but was interrupted by a cough. "You can't kill her, can you? He won't let it happen," he said through a bloody laugh. He licked the liquid life from his lips as his eyes fluttered. "Figures. Sentimental fool, that one."

Jhoqo said, "True enough. You're not entirely an idiot. You know what I dislike most about you, though? Your greed. It is boundless."

At that, the dwarf s eyes shot open. "Me? What about you? You're not getting paid?" he said, his words slow and beginning to slur.

Jhoqo paced back and forth in a tight circle before the dwarf and said, "Of course I am. I would be remiss in my duty as a citizen of the South to perform a job without compensation. However, you are a different matter. I am trying to open commerce, to see that every man, woman, and child in the Shining South gets an opportunity to seek their fortunes with a new and powerful ally and source of untapped wealth."

Marlke coughed, trying to respond.

Jhoqo nodded and continued, "But you-you, dwarf, merely wish to control as large a portion of the wealth as you can get yout hands on. You would decrease worker wages, buy out competitors, and drive up your own prices, no doubt blaming the rise on growing production costs."

"He won't like it," Marlke whispered, returning to his earlier line of reasoning.

Jhoqo ceased walking, knelt outside the puddle of blood and said, "I am confident that, were our employer here, he would agree with me. You are just not the patriot we thought you to be, and your service is no longer required. Besides, there won't be much to be done about it in a few moments, will there?"

Taennen followed Bascou back toward the citadel. The grass on the empty plains smelled dead and defeated under the scorching sun. Taennen glanced over his shoulder many times as he followed the man before him.

As they approached to within an arrow shot, the front gates cracked open for them. Bascou sang the praises of the fallen men to those gathered just inside the citadel, proclaiming Taennen a warrior of unmatched prowess. The observers joined in his praise.

Their forces were waning, and soon there would be none of them left unless they could stem the tide of the invaders' attacks. Taennen's prowess didn't matter if they were outnumbered and outmaneuvered. He ignored the remarks and strode past Bascou, headed toward the building Jhoqo had designated for citadel operations.

Taennen's mind wandered as he walked through the courtyard. He needed to have his wounds dressed, and his sword needed to be cleaned or he would risk damaging the fine blade. He needed to write letters to the families of the men lost on the patrol that day. He pictured Loraica's face along with the rest of his fallen friends' and focused his attention. Right then, he needed to speak to Jhoqo.

The list of concerns to bring before Jhoqo formed in his mind. He chose his words carefully to tread the fine line between being too lightly critical of Bascou, whom Jhoqo clearly believed in, and smearing the man unnecessarily to the point of closing Jhoqo's mind to the possibilities he would present.

Thoughts still whirling, he knocked on his commander's door. There were no guards on duty-not surprising, given the dwindling number of bodies still upright and breathing in the citadel. Jhoqo's voiced beckoned him enter.

The late sun found every crevice it could to leak through and the room shone. Jhoqo sat behind the planning table, still covered with maps and notes on the geography and vegetation of the area. The commander held his head in his hands, not raising his eyes to greet his durir.

Still not moving, and speaking very slowly, Jhoqo asked, "Do you have word of the mission?"

"Aye, sir," Taennen replied. "It's not good." Jhoqo lifted his face. "Taennen." Aye, sir.

"I am glad you are well, son. Report."

Taennen cleared his throat. "We lost all eight men."

"And Bascou?"

Taennen wanted to roar in the face of his commander. Four of his own were dead, and their commander cared first and foremost about the foreigner?

"Alive, sir," he said.

"You found them, then?" Jhoqo said.

"A contingent, not their base of operations if they even have one. Sir, we had the opportunity to learn more, but Bascou decided not to pursue the tracks of the enemy. That's why I came, sir, I don't think he-"

"I'm sure he had his reasons. Unfortunately, further issues have arisen," Jhoqo said.

"Sir, we lost-"

"I heard you, Durir. Now, listen to me," Jhoqo said as he slumped back into his chair. He pointed to another seat, but Taennen declined the offer. Jhoqo ran a hand through his dark hair and said, "There was a traitor in our midst, a saboteur. Two of them, it seems."

Taennen stood silent. Jhoqo continued before the younger man could ask the obvious question.

"Marlke's dead. Killed by his conspirator, whom I captured," the commander said.

Taennen responded before the words had finished leaving the man's mouth, "Who?"

"I'm sorry, son," Jhoqo said, and Taennen felt his knees soften. "I know you had grown close with her."

Adeenya's eyes flew open and then slammed closed just as quickly when a shaft of light in the room lanced them, sending a sharp pain through her skull. Her head jerked away from the brightness, eyes cracking open again. She pulled herself up to a sitting position on the floor. Her head ached, but a check at the source of pain showed no blood or severe injury, though a bruise would doubtless fill the space. There was blood on the floor, and her face throbbed. Her fingers found a large, sore crevice of a wound on her chin as well as a split lip. Her right cheek and eye were swelling even as she felt them. Her mouth tasted terrible.

The wall behind her was rounded, a half circle that met with the flat wall before her, and a single covered window was set in the wall instead of small openings close to the ceiling. She was in one of the towers of Neversfall, she realized.

The moments prior to finding herself in that place began coming back to her. Marlke was the traitor-he had been about to kill the formians, but she had stopped him. After that. she was unsure what had happened. She had wounded the dwarf, almost certainly incapacitating him.

Adeenya glanced around the spartan room, deciding she had not been taken here for medical attention. Even the most unskilled healers would place a patient on something other than the floor, and at the very least would have cleaned her wounds. Gray walls met bare floor that held only dust. She was a prisoner, then.

Marlke's face came to her mind, his eyes looking past her, his lips turning up in a smile even as blood poured from the wound she had given him. As if it were a stone thrown at her by a giant, Adeenya felt the truth crash down upon her. Jhoqo had knocked her unconscious while she stood over Marlke.

She shuffled to her feet and checked the window. Crossed with wooden planks, it was well sealed. She pushed and pulled on the boards but to no avail. Perhaps if she had a weapon, she could work her way out, but she counted herself lucky to be alive, never mind armed. Her chin throbbed worse as she loosed a small growl.

"The door it is, then," she said.

"There's no mistake, Taennen. The Durpari dorir is dead by her sword. The prisoners nearly died as well," Jhoqo said, rising from his seat. The smaller man passed Taennen, motioning toward the door with his chin as he said, "Come, we must tell the others now that you and Bascou have returned."

Taennen had not yet spoken since Jhoqo had revealed the second traitor. He could feel his tongue in his mouth, but it felt transitory, temporary, as though his first attempt at speech would cause it to streak from his mouth and fly away, never to return. He felt like a child again, confused beyond cognition. Marlke? Adeenya? Why would Adeenya have launched such an elaborate campaign to discover the traitor if it were her?

They crossed the courtyard, Jhoqo shouting for the men to gather in the center. Word spread in ripples, one man shouting to the next, so on and so forth, until even the guards on the walls were sprinting down the stairs. The crowd fell in behind Taennen, murmuring among themselves about what the commander might say. Bascou's voice could be heard over the whispers, telling soldiers to get out of his way as he moved to stand beside Jhoqo.

Jhoqo stopped and raised his arms high, patting his hands in the air. He called for silence and, after several moments, had it.

"Friends, I have news. News that is tragic," Jhoqo said.

Shouts issued from the audience, prompting the man to continue.

"We have been betrayed, brothers," the urir said.

Loud protestations and utterances of anger boiled forth before quieting at Bascou s insistence.

Jhoqo nodded his thanks to the Chondathan leader and continued, "But there is good news. The traitors have been found!"

The Maquar slapped their leather armor and whistled, until Jhoqo again called for silence and added, "Know this, friends, had it not been for this treachery, our other brethren who are lost to us would surely be standing with you now. Without the help of these betrayers, surely no foe could begin to harm us!"

The last several things his commander had said began fitting together in the durir's mind. Taennen looked out over the gathered crowd and saw what remained of the Durpari soldiers. What would they say when Jhoqo proclaimed their leaders as traitors? Hqw would they react? What would a Maquar say or do if someone accused Jhoqo and himself of treachery? By sheer practice of duty, Taennen steeled himself for trouble.

Jhoqo stood tall and went on. "I know that you all wish vengeance upon those who have betrayed us, but I beg your stay in this matter. These filthy dogs should be tried, publicly acknowledged as being in violation of the Adama, in their homeland. Their faces will be spat upon by their former friends and family, and they will know the true depth and consequences of their treachery."

Cheers came in a short burst, the crowd anxious to hear the names. The Durpari seemed to be moving toward one another in the crowd, massing together as if sensing what was about to be said. Surely they had noticed that neither of their leaders was present.

Jhoqo moved toward the Durpari, asking Maquar and Chondathan alike to part from his path. When he reached the first Durpari, he raised his arms and said, "Brothers and sisters, please understand it is with great regret that I lay before you the names of the traitors. Please know they will receive every benefit our legal code has to offer."

A few of the Durpari nodded, while the others stood silently, hands away from their weapons. They had no doubt seen the caution on the faces of everyone else present.

Jhoqo nodded and motioned the Maquar and Chonda-thans to back away. "My Durpari comrades, I am afraid you have been deceived. Your leader and her second have betrayed us all, and the dwarf lost his life by Adeenya's own hand."

Taennen's eyes moved at lightning speed across the scene before him. When Jhoqo finished his sentence, one of the Durpari drew his sword, the steel singing against the scabbard. Taennen's khopesh was in his hand and arcing up as he moved to intercept the Durpari.

"Halt, for your own good!" Taennen shouted. "We will resolve this without steel. She will be treated fairly."

The Durpari who had drawn his sword froze, surprise etched on his face. He held out his hand, palm facing front, and bent to place the sword on the ground. Rising, he nodded to Taennen, who lowered his own blade.

The Durpari looked to Jhoqo and said, "Consider my blade on the ground a gesture of our cooperation. While we do not believe our honorable leader to be guilty of the crime you accuse her of, we wish for no further bloodshed or treasonous behavior. We will continue to serve with the righteous Maquar and help you secure this citadel. We will await her trial back home in Durpar."

Jhoqo smiled as the Durpari motioned to his comrades to keep their weapons sheathed. "Thank you, brothers. You honor us with your trust. The orir's trial will be adjudicated fairly, I promise you this."

The speaker for the Durpari nodded and herded his men out of the crowd, leading them back to their barracks, no doubt to discuss what to do next. The Maquar in attendance muttered amongst themselves until Jhoqo dismissed them. The Chondathans present returned to their duties, all except Bascou.

The bearded man approached Taennen and Jhoqo, his head shaking. "I cannot believe this," he said with a smile. "She seemed such a good soldier."

Taennen wanted to slit the man's throat even though his words complimented the woman. The young Maquar's blood boiled at the thought of the Chondathan speaking of Adeenya at all. She was a soldier, and he was a darkblade unworthy of even her company. Taennen stayed his hand, however, staring straight ahead. He knew without a doubt that Jhoqo's eyes were on him, and he needed to measure his actions. Jhoqo answered the Chondathans comment with something Taennen did not bother to hear.

Taennen's mind struggled with the idea that Adeenya was the traitor and wouldn't accept it. He was more certain about her than he was about anyone else in the Citadel. If she had not betrayed them, then Jhoqo had been misled in what he had seen.

Bascou said something else and offered a parting salute to the Maquar commander. Taennen fell in beside Jhoqo as the shorter man headed toward his command center. The courtyard, bustling with activity only a few days earlier, now felt deserted. The bulk of the troops had been assigned to the wall, watching the forest and plains around them in shifts, wary of the savages coming once again. They were hens trapped in a coop, but at least they were armed with swords to defend against the foxes. Neither spoke on their short trek to the command post, both knowing they would speak privately there.

Jhoqo waited for Taennen to clear the doorway before closing the door. He sat in his chair near the map-covered table in the center of the room. He waved to a chair for Taennen, who refused, preferring to stand, arms dangling at his sides.

"Speak," Jhoqo said, undoing the upper chest strap on his armor.

"Sir, are you-"

"She is responsible for the dwarPs death, son. Of that I am certain," Jhoqo said.

"She couldn't have," Taennen said.

"I've had time to think this out," Jhoqo said. "During the first fight here at the citadel, as we fought for our very lives, did you see her during the battle? Did you see her killing our enemies as our Maquar and Durpari brothers and sisters died?"

"No sir, but I could not see the entire battlefield," Taennen objected. "And neither could anyone else."

"I'm no fool, Taennen. I've spoken with others, and no one else saw her during that fight," Jhoqo said with a sigh.

"No one, sir? You've asked everyone?"

"Don't patronize me, son," Jhoqo said. "And the night our own Loraica died? Where was she then?"

Taennen shrugged, wishing he could answer the question.

"And where did we find Loraica's body?" Jhoqo asked.

"Sir, Lori could not have been killed in Adeenya's quarters. There wasn't nearly enough blood there. Besides, only a half-wit would store her victim in her own quarters."

"I hoped, that she had simply been mired in a dispute with the dwarf and that his death was an isolated incident," Jhoqo said. "But the more I looked, the more I thought, and the more I realized the earlier tragedies of our betrayal seemed to fall into her lap."

Taennen did not move or speak.

"You still don't believe me?" Jhoqo asked, standing up and walking to meet Taennen face to face. "Sir, it's just-"

"You trusted her," Jhoqo finished for him. "She didn't seem capable of it." Taennen nodded.

"I know," Jhoqo said. "The best thing we can do with this is take it as a lesson, son. People can always fool you. I know you liked the woman. Whether I showed it or not, I did too. I still think there's hope for her, if you hear me out."

Taennen looked at the slight smile the man's face held and asked, "Hope? What hope could she have?"

"The Durpari might never allow her to serve again after her trial, but I would gladly find a place for her in our ranks, maybe even as our terir," Jhoqo said.

Expecting to feel pleased and relieved by the man's words, Taennen was taken aback by his simmering anxiety and uncertainty. A former Durpari soldier, let alone soldier turned criminal, would never be allowed to serve in the Maquar, even if Jhoqo made the request to the highest echelons of command. Even considering such a thing was beyond the scope of reason.

"Why would you do that?" Taennen asked.

"We all have the capacity to change and grow and learn from everything we do. She can learn too," Jhoqo said, taking a seat at the table.

Jhoqo stared at the table before him, the look on his face caught somewhere between concentration and contentment, as though he were about to solve some great puzzle. It was a look Taennen had seen on his father's face countless times as the man teased out new spells or formulae. In his right senses, Jhoqo would never make such an offer. Something was very wrong. If Adeenya was a traitor in league with Marlke, why would she go to such lengths to set a trap for him?

"Is she with the other prisoners?" Taennen asked. hoqo shook his head. "That didn't seem prudent."

They stood in silence several moments longer before Taennen took his leave. In the courtyard, the evening meal was being dished out, but he had no appetite. Clouds with bellies full with the promise of rain floated through the dark blue sky. The small gatherings of soldiers scattered about were quiet, conversation an art best left to those who were not awaiting more bad news.

Taennen noticed a Chondathan soldier idling near the eastern tower that had been designed to serve as guest and dignitary quarters. Since arriving at Neversfall, the troops had not used it. Jhoqo would not have locked Adeenya away in one of the accessible buildings to prevent her own men from attempting to free her. Their goodwill would only last so long, Taennen knew, and if he knew, then Jhoqo knew. Eventually the Durpari would try to free her.

There could be no other reason for the Chondathan's presence near that tower. The man was trying to be inconspicuous but failing miserably at the pretense.

Certain Jhoqo would have his rank for it, Taennen strode toward the door, deciding that hearing Adeenya's side was worth the risk. The rules of his duty felt constricting. He needed to look at the bigger picture. For that, he needed to hear from Adeenya. Fairness in all things, as his father had often said.

Taennen's legs gained strength beneath him as they propelled him forward. He pushed past the door and strodeup the stairs. He heard the Chondathan outside the tower scrambling toward him from behind, but he did not stop.

The stone steps unwound before him. He climbed one level, passing the platform that led to the first set of rooms, then another, and then he stopped counting. He would know the door he sought when he found it. More Chondathans would be there. His boots thundered on the stone, the echoes bouncing off the cylindrical walls and back to his ears in strange waves. As he approached another level, he heard the voice he had been expecting. "Turn around, young one," Bascou said, starting down the stairs toward him.

"I will speak with her," Taennen said.

"I'm afraid not," Bascou said, as a pair of Chondathans peered over the walkway, weapons exposed.

Taennen stopped. "What business do you have with her?" he asked.

"It is not my business, but your own commander's business that brings me here," Bascou replied.

"Jhoqo's business is my business," Taennen said.

Bascou smiled and said, "Then perhaps you should talk to Jhoqo."

"I am his second-in-command," Taennen replied. "Everywhere I step is with his authority."

"Perhaps your steps can no longer bear the weight of responsibility?" Bascou said, shrugging as a grin spread across his face.

Taennen turned and paced down the stairs. He would not fight them until he knew what was going on. Any action he took other than walking away would be divisive and dangerous.

Emerging into the courtyard below, Taennen was faced with several questions in his own mind. Was Adeenya a traitor? Was he misinterpreting all the evidence that cleared her? Was Jhoqo trying to oust him from his duties? Did his commander no longer trust him? Why would they deny him access to Adeenya? What could conversation with her possibly hurt? The final two questions decided all the rest for him. If she was guilty, there was no reason to hide her away. Only the voices of the innocent needed to be silenced by those they could harm with their words.