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Chapter 35. Unforgivable |
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orisedd hurried through the dingy maze of the city with his dirty satchel clutched under his elbow. Despite several days of privation, his strides were long and steady. Urgency drove him to ignore his immense thirst and hunger. He had to save Lemony. He also had to escape from Belenus. At every turn he thought he saw a shadowy figure tailing him. Morisedd still had the money paid out for Pendaran and he would never be safe until the protection of Dunvael and Crystal Palm were bestowed upon him. He made for the city center and the town sigil beacon. He silently prayed that Uriel’s magic had not been revoked and he would be able to make the short jump home and avoid having to find a ship to Lion’s Arch instead. He doubted he would survive a night in the city with the likes of Belenus hunting him down. After being trapped in the cabin together for three days, they had achieved a new level of loathing and had come to blows several times. He hated the man with a passion unrivaled even by Pendaran. Morisedd tried not to think about the reception that awaited him when he arrived home. Naturally it had occurred to him to stay and track Lemony’s assailants, but he was weak and he was but a lone man with the added threat of Belenus on his trail. He had garnered the name of their ringleader by listening to the mutterings of her servants. He hoped it was enough and prayed he would be able to convince Xiang Yi to send help. If he could save them, perhaps he could in some small way be forgiven. Pendaran’s last words haunted him and he constantly worried now about his niece and nephew. How could he have been so thoughtlessly cruel to his own sister? Lemony had granted him another chance. She was the gentle guardian of the door to redemption. It was not the first time she had offered him another chance. How bitter it was to remember that she had very nearly given her own life for his survival. In exchange he had treated her as an enemy and harmed those she loved. “I’ll save her and then I’ll beg for forgiveness. I’ll serve her until the end of my days if only to undo the smallest part of the evil I have done.” He pressed through the crowded square of Kaineng, his rank odor and wild appearance causing people to move away amid exclamations of revulsion. He cared not, only strode purposefully toward his destination. At last he arrived at the circular whorl of brick work. It was abuzz with a constant stream magically transported people. Morisedd closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he reached out for the familiar tug of home on the other side of the world. By the grace of Uriel’s magic that tied him to that far away island, the ground shifted beneath his feet and there was a sickening sensation of nothingness. He nearly panicked when it occurred to him that his attachment to the guild may well have been revoked and his fate was now to die trapped in the ethereal void as a just payment for betrayal. But the sultry air of a Krytan summer evening enfolded him, shimmering with the chatter of cicadas and crickets. The florid odor of night blooming plants rode upon the moist air and he heard the distant strains of music. All was almost as he had left it. The great hall’s lower windows gleamed with newly acquired glazing, but the traditional evening dance sounded thin and forced. Only two or three musicians fiddled or piped and there was none of the laughter that had gone along with the evening’s entertainment. “Who goes there?” He froze at the center of the starburst pattern of the sigil pad. Someone thrust a white paper lantern to toward him at the end of a thin pole. The soft light gleamed on metal plates and the exquisitely sharp sword wielded by the second figure. He saw the open palm symbol of Zhou’s illustrious guild emblazoned in scintillating colors upon a white enameled shield that graced the warrior’s left arm. “Morisedd Dunvael,” he said flatly, and it came as no surprise to him that the lantern bearer spat at the sound of his name and the warrior did not put away his blade. “We have been awaiting your return,” said the warrior brusquely, “Come with me.” Morisedd followed obediently as the lantern bearer walked on ahead and the warrior fell in step behind him. Now that he could see the second man clearly he knew by the luminous focus on his brow and the flowing cut of his robes that he was an elementalist. Neither of them said another word to him, and when they finally reached their destination, the warrior only gestured him into the dank prison at the base of one of the old towers. They did not bother to search him or inquire as to the contents of his satchel. The tower had stood empty since the day he and Uriel had taken the island from the bandits and undead. He remembered the dungeon that lay below and the singing of Mog and Lemony issuing from its base as the two of them awaited rescue. He withdrew from the door as it slammed closed and darkness fell upon him. He did not have long to wait. The music in the courtyard died down and busy sounds of people gossiping or withdrawing to their homes ensued. The tramp of many feet heralded the arrival of his interrogators and he looked up from his seat on the cold ground as keys rattled in the lock and the door groaned open. Torchlight filled the small round chamber and he saw Xiang Yi and perhaps a dozen members of Crystal Palm glaring down at him. There was also Brioc and others of the Dunvael clan. Some of them he had held in his arms as babes and his stomach clenched to see such reproach in their eyes. “Where is Pendaran?” Xiang Yi demanded harshly. “There is an island three days south of Lions Arch. It was there that Belenus traded him without my knowledge to someone named Kanen for of two hundred bars of platinum.” Morisedd rose and tossed the satchel toward them. A few of them stepped away from it in distaste. “The platinum is there, the exact sum, and I will have no part it. I realized my error too late to save Pendaran. Let this go toward the care of his children and my sister. I can make no other recompense.” “You are no longer Dunvael,” Brioc said harshly, “What you did was unforgivable.” Morisedd swallowed and lowered his face. “I know.” “This will be your only shelter so long as you are on this island,” Xiang Yi said bitterly, “If you leave this place, I cannot guarantee your safety.” “I returned that I might undo some of the damage I have done,” Morisedd replied, “Lemony and those who traveled with her are imperiled. A woman named Marga waylaid them with a band of thugs. There were far too many for our number to resist. She is holding Mog and Lemony as hostages to force cooperation from Keisha. Her intention is to destroy Master Tan in the Ministry of Air.” “I see,” replied Xiang Yi, his face blanching. “I did not follow them for fear of reprisal. Belenus is also at large and I did not want to risk his finding me alone in Kaineng with this coin.” Xiang Yi withdrew with several of his entourage, discussing something heatedly in Canthan. Morisedd went back to his place on the ground, kneeling in supplication. He felt Brioc’s gaze upon him. The man emanated rage and disgust. “We already know where to find Marga Charu,” Xiang Yi said bitterly, “We will send a missive to her and parlay for the release of our friends. I will have provisions and bedding brought here. We will speak again at dawn.” Without another word or backward glance, the heavy door slammed shut, leaving him alone in the darkness to contemplate his deeds. Soon the promised comforts and food were delivered to him and he made a bed for himself against the far wall, watching the door eagerly. Morisedd expected Teleri to come and hurl her rage at him, but the dark hours passed and he was left alone. Though he feared her wrath, her absence was worse. In the hour before dawn he lay alone and heart broken. He knew the full burden of what he had done would weigh forever upon his soul.
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