Part 35: Susidir's story
‘Where shall I start?’ asked Sudisir.
“The fall from the tower. How did you survive?”
Sudisir winced. “I was badly injured, despite the spells that were used to cushion my fall. My back was broken. I could not move for weeks. I was taken in by Drahlian and her friends.”
Arka’s eyes widened. “The Dwarvesbane! So you were in league with them?”
“I used them, Arka, like I have used many others. They served a purpose; that was all. Now do you want to hear this story or not?”
Arka nodded and fell silent.
“I had befriended one of Drahlian’s followers after he had tried to kill you and Zorbels. Sardit, a dermorian. He introduced me to Drahlian and she explained her mission. It seemed to fit quite nicely with what I was planning, so I fell in with her. After the fiasco on the tower top they took me in and nursed me back to health. I have that to be grateful for. But the injury took a lot of my strength and left me with this accursed limp.
“Then the war came. I was still incapacitated and bitterly wanted my revenge on you and your friends. It was so frustrating not being able to walk. I hoped that you would join the Dwarven Star so that you would be killed in battle and I would be avenged. But the word came that you chose to stay in your marble towers of learning while your students perished.”
“That’s not how it was!” Sudisir had touched a raw nerve and Arka was angry. “I would have fought with my brothers. I wanted to. But my position at the University…”
“So you put your position above your race? How touching. Status before honour.”
Arka fell silent again deeply ashamed and embarrassed.
Sudisir continued, “After the war, Drahlian was banished and her followers drifted apart. I managed to survive. But the injuries had affected me. I brooded during those months. I wanted to cause havoc and destruction. But I was impotent. Useless, useless, useless. I tried to get to you, at the university, and when you were out hunting, but Jefecra had you followed everywhere. There was always a guard with you.”
He ran his fingers through his hair and pulled at the roots. Then after a long sigh, he went on, “Then, news came to me of a strange disease spreading throughout the population. It seemed that no-one could find the cause. I followed the stories with great interest – you see, I suspected that there was some dark magic behind it, something I could maybe use to my advantage. And I was right – on both counts.
“Then an amazing coincidence. The one who ended up holding the glyph – the wonderful Compulsion Glyph – was none other than your language student, Mr. Einnol Feldorm. It was like a present from the Gods. I thought I could use that glyph to captivate you Arka. And now I had someone who could do that for me.”
“You used Einnol?”
“It was very easy, really. Einnol had already fallen under the glyph’s spell when I met him. It took very little to persuade him to steal the page I needed from your library.”
“How did you know where it was?”
“Where do think I learned to use your glyph magick? I was a student under the old Dean. Don’t look so surprised, Arka. Your people let all sorts study at your university, don’t they? You don’t believe in judging people, do you? So you have students of the Dark Ways as well as the Light. Very commendable.
“So I knew there was a way of channelling the glyph. And the spell I needed was in that book. Getting inside Einnol’s mind, I guided him to the bookshelf, and helped him find the book and the page. I was copying it, when you suddenly appeared and I had Einnol tear it out.”
Sudisir picked up the parchment from the floor where it lay. “You might as well have it back now. I don’t need it any more.
Arka took the paper. “So this is where it went.”
“Yes, but as you know, it was no use to me. I read the spell over and over, but it seemed to me there was something wrong. Then I counted the words and realised the parsing was out. One word was missing from the page. It might have been an insignificant word, but I didn’t want to take the risk. Not with something as powerful as this. So I had Einnol practice with the glyph, instructing him with my mind. He was starting to have some success with it, but it was taking far too long. I realised I needed another way to get to you. Then one day, I noticed the charm on the reverse of the page. I could see that this was far more powerful than the Compulsion Glyph and set about planning how I could use it on you. The problem was I had to get close enough to you to make it work. And with Jefecra’s men shadowing you constantly, that was not an option.
“Then I met Hius. In a bar, in Akkaio. I recognised him as your Dean of Great Sciences and Craftings, although he didn’t know me. I explained that I had studied under the old Dean many years ago, before Hius had joined the university. After a few liquors, he was telling me all about the Compulsion Glyph and how he was planning to contain it using one of your ‘magic mugs’. It sounded a bit farfetched to me but I could see the beginnings of a possibility. I suggested to Hius that he might want to try it out on a less powerful glyph and gave him a spell he could use. Of course the spell would help me to control you, but he didn’t know that.
“I asked him if he had anything that might be suitable to use. I had meant to give him a glyph myself, but the story he told me of one he had found as a young boy gave me the opportunity I needed. It seems this glyph had empowered him to wreak his revenge on his enemies. I made a subtle suggestion that I had seen such a glyph before, in the Dean’s study and that he had told me that a priestess had given it to him. Of course, Hius then believed that his mother had taken the glyph to the university. Interesting how easy it is to make people accept as true the things they want to believe in.
“Then, it was just a matter of having someone plant the glyph in his room. That night I took a simple black pebble. I put a charm on it so that it would shine with black light when the spell I had taught Hius was used. A bit theatrical, I suppose, but it would add to its credibility.
“I sent a menki I had befriended to break into the university and to hide the ‘glyph’ in Hius’ room. Nowhere obvious, but able to be found easily. Then I waited.”
“So when Hius tried the experiment with the mugs he was using your spell?
Sudisir nodded.
“So how come the spell put me under your control? If Hius spoke the words, surely he would have control of my mind?”
“Ah, yes, that would have been the case, if I hadn’t altered the spell slightly. It was a risk, but I thought I could combine it with another charm. It almost worked.”
“Almost?”
Sudisir nodded and sat down on the cellar steps, his face lit by the daylight streaming through the open trapdoor. He continued, “The charm was meant to open your mind to mine, so that the moment Hius had spoken the words I would have access to it. I then used the controlling charm by speaking the words directly into your mind. Unfortunately, the first charm also erased your memory, so even though I could control your thoughts, there was nothing to read in your mind.”
“It didn’t completely erase my memory.”
“No, and that has puzzled me. You remembered about Einnol. And you went looking for him. Somehow, he helped you get your memory back. As soon as the first charm was broken I could no longer get into your mind. Unfortunately, the charm was broken, not removed. Only I could do that with the reversal charm from the book. That’s what I used to revive you just now.”
“Is that what made me ill?” asked Arka.
“It was a Dark Charm. In order to survive, it has to draw energy. And the nearest source of energy is the body of the host. So, yes, it was literally sucking the life out of you. I couldn’t get close enough to you to reverse it. At the university you were constantly guarded and then you moved into the queen’s household. At least then Jefecra took the guard off the university so I could get into your rooms.”
“So how did I recover?”
Sudisir shrugged. “My guess is that one of the potions you were given managed to replenish your life energy to the extent that you became strong enough to get here. Unfortunately, raising your life energy artificially would just make the charm greedier. It would have been feeding off you at a faster rate. But you needn’t worry. It’s gone now. You will be weaker than usual for a while, but your strength will come back gradually.”
He stood up again. “So now, Miss Garam, if you have no further questions, it’s time for us to open the box.”
