Chương 21: Part 21 - The Broken City

Fools smile on their way to Sjatel, lucky fools on the way back. - Sjocelym saying. Grass spread over the wide boulevards of Sjatel, tinted gold by the morning sun rising over the water. Silent and crumbling buildings loomed on either side of the avenue that led into the heart of the old city, and as the wind blew it sighed through cracks and windows in an eerie chorus.

"Not the most welcoming place," Arjun said lightly, peering into the long shadows that draped over the ruins.

"I think I'd find it unsettling even without the potential of horrible things lurking around."

"Jyte said that the noise of the camp draws most of the silent ones in before they reach the actual city," Mark said, shifting his pack. The Fragment's haft protruded from it awkwardly no matter which way he shifted it, unlike the more manageable length of Jesse's sword. Mark was still visibly annoyed that they were walking rather than driving, but the scattered chunks of stone littering the roadway had proved to be too much for the truck.

After a few seconds he gave up adjusting his pack and looked ahead with an air of resigned gloom.

"Not saying I'd be surprised to see one or two, though," he added.

"Whatever we run into, we've got the heroes of Sjatel to look after us," Jackie teased, laughing at the weary look Jesse gave her.

"You three took those things apart yesterday, I can't imagine there's enough of them in here to pose an issue."

"Oh, you had to say it," Mark groaned.

"Tasja, make sure to note down that any problems today are Jackie's fault."

"Why?" Tasja asked curiously.

"What did she do?"

"Is that not a thing here?" Mark asked. He opened his mouth to elaborate before pausing and shaking his head.

"You know what, never mind," he sighed.

"I won't be much help in a fight," Gusje said.

"I have two charged crystals left, the rest are spent. I don't have much to offer without the gauntlet."

"Your sunny optimism is enough," Mark said, ignoring her scowl.

"Jesse and I should be fine, especially considering Jesse's got Zorro skills." He grinned back at Jesse, who looked mildly embarrassed by the compliment.

"You never told me you'd done swordfighting before, man! Did you do HEMA or something?" Jesse hesitated, then shook his head.

"I'd never held a sword before this one," he said quietly. Mark frowned, puzzled, but Arjun turned to fix Jesse with an evaluating stare.

"Ah, interesting," he said.

"Vumo implied that direct assistance of that sort was unlikely, but it seems like you may fall outside of his past experience."

"Wait," Mark said, uncomfortable realization on his face.

"You let that thing mess with you? That's what that was?" He took a wary step back.

"I thought we were getting it out of you, not inviting it to set up shop!" Jesse looked around at the faces of his companions. Mark was staring at him in disbelief while Arjun and Gusje had grim, unreadable expressions. Tasja looked predictably lost and surprised, and Jackie's face was furious - but she was looking at Mark, not him.

"Maybe we should listen to his reasons before passing judgment," she said tightly. Mark had the grace to look abashed, but there was still grave concern in his eyes as the group came to a halt in the middle of the deserted thoroughfare.

"All right," he said, spreading his hands.

"We're listening." Five expectant faces looked at Jesse, their eyes turning at once to fix on him. A sick stab of panic wormed its way through his gut under their stares. His heart's sudden frenzied pounding robbed him of breath, of any words that he might have summoned to answer the others. Desperate, he reached out for the calm he had felt during the battle and found only silence. Nothing. His eyes flicked back up to the white-hot glare of their attention, then downward just as quickly.

Over all the rest, there was a growing, stomach-churning flush of embarrassment. He felt a hand rest lightly on his shoulder and looked with a sudden flash of hope, but it was only Arjun standing beside him. The mind-numbing static returned in his head, and Jesse could see in Arjun's expression that he had shown his emotions all too clearly. The older man waved the others off and steered Jesse towards a fallen plinth of black stone at the roadside.

He sat shakily and tried to breathe, to trick his heart into slowing.

"This can't be easy," Arjun said quietly, looking down the deserted street.

"Take as much time as you need." He let the silence return while Jesse closed his eyes and tried to take deep, measured breaths. Finally, it passed. Jesse's heart returned to a steadier rhythm and the constriction in his chest eased, although the shame burning his cheeks only intensified.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, shaking his head.

"I'm-" He pressed his lips together, unsure of what else he could say.

"No need to be sorry," Arjun reassured him.

"Honestly, Jesse, we'd be more worried if you were taking all this in stride. We just want to make sure you're okay." Jesse looked up at him and met his eyes, although he did not speak.

"This thing in you, is it dangerous?" Arjun asked softly. Jesse hesitated only for a moment before shaking his head.

"No," he rasped.

"I don't think so, not to us. Maybe to me, but not… not on purpose." The older man smiled and squeezed his shoulder.

"Then it's fine," he said.

"Not easy or comfortable, perhaps, but fine for the moment. We'll move forward and learn more, and address our problems from there."

"Is it fine?" Mark asked, stepping closer.

"Look, man, you know I've got your back. It's just… you can't say there's nothing to worry about when some thing is camped out in your head, messing with you." Jesse shook his head.

"She's not doing anything to me," he said.

"I would know if she tried."

"Do you know that?" Mark countered.

"You've done a pretty quick one-eighty on your views towards this thing. Just a couple of days ago you wanted it out no matter what, now you're practically defending it. You going to tell me that's legit? That there's no possibility it's screwing with your head?"

"What do you want me to say?" Jesse snapped, rising to his feet.

"Is it possible she's lying to me, showing me what she wants me to see? Yes, I can't rule it out. But Mark, the things I've seen-" He broke off and his sudden irritation ebbed into a tired shrug.

"I don't know why she'd bother with tricking me if she already had that much control," he sighed.

"And you know we could use every advantage we can get. She says she wants to be good. I want to let her try."

"It's your head, man," Mark said skeptically.

"I'll back your play, even if I don't like it." He cocked his head and gave Jesse an evaluating look.

"Can... she hear us?" Jesse shook his head.

"Sometimes, maybe. She's been quiet since the fight yesterday."

"It's hard to say, given that she's only intervened to that extent once before," Arjun observed.

"Perhaps it was only because of the battle, or your life being at risk."

"Maybe," Jesse said doubtfully.

"It may have been the silent ones rather than the fighting itself. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced the ones that ran towards me were actually running towards her. There's some sort of connection. She only reappeared that time because-" He broke off, searching for the right words before launching into a halting, muttered explanation of his last vision and the events surrounding it. He told them about the sun-lit city, the ragged woman, the terrible scouring light.

At the end, Arjun leaned back thoughtfully while Mark just shook his head and whistled.

"Yeah, man," Mark said, "that sounds… important? Honestly, this whole thing is so fucking weird that I don't know what to think."

"Disconcerting, to say the least," Arjun agreed.

"It does raise some questions about what precisely your passenger really is." Jesse stood up again and stretched, looking back towards where Gusje, Tasja and Jackie were deep in conversation. Jackie turned her head at the motion, giving him a quick smile and wave.

"The only thing she's ever claimed to be is… me," Jesse said uncomfortably.

"Parts of me that I didn't know were missing, or at least that's how she put it." Arjun stood as well, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Do you believe that?" he asked. Jesse shrugged and readjusted his pack.

"Not sure," he admitted.

"But she does."

"Heads up," Mark called out, "some sort of open space up here." The group slowed as they approached a vast unbuilt area dotted with crumbled stone columns and scrubby trees. The clear area was at the crown of the low hill the city was built upon, and while the elevation was still modest it was enough to prevent them from seeing clearly to the far side. The crumbling facades ringing the space were as empty as the rest they had passed, however, so they continued up the gentle slope towards the center of the plaza.

They paused at the summit, turning to look at the city stretching away in every direction. To the south it blurred into the indistinct plains of the Vidim Vai, and in every other direction it was ringed by the dark, glittering waters of the bay. Due north of them lay a cluster of larger buildings huddled darkly against the water's edge. The surf outlined the skeletal remains of the city docks protruding into the water near the northernmost shore.

"Looks like our target," Mark said happily, squinting against the wind.

"And it's all downhill from here."

"There are multiple ways to take that," Jackie pointed out.

"Shush," Mark muttered.

"So, what do you think - head to the docks, then follow the instructions and see where we end up?" Jesse shaded his eyes with one hand, looking out at the ruined docks.

"We should take it slow," he said.

"Everyone's been telling us how dangerous this city is."

"It doesn't seem dangerous so far," Tasja noted.

"But I think that's because we've been on the street, and in the parts closest to the camp. Hunters would have picked through the easy locations a long, long time ago. If there are treasures or dangers left they'll be in the farthest parts of the city, hidden somewhere out of sight."

"So - right where we're headed," Mark sighed.

"Wonderful." He trudged down the slope in the direction of the docks, his hand raised to shield his eyes against the wind. Their progress downhill was quick and they soon found themselves passing through a neighborhood of large, tightly-packed houses with ornate facades. Jackie paused to inspect a sculpted balustrade as they passed.

"Fancy," she observed.

"These houses seem to be in much better shape than the ones farther out." Arjun nodded in agreement.

"If this city follows the same pattern as the others we've seen, the houses farther from the city core will be smaller, poorer, built from less durable materials. The people who built this city seem to have had some means of protecting the stone from weathering, which would be important with all this wind," he said absently, running his fingers across the unmarred face of a facade brick. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"Seems like a rough time for the folks stuck on the outskirts," Jackie pointed out.

"If they were anything like the Sjocelym of today," Arjun said wryly, "I doubt the fringes of the city were a particular concern of those in charge. Still, we don't know that the wind or the blowing sand was as much of an issue when the city was settled. Tesvaji hinted that the desert had grown less habitable over time."

"That's true, from what I know," Gusje said.

"The stories my father shares are the ones his father shared with him, and so it has been for a long, long time." Her voice caught a bit, and she shook her head.

"The cereimyn used to grow seedlings, it is said, and the land between them could be made to grow jehan with effort. Our people still cherished the cereimyn and lived in their shade, but it was not so hard for them when it was their time to wander and be Aedrem." Jackie nodded and looked sideways to reply only to stumble as she misstepped. Gusje grinned at her muttered curses, then froze.

"We're not the only ones to come this way," she said. Her arm stretched out to indicate the shallow furrow in the road that had caught Jackie's foot. Nearly hidden under the grass covering the roadway, a stripe of bare sandy soil trailed off toward the docks along their path.

"Huh," Mark said, pausing to inspect it.

"It's a trail. Maybe a wheel rut from one of those monowheel carts?"

"Out here?" Jesse asked.

"The city is abandoned, this part most of all." Mark shrugged.

"Maybe," he said, his hand drifting to rest on the grip of his rifle.

"Looks like it leads right where we're going. At this point I view coincidence as something that happens to other, happier people." The group moved forward quietly by unspoken agreement, taking a cue from Mark and Jesse. Their normal wariness had been joined by a certain imminent tension that soaked into every footstep and cautious turn of the head.

The neighborhood around them remained still, however, even as they followed the anomalous track through the last of the blocky houses and into another small plaza dotted with the ruins of statuary and sculpture. Jackie suppressed a shiver as they walked past a toppled statue of a person with their arms upraised. The posture had likely been grand or inspirational while upright, but now seemed almost a supplication as it lay half-buried.

The statue's face had long since been scoured away to featurelessness by the wind.

"Creepy," Mark observed quietly, scanning the field of broken statuary but finding only stone figures slowly drowning under drifts of sandy soil. They advanced slowly across the field until Mark motioned for a stop, frowning and taking a knee to examine a darkened patch of sand that ran across the tracks. He scooped up a handful and crumbled it in his fingers before turning to Jesse with a grim look.

"Blood?" Jesse asked, inclining his head toward the stain on the ground.

"Blood," Mark confirmed.

"It's been there at least a day, if I had to guess, and from the size I'd say this was more than a papercut." Jesse looked around, his eyes sweeping over the grasses methodically before he shook his head and turned back to Mark.

"No blood trail that I can see," he said.

"No body left behind." Almost as one, the group's eyes flicked to the nearest draa je qaraivat, visible behind a toppled pillar. It rose pristine and dark against the ruins behind it. Mark shook his head.

"At the risk of being repetitive - so creepy," he sighed.

"Keep an eye out." The statue garden tapered into a long colonnade, overgrown and cluttered with collapsed debris from its roof. Mark and Jesse advanced in turns, carefully checking the many blind spots offered by the rows of columns - but still, nothing came. They paused at the terminus, peering out into a small square dominated by a single large building to the northwest. A low dome rose behind a facade of brutalist black-stone, smooth save for the two similarly unadorned pilasters that framed its entryway.

Arjun cleared his throat against the dust, looking with interest at the looming structure. The open doorway yawned wide above a windswept hummock of soil that had blown over whatever stair or threshold originally served as its base. Carved in the stubbly grass on the slope was a single wheel-track.

"Well," Arjun said, speaking just loudly enough to be heard over the groans of the wind through the ruins.

"And here I was thinking we'd have to go digging around for whatever this is."

"Definitely unsubtle," Jackie agreed.

"Makes sense why Vumo was so vague over the twinplate, he knew we'd have no trouble finding this place."

"Also failed to mention the crime scene back there," Mark muttered, shifting forward to get a better view of the cavernous doorway.

"Hunker down here, Jesse and I will move up to get a better look. If it's clear we'll signal for you to follow. Gusje, strap on your gauntlet. If anything comes up on you while we're inside, melt it and make a bunch of noise." Gusje nodded and crouched low with the others as Mark and Jesse advanced cautiously around the perimeter of the small square. The crunch of their boots was drowned out by the wind, and absent the company of the others they communicated only with a few terse hand signals.

At the doorway they exchanged a glance, toggled the flashlights on their rifles and swept into the building. The beams of light lanced through the darkness, illuminating swirls of dust sweeping in with them from the outside. They were in a foyer of sorts, half-covered with drifts of loose sand over its black tile floor. The wheel rut continued straight ahead towards a second doorway hewn from the black stone. Jesse signaled, and the two men stepped through to the next room.

Jesse kept his flashlight low as they moved quietly into the second room, which revealed itself to be a grand hall that stretched up and back until its extremities were lost in shadow. A narrow oculus at the center of the dome allowed a beam of light in, and in its illumination he could see a large, thin archway standing free in the center of the hall. Like the rest of the building, the archway was plain and unadorned black-stone.

It sat alone in the middle of a thin coating of sand and dust that had presumably drifted down from the opening in the roof. Even from within the doorway Jesse could see multiple footprints and wheel-tracks cutting across the dusty floor. His heart beat fast - not with panic, this time, but with the familiar grip of adrenaline in the quiet before conflict. There was a familiar, calm surety during these moments that melted away any of the hesitance or indecision that so often plagued him.

It was no different now as he took his first steps into the hall, but even so he found his thoughts drifting towards the wind on the grassland, the glitter of sun on his sword and the sound of laughter in his ears. For the first time, the familiar calm seemed lacking in its sterile silence. A whisper of motion to his right shattered his introspection, and they both spun to point their rifles at a surprised-looking man in dusty red robes. He squinted and raised his hand against the beam of their flashlights.

"Saset Ce?" the man said, blinking owlishly.

"I mean - yes, of course, who else could you be? No travelers in Sjatel, much less here, much less giants-" He broke off, his gaze flicking down, then back up. He withdrew a small object from his robe and fiddled with it while he spoke.

"Apologies, I was not given an exact time for your arrival or I'd have sent one of the others to greet you - not that you needed help, obviously, but the streets of Sjatel have certainly seen better days and it's not like there's any good way to orient yourself aside from walking up the hill. Why, for the first few days-""Hey, all right," Mark said, cutting off his rambling.

"Why don't you start with who you are and why you're here." The man blinked, seeming to notice Mark for the first time.

"Ah, yes, of course," he said, making a final, clicking adjustment to the device he was holding before stowing it back in his robes.

"My name is Tesu Ras." Mark gave him an expectant look.

"And?" he asked.

"Why are you hanging out here? You know the Sjocelym troops left, right? It's just a bunch of Aesvain and angry dead guys out there."

"Yes, I'm aware," Tesu frowned.

"Very unfortunate. We only learned of Tiro Qa's unplanned departure when we went to deliver supplies several days ago and found gold-cloaks raiding the food stores. Needless to say we didn't linger, the Aesvain have a rather unenlightened attitude towards our guild. Very unfriendly people, the Aesvain. I've even had-""Tesu, focus up," Mark interrupted him, a scowl forming on his face.

"Why are you here? And why did Vumo send us to meet you?"

"Ah, that's a bit complex," Tesu demurred, oblivious to Mark's increasingly stormy expression. He began to walk slowly towards the center of the room where the arch stood.

"I'm not sure how much he's told you already-""Less than I'd prefer," Mark growled.

"-so I'll yield the explanations to him," Tesu finished hastily.

"I notified him that you were here when we began talking, so it should be any moment now." Mark gave a dissatisfied grunt and walked to loom over the scriptsmith, who had moved to stand directly in front of the archway.

"Buddy," he said, "I've had a really long day. If you don't start making sense-" There was a shift in the air of the room, and Mark stopped talking abruptly. Jesse could feel a low hum building in the stone beneath his feet, rapidly increasing in pitch and volume with every moment that passed. A gust of wind stirred motes of dust from the stone, and the archway flared with sudden, blinding light. Jesse stepped back by reflex, raising his hand and blinking at the afterimages that swam in his vision.

When his eyes cleared, the archway was no longer empty. A room patterned in wood and inlaid metal lay beyond it, stacked with boxes and barrels that receded far into its dark corners. Standing just past the threshold were Sjogydhu and Vumo, the latter with an apologetic smile on his face. Mark took a step towards the arch, his face apoplectic.

"You son of a bitch!" he roared. Sjogydhu's face went blank and his hand dropped to rest on Sunshine's glossy wooden grip.

"You said you didn't have any saon draim like what we described," Mark fumed.

"You made us drive all the way out here-""I apologize if I was a bit circumspect about our capabilities, Mark Ry," Vumo said, his tone kind but unyielding.

"The Gateways are a closely-guarded secret, and have no ability to do anything but connect to others of their kind. They're really quite dissimilar to the phenomenon you described."

"Just a little misunderstanding, huh?" Mark growled.

"You could have at least mentioned it, who were we going to tell?"

"I honestly didn't think it would be relevant," Vumo sighed.

"There is no Gateway in Idran Saal, and it's a quicker route to there from Sjatel than from Ce Raedhil. Tesu Ras was to make contact with you when you arrived at the encampment and depart with you after you were finished with your observations. You would have never known about the gateway, and its secrecy would be preserved." He began to pace irritably, his bony hands fidgeting with the hem of his robe.

"Unfortunately, that idiot Tiro abandoned his post," Vumo said.

"Doubtless he thought that the defense of the city was the only reason for his deployment there. With the Aesvain present, we had to bring you here rather than sending Tesu Ras to meet you."

"Am I missing something?" Mark asked, spreading his hands in exasperation.

"Why do you need us at all? You've got portals and twinplates and who knows what else you're not telling us about - why are we even up here? Idran Saal may not have a fancy portal, but even a shithole like that has at least one twinplate you could have used to fill them in on tactics."

"You'd be surprised at the nuance that gets lost over a twinplate," Vumo said tiredly.

"Or perhaps not. In either case, yes - you're correct. The primary reason I wanted a chariot in Sjatel was to bring Tesu Ras back to Idran Saal." Vumo stopped pacing and looked directly at them, his eyes glittering.

"And the reason we cannot use the Gateway for that purpose is because Tesu Ras will be bringing it along with him." Jesse blinked, then looked at the giant stone archway. It was thin for its size, but still wrought of several tons of black stone. Jesse glanced at Mark, who was looking similarly incredulous. Vumo laughed before they could speak, waving his hand.

"Don't worry," he reassured them.

"The archway itself is a mere frame. We are having another one constructed at great expense in Idran Saal as we speak. The keystone at the heart of the Gateway, however, was made using techniques that have long since been lost to us. It is the crux of our strategy to support Idran Saal during the inevitable siege. Just as we supplied our troops in Sjatel, we will use it to open a lifeline to the heart of our defensive fortifications."

Jesse exchanged another look with Mark, whose face was still tight with anger over Vumo's deception.

"What about the Aesvain?" Jesse asked.

"Tiro was right about that, at least," Vumo replied.

"They will fight to defend the city, although the difference in their combat doctrine may impact the value of your observations. Still, it should be instructive to watch." Vumo's weary tone was calm enough that it took Jesse a moment to process what he had said. He felt his heart beat faster again, felt the familiar stillness - but not calm.

"The Sjocelym soldiers volunteered," he said quietly.

"The Aesvain are protecting their people. There are thousands of refugees in the city."

"There are thousands of their refugees in Idran Saal," Vumo said grimly.

"I'm working to save them too."

"Yes, we've seen those," Mark spat.

"They looked so grateful for your help. Listen, we'll take your portal for you - just let the Aesvain use it to leave the city."

"Absolutely not," Vumo said, shaking his head.

"We cannot allow several thousand Aesvain into the heart of Ce Raedhil." Mark stared at him, disbelieving.

"Then send them somewhere else!" he shouted.

"They're only out here because your goons turned them away at the Idran Saal gate. You can save their lives."

"I cannot," Vumo replied, his face expressionless.

"The only Gateway equipped to form a link to others is here in Ce Raedhil, the activation requirements are extreme. All travel must go through this room."

"And you'd let them die rather than let them into Ce Raedhil," Jesse said flatly.

"Rather than throw our capital into chaos before the greatest struggle we've faced since the opening of the eye?" Vumo retorted.

"Rather than risk throwing the defense of all Timen Sjocel into disarray? Absolutely! We are fighting for our very survival. I'm not inclined to gamble."

"Then let's remove the element of chance," Mark said.

"We're not taking your damn portal anywhere until the Aesvain have been allowed to leave through it." There was a moment of silence while Vumo regarded the two of them, then Sjogydhu shifted and looked past them to the entry hall.

"I regret the loss of life," the mustachioed guard said softly, "but Vumo Ra is correct. The Aesvain must stay, and you must take Tesu Ras and the Gateway stone to Idran Saal." Jesse felt a cold sluice of foreboding down his spine and turned to follow Sjogydhu's gaze. Arjun, Jackie, Gusje and Tasja were standing in the doorway, held at swordpoint by two cowled men.

"We will do what we must to save our people," Sjogydhu said.

"But it would be better if you helped us willingly. Bring the stone to Idran Saal and our previous bargain still stands. If not - well." He rested his hand on Sunshine.

"It would be much better if you helped us willingly."