The Saga of Tallia the Unwilling Ch. 09

The priestess was right about that even as she continued her mad ravings. Mela was definitely not glowing but the sidhe sorceress was too far into the courtyard for them to have any chance to rescue her before those things were upon her. The Amazon could only watch the massacre unfold before her eyes. Tears streaked down her face. They never should fixed that boat. They never should have ventured to this bone-white corpse city.

The two demons awoke. They took long strides and moved towards the tiny sidhe sorceress who looked like a toy before their murderous majesty. They raised their arms to smite her and then Mela began to sing. Or perhaps she simply spoke in a language so innately musical it only sounded like music.

She said, "I come in friendship to honor the High Magisters."

For the first time, the great statues spoke. They said only a single word in an elegant yet booming voice, "Cairdeas." And with that, they returned to their podiums.

Mela bowed to the statues and then turned back to her friends. "Leave your weapons in the alley. And as you enter the courtyard, repeat this word, "Cairdeas."

They both did as requested and though the statues turned their heads and watched their slow, tentative crossing, they neither attacked nor even left their podiums.

"I don't understand," said the Amazon. "Why are the demons staid?"

"They are not demons, Tallia," said Melaerryn. "They are sacred guardians created by the High Magisters to guard the city and this place of learning. They were never meant to endanger or even terrorize the innocent. Their purpose is only to destroy bandits, thieves and invaders -- those who would violate the peace of Gaelynglas. That's what the Magister's Gate was trying to tell us."

"What does Cairdeas mean?" asked Liandra.

"It means friendship in the language of my people. It's the password."

"Of course, speak, friend, and enter! That makes sense," says the priestess.

"How does any of this make sense?" asked the dazed Amazon. "No wonder this city fell, if so simple a word grants access to its portals. It's ludicrous."

"Silly Tallia. Friendship is magic," said Liandra like that was the most obvious thing in the world. "Come on, let's go check out the temple! I bet it's amazing!"

Mela and Liandra bounded forward hand in hand towards the columned monument. Tallia followed warily behind them, now completely certain that she travelled in the company of the mad.

***

Tallia said the damned password, climbed the large marble stairway and passed safely between the two demons that weren't really demons. She was unarmed and that made her nervous to enter such an obviously old and eldritch place. She followed the priestess and the sorceress into the many columned hall beyond. Even the jaded Tallia paused in utter amazement at what arose before her.

The main hall was a wonder of architecture. There was not a single seam anywhere to be seen amidst this monumental expanse of stonework. The entire hall looked as if it had been carved into a single, mind-boggling massive block of finest alabaster. And what carvings! Scroll after scroll could be written about even one of these masterpieces of sidhe craft. There were so many, Tallia could not hope to take them all in. She passed by one after another not truly understanding this sculptural tangle of myth and history unfolding all around her.

Here was a hall celebrating the long legacy of the High Magisters of Gaelynglass. Frieze after frieze were so skillfully rendered in polished white marble that the stone looked almost like ice. The hall's ceilings were set with panels of some unknown crystal. It caught the pale violet light radiating from the cavern above and broke it by some magic unknown to Tallia into a thousand colors. These prismatic nimbuses danced off the polished white marble and transformed this hall into a splendid versicolor lightshow.

This cathedral dedicated to the Sidhe goddesses of wisdom was aglow with glories unseen in any city of men. There were also here and there fixtures of silver that look like they were designed to hold candles. Tallia considered stealing a few but, as she even cursorily inspected one, Mela called a warning, "Take nothing. Remember the guardians."

Tallia nodded. She didn't want to anger the demons who weren't demons. "Aren't we here to take something though?" she asked.

She got no answer. Mela was already distracted inspecting some new wonder of sculpture. Liandra though was simply walking through this temple wide-eyed.

"I thought I would never see a temple grander than the one in Amathus dedicated to the Lord and Lady of Love, but today, I have," she said in utter amazement.

They passed through this massive hall and discovered at its end, dozens of crypts each containing massive sarcophagus made of the same ubiquitous white marble. There was writing all over them and Mela went from one to another until she announced, "This! This is what we've come for. This is the tomb of High Magister Cearthach an Crionna."

"So, do we open it?" asked Tallia.

"I'm pretty sure as soon as we violate these seals, the guardians at the door are no longer going to be our friend," said Mela.

"But you have a plan, right?" asked Liandra.

"Let's try something brand new," said Tallia. "Instead of just doing the crazy plan, let's explain what's about to happen, so I can be ready."

"Fine," said the sorceress somewhat exasperated. "I'm going to conjure forth the dead magister's ghost, explain our situation and ask politely for the stave. Feel better?"

"Not really," said the Amazon honestly.

Melaerryn took from her silken pack several pieces of silver and sat upon the white stone. She brought the metal to bright incandescence merely by her touch and again wrought for herself a circle of silver. Her eyes began to burn with the flow of intense magical energy. She at last perceived why Gaelynglas was built here and likely also why the wizard Arion had chosen this place. Several ley-lines joined here in this hall and tangled together and erupted upward probably straight up to the wizard's tower high above through vast amounts of stone.

She called across the void of death to the spirit of the High Magister. Soon enough the spirit answered and a ghostly image of the sidhe-lord appeared before her.

"Fool!" said the angry spirit. "You dare disturb my rest so that you may loot my tomb?"

"Greetings, High Magister Cearthach, blessed of the goddess of wisdom. My name is Lady Melaerryn, once a subject of King Bressian and Queen Brigit, masters of the Summer Court. Welcome, Magister, back to the mortal realms." She bowed quietly before the glowing figure.

"I know who you are, metal singer," spoke the spirit, "and well enough I know what you want. You must know also that I have a knife at your throat. With but a word from me, the Two Goddesses will defend this tomb and destroy those who dare desecrate my tomb."

"I know this all too well," said Mela humbly. "And if I were simply a foolish tomb robber than I already would have broken the seals."

"I must concede that you are a clever tomb robber, then," said the spirit. "Nothing more."

"I seek not to be a robber at all. I know that the work of the Collegium was never finished. The king seeks the Eater of Magic, thinking it powerful. But I know that the crafting of the stave was never the Collegium's goal. It was only ever intended to be a tool."

"And a broken tool at that," said the Magister.

"Wise one, there are still some of us in the Summer Court who believe," said Melaerryn. "I have read your treatise and I come here to present myself as your disciple. I wish to complete your work if it is within my poor power."

"You do not know what you ask," said the Magister. "Gaelynglas was destroyed and all within put to the sword because of our work. Would you risk destruction and death merely for an old book and a dead dream?"

"Forgive me, Magister, but you are wrong," said Mela with fire in her eyes. "I know exactly what I ask. I have already abandoned the Summer Lands and I have no intention to return there. And the dream is not dead! It cannot be for so clearly I see now that the dream is our people's last and only hope."

"You sound like me back when I was young and still drew breathe," said the long dead ghost. "I was a fool to believe that our people would ever change."

"But they have changed, Magister!" she said adamantly. "They are yet still changing. Yes, the old guard still holds power. But there is still hope that our people can have a future. In fact, already I have met proof of that possibility. I have met a half-sidhe, Magister."

"Truly," said the Magister. "You are sure?"

"Beyond any doubt, though they do not know it. And I believe there are more. Let me try, Magister. If I fail, what is one more ghost among this legion?"

"I was right about you, Lady Melaeryn," said the ghost. "You are a fool. But then, so was I."

The spirit faded and the tomb seals broke one after another.

"You've done it!" said Liandra.

"So it would seem," said Mela once more speaking Imperial. "Tallia, I need your help. The top of the sarcophagus is heavy and I do not wish to break it."

The Amazon nodded. She used her great strength to push the marble lid aside. Inside there were bones dressed in ancient silken robes and the hands of that sidhe skeleton held both a book bound in silver and a stave of finest make -- purple heartwood inlaid with delicate silver filigree. Mela took both.

"What is the book?" asked the curious Amazon.

"A tome of secrets," said Mela, wrapping the book carefully in silk and placing it in her pack. "It may help me with my studies. But this... this is what the king wants."

Tallia examined the stave without touching it, having already had her fill of cursed magical relics. "It is a pretty magic stick," she observed.

"Indeed," said Mela.

***

The trio did not linger long on the White Isle. Mela clearly regretted this. She wanted to stay and further explore this ruin and the doubtless numerous wonders it contained. But time was a factor. Now that they had the stave, if they were going to use it against Arion they had to do this quickly before King Bressian's patience expired.

Further, despite the lecture about how the demons weren't really demons, Tallia was still fairly sure that the demons were in fact demons. She had seen first hand their fury and wanted to be elsewhere. Also, even Mela admitted that she had a sense that there were other ghosts about these ruins than the Magister she had called forth and some of them might not be quite as in to friendship as the not-demons.

So, stave in hand they made their way back to the boat. Tallia rowed once more with all her might across the sunless sea and soon enough they were back at a dock in the wrecked city of Gaelynglas itself. By this point, Tallia had been rowing for hours and all of them were hungry. They returned back to the House of Cathal where they had found their now prized clothes a day earlier. It had proven secure once and so Tallia was willing to risk camping there two nights in a row.

They left Shadow Eagle on the pebble shore. Liandra seemed sad to once more leave the boat abandoned but there was no way to take it with them and it hd served its purpose. They quickly unpacked that craft for the last time and made their way back into the sidhe residence. Even though they had been here before, Tallia still carefully scouted out the location but soon declared it empty.

"I think we're actually quite safe here," said Liandra. "With the Stones that Walk dealt with, its clear to me that the Sons of Arion are scared of this place. I think its just us in this whole city. It's quite liberating really."

"What about the ghosts?" asked Mela.

"Don't misunderstand me," said the priestess. "There are definitely ghosts here. But then, there are ghosts everywhere. These don't seem particularly angry."

Tallia cocked an eyebrow. "Are there really ghost everywhere?"

"Ghosts and spirits, yes," said the priestess as if that was just common sense. "Every living thing has a spirit. Every thing that was once alive has a ghost. They are all around us. They can be heard if you but have ears to listen."

"Your shoes are made of leather and fur," asked Tallia. "Do they speak to you?"

"Shoes, like fish, don't talk, silly. No mouths," said the priestess rolling her eyes. "But there is a lingering bit of life in them. If I touch them I can see the distant, dim flashes of the cow they came from. These are from an old dairy cow who could no longer give milk. She loved her calves. But that was a long time ago. I really can't make out any details like who owned her or where she lived. The leather was traded to the sidhe and then to a cobbler. But after that... the memories are largely lost."

"Your temple trained you how to do this?" asked Mela.

"Oh, no. I've always been able to do this," said the priestess. "So could my mom. It's a gift that all the firstborn of our line share. Someday I'll have a child and they'll be able to hear the love in all living things too."

"It's like my metal shaping, then. Most of the sidhe of my house -- the House of Eldrassar -- can work metal by hand. We don't have this gift when we're born. Instead, we develop it when we're young. I only gained mine when I came of age more than eighty summers ago."

"Eighty summers? Are you eighty years old?" asked Tallia.

"No, don't be ridiculous," said Mela with a wave. "I'm not a child. I'm two hundred and twenty nine."

"That's incredible!" said Liandra.

"I know. For one so young to be given an errand by the king is unusual. But I think it's because he is suspicious of most of the sorcerers in his court. He associates primarily with the warriors you see, while Queen Brigit..."

"Two hundred and twenty nine years old is not young, Mela. I'm only twenty eight," interrupted Tallia.

"Two hundred and twenty eight is a fine age for a warrior," said the sidhe. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. I thought we were probably about the same age."

Tallia and Liandra exchanged glances. "I'm not two hundred and twenty eight. I'm zero hundred and twenty eight. Just twenty eight."

"I'm twenty one!" chimed in Liandra.

Mela paused. She had read somewhere that humans were short lived. She always assumed this meant like four or five centuries. "Twenty eight?! But you... you're full grown! Oh, my god, I slept with a twenty eight year old and enjoyed it. I'm... I'm a pedophile!"

"You're not a pedophile," said Tallia. "I am a grown adult human."

"When... when do humans grow up?" said Mela, flabbergasted.

"Cultures vary a little," chimed in Liandra, "but I think you can safely say by eighteen they are... well, old enough."

"When do sidhe become adults?" asked Tallia.

"Twelve twelves," said Mela.

"Twelve twelves... let's see," puzzled Liandra. "That's... a hundred and forty four!"

"That is far older than humans live. I've personally never met anyone older than sixty. Well... other than Arion but he's a wizard."

"There was a priest at the Temple of the Sun God called Orastes the Elder. Some say he is over a hundred," said Liandra with a shrug. "But mom thought he was more likely ninety."

"I... I have a lot to learn about humans," said Mela.

"Exactly. But I bear good news!" said Liandra with a smile. "The best way to learn about anyone is to travel with them, work alongside them and become friends with them. That's what you're doing right now!"

"I suppose that's true," said Mela.

"There is another really good way to get to know someone, Mela, and to answer the question you want to ask me but are afraid to -- no, I don't mind. It's been a big day. All that swimming. I think I'm going to go to bed early and fear not, I can sleep through anything. Happy fucking, you two!"

Liandra then got up and moved her bedroll into another chamber of the house, out of sight.

"She..." said Mela. "She is very strange."

"She is touched by the gods," said Tallia. "She is insane, that is certain, but she is also I suspect the wisest person I've ever met. She is also, you know, not just a she."

"Oh, I know," Mela said. "I saw her shift genders in her cell. My second cousin is an androgyne. They were an alchemist actually and offered to make me a shifter, but no. I'm just a boring old-fashioned sidhe-woman at heart, I suppose."

"You know that such things are incredibly rare amongst humans," said Tallia. "Liandra is absolutely unique in my experience in her or his ability to just... change."

"Remarkable. I would call such individuals uncommon amongst the sidhe, but not rare and certainly not unique."

Tallia smiled. "Clearly there is much to discover about each other, beautiful one. Come over here and let us discover some of these secrets together. Should I get the rod?"

"No, please no," said Mela, "Magic aids and even multiple partners are more the norm in the courts of the bored sidhe nobility. I was hoping at least once for it to be just you and me."

"As you wish," said Tallia. "It needn't be only once by the way. We could even try it without all the I'm-in-charge play. You know, I'm perfectly prepared to simply make love you, beautiful one."

"Oh, I don't mind you telling me what to do," answered Mela. "That... that's actually my favorite part of being with you."

"You should be careful, beautiful one, asking for such things," growled the Amazon, low and sultry. "If I'm truly to take the lead, you must know. I've been fancying your cute, silk-clad bottom all day. I have a mind to claim it."

"Oh, my goddess, it is my honor to give myself totally to you," whispered the sidhe.

"I hear you've studied linguistics. Prove it by showing me what your tongue is capable of," said Tallia. She removed her sandals and pulled down her silk undergarments revealing her sex to Mela. The sorceress blushed a little at this overt display but then had her head gently pushed down in front of the Amazonian sex. "You heard me," the goddess growled, forcefully but loving, "now get to it."

Mela did indeed, get to it. She dived into the pussy, nestling her cute little nose in the fine, downy, ebon nether hairs of Tallia's patch, and then furiously licked and sucked for all she was worth. It was euphoric for the sidhe, this combination of command and sensation.

And then felt her skirt be pulled down and a stinging smack on her ass thanks to the Amazon's long reach. Her bottom hurt for only a moment and then the pain softened into a warm glow. She wiggled her hips appreciatively and was soon rewarded with a second smack on the other cheek.

She continued her work, eagerly nibbling on the goddess' clit and then returning to sup on the fine wine of Tallia's sex. The Amazon, for her part, closed her eyes and reveled in the sorceress' magic tongue. But then she reopened them and gave the little minx another smack on her cute little red butt.

The warrior goddess was breathing quick now. "Oh," Tallia managed, "you know your way around a pussy, don't you?" Soon enough, the rapid gasps turned to a long sigh as the Amazon came. She grabbed Mela's wonderfully soft platinum blonde hair and held her in place as her entire powerful frame spasmed in utter joy.

"So good," Tallia breathed as much as spoke. She slowly regained her composure slowly. "I hope you like that position -- head down in my sex, ass up getting smacked. A talented girl like you -- I expect you're going to be here a lot. But now, turn around. Show me your cute little bottom."

Mela quickly did as her goddess commanded. She gasped as two fingers were unceremoniously thrust into her sex. "Already, so wet for me. But I'm not going to let you cum from having your pussy penetrated. Today, if you want to get off, you have to do it from having your ass played with."