would be the last. The cessation of hostilities in Khorvaire was due in no small part to the nation’s ruler, Kaius ir’Wynarn III, who pressed for peace toward the end of the Last War and helped establish the Treaty of Thronehold. At the time, many of the Karrnathi warlords believed their king mad, but the nobles had since come to believe that Kaius’s desire for peace was a ruse, that the king truly wished for hostilities to cease only long enough so that Karrnath might rebuild its strength and once again seek an advantage against the other nations. But some warlords-Bergerron among them-believed Kaius was soft, and they viewed the Treaty of Thronehold as a symbol of his weakness. Refusing to support a weak king, these warlords began seeking ways to return Karrnath to its former glory. To that end, the rebel warlords had set a number of schemes in motion, and one of Bergerron’s was the Outguard’s experimentation with symbionts.
“Bergerron is a warlord,” Lirra said, “which means at heart he’s as much politician as soldier. My guess is some other warlord has gotten wind of our project-perhaps someone loyal to Kaius-and Bergerron wants to erase all signs of our work as swiftly as possible, before the king is informed and sends someone to investigate.”
“Those were my thoughts as well,” Vaddon said.
“It
“Whatever his reason, the man’s a fool,” Elidyr said, voice tight with barely controlled fury.
“Perhaps the truth of the matter is entirely opposite,” Ksana said, “and Bergerron has found a measure of wisdom.”
Elidyr turned to glare at the half-elf. “What do you mean by that, cleric?” he snapped.
Lirra knew her uncle could be sharp-tongued at times, especially when he was dealing with people he viewed as his intellectual inferiors, but she’d never known him to get this upset before. She understood why he was so passionate about the project though. Exploring the use of symbionts as potential weapons of warfare had been Elidyr’s idea originally. As a scholar, he’d always believed that knowledge was a far greater weapon than any object forged of steel, no matter how sharp its edge. During the course of his studies, he’d become fascinated with Xoriat and the daelkyr, and he’d learned about those called impure princes, warriors who chose to accept the corrupting embrace of a symbiont in order to use its power to hunt down and destroy the aberrations of the world. Fight kind for kind, blow for blow, was an old saying in Karrnath, and it seemed a philosophy well suited for impure princes. But Elidyr had realized that symbionts could be used for purposes other than fighting those malformed monstrosities created by the daelkyr and loosed upon the world; they could serve as weapons of war.
And-thanks to Vaddon’s efforts to persuade him-Bergerron had come to believe that too. At least, that’s what the warlord
Ksana arched an eyebrow in surprise at Elidyr’s tone, but her own voice remained calm as she answered, “Perhaps Bergerron has finally come to realize that not only are the creatures we’ve been working with unnatural, they are ultimately uncontrollable as well.”
“Ridiculous,” Elidyr spat.
Lirra had a sudden realization, and she turned to her father. “This is the reason you attended Osten’s test today. You were hoping to witness a success that you could report to Bergerron, something that might give you the leverage to argue that the project should be allowed to continue.”
Vaddon sighed as he nodded. “In the months since this project began, we’ve had numerous failures and precious few successes. You being a prime example of the latter, Rhedyn.” He paused. “Our only example, really. Of the four soldiers who managed to bond with a symbiont and not be immediately dominated by the creature’s corrupting influence-including Osten-only you have remained free of the creature’s taint.”
Rhedyn inclined his head to acknowledge the general’s recognition of his accomplishment.
Like Osten, the other two soldiers eventually had needed to have their symbionts forcibly removed, and one had died in the process. Not exactly a stellar record in anyone’s book, Lirra thought.
“Whatever pressures Bergerron may or may not be feeling to end our work here, I’d hoped that if we had some small measure of success to show him, that he might reconsider and allow our efforts to continue,” Vaddon said. “Unfortunately, not only wasn’t Osten’s test successful, he came very close to killing you, Lirra.”
“As second in command and the one who recommended Osten in the first place, I take full responsibility for how his test turned out,” Lirra said.
Vaddon waved her words away with a gesture. “It’s not your fault. The foundation for these experiments is fundamentally flawed.” He gave Elidyr a look. “Symbionts simply cannot be controlled.”
Elidyr walked over to Vaddon and stopped less than a foot away from his brother. “When I first came to you with the idea of using symbionts as living weapons for Karrnathi soldiers, I told you that it would take some time.
“Calm yourself, Brother.” Vaddon said. “Bergerron has given us ample time to test your theories regarding the use of symbionts in warfare, and he’s been more than generous when it came to funding. I remember something you told me once, back when I was in command of a regiment of undead. Since the dead do not tire, it occurred to me to try using them to perform menial duties as well as martial ones: setting up camp, digging latrines, preparing meals, doing laundry.… And while they could perform all these tasks to a certain degree of effectiveness-though I admit using them as cooks was a bad idea all the way around-they proved too slow and their attention to detail was sorely lacking. They were really only good for one thing: killing the enemy. During one of your visits home from the university, I told you of my experiment. Do you remember what you said to me?”
Elidyr glared at Vaddon and didn’t answer, so Vaddon went on.
“You told me that the majority of experiments end in failure, that the more times we’re wrong, the closer we come to being right. Our experiment here is a failure, Brother. Accept it.”
Elidyr continued to glare at Vaddon for a long moment, and then he slowly smiled, but there was no mirth in the expression. “How clever of you to use my own words against me. I didn’t know you were that smart.”
“There’s no point in arguing,” Lirra said before Vaddon could reply. “The simple fact remains that Bergerron has ordered us to shut down the project and vacate the lodge, and no amount of bickering will change that.”
The two brothers continued glaring at each other, and Lirra thought neither would give in, but finally Vaddon sighed and nodded.
Lirra looked at Elidyr. “Our duty is clear, and that’s what we should be focusing on, whether we like it or not. Don’t you agree, Uncle?”
“I suppose,” he muttered. He paused then, looking suddenly thoughtful. “You say that bickering won’t change Bergerron’s mind about shutting down our project, but I just thought of something that
“Bergerron has made his wishes quite clear,” Vaddon said, exasperation creeping into his voice. “I doubt there’s anything-”
“What harm is there in listening, Father?” Lirra said. “Remember what you taught me: ‘Good ideas win battles as often as sharp steel.’ ”
Vaddon frowned at her, but one corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “I hate it when you quote me like that.” He turned to Elidyr. “Very well. Let’s hear what you have to say, Brother.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Lirra made her way to the great room of the lodge. A good-sized fire blazed in the large stone fireplace, as the dreary cool summer set in, and the cheery warmth of a fire was always welcome. Thick wooden beams crossed the length of the high-ceilinged room, and the walls were adorned with the stuffed, mounted heads of beasts that Bergerron and his ancestors had run to ground and killed: stags with huge antlers, fierce dire wolves, massive bears, razor-tusked boar, and sleek forest panthers.
Located in the hills on the southeastern edge of the Nightwood, the lodge was well away from main routes of travel but still close enough to the town of Geirrid, where the lightning rail could easily bring supplies. Plus Geirrid had its own garrison, which Bergerron made certain was well funded and well staffed, just in case he should have need of a military force when in residence at the lodge. And while the lodge’s hidden levels had proven perfect for the symbiont experiments, the creature comforts of its aboveground levels had made it a most pleasant place to
