Chapter 2

 

 Laqueta was hurting, the pain seemed to get worse every cycle and she wasn’t sure how much more she could take. It was beginning to dawn on her that this, perhaps, wasn’t normal for other girls. She didn’t have any friends her age but there seemed to be a great deal of secrecy surrounding these episodes, she was hidden away each time and told not to speak of it outside the strange little ‘family’ that occupied the bedsit. She suspected more and more that something wasn’t as it should be. Meanwhile Kaiden had gone and she was uneasy. She felt safe when he was around and, though she knew it was a much needed trip to fetch her tonic, she didn’t like his absence. Mrs Mullins for a formidable woman, it was widely suspected, though not confirmed, that she was part giant. No one who valued their life would dare confront her about the situation so she was, reluctantly, tolerated and Laqueta knew she was safe in her care. Right now, though, she was in agony and well aware that Kaiden would not be back for a couple of days. Biting her lip hard to keep from screaming she buried her head in her pillow and let out a strangled gasp. Through the haze of pain she distantly heard Mrs Mullins lumber up with a cold damp cloth for her back and forehead and a warm cup of herbal tea that would help numb the pain and bring her temperature down. Something was different this time, the sore spots running down her back seemed to form more of a lump than usual and the skin was starting to break across some of them. Laqueta was frightened, this was definitely not normal. She cast a panicked glance at the older woman and thought for a second that she caught a flash of worry on the landlady’s face. Mrs Mullins was well known for not showing emotion or fear, not unless things were really dire. Kaiden’s return could not come a minute too soon for either of them.

 

 

   Kaiden, at that moment, was trying not to breathe as he was passing The Pyt. The city’s landfill site and sewage works were big enough to be a small town by themselves and the stench was unbearable. The whole area was covered in a thick fog, the pile of half rotting and decayed rubbish was heaving as if it was alive, smouldering gently and, in some places, flames were licking the surface. Parts of The Pyt were permanently on fire but it never seemed to reduce, quite the opposite in fact. The amount of waste left there was increasing rapidly and there were concerns about where to expand to next. He squeezed the reins gently and Saquin picked up his pace to maximum until finally The Pyt was behind them and the smell subsiding. As he approached Tomb Land his mind started racing. It was wise to avoid this place as many creatures would not welcome the presence of humanoids here. One of the essential components of Laqueta’s tonic grew here though and it was the only place he could obtain such a plant. Sertith Root had very specific requirements for growth that only Tomb Land could satisfy. He dismounted, removed a cracked and faded leather pouch from the saddlebag and left Saquin outside where he could be sure the horse was safe.

   As Kaiden entered the cemetery all his senses came to life and all parts of his brain were alert for danger. The main inhabitants of this area were the Spindle-fingers, black, spider-like hands with a tail at the end where a wrist should be. Small ones posed him no threat as he could easily overpower them but as they grew bigger so they became more vicious and would attack on sight. An unwary visitor would be easily strangled to death here. He crept through the graveyard, gliding easily between tombs until he reached the small, dark, warm corner that housed Sertith Root. The soil in this corner alone contained the right minerals and chemicals from decaying bodies below that, combined with the physical conditions of the atmosphere allowed the plant to thrive. Even in the dark he could see its distinctive purple leaf and, all senses still alert for danger, he knelt down to collect some. The rounded purple leaves were highly poisonous to touch. Each leaf contained enough venom to kill 10 men but Kaiden came prepared. He donned a pair of thin but tough, elastic-like gloves; unclipped a small knife from inside his boot and began slicing the leaves off the plant until he was left with the thick yellow stem. He tugged gently until the plant lifted out of the soil, complete with roots and placed it in his leather bag. This process was repeated 3 more times and he almost had the 4^th root out of the ground when he heard a rustling behind him.

   Quick as a flash Kaiden was on his feet and had another, larger, knife unclipped from his other boot ready for action. Facing him was a fish- shaped creature about the size of a small dolphin. It was covered in green scales all over and two bright yellow eyes glared at him. Instead of a caudal fin it had three long, powerful legs at the back which it used for locomotion and two stumpy ones at the front for support. Kaiden was surprised to see the creature here, it belonged to the Cormick species and resided a couple of miles away on The Pyt. The Cormicks had evolved their lungs to breathe the methane and other toxic gases produced by the rubbish tip. They were adapted to withstand the extreme temperatures that occurred there as well and this one was rather out of its depth outside its natural environment. As it advanced on Kaiden with a row of sharp teeth bared and snarling, it appeared to be having trouble breathing. Before it could reach him the Cormick collapsed to the ground, heaving and wheezing until, after a few minutes struggle it let out a final pungent breath and fell silent. Cautiously Kaiden approached the still beast and prodded it with a boot, it remained still. He concluded that, away from the toxic atmosphere of the rubbish tip, it had suffocated. Turning back to the task in hand, Kaiden removed the final root and packed them all securely in his worn leather bag. He removed the gloves, made sure both knives were clean and replaced them in his boots before beating a hasty retreat from Tomb Land.  

 

     The next stop was Merchant Parade which meant that the pair had to negotiate their way around the railway tunnel without straying too far into the Golden Quarter. It was now so late that it was nearing dawn the next day and although the richer sector tended to sleep in later than the rest of the city Kaiden was not in a mood to risk bumping into too many of them right now. For those who knew where to look, there were plenty of traders that operated 24 hours in Merchant Parade. Although it was nearly the start of general trading hours by the time Kaiden arrived he had long since learned that the round the clock merchants had the better stock for his needs. One thing he couldn’t do in this area was leave Saquin unattended as these were, after all, traders and many didn’t worry how they obtained their selling stock. To turn his back on the horse for even a second was to risk losing him to a dodgy salesman. He dismounted and made his way through the cobbled streets, keeping a hand on Saquin’s bridle at all times. There were only two places he needed to visit in this area for all the basic tonic components. Kaiden removed a sad looking roll of parchment from the folds of his cloak and examined it. It was aged and faded but he could just make out the items listed in an ancient scrawled hand: 1 unit pure alcohol, 1 mini pouch grass root extract, 1 Jiper pod, 4 grams salt and 1 stick dried Pharrow Root. He made his purchases from the door of each shop, handing the list to the merchant so he could stay outside with Saquin.

 As he stood waiting by the entrance in the second shop he caught sight of what looked like a pile of metal heaped up in a back alley. On closer inspection Kaiden could see twisted cables and circuit boards tangled amongst severed metal arms and legs, some still attempting movement while others lay sparking. These were dismantled robots from the city’s old technological age, most had been destroyed but some of the more clever machines roamed the city, exiled from society. As he turned his attention back to the merchant, who had emerged with his packages, a pair of metallic legs came lurching past and headed out into the main street. Kaiden paid for his purchases and stowed everything in his leather bag which he then secured inside the saddlebag. He remounted Saquin and the pair made their way along the main street towards the Tor River. 

 

 

 By this time the sun was rising through the smog and the people were already starting to go about their daily business. As he approached the bridge that led over the raging water and into Judicia, the government’s area of the city, Kaiden could see that the river was unusually low this morning. Lying partway down the newly exposed bank and wedged into the mud he recognised what had once been known as a Motor Car. Another victim of the lost technological era, not many people that survived today had ever seen one. The metal monster had attracted a group of children who, having never been taught about such things, were taking turns coming up with fanciful explanations for the strange objects presence in their city river. The general consensus among the group ended up that the metal monster was a foreign visitor from a far off land. Here the story diverged. Some children decided that he had never seen a river before and drowned whilst examining it a little too closely. Others claimed that he had fallen foul of a bad deal with the tradesmen in the area and they killed him and dumped his body. The theories continued flowing with great enthusiasm but Kaiden pressed on, there was a lot of work ahead and he was painfully conscious that time was limited. Once they were safely over the bridge and Saquin had set foot on the firm ground of Judicia, Kaiden gave the signal and the pair sped up. Kaiden found it strangely appropriate that the main and most important component of her tonic could only be obtained from the alchemists since it was them who were inadvertently responsible for Laqueta’s condition in the first place. Apothekary Distryct had never been the most well built area of the city but over the years chemical and natural decay had caused brickwork to crumble and crack badly. As a result there were severe leaks of many dangerous chemicals and the air was filled with escaped magic.

   The waterways around Apothekary Distryct were untouchable, that was well known now but 500 years ago the scientists had instigated a massive cover-up to prevent citizens from discovering the leakages. That was until a luckless group of immigrants, just arrived after a long sea voyage, happened to settle near one of the polluted canals. Starch with thirst they fell upon the clear, cold water with glee. They lived in the area for a while, using the toxic water for drinking and bathing. Gradually, however, things went badly wrong and mutated beyond recognition they were driven out of the city by a fearing society. Hiding in the forest beyond the city walls they had formed a rough community, living from the land, and Laqueta was the last surviving member of that community. Not long after her birth they were discovered by a group of townspeople and their little village was raised to the ground. Her parents, close to death and badly burned, had escaped the flames with their precious baby girl. They stole into the city searching for help and happened across Kaiden. He took the family in and over a cup of herbal tea with Mrs Mullins tending to their burns he heard the whole story. When Kaiden awoke the following morning his guests has disappeared, leaving their only child behind with a scruffy, faded roll of parchment full of scrawled instructions