Trail of Rifts

by David Bokman

  The guards thought for a moment, then decided they did not take orders from people doing community service.

  The ground quaked a second time. Just like before, this quake was stronger, louder, closer. A group of guards came rushing out of the main barrack. One of them, a middle-aged man with a face that looked like it had been chiseled out of marble, carried an insignia designating him as a leader of some sort. He grabbed the nearest guard by his shoulders, and said, “What’s going on out here?”

  “W- we don’t know, Captain! Feels like an earthquake! No hostiles spotted!”

  “Hey! Captain!” The Dart yelled out, running up to the stout man. “It’s not an attack, it’s a rift! We probably have a minute at most, then—”

  Her plea was interrupted by a third quake, sounding as if it originated directly below them. The sound made it seem as if they had awoken an ancient giant down below who was shouting out its displeasure. “A rift? Who are you? Will someone please make some damn sense of the situation?”

  “Soon, a big hole will open in the ground, and if your men are standing in a line, they might all fall down into it and die. That should be clear enough,” said The Dart.

  The Captain, after a brief moment, seemed to deem The Dart trustworthy. “Men! Spread out, but stay alert!”

  The guards, not lowering their weapons, adapted a looser formation. “There!” said Florianna, pointing at a small storage building thirty yards away. “It’s going to—”

  The rift did not make a sound as it opened, but it was impossible to miss it nonetheless. The furthermost edge of the rift had appeared right below the building. The small storage facility, not as sturdily built as the main barracks, began tilting, and the side quickly fell down into the rift. It stopped five feet down, as the entire building, now leaning thirty degrees to the left, got wedged in the rift. It looked as if the building was situated at the edge of a hill, leaning down steeply. “What the… You two! Go get a ladder and rope, there are people in that storage building!” ordered the Captain, not knowing what to make of the situation.

  Thankfully, the building seemed to have come to rest in the rift, and the rift did not seem keen on expanding. From a window higher up in the main barrack came a voice familiar to Cadwell and the members of the Townsguard. “Captain Dovan! What is going on down there?”

  “One of those rifts that Attila is researching, Commander! Appeared right under one of the storage buildings and almost ate it whole!”

  “Gods be damned… Well, get me Attila, then! And make sure no more of these rifts are on their way!”

  “Get me Attila!” Dovan relayed to his guards.

  “I’m here!” said Attila, running up to the rift. “Incredible! Right here, in the city! This is a breakthrough, albeit not a welcome one!”

  “You heard him, report to Stonehand!” said Dovan.

  “Permission for us three to go with him, Captain?” asked The Dart. “We’ve dealt with this before, on multiple occasions.”

  “I can vouch for these two.” Attila pointed at Na and The Dart. “They’ve given us valuable information just a few days ago.”

  “Permission granted, now be on your way. The Commander does not like waiting.” Dovan turned to his men. “And can someone get me a goddamn ladder?!”

  The Commander was pacing around the office when they entered. “Senior Guard. Lieutenant. And who are you two?”

  “We’re investigating the rifts,” said Florianna.

  “Unless I am mistaken, I outrank you, and you will address me as Commander Stonehand.” Stonehand sat down at his desk, spinning a quill around in his hand. “Now, Attila, how serious is this?”

  Attila seized the opportunity to elucidate the danger of the rifts, and said, “I believe it to be rather serious, Commander. Next time, it could be a rift twice that size swallowing a platoon of guards, or an armory, or even a street of people.”

  “And when will the next time come?”

  “We don’t know, sir. With all due respect, we have not had the resources to conduct sufficient research on the matter.”

  “And you three? Do you have anything useful to add, or are you just here as decoration?”

  “We believe level twenty-four of the library has invaluable information, but it has been restricted, sir.”

  “Why would it?”

  “The—”

  “No matter. The Townmaster never acts without reason. If it is restricted, it is for the better. So, Attila, what do you suggest?”

  “Give me twenty men, or as many as you can spare, sir. And give us one of the sleeping quarters to work from, move the guards in it to the dining hall. We need the space more than they do. And put out a bigger reward for information, make it enticing for adventurers. We won’t be able to solve this without outside help.”

  “That thing almost levelled one of our buildings with the ground, with no warning. It does indeed seem like a problem,” pondered Stonehand, looking up at the roof.

  “I agree, sir. It’s no longer something we can ignore.”

  “Very well. I will give you thirty men, and whichever barrack you deem necessary. I will issue a five hundred sun reward for a solution to this problem, a hundred suns for valuable information furthering the investigation.”

  “Very good, Commander. We’ll have this under control in no time.”

  “You better. You’re free to leave, Senior Guard.”

  Attila took his leave, and Stonehand turned his attention to Cadwell and his friends. “Regarding you three… Well, I don’t rightly know what to do with you.”

  “We can help, if you let us.”

  “Oh, you will, you will. Especially the Lieutenant, seeing as he is already in service to the Townsguard. I will name you three Heralds of the Guard and grant you all the benefits that come with it. You will be granted safe passage anywhere where people honor our city, and your investigation will go unhindered. Lastly, I will get you an audience with the Townmaster, so you can discuss this library business. In return, you will do anything in your power to put an end to these rifts. Is that understood?”

  “Loud and clear. Thank you, Commander.”

  “I want this to be handled with the utmost secrecy, and I want this problem solved. I will not have my organization defeated by some strange holes in the ground. Understood?”

  “Of course, sir.”

  “Commander?” asked The Dart. “We have two other colleagues in town who are a critical part of our team. They are currently in the west, scouring the city for leads. Samson Miller and Ja— Flavio Woodleaf. Is it within your power to send for them?”

  “I will have them delivered to the grounds. Pick them up tomorrow at first light and begin your work. Oh, and Lieutenant?”

  “Yes?”

  “I shall hold you personally responsible for the success of your mission. Should you fail, Castor’s kind heart will not keep you from the gallows. Am I clear?”

  “Quite clear, sir.”

  “Olga on the ground floor will sort you out with the necessary papers. Dismissed.”

  Revenge will have to wait a bit longer, Cadwell thought as they left the grounds. Finish the mission, and then come back. No way to take revenge if the Commander hangs you first. It did little to cheer him up. He now found himself leading an impossible mission to solve these ground-holes, commanding two hot-headed renegades and two children. A damn recipe for disaster, is what it is. He could only pray one of the rifts would consume Castor and save him some trouble. No, he corrected himself. When Castor’s time comes, I want to look him in the eyes myself. Even men like him deserve a clean death.

  Olga had brought the group into a small storage room and outfitted them with their emblems. The emblems were finely crafted out of gold. Two inches in diameter, they featured a grand tower with a sword and a shield on it. The writs of safe passage were simple, yet would probably come in handy in some places. They read:

  Let it be known that whosoever holdeth this writ, by decree of the Townmaster
of Kardh’Ao, has been named Herald of the Guard.

  Their path is to be unhindered, their journey assisted, by all who consider themselves allies of Kardh’Ao.

  Signed, Commander Stonehand of the Townsguard

  “Na?” Mae asked, as they left the grounds.

  “Yeah?”

  “You saw where the rift was going to appear before it did.” The way Mae said it, it sounded more like a statement than a question.

  “I… saw the purple glow, faintly, moments before it appeared, yes. Probably just luck that I was looking that way.”

  “You seem to get lucky an awful number of times with these rifts, girl,” said Cadwell.

  “The old man has a point; you spotted the rift in the forest from an impossible distance, and this one you spotted before it had even appeared. And I have a theory as to why.”

  “Dumb luck?” suggested Na.

  “Magic. I think the rifts are magical, and you, being an arcanist, can sense their magic.”

  Florianna prepared to dismiss the theory as absurd, but stopped herself. What if she’s right? “But I barely know any magic at all,” she said instead.

  “Which poses an interesting question: what do the rifts look like to experienced arcanists?”

  Neither Florianna nor Cadwell had a good answer to that.

  “Hopefully we can get some clarity from the Townmaster,” said Mae. Stonehand had told them they would most likely be able to meet with her tomorrow, if only for a short while. If anyone has answers, it has to be the Townmaster.

  As the newly enlisted heralds left the premises, evening had already begun descending on the town. Cadwell bid farewell to his friends as they headed to their respective taverns and said to meet up at the Townsguard grounds early tomorrow. Unless one of those rifts eats any of us in our sleep, that is, thought Cad. Mercifully, they did not.

  The next day, the weather was far better; even Cadwell would be hard pressed to complain about it. The Dart, after finishing her breakfast, went up to the innkeeper to pay the final coin for their stay. Upon seeing the emblem on her chest, the innkeeper quickly put his hand up in a dismissive manner. “Heralds eat and sleep for free in my inn for as long as I draw breath. Save your coin, friend.”

  They experienced the same newfound respect from the public when traversing the streets of the city. Previously, navigating through the crowds had been as tough as negotiating your way through a cramped tavern. Now, though, anyone who noticed their emblem made way for them without thinking twice. If it was out of respect or fear, Mae did not know. Regardless, it made their journey far swifter, and before long Mae and Florianna found themselves next to Cad, standing in front of the rift once more. The storage building was still partially consumed by it, but the situation did not seem to have worsened. It remained to be seen if the Townsguard would try to save the building or tear it down. Seeing that there were fewer guards running around the rift today, Mae, as always, began measuring and sketching it, finding its dimensions to be a few paces larger than the last in both directions. “Ah, excuse me, Herald Churchcross!” one of the guards shouted to Cad. “Attila is expecting all of you, building over there. Your other friends are with him.”

  One day they throw me in the dungeon, the next they treat me as royalty, Cad thought, leading the charge towards the large barrack that now apparently belonged to Attila and his operation. As they entered the building, they quickly came to realize just how much the operation had grown in scale. Compared to the shed where Attila, Frank, and Werther had started off in, the new headquarters was quite different. It was filled to the brim with workers conducting all manner of tasks, and far more equipment than Attila could reasonably need. Sitting at the main table, deep in conversation with Attila, were Samson and Jaio, newly outfitted with their heraldic emblems.

  “Ah, but my friend, surely you understand our predicament!” they heard Jaio’s voice say. “Just two days ago we were enjoying a fine religious festivity, only to be hauled off to this rotten part of the city by some guards yesterday. It leaves a most sour taste in our mouths.”

  “You’re important for the expedition, so you’re here. Not my decision,” answered Attila, simultaneously signing a document presented to him by a junior guard.

  Cadwell and the others began making their way through the building. They passed naturalists writing papers, mappers making maps and mathematicians drawing strange figures, before finally reaching the main table. “Speaking of your expedition,” said Attila, spotting the new arrivals, “it seems the other half of it has just arrived.”

  “Ah, it’s you.” Jaio, for once, did not look especially pleased. “If it was not for the fact that a Laentarian never loses a friend, I would certainly consider ending our friendship. I trust you are all well?”

  The reunited group quickly exchanged pleasantries and shifted their attention back to Attila. “With our expanded operation, we should be able to swiftly find the root and solution to the rifts,” he began. “If there is a pattern to these rifts, we will find it. We originally suspected they only appeared in big, open fields. The rifts in the forest and at our doorstep disproved that theory. With the heavily increased reward, we expect many more civilians to help us out, some probably even making it their job to hunt these rifts down, like you. We’ve so far seen four rifts south of us, three north, and one right here, giving us no good indication on where the next one will show up. It is of course possible that they have shown up elsewhere but not been reported to us. We have sent ravens and emissaries to the other major cities and are awaiting responses. As for your mission, the Townmaster will see you at midday. I suggest you use your time with her wisely. After that, your approach is up to you, as long as you report all your findings to us. Any questions, heralds?”

  The Dart spoke up. “When we figure them out, what is our end goal?”

  “To close them, and make sure they never open again.”

  “I disagree with that approach. Shouldn’t we try to understand them? Figure out where they lead? Perhaps we can even travel through them.”

  “We close them. Zena’s orders.”

  “Of course.”

  “Excuse me, Attila?” said Florianna.

  “Yes?”

  “Do you know what is on level twenty-four of the library?”

  “Were you not a Herald, I would very strongly advise against asking such questions. But no, I do not know, nor do I particularly care to. Some knowledge is best left unknown. In any case, feel free to speak with the workers here, if you think it will help. Any and all tools in this building are of course at your disposal, as well. Your audience with the Townmaster will take place in the Townmaster's Tower. You can’t miss it. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

  As the group left the grounds for what felt like the seventy-eighth time in the past few days, Jaio turned to Cadwell. “I hear you are the leader of this endeavor, friend. Irony of fate, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Hm?”

  “Ah, nothing at all,” Jaio laughed. “Nothing at all. I sense we will accomplish great things on this mission.”

  ⧫ CHAPTER XIV ⧫

  She had grown tired of the discussion. “Increase the tithe to two moons, double the guard presence at the northern gate, and be done with it.”

  Carlo lowered his head in a bow. “At once, Townmaster.”

  Sheep, all of them, Zena thought to herself as Carlo finally left her alone. What would they do if I was not here to herd them? This had been the fourth appointment today, and her midday meal was still not in sight. And after my meal I have to meet with Stonehand’s idiots. The Commander had squeezed in another appointment into her already busy day, but she would have to survive. She had come to learn that allowing the Commander to believe she listened to him, if only rarely, made him easier to bend to her will. And he is an important tool to control. She had worked closely with Stonehand during her time as Minister of War and came to know him quite well. And, when she took power, it was thanks to Gallo’s blind loyalty to
the law that she managed to secure her position. Although she had no intention of repaying it, she certainly held a debt to the old man. I wonder who I am to put in his place when the time comes. Stonehand should rightly have died at least a decade ago; he was only staying alive thanks to his stubbornness. At least he had finally come to his senses and stopped working in the field a few years back, instead managing the Townsguard and their strategy from behind his desk.

  Zena’s next appointment was with her brother, the Portmaster. Nothing productive ever came of their meetings, but she feared he would quickly lose control of the port if she did not hold him accountable on a daily basis. Her suspicions seemed well-founded; from the moment he entered her tower, Paavo spoke of little else other than a religious gathering he had attended, and about how “eye-opening” and “intriguing” it had been. Her brother had always been easily entertained. Nevertheless, I will not allow him to stoop so low as to attend gatherings with the common folk. She made it clear to him that this was the last time he would visit the church. Paavo, in turn, pleaded for more money to the Portsguard. “Our main priority is getting the border situation under control, Paavo. Before that, I will not be able to even think about your Portsguard,” she said. “It is the east that will drive this city forward into the next age, not the fishermen of the west.” Her brother’s expression conveyed disagreement, but he yielded. He had always had a soft spot for the common folk, and it was perhaps his biggest weakness. Once a fisherman, always a fisherman, Zena thought to herself. Her brother had been almost as skilled at fishing as she had been at warring. He had been worse as a merchant, and worse still as Portmaster, but his confidence remained stalwart. You could come a long way by being confident. And by being the brother of the Townmaster. Mainly the latter, though.

  Once their meeting concluded, Zena was supposed to meet with her cousin Frida, the Portsguard Commander. Let’s make her wait a few moments. Postponing the meeting is sure to make her livid. Frida had always had a short temper, a weakness Zena enjoyed exploiting. Having her cousin pace around the room and speak angrily would make the appointment almost bearable. Instead of staying in her office, she therefore, after taking a quick look out over the city, took the portal down to the ground floor of the tower.