‘Did I free her?’
‘I do not know. A Nadir warrior told me that the spirit of Oshikai has been searching for her through the endless dark valleys of the Void. Perhaps now he has found her. I hope so. But as I said, the spells were very great.’
Enshima returned the lon-tsia to Sieben. ‘This too has had a spell cast upon it,’ he said.
‘Not a curse, I hope,’ said the poet, holding the medallion gingerly.
‘No, not a curse. I think it was a Hide-spell. It would have masked it from the eyes of men. It is quite safe to carry, Sieben.’
‘Good. Tell me – you said the man was Oshikai, and yet the name upon it is Oshka. Is that a short form?’
‘There is no i in the Chiatze alphabet. It is written as a small curved stroke above the preceding letter.’
Sieben pocketed the medallion and Enshima rose. ‘May the Source guard you both,’ he said.
Druss strode away and mounted the mare. ‘We leave you the two ponies,’ he said.
‘That is most kind.’
Sieben paused beside the old man. ‘How many defenders at the Shrine?’
‘I expect there will be fewer than two hundred when the Gothir arrive.’
‘And the jewels are there?’
‘Indeed they are.’
Sieben swore, then he smiled sheepishly. ‘I was rather hoping they weren’t. I am not at my best in battles.’
‘No civilized man is,’ said the priest.
‘So why are the jewels hidden there?’ asked Sieben.
Enshima shrugged. ‘They were crafted several hundred years ago, and set in the head of a stone wolf. A shaman stole them. Obviously he wanted the power for himself. He was hunted and hid the jewels, then he tried to escape over the mountains. But he was caught, tortured and killed near where you found the bones of Shul-sen. He did not reveal the hiding-place of the Eyes.’
‘The story makes no sense,’ said Sieben. ‘If the jewels were imbued with great power, why did he leave them behind? Surely he could have used their power against his pursuers?’
‘Do the deeds of men always, as you say, make sense ?’ countered the priest.
‘After a fashion,’ argued Sieben. ‘What kind of power did the Eyes possess?’
‘That is difficult to say. Much would depend on the skill of the man using them. They could heal all wounds, and breach any spell. They were said to have powers of regeneration and replication.’
‘Could their power have hidden him from his pursuers?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then why did he not use it?’
‘I am afraid, young man, that will remain a mystery.’
‘I hate mysteries,’ said Sieben. ‘You said regeneration. They could raise the dead?’
‘I meant regeneration of tissue – as in deep wounds, or diseases. It was said that an old warrior became young again after being healed by them. But I think that is a fanciful tale.’
Druss pushed himself to his feet. ‘Time to move on, poet,’ he said.
A young Nadir woman approached them, carrying the baby. Silently she offered it to Sieben. The poet stepped back. ‘No, no, my dear,’ he said. ‘Fond as we are of the little tyke, I think he is better off here, with his own people.’
Talisman walked along the narrow wooden ramparts of the north wall, testing the strength of the structure, examining the ancient beams that held them in place. They seemed solid. The parapets were crenellated, allowing for archers to shoot through the gaps. But each Nadir warrior carried only about twenty arrows, and these would be exhausted by the end of the first charge. The enemy would be loosing shafts, and these could be gathered. Even so, this would not be a battle won by archery. Gazing around, he saw Kzun directing building operations below the broken wall. A solid fighting platform had been constructed there. The Lone Wolves leader was still sporting the white scarf Zhusai had given him. Kzun saw him watching, but did not wave. Quing-chin was working with a team on the gates, smearing animal fat to the hinges, trying to free them. How long since they have been closed, Talisman wondered. Ten years? A hundred?