The Map Maker's Choice

by Matthew J. Krengel

  The miles drifted by under their feet. The trees became clumps of saplings, and wooden buildings gave way to stone walls. Most of the structures were no taller than two stories, and most were crumbling. The dirt road turned to paving stones. Jane looked around when she could, but she was forced to watch where her feet were landing. The last thing she wanted to do was sprain an ankle in the middle of hostile territory.

  All around them they saw signs the road was lightly traveled—the snapped twigs of a sapling, the barely marked wagon tracks on the edges of the path. These signs increased as they got closer to the Outpost.

  The two cities had been situated on either side of the Mississippi River. The walls and pillars of the first city lay in a crumbling heap, and the massive gate was a rusted ruin. On the left side, the timbers still held due to bands of cold iron—the only thing not rusted out. The gate on the right side was completely rusted through and the timbers had vanished altogether, leaving only enough to show their former outline.

  Outside the gate, a sign had been posted to the left of the ruined gatehouse. It read, “Stay out.” Underneath that it read, “By Order of the Twins.”

  8: Ancient Cities

  Eriunia poked her head around the corner of the ruined gate and examined the street. It looked empty, but she looked long and hard, trying to see any sign of any movement. Search as she did, the street seemed deserted of everything but a gray squirrel, which ran across the stones and vanished into a dark corner.

  “Anything?” Jacob asked. His view was limited, so he took the time to pull his shield from where he had slung it on his back and slide his arm into the straps. At his waist he carried one of their captured Adherent pistols, and he carefully slipped off the leather strap holding it in place.

  “Nothing,” Eriunia replied. “Their base of operations must be further inside the city walls.” Carefully, they entered the city, Eriunia’s eyes roving back and forth, not wanting to miss anything. The buildings closest to the gatehouse were in the worst shape, and they picked their way around the piles of rubble. As they moved toward the center of the city, the elf noticed more and more signs of habitation.

  “Over there,” Jane whispered. She tapped Eriunia on the shoulder and pointed to the south. Standing watch over the city, a wooden tower had been built atop a single-story stone building. The structure was rough, but it looked sturdy. On top of it, a couple figures moved about, keeping an eye on the city below them.

  “I don’t think they’ve seen us,” Eriunia said. “Let’s move a street north. I want to make it to the steps leading down to the cathedral without being seen.”

  “Down? Like underground? Who builds a cathedral underground?” Jacob asked. His vision of a cathedral was a soaring structure with curved wall supports and huge stained-glass windows.

  But Eriunia had walked off, and Jane followed her. The elf turned a corner toward a more sheltered street. Bella, leaping from building to building above them, called down that the way ahead looked empty.

  Jacob watched the buildings around them and noticed the differences between the older structures of Duluth and those here. The builders of the Shining Cities seemed to have enjoyed curved lines and open, airy rooms. He saw plenty of windows in every dwelling. The roof lines almost reminded him of pictures he had seen of Chinese buildings’ curved roofs. He was so caught up in looking at the buildings that he stumbled into Jane when she suddenly stopped in front of him.

  “Sorry,” Jacob started to say, but was silenced by a harsh stare from Eriunia. She motioned for them to get inside a nearby building, and they hurried to follow her lead.

  “Someone’s coming this way,” Bella squeaked. She fluttered into the building behind them. With the hum of magic in the air, the fairy slowly dropped a netting of camouflage around them. Bella saw the elf nod in approval and felt a wave of happiness. Too many screw-ups lately, Bella said to herself. This time I’ll get everything right.

  As they huddled in the dark recesses of the building, Jane heard a pair of voices talking. They grew louder as the speakers got closer to their hiding spot. Finally, she was able to follow the conversation.

  “Why are we out here?” the first one said, whining.

  “Boss says the morning patrol spotted signs of someone traveling close to us,” the second voice said. “We’re going to check the area again and see if we can find anything.”

  “What a waste of time.”

  “I agree. Other than those idiots in Duluth, no one else around here would dare try anything against us.”

  “Aye, and we don’t have to worry about them much longer if what the boss says is true.”

  The voices faded. Jane looked at Eriunia with wide eyes.

  “They know something we don’t, that’s for sure,” Jacob muttered.

  When they were sure the street was clear again, they continued toward the river. The closer they got to the Mississippi, the more signs they spotted telling them people lived close by. Piles of garbage had been dumped into side streets and scores of rats prowled across the piles, even in the daylight. The foul creatures ranged in size from normal to the size of large cats, and Jane shuddered when they looked at her. Long fangs stuck from their mouths, and they scurried about with their tails lashing about.

  “I hate those things,” Jane intoned. The beady eyes of the rats followed them until they made it past the piles. They were forced to hide two more times when Bella alerted them of people coming their way. They spotted a shabbily dressed human and dwarf talking in a side alley. As they watched, money changed hands, and a wrapped brown package was passed from the dwarf to the human. Their exchange completed, the two vanished in different directions. When the street seemed clear, Jane stepped out from the hiding place. She wondered what they had just seen happening, but then decided she didn’t want to know. The side street they were following continued until it reached an area full of people.

  “Now we walk normally and hope no one notices us,” Eriunia said. “Bella, I need you to hide Jacob’s shield and sword. Also, try to remain out of sight. The last thing we need is for someone to decide that you’re a target for kidnapping.”

  Bella squeaked and flitted over to Jacob’s shoulder. She hid in a side pocket of his pack and slowly worked at dropping a magical net over his shield and sword. It was difficult working in a confined space, but she finally thought she had it right.

  “Good enough,” Eriunia stated. She glanced over the other two and nodded. With her bow in her hand and her daggers displayed prominently, she stepped out into the courtyard and led them out into the street.

  Jane looked around as they emerged from between two buildings. One of the dwellings was a ruined hulk that looked like it had burned in the last couple of weeks. The walls were scorched, and a thick layer of ash covered everything inside. The timbers that had once supported the roof had collapsed into the main room. She scanned the sparse crowd, but most everyone she saw was either hurrying somewhere or speaking to someone. They seemed accustomed to having strangers around. No one paid them any attention. What was prominently displayed everywhere, however, were weapons of all sorts and sizes. A minotaur with a massive hammer strode down the street and vanished into a larger building carrying a crate in one arm. A couple of rough-looking humans huddled together over a game of some sort on the ground nearby, and Jane heard the sound of dice rattling in a wooden container. One of them glanced at her and leered, so she looked away. “Jerk,” she muttered.

  “What?” Jacob asked. He looked around, trying to spot the source of her irritation.

  “Guy over there was eyeing me,” Jane said as they hurried down the street. “I feel dirty.”

  “Who?” Jacob’s voice went up a notch.

  “Leave it, Jacob,” Eriunia interjected. She grabbed his arm. Jacob had been turning back when she stopped him. “We have a purpose here, and it doesn’t involve
getting ourselves killed over some jerk’s wandering eyes.”

  Jacob harrumphed, but he allowed himself to be pulled back down the street until the dice game had vanished from view. The road they were on led to where Jacob could see the mighty river churning its way south. Despite the number of dams on his side of the Divide, the river had mastered the attempts to overcome it on this side, and only a few pilings remained of the dams.

  “There,” Eriunia said. She tipped her head toward an area of the outpost fenced off from the rest.

  A dwarf and a creature Jane had never seen before watched over the dark entrance to what looked like an underground cavern. The dwarf was armed with an older version of the Adherent musket, and his long beard was tucked into his belt. His skin was weathered but his eyes were sharp, and he stared at them long and hard before continuing to scan back and forth. The other watcher had the body of a man—though completely covered in scales—and the head of a lizard. He carried a long spear, with two more strapped to his back. The spears were thin and each was topped with a nasty barbed hook Jane figured would hurt getting pulled out.

  “How do we get inside?” Jacob asked.

  They continued walking toward the river to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Once they were out of sight, they stepped around the edge of a nearby building and paused.

  “I’m not sure,” Eriunia replied. She glanced back around the edge of the building and noticed that the dwarf was speaking to the lizard man. After a short conversation, the lizard warrior vanished, leaving only the single guard to watch over the entrance.

  “Well, that was convenient,” Jane said when she looked back.

  “Yes, too convenient,” Eriunia replied. She shook her head, wondering if they were being set up. “Bella, do you see anything?”

  The fairy flew up and crouched on the corner of the building, her tiny eyes scanning the area around the stairs.

  “I don’t see anyone else,” Bella reported.

  “Sometimes the most direct route,” Eriunia said. She motioned to Jacob’s pistol. “When I draw his attention, stun him.”

  “Got it,” Jacob replied. He pulled the pistol from his belt and checked the charge. The tiny indicator on the side told him it was ready to fire, so he held it close to his side out of sight and followed Eriunia. She walked ahead of him toward the open area until they were standing close to the fence. The dwarf looked at them and shook his head.

  “Beat it!”

  “Could I ask you a question?” Eriunia asked in an airy, almost ditzy voice. She tapped her long fingers against her lip and looked up and down the street. “My friends and I just got here, and we need a place to stay, someplace clean. Not like that icky Black Marsh place up the road,” she said, recalling the name of an inn she had seen earlier.

  The dwarf took two steps closer and glared at her. In a split second he decided to send this dumb elf to a place she would never forget . . . or leave. He gave an evil chuckle and walked over to where they were standing, pointing down the street. Suddenly the barrel of an energy pistol emerged over Eriunia’s shoulder and a brilliant burst of energy knocked the dwarf backward to the ground.

  “Hurry,” Eriunia said.

  Jacob slashed the fence with his sword and the strands of metal parted like soft butter. They slipped through the cut, then turned a few of the bits of metal around so the fence still looked fine, at least from a distance.

  “Grab his feet,” Eriunia grunted. She hoisted the guard’s shoulders and arms while Jane and Jacob each grabbed a foot. They hauled him over to the entrance to the underground cathedral and pushed his unconscious body into a dark corner where it was unlikely anyone would spot it. Once that was done, Eriunia took a long look around. When she was fairly sure they had not been noticed, she led Jane, Jacob, and Bella into the underground tunnels.

  9: Underground Cathedrals

  The steps had been carved from the bedrock and led them down into the ground for a hundred feet. At regular intervals, sturdy timbers and thick bars of cold iron helped to support the weight of the world above. After they had gone about a hundred steps, Jane noticed that the walls and passage underwent a distinct change. Instead of a roughhewn passage, the walls smoothed out and grew taller, almost like the deeper passages had been built with much better craftsmanship. Finally they reached a place in the tunnels where the passage widened into a massive cavern supported by four huge pillars.

  “This way,” Eriunia pointed to the right where a second, more narrow passage led off even closer to the river. The tunnel was low and opened into a smaller cavern, carved as an antechamber to the cathedral. The building was in rough shape. Vandals seemed to have been searching for something. Holes had been punched into the walls, and darkness filled the inner parts of the building.

  “Hold this,” Eriunia said to Jacob. She pulled a torch from her pack and handed it to him. Carefully she lit the specially prepared length of wood using a flint and a piece of stone. Once it was lit, she led them into the old building in search of Coronia.

  The torch flickered and fluttered with every breath of air that pushed through the rooms and halls. If the building had been alive, Jane would have sworn it was watching them. Jane and Jacob crowded close in order to stay within the circle of light cast by the torch. Bella huddled in the safe confines of Jacob’s shirt pocket. Just inside the smashed wall through which they entered the building, they encountered a wide open room that led directly into the cathedral, which reminded Jane of the Cathedral of St. Paul on her side of the Divide. Beyond was the main area of the building, where the ceiling soared up so high it was lost beyond the light of their torch. Gold etchings on the walls cast the dancing light back at them. The closer Jacob looked, the more it seemed someone had tried to scrape the gold from the wall. Blocks of granite were carved into statues of a dozen shapes. Along one side was a cross Jane thought would have been appropriate in any Christian church on their side of the Divide. Next to it were the remains of a unicorn statue. All that had survived of it was a pair of legs and the head and horn lying on the floor.

  “Amazing,” Jane muttered. She leaned over to look at the statue, but Eriunia kept moving. At the exact center of the main chapel, they found a pool of crystal-clear water about ten feet across. From somewhere above them, a trickle of water sprinkled down into the pool. Close to the edge, a small stream of water vanished out a hole knocked in the floor.

  “Look,” Jane said excitedly. “Someone’s there.” Several lights close to the pool sparkled, and as she stepped closer, she noticed that all around the edge of the water lay small stacks of gold coins and a tiny pile of gems. Off to the side was one of the most beautiful agates she had ever seen, the size of a goose egg and filled with hundreds of lines. Brilliant reds and whites filled the stone in unending circles. She stepped to the edge of the treasure piles, but Eriunia caught her arm and motioned for her to wait.

  From deep inside the water, a dark shadow flashed by, and then the shadow seemed to turn and head straight for the surface. When she broke the water, Jane could see that the mermaid was very similar to pictures she had seen in books. The only difference was that her skin was black and her hair was long and wavy. Her eyes were pools of light brown that almost looked gold to Jane. From the waist up, Coronia was a beautiful young woman. She wore a wide sash across her chest that offered a bit of modesty despite the clinging nature of the material. From the waist down she had flashing silvery scales that glistened as the water slipped over them. Around her neck, a silver necklace dangled loosely. A massive gem hung on the end, catching the light and glittering wildly. At first the mermaid seemed to miss that people were present, and she set a pair of gold coins on a small stack. Shock filled her golden eyes as she noticed the group before her, followed by fear and then anger.

  “Coronia,” Eriunia greeted her. “How are you?” She kept her voice neutral.

  “Eri
unia,” Coronia growled.

  Jane noticed the hostility in the mermaid’s voice. The look she gave Eriunia was anything but friendly.

  “Now, Coronia, that was a long time ago,” Eriunia said with a groan. “I swear to you, I didn’t know that you—”

  “Liar,” Coronia howled. Rage filled her as she looked at the elf. With a flash of her silvery tail she sent a wave of water rolling toward them and turned to dive. The gold coins and gems were caught in the surge of water and scattered across the floor.

  “Bella,” Eriunia shouted. “Put a net around her.” This was not the time for niceties.

  Jane had tried to duck but the wave of water caught her full in the face, making her hack and cough. She could hear Jacob gasping and coughing as well, and then a howl of rage echoed through the cathedral. When she managed to get her eyes open and stumbled to her feet, she saw Bella fluttering in the air before them and a glowing net holding the thrashing, howling mermaid just above the surface of the water.

  “Let me go!” Coronia screamed. She struggled and fought against the fairy net, but it held as she twisted and turned. The small bands of light moved with the mermaid, but then slowly started to constrict.

  Her voice was filled with anger but there was also a note of desperation, like someone holding onto a grudge they didn’t want to face but had been forced to. As Jane tried to recover, she wondered what had happened that was so terrible.

  “Not until you listen to us,” Eriunia shouted back. She stepped back as Bella’s net yanked and jerked. A powerful slap of the mermaid’s tail came close to striking her. They let Coronia struggle for a while longer. Then, as her attempts to break free slowed and her breath came in labored gasps, Eriunia motioned to Bella. Slowly the net dipped toward the water and loosened a little. “Please listen to me,” Eriunia pleaded with the mermaid. “If you will listen, I’ll place my life in your hands, and you can do what you will to me.”