Neversfall

by Ed Gentry

  He offered a final salute to Jhoqo before moving toward the citadel at a jog, his troops behind him. Neversfall came into clearer focus with each step. Taennen felt the itch of mystery and intrigue but had learned that curiosity could kill even more easily than a sword. He called for sharp eyes from his soldiers and took pleasure in his vocation and the opportunities for discovery it offered.

  After a considerable jog, Taennen called a stop and put his spyglass to his eye again. He scanned the area around the citadel, hoping the proximity might yield more results. He expected some sort of scarring on the walls, bodies on the ground, or some sign of disturbance. He found nothing but dirt, grass, and stone walls. He continued his scan to find the edge of the woods and was lowering his spyglass when a splash of color caught his eye, something that seemed out of place. He tried to focus in on where he had seen it but saw only green, leafy plants and brown tree trunks. Everything appeared normal until he realized that some of the plants were bouncing as though they had been disturbed. Taennen watched the area for several more moments, seeing nothing. He tucked his spyglass away once again and resumed his march to the citadel. If something had been in the woods, it was gone. Their mission could not wait. Taennen’s excitement turned to caution as he approached the gates of Neversfall.

  Rectangular blocks of stone as long as a man were carved smooth and fit together tightly to form the outer wall of Neversfall, with each block reaching a height near six men high. Clay and mud lined the cracks between the stones to seal out the gusts of wind common to plains, though the craftsmanship was extraordinary and the lines were thin and hard to find. Crenellated walks topped the wall, and narrow slabs of stone taller than a man stood every sixty or so paces atop the walkway. Each slab had an opening carved in the middle, arrow slits for archers. Two men could stand behind the slab atop the wall, totally protected. They could alternate their shots through the slit while still remaining well covered—a clever design.

  The force that had come to Neversfall previously had also been comprised of both Maquar and Durpari troops. Adeenya wondered if those two forces had similar difficulties meshing together. Moreover, she wondered if her expedition would find that company and in what condition. She kept a fast pace, ordering her troops to spread wide and look for anything out of place as they circled the citadel west to east.

  Behind the walls she could see the towers of the citadel, three giant fingers stroking the sky. The two smaller towers rose to twice the height of the wall, and the central tower was half that tall again. The high but sparse grass of the plains had been burned away from the citadel for several hundred paces. Adeenya ordered a contingent of her troops to the grassline to ensure no surprises waited there. She hoped to find clues to the location of the former force sent to the citadel. She feared the worst. The squads should have seen someone by then.

  The area around Neversfall was quiet, with a soft breeze rustling the grass in light gusts. Adeenya continued around the citadel to the north side. To her east was the Aerilpar, to her west open plains. Though stories abounded about the Aerilpar, Adeenya found the plains more foreboding. Forests hid their secrets in their dark depths and that was understood. One walked through a forest on guard. Plains, though, had their secrets hidden in the open, where they were least expected.

  All the walls of the citadel looked identical. She saw no damage and that bothered her even more. If the previous force of Durpari and Maquar soldiers were dead, what had killed them? She saw no scorch marks, no stains from hot oil being poured through the machicolations onto attackers. Not even a single errant arrow in the ground.

  Adeenya could see the disquiet on the faces of her troops. She picked up her pace to reach the gate of Neversfall. The mystery ate at her, and she wanted it resolved, regardless of the outcome. As she rounded the corner, she saw the large, dark doors of the citadel. They stood open, four of Taennen’s force guarding them. They saluted as Adeenya approached.

  “Orir, the durir awaits you inside,” one of the guards said as she reached the gate. The doors were three men high and two wide. They were easily as thick as Adeenya’s upper arm, as were the iron bars that stood nearby to hold the doors against attackers.

  She walked through the opening into the courtyard of Neversfall. Adeenya split her troops into four squads, commanding each to examine the inside of one outer wall, looking for signs of struggle and checking the walls for weaknesses.

  Adeenya continued toward the center of the courtyard. Like the walls of the citadel, the three towers were made of smooth, dark stone. In addition to the towers, small one- and two-story buildings were spread around the courtyard, most of them built on short, sturdy stone pilings. Between the stilts were ditches about knee deep.

  “Fire,” Taennen said beside her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “The trenches. If an attacker were to lob fire over the walls, it could spread along the ground, but without a strong wind to force it along, it wouldn’t make it past the trenches,” he said. “It protects the buildings and gives the citadel forces a place to escape the fire.”

  “Arrows too,” she said. “You could shelter yourself from arrows under each building.”

  Taennen nodded. “Yes, sir, you could. Good eyes, Orir.”

  The courtyard itself was large and well kept. Each wall looked to be twice as long as the tallest tower was high, giving the interior courtyard a spaciousness that the other buildings did not fill up. No buildings at all stood along the northern wall, likely intended to be used as training grounds and an assembly area. There were also no signs that anyone had ever occupied the citadel. A chill ran up Adeenya’s spine.

  She climbed the short steps to one of the barracks. Ten cots lined each wall, with space for many more. A bedroll was neatly folded at the foot of each and twenty chests sat on the floor. Two Maquar were examining the contents.

  “What have you found, durir?” she asked.

  “Just these things, sir,” Taennen answered. He held up a cheap brass symbol of the Adama. “It’s as if they never left.”

  “No bodies? No discarded weapons?”

  Taennen shook his head. “I wish I could say there was any clue at all, sir, but so far we’ve seen nothing. The food stores are intact, the citadel’s log shows a final entry that describes no problems at all. The gate locks still function, and from what we’ve seen, the personal belongings of the lost company are still here.”

  Adeenya shook her head. “This is damned strange.”

  “No doubt about that. I’ll call in the commander,” he said. “Unless you object, Orir?”

  “Go ahead,” she said.

  Taennen nodded and shouted to one of his men, instructing the soldier to inform Jhoqo to bring in the rest of the troops.

  “The towers have been checked?” Adeenya asked, facing the monoliths.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Adeenya moved toward the tallest of the three towers. Though the citadel itself was named Neversfall, it was named for the tall central tower. The stones comprising the tower were smaller and more rounded than those that made up the outer wall. Though they were the same color, the tower stood out against the backdrop of the wall as separate, different in a profound way. Impossible and distant, Neversfall tower seemed to be watching them.

  “I’ve never seen anything that tall. I never would have thought I might in my life,” Taennen said beside her.

  “ ‘Every day we are told what we cannot do, what can never be done. I dream of a day when the nevers will all fall away and leave only what we can do,’ ” Adeenya said, staring at the rising spire.

  “Sir?” Taennen said.

  She smiled. “A quote from Jeradeem himself, Durir. It’s where this place gets its name.”

  Taennen said nothing, but Adeenya could see he liked the idea of the prophet’s words. Jeradeem was quoted a thousand times every day in the Shining South, and that one had always been Adeenya’s favorite. Its hope-filled message about putting aside limitations had insp
ired her from an early age. She might not revere adherence to the Adama, Jeradeem’s creation, like others she knew, but she appreciated the wisdom the man had left behind.

  “Commander coming in,” boomed a voice from behind them. Adeenya spun to see Jhoqo leading the rest of the expedition through the gates.

  “You’ll need to update him,” Adeenya said.

  Taennen nodded but then hesitated. “Orir, perhaps to continue setting a good example for our troops, you could advise him?”

  Adeenya smiled. “A fine idea, Durir. I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you.”

  “I’ll give the central tower a closer look,” he said with a salute, then began moving in that direction. The anticipation on his face was clear, and she envied him his exploration.

  Adeenya moved to meet Jhoqo, reminding herself that, although she was his equal in rank, he was in command and consolidating the two forces ensured a higher chance of safety for her people. Soldiers shouted back and forth to share their findings as they searched more buildings, the courtyard echoing with their voices. Adeenya heard every word and intended to make sure Jhoqo did as well.

  “Sir, the citadel has been secured,” she said to Jhoqo as his eyes scanned the courtyard. Behind him, soldiers set about unloading the few horses that accompanied them, and lieutenants divided men into smaller units to continue sweeping the fortress.

  “Good, commander. Where is the holding area? I want these prisoners secured.”

  “Aye, sir.” Adeenya shouted to Marlke who was just stepping out of the door to one of the smaller buildings in the courtyard. “Dorir, work with the Maquar terir, and secure the prisoners,” she said.

  “Yes, sir,” Marlke replied before jogging off toward the enormous Loraica. The two standing near one another was like something out of a bard’s comic tale.

  Adeenya faced Jhoqo again. The man stood in the center of the organized chaos with shouts and shuffling boxes all around him, but he never seemed shaken. He was a military man, and whether securing a fortress or taking over a village, the satisfaction at claiming something was rooted deep within him, as it was in any military leader.

  “Sir, I recommend we bunk most of the troops in the buildings in the northern two quadrants. They’re closer to the open grounds should we need space in a hurry, and they’re farther from the front gate if we need time to prepare,” she said.

  “Let’s have a look at one of these, Orir,” Jhoqo said.

  Adeenya opened the door to one of the many smaller structures inside the courtyard and stepped inside. Inside was another simple arrangement with narrow beds and storage chests for forty soldiers. At her best estimate, Adeenya guessed Neversfall could sleep more than four hundred souls in these buildings alone, and the courtyard was spacious with plenty of room for expansion. Beyond that, there was only the forest hemming in Neversfall’s growth to the east.

  It was a true citadel, a small city, there in the monster-filled wastes. It was a magnificent and frightening prospect at the same time. Neversfall was positioned perfectly to hold out against the beast scourge in Aerilpar, but the merchant bureaucrats of Durpar and Estagund would be anxious to fill it with stands from which merchants would sell their goods to civilians living in and around the fortress. It would not take long for talk of colonization to come after that. Years, maybe decades, would be needed to clear the area of the monster tribes, if that were possible at all. Commerce couldn’t wait that long, so the bureaucrats would attempt to civilize this land before they tamed it. They always did. Adeenya wondered if it would even be a full year before the first traders came to the citadel with their silks and exotic spices to trade with merchants from the north.

  “They are all similar to this one?” Jhoqo asked.

  “Some less suited for soldiers, sir” she said, kicking one of the storage lockers.

  Jhoqo grinned and gave a nod. “Civilians must sleep, too, or so they tell me, daughter.”

  “Even snakes sleep, sir,” she said.

  Jhoqo raised an eyebrow and watched her for a long moment. Adeenya chided herself for giving in to the desire to peck at the man, but she did not look away. To her relief, Jhoqo walked out into the courtyard, motioning for her to join him. They walked in silence for a few moments, passing another small building on their way to the towers.

  “You found nothing on your sweep of the exterior?” he asked.

  “Nothing, sir,” she said.

  He held her gaze a bit longer before speaking, “I need to know that you and your people are with me,” he said without looking at her.

  “Of course, Urir. We are with you.”

  He nodded. “Together we can make this work. You know that, right? ”

  Adeenya gave her assent and smiled. While his eyes were upon her, she saw in them warmth, but something else hid in his gaze. Something she had seen often in her father.

  “Neversfall will be a bastion of mercantile wonders, Orir. We will usher into this wild land a new age of trade and success,” he said, his smile widening.

  “Prosperity would be excellent, sir. The local people are having a rough time right now.”

  “Exactly why this place, this citadel, is needed.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said.

  He stopped and looked hard at her. “Do you not see it? The daughter of the greatest of Durpari sellers does not see it?”

  She arched an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “See what?”

  “This will be the finest Southern achievement of the century. Look over there.” He pointed to an empty spot in the courtyard. “That’s where we’ll put a meeting hall for all the chakas represented in Neversfall.” He pointed to another vacant spot. “And there will be the best faukri you’ve ever tasted, served by some overlooked chef in Assur who will find his second chance here.”

  The man’s enthusiasm was hard to resist. He practically shone with excitement as he described his vision of the place. However, her reservations were strong, and she doubted the transformation would be as easy as the man beside her made it sound.

  “Then there is much work to do,” she said with a slight smile. “Many monsters to slay, if all of these people are to be safe.”

  The smile slid from Jhoqo’s face, but he nodded. “Yes. To work, then. Please work with Loraica to sort out sleeping arrangements. Let’s mix the troops so they can come to know and rely upon one another even more.”

  “I will use that building,” Jhoqo said, pointing to a small structure near the center of the northern half of the housing area, “as my command office. Find me there when things are more settled.”

  Adeenya saluted and took her leave of Jhoqo. She cast her gaze around the courtyard looking for Loraica. She was not surprised to see the massive woman already making use of the training yard at the back of the citadel. A handful of Maquar and Durpari gathered to watch the woman spar with two men.

  Loraica held a wooden falchion in her right hand and a medium, square shield in her left. The Maquar she faced off against was a large man with a wooden practice halberd, while the Durpari man wielded two long wooden swords which he twirled in a showy display before moving to his left to attempt to flank the Maquar terir. Loraica did not move. Her arms were taut with preparedness and her face serene.

  The Maquar soldier pitted against her nodded to his Durpari counterpart and, with a guttural bark, swung the halberd from his hip driving toward Loraica’s left side. The large woman moved her shield to intercept the blow as though it were coming at her from a league away. The head of the halberd rang off the metal of her shield with a loud thud, but Loraica did not flinch. She stepped toward the man while all the while keeping her eyes on her other opponent.

  The Durpari launched a feint with one sword and a low stab with the other. Loraica knocked the lower attack away with her own blade while side-stepping the feint. The Maquar man pulled the haft of his weapon in close, adjusting his grip. He thrust the weapon toward Loraica as he took a small leap forward. With speed unimaginable for her size, Lo
raica deflected the stab with her shield and spun her body to face him. She brought the blade edge of the falchion down across the wooden pole of his weapon with a thunderous crash. The man tugged hard, pulling back a stump of a weapon in time to watch the wooden bladed head fall to the ground in a puff of dust.

  With her back to the Durpari, Adeenya thought Loraica doomed. Breaking the man’s halberd had been impressive, but that would be of little use if Loraica’s other opponent could simply step in and finish her off. The Durpari saw the same opportunity and darted in toward Loraica’s back.

  An experienced fighter and no fool, the mercenary stabbed with one blade while keeping the other in a defensive posture. It was well he did, for Loraica spun fast, sending her opponent’s thrust out wide with a stroke of her shield. Her falchion dived for the Durpari, but to no avail as his sword deflected the blow.

  The Durpari was far from safe, though. Though he held against the monstrous swipe, he stumbled back from the raw force of the blow. That instant gave Loraica enough time to spin again and send the man flying with a smack of her shield into her opponent’s torso.

  Loraica dropped her weapons and helped the man to his feet. She turned to face her Maquar opponent who laughed and held his hands up in surrender after dropping the remnants of his broken weapon. The small gathered crowd gave a cheer and Loraica smiled.

  Adeenya thought perhaps she could come to like the Maquar third in command.

  Chapter Six

  Curving stairs built into the walls wound upward into the darkness of Neversfall Tower. Taennen felt a surge of excited energy and sprinted up the steps two at a time like a child curious to explore a new hidden place. The lack of decorative flourishes inside the tower spoke to its utility. Taennen had peered into one of the smaller towers and noticed a few paintings hung on the wall and plain draperies adorned the windows. The smaller towers must have been intended for visiting dignitaries or honored travelers. Neversfall stood in the middle of nowhere, but it could be used as a resting point on long journeys to destinations north and west of the South.