Two Halves: chapter 36

chapter 36... ad stuff

  Images swan in from of his numbed mind. Both memory and imagery appeared before him. Flickers of his life at Cloudtop invaded his senses, only to be replaced by sitting around a campfire, amongst his comrades from long ago. It was a soothing, looking though his repertoire of experience, but after a while the dream world began to fracture. Nicolas slowly became aware of his real body as the images dissolved into swirling wheels of color. Suddenly his eyes burst open and the physical world became solid once more. He had broken out into a cold sweat, and even though he did not remember unmaking the bed he was buried under a number of blankets. Someone had come to care for him while he recovered.

 

The gel pad had worked well, but had shriveled when it ran out of medication. It was lying crumpled by where his head had been. He was still in the clothes from the ICO, and the tie was starting to get extremely restricting. Nicolas loosened it before tossing it aside, and as he swung his legs to get out of bed he untucked his shirt. Though his legs still hurt it had become a dull ache, and they felt much stronger than they had before.

 

Getting up was still a difficult affair; his head pounded from the sudden change of altitude, but he felt that he was steady on his feat and managed a few cautious steps. After making a lap around the small table and chairs, the only other pieces of furniture in the room.  Nicolas walked confidently towards the door. When he opened it he nearly bumped into a woman on the landing outside. She was carrying a basket with a pile of fresh linens

 

“Umm… Would you mind telling me where Bestalel and Telly are?” He asked, slightly nervous. She looked at him with a puzzled expression for a moment, but then her face brightened with realization.

 

“You mean Mother Tellaous. She and the other man are up in the cathedral at her office,” as Nicolas turned around to climb the stairs up towards the cathedral she began to speak again, “Excuse, I’m sorry to ask, but is the rumor true? Have you come to raise an army to fight Salex again?” She looked, as she dared not hope that this was true, lest her hoped be dashed.

 

“Yes, it is true. We are going to defeat Salex.” As he said this her face turned into an expression of pure joy.

 

“By Kinsara, bless you sir.” She squeaked, and then she scurried into the room behind him, probably to clean up after him using it. He looked back at her for a moment as she unpacked the piles of white sheets, and then began to climb the stairs back up towards the cathedral. Along the way he passed several other women carrying various objects; most would stop and stare for a moment before moving along, but none tried to ask him like the woman from before had.

 

He came to the door of the cathedral; now that it wasn’t full of people it was eerie. The place was dead silent and every footfall echoed across the chamber. The columns of candle wax had been cleaned and new candles put in their place. The tallow was a high quality ivory white. He wanted to walk across the chamber to see the statue more closely, but there was no time for that. Nicolas turned towards the office that Telly had led them to earlier. This time the door was open and he saw Bestalel and Telly in heated conversation, while Zeckle was sitting quietly beside them watching the verbal duel.

 

“Hello, what’s going on here?” asked Nicolas as he entered, both had not noticed his approached and ceased talking to look around at him. Zeckle acknowledged him with a simple nod.

 

“We were discussing on how we are to be smuggled out of the city,” answered Bestalel, “We are going to be heading through the underground network.”

 

“We are not discussing, I am deciding how you are going to go.” she interrupted, “The underground would be the fastest bet, but there is a possibility of you being caught by Salex. Why can’t you just go the normal route and avoid them all together?” She had stood up and put her hands on her desk. She tried to stare down Bestalel, but he met her gaze, and after a few seconds she relented.

 

“If we go that way we will miss the transport, and I am not putting off the mission for a month. The possibility of the route being watched is minimal, and the risk even if it is, is nearly non-existent. A few scout teams can’t fight us, and won’t be able to pursue us far outside the city.” He to had gotten up, and the two of them starred at each other for a long moment, both believing that they were right. Telly was first to break the gaze.

 

“Fine. I’ll get the transport ready, and I have prepared non-descript clothing for both of you. It will be difficult to recognize Nicolas due to him just going through his body reversal, but Bestalel.” she turned to Zeckle,” And you will be far more noticeable. You will need to keep low until you are outside city limits.”

 

“Fine, Zeckle will be able to augment her appearance, and I can have a disguise prepared.  We will be leaving in an hour. I trust that you have retrieved more appropriate clothing for us.”  Telly nodded, and grabbed a small speaker on her desk. She pressed a button on its base and spoke into it.

 

“Yinsa, please prepare clothing for the two men. Put it into their rooms, and saddle two Zenzi for them. Load a pack with provision for a few weeks and get it onto a Krignal.” the receiver stood silent for a moment until a metallic voice replied.

 

“Yes ma’am.” Answered the static voice of Yinsa from beyond the speaker.

 

“You two will go back to your rooms and get ready. I trust Ms. Zeckle will simply be able to shift into a more appropriate appearance.” She viewed Zeckle with a slight distaste, but Zeckle returned her gaze fiercely before shifting. Her clothes changed into the simple linens all the women in the sisterhood wore. Her hair changed from halfway down her back and straight to shoulder length and curly. The horns that had topped her head disappeared, and her face changed subtly as the bone structure augmented itself.

 

Nicolas got up and left before the cold stares dissolved into an argument. He was slightly annoyed by how little Telly trusted him and Zeckle. Though he couldn’t blame her. A friend from years before suddenly showing up in her basement, and bringing two strangers in tow. Bestalel followed him out of the room and down the stairs, and when Nicolas went back into the room he had slept in, Bestalel continued farther downward.

 

A small pile of clothing already sat on the bed. They had been quick to respond to Telly’s orders. They were the clothing of a plains walker. A large white cowl to avoid sun burn, and white robes in order to combat the head. He pulled off the remains of the business suit before looked at the tie he had left on the floor. It was the blood red one Abigail had given him before he left. You normally don’t fine people wearing ties on Earth-2. It had to be specially tailored along with a suit so that he could blend in after he made the journey to Earth-1. What was special about the tie was that Abigail had sewn it herself, and she had never been the greatest of seamstresses, but she has managed to get this one right.

 

He would have to thank her once he reached Cloudtop to see her again. Nicolas put on the robe, but he left the cowl down for now, so as to not obscure his vision. Then he retrieved the old clothing and folded it neatly before sticking it under his arm. Behind him there was a knock on the door.

.

“Come in.” said Nicolas without turning around.

 

“We need to get to the surface, that is where the stables are.” said Bestalel from the doorway. Nicolas nearly laughed at his appearance, not that it was a bad disguise, it was simply odd seeing Bestalel like this. He wore a wig, but it so resembled natural hair that Nicolas had a difficult time spotting that it was not, and from any distance it would impossible to tell. The only reason he had spotted was because he looked for it. Subtle face make up had changed the color of his skin from olive to a slightly darker completion. Beside him stood Zeckle in the white robes, she was scowling.

 

“Ok.” replied Nicolas as he grabbed his Grimoire off the low table. They walked together up the staircase, and instead of stopping at the cathedral like before they continued up beyond it. They were climbing the spiral staircase for nearly a minute before Nicolas noticed the change in atmosphere. The air had become noticeably less stuffy, and they rounded next landing he saw why.

 

A small window was set into the wall; it didn’t have a pane of glass blocking the warm breeze from entering the tower. Nicolas gazed out side and saw that they were barely above ground level, but were climbing quickly. One side of the staircase opened into the building beyond, while the other had windows looking onto the outside.

 

Nicolas had never been to this city, but he had learned about it in the Academy. Even before Salex arrived there was a city here. They simply drove out most of the previous inhabitants and built the wall around it. Only a few of the city’s residents were still here, and most of them were religious orders. The government of Earth-1 had not allowed Salex to destroy them while it took over; instead they had used them as field hospitals and forced the priests within to attend to their wounded. After the Blaze War had ended they simply did not get rid of them because they saw no profit in it. They were minimal risk, and could be charged taxes like everyone else.

 

As they climbed higher Nicolas got a better view of the city. Nearly all of it was built out of the light brown stone from below with only a few electric billboards hanging off of building. While most of the structures were underground there was still a good deal of building obscuring the skyline, but the real obstruction was the wall.

 

The Mile High Wall lived up to its name. It stretched high above the city forming a twelve sided barrier around it. He could not even get an idea of the landscape beyond, but he could see the suns. Earth-2’s twin suns shone high above making two balls of bright yellow fire. The heat was intense, which is why most structures are built below ground; the temperature could regularly climb to a hundred and thirty degrees in the summer.

 

Nicolas looked from his vantage point at the rest of the city. Nearly every rooftop was connected by huge stone bridges and archways, forming a multi-layered city. Not many people were on the top level where the heat was most intense. Most had retreated to the lower level where carefully tented fire vine plants shaded the major streets. Telly was waiting for them on the flight above, and through the doorway next to her Nicolas could hear the sound of animals moving about. She led them into the stables; luckily they had been freshly cleaned and did not smell to foul. She walked over to one of the large Zenzis and petted it on the beak.

 

“You will be ridding on these.” she said as she reaches up and rubbed its dark brown feathers. The enormous bird shuffled nervously on its two feet. It’s feathers were a very light brown except for the crest of mahogany plumes topping its head. It was blindfolded, as all Zenzis are, and swung its large head back and forth in order to switch ears it was listening to them with. The long muscular legs ended in two large clawed feet, but luckily the points had been dulled by constant use on stone, and metal caps had been added to help compensate.

 

It clicked its beak and warbled a slow high-pitched tune. Telly reached into a sack beside the stall and retrieved a large Keki nut. The kernel was the size of Nicolas’s fist, and the bird opened its mouth and tested the air, and once detecting the nut it reached down and scooped it up. It crushed the hard outer shell easily retrieving the light purple flesh from within. Telly patted the bird’s beak. The other birds along the row had started to get restless as well, but only the one Telly was next to and the next one over was saddled. Farther along in a separate lower pen were several Krignal. They huge hulking reptilian form ranged from a dark splotched green to a coppery brown. Their huge bone armor plates along their backs were carved to allow hooks and handles to be put in for carrying things. Their six short legs ended in flat padded feet. The heads were large and flat, with a skull plate covering most of its dome. The eyes were set far apart to allow a large field of vision, and the teeth were huge and dull. Two were eating out a trough while several women were packing the third; one hooked a feedbag around its snout.

 

Telly opened the gate and allowed one of the Zenzis to walk out. Nicolas had never actually ridden one, but he had ridden something that was quite similar. Their mountain cousins Zanas lived in the crags around his hometown. They were trained and used in order to navigate the rough mountain paths, and he had been taught to ride one in his young age before going to the Academy.

 

Bestalel hoisted himself onto this one’s back. His legs positioned on either side of its neck. Telly moved to open another one of the gates, and meanwhile the women were leading the Krignal out of its pen. Nicolas walked over to his Zenzi, it was far larger than it’s Zana cousin, and legs were far longer and faster looking. Nicolas put his foot into the hold and swung his other leg over. It flapped its wings slightly at this and shifted from foot to foot. Zeckle picked herself up and sat behind him on the Zenzi’s saddle.

 

“Make your way for the northern gate, they will let you out of you show them the badge I gave you. Then just follow the road until you reach the mountain paths. The station will be in between two crags, and the transport will be most likely loading passengers by then. They will be expecting you.” Telly pulled a last few straps on the back of the Krignal as she explained the plan. Then walked over to the gate to the outside and flung it open. Intense sunlight shone in, they were on a large roof with several other small structures dotting it. Surface buildings were shared among residents with several using it, only after you went below ground did business and residents separate from one another. Workers were sweating profusely as they loaded barrels onto a cart. They made there way across the rooftop, the Krignal could move surprisingly fast, settling into a strange high speed waddle behind the two Zenzi. They walked along the edge of the building until reached a bridge leading to a large spiral structure that curved gently downwards. Around them were many more people on foot with the occasional cart pulled by Krignal. Every so often there would be a confused businessman, sweating heavily as he tried to find his hotel among the building.

 

There was nearly no electrical equipment on the surface. None of the buildings had ever been designed to run electrical wire, so only the well funded and recently built bolstered electric lights. Anything portable would be impractical, because once you exited the city limits to travel around the world they would cease to function. Once along the way they saw a group of Salex security personnel trotting through the street. One with a hound mob had his face pressed low against the ground, sniffing for traces, most likely traces of them. They turned down an alley to avoid them as they made their way closer to the north gate. The wall was strange to approach, because perspective hardly allowed you to comprehend a structure so large.  As they approached they entered the shade of the huge wall.

 

They finally reached the base of the structure. Nicolas looked up along the structure. It gave him such terrible vertigo that he was nearly sick. At the crest of the wall a small blue shimmer shone from where it repelled the magical current. They approached the gate, which while being impressive at about twenty feet wall and wide enough to allow several carts was easily forgettable with the scale of the entire structure.

 

“Hello, sir. I need to see your exit papers before you leave,” drawled a bored guard sitting in a chair at the left side of the gate. Bestalel fished into his robes and produced a small badge with the blindfolded image of Kinsara engraved on it. Once the guard saw it he straightened up slightly and starred at its image, then waved them along. “Sorry I did not recognize you father. Have a safe journey.”

 

The guard got up and pressed a small button beside him to open the gate. The twin metal doors swung open slowly to allow them entry. The walls were extremely thick in order to hold themselves up, and the tunnel under the wall went for probably four hundred feet. The door at the far end was closed so as to not allow streams of magic energy to flow into the city. Once the two Zenzi and Krignal had entered the doors behind them shut, and lights along the ceiling turned on. They weren’t powered by electricity; they were magic based lights. Every time the door at the far side would open the magic that flows in would be sucked up by the lights and stored in batteries for use later. It worked like an airlock to shield the city.

 

They crossed the narrow hallway until they reached the other side. The passage gradually got small until they reached the other doorway, which was barely large enough to accommodate a single cart. A small intercom was set into the wall; Bestalel dismounted and pressed the call button. The person on the other side did not even wait for him to say something and just let the doors swing open.

 

The inrush of magical energy was strange. The air felt heavy and humid against his skin, but he knew it would lesson soon. He had never felt its affect when he used to live here. The prickle of energy against his skin was enriching, and he felt a surge of energy grip him. The more powerful the magic field the more powerful a mage will become. That is why the magi were so vulnerable the first time. When they fought Salex they would be cut off from the magical field of Earth-2 because of the expanding anti-magic field that Salex employed.

 

They made their way onto the pathway outside the wall; instead of the paved paths within the city there was a simple beaten dirt walkway through the Keki grass. They picked up the pace as they may their way away from the wall. The dark brown grass waved slowly in the breeze; every so often a stalk would be weighted down with the heavy fruit. When one of the nuts grows ripe the nut would sink onto the ground and detach from the stalk. The stalk would then die, leaving the nut in its place. The hard outer shell would allow the seeds within to not be cooked by the sun long enough for them to take root.

 

They traveled for nearly ten minutes at high speed. The waddle of the Krignal had turned into a frantic pace making the packs slung over its back to swing. Nicolas took a moment to look back at the wall they were leaving behind.

 

The colossal surface of the wall displayed the biggest written word in existence. The rune of protection was written in symbols thousands of feet tall. Each of the twelve walls had a single rune. The ink used to write it could only be described in millions of gallons of pigment. The ink had started to fade as the magic spell worn down. Runes disappear slowly over time as the magic within them is used up, and these were due to be repainted in another few years. About halfway up the wall the blue sheen of the repelling field started, and the dome swirled slowly with turquoise rivers of energy as it pushed back the magical streams.

 

They continued on the same road for several hours, and the Zenzi settled into a steady pace of twenty or so miles per hour. As the blood of the large Krignal heated up from the sun it began to follow them more closely. Its movements became more quick and sure, and the six legs moved in an even swing.

 

They passed several fields tended by small farms. Large steam powered harvesting tools stalked across the crops in jerky movements ridden by farmers in long white robes similar to theirs. The harvest had come in for several crops on the planes. In the distance the mountains that marked the start of the Pekili mountain range began to stick up over the landscape.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, another chapter is out.

Reviews

[Ice QueenJen]

I haven't gotten to read any previous chapters, yet this one has peaked my interest in reading more. It reminds me of the Dunes storyline.

[Tea And A Cheshire Smil..]

A very engaging piece :) I really love how descriptive you are. I did spot a few errors, so you might want to check through it again, but, over all, a very engaging chapter

[The Wave]

Got so into it that I forgot I had a headache!

Haha, really enjoyed the chapter. Noticed a few errors, I'll refer to them at a later time. But overall, written well, and I especially love how you describe everything. whether it's the locations, their clothing, or the animals, all explained with such detail that its even easier to get lost in the story :)

[Huggy Bear]

Very well written and engaging

[Dutch Jr.]

Another great chapter of your book. Your storytelling is enhancing as the story progresses, too.

[Rawr!!XD]

This is really good. Keep it up.

[Lucy Joan]

I've only read this chapter and the preface throughout the whole story and so far, it's really good. Your writing style is specific and thoughtful, which is something some writers lack in a story.
The first paragraph was a bit obscure, though. Some of the sentences were paradoxical and the structures were a bit mixed up but great word diction! Aside from that, spelling is a minor problem, but that's really no problem ((:

[Nicaushio Yamaki]

hey