by Kevin Ashman
Overall and totally unexpected was an overwhelming feeling of vertigo. All their lives, the inhabitants of Bastion knew only the limited constraints of the granite city and on the one day a month that they got to see outside of the walls, even though the waters had fallen, it stay lay all around them like a protective blanket. Now that perception had been stripped away, not only was the water level thirty-foot lower, but the submerged city street lay far below that.
The concept was entirely alien to everyone and most, having taken a look, quickly made their way back within the familiar walls which had enveloped them like a giant pair of protective arms all their lives.
Pelosus stared downward in fascination. Below him lay row upon row of stone buildings, shimmering in the rippling water. The streets stretched as far as he could see, from the Citadel walls right across to the outer towers. Dark shapes swam lazily between the buildings, their streamlined bodies cutting easily through the water with a gentle flick of their tales. This was no surprise, as it had long been known that the water between the city and the towers were breeding grounds for Narwl, and it was forbidden for any hunting to take place within the outer walls.
He made copious notes, absorbing as much information as he could and was so engrossed was his scientific mind, that he all but forgot the seriousness of the implications. Soon he realized that all the people had gone back to their safe and boring lives inside the Citadel. All except one, a young girl whom he had seen skulking around the market occasionally on Moon-day. The two of them exchanged smiles.
‘Hello,’ said Amber.
He offered a tight-lipped smile as a response and continued his work. Amber sat on the wall, her legs hanging over the void.
‘Fascinating, isn’t it?’ she said
‘Yes, I suppose it is, really’.
‘Is it right about the fish people?' she asked. ‘I heard they’ve got bodies like us and a massive tail like a Narwl.’
‘No,’ he said, ‘there are no such things as Fish-people.’
‘Might be?’ she said, a doubting look in her eye.
He put his pad down on the perimeter wall.
‘Look at those buildings,’ he said ‘they were built by people like us.’
‘How do you know?’
‘If you look carefully, you can see windows and doors and that building there,’ he said pointing to one with a flat roof, ‘has a stairway on the outside, probably so that somebody could climb onto the roof to take in the sun. Now, why would Fish-people need stairs?’
Amber looked at the city with fresh interest in her eyes.
‘I knew that,’ she lied.
Pelosus smiled and silence reigned again.
‘I wonder what happened to them,’ said Amber eventually.
‘I assume that the water must have been much lower a long time ago,’ answered Pelosus. ‘and when it rose, they either came into the city or drowned.’
Amber jumped off the wall onto the bridge, leaning over to look at the city beneath the crystal clear water once more.
‘I think they drowned,’ she said.
‘Why do you think that?’ answered the scientist.
‘They must have,’ she said, ‘there’s no way up. Anyway, I’ve got to go, goodbye.’
‘Goodbye,’ said Pelosus and stared at the scene below once again. The girl was right. No sign of a staircase was on the outer wall of the Citadel, or indeed any opening that might lead through the wall to an inner staircase. That was very strange and though he obviously couldn’t see all the way around the Citadel walls, the absence of access left him with a feeling of unease. For the rest of the afternoon, Pelosus walked around all eight bridges, taking notes describing the scene below. But one thing overall became apparent as the day closed, from his high viewpoint, there seemed to be no entrance from the city below into the Citadel. The people who had once lived around the base of Bastion’s perimeter walls would have been trapped between the city and the outer wall. There was no way in or out!
----
Amber resumed her search for Crispin, spending the rest of the afternoon checking every hiding place she could think of without any luck. Finally, she returned to the disused sewage pit where she had last seen him and climbed down to see if he had left any clues.
She sat with her back against the wall, thinking the problem through. She had questioned everyone she could and checked everywhere. If he was wandering around the city, she would have known, for quite apart from his appearance, the state he was in meant that he wouldn’t have got a block away without someone seeing him and word spreading. As she wondered if the Watchers had found him and taken him back, her nose crinkled at the faint smell of sewage from the live sewers below.
She stared at the old pipe where it left the shaft. How could she smell sewage? The tunnel was sealed.
Amber jumped up and walked over to the slab covering the disused sewer. The seal was broken and it was apparent that the slab had just been leaned back in place. She realised that the reason she hadn’t been able to find Crispin was that he had never left the shaft at all; he had simply crawled through the tunnel and into the sewer system.
She sat back against the wall and stared at the tunnel entrance in the gloom, contemplating whether to follow him or not. She had crawled down there once a few years ago and though the smell was bearable after a while, the tunnel branched off in different directions and before long she had become lost, terrified that she would die down there and no one would ever know. Kenzo had finally came in and found her, but for a long time she hadn’t returned to the pit. She certainly didn’t want to go back in there now, but if Crispin had gone that way, perhaps he was lost too. Perhaps he was as scared as she had been and was just as desperate for someone to find him.
She made her decision and knowing she would need a light, made her way back to her uncle’s house, hoping he had remembered to charge them for the night. Many a time he had forgotten and they would have to retire to their respective beds early due to the blanketing darkness that filled the Citadel. It wasn’t as if it was difficult. All he had to do was soak the coral orbs in a pail of fresh seawater for an hour. Though, she wasn’t aware of how the biology worked, she did know that when the orb was removed from the water, the tiny plankton on the ball died off and their rapidly decomposing bodies rotted, and they gave off a powerful green glow that lasted over eight hours.
Within an hour, she was back in the shaft with a plankton lamp, some food and her knife. Without any further hesitation, Amber entered the sewers to search for Crispin.
----
Chapter 11
Pelosus entered the council chamber for the second time in two days and stood awkwardly waiting to be noticed. The clerk ushered him to a small chair that had been placed at the table especially for him, nothing as grand as the council member’s chairs admittedly, but a chair all the same. They were all there, all the ruling trades from the outside towers, the most powerful people of the entire Citadel. These were the people who made the laws and it was by the whim of these individuals how the population lived and died. Pelosus sat quietly, listening to the conversation being led by Helzac.
‘But are your divers able to reach them?’ he was asking.
‘No problem,’ answered Razor. ‘We can stay down for about three minutes at a time.’
‘Good, send down those who can be trusted to keep their mouths shut. We don’t want any rumours spreading discontent within the city.’
‘Why so secretive?’ asked Kelly, ‘It’s only a couple of flooded buildings. What is there to be worried about?’
‘We have no idea what we can expect,’ answered Helzac, ‘the less the people know at the moment, the better.’ He looked across at Pelosus. ‘You are late!’ he snapped.
‘My apologies, your Excellency,’ answered the stargazer.
‘No matter,’ interrupted Petra, ‘you are here now.’
‘Do you have any update?’ asked Razor.
‘Apart from the fact that it is hap
pening faster than I calculated, there is no further information,’ he answered.
‘So, you maintain that the sea will fall even further?’
‘Yes, but as the moon moves on, the rate will slow,’ he answered.
‘How is the water and food situation?’ asked Kelly.
‘The wells are lower, though there is still plenty of water,’ answered Pelosus. ‘The food stores are half full and yesterday’s market was as good as ever, though I understand that the towers can only sustain one more market before the lack of resources takes its toll.’
‘Do you have any recommendations?’ asked Helzac.
‘Well, first of all, I think that we should tell the population what to expect,’ he started.
‘No!’ snapped Helzac cutting him short.
‘But if they know’ continued Pelosus, ‘they can take steps to minimize the effect. They can make catchments to store the rain and evaporation hoods to catch the moist air as it rises to the heavens, all sorts of things to help.’
‘We cannot tell the people they are going to die,’ said Helzac, ‘there will be riots in the streets.’
‘We need not go into detail,’ said Petra, ‘but if we don’t do something, it will get worse much quicker. Surely we should use every resource at our disposal to ease the situation until such time we have an answer.’
Heated conversation broke out around the table until Helzac called for silence once more.
‘Okay,’ he said, ‘from tomorrow we will make it illegal to waste water with immediate effect. Everyone will store as much as they can from the rains.’
‘What about food?’ asked Kelly.
‘There are still plenty of Narwl,’ said Razor, ‘so we are okay at the moment, but if the water drops much further, we won’t be able to reach them.’
‘How long can we last with what we have?’ asked Helzac.
‘One month, perhaps two if we impose rationing.’
‘Do it,’ said Helzac.
‘What about us?’ asked Rimmer the Weaver. ‘We do not produce food, so my tradesmen are at risk. Clothing and shoes will be the last thing people want when they are starving.’
‘I’ve thought about this,’ interrupted Pelosus, ‘in the circumstances, we will need buckets for the people to store the water and catchments for the rain.’
‘Catchments?’ asked Petra.
‘Large sheets of waterproof material that can be draped between walls. The evaporated water will hit the catchments early in the mornings and condense on the cool fabric. The run off can then be collected in buckets. There are huge amounts of weed available at the moment due to the low water level and if we can harvest this quickly, the Weavers can use their skills to make everything we need.’
‘And who will pay for this?’ asked Rimmer.
‘Now is not the time to think of wealth,’ said Razor.
‘I think not of wealth,’ snapped Rimmer, ‘whilst we weave to save the people, we still have to eat. How will this be done?’
For the next hour the councillors did what they did best, they haggled and made deals between themselves and by the end of the meeting, agreements had been made between all the towers as to how they each would survive. An agreement that was actually quite good when it came to looking after the tradesmen but it seemed to Pelosus that the commoners of the Citadel were quite far down the list. As the meeting ended, Helzac summed up the arrangements.
‘Okay, the Brewers, Bakers, Farmers and Hunters will increase production to full capacity. The Weavers will produce the goods we need and receive five percent of all food production from the other trades. Petra, you will ensure the particular skills of your ladies are available to the rest of us in return for another five percent.’
Petra nodded. It was the best she could have hoped for. She was painfully aware that her tower had the least practical commodity to offer and when a trade was perceived as weak, there were always others in the city waiting to take over their tower. As long as she had the protection of the others, they were safe, for now!
‘We agree that the occupants of the Prison-tower will go on to minimum rations with immediate effect,’ continued Helzac, ‘and when the time comes, their share will be the first to stop. Obviously, this excludes the ruling council and their families who will move to the safety of the keep. Pelosus will make suitable arrangements. That just leaves the Watchers.’ He turned to the ever-quiet councillor from the Watcher’s-tower. ‘What do you offer, De-gill?’
‘I think you know what we offer, Helzac,’ he said quietly. ‘I would imagine our services will be in demand more than ever. We will continue to remove the dead, for the same deal as the others.’
No one liked De-gill or his colleagues but they were all painfully aware of the important services they provided.
Helzac glanced around the others and seeing no dissenting faces, confirmed the arrangement.
‘Agreed,’ he said. ‘Pelosus, you will oversee the rationing. In addition, mobilize the guard and cancel all leave. They will report to you in the first instance and you in turn will report to me. I think that we may have need of their services before this is over.’
The formal part of the meeting ended and the clerk arranged for refreshments to be brought. Warm wine was served along with cakes from the Bakers and small groups formed to discuss the seriousness of the situation in hushed tones. Pelosus sat alongside the clerk, not sure whether to leave or not but sat up with renewed interest as Petra approached.
‘Would you excuse us?' she asked the clerk politely.
The clerk smiled and left them alone.
‘Hello, Pelosus,’ she said sweetly.
Once again the Stargazer was overwhelmed by his emotions. It was less than twelve hours since he last spoke to her and yet her beauty still entranced him. Not trusting himself to speak, he simply smiled an acknowledgement to her presence.
‘You seem to be acquiring some merit within the council,’ she said, ‘what with overseeing the evacuation of the Prison-tower elite, organizing the rationing and commanding the army, you will be a very busy man over the next few weeks.’
‘It would seem so,’ he agreed, finally finding his voice.
‘I hope you will find time to continue with our little arrangement,’ she said, flashing one of her glorious smiles.
‘Absolutely, Petra,’ he said, ‘I will engage the clerk to help with all the other tasks. He is very efficient but our agreement will remain my sole responsibility.’
‘Good,’ she said, ‘one more thing, Pelosus,’ she leaned forward to whisper in his ear, ‘in company, you address me as Excellency. Petra will be reserved for our more, shall we say, intimate meetings.’
He nodded grimly, regretting the schoolboy error.
‘I will be in touch,’ she said and walked away to join a different group. The clerk returned to join Pelosus bringing two cups of wine.
‘What did she want that was so private?’ he asked.
‘Oh, just some questions on the fairness of the rationing,’ lied Pelosus. ‘Are you sure this is okay?’ he asked, indicating the cup of wine.
‘No-one said we couldn’t,’ said the clerk, ‘and anyway, it is usually after the meetings that most of the detail is thrashed out.’
‘Oh,’ said Pelosus. He was fully aware that the clerk attended all the meetings and was well versed in the etiquette of the council. Despite sharing a set of rooms with the clerk for the last year and a half, they did not spend much time together as their duties were vastly different. The clerk’s role was to record the diaries and minutes of Citadel life while the Stargazer’s job was purely as a scientific researcher and advisor to the council.
They both sipped their wine, watching the councillors as they mingled with each other, aloof in their self-importance and Pelosus took the opportunity to study the Mahogany panel at the far end of the room in more detail.
‘What do you think he would make of all this?’ asked the clerk.
‘Who?’
‘H
im, the glorious founder of this city of ours,’ answered the clerk, indicating the carving of Arial.
‘You think he actually existed?’ asked Pelosus.
‘Why, don’t you?’
‘I don’t know what to believe anymore,’ said Pelosus, ‘everything is changing so quickly.’
‘Oh he existed alright,’ said the Clerk. ‘Everywhere you go in the city there are pictures of the Saint, even engraved into the walls. He was a definite person, though details of his life are not well documented in the archives.’
‘It seems that much of what we believe is not in the archives,’ said Pelosus.’ It makes you wonder what else isn’t recorded.’ They both sipped their wine as they looked up at the priceless carving.
‘Pelosus,’ called Helzac, ‘I am sure you are enjoying my wine, but you have work to do. I suggest you retire to your rooms and make a start.’
Pelosus sunk the last of the quality wine and made his way to the exit door.
‘If you will excuse me, your Excellencies?’ he said and left the room to retire to his quarters.
----
Chapter 12
Kenzo woke from his much needed sleep feeling much better. The last of the hangover had gone and he was ravenous. He went to the food box, careful not to wake his father, who had taken to his own cot sometime after Kenzo.
‘He must have had a successful night with the ladies,’ thought Kenzo smiling.
Taking a slice of thick bread, he spread it with a generous layer of crab meat and rammed far too much in his mouth, struggling to chew on the huge mouthful as he poured a jug of cold water into a bowl for his wash. The day was half-gone and he only had one day left of his leave. He thought of the time he had spent with Leona the night before, smiling at the fantastic memories. He couldn’t wait till tonight when they had arranged to meet again, without the knowledge of her father of course, but that just added to the magic.
