“I will be honored to assist you, my King.”
Bronze and I took our places in front of the arch.
“Ready?” Thomen and Bronze both nodded.
I pictured the arch I’d built, reached into the arch before me, pushed power and desire into the matrix of the gate, and the way was opened.
After about two hours here, I chucked a plaque through the archway so Thomen wouldn’t get too worried. It had a note scratched into the surface to let him know I intended to stay a few days—that is, about four or five hours, for him.
Since then, I’ve been here for about three days. I’ve accomplished a lot.
First, I’ve got a very basic version of an Ascension Sphere around my makeshift gate arch. It’s not what I’d call super effective, but it is some of the finest, most careful work I’ve ever done. It
is
drawing in power, and it
is
concentrating it around the arch, but it’s only a tiny trickle compared to the rivers of power available in Rethven. I may need to bring over something with a real magical charge in it if I plan to use the thing at all often.
Second, Bronze and I have discovered that golems do not like low-magic worlds. She’s fine, in the sense that she’s intact and unharmed. She’s very tired, though, and has been grazing almost constantly since the second day. I’m not sure how that helps—doesn’t the fuel she burns need to be converted with magic? Or is that a case of initial setup costs vs. ongoing processes? She seems to think it helps, though, so I’m not arguing.
I did offer to send her back through the gate. She refused. She wants to be with me.
Third, I’ve been exploring the rest of the city. Bronze is still faster than I am, especially during the day; she just spends all her non-running time eating. It’s almost like having a flesh-and-blood horse.
We found a number of things that seem likely to be useful. A car showroom had some vehicles relatively shielded from the elements; they don’t run, but they have solar panel bodywork for power. The panels seem to work; I’ve salvaged a number of them. The dealership had tools, which helped, and spare parts, which I promptly swiped.
Likewise, I’ve found a number of plastic bottles that seem intact and a stream that seems to be drinkable. I’m no fool; I save that water until nightfall, then run tendrils of death through it to kill any microorganisms. I may not have much magic, here, but a filtration spell doesn’t take much energy. Afterward, I have drinkable water.
The local wildlife generally avoids me. I’ve seen things at a distance that are definitely animals, but only rarely. More common are large bugs. Ants the size of my fist, for example. I do not like them. Not at all. They have big mandibles and stingers. They don’t seem to know what to make of me, either; they just wave freakishly huge antennae at me and sit there.
I
plan to avoid
them
.
Fortunately, I have a library covered in carnivorous vines to hide in during the day. The ancient furniture is still relatively comfortable, although obviously not designed for sleeping on. I doubt that deterred students, but I applaud the attempt. Outside, the plant seems much more active in the daytime—sunlight, you know—so I’m trying to get something out of the library computers while the sun is up and the solar panels are powering things.
The books aren’t books; they appear to be plastic of some sort. Most of them seem to be defunct for reasons I can’t explain. A few still work, though, despite being useless.
That’s something I hadn’t expected; the library doesn’t have a lot of books. It has a lot of places to sit and read, study, and work. The “books” are plastic rectangles that, according to the legend on the edge, belong to the library.
Is everything on a central computer? I think so. I think this library is a computer complex with some sort of wireless networking and these plastic books are local-use-only, proprietary tablet computers for data access.
I have found the main computer, I think, in the library basement. It was behind a few locked doors, so that’s a good sign. I haven’t managed to power it up, though, and without that, even the working plastic rectangle book things don’t seem to have any data. The main computer does seem to have a battery backup power supply—what I would call an “uninterruptible power supply unit” that takes in standard line power and makes sure it’s solid and steady, rather than subject to surges, brownouts, lightning strikes, and the like. I’ve got the panels hooked up to that and charging it. We’ll see if I can fire it up later and access the main computer.
And I really want to look a few things up. Mainly, I want to know more about the other stuff I’ve salvaged. For example: A suit of armor.
It’s clearly labeled with the word “POLICE,” so I’m pretty sure it’s not the cutting-edge stuff—maybe a generation or two behind this place’s “modern” armor. Still, it’s a whole suit: black, lightweight, and would be very well-padded if the padding hadn’t suffered awfully over time. I like the helmet, too; good visibility, a thick, clear visor, built-in points for attaching filters, and defunct electronics—presumably communications gear.
I
think
the armor itself is a laminate of several materials. Carbon fiber? Plastic? Kevlar and related polymers? I don’t know, and that’s a problem. I need to know if I want to make more of it.
Oh, technically, I suppose I don’t. It would just make everything so much easier. See, I can make a diamond grow by giving it carbon and telling it to crystallize in the same face-centered cubic crystal formation. Since I know what it should do, making it do that isn’t all that difficult. It’s time-consuming in the way I’m letting them sit and grow, but I could do it a
lot
faster if I needed to.
For this composite armor, I could simply throw down a lot of carbon, water (for hydrogen), and silica, allow it to use nitrogen from the air, and say “Whatever that is, make another one!” I could have a spell just copy an existing piece of armor—or the whole suit—but it would only work through main strength and awkwardness. If I can at least find the molecular structure of the stuff that makes the armor, I’ll be way ahead of that brute-force method.
My guardian carnivorous plant seems to have noticed that something is coming and going. I’ve dragged the concrete-based arch into the library proper to get it away from the creeping growth of thorny vines. I took care to examine the floor from the basement angle, first; I don’t think it’ll be a problem, but I’m keeping the arch by the outer wall to minimize the stress.
As for the carnivorous ivy, the entry vestibule would be covered over, possibly filled with the stuff if Bronze didn’t munch her way out every night, cropping back the vegetation. She clears the whole area in front of the doors.
Yes, I could do it faster. No, I don’t. I never liked mowing the yard, and if she wants to trim the thorny, carnivorous lawn, I’m all for it.
Meanwhile, I’m frustrated and angry and really want to break something.
I wanted to shout and swear, but restrained myself; this is a library. Then I realized that it was
my
library, and no one was in it, so I went ahead and shouted and swore.
The computer is centered around a clear widget.
Yes, I taught computer science in another life. Apparently a couple of centuries ago. And, yes, “clear widget” is about all I can tell you. It looks like a crystal, but for all I know it could be an advanced plastic.
The architecture of the rest of the machine looks at least vaguely familiar in purpose, if not in design. The clear bit is probably a central processor of some sort. The rest of the machine is there to put information through the clear bit. I haven’t identified the hard drives—or whatever the hell they used for hard drives in the twenty-third-and-a-half century.
I’ve charged the battery backup with all that it will hold. I’ve rebooted the computer. I’ve made sure that the backup isn’t trying to power the whole library. I have a book-thing sitting close at hand. I’ve checked all the connections I can identify. And that damned thing won’t even boot up. I don’t get an error message on the clear part that I presume is a screen. I don’t even get an in-progress symbol. The computer seems to come on, but nothing is happening.
I haven’t broken anything, yet, but I’m getting ready to punch something.
I’m going to go out and scavenge some more. Maybe a break will let me re-think the problem.
Bronze helped me build the fires. She keeps chomping loose branches and dragging them over. I place them in the walls of flame. It seems to be working, but I’m not sure we can keep it up. I hope we can manage until nightfall. Then I’ll have a decent chance of getting out of here alive. Alive-ish.
I’d run for it right now, but the things somehow manage to latch on and climb Bronze even at a dead run. They’re tough, dangerous little monsters, but they can’t eat metal and they appear to be afraid of fire.
Important safety tip: Do
not
let giant mutant ants catch even a whiff of blood.
Giant, mutant,
omnivorous
ants.
I am continuously irritated by the fact that I have—I
must
have!—immense amounts of knowledge that would be useful to my kingdom, but I just can’t get it out of the storage medium. I feel like a Neanderthal confronted with a DVD collection. There’s everything I want to know, but I can’t get to it with stone knives and bearskins!
How much information do I have on agronomy, alone? Irrigation? Crop rotation? Alternative methods of farming? Fertilizers, both natural and artificial? I know that ammonia is important to fertilizing fields, and so is phosphorus, but I have no idea why, nor how to get, nor how to produce either one.
Isn’t ammonia just nitrogen and hydrogen? I could probably fake it with water and air… but where do I even
find
phosphorus? Under rocks? In rocks? What
kind
of rocks?
On a more optimistic note, I have some ideas for a workaround for the composition of various neat materials.
The composite armor, for example, I can probably analyze once I get it home. I’m not sure how I did that whole swim-through-the-sword thing when I was altering the blades for Torvil, Kammen, and Seldar—and mine, for that matter—but I bet, having done it once, I can find a way to do it again. If I can, then I should be able to look into the armor and examine the layers on a molecular level. After that, duplicating it should be an order of magnitude easier.
The same applies for some of the alloy metals I’ve found, and a number of ceramics. Apparently, steel kitchen knives have been generally replaced by a glassy substance that I think is a ceramic, but might be some sort of actual glass. It’s amazingly tough; I’m not sure it isn’t the same thing they make the clear portion of the helmets from. It also holds a razor edge and appears to be immune to weathering. I don’t know how well it would scale up for a sword—it might shatter under those sorts of stresses—but even if it shatters as a sword, it could make an excellent dagger. Or, better yet, arrowheads! Depending on how it behaves in other ways, it might even make a good plow.
Even if it doesn’t, there are a number of metals that I don’t immediately recognize. There are some things that I think are steel alloys and they show no signs of corrosion. There are others that are nonmagnetic—aluminum alloys? Magnesium? I don’t know, but they seem to be in good shape, too. I’m taking back samples to analyze in a powerful magical environment.
I just wish I could get this damned computer to fire up and run! This is
embarrassing!
People used to call me, sometimes in tears, to come help them with their computer problems. I’d solve it, fix it, or go get the replacement part, and then everything would be wonderful again.
Thomen brought us back after most of a whole day—call it sixteen hours or so. That worked out to somewhat over four full days on the other side; I think the time differential is a little over six to one, but I’m hampered by a lack of precise time-measuring tools. While I was there, I didn’t find a single working clock, wristwatch, or other timepiece. Yes, I did look.
Maybe I need to finally just give up and
build
a clock.
He knocked off for evening. I double-checked the unconscious prisoners, then went up to the workroom attached to my chambers.
I set down the crystal computer core, which I had very carefully removed, along with the rest of my plunder. Here, with magical tools at my disposal, maybe I could get something out of that crystal. Not today, perhaps, but soon. The quicker I started growing a new suit of armor, the sooner I could refine that growth and make it fast.
My analysis of my prizes went on until dawn. I took a break under the bathroom waterfall until the shivering, prickling sensations died away and I had a heartbeat again. By that point, Tort had joined me in the bathroom.
“You don’t want to come in here,” I cautioned, as she moved to enter the pool. “I’ve just sweat enough yuck to pollute the thing. Give it half an hour to clear.” She sniffed at the water and nodded.
“Will you have Tianna today?” she asked.
“I plan to go get her,” I agreed. “Unless Amber wants me in Mochara for something, I should be back in an hour or so.”
“Very good.”
“Oh! I also brought presents.”
“Presents?”
“Take a look in my study. In particular, look at the crystal. Don’t
do
anything to it, but tell me what you think.”
She cocked her head at me, but went off to look. I finished scrubbing off my transformational byproducts, dried and dressed. With some regret, I donned my armor. I probably wouldn’t be wandering around in soft clothes again for a while.
Tort looked up as I came into the study.
“I do not see anything unusual about it,” she said. “I do not know what it is made of, but it seems merely a large crystal.”
“Fair enough. I was just curious if there was anything you saw in it that I didn’t,” I told her. She shook her head. “Okay. I’m about to hit the road.”
“What about the morning meeting?”
“Skip it. People have been working their butts off. I don’t think I need to crack the whip. Taking a day off to play with my granddaughter won’t be the end of the world.”
“Very good, my angel,” she agreed. She rose and kissed me soundly. “Come back to me.”
“Don’t I always?”
“Yes. But you do not always tell me when you are going away,” she countered, gesturing at the collection of otherworldly artifacts. “I could be angry with you, you know.”
“But you know I have to do something to keep occupied while mortals sleep?” I offered.
“Yes. Go on, fetch your granddaughter. I shall attempt to keep your kingdom from falling apart while you play.” She kissed me again and sent me on my way.
As I walked through the corridor, I had a feeling. It was as though I’d forgotten something. No, it was as though someone was calling my name. A prayer? A really intent one? I paused for a moment and listened, trying to detect whatever it was.
Boss!
I heard, in my mind, faint and distant. I immediately tried to send back, but got no reply. A moment of work with a projection spell and I directed a much more powerful sending to the northwest. I spread a receiving dish to detect a reply.
Firebrand!
I thought back.
Where
—
?
Just outside Vathula and galloping like hell through the pass! I’m being chased by a bunch of orku with fire protection! Can you get to me before they do?
I don’t know, but I’ll try.
I pounded through the hallway toward the throne room. Bronze met me there, knowing that I needed her. I was up and holding on in an instant, blasting out the main door and around the courtyard, waving my apologies to the warriors three and their surprised expressions.
Talk!
I sent to Firebrand, as strongly as I could. Bronze moved onto the Kingsway and the whole world started to accelerate upward.
I’m strapped to the back of a galgar named Kladak’cha, galloping as fast as this pony will carry him, escaping.
Escaping?
Yep. Crazy bitch has been keeping me confined in a magic case. Wouldn’t let me talk to you, wouldn’t let me out. She’s convinced that you’ll ruin everything.
How did you get out?
Kladak’cha is an idiot janitor. He took me out for cleaning and polishing. Once I proved that I could—and would—fry him like a piece of bacon if he didn’t do exactly as I said, the rest was pretty easy.
Fair enough. We’re leaving the city gate and about to swing north.
Hurry. This pony-sized thing doesn’t go very fast compared to the horses the orku are riding.
On it.
I paused to work on the aerodynamic spell that would cut down on the wind. Bronze surged into a higher gear. I added another spell to alter the angle of gravity, tilting it, making the whole road seem slightly downhill. The northern canal started to move by even faster. I closed my eyes and let Bronze do the driving while I concentrated on Firebrand.
Okay, that’s about the best I can manage. Now, tell me what the deal is with Keria.
Keria’s a crazy lady and is convinced you two are enemies. She’s also kind of hot about you killing a couple of her magicians and that army she sent. She’s also scared, but she won’t admit that; she seems all cold and angry and in charge around anyone, but I can just barely hear a little of her thinking when she isn’t paying attention. It’s like her thoughts are buried under something—maybe she has a defensive spell.
But
why
is she hacked off at me?
I asked.
Someone mentioned that I broke her ability to do magic. I don’t recall doing that, but I imagine that could make her mad.
Don’t tell
me
,
Firebrand said.
Tell
her
! She went to the mountain half a dozen times trying to reach you, figuring that the haunted place was a good starting point. You never answered, even when she prayed in your shrine. Good likeness, by the way.
I am not amused. But go on.
I dunno what all the problem is with you not answering. I guess she either needed you for something, or she felt you owed her something for the rescue at the Edge of the World.
I felt the mental shrug.
I don’t get it. I think she’s crazy.
Maybe, but I won’t count on that. I want to think she has a reason, and maybe I can fix this with her, rather than have to go to war.
I wouldn’t count on that either, Boss.
Noted. Where’s Bob?
He’s alive, last I saw. He was dragged off in chains at Keria’s command to be locked in a tower cell.
A tower cell? What for?
I guess she’s worried about loyalists breaking him out, so she’s avoiding anything underground.
No, I mean, why was he locked up?
Loyalty. I’d guess the ability to squeeze his heart into mush really drove home the need to be on your good side when you came back. Mind you, he’s been a good second-in-command for decades, ever since Keria started her takeover of the Eastrange, but now that you’re up and about again…
I see.
By the way—not to rush you or anything—but do you have any idea how much longer you’re going to be?
At this rate?
I did a quick estimation in my head.
Ten more minutes to the pass, then it depends on how far along you are.
Well, so much for that. They’re going to catch us in the next two or three, tops.
Firebrand paused.
Boss?
Yes?
I really don’t want to go back there. I really don’t. I don’t like being locked in a case, I don’t like the fact she doesn’t even let me sit in a fireplace, and I especially don’t like
her
. Get me out of this? Please?
I’ve been thinking about ways to do that, but I haven’t come up with anything. I’ll expedite that, now, make it a priority. I
will
come to get you.
Thanks, Boss.
Do you think they can get you and get back through the gates before I get there?
They’re gaining steadily… so, yeah, probably. The only reason we have a decent head start is the delay in getting them fireproofed. Once they kill the janitor, I won’t be able to stop them.
Ah, but are the horses also fireproofed?
Yes.
I swore with feeling. Of course they would be.
All right. Fine. In that case, give Keria a message for me.
Sure, Boss.
Here it is. “You have a choice. You can send me my sword, or I will come get it. If I come get it, there will be not so much as a stone left standing on stone where Vathula used to be. There will be a lake of fire that will burn for a thousand years where once that city stood, and even your ashes will scream as they float amid the flame.” Got that?
Got it! Hot damn!
I leaned down closer to Bronze and squeezed her hard.
“Can we be in time to rescue Firebrand?” I asked. “Maybe we can’t, but we can try. What do you say?”
Yellow-white fire jetted from her nostrils and a thick tongue of flame rippled from her mouth, streamers flicking backward over her shoulders. Bronze put everything into it, ignoring her usual attention to a smooth ride. Her gait shifted into pure speed and I had to rise in the stirrups like a jockey or get seriously hammered from below. I also put a heat-reflecting spell under me; the saddle was turning into a stovetop.
We cornered into the pass on a long, wide turn, striking sparks from the rocks, and thundered up into the Eastrange.
Just as an update, Boss… they’ve killed Kladak’cha and his pony. They aren’t wasting any time about getting back, either; I think they’re going to kill the horses by running them to death. It’s a good bet they either know you’re coming or don’t want to find out.
Got it. We’re in the pass and gaining.
Yeah, but the gates are just up ahead, and the guys inside have already opened it. They’ll just go right through and shut them in your face.
I felt my jaw clench.
We’ll see. Which tower is Bob in, by the way?
The palace has five main towers. I don’t know which one, or what level he’s on. I only know he was dragged off to a tower cell.
Got it. I’ll come get you, and if you talk to him, let him know I’m going to try and get him, too.
Him? Why?
Because I left him in charge of this place, so I feel sort of responsible. Pissed off, but responsible.
Ah. Should I tell him you’re angry?
Sure—but not at him.
Oh. Nevermind.
You just like scaring people,
I accused. Firebrand gave me a psychic chuckle.
Bronze pounded through the pass, bearing almost line-straight through the mountains, and shot along the trail. It wove gradually back and forth a tiny bit. We came into sight of the gates, two or three miles away, just in time to see them slam shut.
I leaned back in the saddle and Bronze slowed to a walk, blowing billows of fire-shot smoke. Her head hung low and I could actually feel her body expand and contract with her breathing. I patted her neck and told her how proud I was of her. She seemed too tired to respond, but I got the feeling she was sad that she let me down. Maybe, if we hadn’t spent the last few days in a magic-poor environment…
I resolved to fix that.
We stood there, looking over the long, straight stretch of killing ground in front of the gates. It was, basically, a dead-end canyon with defensive fortifications. I could probably work around through the mountains and enter the city, but the only good way to move an army though there was through the gates.
There were an awful lot of horns blowing and flags waving. It appeared that a sizable quantity of troops were manning the battlements.
Firebrand?
Yes, Boss?
If Keria wants to come out and discuss this, I’ll be right here for a bit.
She can’t come out in daylight, Boss. Smoke and fire and stuff.
What? She died, as a mortal?
Well, yeah. Didn’t you know?
No, I didn’t. When did this happen?
No response.
Firebrand?
Nothing. Firebrand must be inside the shielding spells again.
Bronze rested there and we waited, just in case someone came out to discuss terms. After about half an hour, someone did. It was a small procession of half a dozen, all of them human, and a horse-drawn cart. I hadn’t realized that Keria had human subjects, but there wasn’t any reason she couldn’t. For some reason, that made me feel obscurely uncomfortable.
They came up to within a hundred feet, unfolded and erected a small, four-poled canopy, assembled a portable table, and placed a pair of chairs. They also opened a chest, a bottle of wine, and produced goblets. The guy in obvious charge—and in the fancy outfit—sat down, accepted a goblet of wine, and waited.
Bronze walked up to the edge of the canopy. I didn’t dismount.
“Bring me my sword,” I told him.
“I am so very sorry,” he replied, “but the Queen of Vathula has claimed it as—”