by Kyle Tolle
“Darbor?” She looked to Hantle. “We work together at the textile shop.” She walked past Hantle and shook the man’s gloved hand. “What are you doing here? I mean, what are you doing here in the Splitskin, and why are there horses tied up?”
Darbor removed his gloves and tucked them into his waistline. “Chopping some firewood for tonight. I dabble in astronomy and am up here with a group on Mount Vulteeb to study the meteor shower that began yesterday.” He grew more animated and spoke more quickly. “But the most exciting thing last night wasn’t the meteors.” He turned to Hantle and vigorously shook his hand. “Hi, I’m Darbor. What’s your name?”
“Hantle. Pleasure to meet—”
Dalence cut in and asked, “What else did you see?”
“Oh,” Darbor said, “I wasn’t up here last night, though I wish I was. I came up this morning.”
“Fine,” Dalence said, and Hantle noticed her impatience. “What happened last night?”
“They saw Bansuth destroyed.”
“Did they say how?”
“Bellice said it was a monstrous wolf that did it. Can you believe it?”
Hantle spoke up. “Who is Bellice?”
“She’s the head of Suu-manth’s Association of Astronomic Exploration.”
“And where is she now? On top of Mount Vulteeb?”
“Yes,” Darbor said. “She’s always the first one up and the last one down. Why—” Hantle saw his eyes go wide. “Wait.” Darbor shook his head in disbelief. “Did you just come from Bansuth? How in the hell did you survive the night?”
Hantle ignored his question. “Can you lead us to her?”
“Sure”—Darbor picked up his maul—“I’m sure she’d love to hear what you have to say.” He swung the bit into a log and left it there.
Hantle turned to Dalence. “If you’re not feeling well, you could stay with the horse and I’ll go up alone.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m coming with you. I want to hear what this Bellice has to say just as much as you do.”
Hantle smiled at her determination. He took the horse to the stable and tied it there. “Lead on, Darbor.”
The three of them started up a steep slope of scree that led from the Splitskin to Vulteeb’s peak. Few people ventured higher than the pass itself so there was no clear trail. Over the next thirty minutes, they stopped a few times to catch their breath and wipe the sweat from their brows.
During one stop, Darbor, between deep huffs, said, “Mount Vulteeb becomes a semi-permanent settlement during meteor showers. Five or so people stay around the clock. Hence the stable below. The vantage from the mountain top is incredibly clear.”
Hantle’s pack slapped his back with each step as he climbed the last stretch of boulders. He followed just behind Dalence, in case she lost her balance, but she scrambled better than he did. On the summit, several canvas tents filled an area cleared of stones. Below him and to the west lay Bansuth’s charred splotch.
Darbor called ahead. “Bellice, guess where these two came from?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
BELLICE SAT BEFORE A TENT, writing in a journal. She heard Darbor’s question, stood, and walked to the three of them. A swirl of wind blew her long silver hair over her face. She drew the hair back and pinned it behind an ear. Her green eyes took in Hantle and Dalence.
Darbor waited for Bellice to answer his question, but when none was forthcoming he continued. “Bansuth! They came from Bansuth.”
Hantle preempted any questions from Bellice by asking one of his own. “But found it already destroyed. Would you be able to share what you saw happen?”
“It was unbelievable,” Bellice said as she drew her jacket closed against the stiff wind and placed her pencil in a chest pocket. “First, we felt trembling in the mountain. Our first thought was a quake, but the trembling was too abrupt and not a single, long tremor. We looked down on Suu-manth to find nothing. A howl came faint from behind us, from the Far Finger.”
The hairs on Hantle’s neck stood. He knew exactly what the howl sounded like.
“We walked over and saw Bansuth dotted with fires. That’s when we realized it was in the throes of destruction. A creature moved through the city. A second later, we knew it was a wolf.” She stretched her arms as wide as she could. “Mammoth thing, it was. Probably the size of a small mountain. How’s a creature even grow that large?
“When it moved, it lunged. And flames grew up after it passed by. We guessed it was feeding on the people there, which was an awful thought, except we couldn’t help but watch it for some time. Then something else caught its attention. The wolf looked to the sky, where the meteor shower was at full force. It jumped into the air and bit at the meteors but, after falling back to the ground, drove into the city. Once it had moved through all of Bansuth, the wolf turned to the sky again. With a running start it leapt, pushing off from the Knuckles—knocking us to the ground in the process—and landed in the welkin.”
Bellice paused as she took a breath and wet her lips. Then she continued. “It was like a phantasm before us, and we all stared skyward. The wolf darted after a few meteors—snapping its jaws at them—but it was too slow and small to catch one. Who knows how long after, it gave up, looking exhausted, and disappeared behind the moon.”
Hantle was captivated. He and Dalence stood speechless. The warmth that fell on him from the sun was quickly drawn away by the breeze. Several seconds passed before he found his voice. “The wolf jumped off Iomesel?” he said, incredulous. “How could anything leap off the planet without crashing back down again?”
“That’s the part you can’t believe?” Bellice replied. “What about a wolf the size of a mountain?”
Dalence whispered, “So I didn’t hallucinate it?”
Bellice turned to her. “Didn’t hallucinate what? Did you feel the tremors too?”
“While Hantle only arrived in the city after the wolf had gone, I was in Bansuth when the wolf attacked, although feverish with sickness and unsure of what was reality and what was dreamt.” She relayed her experience in the cellar, how she awoke later to a ruined city, and when she found Hantle walking alone through the wreckage. Bellice and Darbor had their chance to listen, equally speechless. Hantle followed to recount details of the wolf’s destruction in Founsel, his chasing it through Harsenth, and his ride that led to meeting Dalence in Bansuth.
Hantle’s eyes widened with realization. “Dalence,” he said, “this means that the print we saw on the mountainside was made as the wolf took its leap into the sky.” The idea still went against everything he knew. How could anything go into the heavens?
Dalence’s face showed relief. “And Suu-manth is still safe.”
The discussion had drawn the attention of the remaining astronomers on Mount Vulteeb, and four others stood nearby, listening.
Bellice considered the new information for a moment. “It is awful to hear of the damage this creature wrought even before Bansuth. My heart is with—”
A portly man with wild, curly hair could no longer contain himself and burst out, “But do you know where the wolf came from? How it has this ability to grow so large? Scientifically, it’s quite curious.”
Hantle ignored the man and responded to Bellice. “I appreciate that, ma’am.” Then he turned to the group at large. “Beyond a creature of this size being a curiosity, it is a danger we must deal with.” His gaze fell to Bellice once more. “After the wolf initially disappeared, did you see it again?”
“No,” she said. “For a time, we trained our telescope on the area near the moon where we last saw it. But when nothing followed, we resumed our watch of the meteors.”
Dalence stepped a foot forward and asked, “A telescope? Can you explain what that is?”
Darbor motioned for them to follow him to the middle of the camp. “We have it right over here.” He gently peeled back a tarp to reveal a long tube sitting atop three legs. “With it, we can see four other planets in the firmament.” He set
the cover aside and stood with his hands on his hips. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”
Hantle said, “I thought there were only three others.”
Bellice pointed the telescope toward them. “Those three are visible with the naked eye. This does better. Astronomers elsewhere on the Fist have found one planet, called Coubae, that we cannot see unaided.”
Dalence ran a hand along the frame. “How does it work?” The sun glinted off a curving design etched into the metal.
Bellice indicated the front of the tube. “A large crystal lens focuses the light to a smaller one at the rear through which we look. This iteration has a better viewing angle and clarity, thanks to the crystals used, although the image one sees is upside down.”
Hantle found the artifact interesting but steered the conversation to what he felt most pressing. “There is still the matter of what we do with our knowledge of the wolf.”
The group quieted and Hantle gave them a moment before continuing. “I found Dalence ill in Bansuth. There, I told her my first priority is to reunite her with her brother. And once they are back together, I plan to seek out the governor of Suu-manth. With a force more formidable than what we had in Harsenth, we may stand a chance.”
Bellice’s silver hair caught the sun as she shook her head. “A force to do what?”
“To be prepared for the wolf’s attack.”
“Maybe the wolf will never return,” Bellice said. “Perhaps the prey he now seeks is among the planets.”
“That could be,” Hantle conceded. “But every night, the wolf has murdered people. And each night it attacks a city larger than the last. This makes Suu-manth the next target. The wolf may prove me wrong tonight, but I would not risk being unprepared.”
The stocky man again interrupted. “Shouldn’t we tell the entire city, at the Marketplace, instead of just the governor?”
This time, Hantle did not ignore him. “With this kind of news, I’m surprised none of you have already done that.”
The man looked to the notebook in his hand. “I . . . Uh, we have all been focused on writing down our experiences and poring over the information we collected during the night.”
“Regardless,” Hantle continued, “I would tell them. Though after speaking with the governor. To have a plan to share, instead of only fear and speculation.”
A quizzical look crossed Bellice’s face. “Why bother scaring them with conjecture?”
“Wouldn’t you want to know if your life could end?” asked the portly man. “I know I would.”
Bellice replied, “So you could waste the time with worry? Give me death unknown and swift.”
“As if our lives are certain at any other point,” Darbor quipped. He gave a resigned laugh.
Another woman, with red hair tied into a bun, said, “We have to at least tell the governor. The people elected her, so we should let her decide.”
Bellice said, “We seem to be split. Shall we hold a vote?”
Hantle turned and walked away. “Seems it’s always up to a committee.”
Bellice took a few steps after him. “Where are you going, Hantle?”
He glanced over his shoulder then back to the boulders ahead of him, before he turned around to look each in the group in the eyes. “This handwringing is tangential to the real point of what Suu-manth will do as a city. I agree that telling the wider population is important, but the governor has the best odds of coordinating resistance to the wolf. Bringing that fiend down is why I’m here. It’s easy to debate the correct course of action until the danger’s come and we’re all dead. But my mind is decided on what I will do.”
Dalence walked to his side and adjusted the pack on her back. “I lost my parents in Bansuth. That’s hell enough, so there’s no way I’m going to let the creature take my brother and me without putting everything I can into a fight. The governor will be able to do more toward that end than any lone individual can.”
Hantle put a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. Then he passed his eyes over the group. “Does anyone have a horse I can borrow for the ride into Suu-manth?”
“You can borrow mine,” Darbor said. “Let me come down with you.”
They descended the boulder field more quickly than they had come up it. It was rougher on Hantle’s knees, but the muscles in his legs were thankful for the break. He shivered when they passed through the shade of a small prominence. He had not before realized how much a role elevation played in the temperature.
His mind moved on to how he had seen the shooting stars but not the wolf chasing them down. That should have been impossible to miss. Yet, he realized, for hours he rode in the slot canyon that reduced his view of the sky to a sliver. Other times, the trees atop it crowded together to completely obscure the night sky. Hantle had trailed the wolf by more than he originally thought. He would beat it to Suu-manth, at least. For the rest of the hike, he focused on his foot placement. The rhythm was hypnotic.
When they reached the Splitskin, Darbor untied his horse and handed the reins to Hantle. “If you leave her at the Marketplace, I can get her there tomorrow.”
Hantle nodded and stepped into the saddle. “Thank you, Darbor. She’ll be there when you get down.”
Dalence mounted her horse and joined Hantle. “Now that we both have mounts, we’ll make much better time down. Two or so hours.” She directed the horse down the trail.
Hantle gave a look up Mount Vulteeb and saw two figures scrambling down the boulders. Maybe they would flee the area. Maybe they would tell their friends and watch for the wolf during the night’s meteor shower. Maybe they would pick up arms and be ready to fight. It was not for him to decide or pass judgment. Just now, it was up to him to get word to the governor of Suu-manth.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
DALENCE’S HORSE walked out of a narrowing in the Splitskin and followed the road along a cliff top. She was happy to be on the horse again. The hike to Mount Vulteeb’s summit had been worthwhile but exhausting. Over the last half of the return hike to the stable, her stomach pain increased and made the trek difficult, but the churning settled once she was in the saddle.
She glanced over the drop-off’s edge and, down a fall of a thousand feet, saw boulders ringed about a granite spire. That was enough for her. She turned to speak to Hantle, riding behind her. “This side of the Knuckles is steeper and harsher than the one we came up.” She pulled on the reins to put more distance between her steed and the edge. The road before them continued south for some miles, occasionally snaking north via switchbacks. Ahead, she recognized the first turns they would encounter. A few trees clung to shelves and cracks in the mountainside, but no forests grew above the foothills far below.
The precarious position gave a view unrivaled by anyplace else on the road. Midday breezes turned the lakes dotting the land below into an undulating spread of glimmers. Countless villages bordered the waters and extended far out onto the plain, until a distant haze obscured any details.
Behind her, Hantle muttered, “Wow.” He cleared his throat and said, “It’s like hundreds of gems tumbled out of the mountains.”
She laughed. “Yes, you’re right. But, if you can imagine, it is even more colorful in the morning.”
“Since I left Founsel,” he added, “I’ve traveled alone. It is a relief to have a companion again. Particularly one who knows the burden of loss.”
“I can understand that. The grief is ever-present but moving forward keeps it at bay. Having something to work toward focuses your thoughts, for the most part.” She looked over her shoulder to Hantle.
“That is, if the lack of sleep doesn’t scatter them.” He smiled and slapped a hand to his cheek in a mock attempt to wake himself up.
The wind that had chilled Dalence on the summit and in the pass lessened during their descent. Goosebumps on her arms disappeared as the warmth from the sun finally stuck to her body. A yawn escaped her lips. “You can’t talk about being tired,” she said. “That makes me tired.”
&
nbsp; “Then we’ll talk of what’s ahead. What do you know of Suu-manth’s army?”
Dalence had a thousand-yard stare and her eyes darted from side to side as she considered the question. “‘Army’ is a bit of a stretch. They are more of a guard for the city. The Marketplace, especially, has a large presence to help encourage orderliness. Taxes from the fish trade pays for the personnel, so they also protect caravans and storage buildings.”
“They’d have to be well-outfitted for those roles. That’s a start. We’ll have to ask the governor how many strong they are.”
“What are your plans?” Dalence asked. She readjusted her position to be able to look at Hantle without awkwardly twisting her neck.
“To be honest, I am not sure. In Harsenth, they had two cannons that I hoped to use to kill the thing. But I botched it and took the artillery and a couple squads too far away from the city to be useful. Cannons had a chance of working when the wolf was smaller.” Hantle opened the pack he had lashed to the saddle strings and pulled out the waterskin. “Now, though?” He took a drink and wiped a stray drop from his lips. “Is there even a cannon large enough to try that again?”
Dalence went quiet and imagined what a cannon of that size would look like. Would it have to be as long as one of the lakes below? The cannonball so large it must be moved by teams of oxen? Would any forge be able to cast that caliber? She turned forward on the horse and it turned down the first of many switchbacks. For quite some time they rode in silence. Dalence was pensive. Her mind drifted to other means of stopping the wolf: catapults, nets, leg-hold traps, crossbows. Their options might not be as bleak as it had first appeared.
Eventually, her mind’s eye turned back to her parents and anguish gripped her mind. She lay forward on the horse and stared at the ground. Nausea swirled in her stomach when she imagined seeing Brust. She might rather speak with the governor before going home. Having a plan to relate to him would make the conversation easier. “Yes, Brust,” she pictured herself to say, “I lay there while they died and could do nothing. But now I can do something and here’s what.”