Chapter 34

Over the Wall

The sun had set and Ilsa was ready to ride again. Once more she formed the shadow horse and mounted it. Eliza stood next to the horse for a moment with one hand on its flank. She looked up at Ilsa.

"I know it's hard to trust when it seemed like the whole world is against you. But we have to start somewhere, or else nothing will ever change.", Eliza explained, hoping to break through Ilsa's icy facade.

The Drow reached down and easily helped Eliza up onto the mount. Eliza was surprised by how strong Ilsa was for being such a thin woman. But at six feet she was very tall for an elf.

"We are trusting you.", Ilsa replied, deflecting Eliza's challenge. "Do not disappoint us."

Eliza settled in behind Ilsa but didn't reply.

Seemingly as fast as the wind itself the two riders made their way across the Falkovnian countryside. The dark mount leapt over creeks and fences effortlessly and Eliza found herself nodding off once again. Images of Lynn filled her mind, awful images. She saw Lynn surrounded by living corpses, and fighting against her old friends who were possessed by ghosts. She saw Lynn fighting against the White Knights in a hopeless struggle to save the imposter. And she saw Lynn in the clutches of the Lady Boritsi, dying.

The moon shone brightly as they crossed the border into Borca. In the distance Eliza could see the Falkovnian checkpoint but she and Ilsa were too fast, too dark, and too quiet to be noticed. It wasn't long before they passed by Tillich and then Sturben. For a moment Eliza wished that they could stop so that she could meet her old friends in Sturben, but she knew that they had to keep going. So she watched the familiar buildings fade in the distance. All was dark and quiet and everything seemed like a dream.

Halfway to Levkarest Ilsa pulled off the road and made her way towards a rocky outcropping. Ilsa circled it and frowned. Eliza looked closely and realized that she had been here before. This was the entrance to the buried chapel, and just like Guy had said it had been sealed shut. Ilsa made her decision in a flash and the dark mount bolted towards Levkarest. They were going even faster than before and Ilsa seemed tense as they rode.

"What's wrong?" Eliza asked.

"We must hurry, or we will be seen.", Ilsa replied.

But there was another reason for her discomfort. Ilsa didn't want to spend a day under the sun. She wasn't a halfbreed like Kiri and even hiding in the shade would sap her of her great strength. Ilsa knew that she needed to be strong in order to complete her mission, so she had to get to Levkarest, and to shelter, quickly.

Eliza nodded and tucked down behind Ilsa, holding on as the ground raced below them. The sky was beginning to turn pink as Ilsa crossed the bridge over the Luna river. Eliza could see the walls of Levkarest rising in the distance. As they approached Eliza saw that the gates to the city were all closed and she wondered how they would get in. But Ilsa never slowed. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing as she veered away from the gates and rode alongside the city walls. Silently the Drow whispered a few harsh sounding words and then all of the sudden Eliza felt her stomach drop into her feet as the horse leapt up over the wall. Eliza held on tightly to her escort while stifling a surprised cry.

Eliza caught a glimpse of the Great Cathedral as the shadow horse cleared the wall and descended towards the streets of Levkarest. The sight of the immense church filled her with both fear and awe. She knew that it held her fate, and Lynn's fate, for better or for worse. Then the shadow horse landed and soon they were racing through empty streets. Ilsa turned a few corners and they came to a stop outside a run down old building on the poor side of town. There Ilsa and Eliza dismounted and Ilsa hurried the priestess inside the abandoned house, grasping her wrist tightly to make sure that she couldn't get away. Once inside they descended a stone staircase to a tiny cellar and Ilsa closed the door behind them. Once more they were in darkness.

The cellar was cold and damp. It looked as if no one had been in it for ages. Eliza fumbled around in the dark until she found a wall to sit against. "What happens now?", she asked.

"We wait.", Ilsa said. "Practice your shield."

"I will, on one condition.", Eliza began, wondering if she was pushing her luck. "That you answer my questions."

"There are many things that you do not want to know.", Ilsa replied sharply.

"But that I still need to know, nonetheless. Please?", Eliza pleaded.

"You may ask.", Ilsa said, with her eyes adding that she did not have to answer.

"How long have you served Kendra?", Eliza said, beginning simply.

"Since the time of the first Ezran crusade.", Ilsa replied.

"Do you follow Ezra?", Eliza asked, hopefully. "Does Kendra?"

Ilsa pondered her answer. Finally she responded with a simple, "Yes, to both".

Eliza smiled and asked, "Is that where your magic comes from? At least in part?"

"Ezra gives us strength, but we also know the ways of magic.", Ilsa explained. "All Drow females are able to master both."

"And the black shield?", Eliza said, touching on the subject that she knew Ilsa did not want to discuss.

Eliza heard the slightest fluttering of fabric moving through the air. The next thing that she knew Ilsa's face was right in front of her, her glowing red eyes boring into hers. "I know what these people are capable of. I've seen it.", she hissed. "I will not allow you to bring that down upon us."

Eliza tried to back away but she was already against the wall. For the first time since the entire ordeal started, she was afraid. "I… I... What are you talking about?", she wondered. "I haven't done anything."

"They'll rip that knowledge out of your mind.", Ilsa shot back with force and conviction. "Then there will be another crusade. You cannot be told."

Eliza looked down. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't know. I didn't think it.", she stumbled over her words. Finally she let out an apology.

Ilsa closed her eyes and then Eliza no longer felt her near.

"This is the truth.", Ilsa began calmly. "We Drow are an evil race. We have sold our souls to the dark Lord for magical powers. For every mortal soul we offer up to the Dark Lord, he consumes them and gives us the strength to live for another year. He is always hungry."

Eliza sat quietly in the dark, afraid to ask anything else but hoping that Ilsa would continue. She remembered the things that people said about the Drow in whispers. Things like Ilsa was saying. She had believed them without thinking, but now she was wondering about them.

"Our blood is black and we have no hearts.", Ilsa continued. "All nature abhors us. Where we walk the grass no longer grows. Kendra is the Dark Lord's bride. They bathe in a great chalice filled with the blood of a hundred mortals and copulate on a bed sewn with human skin."

"All Drow are demons spawned from that unholy coupling and we live to see the death of all humankind.", Ilsa concluded.

"That's the church's truth.", Eliza whispered quietly. "I hope that one day, when this is all over, you'll tell me yours."

"If you survive.", Ilsa replied. "You are not a prophet yet."

The words reminded Eliza of her mortality. She began to practice the shield.


"The Seer told me one other fortune.", Tshaya said as they sat around the fire. "I don't know if I should believe her. There was one about Petrov, about how I would change his mind.", Tshaya continued, speaking awkwardly. She was having trouble stopping herself from using a demanding tone. "But that did not come true. So I don't know if I should believe any of them."

Marius was too concerned about Eliza to say anything and Lynn had gone to sleep. Weamar and Marinae turned to listen to the young girl, sensing a change within her. Tshaya was being introspective for the first time and that was something that Marinae and Weamar wanted to encourage.

"She told me one more. I don't know...", Tshaya had to fight to admit it. "I don't know what it means. It doesn't make any sense."

Tshaya looked at everyone guardedly, expecting laughter, or ridicule, but they only nodded and smiled.

"How do you know that Petrov's change of mind won't happen?", Weamar explained. "Perhaps there is some other factor needed as well?"

"How should I know?", Tshaya said flippantly with a toss of her hand. Then she looked at Weamar apologetically.

Weamar smiled.

"No. It could come true.", Tshaya corrected herself.

Tshaya didn't like being so honest with herself. She felt weak and vulnerable. But she knew that trusting others and being trusted in return was what she would have to do now that she was all alone.

"That was my point, from what you've said of the sight you can't really know when or how it will act.", Weamar said intelligently. "So you can't discount the accuracy of the Petrov Prophecy, yet."

Tshaya nodded quickly and bulled forward. "This was the final prophecy.", she said, wanting to get it off her chest. "'And now I see another man, a powerful man, a man whose hands are soaked in blood. He was once evil, but is now both good and evil. He intends to bring war, a terrible war. I see the world in flames'."

"The King.", Marinae gasped.

"Azalin?", Marius asked.

"Azalin.", Marinae replied, speaking the name as if it were some vile curse.

"The Green Man?", Weamar offered.

"Or maybe she meant the Dukkar, Malocchio Aderre.", Tshaya added. She was surprised and pleased that no one was making fun of her and so she decided to open up a little more.

"The thing about prophesy is that it's general. Many men can fit this one.", Marinae replied. "Even Weamar.", she said with an imp's grin. Weamar's surprise brought a wider grin to Marinae's face. "Gotcha.", she teased.

Tshaya nodded. "They're always so vague.", she said, sounding frustrated. "The Seer picked up one more card. She looked at it but she didn't let me see it. It frightened her."

A chill went up Marinae's spine as she thought about Azalin. Drakov used to be the only person who she truly feared, but now she had a number of other candidates. Weamar considered the sorceress' teasing and then thought about his past. For all he knew he could actually be the man in the prophecy.

"Good and evil.", Marius said and shook his head. "How could anyone be both."


Petrov emerged from the Praesidius' office after nearly an hour. His face was long and grim. He didn't say a word as he took Eliza by the arm once more and led her towards the stairs. Eliza followed along, a little worried about what might have been said in those chambers. Petrov led Eliza down cobwebbed stairways and dank corridors into the catacombs. He ordered the other two guards to wait and took the young woman into the oldest part of the church cellar.

"Petrov?" Eliza's voice cracked as she spoke his name.

Petrov didn't answer. He led Eliza down a dead end, to the crypt of Pieter Dilysnia, the son of the founder of the Church of Ezra.

Eliza's heart began beating faster, real fear was starting to take hold. "Petrov, why are we down here?", she asked, pleading for an answer.

But Petrov gave none. In the near darkness Eliza could see Petrov's face as he turned back towards her. In it was a mixture of anger, disappointment, and determination. He said nothing and turned back to the tomb. Then he moved his hand across it, touching it in a few places. Eliza jumped as she heard stone sliding on stone as the crypt door opened.

"Petrov, you're scaring me.", Eliza whispered as tears formed at her eyes.

Petrov silently led Eliza into the tomb. But there was no coffin or corpse inside, instead Eliza saw a hallway lined with prison cells. A single guard at the end of the hall rose, his keys jangling on his belt.

Eliza shook her head and tried to pull away. "No, you can't just leave me here!", she screamed. "Petrov, please!"

But the strong young warrior was determined to do what he had been told to do. He grabbed Eliza with both of his hands and forced her towards one of the cells. The guard came over and unlocked the door. Eliza went limp and cried fitfully, choking a strained 'please' every few breaths. Petrov said nothing as he shoved her into the cell. Eliza stumbled in and fell hard to the ground with a whimper. The guard closed the door and walked away.

Petrov turned to leave and then stopped. Eliza's sobbing had him on the edge of a breakdown. He took a few deep breaths and then reached up and slowly removed his breast plate. Eliza propped herself up on her scraped and bruised arms and watched him. Petrov took it off and gently closed all the latches, then looked at his reflection in the shining polished steel. Eliza grew very uncomfortable.

"Is he going to do what I think he's going to do?", Eliza wondered. "Is he going to violate me?"

Then, as if struck by a bolt of lightning Petrov flew into a rage. He smashed his breast plate against the bars of the cell, startling Eliza and making her jump backwards against the far wall. Then he did it again and again, the steel plate crashing against the iron bars and echoing throughout the dungeon. Eliza watched her crazed friend, terrified of his great strength and of what he might do next. The enraged Knight began to scream incoherent curses as he lost control of himself. He flailed his breastplate at the cell, the walls, and the floor. Finally he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Eliza crawled over to the cell door and reached out through the bars.

Petrov was sobbing quietly. "Oh goddess, why? Why?", he cried.

All the emotion of the moment cut through the darkling Eliza's more selfish impulses and her progenitor's nature emerged. Her heart broke for the young man she once loved. She ran a hand through Petrov's hair and murmured his name.

Petrov turned and looked up at Eliza. His face was a mass of tears. His pained expression was excruciating to look at.

Eliza stroked his cheek. "I'm sorry.", she said softly. "I wish it could have all just been simple and we could have been happy."

"All I ever wanted...was you.", Petrov whimpered. "Why can't I have just that one thing? Why can't they let me have just one simple thing?"

Eliza gently cradled Petrov's and drew him close. For a long moment she gazed into his eyes. Pain, fear, and regret shone in hers.

"I did everything that they wanted. I did everything their way.", Petrov moaned. "Now when it's finally time for something that I want, I..."

Petrov was cut off as Eliza tenderly pressed her lips to his.

Petrov froze. He could do nothing but let the warm feeling flow into him. Eliza finally broke the kiss and pressed her forehead to his. Petrov tried to speak but couldn't and lay still, crying like a child. Eliza whispered soothing sounds while stroking his face.

Slowly Petrov came back to his senses. He wiped the tears off his face and got back to his feet. Eliza reluctantly let him go but remained on the ground, looking up at him. She watched him pull his breast plate back on. Somehow it was unharmed. Eliza figured that it must have been the magic inside it.

"I can't stop them.", Petrov said, looking down. "I tried."

Eliza's head drooped and her shoulders sagged. "I meant what I said before.", she replied, knowing what Petrov meant. The dark part of her couldn't stop her from saying what she really felt. "I love you."

"I'm sorry, Eliza. I...I...", but Petrov couldn't bring himself to say the same words back to her. "I'm sorry."

Eliza slowly pulled herself to her feet and tried to smile for him. "I know. I'll be alright. I'm not alone.", she said, hoping to make the Knight feel a little better.

She could not, and the stone-faced man walked away, not looking back.


The group ventured forth once more, going upriver towards the city. Once again Lynn was curled up in the back of the cart, feeling as bad as she ever had. Something was wrong with Eliza, she could tell, and it made her feel even worse. Tshaya seemed more relaxed, chatting in a friendly but awkward way. Weamar saw the tracks of the Knights laid out along the riverbank. They were less than a day old. Weamar guessed that they were a day behind. Reflexively he picked up the pace.

"How do you think Rikard is doing?", Tshaya asked Weamar.

"Fairly well, I expect, he seems comfortable enough in those hills.", Weamar replied.

"He was right about the Vistani.", Tshaya confessed. Then she held back. "About one thing."

Weamar raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?", he interjected.

"We don't...they don't...", Tshaya frowned. "We are not honest when we deal with gaje. We steal and then we say that the money was asking to be stolen."

"No doubt with some cause, given the Vistani aren't treated very kindly in return.", Weamar explained, trying to see both sides of the issue.

"We blame you...we blame you for being weak and gullible, but you're not weak, you're trusting.", Tshaya said.

"It's easy to let trust become gullibility, I guess.", Weamar replied.

"Trust is like a throw of the dice.", Tshaya said. "It's a gamble. You can win and you can lose. If you don't trust anyone you can only lose a little, but you can only win a little because no one trusts you. If you do trust others, you can win big but you can lose big too."

"We've learned that one well.", Marinae said.

"I am ready to win and lose, for higher stakes.", Tshaya said, abruptly making an important decision in her life.

Marius couldn't resist. "Trusting in the goddess is for the highest stakes of all.", he said. "And you will always win."

Marinae just sort of looked at the priest, wondering if he's been smoking something untoward. "Your optimism is refreshing.", she replied. She thought of some of the things they had endured and decided that 'refreshing' was the right word.

"Until they tie you to one of those high stakes and set it on fire.", Tshaya said to the priest.

Weamar forced back a laugh and merely smiled.

Marius frowned. "But even then, you win. Ezra is there to guide you through the Mists.", he said with a smile.

"To where she wants you to go.", Tshaya replied.

Marius frowned again. "The right way.", he countered.

"So you say, but I'm not ready to gamble my soul on your say so.", Tshaya replied smugly.

Marius gave her a harrumph and went back to steering the horse.

Marinae turned away to hide a huge grin. It was so large that she knew that letting anyone but another elf see it would be the epitome of embarrassment.

Lynn grew more and more uncomfortable as they approached Levkarest. "Something's wrong. something's wrong.", she moaned.

"Is that not always so?", Marinae said rhetorically. Then added, "What do you feel?"

"She's trapped. Alone.", Lynn said, feeling through her ring. "Imprisoned."

Weamar frowned. He pushed Dry faster and the rest of the party followed suit.

It was an hour before sunset when they reached the city gates. The guards raised a few questions about the trussed man in the back of the cart but Tshaya's magic easily bent their weak minds.

"He's gone mad.", Tshaya suggested. "It's for his own good."

The guards merely shrugged and waved them through. Inside the gate they saw a familiar face.

"Isn't that Frelnikov?", Marius asked, pointing to the well dressed gentleman waiting in the town square.

"Looks to be.", Weamar replied. "Maybe he knows what's going on?"

Frelnikov spotted them and came over to the cart and horses. After greetings were exchanged the lawyer asked, "Your journey was uneventful I hope?"

"We found a new friend.", Marinae replied, pointing to the wizard in the back of the cart.

"Ah, I see.", Frelnikov said, taking a look. He snickered a little. "What was his crime?"

"He tried to kill us.", Marinae answered.

"You guys seem to attract that type.", the lawyer said with another chuckle.

"'Those who have do seem to get', it is said.", Marinae replied.

"Well, I've asked all over town and no one knows where they've taken Eliza.", Frelnikov confessed. "There's no notice of a trial, or a public execution, or anything. It's as if she just disappeared."

"She is here, though.", Marinae replied, growing very worried about what Eliza's disappearance meant.

"Maybe. Maybe not.", Frelnikov said.

"She's here.", Lynn said softly. That was good enough for everyone.

"Tried the cathedral dungeons?", Weamar asked Frelnikov a little too nonchalantly.

Marius couldn't believe his ears. "The catacombs?", the Sentire asked. "Why would they take her there?"

"Depends on how accurate what I hear is.", Weamar answered. "Or how accurate 'catacombs' is, I guess"

"What have you heard?", Marius asked, dismissively.

"That a previous accountant left because he realized the books were being cooked to hide the purchase of torture equipment.", Weamar explained.

Marius grumbled. "I wouldn't put any faith in such rumors.", the Sentire said to Weamar. He'd heard such tales for many years and didn't believe any of them.

"I don't know one way or another, but you heard Lynn's concern about 'imprisonment' and Eliza being here.", Weamar said, doubting Rikard, but only a little.

"Then she is probably in the city jail.", Marius explained.

"Why would the Knights allow her to be placed in the city jail?", Weamar countered. "She's here for church reasons, isn't she?"

"The church turns over any criminals to the city guard. That is by agreement.", Marius answered.

Weamar considered what Marius said, but he wasn't convinced. He figured that the city jail would have let Frelnikov know about any prisoners.

Frelnikov thought for a moment and pointed at Lynn. "The ring.", he said. "Can't she tell us where Eliza is?"

"I can only tell how far away she is.", Lynn whispered.

"Well then that's easy.", Frelnikov said. "We go towards the jail, and if she's getting farther we try somewhere else."

Weamar nodded in agreement at Frelnikov's suggestion

"She is most certainly at the jail.", Marius said stubbornly.

But before they could head out, Tshaya stood up and got out of the cart. She gathered her things out of the back.

"Thank you for taking me here Weamar.", Tshaya said politely. "You are a gracious traveling companion."

"You're leaving?", Marius asked.

Weamar smiled. "Thanks, I'd have liked a less eventful trip myself. What are your plans now?", he asked, noting that he did feel a little bit of regret at seeing the girl go.

"Singing, dancing.", Tshaya replied. "I'm Vist...I'm half-Vistani. It's what I do best."

"Try to stay out of trouble.", Weamar recommended with a smile.

After a round of goodbyes Tshaya wandered off into the crowd. Weamar wondered if he would ever see her again.

"What a babe.", Frelnikov muttered as the young gypsy walked off.

Marinae rolled her eyes and Marius cleared his throat.

"To the jail?", the Sentire said. "Where we can drop off our guest."

"He stays with us.", Marinae replied.

Marius steered the cart towards the jail and clicked his tongue. "We can't carry him all over town.", he retorted.

The cart rolled down a few streets with Marinae and Weamar following behind. Frelnikov had taken Tshaya's place on the cart. Before long Marius stopped.

"She's getting farther away.", Lynn said again, louder.

"Are you sure?", Marius asked.

Lynn nodded.

Marius turned the cart around without looking at Weamar and headed for the Great Cathedral. "This is just to prove that she isn't there.", he muttered.

"So what's the plan when we find her?", Frelnikov said with a smile as he glanced lustfully back at Marinae.

Marinae noted that Frelnikov seemed a little more amorous than usual, but he'd always had a thing for her, so she didn't get suspicious.

"We get her back. That's what we usually do.", Marinae replied.

"You mean, like a jailbreak?", Frelnikov said, still grinning. "Even if she's in the church?"

"She's not in the church.", Marius protested. "And if she is then she's not imprisoned."

"I hope you're right.", Weamar replied, but his feelings told him otherwise.

The cart kept rolling, and the spires of the Great Cathedral began to peek over the roofs of the buildings in town. Lynn kept nodding that they were getting closer and closer and Marius was growing more and more annoyed.

"A jail break, out of the Great Cathedral.", Frelnikov said with a whistle. "This is going to be good."