The Lost Enclave

by Fredric Shernoff

  “I think it foolish to tempt fate,” Nathaniel said. “But I see your point. I already know which way to go relative to the front of the Central Enclave. So if we must escape, I can find the route. Do you have your weapons at the ready?”

  “Yeah, ready,” Goldman said.

  “I’ve got mine,” Lilli said, “though it’s hidden away and I don’t think I can draw it out fast.”

  “Hopefully, you will not need to,” Nathaniel said.

  They walked up to the gate. The gang of guards looked at them with the anticipated amount of scrutiny, but Nathaniel thought there was something to be said for anonymity.

  “Good day,” Nathaniel greeted the guards.

  “Mmhmm,” the one said. “And who might you be seeing in the Capital?”

  Nathaniel saw Goldman flinch at the unusual title for the enclave. “We do not have an appointment,” he said. “Simply wish to wander for the day, seeing as how the weather is particularly beautiful.”

  “Mmhmm,” the guard said. “Never seen you around.”

  “Sure you have,” Goldman said. “We’re always wandering here and there, to and fro.”

  “The both of you speak with garbled tongues,” another guard said. “And you, pretty lady, do you carry a third accent? Because it seems mighty strange to have voices like you’ve got there, and stranger still that a young couple is wandering with a mountain of an old man like yourself. Damned sure think we would have seen you before.”

  “It is not my concern if your memory or your eyesight fails you,” Nathaniel said. He stepped in front of the guard until there was only a small space between their faces. He thought the guard might lash out at him, and he wondered how he could defend himself without anyone getting hurt.

  There was a long, painful silence, then the guard stepped back and laughed. “I like this one, boys. Let ‘em pass.”

  Nathaniel nodded his thanks, and the others did the same. Inside the gate and out of earshot of the guards, Goldman slapped Nathaniel on the back. “Jesus, Nate. How did you know that dude was gonna back down?”

  “I was not sure he would.”

  “Well, that’s wonderful. Listen, I really think you’re doing the right thing letting us get some time in here. Even if it’s their capital and not the Central Enclave, it’s the same damned thing, and that means there should be a palace somewhere, right?”

  “I know not what this place should or shouldn’t have, Goldman. And my palace…it is not what it once was.”

  “What’s your thought, Ben?” Lilli asked. “You want to check out the palace? Look for some of Nate and Opellius’s cousins?”

  “Yeah, pretty much exactly that,” Goldman said. “Or second to that, maybe learn more about how all of this came to be and how the fucking Prophet is involved.”

  16

  Nathaniel led the way along a path that was both entirely familiar and wholly foreign. Still, the world inside the enclave was far more similar to the one he knew than Goldman’s and Lilli’s. The buildings had the same brown hues as his home territory, but there was more style to the architecture.

  “I like it here,” he said, without realizing he was going to say anything.

  “Cool,” Goldman said. “We can visit the gift shop on the way out. Get you a souvenir to remember the day.”

  Nathaniel sighed. Goldman was a layered man, with great capabilities, but his reliance on his own twisted brand of humor, usually dependent on terminology Nathaniel had never heard, could be very irritating.

  “I am simply admiring the environment. You are not impressed?”

  “Yeah, no, I am. It is actually very cool. Sorry to joke around. It’s just overwhelming.”

  “Do you think the palace is far from here?” Lilli asked. “Because we haven’t eaten or drunk anything in almost a day and I’m about to fall over.”

  “You ought to remind me when you both get hungry or thirsty, because I do not notice those things in myself. In my territory, there are taverns along the main road. I would suggest something similar is here as well.”

  “What about that?” Goldman asked. He pointed at a two-story building with a wooden porch. “Like an old Western saloon. In fact, most of this place looks like a Western town. Even though everything we know says this is what’s left of the Northeast, and the boats along the river were more medieval like Nate’s world. What a clusterfuck.”

  “We need to be careful,” Lilli said.

  “Aye,” Nathaniel said. “I am always careful. Let us see about getting you some food and drink.”

  The inside of the tavern looked like the inn Goldman remembered from his trip to Nathaniel’s territory. The floor was wood, with the discoloration and unnatural smoothness of planks that had been trampled more times than anyone could recall. Electric lights gave off a dull glow along the walls, raising again the question of how this backward place maintained such modern technologies. Goldman looked around for some kind of animal head mounted to the wall, but saw nothing. The room was full of people chatting and eating at small tables with white fabric tablecloths. Or at least they seemed white. It was hard to tell in the dimness of the space.

  Overall, there were stark differences between the tavern and the inn, much like everything in this territory compared to Nathaniel’s. Still, that mess with the townspeople had been foreshadowed by the distrust and all-around shadiness of the woman running the inn, so he thought it would be wise to keep an eye on the folks in charge.

  “Let Nate do the talking,” he whispered to Lilli.

  “He’s just as foreign as us, you know,” she said. “We shouldn’t dump all of this on him.”

  “Eh…I don’t really know about that. This place for him is like visiting a Canadian city for us.”

  “I’m not gonna debate the exact points of the analogy,” she said.

  “Thanks. I’m awful at debates. I really just throw my ideas out there and hope people like them.”

  Nathaniel walked up to the counter and Goldman and Lilli followed.

  “Could we have some food, sir?” Nathaniel asked the man behind the counter. The man was bald, and to Goldman could have been a twin of the bartender in Ethos, except that man was about a foot taller than this one.

  The man looked at them with a slight tilting of his head, something that Goldman thought was worthy of a red flag. “Whatcha want?” the man asked.

  “Could we see a menu?” Lilli asked. Goldman gave her a look and she grinned at him. He still couldn’t believe she had adapted so quickly to the weirdness of their situation, but she certainly seemed to be fine. Despite the fact that, like the rest of them, Lilli would benefit from a shower and change of clothes, she hadn’t complained or hesitated at any phase of the journey so far. That was a very good thing, because relying on the fading powers of a dying superhero was only going to get them so far for so long.

  The bartender, or taverntender, or whatever he was called, pointed at the wall. The symbols written there were clearly a language, but it wasn’t any language Goldman had ever seen. There were hints of the familiar alphabet, but with enough twists and turns to render the letters illegible.

  “Nate, can you read that?” Goldman whispered.

  Nathaniel shook his head.

  “Sir,” Goldman said, “why don’t you surprise us with your establishment’s finest dish.”

  Another curious, tilting look from the man behind the counter. “Sit wherever you like,” he said. Then he went away to fetch whatever the hell it was they served up in the place.

  There were three tables available in the otherwise crowded room. They found a spot closest to the door and sat down.

  “Do you trust that guy?” Goldman asked.

  “You have suspicions?” Nathaniel asked him.

  “Well, yeah. Or I guess it’s more like he has suspicions of us. We barely skirted around the fact that none of us understands the written language here. We stick out like three dirty sore thumbs.”

  “What do you think they would do t
o us?” Lilli asked.

  Nathaniel shrugged. “Worst case, they will contact their version of the Authority.”

  “Because that’s been great for us in the past,” Goldman said. “Your Authority put a metal rod through your head. And killed a bunch of people you cared about. And nearly killed us. You think this place will give us a time out and then send us on our way?”

  “We are armed, Goldman,” Nathaniel said. “And they do not know who I am. That is our advantage and our protection. And I should remind you, we are here because you two felt it wise to explore.”

  “The man has a point,” Lilli said.

  “Take his side, why don’t you?” Goldman complained. “Fine. Whatever. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you when that bald goof turns on us.”

  Just then, the man in question arrived with plates of a steaming green thing that looked like a mutated cabbage.

  “Fried jaman leaf,” the man said with no small amount of pride. “Our finest dish.”

  “They really don’t have any animals here, do they?” Goldman observed. “The clothes, the food, it’s like all plant matter.” He broke off the edge of the green stuff with the side of the five-pronged fork in front of him, speared the piece, and brought it to his mouth.

  “Wait!” Lilli said.

  “What?” Goldman asked.

  “How do we know it’s not poisoned?”

  “We don’t, but damn, that makes it a lot less appetizing. Thanks.”

  “Sorry. I just don’t want to take any chances.”

  “It should be fine,” Nathaniel said. “There are too many people here. If you were to keel over after eating, it would not look good for this place.”

  Goldman frowned. “It’s all fine, says the guy with the super-powered stomach. I don’t know. Maybe you’ve got a point, Nate.” He slowly brought the food to his lips, then ate the bite. “Damn. I don’t know if this is gonna kill me, but it’s delicious.”

  Lilli was the next to take a tentative bite. After that, they threw caution completely to the wind and ate their meals. Goldman kept an eye on the man running the place. He was cleaning the counter, seemingly not paying them any mind. That was probably a good sign.

  The door opened, and in walked a tall woman with dark, probing eyes. The whole room fell silent.

  “Something’s not right,” Lilli said. “Who the hell is that?”

  The woman, wearing a long black dress with blood red lines down the sides, came right to their table. Goldman felt for the edge of the energy weapon.

  “Can we help you, miss?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Who are you?” the woman asked.

  “We are just passing through this town.”

  “Do you see?” the man from the bar had approached the table and was pointing at them. “It’s just like I had my servant report. They wear strange clothes and speak with strange tongues.”

  “Really, man?” Goldman said. “Giving us delicious food to distract us while you call in the boss lady…that’s low.”

  The woman came up behind Goldman. She traced along the edge of his chin with one long finger, her sharp fingernail sliding along his skin. Then, suddenly, she grabbed his chin in a firm hand. “Do not mock this situation, stranger,” she said. “Do you not know who you’re speaking with right now?”

  Goldman looked at Nathaniel, who seemed to be willing him to stay quiet.

  “Miss,” Nathaniel said, “we are just trying to enjoy a quick meal and we will be on our way.”

  As Nathaniel spoke, it occurred to Goldman that they hadn’t discussed getting out of the restaurant without paying. They were truly not prepared for any of this.

  “And where is it you will go after you leave here?” the woman said, still holding Goldman by the jaw in a grip that was just slightly uncomfortable.

  Nathaniel ignored the question and rose to his feet. “My friend is showing you a great deal of courtesy by allowing your hand to remain on him. I would encourage you to let him go and sit with us. We will hear your grievances when you show us the proper respect.”

  The woman paused, seemingly thinking it over. Then the hand went away from Goldman’s chin. He rubbed at his face.

  The woman sat down in the empty chair at their table. All eyes in the room remained on them, watching the tense interaction.

  “Go on about your business,” the lady said to the others in the room. Just like that, the silence broke as the other patrons turned back to each other and started talking again. “And now,” the woman said, “let’s talk.”

  Nathaniel sat back down. “You represent the Authority.”

  “I do,” the woman said. “You know that, but you don’t know who I am, do you? That’s very odd.”

  “Nonetheless,” Nathaniel said.

  “Fine. My name is Marisol Barnes. Who are you and why are you here?”

  Goldman thought of several witty comments, but kept quiet. This was Nathaniel’s game to play.

  “I am Nathaniel Mansfield. I and my companions are not of this world.”

  The woman frowned. “There was a time I’d laugh at something like that,” she said. “But I heard about the ruckus along the perimeter wall. So you three seem to have come up from the Hellfire. How you are sitting here not burned to cinders is beyond me, but I have been taught enough to know that the Hellspawn mean nothing but harm to everyone in the world.”

  “We are not Hellspawn,” Nathaniel said, “and we mean you no harm, as long as no harm befalls us. We are from other worlds, on a quest to find the truth to all existence.”

  He’s really going for it, Goldman thought.

  “Nonsense,” Marisol said. “There are no other worlds. The Prophet never taught such things.”

  “You talk to the Prophet?” Lilli asked. “There’s another like you who says he did.”

  “Another like me?” Marisol asked.

  “Well shit,” Goldman said, “if everyone is talking…the other ‘worlds’ have other Authorities. And we know that at least one other Authority was consulting with Weber and was corrupt as hell.”

  “You speak the Prophet’s name with a blasphemous tone of disrespect,” Marisol said. “You should watch yourself, young man.”

  “Yeah, I get that a lot,” Goldman said. “So answer the lady’s question. Have you actually spoken to the Prophet?”

  Marisol laughed. “I am the leader of the Authority. Of course I’ve spoken to the Prophet. His vision is for me and me alone, until someone else rises to take my place.”

  Lilli looked like she was going to say something, but Nathaniel interrupted. “Where are your Great Ones?” he asked.

  Marisol seemed mildly startled by the question, but she quickly regained her composure. “The Great Ones haven’t roamed the world in ages. Every child knows that.”

  “You’re looking at one now,” Goldman said, and pointed to Nathaniel. “A true, surviving prince of the world…or at least a world. And you should probably help us out.”

  He expected the woman to question his claim, but though she appeared surprised, her calm demeanor reasserted itself in short order. “I want to bring you back to the palace,” she said. “It’s where the Great Ones used to live, or so the stories say. The Authority runs it now. We run everything.”

  “You want us to trust you and follow you back to the center of the Authority?” Lilli asked. “Do we look that stupid?”

  “I know from your clothes and your voices that you aren’t from here,” Marisol said quietly. “I know from the reports from the perimeter guards that you came from outside, where there should be nothing. You claim this man is a Great One...” Her voice dropped to a low whisper. “I’ve wondered some things all my life, and perhaps you can finally give me some answers.”

  Marisol led the way to the palace. To Nathaniel, it was the only place in the territory that truly resembled something in his own land. Not exact, but the similarities were obvious.

  Along the way, she apologized to Goldman for their brief but unpleasant
interaction. Nathaniel wished he could talk privately with his companions. He had no idea if they could trust Marisol, and that made him profoundly uncomfortable. She seemed pleasant enough once they had started talking, but then Gustavus had seemed pleasant to many people in Nathaniel’s territory. If they stayed on the right side of the law, he could be very pleasant indeed. To any who questioned Gustavus’s authority or the nature of the lies they were being fed, things took a dark turn. Was Marisol the same way? Was she likely to turn on them?

  She had accepted their revelations without so much as a gasp. Unlike Gustavus, who reveled in his beliefs and the powers they gave him, Marisol seemed to have questions about the territory she ruled.

  “You came from a palace like this?” she asked Nathaniel as they moved past the front gate.

  “Aye. This looks much like the place I called home. What do you know about the Great Ones?”

  “They are from long before my time,” she said. “We have records passed down from one Authority leader to the next, and the archives are full of references to the Great Ones and their heroic contributions to all the enclaves.”

  “You view the Great Ones as heroic?” Lilli asked.

  “Of course. There is an order to things in the world…or at least that’s the way it’s always presented to us. The Authority enforces the rules, but the Great Ones…they were the symbol of something more. Their very existence reinforced the belief in the power of the Prophet, and in a way that kept the rules and laws intact too. And now, in their absence, the Great Ones have taken on even more power as a story. I have no reason not to believe in them as a force for good.”

  “But you question the nature of what you’ve been told?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Sometimes I do,” Marisol said. “Of course, your existence, if you are who you claim to be, makes things a good bit harder to deny.”

  “Then why stay with the Authority?” Goldman asked. “Why not let the people be free?”