“It’s a good thing neither of us is too afraid of heights,” Esset remarked, peering warily over the edge. The foot-high lip provided reasonable containment for Nadran coils that could mistakenly err over an edge, but for a human or other biped, it would be a simple matter to step or worse, trip, over the small ledge. As he looked down, however, he noticed for the first time a large pool of water at the very bottom of the cavern. The last tier circled around the great spring. Well, that explained where the city got its water supply.
“Nassata!” an excited, breathy soprano called from behind them. They turned, and both Esset and Toman blinked when they actually saw the female speaker.
The Nadra they’d seen so far had all been dull of scale and muscular of form—this delicate thing before them was neither. She was very slight, with fine features and a shy air about her. She had long, curly hair so black it had a blue sheen. Unlike Nassata’s hair, however, hers simply hung loose—and, thankfully for the two modestly brought-up young men before her, it covered her otherwise bare scaled breasts. Her eyes were a bright sapphire blue and her scales matched. Her scales weren’t dull, but rather polished bright and painted as colorfully and intricately as the city itself.
“Kessa!” Nassata slithered over to hug the smaller Nadra, giving Esset a chance to covertly study Kessa’s scales. The geometric patterns on her scales had to have taken hours to paint, and hours still to maintain—each shape was no bigger than her own pinky-fingernail. The colors looked like they were made of rich enamels—or something like it, Esset was no expert—and in colors that complemented her scales: blues, purples, and a few bright yellows as accents.
“It’s good to have you back,” Kessa said to Nassata. “We expected you go be gone longer. I came to meet you as soon as I heard you had returned.”
“It is good to be back,” Nassata responded. “I was fortunate to find help so quickly, and help with quick transportation at that.”
“But they can help?” Kessa asked, her eyes wide. There was something innocent about her, something almost helpless.
“Yes, they will help us,” Nassata reassured her. Then Nassata turned her face towards Toman and Esset.
“And in turn, Kessa will help you. She can be your guide when you are not with the warriors, and if you need anything, just ask her. She will also bring you food and any other necessities you will be needing here.”
“Thank you, Kessa,” Esset said to the blue Nadra, giving her a smile and a nod; Toman smiled and nodded to her as well. Kessa ducked her head meekly in response, and Esset thought she seemed almost embarrassed by the attention.
“Kessa, please let the warriors and council-members know that I am back with help,” Nassata instructed her cousin kindly.
“Yes, Nassata!” Kessa responded eagerly. The little Nadra darted away quickly, moving with startling speed towards a lower tunnel and then vanishing into it.
“Come,” Nassata bade the two young men, beckoning with one hand as she headed in a different direction.
Toman and Esset soon saw many more Nadra with scales painted and polished to the nines, creating two distinct sets within the race—those with painted scales and those with dull scales. Esset had a hunch about what the difference signified, but he asked Nassata about it anyway.
“We warriors are set apart from the others,” Nassata replied, confirming his hunch. “Painting our scales is not a practical pursuit for us, and few of us have any desire at all to try. We dull our scales instead—it is better should we need stealth, after all, and far easier to maintain.”
“That makes sense,” Toman replied. Esset felt a little flush of pride that he’d guessed correctly, but he was immediately distracted as they passed close by a light-source bracketed to the tunnel wall. It was like a lantern, and it emitted the same light that had filled the main cavern they’d now left. The surface of the lantern was translucent, however, keeping him from being able to tell exactly what was giving off the light. It certainly wasn’t fire. They passed any lanterns too quickly for Esset to really get the chance to ask.
“I think it best if you show something of your abilities before we meet with any council members and other warriors. I will take you to a sentry post where the Reshkin will be near,” Nassata said.
“That seems wise,” Esset agreed. “We can cut down on politics that way, and you’ll have a better idea of how best to utilize us.”
“Indeed,” Nassata responded as they moved. Toman and Esset almost had to trot to keep up with her; Nassata made very good time in the tunnels, and both got the sense that she was holding back so they wouldn’t have to jog to keep up. Toman found himself wishing they hadn’t been forced into inactivity in the carriage the last few days; he’d be better prepared for the grueling pace. He wondered if other Nadra would be so considerate, or if they’d be doing a lot of running in this place.
When they reached a sentry point, two warrior Nadra, blue and green, stood with lanterns at their backs, keeping eyes on the darkness. Only one glanced back to look at them—the other remained intent ahead.
“Nassata,” the female sentry greeted their Nadran companion.
“Eska. I have brought help.” Nassata pointed down the tunnel for Toman and Esset’s sake. “The creatures are just down there. We can see their heat signatures.”
“I thought the Reshkin were insect-like,” Esset said, a hint of confusion in his voice.
“They are,” Nassata responded, unsure what he was getting at.
“But insects aren’t warm-blooded, so how can you see them?”
“It’s true, they are more difficult to detect than, say, you, but it is not just heat that we detect.” Did Nassata sound…amused? Esset finally shrugged and set the thought aside before getting back to the task at hand.
“Okay. You’ve seen what Toman can do. He requires preparation for a truly effective assault. Instant battle is my specialty, so now you can see what I can do,” Esset replied. Toman rolled his eyes at his brother’s bit of ego shining through, but the gesture went unseen in the darkness.
“You might want to shield your eyes for a moment to protect your night vision,” Esset added as an afterthought. He didn’t waste any more time before speaking the incantation.
A fiery wolf materialized just ahead of the two sentries and sprang into the darkness. The sentries hissed in surprise at the creature’s appearance. Esset had to stifle a gasp of his own at how close the wolf’s target was. Eerie firelight flashed off a shiny black carapace less than two meters beyond the ring of light cast by the lantern. The Nadra had known it was there, but for Esset, it had been completely hidden by the darkness.
The wolf growled and clamped its jaws over the Reshkin’s head, crushing it and instantly killing it. The next Reshkin skittered forward on too many legs, with two companions in its wake. When the wolf snapped at them, its open mouth created reflections of fire on their exoskeletons. Esset could hear the tapping and skittering of even more Reshkin in the darkness as the wolf lashed about, snapping and snarling and taking down three more of the insect-like creatures. The Reshkin rushed the wolf and bit back, but their poison was ineffective against fire. Still, they kept biting and stabbing with their smaller forelegs as more of them flowed out of the darkness. Esset counted five Reshkin corpses before they swarmed his summon completely and forced Esset to banish the wolf.
“Remarkable,” Eska murmured, opening her eyes once the wolf’s heat signature vanished. Both sentries were ready to act if the swarm moved forward, but instead, the Reshkin collected their dead and receded, since the one who’d attacked them had “died.”
“I can summon up to four wolves at one time, but I think, in these close quarters, I would be better calling on a stronger summon that I can control fewer of,” Esset commented. He was proud of himself, yes, but it had been a small display of his abilities.
“I think Gretchen made the right call,” Nassata mused. Then she turned to her fellow Nadra. “You will be okay here? The Reshkin do not
seem inclined to attack.”
“We will be fine,” Eska replied. Esset didn’t envy their duties, keeping watch in the darkness for an enemy that outnumbered them and could kill them with poison. Nor did he envy the current conditions: the tunnel was now choked with the smell of burnt insect.
“Esset, Toman. It’s time to return,” Nassata said, turning back down the tunnel. “The others should have gathered by now.” Esset suppressed a shudder as he cast one last look down the darkened tunnel before turning his back on it and following Nassata.
The three of them headed back to the main cavern and then down a few spiraling tiers before going down a different, shorter tunnel. The tunnel ended in a room adorned with many maps of the underground city and a massive circular table in the center of the room. At least a dozen Nadra were already around the table, awaiting them. Little Kessa was by the door and smiled at the three who entered, reaching out to brush her fingers against Nassata’s arm as she passed.
“Warrior Nassata. I hardly believed it when word went around that you were already back with help,” the nearest Nadra said, moving forward to take Nassata’s hands in her own. She was a vividly-colored Nadra, even for her kind. Her long, loose hair blazed a bold red-orange, matching her blood red scales, which were painted in sunset colors in fluid swirls.
“Councilor Ksendra, I met with much good fortune,” Nassata replied.
“If you could please introduce our guests,” Ksendra requested with respectful nods to the two men.
“I am Summoner Jonathan Esset.”
“Animator Toman Atrix-Iiren.”
“It is good to meet you. Warrior Nassata, please, tell all,” Ksendra said.
Nassata launched into a brief explanation of how she’d found them and what she’d seen of their abilities. It didn’t take more than a few minutes. When she was through, those gathered appraised Toman and Esset in this new light.
“Animator Toman, Summoner Esset, now that you have seen our tunnels and our enemy, do you have any ideas on how to rid us of the Reshkin?” Ksendra asked. Toman and Esset glanced at each other, and Toman stepped up.
“Nassata gave us a little information on our way here of what to expect, and it matches with what we’ve seen so far. Esset and I think that the most efficient use of my abilities is to build you a stone army. Soldiers made of stone can’t be hurt by poison, and they can carry clubs, something Nassata tells me the Nadra are not fond of wielding. Building an army will take time, however—a few days, at least, and I’ll need a great deal of raw stone to do it. If there’s no place down here where material might be available, I can always work aboveground and send my soldiers down.”
“Soldiers?” one of the other Nadra asked nervously. He had violet scales painted with jagged green patterns.
“Yes,” Toman replied. “I would send the first to reinforce your sentries, then build a strike force to attack the Reshkin. Stone soldiers might not be the brightest or quickest, but they never suffer from weariness or inattention. They’ll be of great help to your sentries.”
“And what’s to stop you from turning those soldiers on us?” the violet Nadra asked, slightly bolder this time. He gathered his coils beneath him to raise his torso and glanced around at the council. Esset saw concern on more than a few faces, but none of them spoke up.
Toman opened his mouth to respond, but Nassata spoke first.
“My friend Gretchen vouched for them, and that counts for much. You also know I have seen much of the world, and I am a fair judge of character. After traveling with these two to our city, I vouch for them as well.” The teal warrior’s tone was reasonable, but a determined light shone in her reptilian eyes.
“And have you forgotten the threat that awaits us in our own tunnels?” Nassata continued. “We need them. We are at war with the Reshkin, and we need warriors to fight. Ours alone are not enough, and we voted to seek help. We need them to help us, so I hope you do not antagonize them further.”
Toman and Esset exchanged another glance as the violet Nadra who’d spoken out lowered himself back to the normal level and averted his eyes. Nassata turned to them then.
“My apologies for the interruption. Please, continue.” Nassata lowered herself to the normal level as well.
“No apology necessary,” Toman replied, taking the floor again. He looked at the painted violet Nadra and then swept his eyes around the table. “I know you don’t know us yet, but I hope you’ll come to trust us once we’ve proven ourselves. We’re here to help you.”
Ksendra inclined her head to the brothers, and while Esset saw there was still concern and even fear lingering in the eyes of many, Toman continued.
“Esset and I were also thinking that chains could make for effective ‘soldiers’ of sorts. I can animate chain—or even rope—to entangle the Reshkin and make them easy targets, if not render them immobile.”
“Chain and rope we can supply,” a painted green Nadra replied. A few others nodded.
Now Esset stepped forward. “In the meantime, you’ll have to make do with just me. Nassata saw what one of my summons can do in the tunnel just before we came. The wolf is just one of the things I can call on. I’m thinking, however, that I’ll be better off calling on panthers to aid me—they are much stronger, but I can only summon two at a time. Given the close quarters, however, that shouldn’t be a problem. Larger numbers would only get in the way of each other.
“Like Toman’s animations, my summons aren’t harmed by poison. They’re far from invincible, but even without Toman’s help, I should be able to do some damage. If there are any particularly bad areas, I can start there while Toman’s building your army. I’ll be wanting back-up, just in case, but given how the Reshkin responded to my last summon, I hope that will be a precaution only. I should be able to simply send my summons ahead without endangering myself or any Nadra who comes along.”
“You seem very confident,” another Nadra said, a pale yellow warrior this time. “But you also say your…‘summons’ are far from invincible. How do you mean?”
Esset thought that was a fair enough question. “When my summons do battle, they don’t seem to get hurt, but once they’ve taken enough damage, they are banished back to where they came from. As such, they’re not as durable as one of Toman’s stone soldiers, but given their, ah, fiery nature, they should be able to do a great deal more damage individually. And, of course, I can call them as needed, so we can start immediately,” Esset replied. The yellow Nadra appeared satisfied with the answer.
“Any help will be much appreciated,” he said. “Here, look at these maps and we can prepare an attack plan.”
Both Toman and Esset leaned in to look.
An hour later, Toman and Esset had a fairly good picture of what was going on in the underground city. They’d come up with some rudimentary strategies for an endgame and more detailed plans for Esset while Toman was building their army. Within another hour, Toman had been led back up to the surface by Kessa, and Esset was deeper in the tunnels than ever.
Kessa settled back on her coils to watch Toman and wait. The animator crouched a few feet away and put his palms flat on the ground. He closed his eyes to help him concentrate, but that didn’t deter Kessa from putting forward a question.
“Do you worry about your brother?” she asked.
“Of course. But he’s strong, and he’s smart, and we need to play to our strengths. It would be foolish for him to sit around while I’m preparing, especially when your people need help now,” Toman replied.
“I guess,” she replied, casting her slitted eyes downwards and hugging her arms tight to her chest. “It just worries me sick that any of my people are in danger…but especially Nassata.”
“You’re close to her, then?” Toman asked without opening his eyes.
When Kessa glanced up, her eyes almost bugged out of her head completely as the ground in front of him bulged and swelled upwards like a chunk of modeling clay being withdrawn from a bigger piece. There were a c
ouple of silent moments before Kessa realized Toman had asked her a question and retrospectively absorbed the meaning of the sounds.
“Yes,” she replied. “Especially since the Reshkin changed and started attacking.” There was a little pause, and then she added in a small voice, “She saved me from them.”
“She seems like a remarkable individual,” Toman replied. There was a tiny crease of concentration between his eyes as his attention was divided between the conversation and his work. The bulge was growing slowly but steadily before him.
“So, you and Summoner Esset—you are brothers?” She was not the first to notice that while they acted alike, they didn’t really look alike.
Toman chuckled. “Might as well be. We kind of adopted each other when we were really young, and we grew up together. We don’t share blood, but we’re brothers in every way that matters.” He still had his eyes closed, but he could feel her curious gaze on him. He knew she had a question, so he simply waited for her to ask—he had too much else demanding his concentration to anticipate it. Not that he could’ve anyways.
“You’re not at all like I expected.” It wasn’t a question, but it begged an answer nonetheless.
Kessa’s confession evoked a laugh from Toman. “We rarely are,” he replied. “But what did you expect?”
“Well… When Nassata left, she said she was going to bring back warriors, but that human warriors were different from Nadra warriors. She said the warriors she brought back would be merss… mersens…” She stumbled, trying to recall the unfamiliar word.
“Mercenaries?” Toman supplied.
“Mer-sen-aries,” Kessa repeated slowly. “Yes. She said mercenaries just fought for money, and love of war. She said most weren’t very nice, but we needed help.”
“For the most part, she’s right,” Toman replied. “Mercenaries, as a group, are typically not the best members of society. I’m not sure Esset and I could be considered mercenaries, but that might be a moot point. What it comes down to are our reasons for fighting. We fight because we want to help people. We take money because we need it, and we never take more than we need or a client can afford. And…we fight because there is an enemy out there that needs to be defeated, and we need to grow strong enough to do it. But we never abandon our ethics, and we will never abandon each other or someone who needs our help.”
Calling On Fire (Book 1) Page 13
