by P. D. Kalnay
I stumbled onward, sore, bruised, filthy, hungry, and covered in cuts. Darkness fell quickly. It had been a crappy first day on Knight’s Haven. On the upside, I was still alive. The downside was that that was all the upside I managed to come up with. I’d made my way over halfway around the eastern arm of the island. As the sun fell beneath the western peaks, the air became rapidly cooler. I couldn’t safely light a fire. I also had no method of doing so and limited fuel. After a single day of fighting, and running from the raiders, I was amazed that Ivy had managed to evade them for so long. She was obviously better at stealth than me. Even as the last light of day vanished, and I’d accepted that my night would be spent in the open, I found a little cottage, set back against the wall of the next level up. The cottage was burned, and half collapsed, but the other half looked inviting, given the day I’d had.
I looked through the open door, confirming that the one room, making up the cottage, was empty. I saw the stars and bits of three moons through the roof. The floor consisted of packed dirt or dirty stone. Not feeling picky, and as tired as I’d ever felt, I lay down on my hard bed and fell immediately into deep sleep.
My sleep may have been deep, but it wasn’t untroubled. My first night on the First World was filled with dreams. I think I dreamt a lifetime of dreams in that one night. I dreamt of the smithy under Knight’s Haven, of travelling the World Tree, and of a vast shadow so dark it made regular darkness seem downright cheery by comparison. I next dreamt of a great black dragon whose eyes saw all I was or might ever become. Lastly, I dreamt of Ivy. Not once did I wake, but it was a long night none the less.
Chapter 18 – Forgotten Friends
I woke to the sound of a squeaky little voice.
“Master?”
I sat straight up. I’d never slept on hard ground before and hadn’t enjoyed the experience. My right hip and shoulder both ached, and my eyes felt gritty. I felt cold too, but I was sweating. That somebody had found me asleep and unaware made those things unimportant. My right hand found the handle of my knife as my left moved unconsciously to rub the sleep from eyes. It was dim in the shack, but enough of the morning sunshine was getting in, through gaps in the roof, to allow me to see. What I saw was a generally man shaped, knee-high creature, covered in, or made from, heavily tarnished silver. It looked worse for wear. The metal was dirty and dented, except for the shiny face. Two glowing yellow eyes peered at me.
“Master?” the creature said again.
It didn’t resemble any of the beings Ivy had described in her introduction to the First World, or anything I’d read about in Gran’s library. The little fellow looked nervous, and ready to bolt at my first wrong word. He’d only come a short way through the open doorway.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“The Master has forgotten us,” he said. He sounded pretty down about it.
“Why are you calling me master?” I asked, trying my best to fully wake up.
“I believe you are the Master,” the little metal man said. “Two is unsure, and Three says you’re not, but I am certain of it.”
My stomach rumbled. I didn’t feel up to dealing with whatever was going on.
“Who are you?” I asked again.
“I’m One, Master. The very first. You made me the leader, although… perhaps you could remind the others?”
The expression on the metal face went from earnest to hopeful with a faint squeak.
“You still haven’t explained why you’re calling me master.”
“You’re the Maker. He who called us from the Darkness and gave us Purpose,” One said. Then he hesitated and scuffed the dirt on the stone floor with his foot. “We could probably do with some new purposes now, Master… it’s been a long time, and we’ve finished the tasks you set us.”
It sounded as though Marielain Blackhammer had built this little robot, or golem, or windup man. Maybe, he could help me.
“How did you know I was your master?” I asked. “Do I look like him?”
“Not very much,” One said. “Not at all. But, you carry more of us with you–”
“More of you?”
“Your creations. They’re far more powerful than any of us, but I can sense kinship. Only the Master could craft such mighty talismans. We had begun sleeping, not having Purpose, but we woke when the necklace arrived.”
He must mean Ivy’s necklace.
“Do you know where Ivy is? The girl wearing the necklace?”
“Yes, Master, generally speaking, that is. She hides on the westward arm. In the beginning, Three approached her, but it went… poorly. We’ve watched from a distance since then.”
“Poorly how?” I asked. One was weird, but he was hardly intimidating.
“Three has no voice,” he said. I thought there might be a hint of reprimand creeping into his tone. “The Master had intended to finish him, but he didn’t get around to it, before leaving us.”
I thought of the half-built projects in the workshop. It seemed entirely possible. One continued.
“We can understand Three’s gestures well enough, but I think the young Florathen girl was frightened. She called on the power of her talisman, and Three fled. Since then, we’ve watched… from a safe distance.”
“How long ago was that?”
“We woke two hundred and eighty days ago.”
“And you’ve been watching Ivy all that time?”
“And awaiting your return, Master. When I saw the necklace, I knew you’d follow. We’ve helped her when we could—leaving items that she might find of use. Since the latest thieves arrived, the Florathen girl has been hiding among the vegetation. She’s surprisingly capable for such a young, tiny girl, and the talisman has taught the thieves caution.”
Who are you calling tiny?
“Will you help me?” I asked.
“It’s our primary Purpose, Master.”
“I need you to find Ivy, and tell her that I’m here on Knight’s Haven.”
“We shall search at once, Master.”
“We?”
One turned back to the door.
“I am certain this boy is the Master,” he said. “You may show yourselves.”
With more squeaking, and clanking, two more knee-high automatons came out from their hiding places on either side of the door. Except for their height, they bore no resemblance to One. On his left stood a delicate golden, bug-like homunculus with fragile looking wings. She was cute enough to sell in Japan. On his right, stood a much wider fellow made from dull black iron. He looked like a tiny warrior in a suit of armour, and his hands ended in dull bumps. Something was missing. After a closer look, I realised he didn’t have a jaw. I guessed he was Three.
“Master,” Two said with a squeaky, but definitely female, voice. “I have missed you. I’ve kept the smithy, the workshop, and your quarters clean, as instructed.”
The place had been spotless when I’d walked through, but I hadn’t given it any thought at the time.
“Thank you,” I said. That didn’t seem enough for over a thousand years of tidying, but her golden face lit up with a smile. “How did you get inside with the door locked?” Her wings looked too small to be functional.
“For many years I was unable to perform my duties,” Two said sadly. “But, eventually, I convinced Three to connect his tunnels to the Smithy.”
“There are tunnels under the island?” I asked. That might be handy for moving around undetected.
“The tunnels are our size,” One said. “Three completed the work centuries ago… he could use a new set of claws—when you have the time, Master.”
Three took a step forward and showed me his dull claws. I guessed they’d originally been similar to a badger’s claws, but they were now worn down to nubs. It looked as if he’d kept digging, long after they’d become ineffective tools. I wondered if I’d been an inconsiderate jerk in my former life, leaving these three high and dry.
“I’ll make you new claws,” I promised, “and finish you
, so you can talk. As soon as I figure out how.”
The stocky iron robot (or whatever) gave a low bow and took a step back.
“So, you three have been living here for the last fifteen hundred years?” I asked. They’d be a valuable source of information.
“Yes, Master,” One said. “We have been living—and often hiding—here since you left.”
“You have to hide from the raiders?”
“We have to hide from all the thieves.” Two tiny heads nodded their agreement behind him. “Those thieves who come just ahead of the Dragon… and those who dwell on the island in the times in-between. The tunnels have served to protect us. Otherwise, our hearts would have been stolen long ago.”
“Your hearts?”
“Yes, the hearts you gave us when you made us. They’re precious treasures that any would covet.”
“I’m afraid I don’t remember that,” I said. “Are they made from rare gems or something?”
Two walked over to me, with surprising grace. She pulled open her chest, revealing the fantastically complex clockwork mechanisms contained inside her. At the centre of her chest, held in a setting of polished gold, sat a tiny flake of dull reddish metal, maybe a quarter of the size of my baby fingernail. Even before I leaned in for a closer look, I knew it was a piece of the distilled Blood of the World Tree. From what I’d read, and been told, here on the First World, that flake of metal was worth a king’s ransom. It was also powerful enough to run a magic robot for over a thousand years and keep on ticking.
“Thank you for showing me,” I said.
Two closed up her chest with a click.
“Is the Florathen girl your beloved, Master?” she asked.
I’d never thought of Ivy in exactly those terms, but I nodded. She turned to One and Three.
“I told you so,” she said. Then she turned back me. “I like her, Master, she’s brave and clever.”
“Will you help me find her?” I asked.
“Of course we will.” Two gave me a miniature golden smile. “You must be swift, Master, and take her to safety. The thieves who precede the Dragon will arrive a day from now.”
“It’s the same every seven years, Master,” One agreed.
“I thought they were already here,” I said. “There are nine ships docked, and people are looting the city.”
“Those are new thieves, Master,” One said. “The Fae have never abandoned the island so far ahead of the burning before. The thieves in the city now are just little mice, here to steal crumbs, and scurry away, before the fleet arrives. Ten times as many will come to strip what the Fae have left behind. Then the burning will follow, nine days hence.”
“We’ve seen it many times,” Two said.
There was no way I could allow ten times as many more potential enemies onto the island.
“I’m going to stop them,” I said. The three of them just looked up at me. “Aren’t you going to ask how?”
“The Master can do anything,” One said solemnly. Heads nodded behind.
You’ve got more faith in me than I do, I thought.
“I’m going to collect my hammer and close the gates,” I said. Nobody had asked.
“Master?” One said hesitantly.
“Yes.”
“Won’t that trap the new thieves inside with us?” he asked.
“It isn’t a finished plan,” I said. “Still, I’d think they’d be willing to negotiate, to leave ahead of the Dragon, and the burning.”
Three made wild swinging motions with one arm. Then he did it again. It was obvious he was trying to tell me something with the gesture. I didn’t know what.
“He says you can crush them with your hammer, Master,” One said. “Three tends toward the… direct approach.”
I didn’t know how many sailors it took to crew nine massive sailing ships. Fighting all of them single-handed wasn’t on my list of possible solutions.
“We’ll leave crushing everyone with the hammer as a last resort,” I said.
“The Master is wise,” Two said.
“OK, I need you guys to split up and search for Ivy. Tell her I’m going to the tower, and I’ll wait for her there.”
“We will find her, Master,” One said.
They wasted no time in leaving the shack and vanishing from sight. My stomach rumbled again. Darn it, I thought, I should have asked them if they know where some food is.
Chapter 19 – Fevered Dreams
Waves of dizziness washed over me. Most of the cuts I could see, from my battle with the harpy, had become bright red and swollen at the edges. Thin lines of darker red radiated outward from them. I wished I’d been more thorough in cleaning my wounds. Likely, without some serious disinfectant, it wouldn’t have made a difference. Sweat ran down my body, and I felt alternately hot and cold. Soon the effort of sitting up was too much for me. I lay back onto the stone floor. In no longer than the time it took to close my eyes, I was asleep again. Wracked by fever and stabbing pain, I passed the day and another night in the little cottage.
More dark dreams, like the ones I’d had the night before, troubled my sleep. Interspersed with those foreboding nightmares, were others. Those dreams were of Ivy. I dreamt of her calling my name, wiping my forehead with a cool cloth, and lastly—I dreamt of Ivy abandoning me. It was a rough twenty-four hours.
When I woke for a second time, in early morning sunshine, the ruins of the little cottage looked no different. I thought I’d fallen back asleep for only a few minutes. Then Two came into the cottage carrying a folded cloth, draped over both hands. She laid the cloth gently across my forehead and took a step back.
“I thought you were going to look for Ivy?” I said.
“We did, Master.”
“Did you already find her?”
“Yesterday, Master.”
“Yesterday?”
“Yes, Master. You’ve slept since we left you—yesterday morning.”
“What?” I felt physically fine, but disoriented. “Where is she?”
“We led her to the tower as you instructed, Master, but you weren’t there. So, we returned here. We couldn’t wake you.”
“I feel OK now.”
“Mistress Ivangelain healed your wounds and drove the poisons from your body, Master. The use of her power drew the notice of the thieves. A large party of them came to investigate.”
“What happened?”
“Three was keeping watch and gave warning of their approach. Mistress Ivangelain allowed herself to be seen, and led them away from you, Master.”
“What?” I sat up, causing the damp cloth to go flying. “Is she OK?”
“As far as we know, Master. She is Florathen…”
“Meaning?”
“That she is fleet of foot and skilled in the arts of concealment. One observed the search parties returning to the docks empty-handed. It is good to see you are well, Master.”
I wondered if I could get her to stop calling me Master. It was getting annoying.
“You don’t know where she is now?”
“No, Master, but I expect she is staying far away to give you time to recover in safety. Mistress Ivangelain is very brave.”
I’d lost a whole day.
“How long until the main fleet will arrive?”
“Two more days at the very latest, but possibly sooner, Master. The weather sometimes slows or hurries the fleet.”
“I have to get going.”
My stomach made a long, loud growl.
“Master, we gathered food for you, as Mistress Ivangelain instructed.”
Two pointed a tiny golden finger at a small pile, of, what I guessed to be, fruits and nuts, stacked neatly on a broad leaf. I recognised none of them. I picked up a plump red fruit that looked like a cross between a strawberry and a banana. It didn’t smell like either.
“How do you eat it?”
“I believe with your mouth, Master. We don’t eat food. Little remains in the fields or orchards.”
&nb
sp; She sounded apologetic, and I realised I was being ungrateful.
“This is great, thanks,” I said.
Then I took a small bite from the end of the fruit. It tasted like nothing I’d ever eaten before, but it wasn’t bad, and it was sweet. Other than the weird crunchy/wet texture… it was good. All the other food in the pile was equally weird, but I felt a lot better after I’d eaten it. Then I drank water from another broad leaf that had been set beside the pile. I wasn’t sure if I’d just eaten the First World equivalent of apple cores and banana peels, but nothing unpleasant was going on in my guts. I’d already wasted enough time sleeping, and I’d missed seeing Ivy.
“I have to go to the tower now,” I said.
I knew from talking to Mr. Ryan that the controls for the gate were in the tower on the eastern side.
“Yes, Master.”
“Where are the others?” I asked.
“One and Three are standing watch above us, Master. In case danger should approach.”
“Please tell them that I want them to find Ivy again. Tell her I really am going to the tower this time… and to be careful.”
“Of course, Master.” Two gave me a long look. “Are you certain you are recovered?”
“I feel fine.”
Two nodded, as if she expected nothing less, before heading for the door.
“Mistress Ivangelain is a skilled healer,” she said before vanishing around the corner.
I pushed myself to my feet. Gaining control of the gate, and preventing a massive influx of raiders, was the first priority. I hoped Ivy was OK. It was still early morning when I left the cottage. The sky was clear, and a gentle, salty breeze blew across Knight’s Haven. I found a short length of ancient looking rope by the cottage’s door and used it to fashion a sling for my shield. Carrying the shield on my back gave my sore hands a rest. It also left them available for climbing. I moved north, towards the tower, steadily climbing up the terraces, until I stood almost even with the tower’s peak. An hour later, I climbed back down to reach the cut-stone path leading to the tower’s entrance.