Tèine watched with interest as Halley and Gift-Giver Sergio stood in an open grass field. They waited for a long time, at least a minute, before Halley groaned in frustration. Gift-Giver made a funny face at Halley. She laughed a bit, and started waiting again. Then they were gone. Even though Tèine knew that a regular person couldn't hope to fight against a magic-wielder, she still found herself disappointed that she didn't even see what Halley did when they vanished. There wasn't even a big bang, or a flash. When her Shaman did magic, he flailed around and made odd noises, which was very entertaining to watch, and a bit reassuring. If he had to do all that in order to use his powers, he'd be easy prey in a fight, and Tèine was good at those.
Seeing Halley and the other one casting magic without warning was scary. How can you fight them? And if magic was so simple, then why didn't our shaman do it like that? Tèine figured that it must be because their shaman was old. Old people were always moving so slow, and loudly, too. They huffed and wheezed and their joints cracked all the time. Tèine missed elder Koloko.
She walked out of the doorway and towards the trees. It felt like coming home.
"Hey!" The Tall One shouted. He was loud too, but in a boring way. Tèine turned to look at him with her most bored face.
"Don't go wandering off! If I have to find you, you'll regret it. Just stay in the house until I get back." The Tall One blinked out of existence. He was annoying. She kept walking. It didn't matter if he had all the magic in the world, she wasn't going to stay cooped up alone all night.
The night was a time for reflection, Tèine knew. She reached the treeline and scanned it for a low-limbed tree. Nighttime brought out a different you, one that slumbered during the day. She found a suitable pine, and began to climb. Her night self arrived with the rasping touch of pine needles and the cricketsong.
Tonight, however, would not be a restful time. Though her mind was freer now, it loosened its grip on the spectres within. The thoughts she fought to control. The loss of her tribe. The fear of tomorrow. The guilt of her choices. She didn't know what to do to get rid of them, so she would do what she always had. She would move.
As Tèine began her venture into the vine-adorned forest in earnest, she increased her speed until she could only just maintain her rhythm, pushing herself to the limits of her abilities. Wind rushed past her face as she lost herself in the sensations of her ascent.
Still the thoughts pursued her. Where are you running, leanabh? You can't ignore me forever. She redoubled her efforts, her movements passed over the line of control and into recklessness. Branches barely scraped her hands before she had grabbed hold of the next tree. The thoughts receded a bit, pummeled back under the weight of her screaming muscles.
For a glorious moment, Tèine was free of her pain, of herself. She felt like the Shelgadch, soaring above the treetops, hunting the lesser birds below. She closed her eyes, just for a moment, just to enjoy the feeling.
Her hand grasped empty air.
Tèine's heart leapt into her throat as she freefell. A grassland spread out before her, and in a desperate gambit she tucked her arms in and stretched out her legs, hoping to hit the ground and roll away her momentum.
She landed, letting her knees buckle to absorb part of the impact, but she had fallen too far. She put a hand out to stop her head from harm, and felt a fire erupt from her forearm. She crumpled, curled into a ball. Tèine lay on the ground, teeth gritted in pain, knowing that something had broken, but unable to even open her eyes to check. She faded into unconsciousness.
Tèine woke up, shivering under a sheen of cold sweat. Her eyes opened, and no light greeted them. She stirred, shifting into a kneeling position, and received a cruel reminder of her fall. She clenched her eyes shut, and waited. Once the stinging fire had subsided to a dull throbbing, Tèine looked around.
Grass crowded around her, blocking her view. A thick padding of broken grass stalks lay under her. It was still dark, but she wasn't sure if that meant she'd be asleep for a few minutes or a whole day. Halley will be looking for you either way, now. Tèine heard an inner voice say. She was surprised that this thought troubled her. She buried it with the rest. She couldn't stay here, she was practically entombed in grass.
Tèine stood, holding her left arm still with her right. Her legs, sore but intact, could still hold her weight. She looked up, searching for Deòir a Tuath, The Northern Teardrops. The constellation met her gaze, and pointed her way. She whispered out a thanks for their help, and turned to the East. The edge of the grass was only a few feet away, but she did not see the treeline, stones lay in between her and the trees.
The stones were large, solid ones, joined together entirely without mortar. They might have once been part of a mighty wall, but now most of them lay half-submerged in the dirt, claws of vines and roots pulling them down. Except in one place. Aligned perfectly to the east, a large archway rose in a graceful curve, each stone in its construction a different shape, and was covered top to bottom in carvings.
Tèine stepped towards it, moving as fast as she could without jostling her arm. A shiver played a song along her spine as she passed under the archway, the myriad of eyes which rose out of the rocks watching her. A sudden wind picked up, and Tèine shrank before it. A voice, shrill but distant, and carried on the breeze spoke: "Stay a while, it's been so long…" She whipped her head around, searching for the source, and found only darkness. Magic! Her own mind hissed.
"It's so nice to have company again. My apologies for the mess, my temple has seen better days."
"Where are you?" Tèine asked.
"Hmph, not very polite are you? I guess it's to be expected for a bumpkin. Let me be the one to teach you then: You should introduce yourself to a person before jumping into questioning them."
What does it want from me?Why is it here? What's a bumpkin? She didn't know, but she did know she could not trust this being."My name is Asaldùr." Tèine lied.
"A pleasure to meet you, Asaldùr. I have had many names, but you can call me Coyol."
"What do you want?" Tèine asked, she hated not being able to see who she was talking to. Coyol's voice felt vile, wrong. She wanted to leave, but what if she ran the wrong way and right into the being's waiting hands? Her father's voice echoed in her head: Will you abandon our ways as well as our bodies? Are you not of your tribe? Are you not a Serpent?
Shaman Koloko's voice interrupted. Show no fear, Leanabh, be brave, and the world will reward you. She ground her teeth, and held firm. Her arm throbbed.
"Ah! Look at me, calling you impolite when I've been such a bad host. Guests ought to be comfortable, and though I can't offer you a chair or bed, I still have enough power left here to help you a little. Let's fix that arm, shall we?"
Tèine felt a static in the air. Something bit into her broken arm and her vision flashed as pain she had not known could exist cut through her mind. She wrenched her arm away violently, but the pain did not increase. There was nowhere for the pain to increase to. Her whole body burned with it, every muscle, every bone cried out in pain. It was too much for her mind.
She rushed toward the cover of the forest. The voice of Coyol did not follow her, but the image of Shaman Koloko did. He did not speak, but she knew what he wanted to say. It's okay. I am here for you. His kind smile only made the cold seep further into her bones. How could pain burn so hot yet feel so cold? Still, Tèine did not cry. Snakes could not cry. They had no voice to cry, only a hiss. No tears, only venom.
So Tèine hissed, and she walked. Venom stung her eyes and cheeks.
James couldn't believe his luck. Time he had assumed would be spent out in the field, would now be spent in the single most important construct in this entire mudhut of a planet. And not just anywhere in the building, but right next to the heart!
It was the worst possible place for him right now. When Myra had first called them in, it had seemed like fate had kicked him in the face. Then they passed the native kid, holding the charge in his arms and James' mood did a backflip into a triple pirouette. For the few minutes he spent walking towards that reclusive tyrant Nilgiri's office had felt like he'd been blessed by the gods. Months of orchestrating elaborate excuses in his head that could get him into that place, and now he was walking there under direct orders. If he didn't know better, he'd say the universe was trying to tell him something, but he didn't care. The charge would be put in the absolute perfect spot to cause as much damage as possible when his benefactor arrived.
Then he received the news that he would be staying right in the blast zone instead of being out in the field. He had suddenly become part of the collateral.
Blowing himself up wasn't an option. Though it was tempting, James wasn't a fan of suicide, it struck him as a weak thing to do. If he failed to detonate the charges on time, though, he might stay alive for a time, but he'd certainly never be able to leave the citadel again. His benefactor was not the lenient kind.
James wasn't sure what was worse, knowing he'd likely never leave this hellhole again, or accepting that he was weak. There's a third option. There's always a third option. He thought. He was so distracted by his fear that when he sensed someone following him down the hallway, he nearly flooded the hall with plasma in panic.
He grabbed his wrist and rubbed it nervously. It was probably just a tail that the tyrant had assigned to him. That made sense. Nothing to worry about, just a human. He could avoid them and still make his escape. He still had time. James could almost hear the laughter of that thing in his head. Maybe he really was hearing it, it was hard to tell lately.
"I have to get out of here." He mumbled "Maybe if I use the three natives as bait, I can...No, that will never work. I'd get shot immediately, and they'd hate me afterwards. Still preferable to what it would do, but no….Wait…." James' grinned. Yeah, that will work.
"Hey! Can it back there. You're giving me conniptions." Charles barked.
James didn't even hear him.
"Ignore it, Chuck. I'm sure he's just imagining what it'll be like to fuck a fuel rod. We should keep him faaaar away from the reactor." Holiday quipped.
James looked up from his thoughts and for a brief flash saw grotesque amalgams of flesh before he regained control of his vision. It was a warning from the thing outside. He shuddered. The voiceless was hungry. Always hungry. James had felt sick for days after his first contact with It. Revolted by what the thing had shown him. But he wanted to escape, and was willing to endure it. Bit by bit, he acclimated to the jarring worldview of his contact's alien sight, until one day he noticed he wasn't sickened anymore. He was hungry.
James had locked the thingout of his mind for months after that realization. Maintaining a constant stream of nonsense in his mind helped, but he was unfortunately still mortal, and his guard was imperfect. It could talk to him when he was asleep, and often mocked him while doing so, but it never tried to control him through the dreamscape. James guessed it was because dreams were confusing to navigate, or because he had started taking paralytics before bed after he learned that he was a sleepwalker. Either way, he'd only ever experienced the discomfort of mind invasion while awake, and most often when he was stressed.
Like when your BPM is 110.
James’s vision narrowed, and he felt himself dragged backwards by the nape of his neck. Within seconds he was standing in a vast expanse of stone. A centimeter of water covered the entire floor, the only movement in the mirror surface coming from ripples which spread from his feet. He waited, knowing he was watched. The voiceless thing would have to make the first move. James refused to cave under the pressure and call out to it. It wanted to play games, and though James couldn’t afford to not play, he could at least try to win. Time passed, how much was hard to say. The voiceless thing often tampered with his perception of the world. It felt like an eternity, but that could just as easily have been the natural reaction to his situation, as much as an enforced illusion.
The floor tilted precariously, the world swinging wildly until he was hanging from a ceiling, his feet stayed perfectly rooted, unconvinced that anything had changed, while his stomach did somersaults. The water remained still for a moment more, then a few droplets fell. Then a few more. Then a torrent. A waterfall dropped into the sky beneath James, the sound of rushing water almost deafening after the silence which had preceded it.
An eyeless grin appeared in the water, projected onto the surface by an unseen source of light. The image danced in the sway of the current, but said nothing. James stared back, equally taciturn.
You're a lot less fun since I deigned to help you.
"I know you better now." James said. He hated when it spoke in his head. He knew it didn't need to, it could have a voice, a real voice. It just enjoyed irritating him.
Ah, the toy thinks it's wise now that it knows a shill from a sham. But the wise men brought gifts for their lord, long ago, and what do you have?
"I need more time, but I do have something you might like." James said
EXCUSES. That's all you have. I don't need them, I've heard more than enough for an eternity. What I want is what was promised to me.
"Three, three untouched lives. I only just gained access to them. That should be more than enough to cover three weeks." James pressed.
That is tempting. It has been ages since I last had anything new. Unfortunately for you, I've already found a new toy. I don't need your dregs.
James scoffed "If you found a new toy, why are you still here talking to me?"
Is it so wrong to want to visit an old friend before the end of the world?
"We aren't friends." James scowled. Suddenly he found he couldn’t breathe anymore. In bewilderment he glanced down and saw a barbed metal spike emerging from his chest. As if waiting for this realization, the pain of impalement shot up his spine and drowned his thoughts.
No, we aren't, are we? So why don't you go and complete your little task like a good servant?
The metal thorns reversed their course and ripped their way out of his back, leaving him to drop to the ceiling. Tattered flesh hung from the branches. It's all in your head, just wake up and you'll be fine. James thought to himself. He coughed up blood.
I tire of talking. I have decided in my infinite generosity, to give you a bit more time, for free, even. Ten days. A nice number, ten, wouldn't you agree? Now get going, you've got company...
James was given no time to ponder the meaning of the voiceless' words. He felt his wounds knit back together and he was pulled from the hallucinatory hell and thrust back into the pilot seat of his body. It was intensely bright when he returned, far brighter than the emergency lights should have been.
"...ou okay? James?"
Not him again…James thought. He sat up.
"Good, you're awake! I was worried it wouldn't work." Peter said
"What are you doing? What happened?" James demanded.
"You passed out, and I was volunteered to take you to medical by your friend Charles." Peter said. He dropped James' arm as James stood up. That makes no sense, Charles wouldn't let me go anywhere unattended, let alone trust a child.
"You're lying." James said
Peter said nothing, but as James reoriented himself to realspace he saw why. They were at the end of a battered hallway, just outside a set of double doors which were streaked with stains and rust.
They were at the morgue. He had…died? No, that can't be right, I was in my mind when the voiceless killed me. I was just imagining it. The pain in his chest disagreed. Of course, that would be ridiculous, the voiceless has only ever gotten weaker with time. The only other possibility is…Bad. Very bad. I don’t have ten days, not if the barrier is weak enough to let them do that. He paused.
“How long was I out?” He asked
"Maybe twenty minutes? Your friend, the older man he said you didn’t have a pulse and your boss didn’t seem to care... He told the big guy to take you here, but I volunteered instead." Peter replied
"Why would you do that? Why would Charles let you do that?" James asked
"Your boss seemed to think it was funny. I think he doubted I could carry you."
"And you decided to drag my corpse here to re-enact Achilles’ joyride around Troy?”
"I don’t…I don’t know who that is. I just wanted to see if I could help you. I’m not a doctor but it felt wrong that they didn't even try to revive you…" Peter said
"What? Kid, we're professional soldiers, and Holiday is an experienced field medic with a doctorate. If he says someone is dead, they're dead. And soldiers are used to death, none of them would even mourn me anyway. Except maybe One. He's soft."
"But you're alive."
"...Yeah, I guess I am." James thought for a moment. "Holiday never struck me as a prankster. If he lied to the group about me being dead, it wasn't for laughs. He might have just done it out of spite, that’s more his style." James said
"That's horrible. Why do they hate you so much?" Peter asked
"I’m not telling the story again, kid. Besides, it doesn’t matter. They’re basically hollows anyway." James waved a hand dismissively
Peter frowned "But pretending you were dead? That still seems a bit much."
"Why do you care? It’s not like their opinions matter to me, and I’m alive so your ticket out of here is secure.”
Peter looked confused "It was the right thing to do. Wouldn't you help a dying man?"
James looked incredulous "Not if it risked getting involved with…Ah, nevermind."
"With what?" Peter asked
"Nothing." James deadpanned
"That’s not fair, I told you everything I knew." Peter pressed
James stopped himself. The obvious answer would be 'it would be a waste of my time' but that would breed resentment and he needed cooperation.
It felt wrong to tell someone else of the Voiceless, after years of hiding it, but here was an opportunity to make the pain worth it. And his patron had already spent its limited time on this side on tormenting him, so there would be no reprisal. For now. He leaned heavily against the wall. The Voiceless had tormented him for longer than usual today. There was a very good chance that the extra time the kid had taken to drag him here saved his skin. Maybe he owed the truth to him. James looked back down at Peter.
"Thank you. It's weird to say it out loud, but you may actually have saved my life." James said. He took a deep breath, then sighed. "I guess it's only right that I give you a chance in return. Come on. I know a blindspot for the cameras just down the hall."
"Okay" Peter followed him in silence after that. James appreciated the quiet, even if it was driven by fear more than respect.
They arrived in an ill-used, decaying section of hallway. The walls, being made of steel, weren't rusted, but were dull, and some spots on the floor had begun to accumulate mold. Cobwebs decorated the corners of the ceiling, and in one case had completely consumed the outdated live feed camera, courtesy of some minor convincing on James' part. Feeding spiders for a month wasn't glamorous, but it was relaxing, and the results spoke for themselves. They wouldn't be spied on for a while.
"Do you remember how I told you that the citadel wasn't built like a traditional building?" James asked
"Yes, you said it was like a labyrinth." Peter confirmed
"I'm sure you'll be sick of it soon, if you haven't already, but I did leave out some important details. The most important is that the citadel hasn't always been located here." James said.
"You mean there was another entire building like this one? That's insane!" Peter goggled
"That's what I assumed at first too, but the other data gave me reason to rethink that. The citadel is not only a building, but a massive, human-shaped statue. It took me a long time to realize this because the maps that the engineers give us aren't actually complete. I spent so much time wandering the halls that eventually I noticed that the maps excluded certain areas from their contents. I can only guess that they do this because those areas are restricted, given that alarms went off when I entered them. But when you add those areas to the maps, even with the crude scrawls I could come up with, it undoubtedly looks human." James explained.
"I guess that's a little strange, but why does that matter? If you were able to make a building of this size out of steel, how much harder could it be to make it human shaped?" Peter asked
"Right, I forgot that you natives aren't industrialized. I'll put it to you this way, making it human shaped is just about the worst thing you could do. The citadel is supposed to be as strong as possible, to make external attacks ineffective. It makes no sense to build it as a human statue, which isn't anywhere near the most structurally sound shape, not to mention the fact that if it was built to be a statue, why would they put it underground where no one will ever see it? That leads to the third important fact: we're underground. Now carving out a subterranean lair is a sound strategy for defense, mostly. And it would make up for some of the weaknesses of a human shaped building. But assuming that it is a complete human, there are large parts of the structure-like the fingers of the statue- that are inaccessible, not just to me, but anyone on the inside, almost like they never intended the citadel to be underground in the first place." James felt himself relaxing a bit as he let himself simply review what he knew.
"So they built the citadel and then buried it afterwards? That seems like a lot of work, even if you could do it." Peter remarked
"Right. Which is why I think the citadel buried itself." James said
"...And you're sure this place isn't magic?" Peter asked
"That's just it, it probably was made with shaping, but shaping isn't inclined to permanence. Making something like this with shaping would be like creating an inverted pyramid out of loose pebbles. Sure, they might stand up if you stay there and hold it together, but the moment you get distracted or bored, the whole thing would fall apart. In order to keep it from falling apart without constant attention from a shaper, whoever constructed it would have known exactly how it could be built without shaping, and then just used shaping to speed up the process. I can't even imagine the staggering amount of knowledge you'd need of engineering to accomplish all this." James gestured to nowhere in particular.
"Well, what if they do have a shaper holding it up?" Peter asked
James looked worried for a moment, then shook his head. "If we had a shaper that powerful, we would have easily crushed the Sahayans by now. We shouldn't have to worry about that. But the citadel being capable of moving would explain why this baffling structure exists."
"Not to be rude, but how does that help us? We're just trying to escape." Peter pointed out
"It will be a whole lot easier to escape if we aren't buried alive, wouldn't you say?" James paused. "Plus, I really want to pilot a giant robot."
"How are you gonna stop the others from stopping you?"
"That's what the device you brought me is for. Well, it's the last one I needed anyway."
"Oh…" Peter looked uncomfortable. "I need to tell you something."
James raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"I lost it on the way here, just after you past me in the intersection. It just vanished out of the box, I never even opened it." Peter looked both embarrassed and slightly terrified. James burst out laughing.
"Thank Charles' God! I thought you were going to say you broke it or something bad." James reached into his shirt and pulled out the device. It consisted of a short, squat metal cylinder attached to an amorphous mass of red gelatinous material, slightly larger than James' hand. It wasn't meat, exactly, but it was similar in weight and did come concerningly close to fresh blood in color. James didn't care to ask the Voiceless what it was, and the Voiceless wasn't forthcoming at the best of times.
"I took it out of the box when I passed by. I was hoping that there would be an opportunity to put it directly into the control room, but Nilgiri wasn't made head of the Federation for nothing. She's observant. And this thing isn't exactly subtle." James grinned "But that's okay, I've got an even better location in mind for it now."
Break
Halley woke up with a pounding headache, and even after stubbornly refusing to leave the bed she found herself in for an hour after she awoke, she felt no better. Groaning, she pulled herself out from under the sheets, and looked around the room she was in.
Every wall was covered in a variety of tapestries, blankets, and cloth all of which were doing their best to hide the wood behind them from view. On one of these walls, sunlight snuck in between a crack in the textile topology, giving the room a quiet, subdued look to match the muffled effect of the cloth. Halley stared at the designs which hung around the room blithely for a while, unwilling to think about anything in particular. Until something caught her eye. A few of the quilts seemed to be of a matching set, and illustrated a story.
The story seemed to portray the theogony of some ancient religion. It began in the space of the night sky, with a few stars at first, blossoming into a riot of colors as the stars blended together into a scene of the Earth and Sea. A pale, androgynous person with a red mark on their cheek dropped into the scene, and began to sculpt the world. Their creator God? After some time, more people arrived, and they captured and expelled the creator. The creator, though evidently angry at the invasion, did not return to the world they had made, and disappeared from the tapestry. The invading people, meanwhile, built great cities on their stolen world, and became prosperous. Halley wasn't quite sure who wrote the story or why, since it was fairly obvious that the invaders weren't heroes, yet they were the focus of the story for the majority of it, and nothing bad happened to them outside their self-inflicted wars. Maybe it's a reminder to never forget their sins?
The sound of a door creaking open broke her reverie.
"You're awake!" Sergio said
"Not so loud…" Halley moaned
"Oh, sorry. You were out for a while, that big-ass cat really messed you up. Just glad you're alright. Hungry?" Sergio asked, in a noticeably quieter tone.
Halley's stomach awakened at the suggestion of food, and she nodded.
"Gunther and I were chatting over breakfast. He filled me in on what that weird trip we had was. You guys are even wilder than I thought!" Sergio chuckled
Halley didn't disagree with that sentiment, but kept her piece to herself. All she wanted right now was to sit down and eat for an hour straight. She let her instincts carry her along the wafting scent of food. A mountain of small pastries topped with jam sat at the center of the table, flanked by a plate of sausage links and a pitcher of dark black coffee. Without hesitation, or even greeting anyone good morning, she grabbed the remaining empty plate and shoveled at least three servings of food onto her plate. Three pairs of eyes watched her scarf down the food.
"How are you feeling?" Gunther asked, taking advantage of a momentary gap in Halley's meal when she stopped to catch her breath.
Halley just stared at Gunther, hoping her expression would answer for her.
"That bad, huh?" Gunther scratched his chin. "I heard a bit of what happened through Sergio here, but I wanted to hear your side of the story as well."
"Can it wait? I feel like I got sucker punched with steel horseshoes." Halley clutched her head, her voice painfully rebounding off the walls of her skull.
"I don't doubt it. Being attacked in the Gossamer isn't pleasant. Take your time." Gunther said.
It's creepy how little he blinks, Halley thought. She felt a small poke, and looked down to see Tèine. The girl was poking her in the ribs, as if unconvinced that she was real.
"Good morning, Tèine!" Halley said, through a mouthful of pastry. Then she noticed the sling. Tèine got hurt?
"What happened to your arm?" Halley asked
With her good hand, Tèine grabbed Halley's arm and gripped hard enough that her nails left marks "You met it, too. The demon voice. You shouldn't talk to it." Tèine's eyes bored through Halley.
"I met something, out there. But I'm okay, and back in one piece. There's nothing to worry about." Halley assured her. Tèine's expression didn't change, if anything it grew more strained, but she did release Halley's arm.
"I'm going to go watch the trees." Tèine said, and rushed out of the house. When she was gone, Halley turned to Gunther.
"What happened to her? How could you let that happen!?" Halley hissed through clenched teeth.
"Her arm isn't broken. It's not even scratched. She just doesn't want to move it. She says it hurts but won't be specific on why. I didn't feel like dragging a confession out of her, so she got a sling." Gunther said, staring Halley down.
"That quip about the demon voice is the most she's said about it. She'd probably be less guarded if you were the one to ask." Gunther gestured in the direction of the door.
Halley looked longingly at the food still on her plate, her appetite still ferocious. She stuffed the remainder of a pastry into her mouth and got up. There will be more time to eat later. She thought. She picked up one more pastry on the way out, and stuffed it into a pocket.
Halley blinked in the brilliant sunlight. It looked to be mid afternoon, the sun just about to touch the top of the treeline. A slight breeze brushed the higher branches of the forest, but at ground level, it was calm. Halley scanned the open area around the house, and even the branches of the nearest trees, but couldn’t see Tèine. Not that I would be able to if she is in the trees. Halley thought. She listened for a moment, but all she heard was crickets and distant birdsong. Halley sighed. She just wasn’t a tracker.
“Tèine! Where are you?” Halley shouted.
“SHH!” Tèine hissed
Halley turned toward the sound, and saw Tèine crouched on the roof of Sergio’s home. Tèine was staring at the treeline, her head occasionally snapping to face something in the forest, listening…and then switching to a new direction. Halley wondered how she had gotten up to the roof with her arm in a sling. Tèine whispered something Halley could not hear, and made a circular gesture before returning to her vigil.
“Tèine, what happened to you yesterday? I want to help, but I need to know what happened.” Halley said, in what she hoped was a calming tone.
“I ran. Too fast. I fell, and then the demon found me.” Tèine said, without looking away from the trees.
“And this demon hurt you?” Halley said.
“Yes. No. I…It acted nice, and fixed my arm, but…It is a demon. They can’t be trusted.” Tèine said.
“Did you see the demon?” Halley asked, trying to keep her talking.
“No. It didn’t have a body. It didn’t follow me, and I haven’t heard it since. But It could be a trick.” Tèine looked down at Halley. She looked exhausted, rings under her eyes, and her voice, quiet at the best of times, was barely The child rubbed one of her eyes wearily, but kept the other open.
Halley sized up the wall in front of her, before dragging a couple of pieces of firewood over to use as step stools. With the added height, she was able to grip the edge of the roof, and pull herself just high enough to hook a leg onto the lowest part of the roof. Debris clattered down the side of the house as she hoisted the rest of her body up. Tèine made no comment on the mess Halley had made, eyes still glued on the forest. She pulled the pastry-she really needed to find out what Sergio called them, they were delicious- and offered it to Tèine.
"Here. Eat. You'll feel better." Halley said.
Tèine shook her head. "Not hungry." Her stomach called her a liar with a rumble. Halley chuckled, and Tèine took the pastry. After a few bites, she put the food down. Halley, mollified, chose to simply let the silence hang between them, and keep watch together.
Halley saw a few birds flitting between the branches of their home, but other than that, only saw trees. Birds were always more Peter's thing, and she made a mental note to ask him about them, after all this was over. The sun continued its march toward the horizon, and Halley noticed out of the corner of her eye that Tèine had relaxed a bit. She was still alert, but nowhere near as panicked as before. Halley let out a contented sigh, her headache had subsided a lot, though she was still hungry. What did that overgrown housecat do to me to make me so hungry? She had never been knocked out before, but she’d also never heard of it causing extreme hunger. I hope that this doesn’t last too long, or we’ll never be able to carry enough food on the road…
Tèine suddenly perked up, and grabbed Halley by the shirt, tugging her forward. Halley looked at the girl for an explanation.
“We have to go inside! Now!” Tèine said in a hushed voice.
Halley, confused, wanted to ask her what was going on, but she jumped down from the roof anyway. Then she turned back to Tèine.
“Jump, I’ll catch you.” Halley said
Tèine looked terrified, and jumped, but chose to do it away from where Halley was standing. Halley saw her decision mid-action, and moved to intercept her. Tèine nearly knocked her completely over as a result of Halley’s imbalance, but though Halley struggled, neither of them fell to the ground. To Halley’s surprise, when she put Tèine, the girl did not immediately sprint inside. She stared at Halley for several seconds, eyes searching Halley for something. Then she grabbed Halley and pulled, with shocking strength, toward the front door of Sergio’s house. Just as they were passing through the doorway, Halley heard what had startled Tèine for the first time. Sharp cracking noises. Noises that were familiar to Halley. Exactly the kind of noises that she’d heard before her family had been taken. She stopped, Tèine lurched with the unanticipated resistance. Halley looked toward the woods, then the cabin, then back at the woods. If we leave now, who knows how long it will be before we find them again… She hesitated, for apparently too long, because she found herself suddenly with no air in her lungs. Tèine kicked me? She just kicked me! Halley thought, incredulous.
Temporarily stunned, Halley fell to one knee and sucked in air. Gunther shouted something, Tèine replied. Halley wasn't paying attention. The cracking had changed. No, there's a second sound now. The weapons that spit death still cried out, but now there was the sound of splintering wood. Eyes glued on the forest, Halley was blinded by a flash which robbed a tree of a quarter of its trunk. The doomed tree seemed to fall in slow motion as the light of the explosion which broke it faded to reveal the firefight beyond. Human silhouettes were rushing between the trees, pivoting from one to the other. Halley got to her feet, but not before one of the silhouettes turned towards her and pointed.
Shit, Halley thought. Then the silhouette shouted something she couldn’t understand, and turned away, running back into the trees. Halley took the opportunity to stumble into the house, and the sounds of combat dimmed as the door closed behind them.
“What were you doing!?” Gunther hissed. Halley just stared. He must have taken her silence as a challenge, because he grabbed and tossed a cup of water from the table at her face. She sputtered.
“That wasn’t a rhetorical question, answer me!” Gunther demanded. Halley, surprised by the sudden hydration, blurted out:
“I was thinking!”
“Oh, were you? Stopping for a nice meditation in the middle of a warzone, is that it?”
“Look, I thought I had at least a few seconds, how was I supposed to know they were that close?”
“That makes it all okay then! You could have been shot, you brainless halfwit!”
“I-” Halley was interrupted by Sergio loudly clearing his throat.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but we should probably leave before they decide to bust down my door.” Sergio said
“Right.” Gunther said, and immediately sat down, cross legged on the floor, hands clasped in his lap. Sergio looked down at Gunther in confusion.
“Is that supposed to help?” Sergio asked
“Quiet. I need to focus. I can’t slip unless I’m calm. Keep watch, nobody touch me or talk to me.” Gunther ordered.
Sergio shrugged and disappeared into another room. Tèine posted herself at a window next to the front door, Halley chose a window on the opposite end of the house. She could hear the battle raging, but no one came into view. The sounds of fighting outside came in waves, reaching crescendos, then receding into diminuendos. Twice Halley caught more silhouettes deeper in the woods, but none approached the house. She allowed herself some hope that they would be passed entirely by, until she noticed the distant sky shimmering an unnatural shade of brown, pierced by streaks of silent blue light. Chan uurainn sin a bhith math, it’s like the end of the world.
Sergio re-entered the main room carrying four bags and a metal and wooden stick on his back, dumping three bags into the middle of the floor.
“Alright, I finished packing everything we’ll need. I just loaded the same stuff into all three of your bags, didn’t take anything out in case you all wanted to choose what to empty. By the way, Halley, don’t mean to pry, but why the rocks?” Sergio nudged Halley’s duffel bag.
“Oh, I forgot-” Halley stammered out
“Leave those in there, she needs to bulk up. In fact, if you have anything heavy to take with us, add that too.” Gunther said, standing up.
“Finally ready, huh? None too soon, either, I saw quite a few of our guests running around the forest.” Sergio said.
“Enough chatter, we’re leaving. Stand here.” Gunther gestured to a relatively open spot on the floor. Halley and Sergio both stood where instructed.
“Someone’s coming.” Tèine ducked away from the window.
“Then hurry!” Halley said
“Hello? Anyone home?” A voice from the other side of the door asked, accompanied by a polite knocking.
Gunther held up a finger to his mouth, in what Halley felt was a rather unnecessary signal to be quiet. Another round of knocking. Why would a soldier politely knock on someone’s door like a city guard? Gunther grabbed Sergio and Halley’s arms, and Halley took Tèine’s hand. Gunther closed his eyes, and Halley heard the man at the door knocking more urgently. Then the voice said something strange.
“Hey! This area is unstable, don’t-”
The air around them warped and twisted. That’s new…Halley thought, before pain erupted across her body and spotted lights flashed across her vision. Something that could have been a scream or a whisper echoed in her ears, and her stomach did somersaults. Time stretched in the disorienting mess, until Halley found herself flung headfirst into the Gossamer plains.
The first thing she noticed was that the world was burning. At least, the parts that weren’t covered in cracks and hair-fine filaments of blinding white. Some of the cracks seemed to follow her line of sight, remaining in her peripherals even when she rubbed her eyes. The second thing she noticed was that she was alone. Gunther, Tèine, and Sergio had all been sent somewhere else by Gunther’s slip. She immediately started looking around, careful to avoid the cracks and lines that burned at their edges, hoping that the others had made the slip at least mostly unscathed. The third thing she noticed, and the thing which quickly eclipsed her previous concerns, was that she was very much not alone.
When she had first arrived, the fires which had been burning around her seemed to react to her presence, the tips of the flames were drawn towards her, as if she was producing her own air currents, or the flames could sense her, and were hungry for more fuel. Given how her previous excursions to the Gossamer had gone, she assumed this was normal, and ignored it. But some of the flames were now being pulled in a different direction. To another person?
Halley almost called out, but the names of her companions died in her throat as she recalled what Gunther had before their slip. What if that isn’t a friend coming to find you? She swore internally and looked for somewhere to hide. The only cover was that of the chaos, the flames and cracks, neither of which would hide her for long. She would have to run. She launched herself in the opposite direction of the approaching person, flames jumped and sputtered around her as she disturbed their personal space. As she flew, the flames seemed to become more intense, burning in different colors, and brighter, but at once became sparser. Less and less of the world was engulfed. Halley took this to be a sign that she had escaped the worst of whatever was happening, until she slowed down. The fires had become rarer, but the cracks which crisscrossed the world had widened. More white lines now latched themselves to her vision, now blocking key portions of her line of sight where before they had been barely ghosts. The lines had widened enough for Halley to see that they weren’t just cracks, they were holes in the world. Darkness lay beyond the larger gaps. Darkness, and something large, something mobile.
A hand grabbed her face and the world lurched violently. The next thing Halley knew, she was lying on the forest floor. Her heart beat in her throat. She could feel two other people next to her, but neither were moving, and neither spoke. But someone else did, and Halley laid as still as possible, listening to the new voice.
“I'm surprised they survived. Slipping like that in the middle of a warzone. Dangerous.” A somewhat androgynous voice said, which to Halley sounded as though it hailed from the Yasvhor people of the Northern crater. Or maybe that was her scrambled brain talking
“Can you blame them? I’d try to run too, and not everybody has access to years of research on stability. Figures that an independent shaper would think that it was their best option." The second person, a man, had a metropolitan accent. Many conflicting dialects seeped through, she couldn't pinpoint which held the most sway.
“Still, though. It isn’t like I’m that intimidating. They could have at least said ‘hello’.”
“Lem, you have one of the most terrifying resting faces I’ve ever seen, and qualify as a literal giant. I’m honestly impressed that you forget that sometimes.”
“I still think they could have responded. It’s common courtesy! You still can, if you want, stranger. I heard you wake up. ” Lem said
Shit!
“What? Why didn’t you tell me they were waking up? We’re wasting daylight here!”
"It is already night, Ag." Lem stated. "Besides, only one has woken up, and I'm sure she is in no mood to talk. Would you like some water? We have more than enough."
Halley sighed and opened her eyes. Lem was, as Ag had said, a behemoth. Even though they were sitting, they still had at least two heads on Halley, if she had been standing. She had heard legends of how the Northern varieties of animals tended to be bigger, but she'd not assumed the same to be true of its people. Though it was quite warm, they wore a thick, feather trim cloak. One large, callused hand reached down and she flinched, but they only held a small, clay cup in front of her. Steam rose gently from the drink inside.
“It’s Buaich tea. To celebrate success!” Lem said, raising the cup in a one person toast. Halley took the cup and a cautious sip. It was hot, but not scaldingly so, and was thoroughly satisfying. Being asleep always dried her mouth out, and they’d been lying in direct sunlight. They were still in the forest, but in a clearing which looked to have been opened up by recent fighting, judging by the fallen trees. And the scorched marks on them. And the pillar of ice embedded in the ground. She stopped gawking and took the cup from Lem.
“What is your name?” Lem asked
“Halley. Nice to meet you. You are Lem, I take it?”
“Yes! Ptolemy En Tuskbreaker of the Sunfollowers, and Initiate of the Siblings of Sahaya!” He thumped his chest with pride. “Lem is better, for most people. And that is Agrippa, Sahayan Journeyman. He is not quite as great as I am, but reliable as the day and night.”
“Wait, you’re with the Sahayans!? That’s great! We were looking for you!” Halley beamed. Lem beamed back, apparently just as happy to be meeting Halley. She glanced down at her companions and realized that while Sergio and Tèine were covered in blankets, Gunther had his feet tied, hands tied behind his back, blindfolded, and gagged.
“That seems excessive.” Halley pointed out
“Trust me, it’s not. He’s a shaper, and a lone one at that.” Ag replied “Not to mention he fought us hard. Almost took my head off, and if it hadn’t been for the instability rifts sucking all the air out of his lungs, he’d probably have done it.”
“I would not have let that happen!” Lem announced.
“Uh huh. Big guy, big talk” Ag said, but Halley could see that he was only teasing the man.
“I’m sorry, we didn’t know you’d be friendly. Is it still okay for us to come back to the Gardens with you even though he attacked you? If it makes you feel better we can all be tied up, too.” Halley asked
Lem laughed “You want to be taken prisoner? You are a funny one, Halley.”
Ag shrugged “It doesn’t really matter to me as long as you don’t slow us down.”
“
“Follow me!” Ag launched himself into the woods. Lem didn’t waste any time waking Sergio and Tèine, he simply slung both over his shoulders and took off after his friend. Halley ran after him, even with two limp people weighing him down, Lem threatened to outpace her. Seconds after they exited the clearing, a shockwave shoved Halley forward, and rippled through her body. For a moment, all her muscles locked up, her heart skipped a beat, and nausea flooded her stomach. Then she was freed, and her body took the opportunity to cough violently. Halley shook the experience off, and kept running, only to find that she was currently the only one still standing. Lem had taken a knee, but otherwise did not move, and Ag had fallen to his hands and knees with one arm clutching his stomach. Gunther was flat on the ground, but mobile, crawling away from whatever had hit them. She rushed to him and pulled his arm over her shoulder.
“Are you okay?” Halley asked
“They hit us with a stunning weapon, it messes with your muscles, we’ll be fine in a minute. Don’t know why you’re better off than us.” Gunther’s voice was strained
“Maybe that training you had me doing helped after all.” Halley said, only half joking.
Gunther chuckled a bit. “Maybe. But you’re not a giant like him. Put me down. We aren’t going anywhere until the rest of us recover.”
Halley did as he asked, gently lowering the man into a sitting position. Lem was still motionless, but his face betrayed the effort he was putting into trying to move. She didn’t envy his situation. His partner pushed himself to his feet and shook his head.
“Damn scramblers. Damn them and the mudlicking Federation.” Ag said
“What in the high heavens is an scrambler, and how do we help Lem?” Halley asked
“You can’t, he has to recover on his own. Your friend was right, on both accounts. The scramblers do target muscles, but that’s just a secondary effect, because they use electricity. Their main purpose is to sever the connection shapers have to the immaterial planes. It doesn’t last long, but long enough to ruin the day of any shaper who didn’t bring a barf bag, or who was arrogant enough to try flying. Also plays hell with the stability of the immaterium, which you no doubt caught a glimpse of when you tried to flee through it.” Ag walked over to Lem and lightly slapped him a few times.
“Damn. We might be here a while. Lem is pretty finely tuned to the Immaterium, physically and mentally. I told him he should take the resistance training, but he always refused. Damn, damn, damn. Can you two keep watch?” Ag didn’t wait for a response.
Walking over to the nearest tree, he struck it with an open-palmed jab. Strangely, the strike seemed to pass into the bark without resistance. Halley watched with interest as the tree seemed to sway in response to Ag’s intrusion. Several branches seemed to wither. Over the course of two minutes the tree split apart, starting from where he had struck it. As the creaking and groaning came to a close, the tree opened to reveal that the trunk was now hollow. Interestingly, this didn’t seem to kill the tree, aside from ruining a few of its branches. Ag walked back to where they had clustered around Lem. Halley was fascinated by this new use for shaping, and inspected the newly formed passage. It dropped straight down several meters and smoothly curved away into darkness.
“Are you gonna keep gawking or help us get your friends to safety?” Ag said, allowing an edge of irritation to creep into his voice.
“Right, sorry” Halley replied
“Even with the three of us, we aren’t going to move a limp person of his size.” Gunther pointed out.
“It's a good thing he isn’t limp, then.” Ag said, putting his back to Lem’s and pushing. Gunther slid the limp form of Sergio off of Lem’s shoulder, and Halley did the same with Tèine. Once the two were on the ground and out of the way, all three still mobile people began pushing Lem towards the tree tunnel. It was slow, they had to stop every few feet to catch their breath. At least, Gunther and Ag needed to. Halley seemed to be spared the nausea. Small blessings. Once they reached the tunnel, Halley stopped, ready to grab Lem’s legs so they could lower him into the tunnel carefully. That was when Ag shoved Lem full force into the pit. Lem entered the pit headfirst. Ag saw Halley’s surprise and waved dismissively.
“We’re in a hurry. He’ll be fine. Besides, this is payback for last week when he stole my last package of tea.” After Halley and Gunther retrieved the others, Ag jumped in, and Gunther followed suit. Halley took one last look behind them, and she could still hear the sounds of war. She wondered if Sergio’s house would still stand after this. Then the bark began closing around the entrance, and she, too, dove into the darkness.
For a time, all Halley could sense was the sound of the gentle hissing of the wood beneath her as she slid down the chute. That, and the feeling of cold cave air through her hair. She could not pinpoint the exact moment when the slide had begun leveling out, but eventually friction forced her to a stop. She stood slowly, hands outstretched. The walls of the tunnel were both within arm’s reach, but she could not feel the ceiling at all. A faint glow emanated from some distant point ahead of her.
“Hello? Gunther? Ag?” She called out. The sound was loud in the enclosed space, and echoed for an uncomfortably long time before petering out.
“Yeah, we’re here. Watch your step, the water is deeper than it looks.” Gunther replied. The echoes made it difficult to gauge how far he was from her, but it was obvious he was not right next to her. She started inching her way toward the dim blue light. Halley had only been in a few caves in her life, and not for very long, but she could tell this was not a normal cave. Firstly, while the walls were not entirely wooden, as with the slide, coarse, thick roots ran along the walls beside her, both vertically and horizontally. Secondly, while it was not as warm as the mid-afternoon sunlight she had recently left, it was not as frigid as she expected. In fact, as she approached the light, it was becoming even warmer. Little phosphorescent mushrooms decorated the tunnel, leading her toward what, had she woken up here, she would have assumed to be the afterlife.
Then she turned a final corner, and was met with a brilliant radiance.
The cavern ceiling stretched so far into the distance that it had a haze to it, like distant hilltops. It was either the distance, or the sheer quantity of light blazing from the veins of plants and fungi which dominated every surface of the monumental expanse. The light was different as well. Unlike the blue tinged glow of the mushrooms in the tunnel, the room looked to be lit by real sunlight. Only the furthest reaches of the room experienced anything other than a full spectrum of light. When Halley looked up to find the source of the light, she expected to see a gap in the cavern leading outside. Instead, she saw a bank of clouds circling the peak of the ceiling, where her awe at the spectacle caused her to look straight into the source of the light. She flinched, and blinked away the dark spots in her vision. She had just stared into the sun. The Sun, or a sun? It was like someone had captured the sky and imprisoned underground. Am I even underground anymore?
Giving her eyes a chance to recover a bit, she scanned the ground below. The cavern held just as much wonder below as above, a truly massive city lay, artificial and natural materials blending together. Metal and stoneworks favoured the flatter terrain at the very bottom, while more wooden houses and buildings were embedded into the walls, growing up them like the plants they were made from. A few structures even hung from the ceiling, though none reached anywhere close to the settlement’s peak. Far more buildings were studding the walls than were on the flat ground, which seemed to be mostly reserved for multicolored fields of crops. A dizzying array of colors were reflected in the noon-like light, even outside the fields, where untamed woodlands sat. Trees of orange, pink, and blazing red sat alongside the normal greens, and even some blues. It was not unlike Fall in the Northern reaches, or springtime in the Southern glades. The fields stretched nearly to where she stood, even though the ground was uneven and cliff-like. The nearest terraced farm to her looked just like the ones of the Western Empire’s lands, save for the fact that every leaf and stalk in it was a shade of purple. Weird…
“Beautiful isn’t it?”
Halley whipped her head around to see Lem standing a few feet down the road leading to the city. She’d be so enthralled with the view that she hadn’t noticed him.
“I’m glad to see you’re alright. Where are the others?” Halley looked past him, but no one else had come back. A little cloud of worry passed through her thoughts.
“They’re resting in the Lazy Mulberry down the road. Come, we will join them.” Lem gestured for her to follow
As they walked, Halley watched the fields of mystery crops sway in a gentle breeze, shimmering waves passing over the fields. It was heartbreakingly close to her home, her normal life. Yet it danced on a line between familiar and alien. It was unsettling to be reintroduced to the strange after so many years of the same, but thrilling, too.
“If you like these, just wait until you see the experimental batches, I will take you on a tour of our best fields. Those are where the fun ones are!” Lem sounded excited, like a little kid, eager to show his friends a new toy. Halley grinned, unable to resist the contagious feeling
“I’d like that, Lem. But it may have to wait, I have something important to do.”
“Ah, you sound so much like Ag. Always working, never stopping. There is nothing wrong with relaxing, sometimes. Tell me, what is this thing you must do?” Lem asked
“Well, it’s a bit of a long story.” Halley said
“Then my ears shall lengthen to fit every word.” Lem said
“...Okay. It started a few days ago. I was coming back from a delivery…” Halley relayed the recent events, though she skipped over the most unpleasant parts as much as possible. When she had finished, Lem remained silent for a minute.
“...You have had a very difficult time. I sympathize with your plight. My family has been lost to me, as well. You are good for trying to save them. It is a noble pursuit. But here, the Mulberry is near. You should rest, like your friends.”
Lem pointed to a two story building, of wood and clay stacked atop a foundation of cut stone. It was a welcoming sight, even if the bright, glowing letters on the building hurt to look at. As they approached the entrance, she saw a figure flanking the doorway. The figure turned its head to face them, tracking their movements without moving the rest of its body. It wore form-fitting black leather underneath a cloak and hood. Its face was hidden behind a mask. Halley greeted the figure with a wave and a “Hello.” It didn’t say anything, just nodded an acknowledgment, and continued to watch her and Lem.
“Do not mind the Jackals, they prefer to listen rather than talk, but they are good people. Fond of jokes, too. How are you today, Elijah? Would you like to hear a joke?”
Elijah did not move, or react in any way at all to Lem’s question, at least that she could see. Lem, either seeing some response that Halley didn’t, or pushing on regardless, began his joke.
“What do you call a cat who becomes a pirate? ” Lem said “A tig-arrrr!”
Halley gave a short, half laugh, half exhalation at the pun. The jackal, on the other hand, cackled madly, sounding almost like a cross between a dog and a crow laughing. I guess everyone has their own sense of humour. Despite the volume of their laugh, Elijah barely shivered. Halley shouldered her bag, tried to act nonchalant toward the unnerving stranger and followed Lem into the inn.
The appearance and name on the exterior of the inn did nothing to prepare her for the riot of activity they stepped into. The interior of the building was separated into two main sections, the top floor, which they stood in now, housed the bar and tables, most of which were occupied by a wide range of drunken patrons from only lightly buzzed, to pissed and passed out, and the bottom floor, which was dominated by a stage and dance floor which was so full of people that they no longer registered as individuals, but as one, cohesive, stomping unit.
Turning her attention back towards the top floor, she tried to look for any sign of her group, a task made difficult by the inability to hear. The band below was playing so loud that Halley wasn't sure if her inability to recognize a tune in the jumble of sound was as designed, or if it was too loud to pick out notes. she began to notice a few familiarities, things that were common to every bar, no matter the city. Gambling was the third most favored activity far behind drinking and talking, but Halley did see that a few patrons were more subdued. The latter group hung toward the rear of the floor, and seemed to be focused on business matters. Halley suspected their "business" was of the illicit variety, and looked away, so she didn't draw the attention of whatever mob or gang they might be affiliated with.
Lem strode forward, toward the barkeep, and Halley followed as close as she could. Something bothered her about the people in the inn. Some of their silhouettes were… wrong. It was tough to see, the innkeeper apparently enjoyed keeping the lights very dim, but most notably some were the short, almost too short people, who came up to about her stomach. Surely this isn't a place for children. Halley guessed that they were adults who had been trapped in smaller bodies into adulthood, but she'd only ever heard about people like that. Seeing even just one would have been a surprise in the cities above. In the process of dodging one such person, she bumped into a taller figure, and was knocked down. Looking up at the person, she could see that it was covered head to toe in several layers of heavy gray cloth, and was nearly double her height. The only reason they fit in the inn was that the ceiling had been built abnormally high, apparently with these people in mind. Even still, the figure had to hunch to fit.
"Sorry!" Halley squeaked
The figure looked down at Halley and shivered, producing a clattering sound, akin to a string of shells being shaken. It was a multifaceted sound, several tones rising and falling independently. She was about to turn and leave, assuming she had offended the creature. Then suddenly the tones clicked together, and she heard it speak.
"You are forgiven, little one. Be more careful, there are drîykan here tonight." The hunched person reached an arm with two too many joints down, and pulled Halley up effortlessly. It shivered again, the clattering was curiously clear in the din of the inn.
"My name is Hopeful Chittering in the Void. Though most of the locals shorten it to Hope. What is yours?"
"Halley. Nice to meet you."
"Interesting. You hadn't struck me as one of the Void Channelers. Your presence feels more like the Emergent, but brighter, less confused. Ah, have you been speaking with the First Native of this world? I hope you will continue, your friendliness would be a welcome addition to..."
"Halley! What are you waiting for, our table is over there. Oh, excuse us, sir." Lem appeared from nowhere, startling Halley out of her wits.
"No trouble at all. Are you a friend of Halley's?” Hope said
“Yes, my name is Lem.” Lem shifted slightly in front of Halley, tensed. Apparently Hope made him just as nervous as her.
“I see. Well, I did not intend to interfere with your gathering. I will not keep you, but if you would like to talk more, I will be staying here for the next few days. It was nice to meet you both.” Hope bowed their head a bit, Halley noticing that their neck was much longer than their cloaked form suggested, and strode away through the crowd.
“I’ve never seen a strider act that nice. What did you say to them?” Lem asked
“Nothing, I just told them my name.” Halley gave him a confused look
“Really? They ignore me when I do that. Anyway, what do you want to drink?” Lem gestured at the bar. It was curiously...academic for such a seedy atmosphere. There were many bottles, to be sure, but near half of the shelves were dedicated to thick tomes.
“Oh, uh…” Halley looked at the menu.Every drink was either alliterative, a pun, or sounded vaguely violent. The barkeep wore a crisp white button down shirt adorned with a black tie, and dark brown slacks that did have suspenders, but these went unused, hanging against the slacks. They had a patch of moss and leaves on top of their otherwise bald head and face. That’s not moss, that’s a beaver.
“Hello, welcome to Simmer, name’s Fleau. what can I get ‘ya?”
“What is an ‘Atomic Corkscrew’?” Halley, brow furrowed, asked the barkeep.
The barkeep chuckled and replied in a light, airy voice. “A punch to the liver. Not a casual drink but if you want to try, new-by, who am I to refuse?” The beaver atop his head stared at Halley placidly.
“That’s okay, I’ll just have some juice or something.” Halley quickly added, before she accidentally ordered an alcoholic’s Tuesday morning. She had the tolerance of a two year old when it came to alcohol, she’d be passed out within minutes from just beer and she’d had enough blacking out recently.
“Any particular kind of juice?” The Fleau asked, bemused
“What do you have?”
“What do you mean what do we-oh, you’re new new! We don’t have a set menu, the list up there is more like suggestions. We shape the ingredients as we need them, then mix them with the normal tools”
“Oh, that’s amazing!” Halley said, thinking back to the first time she tried following one of Leann’s recipes, only to find that she was missing half a dozen ingredients “Do you think you could make a hot chocolate?”
“Sure no problem! Let’s see, milk, chocolate, salt, brown sugar...Hey Nochka! Do you remember the structure for cinnamon?”
“Top shelf, fifth from the left” Nochka replied, referring to one of the many books on the shelves. It was hard to miss Nochka, being that they were wearing a short, pink, sleeveless dress with blinding yellow highlights, and had skin that drank in the light. Combined with the dimly lit room, Nochka may well have been nothing but a set of pearly teeth above a floating torso.
“Ugh, alright, guess I’m reading today”
“Cinnamon? Like from the Southern knife? I don’t need anything that fancy!” Halley protested
“Yes you do. Halley, right? Well, Halley, I am a professional, and if there is something I can do to make this drink better, I will do it no matter the cost!”
“But-”
“Nope, I’m already halfway to the right page. Can’t stop me now” Fleau was indeed halfway through one of the books, holding it open with one hand while the other conjured the various dusts and fluids required for what Halley now suspected would be the most expensive drink she’d ever bought. She looked guiltily over at Lem, sorry for inadvertently taking advantage of the man, despite knowing that he’d not think twice of paying for the drink.
Soon enough, Halley was presented with a mug of hot chocolate, the rim was covered in a sugary glaze that had a tinge of salt added for flavor, and a stick of cinnamon rested against the rim. It had a pleasant, passing fragrance that smelled of lanternlight leaping across dark wood during a Winter’s night. It was absent of any bitterness, but the sweetness was not overbearing. It tasted like the bass singer of a chorus humming the tune to a lullaby. In short, it felt completely out of place in the ‘inn’.
Lem ordered himself a light ale, and something called “Emerald coffee” then marched them over to a table, where Gunther resided, alongside a battered-looking Sergio, and Ag tapped busily on the device she’d seen him using before. Lem slid a beer over to each of the men. Gunther took a sip, and grunted appreciatively. Sergio stared into the mug, but didn’t drink any, Ag didn’t appear to even notice his drink. Lem downed half his mug in seconds, then sighed contently and leaned back in his chair.
“Lem, sorry I got such a fancy drink. I hope it wasn’t too expensive.” Halley
The man boggled at her “They do not cost anything here. Fleau and Nochka do this for fun.”
“What? Then how do they make money?” Halley asked
“Money? We are shapers. Money is pointless. Drink your coco.” Lem replied, and Halley did. The music pounded the dance floor relentlessly.
“Where’s Tèine?” Halley asked Gunther.
“She’s fine. Still asleep. We put her up in one of the beds at the back.” Gunther replied.
“Ah. So do you think we-” Halley started
“So, care to explain how you are still conscious?” Ag said, bluntly. He looked up from his tablet, directly at Halley. “I’m referring to you.”
“Excuse me?” Halley asked
“Lem and I are trained professionals, your friend Gunther over there is essentially a mercenary, and from what I gather has spent the last several years being hunted by the Federation. It’s not surprising that we weathered the scrambler shot. You, though. You don’t appear to be anyone of note, a courier with no known aliases, and no history of shaping. Even if you had started shaping recently, that doesn’t explain your resistance to high-grade weapons. In fact, being able to shape at all should have made you react even worse to being blasted with raw immaterial. You should be practically on death’s door, yet here you sit, enjoying a drink. How?” Ag finished
Halley shrugged “I really don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“No”
“That’s not good enough.” Ag said
“Chuala mi thu, tha mo innsgin falamh! I don’t have the answers, and even if I did, you could stand to be a bit nicer about it!” Halley shot back
“Look, If you’re going to stay in the garden and not in a cell, you need to tell us the whole story. We are risking a lot by even letting you see this place, let alone paying for your rooms. You understand that by lying, or even telling half-truths, you’re doing yourself a disservice as much as us.” Ag laid his tablet on the tablet, and took a sip of his drink. He scrunched his face up.
“Lem, is this beer? I thought I asked for coffee.” Ag said
“It is coffee. Hard coffee.” Lem replied
“Oh, good. I was worried I was hallucinating. Also I hate you.” Ag took a fuller swig, then put the mug down. Then he looked at Halley again.“So? I’m waiting.”
“Halley already told me her tale. She can be trusted, friend.” Lem answered for her. Halley grinned at the big man. Ag frowned, but surprisingly did not continue his questiiong.
“...That changes things. If you all actually did survive an encounter with the Federation, then you won’t be safe outside. Tomorrow we’ll take you to the Council, they’ll want to hear about this. We haven’t had much news from outside since the Federation restarted its campaign against us.” Ag said.
“About that, you all know a lot about us, so what about you two? It’s only fair that we know your story.” Halley pointed out
“Already asked. He insisted that it was ‘classified’” Gunther said, jerking a thumb toward Ag.
“Well, it is. Though to be fair, you were asking us to divulge information about our operations, not to tell you about our personal lives.” Ag countered “So Lem, do you-”
“I will go first!” Lem announced
“I was born in the creche of the North, the twin peaks of the summer sun cast shadows on my crib, signaling that I was destined for greatness! Two months after I was born, I was already forty pounds and still growing fast, my muscles were hard and strong like the ice of the giant’s eye! Father saw my potential and threw me into work, so I could learn the ways of my tribe, the K’a. But Father was clever, too, and knew my strength alone would not be enough. That is why he also taught me how to write, and how to talk, and think. I hoped to be chief of the tribe one day, but sadly, an omen in my sixth year of life by the shaman foretold that I would one day leave the tribe. So when the Sahayans came to us and asked if anyone special existed in our tribe, I knew it was my time. I may have to leave, but I would do my tribe proud, and prove to the Sahayans that I was as special as they come!” Lem finished his story.
“I’ve never been to the Northern Reaches, what is it like up there?” Halley asked
“It is beautiful. And harsh. My tribe lives on the edges of the Cliffs of K’kabsi, the mountains that separate this place from the frozen sea. We usually stayed below the tree line, where the snow is thinner, and the game is plentiful. But every year, before the sun set for the season, we would trek across the peak of Tinuck, as our ancestors did when they first arrived in the Fourth World. Our home is quiet, even in the height of summer, but the peaks are…hard to describe. As you ascend, the color drains from the world. The rich Earth, and the bright green of the pines fades away until only the blinding white of snow is left. Everything turns gray, even the dirt turns to rock. You have to focus on every footfall to keep your balance. The heavy clothes keep you warm, but they muffle the sound around you worse than the snow. And then the winds pick up, climbing the mountain with you, and you can only hear your breathing and the howls of the air. And then, you reach the top, and for the first time in days you look up and there's no more rock, no more ice, only the blue sky. Your limbs ache, and you cannot breathe, and your face is burned from the cold, but you feel great, you feel free. The trip back down, I felt like I was dreaming. Like I was still ascending the mountain. Then we reached the plains on the other side, and all I could think of was returning to the mountains."
“It sounds like you really loved it. Do you ever miss your home?”
“Every day. But here, I am needed, so here I will stay.” Lem said, a wistful look in his eyes. "The Sahayans saw my potential with abstractions, and have placed me in the path of Physics, with the title 'Emergence Physicist'."
"And what about you?" Gunther directed the conversation toward Ag.
"Me? I was born into the Sahayans. They had me on the floriculture path until they realized I hate the outdoors. Now I'm an Intel specialist." Ag said, dismissively.
"Uh huh. And the fact that you are both high level shapers doesn't factor into your 'paths'?” Gunther asked
"Every Sibling is a 'high level' shaper. It's a prerequisite for induction.”
“I always wondered how you’d been fighting the Federation for as long as you have.” Gunther shook his head. “I should have guessed it came down to shaping.”
“Look, I think you’ve got the wrong idea about the Sahayans. We aren’t a military, training our people to be power mad, fireball-slinging war machines. We train our shaping skills because we want to take care of this world.” Ag said
“That’s a wonderful sentiment, but you’ll have to forgive my skepticism, given today’s events. If you aren’t training to be warriors, then what do you call what’s happening upstairs?
“I’m not going to defend decisions I didn’t make to a man who doesn’t understand basic instability!” Ag spat.
“Please, be calm friends. We are not enemies. Gunther, Ag is right. We are not warriors, not like my tribe was. We only fight to retain what was promised to us. The Federation agreed to let us govern as we see fit, long ago. They have spent almost as long fighting to take the Sahayan’s lands. We are what they made us.” Lem said. Ag looked smug, until Lem continued speaking.
“However, Ag, you know that we are not guiltless. We have many sins to atone for, as a people.” Lem’s reminder quickly mollified Ag. Both men became quiet.
“Wow, okay that’s good stuff.” Sergio exclaimed, having recently finished his drink.
“Now that I’m slightly less sober, can either of you fine fellows answer me a question? Leaving aside the fact that there was an entire underground city that I’d never heard of populated mostly by wizards, and believe me I will be asking about that, what does your war mean for us? It doesn’t sound like you want anyone leaving, least not without being a member, so to speak.” Sergio asked
“That is correct. You won’t be treated poorly, but you are now effectively prisoners, for the time being. Sorry.” Ag said, bluntly.
“Figures. Well, I’ve been to worse prisons.” Sergio flagged down a waiter for a refill
Halley looked down at her half-finished juice and decided she was done. She’d known the Sahayans were more than they let on, but this? It was one thing to speculate on a mystery, it was quite another thing to actually experience the reality. She needed to think for a bit. Halley slid her chair back and stood.
“I’m going to sleep. Which room is mine?” She asked
Ag tossed a key at her in response. “You’re bunking with the kid. They only had a few rooms left.”
The key was numbered with a stylized fifteen. She thanked him and walked toward the back of the inn. A long hallway extended out from the furthest tables, dozens of doors on either side of the hall, bold numbers emblazoned on each. The doors seemed to be color coded as well, though she saw no guide explaining what the colors meant.
She passed by doors one and two, the difference in noise was jarring, like jumping into a cold river. Doors three through six were a bright red shade, the walls around them being tinted a gentler pink. She felt mentally drained from sitting at the bar, her thoughts scattered. Crowds never really agreed with her, but there was something different this time. Halley felt a manic energy welling up, doors seven through eleven were green, but this only half registered. Her limbs felt energized, she wanted to move, to go, but it wasn’t her body pushing her into action. Her mind was pulling her body, and it wasn’t clear to where. Doors twelve and thirteen. She tried to bring forth an image in her mind, hoping this would help her focus. A wave washed over the hall, flinging aside the floor, ceiling, and walls in droplets of what should have been solid matter.
She was in the Gossamer plains. I slipped? Her surroundings looked as calm as the first time she had slipped, despite how violently ripped and torn it was just a short time ago. She wondered if this was normal for the Gossamer, or if the plains even had a normal. As she considered this, cracks spiderwebbed around her. No fire bloomed, but she knew that her continued presence was not welcome. Halley pushed down her panic and focused on imagining the hallway, looking for a gap to leverage like the last time. Her thoughts glanced off a smooth surface, like liquid steel, contrary to the cracked facade around her. Sweat beaded on her forehead. She tried again. It felt like jamming her hand against the corner of a table. Try this… Something guided her thoughts, forming them into a needle-thin blade and tore the surface with ease. The world lurched, and she was dropped back onto the carpeted floor of the inn.
Standing up, she saw door thirty staring back at her. She whispered a thanks to the gods that she’d been put back roughly where she started, and walked without further incident to her room. As she stared at the fifteen on the door, she briefly considered telling the rest of the group about her unwilling slip, before deciding it could wait. She didn’t want to talk right now. The key fit into the slot and she pushed open the door. Warm air flowed out of the room, and she stepped into the dark room as quietly as possible to avoid waking Tèine.
Halley reeled as something dropped onto her from above, and she felt a tiny pinprick just barely touching the left side of her neck. Halley cried out in surprise, almost drowning out the tiny, but inordinately threatening voice of Tèine from just beside her head.
“Where am I? What happened?” Tèine growled. In better circumstances, it would have been cute.
“It’s me, Tèine, it’s Halley!”
“Prove it! Prove you aren’t another demon!” Tèine demanded, Halley felt the sharp point press closer to her skin.
I don’t even know how I could, I don’t even know how demons act!
“Do demons bleed?” Halley asked
“Demons bleed pain and screams.” Tèine said
“Well, then.” I really hope this works, or I’m going to feel really dumb Halley thought, and she dragged the key across her arm, leaving a thin trail of torn skin. A dollop of blood pooled in the ragged wound she had self-inflicted.
“Demons can have blood, too.” Tèine informed Halley. Oh, great, now I feel dumb. Then Halley felt the sharp thing against her neck retreat and Tèine hopped down from her back.
“I’ve never heard of a demon hurting itself, though. I guess you’re real.” Tèine admitted. She tossed aside her weapon, a shard of broken glass wrapped in cloth.
“Glad I could clear that up.” Halley scratched around the broken skin on her arm, as if her attention would make it heal faster. “How are you feeling?”
“Cold.” Tèine answered, as she walked over to a bed and wrapped herself in the sheets.
“Really? It feels pretty warm in here to me.” Halley reached out a hand to check Tèine’s forehead, to which the girl flinched and held up her hands. “Easy, Tèine, I’m just going to check your temperature. You might have a fever.”
“I’m not sick.” Tèine said, curling into a tighter ball.
Halley rolled her eyes and walked to the washroom, wetting down a towel.
“At least lay down so I can put this on your forehead.If you do, I’ll tell you everything that happened since we got here.” Halley bargained
Tèine grumbled in response, but unfolded from the blankets and laid back in the bed. Halley put the wet cloth on her head and began filling her in on the events since the scrambler had knocked her out. Halley found herself lost in the description of the caverns, going into as much detail as she could, and adding flair where she couldn’t. She omitted certain parts, especially her accidental slip. It wouldn’t help to encourage Tèine to panic about still being in danger.
“You should have seen Sergio’s face, he looked like he’d eaten a rotten mili fruit. It looked like this-” Halley scrunched her face together.
“Pffft” Tèine laughed a bit at Halley’s attempt at humor, but then she recovered her serious demeanor.
“Sorry for…” Tèine began softly
“For what?" Halley asked, but Tèine was already fast asleep.