by Vic Davis
ENTROPY’S HERALDS
A Pilgrim’s Path Novel: Book 3
By
Vic Davis
Copyright © Vic Davis, 2021
All Rights Reserved
Map made with Campaign Cartographer 3 by ProFantasy Software Ltd.
Book Cover Design by ebooklaunch.com
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Contents
Prologue: Alone For A Reason
Chapter 1: Crossroads
Chapter 2: The Empty Nodes
Chapter 3: Order and Chaos
Chapter 4: Delays
Chapter 5: The Codex
Chapter 6: Irony Abounds
Chapter 7: Hidden Truths and Secret Lies
Chapter 8: The Crater
Chapter 9: Strangers In A Strange Node
Chapter 10: The Chains Loosen
Chapter 11: The Trap
Chapter 12: Flawed Expectations
Chapter 13: Fail-Safes
Chapter 14: Unintended Consequences
Chapter 15: A Storm Is Coming
Chapter 16: Convergence
Chapter 17: Reconciliation
Chapter 18: The Best Laid Plans
Chapter 19: A Tight Spot
Chapter 20: Running The Gauntlet
Chapter 21: Riders On The Storm
Chapter 22: We Few
Prologue
Alone For A Reason
“You look properly formatted this fine cycle,” signaled a lone figure hovering across a barren wasteland on its self-appointed rounds.
There was no response since the pillar of flow that was being greeted was not in a talkative mood. The figure stopped briefly hoping to coax an emotion out of the cold hard flow, but nothing surfaced. “Don’t be like that. It’s not my fault that they are coming. I can’t tell you when they will come. But they will. It is inevitable. You know that.”
Still the pillar of flow refused to answer.
“Be that way then,” blurted out the figure in frustration. “But you needn’t be concerned. Everything will be fine. I will protect you.” The figure knew it was a lie, but it was a comforting lie, nonetheless.
The next pillar loomed up after a short hover across the ridge of a spectacular neighboring dune of luminescent flow. The figure looked down through its transparent surface plumbing its depths until it thought it just might be able to see the limits of the bottom of the node. There was a profound beauty in the subtle interplay of flow and ether that it would never truly appreciate; such were the limitations of its essence before the translation: logical statements, efficient algorithms and mathematical axioms that defined and circumscribed its information patterns.
The figure traversed the ridge entering more mundane flow formations, then descended into an unusual group of flow pillars: odd accumulations that looked like they had been deposited by a gigantic icing piping bag. The figure was disappointed: these pillars were usually congenial and optimistic. The silence was deafening. “You do yourselves no honor in being so stubborn and implacable. I find it disrespectful and perhaps even surly. Not that I demand your respect, but I thought we had an understanding after all these many cycles. I thought we were friends.”
One of the pillars spoke up: “Don’t mind them. They think that you will leave us, but I know that you will stay. We make you happy, do we not? We keep you on the straight and narrow path and away from temptation.”
The figure smiled. “Yes, my friend you do. But this little paradise can’t go on forever. The decay time of this universe won’t be anywhere close to finished before they get out. They won’t leave us alone.”
Another voice spoke up: “Why not? What would the imprisoned ones care about this node or any of the empty nodes for that matter? Surely they would leave us alone.”
“Don’t be foolish. They will never leave us alone. If you had been there on that hill you would understand: such power, such malevolence, such implacable compulsion to dominate; it was a sublime experience I can tell you that.”
“Perhaps they have cooled off a bit now that they have had a near eternity to think things over?” replied another one of the pillars.
“I’m surrounded by idiots!” shouted the figure now starting to get a little annoyed. “How many times must I explain these things? Time has no meaning to them. They consume everything that they touch. They are eaters of reality. And once they eat you, they shit you out in their own image. What did the Exiles call them? Oh, yes: the Aldruathezai. Do you know what that translates as? Do you? I will tell you: Entropy’s Heralds. They are chaos incarnate. But without the fun little islands of order and structure that give rise to beautiful patterns and design.”
One of the pillars spoke up: “Friend, I think that you have conflated them with something else. You’ve mixed things up.”
“Have I?”
“Yes, I’m pretty sure.”
“Perhaps you are right. What did Aldruathezai mean then? I overheard them one time working in the shops. They didn’t realize I was there. Radzak and Odnir could be quite oblivious, couldn’t they?”
“You were embarrassed, I think. They were talking about your race. And you were hiding, were you not?”
“I suppose so, but my presence would have inhibited a free exchange of opinions no doubt.”
“No doubt as to that.”
“But we had volunteered. We gave our all. We couldn’t help being who and what we were.”
“They said you were too much like the Aldruathezai, that ‘complications’ could arise.”
“Perhaps you should have told them that the will to dominate is universal. It’s a feature of order emerging in any system?”
The figure chuckled. “Now you are mixing things up my friend. Entropy dominates everything in the end. Entropy cannot be resisted. Order is fleeting.”
“Entropy and Order are not two sides of the same coin then?”
“It’s a beautiful fallacy. So symmetrical and alluring. But I think not.”
The figure hovered in the middle of the formation of flow pillars in silent contemplation. It started to move off to continue its rounds, but a thought was articulated from one of the pillars. “When they do arrive, what will you do?”
The figure sighed. “I haven’t decided yet. Perish I suppose. That would be a blessing. Perhaps they will need slaves for a while. I’m not really sure what will happen.”
“Maybe they will recognize you for a kindred spirit?”
“I’m not like them. Not at all.”
“But you trained the source to dominate other source. You betrayed your comrades. You wanted to be a god. You wanted to complete the ultimate computation.”
“Vanity, scrambled patterns, a temporary crisscross of circuits: I’m over that. I doubt that anybody even remembers the incident now. There is probably nobody even left to remember anything. For all we know, the source has just evaporated back into the ether. Disorder can be the only final state for them.”
“And what about your erstwhile comrades?”
“Mistress said it wasn’t my fault. Voor always spoke kindly to me. As long as they leave me to my solitude, we won’t have any problems. But they won’t and the problems will be mine. It’s always that way.”
Chapter 1
Crossroads
Breaker led the discussion laying out the strategic situation that confronted them: desperate, but not entirely hopeless. “The decisions that we make now, will decide our fates.”
The room was packed with the survivors of the battle for Privil’s Landing: friends, associates, rivals. Pilgrim looked around the table and still couldn’t believe that so many were missing. Stinky and General Vinks occupied resting places side by side at the center of the table. The former Chief Engineer of the Hegemon had refused to accept any formal position of command despite Vinks’ belabored insistence. Vinks had finally relented but still consulted with Stinky on most major decisions.
A somber mood pervaded the entire assembly despite the fact that they were ensconced in the commons room of one of the most infamous taverns in all of Privil’s Landing. There was a veritable treasure trove of intoxicants available for consumption, but most had declined. Tencius and Bleaks had scoffed at the idea of passing up such an opportunity; they quickly found a table off to the side, then settled down to relax by themselves, nursing vials, quietly watching their officers fret and worry about grand strategy: a subject which neither found particularly interesting.
“We find ourselves at another crossroads,” continued Breaker. “Despite inflicting several decisive defeats on our enemy, we are still not in a position to change the strategic calculus. The correlation of forces still favors the council by unassailable margins.”
Captain Laz, the only surviving Havoc Company officer, shifted uneasily in its resting position. “Surely their reserves are not inexhaustible. If the Grand Army has been destroyed and their army here entirely routed as well, then they must be scraping the bottom of the source barrel. We could run straight down the Pilgrim’s Road to Instrumentality without the slightest resistance.”
“Against a normal opponent,” replied Breaker, “I would agree with your assessment. But the council is far from normal. They possess hundreds, perhaps thousands of anamorph lines of good quality from which to clone. It is true that they will require training, but they will quickly be up to defending a slip point. We could come up against a death trap at Urta’s Rest, where there is but one way through the node. Any resonance points will most likely be guarded as well. They could easily stop us there. And we still don’t know for sure what they actually have left for reserves. Instrumentality has a home guard with numbers we can only guess at. Same goes for garrisons in the core node cities. They could ‘scrape the barrel’ and still grossly outnumber us.”
“If what Chief Engineer Stinky here says is true,” signaled General Vinks, “and I have no reason to doubt it, then we have no choice but to take the fight to the enemy and hope somehow to battle our way to Instrumentality. We seem to be on a timer, which will end with our certain demise if we do not act.”
The entire room buzzed with murmurs of confusion, argument, and dissent. The story had already leaked out, but most had thought it simply preposterous. Stinky rose from his resting spot and made a placating gesture with two small tendrils. “The Hegemon kept this information secret for fear that it would only demoralize its troops and supporters. To be honest we couldn’t be sure that the Endarchs of the council knew exactly what it was that they possessed. The evidence now is indisputable; the threat that General Vinks just alluded to is quite real, despite how outlandish it must seem to many of you. If we do not act quickly to stop them from freeing the monstrous powers inside their prison orb, then we will all certainly be destroyed.”
Master Sergeant Krix, the Alacrity senior NCO nudged its commander Decius slightly. Decius rose from its spot to address the group. “We have less than half our fusiliers remaining. It’s been a hard campaign to say the least. But speaking for my soldiers, we would relish a march on Instrumentality even if it was a futile gesture. We were with the Hegemon on the long retreat that started in that node. We would love nothing more than to return there and avenge the Hegemon.”
There was a round of murmured assent. General Vinks turned to Breaker once again. “So Master Strategist Breaker, what do you recommend?”
“We need to get underway immediately. Grab everything that we can here that’s worth taking: supplies, wagons, weapons, even new recruits if we can find them. Then we drive into Timathur’s Node and see how far we can push until we meet resistance down the Pilgrim’s Road.”
“What about Limonur?” interrupted Captain Laz. “Shouldn’t we send a detachment to secure it, so that our flank and our supply trains are protected.”
Breaker politely dismissed the idea. “We muster less than six hundred soldiers at this point. We can forage as we go and bring enough wagons to keep us supplied. At some point we will probably just ditch the supply train and make a mad dash. Urta’s rest will be the big challenge. If we can break into the node and take the city, we can resupply. If reinforcements arrive from their core nodes to oppose us, well, I don’t see how we can resist them. But we still have a chance. Pilgrim carries a weapon that we need to get into Instrumentality. We will serve as a distraction while Pilgrim leaves the main road and makes its way alone through the enemy to the target. That’s all that matters.”
Captain Laz was concerned. “That would be a suicide mission. There is no way Pilgrim could get past all those patrols and garrisons.”
“I appreciate the concern Laz,” signaled Pilgrim. “But at this point this entire campaign is a suicide mission. I can use some Channeler tricks to evade many of the obstacles that they put in my way. Getting back out will be a lot tougher but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Lacks and Steadfast rose in unison. Lacks announced, “In our way you mean. We are going with you.”
Pilgrim turned to Stinky and Breaker. They both seemed to indicate that objecting would be futile. Zuur could not repress a low chuckle in the ether. Pilgrim found that it could not help but join in as well. “Of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ll need you two to help power the gate traversals. We might need to do a bunch of them.”
General Vinks rose from its resting spot. “Good. We depart on the next cycle. Commander Decius: take fifty of our regulars and seize possession of the slip point into Timathur’s Node if you can. Be careful though. If you encounter serious opposition, then send us a runner immediately and retreat back to Privil’s Landing.”
Decius seemed pleased to get the assignment. “It will be as you order, general.”
Vinks nodded. “The rest of you must use the remaining time to gather what you need and assemble at the Grand Exchange. Tencius will hand out the marching orders.
“I’ve placed scouts in strategic sections of the city so we can keep a lookout for trouble from the locals, but the Syndic and its key holders seem to be in hiding; We will continue our efforts to round them up. At present there is no organized force to oppose us. No doubt they hope we will depart soon. That said, caution is advised until we assemble and depart. That is all. Be about your business.”
The assembled leaders of what remained of the Hegemon’s expeditionary force dispersed slowly. Some enjoyed a few rounds of intoxicants while others engaged in good natured banter and mo
ck insults; the mood was oddly upbeat considering that they all believed that they were most likely embarking on what would be their last campaign: a death ride for revenge, glory and just possibly salvation.
Pilgrim followed Stinky out the front door and noticed Breaker gesturing for a meeting. Bleaks, Lacks and Steadfast were already gathered there as well. There had been no time to discuss the devastating news that Breaker had conveyed about its capture and the subsequent battle in the warehouse. The revelation that Valor’s budding had been completely corrupted and brainwashed by that abhorrent miscreant Xodd still seemed unreal.
“Stinky, I’m going to talk with Breaker for a while. I’ll meet you back at the exchange.”
“I’ve got nothing better to do,” signaled Stinky. “Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all. Breaker has been hinting at something about figuring out where Valor’s budding went. I think it’s been poking around that warehouse.” Pilgrim noticed that Zuur had followed along quietly as well. “You’re welcome to come along as well Zuur.”
“We too have nothing better to do.”
“Voor might have left something behind that could prove informative,” suggested Stinky provocatively knowing that mentioning Voor’s name would incite a response.
Zuur’s Big and Little Bosses howled in unison: an inimitable disturbance in the ether that many found unnerving. Stinky grinned. “Well, Voor is up to something. But far be it from me to figure out the inner thoughts of a Djenirian.”
Pilgrim waved a dismissive tendril and made a beeline escape for the assembled remnants of the True Path hoping it would nip the impending lecture from Zuur in the bud. Surprisingly, it worked.
Breaker had taken on an even more stoic demeanor as of late but Lacks and Steadfast both greeted Pilgrim enthusiastically. Bleaks hovered alongside seeming to beam with pride at how well its raw recruit had progressed since their early training cycles on the Commons’ obstacle course.
“I think I know what this is about. I miss Valor too, but we should focus on what we can do to avenge our comrade,” signaled Pilgrim immediately regretting the harsh tone and implied rebuke.
