Part 13 (2/2)

Each of the Tai bowed his head in silent contemplation for a moment.

Auum stood.

'Come,' he said. 'We have more work to do.'

Yron and Ben-Foran were crouched by a small clutch of plants at the base of a balsa tree. Wide triangular green leaves sprawled out, seeming almost part of the tree but attached to a thick woody stem.

'Now,' said Yron. 'This is a young pareira vine. Notice the leaf shape. When it gets older, it'll flower and produce a red oblong fruit. Got that?'

Ben-Foran nodded.

'It's an important plant because a poultice of these leaves makes a good snake bite antidote and you can take a root infusion for the same purpose.'

'Does it work?'

Yron gave him an old-fas.h.i.+oned look. 'How do you suppose the forest elves survive day to day? So many of these plants have medicinal qualities. Learn. Because when you're without mage support, you might need to know. Now. One more thing. See that?'

He pointed at a flash of yellow under the leaves. It was a frog, barely bigger than his thumb.

'Yes, Captain.'

Ben-Foran reached out reflexively but Yron slapped his hand away.

'Don't touch it. Don't let it touch you on exposed skin. This is the yellow frog. Remember my talk on the s.h.i.+p?'

Yes, but-' began Ben.

'Small, isn't it?' said Yron. 'But there's enough poison on its back to kill us all ten times over. You recall all of those who died from light puncture wounds? The elven arrows were all tipped with this poison.' Yron grimaced. 'Now, I know it's getting dark but I want as many of the men as possible to see this frog. It'll give them some sense of perspective.'

'Yes, sir.'

The two men stood.

'Captain Yron.' It was Erys, running from the temple. He was clutching some papers and beaming all over his freckled face. Yron felt a warm glow, comforting despite the stifling heat.

'Good news, I take it?' He signalled Ben-Foran to stay with him.

'The best,' said Erys as he stopped in front of them, handing over two leather-bound books and a scroll of parchment.

'Thanks,' said Yron. 'I'll acquire their acc.u.mulated wisdom the moment I've grasped ancient elvish. A decade of your close tutelage should do the trick.'

Erys stared at him a moment before he got the joke. 'Sorry, I just . . . Well, never mind. The point is, I could understand enough of that to know it's what we're looking for. It's the key to the longevity argument.'

Yron raised his eyebrows. 'Really? And how many doors are there left to open?'

'Seven, I think. The G.o.ds know when they'll open.'

'Hmm.' Yron clacked his tongue while he thought. 'Never mind the frog, Ben; we'll find another tomorrow. Bring me the fittest sixteen men we have, barring yourself.'

'Yes, Captain. Might I ask why?'

'You might, but it would be a waste of your breath.'

Ben-Foran saluted and strode off, calling out names as he went. 'It's time we got some of this stuff away from here,' he said to Erys.

'You think we're in some danger?'

'This is the centre of their faith, or so you told me. How long before it gets visited by more Al-Arynaar, do you think?' Yron hefted the papers. 'These go tonight, and not via the camp. There's something not quite right about the atmosphere round here.'

'I can't feel anything different.'

'No indeed. But then you haven't been here before, have you? It's just a feeling. Trust me.' He ushered Erys back towards the temple. 'Show me everything you've got so far. We need an evacuation plan.'

Thunder cracked across the darkening sky. The rains came again.

The next morning, Hirad was woken by The Unknown Warrior to a surprisingly cool dawn. A sea mist had rolled in and was suffocating the docks and large areas of the city, hemmed in as it was by hills. Over a meal of bread and herb tea, Ren a.s.sured them the mist wouldn't last.

Hirad didn't care if it stayed all day. He was anxious to get on and could feel the energy building within him. He knew where it came from and he looked around the table and drank in the sight. The Raven. Together and united in a single purpose. To watch them and hear the desultory conversation it was easy to imagine they were as they had always been but that was far from the truth.

Thraun still hadn't uttered a word and had the look of a man lost to the real world for much of the time. At the moment he was concentrating on food and was the most human he ever seemed. He followed The Unknown around like a faithful hound. Hirad was beginning to wonder if he'd prove a liability.

The dark patches under Erienne's eyes told of another night of precious little sleep. Hirad had heard her quiet crying through the thin walls of the inn and Denser's voice trying to comfort her. Neither had said much this morning but they had brought no good news back with them the previous evening. Though they'd not seen or heard of anyone dying, more and more were afflicted and to starkly varying degrees.

Some who had shown violent symptoms days before were now no more than tired, while others who had only just developed the disease were already too weak or unbalanced to walk, or else were struggling against sudden and severe internal bleeding. The Raven had done what they could, but without experience of the ways of elves had found themselves treated with coolness though not hostility.

Still, at least Darrick was with them now. Hirad remembered trying to get him to ride with The Raven during the final stages of their quest for Dawnthief. He'd refused then but Hirad had always known deep down that things would change. It was just a shame the circ.u.mstances of that change had been so b.l.o.o.d.y and tragic.

He looked forward to fighting with Darrick, if it came to that, back on Balaia. Aeb, of course, was a hugely powerful addition and The Unknown's left-hand defence now he couldn't use his double-handed sword. Ren worried him though. There had been neither the will nor the need to train her to fight in line and he worried about what that might do. He knew she enjoyed swordplay but perhaps they could persuade her to stick to her bow.

Time would undoubtedly tell. But on the trip to Balaia they'd have to get themselves back into fighting form. The Raven had survived for so many years because of their trust and unshakeable discipline as much as their skill. Hirad reminded himself to talk to The Unknown about it. He wasn't sure how much fighting the big man antic.i.p.ated back on Balaia but one thing was certain. Right now, they didn't have their edge. They'd be fighting from memory, with two people who had only fought with them once, one who hadn't hefted a sword in The Raven ever and one complete enigma.

Hirad drained his tea and stood up from the table in the inn where they'd gathered for breakfast. All that was for later.

'Come on then, Raven. Let's get moving before the sun clears this mist.'

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