by Samuel Fort
Chapter 4: Peth Vedeus
Vedeus had not realized how close to death he was. The physicians at Steepleguard told him that he was horribly dehydrated and forty pounds underweight. He had blisters and wounds that were infected that he didn’t even know about. The cold, his delirium, and his survival instincts concealed them from him. Only later, when he was brought back from near death, did he feel the first stings of his injuries.
He was a resilient man and with a day’s rest, the IV bags still dangling above him, he was alert and ready to share his story. Disparthian and Ben, being told this, traveled to the infirmary together.
“Hello, Peth Vedeus,” said Disparthian, standing above the hospital bed and extending his hand. He spoke with a trace of a French accent, having been stationed in France most of his life prior to the collapse. As on almost all occasions when not on duty, the Peth lord was dressed plainly. Today he wore cargo pants, running shoes, and a gray tee-shirt with “Force Majeure” silk-screened on to the back. The man was the epitome of physical fitness, with a triathlete’s body. He was a remarkably handsome man, though his sandy-blond beard concealed his chiseled jaws.
“Lord,” said Vedeus, mustering his strength to deliver what he hoped was a reasonably firm handshake.
The bedridden Peth looked at Ben, who was taller than Disparthian by a few inches and broader at the shoulders, with black hair cut short and a black beard cut short. He wore a gray tweed jacket and slacks. His eyes were bright and intelligent.
Ben held out his hand. “Ben Mitchell,” he said, smiling, and Vedeus shook the man’s hand.
Vedeus hazarded a guess. “You have the eyes of a scribe.”
Disparthian said, “A fair observation, Vedeus. He was until recently a student of the Great Sage. His only student, in fact.”
“I am honored to meet such a man. You have come then, to hear my account?”
“That’s right,” said Ben. “What did you see on your way here?”
Vedeus frowned and grunted. “Death. Death, everywhere. And chaos. I was just south of Chicago when the collapse began. I had taken a company of Peth there to combat a small cell of Maqtu that had teamed up with an Ardoon militia. That was increasingly common in the final days. Of course, the Ardoon did not really understand the nature of their new allies, but they were happy to have anyone willing to fight with them.”
“Ironic,” said Ben. “Most of the militias I’ve read about were big on individual liberties. Yet they unknowingly teamed up with soldiers of the Nisirtu – the masters of humanity and their worst nightmare.”
Vedeus nodded. “Combined, the group was causing mischief in northern Illinois. They were trying to unwind scripts that called for the federal government to demolish barriers that towns had erected to prevent the spread of Cage’s disease. It wouldn’t have mattered, really, not at that point. The disease was going to infect everyone, roadblocks or no roadblocks. But I followed orders. We engaged the enemy, wiped them out, and waited for more guidance.
“No new orders came. This was one or two days before the collapse. We began to suspect that our Houses were in disarray. We were a joint strike-force, composed of Peth of various kingdoms. On the day of the collapse, when communications were lost, we made the decision to go our different ways. I was the only member of my kingdom and set out alone.”
“You were headed to Des Moines?” asked Disparthian.
“Yes,” replied Vedeus. “Our Family had moved their court there, temporarily. They thought the interior of the country safer than the coasts, and the central location would give them easier command and control of their forces on the continent. The scripts called for the Midwest to be purged of Ardoon.”
“You traveled by foot?”
“Not at first. The militia had a stable with horses, and I took one, with feed. Like most Peth, I had been taught to ride a horse at the academy, only so that I could perform ceremonial functions at court events. I had not ridden in a decade. Yet, I soon got the feel of it and was grateful for the beast. He was the first of three horses I used crossing the country. I used a motorcycle once, but its benefits were limited by the congested roads, ice, and snow. It was a very loud machine and drew too much attention.”
“What were the Ardoon doing?”
“There were moving east, largely on foot. They warned me that I was riding into a radiation zone or worse. There were reports of mushroom clouds over Des Moines and Omaha, of internment camps, poisoned water, zombies...many things. None, of course, had seen any of these things. All trusted what they read or heard on the Internet, television, or radio, on the day of the collapse, or from other travelers, who imagined they had seen such things themselves.
“Those who did not buy into the stories propagated by the scripts did not fare too much better than the walking dead encountered. Most were wiped out by Cage’s. Many starved to death when the stores closed. I’d guess that in the entire Midwest, fewer than ten thousand people remain alive.”
Ben said, “Surely you’re not including the cities in that estimate. Minneapolis, Des Moines, Omaha...?”
Vedeus shrugged. “At best, you could double my estimate. The cities were deathtraps, especially when winter hit. Large swaths of them burned to the ground when survivors tried to build fires to stay warm, using furniture or gasoline or whatever they could get their hands on. Many of the fires were not tended to and badly planned. I imagine buildings were ablaze in most cities and towns as soon as the thermometer dropped below fifty. The cities were doomed. They still simmer.”
Ben shook his head in despair. Denver, indeed, still simmered, and this man, who had just traversed the plains and who thus had a firsthand account of what was transpiring, was saying humanity was effectively wiped out. Twenty-thousand in the plains meant what? A hundred thousand people left in the country? A million in the entire world?
No, he told himself. You cannot make such assumptions based on one man’s account. But he knew that even if Vedeus was off by a factor of ten, that meant the United States had been reduced to a million people. The entire population of the world might be less than the population a single pre-collapse large city.
Vedeus continued, “The interstates are clogged with dead cars and trucks. Their drivers and passengers died either in the vehicles or in the fields around the interstates, or on secondary roads they managed to reach, to no end. Wherever you find a road, you are guaranteed to find corpses.
“I made a point to travel alone which often required me to be heartless. Many people whom I crossed paths with wished to remain with me, even though they thought I was headed the wrong direction, because they perceived that I had purpose. As the world collapsed, they were desperate for the company of anyone who might offer them leadership. It was hardest, of course, forsaking the women and children, but I had nothing to give them, nor could I offer them any hope. All I could offer them was the opportunity to die at a different location.”
Ben said, “How did you end up here, though?”
Vedeus nodded, expecting the question. “When I got to Des Moines, the site assigned as the temporary court for my Family was abandoned. It was a large mansion on the southernmost outskirts of the city. To my eye, it had never even been occupied. I am not sure if my Family even made it there. There were no Nisirtu markings, no Peth, no messages – nothing. I had the oddest feeling I had been tricked. I lingered there for a few days, hoping that another Peth might find his way to the site. None did. I decided to continue west, to Denver, to see the state of affairs there.
“At this point, I had given up hope. I had convinced myself that the Nisirtu had made a terrible miscalculation and fallen with the Ardoon...”
“You are more right than you know,” said Disparthian, nodding.
Vedeus frowned, not liking the news. “Ten days after I reached the city I happened upon a small bank, the kind with the drive-thru tellers. There were two flag poles in front of it, presumably for the national and state flags. Neither was present. Instead the
re was a red pennant and on it a five-circuit labyrinth. I was overjoyed. More than that! Ecstatic. I had finally found my own kind.”
Ben nodded. The Cretan labyrinth was the symbol of the Nisirtu, the number of circuits indicating the kingdom. A five-circuited labyrinth was thus the icon for the Fifth Kingdom. “Who was inside?”
“An ancient man and two women. The young woman was named Persipia, whom I brought with me. Is she...?”
“She’ll be okay,” said Ben. “She’s being tended to in the queens’ quarters. In most ways you were worse off than her.”
“I am glad to hear she is alive,” replied Vedeus. “The older woman, who was never conscious during my visit, was Lady Del. The man did not give me his name.” He raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Curious that I did not ask for it...”
“What did he say?” asked Disparthian.
“That I should travel to the top of this mountain and deliver Persipia here. That was all.”
“Are you sure?” asked Ben. He was desperate with hope that Ridley might have sent with this man some key piece of insight.
“Yes. That is all.”
Disparthian said, “Did he give you a map?”
“No,” answered Vedeus, as if the answer surprised even him. “I do not even recall him giving me directions. He said only that I must travel to this mountain, where I would find other Nisirtu survivors.”
Though his answer did not satisfy Disparthian, who could not imagine how Vedeus had found Steepleguard without detailed directions, Ben understood that Ridley had provided the guidance in Empyrean. It was, thus, impossible for the visitor not to find Steepleguard.
Seeking to move past that stumbling point, Ben said, “What of Lady Del?”
Vedeus shook his head. “I left the bank to look for food and water for the trip. It was not easy to find either, and I was gone too long, for when I returned, the old man was gone and Lady Del was dead on the bank floor. An Ardoon mob had...well, she was dead. Persipia was in the bank’s vault, crying. The vault door was closed but not, thank the gods, locked. It was not clear to me whether she was hidden inside by the old man, or her mother, or...”
“Of if she abandoned her mother and hid herself,” finished Disparthian.
“I do not like to think so,” responded Vedeus, looking away. He’d found the old woman’s body just outside the door, on its stomach, hands outstretched, as if beseeching aid.
Ben could see the man’s discomfort and steered the interview elsewhere. “You said you were a Captain?”
“I hope I still am,” Vedeus said, looking at Disparthian.
“You are, and perhaps soon more, for I am in need of good leaders,” said the Peth lord.
Vedeus’s relief bordered on joy. “Thank you, Lord. I promise to serve you well. You, and the king and queen. Earlier today day I awoke to find Annasa Lilitu standing over me and offering kind words of support. She thanked me for saving the girl and placed her lips upon my forehead. Can you imagine that, a queen kissing me? I should not say ‘kiss,’ as that does not sound...it was very proper. Very formal. I regret she had to see me in this miserable state, but I did not mind the visit. Gods, what a gorgeous woman!”
Disparthian looked at the wall above the man’s head, looking very uncomfortable. “Yes,” he said quietly, “but do not forget she’s your queen.”
“How could I? I’m mortal and she’s from the heavens! Still, I spoke in haste...I should not have said ‘kiss.’ It was nothing like that. My mind is handicapped by these damned painkillers. You will not tell the king what I have said, I hope.”
“You can be assured I will not,” said the lord.
“She is a looker,” though, Ben piped in, enjoying the other men’s discomfort. “I think you’re wrong about that kiss. I bet it was the sloppy kind. You’re a good looking fellow and she’s flirtatious. She practically throws herself at me each night.”
“Gods!” exclaimed the prone man, his face growing red. “You are bold to practice such a lie!” He looked at Ben angrily. “You could be cut down for saying far less!”
Ben looked thoroughly reproached. “You’re right. I’m out of line. I’ll leave you two. Good health, Vedeus.”
