Song of the Saurials - Kate Novak [131]
Akabar joined the two women. "Grypht says we've got to leave in a few minutes," he said.
Alias nodded.
The Turmishman put his hand on Alias's shoulder. "Don't feel bad about Finder.
He's not worth your grief," he said. "He's a selfish, arrogant man. He hasn't returned because he's too cowardly to join us."
"Akabar," Olive snapped angrily, "we're about to go into the camp of an enemy god. We may get possessed or killed. Aren't you afraid at all?"
Akabar looked down at Olive with a faint smile. "You forget that I was possessed by Moander before," he reminded the half-ling. "It's not an experience I'd care to repeat. But I must do all I can to fight Moander. I defeated the Darkbringer once. I must believe I will defeat it again."
"The last time we fought against Moander, we had a red dragon fighting alongside us. This time you might die," Olive pointed out.
"Then I'll die for a good cause," Akabar said.
"My mother used to say life is wasted on the young, that the young always believe they'll never die. You're not very old. Maybe you don't believe you'll ever die," the halfling suggested, "and that's why you're not afraid."
"I didn't say I wasn't afraid. All men are afraid. I'm prepared to die because my life has been full. I have lived with three beautiful wives and will leave behind four beautiful children. That was Finder's mistake. He was too interested in himself. He should have had a family."
"He has a family. He has Alias and me," Olive said. "Some people aren't as easily satisfied as you are. They want more out of life than to have children and die for a good cause."
"To get something more out of life, a man must live for others," Akabar replied.
"No monument, no empire, no song or tale left to posterity will satisfy the soul the way bringing joy to another person will. Finder Wyvernspur will not learn this, so he could live another three and a half centuries and still not be satisfied, still be unprepared for death. Death will come, though, whether a man is prepared or not."
Grypht came up behind Akabar. "It's time to go," he said.
With the setting of the sun, the wind began to whistle into the cave.
*****
Finder sat in the ruins of his old mansion, staring at the sun setting over the Desertsmouth Mountains and the moon rising over the Elven Wood. Beside him, courtesy of the finder's stone, sat an illusion of himself singing "The Tears of Selune" the way it was meant to be sung, the way he'd written it three centuries ago.
The first part of Akabar's curse seemed to be working. Finder had been listening to the song for hours without pleasure.
The bard ordered the stone to halt. He looked at his image seated beside him-a young image with a charming smile, more sure of itself than the master beside it. The image was one of a man who'd thought he'd discovered the secret of cheating death. He'd deceived himself into thinking his music would be immortality enough. Now Finder realized that it wasn't. He wanted to live forever. "Damn!" he muttered.
"Sleep," he ordered the stone. Instantly the image beside him vanished.
Finder's mind began to wander. Unable to resolve the problem of death, he began to plan ways to improve the finder's stone. He should record Alias singing into the stone. He should record her singing some songs with Olive, too. Their voices blended well together.
Finder looked at the stone. It wouldn't be the same, though, he thought. The recording wouldn't be Alias and Olive. He couldn't teach the stone to compliment him when he was especially clever, or worry about him or tease or chide him the way Alias and Olive did. He couldn't get the stone to love him.
He wanted to be with Alias and Olive, he realized. Before he could change his mind, he sang to the stone to return him to the Singing