“They know…” Fionn replied. I just forgot to tell them how I will be reaching the place.
“I’d better turn on the AI,” Sid said warily, eyeing the canyon while flipping up a few switches before pushing the yoke and steering the Figaro down to enter the Maze.
A small shadow flew out of the corner of Fionn’s eye. He turned around to see if anyone else had seen it, but most were busy talking about the limestone peppering the cliffs. Except for Gaby. Her gaze was lost in the horizon and she stood up, walking towards Sid’s chair.
“Did you see that black and red raven? Flying alongside us,” Gaby asked with a faint voice.
“What raven?” Harland asked.
“That one,” Fionn said. He could see it as well, a red and black raven, larger than usual for its species.
“I don’t see anything,” Sid replied.
Gaby pointed at a spot to the left and in front of the ship.
“I just see a shadow,” Alex added.
“Focus your mind, Alex,” Fionn advised him. He was seeing the raven through the Gift.
Gaby kept staring at it, her body relaxing. Her eyes were glazed as if entranced by a mysterious force.
“Are you okay, Gaby?” Alex asked her, carefully poking her shoulder, to no avail. The ship started to rock, as if struck by waves from an invisible ocean.
“We are within sight of Ravenstone, but the gravimetric readings are off the chart,” Sid said. “I can’t seem to find a safe passage and the AI is still processing the data, saying how the hell we are gonna land in there. The forest is too thickly packed for the Figaro.”
“The place has a landing platform below the edge, deep into the chasm,” Fionn added, pointing to a rendered image of the college appearing in the holographic HUD at the controls. Fionn was nervous, his left leg trembling without pause.
“And how do you know that?” Sid inquired.
“If I recall my history right, the place was already built by the time of the Silver Raiders and the Montoc Dragons, which means that it had landing platforms for them. One of them should be strong enough to bear the weight of the Figaro,” Harland said.
“I hope you are right,” Sid said with resignation. “Fasten your seatbelts, the ride might prove jumpy if the AI calculations are right.”
The Figaro started its descent into the deeper levels of the Maze, soon flying inside the chasm. Sid had to apply himself by dodging the rocks that appeared from nowhere, floating in front of their path. While the AI managed to keep track of the rocks, it also signaled that they were flying upside down and on a collision course with the ground.
“That can’t be right, I haven’t done a barrel,” Sid exclaimed, starting to push the yoke.
“Wait!” Gaby stopped him, staring at the raven. “It’s an illusion.”
“Are you sure?” Harland asked nervously.
“Sure,” Gaby replied faintly, her mind apparently lost in the flow of time and space. “Let’s just follow the raven.”
“Not again,” Alex mumbled.
“What’s going on, Alex?” Fionn asked with growing concern.
“You know about her dreams and visions, right?” Alex said. “Well, she is having one. Sometimes they can get…” Alex grabbed Gaby’s hand and paused for a second, looking upward, trying to think of the appropriate word. “Intense. Holding her hand helps her to be at ease.”
“This is getting intense, too. The AI can’t cope with all the space-time oddities,” Sid growled while dodging the rocks. The AI beeped its danger alarm. “If dragons were supposed to fly through this place, I’m not surprised they went extinct.”
“Let me,” Gaby said quietly, taking her free hand and grabbing Sid’s hands. His knuckles were a lighter shade of green because of his tight grip on the yoke. When she put her hands over his, Sid relaxed his grip and allowed Gaby to guide him, requiring less dodging and easing the flight.
“I think she is following the raven vision,” Alex explained. “I still can’t see anything beyond a shadow, but I can feel it as well.”
“How’s that possible?” Harland asked, confusion showing on his face.
“The Gift,” Fionn shrugged. “Like most oddities in life, you can explain them with the Gift, magick, nanobots or a combination of them.”
“Thank Heavens no one has managed to invent time travel,” Harland said.
“Actually, under our current understanding of physics, time travel is not possible, not even with magick. See, the issue lies…” Alex started to explain.
“Not now, Alex,” Sid cut him off.
Sid let Gaby guide him, following the raven’s apparition.
“This place is full of non-Euclidian structures. How do those arcs and angles…? How do those rocks manage to stand or simply float in midair?” Alex pointed out. “The architect had a…”
“Strange sense of perception?” Fionn continued with a chuckle. “That may be the handiwork of the Trickster Goddess. You will enjoy Ravenstone then. Look.”
Ravenstone, or better said, the rock it was built upon, appeared in their sight floating in the middle of the canyon.
“How is that possible?” Alex asked, amazed, pressing his face against the window.
“As I said before, it isn’t a traditional school,” Fionn started to explain. “It was originally built as a seat of government during the times of Queen Khary, back when the freefolk were the most powerful nation on Theia. It’s meant to be hard to find. They don’t like prying eyes.”
“And if I were an arcanotech researcher, this would be a good place to take my projects farther away from unwanted attention,” Alex continued, not taking his eyes from the sight.
The school building, more reminiscent of a closed temple or a ziggurat, appeared to be carved into a floating rock, suspended above the chasm of the darkest section of the Maze, crowned by a giant statue of a raven carved from solid stone.
“And the school is not actually floating,” Fionn continued. “It is an optical illusion. See below? There is an ancient base of the rock, barely noticeable thanks to a mirage spell. The platform I told you about is located there.”
A sound from the comms indicated an incoming transmission.
“Allushc wydellygh was bork?” The transmission filled the cockpit with a language that Alex had trouble recognizing.
“Sorry, we don’t speak freefolk,” Sid replied. The landing platform was now in sight but the Figaro didn’t seem to get closer.
“Allow me,” Fionn took the microphone. “I bork Fionn, Clan Estel, mac cuin Fraog, mac kind Samantha Ambers.”
“Llywellyn. You can land,” the voice replied in core tongue.
“Was it so difficult for them to speak Core?” Sid complained while taking back the control of the yoke and starting the landing procedures.
“Like samoharo is easier,” Alex replied.
“It’s not my fault you have a lousy ear for languages.”
Gaby broke out of her reverie, shaking her head. Her eyes returned to their normal state. “Was I too long in a trance?”
“Just enough to help us get here in one piece,” Harland replied, placing his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring gesture. “It seems we have a welcome committee waiting for us.” He pointed at the landing platform where a group stood waiting, headed by a redheaded woman.
“Who’s she?” Alex asked. “Do you know her? She is really pretty.”
Fionn felt a knot in his stomach. He wondered if it was due to the woman’s presence or Alex’s comments about her beauty. Neither of those options sat well with him.
† † †
Alex’s eyes didn’t depart from the sight of the people gathering around the ship. He focused on the young woman. If he had to guess, she was only a couple of years younger than he and Gaby. She was wearing blue jeans with ripped knees and a flowing violet b
louse under a leather jacket, similar to Fionn’s. She looked more like a rock musician than a magus. That look made her stand out from the rest of the welcome committee, who wore more traditional magi robes and armor.
There was something familiar about her, about the way she was standing there, her arms crossed, her mouth tightly closed and her eyes full of steely determination. It was a familiar look, but he couldn’t place where he had seen it. A lousy memory was a family trait.
“You can disembark through the back, through the cargo bay hatch,” Sid unfastened his belt and took something out of a box.
“Aren’t you coming?” Alex asked his friend, remaining behind while the rest started to leave the cockpit.
“Nah, I want to work on the AI parameters. They are good, but they will need some improvement for when we leave this place,” Sid replied, keying a few strokes into a touchscreen. “But take this.” Sid handed Alex a pair of glasses with small earbuds attached to the frame.
“I don’t need to wear them. My sight is fine,” Alex replied, studying the handmade object.
“Your sight is not fine and you know it. But this is a two-way portable screen. I can send you images along with sound, and what’s more important, you can send me images back.”
“So you want to see how this place looks on the inside. Where did you get these?” Alex asked, examining the glasses.
“Trade secret. And yes, who wouldn’t?” Sid replied, with a smug smile on his face.
“You are not staying for the AI, are you?” Alex looked at his friend quizzically.
“I want to keep the Figaro ready in case things get ugly,” Sid explained, resting on the back of his chair.
“You are properly paranoid,” Alex told him, shaking his head.
“I prefer the term ‘properly prepared,’” Sid countered while attending the console and turning on the sensors of the ship one more time.
Alex left the cockpit and joined the rest in the cargo bay. The hatch slowly descended, allowing artificial light from the platform to fill the space. From there, he could see the young woman standing, barely moving. At her left side was a man, middle-aged but with apparent youthful energy, dressed in long green robes with a golden brocade that barely concealed armor covering his body in small plates, not unlike how a dragon skin should have looked. Around them, were four robed magi, one human holding a grimoire, a freefolk lady with green hair styled in a wild pompadour and pixie ears, a tall, dark-skinned man with a stare that could freeze a lake, and an elderly man whose fingertips sparked.
“This welcoming committee looks not-at-all welcoming,” Alex scratched the back of his neck.
The young woman had her arms at her side as if she were ready to quickly draw a pair of guns. She walked towards them. Fionn’s left leg was now trembling in a noticeable way, which made Alex nervous. Who was this person that could rattle the Greywolf so much, the ‘one-man’ army?
She ignored Alex and Gaby and hugged Harland, who greeted her with warmth in his voice. Then she stared at Fionn, holding his gaze. He was sweating. Whoever this woman was, Fionn was clearly scared of her.
“Hi, Dad, what do you want here?” She asked in a serious tone, while the man in the green robes could barely contain a laugh.
Dad? Well, I guess that makes sense. Alex thought. He wondered if he was allowed to laugh as well. Right now, he could use a restroom.
† † †
“Hi, munchkin,” Fionn awkwardly hugged the woman in front of him. His daughter was nearly as tall as he was. Her skin was a lighter shade of olive, peppered with freckles. But her most noticeable feature was the pair of big, expressive green eyes above the freckled cheeks that gave her a playful look. Her accent was thick and emphatic, without many of the verbal ticks Fionn had.
At Fionn’s initial touch the woman had been stiff, reluctant to acknowledge the contact. But slowly, as Fionn continued to hold onto her, the woman melted into the arms of her father.
“I hate it when you use that nickname,” she told him, pulling back, her face still sporting a serious expression. Alex could now see that around her neck, she wore a thin silver chain from which hung a pendant made of a purple, quartz-like crystal held by a three-fingered dragon’s claw made of silver.
“Ok, ok, sorry. How are you, Sam? Or do you prefer Samantha now?” Fionn asked, messing the hair on the back of his head, trying to regain his composure and failing miserably. Alex shared a look with Gaby and saw her smiling.
“Fine, but right now it seems that’s the last of your concerns,” Sam replied with a serious voice. It was then that the man in the green robes closed the gap and reached Fionn and Sam, extending a hand towards the former.
“That’s the Dragonking, the highest-ranking member of the freefolk hierarchy when it comes to studying magick,” Harland explained, whispering to Alex and Gaby. “And the headmaster of the school. The rest must be the school council. Something must be happening for all of them to be here ready to blast us. Don’t say anything unless you are asked. Let us do the talking.”
Harland walked away, towards where Fionn, Sam, and the Dragonking were standing.
“Good thing Sid stayed on the ship then,” Alex whispered to Gaby, who suppressed a laugh.
“Welcome, Greywolf. I didn’t expect to see you in this fashion or in such a strange ship.” The Dragonking embraced Fionn, as if they were old friends, and then pointed to Gaby and Alex. “Who are your companions that carry weapons into my school?”
Alex felt sweat beads rolling down his back. The last thing we wanted was to be the target of unfriendly magi. He had heard nasty comments regarding a ‘disintegration spell.’ They had given him nightmares.
“I wish it were under better circumstances, old friend. I assume you know why am here?” Fionn replied.
“Aye,” the Dragonking nodded.
Fionn then pointed to where Alex, Gaby, and Harland were standing. “They are Gabriella Galfano and Alex León. They are helping me with the matter at hand. Let’s just say they are deputized Justicars, hence the weapons. And I assume you remember Harland.”
“Of course.” The Dragonking bent forward slightly, to offer a handshake to Harland, in deference to his physical stature. “I apologize for the reception. But as you must have heard, freefolk all over the continent have been attacked. We have young kids here, hence the extra precaution.”
“We understand, m’lord. The Foundation vouches for them and the pilot of our transportation,” Harland replied with a smile.
“That’s the highest recommendation. We accept it; I just request you don’t draw your weapons inside these halls for our and your safety. The security measures of the building might not be so aware of your intentions.” The Dragonking pointed to the several wooden totems that decorated the building while leading them inside.
He signaled to the council members and they relaxed. However, none of them moved from their spots. Instead, they pointed at the Figaro and talked in hushed whispers in the freefolk tongue. The Dragonking led Fionn and the others inside the premises. Once inside, the Dragonking continued. “Now, regarding pressing matters. We are as worried as you are about Professor Hunt’s whereabouts. You are welcome to look around his office if that helps to find him.”
“It’s my office too,” Sam mumbled.
“That’s accommodating,” Alex murmured to Gaby. He had failed to notice that Sam was walking next to him. She gave him a quizzical look, to which he responded with a nervous smile. She looked at Alex the same way Fionn had when they were at the coffee shop. As if she was examining him. But whereas Fionn was intimidating, she was unnerving.
“Dad’s a Justicar and is well-known by the Dragonking and the freefolk,” Sam explained. “So I know why he’s here. But why are you here? I think I remember hearing your name before. The professor spoke highly of you, but I don’t see why.”
“Wait a minut
e,” Alex said. He had just realized something. “You are his assistant? You hung up on me once!”
“I’m not his ‘assistant,’” Sam replied, making air quotes. “I’m a junior research partner and doctoral student. And if I hung up on you it was because we were busy.”
“That’s not an apology.”
“Who said it was?” Sam left Alex in silence. She had a smug smile on her face while leaving them behind. Sam moved to the front of the line, alongside her dad and Harland.
“Seems that you have finally met your match.” Gaby laughed.
“She is really pretty,” Alex replied, smiling too. Now he understood the meaning of ‘feeling butterflies in the belly.’
† † †
The walk towards the professor’s office was a long journey, requiring climbing up several flights of stairs. The school seemed bigger inside than outside. Once they arrived at the main floor, they saw a massive hall spread out in front of them. In the middle of the hall there was a large, circular promenade surrounded by a pond full of fish that connected to the other hallways by bridges. The edges of the promenade, as well as its walls, were decorated with bushes and flowers of colors not commonly seen in nature, at least not in regions lacking magick energies. In the middle of the circle, there was a shiny, metal sphere, the size of a small vehicle, floating on top of a fountain. Its silvery surface reflected everything, including the light filtered by the tempered glass that entered through a tunnel that descended from the roof.
The fountain was surrounded by carvings on the floor, which glowed with a faint yellow light. Above the sphere floated a pair of concentric circles crossed by four beams of the same yellowish light. More runes floated inside the circles. Everything put together had the appearance of a sigil or a seal. The halls were decorated with wooden totems of different mythical creatures: the dragonwolf, the Montoc Dragons, the Feathered Serpent of the samoharo, the hawkdove, the wingedlion, the silverfox, and the raven, amongst others. All of them were sculpted from the same silvery metal of the sphere but had their features enhanced with golden decals. They gazed at the visitors with stern looks on their faces.
The Withered King Page 11