***
On the horizon Saranoda made the sun look like a mere marble, seemingly a simple destination. At first the journey was easy as the rubble was even and mostly gravel. As they came closer to the tower, however, large slabs of buildings littered their path and skeletal structures sometimes collapsed when they drew near. Their pace was reduced to a crawl as they were forced to climb over broken homes and what remained of the crumbling roads. The island itself further impeded them. Like the tragedy from the morning, they saw gaping holes filled with the Lermur Sea. Once they had to scramble off of a fallen building they were climbing over as it began to sink into the ground. They watched as Eretia seemed to swallow the ruin, then they had to find another way through the rubble.
“Oh Idusces…” Eris breathed. Behind a large piece of rubble there was a vertical piece of timber jutting from the ground. A man was impaled upon it. He was slumped over the timber, face down. His face was hidden under his hair, for which Eris was glad. She did not want to see the look of terror that had captured the poor man’s last moments. The timber and rock beneath him were dark with congealed blood.
His last image was watching himself being poured out onto his home, Eris thought, her stomach turning. She was now glad she had eaten little.
“Let’s go,” Sye said softly beside her, his hand going to her wrist and pulling her away. She looked to him and saw that he was also holding Pird’s arm; the small boy’s face had gone white and his eyes trembled. Behind them Zook still looked up at the body, but he was turned away so Eris could not see his expression.
They soon found that the dead man was far from alone. For each body Eris felt her heart drop, only to feel a sickening wave of relief when she saw their tormented faces. She hadn’t recognized one of them yet, but with each new one her mind imagined a familiar face.
There were moments when the only way to proceed was to step over the dead.
The air stank of it.
Several times they caught a glimpse other survivors traveling in loose lines a distance off, but no one made a point to find the four friends out. By the time they reached Saranoda the sun was setting.
A huge stone bowl had been built around the tower long ago to catch the water and direct it through a labrynth of pipes, one of the only man-made achievements that could even be said in the same sentence as a tower of Adrala. There were three walkways that circled Saranoda above this giant bowl with bridges joining them together.
Saranoda was colossal in size, dominating their entire view. Eretia had always been a beacon of safety for tradeships travelling between the mines of Baradur and the port cities of Benji and the Delta. No matter the weather, no matter the sea’s turmoil, one could always see Saranoda and the once safe harbors it stood over. The tower's fountains were innumerable, a common sport was to take a spyglass and a guidebook and see if one could find any undiscovered fountains.
It was a relatively easy sport.
The destruction caused by the quake stopped near the edge of the gerat bowl, the eye of the storm. Here the quiet was eerie, for the buildings were untouched. The roads were intact and, if one didn’t turn around and see the devastation behind them, it would look all too much like Eretia was still standing. Many survivors had gathered at this oasis of civilization, sitting in groups in the streets and staring out the windows.
Walking through the survivors brought a chill down Eris’ spine. None looked up at them or said a word in passing. Just empty stares past each other; most towards the desert of rubble that stretched to the horizon. It reminded Eris of a historical museum she once visited. Recreations of an older people, wax figures imitating the past; their eyes not seeing the present.
The four reached the bowl at Saranoda’s base and crossed the long arching bridge that spanned its waters. Eris glanced down into the crystalline waters of the proud structure and felt a twinge of sorrow. A jagged hole had opened up at the bowl's bottom many fathoms below, schools of fish flitting in and out. The remains of the great pipes that once connected Eretia to Saranoda’s fonts were shattered and scattered through the great pool. Soon the four stood before the archway that was the entrance to the one single room of the tower Saranoda.
Water still dripped from Saranoda. The silvery blue material of the tower shimmered in the daylight, its surface smooth and unscratched in spite of centuries of many a scholar’s hand breaking many a diamond against its surface. The symbol that baffled so many and embraced by the notorious Priests was emblazoned on top of the archway. A reversed question mark with a pair of lines crossing its stem, a bizarre character that no scholar has ever come to understand. It was not often any of the four had the chance to be this close to Saranoda before. It was a symbol of power, immortality, and a challenge against the sky. Here the wind was still and quiet reigned.
“Do you hear that?” Pird asked suddenly.
Eris, along with Sye and Zook, stopped to listen. There was nothing, save for the quiet dripping of water still running down the tower’s surface.
Eris opened her mouth to question Pird when she heard it. Or rather, felt it. She knew why Pird described it as a sound; there was no other way to describe the deep thrumming at the edge of silence that seemed rise from the floor and resonate with her being. Eris suddenly realized that it wasn’t a sound that she heard, or a trembling that she felt. It was simply something she knew. A presence, the same as when one knows they’re being watched. Eris shivered, feeling as though it was Saranoda that was watching them.
“What is that…sound?” Sye asked, looking up at the tower.
“Let’s go find out,” Zook said evenly, walking towards the archway. Eris looked to Sye, who shrugged and followed.
Eris walked to the mammoth archway’s edge, its top fifty meters overhead, and touched the metal of the tower. It was unnaturally smooth, feeling as though there was a thin sheen of water beneath her hand. Sye, Pird, and Zook walked past her into the room.
“And where do you think you're going?”
Two men stepped from behind the wall just inside of the archway. Eris was confused by their challenge, but only for a moment. They both bore blue sashes with Saranoda’s symbol emblazoned in silver.
“They want to come inside, methinks,” said one Priest as if answering the question the first had asked.
“Do they now?” replied the first. He made an exaggerated motion of looking outside, “Well, it doesn't seem to be raining.”
“Or snowing,” helped the second.
“This is Eretia, you idiot, it doesn't snow.”
Beyond the two Priests, Eris could see a number of people milling around in the massive chamber. They weren't wearing sashes. One noticed what was happening at the archway and began to approach. Eris hoped the stranger would arrive before Zook’s clenched fists found a jaw.
“Do they seem cold to you?” asked the first.
“They're not shivering,” answered the second.
“It's not like we've got a fire anyways.”
“Or that we've got food.”
“I really don't see a reason why we should let you in.”
The second nodded, “Not a single one.”
“So scurry off now, back to whatever hole-”
A meaty hand came down on either Priest's shoulder, a large man leaning between them.
“Making friends?” he asked pleasantly, but with a hint of danger in his voice.
“S-Salem,” the first Priest replied, all the superior look draining from his face, “We were j-just...ah...”
“'Course you were,” Salem replied, “But I got em' now, so...what was it? Ah yes. Scurry off now you two.”
And that's exactly what the two men did. They hurriedly pushed their way past the four and began the trek back over the bridge.
Salem shook his head at their retreating backs, “Don't mind them, they're harmless. They just try 'n scare folks
off before we can catch em'.”
“Thanks for the help,” said Sye, looking around, “There's not more of them?”
Salem chuckled, “Oh there was, but had a bit of a scuffle earlier. They've decided to just leave behind these two to get underfoot. What're you four doin' around here? Come to ask the big blue tower 'what did we do to you?'”
Zook opened his mouth to say something, from his expression it wouldn't be pleasant, so Sye cut in, “No, we're here to deliver a message.”
As Sye explained about the tradeships, Eris wandered off with Pird and Zook in tow.
Being the lone atrium of the grand tower it was, of course, enormous. Eris grew a bit dizzy simply looking from one distant side of the chamber to the other. The only other place she had ever been that had such space indoors was the great arena built in early Eretia history. A great domed building for sports and political gatherings; the arena had taken a century to build and could house tens of thousands. That entire arena could have fitted comfortably here with room to spare.
The dome was built to withstand tempests, Eris thought, wondering if that had been enough to withstand Eretia’s wrath.
The chamber’s walls were lined with half columns that ran up into the infinite black above them. It was a common idea that there was no ceiling to be found, for it was difficult for anyone to imagine something that no one has actually seen. The only light was a shaft of the setting sun that fell through the great arch behind them, casting long shadows against the smooth floor. In the falling light Eris could see part of the most intricate and baffling design known to Adrala. Across the entirety of the floor’s surface was a series of coalescing circles, long slender lines with perfect geometry, each with a fine line of unintelligible symbols etched beside them.
“Am I the only one who feels like they're going to get crushed by all the air in here?” asked Pird, looking around in awe.
Eris tapped the floor with her shoe. Although the material of Saranoda appeared metallic, it had the sound of some kind of stone. It suddenly occurred to Eris that she wondered how the material tasted; it just as quickly occurred to her that she should ask Pird. With a small smile she pushed the thought away.
Most of the people surrounding them wandered aimlessly, looking around. A few felt their way across the wall, as though something might be engraved there, and one or two even had their ears against the floor, listening intently at nothing.
Eris suddenly found herself walking to the center of the room, where all the gently curving lines of the floor's design converged.
How long have I been walking? Eris thought, confused. She glanced behind her, seeing that her friends weren’t too far behind, talking with several of the other occupants of the chamber.
She realized that she was standing at the exact center of the room, which made her feel even smaller. She could only imagine how it would feel to be at the center of the entire tower, if a way within would ever reveal itself.
Eris’ eyes were drawn to the center of the design beneath her. Here there was a final series of concentric circles, all the long flowing lines of the entire room meeting at the exact center.
It’s kind of beautiful, actually. Eris thought, sitting beside the design within a design, Everything simply converges. Everything’s…connected.
Eris traced a few of the slim lines with her finger, taking in all the strange shapes and symbols that surrounded every circle. Finally sitting after such a wearying day made Eris realize just how tired she was. The hard, cold floor seemed strangely inviting to rest against.
Suddenly Eris shot awake, looking over her shoulder. Nobody was anywhere near her.
There was somebody standing right behind me, Eris thought, her racing heart slowing back to a tired rhythm, Or I’m crazy. Or I’m tired. Or Pird’s become far too good.
Her half-lidded eyes fell back onto the symbols, looking at them without any focus. Something about them made her rub her eyes and look again.
Why do I feel like I can read what they say, Eris asked herself, but I have no idea what it actually says.
She glanced over her shoulder again, the feeling that somebody was leaning over her had returned. Without any real thought to what she was doing, she whispered aloud what she thought she could read.
Well, Eris thought, I now know how Pird feels when reading math problems for Magist. Gibberish.
The symbols lining the design disappeared. Eris rubbed her eyes and found that the symbols had returned. She thought for a moment that she was just seeing things.
But now they’re…different?
She reached out and touched the center of the circle at the heart of the design. For the briefest moment, she saw dozens of hands woven in shadow lying beside hers. She would have given this glimpse a pause for thought, had not the circle and its symbols begun spinning.
“Sye?” Eris said numbly, her heart racing. She looked around and saw Sye a ways off, talking to Salem.
“Sye!”
Sye broke off his conversation and looked to her. Without hesitation he ran towards her, Salem following behind in curiosity. Zook and Pird also followed the strange fright in her voice.
“What’s going on?” Sye asked, perturbed. Eris only pointed. Sye looked, then simply stood there dumbfounded.
“I’m going to assume that’s not supposed to be happening,” Pird said beside Eris quietly.
“I don't see anything,” said somebody unfamiliar. Eris looked up and saw that her shout was bringing everyone exploring Saranoda’s atrium to her. They formed a ring around her, pushing in to get a better look at the first disturbance in Saranoda’s chamber in written history.
“It's right there! Look, it’s moving!” said another.
“Did you do something Eris?” asked Sye in disbelief.
“No, I mean yes. I think,” Eris looked up at him, “I thought I could read some of the words…so I did.”
“What did it say?” Zook asked. Eris looked at him in surprise; he didn’t look like he doubted her ability to read gibberish at all.
“I don’t know,” said Eris. She gazed at the spinning circles and suddenly felt compelled to reach out and touch its center once again. At the moment of her touch, the symbols froze.
She sat back, waiting for something to happen. Anything.
For the longest few minutes, nothing did.
“Well,” said Pird, “That was exciting.” There was then the very recognizable sound of Zook’s hand encountering the back of Pird’s head.
“I don’t understand,” said Sye, “You said something, the design moved, but nothing-”
“Sye?” Eris said slowly, not entirely sure what she was seeing. She slowly reached out with her fingers above the design’s center. Her hand brushed against something barely visible, something warm and soft. Eris couldn’t seem to actually see it; it was like there was something wrong with a thread of air strung straight up from the floor. Scalding heat suddenly sliced across her fingers and she snatched her hand away. An almost inaudible hum was heard and the distortion took on a color so all could see.
It was like a golden thread of light was slipping up through a cloud of invisible dust, so Eris could only see parts of it shimmering. The thread was thin and rigid, stabbing up into the perpetual darkness.
“What in Judgment’s name-?” someone began to whisper when a slight, inhuman sigh was heard. A second thread struck out, this time originating a few meters up the first, and stabbed through Sye.
“Sye!” Eris shouted, making a step toward him. But he didn’t fall, didn’t flinch, even though she could see the light fall on the base of his throat and exit out his back, hitting the floor. Sye, instead of worrying over his strange impalement, was staring at her.
Eris looked down and saw that she, too, had a thread of shifting gold where her neck met her body. There was no broken skin. She held her hand up, blocking it, but the ligh
t didn’t break. It just continued like her flesh wasn’t there.
One by one the thin shafts found their way to each and every person in the room. There were starts of surprise, but it seemed strangely wrong to be any louder or turn away. Eris felt a tingling in her fingers and toes and she had the odd taste of metal in her mouth. She didn’t feel panic; a blanket of inexplicable calm had fallen around her.
One of the many threads shifted to a glistening red. Another followed suit, then another. It wasn’t long until they all had a crimson glow.
All but four.
At once each of the connecting lines of light disappeared. The first upright golden string dwindled and then, with a sharp sigh, disappeared. There was silence.
“I think we should leave,” Sye said, looking shaken. Eris also felt a strange sense of foreboding.
What did we do? Eris thought.
“Help!”
Everyone turned toward the desperate shout. At first Eris thought that the man in the back was unusually tall, but as people backed away she felt a wave of nausea. His feet weren’t touching the floor.
There was another yelp, followed by a second. The affected people flailed uselessly. One man jumped to try and drag his friend down, but instead pushed him into a sickening spin. Watching made Eris glad she hadn’t eaten much. She looked around and saw that she, Pird, Sye, and Zook were the only ones not floating helplessly in the air. Then Eris realized that everyone else weren’t just floating up, they were being pulled toward the archway. And they were picking up speed.
Without thinking Eris tried to grab one of their legs, but fell short. She reached for another and a third crashed into her back, knocking her to the ground. People were screaming in fear, all their control taken away. Eris looked up and saw that Pird had gotten a hold of one and was being dragged toward the arch. Sye and Zook ran past her after him. She scrambled to her feet and gave chase.
The flying group passed through the archway and was hurled into the waiting water. Pird, however, did not. It didn’t look like he let go, it was as though something had flicked him back.
“Are you all right?” Eris asked urgently when they reached him.
“There’s a wall,” grunted Pird, clutching his forehead as he stood. Sye reached out to the archway. Something they couldn’t see stopped his hand.
“But there’s nothing there!” Eris said desperately.
“Let’s not panic,” Sye urged, feeling his way across the invisible barrier.
The silence of Saranoda was again broken by a quiet hum, seeming to come from the very air. Eris struck the unseen wall but her fist bounced off like she had hit a massive drum. Salem and a handful of others managed to pull themselves from the water and ran back to the four. They pounded on the wall but were repelled like Eris. She could see them shouting, but she couldn’t hear them. Eris struck harder, the feeling of being trapped growing.
Everything went utterly dark.
Eris held very still, for she couldn’t tell if her eyes were open or closed. The vast chamber suddenly seemed like it could be filled with all manner of nightmares, just out of her reach.
“Can I panic now?” Pird asked in a small voice.
A dim, dark blue glow seeped through the room, letting Eris just barely make out her friends. She also could now see that there was no longer an archway. Eris stepped away from it, feeling stunned.
It hadn’t closed.
It simply wasn’t there.
“Good gods,” Sye whispered, staring at the blank wall, “We’re trapped inside Saranoda!”
“The light,” said Pird. The source of the light came from the floor, back at the center. Sye warily approached the source, Eris following close behind with the other two in tow.
The glow came from the central most circle of the floor’s concentric design. The blue light was steady and silent. What caught Eris’ eyes was what looked like a single drop of quicksilver not quite at the center of the circle. There was a plip and another fell beside it.
Eris looked up and was startled by a brief shower of mirrored rain, every droplet landing neatly within the circle. A second burst followed, then a third. The fourth, however, was far from a small patter. A long curling tongue of the silvery liquid fell from the darkness, causing the four to step back. The stream didn’t splash against the floor; instead it splashed against the air. It was like there was an invisible sphere a few centimeters off the floor, the mercurial fluid sliding across its unseen bowl and splashing up the sides.
The invisible ball quickly filled and began to expand like a silver balloon, the stream still pouring from above. Ripples rolled across its curved surface. As it grew larger it floated higher, the puddle from the previous showers plucked by an invisible hand and sucked up into the roiling mass.
The sphere rose over their heads and began to stretch horizontally, thinning into a disk. Even though she couldn’t see it, Eris could still hear the quicksilver falling and adding to the mass. As she looked up with puzzled wonder, Eris found that the substance wasn’t quicksilver at all, the dim blue lighting tricking her eyes. Above her stretched the clearest mirror she had ever seen, looking all like she was looking up into the eyes of her startled doppleganger within an identical room. The only flaws in the illusion were the ripples that curled across the expanding disk.
The sound of the stream abruptly silenced. Eris looked around and saw that the colossal floating mirror had spanned the great chamber, giving the chamber the high ceiling it never had. The low hum cut off and the circle of light under their feet began to fade.
“I don’t like this,” said Pird, as the darkness silently fell. There was, again, quiet. Again, Eris felt that there were things in the approaching shadows just outside the dwindling light.
Then the hum returned with an intense warbling tone. Eris shielded her eyes as the room was flooded with a bright blue light. At first she thought that the entire floor was alight with sapphire fire. As her eyes adjusted, however, Eris found that the piercing glow flowed from the swirling design on the floor.
And again the design was moving.
The great curving lines that shed from the central circle spun in one direction, the many concentric circles spun in another, all at different speeds. The floor now seemed translucent, for another similar array was moving what looked like several feet under the first. Another lay under that and, as far as Eris could see, the pattern continued until there were too many glowing lines to see past.
Panic rose again and again within her, but it was like there was something preventing her from feeling the panic. She was afraid and confused, but she couldn’t act on it. The distortion of her emotions was strange, but she already had enough distractions.
A dark blue glow joined the piercing light. Eris looked down and saw that a circle of a darker hue had formed around her feet. Lines of miniature scrawl and hyperbolic shapes drew themselves beneath her. She looked to her friends and found that they, too, had their own still symbols underneath. Eris wanted to jump away from this strange mark, but something held her there. A compulsion stronger than self-preservation.
Eris’ eyes were drawn back to the great mirror above her, only to find something horribly wrong with the reflection. In the mirror the symbols the four stood on were red instead of blue. The entire design was off, not quite in the same position as the one beneath her.
The loud hum reached a new crescendo, then suddenly the world went silent. Eris could not hear anything, not even the beating of her own heart. Her reflection, for the briefest of moments, was surrounded by figures. None that she could describe, just shadows looking back at her through the mirror. Then her reflection disappeared, along with the shadows, leaving only the symbol.
Disorientation took her as she realized that her surroundings had changed. They were in the same cavernous, ceilingless chamber, but the bluish light had giv
en way to a clear glow. The designs beneath the floor were gone, its translucence banished, and the design on the floor was different from what she remembered. The pitiful amount of light that remained came from the floor, but only just around her feet. Slowly, she looked up. The mirror was gone, replaced again by the infinite reaches of the tower’s maw.
Eris found Sye a short distance away, also looking up in dazed confusion. She began to walk toward him but a wave of dizziness overtook her. She stumbled, then sank to her knees. The disorientation passed and Eris went to Sye.
“What…?” began Eris, but she stopped herself. What happened? Sye had seen everything she had. The golden light. The expulsion of everyone but them. The lights. The mirror.
What happened? Eris thought, Who in Adrala could possibly answer that?
“What in the world have we done?” Sye asked in a terrified whisper.
Even in light of everything that had occurred, Sye’s tone was strange.
“What do you mean?” asked Eris.
Sye slowly turned toward her, eyes wide with horror, “Saranoda hasn’t changed as long as anyone can remember. What happened the one time something did change?”
“We did not create another wave,” said Zook in a strangely calm voice, he and Pird walking to them.
“How could you possibly know?” Sye asked
“There was no roar,” Zook replied simply.
“There were people screaming and beating on that invisible wall! We didn’t hear a thing!”
“I believe that gold light was some kind of security,” Zook continued, pointedly ignoring Sye, “The mirror, the lights, everything was merely Saranoda unlocking.”
“How can you be so sure that we haven’t just killed the last of Eretia!”
“The door was closed when we got here, now its open.”
“Door?” Sye asked, bewildered. Zook didn’t answer, he merely looked past them. Sye and Eris turned around.
Where there was once ambiguous wall was now a towering archway. Light from the setting sun did not fall through this arch, instead it lead to a wide dark corridor.
A corridor that led into the untouched darkness of Saranoda.
End of the Sixth Chapter
First of the Shadows
“We were to open the tower to their prying, the girl let herself in.”
“So early in the plan and already it is twisting from our grasp.”
“Early? You forget how long ago this began.”
“This is the end.”
-The Four under the Foundings
That shouldn’t be there,” Pird said in disbelief.
“Agreed,” Zook said sarcastically.
“No, I know it’s not supposed to just pop out of the wall. I meant the arch isn’t supposed to be there.”
“Your point,” Zook said evenly, “Quickly.”
Eris knew that tone. What Zook was really saying was “You have five seconds to explain why you’re in my way before we have a problem.”
“That’s where we came in!” Pird said loudly. He seemed even more baffled then their collective state of bewilderment. “That should lead back outside, but…I don’t understand!”
“It’s not the same arch, Pird,” said Sye, getting over the initial shock of seeing a wall disappear.
“I know!” Pird Shouted, nearly hysterical now, “It’s a different door, but it’s the same Dark direction!”
“How do you know?” asked Zook contemptuously.
“Dammit Zook!” We’ve lived in the same house for fifteen years! You know that I know that that is south,” Pird pointed, “and that’s west, that’s north, and that’s east.” Pird pointed one hand to south and the other to west, “And that-“ Pird said, pulling his fingers together, “Is where we came in.” Pird’s fingers fell upon the new archway.
“There’s something very wrong with this room,” Pird finished quietly.
All four of them looked at the shadowed opening. Without a word, Zook began walking toward it.
“What are you doing?” Sye asked. Zook ignored him.
“Zook!”
Zook stopped, halfway between them and the arch. He turned, “We’re not going to find anything by standing here. I suggest you move forward.”
“We’re trapped in here,” said Sye, “Saranoda’s locked us in!”
Zook glanced around, “I don’t see anything stopping us.”
“Zook, this is Saranoda,” Sye said, exasperated, “There’s never been a way inside!”
“And you would hesitate now?”
“Have you forgotten about Eretia? Don’t you think there’s a reason why we were never let inside before?”
“Have I forgotten Eretia?” Zook asked in a threatening tone. He looked like he had more to say, but he stopped himself. To Eris’ puzzlement, Zook took a deep breath and appeared to calm himself. Zook never pushed away his anger. He always let it all out, let it burn until he was tired. If the need arose, he did it quietly with bites of sarcasm, but he never tried to control it. Not until now.
Is he controlling it? Eris wondered, Or have we just not seen this much fury before?
“You can stay here if you’re afraid,” Zook said, “But I’m leaving. I don’t care how big this tower is, I’m going to find out why Eretia had to be destroyed.”
Once again, Zook didn’t stay for any argument. He turned and left to the corridor. The glow around his feet followed him into the shadows, giving a thin defense against the darkness beyond.
“Zook!” Sye called again, but it fell on deaf ears. Pird hesitated, then went after the tall Healer. Eris followed, but when she was at the arch she realized Sye wasn’t with her. She looked behind herself and found that he hadn’t moved. Eris walked back to him
“Sye…” Eris trailed off. She felt torn between him and Zook. Sye met her eyes, his face unsure, then he looked away.
“There’s nowhere else to go,” Eris pleaded. She could feel Zook and Pird getting farther away. She walked to the brooding archway, then looked back at Sye. When he stayed silent Eris hesitated, then reluctantly left.
The dark twilight of the wide arching hall was eerie, there being just enough light to barely make out the walls. Shadows stained the high cathedral-like ceiling and upper walls, even directly above the glowing floor that followed Eris.
It was utterly silent within Saranoda, every footfall seeming to echo endlessly. Gone were the noises of people, horses, and carts. Of the wind and the sea. The distant roar of the tectonic plates that human senses cannot hear but primeval instincts know is there. Beneath the disquieting silence, however, was a sound not quite there. Eris could not find a word for the strange feeling, but she felt if weight had a sound, if all the weight of the gargantuan tower had a noise, then that’s what it would sound like.
It didn’t take Eris long to catch up to Zook and Pird, for they hadn’t gone far. They both stood, utterly baffled, before a split in the hall.
“Who wants to get lost first?” asked Pird, sounding amused at their conundrum.
Zook was already frustrated, pacing a few steps down one corridor, then coming back to vainly explore the other.
“What are we supposed to do?” he asked in a low temper, “Guess? Spin and point?”
“Anyone got a coin?” Pird asked.
As if to answer Zook, a pinprick of blue lit in the distant shadows of the right corridor. Without a second’s thought Zook took a few steps toward the glow. He stopped, however, when the light bobbed.
“Is someone else here?” Eris asked. She wasn’t sure whether to feel hopeful or afraid.
We’re alone here, Eris thought, Aren’t we?
The light did not come from the glowing floor following a person; instead it came from what looked like a floating blue sphere. Eris felt Pird turn wary beside her a
nd couldn’t help but feel cautious herself. The approaching object looked harmless, but at this point anything was possible. Zook did nothing to show that he was perturbed.
As the sphere neared Eris saw that it was about the size of her head. It looked to be made of foggy blue glass, containing a dark haze that swirled and convulsed within. Swarming over its surface glowed what looked like indecipherable words in yet another lighter shade of blue. The orb shone with an azure blaze, yet the light that fell around it was a soft, clear white.
“What’s keeping it up?” Eris whispered to Pird as the sphere drew closer.
“I’m still getting over the fact that it’s moving by itself,” Pird whispered back, “Don’t rush me.”
The orb came to a stop a few meters away from Zook. Eris had a curious feeling it was looking them over, even though she couldn’t see how it could see at all.
It was so quiet that when the orb finally made a sound Eris had to resist the urge to jump. It was a soft, sorrowful sound; the orb’s light darkening a shade and the words on its surface swirling a bit faster. After a moment it made the noise again, sounding like some sort of violin humming away. The orb played a few more sad notes, then bobbed once and drifted a few meters away. It returned to Zook and repeated the motion.
“It wants us to follow it,” said Zook.
“How do you know?” Pird asked.
Eris could almost see Zook’s hackles rise.
“What about Sye, Zook?” Eris asked Zook Pird could formulate a response, “We can’t just leave him.”
“I thought we just did,” said Zook.
“What the Dark is the matter with you?” Pird asked angrily.
Now Zook did turn fully around. He didn’t say anything, just crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.
It was a moment before Pird continued; Eris guessed that he had been waiting for Zook’s normal scathing retort.
“I’m used to you being pissed off,” said Pird, “But this is a whole new level. We’re in Saranoda, do you think we should be poking around?”
“You’re right,” Zook replied evenly, “This is Saranoda. That’s why I don’t have time for this.”
Zook then made a strange look over Eris’ shoulder. She couldn’t read what lay in the shades of crimson in his eyes, besides that he was expecting something. Eris turned around and saw that Sye was finishing closing the distance between them. He didn’t say anything; the way his head was bowed said it all for him.
“Well,” said Pird, “I’m glad glower-wonder isn’t hasty.”
Eris looked around in surprise and found that Zook was gone, already a ways down the corridor with the orb bobbing in front of him. Sye’s abashment immediately disappeared and he made to yell after Zook, but Eris stopped him. Sye looked at her questionably, but Eris just shook her head. Sye hesitated, then walked after Zook. Eris and Pird followed.
“What is that he’s following?” Sye asked.
“Flying marble,” Pird replied, “Zook thinks it’s taking us somewhere.”
“Does he?”
“What else would it be?”
“Light of an anglerfish.”
“Alright, I’m already thoroughly creeped out,” said Pird, “Keep your morbid thoughts to yourself.”
“You did ask,” Sye pointed out.
“You know what an anglerfish is?” Eris asked Pird, impressed.
“Your high opinion of my intelligence is noted,” Pird replied, “And I only know what they are because Magist showed me a picture of one. I don’t forget things that I imagine jumping out of the shadows when I’m trying to sleep.”
They caught up to Zook before long. He made no sign to acknowledge that he had left them. The blue orb seemed to know where it was going, wherever that happened to be. They came to another intersection, the corridor now splitting thrice, but the orb went right again without pausing. There were many forks in their path, sometimes coming to circular rooms with walls lined with archways, all leading to more endless corridors. At first Eris tried to remember all the twists and turns, but after the first dozen she gave up. She didn’t worry, Pird was sure to have it all unconsciously mapped out in his head.
The deeper they traveled into Saranoda, the more wrong the gloomy empty twilight around them felt to Eris. It seemed to her that the silent corridors and their interconnecting chambers should be filled with light, with banners, art, monuments, and, strangely enough, people. Her own thought of there being humans within the tower was strange, but she could not deny the feeling that she should be surrounded with crowds like that of a bustling city.
As they walked Eris noticed that there were symbols on the corridors walls that would glow feebly when the blue orb passed. They appeared fairly regularly, every few meters or so, but now and then there would be great empty lengths in between. It was in front of one of these hand-sized designs that the orb suddenly stopped.
Many of the previous symbols were simple shapes or short lines of unreadable text. This array, however, seemed to be artistic on accident. To Eris it seemed like it had been carefully measured and precisely drawn. It looked like a slightly lopsided diamond, the bottom half being longer. The diamond was split into four smaller diamonds, the bottom again being largest. There was a symbol in each one, but before Eris could see what they were the entire design glowed fiercely.
Eris didn’t get a chance to avert her eyes from the harsh light, for it faded away as quickly as it had appeared. The symbol, however, was not the only thing to fade. At first Eris thought that the wall around the mark was darkening, like a sheet of paper slowly soaking in ink. But as the darkness spread Eris realized that the black wasn’t a color, it was a lightless room beyond the evaporating wall. The wall’s dissolution proceeded quickly until the four stood before yet another towering archway.
“Well,” said Pird, “I would say ‘Oh wow that’s weird’, but…”
The blue orb bobbed through the archway, the walls and floor within beginning to glow with the tower’s weak light. The four cautiously followed.
At first it looked like any of the other great circular rooms, although there were no other archways. As they went deeper into the chamber it was clear that they had reached somewhere more significant. There were rows and rows of low circular pedestals raised from the smooth Saranodian floor. They were about a meter in diameter and each one was emblazoned with the reversed question mark of Saranoda. One of these marks was glowing.
The orb made a beeline for this symbol and the four obligingly followed.
“What do you suppose this place is?” Sye asked as they walked.
“Lavatory?” Pird suggested.
Everyone ignored him.
When they reached the pedestal the orb stopped bobbing and began to slowly revolve around it. The four gathered around the slight glow.
“So,” said Pird, simply because it was too quiet for him, “Who else enjoyed the tour?”
“What do we do now?” asked Eris. She had no idea what they had been doing, but she felt the question was still worth asking.
“We go forward,” said Zook, looking at the mark with his arms crossed.
“Gee, that’s enlightening,” said Pird.
“There’s hardly anywhere we can go,” said Sye, “And we just made thirteen turns-“
“Fourteen,” Pird corrected.
“Fourteen.” Sye glanced at Pird, “Turns. I’d rather not go get lost.”
“By ‘forward’,” Zook said irritably, “I meant ‘a meter in front of you.”
It took Sye a few seconds before it sank in, “You mean this pedestal?”
Zook nodded, “Step on it.”
“Step on it? I’m not going…why would I step on it? You step on it.”
“I asked you first.”
“You’re the one who had us traipse all around the tower.”
“I’ll step on it!” volunteered Pird.
“No!” both Zook and Sye shouted.
Eris sighed, deciding the best tactic was to let the two sore toes wear themselves out on each other. Fingers were being gestured, not pointed, so no one was going to get hurt. As accusations were tossed back and forth, Eris’ eyes wandered to the lethargic blue orb. The way the words on its surface ebbed and flowed made it look almost alive.
Eris reached out, hesitated for the sake of caution, then lightly brushed the orb with her fingers. It was cool to the touch, its surface feeling like it buzzed against her skin. The orb made its sad noise softly and Eris felt so sure that it was looking at her. Whether it was the way the flow of text changed or the way it arranged its glow, the orb’s ‘gaze’ seemed to swivel to Sye and Zook. With another low note it floated away from Eris but stayed near the four.
“This is stupid,” Zook said finally, “It’s just a glowing letter.”
“I still don’t understand why I have to do it,” said Sye.
“Why can’t I step on it?” pouted Pird.
“Fine,” said Zook, exasperated, “I’ll step on it.”
Zook never got the chance. The orb, because it was moving slowly, had dropped out of the three males’ attention. Eris watched it out of curiosity as it came to hover behind Sye. The last thing she expected, however, was the orb suddenly shoving forward and pushing Sye onto the pedestal.
At once the weak glow of the Saranodian symbol brightened. Sye gave a small yelp of surprise as an invisible hand plucked him off the ground and held him a meter up in the air.
“Sye!” Eris and Pird shouted, starting forward.
“Stop,” said Zook calmly.
They both hesitated out of confusion. Zook reached out toward Sye, but his hand instead pressed against an unseen wall. Now Eris saw that the air above the rim of the pedestal was slightly off, as though someone had built a cylinder out of shadow around Sye. Sye himself was struggling against whatever held him there, with little success.
“Sye,” Eris called, but Sye didn’t hear.
“Sye!” Pird shouted. Sye slowly ceased his flailing.
“Can you hear us?” asked Eris, remembering the silence at Saranoda’s entrance.
“Yeah…” Sye replied, looking down at the gap between his feet and the ground, “What’s going on?”
“Like we know,” answered Pird.
What looked like a large paper-thin sheet of glass snapped into existence before Sye. Before anyone could react a dozen more similar but smaller panels appeared in a loose circle around the floating Prince.
“How are they staying up?” Eris asked.
“How am I staying up?” asked Sye, looking down at himself, “And where’d they come from? You can’t just make things out of thin air.”
“Why does Sye get to be in there?” Pird complained.
The floating panels flickered for a moment, then lines upon lines of the same blue text that was on the orb rolled over the clear surface.
“I think I’m going to be colorblind with all this blue,” said Pird.
“Quiet, Pird,” said Zook.
The scrolling letters continued for a few moments, then abruptly disappeared, leaving only a small blinking rectangle at the top left corner of each panel.
“What was that all-” began Sye when each rectangle on each panel moved slightly to the right. Where the rectangles once were now glowed what looked very similar to an ‘S’. The rectangle blinked sluggishly a few more times, then moved again, revealing a ‘y’. The third move took the shapes a number of spaces at the same time, leaving behind a string of letters. Letters divided into two short words.
Syrus Darvini
“My name,” Sye breathed, staring at the panel, “That’s…that’s my name.”
The rectangle moved underneath Sye’s name and flickered across the panel, revealing more words. When it was finished each of the panels bore the same strange message.
Syrus Darvini
700th Infantry (Legion)
Pod Call Number-30112
Status-Inactive
“700th infantry?” Eris asked.
“Sounds…” Sye shook his head vigorously, getting rid of the shock. Even then, his voice was weak, “Sounds military. Why would it say that?”
“Why does it say anything about you at all?” asked Pird, “And it’s written in Dialect, not the weird runes.”
“Because it was expecting us,” mused Zook.
Before anyone could react to what Zook just said, the last line of the text flashed red. The word ‘inactive’ faded and was replaced with ‘active’.
“What’s happening?” asked Sye when a clunking noise resounded from above, attracting the four’s attention.
None of them had looked up when they had entered the room. Instead of a cathedral-like ceiling Eris could barely see, there were rings upon rings of some kind of round-bottomed objects. There was a second clunk and three of the outer rings began slowly rotating at varying speeds and alternate directions. After a moment they stopped, then began again. The outermost moving ring, however, remained still and a previously inert ring just inside the rotating ones started up. This happened again and again, Eris looking on in confusion, when Pird suddenly pointed.
“Look at that one!” he shouted, “Always in the second moving ring. It’s switching between them!”
Eris saw it too. Two of the round objects that made up the rings would trade positions whenever they stopped. As Eris watched she saw it was the one that moved inward that was truly moving, the one that switched outward was simply making room and never traded positions again. Eris watched the traveling object’s meandering path until it was directly above them. The entire arrangement became still.
“I don’t like this,” said Sye.
“We need to get you out of there,” said Eris.
“How?”
“I don’t know!” said Eris, feeling panic and helplessness starting to gnaw at the edge of her thoughts, “Just look!”
Sye began trying to pull himself from whatever held him there. Eris started feeling the invisible barrier over, searching for any sort of give. Pird soon followed suit, but Zook just stood there. Watching.
Waiting.
“Help us!” Pird yelled at him.
Zook shook his head, “If Saranoda wanted us dead it has had plenty of chances before this.”
“Saranoda..?” Eris asked, confused.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Pird shouted, “The tower can’t want anything! Get over here and-“
“It’s moving!” Sye yelled fearfully.
Eris looked up and saw that the round thing had lowered itself from the rest of its brothers. Then, as though some invisible rope had snapped, it suddenly fell.
Sye shouted something and flailed with terrified vigor. Eris frantically pounded on the barrier, her fists bouncing off with a drumming noise. Pird stood there helplessly.
Zook just watched.
The object dropped like a stone, aimed directly at Sye. Sye curled up in the air, eyes squeezed shut, arms over his head.
“Sye!” Eris screamed.
Suddenly, incredibly, the object Eris now saw as a great blue egg slowed to a full stop just a few meters above Sye. Eris felt sick; both at the near miss of her friend’s life and seeing such a large object stop itself in midair. Before she could feel relieved the egg split lengthwise into spiraling pieces, opening like a blooming flower. The pieces lowered themselves and then snapped shut, swallowing Sye whole.
Eris struck the wall again, but only once. It was like Zook said, if Sye was to be harmed then the egg wouldn’t have stopped. So she, Pird and Zook were forced to wait.
The egg itself was fairly simple, only big enough to fit someone inside. The only markings were the swirling lines it had bloomed upon, a string of letters on each piece, and a glowing circu
lar design on top.
And, of course, it was all the silver blue of Saranoda.
There was a low hum and the egg’s seams glowed. Moments later it opened. Sye was no longer curled up and he was slowly lowered to the ground onto his feet.
Eris didn’t think she could be any more confused, but then she saw that a dark cloak was wrapped around Sye’s shoulders.
“You all right?” Pird asked.
Sye didn’t answer. He swayed slightly, looking past them.
“Sye?”
Sye slowly looked at them, wide-eyed. Without a word, he simply fell over.
The barrier beneath Eris’ hands disappeared. She and Pird ran to Sye’s side. It only took one good shake from Eris to bring him back around.
“Wha-?” Sye mumbled sluggishly, sitting up and bringing a hand to his head. He froze, looking blankly at his arm.
His right hand was clothed in a black, fingerless glove that stretched up to his elbow. On that same arm the strangest contraption was strapped to the back of his forearm. It was silver blue and ovate in shape. Slight etches and ridges gave it a streamlined look. Besides a narrow hole toward its front, there wasn’t any clue to what it was.
“What in the world is that?” Pird asked.
Sye looked confused, but he wasn’t looked at the thing on his arm. He was staring at them.
Pird snapped his fingers in realization and pointed at Sye, “You’re not dead!” he said rather loudly.
“I’m…not?” Sye whispered.
Eris then understood Sye’s odd behavior. His eyes had been closed when the egg-pod thing had stopped and closed around him.
Oh Sye… Eris thought numbly, How many times are we going to feel like we’re about to die?
“Well, we might already be dead,” Pird went on casually, “Turns out that this is what the Dark of Ignorance looks like. Would explain a lot of things, but let’s think cheery thoughts, shall we?”
Sye slowly shook his head, “I saw that…that thing come down. So I closed my eyes and I heard a clunk. Then there were…there were lights. I thought I was…it was so… “
Eris helped him to his feet, but when he stood she heard the slight clink of metal on metal. Sye gave her a quizzical look, then pulled aside the strange cloak. Underneath on each hip hung a sheathed sword on a new, plain belt.
Sye lightly touched one of their hilts, as if confirming their existence. He hesitated, then slowly drew one from its sheath and held it before him.
The blade was the most remarkable color, a silvery blue so polished that it was virtually a mirror. It looked nothing like the short swords Eris had seen Eretian guards show off. Instead of slowly tapering to a point, the blade was a long, straight, narrow rectangle, ending in an a slanted razored end instead of a point. Sye turned it on its side and Eris saw that it was impossibly thin, its edge seeming to have been sharpened into nothing. The most curious part of the sword was a shallow cut a third of the way up the blade. Whatever its purpose was, it was lost on Eris.
“You're bloody loaded,” Pird said in awe.
“I'm no expert,” said Sye giving a feeble cut at the air, “But this thing seems much too light.”
“Remember the duel?” asked Pird, “Down where the Backard's emporium is?”
“Was,” Zook suddenly interjected.
The strange correction and Zook's sternness caused them all to glance in his direction before Pird continued.
“The swords they fenced with, what were they-”
“Rapiers,” suggested Eris.
Pird paused again, “It's kinda scary that you knew that.”
“I read,” Eris said defensively.
“Anyway, they were really thin, right? They wobbled all over the place, remember?”
Sye shook his sword and Eris saw what Pird was getting at.
“But this doesn't even bend at all,” observed Sye, running his finger up the blade, “Because it's made from the same stuff as Saranoda. It feels the same, like polished stone-”
Sye flicked his hand away. Eris was surprised to see a bright bead of blood on his finger, as he had barely touched the edge.
“That was smart,” said Pird, then added excitedly, “Lemme try!”
Sye reluctantly gave up the sword, then drew the second one. As Pird took some jabs at the air Sye motioned Eris closer.
“Look at this,” he said, putting a finger on the identical blade, just under the hilt. Eris leaned in and found that the same diamond design that the orb had used to open the last archway was carefully etched into the odd mirrored metal. Her eyes immediately recognized the symbol inside one of the four diamonds the design was split into as the reversed question mark of Saranoda.
Leaning so close Eris noticed that the same four diamonds were also emblazoned on the silver brooch that pinned Sye's cloak at his throat.
“It has the symbols of the towers,” Sye said, “The hook-thing for Saranoda, the horseshoe for Bandui, and piston cross-section for Krakrenenor.”
“And the last one?” Eris asked. The largest diamond was occupied by what looked vaguely like a backwards 'S.'
Sye met her eyes and said quietly, “Remember what Magist said? Tumbar. The fourth tower.”
“Hey!” Pird shouted.
Eris and Sye turned to see that Zook was being lifted off the ground. Above the pedestal.
“What're you doing?” Pird asked.
“It's not exactly dangerous,” Zook replied, seeming nonplussed that he was levitating, “As you've seen.”
“Zook,” said Sye, more forcefully, “What are you doing?”
Zook looked at him levelly, “We were brought here for a reason. I'm fulfilling it.”
“We weren't 'brought' here!” Sye shouted, “Neither is there a reason!”
“Are you blind?” Zook asked, suddenly angry, “The orb led us here, past hundreds of symbols to this specific room! The tower knew your name!”
“What will we need swords for?” Eris asked before Sye could answer
“I don't know,” Zook admitted, deflating a bit, “But I don't think we're leaving until everyone's had their turn.”
Eris, Pird, and Sye turned and saw that the orb was hovering next to the wall. Or rather, the wall that now took the place of the archway they had entered through.
The panels flickered again, clearing Sye's name. Eris was expecting it now, but still felt a twinge of surprise when the panels displayed 'Torin Mursaan.' Zook scowled at his name and a clunk was heard again. The pods above moved again, but only enough to replace Sye's with the next one over. Eris watched it fall, still with a gnarl of dread, but Pird was apparently already bored with both the pods and the sword. He sheathed Sye's weapon for him, then paused.
“What's this?” Pird asked, tapping something tucked behind Sye's right sheath.
Sye pulled his cloak back further, revealing a box-like leather container. He reached in and extracted a short, slender bolt. Its narrow tip was the same mirrored silver blue as his sword. The shaft was nearly black, but for some odd reason there was no fletching.
Curiously and carefully, Sye lined the bolt up to the hole on the device on his arm. It matched perfectly. When he started to slide the bolt in a sliver of each of the device's sides flipped forward, forming a pair of slender wings perpendicular to his arm. A thin, almost invisible cord was strung between the wingtips and through the device.
“It's like a crossbow,” said Pird, “Tower style.”
Sye pulled back on a small ridge, drawing back the bolt easily. Once it reached the end there was a click. He turned his arm over and found a small strung ring near his hand. As Sye threaded his finger through it he accidentally pulled it.
Eris and Pird ducked as the wings snapped straight again. Eris couldn't even see the bolt leave the bow. There was immediately a metallic ping! on the far off wall. Pird impulsively sprinted after it.
“Sorry,” Sy
e said sheepishly. He folded the wings of the bow back and they stayed put with a satisfying click. He searched for anything else hidden away on his person and found success in a wide pocket on the inside of his cloak. Out of it he pulled a small black book and an ornate silver pen. He opened the book, but Eris saw only blank pages. He raised a confused eyebrow to Eris, then replaced both back into the pocket.
Zook was now being lowered, pod floating back up. He, too, now wore a dark cloak pinned with a silver diamond-shaped brooch. As Zook joined them he wasted no time in sliding out the single sword he was given. It was the same color and general shape as Sye's, but slightly wider and at most a half-meter longer. There was also no cut in the edge. As if only assuring himself it was there, Zook immediately sheathed the blade then reached behind his shoulder where a wide quiver, bristling with arrows, hung. He pulled one out to show that it was similar to Sye's bolts, albeit it was longer and more slender. They also had fletching, two sleek feathers black and one a dark blue.
“Arrow but no bow?” Eris asked.
Zook replaced the arrow and reached behind his back, under his cloak. He pulled out a strange contraption that Eris didn’t recognize. It was a wide, stocky thing with a handle at its center that seemed contoured to Zook’s hand.
Why does it look folded up? Eris began to wonder when Zook must have accidentally found a hidden catch. The contraption flung itself open with frightening speed, suddenly becoming an elegant bow; hiding its folded origins well.
Zook clumsily knocked an arrow and began to pull it back when Pird rejoined them.
“You're on your own if you fire that,” said Pird, panting slightly, “Look at this, Sye.” Pird held out the recovered bolt. Curiously enough, the small weapon now had fletching, colored like Zook's. When Sye reached for it, however, the fletching folded and disappeared within the bolt.
“Normal anything is too much to ask around here,” Sye said as he turned the bolt over in his hands.
Zook patted himself down, then removed a silver ring from one of his pockets. It looked rather nondescript to Eris. Zook put it on, raised an eyebrow, then seemed to disregard it.
“My turn!” announced Pird. Before anyone could stop him Pird was already on the pad and beginning his short ascent.
“What is this?” asked Sye, “Dress up?” Zook merely shrugged.
“The tower knows our names,” Eris thought out loud as 'Pird Altius' was displayed across the panels, “It has all this for us. It chose us, above all others. Why?”
Zook watched Pird's pod fall, arms crossed, “It was waiting for us.”
Sye visibly struggled for his reply, then settled on, “For what?”
“Whatever it is,” said Zook, “Something seems to think it was worth our home.”
Neither Eris nor Sye answered that, watching Pird touch down. He wore the matching cloak and showed off a pair of daggers that were miniature replicas of Zook's sword. Pird also had a device similar to Sye's crossbow, albeit one key difference.
“Why do I get just a metal stick instead a pocketful of bolts?” Pird asked in disappointment, examining the cylinder protruding from his device.
“Try shooting it,” suggested Sye.
“And lose it?” Pird asked dramatically, hugging the device to his chest, “Never.”
“How could you lose it in here?” asked Eris.
“I don't feel like chasing it.”
“Just shoot it,” Zook said, annoyed.
“Fine,” said Pird, lifting his arm with a grin. After taking a moment to aim very carefully at nothing, Pird pulled the trigger ring. Instead of a pair of wings and a string, Pird's fired with a distinct metallic pung! After the cylinder flitted away, Eris saw that it was trailed by a thin metal cord.
“Uh, Pird?” asked Sye.
“What?” Pird replied, distracted.
“Brace yourself.”
The cord suddenly snapped taut, jerking Pird forward and making him stumble. There was a clatter as the cylinder fell what looked like fifty meters away. Eris picked up the trailing cord and found that it was actually a string of finely interwoven chains. It was flexible and easy to grip, but Eris doubted that anyone could ever break it.
“This is handy,” Pird said sarcastically, pulling the ring a second time. The distant cylinder jumped into the air, making Eris drop the cord in surprise. Three arms had sprung from the cylinder's side, forming a slender grappling hook.
“Now we're talking,” said Pird, giving it a third tug. With a quiet zipping noise the cord was yanked back into the device at a violent rate. Right before the grappling hook reached him its arms folded back up. The hook struck back into its resting place, forcing Pird a step back.
“Handy,” Pird said approvingly, giving it a pat, “I think I’ll call it my grapplechain,” he continued, holding it before him.
“I think I’ll call my sword ‘my sword’ and my bow ‘my bow’,” said Zook, “Eris?”
What do we need weapons for? Eris repeated in her head, failing to hold back a feeling of dread.
Eris was glad that it was Sye that had first gone in blind, for she didn’t think they could have convinced him to step up now. She didn’t feel too warm with the idea either. She stood on the edge of the pedestal, unsure.
Don’t think, Eris thought, Just take one step and…No. No, put me down!
Feeling the invisible force wrap around her made Eris’ skin crawl. Being lifted by nothing added a layer of vertigo, topped by the sight of ‘Eris Salvor’ flashing across the panels. She had seen Sye, Zook, and Pird do this, but it was still disturbing at best. It felt like the most bizarre nightmare, hanging in the air and waiting for a giant blue egg to position itself above her. Eris watched the pod fall, her stomach dropping with it. It really seemed like the pod had no reason to stop, by all rights it should crush her with a gory splat.
But stop it did, opening and then closing over her. Once again, Eris found herself in utter darkness. After a moment a very soft, almost indiscernible light played across the black. A strange thought emerged from Eris’ mind, a gnawing worry that the pod might not open back up, leaving her there to starve or dehydrate-
That thought was interrupted by something cold suddenly pressing against her torso and bosom all at once, as though her shirt wasn’t there. Eris gave a gasp of surprise and she was abruptly outside again, pod making its way back up to the congregation. Eris immediately parted the soft cloak that was now about her shoulders and lifted a little of her shirt. After seeing what lay beneath, she pulled it the rest of the way.
Underneath was what looked like a very unique piece of armor. It conformed to her figure quite comfortably, covering the front of her torso and most of her back, omitting the shoulders. The armor was composed of an elegant array of variously sized plates, although they didn’t overlap like any plate-mail Eris had ever seen. Instead they meshed neatly together, like a metal puzzle. The armor could bend slightly along the seams that the plates met along, allowing Eris to breath. The metal itself was curiously thin and the plates were either colored a pleasing lighter or darker shade of-
“Blue,” Pird said in mock disbelief, “Not green to match your eyes?”
“Please shut up Pird,” said Zook.
“For being so polite I just might.”
Sye looked over Eris’ shoulder, “I guess you won’t be joining us with the hack and slash.”
Eris reached behind her and her fingers brushed against a handle. That was odd to Eris, as she didn’t feel anything more than the armor’s almost non-existent weight. She grabbed the handle, but then it came free of her back. The metal slipped from her hand and cracked to the ground, as though someone had snuck up on her and tied a wagon to it. She turned and found that it was an enormous hammer. Its long handle was little more then a rod with a slight curve, just thick enough to hold comfortably. The business end of the weapon was a sphere, the
handle coming to curve around it like a close-fingered hand. The whole thing was just shy of her height.
“Anything I’ve done to you Eris,” said Pird, eying the great mallet, “You don’t hold any grudges, right?”
“I’m not going to hit anyone with it,” said Eris reassuringly, squatting to get a proper lift on the hammer. When she yanked it off the ground she nearly launched it, the weapon wasn’t half the weight she had thought it to be.
“So it’s filled with air too?” asked Pird, “Lemme try.”
When Eris let go of the hammer it was like Pird wasn’t holding it, dropping like a stone. At first she thought he was playing the fool, but as he grunted she knew something was wrong.
“Your legs, not your back,” Sye advised, hiding a grin.
“I...am...” Pird said through gritted teeth, the hammer not budging, “How..do you...do this...Eris?”
I know I’m stronger than I should be, Eris thought, but not that strong.
“It’s not all me,” Eris said, touching the hammer. Pird looked surprised as he was suddenly able to stagger to his feet with it.
“It’s Saranoda,” Zook mused as Eris took the hammer back. She gave it a half-hearted swing, doubting that she could hit anything with it. Assuming she would want to strike anything at all. It was still a good weight, requiring two hands to clumsily lift.
Eris replaced the hammer on her back, finding that it stuck like a magnet through her shirt to her armor. After some experimental shaking it was clear it would only come off at her touch.
“I feel rather silly,” Eris admitted, looking down at herself.
“All dressed up and nowhere to go,” added Pird, “But what the Dark, we’ve got matching cloaks!”
The light on the pedestal slowly died, the panels disappearing to wherever they had spawned from. The blue orb bobbed to another part of the wall. It wasn’t long before yet another archway appeared, although this one was taller and much wider then the ones before.
“That’s it?” Sye asked, “Slap some fancy brooches on us and send us on our way?”
“Don’t argue, just walk,” said Zook, starting to do so himself.
“Don’t argue?” Sye asked in disbelief, “Do you remember where we are?”
Zook slowly turned, “I’ve been asked that several times now, so let me say it loud, slow, and clear. We’re within Saranoda, the largest tower on the face of Adrala. We’re the first in history to step inside. Understand?”
“I don’t think you do,” Sye retorted, “You’re a little too eager to follow that giant blueberry around this entire bloody tower.”
Eris could hear the slow grind of Zook’s teeth. “And what else would we do?” Zook asked.
“First understand,” Sye held his hands up defensively, “I know no one’s going to dig us out this time, but it’s still good idea to catch our breath and think this over. We-”
“You want to wait?” Zook interrupted with a snarl, “While Eretia’s rotting outside you want to twiddle your thumbs and wait?”
“Better than walking ourselves to death!”
Zook jabbed a finger at the arch, “We’re supposed to go farther!”
“We’re not supposed to do anything!”
“What else can we do?”
“Think!”
“There’s nothing to think about!”
“There’s plenty!” Sye bellowed back, “We’re the first ever to be here! All this...” Sye tore off his brooch and threw it and his cloak to the ground, “This stuff. The orb, being led, our names, the quake. And you!” Sye pointed and accusing finger at Zook, “This grand delusion of yours, that there’s an intelligent reason behind all of this!”
“What else-” Zook began furiously, but this time it was Sye who blasted on.
“What did you do when that pod fell?” Sye asked. Zook stopped what he was going to say, frozen.
“I was trying to get down,” Sye continued, “Pird and Eris were trying to find a way through, but what did you do?”
“I knew it was going to stop!”
“Did you?”
“It made sense!”
“I thought I was going to die!”
“But you didn’t!”
“But I’m your godsdamned friend!” Sye roared.
The silence that followed felt worse to Eris than the shouting. A nerve hadn’t been struck; a fatal wound had been laid out for all to see.
Zook looked away.
“Nearly fifteen years,” Sye said quietly, almost weakly, “That’s all we have right now. We have to help each other, Zook. There’s no one else here.”
Come back to us Zook, Eris pleaded silently. She could see so many parts of him conflicting with each other. His rationale, his sudden belief in Saranoda. His rage. After a long uncomfortable minute, Zook turned back to the archway.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Again, Zook found himself interrupted. This time, however, it was not Sye, but a whirring crash behind them. The four turned and saw that a fifth pod had fallen to their pad. It was off center and tilted, hanging only a few centimeters off the ground.
Without a word, the four approached cautiously. As they neared, Eris saw that something was wrong with the shadowed barrier around the pod. It was visibly writhing, bulging in some spots and caving in on others. It was as though invisible hands were clawing at it, twisting and pulling it. Abruptly it froze in the middle of its silent agony, then it dissolved into thin air.
The pod opened, but only slightly. It began to shake and there was a metallic whine, then it opened a little further. To Eris it looked like something they couldn’t see was peeling the petals of the pod back. The whine grew to a screech, then the pod’s maw was thrown open.
Within, where each of them had hung in the air, now floated a gauntlet.
The four warily surrounded it, standing on the pad. The gauntlet seemed to be the forearm and hand of a suit of armor built for a juggernaut. It was the strangest color, the deepest black Eris had ever seen, but it shone with a brooding crimson sheen. Leaf-like pieces curled off the forearm. The gentle curves and many overlapping round plates on the fingers and hand made it seem almost lifelike. The knuckles tapered to dull points and the palm’s many plates made it appear that it could flex as well as any hand.
As far as real hands go, however, the gauntlet was three times the size of the largest human hand. The forearm was thick, but oddly enough it had a normal human length, disproportionably short for its size. It hung vertically in the air, facing down. The great gauntlet hung limply open, fingers slightly curved. To Eris it looked like it was balanced upon its index finger.
“What is this?” asked Sye.
“A big metal hand,” Pird pointed out, “Who’s it for?”
“If it was for any of us it would have just been put on us earlier,” said Sye, “The pod was acting funny, like it was forced open.”
“Maybe it didn’t like the color,” said Pird. His friends rolled their eyes. Pird warded them off with his hands, “Don’t tell me I’m the only one who noticed it wasn’t blue!”
Eris jumped when a glass panel snapped into existence behind Pird. She looked around and saw that the others had appeared like before, a ring around the pod and the four.
“Maybe these will make sense,” said Sye as they each turned to a panel near them.
The small blue rectangle blinked on, then off, then on again. And again. Just when Eris thought nothing would happen the rectangle blinked off, but didn’t blink back on. She leaned closer. All at once, three words appeared.
I am here
Eris felt a chill down her spine as Sye’s words echoed in her mind but her attention was drawn to the next sentence that appeared underneath.
I will lend a helping, ah, ‘hand’.
“I think someone’s t
rying to be punny,” Eris heard Pird say.
Something brushed her arm. Eris began to turn automatically, then froze. The gauntlet floated before her, its fingers slowly curling and uncurling. Eris couldn’t move, both out of surprise and fear. Without her consent her right arm snapped up straight in front of her. The gauntlet whirled around and her forearm disappeared within its metallic jaws.
Pain, like none she had ever felt, exploded from her arm. It was like every one of her nerves was on fire. Eris screamed. Her friends yanked themselves from their panels, but were stunned still at what they saw.
Help me! Eris thought, terrified, but she could only get her throat to scream. She swung the gauntlet over her head; the black hand and fingers shuddering madly like a demonic mannequin. Eris slammed it against the floor. The pain doubled, feeling like she had stuck her arm into a grinder.
She lifted the gauntlet again, her friends running toward her. Then she heard a chuckle, a deep resounding noise that seemed to thrum in her very mind.
Eris’ world suddenly turned black and she knew no more.
End of the Seventh Chapter
Mirrorscape
“The tools have been tampered with.”
“We must be cautious, with him even we may be pawns.”
“Are you certain that it is him?”
“I have no doubt, he has his hand in this.”
“Dear brother, I thought you had lost your humor centuries ago.”
-The Four under the Foundings
Sye paced relentlessly before the newest archway. As far as he could tell it led into another room, but all he could see was darkness because the dim glow of the floor halted at the arch. Even though he couldn’t see anything through the archway, something about this particular darkness was unsettling. The orb made repeated motions to follow it in, but Sye ignored it. The last thing I need is to have a door disappear between me and the others, he thought. He still was not wearing his cloak, having contributed it with Pird and Zook’s to make the unconscious Eris a makeshift bed.
The gauntlet had proven to be quite stubborn. Eris' arm only went a few centimeters past her elbow before disappearing into the wide black mouth of the gauntlet’s forearm. They each had steeled themselves and felt inside, discovering that her skin melded with some sort of metal sleeve, which widened until it blocked their fingers.
At first Zook had suggested making a stretcher using their cloak and scabbards, but Sye had firmly drawn the line. After a short and one-sided argument, Sye had convinced Zook that they should all rest and wait for Eris to wake up.
Sye glanced back across their giant room. Pird was laid out, spread eagled, on his back, snoring. Zook sat near Eris, carefully extracting each individual bottle, vial, and pouch from his bag. After Eris fainted Zook had dug into his medicines, only to discover that Saranoda had hidden another gift. Potions, dozens upon dozens of vibrant liquids capped in vials so clear it looked like they were bottled in nothing at all. After a little bit of scrutiny and wafting, Zook said he had an idea of what most of them did and claimed that they were the most potent medicines he had ever seen.
For being obsessed with the tower, he seemed a little hesitant to try any of its potions, Sye thought.
Sye's glance caught the smoldering gleam of the gauntlet, so much like the red hidden behind Zook's dark eyes. Sye shivered, then turned away from Eris' unconscious form. Remembering Eris' terrified scream, the small splatter of blood from her arm, it didn't matter how many times it flashed in his mind, ice still snaked down his spine.
It was the twinge he felt, however, that made him turn away. At first hadn't known what it was, when he had held Eris in his arms and feeling how frail the thought of Pird dead had made her. Her clutching his hands, her body trembling against his. Seeing her helpless a second time, locked within the tranquility of her sleep, had caused the second twinge.
He was afraid of it, now that he knew what it was.
She's my friend, Sye thought forcefully, not anything else.
But the twinge wanted more.