The Hornet's Nest: Part 11

The environs of Mount Maelstrom were full of places to hide. Rocky caves, overgrown coves, tiny islets in a placid sea that was the colour of verdigrised copper, and would have been inviting if it wasn’t for all the krait. In more pleasant circumstances, Caolinn might almost have appreciated the place, revelling in the way it reminded her of Caledon Forest, though with a sharper edge. Instead, all she could think about was who she could trust – and more importantly, who she couldn’t.

She’d made it to a sandy beach far to the south of the Old Sledge camp by the time she finally stopped running. Caolinn wanted to believe this was, indeed, a tactical retreat, but a part of her kept insisting she was fleeing with her tail between her legs. The events of the preceding days had been too strange, too overwhelming, until her head was filled like an overflowing cup. Was this something the other races had to live with? she wondered. Was it the curse of the sylvari, so young and so inexperienced in this world, to feel as though they were constantly being bombarded with more information than they could ever process?

Or was this only her? Looking back, she was certain she hadn’t spent the last few months in this state of confusion. Working with Darr, trailing Spark and then finally allying herself with the charr – it had all seemed so clear. She’d never once questioned what she’d set out to do. Why, then, did the world now feel as though she was viewing it through tinted glass? When had everything become so complicated?

Caolinn leaned back, digging her fingers into the warm sand. It had been an arduous swim from the camp, but at least this way she couldn’t be easily traced, not even by a sylvan hound. She wasn’t even sure anyone would try to find her, but knowing Amber and Darr, they might.

Darr. Nairne. Torwen. At least one of them was lying to her, but her mind was so befuddled that she couldn’t be sure which one. She was a spy – shouldn’t this be easy? Darr’s story made perfect sense, and Caolinn truly believed in his dedication to stopping the Inquest, but he’d also spent a lifetime concocting schemes to fool other people. Besides, just because he trusted Nairne, didn’t mean he was right about her. There was just something about the Lightbringer that made Caolinn uncomfortable. She’d definitely been keeping secrets – what about Hixx and her list of names? If she hadn’t been replacing Order of Whispers Agents with Inquest ones, what was she up to?

And then there was Torwen. In some ways, Caolinn trusted him most of all – or at least trusted her reading of him as potentially untrustworthy. He was Nightmare Court and everything he did was suspect; she’d known that from the start. He’d been right about the Order of Whispers, though, over and over again. No matter how wary of him Caolinn was, she couldn’t shake the feeling that, in this instance, he had no reason to lie.

Slowly, Caolinn got to her feet, feeling inexpressibly weary. She couldn’t be sure of any of them – that was the honest truth. This was a riddle she could solve, though. All it would take was a little ingenuity… and perhaps a bared dagger or two.

It was another long swim across the vast tracts of wilderness that made up Mount Maelstrom. Caolinn had no definite location for where Torwen and the Nightmare Court might be, but they’d made their camp in the vicinity of the volcano before and she could reasonably expect them still to be there. Torwen himself had a particular dislike for the Inquest, and for good reason; no doubt he’d remain where he could keep an eye on them.

It was growing dark by the time Caolinn finally hauled herself from the water at the foot of the volcano. Exhaustion had seeped into every fibre of her body, but she knew she’d have little chance for rest. The only safe haven on the north slope of the mountain was at Gorlois Spine, and that was one place she was determined to avoid. She couldn’t afford to start answering questions for the Valiants there, or worse yet, have them attempt to dissuade her from her path. She knew what she had to do, and she didn’t need anyone else to understand.

Midnight came and went, and finally the Nightmare Court camp was in Caolinn’s sights. Venomblight, they called it, and it wasn’t difficult to see why. The Court might think themselves superior to other sylvari, more enlightened by their ‘freedom’, but the twisted environments they surrounded themselves with always made Caolinn feel a little ill. Was what they created any better than the experiments of the Inquest?

She shook her head. She hadn’t come here for answers to philosophical questions. All she needed was to find Torwen, and then… Then, she’d know what to do.

Lights glimmered around the edge of the camp; in the distance, Gorlois Spine was similarly marked. Caolinn approached the camp warily. There might well be sentries, and though she could talk her way past them easily enough, she was in no mood to. Would Torwen be waiting for her? He had Nairne, now, the subject of Caolinn’s own investigations. Surely he’d know she was coming.

She was halfway across the bleak expanse of the Ashen Wastes when she felt two things. The first was a faint trace of magic, and whilst something about it suggested Torwen’s doing, Caolinn couldn’t be certain what it was intended to achieve. The second, much clearer insight, was that she was no longer alone.

No sentries from the camp, at least not yet. Caolinn turned slowly, seeing the slope of the volcano bathed in silver moonlight – and two small figures crossing it. They made no effort to hide themselves, and didn’t seem to be in any particular hurry. They had to know they’d be seen, and perhaps also that Caolinn could do nothing about their presence.

The anger flared so suddenly she almost felt dizzy. Such arrogance! That was always the way with asura, though, wasn’t it? It wasn’t just the Inquest who were so sure of themselves, so determined to poke their noses where they didn’t belong. Every asura Caolinn had ever encountered seemed certain they were the most important individuals in Tyria, everyone around them just a minor distraction.

And these two were just the same. Both Darr and Amber must have known she’d want to face Torwen alone, and yet here they were. They simply couldn’t accept that this was none of their business.

Something gleamed in the moonlight at Caolinn’s side. She glanced down, studying the dagger in her hand. She couldn’t remember drawing it, but its weight was pleasing, and holding it made perfect sense. What other way could this scenario resolve itself? She’d had enough of being treated like a child.

She attacked without warning, launching herself at Amber without waiting to see whether the asura would speak. Amber was quicker, though – she’d always been a slippery one – shadowstepping sideways and out of Caolinn’s line of sight. That just left Darr, already throwing a shield of mesmeric magic around himself, a vivid violet corona against the darkness.

“You don’t want to do this.” Darr’s voice sounded distant, almost as though it was underwater. “Caolinn, this isn’t you.”

“Then who is it?” The words left Caolinn in a snarl, with more fury than she’d thought herself capable of possessing. “How do you know what I want?”

Amber spoke from behind her. “Right now, I think we know you better than you know yourself.”

“Oh, do you?” Caolinn whirled, though she knew the thief would be nowhere to be seen. “When did you become such experts?”

“We’re your friends, Caolinn.” Darr sounded strained. “You’re being manipulated. I only wish I’d seen it sooner.”

Manipulated? Oh, how these asura liked to play games. Torwen, for all his faults, had been right about that.

“He’s right, Caolinn.” Suddenly, Amber was before her again, fading out of the darkness as though materialising from nothing. “You’ve always been the one in control, but this time you’ve let things slip. Someone’s got past your defences.”

A small part of Caolinn was listening, which only made the rest of her more furious. How dare these scrappy little asura try to tell her what she thought and felt? How could either of them know the first thing about her? Darr liked to think of himself as a mentor, but they’d drifted apart a long time ago, and Amber was nothing more than a nuisance. They simply wanted to get in her way.

“The Inquest have to be taken down,” she said, twirling a dagger. All it would take would be a few steps forward, and she could plunge it into Amber’s heart. “If you’re too blind to see how they’ve wormed their way into the Order of Whispers–”

Abruptly, Amber laughed. “Neither of us have any allegiance to the Order – you should know that by now. And I don’t think we’re the ones who are blind.”

A twig cracked to Caolinn’s left. She spun instinctively, suddenly realising she’d lost track of Darr. He stood to one side of her– No, that was only a clone, and the sound had been a ruse. Where was the real mesmer?

The attack came out of nowhere, slamming into the back of her skull. Not a physical blow – Caolinn could feel the force of magic against her mind, but she didn’t fall. For a moment, she struggled against it, knowing something was trying to tear its way through her thoughts. Trust an asura to fight dirty–

But there was something else. Dizziness suddenly overwhelmed her. Darr was in her head – but so was something else. Her own thoughts were being brushed aside, almost inconsequential. The war that threatened to break out inside her came from somewhere else entirely.

The magic grew to unbearable proportions, and within moments Caolinn could no longer hold her consciousness together. Darkness clouded the edges of her vision. Whatever had threaded itself through her mind was on the verge of claiming her. In the end, all she could do was let it.