World Gate: A Kethem Novel

by Dave Dickie

  Stegar frowned. “Could that be why the temple gate back in Vrargron Mard Chazun is not safe? Perhaps one of these things is there?”

  “I do not know. Nyjha said the battle at that gate was centuries old. But perhaps there was something different then and there is something new now.”

  “And it would seem odd, if one of these beings was hostile, that the troll would not say more about it.”

  “That’s true. But it also seems odd that the troll did not put anything in the ledger about the discrepancy, left out any details, whether there was some event that made them enemies or not.”

  Stegar nodded in agreement. “So, what is the plan?” asked Stegar, touching his sword. “I would not want to fight one of these great trolls with this.”

  “We have the first troll’s weapon. And we could take one of the polearms from the guard room again.” They had left the polearms where they were, unsure of how often the troll guards outside swapped them out. “But I have a different idea.”

  “And that is?”

  “This command on the timer is not locked out.”

  Stegar frowned. “I do not see how opening a portal to a pool of time inhabited by trolls would be helpful.”

  Daesal smiled. “It would not be. But I know how to lock it with a voice command. That can be overridden by a regular gate key, or a master key. Otherwise, it will prevent the gate from opening that destination.”

  “Well, that would keep the great trolls from returning. Assuming there is no gate on that side, it seems like it would doom them to that place for eternity. But that does not help us find our way home?”

  “It would give us a good negotiating position with a great troll on this side, however. Without the password, they could not open the door to their companions.”

  “If they do not have one of these keys,” said Stegar. But he looked thoughtful.

  “Which we did not find on Gruggal. I think they may keep the keys on the other side.”

  “That would be a leap,” said Stegar.

  “It would be if it hadn’t mentioned that the creature’s home was locked by gate key five days after they left. I do not know how long the period between opening a portal to the shallow time is, but if it was three days for us, five days or longer seems plausible as well.”

  Stegar thought about that. “You are thinking the troll waited for the gate to open to this shallow time dimension to get the key? Why would he not just open the portal himself? Why wait for the timer?”

  “In these places, time moves differently. If the troll goes in, he has to wait for the timer to let him back out. That would be a long period during which nothing can happen on this side. I think instead, the troll sends notes in, and those on the other side look at them in slowed time, prepare a response, and send it back on the second opening. Five days here is probably just long enough in the shallow time for those on that side to prepare a response.”

  “So, if the key is on that side, and the gate is on this side, and you have locked out the shallow time location--”

  “The troll here would be stuck without our help,” said Daesal.

  “It is a leap,” answered Stegar doubtfully.

  Daesal shrugged, “Statues go to the brave.”

  “Yes. If only most of them were not awarded posthumously, that would be a comforting thought. What about Beldaer? He will know you have learned much more about the world gates than he taught you.”

  Daesal shrugged again. “We will see what happens.”

  “No one wants an elf as an enemy,” Stegar warned.

  “Then I will do my best to make sure he remains our friend.”

  Gyeong entered the room in his usual strutting stride. Daesal and Stegar faced him, made fists of their right hand and slammed it into the palm of their open left hand in front of their chests and bowed. They said in unison “Prada hu, Gyeong-san.” Gyeong did the same and said, “You learn. That is good. We will make you into the people yet.”

  The people, from Gyeong’s standpoint, meant Stangri, but from prior conversations Daesal knew he was not serious. To be Stangri was to be born Stangri. Not to mention that, as a woman, to be Stangri was to be chattel, somewhere between a slave and a favored pet. Daesal had been fascinated with not only Gyeong’s stories of life in Kanday, but also by the strange dichotomy of its traditions. She and the others were “sawnom,” outsiders. But that wasn’t meant in a derogatory way. To be not-Stangri did not mean less than Stangri, at least not all the time. She had made a joke at one point about Gyeong teaching them manners, but not the bravery required to be Stangri. He had turned serious and said “No, Daesal. Bravery is not Stangri. Honor is not Stangri. We strive for those, but they come from within. You are a match for the best of the Sa Kajok, and it does me great honor to fight with you.” And he had pressed his fists together and bowed, not the casual fist and palm greeting, but a sign of respect and deference.

  Oddly enough, in one of Gyeong’s stories, a man had made that same gesture of respect to one of the wifes of a Sa Kajok Chouitun, a leader of some sort, intending to curry favor. As a result, he had been challenged to a duel and killed by the Chouitun, who apparently had taken it as a great insult. Daesal could not say whether Gyeong’s gesture was a violation of Stangri protocol or, as a non-Stangri, if her gender did not matter. But she had done the same gesture to him, and Gyeong seemed pleased.

  Gyeong said, “Beldaer is up and at the chechui,” which was what Gyeong called the control panel and meant “thing of great power," or maybe “thing that controls a thing of great power” in Stangri. “He wishes to talk to you.” Daesal nodded, and headed for the gate room while Gyeong and Stegar remained behind. She could hear Gyeong start on language lessons again, mostly the many formal greetings the Stangri used that changed by the position of who you were talking to, your relation to them, the season, and the time of day.

  Beldaer was frowning at the panel when she arrived, standing on a troll chair. They had dragged two in from the dining room and stuck them side by side in front of the panel. Beldaer looked no different than he ever did, but there was an abruptness to his movements and Daesal could smell something acidic and brittle from the elf. He was getting by on no more sleep than she was, and it was affecting him even if he did not show it the same way as humans. “This gate is thoroughly secured,” he said as she climbed up onto the chair next to him. “I have tried everything I could think of, but to no avail. We have only two choices. Leave, or try to negotiate for help from the troll when he arrives.” Daesal had made subtle suggestions to Beldaer, guiding him to the conclusion that the timer was opening a gate to the other great trolls.

  “And what is your counsel, Beldaer?” she asked.

  He hesitated. “I believe I might be able to make my way through troll-held lands, but I fear you could not do so safely. I would suggest I try to make it on my own and send back help, but the trolls will be suspicious with Gruggrul’s disappearance. They will search for intruders, and trolls have very good detection spells. They would find you. I believe our only sensible option is to try to negotiate.” Daesal smelled indecision from the elf, but she suspected that was because going it alone gave Beldaer the highest probability of telling the elves about the great troll gate’s location. He was doing this to try to help her and the others. It made her feel a bit dirty for not trusting him with everything she knew.

  “The troll guards swap out polearms every two days, and they came yesterday. We can take two without being noticed until tomorrow. I believe we can manage both between Stegar, Hantlin, Gyeong and Grim. I have Gruggrul’s weapon, which has enough mana for several spells. I believe you should confront the great troll when they exit the gate. I will stay hidden near the panel. The others can be on the far side with the polearms.”

  Beldaer looked around the room. There was not much room for cover. The trolls would have to be facing the panel or they would see the humans with the polearms when they exited. Daesal was small enough that they would not see her be
hind the panel if she crouched down. He sighed. “It is the best we can do, I think. We have roughly half a day before the gate activates.”

  “I think I will, in that case, take a nap,” said Daesal.

  Beldaer laughed, then stopped when she looked confused. “You are serious?” he said.

  Daesal frowned. “Of course. Deciphering a few more words of great troll does not matter much in the scheme of things, particularly if we perish, and that may well happen in the next few hours. I would rather spend them comfortably.”

  Beldaer shook his head. “You are a strange human, Daesal, and given I find humans strange in general, that makes you extremely unusual.”

  She smiled. “Well, unusual is better than peculiar, which I think is the term most people - humans - would use, so I will thank you for that.” She let herself off the chair carefully. It was a little too high to jump off of. “I will see you in a few hours.” Beldaer nodded. She returned to the ledger room and told Stegar and Gyeong the plan.

  “You rest,” said Stegar. “We will get the polearms into position.” She nodded. There was a pile of blankets in the corner of the room, piled on top of each other to form a bed of sorts. She had been using it for the past two days to catch a few hours of fitful sleep between studying the ledgers. She laid down and was immediately irritated because Stegar was shaking her shoulder before she even had a chance to get comfortable. “Daesal,” he said.

  “What?” she asked crossly.

  “It is time. The gate will be opening in the next hour.”

  Daesal blinked and realized she had, in fact, been asleep. “I see. Give me a moment.” Stegar stood back while she tried to clean the cobwebs out of her head. After a minute, she levered herself up to her feet. “Very good. Let us be at it.” Stegar nodded, and they walked into the gate room together. Beldaer was standing in front of the panel, arms crossed behind his back, looking grim. “You will frighten them with that expression,” said Daesal.

  Beldaer gave her a tiny grin. “I suppose. After Gruggrul, I am not hopeful of the outcome of any conversation with great trolls.”

  Daesal touched his arm. “We will make it work,” she said. On the far side of the room, through the obsidian pillars, she could see Stegar and the rest of the party with two polearms balanced across troll chairs turned on their sides. It made them easier to point. She nodded to Beldaer. “Good luck, good elf, and thank you for your efforts. I know you could have left us at any time.”

  Beldaer nodded and walked between the panel and the obsidian pillars. Daesal climbed up on the chairs and ducked down behind the panel, watching the counter tick down. When it hit zero, there was a flash of blue light for a few seconds around the edges of the panel, then the time reset to five days hence. She triggered the amulet and traced the glyphs she had memorized across the face of the panel. “Hediro,” she said, the name of a Pranan city-state that was as good a password as any. The timer continued to tick down but when she traced the glyphs to show the command that would be triggered at the end, she could see the destination was orange instead of green, locked out unless you had a key or knew the password she had set. She did the same thing to the root of the local gate access command.

  While she was doing that, Beldaer had started talking. “My friends,” he said in elvish, “Please listen to me. I appear before you unarmed, and I ask only that you let me speak for a few moments.”

  The deep rumbling tones of a troll answered, “An elf, here. Where is Gruggrul?”

  There was another rumble, with a different pitch to it, and Daesal realized there must be two of the trolls. “Humans,” called the other voice. One of the two must have looked around and spotted Stegar and the rest of the crew on the far side of the pillars.

  “Stop!” yelled Beldaer in elvish, while the amulet translated it for Daesal. “They will not fire on you if you do not attack them. I swear to you, no blood needs to be spilled here today. I will explain all if you let me. The only thing I ask is that you do not speak in the human tongue if you know it. What we say is for our ears only.” That saddened Daesal. She had hoped she was wrong about Beldaer and that he did not have a hidden agenda, but there was no other reason he’d make that request.

  The first great troll answered, fury in his voice, “Even if you do destroy us, the next group that comes through the gate will be larger, with protective spells that will stop anything you can throw at them.”

  Beldaer said, “We do not intend to harm you. Much has changed in the centuries that have passed since you left these lands. I know you think elves and humans colluded to do something to the gate at Vrargron Mard Chazun. I swear to you this is not true, and even if the humans did, they have lost the knowledge in the chaos of the last four hundred years. They are not a threat to you.”

  “Knowing the location of this gate is threat enough,” said the second troll.

  “We do not know the location. We came from Vrargron Mard Chazun, and arrived there through a teleportal that is no longer functioning. Listen to me. My people can help you. They can assist you in finding a solution to this issue. We can work together like we did in the days before the great war.”

  “I do not believe you,” said the first great troll.

  “We do not want your help,” said the second.

  The first troll said “If you are lying to us, our deaths do not matter. If you are not, then nothing you do to us matters. If you kill us, our brethren will exact due justice when they come through in force the next time the gate opens.”

  “Please,” said Baelder, “we will find common ground. Let us speak like civilized people and we can avoid needless bloodshed.” But Daesal could hear the defeat in Beldaer’s voice. The trolls were not listening.

  She stood up straight, putting her head and shoulders above the panel. One of the trolls had his arm extended, raising one of the strange artificer’s weapon similar to the one they had taken off Gruggrul. Beldaer stood with his arms raised and an expression of resignation on his face. The troll stopped when he saw her. Daesal called out loudly in common, “I have locked out the location you came from. Without the password, you will never see your friends again, and they will never be able to return. If you hurt Beldaer, you will die and your brethren will be lost to you forever.”

  “The elves and humans are colluding,” said the second troll. He pointed his artificer’s weapon at Daesal, but the first troll put his hand on the second troll’s arm to stop him. Beldaer was staring at her, half amazed and half frightened.

  Daesal did not flinch. She called out, “I cannot stop you if you wish to fight, but know this. If this ends in all of us killing each other, your kind are exiled from this world forever.”

  “How do I know you are speaking the truth?” said the first Troll in a barely recognizable version of common, an old Empire dialect that had changed in the intervening centuries. He was still restraining the second troll.

  “You may come and examine the panel and see for yourself,” responded Daesal.

  The troll nodded and spoke to the second troll in their own tongue. The amulet translated it for her. “This human claims it has locked the gate from the shallow time. If it has, we must retrieve the password from it or our people will be banished there. It has invited me to verify this.”

  “When you get close,” said the second troll, “grab it. I will kill the elf and the humans. We will force it to tell us the password.”

  “I am not sure you would be fast enough, and we would be dooming our race if you are not,” said the first troll. The second troll looked like it was about to argue.

  “Stegar,” called out Daesal, “if the trolls try to take me hostage, kill them, even if I am in the way.”

  “I understand, Daesal,” called out Stegar.

  The trolls looked at each other and the first one repeated Daesal’s words to the second, who clearly did not speak common. “Do you think she knows what we said?” asked the second troll.

  The first troll looked at Daesal. “Even
in our day, humans did not speak our language. It may have learned lower troll from the base ones, but if so and it can understand us, it is a master linguist. Or perhaps it has a spell that can pull meaning from our words. There are such spells, although not many know them.” The troll called out to Daesal in his own language, “do you understand me?” Daesal tried to remain impassive but the troll turned back to the other one and said, “It does. I do not know how, but it does understand our language. Perhaps there were records left behind and it is a scholar of some sort.” Beldaer was standing quietly during this exchange but his eyes never left Daesal.

  “Come, look,” called Daesal. The first troll lowered his artificer’s weapon and walked over to the console. He made gestures over it, ones that Daesal now recognized as the command language for the gate panel, and it flashed through several screens before settling on one that listed the status of various locations. Shallow time was orange.

  “It is locked, as it claimed,” the first troll called to the second troll. “We could override it with a gate key, but that is with the others, and there is no way to reach them with the desitnation locked.” He turned to her, towering over her even though she was standing on a platform four feet off the ground. “What do you want?”

  “As the good elf said, to find common ground. We all have issues we must face. We need to find solutions that work for all of us.”

  “Then let us negotiate,” said the troll. Beldaer walked over, a dark expression on his face. Daesal jumped down off the troll chair she had been standing on.

  Beldaer leaned over to talk quiety into her ear. “We will talk later,” he said.

  Chapter Twenty One

  “Thank you for your intervention. I would not be alive without it,” said Beldaer, but his voice was cold. He had taken Daesal aside while the two trolls had a whispered consultation with each other.

  “I know you were trying to save us,” said Daesal. “I could do no less.”

  “How did you lock the gate?” said Beldaer. His fists were clenched.