The job as explained to them on that first day seemed rather simple, sadly it didn’t turn out to be so easy. As a skitterdu came in and passengers disembarked from the linked train of coaches and cars, it would be Rowen’s job to unclip the reins of the slogbotton.
Next he had to get the harness on the beast. From there Rowen led the enormous and usually somewhat reluctant creature down the ramps and into the pits before removing the harness. Slogbotton hate walking at such a slow pace, so this took quite a bit of effort on Rowen’s part.
He also had to keep it calm and still once the creature was in the pit and being bathed. He typically accomplished this by feeding it. Then Tat and Aidan were to scrub it down, removing the muck and mire that it had collected from the extensive expeditions. Afterwards the creature was re-harnessed and led to the stalls, and then Rowen would return to repeat the process.
“Give it a rest man,” Rowen whispered, trying to calm the slogbotton knowing how sensitive the gentle creatures were to criticism. “It’s only been a couple of weeks. We’re lucky we found any work at all. Just hang in there, like Tat said. We’ve just got to do a few more shifts and then we’ll have enough money to bail.”
“That’s what you said last week. Let’s face it, we’re never getting out of here.”
“Stop being so negative,” Tat chided. After weeks of trying to see to his every need, she decided it was impossible to do that and everything required of her with this job. She slowly begun returning to her old self. It’s not that she had forgiven herself for anything since she still felt culpable, she just couldn’t do both. She did what she could for him as she was able, never excusing herself from the blame; but her endurance had worn through.
The situation was much less than ideal for all of them, and she grew tired of hearing his constant comparisons of how this world was so much inferior to the Otherworld. Then again, part of her knew the circumstances entitled him to do a certain amount of complaining. She just didn’t realize how much whining that entailed.
“Whatever,” Aidan sighed. “How many more do we have in the queue this evening?”
“This gal is the last one we have, so we at least have part of the day off.
“The rest of the day off? Why?” Tat poured a small bucket of water over the creatures lower neck area, rinsing away the soap.
“Gorvin said there was some kind of delay on the Upper Breah line,” Rowen said as the slogbotton ate seed from his hand. “Something about a skirmish with the Braegins and Devotees. Anyway, good for us getting some time off, bad for not gettin’ paid more.”
“Braegins?” Aidan wiped the sweat from his forehead again. The past few weeks gave him time to adjust and learn more about the inhabitants that came and went, but ‘Braegins’ were folk he was still unfamiliar with.
“Yeah, they’re elves kind of like the Envarians,” Tat answered.
“But a lot less civil,” Rowen added. “Most people call ‘em wild elves especially since they usually avoid towns and cities.”
“Ah.” Aidan learned that when it came to elves, it was probably best not to pry further. Nothing they did made any sense to him, and he’d given up asking for anyone to explain it. “Well, if this is the last of them, I guess we should get her finished up,” he concluded with a new-found enthusiasm.
Completing their job and getting the last of the slogbotton for the day tethered and stalled, they hurried to the task of finding their supervisor Gorvin. Gorvin was a little ancient goblin of a man, and no one could agree on the origin of his race. There was a rumor his mother was half human and half elf and his father was half ogre and half pooka. If it were true or not was anyone’s guess.
What they had established as fact, was that as far as anyone could remember he’d been there since before the town was established, over almost a millennia ago. And no one alive today could remember a time when he didn’t have the slogbotton ready for travel.
After every shift they had to hunt the old imp down if they wanted to get paid. Sometimes that was as hard to do as the actual shift. He was always turning up and yelling ‘back to work’ if they took an unscheduled break, but never when they needed him.
Today though would be different, it turned out to be rather easy to find him since he was issuing partial refunds at the ticket office because the next skitterdu would not leave as scheduled. If there was one thing Gorvin hated, it was delays, which meant losing money. And today’s delay had put him in a particularly foul mood.
“I guess you three think you’re getting a full day’s wage, well, that’s not happening today!” Gorvin snapped in his usual gravelly voice as they approached his ticket counter.
“Of course not,” Rowen reconciled. “We wouldn’t expect that.”
“Well good because it’s not going to happen. I will however take the full day’s rental and maintenance fee from your wages because the equipment and space were still used, and it better be in the same condition I gave it to you in.”
“You didn’t give the equipment to us this morning Mister Gorvin,” Tat tried to politely remind him. “The last crew left it on site, so we cleaned it and used it. We cleaned it again when we were done and returned it to the shed though, so no need in charging the maintenance fee.”
“All the same, the equipment and pit was still used,” he grumbled as he counted out a few coins and tossed them on the other side of the counter. Rowen was quick to swipe them up, knowing if he left it there too long some of it would have made it back in Gorvin’s stack somehow or another. “I expect you three will be here looking for work again tomorrow?”
“Yes sir,” the three answered.
“Well don’t.”
“What, why not?” Aidan asked.
“The lines going to be down for a while so there will be no point in running the pits and I’ve got no use for three puny human brats otherwise. Check back in a few days – or don’t. I can get any shanty-dwellin’ fae to do the job you three do in half the time,” he muttered while continuing to count his coins.
Aidan started to protest, but Rowen quickly grabbed him by the shoulder and led him back toward the lockers where they stashed their packs and other belongings for the day.
“So now what are we supposed to do?” Tat sighed walking down the creaky wooden walk.
“I don’t know about you guys,” Aidan bellowed, slinging his pack over his shoulder. “But I have to have a bath, and it’s only fair, it’s my turn. I don’t care if it costs my share of a day’s wage, I can’t take another moment of this stench!”
“I can’t fault you there,” Rowen agreed. “A bath at this point is not a luxury, it’s a necessity, just don’t go splurging on all the oils and stuff; we can’t afford it.”
“It was one time–”
“Hey! What’s that?” Tat exclaimed interrupting Aidan’s defense, pointing at the swirling reddish-purple haze in the sky just before hearing a near ear shattering explosion that rattled the glass panes in all the windows.
“Get inside!” Rowen ordered. They scampered behind him, ducking into the nearest establishment which happened to be what passed as the ‘general store’, carrying only the barest of minimums.
“What in Shadderah!” an Envarian man screamed.
“Kids, get away from the windows!” A familiar female voice called out the warning. The three recognized Miss Perry Winkle immediately and hurried to her side.
“Damn! Tybor said they were close, but I had no idea,” she said gathering up the hem of her lacy metallic pink dress, preparing to make a run for it.
“Tybor’s here?” Rowen questioned just as another booming explosion sounded, this time shattering the glass.
“No time for questions boy, just follow me,” she bellowed. Doing as commanded they followed her down a short creaky staircase leading to a dusty and poorly lit basement storeroom.
Miss Perry searched alongside of the wooden wall and found the switch to open the shutters on the unremarkable bio-chandelier suspended from the
ceiling. She quickly undid the ties and buttons on the back of her skirt, dropping it to the floor, revealing the leather leggings and boots she was wearing underneath. Not wasting a moment, she opened her bag and slipped on a pair of matching leather gloves then pulled her hair into a quick bun. In seconds, she had transformed herself from looking like one of the Inn ladies to one of the skitterdu laborers.
“Give me a hand with this,” she commanded as she started pushing aside a rather large crate up against the back wall. Looking bewildered for a moment, they did as ordered.
Shoving the crate aside revealed a small inset lever on the wall. She pushed it with a good deal of effort forcing the lever into the up position, causing the adjacent wall to swing open as if it were a door.
Grabbing a bio-lamp hanging on the wall, she hurriedly flipped up the shudders ordering them to follow her down the stone-walled tunnel. The space was dark and cramped, and it wasn’t long before Tat instinctively clung to Aidan’s side again. This time, he didn’t seem to care as much; maybe because this time he was shivering from as much fright as she was.
Within a couple of minutes they reached another door with a lever embedded in place. It took both Rowen and Aidan putting some muscle into it to pop it loose from its rusty hold.
As if on cue, Tybor stood at the ready in another dark storeroom on the other side of the door. It took them a moment to recognize him since his hair had been pulled neatly into a tight braided bun on the top of his head and he was no longer wearing the usual garb of the leather one-piece or tunic and leggings.
Now he stood in a fine dark uniform of some sort with a nearly black highly decorated coat with medals attached, a black shirt and pants, gold colored belt and shiny black boots to match.
“Tybor what the–” Rowen demanded answers.
“Hey dere Hoss,” the elf smirked.
“What’s the situation?” Miss Perry asked Tybor with a profoundly serious demeanor.
“It’s what we figured Ma’am,” Tybor immediately matched her attitude “but they are here sooner than expected.”
“Who’s here?” Rowen emphatically questioned.
“Be quiet!” Miss Perry hissed, “or they’ll hear us,” she scolded as if he knew exactly what she was talking about.
“Kids, you go with Tybor in the tunnels. I’ll muster the troop together and we’ll meet at the rendezvous point.”
“Sorry Ma’am, no can do.” Tybor nodded in her direction.
“What? This is no time for your games MonSeils! You sorry sack of bellin dung, that’s an order!”
“Yes Ma’am. I understand, but I’ve got other obligations and other orders.”
“Fine!” she snapped back. “Just don’t lose track of your priorities again or I’ll see you in Shadderah yet!”
“Yes Ma’am,” he saluted her with the Queen’s salute, left fist to right shoulder.
She hastily returned the salute and then with gritted teeth dismissively quoted to him a saying that the kids weren’t familiar with, “The mission is all.” Silently she slipped up the storeroom stairway and disappeared.
“The mission is all,” Tybor nodded. “A’ight, allons! Le’s go!” he signaled to the kids.
“I don’t think so!” Rowen stomped his foot, “not without some answers first!”
“Boy dis ain’t da time!”
“Time? You jerk! You’ve been gone for weeks!”
“I know! I’ll tell ya what I can when I can, but righ’ now, we gotta go!”
“He’s right Rowen there’s not time for that, let’s go!” Aidan decided, pushing Rowen’s shoulder nudging him back towards the tunnel door.
Hurried, they closed the door behind them, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was obvious that the tunnel was not some secret they had hidden as lamp lights from the locals started flooding the narrow passage.
“Look man, I think we deserve some answers,” Rowen continued pressing Tybor while they picked up their pace passing several groups of residents of Yon’s Pass.
“Yeah, yer righ’, you’n do, but I can’t go into it now. Dun worry, I’ll tell ya. Jus’ trus’ me fer now.”
“Trust you?” Rowen questioned followed by an exasperated sigh. “Ok. But tell me this at least. Where are we going?”
“Ta get a ride outta here. Now come on.” Tybor raised his voice over yet another muffled boom. Dust flew in the tunnel from rattling walls.
Tatyana gripped Aidan’s tunic and arm, remembering not to dig her nails into him this time. Her heart raced. She couldn’t fathom how she had managed to put herself into a situation like this again. Why did all of this keep happening? Was this just going to be her life from now on? Never knowing from one day to the next what new thing she would find to be afraid of?
It wasn’t that long ago when life was so certain, so peaceful. Every morning she woke to the anticipated aromas of her ba’s cooking. Muk would scratch at her door to gently wake her. Her ba and da would get the cottage warm and be waiting on her to take breakfast with them. She’d spend her day helping Clover in the garden or out in the woods gathering wild herbs or climbing trees with Tok. Such a simple life, such a passive and comfortable existence. But that life no longer existed. And she knew it. Aidan and Rowen are being so brave. Why can’t I be like that?
“He went this way,” Aidan yanked them forward as he started losing sight of Tybor and Rowen. Grabbing her wrist, he directed her behind him turning the corner at an intersection. Her heart sped up even faster. He was almost holding her hand. Almost.
“Keep up will you,” he called back to her. It was bad enough he had to be in this mess, but he felt like he might as well be babysitting too. If he had time to think about it though, he would realize that he was actually glad that she was there.
Rowen was certainly a major help since he knew about the locals and how to do things, like where to go and what to do on the job, but if Tat hadn’t been there they both would’ve starved by now and he probably would be wearing nothing but that strip of gauze they bought with his clothing.
Of course, if he was being truthful, it was more than the fact that she took care of them with the meals, keeping their blisters and callouses healed with salves she made, seeing to it they got a fair deal in trades and doing their laundry. There was just something about her, something he felt deeply driven to keep safe – even if they did end up arguing a lot of the time. Maybe this is what it would be like if he had a younger sister... yeah, that was it; maybe.
Rowen could feel his anger building with every step they took. It was a good thing Tybor finally came to the last door or Rowen would have exploded matching the booming they’d heard above with all the frustration that he’d built up. Where had Tybor been all this time? And why was he just showing up now? The audacity of that jerk! But at least he is here now…
“A’ight, we’re here.” Tybor unceremoniously announced. ‘Here’ was the last place Rowen expected to find, as realization sunk in that they had arrived back at the pits.
“Why are we here?” Aidan asked.
“Like I said, we’re gettin’ a ride outta here.”
“But we can’t go! I’ve got to find Tok first. Besides, all the lines are down. Gorvin said so,” Tat reminded them.
“Were’n takin’ a line, jus’ da beast,” Tybor explained, pointing to the slogbotton stalls.
“But Tok!” Tat protested.
“She’s a fae critter, she’ll be fine. Now’s you’n do what I say.”
“Gorvin is not gonna like this,” Rowen expressed cheerfully, forgetting his anger for the moment.
“Your damn straight kid, Gorvin most certainly doesn’t like it,” the elderly imp crept forward carrying Aidan’s improvised slogbotton harness over his shoulder and holding out the keys to the stalls. “But I hate losing this war even more.”
Tybor took the keys and harness and quickly embraced forearms with Gorvin in a sort of binding agreement like shaking hands. “Sorry it’s come to this Sir, but your Queen tha
nks you for your service.” Saluting him, Tybor spoke in an unusual normal voice without accent. Rowen might have noticed that he’d used this proper speech earlier with Miss Perry too, but he’d been too angry. Now it dawned on him, he’d never heard Tybor speak like this before. Tybor ignored Rowen’s obvious display of surprise and handed the harness to Aidan and the keys to Tat.
“Go run an’ git num’r four, he’s de fastes’“ he commanded.
“Come on!” Aidan called to Tat as she lingered behind, concern deeply etched into her face.
“I just can’t leave Tok!”
“You heard Tybor she’ll be fine,” he replied as a loud noise split the air, a magnificent boom with dust flew in the distance. Seeing her not respond, he grabbed her wrist and tugged her forward toward the stalls. At first she resisted, but then seemed to snap out of it and followed Aidan’s lead.
Rowen turned to run toward the stalls with the other two. Tybor grabbed Rowen by the shoulder, “No, you’s come wid me.”
“Just remember son, you and the whole damn empire owe me now!” Gorvin called after them as Rowen changed course and followed behind Tybor towards the equipment shed.
“What the heck is this all about?” Rowen insisted on answers again as soon as they made it to the shed.
“Look, I said I’ll tell ya, an’ I’ll tell ya, but righ’ now we need ta git outta here.” Once inside Tybor snatched a tarp from some carriage thing that Rowen had never seen. It put him in mind of the old rusted Volkswagen Beetle his amma had stored in her garden shed, except without windows, steering wheel and tires.
“What the—”
“It’s call’d ‘a single-car’, a kinduv skitterdu. Fits on da backuv da critter so we can ride it better. It’s heavy so be caref’l,” Tybor instructed.
The Fateless: Errata Page 11