Soldier Scarred Read online

  “We can offer her comfort.”

  “Aria seemed to think that something called a cothuln attacked.”

  The man’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. I am not surprised she would believe that.”

  “And you don’t?”

  “As I said, we work in different realms. Aria’s belief does not require empiric observation.”

  Endric looked around at the Teachers administering to others in the ward. If nothing else, he felt reassured that Senda would receive the help she needed here, but they likely wouldn’t use the remaining elixir to keep her breathing. Did that matter?

  Regardless of this man’s feelings about Aria, the woman had helped Senda and without her, she wouldn’t have been breathing. At least she breathed on her own, even if she made no other purposeful movements.

  “Keep her comfortable, please.”

  The man looked up at Endric. “You don’t intend to stay with her for her remaining days?”

  “I intend to see her healed.”

  “I’m sorry, but there is unlikely to be any healing from this. We have seen it before. Those afflicted do not recover. We can keep her comfortable, but that is it.”

  There came a distant sound of thunder and the elderly man paused and looked up. When it was gone, he turned his attention back to Senda.

  Endric sighed. “Then keep her comfortable. I will be gone a short while and will return.”

  The man studied him a moment before nodding and disappearing to speak to one of the other Teachers making their way through the room. Endric reached into his pocket and quickly pulled out the elixirs. If they weren’t going to administer them to Senda, the least that he could do would be to give her a dose of them now and hope that he had enough time before the effect wore off. Hopefully in that time, he would find her the help she needed. Even if it wasn’t Urik and Tresten, maybe there was some other that he could reach. Or maybe the healers here would find some way of helping.

  He leaned toward her, brushing her lips with his. “Stay with me,” Endric said. “I will find you help.”

  He worked quickly and poured the elixirs into her throat in the sequence that Aria had suggested. When he was done, he stuffed the bottles back into his pocket and hurried from the room, praying that it wasn’t the last time that he would see Senda.

  10

  The landscape of Salvat was a strange thing. In this part of the island, it was lush, with vibrant shrubs growing around the outskirts of the city, leaving a fragrance in the air. It was nothing like where he had been left off by the captain, the bleak teralin everywhere. It almost seemed a completely different island.

  Endric spurred his horse forward. It had been far more expensive than it should have been, though on an island, maybe such cost for mounts was typical. Endric didn’t know and was thankful that the coin purse he kept stashed inside a boot compartment had not gotten dislodged during his attempt to reach shore.

  He wasn’t even certain where he traveled. It seemed as if he needed to hurry, especially without knowing how much—if any—Senda would recover, but how was he supposed to go about finding where he needed to go?

  He had to find Urik. Once he did, then he could see what had happened to Tresten, and if anything had happened, then he could use that, and perhaps Tresten might be able to help him with Senda. That is, if he still lived.

  Could he have made this journey to Salvat only to lose both Senda and Tresten? What sort of price was that?

  Endric tried not to let those thoughts linger. All they did was remind him of his failings.

  He tried not to think about how he had already failed Senda. He tried not to think of her lying in the canicharl, the healers there trying to provide some measure of comfort but unable to offer her the relief that she deserved. Maybe the elderly healer had been right. Maybe it would have been kinder for him to have let her go.

  Endric tapped the flank of the dappled stallion. The horse was sleek and fast, so if nothing else, the price justified.

  At the edge of the city, he turned, pausing to look back. The canicharl rose in the distance, an impressive structure even from here. He could make out the sea and heard waves crashing distantly. They mixed with the cawing of gulls. Were he not in a hurry, there would be a peaceful sense to it all. Instead, he felt nothing but urgency.

  Endric turned, tapping the horse’s flank again, and they streaked off, racing toward the distance. Surprisingly, a road led away from the city. Given the nature of the landscape that he knew to be found on the inner section of the island, he was surprised by that. He followed that road, letting it take him from the city, moving quickly and trying to ignore the ever-present sense of nagging doubt.

  Endric reached a village near evening. There was nothing particularly unique about the village. It was a cluster of homes, a few buildings that were larger—one with the scent of roasted meats, making him think it was a tavern. His stomach lurched, and he debated whether to stop or to continue on for the night, before reason got the best of him. Why shouldn’t he stop? He didn’t know how long he would need to travel in order to find another place to stay, and he wasn’t supplied well enough to remain out in the elements all night long. He’d already learned that the nighttime temperature in Salvat could drop precipitously.

  Endric tied up his horse in the stable behind the tavern and made his way around to the entrance. Inside, there were a few people—probably all locals by the look of them—and a single barmaid making her way between tables.

  Endric took a seat, choosing a spot near the door but wanting some measure of solitude. At least near the door, he could get away quickly if needed. He didn’t expect trouble here, but it was a difficult habit to break.

  He looked around. It always surprised him that regardless of where he went, taverns appeared similar. This place could be found in any of the northern cities. Perhaps not with the same quantity of fish served—that seemed particular to Salvat—but the rest of the tavern, including the overall feel of it, could have been found anywhere else.

  The waitress made her way over to him and flashed a wide smile. “A traveler. We don’t get many travelers through here these days.”

  “No? Not even merchants?”

  The woman looked around. She shoved a few loose strands of brown hair behind her ear. “We don’t have many merchants who come through here, either. The trade just isn’t that good and it’s easier to reach the other side of the island by sea.” The woman studied him a moment. “And you don’t have the look of a merchant about you.”

  Endric shook his head. “I’m not a merchant,” he agreed.

  “Then what are you?”

  He smiled. “You always question travelers like this?”

  She shrugged. “Only those I don’t know.”

  “How many travelers do you get through here that you do know?”

  “Most of them. Most people who come in here either are from Joyner or are related to someone from here. Either way, I know most of them.”

  Endric couldn’t help but smile. There was something of a simplicity to life here, and he found it strangely appealing. He’d never known such simplicity. All he had ever known was Vasha and life in the Denraen, including patrols and everything that went with that.

  “I’m Endric,” he said.

  The woman cast a quick glance around the tavern before pulling out a stool and taking a seat across from him. She was pretty, something he once would have noticed much sooner, with a round face and full lips that matched her figure. It had been a long time since he had appraised women in such a way. Why had he suddenly regressed? Senda wasn’t gone, and even if she were, he had a different interest in women than he once had. He was drawn to a different kind of woman.

  “I’m Natalie,” she said. She stuck her hand out, waiting for him to shake it. Endric did so, grinning. It was a strangely formal gesture. “Why have you come to Joyner, Endric?”

  “Apparently not the same reason others have come.”

  Natalie shook her head. �
��We’ve already established that.”

  “I’m searching for someone.”

  Natalie looked around the tavern before turning her attention back to Endric. “And you think to find them here? If you don’t know whether someone is in Joyner or not, you don’t have to look all that hard.”

  “They’re not here.” He hesitated. Could Urik have come here? It seemed unlikely, but maybe he had. And if he had, and if the village was as small as what Natalie said, it seemed as if it would be pretty easy to know for certain. “Have you had other travelers through here?”

  “Besides you? Not any who don’t belong.”

  “And I don’t belong?”

  “If you’re going to keep questioning everything I’ve said, it’s going to take a long time for us to have a conversation.”

  “You’re a strange sort of waitress at a tavern.”

  “And you’re a strange sort of patron.” She grinned, and as she did, she went from merely pretty to quite lovely. Maybe it was the attitude she gave him that added to it. There was a strength to her, despite the fact that she was in a remote village. It was a reminder that though these people might live a simpler life, there might not be anything simple about them. Some might have chosen to come here, escaping the trappings of the larger city. The landscape around Joyner was lovely, and he could understand the appeal.

  “There is a man I’m searching for—a friend of mine—who might have come this way.”

  “If anyone came this way, there would’ve been talk of it. That doesn’t mean that your friend didn’t come this way, only that I don’t think they came through Joyner.”

  “It would have been a stroke of luck if he had,” Endric said. It was the kind of luck he didn’t seem to be having these days. His luck was more the bad kind.

  “More like a divine intervention,” she said.

  Endric frowned. The choice of words seemed too coincidental to be merely that. “And where would someone go if they were seeking divine intervention?” he asked.

  Natalie grinned and shrugged. “You’ve come to Joyner and you don’t even know?”

  He shook his head. “Help me understand,” he said.

  She grabbed him by the arm and nodded. “Come with me.”

  Endric followed, noting a few of the men in the tavern grinning at Natalie. Endric wondered what she intended with him. Maybe it was nothing, or maybe she had some answers that would help him understand what she meant about divine intervention. Endric had assumed it meant that he needed to seek the gods, but what if there were something else to it? What if there were some local Salvat custom that might offer him a way to help Senda?

  She walked him through the town. Joyner was not large, and it didn’t take long for them to reach the other side of it, where she twisted him, turning him around so that they looked out to the East. In the distance, he noted the steadily rising slope of Oluantiin Mountain. From here, it didn’t look like much, certainly not like any sort of intimidating mountain, and it didn’t look nearly as massive as surveyors claimed. He suspected that came from the gentleness of the slope, especially as he knew that to reach the top would take him weeks.

  Natalie pointed. “Divine intervention.”

  Endric grinned, unable to help himself. “You think the gods live there?”

  She stared at the distant mountain. From here, Endric could make out the plume of smoke rising from the peak. Night had started to fall, bringing a hint of darkness. With it, he saw a faint glowing on the horizon, but it was in the wrong direction for the sun to be setting. Could that be from the mountain?

  “Why wouldn’t they? I know you northerners think the gods live in the Tower, but if I were a god, I’d choose someplace more remote, someplace that connected me to the land.”

  “Like Oluantiin Mountain.”

  Natalie nodded. Her eyes took on a distant expression as she stared. Endric realized that she was enraptured, caught up by what she saw.

  “When you’re raised on Salvat, so close to the home of the gods, you can feel them. Some days, you can even hear them.”

  “Hear them?” Endric asked.

  Natalie nodded. “It is a rumbling that echoes through you. When it comes, they send smoke and fire into the sky, announcing their presence. There can be no question of the gods’ strength then. And lately, we have felt the rumbling more often.”

  “Why?”

  Natalie stared at the mountain. “Who is to know? Perhaps the gods want us to feel their strength again. Long ago, when Oluantiin was active, before Elaniin could even exist, none doubted the strength of the gods.”

  Was that what Aria had meant by divine intervention? Did she somehow think that he needed to reach the peak of the mountain and draw fire from it? Did she think that with the increased activity that he could find the gods?

  Even if he could, Endric wasn’t certain what that would accomplish.

  “How did you know that I was from the north?”

  She glanced over at him. “How did I what?”

  “Know that I came from the north. How did you know?”

  “It’s in the way that you speak. You have a northerner’s inflection, and you have the same northerner sort of doubt when it comes to Oluantiin Mountain. On Salvat, there are none who question how that connects us to the gods.”

  Endric sighed. With everything that he had seen over the last year or more, he certainly shouldn’t question. How were the beliefs of Salvat any different than those of the Antrilii? How were his beliefs any more right than those of the people of Salvat?

  “Thank you for showing me this, Natalie.”

  She turned her attention back to the mountain and nodded. “If your friend is here, that is where he would have gone.”

  Endric studied the mountain. Could that be where Urik would have gone? Endric thought Urik would have chased the chance to find out more about the Conclave, but maybe that was not what he had done. Maybe Urik had decided that the best way to save Tresten would be taking him to the mountain, finding a way for divine intervention. Why would he have gone without them, though? Had he not, would they have suffered the same loss that they had? Would they have been forced to row toward Elaniin?

  They would not have.

  It left Endric wondering why. What would have inspired Urik to have gone off on his own?

  Unless the teralin had begun influencing him again. He had said he struggled ignoring its call, and in this place, that call was even louder. Endric felt it and wondered if perhaps even Natalie felt it.

  “Would you like food, Endric?”

  He nodded. “I would like that.”

  She flashed a smile. “And what of dessert?”

  Endric sighed. What of dessert? Even if Senda recovered, would she want him back? She had essentially told him that she didn’t. But Endric wasn’t ready to give up on the hope of himself and Senda. Not until he knew whether anything could be done for her, and maybe not even then.

  “I think that it will have to be only dinner.” Natalie smiled, but she wasn’t able to hide the disappointment in her eyes. For his part, Endric didn’t think that he managed to hide the disappointment he felt.

  11

  The slope of Oluantiin Mountain rose in front of him. Endric had been riding the better part of a week, and his back ached. He had long since passed beyond the borders of the lush landscape, and had once again crossed over into the bleak, rocky area where they had lost Urik and Tresten. It felt as if he were going backward rather than moving forward.

  Every so often, thunder rumbled in the distance. It forced Endric to look up, worried that rain would come, but it never did.

  Even the horse seemed discouraged. Endric had a pack full of hay given to him by Natalie, with a warning that there would be few places for the horse to feed. She had given him a map of places he could try, watering holes where some life loomed amidst the rock. So far, her map had been accurate. If it had not been—or if he had not met her—he doubted that he would have found them on his own.


  He made his way around the base of the mountain. It didn’t make sense to attempt to climb it. If Urik were there, he expected to see some sign of his passing, and even then, it would have to be on the far side of the mountain, not on the western slopes.

  Thunder rumbled in the distance, reminding Endric of the massive thunderstorm he and Senda had survived. If another rain like that came, he didn’t think he would be able to find shelter easily, and certainly none for the horse.

  He paused at another watering hole. This one was smaller than some of the others, and though there were a few shrubs here, there weren’t many. The horse ate, no longer as choosy as he had been.

  Endric took a drink from the small pool, trying to ignore the bitterness in the water as well as the heat. There was something of a foul odor to the water, and Endric suspected that came from teralin. What harm was he doing to himself drinking teralin-infused water? As he looked at the plants, he decided that it probably wasn’t anything significant. If it were, plants like this wouldn’t be able to survive.

  Endric took a seat and leaned back against the rock. Thunder rumbled again, and he was reminded of Natalie’s comment about the gods, and how sometimes she could hear them. Did the people of Salvat believe the thunder around the mountain to be the gods? Maybe it wasn’t thunder it all. Maybe it really was the gods, and Endric was the one who was misled. If the gods had truly Ascended as the Urmahne taught, then why wouldn’t they be able to dance in the heavens, creating the rumbling thunder that he heard?

  He drifted. As he did, strange visions came to him. He saw himself standing on top of the mountain, looking down gently rolling slopes, seeing everything of Salvat spreading around him. From his vantage, he could make out the ocean as well as the cities situated on the island. Smoke rose behind him and he turned and noted the faint glowing deep within the rock and felt a pulling sensation upon him. Was that the teralin within the mountain?

  He tried to move but found that he could not. He flailed, feeling like he had when the sea had tried to swallow him. As he had then, he kicked and went flying, clearing the rock and falling from the slopes of the mountain to come tumbling far below.