by Podioracket
"Do not fear. I have come only to speak with you," Matteo Dersinger said, his voice deep and resonant.
Under the gaze of a madman, Wendel could find no words and responded only with silence.
"I believe you know my son."
Again, silence.
"If he were stronger, I would not be here, but he is weak, and I am looking for someone much heartier."
"I-" Benjin began to say, but Matteo just stared down at him and silenced him with nothing but a thought.
"You may leave," Matteo said to Benjin. "It is your friend to whom I wish to speak."
Part of Benjin was tempted to leave, to run and not look back, but that was the part he needed to leave behind, the voice he must quell if he were ever truly to become a man. In the next moment it didn't matter, since Matteo turned his gaze on Wendel, and Benjin might well have ceased to exist.
"I am told that you have no fear. It would appear that I am misinformed."
"I'm not afraid of you," Wendel said, puffing out his chest as he did. "You just surprised me before."
"Hmm. Perhaps. What would you say if I told you that the world was in grave danger, and that a hero was needed to save us all?"
"I'd say you should stop by the playhouse. I hear their casting the part of "crazy old coot", and I do believe you've nailed it.
"What they say about your sharp tongue is true, I see. And what of your prowess? Would you care to bring me down?"
Matteo seemed to further unfold, and only then did Benjin realize that the madman held his staff. Those who had seen it up close agreed that it was without peer. None could say how it had been made, or when, or by whom. It was but another piece of the mystery that was Matteo Dersinger.
Benjin sucked in a sharp breath when Wendel flashed out into the growing darkness, grabbing onto Matteo's staff as he did, looking as if he would sweep the leg's out from underneath the taller man. But that wasn't what happened at all. A brief spark of light leaped out to meet Wendel's outstretched hand, and there was a loud pop. Something that looked like a striking snake was seared into Benjin's vision, and he looked back up to see Matteo's fist strike Wendel's chest. His friend flew backward for a short distance before crashing to the ground with a grunt.
"You have proven that you are either brave or a fool. Get up and do not come at me again, or I will not go so easy on you the next time."
Pulling himself slowly from the grass, Wendel stood, looking like he'd been mule-kicked. Benjin couldn't be certain, but it looked as if his clothes were smoking.
"I will now ask you again. What would you say if I told you that the world was in grave danger, and that a hero was needed to save us all?"
"I'd say that I am that hero," Wendel said, as he wiped his chin, looking down to see if there was blood. Benjin coughed.
"Hmph." Matteo looked doubtful.
Wendel stood up to the insult, looking as if he might take one more try at Matteo's defenses. Matteo chuckled, deep and low, so that it almost sounded like a growl.
"Will you do what must be done then?"
"Maybe if I knew what it was that needed to be done," Wendel said, raising his hand in exasperation. "You make no sense, old man. And you may have gotten in a lucky shot, but don't try me again, as your luck will run out."
In that moment the world grew dark, and only a feral light cast from the staff illuminated Matteo's angry visage. He seemed to grow taller and more imposing--he blotted out the rest of the world and commanded them to listen.
"The goddess Istra will come again, and the mighty will be laid low. Terror and fire will rain from the skies, and one will come to rule them all. One will come to be the death or the savior of them all!"
Silence followed the echoes of his words, which surely had been heard across the valley.
"And?" Wendel said with a look of annoyance.
Matteo nearly growled, but then he just smiled, which Benjin found even more frightening. "You must go to the Greatland and find out everything you can about the return of Istra. The Zjhon have knowledge they are hiding from the world, and we must know what it is. That is what must be done."
Snorting, Wendel bent over with laughter, "The Greatland? Really? You want me to go to the land of fairy tales and legends? Should I fly there?"
"I have arranged a ship."
Those words reduced Wendel's arrogance to silence. "You're serious, aren't you?" Wendel asked.
No one could look more serious than the man that currently towered over them.
* * *
"This is ridiculous," Benjin said for what seemed the fifteenth time, the weight of the bag that Matteo had brought for them weighing on him more than just physically. How had the man known they would come? "You can't just leave. What would I tell your father? It would break your mother's heart."
"Just tell them that I'll be back."
Benjin snorted. "So I'm just supposed to walk all the way to the Arghast desert with you, watch you get on some strange ship, and then walk home. Alone."
"Or you could come with me," Wendel said. It left a silence to hang between them.
Benjin walked with his head hung, trying to find a way to make the madness stop. Never would he have guessed this day would end with his best friend leaving on a journey from which he might never return. Everyone had heard the old tales about the Greatland, but none really believed it existed. After all, no other peoples had made contact with them for thousands of years. What evidence was there that anyone else even existed? Those who had sought to find the Greatland in the past had never returned, and Benjin considered that a pretty good indicator.
"We're going to need some shelter," Wendel said. Thunder rumbled through the valley, and for the first time, Benjin noticed the storm clouds closing in. Perhaps he would learn to look up once in a while.
Raindrops began to pound the leaves, and the thought of sleeping out in the rain drove them both to greater speed. "Maybe there's a cave we can camp in, or even an overhang. Let's get closer to the north face."
The Chinawpa Valley cradled them, and the north face stood between them and the larger Pinook Valley. Benjin had always believed that Wendel led some kind of charmed life, and this instance only supported that conclusion.
"Wait here," Wendel said, and then he scrambled up a pile of rocks that reclined against the cliff face, looking almost like a sleeping giant. Benjin wanted to tell Wendel to slow down and be more careful, but then Wendel disappeared, and Benjin held his breath. A moment later, a grinning Wendel reappeared. "You're never gonna believe this!"
Not waiting to hear more, Benjin climbed. It took him twice as long to reach the top, and Wendel stood waiting impatiently. In the meantime, he had cleared away debris from what looked to have been a landslide, given the mixture of rock, soil, and trees that had been snapped into smaller pieces. Benjin tried to imagine the force it had taken to snap a full sized tree, but he found he could not even imagine such a thing.
"Help me get some of these smaller branches out of this pile," Wendel said. "We're going to need some light."
Uncertain whether to be excited or afraid, Benjin allowed his friend to have his moment. Soon he would know what lay in the darkness. The rains intensified, and they were driven into the chamber to flee the deluge. Though much of the wood was wet and some of it still green, a bunch of dead leaves served well to get the fire going. Wendel took a few minutes to gloat about the fact that he had his tinderbox with him. "How many times have I said that if you don't carry it when you don't need it, you won't have it when you do."
The words were lost on Benjin, who now had a better view of their surroundings, and it stole the air from his lips. Their fire rested in the middle of a sloping hall with squared corners and scrollwork around the edges. Not far beyond, the hall opened into a chamber of unknown size. It was so vast that the light of their fire was simply swallowed up by the dark void, like the fabled entrance to the underworld. What amazed Benjin the most, though, was the rippling reflection that faded into th
e distance. Water. Dark, silent water. Like a brooding specter, it waited to swallow them and none would ever know. Who would ever guess where they had gone? Cold fear clutched Benjin as he imagined their families tormented by their sudden and unexplained absence. He wanted to go home, to turn back and face any rebukes he deserved for his thoughtless actions. One look at Wendel proved that his thoughts were of a different nature.
"This is amazing!" he said, and Benjin couldn't disagree.
The next few hours were spent assembling a raft from the pieces of tree trunks they pulled in from the landslide. Benjin found himself lost in imagination while he wound vines into crude rope and lashed together the logs. His guilt could wait. Before him was an adventure beyond any he had ever imagined, and for once, he thought Wendel might be right; perhaps they were not meant for cleaning stalls and cutting wood, maybe life did have grand plans for them after all!
Climbing onto that raft, a stripped sapling for a pole, was one of the craziest things Benjin had ever done. Wendel wasted no time and pushed them out to deeper water before pulling himself onto the raft. Benjin gave him credit. Wading in that black water was beyond his courage, and he hoped the raft would hold; it dipped below the water under Benjin's weight, but it remained afloat.
Looking as if they were standing on water, they poled along the perimeter of the enormous cavern, which was almost completely enclosed within the mountain, only a sliver of sky visible through an opening high in the cavern ceiling. Pointed structures extended from the cavern ceiling toward the water, like giant teeth, as if they were in the mouth of a colossal monster. The image made Benjin's skin crawl, and then Wendel shouted out, his wordless cry echoing loudly in the vacuous space.
It took only an instant for Benjin to see the doorway that emerged from the darkness. Simple yet elegant, the doorway was clearly the work of people, yet the tunnel was completely blocked by stone piled all the way to the ceiling. Wendel gave a couple rocks a good shove, with the only effect being that they were thrust away from the entranceway. Farther along the shoreline they encountered more entranceways, and every one was blocked like the first.
"I don't think they wanted anyone to get in there," Benjin said.
"Let's get back before this torch goes out completely."
The torch soon burned out, and only the light of their dwindling campfire guided them back to shore. After pulling the raft from the black water, they lifted one end and leaned it against the cavern wall.
Taking a closer look at the supplies Nat had packed for them, hoping for something tasty to eat, both were disappointed to find hard travel biscuits, which Wendel said tasted like rocks even if you boiled them.
Still hungry but tired enough to sleep on bare rock, each curled up with little more than dry leaves to rest their heads on. When the sun rose and a beam of light poured in through the hall, it seemed as if they had gone to sleep only moments before. Eyes squinted and their minds thick with sleep, they washed in the chill waters of the subterranean lake. Benjin pushed back his fears from the night before but was glad to be away from the shoreline when he had finished.
Wendel stood at the doorway, his bag slung over one shoulder. "You should probably head back from here."
Benjin stood speechless. This was a moment he had been dreading, the moment when he would have to say goodbye to his friend. Even if he didn't always agree with Wendel, and even if they seemed to find no end of trouble together, Benjin could not picture his life without his best friend.
"I need to get moving and take advantage of the daylight. I want to reach the desert by nightfall if I can."
Benjin could still find no words. When Wendel turned to leave, Benjin forced his tongue to speak, "Couldn't we stay here and explore the cavern? That would be an adventure, wouldn't it? And imagine what they'll say when we come back and tell them about this place. We'll be heroes."
"What good will that do if Matteo is right?"
"You actually believe what he said? Did you see the look in his eyes? I'm not sure he's all there."
Wendel just shrugged. "The world needs a hero, and I'm going."
Benjin followed without another word.
* * *
Along a stretch of meandering shoreline, golden sands disappeared beneath ice-blue waves, gulls skittering along the receding water and coaxed a meal from the tide. Two sets of footprints drew a seemingly endless path after days of walking. Even the travel cakes were gone, and hunger added to the heat and lack of good sleep made it seem as if Benjin was walking in a dream. Wendel walked alongside him, uncharacteristically silent and sullen. The reality that Matteo Dersinger might just be a crazy old man and that they had walked to the coast of a hostile desert for absolutely nothing must have hit him.
"I thought for sure that they were just waiting farther east, but how far do I walk before giving up?" Wendel asked.
Benjin tried to mention that finding the underground lake alone was worth the trip, but it seemed to only embarrass Wendel more, and his friend retreated further, his mood darkening. By both of their counts, the ship should have been there three days before. When it didn't come on the appointed day, Benjin had suggested they go back, but Wendel had grown angry at the idea and insisted they keep moving. Now, days later, it seemed he might be ready to face reality.
The calls of gulls still filled the air around them, but new noises were intertwined, and at first Benjin didn't notice them, but they grew louder until they were no longer drowned out, and he heard a voice across the waves, "Ho there!"
The sound of it caused him to stumble, and with one knee in the sand he turned to see a tall-masted ship in shallow water. Tanned and tattooed men worked to lower a boat into the water, and it was soon moving toward shore, six men working the oars. Moments later one of them stood on shore, looking most uncomfortable.
"I'm Kenward Trell, captain of the Slippery Eel. I suppose one of you strapping lads is seeking passage to the Greatland?"
"It really exists?" Benjin asked without thinking, and Kenward cast him a sideways glance.
"Would I offer to take you somewhere that doesn't exist?"
"Of course you wouldn't. Many apologies," Benjin said under the weight of Kenward's stare. The man was plain looking and not physically imposing, yet there was a deadly threat in his lithe movements that made Benjin certain he wouldn't want to cross the good captain.
"Please tell me you're the one looking for adventure, and not your slow friend here."
"I am indeed," Wendel said.
"Good. You look like you might guard the railing for a few days, but you should make it. I wouldn't give your friend a week at sea."
"I can hold my stomach. I'll bet you can't get this boat back out through those waves." Wendel said, pointing to a place along the beach where waves as tall as three men rolled into deadly breakers.
"I bet I can!" Kenward said with a grin, his eyes lit with that same fire Benjin recognized from Wendel.
Before he could say anything else, Wendel and Kenward were headed back to the boat. Watching his friend leave, Benjin felt as if he were being torn in two, and he ran along behind them. "Wait! Don't go. Wait!"
Kenward waded into the surf, and Wendel awkwardly boarded the boat. Unable to make them stop, Benjin did the only thing he could think of and climbed in behind Wendel. His friend pulled him in. "I knew you'd decide to come."
Benjin wasn't certain what he believed in that moment. Rolling breakers loomed ahead, and he swallowed hard. The surf would soon bar him from his past, his home, and all that he loved. Only his friendship with Wendel kept him from swimming back, and then it seemed the breakers would toss them all into the water. Kenward and his men kept them from capsizing, but it was a close thing. When they boarded the Slippery Eel, Benjin's guts were already churning.
"Is that all the faster this thing will go?" Wendel asked once they were underway. The deck fell silent, the crew waiting to see what their captain would do.
Taking a step toward, Kenward barked a laug
h. "Full sail! Make for speed!" Then he pointed at Benjin. "And I'd not stand downwind of that one. He's gonna blow."
Benjin swallowed hard, partly from feeling sick and partly because he was certain Wendel and Kenward were competing to see who could get them killed first. Little did he know that this journey would see his world forever changed, and that everything he had ever known would be at risk. A wiser man would have recognized the truth in Matteo Dersinger's words. A wiser man would have been better prepared.
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Future In Hand: A Rivenspace Story
H.E Roulo
Rhine stood at one of the viewports, staring at the ships docking and leaving the station, her fingertips patting her lips. In the distance, other stations clustered in a well-choreographed dance that maximized spacial relationships for transferring people and cargo. Though their drifting seemed aimless, like the dance of feathers in a breeze, Matt had no doubt the psi-corps had optimized them decades ago.
"You look exhausted. Did the hibernator they found floating in space wake up? How did the interview go?" Matt asked his fellow psychologist. Everyone else avoided her, as if uncertain whether she wanted to talk about this anomaly.
"I'm not sure." Rhine turned toward him, and he felt a moment of satisfaction as her wide eyes swept above his shoulder, to a thinking point suspended in space. She needed someone to talk to, and he was glad his business brought him to her.
Rhine frowned just enough to blemish her smooth forehead. "She's not very civilized. It's as if . . . well, she doesn't seem to trust me!"
Matt nodded. "It's an old trait. Not quite paranoia, more like a product of the egocentric, individualist culture of her time. It's unhealthy but not illegal."
Rhine joined his laughter, hers high and anxious.
"Perhaps you better send her to the edge." Matt tried to keep his tone casual, yet his eyes dropped. Why had they asked him to do this? He'd been born here, in the Center, at the very heart of the Psi Corps. The Psi Corps predictions ensured regularity and an organized everyday life that never varied. But this woman's discovery within her ancient floating spaceship had driven his day off course, and Rhine looked even more distressed. Had her life, too, veered into the strange unknown?
