I was walking in silence through the rugged forests of northern Daemalongside Bernibus the Canitaur, with his fellows Wagner and Taurusbefore and behind us, respectively, the former leading the way, thelatter covering our tracks, and both on the lookout for an ambush. Anentire lifetime of guerrilla warfare and privations of all kinds hadinstilled in the Canitaurs a strong and prevailing sense of caution,which sometimes rendered their lighthearted and almost spirituallyfrivolous nature to the casual observer a dense, deceiving demeanor usedto conceal their true selves. But that was not the case, I believe, forthey were, or at least Bernibus was, truly amorous in personality.
The sky was then in its deepest dark, and in the few breaks in thecanopy above large enough to be seen through, there were few celestiallights to illuminate the depths of that mountainous forest. The forestitself sprawled like a great metropolis along the lands above the largecentral lake of Daem, Lake Umquam Renatusum, which was close beside theCanitaur outpost where we had narrowly escaped discovery and capture.However deficient in sight the forest was, it was abounding with sounds,everything from the call of the owl to groan of the bull frog, it was asif the whole of the forest had congregated about us, drawn to us by someunknown scent of interest and intrigue.
Continuing on for some time in the same way, I found myself growingweary, nodding my head slowly towards the oblivion of sleep, until I wasbrought to an instant liveliness by Wagner's announcement that we hadreached our destination. I looked around carefully, yet I saw nothing atall to indicate the entrance to a large, covert military establishment,much to my companions delight. Their whimsical sense of humor surfacedonce again as they laughed with seemingly infinite pleasure, both at mywondering expression and with a sense of satisfaction at their owncleverness. After the outburst had been subdued and a certain level ofsolemnity had been reached, Wagner approached the nearest tree andknocked on it with a rhythmic rut-tut-tut.
Expecting their old trick to be replayed, I waited for the tree to open,but to my surprise, it didn't, instead a strong rope ladder dropped downfrom a tree several yards to the east. This we climbed, and I found thatI had been mistaken as to the height of the ancient wooden towers, forthey proved to be even loftier in dimensions than I had imagined.Accordingly, it took us a good five minutes to reach its top at a quickand steady pace, and all through the climb I was terrified at the longdrop, from which the ladder offered no protections. Yet I made it to thetop safely, and found that there was a large platform built securelyamong its upper branches, with enough room to hold a few dozen persons,and there was even comfortable seating in the center. There were fourguards stationed on the platform, each equipped with a long bow and aquiver of metal tipped arrows, and though they were hardly visiblethrough the dim light emitted from the covered lantern that lit theplatform, I could see them quietly conversing with Wagner and Tauruswhile Bernibus and myself reposed on the seats provided for that verypurpose.
They conversed for awhile, though I could not hear them, nor could I seethem well enough to judge their facial expressions, but Bernibus waylaidany anxious thoughts I had with his encouraging tone, and also by givingme a drought of ale and a loaf of bread to overcome my fatigue andhunger, both of which I quickly consumed. He gave me more bread, butwouldn't allow me another glass of ale, for safety's sake. At first Ithought he deemed me easily overcome by spirits, but I soon discoveredhis reasons and thanked him.
Wagner returned from the guards and, finding that we were ready toproceed, led us to the far corner of the platform, where we were joinedby Taurus. We then set off on a road that ran above the lower levels ofthe canopy, made from jointed platforms that were attached to themassive limbs of the trees, meeting the branches of the next tree halfway across, forming a continuous, snaking path far above the ground.Traveling on those paths we made our way criss-crossingly to the west.The walking was no more difficult than on the ground, for the boardswere firmly secured to the great branches, which were at least five orsix feet wide, and there were short rails as well.
After no more than half an hour of travel on the 'Treeway', we reachedanother large platform in the center of a great tree which was very muchlike the first one, excepting that the trunk of the tree came up throughits center and there was a door leading into the trunk. There were eightguards on this platform, but they let us pass without more than afriendly gesture, their scouts having, no doubt, seen us long before andascertained our identity and intentions. They seemed to have beenexpecting the return of Wagner's group, though the addition of me theyappeared to eye curiously.
Wagner led us directly to the door, which opened into a set of circularstairs that wound down the inside of the tree like the insides of an oldworld lighthouse tower. The stairs descended further than the treeascended, wrapping around almost infinitely, at least to my weariedsenses, which were depleted of vividness by the treacherous toils of theproceeding day. Down, down, down went the stairs, until at length wereached the bottom and found ourselves in a cave, the stairs ending in asmall foyer area which opened out into the cave, it being delved intothe bedrock layer, indicating that we had indeed passed below thesurface on our descent. The passage was really a narrow defile with highwalls on either side, impenetrable due to the fact that they were thefoundations of the earth above. It stretched on for a ways, its wholelength commanded by little, turret like stations which stuck out fromthe upper wall, in which were stationed groups of archers, and thoughthey now stood in a solemn, dignified manner, any opposition thatattempted to force a way through would have been decimated. Yet theystood at attention and made no noise or movement at our passing, insteadbeing the essence of well disciplined soldiery.
This narrow chasm led onward for about three hundred yards, the wallsstretching upwards in such a fashion that it brought to mind images ofMoses crossing the Red Sea, with great walls of water suspended in airon either side, ready at any moment to come crashing down upon them,their lives in the hands of another. So did I then feel, the Canitaurguards being able to slay me on the slightest whim of fancy that strucktheir minds into a sadistic mood. Yet I was not afraid, instead I wasovercome by a feeling of relaxation, where all cares and worries aregiven up as frivolous burdens, not necessary and not helpful, being, infact, harmful to the mind.
The defile, or narrow passage, led to a great abyss, crossable only by adrawbridge controlled on the other side, which was at this time loweredand ready for us to cross, which we did, accompanied by four honorguards who were dressed in all the pomp and pleasantry known by theCanitaurs. It was a custom among them to greet newcomers with an honorguard which escorted them to the body of dignitaries and aristocratsthat would be waiting to welcome them in style. This was done for us,and we were led into the fortress' great room, which was used fordiscussions and debates, via another winding stairway that took us evenfurther below the surface. It was a splendid room, equipped with allkinds of luxuries and embellishments and spreading out like a quartercircle around a central stage with a podium upon it. Seats were arrangedin arching rows, with a sort of cluster of seats around a wooden deskbeing allotted to each of the members of the council and his aide decamps; there were two hundred such clusters. Sitting there like they hadbeen woken from sleep to attend to us were the delegates, looking tiredand untidy, a rare state for a Canitaur to be in, with their clothesruffled, their hair uncombed, and their eyes glazed with a discordantstate of mind.
Wagner, who turned out to be a high official among them, led me to thetop of the stage where the podium was, with a sofa, desk, and severalchairs behind it, concealed from the council by the raised floor andwalls that formed the base of the podium, creating a small, privateanteroom for those at the podium. I laid myself down tiredly on the sofato rest while Wagner took the stage and began to speak.
"Friends, comrades, associates," he said to the council, "I thank youfor neglecting your beds at this late hour to join with us here in theHall of Meeting, for there is something very important to be shared. Youare all no doubt familiar with the an
cient prophecy of the ExternusMiraculum: long ago it was told that in our extreme need, when hope nolonger exists in the hearts of many, an ancient would be sent by Onanour lord to redeem and deliver us from the evils of this world, for asour doom was wrought in their times, so would our hope originate. Thepast cannot be changed except by those who first made it, and ourpresent is dictated by the happenings of the past, so that for a betterfuture the past must be changed, and only then will we be freed from theburdens of history."
He continued, "We have therefore long awaited the arrival of our kinsmanredeemer, who will change the past and prevent the cause of our currentwoes from happening, for without its roots, what evil can grow andflourish? Our redeemer was to come on the Kootch Patah, when ouradversaries the Zards are not watchful, being drunk with celebrations atthe turning of the year. Myself, Taurus and Bernibus went to the shoresof Lake Umquam Renatusum, as is our custom, to watch for the coming ofthe promised one, and this time we were not disappointed, for he came tous, even as the prophecy says, as we sat hidden in the living tower.Seen by the Zards, we were almost discovered, until the promise of thehidden fortress drew them away, even as the prophecy says. And now weare here, delegates of the Canitaurian people, safely within ourfortress with our kinsman redeemer, so what shall be done? Let usdecide."
At this point he cast a glance towards me, as if desiring me to speakbefore the council, but I was in the last throes of wakefulness, wheresleep has crept so far upon you that arrival in the land of dreams isonly a matter of moments, and wakefulness is not desired, nor isanything else. I looked at him with my eyes glazed with that sweet,savory taste of sleep, and though I was conscious, I was not in control,only an audience to actions of my subconscious whims, and even thatpassed beyond my reach as my eyes fell shut, isolating me in the realmwhere worldly concerns mean nothing. And so I was when my exhaustionovertook me, leaving me sound asleep on the sofa behind the podium.
Chapter 6: The Fiery Lake