Loose Ends

Hours had passed. He was chained to a wall, somewhere deep in the catacombs, sitting in a shallow puddle. It was cold and humid, with water dripping down the stone reliefs. He was dead tired after that day, but the hopelessness of his situation stared him straight in the eyes, denying him any sleep.

Two guards were flanking him, one on each side. Neither of them spoke a word to him.

I should have just grabbed the seal from him and made a run for it – he thought. – Becoming a teacher for the new generation of spellcasters, what did I think?! This land is lost for magic. I should have run while I could.

Suddenly, he heard a loud thud coming from the tunnels, as if something heavy fell down. A shadow appeared in the passage leading outside and shouted:

“Hey dummies, come here and give us a hand!”

The two guards looked at each other in confusion, shrugged and walked out of the improvised dungeon. As soon as they disappeared behind the corner, he heard two more thuds. Two figures came out in a hurry, dragging the unconscious bodies behind them. In the dim light of the torches he recognized Reiny and Satine.

“What are you doing here?” – Katnir asked in astonishment.

“Breaking you out, you scrub, and what did you think? Give me a hand with the shackles, Satine.”

Together they were able to free Katnir from chains. He breathed a sigh of relief, feeling his magic come back to him. Satine handed him his belt and weapons. Reiny chained one of the unconscious guards and with a quick gesture of his palm, turned him into an exact double of Katnir, complete with fake catharite shackle around his neck. He propped the other guard to stand upright, with an illusion of an awakened face, and made himself look like a Brotherhood knight. The false image of Katnir’s imprisonment was indiscernible from reality.

“I’ll stay here” – Reiny said to Satine. – “Take him away and fill him in on the plan.”

Satine nodded and tugged on Katnir’s arm, pulling him deeper into the catacombs. She carried a single torch to light the path ahead. Marching steadily, they descended down the tunnel.

“So what’s the plan?” – he asked, following her lead.

“Find Sonia in the catacombs. She’ll be waiting for you near the magical well and will guide you out. Liesë will be waiting for you at the exit with a horse. Can you sense the well?”

“Yes, I can, but who’s Sonia?”

“The redhead. You fought with her in Coine.”

“Oh, that one. I never learned her name.”

“So is everything clear?”

“Just one thing. Why are you doing this? Are you not on their side?”

“Being on one’s side doesn’t mean turning a blind eye when they do something wrong. I haven’t traded my conscience away. And why did you defend that village? You had nothing to gain from that.”

“Because I haven’t traded mine away either.”

Satine smiled.

They descended a long set of stairs and stopped at a junction.

“Take the left turn” – she said. – “It will take you to the well. At least that’s what Sonia said when she scouted the underground earlier tonight.”

“Got it” – the wizard took off in the pointed direction without delay. The tunnel was even narrower, with the thick gloom diffused only by the faint light of the luminescent fungi tucked into the walls.

“Katnir!” – she shouted after him.

He stopped and glanced back. She was looking at him with a wistful gaze, her worried face dimly lit by the torch.

“Good luck!” – she said.

Katnir nodded and ran off into the darkness.

***

The Well of Dreams was a round, bottomless pit in the middle of the large domed hall. It gave away a weak blue glow, barely illuminating the nearest stone slabs while the rest of the hall drowned in darkness. Sonia didn’t carry a torch, fearing that the light would be spotted from above, through the shaft leading to the surface. She had been waiting, hidden in the crevice in the wall, for a better part of the hour, but there was still no sign of Katnir.

What’s taking them so long?

She was worried that their rescue attempt may have failed, but her faith in Satine was stronger.

Finally, she heard approaching footsteps. She was about to leave her hiding spot when she realized there were two sets of steps.

Wait… Katnir was supposed to come alone. Is Satine with him?

She soon heard muffled voices and two figures entered the hall. Sonia blessed her decision to stay hidden, as one of them was knight commander de Montfort, and the other one was a strange woman wearing a black, trailing robe.

“I’m telling you, he did not have the seal” – de Montfort said. – “My men assured me of that.”

“Then it must be with Einhart” – the woman replied.

“I’ll send out search parties in the morning.”

“Be sure to do so. Our master is growing impatient.”

“Einhart couldn’t have gone too far. Tell him that we’re expecting to recover the seal within days.”

“Why don’t you tell him that yourself?”

She pulled out a clay censer from her robe and with a flex of her fingers, lit the incense on fire. It let out a billowing puff of white smoke, which formed into a menacing male face with sharp, almost ghoulish features, lit from below with a teal glow of the burning incense.

“My lord!” – de Montfort exclaimed and fell down on his knee. – “What an unexpected honor.”

“Dispense with the pleasantries, Mik’nir” – the man’s voice was deep and cold. – “Have you accomplished the task I gave you?”

“Not yet, my lord, but the seal is within our grasp. We are on Einhart’s heels and we will capture him any day now.”

“My other emissaries have already accomplished most of their designated goals. You are straggling behind!”

“Forgive me, my lord… But we have captured the wizard Nuii has been following. You will be pleased to know that he will no longer be a nuisance. His execution is due tomorrow.”

“Execution?” – the man said with indignation. – “Do you intend to deprive me of my backup plan!? Keep him alive, lest we need to use him!”

“As you command, my lord.”

“Do not fail me, Mik’nir, or I shall have another of my Eons replace you as my emissary to Rainhoven. My return shall not be disturbed by your incompetence. Do I make myself clear?”

“Absolutely, master. I will not fail.”

“It better be so, for your own sake” – the head vanished into thin air and the incense went out.

The two made their way out of the hall and disappeared in the dark tunnel.

God Almighty… – Sonia thought. – What have I just seen? I can’t stay here, I must warn the others.

She slipped from her hiding spot and ran towards the passage from which she expected Katnir to come out. In a hurry, she tripped on a loose pebble and fell with a loud thud.

“Who’s there?” – she heard de Montfort’s voice.

Scared out of her wits, she bolted into the darkness, running as fast as she could.

I must tell the others! I must tell the others! – pounded in her head.

She remembered the path, but following it in the dark, struck with fear and overwhelmed by the weight of what she had heard was almost an impossible task. She was stumbling frequently, but every time she got back up and ran. She began to hallucinate frightening whispers coming out of the corners of her field of vision. Her heart was pounding. She could barely catch her breath from exhaustion and horror.

Suddenly, she spotted a pale light dead ahead. She tried to hide in one of the side passages, but she tripped again. The light moved closer, blinding her. She was already saying her prayers, when she saw Katnir’s face.

“What happened?” – he asked, visibly concerned.

Sonia jumped back on her feet, tears running down her face from relief.

“No time to talk, we need to run!”

“Why?” – he asked. There was something strange in his voice.

Sonnia grabbed his hand and pulled as hard as she could, but he didn’t move an inch.

“Katnir… we must go” – she groaned.

He clamped his fingers on her hands with an overwhelming force.

“What are you…”

She realized his hand was flickering, showing another hand beneath the illusion. She realized what it meant, but it was too late.

His other hand grew claws long as daggers and sprung forward, piercing her chest clean through. She let out a forced gasp of air as she watched his features morph into those of the woman she had seen near the well.

“I almost feel bad for killing you…” – the woman spoke. – “Such a lovely face…”

She gently stroked her cheek with her bloodied claws. Released from the deadly grasp, Sonia collapsed on the floor like a puppet with its strings cut, and landed amid a growing pool of blood.

“I will wear it with delight.”

Her face and body swiftly changed into Sonia’s image.

“Sonia?” – she heard the real Katnir’s voice echoing far in the distance. – “Where are you?”

“I’m here!” – the woman replied in a perfect imitation of Sonia’s voice and ran away, leaving her in the silent darkness, afraid, bleeding to death and sobbing with the dwindling remnant of her strength.

Not alone… Don’t want to die alone…