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      Copyright (c) 1992, 1993 Charles Tryon / All Rights Reserved
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			T h e   T o w e r s

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11:  Leaving and Joining

   The time they spent in town passed quickly.  Some of the others took
advantage of the time to seek out more training, polishing their skills.
The group met over supper most evenings at the inn, exchanging more
stories, moaning about sore muscles, or boasting about new spells
learned.
   Schimray continued his nightly visits with GreyEagle.  He was content
to talk with her and hold her hand or stroke her hair.  He spoke of
traveling a great deal, and of many adventures.  Although surrounded by
people most of the time, he still seemed to be a lonely wanderer.  One
night, a week after their return to Arabel, he told her of a fight against
creatures from a dark plane.  He stood by the open window and looked out
into the night as he spoke, and his voice was slow and painful.
   "I had finally found a companion, a girl much like you.  Quiet and
thoughtful, she had an inner pain which gave her strength.  I think that
is what drew me to her, just as it has drawn me to you.  We talked of many
things, especially what we were going to do upon finishing our quest." He
paused for a long moment, and the silence hung heavy in the room.  "She
never returned from the labyrinth of the dark one."  Schimray spun around
to look at her, and a dark rage twisted his features.  "I swore that day
that I would avenge her."  As he stood there, it seemed to GreyEagle that
his form had grown to a great and terrible force towering over her, and a
chill whipped through the room.  "The dark creature you seek is also a
servant of Orcus.  I will not rest until we have found a way to bring him
down."
   Suddenly, he looked down at GreyEagle and saw her shaking, terrified by
the intensity of his passion, and he remembered where he was.  Slowly, the
darkness passed as he looked into her eyes.  Deep inside though, she could
still see the sorrow of his loss.  "I will take my leave now," he said
abruptly.  "I wanted only for you to understand a little of what drives
me, of the forces that have led me down the path I now take.  Think of me
what you will, but do not judge me too hastily, for I too have known
sorrow.  Now, I fear that I cannot claim you, lest I loose you too."
GreyEagle was still too frightened by his outburst to respond.  He stood
silently for a moment before he turned to her again and spoke quietly.  "I
will not come again at night, nor will I see you again until you are ready
to leave.  But I will again use my magic to protect you, as best as I
can."  With a flourish of his hands and a muttered incantation he called
upon his magic.  A fine dust dropped from his hand and a thin mist settled
around her.  GreyEagle was too frightened to move as it swirled silently
around her, but then suddenly it was gone and Schimray turned to leave.
GreyEagle reached out her hand to try to stop him, but he slipped through
the door and was gone.  She wanted to call out to him, to beg him not to
leave, but the words stuck in her throat and she could say nothing.  At
the sound of the door clicking closed, she sank down onto her bed.
   Schimray too knew the pain of a love who would never return, of a void
in his heart which would not be filled.  How could she, GreyEagle, take
the place of that one?  Would Schimray always compare her with the other?
No, she could only be herself.  She would have to create a new place in
Schimray's heart to occupy -- if he would let her.
   She thought over his words again as they echoed back and forth in her
mind.  Was Schimray so afraid that she would not return that he too held
back his heart?  She shut her eyes to the tears.  She had been so
concerned over her own fears of Schimray, and her inability to let herself
go that she had totally overlooked his pain.  She had selfishly looked out
for her own interests and forgotten his.  She jumped out of bed and ran to
the door, throwing it open in the vain hope that he might still be there,
but only the sound of her own heavy breathing echoed back to her from the
darkened hallway.
   GreyEagle's heart was filled with an intense loneliness as she softly
closed the door.  Only a few days ago, her way had seemed so clear set
before her.  Now she was filled with doubts again.  She walked over to the
small table near her bed and absent mindedly picked up the dagger which
lay there and turned it over in her hands.  Two edges, she thought, each
one as sharp as the other.  You are so careful of the one edge, only to
discover that you have been cut by the other.  She thought she had been so
careful, so in control of the situation, guarding her heart.  Yet she had
misjudged Schimray.  In her frustration, she slammed the dagger into the
table top, where it stuck, quivering.  She sat on the bed and closed her
eyes.  The image of Schimray's face came to her, now devious, now playful,
now filled with pain and sorrow.  In one sense, he was larger than life,
filled with mysterious power and deep knowledge of hidden magics.  But
standing before her, he was a simple man, filled with a simple man's
desires and weaknesses.  She stood as a lonely fighter against the forces
of blackness which sought to overcome him.  She wondered if she had the
strength.
   The next evening she waited for him as she had the night before, hoping
against hope that he would come back, that he had been mistaken or had
spoken rashly when he had told her he would not return.  She sat in her
chair, her hair combed and perfumed, jumping at every sound, but as the
hour grew later, her hope began to fail.  He will not come back she told
herself.  She feared that she had offended him, or that perhaps it was too
late for her to reach him.  Was she not good enough for him?  Yet, she
refused to leave her vigil in her chair, even as her eyelids overcame her
struggle to keep them open, and closed slowly in sleep.
   She waited again the next night, but her hope had become an empty
shell.  In the morning, she stumbled out of her bed as soon as the sun
touched the window and slipped down to the commons room of the inn to see
if he might be waiting for her there.  She did not want the others in the
party to start wondering, but she could not face them, so she began to
avoid them whenever possible.  She still joined them for the evening meal,
putting on a brave face and joining in on the laughter and talk, but her
heart was not in it.  During the day, she walked the streets to see if she
might spot him around the city, but he wasn't there.  After a time, she
despaired of seeing him again before they left.


   Another week passed by, though it seemed like an eternity to
GreyEagle.  The rest of the group was now well rested and recovered from
their initial journey.  One evening they gathered together as usual for
the evening meal.  The others were becoming anxious to leave and talk
turned to the next tower and where Schimray might be.
   "I can't wait to get out of here and get down to business," chaffed
Recuahc.  "I'm trying to keep my fighting skills polished, but there isn't
anything quite like the real thing.  At least I got to do some climbing in
the nearby hills while we've been here."  GreyEagle looked at the young
man and considered him silently.  You will have time enough to practice
your fighting skills my friend, she thought as she watched him talk.  She
wondered why Schimray had invited him to help them.  None in the group
admitted to skills in thieving and opening locks, and she suspected that
Recuahc might posses these skills, but he still seemed so inexperienced.
The road before them was fraught with dangers, and she secretly wondered
if he would make it through.  Perhaps though, there was tougher stuff
under that exterior of fluff than she suspected.  She continued to eat in
silence.
   As they ate, a serving girl handed a note to Sucaba.  He opened it and
read it silently, passing it around the table when he had finished.  When
the note reached GreyEagle, she saw that it was from Schimray, and
anxiously read it.


       All the arrangement have been made.  I will meet you at
     sunrise for breakfast.  Be prepared to leave by noon tomorrow.

											   Schimray


   Ormec looked around at the table to see who was there.  "Sucaba, where
is Horton?"
   "I believe he is outside," Sucaba said with a frown, "begrudgingly
staying at the back of the stable.  I would certainly prefer to have group
meetings in his presence.  Besides, the inn here is far too public a
place."
   "Yes, that would be a better idea," Ormec agreed.  "All the party
members should be present for our meetings.  And where is Raal?  If he is
to be one of us I would like to have a better idea of what he is doing
from time to time."  On hearing Raal's name mentioned, the silent mage
momentarily glanced up at Ormec from his meal, but then looked down again
as if he had never heard Ormec speak.  Getting no response from the silent
mage, Ormec rose from his seat and walked over to him.  "I want to know
where Raal is," he said quietly, though his impatience was starting to
show.  "If he is in your pocket, have him poke his head out if you would
be so kind."  He waited a few moments, and the mage still took no notice
of him.  Finally, Ormec could think of nothing else to do, so he quietly
called out the rat's name to try to get its attention directly.  With
that, the mage gave Ormec an angry look, picked up his plate and mug of
ale and moved to an empty spot on the other side of the table.  Ormec
threw up his hands and returned to his seat.
   GreyEagle tried to finish her meal, but finally the pain which she
thought she had so thoroughly covered over surged to the surface again.
She struggled to maintain her composure as she was overwhelmed with dread
at the thought of leaving again.  She quickly rose from the table and
without a word, returned to her room.
   As she closed her door behind her, she could bear the pain no longer,
and threw herself on the bed in tears.  How long would it be this time?  A
faint spark of hope came to her that, perhaps just this last night
Schimray would come back to say goodbye, but she viciously fought it down,
not wanting to face again the agony of being disappointed.  Still, she sat
back up and brushed away the tears.  She washed her face in the cold water
from the basin and combed out her hair.  She dressed as she had done so
often before and sat again in her chair to wait.  As she closed her eyes,
she could see Schimray's face there before her again.  If he did not come
to her again, at least she might have him with her in her dreams.
   A soft knock at the door awakened GreyEagle and she quickly stumbled
from her chair to open it.  Schimray stood there smiling at her, and her
heart leapt into her throat.
   "Greetings my dear," he whispered.  "I hope that I did not wake you."
He glanced quickly down the hall and slipped through the door, closing it
silently behind him.  He pulled her into his arms.  "I can spare only a
few moments, but I found that I could not send you away without seeing
your beautiful face once more alone."  GreyEagle's heart pounded with the
joy which flowed through her body and she wept.
   Gently, Schimray pulled away from her grasp.  There was a twinkle in
his eyes as he produced a soft velvet pouch from a pocket deep within his
robes.  "Open this," he whispered.  GreyEagle caught her breath as she
opened the pouch to find a bracer wrought of pure platinum.  Turning it
over in her hands, she saw fine traces of gold worked into its surface,
forming an intricate pattern of birds and flowers.  She ran her fingers
over the figures etched there, and they seemed to be almost alive as they
wound around, frozen in time by the skills of the metalworker's art.
   Schimray carefully took it from her hands and closed it upon her
wrist.  "Wear this and think of your lovely walks," he whispered in her
ear, "and think of how someday I may walk with you.  Do you like it?"
   "It's beautiful!" she gasped as she looked at it.  Then she looked back
up into Schimray's face, and her own eyes glistened.  "But, it does not
bring half as much joy as seeing you one more time before I leave." She
threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.  "I was so
afraid that I might not see you again before I left, that you would not
come back."  She backed away and looked down, suddenly ashamed.  "Please
forgive me.  I should not have doubted you.  I know that you have many
pressing duties, and I cannot expect you to give all of your time to me."
   "It is true that time presses me, but sometimes we must put aside our
busyness for that which is truly important," Schimray said as he put his
arms around GreyEagle again and she silently held on to him for a while.
The emotions inside of her raged once more.  She remembered the promise
which she had made to herself such a short time ago, vowing to wait.  The
strength of that promise stood before her now, blocking her way, but
already she could feel its resolve crumbling.  It was true that she didn't
want to be like the ladies of the inn, sleeping with whoever was available
for entertainment or profit.  She would only give her love to someone who
she trusted, and who she thought would return that love with the same
commitment.
   Yet, she had seen the pain that Schimray endured, and his patience to
bear up under it.  He had never forced her hand, or demanded her love,
always waiting for her to lead, always considerate of her feelings.  He
had stood by her in her terror, and picked her up when it had thrown her
to the floor.  When Schimray had stopped visiting her at night, she had
seen her own terrible loneliness, and her fear of loosing him.  She knew
that she would never be complete without him, that he had entered her
heart and taken a piece of it with him.
   The final straw had been the note at dinner.  Suddenly, the thought
that she might never return came crushing back, much as it had the first
time she had left him.  She was still deathly afraid that she too might
never return from battling the powers of Orcus.  Before, the fear of
battle and death had been overshadowed by the sense of victory at the
first tower and the joy of returning to Arabel.  Now the reality of the
next tower was setting in.  Knowing how fragile her life was, she wanted
to have the opportunity to know Schimray intimately, at least this once.
   So, all of her objections turned to dust before her eyes.  Her original
test had been, would Schimray still seek her after she had been gone for a
long time period, out of sight and out of mind, or was she just a
momentary fancy in his eyes.  Had he not already waited for over a month
while she had traveled to the first tower, and been waiting patiently for
her when she returned?  She reached up to touch the amulet which still
hung around her neck.  Each of his gifts, she thought, had been given in
such a way as to draw attention to her and her worth, rather than to draw
attention to himself or to impress her with his powers.  The bracer too
spoke of how he had listened to her and sought to know her and what she
held dear.
   Yes, she thought, he is worthy of my trust.
   As she looked deep into her heart, she realized at last that she
already loved and trusted Schimray.  How else could she have bared her
soul to him, telling him her deepest secrets?  Why would Schimray have
shared his deepest hurts with her?  While there were still questions that
had not been answered, she felt that she had found the one person she
could commit her life to.
   She saw his need, and wanted to fill it.  Yet, she knew how deep the
wounds in Schimray's heart were.  Even if she should offer herself to him,
he might refuse her, holding back, afraid to take the risk again of loving
someone who might never return from battling the darkness.  She shivered
at the thought.
   Finally though, she knew that she had to do as her heart bid her to.
   She brought her lips to Schimray's and drew strength from him.
"Schimray," she asked finally, "can you give me just one last thing?  I
know you cannot stay long, but just a little while, can you be with me?"
She hung her head.  "I will understand if you cannot, for time presses
us."  A curious look flashed across Schimray's face, but he nodded to her
that he would stay.
   GreyEagle blushed as she forced her eyes to meet with his.  "At first,
I thought you were like all the others, rough and crude, but I have found
now that you are different.  You are water and air to me -- you make me
grow rather than forcing me down under your hand.  For so long, I have
been driven before the storm.  Now you have given me a port to return to,
a place to rest from my wanderings and put down my weary head."
   She pulled Schimray gently towards her bed.  "What I give to you," she
whispered, "I have never given to another.  It is yours alone, to have
forever.  I know not where the future will bring us, or even if I will
return.  I know only that I love you, and that I give you my love to the
full."  As she stood next to the bed looking into his eyes, her gown
slipped silently from her shoulders and she stood before him.
   Schimray was stunned for a moment, but he then pulled her close to
himself.  "You tempt me too much my love.  I made a promise to myself that
I would not touch you until you asked me, but I never guessed that it
would be now.  I should not stay, not even for a few moments, but I find I
cannot make my body obey my command to leave.  It is obeying my heart
which wishes to stay in your arms forever.  I will stay."
   GreyEagle closed her eyes.  She had been so afraid that Schimray would
leave, that he would be too busy for her or not find her good enough.
Now, the questioning and uncertainty is behind her, and she made herself
totally vulnerable to him.
   Schimray gently picked her up and placed her on the bed.  He removed
his clothing and joined her there.  As he approached her, the reality of
the situation suddenly dawned on GreyEagle.  This was no idle daydream or
fantasy, but a real man climbing into her bed.  She suddenly tensed up in
a wild fear, and scenes from the past threatened to flash in on her, but
Schimray was gentle and tender, and his soft words and touch brushed the
nightmare away.  For GreyEagle, the rest of the world quickly faded away,
and she could see and feel only him.


   Afterwards, Schimray cradled GreyEagle's head on his shoulder and held
her in his arms for a time.  His heart pounded in her ear and his
breathing was deep and ragged.  After several minutes they had returned to
normal and GreyEagle was swiftly lulled to sleep.
   Too soon she felt a hand gently shaking her awake, and she unwillingly
opened her eyes to see Schimray sitting on the side of the bed.  He was
fully clothed and ready to leave.  Sensing the hour, she suddenly felt a
pang of guilt at keeping him so long, knowing that there were many things
to do in preparation for their departure.
   "As lovely as you looked in sleep," Schimray said, touching his finger
to her lips to silence her worries, "I could not leave without telling you
goodbye.  I did not want you to think I was that unfeeling.  The time I
have spent with you has given me new life and these hours in your arms
mean more to me than my own life."  GreyEagle's feelings of guilt at
keeping him there washed away with the sound of his words.  She knew that
Schimray had no regrets at staying, and that sometimes details and
schedules could wait.  This had been the time to give and receive life
from one another.
   "I find myself wanting to keep you here where you would be safe and
never letting you go," he said sadly, "but you would be a sad bird in a
gilded cage, or a beautiful flower that looses its life and droops upon
the picking.  I know you well enough to realize that you could never be
happy, even if it was you who chose to stay.  I want you to know that when
this is all over I plan on asking you to marry me and be my life's
partner.  No, no do not speak of it now.  We must yet travel many dark and
dangerous roads, but you are the light at the end of my every journey.
Wear my gifts and they will help protect you.  Think of me often as I will
be thinking of you.  For now I must say goodbye, for the dawn is almost
upon us and I have a breakfast to arrange.  I will see you soon."
Schimray leaned over to kiss her one more time and GreyEagle wildly
returned his kiss, the passion once again flowing through her body for
just a moment.  He held her in his arms for a moment longer, and then
gently laid her back against the pillows.  GreyEagle let him go, but only
with a great struggle.
   He brushed his hand over her cheek and she reached up to touch him.
Somehow, words seemed like they would break the spell of the moment, but
in her mind she thought that he too was the wind in her sails, a wind
which carries her far away, and then brought her back home again.
Schimray stood slowly to his feet, and after a last look, turned, silently
slipped through the door and was gone.
   GreyEagle lay back on her pillows.  She still hurt some, but it only
served to focus her joy.  He would be with her now, she thought, no matter
where she went.  She might be far away, and her travels long and hard, but
he would be there with her.  She could face the dark creature and not be
afraid.  Fear would still be there to keep her from becoming careless, but
no longer did she need to bend before its blast like a sapling before the
wind.
   There was a small mirror in the room and she rose from the bed to look
into it.  The face she saw reflected there in the mirror looked the same
as the one she had seen the night before, but there was a subtle
difference in the eyes.  She returned to the bed and curled up under the
covers.  Best try to get some sleep, she thought, before she had to get up
for the morning.  She wondered how she would ever be able to get back to
sleep with her body still tingling with excitement, but somehow, within a
very short time, she drifted back into a deep sleep, untroubled by dreams,
save for one tiny voice which continued to hiss at her from the edge of
her consciousness.



   == TO BE CONTINUED ==

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  This concludes the first "book" in the Towers series.  Unfortunately, I
  am still franticly working on the second book, but it is not finished.
  I have about 10 more chapters in a reasonable state, but I am hesitant
  to keep publishing them.  If I get a lot of requests to continue, I may
  do so, even though I an not at a good stopping point...

  I'll tell you this much: things get more complicated from this point. ;-)

  If you are just picking up here for the first time, you should be able
  to find back chapters (via. ftp) in the directory /pub/frp/stories/towers
  on ftp.cs.pdx.edu.  I will also honor Email requests for back chapters.
  Please make sure you include a valid Internet address, and I will try to
  get back to you within a day or two.


--
Chuck Tryon
    work: bilbo@kodak.com                                Your Servant,
    home: bilbo@Bah.Rochester.NY.US                      B. Baggins
 ______________________________________________________________________
   Experience is what you get when you were expecting something else.