by David Bokman
“Excuse me, good people of the village!” Jaio shouted. “Did any of you witness this strange rift open? Were any of you present when this happened?”
An old woman with tired eyes and a hunched stature, standing at the opposite side of the circle, stepped forward. “I seen it, aye.”
“Describe how it happened, please.”
“I were out on a walk, I was. Always walk this way. Every morn. Nothing strange never happened here, just me and the sand. Saw Alf, the barman, I did. Waved to him, but he ain’t wave back. Never liked him. Then the ground start shaking, like one of them stories. Shaking and rumbling. Terrible, ‘twas. When I got up, didn’t see Alf, but I done see this rift. Ate Alf whole, it did. Nasty business.”
Samson felt a supportive hand on his shoulder, and was surprised to see it belonged to Cadwell, who had not taken his eyes off the old woman. “Who are you, anyway?” came a question from the crowd. “Do you know what these things are?”
“Ah,” said Jaio. “Just travelers passing by, I’m afraid. We are as much in the dark as you are.”
Stepping closer, The Dart and Florianna looked down into the mouth of the rift, and were once again met with an endless abyss. Whatever was at the end of the rift, it was impossible to see. Probably nothing we want to see, anyway, thought The Dart. “This one is wider.”
“They almost feel…”
“Yes.”
Apart from the dimensions, the rift seemed altogether the same. After a quick walk around it, The Dart concluded this one was twenty-five by ten paces, and drew a quick sketch of it in her book. “We done here?” asked Cadwell. “Let’s go find a place to tally the gold.”
Seeing someone other than Alf standing at the taps in The Barrel made Samson more uneasy than he cared to admit. This is his tavern, he thought. He built it from nothing, and they’ve already claimed it.
“Good da… Oh. I’m sorry for your loss, Thim. He was a good man,” said the man behind the bar. “I am only here in the interim, of course, don’t worry. Just while we figure out who legally inherits the tavern. Things will be back to normal in no time. Ale?”
The tavern was all but empty, but not empty enough to openly distribute over a hundred suns. “No ale, thank you, Constan. We’re going to lend the storage room for a moment though,” said Samson, his normally excitable tone of voice now replaced with a monotone echo.
“Of course, Thim. Shout if I can help with anything.”
“That’s okay.”
If the main room of the tavern felt cramped, the storage room would make even an ant claustrophobic. All the barrels and sacks and boxes made it hard even for Samson to traverse, and for Cadwell it was nigh impossible. The group eventually managed to close the door behind them, but it did not leave much room for any of them to move around. Nonetheless, they got to work distributing their spoils. “...And that’s thirty each,” said The Dart, placing the last few suns in Florianna’s hands. “Not a bad haul. You got any idea what you’ll do with your shares?”
“I… don’t know. I’ve never really had to buy much myself,” admitted Na. “Perhaps some better clothes. You were right, Dart, these robes aren’t of much use out here.”
“Rich parents?” asked Cad.
“She’s from Velema, I don’t think it’s even possible for someone in Velema to be poor,” said The Dart. “What about you, Samson? What’ll you do?”
“I haven’t decided, either,” said Sam. “If Alf really is gone, I… well, there isn’t much left for me here. So travel, perhaps. Cad?”
“Kardh’Ao,” said Cadwell.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a coastal town,” said The Dart. “I’ve been through a couple of times, it’s a big place. Really big place, actually. A good spot if you have money to spend, or stolen baubles to peddle. It’s sort of a connection point; wherever you are in the world, you’re never far from Kardh’Ao. Great place for informa…” Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she looked at Cadwell. “I knew keeping you around wouldn’t be all bad! I think you’ve just given us the next piece of the puzzle. Do you mind some company to Kardh’Ao?”
“Sure, but don’t expect me to partake in your obsession with these things.”
“So there’ll be information about the rifts in this city?” asked Na. “In that case, we have to go there. We need to get some clarity.”
“What the hell,” said Sam. “Grensby won’t go anywhere. I’ll join you, too.”
“I will join you as well.” Jaio, leaned against a barrel, had been quiet until now.
“Oh no,” said The Dart, “You… will tell us about Laentar.”
⧫ CHAPTER V ⧫
“I was fifteen when Laentar fell. In hindsight, I must say it was impressive of the city to survive that long. You see…” Jaio stopped, perhaps unsure how to phrase his story. “Laentar was not run the way you people are probably used to. No kings or lords or noblemen to guide us. No, in Laentar, strength, or rather the illusion of strength, was power. If I believed the Gloved Ones were a bigger threat to me than the Syndicate, I listened to the Gloved Ones. As I am sure you understand, it is not an especially sustainable way to run an enterprise, let alone a place of Laentar’s size.” He took a theatrical pause, making sure everyone was listening. “For a long time, the violence was under control. It was bad, of course, but it did not get worse. I suppose, when you’ve never known anything else your entire life, it did not seem so bad. In any case, most people who got hurt were in the gangs, and I was young enough that I flew under their radar most of the time.”
“What changed?”
“A young recruit, I forget which gang he was a part of, he was… let us say eager to prove himself. Far too eager. He made the mistake of attempting, and unfortunately succeeding, to kill one of the elders of the Syndicate. Now, Laentar may have been a city of the vilest variety, but there was still a codex we all adhered to. Part of that codex, naturally, was that members above a certain rank in the gangs were off limits, no exceptions. Even the Gloved Ones accepted it, and they were the kind of people who drowned you in the sewers if you spoke to them wrong. In any case, this young man, presumably filled with hubris and ambition, stabbed an elder. From there, things happened very quickly. I heard many different stories, so what I will tell you is an amalgamation of all of them. The Syndicate instantly retaliated. The immunity must be over, they reasoned, so they returned the favor. Eager not to show weakness, the other gangs followed.”
“So the city ate itself up. Not very special,” said Cad.
“Ah, but it didn’t. No, this had happened before. People had, albeit exceedingly rarely, overstepped their boundaries before. Even leaders had been killed. No, that was not the flame that burned it all down, but the spark.”
“So what, then?”
“Ah, I have already told you too much, far too much.”
“Jaio—”
“I propose the following! I ride with you to Kardh’Ao. It’s a bit of a ride, so I will have ample time to teach you about the sickle, Samson. Once we have made it halfway there, I will tell you the rest of what happened at Laentar. If I do not, the big man may kill me.”
“He would have to get in line.”
“Naturally. Then, when we arrive at Kardh’Ao, we will bid each other farewell, and I will get on a ship. I feel more and more like I have perhaps overstayed my welcome in these parts of the land. And, of course, should any trouble arise on the path, I trust we will have each others’ backs?”
“And I propose we throw him in the rift,” said Cad. “Don’t see why we’re so interested in this Laentar place anyway.”
“You keep talking as if you make the rules,” agreed The Dart. “Sam, do you think he’s helpful?”
“Might be too early to say, but so far, yes, I’ve probably learned a thing or two,” said Samson, still showing very few hints of emotion.
“So how about this proposition: you tell us the entire story, right now, and then you’re allowed to ride with us as long as S
am considers you helpful.”
“Ah, I…”
“Good. Speak.”
“You leave me little choice,” Jaio conceded. “Very well. Both The Trade and The Archive had taken an interest in Laentar for a long time. As long as I can remember, actually. We were just at the border of their influence, and I believe they feared we might… break loose, so to speak. So, when the gang war broke out again, they jumped the gun.”
“They? They worked together?”
“Desperate times, desperate measures. The enemy of my enemy… well, you know how it goes. They both sent a representative to Laentar. They said, of course, that it was just to keep the peace and ease tensions, but I am afraid it had the opposite effect. People already had too much to deal with, and the added stress of both The Trade and The Archive, well… The city reached a boiling point, if you wish to put it lightly”
“Don’t put it lightly.”
“All the gangs believed the others had somehow convinced The Trade or Archive to help them, that they had somehow bribed or blackmailed them. Three gangs that worked together decided they did not like the new status quo, so…”
“So what?”
“So they killed the Archivist.”
“Don’t anger The Archive,” Cadwell and The Dart said in unison, in a gloomy tone.
“Don’t anger The Archive,” Jaio repeated, almost like a prayer. “I believe you can divine for yourself what happened after. And, let me tell you, watching The Archive raze a city to the ground, it is not a pretty sight. Both The Archive and The Trade naturally deny all involvement, and they do not much appreciate being blamed for Laentar’s collapse. Thus the secrecy.”
Jaio glanced around, as if he was afraid an archivist would suddenly materialize from thin air to silence him. None did. “So, does that satisfy your curiosity, historian?” he said.
“Not really, no. You sure that’s the only reason The Archive stepped in?”
“What are you getting at?”
“Nothing. I just… Nothing. Laentar just seemed like a strange place, so I figured something stranger would have happened. Doesn’t matter.”
“This ‘Archive’ keeps getting mentioned,” said Na, “but I still don’t know who or what they are.”
“They’re not too different from you, little magician,” said Jaio. “Knowing they are an ancient order of arcanists and keepers of knowledge, and that they are not to be trifled with, will suffice for now. We have already spoken of them far too much.”
“I need ale, and I need sleep,” said Sam. He opened the door back to the tavern and wandered off.
“Regroup tomorrow?” asked The Dart.
Cad, too, began wandering off. “Don’t be late. I leave at first light.”
Normally, Cadwell might consider making camp himself instead of paying for a room in a tavern. That night, however, he was happy to have a tavern readily available. Don’t much fancy one of those holes in the ground appearing under me in my sleep. And if they do, I’d rather not be alone. His worries were unfounded, though, as the night progressed without issue. When he woke and went down for breakfast, he discovered that the only souls awake this early, apart from himself, were The Dart and the barkeep.
“Morning!” The Dart exclaimed, seeing him walk down the stairs.
“Hrm.”
“Oh,” laughed The Dart, “it’s hard to know if he’s grumpy because he hasn’t eaten or if that’s his bright personality shining through.”
“You’re up early,” said Cadwell, simultaneously making a gesture to the man behind the bar.
“I don’t sleep well,” said The Dart. “Never have. What’s your excuse?”
“The less we sleep, the less likely we are to get stabbed in our sleep.”
“That happen often to you, does it?”
“Sure. Anyway, why are you so interested in this Laentar place and those earth-rifts? Never got a chance to ask yesterday. You’re even more obsessed than the girl.”
“When Jaio calls me a historian he’s mocking me, but he is not entirely wrong,” she said. “I… take an interest in what happened before we were here.”
“Doesn’t explain the rifts, though.”
“Doesn’t it? What if these rifts have appeared before? What if they appear for a reason? Wouldn’t you like to know why?”
“Not really.”
“Of course not. Even you must agree, though, that the existence of a second rift makes this far less likely to be a strange coincidence. Something is happening.”
“If you say so.”
“Ah, colleagues!” came a sound that could only belong to the Laentarian. Neither The Dart nor Cadwell had heard him descend the small staircase.
“Careful, Jaio. Before his breakfast, I believe Cadwell is more akin to a mortal enemy than a colleague.”
“Don’t much like you after breakfast either, kid.”
“Perhaps it is the dreary weather that is making our big friend feel such animosity,” said Jaio, sitting down next to The Dart. “Or perhaps he fears the changing of the guard - fears that he is of the old guard, and I am of the new.”
The Dart put a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Let’s give him some space.”
“Of course, of course. I must say, I am impressed not to be the first one awake. With my old group of friends, you would be lucky if one of them rose before noon. This is a welcome change of pace, most welcome.”
Cadwell sighed. “Dart, remind me—”
“I know, Cad. I know.”
It would be a while longer before Samson joined the group, at which point a few other patrons had also made their way into the tavern. Judging by the small man’s demeanor, he had recovered, or at least pretended to have recovered, from Alf’s death. Let’s hope they weren’t too close, The Dart thought, finishing her breakfast. Florianna was even later than Sam, yet it still looked like an extra hour or two of sleep would have done her good. Instead, the group promptly readied their horses, of which there were now five; Samson had decided to buy a new one for himself with some of his reward money.
After just half a league on the trail, the group realized this would not be as easy going as yesterday. The path to Kardh’Ao was treacherous, The Dart had informed them. Five days of hard riding due west, if not more, and they would reach the Muddy Coast, where Kardh’Ao was situated. If the bad weather held, though, it would be far more than five days. It appeared the Weather Gods had decided to hinder their progress as best as they could, with rain and wind and cold weather. This meant the group was forced to maintain a slower pace than they would have wanted, at least for the first days. They travelled past the arid desert of Grensby, through the open fields on the other side of it, and into a large forest whose name was unknown even to The Dart.
As the group awoke on the fourth day of travel, they did so to a sun that felt far warmer than it had on the previous days. The Dart judged they had been delayed perhaps as much as two days, but fortunately the last stretch of the journey should be easier as they got closer and closer to civilization once again. If her memory served, they should reach their first proper road before the day was over.
Before they had time to reach any road though, something else would catch their attention. It happened just before the group was about to stop for their midday ration, while they were still in the forest bordering the main road. For once, Samson was not the first one to spot it. Instead, Florianna suddenly stopped while they were seemingly in the middle of nowhere, and fixed her gaze at a point deeper into the woods. “Ah, have you spotted a wild animal, friend?” Jaio inquired.
“No, it’s…” Florianna squinted her eyes. “I think it’s another rift,”
“There’s just trees here,” said Cad. “No way to spot one of those earth holes even if there was one. Not even the Aeni saw anything.”
“I think Na is right, I do see something, faintly,” lied Samson. “I think we should investigate, just to be sure.”
Cadwell swore. “Five minutes, that�
��s all we’re wasting on this.”
After a quick trek off the beaten path, leading their horses when the terrain was too difficult, the group came upon a small glade, sixty or seventy feet across. Almost precisely in the middle of the clearing, as if placed on that very spot with meticulous accuracy, a rift had indeed opened. Na and The Dart approached with excitement, with Sam, Jaio and Cad bringing up the rear. “Na, how did you—”
“Hang on. There’s a… there’s a creature in the rift,” said Na, stepping closer.
“A creature?” asked The Dart, breaking into a half-run. When she looked down into the rift, and saw what Florianna was referring to, she instinctively took a few quick steps back. Roughly ten feet down into the rift, a massive shape was clinging onto the wall, not unlike how Jaio had done a few days prior. The creature’s hands were the size of large shovel-heads, calloused and gashed. From its dirty, bald head down to its paw-like feet, The Dart judged it must have been at least thirteen feet tall. “That’s not just any creature,” she said. “That’s a Krauk giant.”
Cadwell, his claymore already drawn and ready, stepped forward. “We’re leaving.”
“This is most curious indeed,” said Jaio, paying no heed to the old man. “It’s almost… it’s as if our friend is climbing out of the rift.”
“He fell into it, grabbed a hold, and is coming back out. A little fissure in the earth won’t stop a Krauk for long, trust me,” said Cadwell.
Finally becoming aware that it had company, the giant turned its gaze from its handhold up towards the mouth of the rift. Upon seeing Na and the others, it let out a deep, short shriek, its eyes going wide. Its left hand lost its grip, and rocks trickled down into the abyss of the rift. Clinging onto the wall with one hand, the giant looked down into the rift, and then up towards the forest, trying to decide which fate it disliked the most. “It looks scared, not dangerous,” said Na.
“Oh, well that changes everything. Getting stomped to death by an angry giant is bad, but if it’s scared, everything’s alright,” said Cad.
