RETURN TO TOWER OF THE EARTH
“We should have told her right away,” Estral
said.
Alton sat at the
table in Tower of the Heavens staring morosely at the books piled
atop it. Estral stood at the other end, hands on hips. If he didn’t
feel bad enough about how things had gone with Karigan, he’d done
the one thing he surely wished to avoid: upset Karigan’s best
friend. They’d been having this same discussion since the morning
of the company’s departure.
“I was waiting for
the right moment.”
“There is no right
moment for that sort of thing,” Estral retorted.
“You—”
Dale suddenly
emerged through the tower wall. She took one look at the two of
them and backed right out.
“Oh, forget it,”
Estral said, fresh tears dampening her cheeks. “That may be the
last time we ever see Karigan, and she left angry and feeling
betrayed. Because of us.” She turned on her heel and left the
tower.
“I tried . . .” he
mumbled. He supposed he ought to run after her to comfort her, but
the last time he’d made an attempt she’d pushed him away. Perhaps
he needed to try harder? He just didn’t know the right thing to
do.
“Tried
what?”
Alton squawked and
jumped out of his chair. Merdigen. It
was Merdigen standing silently behind him. He placed his hand over
his thudding heart.
“Can’t you give a
man some warning?” he demanded.
“You mean you want
me to knock before entering my own domicile?”
“Yes.”
“Not very likely.”
Merdigen conjured a chair for himself and settled down arranging
his robes just so. “What did I miss while I was away? Anything
new?”
Relieved to have an
excuse not to run after Estral, Alton sank back into his own chair
and told Merdigen all about the arrival and departure of the
expedition.
“I should have
dearly liked to have spoken with the Eletians,” Merdigen said. “And
seen Sir Karigan again. It’s bad luck I missed them.” He brightened
upon learning Alton had sent the additional Riders on to the other
towers.
“That is wonderful
news,” Merdigen said. “My fellow tower mages will be most
delighted, and it should prove useful as well.”
“And what did you
and the others decide about Tower of the Earth?”
“After numerous
arguments and discussions, with some breaks for ale—Booreemadhe is
a very good brewer—we concluded that Tower of the Earth must be
entered. By you and me. It’s the only way to get
answers.”
“What?” Alton said.
“You tried getting in there before, but couldn’t.”
“Very true. I took
the long route that time and found too many broken bridges. But,
there is one other possibility, my boy. It is not the safest
approach, but it is the only one that
remains to us.”
“And what would that
be?”
Merdigen looked
distinctly uneasy. “You must carry the tempes stone to Tower of the
Earth.”
Alton, Estral, and Dale set out for Tower of the
Earth the following morning, a raw, gray day hinting at the rain to
come. He needed Estral because her singing would allow him to pass
through the tower wall, and he needed Dale so she could provide a
buffer against Estral’s emotions. Also in case something untoward
befell him.
Swaddled in a
blanket deep in one of his saddlebags was the tempes stone. Alton
had not known the stone could be removed from its pedestal, but it
lifted from the depression that cradled it with no resistance. It
was heavy and smooth in his hands, rather like an oversized egg of
green tourmaline. The whole time Alton held the stone and packed
it, Merdigen fretted and chewed on his fingernails.
“Don’t drop it!
Don’t drop it!” he told Alton. “If it chips or cracks—no! I can’t
even think it.”
“Calm down,” Alton
said, “I’ll take good care of it.”
Merdigen stared at
him with an intensity Alton hadn’t witnessed before. “It is not
just a pretty stone you’ve got there, boy, it’s what allows me to
exist. It contains my essence, who I am. My knowledge,
everything.”
Alton had swallowed
hard, finally comprehending the significance of what he held
wrapped in the blanket. “I swear to you, Merdigen, I’ll see that
the stone remains unharmed.”
Merdigen nodded.
“You do that, boy.” And then resigned to his fate, he vanished, and
that was the last Alton had heard from him.
Merdigen was willing
to risk his very existence to see the condition of Tower of the
Earth. He’d put his trust in Alton to deliver him safely, and Alton
hoped it wasn’t misplaced.
As if picking up on
his thoughts as they plodded at a walk to rest the horses, Dale
said, “Do you think Merdigen can tell he’s riding in a saddlebag,
or is he just asleep until he gets to the tower?”
Alton smiled. At
least Dale talked to him. Estral remained silent and gloomy and he
missed her melodious voice and laughter with unexpected
intensity.
“You’ll have to ask
Merdigen yourself,” he replied, “because I have no
idea.”
“I will never
understand these tower mages,” Dale said, “or what they are,
exactly.”
“Magical spirits,”
Estral said. “Like those in the wall, but manifested as
individuals.”
Dale and Alton
gawked at her, but she rode on as if she hadn’t said anything
extraordinary. That she spoke at all was startling
enough.
“Merdigen said
something like that before,” Dale commented. “But is a magical
spirit a living soul?”
This time Estral
appeared deep in thought and did not respond. Alton could only
shrug. It sounded like a question for a moon priest. They picked up
their pace to a trot. There was still a way to go yet.
It was drizzling by
the time they reached the tower and they immediately tended to the
horses and set up camp. Estral stowed her gear in Dale’s tent and
Alton sighed at the prospect of another night alone.
Afterward the three
stood together beneath the deepening sky with their hoods
drawn.
“Might as well get
started,” Alton said.
“I will not expose
my lute to the rain,” Estral said.
“I’m sure if you
play it in the tent it won’t offend the guardians any,” he
replied.
She only nodded, the
hood obscuring her expression.
“Are you sure you
don’t want me to go in with you?” Dale asked. “You need someone to
watch your back for that . . . that thing in there.”
“It will be easier
for me to shield just myself from the tower defenses. And I need
you out here. In case anything goes wrong. If I’m not back out in,
say, a couple hours, go to Garth in Tower of the Trees. If
something happens to me, there is a chance Merdigen is fine. He may
find a way to communicate with Mad Leaf, but from what he says
about broken bridges, it doesn’t seem likely.”
They stood in dismal
silence for many moments staring at the tower.
“I guess I’ll go
then,” he said. But before he was two steps away, Estral grabbed
him and hugged him.
“You will come
back,” she said fiercely.
He wrapped his arms
around her and pressed his cheek into her hair. “I’ll be back
soon.”
“Good. I’ll play for
hours if need be.” She pulled away and glowered at him. “I don’t
need to lose you, too.” And she strode toward her
tent.
“Karigan will come
back,” he murmured.
“Karigan can take
care of herself,” Dale said. “You, I’m less sure of.”
“Thanks.”
She flashed him a
smile. “Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll
ever be.”
He walked toward the
tower without looking back, the tempes stone still wrapped in its
blanket and tucked in the crook of his arm. By the time he reached
the wall, the familiar notes of the wall guardians’ song drifted to
him from Estral’s lute.
He tugged on the
hilt of his saber to ensure it would easily clear the scabbard if
needed, took a deep breath, and entered Tower of the
Earth.