The Ambassador's Mission

“We’re getting further in,” one of the Ashaki said, looking around. “Has anyone gone this far before?”

“Who knows?” another answered. “We’ve been trying to find them for centuries. I’m sure someone must have.”

“I doubt we’ve got that close to them,” a third pointed out. “They’d have tried to stop us by now.”

Achati chuckled and brushed dust off his clothing. “They won’t risk that our Kyralian friend might get hurt. Attacking us wouldn’t bother them, but they don’t dare kill a Guild magician in case it motivates our neighbours into helping us rid Sachaka of our Traitor problem.”

“We’d better stick close to the Ambassador, then,” the first Ashaki said. Then he lowered his voice. “Though not so close that we have to endure the stink of our tracker.”

The others chuckled. Dannyl looked beyond them to see that Unh was standing a hundred strides or so away, beckoning to him. It was obvious the tribesman preferred his assistance to the Sachakans’. I can’t blame him. Though I have to admit, the man doesn’t smell too good. Still, I bet I don’t either, after walking through the mountains for days without a bath or a change of clothes.

He caught up with Unh and they continued on. Soon they had to levitate down the other side of the ridge, then up two more walls. Every time, Unh found the trail again. Time passed and soon the sun was dropping ever closer to the horizon. They entered a narrow ravine. Unh hesitated at the entrance, then indicated Dannyl should walk beside him.

“You keep magic shield on,” he said. “Keep it strong.”

Dannyl followed the man’s advice. He felt the skin down his back crawl as he and the tribesman slowly walked down the middle of the ravine. He glanced back to see the Sachakans following, their expressions grim. They were casting suspicious glances up at the ravine walls.

After several hundred paces the walls began to retreat and the ravine floor widened. Ahead, it became a small valley. Unh let out a breath and muttered something.

Then a crack and a boom shook the air. The sound came from behind them. Dannyl and Unh spun about, then threw up their hands as stones pattered against the barrier that protected them. They backed away. A fog of dust had filled the ravine.

Slowly it settled to reveal a huge pile of rocks.

Where are the Sachakans? Are they buried? Dannyl took a step forward, but a hand caught his arm. He turned to Unh, but the man wasn’t looking at him. He was looking toward the valley. Following his gaze, Dannyl saw a lone figure walking toward them. His heart skipped a beat.

Lorkin!

“They’ll be fine,” the young magician said. “They had strong barriers. It won’t take long for them to haul themselves out, then to work out how they’re going to get through to you, so I can’t stay long.” He smiled and stopped a few paces from Dannyl. “We need to talk.”

“We certainly do,” Dannyl agreed.

Lorkin looked healthy. He was even a little tanned. He was wearing slave’s clothes, yet he looked strangely comfortable in them. Perhaps only because he’d been wearing them for several days now.

“Let’s sit down,” Lorkin said. He moved to a low boulder and sat. Dannyl found another rock to sit upon. Unh remained standing. The tribesman watched Lorkin with a cautious, knowing expression.

Abruptly all sounds in the ravine were silenced. Dannyl guessed that Lorkin had created a barrier to prevent their conversation being overheard. Overheard by Unh, or others as well?

“You must have many questions,” Lorkin said. “I’ll do my best to answer them.”

Dannyl nodded. Where to start? Perhaps where it had all started to go wrong.

“Who killed the slave in your room?”

Lorkin smiled wryly. “The woman I’ve been travelling with. She saved my life.”

“Tyvara?”

“Yes. The one you found dead in my room tried to kill me. Tyvara said that others would try to finish the job, and offered to take me somewhere safe.”

“Who wants you killed, and why?”

Lorkin grimaced. “That’s kind of complicated. I can’t tell you who, but I can tell you why. It’s because of my father. But not because he killed any Ichani. Because of something else he did. Or rather, something he didn’t do. Do you remember how someone helped him escape Sachaka by teaching him black magic?”

Dannyl, nodded.

“Well, that person was a Traitor. He agreed to give them something in return, and he never did. In fact, it was something he was not authorised to give, but I guess he was desperate to go home and would have agreed to anything.” Lorkin shrugged. “I need to sort that out with the Traitors. And... there are other things. I have to tell them what happened with Riva – the slave Tyvara killed – or Tyvara will be charged for murder and executed. So I need you to stop following me.”

“How did I know you were going to say that?” Dannyl said, sighing.

“They’ll kill you if you don’t.” Lorkin’s expression was more serious than Dannyl had ever seen before. “They don’t want to. I don’t think they want to kill the Sachakans either... well, they’d love to kill them, I suspect, just not here and now. They know that the more people they have to kill to keep their location secret, the more people will try to find them.”

Dannyl nodded. “So you want me and Unh to pretend we lost the trail.”

“Yes. Or whatever you need to say to end the search.”

Somehow I don’t think it’ll take much to convince the Sachakans, after this, he thought, looking at the rocks blocking the ravine. What about Unh? I guess he’ll follow orders. But maybe the truth will suffice. If I decide we don’t need to find Lorkin, will the Ashaki keep searching?

Then Dannyl remembered the gemstones. He looked at Lorkin closely.

“This isn’t just because of your father and this woman, is it?”

The young magician blinked, then smiled.

“No. I want to know more about the Traitors. They don’t have slaves, and the way their society is structured is completely different to the rest of Sachaka. I think they may have forms of magic we’ve never heard of – or haven’t seen in thousands of years. I think they might be good people to establish friendly ties with. I think... I think that we need to get on their good side, because one day we might be dealing with them instead of the people ruling Arvice now.”

Dannyl cursed. “If it comes to a war, don’t take sides,” he warned. “If they lose, you may not be immune to the consequences.”

“I wouldn’t expect to be.” Lorkin shrugged. “I do realise the problems that would cause for the Guild. For now it would be better if everyone acted as if I’d left the Guild. I’m not sure how long I will have to stay here.” He frowned. “There’s a chance they won’t let me leave in case I tell others how to find them. I’ve explained all this to Mother, by the way.”

“Oh. Good.” Dannyl heaved a sigh of relief. “Do you realise how much I dreaded telling her about your disappearance?”

“Yes.” Lorkin chuckled. “Sorry about that.” The amusement left his face and he grimaced. He looked down and uncurled the fingers of one hand. On his palm lay a blood ring. He held it out to Dannyl with obvious reluctance. “Take it. I don’t dare carry it any longer. If they found it on me it would hardly encourage them to trust me and I don’t want to risk it falling into other hands.”

Dannyl took the ring. “It’s Sonea’s?”

“Yes.” A movement caught their attention. Dust rose from the pile of rocks behind them. Lorkin’s gaze flickered to them, and he stood up. “I have to go.”

At the movement, Unh turned to look at them. Once more Dannyl remembered the cave full of gemstones.

“My friend here – he’s from the Duna tribes, by the way – told me something interesting the other day. He said that his people have knowledge of how to make gemstones like those in the Cavern of Ultimate Punishment.”