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In his circuit around the hilltop, Arid had missed a path cutting inward towards the peak. Rikkesh led him to a narrow hole in the earth. A woven ladder leading down into darkness was pinned to the edge by thick wooden stakes.
"We go inside Narapeth now. I will go first," Rikkesh said.
Arid looked at the hole in the ground with trepidation. He did not fear the dark, nor the massive stones that could easily crush him were the earth to tremble. He simply had knowledge of what sorts of creatures could live in caves and he did not relish the idea of entering into such a space unarmed. And, a large part of his mind insisted, he really wasn't keen for dropping into spaces where he could not see the bottom.
Rikkesh noticed Arid's apprehension and smiled. "Be mindful of your footing, but know there is no cause for fear. I visit this place regularly. There is nothing here that I will allow to harm you."
"Right."
Mentally adding this near the top of a list on the craziest things he had ever done, Arid stepped closer to the gaping hole. He had been too busy worrying about the ladder to pay much attention to how Rikkesh had positioned himself on the lip in preparation to climb down. At first, he tried moving backwards on his hands and knees, but the instant his foot struck air and could not find the first ladder rung he quickly scrambled forward and away from the potentially dangerous fall.
It was against his better judgment, but he now approached the ladder head-on and sat down on the rim, his feet dangling over the edge. Ignoring instincts that were screaming at him to return to the tent, he took a firm grip on the sides of the ladder above the hole and slowly lowered himself down. Now he was standing on the first rung, half-way in and half-way out of the rock chimney — which was all well and good, but he was facing away from the ladder, an awkward way to climb down. He needed to turn around.
His right foot had found proper purchase, but when the time came to let the left swing free and circle around, instead of coming to rest on the ladder rung, Arid encountered only air. He cursed under his breath and tried to calm his mind. In battle he had been fearless, but that was easy when both his feet were planted on solid ground. Dangling by one hand and foot from a ladder made of woven animal hair was extremely disconcerting.
His panic lasted another moment as the ladder trembled and swayed beneath his foot, but then there was something supporting his left foot. Arid dared a glance down. Rikkesh had climbed back up and reached above with his hand, giving Arid a place to put his weight.
"I learned to do this as a small child. I apologize for not anticipating it might be difficult for you," Rikkesh said with sincerity. "Rest a moment. Find your balance, then shift your right foot over on the ladder to make room for your left."
Flushing at the need for instructions on such a simple matter, Arid breathed deeply. Now that he was calmer, he again fought down the urge to scramble upward and return to the safety of the tent. Right foot over. It was simple. He forced his leg to move.
"Good," Rikkesh called up. "When you feel steady, step off my palm and onto the ladder."
He could do this, Arid told himself. It was simple. Left foot over. He moved from the firmness of Rikkesh's palm to the yielding support of the rope rung. He wasn't happy about it, but he'd done it. "Okay," he called down. "I'm all right now."
"Stay put until I signal you. I'm going to climb down to hold the bottom steady as you climb." At Arid's dubious glance, Rikkesh favored him with a mischievous smile. "It is a task to which I am well accustomed. I have helped many of our elderly and infirm reach the chamber safely."
Arid snorted and, at Rikkesh's call, began the awkward climb down. Feet finally on solid ground, he narrowed his eyes in a glare at his host. "Elderly, infirm, and outlanders, now," he said with some irritation.
Rikkesh clapped him on the back and laughed. "Come. It is easier from here."
Easier, Arid thought, was relative. The rock landing at the bottom of the ladder was fairly well lit from the noon sun overhead. Now, he was following Rikkesh down a spiral of dangerous, rough-hewn stairs that were both narrow and steep. After four twists downward, it was completely dark.
Rikkesh checked Arid's forward moment with a hand to his chest. "We will wait here a moment for our eyes to adjust."
"Your people ever use torches for this? It would make it a whole lot easier."
"There is no need," Rikkesh answered. "Besides, flames eat the air. Air is more precious than light inside Narapeth."
After a moment, Arid could see glowing lines in the darkness.
"Do you see?"
"Barely, but yes."
"The edges of the steps are marked with mirrash. Grab hold of my shoulder with one hand and the wall with your other. We go deeper now."
The walls of the cave were smooth. Whether this was a natural texture, or the product of many fingers feeling their way, Arid did not know.
It grew easier to see the boundaries of each step the deeper they went. Down, down, down they traveled. At last, when Rikkesh moved, it was along the same plane. Their descent had leveled out.
"We are here. The ground is flat. Come."
Rikkesh took Arid by the hand and led him forward to a short pillar. Rising up out of a shallow depression in the rock were blue, faintly glowing crystals. It certainly didn't look like much, but Arid kept the thought to himself.
"This is the heart of Narapeth," Rikkesh said with reverence. "Every year, my people hold a ceremony, here, on the longest night. We speak the words of our ancestors, pledging our loyalty to Narapeth and offering her our thanks, and the crystals' glow is restored for another year. In my lifetime, the ceremony causes only the slightest of changes in the crystals' brilliance. But it is said, long ago, light filled this cavern, shining from the crystals, bright enough to be seen at the cave's entrance on a moonless night. There is something wrong here. The Talshri confirm it."
"Why did you bring me here?" Arid asked.
"So that you may know Narapeth as I do. Place your hand on the crystals."
Arid obeyed, feeling the rough prickle of crystal facets against his palm and fingertips.
"Vilatet," Rikkesh whispered. "Vilatet, Narapeth. Vilatet, il Arid lu sita kel."
A sudden flash of heat coming from the crystal had Arid pulling back in surprise.
Rikkesh laughed. "You are strong. She likes you. Open your hand."
Looking down in the dim light, Arid opened a hand he had no memory of closing.
In his palm was a blue prism of crystal, glowing with its own inner light.
"You are one of us now," Rikkesh said.
Something inside of Arid recognized the truth of that statement. Before, he had sensed no magic in this village surrounded by the Winterwaste. With the crystal in his palm, his senses told him that magic surrounded him, in the rocks, permeating the very air of the cavern. And there was a great, sleeping power in the crystals at the center of the room.
The urge that had been in him to flee was completely gone. This cavern, this place was safe, was home. The sudden rush of feelings was overwhelming and Arid grabbed the stone pillar for support. It was then that he heard them. The Whisperers.
*Safe. Home. Help. Sick. Go. Find. Go.*
The words drummed into his mind and Arid was dimly aware of his knees buckling.
He cast the crystal aside and clutched at his head with both hands. "Be quiet! Enough!" The chanting only he could hear continued, thrumming louder and louder. "Please, stop!" he begged them.
Then, Rikkesh's hands were upon him. Arid came to a slow realization that the man was singing to him in hushed tones and a crooning, lilting melody. The words held no meaning for Arid, but the more he focused on them, the quieter the Whisperers got. Finally, all was silent.
Rikkesh held Arid's face between his hands and stared into his eyes. "Are you all right?"
Arid nodded, then, feeling he owed Rikkesh some sort of explanation for his strange behavior, he spoke of what he had allowed only two other men to know, "I hear things, sometimes — voices, telling me things, telling me to do things. But they were never this loud before." Arid cringed, having said this. Arturu had taken a full season to believe he was not crazy.
Rikkesh's knuckles touched Arid's brow. "The Talshri speak to you," the man said in reverent wonder. "I understand now why they were so insistent that I save you. Our meeting was no mere chance."
"No," Arid said, moving away in denial. "Your Talshri — you said they were the voices of the earth." There was no way the Whisperers were of such benign origin. Not when they had insisted he destroy the Tangen Shrine. "The voices I hear told me to do terrible things. They cannot be the same."
"Perhaps not," Rikkesh allowed, misgiving evident in his tone. "Let us leave this place and talk more on the matter in the open air. But first..." There was a quick series of movements, which Rikkesh concluded by slipping the crystal, now on a thong, around Arid's neck. "To open your eyes, guide you, and protect you." Rikkesh reached beneath his own shirt and pulled out a similar pendant. "I wear one, too. See?"
Arid tensed, thinking that perhaps his contact with the crystal earlier had triggered the Whisperers, but after a long minute he was forced to admit the only thing he sensed was the warm pulse of magic against his breastbone.
He wondered if the mountaintop would look any different now that he was wearing a piece of it around his neck.
"We go inside Narapeth now. I will go first," Rikkesh said.
Arid looked at the hole in the ground with trepidation. He did not fear the dark, nor the massive stones that could easily crush him were the earth to tremble. He simply had knowledge of what sorts of creatures could live in caves and he did not relish the idea of entering into such a space unarmed. And, a large part of his mind insisted, he really wasn't keen for dropping into spaces where he could not see the bottom.
Rikkesh noticed Arid's apprehension and smiled. "Be mindful of your footing, but know there is no cause for fear. I visit this place regularly. There is nothing here that I will allow to harm you."
"Right."
***
Mentally adding this near the top of a list on the craziest things he had ever done, Arid stepped closer to the gaping hole. He had been too busy worrying about the ladder to pay much attention to how Rikkesh had positioned himself on the lip in preparation to climb down. At first, he tried moving backwards on his hands and knees, but the instant his foot struck air and could not find the first ladder rung he quickly scrambled forward and away from the potentially dangerous fall.
It was against his better judgment, but he now approached the ladder head-on and sat down on the rim, his feet dangling over the edge. Ignoring instincts that were screaming at him to return to the tent, he took a firm grip on the sides of the ladder above the hole and slowly lowered himself down. Now he was standing on the first rung, half-way in and half-way out of the rock chimney — which was all well and good, but he was facing away from the ladder, an awkward way to climb down. He needed to turn around.
His right foot had found proper purchase, but when the time came to let the left swing free and circle around, instead of coming to rest on the ladder rung, Arid encountered only air. He cursed under his breath and tried to calm his mind. In battle he had been fearless, but that was easy when both his feet were planted on solid ground. Dangling by one hand and foot from a ladder made of woven animal hair was extremely disconcerting.
His panic lasted another moment as the ladder trembled and swayed beneath his foot, but then there was something supporting his left foot. Arid dared a glance down. Rikkesh had climbed back up and reached above with his hand, giving Arid a place to put his weight.
"I learned to do this as a small child. I apologize for not anticipating it might be difficult for you," Rikkesh said with sincerity. "Rest a moment. Find your balance, then shift your right foot over on the ladder to make room for your left."
Flushing at the need for instructions on such a simple matter, Arid breathed deeply. Now that he was calmer, he again fought down the urge to scramble upward and return to the safety of the tent. Right foot over. It was simple. He forced his leg to move.
"Good," Rikkesh called up. "When you feel steady, step off my palm and onto the ladder."
He could do this, Arid told himself. It was simple. Left foot over. He moved from the firmness of Rikkesh's palm to the yielding support of the rope rung. He wasn't happy about it, but he'd done it. "Okay," he called down. "I'm all right now."
"Stay put until I signal you. I'm going to climb down to hold the bottom steady as you climb." At Arid's dubious glance, Rikkesh favored him with a mischievous smile. "It is a task to which I am well accustomed. I have helped many of our elderly and infirm reach the chamber safely."
Arid snorted and, at Rikkesh's call, began the awkward climb down. Feet finally on solid ground, he narrowed his eyes in a glare at his host. "Elderly, infirm, and outlanders, now," he said with some irritation.
Rikkesh clapped him on the back and laughed. "Come. It is easier from here."
Easier, Arid thought, was relative. The rock landing at the bottom of the ladder was fairly well lit from the noon sun overhead. Now, he was following Rikkesh down a spiral of dangerous, rough-hewn stairs that were both narrow and steep. After four twists downward, it was completely dark.
Rikkesh checked Arid's forward moment with a hand to his chest. "We will wait here a moment for our eyes to adjust."
"Your people ever use torches for this? It would make it a whole lot easier."
"There is no need," Rikkesh answered. "Besides, flames eat the air. Air is more precious than light inside Narapeth."
After a moment, Arid could see glowing lines in the darkness.
"Do you see?"
"Barely, but yes."
"The edges of the steps are marked with mirrash. Grab hold of my shoulder with one hand and the wall with your other. We go deeper now."
The walls of the cave were smooth. Whether this was a natural texture, or the product of many fingers feeling their way, Arid did not know.
It grew easier to see the boundaries of each step the deeper they went. Down, down, down they traveled. At last, when Rikkesh moved, it was along the same plane. Their descent had leveled out.
"We are here. The ground is flat. Come."
Rikkesh took Arid by the hand and led him forward to a short pillar. Rising up out of a shallow depression in the rock were blue, faintly glowing crystals. It certainly didn't look like much, but Arid kept the thought to himself.
"This is the heart of Narapeth," Rikkesh said with reverence. "Every year, my people hold a ceremony, here, on the longest night. We speak the words of our ancestors, pledging our loyalty to Narapeth and offering her our thanks, and the crystals' glow is restored for another year. In my lifetime, the ceremony causes only the slightest of changes in the crystals' brilliance. But it is said, long ago, light filled this cavern, shining from the crystals, bright enough to be seen at the cave's entrance on a moonless night. There is something wrong here. The Talshri confirm it."
"Why did you bring me here?" Arid asked.
"So that you may know Narapeth as I do. Place your hand on the crystals."
Arid obeyed, feeling the rough prickle of crystal facets against his palm and fingertips.
"Vilatet," Rikkesh whispered. "Vilatet, Narapeth. Vilatet, il Arid lu sita kel."
A sudden flash of heat coming from the crystal had Arid pulling back in surprise.
Rikkesh laughed. "You are strong. She likes you. Open your hand."
Looking down in the dim light, Arid opened a hand he had no memory of closing.
In his palm was a blue prism of crystal, glowing with its own inner light.
"You are one of us now," Rikkesh said.
Something inside of Arid recognized the truth of that statement. Before, he had sensed no magic in this village surrounded by the Winterwaste. With the crystal in his palm, his senses told him that magic surrounded him, in the rocks, permeating the very air of the cavern. And there was a great, sleeping power in the crystals at the center of the room.
The urge that had been in him to flee was completely gone. This cavern, this place was safe, was home. The sudden rush of feelings was overwhelming and Arid grabbed the stone pillar for support. It was then that he heard them. The Whisperers.
*Safe. Home. Help. Sick. Go. Find. Go.*
The words drummed into his mind and Arid was dimly aware of his knees buckling.
He cast the crystal aside and clutched at his head with both hands. "Be quiet! Enough!" The chanting only he could hear continued, thrumming louder and louder. "Please, stop!" he begged them.
Then, Rikkesh's hands were upon him. Arid came to a slow realization that the man was singing to him in hushed tones and a crooning, lilting melody. The words held no meaning for Arid, but the more he focused on them, the quieter the Whisperers got. Finally, all was silent.
Rikkesh held Arid's face between his hands and stared into his eyes. "Are you all right?"
Arid nodded, then, feeling he owed Rikkesh some sort of explanation for his strange behavior, he spoke of what he had allowed only two other men to know, "I hear things, sometimes — voices, telling me things, telling me to do things. But they were never this loud before." Arid cringed, having said this. Arturu had taken a full season to believe he was not crazy.
Rikkesh's knuckles touched Arid's brow. "The Talshri speak to you," the man said in reverent wonder. "I understand now why they were so insistent that I save you. Our meeting was no mere chance."
"No," Arid said, moving away in denial. "Your Talshri — you said they were the voices of the earth." There was no way the Whisperers were of such benign origin. Not when they had insisted he destroy the Tangen Shrine. "The voices I hear told me to do terrible things. They cannot be the same."
"Perhaps not," Rikkesh allowed, misgiving evident in his tone. "Let us leave this place and talk more on the matter in the open air. But first..." There was a quick series of movements, which Rikkesh concluded by slipping the crystal, now on a thong, around Arid's neck. "To open your eyes, guide you, and protect you." Rikkesh reached beneath his own shirt and pulled out a similar pendant. "I wear one, too. See?"
Arid tensed, thinking that perhaps his contact with the crystal earlier had triggered the Whisperers, but after a long minute he was forced to admit the only thing he sensed was the warm pulse of magic against his breastbone.
He wondered if the mountaintop would look any different now that he was wearing a piece of it around his neck.
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