Escape from the Drowned Planet

by Helena Puumala

  “Anyway, most of the temples are empty at night. They keep the guard-monks at the front doors, but there’s nobody inside. The Sons of the Sun are the same as everyone else; their guard-monk sleeps on the front steps but the care-taker monks go to their sleeping quarters and the worshippers don’t much like the streets at night and stay at home.”

  “All right.” Mikal got on briskly with the business. “I vote that we get on with this task immediately if not sooner. Tonight. Then Lady Katerina can decide that the temple she is looking for is not in this town and we can hitch a ride down river, and vamoose, while Guzi and partner are still waiting for us to come and activate their phony beacon.”

  “Do you have any sort of lights?” Jocan asked. “Light would come in handy, underground. When I was down there I had some candles and torches that I had scrounged, but they’re all used up and they weren’t all that great anyway. Better than nothing, though.”

  “Yeah, we have lights. Nothing I’d want to use above ground when there are other people around. But when we’re alone in the sewers and in the Sons’ Temple, we’ll have light.”

  “The care-taker monks usually leave a few candles burning in the temple at night, so we’ll be all right there, if you’ve got good night vision. Unless what you’re looking for is small or hidden.”

  “I expect it’ll be one or the other, or both,” Mikal said, but he was smiling.

  *****

  The amazing thing, thought Kati, after all this, was that noon had not come yet. There was an almost whole day, for her to get through in the role of Lady Katerina. Mikal explained that he had given the laundry to the maids at the Inn, after discussing the matter with Mistress Sye and paying her a deposit for the service. The maids had promised to have it all washed, dried and ironed by supper time, at which time Mik or Jocan could pick it up at Mistress Sye’s desk by paying the rest of the fee which amounted to two coppers.

  “We’ll have to take care of that,” Kati mused out loud. “I think that maybe we better eat in the Inn Kitchen today and not hide in here. Let’s see if we can’t put on a convincing act as the characters that we are supposed to be, and put an end to any possible speculation about our identities.”

  “I don’t know about that, Kati; there’s a lot of speculation already,” Mikal said with a shake of his head. “Dris told me this morning when I walked with him to the Market Square, that he’s pretty sure we would have been turned over to the off-worlders already, if we had taken rooms at one of those Inns on the Square.”

  Jocan grinned. “That’s what I told Mistress Kati earlier. It was a smart move for you two to come here. Mistress Sye doesn’t make dirty deals with anyone.”

  His eyes travelled from Mikal to Kati and back again. They were filled with curiosity.

  “How did you two get on Guzi’s hit list anyway?” he asked, suddenly bold.

  “Kati was picked up during a slave raid. I was just doing my job by being curious about Guzi’s boss, Captain Gorsh, and his slave-selling operation, when I was attacked on a sunny street in a peaceful city, on a supposedly safe planet, in the middle of the day. I was kept under drugs for days, maybe weeks, the last of them on Gorsh’s ship. Fortunately for me, Kati decided that I would be useful to her in her escape attempt, and she sprung me, and took me with her.”

  “She sprung you?” Jocan looked surprised, but had the grace to show a bit of embarrassment at his astonishment.

  “Not bad for a young woman from some backwoods planet, no?” Mikal’s grin was wicked. Kati made a face at him.

  “We were lucky because Gorsh was running out of the drug Guzi was using on Mikal. They scheduled a pick-up of a new supply on this world, but in the meantime they weren’t able to give him a full dose. So, while they were haggling over the price of the drug with their supplier, I held Mikal’s hand while we picked up gear on the ship, and he recovered a little from the drug. Then we got the heck out of there, and ran, and ran, and ran.”

  “I didn’t need my hand held,” protested Mikal, but Kati only laughed at him. He had called her home world a backwoods planet!

  “And they didn’t catch you?” Jocan queried.

  “Obviously not, since here we are.” Mikal stood up as he spoke and emptied the dregs of his cold tea into the basin. “We did have a bit of a head start.”

  “I really do think that the Lady Katerina, her servant Mik, and their local errand boy, Jocan, should show themselves in the Inn Kitchen for lunch today.” Kati got out of her chair as she spoke and placed her empty tea mug into the basin beside Mikal’s cup. “The more normal our behaviour, the less likely that we’ll attract undue attention to ourselves.”

  “It’s not a bad strategy,” Mikal agreed. “Besides, I’m hungry and the tea is all gone.”

  “Yeah, food would be welcome,” Jocan agreed, taking care of his mug even as he spoke.

  He stood for a moment in the little kitchenette, yawned and stretched his body luxuriously, filling the whole space between the table and the counter.

  They quitted the suite and headed for the Inn’s eatery.

  *****

  The three of them left their rooms at Mistress Sye’s Inn again at dusk. The evening was growing shadowy, but there was still enough light that they had no trouble finding their way along the trails that had once been streets. The fact that so much of the city was unkempt ruins worked in their favour now; their three figures blended in among the trees and the bushes that seemed to grow wherever no feet trod, or which was not solid rock. Kati and Mikal had each hidden one of their small lights in a pocket, and Jocan had pocketed the one that Mikal had lent him. The youth was in the lead, walking through the overgrown city in the darkening night, with the confidence of one who is intimately familiar with his surroundings. Kati followed him, instinctively trusting the boy’s ability to find his way. Mikal brought up the rear, glancing about every now and then with the hope of catching a glimpse of anyone who might witness their passage. But the shadows were heavy and getting heavier all the time; they provided them with protection, but they also kept them from seeing anybody who might be lurking around.

  Kati had expected that the going would be slower at this time of the day than walking with Jocan had been in the morning, but the boy kept up a good pace, as if the dusk did not deter him at all. With the shadows so thick, she had no idea whether or not they were following the route they had taken that morning, although she rather suspected that Jocan would have taken the precaution of using a different path. It was a pity, she found herself thinking, that their association with Jocan would shortly come to an end. She had come to like and respect the boy in the short time that she had known him. He had a good head on his shoulders; he had picked up a lot of useful knowledge over his short life. How old was he? It was hard to tell, what with the air of adulthood that having had to look after himself had given him, and the skinniness of his poorly nourished body. Fifteen, or thereabouts, was her guess, give or take a year either way.

  They walked down narrow ways, straight ways, and crooked ways, but not any broad ways, Kati noted as they moved along, always at a steady, fast pace. Finally Jocan came to a halt, turning around to whisper to them:

  “We’re pretty well at the entrance to the sewers. See that looming shadow ahead?”

  Kati looked where he indicated; there was indeed a large, darker shape there.

  “Yes?”

  “A long time ago that would have been a building. Some kind of a city service building, because I found there the stairs into the sewers, mostly covered in sand, but still passable. That’s where we’re going, but be careful and use your lights once were inside. There are tree roots everywhere and there may be animals, not any dangerous ones, but they can startle you.”

  What was left of the building was not really recognizable as a place where people had once come to work, and to spend their days doing useful tasks. It was not even possible to see what it had looked like after the flood that had devastated the city, so thoroughly had
nature reclaimed the place in the intervening time. What Jocan had found during his wanderings, was a series of spaces that resembled caves, places where the tumbling down of walls had left emptinesses here and there. A few of these were connected, and one of these contained the staircase down to the sewers that the boy had discovered. The descent was treacherous; apparently Jocan, or someone else, had not too long ago cleared away a bit of the sand that covered the steps, but only enough to make the climb possible. They used their lights to advantage and Kati shuddered to think that in earlier days Jocan had wandered here with nothing more than a lit candle or a burning torch. Nevertheless, he was still around to tell the tale.

  At times tree roots brushed their faces, disconcerting Kati with their ghostly touches. There were bigger roots, too, sometimes under their feet, forcing them to step over them to avoid stumbling. For the first time since leaving the apartment at Mistress Sye’s, Kati had doubts about the wisdom of this trip. The granda had explained to her why Mikal wanted a node record of the false beacon; it amounted to the notion that a record of its existence could be used as evidence against Guzi, and hopefully Gorsh, if the slavers were ever successfully brought to Federation justice. She believed in justice, yes, but this was starting to feel like a lot of trouble to go to, for not much gain.

  Fortunately for her peace of mind, they did reach the bottom of the sandy decline and Jocan led them along a narrow pathway beside what looked like an underground stream to the part of the sewer network which was in use. Here they climbed onto a wooden walkway of reasonably recent vintage, which ran along the tunnel wall, high above the scanty stream of smelly effluent that covered the bottom.

  With wrinkled noses Kati and Mikal followed Jocan who, his borrowed light picking out landmarks as he went, walked quickly and confidently through the subterranean passages. In a short time they came to a wooden ladder attached to the tunnel wall and leading up into darkness.

  “This ladder goes up to the Sons of the Sun Temple. This is the maintenance access and opens up into the back room, behind the temple itself.” He grinned wryly. “It’s a little more sanitary way in than the toilets.”

  He played his light up to the top of the ladder, and to her surprise Kati saw that they were a lot closer to the temple floor than she had realized. The square, heavy-looking piece of wood that would have to be pushed out of the way in order for them to re-enter the upper world, was only about a foot above Mikal’s head. Since he was less than six feet tall, there had to be less than seven feet between the platform and the tunnel ceiling. Somehow, in the dark she had assumed that there was lots of space between their heads and the top of the sewer. Of course, they were on the wooden walkway; had they been at the bottom where the smelly liquid was, the situation would have been different.

  “Okay, let’s get on with it,” Mikal said, walking around Kati to reach for the ladder.

  Jocan was already climbing; very quickly he reached the top and grasped the block above him by a convenient wooden handle, which clearly was on it to allow it to be opened and closed from below. He was working one-handed, having to hang on to the ladder with the other, and obviously the task was demanding all his strength. Mikal climbed after him, climbing close enough to support and steady him so that he could use both hands on the block. With a grunt he crouched closer yet, accepting Mikal’s help, and pushed at the block with his whole upper body. They heard a muffled crash as the block gave way and Jocan climbed up behind it, with Mikal in close pursuit.

  Kati was on the ladder , climbing, when she heard Jocan’s curse.

  “Some idiot left a box of candles on the top of the trapdoor,” she heard him hiss. “Lucky for him we’re not really maintenance men.”

  “Don’t be entirely sure that it wasn’t done on purpose,” Mikal said in a low voice as Kati emerged from the netherworld and climbed onto the floor.

  Mikal was picking up the spilled candles, while Jocan turned to replace the cover to the gaping hole from which they had emerged. Mikal moved the candle box into a corner of the room once he had it reasonably neat.

  “Let’s just pretend it was there all along. Maybe they’ll think that for once somebody forgot to worry about the things that come crawling up out of the sewers.”

  Jocan carefully opened the door leading into the actual temple. When he had ascertained that it was, indeed, empty, he beckoned Mikal and Kati to enter.

  Kati walked into the Temple Room and felt herself assaulted by a strong blast of—she knew not what! Oppression, antagonism, hate—negative emotions certainly—mixed into a strong sense of danger! She felt overwhelmed, almost, by something that seemed to her to be crouching in the room, lying in wait for the three of them!

  “What is it, Kati?” Mikal asked.

  He stood behind her; Jocan was ahead of her, already a few steps into the room.

  She swallowed.

  “Can’t you two feel it?” she asked, her voice shaking just a little. “This place is oppressive, it doesn’t like us or want us here! There is danger here, danger just waiting to pounce on us!”

  “I don’t sense anything unusual,” Mikal replied, his eyes flitting from one shadowy corner to another. “Jocan, do you feel anything unusual?”

  Jocan shook his head.

  “It’s just an old temple, like all the rest of them,” he said with a shrug.

  Mikal came to stand beside Kati, placing a hand on her arm.

  “Kati, I’m not discounting your words,” he said seriously. “I consider them a warning. I know that you are much more sensitive to some things than I am, and I would be a fool if I didn’t hear what you say.

  “But, I have no choice.” He shook his head. “I must do this. I must get the best possible nodal record of the false beacon, if that is what we’re about to find. I can’t not do my job because it’s dangerous. My job is often dangerous. And right now it’s pretty obvious that I need help from you and Jocan.”

  He sighed.

  “I understand.” Kati, too, sighed. She felt a little easier and guessed that the granda was drawing tension out of her nerves.

  “So let’s get it done, as fast as we can,” she added. “And then, let’s get the hell out of here. Of course, at this point I am quite ignorant as to what we’re looking for. Is there something you want Jocan and me to do, Mikal?”

  “Yeah, there is. Jocan, I want you to keep an eye and an ear on all the doors into this building, including the back door if there is one. Walk from one to another in a round, if you will, and if you hear anyone coming, give us a shout. Wait a second.”

  He took his stunner out the pocket where he had hidden it earlier and showed it to the lad.

  “Hold it like this,” he demonstrated, “and if someone enters, aim at him, mid-body, and press the trigger here with your finger. Don’t worry about killing anyone, this won’t. But it’ll send them to la-la-land for a few hours, and when they wake up, it’ll be with a nasty headache. It’s got a dozen charges before it needs recharging; that should be plenty for us now.”

  Jocan grabbed the weapon avidly, examined it for a moment, nodded and hid it in his jacket pocket.

  “You can count on me, Mikal,” he said, and headed for the front part of the temple.

  “Kati.” Mikal turned to her. “I want you to follow me and observe very carefully what I do. Wake up the grandpappy inside your brain to pay attention, too. Your node is superior to mine; I want it to keep a record of what we find. You may not realize, fully, how important this is, but let me emphasize to you that it truly is that.

  “Okay, let’s get started. Stay close behind me.”

  Kati prodded the granda; it was ready and keen to do its part. She allowed it to overshadow her mind somewhat, letting it peer at all that Mikal was doing through her eyes. Apparently, a node could create an unfalsifiable memory of events if a person with an implant allowed it to record events without interference. Later the node could be hooked onto a computer of sorts (or so Kati thought of it, having no other fra
me of reference) through the nerve network that the node had grown on its host’s left thumb, and the memories could be copied into the machine, to be used however might be deemed necessary.

  Mikal began his circuit of the room, Kati following along, letting the granda do its observing, her attention only partially engaged. Her intuition was on high alert, trying to isolate the sense of danger from the miasma of ill-feeling that swirled around her, and which she felt to be following her and Mikal around on their walk.

  Mikal looked at various items as they passed by them—statues, pictures, other art objects, tables and seats, even—but did not subject any to more than a cursory examination. A few times he shook his head impatiently, as something apparently promising proved to be nothing of the sort, at second glance. Kati gritted her teeth impatiently as the minutes trickled by, while Jocan walked from one end of the room to the other, cocking his head now and then, as if listening to outside noises.

  They had turned off the off-world lights, except for the one Mikal was using in his search, and the dim candle-light was adding to Kati’s unease. She desperately wanted Mikal to find what he was looking for soon, the sooner the better, so that the three of them would be able to retreat to the relatively normal environment of the old sewers.

  “Ah here we are!” Mikal stood in front of an odd statue of a large man carrying a round sphere on his shoulders, something like the pictures Kati had seen in another life, of Atlas holding up the world. Only this sphere was not a planet but, instead, was made of reflective metal and had sharp points sticking out of it, perhaps intended to be the sun’s rays, and at the feet of the man stood a gaggle of smaller male figures. The Sons of the Sun, Kati thought. The statue was not a large one; it stood on a pedestal in a small alcove, and for a moment she wondered why the faithful had not set it in a more prominent place, since it seemed to depict their main god figure.