Stepping back with a gasp, he realized he’d been so distracted he hadn’t been trying to sense anything but when he pushed his mind out he realized it wasn’t just the strange, boxy building he was standing in, but the entire warehouse outside as well. There was so much of it, he could feel it pulsing around him in passive waves. It was more in one place than he’d ever seen before and even as he felt it, it began to overwhelm him with its presence. Pressing in on him with information. Mountains and mountains of information that made the Skywitch seem like a pebble.
Aiden gripped his head, fighting against the overload and pushing it back. It took him many minutes and he had to go back outside, sitting up on a pile of regular wooden crates to make some distance between him and the floor, but he finally succeeded. Opening his eyes, he looked around himself once again and shook his head. He had cut himself off as quickly as he could, but even in that minute bit of time, he had picked up that he wasn’t in an underground warehouse.
He was inside of a skimmer. A massive thing far beyond anything he’d ever seen before. And the large, squat buildings were skimmers, as well. Strange, blocky skimmers, but skimmers nonetheless.
Duke Terek had nine skimmers. Long, graceful things with open decks. His two larger ones had some weapons, but the smaller ones didn’t and none of them were really made for war. These things he saw in front of him were made with thick, tough armor and now he knew what to look for, weapon mounts on the sides. He couldn’t see the tops, but he suspected there were some there as well but he wasn’t about to reach his mind out again.
And he began to think of why there might be so many seats within these skimmers. With so many sleeping pads scattered around, his mind began to turn to how they could land soldiers on the island of Riften. The more he thought of it, the more confident he knew it was exactly what they were going to do.
Aiden quickly walked over to a breastplate laying on top of a crate and saw the colors of the Duchy of Noropon blazoned on its chest. He spent some time traveling around the giant landing bay, and found the colors of Feldar and one other he didn’t recognize. He knew what the colors of Renz were. No one grew up in Terek without knowing one of their primary enemies, so the last must be the Duchy of Chreen. Green and Blue.
He went back to the open skimmer and looked in. There were three double rows of seats with eleven on each side, and they looked like they stacked three high. That was a lot of men it could hold, and there were easily fifty or sixty of these skimmers from what he could tell. This was what they’d been planning. To land several thousand men in the heart of the city. There was no way anyone could be prepared for this.
But that’s exactly what they had to do. Prepare. He looked at Glowby one last time, nodding. “I wish you could speak, Glowby. There’s got to be more you could tell us if you can find these things out. But for what it’s worth, thank you. We’ll have to figure out a way to stop them, but at least now we have a chance.”
Glowby bumped forward, pressing himself against Aiden’s forehead for a moment. Aiden couldn’t actually feel him there, of course, but despite that, it still comforted him. However, this time, Aiden had the sudden impression of something floating in his mind. A doorway. One which led to the Island of Reid.
He knew what he had to do, but first, he had to talk to the Professor.
Chapter 25
Aiden pushed himself to get back to his bedroom in Riften Castle so much he had a rather dismal headache when he emerged. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down and after a few minutes, the headache began to subside. He’d been wherever he had been for several hours and it was the middle of the night when he returned.
Not wanting to wake his friends, he quietly rose and got dressed before padding out in his bare feet to find the Professor. The old man was in his room down the hallway and when Aiden quietly opened the door, he could hear the sound of heavy breathing followed by an occasional snort. Aiden grinned. It was exactly what he expected the Professor would sound like when he slept.
As he crept closer to the bed, he tilted his head at the grandfatherly old man. He was one of the people who had stood by him through much of his life. The first time they’d met, Aiden was seven. Jessop and he were sitting in the gardens playing rocks and rollers when the Professor first walked by, dropping things out of his overburdened stack of whatever it was he had been carrying. Aiden and Jessop had immediately gotten up and started collecting the trail of loose objects and tried to give them back to the old man. That only made things worse. Every time the Professor had turned to look at them around the pile, something else would fall off causing the children to scramble out of his sight to pick it up.
Eventually, they’d collected all they could in their arms, making the pile in the old man’s arms manageable enough for them to continue on their way. They each were rewarded with a sweet rock candy, a pat on the head, and more importantly, a friendly smile.
“Aiden,” the Professor said with his eyes still closed, “why exactly are you staring at me in the middle of the night? I can’t tell you how many scary stories start with exactly this kind of thing happening. Are you plotting to kill me in your sleep?”
Aiden jumped. It sounded like the old man hadn’t been asleep at all, and indeed the Professor’s eyes snapped open without the usual baggy eyes most people woke up with.
“Uh… no sir, sorry.” Aiden stammered, then collected himself. He had an important mission. “No, not that at all, but I can’t say as I’ve had a very fun evening so far. Professor,” he said, leaning forward intently. “I need to know if you know how to make a portal from one place to another.”
The Professor jerked and narrowed his eyes. Since he’d come back to them, Aiden had noticed subtle things about the old man. He was sharper and more collected. He still played the fool, but no longer was one. “Why do you ask, Aiden? Making a portal. I didn’t know before we left Reid, but now I do remember. Still, I know we spoke of doing more adventurous things, but that’s… fairly far down on the list.”
“I understand, Professor,” Aiden said quickly, “but I don’t think we have a choice. I think I need to build one to Reid Island. Tonight.”
“Woah, woah! What is the rush, my boy? The energies involved. Let me just say if they were released in the wrong way, they could easily destroy…” Suddenly the old man went quiet and his eyes distant. Aiden could tell something had just occurred to him.
“Yes, I gather it will be dangerous but this is what we were talking about,” Aiden said, grasping the old man’s hands and bringing his attention back to him. “We have to take chances. I…I was just on board some sort of huge skimmer in the Anderealm. It was a huge room filled with sleeping mats, weapons, armor, and lots of other things I had no idea what they were. I saw the colors of Duke Noropon, Feldar and I think Chreen on the armor. They were camping out in between these big, boxy skimmers that looked like they were made to carry lots of men. Professor, somehow they’re going to invade Riften!”
The Professor made Aiden go back through what he’d experienced, shaking his head at the vague reason Aiden offered about how he’d found the place. Professor Reivus had tried to pry out how and why Aiden found these pivotal places to travel too, but Aiden just shrugged and answered he didn’t know. It was a lie, and the Professor knew it, but now wasn’t the time to pry. Finally, Reivus nodded.
It did not take long to rouse the Duke, though at first, the guards didn’t seem inclined to put themselves at risk by waking him up. However, Reivus and Aiden were insistent and they were eventually ushered into the man’s presence. The scowl had flown from Valeran’s face and he had immediately set to rousing Emraldi and her key people.
Aiden was surprised to find they convened within the Duchess’ private chambers. They were far more spacious than he would have guessed, easily taking up an entire wing of the large castle. Several bedrooms and hallways branched from the main sitting area, and it was here that they settled to discuss what Aiden had found with Emraldi and
her people.
“Alright, Aiden,” Valeran said, growling into the air. “Tell them from the beginning what you’ve told me.” He flicked his intense gaze toward the Duchess warily. “It’s a doozy. We’re really in trouble on this one.”
For her part, Emraldi sat regally but held up her hand. “I understand, but please delay. Romald has sent word for us to wait until he arrives. It would be a waste of time to tell the tale twice.” She stopped and lowered her hand, letting her gaze fall on Aiden in calm consideration. Though emotionless, her look was intimidating in the extreme for Aiden so he looked away as they all lapsed into an expectant silence.
A few minutes later, Romald came into the room carrying a large wooden cage. Surprisingly, he was also followed by Chari, Ashrak, Gavin, and the ever-present Markam. Aiden had wanted to let them sleep, and indeed they looked tired but Romald gave one of his effusive, knowing smiles and shrugged.
“Forgive my tardiness. I needed to retrieve some things and some lost friends as well.” He paused, eyeing Aiden for a moment. “It is important all the pieces on the board are present, even if they may not seem so important at the moment. One never knows. But please, give me a few minutes to distribute my little friends here?”
He began to walk around the room, opening up a small hatch on the top of the cage and taking out something before gently placing it on a wall or floor. They were all curious, but Valeran was the one who voiced their questions.
“Eh… what are those things Romald? Some sort of animal?”
Romald shook his head and grinned over at them. “A furred lizard, actually. They’re quite harmless, I assure you.” He came over and held one out to them all, displaying what looked like a thin, ten-centimeter fur covered lizard with six legs. It perched on his hand, tilting its head at all of them with its four eyes blinking periodically.
Chari immediately leaned in, reaching out a finger to pet it slowly. “What are they called? And what are you doing with them?”
“They are called Ovarkos,” Romald said, letting the small creature crawl into Chari’s hands before once again moving around the room placing other occupants of the cage in strategic areas. “Quiet and unobtrusive, they excel at one thing the people of Riften very much enjoy, and that is pest control. They are commonly found in homes and houses. We bred a species particularly aggressive toward spiders not so many decades ago, and fortunately for me and my paranoid family, we continued to keep stocks of them about.” He finished putting the last of them around the room before laying the cage down and joining them in the seated area.
Valeran peered curiously at the one that was sitting passively in Chari’s hand. It was obviously enjoying the grooming the girl was giving it. When Valeran’s face got close, though, it blinked and opened its mouth at him, making him frown and back off. “Very interesting. Do you think they’d do well in Terek? I think we need something like this.”
“Why, of course! I think they would do well there. It’s a bit wetter, but not much colder.” Romald grinned and his nose started to twitch. “When do you want to negotiate for some?”
Valeran almost answered but then stopped himself, looking over at Romald and grinning. “Oh, no! Not again. The last time I negotiated with you I sailed home without anything but my clothes. I’ll have my wife contact you!”
Romald shrugged and raised his hands, leaning back. Aiden was intrigued that the man’s nose continued to twitch for a few moments afterward. “Ah, well. One can but hope to try. Still, it is a good idea. I suspect if we can survive the current crisis, we will need them.”
“We will survive this,” Emraldi said suddenly, her smoky voice confident and cool. “We have no choice. It is our duty to survive if nothing else. Romald?” She said, cocking her gracefully curved eyebrow at the smaller man. “Has enough time passed, do you think?”
Romald looked around and held up a hand, listening. In the quiet, Aiden could hear the very faint pitter-patter of tiny feet and the occasional snick-crunch of something eating. He could only guess, but it seemed the Ovarkos were doing their job well. Finally, after those sounds died down, he nodded.
“Your Grace,” the Professor said into the stillness, “young Aiden, yet again traipsing off into strange and odd places, has come upon some rather alarming news. It appears the Mourning Lords have managed to keep more hidden from us than we first thought.” He paused, eyeing Aiden for a moment before continuing. “They seem to have a… well, a starship of some sort. I’m not entirely sure what kind, but it’s the only thing that could explain what he has seen.”
“Starship? What in the Circle Stones is a…” the Duke waved his arms and shook his head, “nevermind. This is bad news? Just tell us why you’ve woken us in the middle of the night. Is this starship going to attack us in some fashion? How can one ship attack an entire city?”
The Professor frowned, thinking before he continued. “Do you recall how the Skywitch killed a rather large trench serpent? There is no way to tell what type of ship Aiden has seen, but even the smallest of the warships could have many weapons like that, and worse. Also, it’s big, far larger than any of the ships you have ever seen on our oceans. The Commonwealth Navy was never a big fan of subtlety. There used to be thousands of them though only a destroyer and two frigates were stationed here. I had thought they were all destroyed in the Cataclysm ”
The Duke began to scowl, about to launch into another question, but Emraldi cut him off before he could ask. Valeran paused and nodded for her to continue. “Forgive me for asking as we are still learning some of these concepts, Professor. However, if it is a threat to my city, will it be using these weapons on us? We have no way to defend ourselves. Our reports of what happened at the cutter fish races spoke of a terrible beam of light.”
The Professor shook his head sadly. “I do not know. I am surprised there is even a ship still intact. During the Cataclysm, almost everything of glimmer steel was destroyed, including any ships still floating around the planet, or so I thought. I myself was out on a station orbiting one of the other planets, and nothing was left when I awoke. It took me generations just to relearn enough science to fabricate a basic ship in order to travel back to Delm. There is a possibility that while intact, much of it is not working. I think that is our only hope, and it is actually a slim possibility. Aiden was kind enough to go snooping around inside of it and discovered several thousand troops with enough skimmers to carry them somewhere. Noropon, Feldar, and Chreen soldiers. My guess is they will simply land directly in your city.”
Duke Valeran stood up, all thoughts of sleep gone as he stared incredulously at the Professor. “Skimmers? For thousands of troops? By the Seven, I’ve never heard of such a thing. Are they like mine?”
Aiden shook his head. “No, sir. They are different. Big and blocky. I think I counted about sixty of them and they look nothing like yours. They were smaller than the Skywitch, but specifically built to carry men.”
“They are exactly that,” Professor Reivus interjected. “Troop transports. Unless I miss my guess, old bulldogs. Aiden, did they have weapons on them? Guns on the sides and top?” At Aiden's nod, the Professor looked grim. “Indeed, bulldogs. By themselves, they would be enough to decimate any army alive today, except they can’t hold ground except whatever they are sitting on. Thus the troops, I suppose. I’ve never seen them in use, but I used to make them. Quite sturdy little beasts. They can probably hold almost two hundred regular troops each.”
There were several gasps from the group, especially the two men in armor who didn’t look like normal palace guards. The older of the two spoke, “Your Grace, if there are fifty of them, that’s ten thousand troops. I barely have the troops to match them in the entire city and surrounding countryside. Half of those are simple town guards. It will take time to recall the rest of our forces from their other posts or ships.”
The Duchess looked gravely at the man but Romald spoke, nodding softly. “Worse yet, General, these bulldogs, whatever that name means, can mo
ve their troops far faster than we can. Even if we chose to evacuate the city, I think they would just corner our troops and destroy them at their leisure, especially on the open road or ocean.”
“So, we either have ten thousand troops invading the city, or we have that plus some bloody big skimmer firing death beams at anyone who sticks their head out.” The Duke snorted, looking extremely displeased. “This is not good. Do we have any ideas?” He turned to Romald and raised his eyebrow. “Romald? Do you or your family have any tricks up your sleeve?”
The small man narrowed his eyes in thought, staring at the Duke for a long moment as he thought. Finally, he turned toward Aiden and tilted his head. “There are two possibilities, aren’t there, young Aiden? One will cost all of us dearly, but the other will demand a great sacrifice from you with only a hollow chance at escaping death for the rest of us. Truthfully, I am not certain of either, unless things change.”
The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4 Page 59