by CM Raymond
"That damn lizard never listens," Karl grumbled. "He's likely ta get himself shot full o’ arrows."
Abbey grinned. "You love him, and you know it."
Karl shot her a look, but he didn't deny it. Instead, he put two fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. Sal immediately changed course and headed for them.
Abbey manned the sail as Dustin called a wind to carry them out to sea. She was surprised to find she was excited about the adventure. She had the man she loved by her side, a new rearick friend, and a dragon at her back.
The only question was what lay ahead. She couldn't wait to find out.
Chapter Thirteen
Astrid woke the next morning as first light crept into the woods. A cool white mist rolled lazily through the trees, although it was quickly being dispersed by the sun.
They had kept the rear hatch open to let the forest breeze circulate through the Badger. The machine’s semi-gloss gray skin managed to take on a golden hue. With its armor plates drawn up to expose its portals, it looked more like a turtle’s bumpy shell than its namesake.
Gormer stood the only night watch, since it had been well past midnight when they had gotten to sleep. They’d only spared a few hours to rest.
When she rolled out of her hammock and stepped out onto the road to stretch, she found Aysa at a small campfire with Gormer. Astrid gave their new guest a warm greeting, which was returned with wary reserve and no smile.
“Thanks for putting tea on,” Astrid remarked. She and Aysa didn’t break eye contact for what felt like more than a minute.
Rubbing his stubbled chin, Gormer said, “Huh, I didn’t think women had pissing contests. Maybe it’s just you two.”
Both women laughed uncomfortably.
Aysa cleared her throat. “I think that was more of a stare-down than a pissing contest.”
Astrid chuckled, pulled up a round of firewood, and sat down. Gormer handed her a steaming cup of juniper tea.
“I didn’t find a clear winner,” Gormer declared. “Maybe you’ll have to have another stare-down.”
“Once is enough,” Astrid replied. “How did you sleep, Aysa?”
The young woman had not-so-politely refused to sleep near them. Astrid reckoned she ended up on the forest floor, judging by the pine needles in her battle braid.
She considered her answer, then sighed. “Not well,” she confessed. “You’re not at all what I was expecting. Also, I couldn’t stop thinking about that… Your Skrim thing.”
Gormer took a deep breath and managed a tight smile. “His name is Boone. He’s not a thing, and he belongs to nobody. He’s part of the Righteous Dregs.”
Aysa snorted laughter. “That’s a funny name. Why do you call yourselves that?”
“Funnier than the Bitch and Bastard Brigade?” Gormer snapped.
Astrid had a ready answer. “Because the dregs are the best part of the brew, and nobody realizes that. That’s what we are. We all came together in a big vat of brewing trouble but ended up potent and righteous.”
“Holy shit,” Gormer exclaimed. He leaned back on his log and looked Astrid up and down. “I never heard it put like that, but you’re right. That deserves a real drink.” He pulled out a flask and handed it to Aysa first.
The young woman grabbed the flask happily and took a healthy slug, then pulled away, her eyes wide and tear-filled.
“What the hell is this, wizard piss?” she wheezed.
Gormer restrained his laughter long enough to take a slug, and Astrid followed. She had to blink back the mist in her own eyes as her throat burned.
“That’s beet wine from a place called ‘the Protectorates,’” Astrid informed Aysa. “It’s very strong, but you get used to it.”
“It’s bloody awful,” the girl shot back without restraint. “Hand it over.” She took the flask again.
“I thought you didn’t like it?” Astrid replied with a raised eyebrow.
“I didn’t say that,” Aysa told her between coughs.
“What’s the occasion?” Vinnie asked as he came out of the Badger with a large canvas sack over his shoulder.
“Just getting to know our new guest,” Gormer replied.
Vinnie dropped his bundle by the fire and squatted on his hams. He pulled out his cooking gear and set it up over the coals while he spoke. “Excellent,” he declared theatrically. “Today you're a guest, tomorrow, part of the team.”
“Oh,” Gormer exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. “You’re in for one of Vinnie’s legendary breakfasts.”
Aysa licked her lips and swallowed as Vinnie pulled out eggs of unknown origin—it was better not to ask—dried venison sausage, potatoes, and wild onions. He fried everything in several pans over the coals.
“I’ve been eating nothing but forage for weeks,” Aysa confessed.
Vinnie handed her the first plate, piled high.
“Hey, where’s Boone?” Gormer asked. Astrid shrugged.
“He’s still in his hammock,” Vinnie answered. “He’s feeling a bit shy.” He cast a quick glance at Aysa.
“Hey, Boone!” Gormer called. “Come on out here and have breakfast with us.”
A few seconds later Boone approached warily. He had his cloak on and kept his hood over his head, but his four long red insect-like arms were exposed.
Aysa stopped shoveling food into her face and considered her plate, then approached Boone and held her food out to him. “Sorry about your arm. This is really more than I can eat.”
Boone bore a mud poultice as a bandage on his wounded arm. Vinnie had learned to make those over the course of the many fights they’d shared.
“Thank you. I will heal,” Boone replied. “But I can’t eat human food.”
“What do you eat?” Aysa asked. She seemed genuinely curious.
“I haven’t forgotten about you,” Vinnie told him with a smile. He loved to feed people. Vinnie handed Boone a lumpy ball that looked like a paper wasp nest. “I made the wood pulp just how you like it.”
“Pine flavor!” Boone exclaimed. “Thank you!” He took the ball in two hands and buried his snout in it.
“I guess you were hungry!” Aysa exclaimed. She laughed when Boone’s eye stalks extended and waved around happily. “So, you eat...paper?” Aysa asked.
“Yes,” Boone replied. “That’s what you call it. I can eat parts of some of your trees raw, though.”
“He likes pine bark,” Gormer told Aysa, “but it gives him indigestion when he eats too much of it. Skrim farts are pretty bad.”
Aysa couldn’t restrain her laughter, and she covered her mouth in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh at your expense.”
“Laughter is free. Nobody pays for it. Back home, we make jokes to survive.” Boone shrugged his lower shoulders. “Human farts are even worse.”
“I just feel like you and I got off on the wrong foot,” Aysa admitted.
Boone stopped eating, and his eye stalks nearly came together as they pointed at Aysa. It was clear he didn’t understand.
“Wrong foot,” Gormer interjected. “It’s a figure of speech that means ‘you have a bad start.’” Gormer often helped Boone process human speech oddities.
“I understand,” Boone said. “Right foot, now. New start.” He resumed munching.
Boone squatted on his long compound legs to complete the circle, and the group settled into a comfortable silence as they ate.
“I got the dishes,“ Gormer called when breakfast was done.
Vinnie cocked his head. “Have we met? Who is this guy? Since when do you volunteer for cleanup duty?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Gormer grumbled. “Go make the Badger ready before I change my mind.” He turned to Boone. “There’s a creek over that next rise we can use to clean up.”
“Wait,” Astrid called as the two turned to go. “Are you armed?” She lifted her chin to Vinnie, and he knew the question behind the gesture.
“Portal energy signs are low, but you never know,” Vinnie
reported.
“Boone, give Gormer one of your pistols,” Astrid ordered.
Boone whipped back his cloak and drew one of his four magitech weapons from the gun belts strapped to his shell in an X pattern.
“Thanks,” Gormer replied. He slipped the weapon into one of the many leather straps that also held his throwing knives.
“What can I do to help?” Aysa asked.
“They’ll take care of breaking camp,” Astrid told her. “I thought you and I should talk.”
Aysa laughed. “That was so smooth that I didn’t even see the setup. That’s why they all found something to do.”
Astrid nodded with a satisfied smile. “We’re a tight team and you’re about to become a part of it, so I need to ask you a few questions.”
Aysa folded her arms across her chest. “I was just sent to find you, that’s all. As far as being part of your team—”
“Don’t worry,” Astrid interrupted. “You haven’t earned that yet, but it’s just a matter of time. The Dregs have a way of drawing people in. But I need to know some things.”
“Like what?”
“For starters, who sent you?”
“A powerful mage named Hannah, by way of Ezekiel the Founder. He sent me to haul your asses back to some meeting in the mountains far to the southwest of here. Irth is in danger, and apparently, you and your weirdos here can help save it. Go figure!”
Astrid blinked, her breath stuck mid-chest. She was too stunned to react to the slight, amusing as it was. “The Founder? You mean...the Prophet? He is long gone, assuming he existed at all. His disciples say he left Irth long ago, anyway.”
It was Aysa’s turn to look confused. “I’m not sure what ‘disciples’ you’re talking about. I do know that the Founder is real, and so is Hannah. They’re as real as the Bitch and Bastard.”
Astrid was just more confused. “The… Are you referring to the Matriarch and Patriarch?”
“Who else?” Aysa asked. “How is everything so different here?”
“Was Vinnie right all along?” Astrid muttered. “The Matriarch, the Patriarch, the Prophet—you call him the Founder—all real?”
“You doubted it?”
“I don’t doubt the magic, but the legends… My ancestors learned magic from the Prophets of Ezekiel. These Prophets preached stories about a great mage...” Astrid’s voice trailed off and her eyes fixed on some faraway point for a moment before she continued, “I am a Knight of the Wellspring, trained in the magical martial arts since the age of thirteen. It’s all I ever wanted to be, and it was all I believed in. A few years ago I lost my home, and I guess I lost a lot of my belief with it. I let go of just about everything except the Knight's Creed.”
The statements hung heavy as the morning mists. As suddenly as she sank into reminiscence, she snapped out of it.
Just then Gormer broke into Astrid’s thoughts. She’s not lying. Astrid smiled, knowing his offer to clean dishes had just been a ruse. I saw what she saw. She knows about Julianne, the mystic I told you about last year. Just before I left Arcadia, I heard rumors about Ezekiel’s return. This just smells like the truth. Trust a liar to know.
Astrid laughed out loud in spite of herself.
Aysa raised her voice. “I know he’s behind one of those trees reading my mind. Bloody mind-readers!”
“Damn!” Gormer exclaimed, stepping out from behind a tree in back of Aysa. A sheepish smile crept across his face. “You’re good. Whatever mystics you know trained you well. I couldn’t even tell you let me in on purpose.” His eyes turned from glowing white to their normal cool gray.
“So, do we all trust each other now?” Aysa asked with a satisfied smile of her own.
“I think so,” Astrid replied. “Hey, where’s Boone?”
“He’s doing the dishes,” Gormer said smugly. Astrid glared and shook her head. “What? I had to check her out, and somebody had to do the dishes.”
“Get your skinny ass to work,” Astrid ordered, shaking her head. “We move out as soon as we’re packed.”
Boone returned a few minutes later with a sackful of clean pans and dishes. He ambled into the Badger and put everything back into the cabinets.
Aysa followed him with her eyes. “So, I guess I’m riding in that thing?”
“You’ll get used to it,” Astrid assured her, guiding her up the ramp.
Aysa sat in jump seat beside Astrid with her long arms folded across her chest. She’d selected the forward seat to be close to Vinnie as he drove.
“This is the strangest way to travel,” Aysa finally exclaimed. “And I’ve ridden on an airship.” She’d been silent for the three hours since they had set out, and now had to raise her voice a bit to overcome the low groan of the Badger’s six-wheel motors.
“Airship?” Astrid asked with raised eyebrows. “Does that mean—” Vinnie whirled around in his seat and let go of the steering tillers. “Drive!” Astrid barked.
He spun back around but craned his head as far as he could to look at Aysa. “A flying ship? I’ve read about them in the archives of the New Ancients!” the scientist exclaimed.
“New Ancients,” Aysa mused. “That sounds just about right. It was built around a piece of technology from the time before the Madness. My friends call it the Unlawful.”
“I like the sound of that,” Gormer chimed in from the rear.
“Thought I told you to stop poking around in our minds,” Astrid said.
“Can’t help it,” Gormer claimed. “Stop thinking my favorite thoughts.”
“He picks up certain words like dogs hear high-frequency sounds,” Vinnie told Aysa with a chuckle.
All the portholes, along with the front windows, were uncovered since the ancient road was much clearer here. Some of the material the New Ancients had used to build the roads were still evident in crumbly patches. Vinnie had called it “asphalt.”
“It took me a while to get used to it,” Astrid admitted. “And I do miss horses, but horses don’t protect you from the elements.”
Vinnie took the opportunity to tout his pride and joy. “The Badger is the child of more than a hundred scribes, scholars, smiths, and engineers. It was born from necessity, just like the Dregs. We’re using it to serve all of Irth.”
Aysa whistled long and low. “That’s really...some statement.” It was obvious to Astrid that she was working to remain diplomatic.
“Vinnie can be dramatic,” Astrid explained. “He does tend to overstate things, sometimes.”
The Badger slowed when Vinnie pulled back on the long steering levers that also controlled speed. “And we’re here,” he announced.
“Where?” Aysa asked, rising from the small chair.
Through the curved front windows, the flat face of a mountain loomed high. A pile of large boulders lay at the base of the mountain. A strip of crumbling, grayish-black asphalt stopped at the rubble.
“The road ends here,” Astrid said. “Was your map wrong?”
“So far,” Vinnie replied as he swiveled the driver’s seat around, “the map has been entirely accurate.”
Astrid realized what was going on. “You just didn’t tell us about this barrier.”
Vinnie just smiled as he activated the rear door button.
“Are we here?” Gormer asked. He had been napping in his hammock while Boone sat still as a statue in his jump seat.
“Yes, we are,” Vinnie said as he ducked under the hammock. Gormer cursed as Vinnie’s passing made him roll out.
Everyone followed as Vinnie approached the pile of boulders.
“Now I know why you didn’t tell us,” Astrid said, her voice low. “I’m not looking forward to traveling through a tunnel.”
“You’d all better stand back,” Vinnie cautioned as he stepped forward.
Everyone but Aysa took a few paces backward, and Astrid gently grabbed her arm as Vinnie’s eyes turned bright orange. Aysa scrambled back when the ground began to rumble.
Vinnie raised both hands
above his head, then brought them down palms-forward. The huge boulders vibrated until they bounced like grains of sand on a drumhead. Vinnie grunted as he dropped into a lunge. The ground rippled away from Vinnie’s knee like water around a dropped stone.
“What the hell kind of magic is this!” Aysa exclaimed with a combination of fear and awe.
Vinnie spread his arms apart, and the rock collapsed like a sandcastle. With another dramatic sweep of his arms, the pulverized stone rose into a swirling vortex and moved to the side of the road. The scientist mage lowered his arms abruptly, and the tornado of sand collapsed with a roar.
Vinnie swayed, and Astrid ran to him and held him upright against her right leg.
“You overdid it there, big man,” she said. “You’re burning up!” she exclaimed when she gave the side of his head a pat.
“On it!” Gormer shouted. He ran into the Badger and came back with a waterskin.
Vinnie took the skin greedily, tipped his head back, and squeezed it into his mouth. He drank half the contents, then sprayed much of it over his head as he panted and gasped. Astrid helped him rise on his shaky legs.
“To answer your question,” the big man said with a huge grin. “My magical tradition is known as Irth magic. That’s what moved the stones, but Forge Magic allowed me to break them down into their various components.”
Aysa looked at the dune by the side of the road. It was taller than the Badger. “What do you mean, ‘break down?’”
Vinnie’s smile deepened. “It means I turned all that rock into refined minerals that can be used to create metal.”
“That’s what you mean by ‘Forge Magic?’” Aysa asked with a smile of her own. “You’re a human metal forge?”
“Basically, yes,” Vinnie answered. “I am still a novice, though.”
“Why didn’t you just move the rocks?” Astrid asked. “You used all your energy, and there’s no way we can take all that material.”
“But now we know where it is, and I have enough energy to make some sacred steel ingots to take with us.”
“Sacred steel?” Aysa asked, shaking her head.
Astrid interjected to help. “It comes from a magical tradition far to the east of here—a place some call ‘the Trackless Steppes.’ The Forge Monks learned to manipulate minerals and create this form of metal. It’s extremely tough and light. It’s what my armor is made from.”
