Jaded Dusk

by Scott Wale

  “I have something”, Alejade called out.

  “So do I”, Fenrit said nodding his head back in Tradok and the Mortoptera’s direction. “Alejade, this is Tradok and, well, I don’t think I ever caught your name.”

  “Nevit”, the Mortoptera replied. “And I don’t think we ever got yours.”

  “Fenrit”, Fenrit replied. “Tradok here knows of Grimtav.”

  “Unfortunately, yes”, Tradok said. “And now I’m curious what business a Loupiq and Chafel have with him. First, I’d like to move this party back to our residence. You never know who is listening.”

  “Privacy is important, but you can understand how uneasy we might be about following two people we just met into their home”, Fenrit said.

  “Then I have an alternative”, Tradok replied. “Follow me.”

  The four left the market and headed out onto the city streets. Tradok circled the first block after the market just to ensure their group hadn’t picked up any additional members. He ignored Fenrit and Alejade’s questions about where they were going and kept his mind focused on reaching his planned destination. He continued to pay close attention to other pedestrians that walked by and slowed down or sped up in response to others that were headed in the same direction as the group. The four ended up walking a few blocks into one of the city parks. The park had a path making a large loop, which showcased all the exotic grasses, shrubs and trees. Fenrit and Alejade did not recognize many of the plant species, but appreciated their vibrant colors and the time that had been spent on their arrangement. Jandra came crashing down into one of the nearby trees and braced herself with impeccable finesse given her velocity. Alejade had been lost in the moment and had forgotten about her feathery friend. Tradok started the group on the path before he once again took count of the few others in the park. He decided the other park visitors were enjoying a relaxing evening to themselves before he spoke.

  “I used to work for Grimtav”, Tradok finally said. “The city has a funny way of directing small talk to the right individual. The market is the worst place to gossip about anyone. You said earlier that he didn’t know you were looking for him. It’s best to keep it that way. He only wants to deal with those he seeks out.”

  “I still need to know how to get ahold of him”, Fenrit said. “Can you help us with that?”

  “Depends what your business is with him”, Tradok answered.

  Fenrit recalled Tradok’s comments from earlier. It was clear the Sauronoid was no friend of Grimtav’s. It felt safe to reveal that the business was not friendly in nature, but he didn’t want to reveal the whole backstory that had led him to this point. Fenrit still had nothing to offer in the way of a plan once he got a meeting with Grimtav. This fact would probably help him keep it at a high level discussion with Tradok.

  “His cymutts have destroyed some property of mine and I wish to seek repayment”, Fenrit answered.

  “You think you can bring a petty claim to him?” Tradok responded with a vibratory hiss that Fenrit interpreted as laughter.

  “It’s not petty, lives were lost”, Alejade interrupted.

  Tradok stood in momentary silence as if contemplating Alejade’s comment. Fenrit and Alejade both recognized the facial cues for thinking and respectfully waited for Tradok to respond as if he were issuing judgement over a serious legal matter.

  “I’ve lost much to that Ipta, but obviously not my own life or one close to me”, Tradok finally stated. “I’ll tell you where he hid when I worked for him, and I can almost guarantee that he is still there.”

  “That is all we ask”, Alejade said.

  “That still leaves the issue of what you plan to do when you get to him”, Tradok pointed out.

  “We hope to reason with him”, Alejade responded.

  “He can’t be reasoned with”, Tradok said with a hiss. “When he sets a goal there is no altering his course. You’ll be wasting your time.”

  “Then we eliminate the problem”, Fenrit stated in an austere tone.

  Fenrit had always considered this option in the back of his mind. He knew Alejade would be quick to disapprove, but options were growing thin. Fenrit was glad that Tradok had reinforced the notion that Grimtav would not listen to appeals based on logic. There were times when it was simply impractical to exhaust all options before setting down the course you had hoped to avoid. There would surely be a debate on whether to move forward with this as the final plan, but Fenrit had at least made his position clear.

  “Unacceptable”, Alejade began. “The essence of life flows through Grimtav just as it does all of us. While this holds true, he deserves an opportunity to redeem himself.”

  “Denegrass!” Fenrit expressed his frustration using a common curse of Faunar. “What more has to occur before you understand what has to be done?” Fenrit asked.

  “Maybe nothing”, Tradok interrupted. “Grimtav is powerless without his cymutt force and there is a way to stop the cymutts without removing Grimtav from the equation.”

  “How’s that?” Fenrit and Alejade asked simultaneously.

  “You’re going to have to explain that one to me too”, Nevit finally added having given the conference all of his attention.

  “All of the cymutts are directed by a controller”, Tradok explained. “It’s as simple as taking out the controller. The problem is the controller was located in the same fortification as Grimtav and like Grimtav I can’t imagine it has relocated.”

  “So you get to the controller, shut it off and then move along your merry way”, Nevit, whose eyes had turned from yellow to black, tried to summarize.

  “Not unless you want the problem to resurface later”, Tradok argued. “The controller needs to be destroyed beyond repair.”

  “What’s to stop them from building a new one?” Nevit asked taking over the exchange from Fenrit and Alejade.

  “They don’t have the knowledge”, Tradok stated as if it was a well-known fact.

  “So they built this thing that ultimately leads their entire army and they don’t know how they did it?” Nevit asked in a sarcastic tone.

  “No, because they lost their expert”, Tradok said. “Me.”

  “You designed the controller?” Fenrit asked as if his pointy ears had deceived him.

  “And the cymutts that follow its orders”, Tradok added.

  Fenrit and Alejade stood in shock not sure whether to embrace the opportunity of using the creator to destroy his creation or castigate Tradok for the travesty his creation has brought upon their people.

  “I know what you’re thinking, but I had never intended it to go this far”, Tradok said.

  “I can’t harshly judge a being that is willing to show remorse”, Alejade said.

  “What is done is done”, Fenrit began. “Just give us a lead on this controller and we can work on solving our own problem.”

  “You won’t get far without me and I feel responsible for cleaning up my own mess”, Tradok answered. “You’re the best opportunity I’ve had to fix this mess since I last saw Grimtav.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but I think we’re more than capable and we’re not looking for help”, Fenrit replied.

  “Part of the reason I came was to help you make better decisions”, Alejade interrupted. “I think this is one of those times where you should rethink your strategy. We should thank the Maker for meeting these two.”

  Fenrit snickered at the inclusion of the Maker into the discussion. Tradok’s knowledge would prove useful and surely Nevit had something to offer as well. The problem was that Fenrit didn’t want to feel responsible for additional lives. He had already agreed to take along Alejade. How many more individuals would join in this crusade that at first had felt like a personal pursuit?

  “This is obviously no simple undertaking and failure isn’t limited to just returning home to sulk”, Fenrit warned.

  “I’ve had this hang over me for too long now”, Tradok explained. “It’s proving to be difficult to move forward with
my life without cleaning up the mess of cymutts I left behind. I thought walking away from it wouldn’t be an issue, but now I get to constantly hear the reports on their raiding activity and feel the crushing guilt about their every movement. We might have different reasons, but we share the same cause.”

  “And where Tradok goes, I go”, Nevit said eager to join the cause.

  “I don’t think we have a choice in turning down your expertise”, Fenrit agreed. “Even if you pointed us towards Grimtav’s fortress, neither of us would be able to pick out a controller, let alone dismantle it.”

  “Our plan needs a lot more development before we just head off”, Tradok suggested. “Now, if you’ll agree this time, we should head to our residence for the evening and work out the details.”

  “How do you feel about three guests?” Fenrit asked.

  Tradok returned a puzzled look.

  “The raptor and Alejade come as a pair”, Fenrit explained pointing out Jandra.

  “I can’t say my ancestors would be thrilled about a bird of prey, but it makes no difference to me”, Tradok replied. “There is a park nearby our residence if it would be more comfortable outside.”

  “Thank you, she has never been one for indoors”, Alejade said.

  Fenrit and Alejade exchanged an approving glance. Tradok and Nevit had joined them in their now perilous journey of dealing with Grimtav. It felt right to pool the resources of Tradok’s knowledge, Fenrit’s militancy, Alejade’s voice of reason and Nevit’s scrappiness. The addition of Jandra also added its benefit of a swift scout. The group was few in numbers, but diverse in perspective. The course of action was now starting to become clear, but far from reaching a point of resolution.

  ***

  Nevit and Tradok’s residence was a small portion of a large housing complex. The exterior of the housing complex contained no unique features at all leaving Fenrit and Alejade to wonder how Nevit and Tradok distinguished the building that contained their residence from the multiple other housing complexes in the same city sector. A common door and lift led up to the floor containing Nevit and Tradok’s living quarters. The residence itself also left a lot to be desired. The furniture consisted of two beds, a desk buried in junk, a davenport and a rustic table with three dissimilar chairs. A few modern appliances also existed in the living quarters, none of which appeared to be sanitary. Alejade had never been one to consider herself domestically attuned; however, even she noticed a lack of pattern to the colors and décor that attempted to make the residence appear warm and welcoming. Considering what limited interaction she had with Tradok so far, she surmised he had been in charge of creating the ambiance of the place.

  “Have a seat”, Nevit said gesturing to the three chairs around the table. “Guess I’ll be standing for this one. Would you like something to drink?”

  “I think I’ll pass”, Fenrit said after a closer examination of the grungy faucet.

  “No thank you”, Alejade was quick to add.

  “So, we’re all headed to”, Nevit paused. “Where exactly?”

  “Prominence”, Tradok finally revealed. “It’s in the Ulea Mountain Range southeast of Lake Ulea. It won’t be an easy journey, because getting to the foothills either has you circumnavigating Lake Ulea or going through the Bizti swamp.”

  “Ahhh, home”, Nevit reminisced about the swamp.

  “You’re too far removed from that life to be able to go back”, Tradok commented. “The city has spoiled you with luxuries that don’t exist in the primitive swamp.”

  “So Grimtav has used this Prominence location for quite some time?” Fenrit asked bringing the conversation back into focus.

  “Grimtav had it constructed after his schism with Venik”, Tradok answered. “The site was chosen specifically for its difficulty to access. It lucked out that it also was a good point to emit a strong signal from the controller. That was before the cymutts even needed a controller.”

  “You’ll have to excuse my ignorance of technology, but what do you mean they operated without a controller?” Alejade asked.

  “Yes, and why were they created?” Fenrit added before Tradok had a chance to answer.

  “I suppose a short history lesson is in order”, Tradok began. “Living on the plains as you two have it’s probably no surprise that marauding groups of the past consisted primarily of living, sentient beings. Their old leader, Venik, had a tough order to fill with constantly recruiting and directing enough raids to make it a profitable venture. Unfortunately, my mining site was the target of one of those raids that was led by Grimtav himself. He agreed to spare my life if I joined with him. I didn’t see too many options with that ultimatum. I hung by his side and answered many of his questions around his fascination with robotics. He had noticed the extensive use I had made out of automation at my mining site and he later confessed to me that his observation was the only reason I received an option to continue my existence. I didn’t read too much into the political overtones at that time, but later I realized that Grimtav had successfully implemented a coup. Construction on Prominence had already begun at that point and we basically lived in the fortress in progress. Once the construction was complete, Grimtav slowly relieved the living beings under his command reducing it to a skeleton crew and it was now my responsibility to construct a robotic guard for defense. We went over several designs before settling on the cymutt. Four legs allowed for faster movement compared to a bipedal design and the jaws were an ultimate weapon that could shred through almost any material. We had to keep weight and finances in mind while designing, so some concessions had to be made. I imagine Fenrit has taken down a few with his bow thanks to a medium quality metal used for outer casing. Later the cymutts strength would be in numbers, but the original constructs I built one at a time with my own claws. Nothing controlled them back then either. They simply followed preprogramed routes. Occasionally a few would break free and go rogue. When their preprogramed routes failed to execute the default programing simply left them in a roaming mode. When this started costing us too many lost units the controller was put in place. Initially the range of the controller only covered to Lake Ulea and Bizti Swamp. Grimtav kept demanding more and more range and I knew what he planned to do with that power. If I extended the range across the Jade Plains the cymutts would no longer serve defensive purposes, but instead Grimtav would be commanding a new army for raiding just like the days of the past. I, myself, became corrupted. Not with the hunger for power, but the lust for progress. I wanted to know if it could be done. I had built an entire mining business where I was the only living being employed. I had perfected that business to the point where all I had to do was review preventative maintenance reports and intervene on equipment when necessary. Now I was faced with a new challenge. Could a robot be built to roam one end of the Jade Plains while being controlled from the opposite end? I made it happen, but I never put the range extension in place before escaping. Given the reports I’ve seen on cymutt attacks someone has figured out how to at least make it work. I’ve hidden in Shadowport since escaping Prominence not even returning to my old mining site even though it’s just south of here across the Trados River.”

  Tradok stood up after finishing his story. Sharing his history had stirred up a lot of nervous energy which he now used to begin pacing the room. It was clear he had touched on a subject he was not proud of, but his desire to rectify the situation was now unmistakably evident.

  “So what’s the best path to Prominence?” Nevit asked.

  “No, first we need to confirm that is where everything still exists”, Tradok responded.

  “I might be able to help with that”, Alejade offered. “Today in the market I got a lead on a black market dealer. The shopkeeper believed he was tied to raids on mining sites.”

  “That’s a start”, Tradok agreed. “If he isn’t directly connected to Grimtav, he’ll likely know a few things about him. Like I said, Grimtav still employees a handful of living beings. Maybe if we’re lucky this
individual is one of them.”

  “The shopkeeper said he spends most of his time in the South Main Market”, Alejade explained. “He picks up on buyers looking over mining equipment.”

  “We’ll get what we need out of him”, Nevit said with confidence.

  “I won’t lie to you”, Tradok began. “If we engage an individual like this, we’ll need some way of breaking down his communication network. Whether he works directly for Grimtav or not he’ll realize he has value in the information that someone is looking for Grimtav.”

  “Any suggestions for heading that off?” Fenrit asked.

  “You can take him hostage or pay him off”, Tradok answered.

  “No hostages”, Alejade quickly dissented.

  “While I imagine your argument is made on moral grounds, I’ll agree based on the fact that someone would have to stay and babysit”, Tradok replied. “Paying him off isn’t a great solution either though. There’s a chance we don’t pay enough.”

  “What if we stay one step ahead of him?” Nevit asked.

  “What do you mean?” Fenrit inquired.

  “Word can travel by foot, but it always travels faster by dataport”, Nevit explained.

  Fenrit and Alejade gave Nevit an inquisitive look. It was obvious he was going to have to break this down to their level.

  “A dataport is a device that simply allows people to communicate with each other or transmit data”, Nevit explained. “Most of us civilized people have one”, he added with a laugh as his eyes changed from black to blue. “With some sleight of hand, that may or may not be a specialty of mine, we can simply switch his dataport with a dummy one. We’d be well ahead of any word of mouth so we’d be neutralizing the fear that the information reaches Grimtav before we do.”

  “I’ve seen a few different models, so the risk exists that he’s carrying one of the more obscure ones”, Tradok said. “A better alternative would be to use a scrambler. It’ll kill most of the communication functionality of his dataport, but it will only appear he’s suffering from a lack of signal.”