Elf Mastery

by Bryant Reil

  This meant a lot of paperwork. Paperwork made Grizzlesnout miserable, so as a goblin, he rather enjoyed it. Misery, however, did not love company, contrary to the adage: he preferred to suffer alone. And so, as he heard an excited girlish voice call his name, a familiar dread crawled up his toes and to his heart, and nearly killed him on the spot; but the sixteen coffees he had for breakfast thu-thumped it right back into rhythm. It might kill him later, but not soon enough to avoid the journey.

  “Double the money. Double the money.” Grizzlesnout found his happy place as Kyla scampered into the room.

  “Grizzlesnout!” she called. “Remember me? It's Kyla! You drove me to school a couple weeks ago! I know, you probably meet a TON of people at your job so you probably don't remember. Anyway I get to come with you!”

  “Heavenly.” Grizzlesnout's fake smile was in working order.

  “I didn't know you were in the army.”

  “I'm not. I have been sent as a replacement. On account of my vast driving experience, you see.”

  “You DO have a cool job! Anyway I'm in Communications. Mostly that means I hand out flyers and make deliveries. I have this uniform though. Not as nice as your suit, I guess.”

  The chatter, as he expected, didn't stop, but he managed to block it out as the filament was signed over (and he discovered why Equinox was involved, as the filament had been manufactured here). He had to receive orientation on the Steeds, inspect the chariot, and, of course, more paperwork. The elf girl had a single role, and that was to fulfill the requirement that all military shipments be accompanied by at least two people. Of course, she wasn't getting paid, which to Grizzlesnout was likely the only reason they were willing to offer him double the wage.

  The Steeds were majestic and such a bright white that Grizzlesnout could hardly bear to look at them. They were also much larger than regular horses; in fact, they were close in size to the wyverns that Grizzlesnout's father used to keep. Their golden manes flowed despite the lack of wind, and their hooves glittered like stars. Their eyes were deep and orange in hue, with a wild but intelligent gaze. It was all a little intimidating. Grizzlesnout hadn't driven such creatures before, but he was assured they were well-trained and knew the way.

  A stable-worker approached and handed him a mask with two tubes that reached around the back. “You'll need these for the trip,” he said. “So you can breathe in space. Make sure it fits tightly over your nose and mouth.”

  Grizzlesnout took it and tried it on. It was a bit tight, and he could tell it was going to be uncomfortable, which made him pleasantly miserable. The elf girl declined hers. Instead she pulled a bottle from her bag.

  “I got some bottles of air from my roommate, Aura. She's an air spirit. I mean, Daughter of the Air. She told me I'd need it.”

  The stable-worker appeared unconvinced. “Take it. Just in case.”

  “Fine.” She stuffed it in her bag without testing it.

  The filament – meant to repair a bad light at the station – went into a box which was typically used to carry light from the sun and stars. The steeds were accustomed to traveling unmanned and weren't comfortably equipped for passengers, so Grizzlesnout and the elf were strapped to a narrow bench at the front of the chariot. Soon they were on their way, and just as he had been told, the steeds knew their business and took off toward Sulafat Station. They likely could have made this delivery on their own. It was a testament to the inefficiency of the bureaucracy, but as long as he was getting paid, he saw no harm in such waste.

  Though the horses needed no driver, Grizzlesnout still felt he earned his keep by putting up with the elf. She soon gave up trying to talk to him and became enraptured with the new environment. He had never been off-planet either, but the stars looked the same to him from here as they did from the ground. She seemed rather impressed by the size of the earth, and how tiny her part in it was, and watched as it shrank in the distance. He was more concerned about the sun ahead as it was getting rather warm and they needed to drive past it to get to Sulafat. They took the Parallax Route, which drew them around, but the heat was still so great he had to remove his jacket. This was not easy to do while strapped to the front of the box.

  It was a four-hour trip, and the girl was silent for the first part as she observed the planets and stars. Unfortunately, there wasn't really much to look at in open space, so she soon got bored and decided to sing. At first he thought this was better than her talking, but it turned out she only knew two songs. And to make it worse, one of the songs was Kick the Goblin. It was not the offensive lyrics which bothered him: she sang with childish ignorance, not malice. Rather he was annoyed that every other line ended with Kick the Goblin! Ho! and each time she would give him a kick to the side of the leg. It wasn't hard, but it was annoying, and his professional patience soon broke and he shouted at her to stop. She looked so shocked that he felt obliged to apologize, but this only led her to sing The Ballad of Kinsel King, which seemed to have no end. At least it didn't involve kicking.

  ***

  Dunkin had never seen anyone commit their Vows to Erebus so quickly. A dark shadow dropped Linkin back on the balcony only minutes after Dunkin had kicked him into the Oort cloud. Already the young dwarf looked hardened beyond his years. The young were usually easier to recruit than older folk as they were less set in their ways, but Linkin's inexperience and fear had made his mind particularly easy to crack. And so Erebus had brought him back. Dunkin didn't feel he needed him at the station. He had managed the tengu quite nicely, and arranged that no military operatives would come on the delivery of the new filament. Preventing the military from getting eyes up here was key; securing civilians to make the delivery meant they would be unlikely to ask questions or look at records.

  Linkin was at the table sucking on a floating glob of mead. He had a shadowy aura about him now that he had taken his Vow. He still hadn't learned to suppress it: another reason Dunkin didn't want military personnel showing up. Dunkin glided over to the wall and pulled out a loose stone. He retrieved the stele fragment from its hiding place and dropped it on the table.

  “This is what Erebus is looking for,” he explained.

  Linkin picked it up and rolled it over in its hand, trying to make something of the writing etched into the black stone. “What is it?”

  “Don't know. Part of a ward or spell. It's what they used to banish Chaos, but it can't be undone until we figure out how it was done. There's more to be found.”

  “More what?”

  “Pieces! We need the other pieces. Erebus says this is the seventh of nine. The rest are scattered, and two are unaccounted for. So we keep looking.”

  “Where should I start?”

  “You don't have to go looking for them. We just sit here and protect this one. Other people are searching for the rest. They have no leads yet, so we need to make a temporary hole in the barrier. Erebus'll be able to get through, I wager. That's what this new filament's for. Special made, see: the light won't hurt him as bad. He'll take up the search, and bam – give it a year and we can get off this rock for good.”

  Linkin set the stone back down. “I'll do whatever I can to speed that up.”

  Dunkin grabbed the stone and put it back in its hiding place. “Good.”

  ***

  Kyla took a gulp of air from her bottle. This had to be her third most exciting adventure yet. Only third, because although the initial launch from earth and the approach to Sulafat Station were quite exhilarating, the hours in the middle were rather dull and she had taken it upon herself to entertain Grizzlesnout (though he was a hard read and she wasn't sure if he appreciated the effort).

  Sulafat Station was very tall, with a beacon at the top, and looked like a lighthouse. The light was not lit, of course; that was why they were bringing the filament. There was a tortoise motif in the architecture. The cap over the beacon was in the shape of a carapace, and the great stone supporting the tower was carved into a large tortoise so that the tower looked as th
ough it was riding on the back. Closer up Kyla could see facades engraved along the base, all of which were of tortoises. This bumped the trip into second place. The Steeds steered themselves up to an opening just below the beacon. A great door slid open and inside awaited a grim-looking dwarf. He appeared to have not showered in a very long time, though Kyla imagined there wasn't much water here.

  As the Steeds came to a stop the dwarf grumbled what may have been an introduction, or a hello, or anything else, as Kyla couldn't understand him. He didn't bother to help with the restraints and Kyla had to unlatch herself. She found herself floating as she stepped away from the cart, and the trip skyrocketed into first place. This led to her laughing joyfully as she pushed herself flying around the hangar. So this was what Aura must feel like! Kyla unscrewed the lid from her bottle of air, and with a hiss the blast sent her drifting up and across the room.

  “Get down!” the dwarf shouted, his words clearer yet also grumpier than before.

  Grizzlesnout frowned, though it looked like he had a grin hiding in there. “Don't want to waste your air horsing around.”

  Kyla pushed off the ceiling and drifted to the floor. “It's fine. I brought lots.”

  Grizzlesnout and the angry-looking dwarf started working on a mound of paperwork, which looked like it might take a while as pages kept floating away. Kyla thought it might be useful here to have some sort of board with a clip on it that could keep paper down. She began to appreciate the efforts of the devoted people working the Gravity Well back on earth, for fun as this was, she shouldn't like having to float around all day and worry about drifting away. She floated to the box in the chariot and unlatched the lid, pulling out the filament.

  “Give it to Linkin!” the dwarf shouted. “Through the door!”

  It was more an opening than a door. Kyla drifted through. The dwarf had given no description of Linkin, but there was only one person inside. He was a dwarf also but cleaner and younger than the first, and Kyla supposed this might mean he was also friendlier despite his eerie aura.

  “Hi!” she said as she drifted slowly into what looked to be a dining room. At least, it had a table and chairs, which were nailed to the floor. There were round globs of liquid floating above the table which smelled of the chemicals Kyla's father sometimes used when making shoes.

  “Hi,” the dwarf muttered back. He had an obviously forced smile; Kyla hoped her own forced smiles were more convincing, though the one she wore now was genuine. She didn't mind that the dwarves were grumpy. She could fly in here!

  “You must be Linkin, right? I'm Kyla. I'm supposed to give you this.” She held out the filament, and the dwarf drifted over to grab it.

  “Thanks,” he muttered. He waited a moment and watched as Kyla twirled in the air. “You can go help Dunkin finish up in the hangar now.”

  “Grizzlesnout's doing the paperwork. It's going to be a while, and I don't think Dunkin wants me in there. Do you have a waiting room?”

  Linkin sighed. “Just don't touch anything.” He drifted up to a trapdoor in the ceiling, which Kyla thought must lead to the beacon above. She looked around as he drifted up through the hole.

  There wasn't much to see in this room. There was a small fireplace, unlit. She wondered why they didn't use fire instead of filaments on the beacons? Oh, not enough wood around here probably. Why even have a fireplace? The question got shoved out of her mind by more interesting details. There were a couple of chests marked 'Supplies', which were attached to the floor, and a small balcony, which Kyla avoided for fear of drifting into space. Through the window she could see a reddish-brown cloud. She had seen it on the approach, of course, but then it had just been a haze. From here she could see it was made up of tiny particles. She was curious to touch it. She noticed a tether and harness attached to the wall by the balcony door, which had been left open. She mustered her courage and drifted over. The tether had broken and been re-tied, and that made her question its strength so she contemplated the risk versus reward of going outside. She took a deep breath. There was the faint smell of—what was it? Moonflowers?

  Kyla ducked as something whizzed through the balcony door and smacked into the wall behind her, knocking out a stone. Something ricocheted around the room, and when it stopped, she saw two stones floating by the fireplace. One looked like it was part of the wall, but was now cracked in half. The other half must have scattered somewhere. The second stone was shiny, black, and smooth, with wiggly lines that looked like they could be either writing or the trails of drunk termites. She assumed this must be what had flown in through the window, for it didn't match any of the stonework.

  “What was that?” the upstairs dwarf, Linkin, shouted down through the trap door.

  “Some kind of rock flew in the window and hit the wall!”

  “Oh! A meteor.”

  “Can I have it?”

  “Sure! Whatever.”

  Then a call came from the next room. It was the angrier dwarf.

  “What are you doing in there?” he shouted. Kyla grabbed the stone and tucked it in her pocket. She drifted to the opening that led back to the Steeds, which from this side was marked 'Hangar'.

  “It was a meteor! Came right in through the balcony door and almost hit me in the head! The other guy said I could keep it. Is that ok?”

  “Fine, fine. Paperwork's done, now get along!”

  Kyla drifted to her position behind the horses. The dwarf seemed rather eager to see her leave, for he strapped her and Grizzlesnout in quickly. The Steeds took off and she regaled her companion with song for the duration of the return trip.

  ***

  “YOU WHAT?” Dunkin screamed. “You know what they'll do? Not kill us, because that would be too kind!”

  “How was I supposed to know?” Linkin was shaking with fear. “I heard it hit the wall. What are the chances it'd hit right there?”

  “If it were up to me I'd toss you out into the cloud right now!”

  It isn't up to you. The voice was barely audible but it penetrated Linkin and Dunkin so their hearts froze mid-beat. A great darkness enveloped the room.

  “My lord, I...”

  Linkin's words were cut off as the Darkness filled his nose and mouth.

  The beacon worked, and you have my thanks. Now you must recover the fragment.

  Linkin shrieked soundlessly as the darkness seeped into his lungs and stomach and carried him out of the hangar toward Earth. It was an absolute darkness he rode in. There was no light, no warmth, no love. It was going to be a long trip.

  ***

  Grizzlesnout peered behind him. Something wasn't right, but just what he couldn't say. He had lived a simple life, and though he had friends who had suffered through wars and famine, he was blessed that the girl next to him was the biggest headache he'd had to endure. Now his old bones told him something bigger was going on than he was used to, and he couldn't piece together what it might be. Still, unless he was mad something was following him, and it wasn't bringing cake.

  Chapter Ten

  Aspen's Fury

  Aspen discovered neither she nor Saul had a class during Eunoe's Organic Transmutation course, so she chose to eat lunch with him on the grass outside the science building. They sat in the shade of the oak tree where she spent her nights. She found Saul amusing, even if the others didn't, and enjoyed listening to him chatter. Perhaps listening was too generous a word. The conversation itself was boring. It was his excitement that was captivating. And he moved his hands around when he spoke. It was fun to watch. She took a bite of her salmon.

  “And they thought I couldn't do it but I reversed the flow and BLAM! It worked! Doubled the torque. Cool huh?”

  Aspen nodded though she had no idea what he was talking about.

  “So you going to the Fall Ball?”

  Aspen stopped chewing her fish. Was he asking her out? Why else would he bring it up? “No, I'm not.”

  “Oh. I'm thinking of asking this girl out. I've realized Eunoe's never going to go
with me, and Aura's pretty stuck up.”

  Aspen looked at him, waiting for him to acknowledge her.

  He noticed. “Oh, no offense. It's just you're always with Eunoe.”

  Always with Eunoe. This was a persistent problem when it came to meeting boys. Aspen knew very few of them. Arkwood was full of satyrs but unlike Saul they were raucous and rude and Aspen avoided them. When she first arrived at Equinox she had been excited to meet some of the boys but they were all focused on Eunoe.

  “She was asked to the ball seven times this morning,” Aspen sighed.

  “Yeah, exactly. You hang out with, say, Kyla, and you'll have no problem getting a date. Also, don't be shy about asking someone yourself! Not me, of course. I've already got a plan.”

  “You think I'd have better luck if I hung out with Kyla?” It made sense. She had a friendly personality that attracted people, and she wasn't so controlling as Eunoe. Aspen pondered this as she finished her fish. “I think I will. Eunoe won't mind. She's busy with her project.”

  “The flying rabbit thing?”

  “Yeah. She wants to breed them now. Oh, I'm supposed to track down a fertility potion. Do you know where to get one?”

  Saul raised an eyebrow. “A fertility potion for rabbits? I'll help but only because I expect the results to be hilarious. I have a friend in bio-engineering. I'll see if he can nab some.”

  “Oh, thank you, Saul! You're so nice! I don't understand why Eunoe hates you.”

  Aspen could tell by Saul's hurt expression, and the forced smile he immediately donned, that she had said something hurtful. Her mind mixed up truth and kindness, sometimes, but she also felt it was something he already knew. Eunoe might be right about most satyrs, but she was very unfair to Saul.

  ***

  Kyla was handing out flyers in the square. Her smile was plastered on and her eyes darted about aimlessly. Aspen thought she understood why: Kyla had been from the center of the earth to the stars, and now it must be dreadful to stand here in the square and hand out paper. Aspen didn't like this flyer business much either. A lot of trees died to advertise the Fall Ball.