Part 19 (1/2)
”As I was saying,” said Lilithia, as she continued to look carefully at the staff. ”Look at the handle here and here,” she went on pointing to the place where a person would normally grip it. ”This is made of fine wood, Black Hawthorne to be precise but ...”
”Ha,” said Hazlebub. ”Black Hawthorne is a shrub. You'd never find a piece big enough to fas.h.i.+on such a staff.”
Lilithia looked at the older woman whose crooked teeth displayed in a wide smile, ”Have you heard of Talltomhallhelmhaw?”
Hazlebub shook her head and the smile vanished from her face.
”Perhaps you have heard of the Tree Shepherds who ruled the earth after the Elementals finished their ages of creation,” said Lilithia and turned her head and gave Hazlebub a little smirk.
The witched turned her back on the woman and went to sit down in a chair near Ariana and Lousa.
”I see,” said Lilithia. ”Perhaps I might continue my story unless of course you just want to turn over the staff to someone who is well versed in its nature and perfectly capable of taking care of it.”
”Go on,” said Lousa through tightly closed lips.
”I shall continue,” said the darkling as she once again turned the staff over in her hands. ”It is made from Black Hawthorne which is normally found only in small shrubs and the like. But there was once a powerful Tree Shepherd named Talltomhallhelmhaw and he fell in love with the great elemental of ice, Tsi-Noo. He went with her to far northern realms and they lived together for centuries. From their union came a Black Hawthorne of astonis.h.i.+ng size that still exists in the far north, its deep roots sucking life from the rich soil buried far below the ice. It was this tree that the necromancer Hazhallahad went to in the hopes of finding material strong enough for him to fas.h.i.+on a great focus for his power.”
”Who is this Hazhallahad?” asked Tanner. ”That sounds like a Tarltonite name, from the desert warriors. Why would a Tarltonite have been that far north?”
”He was a Tarltonite although from back in days of the Old Empire,” said Lilithia with a nod of her head to Tanner. The woman stood up and walked over to him and held the staff towards him. ”See how the handle is not worn down by the pa.s.sage of time. Any staff held so many times over the ages would normally show signs of wear but the wood here is merely smoothed a bit, hardly worn at all.”
Tanner looked at the handle for a moment but did not dare reach forward to touch it. ”It does look to be in good shape. Ariana, you've held it. Is it worn?”
The girl shrugged her shoulders, ”It's okay,” and then glared at Lilithia some more as the woman put her hand on Tanner's shoulder and smiled down at him.
”He was in the court of the Emperor, a necromantic mage of some power and he caught the eye of the G.o.ddess Anansi who was also visiting the royal house at that time.”
”There are no G.o.ds,” said Ariana and everyone swiveled their heads towards her except Unerus and Shalalee. The girl rolled her eyes and Unerus muttered, ”Here we go.”
Lilithia's eyes narrowed and her lips curled into a snarl, her hand suddenly clenched and unclenched at her side. ”Blaspheme,” she said and took a step towards the girl.
Shamki moved away from the door, his hand on his sword hilt but the darkling saw the movement out of the corner of her eye and backed up a step. ”The nonsense of a child,” she said and turned her back on the girl.
”What do you mean, Ara?” said Lousa and looked at the girl closely and put her hand on her chin, which forced her to look up.
”I meant it, there are no G.o.ds,” said the girl and stomped her foot.
”Where do priests get their spells?” said Humbort as he scratched his head.
Tanner looked at the girl as well, ”Ara, that just isn't true. The G.o.ds are in our lives every day. They grant power to priests and wizards, everyone believes in them.”
”Not me,” said the girl with a glare.
”This staff in my hand is evidence of the power of the G.o.ds!” said Lilithia and held up the staff. ”It has the power of divinity within it. Anansi, the Spider Queen, herself instructed Hazhallahad on the way to craft it and with it in his hands he become the most feared necromancer in the court of the Emperor. What do you say to that, little girl?”
Ariana glared back, her mouth did not move and her lips slammed together.
”I thought as much,” said Lilithia.
”What happened after Hazhallahad carved the staff from the Black Hawthorne,” said Shalalee as she spoke for the first time.
”He was the most powerful necromancer in the Emperor's Court for many years. The power of the staff has power over death and can keep the owner out of the realm of ... her realm.”
”Smyrnala?” said Humbort, his hand beginning to shake uncontrollably.
”The ... ruler of the Abyss has always been jealous of Hazhallahad's Staff and wanted it for her own. That is why Anansi instructed me to get it. If you continue to hold on to it she will eventually come for it and you will not be able to resist her deathly power. In a sense, I was doing you a favor by taking it.”
”Then why do you allow us to keep it now,” said Lousa and looked at the woman with narrowed eyes.
”My mother speaks directly with the G.o.ddess Anansi and her ways are not clear to us, but we obey,” said Lilithia a faraway look in her eyes as she continued to hold the staff with gentle hands. ”We have been instructed to attempt to get the staff through reason but not to use violence. You would be wise to hand it over to me rather than face the wrath of the G.o.ddess of Death.”
”What we really want to know is how to destroy the thing,” blurted out Almara unable to contain herself any longer.
”That you cannot do,” said Lilithia with a smirk. ”It was forged at the instructions of the G.o.ds and only they can destroy it.”
”There are no G.o.ds,” muttered Ariana, to herself and Lilithia gave her a quick look but did not bother to address the statement.
”I don't understand,” said Tanner. ”Why would Anansi create an item with the power of death when that is not her realm of power?”
”The Spider Queen's plans are like webs with strands reaching in many directions,” said Lilithia. ”It is beyond the ken of mere mortals to understand them. I suggest you hand over the staff and move on with your lives as best you can. The staff will bring you nothing but trouble and death. The Spider Queen is not merciful or kind but she is a far better ally than the G.o.ddess of Death who rewards those who serve her with eternal d.a.m.nation in the Abyss.”
”I thank you for your advice,” said Lousa, standing up and walking towards the darkling. ”Have you examined the staff to your satisfaction?”
Lilithia stood and offered the staff to Lousa, who took a step back from it and darted a look to Ariana. The girl stood herself and walked over to the darkling, her face an undisguised mask of hate, and stuck out her hand to take it.
Lilithia pulled it back ever so slight causing the girl to miss with her grab; she smiled broadly, and then offered it again, and this time allowed Ariana to take it.
Ariana took it with a sigh, then walked back to the sack, placed it inside, carefully tying back the top, and then sat down on her bed directly next to it.
”I have honored my agreement,” said Lilithia with a nod of her head and a smoldering look towards Tanner.
”You have,” said Tanner with a bow. ”We have also honored our agreement so if you wouldn't mind leaving us to talk among ourselves?”
”Of course,” said the darkling as she bowed to him and s.h.i.+mmied out of the room, her trim but well-shaped figure drawing the eyes of all the men as she went out. At the door she smiled up at Shamki and ran her hand over his chest, ”Such muscles, yummy,” and then she was gone. The half-orc showed no sign that the touch affected him and his face remained pa.s.sive and his eyes narrow.
”So,” said Hazlebub.
”That gained us nothing,” said Tanner. ”She didn't tell us much that we didn't know already.”
”That's not true,” said Hazlebub. ”We learned much, the most important is that Anansi and Smyrnala both want the thing.”
”That's true,” said Lousa, ”although I don't know how we can use that information to our advantage. We just want to destroy the thing and be done with it. I don't like the idea of two G.o.ddesses working against us.”