The Silver Sphinx

 

“Counting layers in the Abyss”

Cant for wasting time

 

Third Hive Day of Mortis, 126 HR

Garush leaned against the wall next to the barred door and peered over to the other cell. After she and Lereia had rescued the injured woman from the cambion's assault, she had thanked them in a weak voice. They had talked a little and learned that the woman's name was Darlynna. She had served in the baatezu Blood War army, not as a fighter, but as a simple cook. During a battle near Arkenfort, the tanar'ri had captured her and sold her here in Broken Reach. Darlynna was destined to be resold at the slave market as soon as her injuries had healed. But since no one here in the cells under Broken Reach tended to her wounds, Garush suspected that it might take a while. They had tried to encourage the wounded woman – there was nothing more they could do in their current situation.

A little later, two kelvezu had carried away the cambion's dead body without asking too many questions about his death. They did not seem particularly affected by his demise – who in the Abyss was outraged by a murder? Although Garush did not consider it murder. She saw herself as the executor of justice that this fiend had deserved. This was precisely why she had joined the Mercykillers back then in her homeland, the realm of the Tonoe amazons on Acheron: she wanted to hunt down those who preyed on women and children. This was the ultimate goal of the Daughters of Varuskias, a group of amazons of the Red Death who had formed in the capital of the Tonoe almost a hundred years ago. In this situation, and with Lereia's help, she had managed to save a woman in need from the clutches of a predatory demon. However, only the powers knew what the future held for her once she had been sold at the slave market ... Garush gritted her teeth and tried to push the thought aside. Here and now, she had done what she could. Everything else was out of her hands.

Her gaze wandered to the two thistles and the handful of sand that Lereia had hidden under her pallet – parts of the demon's soul that the young woman had ripped from him and turned into something tangible. At first, they had just lain there like ordinary matter. After a while – five hours and fourteen minutes, according to Yelmalis – the thistles had somehow lost their substance. They had not wilted, but had become partially transparent and unreal. Lereia's fingers had simply grasped through them, almost as if they were ghost flowers. The same thing had happened to the sand. The process continued, with the thistles and sand becoming increasingly immaterial and transparent. The parts of the materialized soul were probably dematerializing again in order to reunite with the plane itself. At least, that was how Yelmalis had put it in his academic way. Now the wizard sat on one of the pallets, restlessly tapping his foot. He had considered making a leap to the future to see if anything would change about their situation within the next twelve hours. But she had stopped him. She understood his urge to do so. It was certainly difficult not to time travel when one was able to. But at the moment, time travel would not change their situation, and he should save his gift for a more critical moment, should one arise.

“I've been thinking about all this for quite a while now,” Lereia interrupted her thoughts. “And I don't see the point of it. How long have we been here without anyone showing any interest in us? Almost three days?”

“That's true.” Yelmalis nodded slowly. “So I assume that Red Shroud is up to something. Maybe extorting the others.”

Lereia sighed. “Extortion, yes ... that would be a possibility. We're not a bad bargaining chip. But that would mean she knows more about us.”

“I fear so,” Garush growled. “It drives me crazy that we know nothing about the fate of the others. Tarik might be able to reach us through a dream. But apparently he hasn't tried yet ... Strange, why not? Could something have happened to the others?”

“Maybe because we're not getting enough sleep?” Lereia speculated.

Yelmalis nodded. “Yes, that would be my guess too. None of us has slept more than two or three hours straight so far. That will make it difficult for Tarik to reach us through one of our dreams.”

“That's probably true,” Lereia replied. “I just hope the others don't make any concessions. And our factols neither.”

Garush eyed the young woman thoughtfully. “Ambar might,” she remarked. When Lereia looked at her in surprise, she grinned a little. “I've read SIGIS.”

“Oh, that ... weird reporter at the exhibition opening.” The weretigress looked uncomfortable. “Terrible, these social entanglements. I'm not used to such things.”

Yelmalis smiled. “There's a lot of talk in Sigil. And about everything.”

“I've noticed that too,” Lereia replied with a sigh. “It creates the strangest impressions.”

Garush examined the young woman inquiringly. Lereia seemed abashed by the subject and also a little sad, which added to the half-orc's suspicion that there might be more between her and Ambar Vergrove than was customary between a factol and a faction member. However, she decided not to comment further on the matter so as not to embarrass Lereia.

The young woman glanced briefly at her hand. She wore a ring set with a purple stone. But quickly, she looked at Garush again. “There's a third group besides you and us, isn't there? Consisting of four people?” It was an obvious attempt to change the subject. “I have my suspicions about who the four are, but I think you know?”

The amazon played along and nodded. “We had dealings with them once or twice. Factol Mallin had some kind of arrangement with Skall, a kind of information exchange. But I haven’t heard anything for a while, so I don’t know if it’s still a thing.”

“Skall.” Lereia twisted the corner of her mouth. “Creepy.”

“He really is,” Garush admitted candidly. “It's best to stay away from powerful liches. So you know about the other four?”

The weretigress nodded. “I deduced their identities from their missing soul signatures at the time. But we only met them once or twice, so it's just an assumption. I'm guessing Zamakis from the Dustmen, the medusa Rakalla from the Doomguard, the minotaur Blackhoof from the Bleakers, and a goblin woman we saw at the Gatehouse once. Maybe a Xaositect?“

Yelmalis nodded as one of his butterflies settled on his lapel. ”Yes, you're right.”

Lereia nodded gratefully, clearly pleased to have her guess confirmed. “I'm gathering all the information I can. But I don't know all the names yet ... I mean, the names in the Prophecy.”

“While we're on that subject, who are your friends?” asked the air genasi. “I mean, their names and gifts.”

Lereia hesitated. “I ... would like to tell you. But after our first meeting with the Mercykillers, we promised each other not to reveal the gifts of the others without their consent. I don't want to destroy that trust. Even though I would love to share it with you.”

In Garush's opinion, it said something for the weretigress that she kept her word, also here in the Abyss. Especially here in the Abyss. She looked over at the air genasi and shook her head. “I told you, Yelmalis, they won't tell us anything. Maybe that's wise of them, maybe we're too open and trusting.”

Lereia smiled weakly. “I'm happy to tell you everything about myself. And the others would probably do the same in this situation, but I can't speak for them.”

Yelmalis shrugged, but didn't seem upset. “I think we’ll find out sooner or later anyway. I believe that the Chosen should know about each other. That’s always been our persuasion, at least of the two of us here and Tarik. But I understand if you feel differently.”

“I feel the same way,” Lereia assured. “But you have to understand that I always keep my word. At least as long as I can.”

“You're in good company with us.” Yelmalis laughed a little. “We follow two lawful factions after all.”

Lereia nodded with a faint smile. “I see, there are the right ones in the Abyss.”

Garush grinned. “The right one in that case would actually be Kiyoshi. Then the Triad of Order would be complete. But that's fine. Say, have you ever wondered what role Sir Lorias and Lady Elyria are playing?”

Thoughtfully, Lereia shook her head. “It seems to me that they have some kind of special status.”

Yelmalis nodded in agreement. “Yes, I got that impression too.”

As so often during the last few days, a heavy silence fell over the three of them when a loud scream was heard from another cell block. Lereia stared at the wall opposite her – then she closed her eyes, but opened them again shortly afterwards and looked cautiously at the door.

“What is it?” Yelmalis asked quietly.

“I was trying to detect soul signatures,” the young woman explained. “But apparently my gift is limited in range. I can only sense you and the woman in the other cell.”

Yelmalis also glanced briefly at the barred door. “So you have to see someone to sense their soul signature?”

“Apparently. I tried to sense the signatures of our friends to see if they were still here. There was nothing. Then I concentrated on other souls whose signatures I had sensed in Broken Reach.

Also nothing. Although I don't know whether it is visual contact ... Wait ...“ She got up from her cot and went over to Garush, where she stood behind the wall so that she could no longer see Darlynna in the other cell. After a few seconds, she nodded. ”Yes, I can still sense her signature ... a labelia.” Garush looked at her questioningly, and Lereia smiled a little. “It’s a small red flower with a tangy-sweet scent. Hmm, so it’s not just visual contact.”

Garush shrugged. As fascinating as Lereia's gift was, and as effective as the young woman had used it against the cambion, the amazon wasn't quite sure what to make of it. It seemed as elusive and complicated to her as Yelmalis' time hopping or Tarik's confusing dreams.

But Lereia blinked briefly and continued to stare at the wall behind which was Darlynna's cell. She took a deep breath and then closed her eyes as if concentrating intensely on something. When she lifted her eyelids again, she smiled a little. “Yelmalis,” she said softly. “How is Darlynna?”

The air genasi stood up and glanced through the bars. “I think she's fallen asleep. Thank goodness, she was completely exhausted. Did you have something to do with that?”

“Perhaps ...” Lereia nodded thoughtfully. “I was able to touch the woman's soul very gently, on a spiritual level. That apparently calmed her and she was able to fall asleep.”

“That sounds very nice,” Yelmalis said. “And more pleasant than what you did to the cambion.”

Garush grinned broadly and Lereia had to laugh a little. “That's true. But ... the sleep. I mean, if I can calm one of you and you fall into a deep, restful sleep, then ... Maybe Tarik is just waiting for an opportunity.”

Yelmalis nodded immediately. “Yes, an exciting thought!”

Garush felt a fundamental skepticism. “I don’t like anyone messing with my soul,” she stated emphatically. “I’ve told Tarik many times not to do that.”

“I respect that,” Lereia said seriously. “I just thought that if Tarik wants to contact you, I might be able to make it easier for him.”

Yelmalis was less defensive. “I would be willing to try. First of all, it didn’t seem unpleasant, and secondly, I wouldn’t mind getting some sleep.”

“I just tried it for the first time,” Lereia admitted. “But I think I’ve got control over whether I grasp a soul or not.”

Yelmalis raised his eyebrows and couldn’t hide a brief grin. “I certainly hope so.”

Garush shook her head. She herself had no desire for such soul experiments, sleep, dreams, and Tarik or not. She wasn't exactly thrilled that Yelmalis was about to try it either. On the other hand, it might actually be an opportunity and the air genasi was a grown man who made his own decisions. Even if she didn't always like them, she reminded herself that she had promised not to constantly treat him like a child. So she sat down on one of the pallets and just watched.

“I don't know if I need to concentrate on calming your soul the whole time,” Lereia said to Yelmalis. “And if so, how long I can do it. But it might be worth a try.”

The wizard smiled. “Once I fall asleep, hopefully it will be deep, long and restful. All right.“ He lay down on one of the cots. ”Do I have to do anything?“

”Hmm.“ A little helpless, Lereia shrugged her shoulders. ”I would say close your eyes and try to relax. Think of something nice. And should you feel anything unpleasant, tell me immediately.”

Yelmalis nodded and then slowly closed his eyes. While Garush watched the scene alertly and a little tensely, Lereia took a deep breath, sat down on the third cot and concentrated. The butterflies that always surrounded Yelmalis, currently three in number, floated gently around him. After a short time, they fluttered more slowly, and while their wings had previously been dark blue, almost black, they now lightened, turning azure blue, then light blue ... One of the butterflies settled on Yelmalis' belt, the second on his hand. Lereia breathed calmly and evenly, apparently deeply rapt in concentration. The butterflies turned a delicate light blue, then finally their wings were white ... When the last one settled on the air genasi's collar, Yelmalis had fallen asleep. It didn't seem as if anything negative had happened.

 

 

“Hm.” Garush hummed softly and gave Lereia an appreciative look.

The young woman took a deep breath, twirled a strand of hair back and looked a little exhausted, but at the same time calm and, for the moment, almost happy. “Now it's up to Tarik,” she said quietly.

Garush nodded. “Then let's hope our Dreamer can reach him. He has never done that across planes before. So I don't know if it will work.”

“If not, at least Yelmalis has found a peaceful sleep,” Lereia said confidently. “And we have tried something.”

The amazon grunted in agreement. “True. That's worth something too.”

 

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played May 7, 2013