Eric van Lustbader - Sunset Warrior ...

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Eric Van Lustbader - Sw1 Sunset Warrior Volume 1 of the Sunset Warrior
Sequence PART ONE Echoes To survive is not enough. - Bujun saying Ronin was
dying and he did not know it. He lay quite still and completely naked on the
centre of an elliptical stone slab which occupied roughly the centre of a
square, cold chamber. Despite this, tiny beads of sweat glinted in the
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 bristles of his short, black hair. His fine features held no expression
whatsoever. Standing over him, bent, eyes intent, was Stahlig, the Medicine
Man. Ronin tried to relax, thinking, This is all a waste of time, as Stahlig's
fingers probed and pushed at his chest, moving slowly down towards his ribs on
the left side. He tried not to think of it but his muscles had a will of their
own and they betrayed him, jumping in pain under the thick fingers. 'Uhm,'
Stahlig grunted. 'Very recent'. Ronin stared at the ceiling; at nothing. What
was bothering him? It was merely a fight. Merely? His lips curled in
distaste. A brawl; rolling in the Corridor like a common - abruptly
remembrance blossomed. His bare arms slick with sweat, his thick sword just
sheathed, heavy at his side, his hands light after almost a full Spell of
Combat practice. Walking alone and distracted out of the Hall of Combat into a
knot of people, all at once surrounded by loud voices disclaiming hotly,
stupidly, and he paid no attention. Something pushed against him and a voice
cut through the din. 'And where are you going?' It was cold and affected and
belonged to a tall, thin, blond man who wore the obliquely striped chest bands
of the Chondrin. Black and gold: Ronin did not recognize the colours. Behind
the blond man on either side stood five or six Bladesmen wearing the same
colours. Apparently they had stopped a cluster of Students on their way from
practice. He could not think why. 'Answer, Student!' the Chondrin commanded.
His thin face was very white, dominated by a waxy nose. His high cheeks were
pocked and a scar ran down like a tear from the corner of one eye so that it
appeared lower than the other one. Ronin was momentarily amused. He was a
Bladesman and therefore practised with other Bladesmen. But these days he did
not have much to do and boredom had led him to practice with the Students
also. When he did that, as now, he wore plain clothes and those who did not
know him took him for a Student. 'Where I go and what I do is my own affair'
Ronin said blandly.'What is your business with these Students?' The Chondrin
goggled at him, stretching his neck forward like a reptile about to strike,
and two spots of colour appeared high on his cheeks, accentuating the
whiteness of the pockmarks. 'Where are your manners, Student?' he said
menacingly. 'Speak with deference to your betters. Now answer the question.'
Ronin's hand strayed to the hilt of his sword but he said nothing. 'Well,'
sneered the Chondrin, 'it appears this Student is in need of a lesson.' As if
the words were a signal, the Bladesmen rushed at Ronin. Too late he realized
that he could not draw his sword rapidly within the confines of the crowd.
Then they were piling into him, the sheer force of their combined weight
bearing him to the ground, and he thought, I do not believe this is happening.
Instinctively he kicked out as he was borne under, and had the satisfaction of
feeling his boot smash into flesh that gave way. Almost at the same moment, a
blow along the side of his head disrupted his enjoyment. Adrenalin spurted and
he punched up and out, and even though he was on his back and the leverage was
not there, he felt his fist connect as it split open skin, cracked into bone.
He heard a brief wail. Then the boot caught him in the side and a thick gauze
came down over his brain. He tried to hit again, could not, struggled with an
enormous weight on his chest. His lungs were on fire and he felt ashamed. When
the boot hit him again, he passed out. The wave of pain came again but this
time he had it under control and there was only the slightest movement. He
looked at the wide head bent over him with its shaggy brows, rheumy eyes, and
creased forehead. 'Ach!' exclaimed the Medicine Man, as much to himself as to
Ronin. 'What have you been up to, ah?' He shook his head and, without looking
at Ronin, turned and put a dark, furry cloth against the mouth of an opaque
white-glass bottle, and turned it upside down. He applied the cloth to Ronin's
side. It was cold and the pain subsided. 'So. Dress and come inside.' He
threw the cloth over the back of a hard chair and disappeared through a
doorway. Ronin sat up, his side stiff but now without pain, pulled on his
leggings and shirt, then his low leather boots. He stood to strap on his
sword, then followed in the wake of Stahlig's body into a warmly lighted
cubicle in sharp contrast to the starkly geometrical surgery outside. Here
all was a jumble. Shelves of bound papers and tablets rose like wild ivy from
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 floor to ceiling along three walls. Occasionally gaps appeared in the contents
of the shelves, or markers stuck out at odd angles. Stahlig's desk was set
close to the far wall, and it was covered completely by mounds of papers and
tablets, as were the two small chairs set before the desk. Behind the
Medicine Man lay glass cases filled with phials and boxes. Stahlig did not
look up from his work as Ronin entered but he reached out behind him and got a
clear bottle of amber wine, and from somewhere produced two metal cups, which
he blew into perfunctorily before filling them halfway. He looked up then as
he held one out. Ronin took it, and Stahlig sat back and waved an arm
expansively. 'Sit,'he said. Ronin had to set his cup down in order to clear
away the masses of tablets from the chair. He hesitated with them in his
arms. 'Oh, drop them anywhere,' said Stahlig with a flick of his thick
hand. Ronin sat and sipped, felt the sweet wine unroll its carpet of warmth
along his throat and into his stomach. He took a long swallow. Stahlig leaned
forward, elbows on the masses of tablets, fingers steepled, his thumbs tapping
absently at his upper lip. He said: 'Tell me what happened.' Ronin, swirling
the wine slowly in his cup, said nothing. He sat very straight because of his
side. The Medicine Man dropped his eyes, crumpled a sheet of paper, and threw
it into a corner apparently without caring where it landed. 'So.' He sighed
audibly, and when he spoke again his voice had softened perceptibly. 'You do
not wish to speak of it, yet I know something troubles you.' Ronin looked up.
'Oh, yes, the old man still sees and feels.' He hunched forward over the desk
again. He stared at Ronin. 'Tell me, how long do we know each other?' His
fingers moved along the desktop. 'Since you were very young, since before your
sister dis - ' He stopped abruptly and colour came to his worn cheeks. 'I - '
Ronin shook his head. 'You will not hurt me if you say it,' he said softly. 'I
am beyond that.' Stahlig said quickly, 'Since before her disappearance,' as
if, even in speech, it was a terrible thing to linger over. 'A long time we
know each other. Yet you will not speak to me of what troubles you.' His hands
came together again. 'You will leave here and go and talk to Nirren' - his
voice had acquired a hard edge - 'your friend. Ha! He is a Chondrin,
Estrille's Chondrin, and what is his first concern? You are without
affiliation - you have no Saardin to order you or protect you. He is without
feelings, that one. He pretends friendship, for information. That is after all
one of his functions.' Ronin put down his cup. Another time he might have been
angry with Stahlig. But, he thought, he truly likes me, watches out for me, he
does not realize - yet I must remember that he fears many things, some justly,
others not. He is wrong about Nirren. 'No one knows better than I the
deviousness of Chondrin,' he said. 'You know this. If Nirren seeks information
from me, he is welcome to it.' 'Ach!' Stahlig's fingers flailed the air. 'You
are not a political animal.' Ronin laughed. 'True,' he said. 'Oh, how very
true.' The Medicine Man frowned. 'I do not believe you realize the
precariousness of the situation. Politics is what rules the Freehold. There
has been much friction among the Saardin recently, and it becomes worse daily.
There are elements within the Freehold - very powerful elements - who, I
believe, want a war.' Ronin shrugged. 'I could think of worse things
happening.' He sipped his wine. 'At least the boredom will be relieved.'
Stahlig was shocked. 'You do not mean that, I know you better. Perhaps you
think you will be unaffected.' 'Perhaps I will be.' Stahlig shook his head
slowly, sadly. 'You talk without thinking because there is little for you to
do. But you know as well as I that none shall remain unscathed by an internal
war. Within this confined space such a foolhardy action can only have
disastrous consequences.' 'Yet I am uninvolved.' 'You are without a Saardin,
yes. But you are a Bladesman, and when the time comes you cannot be
uninvolved.' There was a small silence. Within it, Ronin took another swallow
of wine. He said, finally: 'I shall tell you what occurred today.' Stahlig
listened to Ronin through half-closed eyes, his blunt thumbs again idly
tapping his upper lip. He could have been falling asleep. 'I find it
incredible that I should be attacked in such a manner - and by Bladesmen. If I
were Downshaft in the Middle Levels - you know the Code as well as I.
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 Fistfights are not for Bladesmen. Any grievances are settled by Combat; it
cannot be otherwise. For centuries it has been so. And today I am attacked by
Bladesmen led by a Chondrin - as if they were urchins who did not know any
better.' Stahlig sat back now. 'It is as I have said. Tension, and something
more, is in the air. A war is certainly coming, and with it a breakdown of all
the traditions that have allowed this Freehold, among all other Freeholds, to
survive.' He shuddered, just once, a pathetic gesture. 'The victors, whoever
they may be, will change the Freehold. Nothing will remain the same.' He
gulped his wine, poured more. 'Black and gold, you said. That would be -
Dharsit's people. He is one of the relatively new Saardin. A new Order they
want; new ideas, new Traditions, so they say. Their ideas, / say.' He was
suddenly vehement, slamming his cup down so hard that the contents flew across
his desk, staining the tablets. 'It is power they want!' He jumped up in
exasperation, flinging the wet tablets away from him, heedless of where they
fell. 'Oh, Chill take it! Ask your friend Nirren,' he said darkly. 'He will
know.' 'We do not normally talk of politics.' 'No, of course not,' Stahlig
said contemptuously. 'He would not divulge the strategies Estrille thinks
upon. But I will wager he gathers Corridor gossip from you.' 'Perhaps.' 'Ah!'
Stahlig paused, sitting down once again, and then rushed on as if surprised at
having elicited this from Ronin. 'As for this incident today, I trust you are
not contemplating a precipitous action.' 'If by that you mean that you are
worried I will use this' - he partially withdrew his blade from its scabbard
and slammed it home with a whack -'rest assured I am not interested in being
drawn into the world of the Saardin.' The Medicine Man sighed. 'Good, because
I doubt if Security would believe you.' 'What about the Students who witnessed
the attack?' 'And jeopardize their chances to be Bladesmen?' Ronin nodded.
'Yes, of course. Well, it is no matter to me. And who knows, sometime I may
run into Dharsit's Chondrin at practice.' He grinned. 'He will have cause to
remember me then.' Stahlig laughed then. 'I daresay he will.' Boots sounded in
the surgery and two figures filled the doorway of the inner cubicle as Ronin
and Stahlig turned to look. They did not enter the room. They wore identical
grey uniforms with three daggers held in scabbards attached to black leather
straps buckled obliquely across their chests: Security daggam. Both had short,
dark hair and even features; faces one would never look at twice, faces one
would have to study closely to remember. 'Stahlig?' said one. He had a crisp,
clear voice. 'Yes?' 'Your presence is required. Please pack your healing bag
and come with us.' He handed Stahlig a folded sheet. The other one did
absolutely nothing except watch them. Both his hands were free. Stahlig read
the sheet. 'Freidal himself,' he murmured. 'Most impressive.' He looked up.
'Of course I shall come, but you must tell me something of the nature of the
summons. I must know what to bring.' 'Bring everything.' The daggam eyed Ronin
suspiciously. 'That is quite impossible,' said Stahlig impatiently. 'I am
his assistant. You may speak freely in front of me,' said Ronin. The daggam's
eyes swung darkly upon him, then back to Stahlig. The Medicine Man nodded.
'Yes, he is helping me.' 'A Magic Man,' the daggam said slowly, reluctantly,
'has gone mad. We have been forced to restrain him - for his own safety as
well as the safety of others. He had already wantonly attacked his Teck. But
his health seems to be failing, and -' Stahlig was already busy cramming
phials and paraphernalia into a worn leather bag. Seeing this, the daggam
stopped, and instead of finishing his thought he stared stonily at
Ronin. 'You are no assistant,' he said icily. 'You carry a sword. You are a
Bladesman. Explain.' Stahlig ceased to fill his bag but remained with his back
to them. That does not help, Ronin thought. 'Yes, of course I am a Bladesman,
but as you can see I am unaffiliated and so have much free time. So I help the
Medicine Man from time to time.' Stahlig finished filling his bag. He turned.
'All set,' he said. 'Lead the way.' He looked at Ronin. 'You had better
accompany me.' Ronin stared at the daggam. 'It would certainly relieve the
boredom.' The Corridor swept away from them in a smooth, gently curving arc.
The walls were painted a grey that at one time had been uniform; now, through
years of wear and neglect, there were patches made oily and dark by dirt,
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 areas crusty with grime, sections bleached almost white. Here and there
spiderweb cracks extended their fingers like tenacious plants seeking
sunlight. Doorways marched by them on either side at regular intervals. Those
with doors were invaria- bly shut. Occasionally an open doorway revealed
cubicles dark and musty, debris piled in corners, refuse strewn about the
floor. But, beyond the evidence of human detritus, they were empty save for
the brief flash of small scurrying bodies: click-click of claw, whip of
tail. Gradually the grey of the walls gave way to a tired lustreless blue.
The daggam turned left into a dark passageway in the interior wall of the
Corridor and the pair behind them followed. None of them gave a second look at
the stalled Lift across the Corridor. They were on a landing of the Stairwell
that ran vertically along the rim of the core of the Freehold. One of the
daggam, the one who talked, reached up into a niche in the wall and removed a
torch of tarred reeds bound tightly with cord. He held it in front of him
while the other daggam produced flint and a tinder box, got a flame going, and
touched it to the torch. It flared and crackled as it caught. Sparks jumped in
the air and fell blackly at their feet. Without a backward glance, the daggam
proceeded down the concrete steps. Ronin was sur- prised to find that they
were descending rather than ascending. The little he knew of the mysteri- ous
Magic Men indicated that they held a lofty position in the hierarchy of the
Freehold. Their talents and wisdom were constantly courted by the Saardin
despite their traditional vow for ever to work towards the good of the entire
Freehold. But it was possible that they were not immune to politicization. By
all rights the Magic Man should be quartered on one of the Freehold's Upper
Levels, yet they were descending. Ronin shrugged mentally. No one knew much
about them except that they were rumoured to be strange individuals. If one
chose to reside on the fringes of the Middle Levels with the Neers it was no
concern of his. Between each Level the Stairwell doubled back on itself at a
landing. They traversed the Levels silently, the shivering torchlight
distorting their shadows into grotesque parodies of human shapes, shambling
things that danced along the walls and low ceilings, expressionless,
unthinking, desire- less, receding from and approaching their human
counterparts disconcertingly. At length they reached the proper Level and
emerged into a Corridor identical to the one they had quit above, save that
here the walls were painted a drab green. They waited while the daggam snuffed
the torch and placed it in the niche in this landing. There was more activity
on this Level. Men and women passed them going in either direction and the low
hum of distant conversations filled the air like a tidal wash. Perhaps two
hundred metres from where they emerged, they came upon a door painted dark
green. All the others they had seen on this Level were the same colour as the
walls. Before the door stood two daggam. A brief, muffled exchange passed
between the four daggam. The shorter of the pair guarding the door nodded
curtly, turned, and rapped a peculiar pattern on the door. It was opened by
another daggam, and the messengers and Stahlig stepped through. Ronin moved to
join them but was stopped short by the palm of one of the guards pressed
against his chest. The daggam's jaw jutted. 'Where you goin'?' His voice
managed to sound bored and contemptuous at the same time. 'I am with the
Medicine Man.' Ronin met his eyes with a steady gaze. He saw a round, jowly
face too large for the small, fat nose and close-set eyes the colour of mud.
But, thought Ronin, an efficient machine that will respond instantly and
unfailingly to orders. I have seen so many. The square mouth with its thick
red lips opened like a reluctant gate. 'Don't know anything 'bout it. Move
along 'fore you get into trouble.' Ronin felt the pressure from the other's
hand and stood his ground. Surprise showed briefly in the daggam's eyes: he
was used to a certain response to the application of his power. He recognized
fear in others easily, loved creating it, seeing it burn before him as if it
were a sacrifice. He saw no fear now, and this disturbed him. Anger flared
within him, and his fingers plucked at the top dagger strapped across his
chest. Ronin's hand was on the hilt of his sword when a face appeared from
around the still partially open door. 'Stahlig, you absentminded - ' The
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