Welcome To The Age of Magic

by C M Raymond et al.

  Julianne shivered at the thought of sleeping without a heat source. She, Bastian and Danil could make themselves comfortable through meditation, but the others would have to suffer the chill. If it got too cold, no mind trick would stop the reality of frostbite.

  They set up camp before nightfall, then sat and talked, voices low and conversation sparse. The looming presence of the Madlands stifled the group’s usual banter, and each small noise smothered the group in silence as they wondered what it might be.

  As soon as the sun dropped below the mountains, Julianne crawled into her bed, Bette following behind.

  “You lot should go to sleep, too. Garrett, I’ll wake you when it’s time?” Marcus whispered.

  “Aye. Just give me blankets a good kick, and I’ll be up.”

  Bastian, Danil, and Garrett soon left for bed, leaving Marcus alone in the dark. He stood, stretching his tender muscles.

  Too damn long in that town, he thought.

  He wasn’t lying when he said he was itching to get back out here. He’d been part of a group that guarded the border between the Madlands and Arcadia.

  They’d killed any remnant that came close to crossing over, and it seemed they’d done their job well. The incursions reduced, forcing the guards to go days without seeing action or, more likely, sending them into the hot zone to find it.

  Marcus hated cities. Too crowded and close, with the stink of other people all around. Here? Clean air, fresh water, and the chance to swing a weapon once in a while. Oh, sure, it was dangerous—but so was walking through the streets of Arcadia at night. Marcus much preferred to face off with a slavering beast than with a man who’d just made a bad choice.

  He walked the perimeter of their tiny camp, watching for any sign of movement in the darkness—not that it would help. He knew he’d hear the remnant before he saw them. Sneaking wasn’t one of their strong suits.

  A rustle in the bushes made Marcus pause in his circuit, heart in his mouth, muscles ready to spring into action. A squirrel darted out from a bush, and he immediately relaxed. It scampered past the tents, stopping twice to sniff the air before racing off into the darkness.

  When the moon dipped close to the tree line, Marcus gave Garrett a gentle nudge with the toe of his boot. When the rearick didn’t budge, he nudged harder. The third time was a solid kick, causing Garrett to choke on a snore and sit bolt upright, hand on the sword he’d left next to his bedroll.

  “Shh. It’s your shift,” Marcus whispered.

  “Aye. Right. Erm…” Garrett shook his head roughly, then looked up with clear eyes and a grin. “Right then! Off to bed with ye.”

  Marcus lay down, thankful he hadn’t had to endure another night of the rearick’s thunderous snoring. As he rolled over to sleep, his thoughts drifted away from issues of safety and preparedness to the girl lying just a few feet away in another tent.

  19

  Dawn broke with a fight between two angry birds. The cacophony brought everyone out, Bette cursing the feathered foes while Danil laughed at Bastian who was shaking his fist at them.

  Julianne sucked in a deep breath. The air was different here. Some tinge to the freshness, an odor she wasn’t used to. It wasn’t strong enough to put a finger on it, but it was there. The mystic quickly performed her morning meditations, then readied herself to go. Marcus slipped up beside her as she was fastening the saddlebags on her horse.

  The weapon in his hand was one she’d seen before, a magitech device that would cause serious damage to anyone he used it against. Julianne wasn’t exactly sure how it worked, but she was reassured by the confidence with which he carried it.

  “You’re sure you know what you’re in for out there?” he asked quietly.

  Julianne nodded. “I’ve heard the stories, seen some things.” She didn’t mention the ‘things’ she’d seen were from his own mind—memories of hard fights, sparse rations, and adrenalin-filled hunts for the scavenging beasts of the Madlands.

  “If you’re still sure you want to do this… we travel fast.” He glanced around as though already on the lookout for danger. “Don’t split up, ever, not for any reason. A larger party will work against us, but the benefit in numbers still applies. Besides, I don’t trust anyone here to lead a group all the way through, except maybe Garrett. If he died, whoever was with him would go down like a stone.”

  Julianne blanched, but he continued. “If someone is left behind, they’re dead, so no one gets left behind unless they already are. No fires; no loud noises. No hunting, either. I swear those bastards can smell fresh blood from a mile away. If we get caught out, end up in a bad place, we sacrifice a horse. Or all of them, if that’s what it takes.” He watched Julianne’s face as it drained of blood. Her chin twitched, just the tiniest bit, and she pressed her lips together.

  Then, she nodded curtly. “Thank you, Marcus. I’m glad you’re with us.”

  He grinned. “You don’t shake easily, do you?”

  It was Julianne’s turn to smile. “If I recall, it was you doing the shaking when we were in the Frozen North.” They’d travelled together when she was masquerading as Stellan, one of Adrien’s guards, during the rebellion in Arcadia.

  They had trekked through bad weather, two strangers with little trust between them, Marcus working for the people Julianne had been working against. Though she’d told him how close she’d been to pushing him off a high ledge at the time, she didn’t think he really believed it.

  With a wink, she turned away and put one foot in a stirrup. “Hurry up. Just because no one gets left behind doesn’t mean we’ll wait all day for you, soldier.”

  Barking a laugh, Marcus strode back over to the campsite. Julianne watched as he kicked dirt and leaves about, covering the signs they’d camped there. He then checked that the rest of the team was ready to go.

  When he approached Bastian, he pulled something out of his pocket. Julianne didn’t recognize the device, but figured it was magitech when she glimpsed the small glowing stone set into the side.

  Marcus leaned his head close to Bastian, probably discussing how it worked. When Marcus stepped back, Bastian lifted it up.

  A hollow thud sounded, and the tree in front of Bastian shook, shards of bark scattering into the air as a chunk exploded. The big tree still stood, but it looked like someone had cleaved a messy chunk out of it with a giant axe.

  “Just like that,” Marcus said. “It may not take a man out in one shot, and it takes a moment to recharge, but that’ll buy me time to save your ass in a fight.”

  “Seriously?” Bastian asked. “With one of these, it’ll be me saving your ass.” He pocketed the device as Marcus laughed.

  “I’d lay money on you blowing your own balls off before that happens. Besides, these are no good—” Marcus patted his own weapon, a long, staff-like piece of magitech “—unless you know how to fight. Not just lay down a punch or shoot a weapon, but fight. Anticipate. Predict. Plan.”

  Bastian took the friendly warning for what it was, self-consciously adjusting himself as he grimaced at the bulge in his pocket where the weapon sat. After a moment’s thought, he pulled it out and tossed it in his pack. Garrett laughed behind him, but the young mystic didn’t seem fazed by the teasing.

  Despite the change in plans, she was glad to have Marcus with them, and not just for the weapons he’d brought. Taking Danil into the Madlands worried her. As helpful and kind hearted as he was, not to mention as proficient back at the Temple, she knew his disability was a liability out here. Having Bastian along as well worried her even more.

  They wove down into the valley in a single file. The trees down here were a different species from those that grew through most of Irth. Stark, white trunks stretched so far overhead they couldn’t see the tips, while branches spread out to the sides and dropped pine-scented needles to the forest floor.

  Julianne reached out and trailed her fingers along a nearby branch. She sniffed it gingerly, and screwed up her face. Yes, it was the trees that smelle
d. Instead of fresh and clean, the pine here had a sharp, coppery odor.

  “They say the smell is from all the blood the trees have soaked up, remnant and our people alike,” Marcus called from behind.

  “Every place has its ghost story.” Julianne glanced over her shoulder, but quickly jerked her head back as her horse nosed around a bend in the trail. “Is it all like this?” she asked.

  “No,” Marcus replied. “Just wait. You’ll see.”

  He wouldn’t elaborate, and Julianne let him have his secrets. Delving into his mind during this part of the journey would be foolhardy. She needed every ounce of concentration she had to navigate her horse down the winding path and keep her from placing a foot wrong on the twisted roots below. Finally, the forest thinned out, and Julianne gaped at the sight before her.

  The trail emerged into a valley scattered with old ruins. Buildings jutted out of the low-lying greenery. Some had crumbled to almost nothing, others stood tall in some semblance of the dignity they’d once had. Vines and creepers snuck through cracks and chasms, and trees stretched up from windows turned askew by failing foundations.

  Julianne shuddered as she wondered what Arcadia or even the Temple would look like decades after the humans had left.

  “What’s that?” Bastian sent Julianne the image of what he was seeing, and she swung her head around to look. By the path ahead, a sculpture of twisted metal jutted out of the thick trunk of a tree.

  “Ancient ruins,” Marcus explained. “My old commander said the tree must have grown into the metal, and around it.”

  Julianne rode past slowly, unable to tear her eyes away from it. It wasn’t until a gasp from Bette that she focused on what lay ahead.

  “What in the Bitch’s name is that thing?” Bette had stopped, heedless of Garrett almost plowing into her.

  “What yer… oh! Well, that’s a damn sight.” Garrett craned his head back, and Julianne jumped into his mind to get a better look.

  Ahead, a tall building, crumbled away on one side, sparkled in the early morning sun. Clean surfaces reflected the daylight, sending scattered sparkles over the ground

  “A sight she is, alright,” Marcus murmured. He’d moved up beside Julianne, but when she cleared her vision and glanced over at him, he was staring at her. He quickly looked away, smothering a small smile. “A nest of remnant used to live in the lower levels. We’ll get a good look, but not up close. My unit cleared them out of there twice, but there’s no telling if they’ve returned.”

  “How does it sparkle?” Julianne asked as they moved on.

  “Not sure what it’s made of. Some kind of glass maybe? I don’t see how glass could hold up a whole building, but the ancients did a lot of weird stuff like that.” Marcus ushered them along, reluctant to stop.

  “Maybe it’s just a coating?” Bastian suggested, craning his neck as his horse ambled on, oblivious to the wonders around them.

  “Maybe. The lower levels are covered in plant growth, but for some reason it never really climbed to the top. Too slippery, maybe. There’s some mold coating the higher levels, but it grows in clumps and washes away in heavy rain, leaving it… well, like that.” Marcus craned his neck to take in the massive structure.

  Julianne thought back to the storm that had hit the Temple the night Donna had shown up. Strange, how one little weather event could not only accompany such disaster, but create such beauty.

  Deeper in the valley, more crumbling walls appeared. The paths between them were strangely flat, as though the roots of more substantial trees couldn’t penetrate the ground. They rode quietly, not speaking, through the warped shadows of a city long forgotten by its people.

  Julianne’s skin crawled even as she admired the beauty. Sunlight sparkled through leaves, touching old stone and rusted, metal carcasses. Overhead, a crow called, the only sign of wildlife they’d seen since beginning their descent.

  “Come on, you lot,” Danil said nervously. “Kind of hard to see where I’m going with you all jumping at shadows. You’re all giving me the creeps.”

  “Toughen up, lad,” Garrett said, his voice wobbly.

  “Me?” Forgetting himself, Danil’s voice carried loudly, bouncing off the structures around them. “You’re the worst of them all.”

  “Hush,” Julianne admonished.

  “Easy for you to say,” Danil muttered. “You’re stone cold, Jules. How are you not crapping your pants down here?”

  She laughed nervously. “I am. I’m just doing it behind a damn good shield.”

  Danil blew out a breath, trying to shake off the oppressive sense of danger that leaked through the shadows around them. Marcus led them through the old city, steering them away from more substantial buildings in favor of those that had worn away almost to nothing.

  They reached an open area, and Marcus nudged them on faster. “Come on. Sooner we’re out of this place, the better.”

  “Why? Won’t it be worse—” Julianne cut off with a scream as something skittered through the leaves, sending her horse into a terrified frenzy. It reared up, then struck the ground with its hooves. The crunch echoed loudly as the other horses whinnied and danced.

  Then, the city swallowed them.

  The ground split apart, and rocks tumbled into the dark cavern as the horses scrambled for purchase on the sliding stone ground.

  Julianne heard someone scream, but she wasn’t sure who. She gripped her horse but couldn’t hold on and when they fell, Cloud Dancer skidded and toppled, landing on her mistress as the dust settled. The horse kicked and jerked, and her great head connected with Julianne’s skull.

  A light above bobbed, flickered, and went out.

  20

  Jules? Jules, you need to wake up. Now, Jules. You don’t have time to rest. Jules, wake up, Jules.

  Go away! She mentally shouted the words even as consciousness returned. Julianne sucked in a breath, then coughed out a lungful of dust as needles of pain stabbed at her head.

  Hands helped her to sit. “It’s ok, Jules. I’m sorry. You needed to wake up.” Danil’s voice murmured in her ear, voice soothing as his thoughts inside her head were not.

  She briefly felt his weight in her mind, checking she was coherent and remembered the moments before the impact.

  Danil’s prodding was standard protocol—after a concussion, a person needed rest, but could be woken if it wasn't safe to do so. Julianne would pay for it later, but for now, the ache in her head was bearable and they needed to get out of here, wherever ‘here’ was.

  “Everyone ok?” she asked, voice hoarse. She blinked the grit from her eyes and found she could see. Light filtered through a hole above their heads, though her eyes didn’t want to adjust enough to see into the surrounding shadows.

  “Looks like we all survived. Horses are all standing, but we won't know if they're lame until we get out of this hole.” Garrett plunged into the shadows. “What is this place?”

  “Some kind of ancient, underground building.” Marcus kicked at some rubbish by his feet. “I've heard tales of them, but never seen one.”

  Danil helped Julianne to stand, letting go once she’d assured him her balance was fine. She picked her way over the fallen stone from above and looked around the cavernous space.

  Dust coated every surface, obscuring any clue as to what the area once served as. Shadows in the dark corners outlined benches, and the floor was scattered with smaller objects. Julianne kneeled down to inspect one.

  She picked it up and rolled it in her hand. It was cold and round, with blunt ends.

  "What's that?" Bastian's sudden question startled her and she dropped her prize. It smashed, shattering on the hard floor and splashing putrid liquid all over her skirt.

  "Shit.” A foul odor reached Julianne's nose. "Ugh, that smell is hideous." She backed away and found Marcus pulling things from a wall.

  "Might have been food. Maybe this was a storehouse of some kind." He shook the box in his hand and it rustled. "Either way, we need to get mov
ing. The noise from the cave-in probably attracted attention, and we don't want to be fighting from the lower ground if we can help it.”

  A quick examination showed that the roof had fallen in such a way that the horses, if led carefully, should be able to climb out.

  "We risk hurting them more, dragging them up that rubbish," Bette pointed out.

  "If we leave them here, they'll end up dinner for a local remnant pack," Marcus said.

  Bette shuddered and grabbed her horse's halter. "Best be quick about it, then."

  The beasts seemed as eager to leave the eerie, forgotten room as their riders did. Within a short time, all six of them stood in the bright sunlight again beside the hole from the cave-in.

  Marcus reached up to grasp the pommel of his saddle. Then, all hell broke loose.

  Julianne stifled a scream as two remnant descended on them.

  “Dinner coming to us tonight?” a voice growled as they sprang out from behind a shattered wall.

  The rag-clad men dove towards them wielding heavy, barbed clubs. Julianne yanked Bastian backwards, just in time for a weapon to go sailing past his nose.

  His horse screamed and reared up, smashing the remnant with her hooves. The feral man dove to the ground and stabbed up with his spear, heedless of the frantic animal trying to clobber him to death.

  Julianne ripped her short walking staff free from her pack and stabbed it forwards. Her target skittered backwards, out of reach, then lunged forwards to grab the end of it. Julianne's guard training took over, and she whipped it out of reach, then swung it back to connect with the remnant's bony ribs.

  "Behind!" Garrett hollered as Marcus stepped in front of her.

  The young soldier swung his weapon upwards, and the remnant jerked back, guts spilling onto the ground. The beast's mouth hung open as he stared, eyes wide, before crumbling to the ground.

  Retching from a smell so much worse than what had soaked her dress, Julianne almost missed the next attack. A remnant launched for Marcus, whose weapon was still recharging. He whipped a knife up, slicing the remnant’s belly open. Snapping up with his fist, he then stabbed at the beast’s throat. The remnant collapsed in a gurgle of bloody bubbles.