by Kyle West
“You have told us much that is of use,” Isaru said. “I can only hope the news I gave was of equal value.”
“It was of great use,” Rasi said. “And on that point, helping you was its own reward.” He eyed us each seriously. “The Ruins are not far. You will begin to see signs of it just a day upriver. I can give you some food for the journey, but take my warnings to heart, though even now, I can see that you are resolute on your goal. As such, I can only wish you the very best of luck.” His twisted face became grim as he watched us both. “Gods know you’ll need it.”
* * *
Rasi filled our packs with as much food as he could spare, mostly dried fish and potatoes. It was enough to see us through a few more days.
He offered us the floor to sleep on for the night, but we decided we needed to get some more distance to our goal.
“Thank you,” Isaru said, once we were outside. “Words cannot express our gratitude. I tell you only that if you have need of anything, go to Haven and the house of my father, King Taris. Mention only my name to a man named Garvin, and my command that you be taken care of…and it shall be done.”
The old man’s eyes widened at that. “You are…Prince Isaru?”
Isaru nodded. “Keep my name secret, but tell Garvin that it is my command.”
“I…will probably not make use of that, but it is appreciated, Prince Isaru of Haven.”
“Goodbye, Elder Rasi,” I said. “And thank you.”
We turned from the house and made our way north once again.
CHAPTER SEVEN
AFTER A FEW HOURS LONGER on the road, the sun set and the desert was plunged into darkness. The remaining heat of the day continued to emanate from the rocks, even as the surrounding air cooled.
I went off road to find a place to set up camp while Isaru fetched a pot of water from the river. By the time I'd gathered an adequate supply of firewood consisting mostly of dry scrub, Isaru found me in the narrow rivulet where I had decided we would strike camp. He unpacked his tinderbox to get a fire going. We threw the food Rasi had given us into the pot, making a hearty soup out of the fish, vegetables and spices the old man had given us.
Once it was cooked, we threw sand over what remained of the flames. With that action came full darkness, only pushed back by the thin light of the waning moon and multitude of stars.
With full bellies, the day’s work set in, and I was soon fast asleep.
* * *
We left at first light, gathering our things and headed back for the road. By this point, it was little more than a dusty trail, at times completely swallowed by the desert. We often lost sight of it altogether, and had to have faith that by following the river, we were still going the right direction. It would reappear sometime later, only to become absent once again.
By afternoon, the trail was all but gone. The landscape was starting to become more mangled – high hills lined both sides of the river, which now ran through a deepening canyon. Under a hot sun, we crested a high bluff running above the river. Once on top of it, I was surprised at how deep the canyon was becoming. It was nowhere as deep as the Grand Canyon, but beneath the current I could see massive blocks of ruins, which had apparently fallen from the sides of the canyon. My eyes went upward to the canyon’s side, where crumbling masonry still clung to either side of the canyon.
“There was a dam here,” I said.
Isaru nodded his agreement. “It must have fallen apart years ago.”
This seemed awfully familiar, though I couldn't have said why. Any time I got a sense of déjà vu, I always wondered whether it had anything to with Anna.
Just thinking of Anna reminded me that I had yet to tell Isaru about my dream…but now wasn’t the time for that.
I peered down into the canyon, where just before the former site of the dam, a thin, decrepit bridge stretched across the river, which rushed through the crumbled ruins.
“I guess that bridge is our way across.”
Isaru frowned, skeptical, but we had both known that we would have to cross the river eventually. Eventually, the Colorado would turn east, for the Red Wild, when our path was north, across the Exiled Lands. Even if going through the Red Wild by river would be easier and faster, it carried us too close to Haven, which was a risk we couldn’t take.
And so, we made our way down the bluff, finding a steep incline that took the better part of an hour to descend. Once we were standing at the canyon’s bottom, the bridge was more easily visible. It was not in good condition; at least half the planks were broken or missing, and the ropes holding it in place were frayed. Beneath the bridge, frothing current tore through rusting, metallic rebar and hunks of broken concrete, creating a perpetual din of rushing water that echoed off the canyon walls.
Falling would most likely guarantee death. The current was so intense that we'd be caught in the rubble and likely drown…if we weren’t ripped up by the sharp rocks and metal.
We could climb back out of the canyon and find another crossing, but we didn’t know how long the canyon would go. For all we knew, this was the only crossing.
“Bridge might be too generous a word to describe whatever that is,” Isaru said.
Standing close, the river was clearly much wider than I had originally thought. It had carved the canyon wide and deep, and even if the bridge was stable, there was the danger of falling through the many gaps in the planks.
“I think this bridge is far older than either of us realize,” I said.
Isaru looked at me curiously. “Why do you say that?”
“I don't know…it just feels as if I've been here before.” I paused. “I mean, as if she’s been here before.”
“You mean Anna.”
I nodded. “I think this bridge was here when she was alive. If so…that would make it almost four centuries old.”
“Don't know how I feel about crossing a four hundred year old bridge,” Isaru said.
“Well…one could make the case that if it's been here for four hundred years, it's pretty stable.”
“Well, who goes first?”
“I will,” I said. “In exchange, you take first watch tonight. We're getting close enough to the Ruins that we’ll need to start doing that.”
Not that we weren't ever in danger; we had just decided that we'd be too exhausted if we switched off watches every night.
Good as my word, I stepped forward. I gave the rope of the suspension a testing shake, but it didn’t really do much to move it. That was a good sign…or so I told myself.
The bridge was supported by thick posts driven deep into the rock. In the dry heat of the desert, I supposed there had never been any danger of it rotting, and it was far enough from the river not to ever get wet.
The ropes, however, weren’t the original. Apparently, someone had kept up with the bridge since Anna's days, even if it had been years since anyone had repaired it.
I made sure my pack was secure before starting across. I wished that looking down wasn't necessary, but I had to be sure of each of my steps; if the planks weren’t missing altogether, then they were likely unstable. Some of them even bent slightly as I stepped on them, but I quickly stepped off for the next before I could put too much strain on it.
The crossing seemed to take forever, and there was a discernible swing to the bridge with each of my movements, which made going over the middle particularly nerve-wracking.
When I made it to the other side, words couldn’t describe how much better I felt being on solid ground.
I looked back at Isaru, who waited a moment before starting his own journey across.
If anything, I felt more nervous watching him than I had felt for myself. Just seeing him go across made me realize just how dangerous it was, and it didn’t help that he was also a good deal heavier than me, being taller and more muscular, not to mention the fact that he was carrying more weight. Still, he was sure of his footing, and a lot of the weaker planks I’d been nervous about didn’t break, even under his
weight.
I only relaxed when he was standing beside me, his face paler than usual.
“Let’s not do that again.”
“Looks like there’s a trail leading up,” I said.
Together, we turned from the bridge and made our way up.
When we reached the top of the canyon, it was our first sight of the Ruins.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE RUINS HARDLY SEEMED AN adequate description for what lay before us across a wide, desert plain. There were indeed ruins – hundreds of crumbling towers and buildings, far taller than anything I had ever seen in my life, besides Haventree. But between these ruins were more buildings, built on top and between the rubble, along with palisade walls, wooden turrets, coupled with flying banners of various colors. Wide, crumbling roads – so wide that I could hardly see the purpose for them – ran elevated on the outside of the Ruins, and in many places, were themselves collapsed. It was jarring and bizarre to even look at, and I couldn’t imagine trying to find my way through that maze.
And yet, the Ruins stretched across the entire horizon.
Going around the Ruins would be a long journey in and of itself, but there was no water in sight, except for the river behind us that was completely inaccessible because of the canyon.
There was nothing to do but start forward across the dusty plain and find a way inside. Where there were people, there was food, and we definitely needed to resupply ourselves with both food and water before setting off north. Whether we got that by stealing, or by other means, was still to be decided.
In due time, the ruins grew even larger in our view, and we passed under the broken, elevated road. We climbed over crumbled concrete and twisted rebar. On the other side, an entire half of a crumbling building looked to have been smashed by a giant fist. The building was surrounded with yet more rubble, which was difficult to traverse. We rounded the building's corner to find that a long platform of simple wooden planks ran along the sea of rubble, a deliberately made pathway for access into the city. It continued across the ruins, losing itself between dilapidated buildings, before it ran out of sight.
I realized then we were just on the outskirts. Ahead were yet more buildings, thousands of them, their monochrome dull grays and browns broken only by the dry blue sky and brightly colored canvases and pendants that were set up at various points. There were no people that I could see…not yet. The sun above was sweltering, and the heat baked the broken concrete beneath, just adding to the misery.
“That platform’s got to lead somewhere,” Isaru said.
“Probably right to people,” I said. “Remember what Rasi said about this place being dangerous.”
“We're probably safe for the moment. Still…we should be finding people soon. Those flags probably mark territory.”
It was a good thing to keep in mind. We climbed across the rubble until we reached the platform, which we followed deeper into the ruins. While most of the terrain was covered by collapsed buildings and a sea of useless junk, parts of it had been cleared, on top of which were buildings and even rows of growing crops. It was here that we saw our first people, dressed in shabby garb, working those fields. Slaves or serfs, most likely, but it was strange because there didn’t seem to be anyone overseeing them. I kept my hand close to the hilt of my blade, even if there was no one around to trouble us.
As we continued to walk, the Ruins began to look more settled. People were gathered in the shade of the larger, more stable looking buildings, watching us pass. They were still too distant to see clearly, as high as we were above the rubble, but I could tell they wore dirty clothes, were mostly thin, and undoubtedly poor. We probably made a strange sight to them, but no one even called to us. Maybe from our weapons they assumed we were part of a gang. Between the buildings, I could see wagons, shops, and stalls set up. None of them seemed to have much to offer, but the market seemed busy all the same. Intermixed with the people were roughly dressed men, looking more well fed and carrying weapons. Clubs and maces appeared to be the most popular.
Those were the ones we needed to avoid, if possible.
The platform diverged in various places, allowing access to the settled islands in the Ruins below. We were about twenty minutes on the platform when we saw our first person using it – a single man, rounding a building about a hundred feet away. When he caught sight of us, he drew a sword, causing Isaru and me to respond in kind.
Then, the man turned and ran, apparently not liking his chances.
“I think we might be somewhere we’re not supposed to be,” I said.
“I think you’re right.” Isaru sheathed his blade, but I was slow to follow his lead. “Maybe only certain people are allowed up here. If that’s the case, he might be going to find friends.”
“What do we do, then?”
He nodded toward the nearby market. “We can lose ourselves in that crowd. Figure out our next move.”
I didn’t have a better idea, so we took a ramp leading down from the main platform until we were standing between the crowded stalls. The stench of unwashed people clung to the air, and flies flew in clouds above bins displaying withered fruit and vegetables and stinking fish. Where that fish came from, I couldn’t guess. There wasn’t any water nearby that I could see except for the river.
We threaded our way through the milling crowd. Because of Isaru’s pace and bearing, people parted for us long before we reached them. Now close to the people, I could see that every one of them had a brand on their foreheads – a single mark running up and down. Fewer still had two marks, and these seemed to be more well fed while wearing higher quality clothes. Some sort of caste system, perhaps.
The fact that we didn’t have any just made us stick out all the more, but we were moving so fast through the twisted streets that no one had time to stop us. The market was far larger than I had originally thought, seeming to go on forever down various streets and alleys. It wasn't just shoppers and vendors; we were eyed with challenge by groups of ruffians, heavily tattooed and each bearing either one or two marks on their foreheads. If we didn’t have weapons, I had no doubt they would have challenged us.
Then again, it was only going to be a matter of time before someone got brave.
“You there! The both of you. You can’t come past here.”
A short, stocky man stepped out in front of us, with a head shaved bald, folding his arms and staring us down in challenge. Two marks were branded into his head and he wore a cudgel at his side, while a tall, lanky companion joined him a moment later, putting a hand on the handle of his club. He only had one mark.
“We need to get through,” Isaru said. “We don’t want there to be any trouble.”
The man raised an eyebrow in challenge, while the lanky man smiled. He was an ugly man, with a nasty scar, crooked nose, and watery eyes that seemed to always be on the verge of tears.
“They ain’t from here, Sen,” the tall man said. “I say we beat ‘em and take their stuff.”
The short man cracked a smile, but then frowned upon looking at our blades. “Those are katanas. The Hunters carry them, if I remember right.”
“That's right,” I said. “We're on Hunter business. It’s best you not get yourselves involved in that.”
The short man, Sen, eyed me shrewdly; it was hard to tell whether or not he bought the lie. “Hunter business. And what does a Hunter want to do with the Ruins? I think you’re bluffing.”
I drew my blade and assumed Windform; I fell into the basic stance, sword pointed forward, as easily as drawing breath. “Either we’re Hunters, or we were strong enough to kill Hunters and take their blades. Chew on that for a bit.”
Strangely enough, the tall man made a chewing motion with his fat mouth. He obviously was a bit of a dolt, and it was then that I realized that these men were nothing more than guards and probably couldn’t handle themselves well in a fight.
From the way Sen was now looking at me, his features tensing, it was as if he realized it, too.
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“You have three seconds to stand aside,” I said.
A bead of sweat ran down Sen’s head, which he hastily wiped. “I…I can’t just let you through, though. Anyone who passes, any outsider…the Dragons could have my head!”
“Ask if we care,” Isaru said.
Sen was really sweating, now, and the tall man did look as if he actually was going to cry.
“Get moving,” Sen decided. “Hurry along! You didn’t talk to me, you hear? If they find out I let you through…”
Without even waiting to listen to his blather, Isaru and I stepped forward and the two bullies positively dove out of the way. Once we were thirty seconds down the empty street, clear of any sign of habitation, I turned to see that Sen and the other man were looking after us. He gestured for us to hurry along, obviously afraid someone might see what he had done and rat him out.
Isaru looked around the empty streets – identical to where we’d just left, only without stalls and without people.
“This place is abandoned. Why would they want to keep people out of here?”
“No idea.”
We turned a corner only to be greeted by a couple of rotting bodies, well into decomposing, laced with maggots and swarms of flies. I hacked at the horrible stench, and we steered wide of the corpses, running until we were a good distance from them.
“What’s happened to this place?” I asked.
As if in answer to my question, there was the sound of shouting, just around the corner, and the sound of steel on steel. There were battle cries and screams of pain.
“Turf war, I imagine,” Isaru said. “It explains why the streets are empty.”
Isaru said it so calmly that I could hardly believe it. “We need to hide.”
We found a nearby building, apparently abandoned, going in through the open door. We listened for a while, until the sounds of conflict had completely vanished.