Strange Land (The Young Ancients Book 15)

by P. S. Power

The woman was about an inch taller than she was, and had long blonde hair, that reminded Sara a bit of honey. The dark kind, that glistened in the sun. The skin was golden too, and a different shade of it than her own. There were lovely emerald green eyes shining out of her face, too. Like gems, they were so clear. The clothing was different, not being made to look like something from Noram. No, this woman was dressed in fur, with what seemed like leather that had been dyed orange.

  That fit her name and everything, plus made her easy to identify. Though why she was out of her Fleet Commander's uniform, Sara didn't know.

  "Commander Orange?" She spoke the words gently, not being certain as to the correct title. That was a big thing in Noram. Wars could be started over an imagined slight, and had been.

  This woman just smiled.

  "Sara! I hear that you are now one of the long lived? Or was Timon making fun of me? Trying to trick me?"

  That was a thing that she'd heard about, but hadn't realized was quite as real as all that. The Orange Ancient always thought that good looking men were trying to take advantage of her. Normally in a playful manner, or trying to get her into bed, which was probably also true, but for her it was a real issue. A constant thing that she had no control over.

  "It's true. I should be able to go back to Earth, too. I guess that I was made a bit more like a Remy than one of you? I don't know what that means, and can't change shape yet, if that's even a thing. Other than that I feel pretty good. What are you doing here?" That last bit sounded almost a bit confrontational, so Sara started to backpedal instantly, "I mean, I didn't know you'd be around, that was all. It's good to see you."

  The woman moved in and gave her a big hug, picking her up off the floor. Smiling. Then, without warning she tossed Sara over her head, toward the far wall. It all seemed to happen in almost slow motion, so she just did a flip in the air, and stuck one foot back after that, to kick the wall lightly, holding to her feet. The other woman ran at her, grinning then.

  Sara wasn't certain what was happening, but didn't notice any fear about it either.

  The fight didn't take too long, though it seemed longer to her than the reality, Sara thought. The other woman was just so much better than she was that it was a bit like an agile and able teen fighting a weapons master. Everything Sara did was countered, and her own blocks were gotten around about half the time. It was interesting and didn't really hurt, but wasn't comfortable either. Mainly because she didn't know what they were really doing.

  Without even breathing hard, neither of them were, she held up a hand after finally getting away from Alice.

  "Um, are we fighting, or playing? I need to know the rules here, I think. I mean I'm still alive, so playing?" She sounded hopeful, and not like she was teasing the other woman at least.

  "Playing. So no decapitations. Go!" The next few attacks were so intense that Sara really didn't think she kept up with what was happening, but when they ended, she was on the floor, with both hands being held behind her back.

  The Ancient let her go when she stopped struggling, and bounded to her feet.

  "Finally, someone worth spending some time practicing with. To answer your question, I'm on shore leave. Our new head of medicine decided that it was needed for everyone to have a break occasionally. So here I am, since I can't find any nice beaches anymore. Not for now. So, shall we go again?"

  That took a while longer, since Sara was starting to learn some of the things she could do. In their last bout, which Alice still won pretty easily, she'd managed to hold out for twice as long as the first one. Then the woman hugged her again with no throwing this time.

  "Ah, it is good to have another sister! Now, I hear that you're going to Earth in the next days? Something about Timon being killed?"

  "That's the plan. Going there, since he told you, I assume you know that he isn't dead yet. He probably won't be either. The people doing it have been clever, but haven't really gotten very close to hurting him yet. I'm leaving him here. I know, you can watch him? Make sure he stays out of trouble?"

  "Like anyone can keep a man from doing that? I can try, I suppose. We are family, after a sideways fashion. What did you come for? Just to drop the boy off?"

  Sara didn't bother to point out that the boy was far closer to her own age than the Ancients, since she had a sneaking suspicion that Alice already knew that one. Instead she felt for her pocket and pulled the device that she'd been working on.

  "This should, if it works, make air and then carry it to where it needs to go. It's built for use on a space station, so, this could be a good place to try it out?"

  Without saying more, or bothering to ask permission, Alice set that up, venting two levels without warning. They weren't the ones with plants or animals on them, at least.

  "If a few die for not having their shields on, then it will be a good lesson to the others. Now, how do we make this work?"

  It was a bit trickier than Sara had figured it to be, but to her utter shock, it actually worked, and had the air gushing into place as fast as it could be made. It still took two hours to fill the space needed, but it was a huge area. Vast, really. Plus it stopped when the air pressure was correct, and would start again if it were needed.

  While they watched it happening, Orange kept up a steady stream of small talk.

  "So, I hear that Gerent Lairdgren is running off to be married? That's a fine one for you. I'd already asked him, and he didn't even bother to tell me that the engagement was off. Well, I'd be more upset, but Green set up things in Noram well enough that way. I can just share him with his new woman, and she'll be all right with that. Paris, I think her name is?"

  "Petra. Ward. She's nice. I do think you should make a point of letting them both know that you intend to grab Gerent up part of the time though. He mentioned something like that to me once. He and I are supposed to have an arrangement too. Just dating though. So far we haven't done anything like that. We've both been so busy. Really, you should get in touch with him and see what he's doing now. What's the point of a holiday, otherwise?"

  The woman, older by far than Sara would ever be herself, even if she was immortal now, simply smiled a little and let her head tilt marginally to the left. Her honey colored hair was lustrous and gleamed under the glow of the overhead, ten feet above them. There was no action for a bit, but finally, the woman turned and simply walked away. Either to make that communication happen, or to simply do something else. It was a thing that Sara had seen Burks do, back when he was alive.

  Just leave, without saying anything, while clearly not meaning it in an angry, or even rude, fashion.

  One of the traits of the very old, most likely. Simply doing what comes next and forgetting the niceties of social interaction. Not that Sara had any grand insight into the minds of that kind of person.

  Not yet. It would probably happen though, eventually.

  She was left there though, standing in a large hallway, or very narrow room. The idea that her device, a thing that she'd made, actually worked, shook her for a second. It wasn't all that easy to do, and she didn't think less of the builders she knew or anything, but it had always been a thing that Sara had considered above her somehow. Out of reach, because she wasn't magic enough to make that kind of thing take place. There it was though. On two levels of the station they were on, there was breathable air, thanks to a thing that she'd built. On her own.

  Feeling slightly proud of that, she went looking for other people, or to at least find Alice again. The woman was weird and abrupt, but also someone to talk to and possibly get directions from. Instead, after walking in what seemed like an upward rising spiral for about an hour, she found a large set of doors that let her out into what seemed to be a decently large farm. There was a ceiling above her, about fifteen feet up, that was so bright and warm that it was clearly meant to mimic the sun itself. On the ground, which was covered with a dark brown and slightly damp looking layer of earth, were crops. It looked like wheat to her, but it was still green. F
ar enough from harvest that no one was actively working the place at the moment.

  The far wall had to be at least a half mile away, if not further, meaning there would eventually be enough food produced there to feed thousands. For at least a year. Maybe more than that. She looked at it for a while, then backed out without touching anything. She really didn't want to be the one that messed things up, if she could help it. The growing field looked... Lovely. A pristine thing that reminded her of the world below them.

  The next five levels held similarly farm themed fields or orchards. It wasn't until four hours later that she walked into what seemed like a small town, complete with houses, all of them arrayed to give the place a feeling of a Noram village. Only with clean streets, and fewer animals around. There were some, however. Cats, dogs and a lot of chickens clucking in a separate and walled pen, for instance.

  A small animal, with golden colored hair, padded over to her, sniffing at her leg, as dogs were wont to do. It let her pat its head before wandering off.

  "Well now!" This voice came from the side, which was a place that looked a bit like a country store. The man who spoke was nearly her own size, and wore good sturdy merchant style clothing. A mustard colored loose tunic with brown trousers. "If Betsy gives you her seal of approval, then you must be all right. Here I was about to send up an alarm. We don't get many visitors around here." The man smiled, clearly teasing about calling in the guard. Given that they didn't have one, most likely, she could see how it might be funny to him.

  "Hello! I'm Sara Debri. I was just looking around and seeing if I could find anyone I know before I go off to Earth. I came in with a friend." She didn't know if Tim was going to hide his name here or not, but the man extended his hand to her, which got them to shake.

  "Tom Smith. Are you the lady who brought little Timon in? He mentioned a friend named Sara..." There was a closer look then, and the man, who was standing straight and tall, smiled at her suddenly. "I know you! You came to Two Bends once, about five or six years ago? I used to be the Mayor there. That was before it was found out that I was a spy sent there by the Old Count. After he passed, I moved my family here. It's an adventure, and a good life. Close to growing things, but embracing the future as well, at the same time. Sara Debri, you say? From the merchant house?"

  "That's right! I didn't recognize you, Mayor Tom. You look taller, for one thing." She didn't ask how that worked, having had classes in the topic herself. Mayor Tom had been a bit stooped. Now he was extending upward, making himself taller by about four inches. Most people didn't think about why people carried themselves like they did, it was just a thing that was noticed and accepted as being who they were.

  The man waved this away, his face giving him an apparent age of about fifty to sixty. His words were, if not cultured, then at least in good Noram standard instead of the way he'd spoken the one time she'd met him before. The idea that he'd been a spy... That made sense to her.

  Burks would have wanted to have his daughter and her family protected as much as possible. Laurie had been in hiding then, hence her having become a small village baker like she had. The place had probably been crawling with hidden guards, spies and people just sent to look out for that one family. Especially since Tor was his chosen heir. Not to the county, but to the protection of Noram.

  It was Sam Builder that had been put in charge of protecting their land though, in the end. Why that was, she didn't really know. It would have made sense to her that Tor was just too worn out, or even broken, after the Ancient King Cordes had been removed from his mind like had happened. For a while he'd been a bit off, after that. If he'd been told to sit by for a while and let healthy people do the work, everyone would have understood.

  Instead he'd been made the Ancient of Vagus.

  A land that was so far away and foreign to her, that Sara had never even heard of it in more than a list of places until a few years prior.

  That they were going to make use of magic was probably the reason there. Their mages were good, and learning from Tor personally. Living in Harmony to do so.

  The man in front of her seemed to hesitate for a moment, but just looked to his right, and pointed with his index finger.

  "I think you want the fifth house down, on the right. That's where young Timon is staying. Are you going to be here with him for a time?" The question was probing, but in the wrong way.

  Sara could have understood if he'd wanted to know about where she was going, and why, but this seemed to be a bit more scolding than that. If in a very subtle fashion. The man was actually trying to see if she were going to be staying with Tim. Alone. Since they might do something improper.

  Well, just because the man was a spy and spoke proper Standard, that didn't mean small village living hadn't shaped how he thought, over the decades.

  "I don't think so. I need to be off to Earth. Probably inside the next hour or two. I really just wanted to take a look at how things were set up here and then say goodbye, but got sidetracked." By an Ancient that wanted to play, as it turned out. It was a rare enough thing to be worth doing, as long as she didn't take too long with it.

  She didn't mention that part, since it might be easier if not everyone in the world knew that Alice wasn't just the head of Space Fleet. If she wanted them to know about it, the woman would make an announcement. It wasn't like she had a reputation for being shy.

  That being the case, that she wanted to get going, Smith only kept her there talking for about twenty minutes. That was, she knew, the shortest possible time that politeness allowed people in most non-city places to chat. If things had been different, the man probably would have invited her to stay with his own family for the night, or at least find her an Inn. Instead he walked her directly to the door of the house he'd mentioned, and waited after she used the interior signal button before acting like he should leave.

  "It was good talking to you, Sara Debri. Perhaps if you come this way again, we could discuss some business? We don't have a lot of trade going on here yet, but our numbers are growing monthly, and soon we might have some crops in. Your family might be interested in some of those? The new food units are good, but I think some might still enjoy the real thing, if they get a chance?"

  The door pulled open before the man finished speaking, and Timon looked down on them both, nodding at the words.

  "That's not a bad idea. Don't forget to run that past Tiera though, Tom. Fresh produce is likely to be big there, sooner or later. Now, not to be rude, but..." He held out a hand toward Sara, which she took. The old Mayor of Two Bends frowned at first, at the contact, then sighed.

  "I'll be getting back to my own work then. I need to set the oversight schedule for the pear harvest. True, that won't be for two years, but waiting around won't get the drying and canning done. We'll need supplies in for that." Turning on his heel the man left, his face still a little less than friendly about her touching Tim.

  She was about to say that, when Timon shook his head.

  "It's not what you think. As the man here, even a young one to his way of thinking, I'm the guilty one. If this was back home, he'd probably be chasing me with a stick about now, to drive me away. Otherwise who knows what might happen? Worse, I'm married already, so holding your hand like this is nearly scandalous." He winked at her, but didn't invite her in.

  She thought about her plans, and was going to suggest she be off right then, when Tim looked behind her, toward the direction that Smith had gone. Out of old reflex she turned too. Her ears picked up the sound of people walking toward them before she finished the move, however. They were far away, but gave off a low thumping sound as their arms and legs moved through the air. That kind of thing carried a long way.

  Focusing, the image of the people coming toward her got larger suddenly. Not just a bit either, but many times. The edges of her vision blurred, but in the middle she could make out who they were.

  Smiling, she let her eyes relax, and go back to normal.

  "It's your brothe
r, Gerent, along with Alice Orange. I mentioned that she should get in touch with him, but I didn't think she'd set things up that soon. Still, this means I can catch a ride with him back to Earth, possibly. That will save a day, even if I have to use the old ship to get back to Harmony later."

  Tim smiled then, and put his arm around her shoulders, gently.

  "Oh, Tiera was on with me about an hour ago. They found Lars' family. Alive. The Tellerand people did it, going from person to person, and suggesting they pray with them. Unfortunately they didn't catch anyone with them. They were just in a locked room, one that had been filled with air, a cleaning unit and a food device. One of Tiera's. It was less than comfortable sounding, but survivable. So that part's out of the way. I can't go back yet, but you can."

  Tilting her head, she worked out several courses of action, doing that a lot faster than she would have before. Then, without waiting to find out anything else, she pulled her own communications unit, and contacted Terry Baker. He might be a child still, but the boy was back on Harmony, unlikely to leave on his own, and still connected to the seat of power there. Closely enough that he'd know what was going on without having to bother the Queen.

  It took about two minutes before he picked up though, and when he did, the younger Ancient seemed out of breath and looked to be covered in sweat, from what she could make out, in the image.

  "Sara! Is everything all right?"

  "So far. I just heard that part of things have been settled there? How's the air situation?" Really what she wanted to know was if her ship were still being used as emergency housing.

  It took a while to get around to that, but the kid finally smiled at her.

  "The Pain Maiden is ready for you, yes. I think we can find someone to bring it to you? If that works? I know that it would be good if Ambassador Roget was with you. He's been fretting over you going off without him the whole time. Very politely, but... Well, I think he's concerned about you." The tone didn't imply anything at all. Given that she still felt a bit awkward about the man herself, she was willing to leave it at that. Terry didn't try to push it, either.