Chương 51

Deceit has a cost the liar rarely pays. Upon closer examination, the loops and whorls on the stone were almost as obvious as it's shattered center. Most of it leaned heavily against the trailhouse, the weight putting a literal dent into the mottled blue-gray lintel, but the bottom still stood three feet high and twice that in diameter. Nevertheless, the middle of it was split as if a logger had taken an axe to it.

Through the vines, he could see the cracks that spiderwebbed from the initial break, splitting into tiny chunks that looked half a breath from falling away. The largest pieces of the Charterstone still lay at its base, a pile clutched in weeds that neither weather or time had dislodged.

"I wasn't aware Charterstones could break. What could have done this?"

"I'm unsure," Adhira said slowly.

"Though we don't have to worry about whomever did this. The strength required to shatter Primordial Stone is beyond First or even Second Depth Talents. I'm not even certain a Sixth Depth could manage it. Someone that strong would not remain on this island." Harker grunted.

"Why's that?"

"Pure logistics. The resources to support their Talent are not available on Liir. A Sixth Depth or greater would almost certainly be forced to the south."

"Resources? What else do we need but Water and food?"

"If you wish to tread the Sea, then yes, there is little else to seize." Adhira adjusted her replacement cloak.

"If they wished to Descend further then this place would not be sufficient." Harker conceded the point. Just because folks in the Vale didn't Descend past First Depth didn't mean other Talents would be so content. Not that contentment had much to do with it. More importantly, the strength of anyone Sixth Depth or deeper bordered on the mythical. He'd only ever heard stories, and they were tales too tall to be believed.

"Why is it here anyway?" He looked around.

"Charterstones are normally in settlements, not planted in the middle of a mountain pass."

"I wondered the same. Sejal—" She hesitated, before plowing onward.

"She saw the truth before me. Look there." Adhira gestured at the bend of the path just beyond the trailhouse. It was no more than a few steps, but Harker could suddenly see where the path widened against the mountain and the cliffs rose up dramatically beside it. The greenery was thick, the clinging vines sprouting wide leaves bigger than Harker's whole body. Enormous pods littered between the leaves, vines curled tightly around them as they closed against the brisk winds.

Liliana tarkas, otherwise known as mantrapping seedpods, fed on birds and large insects that dared the heights. They were also rare, so seeing a cluster of them here was surprising—almost as surprising as what lay behind them all. Caverns. Rubble littered the mountain's face, most of it fine enough to hide the concave sections behind vine and pod. Amid the stone and weeds were the remains of at least five buildings that had been carved into the face of the cliff. Something had buried them all.

"This destruction was on purpose," Harker said, scanning the terrain. It could have been a landslide, but more than one of the perfectly angled corners was marred by sharp slices through stone.

"What was the purpose of this place?"

"To facilitate safe travel through the upland pass, I assume. With it gone, the only safe route—""Is through the Sunken City." Harker sneered at the weeds.

"Where they can control the flow of trade."

"And claim their piece of the tide." Harker chewed over that thought. All of this destruction for coin and power. How many had died to make it happen? How many were living here when the mountain fell down? In the distance, a crevasse cut across the path. It was choked by more vines and pods, but the bridge that spanned it once held more than struts and slats. A hand the size of a wagon stuck up from the greenery, carved of mottled stone and holding the hilt of a broken sword.

"This happened recently," he said.

"Last I heard this pass was still functional."

"It is still functional," Adhira countered.

"To the strong. All others must use the low road." The cost of weakness is compounded again and again. Harker couldn't help the twist of his lips. He met Adhira's eyes and a fission of unease stole down his back. He'd almost forgotten their last conversation. For her part, Adhira looked equally uncomfortable. She cleared her throat.

"Whatever happened, we can still make use of the trailhouse. It was kept in good condition a few weeks ago when I passed through, though the door needs work." She pushed at it and the whole thing wobbled as it opened on rusty hinges.

"I'll set my things up." If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Without another word, Adhira hustled through the trailhouse entrance, the slap-screech of the broken door a shrill accompaniment. The unease in Harker's belly didn't leave with her, but grew like a greedy vine. He shoved the emotion away, denying its grip even as it squeezed, and his eyes fell on the collapsed Charterstone. Stillwater stood near it, close enough to touch it.

Yet the Gilken kept his hands firmly—almost rigidly—at his sides. His lip was curled, baring his off-white teeth at the cluster of weed-choked stone. Harker leaned closer, his voice low.

"What's the matter with you?" Stillwater clucked his tongue.

"If you cannot tell this is foul, then your Stature is worthless."

"The Charterstone?" Harker wasn't happy to see it broken, but only because he'd intended to improve his Stature with it again.

"A piece of Bargain that has stood for Ages was felled for the sake of profit. Of convenience. Humans." The word was a curse on Stillwater's lips.

"Not even the Pale Court would do such a thing." Pale Court. Harker filed away the name.

"How do you know it happened that way?"

"The Stature that binds these is stronger than any axe or hammer. This could only be accomplished if the Bargain between your Academy and this place was sundered." Harker glanced at the trailhouse. A faint light shone through the holes in the door, but he could hear Adhira shuffling around in the distance. He lowered his voice.

"How?"

"Its fundamental truth was undermined. Why do you think it's so important that you do not lie, human?" Stillwater grabbed Harker's left wrist. A flash of cold leapt from the contact all the way up to his elbow. Harker tried to pull back, but Stillwater had a firm grip on him.

"Stature binds what is, but if it is turned against itself, it falls. To deny what is, to reject it, is to invite calamity." Harker had never seen Stillwater so upset. Disgusted certainly. Aggressive always. But now there were layers to the strange creature's expression. He leaned closer, putting his body between Stillwater and the trailhouse. In doing so, Harker put his hand against the Charterstone, and a thrill of heat scoured his palm.

"What was that?" Stillwater asked.

"I don't know. It felt like what you just did, only warmer." Stillwater's yellow eyes narrowed.

"It can't be…" Harker reached back out to the Charterstone. The sensation wasn't exactly painful now that he was on the other side of it, but it was layered. There was more to it, hidden just beneath the surface. The moment his fingers touched the stone, Harker was pulled forward. His awareness dropped through his fingertips, riding that wave of uncomfortable heat before it spent itself against a vast empty horizon. The heat rushed through again, but this time it was thin—no more than a thread against the black.

Harker reached out, not with his physical hands, but the same senses that delved into his Chartermark. He teased out the length of it, pieces of its colorless extending into empty space, space that Harker could somehow tell was the inner pieces of the Primordial Stone. Folded points glimmered at the end of the dark threads, and as he drew closer to one, new meaning flooded him. When it was whole, this was where he would pull a Chartermark from the stone.

Then it was gone as other folded knots swept past his awareness. Each one was a quick glimpse of purpose, but it wasn't until the last that new meaning emerged. The folded knot was faded, but held together far more than the others. A sensation of earth and air alike clung to it, as if the stone was reaching upward and downward. Silver flashed, and the twist of thread tightened around the knot. His own gold answered back, roaring as it crashed over the knot like surf against the shore.

His own Chartermark flared an answer, and the tide rolled back, pouring down the threads that survived. A sensation shook through his center. It was one he'd grown familiar with over the past few days. His Stature was thickening across chest and tributaries. Harker immediately seized it, stretching the gains across more of himself than ever before. His Stature built, no longer thickening in one place but spreading until there was a skim coat on all but the smallest of his tributaries. As before, he felt sturdier.

Not stronger or more or immune to injury. Steadied, as if he'd grown roots into the very earth itself. His emotions had long since settled, but now they were stones in his belly, easily separated from the rest of him. Clarity came alongside it. Adhira. He looked over at the trailhouse. She truly has no intention of betraying me. It flew in the face of Law 2—Trust Others To Act In Their Own Best Interest, but it had become clear as glass to him. The rough chunks of his own motivations tumbled through his grip.

All of his issues in this moment were born of his own fear. Harker drew a sharp breath. He pulled his hand free and the clarity faded. It didn't disappear..

"Stillwater. What effects come from increasing my Stature?"

"On a human? Your kind isn't meant to dabble in my realm," poking at the strange clarity that filled him until Stillwater groaned. He found in it patience as well.

"Stillwater, groaned.

"On the Idrin, it is a strengthening of our potency. We can enact greater bargains in our favor and be able to pay deaths far easier."

"Does it—" Harker wasn't sure how to explain himself.

"Does it steady you?" Stillwater's head quirked to the side.

"It simply makes us more of ourselves, human. Growing your Stature doesn't change you. It affirms you." Settlement: Faer Rikart Non Responsive. Chartermarked Has Been Acknowledged. A bone-deep thrum rolled through the folded knots between mark and stone. Water and light swam up from the empty dark, bridging the gap and lighting up his arm. The stone did not shine, but to Harker's senses it was as if waves crashed along its base, attempting to topple it again.

I guess it still has enough of a connection to do this, too. Accessing Leaderboard… Changes Have Occurred!