Aiden sat back in shock and looked around. Most of the other attendees except for the Naiadens wore the same expression on their faces. Everything? He couldn’t imagine the oceans being without life, and most likely the coast as well since he’d seen these things up and on dry land already. He doubted they could move far from the ocean, but a vision of what had happened in Ravenwood Cove came back to him. They had to stop it.
“How? How can something like this eat everything in the ocean?” Romald said softly into the silence. “Surely we would have seen some sign of these creatures before now?”
“No, you wouldn’t have,” Carol responded. “Because they are not from this world. They are called Locust Crabs, named after an even older insect that people feared because their swarms would darken the sky and eat all of the food crops that they could find.” Professor Reivus nodded along but didn’t speak, letting Carol continue.
“Fortunately, this is not the first time I’ve heard of these creatures. They are not from this world, but even on their world where other animals evolved to feed on them, they were a menace.” Carol Reid shook her head sadly. “No, these things were purposefully bred and then released into our oceans to keep us off balance. They are a threat that will cause great devastation if we do not contain it.”
“What do you mean, fortunately?” Duchess Ahnarad asked softly. “Do you have some idea on how to fight these things? I’ve already received several horrifying reports of entire towns stripped and their people killed or driven off.”
“And in Riften, it is equally as bad,” Romald said softly.
“Yes,” Carol said, nodding calmly. Aiden was glad she wasn’t the type to become ruffled and could address the questions behind the emotions. “After we had settled here on Reid, I was contacted about these creatures by the governor of the planet Trath Mons. I…was not willing to help at that time, but the beasts intrigued me, and I mulled over some possible solutions. One of which was to use hydrosonics to keep them away from inhabited areas.”
“Hydrowhatsis?” Gavin asked, clearly uncertain what the word meant. Aiden felt just as baffled as most of the rest of them looked except for the Naiadens and Professor Reivus.
Professor Reivus cleared his throat, and Carol nodded to him. “Hydrosonics, simply put, is sound in water. Many sea creatures use this in one form or another, and if we can find the right sort of vibration than we could potentially drive these creatures away. The trick would be making sure not to drive everything away, but to give the natural sea creatures a haven from the Locust Crabs while we figure out a more permanent solution.”
Carol nodded, taking up where Professor Reivus left off. “Exactly. From the previous records we received, the creatures on that planet tended to be susceptible to several ranges of sound. We just need to experiment a little to see what will work. I’ve got enough information on local sea life that I should be able to come up with something fairly quickly if I can experiment on an immediate population of the crabs.”
Romald cleared his throat and raised his hand, looking sideways at Dame Tenadine as he beat her to speaking. “I formally volunteer Riften as a place to experiment. The Bay is currently crawling with the creatures, and our army is right there to help and protect you. Also, we have a gate.”
Aiden’s mother looked like she was going to argue but instead, she closed her mouth. Aiden wanted to push for Terek but knew Romald was correct. It would be faster, and time was of the essence.
“But what about the deeper sea? And ships that travel between ports. These creatures are obviously preying on vessels in deep water, as well.” Aiden said, remembering the fishing vessel that had washed up on Reid’s shore.
“We can make things as small as your com unit, Aiden. Ships could put them in the water behind them, and it would keep them safe. We just need to build them, and then distribute them. It will be easier to spread them with your gates, but still tricky. However, it won’t help the animals of the ocean which is probably the largest danger. I’m working on other, more permanent solutions but I don’t have anything yet. In the meantime, I will send several Naiadens through to Riften with Romald when he returns. It should be fairly quick to find a good frequency.”
“As long as it is quick,” Dame Tenadine said, frowning.
Carol nodded very seriously at the very old woman. “We don’t have a choice; we have to do this quickly. Believe it or not, the east coast of Terek has the creatures already driving the people to their refuges or inland, Dame Tenadine. It will be done.”
Somewhat mollified, Aiden’s mother leaned back, content to let it go for now.
“Caitrel,” Oya Dihya said into the silence, her deep smoky voice filling the chamber. “From what I am hearing, they are close to crumbling. We need to go there as soon as possible and damn the plague.”
The Naiadens all looked supportive, but others not so much. Romald especially looked skeptical. “But a plague?” He said. “If it spreads, it would be disastrous.”
“It’s not a plague,” Aiden said suddenly, breaking in over the small man’s talking.
“What do you mean it’s not a plague?” Romald said, somewhat irate at being cut off. “We’ve all seen the result. Their people waste away. It has to be some wasting sickness.”
“It’s not a plague,” Aiden said again, “I was there, at Camp Swamp Gas. I traveled there and saw these floating creatures that were sliding their tentacles into the soldiers. It looked like they were feeding off of them, but the men and women didn’t notice. I…I think the monsters were feeding off of their life force and making the soldiers weak.”
Romald narrowed his eyes, “My reports suggest that you cannot see living people from the Anderealm. Did something change?”
“No,” Aiden said, shaking his head. “No, I was in another, uh, dimension. A Different one. One that also healed me from a blow to the head.”
Aiden trailed off because both Romald and Dame Tenadine were looking at him with narrowed eyes. He was by far more nervous of his mother’s look, though.
“Duchess Ahnarad said you’d had a bump on the head but that you were all right.” His mother asked dangerously. “Did she leave out some information?”
Aiden looked at her, uncertain if he should answer but was saved by Carol shifting the conversation back to the task at hand.
“Aiden, are you saying there were creatures feeding on those people from this other realm? Had the soldiers no clue it was happening? That would explain why my people couldn’t find anything that was causing a plague, at least in the normal sense of the word.” Carol said, thinking hard. “Is there anything else about these creatures?”
Aiden nodded quickly, avoiding his mother’s eyes but knowing he wouldn’t escape the conversation for long. “Yes, they were stopped by physical objects in the real world. I was able to escape them when I went into a building. I didn’t have time to study them, though.”
“Still, it poses some of the same challenges of a plague.” Oya Dihya said. “If we can’t see these creatures, how can we make sure they don’t come through the gates? Aiden, did you say they couldn’t move through physical objects?”
“Yes, they don’t seem to have a lot of strength so perhaps a bunch of steel chains hanging in a room as a door? They float a few meters in the air, and only their tentacles dangle down. I never saw any of their bodies close to the ground.”
“It’s a possibility and worth trying,” Serilda said, her brow furrowed in concentration. “There may be other ways we can keep them out, but I don’t believe we have a choice. If Caitrel falls, so will Banum and then Norpon’s army will be free to start in on other Duchies. It will just become harder if we do not stop them now.”
Carol Reid nodded and patted her hand on the table, getting everyone’s attention. “Very well, I think we have our course clear.” Carol turned to Romald. “We will send some of our sisters back with you to work out these frequencies. Keep them safe because the sooner we know, the sooner we can begin distributing s
ome of the sound devices out to the various Duchies. We have begun producing some, and they are not difficult to make so should have several hundred in a few days.”
“Could we make them ourselves?” Romald asked.”
“Yes, with proper training and equipment. Truthfully, we need to start training people in how to do a lot of things. I’ve been working with Headmaster Bing from the school of Breen to set up some classes and bring some of his more promising students and craftsmen through the gate. We can do the same with people from Riften.”
At Romald’s nod, Carol continued. “As for Caitrel, the chain idea sounds interesting though we don’t have a choice. We will send the Exemplar’s to Caitrel with or without soldiers from Terek and Riften. If creatures are causing this plague, we can deal with them eventually. At the very least, if we see symptoms we can have people stay indoors for a while until they recover. Gavin, perhaps now would be a good time to describe what happened on Professor Reivus’skimmer?”
Gavin nodded, launching into the harrowing story of first escaping the skimmers underwater, and then fleeing from the Trench Serpent. Gavin was an excellent storyteller, and by the time he had finished, most of the meeting participants were leaning forward.
When Gavin had completed his story, Carol stopped the many questions with one of her own. “Aiden, how soon will it be until you can make a gate? I think we’ll want to put it close to Camp Swamp Gas, at least for now. Clearly, they want to stop you.”
Aiden was about to speak when his mother interrupted him. “My son and I must speak first before I allow him to commit,” She said darkly, eying Duchess Ahnarad for a moment before continuing, “but we will let you know when we can.”
Carol looked like she was going to say something, but instead only bowed her head. At that, she adjourned the meeting. His mother gestured for him to come over and as he began to cross over to her, Gavin gave him a sorrowful look before whispering to him as he passed. “Good luck and welcome to the other side of having a family.”
Aiden wasn’t sure what to expect, but when he crossed over to his mother, she gave him a long, warm hug. Afterward, she held him at arms-length and searched his face for a long moment before nodding. “We need to speak of some things, Aiden. You are growing so fast though I have little right to say that, not only having been your mother for a few months, but it is still true. Also, your brothers have missed you terribly.”
“Did they come with you?” Aiden asked, smiling. He had missed his family, and despite being nervous about what his mother wished to speak of, he was very glad to see them.
Yes, they have. I’m fairly certain I will have a hard time getting either of them back from the beaches here. This sand is nothing like what we have in Wilthorn. Far too many rocks there, but here they can build sandcastles to their heart's content. We’ll speak on our way there. I think we’ll have plenty of time. These old bones can’t walk very fast these days.
Aiden nodded, taking the arm his mother offered him and following her from the room.
Chapter 18
Aiden and his mother left the bustling grounds of the military camp and made their way along the outer walls of the Aidengates, trying to avoid most of the busy merchants and travelers trying to be about their business. Glowby seemed to delight in zipping in and out between the lines of people, wagons, and beasts of burden.
Instead of speaking immediately, his mother remained quiet as they passed through and out of the busy area. Her rummy eyes were distant, looking over the new town and university buildings in contemplation. It wasn’t until she walked toward a small rest station, a common site amongst the Naiaden lands, that she finally broke her silence.
Sitting down at one of the comfortable benches, she patted the wood next to her and took his hands when he sat.
“You look like you’re about to swallow a bug, Aiden,” she said, smiling softly and patting his cheek. “I’m not here to chastise you or even lecture you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with my own eyes.”
He looked up at her, startled. He’d been bracing himself to defend everything, and at the same time mystified about how to do so. What had occurred since he and his friends had left Terek with the Duke could hardly be called normal, and he’d almost died several times. In fact, people had died. Quite a few of them.
He looked into his mother’s eyes and saw only warmth and concern, making a tear come to his eyes unbidden which she wiped away with her thumb. “Um, yes,” Aiden said, sniffing softly and trying to reign in the sudden emotion. “I was worried. Everything has been a little crazy.” Glowby seemed to agree, settling down on Aiden’s shoulder for comfort.
She laughed softly, shaking her head. “A little? Quite a bit more than a little, Aiden.” She patted his cheek one more time before leaning back. “Ahnarad has tried to keep some of it from me and spoon feed me other bits, but no matter how clever she is, I’ve been at this game quite a bit longer than she has. I may be old, but I am hardly retired.”
Aiden sighed softly, nodding. “I know. They asked me if it was all right not to tell you everything, but said they would tell you eventually. I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Yes, and you would not be the first one to try to avoid worrying me, Aiden. Your brother and Crean’s father, Caden, thought he was quite clever as well. Especially once he’d gotten older and married, he thought he was able to avoid telling me things so I wouldn’t worry.” The old woman stopped, taking a deep breath before continuing. Dame Tenadine was one of the strongest women he knew, but at this moment he knew she was struggling. “One such thing was a small rebellion that occurred in the northern part of our lands, fomented by a bunch of young hot heads. Caden underestimated the threat they posed, and as a result, they came upon him and his wife on the road as they were traveling.”
Aiden watched his mother close her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, a single tear trailed down her wrinkled cheek, but her voice remained strong. “I was one of the first to arrive at the attack. The rebels were not gentle, having wanted to make some statement.”
“Do you wish you had stopped him or done something else?” Aiden asked, softly. He could only imagine her standing there amongst the fallen bodies of her son and his wife. Glowby moved over to Dame Tenadine, resting lightly on her shoulder as if to share in her sadness.
“Oh yes, every day I wish I could have been there and taken the dagger instead of him. There is never a day that goes by that I don’t think of it. But I am also glad I didn’t do more than I did. It would have been years of me mothering him and not letting him live his life, Aiden, and I think that would have been worse.”
“Does that mean you are okay with what I am doing?” Aiden asked hesitantly.
She snorted, startling him and slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Aiden, my new son is wearing armor and fighting creatures that spit acid or traveling across the world and walking around a battlefield with other strange monsters.” Dame Tenadine raised one of her eyebrows and gave him a stern look. “I can absolutely tell you that I am not okay with this. But I am supportive of you and if you really need to do this, then I will always be here when you return.”
“Thank you, Mother,” Aiden said, uncertain how to feel about this woman that had come into his life only a few short months ago but still meant so much to him. He didn’t have the words to say, so simply leaned forward and hugged her tightly.
They sat and talked for a while, he telling her about his adventures and her prodding the occasional question, but otherwise letting him speak about everything he had been going through as the sun slowly began to set. It was a beautiful moment, and Aiden felt his love for his mother deepen with appreciation.
After a while, they moved to the beach where Jessop and Crean were playing with each other under the watchful gaze of several Wilthorn soldiers and a few nannies. By the time they got there, the sun had touched the edge of the water though it was unnecessary to call the boys in from playing. They weren’t actually in the wa
ter, due to several dangerous species that lived in there but had managed to cover each other with wet sand regardless.
As they saw Aiden, both of them leaped to their feet and ran towards him to give Aiden big, sandy hugs. While Dame Tenadine watched, Aiden playfully attempted to avoid them, running around on the beach with the two hot in pursuit, all of them laughing until collapsing in a large giggling heap together with Glowby bobbing about happily.
Finally, Dame Tenadine walked up, waving her cane over the lot of them. “All right, you gaggle, it’s time to go eat. Jessop and Crean, go get your towels and get cleaned off while Aiden and I wait.”
It didn’t take long for them all to head back into the town with Jessop and Crean in new, dry tunics. Since Aiden had been away for so much of the time, Jessop had left the School of Breen and gone to live at Wilthorn Barony. He was excitedly telling Aiden all about how he was learning to fish, apparently having begun to apprentice on one of the fishing boats.
The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4 Page 80
