“Come, we should meet with our escort, or they will have to wait on us. We are all eager to increase the security of our city,” Nassata said, increasing the group’s pace. Toman and Esset almost had to jog to keep up, but the Nadra kept pace effortlessly.
“What about breakfast?” Kessa asked. She shrank a little when Tseka raised an eyebrow at her.
“We’re…not hungry,” Esset said, thinking of the real food they’d be getting later.
“Then we can get started now,” Nassata said. Tseka eyed Esset and Toman, as if suspecting them of something, but she held her tongue.
“Kessa, you might as well find other jobs for the day. Toman and Esset won’t be needing you until later,” Nassata said to Kessa as they moved.
“Yes, Nassata. Bye everyone!” Kessa waved to them—at least there was one gesture humans and Nadra shared—and absently trailed her fingers down Toman’s arm as she parted and headed off in a different direction. Toman blinked but smiled at the unconscious gesture.
“We’re going to start with the east tunnels,” Nassata said once Kessa was gone. “Reshkin attacks are worst from that direction.”
They stopped at a small armory in the city so Nassata and Tseka could arm themselves. They met the rest of their escort there, four more Nadran warriors.
“What kind of parameters do you want my creations to follow?” Toman asked as they headed out.
“What do you mean?” Nassata tilted her head to the side.
“Well, I can have my creatures block the tunnel, but I have to tell them who to obey and who not to when ordered to unblock the tunnel,” Toman explained.
“Hm… I should think that any Nadra should be able to command passage, and the two of you of course. That should suffice,” Nassata said.
“Any Nadra?” Toman asked in surprise. “You don’t want to authorize just a few?”
“Any Nadra,” Nassata confirmed, adamant.
“But—” Toman began to object, thinking of Nassata’s earlier comment that it seemed someone was behind the Nadra.
“Any Nadra, Animator,” Tseka interrupted, her voice even, for once, without rancor or mischief. She and Nassata exchanged a knowing look before glancing back at the other Nadra with them.
They both believe someone’s behind this, but not Nadra, Toman realized. And the others either aren’t aware of this belief, or they don’t share it, so Nassata and Tseka don’t want to bring it up in front of them.
“Okay then.” Toman shrugged. He wasn’t sure there was any particular reason to believe a Nadra wasn’t behind the changes in the Reshkin, but now clearly wasn’t the time to debate it.
“It’ll take me about fifteen minutes to shape the animation and define its orders,” Toman informed the Nadra when they stopped in a vacant chamber on their way to the first choke point that they wanted blocked. Given that they had been swarmed when trying to block off tunnels in the past, they wanted their barrier ready to place as quickly as possible.
“Take what time you need,” Nassata replied. It was implicit that it would be appreciated if he didn’t take more than that. With a simple nod, Toman got to work. He placed his hands against the wall and closed his eyes, and the stone began to shift.
Everyone watched with fascination, Esset included. He’d seen Toman make his creations many times, but it was still engrossing. It happened just quickly enough that there was something to watch. A long shape bulged from the wall; it was long and snake-like, but it became apparent after a moment that it was being created back end first. At the front, the tubular shape split into two, until its overall form was clear—it was a massive, two-headed snake.
When the form was done, Toman stood for a few minutes, firmly implanting its directives in his creation. When Toman finally opened his eyes, he didn’t seem wearied at all. The wall it had been born from was left smooth—the stone had been drawn evenly from the whole wall, so the tunnel was just slightly wider to account for the stone Toman had used.
“Let’s go,” he simply said. “Hopefully this works as planned.” Everyone was ready to get moving again. Fortunately, it wasn’t far to their destination.
“There are Reshkin further up the tunnel, but they do not seem to be moving overmuch,” Tseka informed them from the lead. They’d passed the last sentries in the tunnel only a few moments ago.
“Good.” They had a lantern with them, ready to cover if needed, but until then, the light was comforting for the two humans in the party.
“Warrior Tseka, could you please edge back a bit? You’re right in the best spot to block,” Toman requested respectfully. Tseka shot him a look—what was that, distaste? It was difficult to tell in the dark—but she moved back. The stone snake slithered forward to where Tseka had been, then suddenly swerved right. Its body slid up the wall, around the other side, and then along its own body until it had coiled perfectly inside itself, braced against the tunnel walls. One head looked at them, and the other looked down the tunnel beyond. It took a second to settle, and then it had created an airtight seal on the corridor—no Reshkin were getting through.
“I think that will work,” Esset commented, looking at Nassata to see what she thought. None of them had been entirely sure how Toman was going to block the tunnel with a snake, but it now looked like it would work quite well.
“I think so too,” Nassata said, slithering forward to inspect the stone snake.
“If any Nadra tells it to move aside, it will. Tell it to move back into place, and it will,” Toman explained concisely.
“Excellent,” Nassata replied. She finished her brief inspection, then moved back towards them. “Okay, let’s keep going.” They had many tunnels to block.
They were back in the heart of Salithsa after a long day of blocking tunnels—they couldn’t block them all, but they’d blocked enough to make a difference.
“Well I’m glad that went as smoothly as it did,” Nassata said.
“It’s a sad state when having to drive back swarms of venomous monsters counts as smooth,” Tseka said.
“Yes, but thanks to Esset, we never even had to close with the monsters ourselves, and we are far safer now than we were,” Nassata countered. Tseka made a grumbling sound that sounded like begrudging agreement. Toman wasn’t fooled; he suspected she had actually already warmed to them.
“Man, I’m stiff,” Toman said, stretching his arms as they stepped into the light of the main bowl of the city.
“Me too,” Esset agreed, tenderly massaging his own sore shoulders. “What I wouldn’t give for a hot bath right now.”
“Why not try our hot springs?” Nassata suggested. “There is a small spring chamber not far from your rooms that is rarely used. It’s a smaller spring, and only the guest quarters are terribly close to it. It should be empty now. Kessa could show you where it is.”
“Speaking of—oh, there she is,” Toman said with a smile.
Kessa had emerged from a curtained room and came darting towards them with a smile. “You’re back! It is good to see everyone safe.”
“We had no trouble at all,” Toman replied.
“These two have expressed interest in visiting the hot springs,” Nassata put in, slithering over to Kessa to put an arm around her shoulders. “I suggested the small one near their rooms. Could you show them the way?”
“Of course, Nassata!” Kessa agreed happily.
“I don’t recall going down that tunnel before,” Toman remarked. “It’s guarded further down then?”
Nassata shook her head.
“The tunnel is shallow; only the hot spring is down it, and it backs on your quarters. With no other access points, there’s no need to guard it.”
“We should join them, Nassata,” Tseka put in, her smile somewhat malicious. Toman and Esset exchanged hesitant glances at the suggestion.
“Hah! You know how small that spring is. They will find it comfortable enough, I’m sure, but we would overcrowd it. Besides, you and I both know that you do not care for the spr
ings,” Nassata retorted, letting go of Kessa to head back over to the rest of the Nadra. She gave Tseka a shove, which Tseka took with a grin.
“But think of the fun we could have with these two,” Tseka wheedled. Esset shifted from foot to foot.
“You have far too much energy left after today, Tseka. Perhaps you should go help Asiran with training. I know how much you love beating the scales off the trainees,” Nassata suggested.
“Have I earned no rest?” Tseka complained.
“Wicked scales must always move,” Nassata quoted. She took Tseka’s arm and began leading her away. They bantered back and forth as they drew away from Toman, Esset, and Kessa, with Nassata successfully distracting the other warrior. Toman and Esset didn’t waste any time getting away, either. The moment the warriors began moving away from them, they turned to Kessa.
“Hot springs?” Toman asked hopefully. Esset’s eager expression echoed his brother’s.
“This way,” Kessa replied with a bright smile, slithering away. Toman and Esset took up spots on either side of her. She took a corridor a ways before their rooms, but the way the tunnel wound about, when they finally reached the hot spring chamber, they were almost right next to their room on the other side of one of the adjoining walls.
The room might have been small by Nadran standards, but it wasn’t overly so by theirs. It was spacious enough, and the spring itself was large enough to fit probably up to six humans. The water steamed, betraying its temperature and filling the room with a gentle, humid heat and obscuring most of the floor to about knee-height. Toman guessed that it must also keep their sleeping quarters warm for them by heating the wall it was adjacent to.
“Nice,” Toman said when they pulled aside the bead curtain to view the room. He immediately stepped inside, stripping off his heavy coat.
“You must be starving,” Kessa said once both of them were in the room. “I’ll bring you some food.” She vanished quickly, leaving them to enjoy the spring. Neither of them took their time getting in.
There were hooks along the wall, with only three of them presently occupied with rather large towels, so Toman hung up his coat. Everything went on those hooks except for their smallclothes, which they kept on, Toman’s gloves, which he also wore, and their socks and boots, which waited on the floor. After making sure the towels were within easy reach, they dipped their toes into the hot spring and got in.
“Oh Brightfire, does this ever feel good,” Esset said, sinking into the water. To his surprise, there was a ledge to sit on at about the right level, so it seemed that this chamber was also one that was normally meant for human—or humanoid—guests.
“Agreed,” Toman said. He ducked briefly beneath the surface of the water, just enough to get his hair wet. He slicked it back out of his face, and propping his arms on the ledge behind him, he sat back and reveled in the heat. Pretty soon both brothers lapsed into silence, relaxing so far as to almost fall asleep in the heat and comfort.
They were jolted awake by the jangle of beads as Kessa came in. She held a tray with three plates on it, one for each of them. It was Nadran food, but Toman and Esset were so hungry that they didn’t particularly care.
“Here we are,” Kessa said cheerfully, putting down plates next to each of them. Then she went around the other side of the hot spring and slipped into the water herself. Suddenly both young men were glad they’d opted to keep their underclothes on, since she clearly intended to stay.
They were all quiet for a bit as Esset and Toman wolfed down their food; Kessa ate more delicately. She let them finish before starting a conversation.
“So how is sealing the tunnels coming?” she finally asked.
“Really well. It feels like slow going, since I have to create the seals and then we have to travel to where my animation will block the tunnel, but we actually made really good time today. We should get the majority of them done tomorrow, and then finish the last few the day after. But already there’s a significant number of warrior Nadra freed up by the seals,” Toman reported. “Now the areas that need them can have more guards, and the rest of them can get more rest.”
“That’s great,” Kessa agreed with a smile. She was looking at Toman strangely, however. Or, more specifically, she was looking at his gloves. Finally Toman lifted his hand and wiggled his gloved fingers at her.
“Ah, sorry,” the little blue Nadra apologized. Toman chuckled.
“Not at all. You’re wondering why I’m still wearing my gloves in the water?” Toman asked. Kessa nodded.
“Here, take a closer look,” he said, holding out his hand towards her. She reached out toward the glove, but then her eyes went wide in surprise.
“They’re still dry!” she exclaimed. Toman dipped his hand beneath the surface and then lifted it again.
“Still dry,” he repeated with a smile.
“That is so strange,” Kessa marveled. “How?”
“Magic,” Toman said, wiggling his fingers at her again. The corner of her mouth twitched in dissatisfaction with his answer.
“Why then?” Kessa pressed, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I don’t ever take them off,” Toman replied. “I don’t need to, so it works out.”
“But why?” she asked again.
“Well, it’s not something I advertise, but it’s no secret either,” Toman said with a shrug. “I wasn’t actually born with magic. My ability to animate comes from these.” He held up both hands then, flipping them so she could see his gloved palms, then the backs. “They’re…well, Esset would call them a magical artifact. Long story short, I inherited them, and now I’m an animator. If I take them off, I can’t animate anything.”
“Oh,” was Kessa’s only response. She was surprised and interested.
“Most of the time, they go completely unnoticed,” Toman said with a grin, putting his hands down again. “But hang around me long enough, and most people notice there’s something slightly odd about them.” Kessa just nodded.
“So Kessa, I have to admit that your readiness to get in the water surprised me. Are you not worried about your paints washing off?” Esset asked, changing the subject.
“Not at all. They are more enamels than paints. The water will not harm my patterns,” Kessa replied.
“How do you ever remove them then?”
“We have combinations of oils and minerals that take off our paints. Not that we often use them, but it is not overly difficult,” Kessa replied.
“So…your patterns. Do they have any meaning, or are they just decorations?” Toman asked.
Esset glanced at him with a bit of surprise, since Toman didn’t normally show much interest in other cultures’ traditions. Toman normally kept his inquiries to “the practical stuff,” while Esset would ask about any old thing.
“They are simply art, a way that we express ourselves,” the little blue Nadra replied. “Some of us choose to incorporate meaning into our paints, with images or words or memorable patterns with historical significance, but most of us do not.
“Me, I love purple especially, which is why I paint my scales with it. The blues complement my scales, and the yellows make a nice contrast. There is little more to it than that. My grandmother taught me to paint, and I have always loved to do so.”
“Your painted scales are lovely,” Toman said. Kessa ducked her head in embarrassment, a Nadran equivalent to a blush.
“Thank you,” she murmured back.
Esset suddenly realized that he had a Nadra to talk to who wasn’t a warrior and probably wouldn’t threaten him if he asked too many questions.
“So, how does your thermal detection work, exactly? Is it like vision, or totally different?” he asked, leaning forward.
Kessa blinked at the sudden change in topic. “Um… I suppose, like vision, yes. They kind of…combine? It is difficult to explain. In some ways it is much like vision, but in many ways it is like…like a different tactile sense. It is complicated. Perhaps it is totally different.�
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“Well… What do you see or sense now, when it comes to thermal detection?” Esset pressed.
“Not much, actually,” Kessa responded. “Or actually, too much. It is very warm in here, and the steam makes it difficult. The hot water does too. I cannot distinguish anything beneath the surface of hot water. But this whole room is like that too. The hot springs are one of our sources of heat for the city, and lines of earth-heat run all through this place. Since the spring is here, this entire room is cloaked in heat-tracks. It makes our heat sense almost useless in rooms like these.”
“Interesting,” Esset murmured. “So you use geothermal energy to heat the city then… I’d wondered. And these heat tracks—those are the paths that the heat-energy follows?” Kessa nodded. “And they run all throughout the city.”
“Yes. We have arranged them in patterns that are beautiful to behold. It just occurred to me that you cannot see them. That is a pity—they are beautiful,” Kessa replied, tilting her head to the side.
“Well, we do appreciate the end result,” Esset said. “It’s quite comfortably warm pretty much everywhere in your city.”
Kessa smiled.
“So what about the lanterns and lights? I’ve been really curious—”
“Good grief, Esset. Do you always have to devolve into interrogation mode? Relax, for Hyrishal’s sake. Shut your brain off for a change,” Toman admonished him.
“I don’t mind,” Kessa put in with another little duck of her head.
“I do,” Toman muttered.
“Oh come on, Toman. You’re not curious?” Esset coaxed his brother.
“No, I’m really not,” the animator replied with a shake of his head.
“Not about anything?” Esset asked.
“Certainly not about the light fixtures,” Toman replied pointedly, looking deadpan at the summoner.
Esset muttered something about enlightenment and trolls that wasn’t entirely audible. Toman ignored him.
“Maybe I can ask you two some questions then,” Kessa suggested tentatively.
Calling On Fire (Book 1) Page 17
