At Storm's Edge

by Logan Petty

  Loraleth shared a momentary glance of skepticism with her brother before speaking again, "Well, we're all about killing immortal tyrants, so we'll help in any way we can."

  "Maybe I can even pick up a souvenir while I'm at it." Banthan quipped.

  Vaghn lowered into a half crouch that made Banthan think of an ogre trying to be stealthy. He pointed a brass finger at a light that poured in from a side tunnel. He whispered as he spoke again.

  "The city's just beyond that exit. Strange. I didn't expect it to be lit up. The vampyr tend to keep it dark. Ah well, Good luck, fellow liberators! Let's light the fires of revolution!"

  Vaghn charged out into the open, yelling like an angry bull as he went. His freedom fighters joined in the noise as they charged out behind him. Their shouting immediately cut off as they burst out. Banthan and Loraleth hesitated a moment before slipping silently to the exit. They peered out to the chaotic scene beyond.

  Vaghn and his troop stood dumbfounded gazing out at the battle already raging throughout the Hold. Banthan muttered to Loraleth under his breath.

  "Looks like someone else already lit his fire."

  Loraleth nodded, "Sawain and the others must be here. This is your chance to prove us wrong about you."

  Banthan quickly made for the exit, "What are we waiting for?"

  A hand grabbed each of his shoulders and hauled him backward. Loraleth whispered in his ear.

  "I thought you wanted to do this my way? If any of the others see you right now, they'll gut you alive. Here."

  Loraleth uncorked a crystal vial and poured the liquid it contained into Banthan’s wounded hand. He took in a sharp breath as it burned like fire a moment before cooling to an icy shimmer. He watched his wound stitch itself shut as he flexed his newly reformed tendons.

  “Thanks,” he muttered.

  She handed him a shimmering brooch with an unearthly black stone that seemed to glow with darkness, as hard as that concept was for his mind to fathom. She motioned for him to clip it onto his cloak.

  "This is a special pendant young Chandlers use to shadowstep. I've already mastered the magic, so you can use mine. It's a little unsettling the first few times you use it, but you'll get used to the vertigo after a while.”

  “Does this mean I’m in your secret club now?”

  She punched him hard in the arm, “We’ll see. Now hurry up. To activate it, put your hand on it and imagine yourself becoming a shadow. Then you will."

  As Vaghn came to his senses and started roaring again, Loraleth bit her lip and let the blood well up. It evaporated as she melted into the shadows. Banthan blinked a few times as he stared at the spot where she once stood. Even his fully elven eyes could not see her. He took a breath, then pressed his palm to the brooch. He imagined the feeling he got as he hid in the trees during training. He always imagined being one with the dark. As he embraced that sensation, his body slipped through an invisible veil. He shut his eyes as he felt everything turn upside down. His knees grew weak as everything inverted inside-out. He gasped for air and found he did not need it. He opened his eyes and saw Loraleth standing right where she was before. She smiled.

  "Welcome to Penumbra."

  Loraleth casually walked out, following the stampede of charging dwarves. Banthan followed cautiously, looking around. Everything in this realm looked the same as the normal world, yet everything shimmered with a haze of darkness that drained color. He noticed that the living creatures glowed like white embers amid the darkness. A cloud of vampyr shot past him, causing him to duck and shout. Loraleth turned and laughed at her brother.

  "Relax. They can't see or touch you as long as you are in Penumbra. We're invisible and incorporeal to anyone within the Natural Realm. Let's get a better vantage point."

  She scanned her surroundings a moment before pointing to a large tower with a vaulted dome that hung over the ledge of the shelf they emerged from, "That one! We'll be able to see a lot better."

  She crouched a moment, then jumped straight up. Banthan's mouth hung open as he watched her launch up to the top of the thirty foot tower as if it was a simple task. She shouted down to him.

  "Just aim for the roof and jump! The pendant will do the rest."

  He groaned as he complied and took the same crouching posture. He locked eyes onto the roof of the tower, then pushed off with all his might. To his shock, he soared through the air. He glanced to the ground below and immediately shot in that direction. He heard Loraleth's voice over his panicked screaming and flailing.

  "Don't take your eyes off your target! Look at me, Banth!"

  He twisted his body around in mid air and found her standing at the ledge. His descent slowed a few inches from the ground as he hovered upward with significantly less momentum. He did not dare blink or take his eyes off his sister while in the air. As he reached the top of the tower, she pulled him into a hug and planted his feet on solid ground. He flopped down on his rear as he gasped for a breath he did not really need to catch. Loraleth giggled.

  "Sorry, I should have told you not to look away until you landed. Things are different in Penumbra."

  "That's an understatement."

  Loraleth laughed uncontrollably, "You should see your face."

  He imagined it looked rather foolish. He laughed too. The twins sat on the roof of the tower chuckling without reserve for a solid minute as the explosions from Vaghn's weapon shook the city. Loraleth smiled at Banthan.

  "I... Missed this."

  Banthan tilted his head, "What?"

  She blushed as she looked away, "You know, laughing. Especially with you. It's good to have you back."

  Vaghn's manic laughter echoed throughout the cavern as more explosions rippled through the city. Loraleth gasped and jumped to her feet.

  "Oh right, we're in the middle of a battle."

  Banthan rose to his feet, shaking his head, "That's the Lora I remember."

  "Oh shut up," She grinned as she popped out of sight.

  Banthan stood alone, stunned for an instant before Loraleth reappeared as a glowing form of light. she pointed at her chest. Banthan nodded and touched the brooch. He focused on returning to the light. Everything turned inside out again and he reappeared in the Natural world again, gasping for air. His skin tingled and he felt dizzy.

  "Ugh, I think I'm going to puke."

  Loraleth nodded, "You might. We can't stay in Penumbra too long. Our bodies are Natural. It's like diving underwater. You can do it with no immediate repercussions, but as you run out of breath, you have to resurface or drown. You'll get stronger the more you shadowstep and will eventually be able to do it longer."

  She pointed to a gondola that hung over the great expanse of the city, "We can watch everyone from there. Our job as Chandlers is simple. We observe and only interact as indirectly as possible. We'll make sure our friends have clear paths to their goals by removing obstacles, and when they get lost, we'll turn them around."

  Banthan straightened up, "So is that how you knew everything about what happened in Jordborg? You were guiding us?"

  She nodded, "Not just me, but yeah, I took a big role in guiding everyone. It was my initiation. I guess Caer Teallagh will be yours, if you’re interested in joining the shadows. But anyway, we need to get moving. Okay, you know how to Shadowstep and how to move about in Penumbra. Now it's time to practice doing both quickly then reemerging."

  As if to demonstrate, she blinked out of existence then reappeared a second later on the roof of the gondola, easily two hundred yards away. He mentally applauded her as he reached for his brooch. The city erupted with screams of terror as hundreds of ethereal beings flooded the streets. He recognized them immediately. Ghosts, similar to the ones that protected the Heart of the Forest, swarmed the streets on every level, killing the living indiscriminately. He quickly imagined being back in Penumbra and felt his insides shift again as the worlds inverted on one another. When he opened his eyes, the ghosts had changed forms. Now they resembled figures of pure sha
dow, twisted and almost skeletal. Their tattered garments fluttered in a breeze that Banthan could actually feel in this world. He quickly locked eyes on the gondola and jumped. His body sped toward it like an arrow. Out of the corner of his eye, a dark figure darted toward the gondola as well. He landed on his feet with a hard thud, then looked toward the gnashing geist that barreled toward them. He decided to wait until it passed to reemerge so it would dart past him. To his horror its hollow eyes locked on him and its sword pointed at his chest. He heard Loraleth shout and reappear in Penumbra. She stepped in front of her brother.

  The ghost collided into her hard, pushing her back a step. Warm liquid splashed against Banthan's armor. The wicked blade of the ghost's sword jutted out of Loraleth's back, dripping with her blood. She grunted with effort as she drove a knife into the ghost's skull. It screamed in agony as it dissipated into mist. The sword vanished as well, but Loraleth's wound remained as she slipped back into the Natural world. Banthan quickly followed and caught her as she collapsed. He sunk to the ground with her in his arms. Tears and panic overflowed from him.

  "Lora! What happened? I don't understand!"

  She winced as she smiled at him, "Sorry, Banth... I forgot to mention... Ghosts are native to Penumbra. They... ahh that hurts... They follow different rules. They..." She tried to glance at the wound in her stomach. "They can kill you there."

  Chapter Fourteen:

  Distant explosions rumbled like thunder through the dark tunnels of Caer Teallagh as Sawain and Violet hurried along. The snaking tunnel wound downward at a slippery slope for miles. They had separated from the weapons convoy nearly an hour ago. As the Uuthri goblins scoured every corner of the Hold for prisoners, Sawain parted with his drake and pushed toward the goal he had so long resisted. He missed Eldingbál already and wondered if he would get along well enough with Huggan. Since Banthan left the party, his drake remained hesitantly with his kin, but had become extremely irritable and aggressive. Every time Sawain got close, he would snap at him. The drakes were the least of his worries. He struggled with fear even now as he followed his chatty guide. Violet was in the middle of a monologue about married life and mushroom gardens, but Sawain only heard the rumbling laughter of the Grey King in his mind. No, he thought to himself. Tharixos. Not the Grey King. I won't call him by that false title.

  Oh, you wound me, Sawain.

  His blood ran cold as his pace slowed significantly, How are you still in my head?

  Oh, you think I am only capable of haunting your nightmares? I know every move you make. My eyes are everywhere. The Grey Priests. My captains and governors. Even that rogue Malsivith. Oh, and so many more. By now, I know you are aware that even those you would call friends watch your every move. Oh, but who could it be? Banthan? He never was the team player. Ooh, but what about Kyra? You haven't seen her in a long time before now. Even sweet Mari, who sacrificed her greatest power to save you. Could her envy get the better of her I wonder?

  "Enough!" Sawain shouted out loud, cupping his hands over his ears.

  Violet jumped and turned about to see her companion several yards away, "O-oh, I's sorry, Svainy. Father says I always jaw's too much and boys gets scared off by it. I just likes havin' friends to talks to is all. I--"

  "Get out! GET OUT!"

  Loraleth has hated you for so long. I’ve seen rage like hers before. I’ve heard her cries.

  Sawain fell to his knees. Violet took a step back, her lip quivering as tears filled her big purple eyes. Sawain continued shouting.

  "I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!"

  You could have a place of prominence among my priests, just surrender to salvation.

  "Svainy, I--"

  "Shut UP! GET OUT!"

  Violet staggered back, sobbing as big tears splashed down her cheeks. She turned and ran down the tunnel, crying loudly.

  Sawain could not hear her cries over Tharixos' rumbling laughter, or his own screaming. The demented mirth of the giant faded into silence. Sawain gulped in large lungfuls of air as if he'd just emerged from a long dive. He realized he was alone in the tunnel. He strained his ears for a sound and heard the quiet, distant wailing of a young goblin. Panic shot through him as he realized what had happened.

  He picked himself up and dashed off down the tunnel in the direction of the crying. It grew louder the harder he pushed himself. He gained ground against her, but slowly as the explosions grew in volume as well.

  The crying abruptly stopped not far along the winding passageway. he burst out into a massive cavern much larger than even Glittervein Gulch. He knew he had reached the city proper.

  The cylindrical walls of the cavern stretched nearly as far as he could see in the darkness. Elegant towers and buildings carved out of the walls themselves wound tight around the perimeter. Sawain noticed that the city hosted six tiers of flat shelves that seemed to act as districts. The topmost shelf was the widest and encircled a massive glass dome that showed the night sky. Each shelf down narrowed in diameter with enough width to fit two streets and three rows of buildings. Beautiful stone bridges spanned the chasm, connecting to suspended plazas where gondolas on wire cables rested. Some docked snug against their stations while others dangled perilously from the wires where they halted halfway through their last journey, as if their power source had stopped suddenly. The final tier, where he stood now, leveled out into a solid disk of stone and steel panels.

  A large metallic dome easily the size of an entire district in Anvilheim rose from the center. Metallic towers stood in a hexagon formation around it. Massive pipes and cables connected each tower to the dome. More of the enormous cables ran from the dome into the ground. More silvery structures unlike anything Sawain had ever seen lined the walls of the first floor. Their house-like shape led him to believe at first glance that they were quarters of some sort, but the cables that ran from their corners to the tops of each tower made him think otherwise.

  Despite everything being quiet and dark, Sawain felt a heat rising up from beneath his feet. He could feel it through his boots, warming his soles. The air itself was warmer here too, noticeably different from the cool tunnels he had spent the past few days traversing. He scanned the area for Violet, but she was nowhere to be seen.

  Above him, the chaos of battle roared. Explosions, streaks of bright magic and jets of mechanized flame periodically illuminated his surroundings like lightning as he frantically searched about for the young goblin.

  A deep growl from behind one of the towers surprised Sawain as he approached it. A large dog that came up to Sawain's chest stepped out of its hiding place. The beast was covered in long black and gold fur that seemed to dance around its body like an inferno. Its droopy cheeks opened to reveal two sets of sharp fangs as its growl continued. A deep, loud bark from behind caused Sawain to jump and draw his blade as another hound gave away its position. The first spoke as more hounds stepped out of hiding.

  "Halt, Human! None may enter the World Forge by order of Segrammir Malsivith!"

  The dog's voice startled him at first as Sawain squinted harder at it, "Siethtakar?"

  The dog snarled, "Mind yourself, trespasser! You are not a dwarf. You must be one of the insurgents. And do I detect a hint of elf in your blood?"

  The dog's eyes fixated on Giltglim, "A magic sword? Half elf? You must be the Swerdbrekker. The master wants this one alive, pack. Bring him down, but do not kill him."

  Three of the large hounds charged without hesitation as Giltglim flashed in the light of battle. Sawain swirled around and buried his sword into one of the attackers. It yelped and crumpled at his feet. He swept low and ducked beneath a pouncing dog, and the third one fell as he skewered it with his blade. A fourth unseen dog caught Sawain by surprise and latched onto his sword arm. The one that jumped over him rebounded and tackled him to the ground, clenching the back of his neck with its jaws. Another hound charged forward to help hold him down and yelped in pain. It crumpled to the ground, a hatchet buried in its back.

/>   Sawain turned his head as the dog pinning him let go in surprise. Jatharr emerged from the shadows, covered in wounds. Rage burned in his eyes. His graying beard stained crimson. He roared at the dogs and charged toward Sawain. Two others attacked him, but he swiftly dispatched them with a pair of hand axes. As he closed in on the Siethtakar holding Sawain, they leapt from their prisoner to defend themselves, but quickly fell as their bites did nothing to slow the small berserker. Sawain rose to his feet, rubbing the bite wound on his arm as Jatharr faced the captain of the Siethtakar.

  The growl in his voice was far more feral than any the dogs had achieved, "Feldjan, you coward. Fight me and die!"

  Feldjan's mane of fur bristled as he gnashed his teeth, "I know when I am outmatched, Berserker. Another day perhaps."

  The dog turned and dashed away into the maze of towers and machines. Jatharr started to take chase, but soon remembered Sawain as he fell out of his rage. The transformation seemed to take a lot out of Jatharr. He looked older, more tired than ever before. He smiled weakly at Sawain as he bent over to catch his breath.

  "Took ye long enough. Between the trolls and the ghosts, it's been a wild day. Good to have ye back in the fight, Deathsbane!"

  Sawain ventured a look around, "Jatharr, how did you get away from Aerabis' crew?"

  "Get away from them?" he scoffed, "They got away from me. I chased them through the tunnels, but they gave me the slip. I tracked them here, and found a warm welcoming party of trolls awaiting me. Luckily, the city started exploding not long into that fight. I've been going for hours, and I'm exhausted, but I know we've got much to do still. See that?"

  He pointed at the massive metal dome, "In there is the famous World Forge of Caer Teallagh. The very heart of the city. Turin's standing stones are inside. Turns out the dwarves have been using them to generate their electricity without fully understanding their true nature."

  Sawain stared at the dome as he spoke, his voice heavy with hesitation, "So, they're right there. Right in front of me."