64 Truth (1/2)

The words echoed in the clearing, over and over again, reverberating throughout each and every corner of the area, coming together in Daneel's head in an explosive shower of shock and astonishment strong enough to knock him off-cold.

'They are all… working together? How? When? What…'

His mind was filled with naught but questions, his eyes were almost glazed over with incredulity. The figures were still frozen in place, their weapons just an inch away from their target, but that inch seemed to be so insurmountable that even though each of their hands was vibrating as they were putting forth all their strength to make their move, they couldn't get any closer, at all.

Above it all, the Master seemed unperturbed, as if he had been expecting this situation all long. He was handling them as easily as if they were children… and because they weren't responding, Daneel had the time to think things through for a moment.

He went back to the very beginning, to that moment when he had begun upon this trial that had led him here. It had started with the problem of food, and the issue of not losing his strength… and that had sent him to the Succubus, whose pretty face was now beaded with sweat in front of him.

She had sent him to Lord Burrow…who was snarling as he tried more and more to move his dagger and kill the master.

He had found Jezara in the Lord's employment… whose ruined face was now empty, with just the eyes showing the anger and frustration that was definitely filling that primitive mind.

And then… to find out about Jezara, he had gone to the Courtyard and met the old man with the sword, who seemed powerless now in front of the Master's inscrutable and invisible defense.

Amidst them all was the dwarf king, who had interposed himself into Daneel's life without being invited or called upon. His existence suffused all the other experiences that Daneel had gone through, and seeing him now, with his gigantic mouth opened into an angry roar, he saw that he had been played as a fool all along, used for his wit and then discarded as soon as he had made the plan that had resulted in the scene in front of him.

After boiling it all down, that part stood out. His mouth tasted sour as he realized that he was merely a piece on the chessboard. He remembered, again, just how happy the dwarf king had seemed after hearing his plan, and now, it was obvious that the man had rejoiced because he had found the perfect opportunity to emerge from below and pursue his vengeance.

”Don't beat yourself up about it. There was no way that you could have known.”

He heard a familiar voice behind him, and a moment later, the old steward appeared on the hill, grunting due to the effort but keeping his eyes fixed on the standoff.

Daneel didn't even know what to say. He opened his mouth to clarify at least some of the doubts he had, but nothing came out, as there were simply too many to pick from.

Shooting him a glance from the corner of his eye, the steward chuckled and said, ”You got it right. This is a plan that has been in the making for over a hundred years. With or without you, it would have gone forward… but by becoming a slave and then proving yourself to be resourceful, you transformed into the kindling that set this town aflame. They've all been in on it, together. They have all been watching, waiting to kill you if you showed even a hint of exposing them to those that weren't supposed to know about it all, but because your loyalty was unquestionable, you have been spared. I was against it in the beginning, you know. When everyone met and proposed that we push you to a situation where you would have to act against the surface, I was of the opinion that you would falter on the way and doom us all. You know who trusted you from the beginning? Burrow. You haven't seen him, but he was watching you on the Surface, just as he watched all the rest. When he was notified about how much you had changed… he was really happy about it, and said that this was the kind of change that could be trusted. After all, he knows about change…due to the fact that he was a nobleman-turned-slave, too, once.”