‘Very well, Ms. Bohge.’
The gentle melody picked up in speed, chopped, changed and became a jazz movement. Sweat poured from Con Duco’s brow as he made the challenge more difficult for his pupil.
Sawwse scrunched her eyes closed, concentrating, but instead of the still black pool, she only saw the dancing particles that painted the black landscape of her mind. They moved and shifted until they began to group together. The studious gnome focussed on the shape that formed. Once the shape had crystallised, it took her breath. The white horns and beetle-like visage of Convener appeared before her. She opened her eyes suddenly, only to find his image opposite her in the music room.
‘What are you doing?’ she bellowed.
DUNNNNNNNNN
Con Duco slammed his hands on the piano, before spinning around on the stool.
‘Clearly this is more difficult for you than it first appeared,’ he said, impatiently.
Sawwse half-apologised while continuing to stare at the projection in front of her.
‘I apologise for this intrusion, but it is an emergency,’ Convener’s flickering image said, unheard and unseen by the irritated Con Duco.
‘Now try again.’
Sawwse’s tutor began to play once again.
‘You must leave Rhyddinas immediately. The guild is under threat,’ Convener said, hollow eyes staring at Sawwse.
‘You must really concentrate on the notes as I play them. Feel them taking shape.’
Sawwse panicked. Her eyes jumped from the spectral image opposite, to the corporeal form adjacent.
‘Go to the Northwest gate of the city and meet the others there. I have arranged transport to take you to Spearca.’
Sawwse wanted to ask so many questions, but her tutor would be baffled. She wasn’t even sure whether Convener could hear her responses. Placing a hand over her mouth, she watched as Convener’s image dissolved into wisps of semi-transparent smoke-stuff.
It took her a few moments to realise that Con Duco had stopped playing.
‘What is it?’ he asked, sensing her fear.
‘I-I have to go. I’m sorry.’
Sawwse stood up. Disappointment radiated from the older man.
‘Rhinoholms and magicked soldiers have no place in the life of a true pupil of music. There will come a point where you will have to make a choice about what you want.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she replied, simply.
Abashed, Sawwse grabbed her bag and ran down the stairs. Her mind raced. What was happening to the guild? Was everyone safe? Was it Mirrah? She had to fight against an urge to go back to the Hearth and check all was okay.
The little gnome ran as fast as she could. Past the statues of republican leaders, past hundreds of grey stone buildings, and across the bridge that led to the north-western gate. As she arrived, she saw that the other members of the guild were waiting for her in a cart. They sat amidst boxes and crates and blanketed goods. Ruby tapped a spare seat next to her and Sawwse jumped in.
Up front, Osrik nodded to the driver and the cart shot out of Rhyddinas, yanked by a couple of feisty horses.
Before Sawwse had a chance to ask anything, Vadania turned to her and said, ‘It’s Dorienne. They’re coming for the idol.’
‘They’re amassing an army on the fringes of Pāx,’ Osrik called out into the back.
‘Gnords!’ Sawwse exclaimed. ‘But won’t the Rhyddinian army defend the borders of Pāx on their side?’
‘They’re mobilising, yes, but it’s not quite that simple,’ said Corinne. ‘Convener is worried that a bargain may be struck in exchange for the idol. After all, the Rhyddinian Council know not the importance of it.’
Sawwse connected the dots and had a sudden thought. She peered under one of the blankets and gasped.
‘We’ve taken her with us,’ said Corinne, ‘to remove the idol from their reach.’
The gnome placed her hand against Mirrah’s cold cheek.
‘Who’s going to defend the guild?’ Sawwse asked. ‘I mean, what if they come searching for the idol.’
‘Convener will suffice,’ Vadania answered.
‘On his own?’
The elf merely shrugged.
‘Why has Dorienne come to Rhyddinas now?’ Sawwse continued with her questions. She looked from face to face as they waited for her moment of realisation. Dorienne have the third idol,’ she answered herself. ‘This is dreadful.’
‘What’s dreadful is being asked to babysit, when the fight is happening elsewhere,’ Osrik called back from the front.
‘The hunting competition was good, but I agree with Osrik,’ said Rangrim, patting his large sword. ‘My trusty zweihander grows tired of slaying beasts.’
‘Perhaps if you’d won one of our bouts,’ Vadania replied, shortly.
‘You only beat that pterobroxyl on a technicality,’ he shot back.
‘Yes, I was technically better.’
‘Listen,’ Sawwse boomed. ‘Let’s just get to Spearca and find somewhere to lay low.’
The group journeyed on farther north in near silence, their minds stewing on the possibilities of Dorienne getting their hands on the Ancient Device.
Chapter 19: A Warm Welcome
The adventurers of Actum Tempus travelled through unremarkable towns, villages and hamlets to get to Spearca, or perhaps they only seemed unremarkable because the guild members’ minds were so preoccupied. By the time Elra’s light began to fade that same evening, the group reached the city walls of Spearca. A tall, lanky woman with a wide-brimmed hat stood under the southern gate to the city. She held up a box full of sticks and gestured to them as the adventurers left their carriage and walked to the gate.
‘Welcome to Spearca,’ she said, with a well-practiced smile. ‘Please, take a complimentary sparkler.’
The group shuffled uncomfortably. They hadn’t travelled in a group this large since they’d lost the first idol.
‘Thank you very much,’ Sawwse said. She grabbed a sparkler and walked through the gate into the city. The others followed suit.
Ruby pulled a small handcart behind her which carried the unconscious body of Mirrah, hidden by a thick blanket. She didn’t feel completely comfortable with this, but understood the importance of the task.
The main street into Spearca was lined with houses built on top of one another. They seemed to be permanently fixed mid-topple, giving a higgledy-piggledy flavour to the whole city. Though the city was considerably smaller than Rhyddinas, there seemed to be just as many people bustling around the streets. The people in Spearca seemed completely unfazed by the diverse group of travellers walking along the street. In fact, many greeted them with a smile, and waved hello.
‘At least we won’t have too much hostility while we’re here,’ Vadania said. ‘Though, as I said on the way, I would have been fine staying in the forest nearby.’
‘We could go back to the forest,’ Ruby agreed, looking cautiously back at the cart behind her. ‘I’m just saying, I would be okay with that,’ she added.
Sawwse rolled her eyes.
‘Look, Convener’s sent us here. We’ll find somewhere to stay and think through a plan,’ she replied.
‘Maybe we don’t even need all three idols to find the Device. Let’s go straight for it,’ Rangrim said, putting his large hand on the shoulder of a man walking past. ‘Hey there, what can you tell us about the ancienmākhanā?’
The man looked at the dwarf curiously before chuckling and carrying on his walk.
‘Perhaps a little discretion might be advised, Rangrim,’ said Corinne, after hearing Sawwse’s exasperated sigh.
Rangrim nodded and winked, ‘I’ve got this.’ He placed his large hand on another passerby, this time a young, mousey-looking woman.
‘What do you know of the,’ Rangrim dropped his voice to a piercing whisper, ‘Ancient Device?’ He gave Corinne and Sawwse a thumbs up.
Before they had a chance to cha
stise the dwarf, the passerby responded.
‘Do you mean the machine of the ancients?’
Corinne’s usually stoic face dropped.
‘Yes, exactly,’ she replied quickly.
‘Well,’ the mousey woman started, speaking with a conspiratorial tone, ‘I’ve heard that it’s going to be unleashed tonight during the festival.’
Vadania stepped forward, towering over the woman.
‘What do you mean?’ she asked, accidentally threatening.
‘It’s going to be spectacular,’ the woman continued. ‘A really powerful force that will bathe the sky in glorious light.’
Sawwse grabbed Vadania’s hand as it reached for her dagger.
‘You’re talking about fireworks, right?’ the gnome said, realising that this was going nowhere.
‘Yes, of course. It’s Spearca’s Festival of Fireworks this evening. Why else would you be here?’
The woman looked puzzled, so Corinne thanked her quietly and led her away.
‘Let’s just find somewhere for our base and get settled,’ Sawwse sighed.
Osrik grunted his approval. He pointed to a decrepit-looking pub called ‘The Heart and The Cross’. The dwarf didn’t feel comfortable talking with people. Give him an axe and something to hit, and he was content.
‘Okay, do we always have to find the most run-down taverns?’ Sawwse protested. She pressed her hand against the door and found that it wouldn’t open. ‘Ah, too bad.’
Osrik walked forward and kicked the door open. Rangrim and Vadania followed him inside, and Ruby scuttled in with the handcart. Sawwse put her hands over her face, looking apologetically at the nearby city folk.
‘More than a couple of code violations here,’ Corinne spoke, placing a hand on Sawwse’s shoulder and gesturing for them to go inside.
The pub had clearly been abandoned a while ago. Cobwebs filled every corner and strings of dust hung from the beams.
‘This place. This is the base?’ Sawwse blew a cobweb from the bar, which floated into Osrik’s beard.
‘It’s quiet and won’t attract attention,’ the old dwarf replied.
Rangrim had immediately found his home behind the bar. He tried each of the taps in turn, but nothing came out. ‘I’m going to check the other rooms,’ he shouted behind him, his eyes lighting up as he saw a cask propping open a nearby door.
Vadania took out the first idol’s map and rested it on a wide dusty table. The others gathered round and stared at the incomplete map once more. It was fascinating to look at, even if it wasn’t obvious what it depicted. There were many rectangular lines that intersected at right angles, blotches that could have been landmasses, and the whole thing was scattered with bright dots, all of which meant it was completely unreadable to the adventurers. Convener had said that only the combination of all three idols’ maps would pinpoint the Ancient Device’s exact location.
Sawwse removed the covering from Mirrah and stared down at her. She wondered about the unconscious woman’s involvement and how dangerous she actually was.
‘Do you think this is worth it?’ Ruby’s small voice cut through the silence. They all turned to face the tiny woman, who was standing on a chair to peer over the table’s edge at the map. ‘Maybe it’s not my place to say. It just seems-’
‘Too much.’
It was Osrik who answered first. Usually laconic without ale-based lubrication, he unexpectedly elaborated.
‘I have been asking the same question. My wants are simple: food and shelter. Why have I become entangled in a plot that spans kingdoms, that has the most dramatic consequences if I fail? This is fundamentally opposite to my nature. I fight bad things for money. Sometimes good things,’ he trailed off.
‘It’s true,’ Vadania spoke quietly. ‘This quest has nothing to do with my own mission. I have strayed from the vengeance that fuels me for longer than I ever intended.’
Rangrim appeared from the adjoining room. Black and grey sparkly dust lined his mouth and covered his beard.
‘This goes far beyond becoming a-,’ he paused, not yet ready to reveal his desire to become a hero. ‘Wealthy dwarf. It goes beyond becoming a wealthy dwarf. That’s not beer in there by the way.’
Corinne nodded in agreement. She said, ‘There is something interesting and concerning in our willingness to give so much for something and somebody we neither trust nor know very much about.’
They each turned to face Sawwse, patiently waiting for her to answer. Her thoughts swam wildly around. Self-doubt spiralled through her mind, as it often did. She remembered how small she had felt within Alla’fyr’s robe back at the tomb near Rhyddinas, before she had been flung from a height by the villainous mercenary. ‘Is this worth it?’ she thought. ‘Maybe there’s no point in any of this. A quiet life in the Blue Forest is not such a bad thing after all.’ But then Sawwse thought about all the people she’d met along the way and all the things she’d done: Marius’ kind face and beautiful garden, Con Duco’s musical tuition, Convener, her fellow adventurers in Actum Tempus, and Mirrah, who still took her breath away. She wasn’t prepared to let time wind backwards on all of that. Sawwse met each of her fellow travellers’ faces in turn and something dawned on her. They were looking to her for a reason, for hope.
‘I can’t answer that question for each of you, but for me? Yes, it’s absolutely worth it. I left the Blue Forest to become the greatest musician in the world, and positively courted adventure. I don’t know how I’ve arrived at this point, but here I am.’ She stopped for a moment, considering how best to phrase her feelings. ‘Different strands of choices and realities have aligned to pull me to this present moment, in a position where I can maybe do something to help. I’m a tiny pacifistic gnome from a hidden forest in a small corner of the world. I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’m going to give everything to try. On the one hand, there is a queen so ravaged by bereavement that she’ll enlist a homicidal fallen mage and bankrupt the kingdom of Dorienne in the process, all to find this device. And on the other, there’s us. Only the great Gnomelord and all above and below know where The Twelve are in all of this. So, there’s just us. Here, in this moment with all our strengths and weaknesses, for this chance to stop something really bad from happening.’
‘Well said, Sawwse Bohge,’ said a familiar voice in the room.
Vadania and Osrik instantly drew their weapons, but then they saw Convener’s white horned mask appear ghost-like at the door. However, when he walked further into the room, the group noticed that his body had completely changed. No longer the imposing physical presence they had known in Rhyddinas, Convener was now thin-framed, with long dark hair falling down his back.
‘Convener?’ Ruby questioned. Heart leaping, she wondered whether he was a shapeshifter too.
‘What are you doing here?’ Sawwse followed up.
‘Unfortunately, I am here because you are all in danger. I was misled by bad intelligence,’ said Convener, in an incongruously calm tone. ‘I sincerely apologise, but we must act fast.’
‘Tell us what has happened,’ Vadania said sternly, untrusting of Convener’s new form.
‘The fallen mage is on her way here.’
The normally vibrantly mossy colour of Sawwse’s face turned a sickly pale green.
‘Alla’fyr? Here? Wh-what do you mean?’ she blurted out. The courage of her previous speech was fleeing her by the second.
‘My vassal in Doriana was compromised. I believe Alla’fyr was somehow aware of our spy and deliberately led you away from Rhyddinas. It is a trap. Eugenie sent a message to the Rhyddinian Council that Dorienne was merely carrying out military training exercises. They have flushed our idol from hiding, and plan to take it in Spearca.’ Convener turned to face the gnome. ‘Sawwse. It seems Eugenie has a particular grudge against you, and your safety is a chief concern.’
‘What did I ever do to her?’ said Sawwse, exasperated. ‘Also, hang on, I think you mean th
e chief concern, correct? I know, I know, the Device. We’ll sort that, but let’s figure out safety measures first.’ She looked pleadingly from face to face.
‘Our situation is dire,’ Osrik said. ‘If Alla’fyr takes our idol, Dorienne will have all three. The job is done. We’ve lost.’
‘Not so. Detrimental to our efforts, but not irreparable. Remember, we have the first idol’s imprint, and the second lies with Mirrah, also in our keeping. Dorienne do not yet possess the final idol. It appears this was false information as well.’
Convener offered no further elaboration, only stared passively through his hollow eyes.
‘What’s the plan to save Sawwse then?’ asked Ruby.
‘I have a plan, but it is risky,’ he replied.
Convener inhaled deeply. His white horned mask glowed more brightly, and his darkly glittering cloak began to billow behind him. The windows of the neglected pub blacked out and a veil of silence descended around the adventurers. Convener leant in close to the guild and revealed his scheme.
--
The city that had been so full of life earlier that day seemed near deserted as Alla’fyr arrived. There were no lights in the houses, and the only faces she saw were misanthropes, strays and the destitute. She felt no pity for the poor. As far as she was concerned, they could work their way out of poverty as she had done. ‘I was dealt a poor hand, but that didn’t stop me,’ she thought. Alla’fyr knelt beside a man sleeping rough below a shop front.
‘You. Tell me what’s going on in this place,’ she said, grabbing his arm and shaking him awake.
The man scrunched around in place and turned his back on the mage.
Alla’fyr began generating heat through her body and channelling it into her hand. It took the man a few moments to feel the pain, but when he did, he tried desperately to shake free of her grasp.
‘Wh-what are you doing?’ the man shouted.
The mage yanked the man’s arm and gripped his neck with her free hand.
‘Where are all the people of this city?’
In the Grip of Time Page 21