by M. Gregg Roe
The giantess nodded. Standing behind her, the younger of the boys whispered something to his brother, and they both drew knives.
Audrey suddenly wondered if Rosalind could restore the dead giant to life. But she didn’t dare give the giants false hope. Trying desperately to maintain a neutral expression, she said, “I’m afraid that he was… hurt. Really badly hurt. I’m sorry.” She wanted to say that it was her fault, but the words wouldn’t come.
The giantess’s face twisted with anguish. “We are refugees,” she said in a deep voice.
Refugees from what? But it wasn’t the time to ask. “If he can’t be saved, then I’ll bring you his possessions. I’ll be back.”
Audrey launched herself into the air and headed rapidly away. When she was certain that she was out of sight of the three, she came to a halt and teleported to the roof of the Triangular Keep. To save time, she scanned for magic. There were two spell-casters in the dining room, and seconds later so was she.
“Excuse me,” Audrey said from the entryway as they paused their breakfast to stare at her. “Rosalind, can you raise a hill giant from the dead?”
“I don’t know,” she said. She put her fork down on her plate, pushed back her chair, and stood. “But it can’t hurt to try. Let me grab my cloak and we’ll go.”
That took less than a minute, after which Audrey teleported them both to where the giant’s body lay. The color drained from Rosalind’s face as she took in the grisly scene.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Audrey told her, then flew off to have another word with the Collector. She needed to prevent any future occurrences.
The construct answered her questions as tersely as always. As she suspected, it had confronted the giant alone. No wonder the giant had refused to stop. She told it that from now it needed to have at least one of the more menacing-looking constructs along with it when confronting intruders. It acknowledged the revised orders and then bowed to her again.
She rose into the air but then stopped in surprise when she looked over to where she had left Rosalind. The giant was not only alive but walking away toward the river. When she flew over, she could see where the giant had fallen, but there were no bloodstains on the ground, let alone chunks of gore.
“I guess it worked,” Audrey said to Rosalind after landing nearby.
“Perfectly,” Rosalind said, looking very proud of herself. “I told him to avoid this area in the future and warn any others they encounter.”
Still staring at the ground, Audrey tried to imagine what had happened. How had the giant reacted when he regained consciousness and beheld his tiny savior? She was sorry that she had missed it.
“The castle’s coming along nicely,” Rosalind commented, peering at it.
“There’s something I need to show you,” Audrey said, leading the way. Three wall sections were now complete, along with four towers.
“What is it?” Rosalind asked, hurrying to keep up.
After slowing her pace, Audrey waited until they reached the edge of the floor to point out the issue. “There was a hole left in the center of the floor. I kept waiting for triangles to show up to fill it, but then I found trapezoid blocks that matched the patterns.” The hexagonal hole—nearly three yards across—was now lined with fourteen of those.
Rosalind hopped up onto the floor and walked up to the hole. “There’s a tower in the center,” she said, gesturing upward. “It probably extends above the others, like a watchtower.”
Audrey wasn’t so sure. That sounded entirely too normal. There were still no doors, no windows, no support columns, no interior walls. Triangular roof blocks had begun to appear, but she had placed none because there was nothing to hold them up.
“Do you want my help adding more blocks?” Rosalind asked.
Audrey’s next class wasn’t until afternoon. “Sure. I’ve already laid out several more layers, but I’m pacing myself.”
“As you should.” Rosalind turned to face her. “Bring the blocks here and I’ll place them. But first…” Her eyes went briefly distant. “Strength!” She grinned and flexed an arm. “Now I’m ready.”
With Audrey providing a steady stream of blocks, Rosalind built two complete layers before sitting down red-faced and panting. “I need a break,” she wheezed.
While Rosalind rested, Audrey added two more layers. After that, they alternated after each layer, each employing flying magic as the center tower grew. By late morning they had reached the last row, and it was the same height as the walls and the other towers—roughly six yards. They were obviously at the top since the blocks had no patterns on top, but had patterns that would connect with the roof.
Lying on her back with a look of exhaustion, Rosalind said, “This building makes no sense. I’m beginning to think it won’t have any openings at all.”
Audrey squatted down next to her. “Maybe it’s designed for someone who can teleport,” she suggested.
“And who doesn’t need to breathe? There has to be some kind of ventilation,” Rosalind complained.
She had a point. What they had just constructed was merely a big hole in the hexagonal structure, not a tower.
“I shouldn’t have joined so many blocks,” Rosalind moaned, closing her eyes.
“You’re not feeling well?” Audrey asked.
Rosalind giggled. “I have never been so aroused. Take me home so I can make Ferikellan’s day.”
After chuckling to herself, Audrey teleported them both to Rosalind’s bedroom. “Try not to kill him,” she ordered sternly, then went home.
Deep below Audrey’s feet, powerful magic was at work. Ever since Birchbark had told her how the blocks were formed, she had intended to observe the process. But she kept putting it off. When it came down to it, she didn’t want to sit around for hours in a barren area, just waiting for something to happen. And that especially applied to hours during which she would normally be asleep.
The nightmare that had woken her just after midnight had been bizarre. In it the castle had looked much more normal, square with crenelated walls, fat corner towers, and narrow windows. And it had been located right outside her cottage, replacing Draymund and Almera’s mansion.
When she placed the final block, which was dripping with blood for some reason, nothing had emerged from inside. Instead, the entire castle had come to life, turning into something that resembled the constructs that the Collector had restored. Suddenly powerless, she had watched in horror as the monstrosity used its enormous hammer to lay waste to the Witch’s City, which was now surrounded by a hexagonal wall and contained both Rosalind’s former temple and the entirety of Tritown.
The dream probably meant nothing, but she hadn’t been able to sleep afterward. That was why she was now standing in the moonlight, kept warm by one of her Guardian powers as she watched the display of what the scan still insisted was unknown magic.
The crisp night air was refreshing. Stars filled the cloudless sky, and the moonlight cast pleasing shadows. In the distance, she could see the constructs surrounding the castle as they stood their silent vigil. Insect sounds dominated the soundscape, but she occasionally heard the hoot of a distant owl or rustling that was probably a mouse or something similar. All in all, it was rather peaceful.
“Whoa!” she exclaimed, as a strident warning suddenly filled her vision. There was now a triangular block sitting on the ground three yards to her left. When she went over and put a hand to it, the surface felt warm but not hot. “Did you teleport?” she asked, giving it a friendly pat.
The magic was still active below, presumably hard at work manufacturing another triangular block. That had to be occurring within a block-shaped void in the stone, but Birchbark had mentioned nothing like that. Maybe it got filled in when the block production quota was finished. Even after so much time, the process remained a mystery.
After dismissing the display, she walked over and sat on the edge of the castle’s floor, which was nearing completion. “Am I doing the right thing?�
� she said, loud enough that her voice echoed off the walls. “Am I failing my duty as Guardian?” That was the real question.
With no apparent limit to the magical energy she could draw upon, Audrey was confident that she could destroy the sad excuse for a castle. But she still worried that might invite some form of retribution. The block-making process might be slow, but the power implied was enormous. What was to stop them from assaulting existing structures with their magic, removing pieces until they collapsed? Or what if they began extracting pieces from living beings? Only some kind of anti-magic barrier, like the one that she possessed, could provide protection.
“Am I overthinking this?” she asked, staring downward. But the echoes brought no answer.
When Audrey had been younger, she had often prayed to Lasrina for guidance, or to plead for help. In hindsight, there was no evidence that any of that had ever done any good. Their house had never magically cleaned itself, and the village bullies hadn’t stopped taunting her for being fat. Older and wiser, she understood that the gods rarely concerned themselves with individuals. At the same time, Audrey strongly suspected that Lasrina had shaped her life, putting her on the path to becoming the Guardian of Andoran’s Realm. There were just too many coincidences, including one of her best friends being selected to serve the goddess.
“Did you make me, Lady Lasrina?” Audrey whispered, raising her gaze to the star-filled sky. “Is this castle part of my purpose?”
Seconds later, a line of light appeared and rapidly dimmed—a shooting star. Was it an answer or just a coincidence? Sometimes there were many in one night, as if something was causing them. But no more appeared as she continued to watch the same area.
“Even if it turns out to be dangerous,” she said, “I want to see how it ends. I want to know the purpose and who or what is behind it. That’s the truth.”
Audrey curved her lips into a smirk. “If you want me to stop, then tell Aliva. Otherwise I’m seeing this through to the end, okay?” She yawned and blinked. “Good night.”
After another yawn, and no more shooting stars sighted, the Guardian of Andoran’s Realm returned home and went back to bed.
Audrey strolled around through the fresh snow, enjoying the way it scrunched beneath her boots. She had just come from a meeting with Ermizad. As long as she was kept informed, the woman was content. Mardan also seemed content now that she had allowed him to conduct some exercises with the Collector and its constructs. He and Zyrahi were now cheerfully sketching out battle scenarios that Audrey prayed never occurred.
Finding the newest blocks was going to be a challenge, but she was in no hurry. In fact, the warming temperature and bright sunshine were already taking a toll on the blanketing snow. Spring was so close she could taste it.
She had begun installing roof blocks, finding that they adhered to each other so firmly they didn’t need additional support. In one place they reached all the way to the central tower.
“What are those?” Even covered by snow, she could see blocks with new shapes had appeared. She quickly went to work, using her gloved hands to uncover them.
It didn’t take long to deduce that two of the shapes fit together to make a hinge. “There’s a way in!” she exclaimed happily. “Finally, a door.”
The other two shapes puzzled her for quite a while. They were trapezoidal, except with tops that sloped. “It’s so the door can open without interference,” she finally realized, smiling as she said pictured how it would work.
Dying to tell someone, she teleported directly to the Triangular Keep’s laboratory. Harbik nodded formally as Rosalind flashed a welcoming smile.
“I want to show you something,” Audrey told her. “Is Ferikellan around?”
Rosalind smirked. “He’s off testing his spell again. Yesterday he used magic to scare away some foxes while wandering around inside. He was so proud.”
Audrey still found it impressive that he had succeeded so quickly.
“Then I’ll just show you,” she said to Rosalind. “Dress warmly. You’ll also need boots.” Her own were making a puddle on the floor as the snow on them melted. Oops.
Back at the site, she showed Rosalind the new block shapes and explained, “The hinge will be on the bottom, and the door will open outward.”
“It’s a drawbridge,” Rosalind said matter-of-factly.
Audrey frowned at her. “A what?” It was a door, not a bridge.
Rosalind blinked in surprise. “A drawbridge is a big wooden door that’s hinged at the bottom, and can be raised and lowered with ropes or chains. When raised, it blocks the entrance. When lowered, it bridges the moat that surrounds the castle.”
“Then this is a proper castle in that respect,” Audrey exclaimed, clapping her hands together in delight. “What’s a moat?” Rosalind knew all kinds of unusual words.
This time the woman laughed. “It’s a deep trench that’s usually filled with water. Sometimes they put alligators in them.”
Audrey still wasn’t keen on alligators, even if she could easily kill them now.
“It’s still not a proper castle,” Rosalind insisted, pointing toward it. “But now we know where whatever’s inside will emerge. We could dig a big pit in the area where the drawbridge will open.”
“And fill it with alligators?” Audrey joked.
“I was thinking more of sharpened stakes coated with poison,” Rosalind replied. “That’s more traditional.”
That sounded horrible. “But what if they’re friendly?” Audrey objected. “That might make them angry. Or what if they can fly?” Ha! Rosalind hadn’t thought of that.
Unperturbed, Rosalind shrugged. “It’s your call, Guardian.”
Audrey didn’t appreciate the reminder of her responsibility. “Actually, I’ll leave it up to Mardan.” He would definitely be interested in the drawbridge.
“Exactly right,” Rosalind said approvingly.
“So it’s a lesson, Priestess?”
Rosalind beamed at her. “Yes. Once you delegate authority to someone, then you should let them do their job. Let Mardan decide if we’re digging a pit and filling it with alligators.”
Audrey wouldn’t even mention that possibility to him.
“It won’t be that much longer,” Rosalind said after glancing around. “Maybe two months.”
That agreed with Audrey’s own estimate. Over a year would have elapsed when the last block appeared.
“Is Conrad still traveling frequently?” Rosalind asked, shading her eyes with a hand.
“He’s in Zardis right now,” Audrey replied sadly. She missed him.
She had accompanied him the first two times, but really there was nothing for her to do there at the moment. Once the living quarters were complete, she and Grasapa would begin spending time in Zardis, learning about the area and searching for students.
“You could visit him anytime,” Rosalind pointed out.
“I am not using my teleportation ability for that,” Audrey insisted. If she gave into temptation even once, it would never end.
Rosalind nodded. “I think that really is for the best. After Zardis, where do you plan to move?”
“Kamisa. Or maybe Glasston.” They each had their pros and cons. And her choice might also hinge on where her cousins ended up.
“I’d pick Glasston,” Rosalind told her, “but that’s because I spent a lot of time there in my role as priestess.”
“Would you like to go back?” Audrey asked to change the subject. “It’s kind of chilly.”
“I want to meet those crystal creatures you’ve mentioned,” Rosalind shot back. “You always say you’re too busy.”
That excuse wouldn’t work today, especially with Conrad out of town. And she had promised. With a thought, Audrey teleported the two of them to the seven-sided sitting room.
The view tugged at Audrey’s heart. At Rosalind’s request, the crystalloid stationed in the observation room had first centered the view on Rohoville and then raised the viewpoin
t as far as possible. All of Andoran’s Realm stood revealed, visibly delineated by the Gray Forest. Normal woods bordered much of it, but part of the Great Ocean was visible to the west. She could even see waves breaking against the shore.
As Rosalind asked for the view to be changed to show the Witch’s City, Audrey made her way outside the room. Seeing those areas outside, the places she could never go, always evoked a sense of loss. She could go anywhere within the Realm, but never leave its bounds.
“I heard you were here,” Marilee said from Audrey’s right. “Is everything okay?”
Audrey had never been good at lying to her mother. “The castle still worries me,” she confessed. “And I rarely see Conrad these days.”
Marilee waved two legs. “We lost one of our own yesterday. She decided it was time.”
Barring some kind of freak accident, crystalloids could potentially live forever. But that ignored the fact that the spirits inhabiting the artificial bodies had once been human. Some never adjusted. Others grew tired of their strange existence. Perhaps realizing this, Andoran had provided them with the means to self-terminate, sending their spirit on to whatever afterlife awaited it.
“She was barely a hundred,” Marilee continued. “But don’t you worry, Audrey. I’ll stick around as long as you do.”
A hug not being practical (or comfortable), Audrey patted her mother on the head. “That might only be a couple of months if the castle is really dangerous,” she joked.
Marilee swiveled her head back and forth. “You shouldn’t talk that way. Think positive.” She pointed with one leg. “Now update me on my two nieces.”
Audrey was still talking when Rosalind emerged from the observation room with a dazed expression. “I feel like a voyeur,” she mumbled as she walked over.
