Zendikar_ In The Teeth Of Akoum Part 18

Nissa stopped again, taking Sorin's shoulder. "We cannot win if we step out through those doors," she said. Sorin nodded. Anowon was ahead, but Sorin ran after him and caught the vampire before he turned the spiral corner. Sorin spun Anowon around, and the look on Anowon's face made Nissa start. His lips were stretched back and showed his fangs. His eyes were red and narrowed, and blood was coming out of the corners of his eyes. He was crying blood.

None of that seemed to bother Sorin, who dragged Anowon back up the stairs as though he were a toy. Nissa threw down any elves they met with her staff. There was a tremendous collision, and the tower shuddered. Elf screams erupted from below.

"They've broken through," Nissa yelled.

The stairs ended, and Nissa and the others found themselves on a wide platform. Kolya trees grew in raised beds. Three brood were standing next to the stairway entrance, and Nissa charged through, tripping on the body of an elf and falling. She twisted her stem sword free and connected with the verdant energy of the Turntimber.

Mana moved through her and she camouflaged herself to a patch of basalt. The brood that had been descending on her pulled up and hovered above the entrance. The brood's head moved back and forth, searching for Nissa's form.

But the creature did not have long to look, for Anowon came through the doorway behind her and grabbed one of the brood's hanging tentacles. The creature tried to pull away, but the vampire punched the tentacle with his fist, and the creature fell dead. A glyph glowed red on the tentacle where Anowon had struck.

Sorin was next. The two remaining brood took a look at Sorin, tall and pale with his great sword unsheathed and glowing like the starry night sky, and they turned to fly. But a keening song came to Sorin's lips, and the brood froze midair and fell as lumps of flesh into the darkness below.

They turned to Anowon. In a moment the dead brood stirred and moved slowly back into the air. The Glyph glowed softly on the tentacle as it moved.

"Come," Anowon said. "This will fly us down."

Nissa's skin itched seeing the effects of Anowon's vampire-rapture.

Another tremendous impact shook the tower. That was enough to dispel any unease Nissa had about the zombie brood. At Anowon's command, the creature wrapped one tentacle around her waist and stepped off the edge of the tower. The flying brood lineage could not fly normally while holding all five of them in its tentacles, but it controlled itself enough and glided fast toward the ground in a sort of controlled freefall. As they pa.s.sed, Nissa could see that each of the tower's ledges held hundreds of roosting brood. In the starlight Nissa could see the land around the base of the tower. Six ma.s.sive brood had planted their shoulders against the tower and were pus.h.i.+ng it back and forth.

The zombie brood held them tightly as it glided far out into the night on wings of flesh. It finally skidded to a landing in the dusty flats half a league from the tower.

Anowon took a deep breath, and his jaw tightened as he gnashed his teeth. The veins in his neck stood out, and the muscles in his cheeks and arms clenched. A series of grunts emanated from deep in the vampire's throat, and when he opened his eyes they were red and without pupils. He looked at the null brood, and the creature dropped dead.

In a normal situation, Nissa would have felt a bit of pity for the dead brood. Nothing deserved what a vampire gave. But there was no time for pity. The night spread on all sides. Nissa turned and realized her pathwaystone was back in the tower, as was the pack that Khalled had given her.

"I do not know what direction we should travel," Nissa said.

Anowon was in a similar quandary, Nissa could tell. The vampire was looking at the stars, trying to gain his direction. His blood tears had dried on his cheeks and flecked off. But the curl to his lip had not disappeared. He jerked his hand up and pointed. "That way is west," he said. "It is somewhere there."

"Ghet?" Sorin said. "You told me you were at the Eye of Ugin. How can you be unsure how to travel to the Teeth of Akoum, Ghet?"

Anowon looked hard at the smiling Sorin. Both sides of his mouth curled back, and he spoke in a voice as menacing as any Nissa had ever heard. "Having visited a location is different than knowing the way there," the vampire said.

"Ghet," Sorin said, his face clearly showing his mock disapproval. "You have lied to us, and we demand an apology."

Smara's goblin looked from one to the other of them, then at Smara. "I know the way," he said.

n.o.body said anything. Smara c.o.c.ked her head and stared at the goblin as though she'd only just noticed him for the first time.

"You?" Sorin said. "Again?"

All eyes were on the goblin, and he swallowed hard before speaking. "I was in the Teeth for my mistress," the goblin said, motioning at Smara. She had suddenly become quiet, listening to the goblin speak. "My mistress sent me through the Cypher of Flames to find the Eye of Ugin and return with a path to it. We were traveling to the eye when the fates of the ancient ones put us in your path."

"The ancient ones?" Sorin said. "Do you mean to think that the Eldrazi sent us to you?"

The goblin clapped its clawed hands over its ears. It peered at the dark sky from under a furrowed brow. "You must not speak the ancients' name," it said.

"The gift is in the loam," Smara said, her pupilless eyes staring up at the sky.

"Yes, the gift in the wherever," Sorin said. He turned to the goblin. "Well, lead on then," he said.

"Wait," Anowon said. The vampire had advanced on the goblin and was not less than an arm's length away. "I did not see you. I did not smell you," he said.

"But I saw you, vampire," the goblin said. "I saw you held outside the doors as the magic wielders fought. And the dragon. And I saw you ..."

"That is enough," Anowon said, holding up his hand.

A sly smile spread across the goblin's dry, cracked lips. "The vampire does not want me to speak of what I saw?"

"You will remain quiet, or you will sleep with your friends."

The goblin bowed, turned on the ball of its right foot, and pointed into the darkness. "The Teeth of Akoum lie there."

They walked all that night. The wind that blew across the flats was cold, and soon Nissa's teeth were chattering. But when the sun rose, the flats heated quickly. By the time the sun fell s.h.i.+ning in their eyes, the ground was so hot that none dared stop, for fear that their sandals might start ablaze. The goblin was the exception-its feet were the color of rock and seemed as thick and as h.o.a.ry as dulam hide.

For three days they walked. At the goblin's request they traveled at night until the land split into shallow canyons with long-dried stream beds at their bottom.

Anowon remained in a dark mood. He traveled far behind the others and began to lose weight. There was nothing for him to eat, as Sorin slept next to Smara and the goblin, knowing that if they lost the goblin they would all be lost and at the mercy of the crystal flats.

To make matters worse, there had been no water since they had found a hedron plant, a low gray plant covered with thorns and roughly shaped like a hedron. They'd found it in a low draw, and without a moment's hesitation, Nissa had cut the top off. They had scooped out the pith and sucked the water from it. That had been the day before. At that moment, Nissa's tongue felt so large from lack of water that she could barely close her mouth.

Nissa and the goblin topped the bank of an arroyo and saw shapes moving on the flat before them. Nissa squinted at the moving shapes, but the sun was in her eyes, and she could not see well.

"Brood?" Nissa said. "Goblin, is it them?"

The goblin looked at the movement. "Mudheel," it said. "I have told you. My name is Mudheel. Or will you not like to speak the name of a goblin? I am not some Saltskull. I have a brain and a tongue, and I know how to use them."

"You are certainly the most unusual goblin I have ever met," Nissa said.

"Mudheel, my name is Mudheel," the goblin said, bowing mockingly. "If it pleases my lady."

"Mudheel," Nissa said. "What I said before."

Mudheel looked to the flats. "It is the City that Walks. The Goma Fada Caravan."

"Does it have water?"

"I do think," Mudheel said. "If not they would die in this waste. A body needs water."

"Thank you, Mudheel. I'll keep that in mind," Nissa said, struggling forward. Speaking hurt as much as walking, and her throat burned from talking to the goblin ... to Mudheel. Still there was one question that was burning her as much as it had before, as much as the scorching air around them. Nissa turned to Mudheel.

"Why do you stay with this party as the other goblins have slowly disappeared?" Nissa asked. "Are you not afraid that you are next? Why have you not fled in the night?"

Mudheel turned to Smara. "She needs me."

Nissa waited for more.

"She is like a wife to me," Mudheel said.

A wife? Nissa thought. Of all the responses the goblin could have given, that was the one that Nissa had least expected. Nissa thought. Of all the responses the goblin could have given, that was the one that Nissa had least expected.

"A wife?" Nissa said.

The goblin nodded and turned to look at Goma Fada. Nissa also turned toward the mobile city, her mind reeling from what Mudheel had said. A kor and a goblin? A kor and a goblin? she thought. Nissa understood then why they traveled. Either of their people would strike them down for being together. Suddenly Nissa felt pity for Mudheel, but also shuddered at the though of their unnatural coupling. she thought. Nissa understood then why they traveled. Either of their people would strike them down for being together. Suddenly Nissa felt pity for Mudheel, but also shuddered at the though of their unnatural coupling. Goblins! Goblins! she thought. she thought.

In the bright glare she could barely make out hundreds of small buildings, some with pointed roofs and others with flat. Large dulam beasts were pulling the buildings.

The Goma Fada Caravan was slow moving and they made their hobbling way to it just as the sun was fading. It was a huge caravan, composed of hundreds and hundreds of enormous wagons. Each cart held a small building of wood or mud. One that Nissa saw was a small stone holdfast with turrets and a portcullis. Some of the carts were long and flat and pulled by braces of dulam beasts. Those were filled with dirt and plants. One such cart had a small grove of fig trees growing in it.

A flock of birds flying above the caravan cried out as the party approached. Soon a merfolk riding a slim beast rode out to meet them. He pulled up on the reins, and the animal snorted and stopped. Nissa noticed that the bit and bridle were studded. She had never liked bits and bridles. She was not sure she liked the merfolk rider, either.

He was dressed in long flowing white robes. A hood was pulled up over his head to keep the sun out. His lips, painted to accentuate their natural blue, pulled tight into a mirthless smile. His green eyes glinted beneath the shadow of his hood. "Yes?" he said.

"We mean no harm," Nissa said. Suddenly the sun felt very heavy on her shoulders. She took a step, and the world moved its alignment. She touched the vial around her neck, but it was not boiling. "We are in need of water," she said.

The rider looked from her to Sorin, to Smara, to Mudheel, and finally to Anowon, where his eyes stayed. "The vampire is not welcome," he said. "But I will be the benefactor for the rest of you. Do you have coin? Strangers must have a benefactor to enter the caravan. There are no exceptions. Hurry, the Caravan Sheriff will arrive shortly."

Nissa waited for Sorin to speak. When he did not, she opened her mouth. "We have no coins," she said. "But we have items of power."

The merfolk rider waited. "If you say hedron chips I will call the Sheriff myself right now," he said.

Nissa thought desperately for something they could barter with. "We have teeth," she said.

"Teeth?"

"Magic teeth."

"Let me see," the merfolk said.

Nissa turned to Anowon, who was scowling. "The teeth are owned by the vampire," she said.

"Perhaps he can enter if properly bound. Let me see these teeth," the merfolk repeated. He held out his hand, palm up. "What kind are they?" he asked. When Anowon did not move, the caravaner snapped his webbed fingers.

"They are merfolk teeth," Anowon said, and seized the emissary.

The hardest part was hiding the body. Anowon had the sense to grab the merfolk and drag him between two carts to do what he did there, while the rest of them kept a look out. Nissa felt the bitter gorge rise in her throat as the merfolk thrashed. Amazingly, n.o.body in the caravan had seemed to notice. At least n.o.body had said anything. An if someone had had seen Anowon drain the merfolk, they had not raised an alarm. It was the time of the day when people eat before the night comes, Nissa guessed, and the occupants of the caravans were inside. seen Anowon drain the merfolk, they had not raised an alarm. It was the time of the day when people eat before the night comes, Nissa guessed, and the occupants of the caravans were inside.

Anowon disposed of the body by hoisting it and propping it against the side of a smooth adobe house built atop a wagon. The merfolk's legs hung over the side of the platform.

They walked into the midst caravan, where it was shady and strangely cool. A wagon with an immense tower built on a steel bed lumbered by. Two carts on a dray rocked and bobbed, each carrying a small crop of grain planted in straight rows. They wandered deeper into the caravan, hopping over the steaming dung piles left by the dulam beasts.

It appeared that the caravan never stopped moving. Beings tossed their privy pots from high windows. Even a huge wagon, three of its steel-shod wheels turning and squeaking, was being repaired on the move-a wheeled jack held the corner up as a human hammered a new wheel onto its axle.

Soon they were in in the middle of what was a small village. Many small carts, each pulled by a male and a female human, traveled together, virtually touching edges as they rocked. On each cart was a small wattle hut, each identical to the one next to it. There were even guards. At four corners sentries stood, naked except for turntimber-bark armor. Each grasped the sh.e.l.lacked stalk of a vorpal weed.

Past the moving village, a strange beast with long white fur and twirled horns plodded with a group of humans and mermen surrounding it. There were two immense copper tanks strapped to its back. Two of the men wore various sized metal disks that clinked against each other as they walked. Each of the men had a cup on a lanyard around his neck.

"Water," one cried. "We have water."

Nissa looked down at her feet. Her boots were not worth much anymore, and she would need them. Still, if she did not have water soon ... She turned to Anowon, who drew back the white hood of the cloak he'd taken from the merfolk. He held up his hand. Pinched between his fingers was a glowing tooth.

"Is it fresh?" Sorin croaked, through cracked lips.

Anowon smiled. "The teeth in that merfolk's mouth were not fit for magic. This is one of the original teeth."

"Whose are they?" Sorin said. "I've been curious all this time."

Anowon did not look at Sorin. "You will never know, Mortifier."

Sorin had been grinning, but when Anowon called him Mortifier Mortifier, his smile disappeared.

In exchange for the tooth, the water vendors let them drink all the water they could from their cups. Then they turned a spigot on one of the tanks and shot a glistening stream of cool water into three new skins and gave them those. The water was piney tasting, flavored with Jaddi sap. It tasted like the finest thing Nissa had ever had in her life. Even better than a roasted thrak toad.

Nissa looked ahead, but could not see the end of the caravan. Buildings lumbered, and whips snapped. The smell was that of sweat and dung. The spicy dust blowing in between the wagons off the barren land mingled with the smoke from fires. Overhead a small creature, perhaps a young kor, was flying, being towed on a rope, with a pair of hide-and-wood wings strapped to its back. In the hard desert wind the winged creature dipped and soared, and the sun flashed off the reflective objects it wore.

Nissa took another deep drink and wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

"What did you mean by Mortifier?" Mortifier?" Nissa said to Anowon. Anowon was watching Sorin walk some paces ahead. Nissa said to Anowon. Anowon was watching Sorin walk some paces ahead.

"He knows what I mean," replied the vampire. "He knows. Did you see the expression on his face?" knows what I mean," replied the vampire. "He knows. Did you see the expression on his face?"

"Knows what?"

"That I know he speaks the ancient dialect of the vampires."

"Oh," Nissa said.

"Yes," Anowon said. "His rot talk. It sounded strange at first, and then I consulted the cylinders. He rot talks in a language that appeared suddenly during the reign of the third Eldrazi t.i.tan. It did not evolve as most languages do. It had no precedent in other, earlier languages. It simply appeared appeared in texts at exactly one time." in texts at exactly one time."

"So, where did it come from?" Nissa said.

Anowon smiled and shrugged. "Ask the Eldrazi," he said.

Nissa took another gulp of her excellent water. With each drink she felt more like herself. "You "You ask the Eldrazi," she said, smiling. ask the Eldrazi," she said, smiling.

"I leave that to you, Nissa the elf," the vampire replied.

"I will tell them if you will answer this one question, Anowon of Ghet?"

Anowon held up his water skin and squeezed it, sending a concentrated stream of water into his open mouth.