L J Chappell [Chappell - Ghosts of Mehan’Gir

Ghosts of MehanGir

L J Chappell

GHOSTS OF MEHANGIR

Kindle Edition

Copyright 2019 L J Chappell

All rights reserved.

Cover Design by Diana Buidoso

Published by Asquith Publishing

Contents

A Map of the Inner Sea

showing some places mentioned in the text

A Map of Western MehanGir

showing some places mentioned in the text

A Map of Corvak

showing the Boundary and the Four Dams

What has gone before

The human called Lanvik has been rescued from a prison cell inthe far north by Kiergard Slorn and his Company of mercenaries. He was accusedof being both a murderer and a mage, but has no memory of either. Slorn is inthe north to retrieve the Emerald Crown, one of the Four Trophies of the DeadGod which are rumoured to bring great power.

They travel to the Inner Sea to deliver Vander of Arrento,whom they have also rescued, to his secret love the lady Aruel of theFassiori. Matters go badly and they are forced to flee, together with Vanderand Aruel.

Lanvik is irresistibly pulled towards nearby Uvellia andKiergard Slorn persuades the others to accompany him there, hoping that thejourney may eventually lead them to the Land of Mists: home of mages andlegendary resting place of the Glass Sword. When they reach Uvellia, late atnight, Lanvik leaves the others and wanders through the town.

Pireon, a boy-priest from ancient Corvak who witnessedKiergard Slorn removing the Emerald Crown, is travelling slowly homewardsoverland. He spends his days obsessed with resentment towards his older brotherDach and with thoughts of Ajiila, one of the Temple dancers.

The assassin Foxblade, who was contracted to kill Lanvikspurported victim, has reported her failure to her superiors. She has been givena new contract from the same client: she is to kill a human, at an address in atown called Uvellia

Chapter One

Echoes of the North

He had no memory of who he was, where he was or how he cameto be there.

He waited for the confusion of waking to lift, until hecould separate dream from memory, but the emptiness in his mind stubbornlyrefused to dissipate. He opened his eyes.

He was lying on cold, damp cobblestones a street.

Who am I? And what am I doing here? he wondered,still waiting for memories to awaken and fill the holes in his mind. The memoriesstayed away. Am I injured? He struggled to his feet, wiped his hands onhis trousers and gingerly felt his head. There were no tender areas, and noblood on his hands when he inspected them afterwards.

He could hear the sea nearby, so he was near the coast.There was a warm breeze and, although the cobbles told of a recent shower, hecould still taste the humidity. So he was somewhere warm and damp, and dark it was night.

He stretched and discovered that his shoulders were sore.That would be from lying on the hard cobbles and was nothing to worry about. Probably.

This is Uvellia, he remembered: Uvellia on theisland of Little Tirassa. And I came here with friends. No, perhaps notfriends. But I came here with other people.

And my name is Lanvik.

No, that wasnt his name: that was what they called him. Theycalled him that because and suddenly he remembered that he had lost hismemory, and that thought made him smile.

He had memories again they didnt trickle back one by oneand they didnt suddenly crowd in, but they gradually returned together: as ifmist had lifted to reveal a view. But those memories only stretched back sevenweeks, to a prison cell in the far north. There, they had accused him of beinga wizard and a murderer and they had probably been preparing to execute him. Hehad been freed by Kiergard Slorn and his Company of mercenaries and thieves,and together, they had rescued Vander of Arrento, who would otherwise have beensacrificed at the Festival of the Emerald Crown.

The Emerald Crown he could see it in his mind: KiergardSlorn had also taken the Emerald Crown. That had been his real reason for beingthere, in the north.

Vander and his beloved Aruel had joined the Company as well.She had stolen the State Jewels of Arrento to pay for his rescue and her family,the ruling Fassiori, had discovered the fact. And after that they had comehere, to Uvellia, because Lanvik had remembered the name; because it had seemedurgent to come here; because it might have provided some clues about who hereally was.

Other than the events of the last seven weeks, he couldntremember anything at all

There was nothing about his childhood or his family.

He was supposed to be a mage, but he had no staff and heknew no magecraft.

After arriving here, they had agreed to stay on the boatuntil daylight, he remembered: the Companys boat Magdas Choice. Buthis head had hurt so badly that he needed help, he needed to see someone aboutit, had needed to find a doctor. He had stumbled through the streets of Uvelliauntil he found himself outside a doctors practice.

But then what?

Frustratingly, he couldnt remember.

His headache was gone now, so perhaps the doctor had helpedhim. But why had he woken up in the street in the middle of the night?

If he focussed then he should surely be able to remember theway back. Uvellia was a small place, and he had a clear memory of what the doctorswindow looked like there had been a torso, the torso of a mannequin, andsmall boxes and bottles. He tried to let his mind relax: after all, he hadfound the place earlier without consciously trying to, so perhaps he could doso again. It had been further uphill, he was sure further from the harbour,but not far from where he had just woken up.

He stood up, and felt something rigid and awkward in hisjacket pocket. It was a short sword no, not a sword: a dagger of some sort. Whydid he have a dagger? He didnt normally carry a dagger, and he couldntremember picking it up anywhere.

He had no clear feeling about which direction to go so, notreally trusting his instincts to simply find the way again, he began to searchthe narrow, steep and twisting lanes of Uvellia. In his head, he sectioned offthe area around him and walked in gradually larger and larger loops; returningover and over again to where he had woken up he was sure that couldnt be farfrom where he had seen the doctor.

Fifteen minutes later he found the shop. Painted above thewindow was a sign: Doctor Gossine Medical Practitioner yes, this was aplace.

The door was shut and it was completely dark inside. He turnedthe handle of the door: it was unlocked, so he pushed it and went inside. As hestepped over the threshold, he remembered that there had been a man here, a Human,an old doctor who had walked out of some back room carrying an oil lamp and whohad addressed him by a different name: Kai Elidar.

A little bell rang as the door closed, startling him.

There was barely a hint of light penetrating from outside. Hewaited for his eyes to adjust further, and gradually made out a counter facingthe door. There had been a lamp on that counter, but it was gone now, and no-onewalked through the door at the back to greet him. Perhaps the doctor was asleep.

Perhaps the doctor and his family lived here, and they wereall sleeping.

Suddenly, Lanvik felt like an intruder. He should haveknocked.

He wondered if he should knock now, or call out. But ifno-one had come when the little bell rang, then why would anyone come if heshouted?