Even Gods Must Fall - Christian Warren Freed Page 0,14
the Dwarf captain, Ironfoot, as an early warning system. As of yet they hadn’t been discovered, though Bahr debated whether it was by sheer luck or deliberate. Anienam supposedly ensorcelled the camp with a protection spell, preventing the enemy from noticing the fire or the smells of roasting meat. The wizard wasn’t the most liked among the group but his acceptance was growing the closer they got to the ruins. Perhaps his unexpected blinding played a large part or, as Bahr suspected, it was due to the approaching battle against the ultimate evil.
Bahr reentered the camp locked in thought. For all of his experience and quality he couldn’t find an escape from their current situation. The enemy seemed to be multiplying, as if the entire western campaign had abandoned the rebellion in order to hunt him down. Logically it made sense. Badron was deposed and his only surviving child was missing. That left Bahr as the only blood relative to the current monarchy. His presence in Delranan remained a threat to Harnin’s plans for as long as he lived.
Briefly, so quick a thought he was ashamed to have it, Bahr considered abandoning the others in the hopes Skaning wanted him alone. Anienam and the sole true Dae’shan, Artiss Gran, both insisted that the only way for the group to succeed was by having all members arrive at the final nexus together. Everyone has a part to play. The only chance Malweir has to survive rests in your combined hands. Memories of that conversation atop the walls of Trennaron plagued his peace of mind.
He knew he should consider their progress fortunate. Thus far they’d only suffered two losses. Ionascu, the broken former spy, was clearly murdered by Maleela in the jungle. Bahr wasn’t surprised. Ionascu was greatly hated. His loss was hardly felt and did wonders for the group chemistry. Bahr never fully understood Anienam’s reasoning from bringing Ionascu out of Harnin’s dungeons after they’d been captured and tortured. He offered nothing to the group but animosity. The overall dynamic improved in his absence.
Maleela, on the other hand, was the reason they had all come together. Hired by Harnin One Eye after the daring midnight raid on Chadra Keep, they’d ranged into Rogscroft and stole her away. The wizard believed Maleela’s future held great portent yet failed to suggest finding her. Bahr feared his niece was already dead. They’d never been close. In fact, Bahr often did his utmost to forget all blood bonds with his brother’s side of the family. Their relationship grew the longer the quest prolonged. Now she was gone he could do no more than weep at her loss.
“You need to abandon your regrets, Bahr. They will only make our enemy’s job easier.”
Bahr exhaled sharply. He hadn’t wanted to get into a conversation with the wizard this evening. “Anienam. Can you sense any soldiers nearby?”
“You know my powers don’t work like that.” The blind wizard cocked his head as if listening to the wind. “This is an amazing world, don’t you think? Here we are, a tiny group of the most mismatched races you could conceive and we are all that stands between life or eternal darkness.”
Bahr snorted. “Aye. The gods have a sick sense of humor.”
“I don’t think humor has much to do with it. We were destined to carry out this task. Our wants and needs are nothing to the gods. After all, why should they be? The gods created this world and all life on it. We are nothing if not the playthings of the gods.”
“I don’t fancy being a plaything for anyone or anything,” Bahr said and frowned. “This has gone on long enough. Maybe it’s time for the gods to be gone altogether.”
“What are you saying? That we’d be better off without their influences?” Anienam asked. His mood visibly darkened at the possibilities intoned in Bahr’s train of thought.
Bahr paused, suddenly conscious of where his thoughts were leading. “Perhaps. We’ve been ignorant tools for far too long. What good have the gods done for us? The good ones abandoned Malweir long before any of us here were thought of. The dark ones only want to destroy everything. We don’t need either sect, wizard. Perhaps the time has finally come for the world to govern itself. Malweir continues daily without divine interference. Most of the old races have abandoned their belief in the gods altogether. Look at Groge. His people worship a singular deity. What do your books have to say about that?”