On the Shoulders of Titans

by Andrew Rowe

  In truth, he sounded like Tristan usually did, and that was the worst part.

  I hadn’t even checked the book again to see if he’d sent a reply when I’d asked for proof. I didn’t need to. I knew it was him.

  I knew the arrogance, the veiled insults toward people he didn’t respect. Every word of that letter was Tristan’s signature.

  The relief that I’d hoped for along with that confirmation simply wasn’t there.

  Was it horrible of me to be unhappy that Tristan was happy? That my fantasy of rescuing him was unnecessary?

  A part of me was still clinging to the hope that there was something amiss that I’d need to fix. I didn’t have the whole story about the situation, of course.

  Maybe he had a good reason for everything he was doing.

  But I feared the possibility that he didn’t, and because of that, I’d stopped looking.

  That was unacceptable.

  “You’re right, I do want to know what happened to Tristan. But you’re right here, and helping you is a higher priority. I’m still going to keep looking for him, but now that we know he’s alive, it’s nothing I need to rush.”

  It was a coward’s answer, at least in part. But Sera nodded, seeming to accept it.

  We looked back to the fight after that, but my mind was elsewhere.

  Tristan... What are you really up to?

  Chapter VI – Two Heads are Better than One

  I tried to bury my worries about Tristan in my studies, but my mind kept wandering.

  How had he survived?

  Did Mother and Father know?

  And, perhaps most importantly, why was he involved in kidnapping Tenjin?

  I needed to talk to him directly at some point. He had ample chances to tell me about his situation through the book if he had wanted to. He’d even sent that hooded figure to talk to me in the spire.

  That couldn’t have actually been him, could it?

  Could his human body have been taken away?

  I shook my head. It was much more likely that the creature I’d seen was some sort of solid illusion, like those created with the Shadow attunement.

  I needed answers.

  I reached under my bed and retrieved Trials of Judgment.

  I’d been procrastinating about reading the Mysterious Book Entity’s reply to my question. I’d been afraid to face the possibility that it really was Tristan.

  But that was absurd, and I knew it.

  Why would I give up when I was finally this close to my goal?

  I could do better than that.

  I could be better than that.

  I flipped open to the most recent page and looked for the Mysterious Book Entity’s latest reply.

  Corin,

  Your skepticism is warranted. In your position, I wouldn’t believe a presumably deceased family member was writing to me, either.

  There are any number of other explanations, after all.

  Perhaps I’m simply using the name “Tristan” to get inside your head, after having watched your behavior in the spires. Maybe I need to manipulate you for some sort of task.

  But ask yourself first — why would I bother with a ruse on that scale?

  What advantage would there be for me to cultivate a single student as an asset? Providing you with a legendary weapon and an escape from the spire?

  The answer is obvious.

  With my level of influence, there are clearly more powerful tools available.

  So, there’s your logical answer. There’s no good reason for anyone else to be bothering.

  But it’s still easy to argue that, perhaps, it was simply an issue of opportunity. Maybe I didn’t have the ability to place the book wherever I wanted, and it was your choices that led us to this discussion.

  Maybe I’m simply taking advantage of what information I can glean about you.

  I’ll offer you another form of proof, then.

  When we were children, Father made an effort to introduce us to many prominent families.

  He was an excellent performer, parading us as prodigies. Martial talents unlike any seen in a generation. We were winning children’s duels almost as soon as we could walk.

  And while displaying our dubious talents, he made connections, and reacquainted himself with old friends. Friends in higher places than his own.

  We were taught to be proper, to be polite, and to never say too much about the state of affairs at home.

  The intent of it all was quite obvious, in retrospect. Our family’s flames had been fading since the war, and he hoped to secure our name through profitable marriages.

  Do you remember Yunika? Perhaps you’ve seen her more recently than I have.

  I remember how we used to talk about how perfect it was that she was my age and her sister was yours.

  I’d joke that we could be “double brothers” if we married them both. You argued it would be “triple brothers”, since we’d be brothers by blood, and brothers by marriage twice-over.

  Father would have been pleased if things had gone that way, I’m sure.

  I remember Yunika. I think of her fondly at times. Other times, I regret that I had so little foresight. So little understanding of why Father introduced us to those girls in the first place, and what our fates might have been if things had gone the way he wanted.

  So, yes.

  I am your brother.

  I have thought of you often in the years we have been apart.

  In asking the Voice of the Tower about me, it is clear that you thought of me as well.

  That pleases me, though it reflects a weakness in your character. You should have grown beyond me long ago.

  Still, I must admit to a degree of satisfaction that I left a lasting mark.

  It will make it easier for you to work for me when we are reunited, I think.

  But I have gone on too long, and I have business to attend to.

  Yes, I am Tristan Cadence.

  I am your brother.

  And I am alive.

  I took a breath.

  He always did have a flair for the dramatic.

  Yunika. How long has it been since I’ve seen her?

  I shook my head. Three years, at least.

  I’d seen her sister more recently, at least from a distance. I’d kept it that way. The alternative was uncomfortable.

  I lifted a pen and wrote a reply.

  Dear Mysterious Brother Entity,

  I believe you might be who you claim to be. You’ll excuse some continued skepticism until I see you in person.

  I paused, uncertain.

  What could I possibly say?

  The answer was obvious, but difficult.

  I missed you.

  I paused again, debating.

  But I am also deeply concerned.

  You have implied a connection with what Orden was planning. For fear that others can read these messages, I will not write any details here.

  If you are, in fact, working with the organization that was responsible for those things, I need to know why.

  And if you believe I will work for you, or with you, I will need a firmer understanding of what I am getting into.

  Do not take my help as a guarantee, my supposed brother.

  I miss Tristan Cadence, and I love him.

  I’ll decide when I meet you if you qualify to call yourself by that name.

  Tell me how, where, and when I can find you.

  I was debating writing more when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. I swiftly tucked the book away under my bed.

  “Ey, Corin, it’s me.” Marissa’s voice.

  I opened the door and waved. “Hey Mara. It already time for training?”

  Marissa shook her head. “Naw, ain’t that. Was hopin’ you’d be willing to ‘elp me with a lil’ favor.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “What sort of favor?”

  “Need a bit o’ help with one of my exams. You got a few?”

  I nodded. “Sure, but if it’s studying, I’
m not sure I’m going to be all that useful. Patrick is much better about history and artifacts and such, and Sera is the expert on general magic.” I was probably the best versed with the spires themselves, but I didn’t think any of us had classes on those yet.

  “Not studyin’, I’m afraid. Need an extra set of hands for one of my finals. Two person test, but I lost my partner.”

  I frowned at that. “Lost?”

  “Keri failed out of the semester. Someone figured ‘er out, I guess.”

  “Figured her out?”

  “Guess she was a spider, and turned ‘er in. She lost a whole bunch of points, so she got failed straight out.”

  I hadn’t been paying much attention to Spider Division, but it sounded pretty brutal. “I hadn’t realized the spiders lost points if they got reported.”

  “Yup. But they get extra points the longer they go without being found. Don’t know the details, teacher just told me a bit when he explained why my partner wasn’t showin’ up.”

  I nodded at that. I’d missed my first chance to report spiders — it had apparently happened while I was out in the middle of nowhere with Keras after the incident with the spire. I’d have one more chance right before the end of the year, but I didn’t have enough information to go on to report anyone yet.

  Right now, though, I had more pressing concerns. “Okay, what’s this exam? Don’t know if I’ll be able to help with it.”

  “Oh, I think you will. It’s for Monster Hunting class.”

  I blinked. “You have a Monster Hunting class?” I hadn’t even seen that on the list.

  “Yup. It’s one of the ones the heavy combat students get.”

  I was immediately a little jealous. I didn’t like actually killing things, but I assumed it would involve fighting illusory creatures like in our fake spire tests. That was both fun and good practice. Still, it seemed weird that she’d pick me for a heavy combat exam. “Wouldn’t Patrick be a better match? He’s got a combat attunement, and he tends to know a lot about monsters.”

  “Yeah, but ‘ese out doin’ somethin’ already. Been goin’ out a lot lately.”

  I nodded. “Maybe he’s out with Derek. Derek seems to go out practically every night.”

  Marissa chuckled. “Doubt that Derek wants Patrick with ‘im while he’s goin’ to taverns lookin’ for lady friends, Corin.”

  I blinked. “Is that what Derek’s doing? I just assumed he was...training, or something.”

  “You’re adorable sometimes, Cadence. Anyway, test?”

  I thought about her offer. “I mean, it sounds fun, but don’t you have any friends with combat attunements?”

  She shook her head. “Most of ‘em already have teams. And Sera still ain’t in fightin’ shape.”

  That last part was certainly true. “Okay, sure, I’ll help. What’s this test involve?”

  Mara grinned. “Oh, yer gonna love this.”

  ***

  I whistled in appreciation at the setup. We were north of the campus, in an area set aside for large-scale training exercises. We were only a few miles from the school proper, but it looked like we were in the middle of the wilderness. Tall trees stretched out in three directions, and the area in front of us was a hillside with only a single obvious entrance.

  That entrance led into what appeared to be an abandoned mine. I could see a mine cart just inside, filled with rubble, and a track that the cart must have sat on at some point.

  It was pitch black beyond that point, but Marissa held a lantern in her left hand, and I could see some unlit torches along the wall.

  Before we’d been sent here, we’d been given a few instructions by her teacher. “In this scenario, you are investigating an abandoned silver mine in the Unclaimed Lands. The miners unearthed an underground passage, which led into a monster lair. One of the miners claimed they saw a glowing sword inside before they fled the area.”

  “We supposed to clear out the monsters or get the sword?” Marissa asked.

  “The sword is your primary objective,” the teacher explained. “Your secondary objective is to get out unharmed. Clearing the monsters out or otherwise securing the mine is a tertiary objective.”

  I nodded at that. “Do we have any idea what types of monsters are in there?”

  “None. The miners who survived saw only shadows.”

  With that little information, we didn’t know exactly what to prepare for, so we’d have to think quickly once we found anything. After a few more minutes of preparation, the teacher had teleported us here to get started.

  Marissa led the way into the mine. I followed close behind. I wasn’t allowed to use Selys-Lyann for this test, since I’d nearly killed myself in one of the tests with it. As such, took a few minutes to repair my demi-gauntlet by attaching the metal portion to a newly-purchased glove. Then I slipped the scabbard containing my transference sword onto my belt.

  It was a little different from going into the spire, but I felt a familiar tension in my shoulders.

  And I planned to approach the scenario in a similar way.

  This should be good practice.

  I had to duck down to avoid hitting my head on the low ceiling, and the light from a single lantern was far from ideal. Still, we had an easy enough time making it down the first corridor. It was wide enough for us to walk two abreast, but I stayed behind Mara for the time being, planning to support her with ranged attacks when we inevitably ran into something we had to fight.

  Our first challenge, however, was a fork in the path. The path to our right led upward, and I could see some sort of light source in the distance. The left path led downward, into deeper darkness.

  “Left or right?” I asked.

  Mara frowned, glancing from side to side. “I’m nay sure. S’pose if monsters are in the dark, it’s the dark we should follow.”

  I nodded at her logic. “We’ll probably want to explore both routes eventually, but we may as well start down there.”

  “Right then.” Marissa led the way, her lantern seeming woefully insufficient.

  As we descended further, I began to hear what sounded like running water, but I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination.

  We continued until Mara raised a hand, gesturing for me to stop. “Down ‘ere.”

  I paused, ducking and squinting. It took several moments before I could see what she was talking about — a hair-thin thread near ankle level. I blinked. “A tripwire?”

  “Or something alike, aye. I see more of ‘em up ahead, too. Gonna have to watch our toes.”

  I winced. My vision was far from great. “All right. We’ll take it slow.”

  Mara stepped over the glimmering strand first, and I cautiously followed. I could see more of them up ahead, just like she said, crisscrossing the hallway and intersecting with each other.

  I ducked under a patch of them, then the wires got thicker and thicker up ahead. That made them more obvious, but the passage was thinning, making it harder to avoid them.

  We reached an area where the path narrowed to single-file and saw something thick and shiny on the ground ahead, surrounded in rubble. It was about as tall as the hallway...and about as wide, too. It was made of solid metal and covered in those tripwires.

  Mara knelt down as we reached it. “It’s a door. Torn right off the hinges.” She glanced from side to side. “And by the looks of it, it was attached to solid rock.”

  I blinked, examining the door with her. It was made out of metal and as thick as my arm. It looked like the type of thing I’d expect to see on a bank vault. I saw a few runes on the surface, too. They weren’t charged, but they were similar to the ones I used on a shield sigil. They must have reinforced the already solid door with magic when it was still intact.

  It must have taken tremendous force to break it down.

  Or, more likely, just break the rock around it and knock it over, I realized.

  “Guess we’re up against something big. Or at least strong. An oni, maybe.”

  M
arissa kept going, and I cautiously followed.

  “Oni?”

  “Similar to an ogre, but a bit smarter. Generally scary looking, often wields an iron club. I don’t see an ogre being smart enough to lay wires like this, but an oni might.”

  I glanced back at the door as we continued. There were an awful lot of strands in that particular area. They were extremely obvious, but there were so many of them that they were still difficult to avoid.

  Maybe they were just there to distract us from something else? It was certainly possible.

  We stepped and wove through a patch with a half-dozen strands at different angles, then crawled on the floor to avoid a section that took up the whole top of the passageway.

  As we advanced, I realized a few important things.

  First, it was strange that the strands were glimmering like they were metallic. I wasn’t an expert on tripwires, but that sounded like it was a bad idea in a place like this — the reflection on our light made them more obvious.

  Second was that they didn’t seem to have any obvious anchors points in the floors or walls. No nails, no screws, nothing holding them into place.

  Third, they didn’t seem to be attached to anything that would set off a trap or alarm. In fact, I didn’t see any traps or alarms at all. The only thing the strands connected to was each other.

  It was that last bit that gave it away. “Uh, Mara? I don’t think these are tripwires.”

  We could see the cavern opening up just ahead. Mara paused, turning her head toward me. “Oh?”

  I thought I heard the slightest hint of movement up ahead. “I think they’re spider webs.”

  “Spider...?”

  She glanced back toward the large room, then threw herself to the side just in time to avoid a spray of green liquid coming from the center of the room.

  I stepped back, avoiding the resulting puddle. That was good, because it sizzled and burned the stone.

  Acid? That’s not good.

  “Heh heh heh.” I heard a cackling coming from the room ahead of us, but I couldn’t see anything.

  “Metallic webs...of course!” Marissa snapped her fingers. “It’s a jor...uh, joro... spider woman!”