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i_read_what2024-02-10 10:28 pm
kalinara) wrote in i_read_what2024-02-10 10:28 pm
Stalking Darkness - Chapter Forty Eight
So last time! Alec finally reunited with the group and...maybe we got a relationship upgrade? Finally?
We start this chapter with the villains. Irtuk, the dyrmagnos lady, and Mardus. Mardus is in surprisingly decent mood considering he lost a hostage and a henchman. Actually, he doesn't seem too upset about Vargul's death, saying he brought it on himself. He does seem to regret losing Alec, calling him a "remarkable young man."
Interestingly, our villains seem more interested in the rescued prisoners. Or at least, they've been tracking the raiding party enough to know they fled east. But they're more focused on what comes ahead.
OH, and we get an interesting tidbit after all:
Mardus’ cold smile broadened perceptibly. “Not a shabby attainment for an Overlord’s unacknowledged bastard, eh?”
“I have foreseen this day since you were a child at my knee,” the dyrmagnos said fondly. “Even now the young Overlord suspects nothing. When the time comes he will be forced to give place to you, his trusted half brother. With the Helm on your brow and the hand of Seriamaius over you, no one can contest your claim to the throne.”
It's interesting how often half-sibling conflict comes up in this series. Not for Seregil or Alec themselves, mind you. The former's siblings are all full, and Alec is an only child. But we had the Leran faction, descended from the full human half sister of a half-faie eventual monarch. We have some tension between Idrilain's children: Phoria on one side and Klia on the other. And now Mardus and his brother here too.
It's not like a core theme or anything, but it's interesting how often it comes up in the background.
We get a very brief update on Thero!
“And how is young Thero this morning?”
Irtuk Beshar gave a dry, whispery laugh. “Subdued. Most subdued.”
BUT ALIVE! YAY!
It's funny how, in this read through, I genuinely think Thero is my favorite character. (Then Alec, then Seregil, if you care. :-D)
We switch scenes, fairly abruptly, to our heroes. Micum is scouting, counting the Plenimarian riders heading for the temple. Nysander is eavesdropping on the scouts, looking for a place of encampment.
Micum decides to head out looking for Seregil, once he ascertains that Nysander will be safe. He heads south to eventually find Seregil and Alec. Reunion!
By the Flame, we found you after all!” Micum exclaimed joyously as he reached them. Throwing an arm around Alec, Micum gave him a welcoming hug and helped him to a seat on a driftwood log. The boy was hollow-eyed with exhaustion, and dressed in Seregil’s boots, tunic, and cloak.
“Are you all right? Where’s Thero?”
“Dead or captured,” Alec told him, and Micum heard the strain in his voice.
Seregil gave Micum a quick warning look. “Thero helped him escape. He’s had a rough time of it these last few weeks. We’ve still got a ways to go, Alec. Do you want to rest before we go on?”
Aw. Seregil kinda-sorta defending his little brother! Even if it's just for Alec's benefit, it's nice to see!
I've mentioned it before, but I really do appreciate how Ms. Flewelling made the Seregil-Thero rivalry two-sided. She could have pulled a Jaxom-Dorse situation, where poor Seregil is the bullied victim (even if it doesn't really make sense!), but instead, she showed us that Seregil is the aggressor at least as often as Thero is.
I appreciate an author who isn't afraid to give her heroes flaws, and make them petty or wrong sometime. I don't need perfection in my heroes, I just need a reason to root for them.
But anyway, this is a happy reunion!
Alec can't tell them too much about Mardus's location, as he kind of lost track of distance when he was a deer. He guesses, based on the scouts' arrival, that Mardus can't be much more than half a day behind though.
Alec can tell them a bit more about Mardus's resources: at least forty soldiers, a gang of prisoners (perhaps not that! Go Beka!), a necromancer and the dyrmagnos.
I've probably been spelling that word wrong all this time. I'm too lazy to fix it though. Give me a hard to spell word and I'll massacre it just because.
Anyway, with Seregil and Micum to help, Alec does get back to Nysander. They have a reunion too. Aw.
“Here you are at last, dear boy!” Nysander whispered, embracing Alec as he collapsed onto the carpet of dried needles. “I knew you would come back to us. And only just in time.”
“Seregil told me about the eclipse tomorrow,” said Alec, yawning as he settled with his back to the trunk.
“I know how weary you must be, but you must tell me all that you’ve learned. Then I promise, you shall rest. And you must eat!”
So Alec gets to have some biscuit, cheese and fresh water. He gives them his version of what happened, admitting that they were right: he should have just stayed at Watermead. Aw. Poor kid.
He also fills them in on Vargul's fate and defends Thero, again, in the process.
Alec smiled bitterly. “You won’t anymore. I killed the bastard last night. That’s how Thero and I got away. At least I did.”
He looked around at the others earnestly. “He saved my life. Whatever else he did, he saved my life and he’s probably dead now because of it. He used his magic to help us escape, then he changed me into a stag the way you did, Nysander.” Alec’s chin trembled but he didn’t stop. “I—I ran away. He chased me off and I ran. I can still hear—“
Aw. I really hope there are therapists in Skala. Then again, would Seregil really be Seregil if he had access to good therapy?
So Alec tells them about what happened aboard ship - this is helpful because of what Mardus had said about the Helm requiring sacrifices. If they strike quickly, before the sacrifices are completed, the Helm might not be fully powered up.
Alec is still pretty distressed about the fake-Seregil part, especially as he remembers the blood on his hands the next day. Nysander...reassures him? that it was a trick. Though there probably was a victim who died there that night.
Alec confesses that he enjoyed killing Vargul and feels terrible about it. Seregil intends to enjoy killing Mardus just as much, though killjoy Nysander advises them that vengeance isn't the purpose and that the evil god can use emotions and weaknesses against them.
Fair, I guess. But also, killjoy.
Thero FINALLY gets some positive acknowledgment from Nysander. Alec feels guilty for leaving him behind (though he wasn't in possession of his mind at the time), but Nysander calls Thero's decision "wise and honorable". Aw.
So we move on to some tactical planning. Alec is thrilled to find that they brought his bow and sword. There's plenty of high ground above the temple site, which gives Alec a place to pare down the guards. He only has about twenty arrows though.
Micum's concerned about the dyrmagnos. Alec is not reassuring. He does say Nysander was right not to tell them very much as he couldn't not tell her everything. Ugh, I hate when unnecessary secret keeping, especially when it's done in a callous manner, turns out justified by the narrative.
Nysander's still a dick in my book, even if he was right. Hmph.
Nysander is pretty happy with all this information though, noting that with everything Irtuk has been doing, and will be doing with the helm, she'll be somewhat weakened. They might be able to disable her long enough to carry out their mission.
Poor Alec FINALLY gets to get some sleep.
We follow Micum around a bit as he contemplates Plenimar. It's actually rather nice, aside from the Plenimarians. He's still scouting when Mardus and Irtuk ride up. And...
A line of wagons followed, including the bear cart Alec had described. As it came abreast of Micum’s hiding spot, he saw a thin, half-naked man sprawled face down in the bottom of it. He couldn’t make out the face, but from the build he guessed it was Thero. Another wagon was loaded with small wooden cages, and a black bull was tethered to this one.
YAY! Thero's still alive.
There are also a lot of other prisoners, including children. Worse, there are at least a hundred soldiers, not the forty Alec had thought.
We switch over to Seregil, who goes to check on Alec. We get a nice moment here:
He was still asleep, curled on his side beneath the cloak. A pained frown furrowed his brow, and his fingers twitched restlessly as he fought his way through whatever dreams still haunted him. Sitting down next to him, Seregil gently stroked Alec’s tangled hair until the shadow left his face.
Aw.
He asks Nysander if Alec will be up for fighting tomorrow. Nysander thinks so. He's young and not too badly hurt.
Seregil also realizes that the sigil on his chest feels different. He pulls out a mirror to look: it's become much clearer and more distinct. He shows Nysander, who realizes that this design had been concealed under the visible design on the disk. It's a sigil of the Empty God.
Seregil can read the brand in the mirror and has the thought that, on his skin, the design is reversed. Nysander thinks that, if the design is actually magical, then the reversal might have an effect on its power. This might be why Seregil's been able to survive it, as well as obtain the crown.
The chapter ends with them hoping their "left-handed luck" will continue tomorrow.
Or next week, for us. :-D
We start this chapter with the villains. Irtuk, the dyrmagnos lady, and Mardus. Mardus is in surprisingly decent mood considering he lost a hostage and a henchman. Actually, he doesn't seem too upset about Vargul's death, saying he brought it on himself. He does seem to regret losing Alec, calling him a "remarkable young man."
Interestingly, our villains seem more interested in the rescued prisoners. Or at least, they've been tracking the raiding party enough to know they fled east. But they're more focused on what comes ahead.
OH, and we get an interesting tidbit after all:
Mardus’ cold smile broadened perceptibly. “Not a shabby attainment for an Overlord’s unacknowledged bastard, eh?”
“I have foreseen this day since you were a child at my knee,” the dyrmagnos said fondly. “Even now the young Overlord suspects nothing. When the time comes he will be forced to give place to you, his trusted half brother. With the Helm on your brow and the hand of Seriamaius over you, no one can contest your claim to the throne.”
It's interesting how often half-sibling conflict comes up in this series. Not for Seregil or Alec themselves, mind you. The former's siblings are all full, and Alec is an only child. But we had the Leran faction, descended from the full human half sister of a half-faie eventual monarch. We have some tension between Idrilain's children: Phoria on one side and Klia on the other. And now Mardus and his brother here too.
It's not like a core theme or anything, but it's interesting how often it comes up in the background.
We get a very brief update on Thero!
“And how is young Thero this morning?”
Irtuk Beshar gave a dry, whispery laugh. “Subdued. Most subdued.”
BUT ALIVE! YAY!
It's funny how, in this read through, I genuinely think Thero is my favorite character. (Then Alec, then Seregil, if you care. :-D)
We switch scenes, fairly abruptly, to our heroes. Micum is scouting, counting the Plenimarian riders heading for the temple. Nysander is eavesdropping on the scouts, looking for a place of encampment.
Micum decides to head out looking for Seregil, once he ascertains that Nysander will be safe. He heads south to eventually find Seregil and Alec. Reunion!
By the Flame, we found you after all!” Micum exclaimed joyously as he reached them. Throwing an arm around Alec, Micum gave him a welcoming hug and helped him to a seat on a driftwood log. The boy was hollow-eyed with exhaustion, and dressed in Seregil’s boots, tunic, and cloak.
“Are you all right? Where’s Thero?”
“Dead or captured,” Alec told him, and Micum heard the strain in his voice.
Seregil gave Micum a quick warning look. “Thero helped him escape. He’s had a rough time of it these last few weeks. We’ve still got a ways to go, Alec. Do you want to rest before we go on?”
Aw. Seregil kinda-sorta defending his little brother! Even if it's just for Alec's benefit, it's nice to see!
I've mentioned it before, but I really do appreciate how Ms. Flewelling made the Seregil-Thero rivalry two-sided. She could have pulled a Jaxom-Dorse situation, where poor Seregil is the bullied victim (even if it doesn't really make sense!), but instead, she showed us that Seregil is the aggressor at least as often as Thero is.
I appreciate an author who isn't afraid to give her heroes flaws, and make them petty or wrong sometime. I don't need perfection in my heroes, I just need a reason to root for them.
But anyway, this is a happy reunion!
Alec can't tell them too much about Mardus's location, as he kind of lost track of distance when he was a deer. He guesses, based on the scouts' arrival, that Mardus can't be much more than half a day behind though.
Alec can tell them a bit more about Mardus's resources: at least forty soldiers, a gang of prisoners (perhaps not that! Go Beka!), a necromancer and the dyrmagnos.
I've probably been spelling that word wrong all this time. I'm too lazy to fix it though. Give me a hard to spell word and I'll massacre it just because.
Anyway, with Seregil and Micum to help, Alec does get back to Nysander. They have a reunion too. Aw.
“Here you are at last, dear boy!” Nysander whispered, embracing Alec as he collapsed onto the carpet of dried needles. “I knew you would come back to us. And only just in time.”
“Seregil told me about the eclipse tomorrow,” said Alec, yawning as he settled with his back to the trunk.
“I know how weary you must be, but you must tell me all that you’ve learned. Then I promise, you shall rest. And you must eat!”
So Alec gets to have some biscuit, cheese and fresh water. He gives them his version of what happened, admitting that they were right: he should have just stayed at Watermead. Aw. Poor kid.
He also fills them in on Vargul's fate and defends Thero, again, in the process.
Alec smiled bitterly. “You won’t anymore. I killed the bastard last night. That’s how Thero and I got away. At least I did.”
He looked around at the others earnestly. “He saved my life. Whatever else he did, he saved my life and he’s probably dead now because of it. He used his magic to help us escape, then he changed me into a stag the way you did, Nysander.” Alec’s chin trembled but he didn’t stop. “I—I ran away. He chased me off and I ran. I can still hear—“
Aw. I really hope there are therapists in Skala. Then again, would Seregil really be Seregil if he had access to good therapy?
So Alec tells them about what happened aboard ship - this is helpful because of what Mardus had said about the Helm requiring sacrifices. If they strike quickly, before the sacrifices are completed, the Helm might not be fully powered up.
Alec is still pretty distressed about the fake-Seregil part, especially as he remembers the blood on his hands the next day. Nysander...reassures him? that it was a trick. Though there probably was a victim who died there that night.
Alec confesses that he enjoyed killing Vargul and feels terrible about it. Seregil intends to enjoy killing Mardus just as much, though killjoy Nysander advises them that vengeance isn't the purpose and that the evil god can use emotions and weaknesses against them.
Fair, I guess. But also, killjoy.
Thero FINALLY gets some positive acknowledgment from Nysander. Alec feels guilty for leaving him behind (though he wasn't in possession of his mind at the time), but Nysander calls Thero's decision "wise and honorable". Aw.
So we move on to some tactical planning. Alec is thrilled to find that they brought his bow and sword. There's plenty of high ground above the temple site, which gives Alec a place to pare down the guards. He only has about twenty arrows though.
Micum's concerned about the dyrmagnos. Alec is not reassuring. He does say Nysander was right not to tell them very much as he couldn't not tell her everything. Ugh, I hate when unnecessary secret keeping, especially when it's done in a callous manner, turns out justified by the narrative.
Nysander's still a dick in my book, even if he was right. Hmph.
Nysander is pretty happy with all this information though, noting that with everything Irtuk has been doing, and will be doing with the helm, she'll be somewhat weakened. They might be able to disable her long enough to carry out their mission.
Poor Alec FINALLY gets to get some sleep.
We follow Micum around a bit as he contemplates Plenimar. It's actually rather nice, aside from the Plenimarians. He's still scouting when Mardus and Irtuk ride up. And...
A line of wagons followed, including the bear cart Alec had described. As it came abreast of Micum’s hiding spot, he saw a thin, half-naked man sprawled face down in the bottom of it. He couldn’t make out the face, but from the build he guessed it was Thero. Another wagon was loaded with small wooden cages, and a black bull was tethered to this one.
YAY! Thero's still alive.
There are also a lot of other prisoners, including children. Worse, there are at least a hundred soldiers, not the forty Alec had thought.
We switch over to Seregil, who goes to check on Alec. We get a nice moment here:
He was still asleep, curled on his side beneath the cloak. A pained frown furrowed his brow, and his fingers twitched restlessly as he fought his way through whatever dreams still haunted him. Sitting down next to him, Seregil gently stroked Alec’s tangled hair until the shadow left his face.
Aw.
He asks Nysander if Alec will be up for fighting tomorrow. Nysander thinks so. He's young and not too badly hurt.
Seregil also realizes that the sigil on his chest feels different. He pulls out a mirror to look: it's become much clearer and more distinct. He shows Nysander, who realizes that this design had been concealed under the visible design on the disk. It's a sigil of the Empty God.
Seregil can read the brand in the mirror and has the thought that, on his skin, the design is reversed. Nysander thinks that, if the design is actually magical, then the reversal might have an effect on its power. This might be why Seregil's been able to survive it, as well as obtain the crown.
The chapter ends with them hoping their "left-handed luck" will continue tomorrow.
Or next week, for us. :-D