by David Bokman
Samson finally mustered the courage to inspect the giant. “What is this creature?”
“History lesson later, Sam.”
“We should help it,” said Florianna.
Jaio nodded. “I, too, would like this Krauk alive.”
“Even if we wanted to help it, which we do not, it is far too heavy,” said Cad. “It would just pull us down with it.”
The giant groaned, almost as if it was disagreeing.
“We have two votes for helping it. Sam?”
“You’re not seriously giving Jaio a vote?” said Cad.
“I’m sorry, I do not feel safe letting this thing out,” said Samson.
“Smart man. Two against, as well, then.”
“That gives me the deciding vote,” said The Dart. “So… which tree are we tying the rope around?”
It took all the strength they could muster, as well as the strength of an old white-oak, but the group eventually managed to pull the Krauk up far enough that it could grab a hold of the edge and pull itself out. As it stood up, The Dart revised her guess; it probably stood closer to fifteen feet tall and three feet wide. The Krauk’s eyes darted erratically between its saviors, the rift, and the forest, trying to get its bearings. “Excuse me, sir!” said Jaio. “Good day. Could you tell us how it is you ended up in this hole?”
“Unless you speak Krauk, that won’t work,” warned The Dart.
“Ah, of course. A different approach then.” Jaio put his hands up in a disarming fashion, and then slowly pointed at the giant. “You.” Then he pointed at the rift. “Rift.” Lastly, he shrugged. “How?”
The giant looked at itself, and then at the rift. Then at itself. Then at the rift. Then its eyes went wide once more. With another shriek, it set off running into the forest as fast as it could, crushing bushes and roots as it went. “No, that’s not what… Wait!” Jaio shouted, to no avail. The giant was already long gone.
“A natural born diplomat, huh,” said The Dart.
“He made sure the giant didn’t eat us all. That’s diplomatic enough,” said Cad. “A Krauk all the way out here. Strange.”
“It’s not too far from the southern mountains.”
“Far enough that he would not travel out here alone.”
“Perhaps.”
With the giant out of the way, The Dart began, as always, pacing the rift, sketching her findings in her notebook. This time, she also sketched the giant crawling out of the rift. “They’re getting bigger. The rifts.”
“Ah, but there is no way for us to know if this one appeared before or after the previous ones,” countered Jaio. “This one in particular, is easy to overlook. Were it not for the keen senses of our young arcanist, I daresay this rift, and its Krauk, would remain unknown. Well done, Florianna.”
Finally taking a hand off the hilt of his blade, Cadwell turned around. “Let’s get some food and get out of here. Enough surprises for one day.”
⧫ CHAPTER VI ⧫
Both the fourth and fifth day passed without the group running into any more incidents. The remaining part of the forest was easy enough to traverse, becoming less and less dense with every step. On the seventh day, the welcome sight of a road made itself known to the group. The Dart had insisted they would reach this road sooner or later, but Sam had almost started to think she was only saying it to keep spirits high. But it seems she was right. It is not only a road, but a road thrice the size of any I have ever seen. The gravel road must have been fifteen feet wide, allowing two horse carriages travelling in opposite directions to meet without issue. Which is lucky, because there seems to be a lot of them. Indeed, horses and carriages and people were all over the road, travelling in different directions, at different paces, towards different goals. Most of them, thankfully, seemed to be content minding their own business.
“Four leagues!” said Florianna, as they passed another signpost. “Four leagues until we reach a comfortable bed and a hot bath.”
“No, madame, it is much more than that,” said Jaio. “Four leagues until we reach opportunity.”
“An opportunity to say farewell to you, I hope.”
“I will miss you too, Cadwell.”
They passed merchants, families, and even a travelling circus, but were all too travel-weary to even consider stopping or conversing. No, their sights were set on one thing, and one thing only. The gates of Kardh’Ao. With quicker pace than ever before on the journey, they marched on, driven as much by willpower as by strength.
The first thing that caught Samson’s eye as the city came into view was the tower. He had heard of such buildings before, of course, but never seen one himself. The tales about these cloud-piercing structures did not seem to have been exaggerated; even here, a solid league away, it was impossible to miss, dwarfing everything else in the city. Such was its size, that it even made the city walls, as well as the mighty lighthouse near the coast, seem small by comparison. Bringing his gaze down to eye-level, he realized that they still had one final obstacle to pass before their journey could come to a close. At the entrance to the city, two long lines had formed, presumably leading up to some sort of checkpoint. Hopefully this city has nothing against aeni.
“Strange,” said The Dart. “There was no border control last time I entered the city. Must be the Fishbanes’ doing.”
“Fishbanes?”
“Brother and sister. They’re apparently the people in charge now, if the rumors are to be believed. And I’m not sure it’s a welcome change. Zena, the sister, has a… reputation of ruthlessness, you could say.”
The group made their way to the end of the queue, and were flanked by signposts on both sides. Unlike the signpost that Samson had previously found, these ones were of exquisite quality, and the engravings looked so clear and precise that they might very well have been made just yesterday, for all the group knew.
WELCOME TO KARDH’AO!
ALL ARRIVALS MUST IDENTIFY THEMSELVES
AND PAY A TITHE OF ONE SILVER MOON
NEW ARRIVALS - QUEUE TO THE RIGHT
BY ORDER OF THE PORTMASTER
Below the last line of writing, each sign was marked with an emblem of red wax. It depicted two grand towers with a large ship in between. The Townmaster’s Tower and the lighthouse, no doubt, thought The Dart. But whose is the ship? Perhaps it is just a ship.
“Ah, well that is certainly an obstacle,” said Jaio.
“If Kardh’Ao has started doing it, you will soon see these signs in every major city in the land,” said The Dart. “For all its shortcomings, the city is very much a pioneer.”
Cadwell scoffed. “One moon, for what? The pleasure of breathing their air?”
“The rich get richer.”
Despite the length of the queue, it seemed to move at a rapid pace, and before long, the group found themselves at the front of it. Samson elected to try his luck first. As he approached the gate, four figures greeted him. Two guards, armed with sharpened, glistening halberds, blocked the archway into the city. A man to the right was instead armed with pen and paper, and another man with a large sack. The walls to the city, Sam noted, were made up of carefully placed stone bricks that had somehow been glued together. They’ve made it look like one singular block of stone, not a thousand smaller pieces. Beyond the wall, he saw a street containing more people than he knew was possible, all of them having to move almost in unison not to run into each other.
“Welcome to Kardh’Ao. Name and coin, by order of the Portmaster,” the man with pen and paper said. His monotone voice hinted that it was a phrase he had repeated many times by now.
“My name is Samson.”
“Samson who?” the penman sighed.
“Oh… Miller. Samson Miller.”
“Silver, please.”
Samson tossed over a moon, and the two guards brought up their halberds and stepped aside, opening the way into the city.
Further back, Jaio examined the checkpoint, and said, “Perhaps, friends, it would be good if I t
ried next. If things go sideways, which they of course will not, it would be preferable to not be alone on this side of the city.”
“No chance,” said Cad as he stepped up to the checkpoint.
“Welcome to Kardh—”
“Cadwell Churchcross.” Instead of waiting for a reply, Cad threw a moon to the coin collector and pushed his way through the guards, into the city. They did not challenge him.
Jaio, once more, addressed his companions. “I do apologize if this causes any trouble,” he said, and quickly moved past The Dart, pulling a hood up over his head.
“Welcome to—”
“Thank you, good sir! Thank you indeed. A pleasure to finally lay eyes on your fine city, I must say. A week on the road, but a week well spent, by the looks of things.”
“Name, please.”
“Ah, of course, of course. My name is Flavio. Flavio Woodleaf.”
“Woodleaf?”
“That’s my name, yes.”
The penman looked at his records, quickly fished up another paper from one of his pockets, and then looked back at Jaio. “Laentarian?”
“Ah, my accent betrays me.”
“We have orders to vet everyone from Laentar. More often than not, you people seem to cause trouble, no offense. Not to worry - unless you’ve got anything to hide, you won’t be on our list.” He looked down at his other paper and mumbled something incoherent to himself. “Ah, well, thanks to your age and stature, that narrows things down. Take off the hood, please. We’re going to need your hair color.”
“Excuse me?”
“Hey, hood off,” one of the guards urged, stepping closer.
“God damn it,” The Dart whispered, her hands hovering over her daggers’ hilts.
Jaio slowly brought his hands up to his hood. “If you insist,” he said, and pulled it off, ready to make a run for it.
The penman did not need more than a glance at Jaio before looking back down at his paper. “Guards?” he called. The two armed men stepped closer once more. “He’s clear. Looking for an ashen-haired man, this one has hair as black as charcoal.”
Jaio gave a confused smile. “So everything is in order, then?”
“It appears so. Sorry for the hassle. Pay the tithe and you’re free to enter.”
The Laentarian smiled once more, gave a silver moon to the coin collector, walked past the guards, and pulled up his hood once more. At the same time, The Dart looked over at Florianna. She isn’t well. The young woman had sweat dripping down her brow, as if she was being pushed to her physical limits. “You alright?”
Na tried to answer, but even speaking was too taxing at the moment. Just a little longer, she thought, looking at Jaio. Just a little…
The Dart saw her friend lose consciousness, and just barely had time to catch her in her fall. “You two okay?” asked one of the guards, seeing the young woman faint.
“We’re okay! Long journey, it must have taken a toll on her!” said The Dart. “Can we come through together? I have to carry her.”
“Very well,” said the penman. “Welcome to Kardh’Ao, names and silver, please.”
“I don't really have a name,” said The Dart. “People call me The Dart.”
“We will need a full name for our ledger, I’m afraid. I can create one for you, if you’d like.”
“Very well.”
“Let’s see…” The penman scanned through his ledger. “Ah, I like this one. Mae. So… Mae Dart, then? Will that suffice?”
“Perfect, thank you.”
“And your friend? Does she have a name?”
“She’s Florianna. Florianna… Na.”
“Mae Dart and Florianna Na. Very well. Your coin?”
Two silver moons changed owners, the guards stepped aside, and with that, all the travelers found themselves within the walls of Kardh’Ao. Let’s hope the guards aren’t as nosy inside the city.
The group decided to stop at the first place of lodging they could find, to allow Na to recover. Apparently, the place was considered rather squalid by the townsfolk, but it was still more than luxurious enough. The others had gone down for food and drink, but Jaio had stuck around to keep the young arcanist company. “I hear rumors that you saved my life,” he said, when Florianna finally woke up.
“Who… where are we?”
“Why, we are at a fine inn just inside Kardh’Ao. Were it not for you, though, I would instead be at Haara’s door, entering the afterlife. For that was your work, was it not?”
“Sorry, what was?”
“My hair, young arcanist. My hair, which is normally not black.”
A surge of memories hit Florianna, and she sat up, wide awake. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes, we all are. Try to rest. I must say, for an arcanist of such novice level as yourself, that was quite the trick! Thank you. I’ll be with the others downstairs, when you feel better. Food would do you well. And ale. Well-deserved ale.”
Cadwell was just about to finish his second meal when Florianna found the strength to join them. She was still not close to fully recovered, though. I feel as if I’ve been running all day, or been carrying heavy logs.
“Laentar’s Savior!” Mae shouted, seeing Na approach. “Bane of Gatekeepers!”
“She’s had a drink too many,” warned Samson.
“A drink too few! We’ve got a whole week to compensate for!”
“So…” Florianna sat down at the table. “We made it in. What do we do from here?”
“We celebrate! And then, we solve the rifts! Townsguard just created some sort of bureau of rift research, isn’t that right, innkeep? Probably offering a grand reward.”
“So we stick together?”
“Not with me,” said Cadwell. “I’ll stay in the city for a while, but not for the rifts. Got other business to attend to.”
Jaio laughed. “Now this is interesting! For the big man to walk away from a ‘grand reward’, he must have quite important business indeed to take care of.”
“Aye.” Important and dangerous. You don’t get two shots at murdering a nobleman.
“As for me,” the Laentarian continued, “I doubt you will see me again. First thing tomorrow, I am finding a suitable ship and testing my luck elsewhere. Anyone else hungry for adventure is of course welcome to join me. Florianna, perhaps? That way, I could try to pay off my debt to you.”
The young woman hesitated for a moment. “I… no. I want to examine the rifts, to understand them. I’ll stay with you, Dart, if that’s okay.”
“Ah, her name is apparently ‘Mae’ nowadays.”
“I could use the help,” said Mae. “Samson? What about you?”
“I… haven’t decided yet.”
Cadwell, just having finished his meal, stood up. “Well, I’d like to use what’s left of today’s sunlight. I believe this is farewell.”
Mae stumbled out of her seat, and said, “You’re alright, Cad. Greedy and grumpy, but alright. Good luck.” She extended her hand, and Cadwell shook it, mainly to make sure she kept her balance.
“Magician.” He gave a quick nod to Florianna. “Ae… Samson.” Cad began extending his hand towards the small man, but seemed to reconsider halfway through, and let it fall to his side. “Safe travels,” he said, and walked out the door.
“For all our adventures, I didn't even get a goodbye,” said Jaio. “Heartbreaking. In any case, I must set my sights on the docks. I hear it is a vile and dreadful place, but it cannot be helped. Wish me luck!”
“Try to behave yourself, Jaio,” said Mae.
“And stay safe!” added Na.
“Don’t I always?” Jaio walked up to the door and turned around. “Oh, Samson?”
“Yes?”
“Would you mind giving me my sickle back, just in case? I believe you have trained quite enough with it to call yourself proficient.”
Sickle in hand, the Laentarian too braved the streets of Kardh’Ao.
“That leaves us three,” observed Florianna. “You
could join us today, while you’re figuring out what to do, Sam!”
“Sounds like a plan. Speaking of which, what exactly is your plan?”
“To wait for The Dart to regain her senses, and then ask her, I’d imagine.”
“We’ve had worse plans in the past.”
By the time Mae’s senses returned to her, the activity in the street had died down somewhat. Nevertheless, there were still far too many people around for her liking. Some were perusing the storefronts, others wandered around aimlessly, but most people walked with haste and conviction. Is it out of impatience or fear that they wish to get home so quickly? The Dart wondered. Probably both. I have never known Kardh’Ao to be a welcoming place after dark. Darkness would not set for a few hours yet, though. There was still time left to conduct some business today, if they made haste.
“Imagine if a rift opened here!” said Na. “Imagine how many people would fall in!”
“Then you’d finally get enough space to breathe,” said Mae, making her way past two elderly men, walking slowly in the middle of the street, oblivious to the people around them.
“What are we doing out here, anyway? Not a lot of time left today,” said Sam.
“If I understood the innkeep correctly, the Townsguard is who we go to for all things regarding the rifts. Information, rewards… all that stuff. So right now, we’re heading to their headquarters, hopefully to talk with their commander.”
An old woman passing the group in the other direction turned around and spat. “Meeting with Stonehand, huh? Yeah, good luck.”
“So Gallo is still refusing to die, and still in charge,” said The Dart. “Some things never change, not even in the City of Change.”
As they continued deeper into the city, Florianna eventually managed to put her finger on what it was that felt so strange about this place. It was the people. Her entire life, Na had only ever seen and interacted with humans, with extremely few exceptions. Samson included, she could probably count the nonhumans she had seen on one hand. After entering Kardh’Ao, however, she now needed quite a bit more than a hand. While the vast majority of people were still humans, one did not need to look far to spot an aeni or other nonhumans whose races she did not know the names of. Some people have feathers and beaks, others have eyes with impossible colors, others still have skin as red as fire. You’re far from home now, Na.
