9th-Chapter

Flakes of ash floated on the breeze masquerading as snowflakes. Salty on his tongue, they stoked his thirst. And he wanted more. 

For a creature born into a world of storms, the hulking thunder troll was not known for his superior intelligence. He was, however, an exceptional guide. All thunder trolls of Horn Clan were.

The unlikely pair had set out from the Cloudspear range with purpose. With need. Neither of them had descended to ground in many years. The perilous nature of the trek aside, there had been no need. Until recently.

As days ticked on and legs pushed forward, Jukyt struggled to keep them moving forward – like rocks pulled along with string. While an experienced traveller, the immense thunder troll had not been prepared for the spike in temperature nor did he recognize the once mighty forests entombed in ash and streams filled with septic muck. Pushing ever deeper into the belly of the once lush valley at the base of their mountain home, their pace had systematically slowed.

“You have been quiet for some time, friend,” Rahdien noted as they stepped through a rancid gathering of puddles caked with ash and soot.

“It is true. My speaking spends energy I best keep for locating the path out and away,” the thunder troll replied.

“We’ve got this far without harm. Without the rain – without her eyes. Something I would not have been able to achieve without you.”

Ahead of him in the single file column they kept, the Horn Clan troll cracked a wry grin. At over seven feet tall and chiseled from the rock itself, Jukyt’s five hundred pounds of life was an imposing force. Thunder trolls, particularly those of Horn Clan, were raised from birth as rangers. Their physiology had derived the name of their clan given the immense horns which protruded from their broad backs. Rooted in each shoulder blade and curving to either side, the weathered bone served both as brutal weapons and channeling implements. An ancient race within the Cloudspears, the Horn Clan were soldiers of the rock and thunder. Centuries ago, when they were the only race amongst the cliffs, they had learned to channel the power of the storm through them to pulverize through the rock which surrounded them. His cadre had recognized this as an essential skill, one crucial to carving out the landscape in which they were to live. And for almost two hundred years, his cadre had co-existed alongside them. It was a partnership borne not out of the necessity for food and water alone, but for life itself.

As the years progressed, she had galvanized that need.

….

When his spirit returned to the material plane, he found himself surrounded by them. Never before had he seen so many. Despite their size, each possessed preternatural agility and speed.

Natural born dark predators from beyond.

As he struggled to release from his primal form, their diseased talons swiped furiously through the blanketing rain at his bark like skin. As a warden, the savages soon discovered his innate defense as their strikes were met with bursts of natural power sending them hurtling back into the pack. The unfortunate creatures who connected screamed in agony and rage as they were blanketed in burrowing insects that frantically searched for any orifice to tunnel into.

And they kept coming.

Separating himself from the massacre that was unfolding, he realized the significance of the vision he had received a fortnight prior. With the their arrival, he knew that this was only the beginning.

He also knew that within the hour, he and his wardens would no longer exist to protect anyone from it.

“How much did you lose exactly?”

“Enough such that it still pains me to think on it. It’s more of the principle of the entire situation, actually.”

“Agreed. Would you like another tankard to mend some of that pain?”

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, he replied, “I best not. Travel set for Mestahs on the morrow. Need to be alert for the long journey and the council meeting that awaits me.” He reached across the table and grabbed his jewel encrusted dagger returning it to its sheath on his belt. “Morgen doesn’t suffer fools gladly, you know.”

Nodding absently, the barkeep removed the mug from the man’s table, “Don’t take this the wrong way Councilman Karsill, but is the market district really a place you want to be seen in? I mean, as a member of council and all.”

“Doesn’t matter where I’m seen, Janthen. Matters what I get done,” he exclaimed.

“I suppose that’s true.”

Hedyn Karsill reflected back on his journey into Threlsec’s market district earlier that afternoon. As a senior council member, he felt it was his duty to familiarize himself with how the other half of Threlsec lived, particularly wherever alcohol and games of chance were involved. Casting aside the images of the ruffians who bustled through the dusty thoroughfare from the nearby docks looking for trouble and the women on the second floor balcony of The Inn of the Tangled Vine who were always happy to see him strolling along below, he focused on the girl. In particular, a diminutive street urchin who had been entertaining a gaggle of onlookers hungry for a chance to make some coin, himself included. She had managed to relieve him of a sizable purse with a game he was not at all familiar with involving what appeared to be an old piece of driftwood. He set aside his passion for gambling and thought harder on the matter. Something about her had drawn him in fully and completely. And that bothered him.

“Now that you’ve brought it up, Janthen, something does not sit well about the girl and I aim to bring that to light.”

Lifting one of his customers’s heads off of his bar and sliding him onto the floor, Janthen replied, “Beggin’ your pardon Councilman?”

Annunciating slowly Hedyn repeated, “I said, I aim to bright that to light.”

“What about the light? Is it not to your liking? It might be more relaxing on the second floor, Councilman. The girls keep Room 9 open just for you.”

“Janthen, you idiot! Have you not heard what I’ve been saying to you?”

“About the girl and your disappearing coin, I assume.”

“Precisely. I aim to find her and remedy this injustice.”

Turning back towards his table, Janthen replied, “Now?”

“But of course. Is there a problem with now? Justice does not sleep.” Turning to look at the interior balcony on the second floor of the Inn, he noticed that he had drawn a crowd of a number of well dressed women, many of whom he recognized by name.

Glancing out his two front windows, Janthen replied cautiously, “Just the time, I suppose. It’s past dark and the Watch will be out cleaning the streets. I don’t suspect you…”

“The Watch are governed by Threlsec’s council, my good Janthen. And I am on that council. What better way to ensure appropriate checks and balances are in place. Would you not agree my good man?”

“Makes sense to me. Just don’t want trouble, as I’m sure you can appreciate being a supporter of commerce and all.”

“Of that I most certainly am. I enjoy commerce a great deal.”

“That you do,” Janthen whispered under his breath as he glanced at his employees leaning over the balcony above them.

Hedyn Karsill grabbed his wide brimmed hat and heavy dark purple cloak from the rack to the left of the main entrance to the Inn and bid farewell to Janthen. Whistling to himself, he strolled into a brisk Threlsec evening in search of a rather mischievous young girl.

The concentration strained his brow and directed his hands across the surface of the cavern wall with gentle precision. Pricks of energy leapt up into the tips of his fingers like moths to flame.

Ignore them. It’s deeper, I know it. It has to be!

The Nightblasts were a nuisance and a natural protection mechanism, and he respected them. He also knew how to use them to his advantage and if he wanted to continue being of use to the Unit, their symbiotic union was of the utmost importance.

Triangulating the blasts in terms of severity and frequency, he closed in on his target. Taking a deep pull of the particle-strewn air, he punched into the rock wall and drove his torso in almost up to his right shoulder. That was enough.

Contact. Finally!

“I’ve found the vein! I knew it was here!” Noticing that he had wandered quite a distance from the Unit, he raised his voice to another level and shouted, “I’ve struck! We’ll need to report this one. Feels big!”

Releasing his quarry, he removed his arm from the rock and marked his second strike of the morning. Within minutes, the Lead Pik had shuffled down to his location, narrowly avoiding a precarious tumble over a blind drop.

“I knew there was a reason I brought you along, Altok! This is fantastic news. That’s two today!”, counting in his head he continued, “Sixteen this month! The grey ones told me to wait – they always tell me to wait. No no, I say…”

“You are smarter than they are, Lead Pik.”, Altok interjected.

“What’s that? Oh yes, of course I am! Yes yes! A young man full of promise you are, most assuredly,” replied Tomaks. As Lead Pik of Megdrin’s Discovery Unit, Tomaks prided himself on his superior judgment and his ability to continue to source the city’s most precious commodity, Nightingstone. He also was quite fond of taking much of the praise for the Unit’s success.

A few moments later, Tomak’s second in command fell into line on the ridge above.

“What ho, Lead Pik? Another strike?”

“Indeed, Hinsiin! Young Altok, my protégé, has struck yet again! Yes yes! I need you to survey and then report this at once to the Council. Make haste!”

“Straight away Lead Pik! Do you wish to review our findings in advance of the…”

“Why do you ask such inane questions, my boy? A false strike Altok does not make! Mark it true. And from my recollection of the matter, young Altok’s premonition of the vein is of significant scope, is that not right my good lad?”

Altok replied, “Well, it certainly felt rather large, but I cannot be…”

“And there it is!”, Tomaks interrupted. “A find of this magnitude is of paramount importance to our dear grey ones. Yes yes.”

“But of course, Lead Pik. My apologies for the oversight.”

“We may be many leagues beneath the surface my young Hinsiin, and alas the darkness may suffocate the spectrum. With you, however, I cannot avoid the shade green which shines like a beacon from your person.”, prodded Tomaks. With that, the stout Tomaks spit violently at the floor, narrowly missing his feet.

“Thank you, Lead Pik.”, Hinsiin replied.

Such incompetence, he thought. How had Tomaks and his Unit of Nightingstone miners survived the City’s scrutiny and been able to deliver on the lifeblood of the energy source? How had this alleged leader ascended through the ranks to such lofty status? And then it hit him like a dwarven pick in the face – leverage.

It was because of him, and others who had come before him, that the Unit had been so successful. He was born with a gift that few of his race still had. And this was the only way he knew how to use it.

This was the only way he’d get out.

“What’s that, little squirrel? Not sure that I’m catchin’ yer meanin’. Did you say permit?”

Confused by the reaction of the fruit merchant, the girl repeated herself. “I wish to sell my services, much like you do with your fruit. I want to know where you obtained your permit to do so.”

“Ha! I thought cha said permit! Well let me tell ya somethin’, you’re in the wrong places for permits, little squirrel. Here be honest folk who thrive in the chaos of the docks.” The sweaty fruit merchant stared her up and down. “I think y’best be heading to the upper quarter. You’re bound to find trouble down here that you aren’t askin’ fer.”

“Trouble?”

“Ya, you know…boys havin’ too much to drink. Wantin’ to sample your wares. Get my meanin?”

“No. I am afraid I don’t”

“C’mon…a pretty little squirrel like you don’t belong down here with us adults. Scurry along now. Don’t want to get your fluffy little tail stepped on. Consider yerself warned.”

She had been traveling for days since leaving her partner and had managed to follow her instincts to Threlsec’s dock district. The bustling of the crowd and the danger that apparently waited for someone like her didn’t phase her. She would situate herself where she needed to be and get to work. To do so, however, she needed to blend in. She was very good at that.

Casting aside the merchant’s chides, she pressed him, “Might I purchase one of these?”

“You want a watermelon?”

“Yes, I do.”

“A whole one?”

“Is there another way to purchase a watermelon that I am not aware of?”

“It’s just that it’s so big and…forget it! Sure y’can purchase a watermelon. In fact, you can have it. I already feelsbad for yer future and all.”

Picking up the large fruit, she smiled at the man. “Might I also ask if this particular watermelon contains seeds?”

“You’re a strange little squirrel, y’know that? Of course it does!”

“Why that’s just fantastic. Thank you sir.”

“For what?”

“The watermelon and our conversation. You’ve been most helpful.”

“And you’s been most crazy. Y’know that? Scurry along now, afore I change my mind about the payin’ and all.”

She turned to leave and join the crowd carrying her pack across her shoulder and cradling the watermelon in her left arm.

Behind her she heard the merchant hack up phelgm and spit. “You’re a crazy one. Y’know that? It was nice knowin’ ya! Ha!”

Smiling to herself, she was absorbed into the madness of the crowd without turning back. He’d see her again, she was assured of that.

After about thirty minutes of similar inquiries regarding permits and the proper procedure to set up within the marketplace, she realized that she was essentially on her own. She also discovered that many of the the dock’s patrons of women, drink, exotic tobacco, games of chance and other vices were Threlsec’s authorities themselves.

It was exactly where she needed to be.

Comfortably situated next to a group of large men she assumed to be importers of exotic spices, she set up her table and placed the object atop it. They did not pay her much attention, aside from prodding her about the object she carried. She explained its role in her business and they left her alone. She gathered they probably thought her mad.

And that was perfect.

Crossing her arms, she smirked at all who passed by her little piece of real estate carved out of the chaos. Stares and glares by those who passed were returned with a challenging glance. By late afternoon, she had gone through twenty six unlucky patrons, relieving them of coin, confidence, and most importantly, information.

She hunted.