“So?” Callan asked.
I’m thinking, mortal.
“You’re stalling, is what you’re doing.”
Because I do not understand the question!
Callan grinned. “C’mon, Xeph, it’s a simple yes or no.”
It is not at all. The god’s voice rumbled in his skull, and once again Callan was glad nobody but him could hear it. Not that they were likely to attract much attention, but it was better safe than sorry.
They were seated in the upstairs room of Kivi’s house, watching out the window for any sign of the cult, trying to piece together exactly what sort of powers the priests possessed. The first few days they had sat up there, Callan had been constantly petrified one of the priests would look up and see him, but they never did. Maybe because other than Zavastu’s temple, this was the only other building in the village with more than one story.
As it turned out, that stone building he’d spied on his first day here was the village’s main storeroom the cult had seized for use as their temple—along with all of the goods inside.
Seemed as if there was more to be made from the pythian than just bark for ladders and rooftops. The village also harvested the leaves for weaving textiles, and even refined oil from the tree’s sap, though Callan was a little unclear on the exact use for that.
Leaning out a bit, Callan scanned the distant streets. He didn’t see today’s patrol yet, but that wasn’t unusual, they never seemed to be in any particular hurry. He half suspected that the cult wasn’t actually patrolling, they just used the time to wander around goofing off. Also practicing their orisons where the villagers couldn’t see them, which was of particular interest to him.
No sign of the priests, but he did catch a flicker of movement from a nearby building. A small lud boy was lurking in the shadows, clutching something to his chest. Stealing from his neighbors, perhaps? Kivi had told Callan that most of the other lud were suffering from lack of food, but he hadn’t really wanted to think about it too much.
Maybe he could wave the boy down and give him something. A kid that young shouldn’t have to stoop to stealing just to fill his stomach. Callan knew Kivi was donating a sizeable portion of her supply already, surely a little more couldn’t hurt.
With a start, he realized that Xeph had been talking the entire time he was distracted. “Sorry, what was that?”
I said, it is a ridiculous question, even for a mortal.
A grin split Callan’s face again. “So you’re saying you can’t?”
I’m saying that the logic doesn’t even apply! First of all, I wouldn’t be lifting the stone, you would. Whether it is too heavy to lift is more a matter of how many points you have placed into Brawn. Or you might grow strong enough there is no stone I could create that is too heavy. Either could apply. Why does it even matter?
“Eh, it’s a common theological question where I come from,” Callan said with a shrug, his eyes still following the kid in the street. As he watched, the kid darted into the shadow of a closer building. Was he working his way this direction?
Hmmph. This is what comes of not having your gods manifest themselves amongst their followers. Foolish mortals sitting around debating nonsensical questions.
“Fine, fine. Let’s try another one. Is it possible for you to make a triangle that—”
Callan froze as he caught further movement out of the corner of his eye. He pulled himself back from the window just as a trio of cultists rounded the corner, led again by the moon-eyed forfiliin.
“Aw, crap.” Moving so the cult couldn’t see him, Callan peered down the street again. The kid was huddled next to a crate. He was hidden from the priests for the moment but wouldn’t be much longer.
As he watched, the kid’s eyes darted in the cult’s direction. Even as Callan willed him not to move, he launched himself out from behind the crate, scurrying for an alleyway opposite.
Too slow. A shout rose from the priests’ direction. Feet pounded on dirt in response.
Well, that is unfortunate, Xeph noted. Callan felt his throat close up. After some of the stories Kivi had told him...
It was only a moment before the three priests hauled the boy back into the more open space of the street. The forfiliin loomed over him.
“Well, well, well. Looks as if we have someone who thinks he’s above an honest day’s work, don’t we?”
“I’m sorry!” Tears spilled down the boy’s face even as he struggled uselessly to free himself. “I only wanted... only thought...”
He snapped his mouth shut, but it was too little, too late. The forfiliin’s eyes darted down to the scrap of food the boy was holding.
“Oho! Not just lazy, but a thief as well! Just the sort of troublemaker we’re here to keep out of the village.”
“Please...” The words came out as a strangled rasp. Callan found he was leaning out the window, his head dangling right above the forfiliin. He could practically spit on the man if he wanted to.
Human, what are you doing? Get back inside at once!
Callan didn’t respond, for fear the cult might hear him. He still had the element of surprise. If he dropped on top of the forfiliin, he could probably take him out before the other two even realized what was happening.
He reached inside himself to activate Mountainform. The power fled at his touch.
I know what you’re attempting to do, Xeph rumbled, his voice fiery with indignation. And I won’t allow it.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Retreating so that his words wouldn’t be overheard, Callan hissed, his own voice equally indignant. “You can’t just expect me to do nothing! They’re literally right there. It would be the work of a moment to—”
And then what? Three members eliminated and the rest of the cult hunting you. We would not be given another chance for a strike against them, of that I promise. Why save one boy and lose the village? It is a risk we cannot afford.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do!” Callan grasped for Wurmchain, but the power slipped through his fingers. Even Shape Stone’s warming glow eluded his internal grasp. Xeph was withholding the power from him, somehow. He hadn’t even realized that was possible.
So long as I am bound to you, mortal, then the consequences of your actions are mine to bear alongside. At best, we ruin our chance to free the lud. At worst, you end up in chains. I cannot afford either.
Fuming at his sudden impotence, Callan returned to the window. The forfiliin still loomed over the boy below, a hand held close to his face. As it drew nearer, the air filled with a sizzling sound that reminded Callan of nothing more than a frying pan full of bacon. The thought turned his stomach.
Acrid smoke filled the air. The boy screamed.
Callan ground his teeth. He glanced back for anything to throw, something heavy enough to drop on the forfiliin’s head, but the room betrayed him just as Xeph had. There was nothing.
“Pity. He was a healthy runt, too. Would have been nice to send him along with the next caravan.” The forfiliin straightened, giving his glowing hand a shake. “You two work him over a bit, then toss him out of the village.” Locking eyes with the boy, the forfiliin sneered. “Don’t let us ever catch you here again. If we do, it’ll make today’s punishment seem like a slap on the wrists.”
The boy screamed again as the two other priests raised their own hands. His eyes cast upward and appeared to notice Callan. They filled with a silent plea for mercy.
Callan... Xeph’s voice filled with warning.
The forfiliin was still watching the boy. Noticing his gaze, he followed it and turned to look upwards. Callan pulled himself inside before he got halfway there. Retreating to a far corner, he squeezed himself into a ball, wanting to cover his ears to block out the screams but refusing to allow himself to do so.
It was the least of what he deserved.
I know this is unpleasant, but it is for the best, Xeph reiterated. Soon you shall be healed, and then we may set this village to rights. Do not let yourself be distracted from what is most important. Too many lives are counting on us. Least of all our own.
Deep down, Callan knew the god was right, but it was difficult to acknowledge that when a child’s cries for mercy still echoed in his ears.
----------------------------------------
When Kivi returned that evening, she found the avatar pacing about the basement and gnashing his teeth, occasionally pounding a fist against the earthen walls. For a moment, she hesitated to enter, fearing that she might have done something to displease him. After sixteen years of living as a Daisa caste here in the village, she was well-versed with being the subject of a master’s ire, even if she didn’t know the cause. Especially when she didn’t know the cause.
While she might have found new confidence under Parias’s roof, that didn’t mean a lifetime of lessons were simply forgotten.
Luckily, the angry expression melted from the avatar’s face the moment he noticed her. “Kivi! Am I glad you’re back. Listen, there was boy earlier, and the priests—”
Kivi nodded. “Yerka’s son, Ishe. We noticed he wasn’t at the tree this morning.”
Quickly the avatar told her about what he had witnessed in the streets, and Kivi felt her worry melting away completely. This was a situation that the lud had learned to deal with already. Still, the avatar’s face was so... stricken. Kivi felt her heart breaking on his behalf.
“We need to get word to Tervak. There’s a chance they might still be able to find him. Get him supplies, or medicine or...”
“Do not fear, Avatar. If the boy remembered his lessons, he will go to the meeting place by the cliff to wait. One of the elders will collect him and keep him hidden away for a time. Most of the cult do not seem capable of telling one lud from another, so once the boy’s wounds have healed, he’ll be able to emerge again.”
Of course, by that time they would hopefully have freed the rest of the village from the cult’s taint. Kivi wouldn’t allow herself to even consider any other possibility.
“Meeting place?” Rather than look pleased over this revelation, the avatar simply frowned. “This has happened before?”
“Several occasions, yes. The cult seems to do it mostly for their own entertainment. Tervak’s brother Nelrek was the same, and now he is back and safe amongst us.” Kivi frowned and shook her head. “Perhaps this will teach Ishe to not go sneaking about the streets during work hours. If he was so hungry, he could have just come to me.”
“And you’re... okay with this? You’re fine with what happened?”
Kivi’s frown deepened. How could the avatar ask her that? She had been more outspoken against the inequities of the cult than anyone else in the village.
“Of course I’m not fine with the situation. I would not be aiding in your plan to overthrow the cult if I was. But what else can we do, Avatar? Until you are healed, the others and I stand no chance against the powers the priests wield. We have no choice but to endure.”
The avatar went silent for a long time, though Kivi could tell from his expression that he was listening to something the god Xeph was saying. It didn’t seem he particularly cared for what he was hearing, either.
Eventually, he shook his head. “Do you really have to? Endure, I mean?”
“What else is there?”
“We could leave.” When Kivi opened her mouth to respond, the avatar pressed on. “Xeph’s temple is only a few hours walk away from here. It has plenty of space for the entire village, not to mention supplies and access to fresh water. We go there, hole up for a few months, then emerge after the cult leaves. Even if they stick around, it gives us more time to train and better prepare to fight them.”
Rather than dismiss the idea out of hand, Kivi gave it a moment’s consideration. Eventually, she shook her head. “Even if we could sneak the entire village out without drawing the cult’s attention, we cannot abandon this place. There is more to be done than simply overthrowing the cult. We need to finish this fight in a position of strength, both to keep Zavastu from retaliating, and so we can negotiate for the return of the rest of our people.”
“Right. I’d forgotten about that.” Glancing at her, a bit of color tinged the avatar’s cheeks. “Sorry, that was inconsiderate. Are you... I know Tervak mentioned... We’ll get him back, Kivi. I promise.”
Right. Curse the elder and his big mouth. Kivi had allowed herself to forget about her former master for the briefest of minutes. Now her pain returned in full force.
Not knowing what else to do, she changed the subject.
“If it helps, there is also the matter of the wild dvorak you mentioned. I do not think we could safely move the entire village without attracting its ire. Not a risk we should take with small children or the elderly.”
The avatar chuckled, and a smile returned to his face. He was surprisingly emotive, for a yeth. Kivi wondered if that had something to do with his mysterious origin.
“I don’t know. I’d like to see that overgrown goat go toe-to-toe with Shamain. I bet she’d have him licking his wounds in minutes.”
“Perhaps. Shamain may be intimidating at times—” Frustrating was more like it. “—But her powers still can’t compare to what you possess as an avatar, and look at what the beast managed to do to you.”
“Hmm.” The avatar glanced down at his bandaged arm. “True, but I was much weaker then. I’ve got a new orison, not to mention—”
He froze. Kivi watched him, more curious than wary this time. Eventually, another grin began forming on the avatar’s lips, this one wider than before.
“You know what? I just had a great idea.”
“Oh? What’s that, Avatar?”
“Well, we need a target to actually practice using Wurmchain on, right? And eventually we’re going to need to return to Xeph’s temple for one reason or another. Seems like we might be able to kill two birds with one stone.”
Pausing, the avatar cocked his head, listening to voice only he could hear. Eventually he snorted. “It’s just an expression, Xeph, I’m not going to actually—forget it. I’m not going to explain Earth stuff right now.”
“Earth stuff?”
“Never mind, Kivi. Just find out from Tervak when the next moonless night is. I’ve got a plan for how to use it.”