Soldiers of the Heavens

by Stephen L. Nowland

  “Or simply melt the conduits, stranding us here all the same,” Terinus mused. “It is an imperfect solution, and I am forced to hope it will hold together long enough to affect our escape.”

  “Do you think she's getting suspicious?” Pacian prompted in a low voice, glancing towards Marshal Jenovia, who watched their deliberations with an inquisitive expression. “Without Sayana, none of them can understand a word we're saying.”

  “I should think we've made it clear we're all working to the same ends,” Aiden suggested. “I'm more concerned about Sy right now.”

  “If anyone can take care of herself, it's her,” Pacian suggested.

  “Maybe, but this isn't our world, and even she didn't have a clear idea of what she'd be facing.”

  “We will give her more time, and when that expires, go to the city ourselves and do what we can,” Terinus said. “Until we know more, speculation is pointless.”

  Aiden nodded and rubbed his forehead. He wasn't sure how long they'd been in this world of perpetual twilight, but it felt like he hadn't slept in a while. With no chairs in the room, he resigned himself to sitting on the cold, hard floor to await Sayana's return. Robert took another approach, contenting himself with pacing pack and forth across the room to while away the time.

  The mercenary seemed wrapped up in his feelings for her, having alternated between ambivalence and genuine feeling over the past few weeks. Right now, he clearly wished he was there to help Sayana face whatever this world had to throw at her.

  The escardi were taking it in their stride. It was obvious they had grown accustomed to disappointment, after decades of failing to open the door to leave this world. Some went about their usual business, mending worn clothing and cooking. It appeared to be a stew made from simple roots able to survive in the harsh climate, and meat from the insectoid creatures Jenovia had spoken of.

  Parts of this creature were used in various ways throughout the community. Its carapace was large enough to serve as bowls and for the smaller escardi, rudimentary armour. Talons were reused as tools, and Aiden didn't want to meet the creature those sharp appendages came from.

  He pulled out the Lexicon and to pass the time, began gleaning details of his new gauntlets from its glowing, ephemeral pages. Both pieces of armour were truly rare finds, especially given their excellent condition. The last gauntlet he had was in a terrible state, barely functional and limited to barely a minute of use at a time. With no signs of wear on either of these relics, Aiden was confident they would perform far better than his original.

  One gauntlet was definitely a weapon in its own right. An accomplished researcher of sa’quaarin artifice, Aiden was able to narrow down the activation runes in short order and figured he knew enough to operate it safely. He was so engrossed with his work he barely noticed Pacian sit down next to him.

  “Are we still friends?” the former ascetic asked, taking Aiden by surprise. He closed the Lexicon and stared at Pacian before answering.

  “I don't know. Things have been so hectic lately I haven't thought about it.”

  “That's my point. I'm here, helping out in my own unique way, and I don't know if I'm wanted or appreciated.”

  “What brought this on?” Aiden inquired. “I thought you were here looking for redemption from Nellise.”

  “There is that, but I wanted to be clear about where I stand with you,” Pacian clarified. “We used to be friends, but I've had a lot of time to think about us over the past couple of years, and I wonder — were we ever? Did I just push myself into your life and you were too nice to tell me to bugger off?”

  “I can't remember anything from before the day I fell into that bloody hole,” Aiden reminded him. “My near-death experience in the mountains of Akora left me a bit short in that regard, so I can't answer, sorry.”

  “That's a real shame. We had some fun, you and I,” Pacian said with a faint smile stimulated by warm memories Aiden no longer shared.

  “I wish I could remember it all, but even if I could, I'm not sure it has any bearing on the present. Assuming we survive this and things settle down, can you see yourself attending a royal dinner with Criosa and I? Sipping brandy by the fire with courtiers and the nobility? Answering questions about your past with 'I used to murder people'? That's what awaits Nellise and I, as I'm certain Criosa will reinstate our titles. The best you could expect from her is a pardon, although you probably shouldn't count on that. What exactly are you looking for?”

  “Direction, purpose, the usual things,” Pacian answered with a flat voice. “I don't see Nellise and I getting back together, there's too much blood and history between us to mend things, and I can't return to the monastery either. Not after the way I left.”

  “That kind of sums up where we are, doesn't it,” Aiden pointed out. “Too much blood and history, indeed.”

  “Yeah, that's what I thought,” Pacian remarked just as a flash of violet light erupted in the middle of the chamber. The link they needed to complete the generators appeared, a large metal brace work with a huge yellow crystal in the middle. Next to it, covered in muck and grime was Sayana, who promptly collapsed on top of the brace. At her appearance the entire chamber erupted into movement.

  Robert ran straight for the sorceress, lifting her limp body in his arms and checking her pulse while Terinus and Aiden looked on.

  “She's alive, but out cold,” Robert reported. “Get Nellise in here, now!” he shouted at Pacian, who nodded and ran out the door. “I told her she needed our help and now look what happened.”

  “She succeeded, is what she did,” Aiden pointed out as he glanced at the relic. “It looks intact, and the crystal is still warm.”

  “It's quite possible there was another pair of generators at the heart of the city, still intact,” Terinus remarked. “Let's move it into position and begin the connection. Do you have the strength to move it yourself?”

  “You know I do,” Aiden reminded him. He traced the glyphs on the gauntlet covering his right hand and moments later, a familiar dull hum emerged from it, as Aiden felt strength surge through his body. He waited for Robert to lift Sayana clear of the brace work, then with the escardi looking on, hefted the entire thing by himself. With careful hands he guided the rig over to the gap between the two huge generators, then set it back down.

  “It looks like she just ripped it out of the wall,” he remarked. “It won't go straight in like this — the ends need to be cleared.”

  Terinus touched his staff to one end of the rig, and with a flash of light and the smell of charred metal, part of it came away. Ovis, watching closely, followed his example and used a crowbar to lever the other end clear of obstruction. They might not be able to communicate in their usual manner, but everyone seemed to be able to figure out what needed to be done.

  Pacian returned with Nellise in tow, just as Aiden slotted the assembly into position. Terinus began to examine the connection with Ovis hovering close by. A few metal clasps were snapped into place, but aside from that, there was little else that needed to be done.

  “I think it's ready for activation,” the wizard rasped, only to find his audience distracted. Aiden was watching Nellise tend to Sayana, for she was still unconscious.

  “It's exhaustion, pure and simple,” the cleric explained. “Given her evident good health before she left, I am forced to assume her current state is the result of exposure to something from the city.”

  “Will she recover?” Robert pressed.

  “Stop fretting,” Sayana softly groaned aloud, much to the relief of all present. “I'll be fine once I have time to regenerate.”

  “What happened?” Robert inquired while wiping her face with a damp cloth.

  “Monsters, and something else. Something invisible. I think it was coming from the generators.”

  “Wait, do you think —” Aiden began, turning to watch as Terinus threw the lever which sent a shudder through the entire fort.

  A low hum began to build and within momen
ts, the crystal flared to life. Brilliant yellow light illuminated the chamber and sparks flew from various places along the metal bridgework. A cry of triumph went up from Ovis and the other escardi, who had finally seen the task of generations come to fruition.

  “Oh no,” Sayana whispered, barely audible over the noise. “We can't stay here, it's going to kill everyone.”

  “We're not exactly planning to move in, honey,” Robert grunted. “Our hosts are already grabbing their things so we should probably start heading for the portal.” Terinus rejoined them after performing a few checks on the devices.

  “It is functional, after a fashion,” he rasped. “The assembly is emitting a strange energy which I believe to be dangerous to living beings. I find it hard to believe it was designed to do this, so we should probably... oh, I see you're already making for the door.”

  “These cables are getting hot, too,” Aiden replied, feeling the heat rising from the conduits. “Maybe we should get everyone to the portal before turning it on?” A flash of sparks erupted from the generators, and the light from the crystal dimmed for a moment. The brief display grabbed the attention of everyone in the room for a long moment, then the escardi stormed for the door. Jenovia shouted orders to them over the top of the ruckus, gesticulating towards the exit.

  “We need to talk to her, and fast,” Aiden muttered. “Sy, can you manage it?”

  “Sorry, I'm spent,” the sorceress apologised as Robert helped her stand. “Those horrid things drained me of my strength.”

  “I think they've got the right idea anyway,” Pacian remarked. “Perhaps we should just get out of here as soon as possible?”

  “No argument here,” Nellise confided. Aiden waved an arm to catch Jenovia's attention, then made a shape in the air resembling a box and pointed out the door. The Marshal nodded in understanding and followed the others out of the room.

  “I think we're on the same page now,” Aiden said to the others as they gathered up their equipment. As they headed out the door, he looked back and saw sparks continuing to fly from the rickety generator, and hoped it would hold together long enough to allow their escape.

  Intense cold slammed Aiden in the face as they emerged into the courtyard of the old fort. It was swarming with escardi, all of whom were either gathering up their meagre supplies or helping the less fortunate to their feet. Nellise had done what she could for them, providing a modicum of healing and addressing the more serious cases of disease, but there was only so much even she could do in the allotted time.

  Travel from the fort was slow at first, for while a sense of urgency hung in the air regarding their fate, many of the injured and sick could only move so fast. Carthack and his hunters kept a vigil on the edge of the group, but the number of healthy warriors was far too few to effectively protect so many. It still amazed Aiden they had survived here for so long under such harsh conditions. The wind had eased from its earlier strength, but it still cut like a knife.

  “Carthack looks tense,” Pacian remarked as his eyes darted along the horizon. “Almost as if he's expecting trouble.”

  “Jenovia talked of insectoid monsters roaming the wastes,” Aiden said to anybody within earshot.

  “Stay alert,” Robert ordered while half-carrying Sayana beside him. “Is there any way we can just teleport straight there?”

  “I recall the location well enough to return there,” Terinus answered. “I can manage a few at a time. Perhaps six, no more. I should go ahead and prepare the portal anyway, so I will take some with me.”

  “You do that,” Robert muttered as the wizard looked to the nearest civilians. He chose half a dozen women of various ages and gathered them around. They fell behind as Terinus began to chant the incantation, and their confused expressions turned to astonishment right before they vanished in a flash of violet light.

  “At least it should be up and running as soon as we get there,” Aiden said to mollify Robert.

  “I'm just hoping we don't need his talents if we get attacked by giant insects,” the mercenary replied ruefully. “Did you see the carapaces some of these people are wearing? Damned things must be nearly the size of a man, and they've had plenty of contact with each other.”

  “Do you think they're going to know the escardi are abandoning the fort at this particular moment?” Aiden suggested.

  “If something can go wrong, it will go wrong,” Robert uttered. “This is the worst time for an ambush, so expect it. Hey you,” he said, garnering the attention of an escardi man towering alongside him. “Carry my luggage, would you? I can't protect you if I'm carting our womenfolk around.”

  “You're so lucky I'm too tired to make you pay for that remark,” Sayana mumbled as the mercenary handed her off to the escardi, who seemed to grasp the meaning of Robert's words, and carried her in his oversized arms with ease. Robert drew Aeon Invictus from its sheath and held his shield in the other hand, drawing envious looks from escardi warriors wielding little more than plain bows and huge clubs of wood.

  The exodus through the dead forest, which gradually thickened as they travelled until the column of desperate people was walking through a tunnel of interlocking branches. Pacian moved further along the column while Robert chose to bring up the rear, leaving Aiden and Nellise to keep an eye out along the flanks. Jenovia easily carried the repeating arbalest from her office, a cartridge of bolts ready and waiting to shoot.

  “Robert's paranoia not withstanding,” the cleric said, “I don't even know what we're looking for.”

  “Hopefully nothing will happen at all and the portal stays open long enough for everyone to get through,” Aiden responded. “Carthack's hunters are setting me on edge, though. They really look like they're expecting trouble at any moment. I wish we could talk with them.”

  “I do have a prayer which will enable me to communicate with one person at a time,” Nellise confided. “It's not nearly as efficient as Sayana's trick, though. I was about to suggest it when everything happened at once back at the fort.”

  “Oh, brilliant,” Aiden exclaimed. “Better late than never I suppose. Talk to Carthack and find out what's going on.” Nellise nodded and took out her crystal, and after whispering a quick prayer walked up to the hulking escardi hunter and caught his attention.

  They conferred for a moment before Aiden's curiosity got the better of him. He caught up to them and listened as Carthack explained something to Nellise in his native tongue.

  “Carthack says their patrol came across distictive footprints before they stumbled across ours,” Nellise translated. “He's using a word that doesn't have any meaning for me — 'saerid'. I think he's referring to the insect creatures.” She paused as Carthack grunted out a few more words. “They have been passing through here frequently of late. He's certain all of this activity will attract them, and he's worried they might go to the portal chamber before us.”

  “Are these creatures sapient?” Aiden asked curiously, the subject piquing the interest of his inner scholar.

  “More than regular animals it would seem, though the escardi do not hold them in high regard. They are predators, and have killed and eaten many of their people over the years. They are, however, the primary food source for these people and as they have been forced to fight and eat them to survive. I gather this is the unfortunate reason for the escardi's dwindling population.”

  “How do they fight?” Aiden pressed.

  “Claws, mostly,” Nellise replied after a moment of translation. “Some of them have learned to use bows and other weapons taken from fallen patrols. They are able to camouflage themselves quite effectively and predominately lie in ambush. Carthack is evidently unhappy with the sudden nature of the evacuation. He would have preferred to move people in small groups so they could be —”

  A scream of pain erupted from further along the column, interrupting Nellise's translation. Carthack turned immediately and raised a thick chunk of ancient wood as he ran across the frozen ground towards the noise. Aiden and Nel
lise followed cautiously, unsure what they'd be facing.

  When they rounded a bend in the path, Aiden laid eyes on a white, spindly creature as tall as a man, barely visible against the snow-covered landscape. It possessed six limbs, and appeared to be similar to a gigantic praying mantis. The claws of the creature had eviscerated one of the weaker escardi who had strayed slightly from the path. The poor soul was screaming as he was dragged deeper into the forest, leaving a trail of bright red blood on the pristine white ground.

  Nellise raised her crossbow and sought a clear shot at the saerid when Pacian appeared out of thin air, directly behind it. The point of his scythe erupted from its thorax, along with an ear-shattering screech and a burst of blood. Pacian vanished once more, leaving the mortally crippled creature to collapse onto the ground, and writhe in pain as its life's blood spilled onto the snow.

  Nellise immediately ran forward to attend to the injured man, while Aiden nervously kept watch for signs of more creatures. From the both ends of the column came the sounds of fighting, leaving Aiden momentarily indecisive about how to respond.

  “I'll keep her safe,” Pacian's voice whispered in his ear. “Do what you have to do.” His decision made easier, Aiden bolted for the rear of the column as the sounds of Carthack’s bellowed orders echoed across the ground. Jenovia added her voice to the chorus as she attempted to keep everyone moving and safe.

  When Aiden reached the rear of the column, he had to pause a moment to take in the scene before him. Literally dozens of the insectoid creatures were rushing towards them over the icy ground, running on four legs with their other two appendages raised to strike. The trailing ranks of the escardi pushed themselves to move faster, but there was simply no way to outrun the skittering creatures.

  Robert was already engaging the vanguard of the assault. The mercenary faced off against three saerid, each of whom lashed at him with their sizable claws. Robert pivoted and manoeuvred to deflect an attack with his shield while taking those he couldn't stop on his armour. Sparks flew as their talons failed to pierce the vythiric surface, leaving his mighty weapon free to slash and cut in response to their attacks.