Chapter 29 Calypso
Chapter twenty-nine
Calypso
The ruins outside of Ettera held the last remnants of old Shalimar. Most of the ancient cities had turned to dust or had been built upon throughout the years. No one had wanted to live in the barren wasteland between the Vestrahorn mountains and Ettera, so the old city had been left to ruin.
Half-collapsed towers and buildings remained, desperately resisting the ravages of time with their last breath. Most structures had one or two walls that had crumbled, and inside she could see indiscernible household objects covered in sand and dirt.
The real unsettling sight was the old castle that loomed above this city of death. Unlike the rest of the ruins, the castle looked preserved, whether by chance or some ancient magic, she didn’t know.
What made her skin crawl was the way the city looked destroyed but frozen in time. It was as if one day there was life and the next it had become completely abandoned.
“Why didn’t Urim ever loot the castle?” Calypso observed the dark windows along the structure.
Vidorak had known of the ruins, but only in passing. Neither he nor the orcs she traveled with had actually set foot in these deserted remains.
“Fear.” The hoarse answer came from Grushag. It was the first word he’d spoken in their entire journey together.
“Urim was greedy, but he was also superstitious,” Nazghor explained. “It is warned that whoever comes to steal from Old Shalimar never leaves it. The taverns of Ettera are always full of stories about grave robbers attempting their luck and never returning.”
“Do you believe the stories?”
“I believe the wasteland is dangerous, and drunkards are prone to getting lost. Though I don’t want to linger any longer than necessary.”
They were in agreement there. While Calypso didn’t sense any living presence here, her instincts were screaming at her to leave this place.
They stopped their horses and dismounted outside the castle courtyard.
There were three arched entrances to the courtyard with connecting pillars surrounding the periphery of the area.
A vast maze began at the far side of the courtyard, extending toward the castle.
She could imagine the gardens that once flourished here must’ve been a striking sight.
Calypso made to step forward when Grushag blocked her path. His unusual green eyes glared down at her. “You stay here.”
She looked at him incredulously. “You can’t be serious.”
To his credit, he didn’t back down.
Nazghor came over to explain. “This could be a trap. Mabanok isn’t exactly trustworthy. We will clear the area first and then come to get you if it is safe.”
It was annoying, but she could see the reasoning behind that. “Fine, I will stay back for now, but I will not wait long.”
It was the best she could promise.
Nazghor accepted her response and glanced over toward Grushag. “Let’s go.”
She watched from the arched entryway as the orcs disappeared into the courtyard. Eyeing the precarious lean of one arch, she scoffed. There was a higher risk of the ruins collapsing on her than the buyer harming her.
The buyer was expecting a weak human woman after all. When she got her hands on this person, she’d burn them from the inside out. Though not before she found out what they had done with the other captives.
She acknowledged this was a lot of effort for someone who vehemently avoided helping her own kind. Vidorak’s words from their argument still rang in her mind. He had touched on something she had buried. Something that her own sisters were trying to get her to face.
Of course, she’d love to see the covens reform across the realm. She hated the persecution that still existed and burned with fury at the death that had spread. Which made her even more scared at the prospect of things getting better only for it to happen again.
She’d rather face Hugh Davinger or Ker Beck a thousand times than attempt to resurrect the covens only to have them get destroyed. It was one thing to fail herself, but the idea of failing thousands of witches made her sick.
Impatience overtaking her, Calypso abandoned her post and entered the courtyard. The orcs would just have to accept they had taken too long.
Just as she entered, she saw a cloud of dust in the distance. Staying hidden from sight, she peered around the corner and watched as a hooded figure rode in their direction. The rider dismounted at the side entrance and confidently walked into the courtyard.
“Damn it!” Calypso cursed under her breath and stepped behind a stone pillar to block herself from view.
In the center of the courtyard stood Grushag and Nazghor, their postures tense as the hooded figure approached. From her position, she wasn’t able to see clearly, but could hear their conversation.
“You are not the orc I usually deal with. Where is Mabanok?” the woman asked.
“He had other matters to attend to. You will deal with us,” Nazghor said in a colder tone than she’d ever heard from him.
“More important than this? I want proof Chieftain Urim sent you.”
Nazghor scoffed. “You don’t make demands of us.”
Things didn’t appear to be going as they had hoped, and Calypso braced to intervene.
“You do if you don’t want the entire northern guard coming to the mountains,” the woman threatened them, but Calypso detected a falter in her voice.
“We are leaving,” Grushag’s low raspy voice stated.
There were brief sounds of footsteps shuffling before the woman called out again.
“Fine! But this better not happen again. If Mabanok isn’t here next month, then I am done here.”
The steps halted, and the orcs walked back. “Where is the gold?”
“Product first.”
“You are as greedy as Mabanok said you were. I will get the woman, but you aren’t getting near her without the payment,” Nazghor commented, then he turned to leave the courtyard.
The plan was for him to grab her and drag her forth, loosely bound to give the appearance of capture. From her position behind the pillar, he would be able to spot her without problem. The only issue was that she left the rope they would bind her with back with the horses.
Nazghor didn’t make it to the pillar before the woman’s tone changed. “Funny. Mabanok always said I overpaid. That these women weren’t worth half the gold I gave Urim.”
Dread blossomed through Calypso’s chest as she felt their rouse fall apart. Not waiting any longer, she sprung from around the pillar in time to see the cloaked figure throw a glass vial at the feet of the orcs. The explosion released a gas, and the orcs roared from the scalding pain.
Grushag plowed through the gas even as his skin blistered from the substance, but the woman had already turned on her heel, running out into the maze beyond the courtyard.
Without missing a beat, Calypso dashed after the woman, circumventing her poison. The woman had the advantage of starting ahead, and Calypso kept an eye on the billowing cloak.
The maze was complex, with multiple turns, but the walls had degraded over time, and it helped her see far enough ahead to follow the buyer.
Calypso was closing the distance when the cloaked woman turned and slammed another vial into the ground behind her. The liquid quickly rose, creating a massive block of ice, walling off that path of the maze.
This area of the maze was still intact, and she’d have to backtrack quite a bit to find a broken-down opening. Motivated to get through the ice, she channeled her flames into one spot, but the ice was melting too slowly.
A whooshing sound came from behind her, and by a hair an axe passed her ear, slamming into the ice. There was a loud crack as it splintered through to the other side. Over her shoulder, she saw Grushag’s burned form barreling forth.
The damage was enough to sink her flames into the cracks and speed up melting the ice. The orcs caught up and slammed at the weakened section, opening it enough for Calypso to go through.
“Go!” Nazghor yelled in between assaults. “We will follow when we can.”
She squeezed through, leaving them to work on widening the wall for their larger frames. Not wasting a second, she continued running, but no longer saw traces of the buyer. She kept her speed until she reached a point where the maze split in two directions.
Anger and anxiety and frustration built upon themselves as the seconds ticked by. The idea of just releasing her fire in one tremendous explosion became more and more appealing as her indecision grew. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to clear the fog of her impending failure.
The scent of sulfur entered her nostrils, and her eyes flew open. That gas was sulfur-based and likely had stuck to the cloak. She stepped forward, and the potent smell unquestionably followed the path to the left.
Back on the trail, Calypso ran as fast as she could, desperate not to let the opportunity slip by. If the buyer got away, they would lose all chance of figuring out what was happening to the women in the mountain.
In the distance, she saw the end of the maze as it opened onto the steps of the castle. The buyer was desperately trying to reach her horse, hurrying her steps once she spotted Calypso emerging from the maze’s exit.
Uninhibited by structures, Calypso sent a ball of fire toward the woman, but she easily dodged it without slowing down.
Calypso prepared to send her fire once before, but a small blur sped past her. Her undead crow flipped the woman’s cloak over her eyes, pecking at her mercilessly.
The seconds that slowed her down were priceless, and Calypso caught up easily after that. The buyer tumbled to the ground but quickly got back on her feet. There was a flash of metal from a knife before the woman lunged toward Calypso.
The knife sliced at her arm, but Calypso moved to the side and kicked the woman in the chest, sending her flying backward.