Authors: James R. Vernon
"Understood."
Nolan grabbed two of the lighter bags and gently strapped it to Ezzy's shoulders. Then, after grabbing the last remaining pack and his walking stick, he hooked his arm around her and got them moving. It was awkward at first, between his limp, his staff, and the packs moving around on their backs, but it became much smoother by the time they made it to the stairs. When they were out the front door and into the cold night air, he had things under control.
This close to morning and at this time of year, the streets were empty. Behind the inn, the temple to Kaz'ren peaked over the roof while the Endless Tombs towered over everything else. Nolan took a moment to catch his breath and adjust the packs before he got them moving up the street. The temple to Ze'an was north of them on the southeast side of the lake, at the end of this road. Fields of untended grass sat between the last buildings of the city and the temple. After all, who would be foolish enough to build anywhere near the temple of the god of the Abyss?
They walked uninterrupted all the way to the temple, stopping once they reached its massive doors. The temple was a combination of decades of neglect, vandalism from the more fervent worshippers of Alistar, and youths trying to prove their bravery, which turned the building into a dilapidated mess. Stone columns lay where they had toppled, stained glass windows were smashed beyond recognition, and even the thick wooden doors were splintered and dangling off their hinges. Add to that the light of all three moons making shadows dance about this late at night, and a person couldn't help but be put off by the place.
"Over there," Ezzy pointed off to the right side of the building. "Paz is behind those columns."
With a nod, Nolan helped her over to the Vithalos. Sure enough, the hulking metal form was standing where she had directed it. Thankfully, when their connection had broken, the Vilathos hadn't toppled over. Nolan had heard it fall against stone once before and had no doubt that the commotion would have drawn people even this late at night.
Leaning Ezzy up against the wall, Nolan placed one hand on her shoulder and another on the leg of the Vilathos. There was no time to waste, and no point in preparing either of them for what came next. Best to get to it. He cleared his mind and focused his energy.
Everything else fell away into darkness. Ezzy and the Vilathos became vague outlines of energy, a golden color that swirled about them both. From where their heads would be, a wisp of energy fluttered like a flag about to detach from its pole. That was the connection. That was what he needed to fix.
Unlike an initial bonding, where the energy of the person resisted becoming part of the Vilathos, fixing a bond was much easier in comparison. Those two connections wanted to be back together. Neither was whole without the other. To the lifeless Vilathos, not being connected had no effect, but to Ezzy it was like losing a part of her very spirit. That was what caused her body to weaken and befuddled her mind.
Focus. Even a reconnection can have problems. This is not the time for introspection.
Gathering his will, Nolan "reached out" with his mind and grasped both cords. They writhed about in his grip, the energy having a life of its own and not understanding what was going on. It fought his mental grasp, but decades of experience won out. Slowly but surely, Nolan began to pull the two edges towards each other. The closer they became, the less the energies fought him. When they touched, they melded into each other like two old friends embracing after years of being apart.
Now for the difficult part...
Unchecked, the energies could flow entirely back into Ezzy or into the Vilathos. If they flowed into Ezzy, she would lose all connection with the Vilathos. Even worse, the energy from the Vilathos had changed. Even though it came close to matching Ezzy's energy, it would never be the same again. If it all flowed back into her, she would have two different energies vying for control, never able to become one. The stress of wild energy raging inside of Ezzy would destroy her. In less than a year, the girl's mind would be reduced to mush.
If the energies all flowed into the Vilathos...well, that would leave nothing left for Ezzy.
Grasping the energies as tightly as he could, Nolan fought to control the flow. He felt nothing else, his entire attention gauging the tide of the two energies, adjusting his grip so that the weaker flow had more freedom while he limited the stronger one. It went back and forth, Ezzy's energy trying to rush into Paz, then instantly flipping to Paz's energy almost overwhelming Ezzy. Each time the flow changed directions, the surge grew a little weaker.
Finally, after what may have been minutes or hours, Nolan felt the two energies even out. He held them a few moments longer, making sure there wouldn't be one last surge. A surge that could destroy a person's mind instantaneously. It was all a part of the risk, and he had gotten used to it happening with strangers. But Ezzy was no stranger and he would never risk her life. When he was content that the connection was solid, he let go. The world came rushing back, overwhelming his senses and hammering him to his knees.
"Are you...better...?" he panted. Each breath burned in his chest while their sound tore at his ears.
"Yes, I have control of him again. Are you going to be ok?"
The concern in her voice would have been comforting to hear if the sound didn't make his head feel like exploding. His vision swam, the dark green of the grass beneath him swirled about and made his eyes burn. A cold breeze touched his skin, but it felt like razor blades raking across his face. The musky smell of the old temple mixed in with the smell of being outside, overloaded his senses and made him nauseous.
He welcomed the grey clouds crowding out his vision--a telltale sign that his mind was about to shut down. It was a relief when the blessed blackness covered his senses, and he sank into unconsciousness.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nolan opened his eyes to the three moons hanging high above him in a sea of stars. The green moon sparkled like an emerald in the sky. The blue and red moons seemed just as bright, although they were higher in the sky and not as grand. The vast array of stars dotting the sky looked like tiny flames straining against the emptiness above him. Used to a life in the city where the buildings and lights diminished the effect of the stars, being out in the open made him feel like the tiniest speck in a much bigger universe.
He licked dry lips with an even drier tongue and tried to sit up. That's when he realized he couldn't move. Panic set in as memories of previous events flooded back in. Had they been caught? How long had he been out? He struggled against his bonds, which only made his knee and shoulder ache. He let out little grunts as he discovered his weakened body couldn't budge against the restraints.
"Calm down." Ezzy's voice, containing an uncharacteristic amount of concern, came from his right. Turning his head, he found the woman holding a stick with some kind of skewered animal over a fire. A small cooking pot had also been set up over the flames. "You're just wrapped up in blankets. You've been out a while, and I wrapped you up in a blanket cocoon to keep you from freezing."
"How long?"
"Five days."
Five days. From a simple re-bonding. He was getting much worse. Glancing down at his prison of blankets, it only took Nolan a moment to figure out how to get himself out. It took considerably longer than he would have liked to shed the blankets in his weakened condition. The cold air of the season immediately bit him and he moved closer to the fire to fend it off.
"When you are feeling up to it, you should try to eat something. I've gotten you to take water and broth in your stupor, but nothing else. I have a vegetable stew cooking in the pot, I can dish you a bowl."
"Thank you, yes, I think that would help." Looking down, he realized he was in a different set of clothes. "Did you change my clothes?"
Her face went red, and she turned her attention back to the fire.
"Yes. You had...err..."
"It's ok, please, for both our sakes, don't say it."
An after-effect of the process was complete loss of control over his body. Including his bodily functions.
"Thank you," Ezzy said, the relief clear in her voice. "I just tossed the clothes away. I hope you don't mind."
Nolan wasn't exactly happy with the waste of clothes, but he couldn't handle continuing a conversation about his lack of bladder control.
"I understand."
She handed him a bowl of stew and then fell silent. Very few people had seen him in that state, and Ezzy had never been there for more than the first few moments after the effects knocked Nolan unconscious. Her father had done an excellent job of protecting Ezzy from seeing that side of the bonding process. But he was gone now. It was a foolish desire, but Nolan had always hoped she would never have to see him like that.
"I'm sorry."
Nolan could only stare at Ezzy. She had actually apologized? Was he still unconscious and dreaming?
"I know I was harsh in Lurthalan," she continued, "but you know how angry I get when anything negative is said about my father. I've come to realize that you only said those things to get me going. Father considered you a friend, not just another hireling, and I think of you as...well... like an uncle."
Shaking off the initial shock, he did his best to put on a smile. "And how long did it take you to realize this?"
She returned his smile and let out a short laugh. "Only two or three days into the trip. Certainly after I had to change you like a baby."
He could feel his cheeks heating, but at least Ezzy hadn't laced her words with scorn. If she was trying to make a joke of it, then she was probably trying to help him not feel so awkward about it. It was her method of making peace, and although it wasn't how most civilized people would apologize, Nolan appreciated the gesture.
"Well, I've known you since you were a baby and making a mess in your clothes, so I guess we've come full circle. Enough about that though. Where are we?"
"Look for yourself." She gestured to her left.
Towering above them less than a day's journey away to the east was the Unyielding Wall. The wall was a marvel of construction, reaching high into the sky almost as far as the Skyfall Mountains to the west. No one knew who had constructed it or why. Historians thought that at one time all of the races knew where it had come from, but so much had been lost during the Plague that it could be anyone's guess now. All people knew was that the most powerful magic could only dent the massive stone blocks. It was also said that being in close proximity to the wall for too long could do strange things to a person, but that was just hearsay. After all, the village of Shade had been built in its shadow a long time ago, and the people there seemed normal.
For the most part at least.
"That doesn't exactly tell me where we are. The wall is said to stretch from coast to coast, although the only people that would know for sure are those infected by the Plague in the north and the Shadaer Umdaer in the south. That's a lot of land to cover."
"I don't know," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Somewhere north of Shade and southwest of Lurthalan. It's not like anyone other than those fools down in Shade settle anywhere close to that monstrosity. It took a whole day to get this close to the wall, and we've been traveling south for four more days since then. So, where does that put us?"
"Another six or seven days of travel left until we get to Shade, I would guess. I don't exactly know how fast you and Paz have been moving."
"Neither do I. Not a whole lot this close to the wall to use as a landmark. We did pass the last farm this afternoon."
"That helps. We should only be about a day from the forest, and then it will probably take us another four to make our way through the trees since we won't have a clear path to travel."
"Excellent." Ezzy handed over the stick she had been holding over the fire. "Have some meat. I caught it myself."
His eyebrows raised in surprise as he took the stick from her.
"What? I can take care of myself, and I figured if I caught some food, it would save some of the supplies we bought in case we have trouble catching a meal later."
He bit into the meat. The meat was moist, and even had the flavor of a few spices to it.
They hadn't packed any spices.
"This tastes surprisingly good," he said in-between bites. "I didn't know you knew how to cook...what is this again?"
"Rabbit, I think."
"You think?"
"I mean, yes, rabbit. Just eat it already if your stomach can handle more. We should get some sleep so we can get an early start tomorrow."
Nolan let out a laugh and did as he was told. No point on calling her out for a rabbit she had clearly gotten from a trader or hunter. That must have been an interesting conversation, with him unconscious and tied to Paz's back. He hoped she had been smart enough to say very little about their situation.
Finishing up the rabbit, Nolan went to stand, but his legs refused to cooperate.
"Just sit and rest. It would be good if you had enough energy to walk tomorrow. I'll clean up."
"Thank you."
Crawling back over to his blankets, he wrapped himself up as tightly as he could. From his spot on the ground, he watched Ezzy move about the camp. She really was quite the capable girl. Ezzy could probably handle this whole quest for justice by herself if she wanted. If only she could control her temper. For the most part, she was a very well put-together woman with a good head on her shoulders. Nolan had seen others in her situation growing up in a powerful and rich family become spoiled elitists that treated everyone as a servant. Both the boys and the girls. But not Ezzy.
"Gutter piss!" she shouted, dropping the pot and dumping its contents all over the ground. "That's hot!"
No, certainly not an overly-refined and stuffy lady. Nolan let himself chuckle until she shot him a glare. He quickly rolled over onto his side, letting her gaze dig into his back so she couldn't see his grin. Instead he contented himself with thinking about the journey ahead.
One day to the forest, and then four to Shade. That, of course, was being generous. Once they reached the forest, without traveling on the road they would be forced to navigate the dense population of trees. That would slow them down considerably. Add in the fact that neither of them were expert outdoorsmen. If they weren't careful, they could get themselves turned around and waste time traveling in the wrong direction. They could handle losing a day or two, but anything more than that and they would run out of supplies. Then they would be forced to find the road that stretched from Lurthalan to Shade through the woods and hope they ran into someone with food to trade and not another group of bounty hunters.
Or worse, the group that Ezzy and Paz had beaten and robbed. They certainly would be looking for revenge now just as much as the bounty.
"Nolan!"
Throwing off his covers, Nolan sat up and hurriedly looked around. Were they under attack? When he didn't see any immediate threat, he shot a questioning glance at Ezzy.
"I put that bowl of broth next to you a while ago. It's probably cold by now. Have you just been lying there the whole time? I wasn't paying attention while I set up our tents."
"Oh...yes, I guess my mind wandered..."
"It's ok." She gave him a pitying look. He hated that. Hated that she knew his mind was starting to go. "Why don't you eat a little of the broth and head to bed. You need more rest."
"Of course."
"Don't pout," she ordered in her normal, commanding tone. "Eat and go to bed. That's an order."
Most people would have found that tone abrasive, but Nolan appreciated it. Ezzy knew what was happening to his mind, but more importantly she knew better than to dwell on it for too long. Acting normal was the best way she could help them both not think about his condition.
"I don't see you eating!"
"Ok, ok!"
Ezzy was certainly a spitfire. He downed his meal and got into his tent as fast as he could. As he lay down, his stomach full and his eyes heavy, Nolan's last thought was of how proud Ezzy's father would be of her if he was still alive.