by Zen DiPietro
Another benefit to traveling with a manahi, Arc realized with approval. Not only could he use mana for their benefit, he also had a much greater familiarity with Sub-Apex than Arc did. His own few visits to the region had been far more limited than he’d realized. He felt a rush of gratitude toward his aunt for including Luc in their group.
On their way upstairs to the rooms, they arranged a shift schedule for bathing. Arc didn’t mind that he happened to get the first turn. He followed Luc to the narrow closet that the inn called a bathroom. Tub, toilet, and wash basin were all there, minus the running water. Arc was relieved to see that the toilet had its own small, contained water tank. A water pitcher accompanied the basin. Modest amenities had never looked so luxurious.
He watched Luc empty a large jug of water into the tub. The manahi sat on the edge and went still. His breathing slowed and measured, then he dipped his fingertips lightly into the water. The liquid rippled and became crystal clear. Then it began to swell upward.
“Why the jug?” Arc asked when Luc refocused on his surroundings. “Couldn’t you simply conjure a tubful of water?”
“Do you run everywhere you go, just because you can?”
“No.” Arc felt like a grade-schooler being called out for asking a dumb question. Luc had a special knack for that.
“Why not?”
“Too much effort. It would be too tiring.”
With a hum of agreement, Luc stood. “Focusing mana into one iteration or another is not so different from any other task. You look for the most efficient method. Let me know when you’re done, and I’ll purify it for the next person.”
Luc swept out of the room. After what he’d witnessed, Arc had a tough time regarding his bath water as the mundane thing it really was. Never mind. He’d think about that tomorrow, after he’d slept.
Arc felt reinvigorated by a good night’s sleep. He joined the other four for breakfast downstairs in the tavern, then they split up to assay the town of Leheer. The shiv and Izzy Gin set out together, but he, Luc, and Will went solo. Arc’s first task was to engage their host at the inn into a friendly chat. Although the fellow seemed pleased to have someone new to talk to, Arc’s subtle questioning determined that the guy had no useful information for him.
By lunchtime, he’d walked around the entire town and talked to as many people as he could. There weren’t many, and most of them were on the way either to or from the mine for a day of work underground. At noon, he backtracked to the inn and rejoined his colleagues for their pre-arranged lunch date. Arc had a sense of déjà vu as they once again gathered around one of the tavern’s tables.
“It’s a typical mining town,” Will concluded as he took a hearty bite out of his sandwich. “No families, no school, just basics. They mine cordrazite from underground caverns. Miners do stints of a month here, then a month off, so they can go back to wherever their homes are. I met only a few people willing to talk at all, and those who did knew nothing about Sorrow. I spent most of my time just walking around.”
“I found several people to talk to,” Arc remarked between bites of his own sandwich, which was quite good for a tavern that had to stockpile food rather than enjoy fresh every day. “But didn’t get anything more than Will did.”
Izzy Gin wiped her hands on her napkin. “The shiv adjudicated a couple of minor property disputes. The adjudicants were delighted to finally get the matters settled. Otherwise, all we learned was that there are few women in Leheer, and the men miss them.”
Luc, Arc, and Will all stopped eating to stare at the reader. They waited for her to tell the rest of that story, but she only popped a bite of bread into her mouth and chewed slowly.
The three men’s attention swiveled between Izzy Gin and the shiv. Arc wondered exactly what her enigmatic statement meant, and if the miners had been rude to the reader. But Izzy Gin had been with the justice, so if there had been untoward behavior, he would have handled it. Arc took a sip of his water and Luc and Will resumed eating. Clearly, they’d come to the same conclusion.
“I have a contact here who, fortunately, is in town. I’d hoped he would be. He travels a circuit around all of the mining towns, delivering supplies and messages,” Luc related quietly. “He’s heard some whispers, none substantiated in any way, about a mining town northwest of here.” He laid his fork down. “A couple of miners are rumored to be missing.”
Arc and the others remained silent, sensing he hadn’t finished speaking.
“Of course,” he continued, “it’s possible, even likely, that these miners simply went home and abandoned mining altogether.” Luc pressed his fingers to his lips as he stared toward the ceiling, apparently deep in thought.
A full minute later, Luc spoke again, as if he hadn’t paused. “On the other hand, my contact wouldn’t have mentioned the incident if he thought it was nothing.”
Again, he stared at the ceiling. Arc and the others finished their lunches while he ruminated.
“Right,” Luc broke the silence with a loud agreement to the thoughts in his own head. Will dropped his napkin in surprise at the sudden outburst. “Given that this is the kind of oddity we’re seeking, and given that we have nothing else to pursue at present, I suggest we visit this other mining town. Visring, it’s called.”
“What will we do if the rumors prove to have no substance?” Will asked.
“We find another town.” Luc’s words flew as fast and sharp as arrows. “And another, and another. We keep looking, we keep asking. Somewhere, there’s some clue, some hint that will lead us to answers. We just have to find it.”
Stunned by his sudden vehemence, the others remained silent until the shiv deliberately placed a hand comm on the table. It read, Agreed. Let’s get started.
Another three hours of bumpy travel had them rolling their carts into Visring. Arc felt his second sense of déjà vu of the day. If he kept this up, he might start having déjà vu of his déjà vu. But Visring was remarkably similar to Leheer, from the sturdy buildings to the layout of the roads and structures. If it weren’t for his rear end aching from the cart ride, Arc could almost imagine they’d never left Leheer.
Although their surroundings looked the same, the mood of their operation had changed dramatically. Luc had transformed from cranky sage to galvanized crusader. Even his gait had changed from a strong, measured stride to a quicker, more aggressive one. Arc found the change in Luc fascinating.
Marching into the tavern that was nearly a twin of the one in Leheer, Luc confronted the barkeep.
“You’re missing miners,” he stated, sounding almost accusing.
“I might be.”
“Either you are or you aren’t. Which is it?”
The barkeep frowned and his eyebrows squeezed together. It was not the face of someone brimming with friendly answers.
Luc inclined his head toward the shiv. “We’re here to investigate, and we’re not interested in wasting time.”
The barkeep blinked at noticing the shiv for the first time. Arc was amused to see the barkeep’s entire demeanor shift from one of belligerence to one of supplication
“I didn’t realize Mo and Jurgen were so connected. They seemed like average guys.” His shoulders hunched and he shifted nervously.
“Nonetheless,” Luc waved away the barkeep’s surprise, “we need to find out what happened to them. What can you tell us?”
“Not much,” the man apologized. He squinted toward the shiv, as if assuring the justice he was cooperating fully. “I’m the shift supervisor. There’s a crew supervisor too, but I’m the one who pays attention to who’s here and who isn’t. We do the standard month on and month off rotation. Mo and Jurg worked the same schedule. They left town at the same time but I don’t know where they were headed. Expected them back two weeks ago, but no one’s heard a thing from either one. Even without
a comm relay they could have gotten a message to me by now if they wanted to.”
“Have you checked with their families?”
The barkeep smeared his hands down the front of his apron. Arc wondered if they were messy or just sweaty. “Mo didn’t have any. Jurg has parents. Like I said, we don’t have comm, so there’s no way for us to contact the parents. We’re a lean operation. People either show up or they don’t. We don’t have resources to track anyone down.”
“Do miners often fail to show up?”
“Yes, but not those two. Spotless records, both of them. Hard workers. New miners can be unreliable. Some young fellas think they’ll make some quick money to parlay into some other enterprise, then realize they want out of Sub-Apex as soon as possible. They slide around underground just long enough to fulfill their contract. Others figure out pretty fast they can’t handle the lack of comm link and grid power. You can always pick them out by their perpetual sulking. That type leaves within a month. But Jurgen and Mo are good guys, proven miners. Reliable. They need their jobs here.”
Luc frowned at the barkeep until Izzy Gin moved closer, drawing Luc’s attention. She gave him a small nod, then retreated. Arc suspected the reader verified the barkeep’s truthfulness.
“I see. If there’s nothing else you can tell us, we’ll place an order for five waters and whatever sandwiches you can make quickly. I trust you’ll tell no one you discussed those men with us.” Luc stared at the man.
“Of course not,” he agreed quickly. He peeked again at the shiv. As he pushed into the kitchen, he muttered, “Who would believe me, anyway?”
After a quick lunch, Arc and the others piled back into the carts and wheeled northward toward Apex. Luc had found a trail, however tenuous, and was determined to pursue it until they had something tangible to work with.
Arc doubted the next town would prove more fruitful than the last two. Their new destination, called Pine, was a few hours north of Visring and just a few hours south of the border into Apex. Luc had a friend in Pine that he wanted to talk to. With nothing in the barren landscape to entertain him as he rode, Arc considered Luc’s collection of far-flung friends and contacts. The variety and abundance of these people hinted at a compelling personal history. Arc’s curiosity about it grew by the day.
Chapter 4
Pine must get its name from the way you feel while rolling across the very boring Sub-Apex terrain, Arc reflected. He was definitely pining for four walls, some room to move, and some color. By the time they arrived at the home of Luc’s friend, even the shiv seemed restless.
“Luc, it’s been so long.” The door to the thick little building had flung open the moment they’d approached it. A woman burst out and wrapped Luc in an enthusiastic hug that the manahi returned with gentle affection.
“Mallie,” Luc greeted. “You’re looking well.”
“Flatter me, by all means,” the middle-aged woman teased as she released him and took a half-step back. “I get little of that around here.”
“No flattery needed,” he assured her. “It’s every bit true.”
Well aware of the nuisances of traveling in this part of the world, Mallie efficiently ushered the group through a humanizing process of showers and a hot dinner. As Arc put on a clean outfit, he marveled at how much of a difference a bellyful of food and a hot shower made. He fastened the last button on his shirt and left the tiny bathroom to join the others in Mallie’s sitting room. This time, he’d been the last to bathe.
“How did you end up so far north?” Luc was asking as Arc settled himself on a narrow chair. The room was small, as all rooms tended to be north of the mid-lats, but it was colorful and cozy. Definitely an improvement over riding in a cart.
“Oh, you know me,” Mallie laughed. “I followed the rocks.”
“Mallie is a geologist,” Luc explained to the others. “She has a tendency to live in ridiculously inconvenient places so she can enjoy the scintillating company of rocks.”
Mallie chuckled at the teasing. “They don’t make much noise but they do say a lot. My research here didn’t pan out to much, but I decided to stick around and catch up on some writing. It turns out that screaming boredom and a lack of anything else to do are fantastic motivators for lots of writing. I’m finishing up a textbook now, and once that’s done I’ll return to the many comforts and distractions of the mid-lats.”
She put her hands in her lap and leaned forward. “And what of you, dear Lucien? Are you going to tell me what you’re doing up here? Somehow I don’t believe you gathered up some young pals and decided to visit an old friend on the northern side of Sub-Apex.”
Arc liked the idea of being a “young pal” of Luc’s. Luc smiled, but the gesture lacked his earlier warmth. “I’m afraid it’s nothing so pleasant. You see, we’ve undertaken a matter for the Council. We’re investigating the destruction of a mid-lats town named Sorrow.”
Luc told her about the town’s demise, though he made no mention of mana or the black ash. Mallie’s spine went from relaxed to rigid and she pressed her lips together so hard they turned white.
“That’s so awful, all those people,” she breathed. “I hadn’t heard. I tend to live in my own little world of rocks and there’s no comm link here.” She bit her lip.
“It’s not something we’re advertising in the mid-lats, either. Magistrate Trewe has tried to convince the people that know about it to keep the matter off the comm, to prevent hindering our investigation. Fortunately, she’s quite persuasive, but we’re trying to solve the mystery before the story catches on and causes a panic. Magistrate Trewe gave me permission to speak with you about Sorrow, because I trust you won’t mention anything we discuss to anyone.”
Arc hadn’t known that, but he supposed there was no reason he should have. Aunt Ina probably had given all of them private directives.
Luc waited for Mallie’s nod, then continued. “Right now, we’re chasing information about the missing miners I told you about. Have you heard any gossip about disappearances? Or anything out of the ordinary at all?”
Mallie tapped her lips with her fingers, thinking. “Disappearances, no . . . I haven’t heard anything like that.” She frowned. “Though . . .” she trailed off.
“Though?” Luc prompted.
“Oh, it’s foolishness.” She shook her head and made a self-deprecating gesture. “Nothing real.”
Arc noticed Will watching him. He met Will’s gaze and they shared a hopeful look.
“Tell me, Mallie dear,” Luc enjoined lightly. “If it’s foolishness, then there’s no reason not to tell.”
She frowned, then rubbed her hands together as though applying lotion. “It’s just childish stuff. Sometimes, when people live in remote areas, they see things that aren’t there or tell silly stories to amuse themselves. Bored townspeople regale each other with tall tales for entertainment. Like white monsters living in Apex or visits from space aliens.” She smiled ruefully.
“People are telling stories about snowmonsters?” Luc asked.
“No, that’s just a classic Sub-Apex campfire story.” She gestured dismissively. “But my students visit the nearest towns when they get stir-crazy and are looking for anything even mildly interesting. The new version going around is about half-monster, half-human creatures, created from the gray haze of Apex. People say they’re gray-skinned, with bulging eyes, and limbs that don’t match. Hulking things that don’t know pain or fear, only the need for blood.” Mallie shook her head. “Zombie snowmonsters, I guess. It’s just a new version of an old theme.”
Arc was no stranger to campfire stories. They were a popular standard on wilderness expeditions. This new iteration sounded particularly gruesome, though.
Luc’s posture remained neutral. “It does sound like a boogeyman tale. When did it start?”
“Hard to say. My
team and I started hearing the references soon after we arrived, a few months ago. I always feel bad for my interns up here. They learn a lot, but outside of that, there’s just so little for them.”
“I see.” Luc drew himself up with a deep breath. “Well, then.” “Do you happen to have any of your famous apple brandy?”
Mallie stood. “Of course I do. I’ll go get some for your friends. If you’re nice, I’ll even let you have a nip,” she teased.
That sounded good to Arc. While she fetched the brandy, he considered the fondness Luc and Mallie apparently shared. Seeing Luc banter with her had been interesting. He wondered if he dared to hope that Luc would one day find their own little group a worthy focus for his banter. Arc hoped so.
Will watched Mallie leave the room. She seemed nice, but he didn’t think she’d told them anything useful. But the respite at this little research station was nice. Will didn’t understand why anyone would intentionally inhabit one small, isolated building so close to Apex, but he supposed everyone had their own priorities.
Luc looked to Izzy Gin. “Impressions?”
The reader tilted her head to one side for a moment, as if processing her thoughts before answering. “She’s open, honest, and sweet. I can see why you like her. She thinks the rumors of the gray monsters are foolishness, but something about them bothers her. She’s annoyed with herself for it. Thinks she’s being childish.”
The shiv’s neutral posture did not change. Luc and Arc remained relaxed in their chairs. Will, on the other hand, felt a cold hand of suspicion in his gut in answer to Izzy Gin’s statement. The reader seemed to be embellishing her assessment.
