by Bryant Reil
“And what’s the favor you’re about to ask?” she wondered.
Kyla plopped onto the spare bed. “I got a patron, so I’m going to be learning in the field instead of doing classroom stuff. I got my first assignment but have to get a team together. You’ll come with me, right? I just need you to sign a confidentiality agreement before I tell you—”
Eunoe held up a hand, her index finger extended. “Stop. I can’t come with you. I have work to do. And classes. So does Aspen. Not that it matters, because if I can’t go, she can’t.”
“Well, you can skip classes. Field learning, right? Aura can’t come because she has to teach. Oh, did she invite you to the wedding yet?”
Aspen’s back straightened. “Aura’s getting married? When?”
Eunoe felt the dryad’s heart go a-flutter. Her emotions were all over the place today. Dryads almost never married, as they were usually too timid to meet people, and were bound to their trees by distance. Other sorts of nymphs, such as alseids like Eunoe, were often taken as trophy wives. A nightmarish existence, and Eunoe couldn’t understand why anyone would submit to it willingly. Of course, she knew Aura wasn’t particularly willing.
Kyla, on the other hand, was nearly as giddy as Aspen. “Oh, she hasn’t invited you yet? She’s going to. Act surprised. Anyway, I can’t go all the way to Alfheim by myself.”
“Avalm eks vinla,” Eunoe growled.
Kyla pressed back against the wall.
Eunoe shook her head and tried again. “Sorry. Slipped out. Aias is opposed to your trip. So am I. We already had to rescue you from Alfheim once.”
“Exactly. It would be way easier if you just came along this time.”
“I can’t skip classes, Kyla. And I have all this paperwork to do. And I’m trying to figure out how to make a body for Aias.” Eunoe slapped her paperwork back down onto the bed. “Not to mention you shouldn’t be running off again. Last time, you nearly died.”
“But I didn’t. And I saved the world, you know. Couldn’t have done that sitting around here. And the work I’m doing is very important.”
Eunoe clicked her tongue. “You did save the world. Now relax and let somebody else have a turn before you get yourself killed.”
Aspen took another bite of her fish and licked the juice from her fingers. “I think you should go, Kyla. I mean, maybe you’ll find Lug.”
As soon as the dryad spoke, Kyla sank in her seat and cast her eyes to the floor, stifling a sob.
“I shouldn’t have left him. We can find him together. I can’t do it by myself. Please, Eunoe.”
Eunoe groaned. She already had to mother Aspen and Aias, but Kyla must feel awful about losing her friend. Eunoe put down her pen and offered her a hug. “I’m sure he’s okay. Have you checked to see if he’s returned to Equinox?”
Kyla nodded. “Well, I checked his apartment. Nobody’s answering. I guess I could go to his work. I’m kinda scared to find out, though.”
“Well, I’ll tell you what. Go find out what you can, and if he’s still missing, I’ll come with you to the Director’s office and we’ll organize an official search party. Sound good?”
Kyla nodded, but Eunoe knew that the elf wasn’t sensible enough to leave this to the professionals.
***
Kyla ground her teeth and scratched at her scalp. It was her fault. She had taken Lug to Alfheim, and then left him behind. She should have gone back for him right away. So much time wasted loafing at home since the Long Night. She should have spent that time looking for Lug.
She took a deep breath as she stepped into the elevator. Lug worked pushing the earth on its axis, using a wheel at the center of the earth. It was a long ride down, and stuffy, and hot, and Kyla felt sick each time she made the descent. This time she deserved the awful feeling and allowed herself to stew in it throughout the lengthy downward journey.
As soon as the doors slid open she decided she’d stewed long enough and leaped from the elevator. She ran down the red-lighted corridor to the locker room. There was no one there so she continued to the wheel chamber. The towering metal doors were too heavy for her to budge, and no one responded to her pounding and shouting, so she sat and waited.
It wasn't long before the door swung open and a pair of giant stone elementals walked out. Heff the minotaur followed. He stopped and snorted.
“You survived,” he said and motioned for the two elementals to keep going. “Where's Lug?”
“I’m looking for him. I last saw him in Alfheim. He never came back here?”
“No.” Heff snorted again.
The minotaur was one of the few who knew anything of Kyla’s plans to find the aurichalcum in Alfheim. Kyla explained what happened: how the strange earth had made Lug weak, and the creepy Digan had tried to take her skin, and that Lug saved her, but she hadn't seen him since.
“I hoped he'd come back here. Now I have to go back to Alfheim to find a stone. I mean, find something. I’m not allowed to talk about it. I'll find him while I’m there. Oh, and Inga. She was a giant who gave us a ride on her mammoth. The thing is, I can't find anyone to come with me. Maybe Denzig - that's the dragon - I haven't asked him yet but you know, he's been pretty busy watching over Whitehall because they're having a bunch of their own problems.”
“I'll come.” Heff stomped a hoof on the stone floor.
“Pardon?”
“I will find Lug.”
“You want to come with me?”
Heff snorted and rooted a hoof against the stone floor. “I will help you.”
“I - I guess so.” Heff wasn't who Kyla had wanted as a travel companion, but she had to admit she felt safer having him along. “The Digan chief is a really big guy. I can bring a bunch of clothes for him, and maybe he'll help us, but if he gets mad I don't think even you could fight him.”
“We'll see.”
“He's as big as Denzig and made of stone.” An idea popped into Kyla’s mind. “Of course, he is an elemental. I think I know what we need.”
Denzig nearly dropped the tea tray. “You want to what?”
“I need to dig up Dunkin. You don't have to do it. Just tell me where his body is.”
“Why on earth do you need to do that? Honey, or sugar?”
Kyla gingerly took a small cup of steaming mint tea. “Honey, please. He had a ring that negates elemental magic. I saw him use it against Lug. I need it in case we run into trouble with the Digans.”
“You're going back? But I just rescued you from there!”
“You’re as bad as Eunoe. Anyway, Heff is coming to help. We need to find Lug.”
“Well, Sheriff Withers and a bunch of townspeople buried them by the dump. I offered to burn the bodies, but they insisted on handling it themselves.” Denzig leaned in to whisper. “I bet they plan to sell the bodies to the government. A non-human corpse would be worth a fortune.” He took a sip of tea. “I probably should come and destroy the remains. Hope no one stole this ring you’re looking for.”
“It doesn't look like much. I doubt anyone would take it, unless they knew it was magic.”
“Doubtful. Humans don't have much of a sense for that. Let me just get the biscuits out of the oven. We might as well eat first. I don't think we want to go digging up graves until after dark.”
Kyla thought after dark was exactly the wrong time to dig up graves.
The dump was isolated and away from town, likely due to the pungent odor. Kyla held her light orb aloft as they passed by a mountain of interesting colors and shapes. She couldn’t help but rummage as they walked past: humans discarded all sorts of fascinating objects. She recognized a few: a toilet, which she had once mistaken for a wash-basin, and a large metal box used by humans to keep food cold. It was large enough to climb inside, which she did, and indeed it was a comfortable fit, though something scurried past her foot. She shrieked and scampered over piles of trash, an interesting mix of squishy and pointy textures, until she caught up with Heff and Denzig.
It tu
rned out Kyla was right about night being a bad time to go corpse-digging. The wretched smell of the dump, the scratching of vermin-claws on metal, and the occasional distant howl accentuated the ominous shadows cast by her light orb. Kyla screeched and jumped as a small pair of eyes glistened from under a broken end-table.
Kyla was grateful for both Denzig and Heff not only for the company, but also because her contribution to the digging was minimal. They hadn’t brought a shovel, so she found a long piece of metal and tried her best to move the dirt that Denzig marked as the mass grave. Progress, on her own, would have been terribly slow through the frozen ground. But Denzig’s massive claws and Heff’s giant hands made short work of the project. It was unfortunate, however, that in their haste they managed to tear some of the bodies, which were not as decomposed as Kyla felt they should have been. Why didn’t humans mulch the bodies of their dead as the elves did?
“The cold weather has kept them from decomposing,” Denzig said with a huff of flame. “Rats got to this one. Right through the skull. Disgusting.”
Heff nodded. “I can still see the marks of combat. They’ve been here since the Long Night?”
“Yes. We’re looking for a dwarf.” Denzig rummaged through the bodies, some of which dropped limbs in the upheaval, and finally tossed a short, stout corpse at Kyla's feet. He and Heff placed the rest back in the pit.
The ring was still stuck on Dunkin's finger. It appeared someone had made a half-hearted effort to pull it off but given up as it peeled some of the skin away. Kyla grimaced and tugged at the ring, trying to make as little contact with the dwarf's rotting flesh as possible, but it wouldn't budge. She heard heavy footsteps as Heff approached from behind. He grunted as he watched her struggle. Then he reached down, grabbed Dunkin's ring-finger, and snapped it off. Kyla's stomach lurched as Heff shucked the ring from the finger.
The ring dangled at the end of a long strip of Dunkin’s skin, to which the metal must have frozen. Kyla gagged and covered her mouth. Heff tossed it to her, but she let the ring drop to the ground with a soft thud. Heff chuckled as he dragged Dunkin’s corpse back to the grave.
Kyla found a metal rod amidst the piles of human trash. She gingerly stepped on the strip of Dunkin’s finger-skin and pried at the metal ring until it popped off, clanging against the side of a large metal box. She marked where it landed, and on finding it, was disappointed to find there was still a mess of cold skin adhering to the metal. She sighed and proceeded to scrape it clean with the metal rod while doing her best not to look at it.
Meanwhile, Denzig breathed a great flame onto the pile of bodies, and despite the foul odor of burning corpses, Kyla was relieved to see the gruesome reminders of lost lives reduced to ash.
Chapter Four
Tick-Talk
Bremnos looked behind him as General Agrimarch jumped from his seat, his massive knees banging the table and rattling the chess pieces. It had been three days of quiet, but a procession was marching to the outer edge of Dassidin. It was too far to see in detail, but the glint of steel spattered among the crowd implied that a few were armed and armored.
Agrimarch walked to the edge of the hill, snatching a telescope from a nearby field desk. He peered through it and snorted. “Maybe two thousand. Motley assortment of armor and weapons. Ill-fitted. No formation.”
Bremnos walked to Agrimarch’s side. “Militia?”
Agrimarch lowered the telescope and handed it to Bremnos. “Militia would have better equipment. These look like civilians dressed for war. I suppose King Oberon’s meeting with the city council isn’t going well.”
Bremnos took a pinch of silage before raising the telescope to his lone eye. “Most of them look pretty young. More of a mob than an army. I take it Dassidin doesn’t train its populace in warfare.” Minotaurs of all tribes were trained from youth in the martial disciplines. This looked like a bunch of kids grabbed their parents’ weapons and armor and dressed themselves as soldiers. There were only a thousand soldiers in Oberon’s camp, but they were all highly skilled and well-equipped.
There was a zap and Oberon appeared with his bodyguards. He fluttered over and hovered in front of Agrimarch’s chest.
“Rioters are attacking the Hall of Genik. I offered to help defend it, but Governor Jazmi-Hail received a message that a small army was headed for our camp.”
A low growl escaped Agrimarch’s throat. “Do they realize this is your camp? Why would they be so stupid to challenge the Royal Army?”
Sparks of blue energy snapped around Oberon’s body. “They are young and rash. They do not believe the official reports regarding Erebus’ defeat, and have become dissatisfied with their leaders’ inability to answer questions. My authority is being challenged due to rumors that I am withholding information.”
But Oberon was withholding information. He had no idea what happened to Erebus: only that the Long Night had ended suddenly, and the god of darkness’ forces were dispersed.
“Should we come clean? Tell them everything?” Bremnos knew this was unlikely. There were many powerful lords, Duke Ukko and Lord Sventali among them, who would exploit any weakness in Oberon to stake a claim to the throne in High Haven.
Oberon shook his head. “It’s too late. They are frightened and irrational, and do not yet know the real threat that is coming.”
Bremnos wanted to ask to what threat Oberon was referring, but Agrimarch growled again.
“Perhaps we can speak with them.” The General slapped Bremnos on the shoulder. “I nominate Bremnos. Perhaps they will respect one of their Kulgoth allies more than a Royal Officer.”
Bremnos shrugged. “I’m a functionary under the King. I doubt they’ll see the difference between us.”
There was a spark of lightning from Oberon’s head. “You are probably correct, but Agrimarch is right to nominate you for parley. You understand the minds of the common folk better than either of us. Take my guard, if you like. Seek their leader, or spokesperson, and see if they have any demands.”
Bremnos sighed. “I won’t need a guard.” If it came to violence, he’d like to escape without causing any fatalities. He doubted the King’s guard would be very gentle if it came to blows. He thrust back his shoulder blades until he felt a satisfying pop in his spine and began his march down the hill toward Dassidin.
***
“This way.” Kyla led Heff to the portal room in the Communications building. It was the hub of travel in Equinox and bustled with people running to and fro wearing the familiar brown uniform of student messengers. Kyla waved at Vesslik, a lizard-man she recognized from one of her classes the previous term. He gave her a nod and flicked his tongue as he rushed through one of the portals.
“When I went to Alfheim with Lug,” she reminisced, “we had to take an underground boat on a river of magma. It was hot. This time, at least we get to use the portal to Varis. I'm going to stop by the mammoth stable to see if Inga came back. If she’s there maybe we can catch a ride with her caravan. Although Denzig killed one of her mammoths because we needed food and I needed some new clothes because I gave all mine to the Digan chief. That's why I'm bringing this extra bag of clothes. I don't want him to take what I'm wearing again. You know how to speak to earth elementals, right?”
Heff snorted and looked down. “Yes.” He grabbed the bag of clothing and tucked it under his arm.
Kyla smiled. “Thanks. It wasn't too heavy for me. I’m stronger than I look, you know. It’s just a little big to carry around with my other bag. I'm going prepared, this time. I hope they don't mind you carrying that giant axe around.”
Heff snorted. His axe rested over his shoulder. The haft was longer than Kyla was tall, and the head probably matched her weight.
“Good afternoon,” came a voice from behind. It was Elial. “It has been a hectic day. You have managed to escape running errands due to your special assignment to…where, exactly?”
“Sophrosyne says I can't tell anyone, and to refer you to her if you have any questio
ns.” Kyla said this with some self-importance, though regretted her attitude as soon as the words escaped from her mouth. She felt some guilt over Sophrosyne mucking with his memories.
“Of course.” He didn't hide his frustration. It was a standard rule that nothing went through the portals without his say-so. He looked Heff up and down and then sighed. “It looks like she has you going somewhere rather dangerous, if she's provided you with such a fearsome bodyguard.”
“I am no guard,” Heff growled.
Kyla smiled. “He volunteered to help me out. We have a mutual interest in this assignment. I do look way cooler having him follow me around though, huh?”
Heff snorted, and Elial frowned. “Be careful, Kyla. When will you be back?”
“Maybe a week or so.”
“A week.” He shook his head. “I don't like this. I'm afraid I'm going to have to talk to Anh-Bul about getting you a new patron.”
Kyla would hate to be reassigned but assumed Sophrosyne would manage things. She offered a pitying smile and clasped Elial's wrist before approaching the nearest portal. On it were a series of dials, which she set to the numbers she had committed to memory: GV2134, the code for the town center of Varis, city of giants.
A shimmering blue field filled the portal. Kyla stepped through, holding her breath as she felt the familiar swirl of energy around her, flowing in and out of her pores. She inhaled as she emerged in a much larger world.
Varis made her feel like a bug in a dollhouse. The portal was set up high on the wall of a room full of shelves and curios. Below was a desk set by a door. Walkways for smaller folk ran along the walls of the room, and a set of stairs descended past a cabinet, which caught her attention. It had glass panels which revealed massive knickknacks: statuettes of carved bone, mechanical animals and dolls, and other oddities towered above. Each item, she now noticed, had a price tag affixed. This was a gift shop.
