A large screen bathed the room in a dim light, several feeds of various statistics and other information sped past the main focus of the wall to wall display: a slowly rotating image of the planet. Myra glanced at the information scrolling along the margins, but her main focus was the globe which spun gently in the center of the room. Several continents sat upon a backdrop of deep blue water, nine in total. Bright clouds obscured the view of a majority of the land, and a considerable portion of the oceans. I wonder how Temperance will handle that hurricane. She thought.
Enough stalling. Myra Nilgiri had given herself enough time to think. Now I have to act. She switched the display from satellite imagery to a geopolitical view. A dizzying flurry of multicolor lines and arrows were thrown onto the land portions of the globe, and the pleasant gradient of green to brown was simplified to a full gray. Myra began reviewing the myriad of tactical information, occasionally making slight adjustments to them. The changes were simultaneously and nearly instantly sent to the datpads of all relevant units.
Three dozen units in the northern stretches of the empire were out of position, some by miles. Damn Sahayans. They'd been a thorn in the federation's side for years, despite their treatise which said otherwise. At least the Southern trading lines are still clear. Still, their efficiency could be improved, and Myra set to work on those as well.
The repetitive chime of an incoming report poked at her composure. She successfully ignored it for fifteen seconds before caving in and pulling up the file. It was bad news, as always. Her job didn't offer many opportunities for good news. According to the report, the core site would need to brownout for another two hours every quarter unless they received even more energy, and suggested constructing hydroelectric facilities on existing imperial dams. The conclusion was especially irritating.
"I know that you are more than busy, but you and I both know that we can't afford more downtime. Even with the rotating schedules, workers are getting restless. Best wishes, L.A."
Myra rubbed her temples. She had, of course, made the administrator of core site, Louis Andrews, fully aware of the breach of secrecy such an act would cause, not to mention the cost of acquiring the necessary materials, and transportation of said materials, both of which would also constitute breaches of secrecy. Still, he sent his reports with the same request every quarter. Myra knew that he was just doing his job, but he lacked the awareness to understand her own job and its limitations, and simply assumed she was being stubborn for no good reason. I'd like to see him try to play mediator between the bureaucrats and field ops. Speaking of…
She opened up the personnel database, and brought up several dossiers. The squad that they belonged to was not known for its professionalism, nor it's success in the field, not even for being the absolute worst unit under the Federation's employ. That illustrious honor went to fifth squadron, who had so often failed even when over-equipped and over-qualified, that Myra had considered disbanding them entirely. Unfortunately, operatives were thin enough as is. Plus the unit itself wasn't even to blame, they were just incredibly unlucky. Even when the individual members were swapped out, and new personnel brought in, the curse persisted. Poor fifth squad. They try so hard, bless them.
Myra knew, of course, that rumours would abound, and that most people saw her refusal to disband them as brass-gilded incompetence, but she had higher clearance. The squad would stay, and the curse with it, else the core would throw a fit, and that was a massive headache for her, and potentially lethal for everyone else. Ironically, it was their very impotence that prevented her from sending them on suicidal missions. Dying was no different than disbanding. So the runners up would get this job. She sent the mission details directly to the datpad CO of the squad, a man named Charles Devignette.
She shuffled into her small but well stocked kitchen. The aroma of fresh coffee wafted on the air, and Myra allowed herself a moment to thank the core that coffee had made it through the diaspora. She poured herself a cup of the elixir of life, and relished the burbling crescendo as the mug filled to the brim. For the briefest moment, quiet hung in the air, and steam rose from the mug as she cradled it. Then, just as Myra had committed to the first sip of coffee, her reverie was broken by another alarm from her main console. Ugh She prepared herself to reenter the frenzy of work, until a thought occurred to her. She couldn't recall the last time she had taken a day off. Out of curiosity, she pulled up her available vacation time. four hundred and eighty-two hours. Myra grinned. I think it's about time for a break. She subtracted forty hours from the total and silenced her display. The quiet which followed was intoxicating.
Myra leaned back in her chair. She nearly dozed off when a distant, but persistent sound entered her awareness. For a moment, her brain threw it into the category of “very long list of things she could ignore”. Until she adjusted to the lack of noise. The alarm hit three specific notes, and with each note added to the monotone rhythm her heart sank a little more. No. Myra thought. It couldn't be…
Myra stood and walked slowly toward the source of the alarm, which came from a dust covered section of her old office. Under a pile of papers which had become as much a part of the furnishing as the panel they covered, a small red light blinked on and off. The alarm continued to play, muffled by the papers atop it. She cleared the papers off of the panel, revealing a matte black surface which lacked any scratches or stains. Embedded in the dark metal finish was the source of the alarm. A primitive red button backlight by an LED, the gill-like metal apertures of a speaker, and an engraved label which read: "E.T.D.S".
Myra swore and silenced the alarm. Immediately the overhead lights, which she kept dim at the best of times, were snuffed out, and in their place, red backup lights cut on. All alerts that had previously been parading their various tunes through her office were gone. Though her suite was blessedly quiet now, she couldn't relax, not even close.
She hurried to her main display, taking long strides, and swept away the various windows and programs her daily routine required, the chaff of routine. The External threat detection system sprang to the forefront, and the global display entered a dizzying deorbiting zoom. It was targeting something, had been targeting something for the past two days. Two days. Myra swore again. Damned bureaucrats! As if their endless nagging wasn't bad enough, it's now responsible for letting a fucking monster into our midst!
As the display continued its descent, a timelapse of the target's movement came into focus. The anomaly had first appeared around the Northwestern reaches, and over the next few days headed Northeast. Precisely parallel to the actively forming front lines of recent Federation skirmishes. Exactly parallel to their conflict with the Sahayans. More data filed in. Her nearest troop movements had been consistently moving away from its current location, but one squad had passed within meters of the target. The same squad she had just deemed the least useful in the entire Federation. Charles' unit.
What is going on? Anything that powerful should have easily wiped them out... Myra quickly wrote up a new set of orders, and sent them to the unit at highest priority. They were to come immediately back to headquarters, speak to no one, interact with no one under threat of court martial. The threat was something of a bluff. Myra didn't have time for such a drawn out process, if she tried, they’d all die. But there were other things she could do to the disobedient, and the field agents knew it. She wanted answers, and she was going to get them.
BREAK
A distant humming rumbled through the halls, overlayed by a higher pitched buzzing, coming from the lights in the ceiling. Peter's footsteps echoed in the space between the two background noises. In his arms, he had the box he had been tasked with finding. At least, I hope this is the right box.
Peter had spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to find the correct door, most of which had consisted of him hearing, or in especially stressful cases, seeing a person approaching him in the hallway, turning the nearest corner to avoid them, and having to backtrack when the new hallway reached a dead end. Once he found the door, he knocked, hoping that someone would answer and give him an excuse to run, but no sound came from within the room. He pushed open the surprisingly light door and saw that James had not been exaggerating when he said the man was messy. If anything, he had been too nice.
Clint's floor was buried in a layer of papers, most of which were of higher quality than the sheets of vellum Peter had received for his previous birthday. Peter laid a prolonged look on one particular piece, which had been idly scribbled upon, doodles littering the entire sheet, none more complex than a lazy series of squiggles. A boot print was stamped diagonally across the discarded sheet. What a waste. Peter thought, unable to decide if he meant the art or the paper that bore it.
A stack of dull brown boxes were precariously piled in a corner. The stack towered over the room, a constant threat to the culture of paper below it. Peter gave it a wide berth, and began searching for his quarry in earnest. After scouring the floor, which held surprisingly few objects that were not paper, and every table, countertop, cabinet, and even the icebox(which exclusively contained packages with a strange brown skinned, green fruit) Peter was forced to confront the pillar of boxes.
A cringingly loud avalanche of boxes occurred. Peter had not even touched them directly, merely moved too close. A blue topped, semi-transparent box tumbled out of the rubble as it hit the floor. In a panic, Peter swapped it with his own box and ran from the room, sure that everyone in the complex was on their way to see what had happened. The door slammed shut behind him, as if to say 'good riddance' to the noisy intruder. Several hallways and many heavy heartbeats later, Peter had regained his composure. He berated himself for his cowardice, he hadn't even heard anyone since he left the room. He'd been running from nothing.
Wait, where is everyone? He thought
The world went dark as every light in the compound simultaneously lost power. Peter felt his pulse quicken again, ancient phobias resurfaced. Then, a dull red hue crept over the textured walls, and his vision was restored in monochrome. Wire caged lights speckled the walls at intervals, previously hidden in alcoves along the walls, and poured the crimson light across his surroundings. He looked around, searching for whatever had caused the darkness. Empty hallways stared back, taunting in their indifference. They know. They've caught me, I must have run past someone on the way here. I'm going to be executed. Peter admonished himself. Cowardice got him into this mess, it wasn't going to get him out.
He took a deep breath and put on as neutral a face as he could manage, then decided that would look even more suspicious, and allowed a bit of his genuine fear slip into the expression. He jogged until he reached an intersection, then slowed, and peered around the corner to check for incoming people. A group of five were arguing loudly, still far from the intersection.
"... all immediately assume when something goes wrong that it's my fault? I'm not a god, and even if I were, I think I'd have better things to be doing than pestering you lot!"
"James. Kindly shut the fuck up."
"You know what, Holiday? I-" James had paused mid-sentence as he locked eyes with Peter. His eyes widened noticeably and he shot Peter a look of absolute fury.
"Wow, can't believe that worked. Usually he just keeps bitching." Holiday remarked, an act which regained the attention of a now angry James.
"Why don't you suck my 'nads, Holiday?"
"Ah there it is." Holiday received several more creatively structured insults from James, but chose to ignore them in favor of talking to the leader of the group. "Hey boss, you don't think there's a chance that it's good news?"
"A chance? Sure, there's about an equal chance that the empire develops nuclear fission reactors, or that James will shut up for more than a minute."
"Hey!" James said
The largest man in the group waved his hands in a few complicated motions, and the leader of the group, Peter remembered his name's being Charles, seemed to reply to the signs.
"Don't worry about it, One. If fifth can manage to pass inspections, we'll be fine too. I won't let 'em kick us to the curb like that."
Peter flattened himself against the walls, an act made difficult by his cargo. Suddenly a wave of nausea hit him. It felt like the time he had nearly tumbled headlong off a cliff when he was five. For a fleeting slice of his very short life, he had felt weightless. His father had caught him at the last moment and swung him away from the edge. He hadn't so much as hiccoughed then.
Peter stood stock still, working to suppress the rising bile in his throat. A few seconds later, the group strode by the intersection he had taken refuge in. To his surprise, the rest of the group didn't so much as glance at him as they passed. As soon as they did, the nausea passed, and Peter breathed a sigh of relief.
As he watched the bickering group continue down the halls, Peter wondered where they were going. Whatever their mission was seemed urgent. Why would they be wandering around here? Then a thought occurred to him James said he wanted this box, so why not give it to him now? Then a different voice piped up Because he seemed to be in a bad mood, and he made it pretty obvious this delivery was supposed to be secret? His curiosity easily brushed aside any objections his better judgement presented, however, and Peter began a new mission. Finding out what James was really doing.
He knew his father would do the same.
BREAK
Halley's mind felt numb. For the past two hours, she had diligently scanned the forest for any possible threats, of which there had been none. Emulating Gunther's paranoia had seemed like an excellent way to ensure both her and Tèine's safety when she started, but without any real peril, she had begun constructing possible scenarios in her mind, and mentally preparing for them. With the utter silence they had been travelling in, this had continued completely unrestrained. The resulting burn out was massively unpleasant, and almost made Halley wish for someone else to attack her. Apparently the presence of Tèine's tribe had driven anything remotely dangerous out of the area.
Tèine herself was easily keeping pace with the group. She was between Gunther and Halley, at Halley's insistence. Gunther had put up little resistance to this, and when Halley asked why, he said:
"You're the loudest. If either of us took the rearguard the other two might not even notice we were gone in the event of an ambush."
Halley had not appreciated this line of thought, leading to her adopting a completely silent vigil. Tèine rubbed her eye and sighed, snapping Halley out of her own thoughts. The girl looked tired, a look Halley had only seen worn by women thrice her age. It looked foreign on such a young face.
Halley's mind seemed to perk up at the sight, and dropped an idea into her lap.
"Tèine! Have you ever played Taleweaver?" Halley asked
"No, how do you play?" Tèine asked
"One person starts by saying a person, place, or thing, that's gathering the wool. Then the next person has to spin the yarn, that is add a word that makes sense to the sentence. Then we keep taking turns until the story is done, the tale is woven! Make sense?"
"Uhm, okay…" Tèine looked puzzled. "What's yarn?"
"That's not important, all you have to do is say a word. Here, I'll give you an example. Say the first word is 'I'. The next person could add the word 'will', but couldn't add a word like 'tree', because that wouldn't make sense to the story."
"Oh, okay!" Tèine said "You."
"Have." Halley said
"No." Tèine said
"More." Halley added
"Lizards" Tèine finished
Halley smiled and asked "Wanna keep playing?"
Tèine nodded
"Today" Halley began
"they" Tèine said
"Watched"
"From"
"Above"
"The"
"Bright"
"Clouds!" Tèine finished, enthusiastically. Halley received a burst of nostalgia as she recalled all the moments she had spent on the road, making up her own stories to pass the time. She missed Vinny, but his contributions to the stories were pretty minimal. Horses just don't have the creative mindset I guess. Halley thought about where Vinny was now. She hoped he was okay, even if she was likely never going to find him again. Halley shook away the depressing train of thought and returned her attention to the game
"This time, you go first, Tèine, and we'll see how long we can keep going." Halley said
Tèine hardly waited for Halley to finish her sentence before she blurted out "A duck!"
That's two words, but eh, close enough. Halley thought, and added "swam" to the story. As the two girls tossed words into the growing storyline, Halley's mind drifted a bit, and she could feel the game receding. There was something she had forgotten...what was it? The world shrank away from her as more and more of her thoughts were pulled inward, yet she felt no closer to reaching the thing that rested on the tip of her tongue. Outside, the game continued
"Ahead"
"He"
"Saw"
"Giant"
"Doors"
Halley knew that it was something recent, but that hardly helped. She couldn't even narrow it down to whether it was a person, thing, or place. Had she forgotten someone? It wasn’t Leann, Feirm or Peter. She certainly hadn't forgotten James, and Gunther and Tèine were right here. Here. Maybe it was a place…
"Found"
"A"
"Cave"
"With"
She had only been in forests recently, she was sure. Except for the sickening venture into the Gossamer plains, but she could clearly remember that. Maybe this was all just a weird case of deja vu.
“And”
“From”
“Down”
“The”
“Tunnel”
This is going to drive me crazy, I need to just think of something else. Halley thought. She tried to concentrate on the game, but it felt as though she was constantly looking over her shoulder at the nagging memory in the back of her mind.
“Heard”
“A”
“Voice”
“Say”
“Shut up!”
Gunther stole the last turn, bringing the game to a grinding halt, as well as interrupting Halley’s train of thought.
“What? What happened?” Halley whispered
“Someone is trailing us. From the west by the looks of it. Keep your ears open, and your mouths shut.”
Halley listened, but only heard the faint crowing of a murder of the birds. Tèine however, bristled, whipping her head around, looking at a distant point. Halley followed her gaze, but saw nothing.
Gunther flattened himself against the thick trunk of an oak. Halley, after a second’s delay, followed suit, taking refuge against the scaly bark of a hickory. Tèine leapt at a skinny maple and scrambled up into the canopy.
Wind brushed the treetops. Gunther held up a hand, signalling wait. A crack broke the silence, followed by a boom that Halley could feel through her feet, but not from the west. The sound had come from the east. Halley instinctively ducked, expecting fire to sail toward them, but when she looked back up, Gunther had disappeared.
“Leggoahme, ya twitchy lunatic!” Halley emerged from behind the hickory to see Gunther had subdued their tail. It was a man, heavily tanned, with dusty brown hair, and wearing a vest with various patches sewn into it. The man had both his arms pulled straight back, and was forced into a kneeling position by an irate Gunther. Tèine was perched on a tree, watching the two struggle.
“Why were you following us?” Gunther demanded
“Oh, that? Well you see, a long time ago, I had a son, and he made me promise something...He said to me: ‘Papa, promise me, one thing. That if you ever get into trouble, just remember. You can always Go fuck yourself!’” As soon as the man finished his sentence, Gunther wrenched the man’s left arm to the side causing him to inhale sharply.
“Do you work for them?” Gunther’s voice had become cold
“Are they the ones who taught you how to interrogate an innocent bystander, because if so, they could use a les-” The man cried out in pain as his arm was pulled into an unnatural position.
“One more quip, and the arm is gonna need a splint. Really, I’m not asking for much here.” Gunther said
“Okay, Okay. I’ll talk. I was following ya, because I didn’t know the way home from your mom’s house.” The man smirked as he finished his line, and Gunther sighed.
Halley braced herself for more brutality, but to her surprise, Gunther simply released the man.
“Let me apologize. It has been a trying few days for me, but I shouldn’t have overreacted like tha-” Gunther found himself interrupted as a fist connected with his face.
“ 'Pology accepted. I’ve been where you are. Name’s Sergio.” He spit on the ground, mercifully in the opposite direction of the three travelers.
Sergio appraised them before speaking again “Ya surprised me, for sure. Didn’t expect anyone who came out of that place to speak sense.”
Gunther recovered from the sudden assault, wiping a smear of blood from beneath his nose. “You’ve run into the tribals before?”
“Aye, they been fighting me for years. Gotten smart recently, had to keep inventin’ new traps.” Sergio scratched his head
“Well, you won’t have to worry about them anymore.” In a quieter tone, he added “We ran across their encampment a little while ago. Dead to the last.” Gunther said, solemnly.
“That right? Then what's that?” Sergio jabbed a finger at Tèine.
“The last.” Gunther replied
“She’s not violent, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Halley added
Sergio tugged at his beard. "Damn. You're serious aren't you? Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm gonna miss those walking sticks of crazy. Between you and me, I kinda enjoyed the challenge. Still, I suppose you've done me a favour, telling me. Saved me quite a bit of time I woulda wasted on setting up traps for no one. Only fair I do you one in kind. How about some food? Got some ribs in the smokehouse back home."
The man gestured to follow him, then began walking into a denser part of the forest without waiting for a reply.
Halley and Gunther exchanged a look. Tèine, walking between the two, disappeared into the brush behind the man. Halley's stomach grumbled, and she followed quickly after Tèine. Gunther paused for a moment, then did the same.
Sergio set a quick pace, but unlike Tèine, who was near silent in the woods, he used brute force. He not only stepped on every pile of dry leaves and twigs on the forest floor, but snapped off several tree branches which had been unfortunate enough to lay in his path.
The amount of noise he made was incredible, and it seemed impossible that they had somehow missed him earlier. Seemingly unperturbed by the trail of destruction he was leaving, Sergio began to speak again.
"So why were you folks wandering around in the brutes' lands?"
"We didn't know that it was inhabited. We were on a trek to the Tundra up North and got a bit lost."
Halley shot Gunther a look, and mouthed the words "What are you doing?"
Gunther motioned a quick swipe across his throat, at which Halley bristled.
"Hahahaha! Lost is putting it lightly, friend. Only thing North of here is the damn Gardeners and they don't take kindly to visitors. If you're really set on reaching the ice, you'd be better off heading East first."
"Thank you for the advice, mister Sergio. Is there anything we can do to repay you for it, and the food?" Halley asked
Sergio chuckled "Feeling guilty, are ya? But now that you mentioned it, there is one thing I've been meaning to do."
Gunther glared at Halley, mouthing out "What are you doing?"
Halley threw his own response back at him. He snarled silently, but did not respond.
Sergio continued "Don't worry, it's not ditch-diggin', I just feel like a change of scenery would do me some good."
He crouched down, yanked on a wire Halley hadn't seen, and a log studded with jagged shards of wood and metal swung down, nearly decapitating him. The ropes binding the trap together stretched and complained as the massive deathtrap came to a rest. Sergio stood up, dusting his hands off on his pants, and walked by the now defunct apparatus.
"Even with the tribals around, I'd been thinking about picking up sticks and moving out. There's fuck all out here, and I was getting stir crazy." Under his breath, the man added “last time I listen to those tree hugging druid roasters. 'Connecting with nature', my arse.“
“Anyhow, here we are.” Sergio had entered a small clearing. Although the presence of a large wooden cabin dominated it to the point where Halley hesitated to refer to it as a ‘clearing’.
The cabin consisted of two intersecting rectangles in the form of ‘L’, the nearer half hugged the ground, but the other boasted a second story and an unpolished stone chimney. The walls were made entirely of tightly stacked logs striped with a bright layer of sun-baked soil, and vines reached up the sides, stopping just short of the second story roof, which was covered in a layer of slate tiles. Moss and mushrooms jostled for room at the base of the building, just beyond that, clovers drank the rays of sun that slipped through the trees before being consumed by patchwork of dead leaves on the forest floor.
Halley thought back to the Trail’s end. This place may not have been as well kept, but it tickled her mind in the same spot that the old inn had. Both solitary outposts, rarely visited, and threatened by other people. Except she’d failed to protect hers. Bitterness welled up in her.
“Ah, you think that’s impressive, just wait until you see inside!” Sergio must have seen her expression, but was evidently quite bad at reading it. She gave him an awkward smile and replied:
“Lead the way.”
And Sergio did.
Walking into the house, Halley could see that any resemblance to the Trail’s End was superficial. Where Leann had insisted that the floors and walls be cleaned at least once a week, and dust be gathered up and disposed of almost as quick as it accumulated. In addition, she had an eagle-eye for culling unnecessary clutter where Sergio had adopted a more...lax approach.
The interior of Sergio’s cabin was covered top to bottom in knick-knacks, gewgaws, curios, and treasures. She saw a solid ship's compass filled with water, and when she picked it up it still pointed true north, as if stubbornly refusing to let the world get in the way of its duty.
There was a beautifully crafted wooden instrument that appeared to be something like a fiddle and a piano, with a large wheel embedded in it, emblazoned with complex patterns which danced across its surface. Yet between these two treasures sat a jar with singed woodchips inside. There seemed to be no discernable pattern to where objects were placed.
Still more objects rested on tables, others hung from the ceiling by ropes and nets. Some were too large for either, and rested on the floor, like a pale purple crystal spike which leaned against a corner of the house. The jagged shard of rock looked like it could easily crush her if she were to try to move it. When she touched it, the surface felt unexpectedly warm, like it had been sitting in front of a fire and not stowed away in a dark corner.
Tèine looked about with awe, and picked up a large quantity of rope which formed a labyrinthian knot around a severed bear's paw. Sergio nodded at the child
"I see you have a hunter's eye. I got that from a shaman friend who hailed from a tribe in the western swamps. Nice folks, but feared for their powerful talismans and magic items. The paw you now hold came from a shape shifting rival to my friend. He managed to surprise the man while he was still transforming, killing him. But not before sealing a bit of the dying man's power using that rope. The knots confuse the spirits inside, preventing their escape."
"What does it do?" Tèine asked
"Allegedly, it makes you 'like a bear”. Coisiche liked making things vague. Think he might've just hated explaining himself. Still, one thing he was pretty insistent on was that I never use it. And he said to 'offer it to the forest fire', but wouldn’t let me burn the thing."
Sergio shook his head and turned to Gunther "Druids, am I right?"
Gunther just shrugged "They usually just give me a horrified look and try to avoid eye contact."
"You're not missing much, really. I-what are you doing?" Sergio stopped short as he noticed Tèine unravelling the knots around the paw.
Tèine continued untying the paw from its prison, oblivious to the slack-jawed expression Sergio had adopted. Her fingers pried each jumbled mess apart with frenzied dexterity, until only one remained, but before she could finish her work, Sergio stopped her.
"Kid, you have got to be some kind of genius. In all my time travelling, I've not managed to undo even one of them knots. Think I might've added a few, actually. But you should stop now." He reached out to take the puzzle from Tèine.
Tèine's eyes blazed with intensity. She stared through Sergio. "I have to. There's only one left."
Sergio looked alarmed, as if Tèine had suddenly grown three heads and a mouth full of teeth. He composed himself quickly, shifting from terror to patience.
"Tell you what. I'll make you a deal. I'll let you have the thing, on one condition." Sergio said
"I don’t care, I accept." Tèine said
"Hahaha, you’ve got moxie demanding a gift from a stranger. I respect that. But you need to learn to hold your horses, kid. The condition is that you won't undo that last knot unless you really need it."
“My name is Tèine.” She said.
Sergio nodded “Right. Take care of it, Tèine.”
With that, Sergio relinquished the paw. She took the gift, carefully, almost reverently. Tèine's eyes were still vibrant, but having acquired the item seemed to calm her a bit. She stared at it for a moment before using the loosened rope to tie the paw to her back. The bear paw nearly eclipsed the size of her entire torso. It might have been comical in other circumstances, but it seemed to suit Tèine.
“Thank you, mi a’gealtainn, gift-giver.” Tèine returned to looking around
The surfeit of wonders continued as they passed from the entrance hall through a doorway and into a wider room, dominated by a long table of lacquer-darkened wood. A total of nine chairs were arranged along its perimeter, not one of which matched any other chair in the ensemble.
Halley eyed the fireplace. The raw stone, which Halley could now see made up the entire structure of the fireplace, contained flecks of bright yellow, ensconced in quartz. A small fire burned within the hearth.
“Sergio, is that what I think it is?” Halley asked in disbelief
“Hmm? Oh the chimney. Yeah, that’s gold.” Sergio said with what Halley thought was an unfitting air of casualness.
“But there’s enough here to buy an entire town, maybe even a city! Why do you live here? And why turn it into a fireplace of all things?” Halley asked
“Why would I want to live in a city, much less own one? Nothing there but fake people and thieves.”
Halley couldn’t fault his logic. Grimoire did tend to have a lot of both before it got hit by the plague.
“As to why it is now living in my fireplace, it looks nice. Don't need a better reason.” Sergio appraised a few pieces of firewood, carefully arranging them in the firebox, just under a large, covered pot. The fire crackled as it began digesting the new fuel.
Halley was dumbfounded by the moral fortitude required to sit on a literal fortune and not abuse it, much less spend none of it. You could fight the empire head on with that much gold. I could definitely track down those damn kidnappers with it. Heck, he’s not even using it, he won’t miss a few flecks here and there. Halley shook the dark thought away. It wasn’t hers to take. Not trying very hard to save them, are you? An unwelcome voice whispered. Frustrated at herself, she dragged out one of the nearest chairs and flopped down onto it. The wooden frame creaked in response.
Gunther, chose a seat opposite her, and watched their host carefully. Halley glanced at Sergio, who was rummaging through a cabinet.
“Ah, goddam Raccoons. How do they even get in here?”
He brushed a large supply of assorted chewed up scraps of food onto the floor, and
kicked them toward the fireplace.
“There it is!” Sergio held up a small, red box depicting a rooster
Tèine hopped up onto the chair to Halley’s left. “What is that?” She asked
“It’s Canto spice. Hottest this side of the Dariya. Only for special occasions, I'll have you know." Sergio winked
"Is that why you have so many extras up there?" Tèine pointed at a pile of the bright red boxes stacked haphazardly on the top of the cabinet Sergio stood in front of.
Sergio paused. "Huh, I was wondering where those went."
As soon as Sergio popped the lid off of the box, an acrid scent filled the air. Halley coughed once, then composed herself, but Tèine covered her nose with both hands and clenched her eyes shut. Gunther idly scratched his face, watching their discomfort unfold.
"Maybe you should keep saving that stuff." Gunther suggested
Sergio looked around and said "Maybe you're right." He resealed the box, and the air returned to bearable levels of heat, though Halley could still feel the aftereffects.
"I should have something more mild in here somewhere" Sergio returned to digging through his belongings.
"So, Sergio. You seem well traveled." Halley probed
"Aye, that's right. Been all about. Jungles, deserts, icebergs, temples, fortresses, tunnels, you name it." Sergio responded
"I figured as much. But I have to ask: Have you ever found anything... especially unusual?" Halley said
Sergio stopped, turned, and focused all of his attention toward Gunther, a serious look on his face. "Am I to understand that you're looking for a specific item?"
Halley shook her head. "No. We aren't merchants. We're looking for a place."
Sergio visibly brightened "So you're fellow thrill hunters then!? That's a relief. I was worried you were going to try to buy something, like the- ah, nevermind. Let's not plague our dinner with depressing talk. Go on, ask away. I'll help you if I can."
Halley leaned in "Have you ever come across a fortress, of sorts, one made of stone and metal?"
Sergio looked thoughtful as he returned to his search for stew ingredients.
"Are we talking an abandoned tomb or an actively manned and maintained fort crawling with heavily armed soldiers?”
“Unfortunately, the latter.” Gunther said
“Ah, well I tend to avoid places like that, believe it or not. That said, they are pretty noticeable so I’ve definitely seen a few, but made of metal? Can’t say that rings any bells. Except maybe that temple to a moon god I once visited, that was coated in silver leaf.”
“No, it has metal throughout the building, not just for surface decoration.” Gunther said
“I take it that’s what you’re searching for up north? Seems odd, to make a building out of metal, especially in the ice. Can’t be very comfortable, and you’d need a huge workforce to get enough ore processed for it. Then again, it wouldn’t be the first strange thing I came across, and rich folk do have strange tastes.” Sergio mused, opening the pot and stirring its contents.
“No kidding” Halley mumbled, eyeing the various, possibly magical, and certainly expensive items which surrounded them. Then, aloud: “What are you cooking, anyhow? You mentioned ribs earlier, but nothing about a stew.”
“I’m so glad you asked! This pot contains a healthy serving of the single greatest food the world has ever seen: Potatoes. Specifically, a variety called gilded root, accompanied by three kinds of vegetables, all chopped and simmered to perfection in homemade bone broth, which infuses them with the flavor and lending them a unique blend of savory tastes that pairs perfectly with any other dish.” Sergio finished his speech with a flourish of the stirring ladle which flung bits of stew into the air.
“And, yes, there are ribs. I’ll go get them in a minute.” Sergio added
“Wow, so you really enjoy cooking, huh?” Halley said, trying to ignore the gnawing hunger in her stomach.
“No, why would you say that?” Sergio asked, crouching dangerously close to the fire and stoking it with a twig
Halley genuinely couldn’t tell if he was serious. She decided to change the subject.
“Is there any way we could help? I feel weird just sitting around while you do all the work.”
Sergio groaned as he stood “Nah, as fun as it would be to send you out on a wild goose chase in the woods at night to find a flower that doesn’t exist, it’s better you stay. Would hate to have to explain myself twice.” He glanced at Halley, then added “Plus you might die.”
“I’m not completely inept!” Halley protested
“Maybe not, but those tribals definitely weren’t and only two ever got through the traps to my house. One of them is sitting next to you. The other is a tale for another time. Dinner is served!” Sergio slid several bowls out to each spot on the table, the spoons inside clattering around as the bowls spun and wobbled.
“Help yourselves to as much as you like, and I’ll go get a few of the ribs.” Sergio walked to the corner left of the fireplace and grabbed a section of wall. The wall swung open, and the potent smell of smoked meat wafted out of the newly revealed room. The door swung closed behind him, leaving the three alone.
Tèine slid off her chair, and dragged it over to the pot. She climbed back onto the chair, where she very carefully served herself a portion of stew.
Halley followed suit, albeit without the need for a chair to stand on. Gunther stood and joined them.
"What are you doing?" Gunther asked
"Getting something to eat?" Halley replied, scooping up a spoonful of stew. Gunther grabbed her hand, stopping her.
"Aren't you worried that he spiked that food?” Gunther asked
"The only time he could have poisoned it is before he found us, and why would he poison himself?" Halley countered
"He doesn't have to poison himself, just put something in that he can tolerate but we can't. Or he could have that stew prepared specifically for intruders, we both know he's fond of traps." Gunther pointed out
“It doesn’t smell like poison.” Tèine said, sniffing the pot of stew.
“Most poisons don’t smell at all. That’s no guarantee of safety.” Gunther said
"So you're going to starve yourself? You can't always play it safe, Gunther. We need food. He has food. He hasn't done anything to us except punch you, and you did kind of deserve it. You were gonna break his arms." Halley said
"That’s exactly my point! He’s been far too nice given the circumstances. If you’re hungry, we can hunt for something tomorrow, but I’m telling you, do not eat that food!" Gunther hissed.
Halley eyed the food with a desperate longing, but she held herself back. That is, until Gunther’s attention was diverted by their host. It was at that moment that Sergio barged back into the room, a bucket overflowing with ribs in his hands. There was clearly enough there to feed at least seven people. Halley looked back at the enormous pot of stew and wondered if his isolation had given him an inflated sense of the amount of food people ate. The man hefted the bucket and let it drop onto the table with a dull ‘thud’.
“Right. Hope you’re hungry, cause these all need to be eaten tonight!” Sergio took eight ribs from the bucket and slid it toward the other end of the table where his guests were gathered.
What Gunther said had introduced doubt into her mind, but her stomach sent up another wave of hunger, and she relented. I don’t care anymore, it’s worth it. Halley took full advantage of Sergio’s boisterous entrance. She shovelled a spoonful of stew into her mouth. It was delicious. She swallowed the food and felt immediately better.
As Sergio began devouring the ribs, and Halley practically inhaled the stew, they were watched-judged- by Gunther. Tèine sat placidly stirring her own serving, waiting for something. Sergio beamed at Halley.
“Glad you like it! It’s a recipe I got from a close friend, some years back. He was a good man.” Then he saw Gunther’s expression and faltered a bit.
“Something wrong?” Sergio asked him
“No, it’s nothing” Gunther said, grabbing a few of the ribs and putting them into his soup bowl.
“Oh! Of course, plates! Here” Sergio hopped up, opened a cabinet and pulled out two plates, a cutting board, and a large bowl.
“Sorry about the cutting board. Don’t get many visitors. You can throw the scraps into this bowl, though” He tossed his recently stripped rib into the bowl as a demonstration.
“Thanks” Gunther said, forgetting to infuse his voice with an appropriate amount of gratitude.
“No problem!” Sergio said, throwing two more ribs into the scrap bowl. Their voices were replaced by the din of good food and hungry mouths. As the meal wound to a close and the food was all but gone, Halley was stricken by a sudden burst of restlessness. We should leave, there’s still so far to go. But even as her mind grew more urgent, her body settled under the weight of post-meal comfort. You can’t stay, you have work to do. Halley sank into the cushions of her chair, warmth wrapping her like a blanket. She could so easily fall asleep right now. It would be so easy. What about what Gunther said? Funny, she couldn’t remember.
Sergio belched, a resounding echo causing several of the more brittle items in his collection to ring and clatter like a windchime. Halley snapped awake again. Once he recovered from the aftershocks of his own expulsion, Sergio spoke
“So. I don’t have more than one bed, and as the host it would be rude of me to take it. You all can decide who gets it, or you can all try to fit on it at once. It might even work, actually. In the morning, we’ll hit the trail. Sound good?”
“I guess we could draw straws for-Hold on, ‘we’?” Halley asked
“Ah, right. That’s my price. Nothing in this world is free, am I right?” Sergio grinned
“No.” Gunther said
“Before you dismiss me right away, I am easily capable of carrying my own weight, and more. I’m not so bad in a fight, if you’ll allow me a bit of sinful pride.”
“We don’t need a brawler, and we’re travelling light.” Gunther resisted
“True, you all are clearly experienced fighters to be alive right now. But you’re also hopelessly lost. I can fix that pretty easily.” Sergio pulled down a beautifully woven quilt that wouldn't be out of place in a king’s bedroom, from the wall on which it was hung. Behind it was a collage of small maps whose overlapping edges came together to form a single landform.
Halley stared in awe. That’s the entire continent! Her own maps had only been rough things, with all the detail clustered around the roads and cities. Sergio’s wall depicted detail even in the far reaches of Iomall, places that Halley hadn’t even had a vague notion of. There were faint lines denoting roads, and borders. Halley looked toward their destination and her jaw dropped. The Sahayan territory encompassed a region of the map that rivalled the Empire’s holdings. It was no wonder the Sergio laughed at their attempts to get north. The trek to the northern tip of the continent would take around two months, and that was only if they walked through the Sahayan’s land, let alone if they walked around it.
It was a work of art. How long could this have taken him? Halley wondered At least a decade, even with good contacts.
Sergio looked at the top left corner, where the Sahayan/Imperial border lay, and after a moment of deliberation, ripped that section of the map off of the wall and out of the carefully laid structure. Halley was appalled.
“This map” Sergio waved the torn pieces of paper in the air “Will keep you on track, and out of trouble at the same time. Take a look.” He tossed the paper onto the table, and flattened it out.
Gunther didn’t even glance down. “That’s great. The answer is still ‘no’.”
Halley piped up “Sure, you can come with us.”
Gunther stared daggers at her “Did you already forget the promise you made? You know, the one where you promised to follow orders?”
Halley met his gaze “Yeah, do you remember promising to teach me how to shape?” To be honest, she wasn't even sure if she really wanted Sergio around or if she just enjoyed contradicting Gunther. Probably both
“I tried to teach you shaping, and you nearly died.” Gunther’s voice rose, just a bit.
“That’s not a lesson, that’s attempted murder! ” Halley’s voice was heated
As the two devolved into arguing, Tèine walked over to Sergio and said “Gift-giver, my tribe hated you. You kept them penned in, sometimes your traps hurt them. But my tribe hated everyone, and the traps only hurt the meanest brothers and sisters. I liked your traps. They were fun to figure out. You never hurt me. And you are a gift-giver. You should come with us.”
Sergio looked down at Tèine, nodded and said “Thank you, little warrior.”
Halley looked up from her argument and registered what Tèine had said.
“Looks like you’re outnumbered, Gunther.” Halley said, failing to contain a smug smirk.
Gunther looked deeply troubled. He turned to Sergio “If you join us, you could die.”
Sergio waved a hand “I’m no stranger to lethal adventures.”
Gunther turned back to Halley “Shaping will be more dangerous with him around. More witnesses makes it less stable.”
Halley raised an eyebrow “What does that mean?”
Gunther sighed. “I guess it doesn’t matter if Sergio hears this, seeing as how he’s coming with us whether I like it or not. Shaping requires you to force your will onto the world. But it isn’t enough to just be stubborn. Everyone has a little bit of shaping ability, but most people only ever use it to defend themselves, even if they don’t really know what they’re doing. I noticed this only after a lot of trial and error, but the perceptions of normal people dampen the powers of Knights and Jesters. Not enough to stop it entirely, but it does make it require more focus and if enough normal people are watching, you can’t do much more than a gust of wind. And I’ve never been a strong shaper at the best of times.”
Gunther paused to allow Halley to digest this new information. It was a whole new problem to overcome. That’s why he didn’t want to bring any of us along. She realized.
“How much can you do right now? With all of us watching?” Halley asked
“ Two people isn’t enough to stop me, but it would make everything take longer. Long enough to be dangerous if we have to fight something.” Gunther said
“ So, what’s shaping?” Sergio asked
“Magic.” Halley replied
“Uh huh. Well, no one’s perfect, and I’ve dealt with crazier people.”
Gunther held up his hand and produced a pale wisp of flame in his palm. The flame moved slowly, like it was moving through syrup. Sergio passed his hand through the flame a few times.
“Weird. How did you get it to do that? All the shamans I’ve seen do fire tricks used some kind of powder.” Sergio said
"This isn't worth it." Gunther said, snuffing out the flame.
"In fairness, he's taking it pretty well." Halley said
"It's not his feelings I'm worried about. His skepticism is going to get us killed." Gunther said
A moment of silence passed
"We could show him the Gossamer plains." Halley said
Gunther gave her a look of utter incredulity. Then he scratched at the stubble on his chin.
"You could use the practice. Do what you want. But at least do it outside so we don't burn down the house. I'll be out in a second, don't start until I'm close enough to stop you."
"What? No, you have to do it, I’m nowhere near ready!”
“So? You think you’ll ever be ready if you don’t try?” Gunther said
"What if the Federation people find us? You said they could track us!"
"That proverbial ship is currently somewhere in the middle of the ocean, after our little adventure with the tribals."
Halley tried to find some excuse to escape the task. “Shouldn’t I at least do it on my own before I try to take someone along? What if he gets hurt?”
“You did slip once already, remember? As for Sergio...Well, let that be your motivation for succeeding. Besides, it doesn’t really matter, since I know you’ll get it.” Gunther said
The statement came so casually that Halley took a moment to register it as a genuine vote of confidence. She found a small part of herself actually agreeing with him. Probably the part that went insane a week ago.
“Okay, you’ve got this.” She gestured at Sergio to follow her outside, who did, but with the air of a parent humouring their child.
The sky had darkened to a deep blue by now, fading to black at the horizon. Crickets dominated the soundscape. The air had shed the heat of the day, the absence proved refreshing after their filling meal. Halley almost felt comfortable. Her current objective brought her back to reality. It took agonizing minutes for Gunther to trudge out onto the lawn, and by the time he did, Halley was ready for the lesson to be over.
Without hesitation, she put a hand on Sergio's shoulder, and he asked "Ooh, I've seen this one before. You use the physical contact to distract me while your other hand is setting up something. Usually it was people trying to steal from me, but this is a novel use!"
Halley raised an eyebrow. "I'm not going to steal from you."
Sergio replied "Of course not, you can't steal what is freely given!"
Halley wasn't sure how to reply to that, so she settled for focusing on the dropping sensation that characterized slipping. A minute ticked by. Another minute, and nothing happened. At the end of the third minute, Sergio shuffled uncomfortably. The fourth minute. Gunther sneezed.
"Can't we get a little peace and quiet here?" Halley snapped. Gunther looked almost entirely unmoved. Almost.
"Sorry. I didn't mean it. This is just hard." Halley said
"Apology accepted. Failure is fine. You didn't combust this time, you're improving. Keep trying."
"Okay." She took a deep breath and noticed something new. Something tugged at her awareness. It felt like a candle was being held to a small spot inside her head, not hot, but a warm sensation. A mental image wavered on the periphery of her mind. She grabbed the edges with imaginary hands and pulled at it. Something budged. The world swam for a moment, loosening her grip on it. She rallied, and pulled again. The heat was replaced by a sharp and extremely painful sting. Halley's patience, along with her wavering grasp on the slip, broke.
"I can't do it. I can't." Halley gasped
"One more try, then we'll turn in." Gunther said.
"Fine." Halley said. Doesn’t really make a difference anyway.
Halley returned her attention to Sergio once more, but burst out laughing when she saw his face. He had a cartoonishly sad frown, and was pulling his eyes into an exaggerated droop.
A broad grin replaced the grimace and Sergio said "There's a smile! Can't do your best work, sad, you know."
Halley felt a bit of the cloud hanging over her life lift. She set to work, pulling the image back to her center of focus. She was shocked when the image snapped quickly into focus and flooded her awareness with an array of sensations. Blues and greens blended into the taste of fresh cookies and a keening bird call produced the smell of petrichor. It was entirely different than her previous slip. It was still disorienting, but in a far more beautiful way than before. And she had slipped! I did it…Oh crap, Sergio!
"What in the?" Sergio was still beside her, and intact. She thanked the gods for showing her that mercy. Halley tried not to think about what could have happened, could still happen on the way back.
“Where...No, you’re kidding.” Sergio was looking up, so Halley followed his gaze. Directly into the blinding light of the sun. Or at least it was as bright as the sun. There was a noticeable chunk missing, as though someone had poured a lot of extra light into the moon during a crescent phase. Blinking back the dark spots in her eyes that the not-sun had left, she noticed that she was still standing on something. Evidently, the gossamer plains had gotten tired of being water-logged, because they were standing in the middle of a parched grassland, like they had been catapulted to the edge of the Central wastes.
“Do you believe us now?” Halley asked
“How could I not believe you? I mean this is-what does-we’re in a desert!” Sergio stumbled over his own words in excitement. He stooped down to feel the dirt, as it to reassure himself that it was there, and not an illusion. Halley noted that given how the plains had acted last time, it was entirely possible that the ground was just an illusion, but felt that it would be counter-productive to mention that. As fun as flying was, I’d really prefer to stand for now.
“What’s that?” Sergio asked. He was looking into the horizon, one hand shielding his eyes from the bright light. Halley looked toward the horizon with him, but only saw grass, swaying in a breeze that might not exist.
"I don't see anything."
"I thought I saw something in the grass"
"Like what? Something bad?"
"I don't know, it disappeared too fast. You made this place, didn't you? Shouldn't you know what's in it?" Sergio asked, the slight upswing to his tone told her that he wasn't asking to accuse, but out of concern that the situation was not in control.
"I'm sure it was nothing." Halley lied
The plains, however, seemed to sense the mood, and shivered in response. The grass sped towards them, simultaneously becoming smaller. The shift in focus was disorienting enough that neither Halley nor Sergio noticed the thing's approach. Until it spoke.
"You must leave[stay]" Its voice rumbled, a second underlying voice echoing just beneath the first.
The pair whipped around, and there stood a tiger. Its coat was gleaming white with textureless black stripes cutting through. It spoke again, the echo more pronounced
"You are seen, by the soldiers[and by me]. Leave[Run if you want, it's too late now]"
Halley said nothing, but reached for Sergio. They had to slip now.For being such a great gift, slipping has nearly killed me quite a lot. But she didn't. She wanted to know more. Needed to know more, and this...thing, it talked like it knew.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Halley demanded
"We are everyone. [Ha! They lie. They are not me.]" The tiger replied.
"Who are you!? I won't ask again." Halley knew the first voice, but couldn't place it.
"We are here to help. [But they'll only hurt. Run, little shaper. Run from your-] Enough. Be silent, outsider. Know this, child. You will need it soon." The tiger's form wavered, and Halley gasped in surprise as a migraine ripped through her head. She nearly screamed as the pain peaked three separate times.
"Our meeting ends here, but good luck Halley. We cannot stay any longer. Your world awaits. Return to it." With that final message, the tiger burst into one hundred wisps of smoke. Wind played over the sea of grass.
"What the fuck was that?" Sergio asked. Halley couldn't respond. She collapsed into the dirt. As she passed from consciousness, her last thought was How did they know my name? Who are we?