The Serpent Tower

  Sardec stepped forward behind her, suddenly conscious of feeling shabby in his uniform jacket. Lady Tamara looked up at him flirtatiously. He noticed her lips were full and sensual. Her eyes gazed into his measuringly for a moment before she looked away. He and Jaderac exchanged bows and thus began the slow minuet of formalities that would lead them to the table.

  The food was good and for the early part of the meal, as was polite, they kept strictly to the expected questions and topics of conversation. It turned out that Lady Tamara was the daughter of Lord Malkior, the former Chancellor of Sardea.

  “You are very far from court, milady,” said Sardec. “What brings you to these rough climes?”

  “I wanted to see this part of the world, and Lord Jaderac graciously consented to be my guide. In this and many other things.” She gazed adoringly at Jaderac, a thing that did not sit well with her earlier flirtatiousness. He wondered what was really between the pair. Briefly his eyes made contact with Lady Asea’s, and he saw that she too had noticed the gesture and its falseness. Sardec had met many Terrarch girls like Tamara before- seemingly empty headed, flirtatious, constantly in search of new conquests. Once he would have been interested, if only to spite Jaderac, but now she held no real interest for him, and he wondered at how he had changed. He thought of Rena. There was his answer. His pleasures were of a different kind.

  “The Tower is one of the wonders of this world,” said Asea. The subtle emphasis on the word this reminded them all that she was the only one present who had gazed on the wonders of another world.

  “Indeed,” said Jaderac. “Although I doubt its treasures can compare with those of the Queen-Empress’s palace.”

  “I think the Lady Asea referred to the structure itself,” said Sardec lightly, wondering at the urge he felt to bait this dangerous duellist. “Even a Terrarch of the Old Faith must admit that the Elder Races surpassed us in some things.”

  Jaderac smiled as if at the mouthings of a child. “I never suggested otherwise.”

  “Have you been inside the Tower yet, Prince Sardec?” said Tamara, putting the stress on his title.

  “No, milady,” said Sardec. “Although I hope to have that privilege soon.”

  “But you have Lady Asea,” said Jaderac. “You were often Ilmarec’s guest in the old days. Perhaps you can satisfy my little angel’s curiosity.”

  “I have seen parts of it,” said Asea. “Although there were areas that Ilmarec never invited me to, or anyone else, as far as I can tell. And there were sealed areas that not even he could gain access to.”

  “I believe Lord Ilmarec has solved their mysteries and opened those ways now,” said Jaderac.

  “That is indeed news,” said Asea. “He tried for centuries to penetrate their mysteries and failed.”

  “There is a lesson to us all there,” said Jaderac. “Patience rewards those who have it.”

  “They say Lord Ilmarec is somewhat eccentric,” said Tamara.

  “You could say that,” said Asea. “He is a brilliant scholar of the Elder World, and of the Serpent Folk in particular. His monograph on the Vanished Towers is a classic of its kind.”

  “The Vanished Towers?” Sardec asked.

  “There are several other sites in Kharadrea where Serpent Man Towers stood, according to ancient legend. Now there are only vast craters. One is a lake. Two others could be mistaken for the mouths of volcanoes. They are all places saturated with dangerous magical energies.”

  “Where are the Towers then?”

  “No one knows. They are gone although there are many tokens of the Elder Races presence in the vicinity: carved rocks, tools, cave villages, huge ruins.”

  “Perhaps the Towers were never there,” Tamara suggested.

  “Records from the pre-Terrarch period indicate otherwise.”

  “Can old records be trusted?”

  “According to Ilmarec they can.”

  “What became of the Towers then? I thought they were indestructible. Lord Jaderac has often pointed out to me that the Serpent Tower can be harmed by no known weapon or sorcery.” There was a note of challenge in Tamara’s voice, as if she did not quite believe Asea, or wanted to question her sorcerous wisdom.

  “No one truly knows. Lord Ilmarec speculated that they might have been destroyed in some sorcerous ritual or by some potent Elder World weapon. What the ancients’ sorcery could create, it could surely destroy.”

  “That stands to reason,” said Jaderac. “And now it would seem Lord Ilmarec has turned his brilliant mind in the direction of destruction as well.”

  “You refer to the green light,” said Sardec.

  “Yes, Lieutenant, I do.”

  And there it was, thought Sardec, another reason why this pair were here. If Ilmarec has access to the ancient weapons of the Serpent Folk he could dictate the course of this war, and practically name his own price from either side. With them he could do more than hold Morven town, he could alter the balance of power in the Terrarch lands.

  “I wonder if Lord Ilmarec really has learned the secret of the ancients,” Asea said.

  “I have reason to believe he has,” said Jaderac. “Many of the locals witnessed the destruction of Princess Kathea’s army.”

  “Humans can be such liars,” said Tamara.

  “It was not only humans,” said Jaderac.

  “My father always suspected Ilmarec had sinister reasons for taking up residence in that creepy old Tower,” said Tamara.

  “And how is your dear father?” asked Asea.

  “Lord Malkior is very well.”

  “I have not seen him in oh — it must be twenty years. Not since he led the last embassy to the Amber Palace.”

  “I think it pains him still that he could not negotiate a settlement between the two halves of our shattered empire.”

  “No one can now,” said Asea. “No one ever could. Not since the split between Scarlet and Purple began. The differences are too great.”

  Sardec was not sure of that. There were plenty of Terrarchs in Talorea, his father included, who would happily see the Terrarchy reunited. But of course they also wanted to see the empire ruled by Queen Arielle so perhaps Asea was right. “Still, your father made a great effort.”

  “Thank you. I am sure he will appreciate the fact that you said that.”

  “Please pass on my regards to him when next you see him.”

  “I will be sure to do so.”

  “I have always regretted that the Queen-Empress replaced him with Lord Xephan as Chancellor. Xephan seems so much more… aggressive.”

  “Xephan follows the Old Ways very strictly,” said Tamara. “He wishes to see the Empire united once more.”

  “With him as Chancellor, of course,” said Jaderac sardonically. It was evident he had no liking for the Terrarch they were talking about.

  The servants brought in the main course, of river fowl in dreamberry sauce. It was very good.

  Lady Tamara looked over the table and said, “You must have seen a lot of action, Lieutenant.”

  “You mean to have lost my hand,” he said, deciding not to let the unspoken part of her statement hang in the air. Jaderac winced at his crassness. Tamara met his gaze without embarrassment.

  “Yes.”

  “Enough.”

  “There are already tales doing the rounds about how you held off Lord Esteril at the old Abelen house. He quite sang your praises when we dined with him the other evening. He said you were a true son of your father.”

  So there had been contact between Esteril and this pair. Sardec wondered whether it pre-dated Esteril's attack. He was tempted to ask but instead said; “He is too kind. I merely did my duty.”

  “There are other stories,” said Jaderac. “About how you lost your hand in combat with an Elder World demon. Perhaps you would care to tell us about that.”

  “I am surprised such tales have made it across the border,” said Sardec.

  Jaderac’s smile was cold. “I make it my business to
keep track of such things. I understand the Lady Asea was with you. Please tell us the whole story. It’s been a long time since one of the First rode to battle with the spawn of Uran Ultar. Surely that is a tale worth the telling. They say you killed the Prophet Zarahel yourself, is that true?”

  There was a goading note in Jaderac’s voice, and Sardec wondered at how well informed the Easterner was. Of course, given his position, Jaderac most probably had his own intelligence network in this part of the world, and in Talorea as well.

  “One of my men killed him.”

  “The half-breed?” Jaderac’s gaze switched to Lady Asea now. Unconcernedly she forked some of the bird into her mouth, and then dabbed her lips with a napkin.

  “Exactly so.”

  “If you will forgive me for saying so, it’s a sad day for the Talorean army when its heroes are half-breeds.”

  The tone was deliberately provocative even if the words were not. Sardec wondered whether Jaderac was merely arrogant and prejudiced or whether he really wanted a duel. Asea smiled at him calmly. Sardec recalled that it was not so long ago that he would have agreed with Jaderac. Now he found himself being forced to defend the half-breed. Truly the world was strange.

  “The man is a brave soldier,” he said. “His deeds won commendation from Lord Azaar himself.”

  “On my estate half-breed children are exposed on the mountainsides.”

  Sardec smiled just as coldly as Jaderac. “So there are half-breeds on your estates, Lord Jaderac? I can see you come from a family with strong appetites.”

  Tamara coughed. Lady Asea covered her mouth with her hand.

  “What exactly are you implying, Prince?” Jaderac was using his title now. Such formality was usually a precursor to a challenge.

  There was silence among them for a moment. The summer rain tapped lightly on the windows.

  “Someone must be breeding such children- or are you implying that your neighbours are sneaking onto your estates and abusing your thralls? I have heard such things happen in the East.” Sardec kept his tone light and lazy.

  “You have heard incorrectly.”

  “Then it is members of your house that you must blame, I fear.” Sardec was now being deliberately obtuse.

  “I think this is rather an indelicate subject,” said Tamara.

  “Please forgive me then, Lady Tamara. I apologise for my boorishness.”

  Seeing Jaderac’s look Sardec felt like he had just had a close escape from a duel. He wondered why Lady Tamara had thrown him the rescue line. If their mission here had been to provoke a fight she had just defeated the purpose of it.

  “I understand some of your men claim to have encountered a Serpent Man in the woods,” said Tamara. “Is this true?”

  This pair seemed extraordinarily well informed. He wondered which of his men has been gossiping. Perhaps he should issue a warning against that.

  “It seems unlikely,” said Asea. “Perhaps they are telling tales inspired by the old stories. Soldiers can be a very superstitious lot.”

  “Perhaps they are less superstitious than you believe, milady. This is not the first tale of such I have heard since coming here. If you listen to some of the locals, Serpent Men or their ghosts stalk the streets by night, carrying off babies and killing late night strollers.”

  “I doubt Serpent Men would do such things,” said Asea. “They are carnivores but they do not like the taste of human flesh. Just more tales, most likely.”

  “Or perhaps Lord Ilmarec has used the necromantic arts to conjure up the shades of the Elder Race.”

  “If I did not know better, my Lord, I would say you were trying to frighten me.”

  “What has one of the First to fear from mere ghosts, Lady Asea?” said Jaderac gallantly. “I am merely seeking your opinion as an acknowledged expert on the supernatural.”

  “We both know that ghosts usually only appear at places of power. Sometimes the death of a powerful sorcerer will imprint his presence on the aura of the place where he fell but such events are rare. The death has to be particularly traumatic.”

  “The Serpent Men are known to be powerful sorcerers.”

  “I think if their ghosts were going to appear they would have done so before now, Lord Jaderac. They have had several millennia to do so and no one seems to have spotted them in those long centuries.”

  “Not unless their spirits were disturbed by something. Or they are guardians or harbingers.”

  “You are suggesting that Lord Ilmarec may have unleashed something that was best left undisturbed.”

  “Precisely. We do not know what guardians the Serpent Men may have left behind to protect their secrets.”

  Asea looked thoughtful for a moment. “You may be right,” she said. “But these are gloomy thoughts. Surely there must be something lighter we can talk of?”

  “I fear all conversational avenues lead in distressing directions,” said Jaderac. “However I will do my best. Have you heard what befell Lord Belezar in Askander?”

  He went on to tell a long droll incident concerning a famous old rake in the Eastern capital and how he was bilked of a small fortune by scheming sorcerers who claimed to have the secret of transforming lead into gold. Sardec had to admit the story was well told. Asea followed it with a similar tale set at the Amber Palace, and for a short while it felt like a normal Terrarch gathering, full of amiably spiteful gossip and sardonic wit. Under the influence of the wine he found it was almost possible to forget that Jaderac and Tamara were enemies.

  Sardec noticed that Asea was looking at the windows. When he looked closer he could see why. A thin green glow leaked into the room through the gap in the curtains.

  “What is it, milady?” he asked. Asea frowned.

  “Lieutenant, I would be obliged if you would open the curtains.”

  Sardec rose to obey. He opened first the curtains and then the shutters. As he did so a baleful green glow filled the room, dimming the light of the glowgems into insignificance. He looked up at the Tower of the Serpent. It glistened greenly in the rain, the tower top vanishing into the low clouds. Where it pierced them, the clouds were saturated with green light, like a lantern glow seen through mist, although on a far larger scale.

  “It seems Lord Ilmarec is engaging in more experiments,” said Lady Asea. “Has this happened before?”

  Even Jaderac seemed abashed. “No. Not since we arrived and not before unless I miss my guess?”

  Silence slowly filled the room. The rest of the meal was subdued. All the Terrarchs present seemed lost in their own thoughts. Sardec would have bet gold that they were all thinking about the same thing. The presence of that titanic Elder World structure above them made them all seem like insects. Its brooding presence filled the night with hints of awesome, unspeakable power.

  His way illuminated by the eerie greenish glow, Rik staggered past the night sentry and through the postern gate just in time to see the Easterners and their escort assemble in the courtyard. Lord Jaderac had turned to say goodnight in the most flowery way possible to Lady Asea. Beside him, garbed in a hooded nightcloak, was a tall slender Terrarch woman. At that exact moment, she turned her head and looked in Rik’s direction. Their gazes met and he felt a faint thrill, almost of recognition, although he was certain he had never seen her before. Then the Lady looked away and made a curtsey to Lady Asea.

  Rik felt the Barbarian’s massive hand descend on his shoulder and drag him into the shadows on the far side of the courtyard.

  “Don’t spoil His Nibs big exit or it will go worse for us,” he said. “You know what their Lordships are like about such stuff. Bastard’s probably run you down if you stand there. Why you looking so thunderstruck anyway, we can’t have drunk that much. Not more than fifteen or twenty beers.”

  Rik watched as the gates were opened and the Easterners coach thundered through and vanished into the night. He felt a strange sense of emptiness once it was gone. He knew that something important had happened here, but he could no
t for the life of him put his finger on what.

  “That went better than I thought,” said Sardec. He lounged comfortably on his chair in the dining room. He felt somewhat less than sober but he did not care. At that moment, even the Lady Asea looked less than intimidating. She smiled coldly, and he realised suddenly that she was not drunk. For most of the evening she had drank from her water glass. He wondered if the others had done the same, and if he had made a fool of himself. He suddenly felt very young and very gauche.

  “They are quite a pair,” she said. “What did you think of them?”

  “I am much too well bred to possibly comment on two such august Terrarchs,” said Sardec. Yes, indeed, he was drunk.

  “I am sure you are well-bred but I would still appreciate your opinion nonetheless.”

  “Then I shall give you it, dear Lady,” he said in his best impression of Lord Jaderac’s manner. “I think he is an arrogant popinjay, and she is the spoiled daughter of a great magnate.”

  “I suspect that is exactly what they want us to think.”

  “You disagree?”

  “I’m afraid I do. There is something about Lady Tamara I mislike greatly. She acted a part this evening, although I am not entirely sure why.”

  “Acted a part?”

  “I think so and you do too, Prince Sardec. She is something more than she seems.”

  “You think her father sent here to negotiate with Ilmarec.”

  “It would certainly make sense for them to do so. But how could he have known so far in advance… By all accounts Prince Ilmarec only revealed his power a few weeks ago. It would take them at least a month to get here from Sardea.”

  “You think they were dispatched on other business then?”

  “I rather think I do. I think their presence here at this moment might be an accident although an unfortunate one, should they be able to sway Lord Ilmarec to their side. With those weapons and Queen Kathea in their grasp, the war for Kharadrea would be all but won.

  “Then it falls to us to see that does not happen.”

  “Yes, it does.”