Chapter 1

  The barracks were full of old rusting bunks, shallow puddles of stagnant water rimmed with mineral lines, and the occasional - exceptionally bold - mouse. There was a connected cellar with a few wine racks, some barrels full of salted meats, and rat-chewed hardtack. There was a dank, musty smell faint on the air, and patches of algae grew near the corners and roof. The sound of water drip dropped as it squeezed through the cracks in the old fortress’ foundations and slid across the low ceiling to run down the ancient marble support pillars.

  Madrisi smacked his lips. “They couldn’t find anywhere better for us? The watchers certainly don’t seem to be sleeping down here.” he whined.

  Telvenni sighed and set the young lordling’s bags down on top of a moldering footlocker. “It’s not like we can go into their bedrooms and evict them.”

  “But surely there must be better lodgings for us than this.” Madrisi said.

  Telvenni picked up an old broom, bent bristles stained with old damp, and started walking about the cellar.

  “What are you looking for?” he asked Telvenni.

  “Better lodgings… or at least, the cleanest bunk.” the old butler replied.

  Medrisi smiled at that. “You might be at that one for a while. Let me know if you see any ghosts, will you?”

  Telvenni wanted to laugh, but he couldn’t. The truth was, no one could give a straight answer as to the ghosts in the cellar. The colonel had said ‘you’ll know them when you hear them’, and the tall black cat fellow had said something like ‘they’re not that kind of ghost.’ Telvenni wasn’t at all sure what other kinds of ghosts there were, since he’d seen an actual ghost steal a man’s dying breath at the gates of Alberek. Feral witches had summoned an army of the dead to take the castle, but that was a lifetime ago now.

  When Telvenni had made it to a dry looking corner, he saw two dusty looking beds that weren’t stained by the passage of prior years. It didn’t even look like the mice had infiltrated them. There were five other beds nearby that looked suitable as well, although they weren’t in quite as good of shape. He turned his broom to the ceiling and started knocking down cobwebs.

  “Mr. Kluataal, could you please bring the bags while I clean up this corner?” Telvenni shouted to one of the students he had recruited.

  The man was a burly southlander, about as big as the cats upstairs, but still smaller than that huge Freeland woman. As he hefted the bags to the dry corner, his mass of woven hair swayed like a lion’s mane. It was laden with metal bands and sea shells which clattered and tinkled together. From knuckle to chin, he was almost entirely inked, but you couldn’t tell from the grease stained gray coveralls Kluataal wore. Nearly all of his tattoos were under them except for those fish, birds, and lizards that climbed up his arm until they reached his rolled up sleeves, or those around his neck. Telvenni reckoned he was from Indaal, but hadn’t actually asked him.

  “Anywhere in particular?” Kluataal asked, hefting the bags about like pillows while Madrisi crossed the room toward them.

  “None of that seems all that heavy to you.” Madrisi said.

  Kluataal shrugged. “Right now, sure, but I don’t think we can go into the city with all of this.

  “My my, no. We can’t stay in the city more than a couple of days at a time. This is for the entire expedition.”

  Kluataal regarded him like he’d just watched him start pissing on the floor. “I had heard this expedition might take weeks. We’re going to be coming back up the slope every couple of days?”

  “Will that be a problem?” Madrisi asked.

  “It absolutely will be. I didn’t bring some of my equipment because I thought I would need to carry everything... Gods help me now I see everything you brought.” the big indolok said, shifting his weight.

  “Understand, it was a matter of haste.” Telvenni said. “There simply wasn’t enough time.”

  “You couldn’t delay a few hours for me to gather a little equipment?” Kluataal asked.

  Madrisi shrugged. “It’s my fault really, but look on the bright side. Less baggage now means more we can load into the wagon when we leave!”

  Kluataal maintained that ‘pissing on the floor’ glare for a few more seconds, then, like magic, he smiled and put his hands up. “Whatever you say chief. I’ll take out what I’ve got for now and go talk to that bald watcher. He looked to be a man who knows what he’s about."

  Kluataal started to walk away, but before he got to the stairs, Madrisi was yammering again.

  “Will you get the others from the cart? Make sure they find their way while I talk to the colonel?”

  Kluataal grimaced. He wanted to say ‘get your fucking butler to do it’, but instead, he just smiled again, and said “Sure thing, chief” before stomping his heavy boots back toward the stable.

  Noriah was just getting finished removing the bridle from the horses when she heard footsteps behind her. She swung the lantern around, gasping, but it was only Amurray, the little imperial with a loud mouth. His long brown hair had been put up in a bun, and his conical, wrinkly, hairy face was stretched into a frown as he studied her.

  “Don’t like this, not one bit.” she murmured.

  “What? Being underground? You’d better get used to it.” Amurray grumbled.

  “No, the dark. Even with the lamp, it doesn’t feel right to leave horses in this…”

  “Shadow? Better get used to that too.” Amurray added. “It’s going to be much darker in the sunken city, but unlike this place, you’ll have a good reason to be jumping at every little noise.”

  Noriah sighed. “I guess I did sign up for it, didn’t I?”

  “That’s right. Now get my bags. I have to talk with these watchers about my accommodations, and I must talk with our employer about timelines. I will not be stuck in this… crumbling heap for more than a few weeks.”

  “Where will you go?”

  “That inn at Disova, probably. I have no interest in becoming corpse food.”

  Noriah stared at him, confused.

  “For the restless dead, you nitwit. The lower levels of the buried city are full of them, and trust me, they’re the last sort of buggers you want to have in your company.”

  Noriah rubbed her arm and shrugged, lantern shifting in the encroaching dark. “I’ve never seen any undead, but I don’t imagine they smell very nice.”

  Amurray grimaced and wiggled his nose, “They absolutely do not.”

  Noriah grabbed the imperial’s luggage as well as a shoulder bag that Telvenni had left in the carriage. Being fully laden, she started sweating almost immediately, despite the cool, damp air of the underground stable.

  Struggling up the stairs, she swayed side to side, shoulders slumped, knees shaking. The narrow hallways of Gjeron’s Watch were difficult to navigate with such added size and weight, and she occasionally bumped the leather exteriors of luggage bags on the smooth stone walls. After just a few minutes, hair was sticking to her neck, and she had to stop more than once to wipe sweat out of her eyes.

  Noriah was content to just carry the bags the rest of the way until they reached the second set of stairs that led into the basement barracks. She regarded them with trepidation while Amurray wattled deeper in. She was perhaps a foot taller than the nombak, even though she was on the shorter side of average for Indaal. Despite that, he was surprisingly quick on his feet.

  She took a deep breath and braved the first step, then the second. Then, she looked out at the steep drop in front of her, and began to get dizzy. Climbing up the stairs was easy. If you fall, you just fall. Down though? Down would be so much further like this. Easing into the next step, her arms began to quake from strain. She knew it before she decided, but the truth was unavoidable. She would have to drop something.

  She glanced at her own bag of clothes, then to the imperial’s clothes. Then she looked at Telvenni’s and Madrisi’s. She and Telvenni’s were in her left hand, so she could just-

  “Come on girl. What are you waiting for, an invitation?” Amurray asked before shuffling back into view. “You look like you’re about to puke…. Or collapse. Maybe both.”

  “How… very… observant…. The illusion is complete…” she said, gritting her teeth.

  “Do you… need help?”

  “What do you think?” she sighed out.

  “You should have said something. I could have gone to get Telvenni. He’s supposed to be Madrisi’s butler anyway, he should be getting -”

  “Amurray!” she tried to shout, but it came out more like a squeak.

  “Ah. Right. I’ll be back.”

  “No no- take this -”

  “I’m not-” the imperial began, but she thrusted his bag into his hand, and nearly tipped over doing it. “I’ll pick it up in a minute, just put it at the bottom.”

  “By the pale ones’ slithery bosoms, girl, if you couldn’t handle it, you shoulda said.” he pouted before snatching his bag out of her hand, then taking Madrisi’s bag as well.

  Noriah sighed with relief, and crumpled to the floor. She closed her eyes and took a moment to catch her breath. It was going to be a much longer trip than she feared. She imagined how much better things would have been if Amurray had stayed home - or if they’d found literally anyone else.

  She needed Madrisi’s money, but Amurray was also funding the expedition, so she wrestled with the pieces of it in her mind while trying to slow her breath back down to a normal speed.

  Footsteps clomped back in her direction, and she sighed. She was starting to wonder if she would strangle that imperial to death by the time they made it back up north.

  “What?” she barked impatiently.

  “Nothing. Not unless you want to be here all night.” a deep voice replied.

  She glanced up at the square shouldered Kluataal in the corridor.

  “I mean, I assume you need help, anyway.” he said, shrugging. “If you wanna carry it all yourself-” he trailed off.

  “No! no- please, by all means.” she sputtered, lifting one of the bags up to him. Kluataal took it, then another, which he flung over his shoulder and carried by its strap. Then, he offered her his hand.

  “It’s not too much further. Come on.” he said, and she smiled. At least someone still knew their manners.

  Madrisi shifted uncomfortably while the colonel studied him from his old padded chair. The leather was cracking in some places, discolored or patched in others, but it didn’t wobble when he leaned over to pick up his pen and ink.

  “So, let’s go over this one more time. We are scouting this city next week, and you want to come with us. Why?” the colonel asked.

  “Well, actually, I was hoping we could go tomorrow. Also, I wanted to scout the city with you because your people know it better than anyone.” Madrisi said.

  “We can’t do tomorrow. Too soon. Now, why do you want to go into the city?”

  “Because, the Basilisk Steel Legion defended the city for years, and most of them were Gosilith model Animants. A model of which there are no surviving complete examples of. The Gosilith were… according to the textbooks, at least, expensive to mass produce. However, I’m willing to bet learning the secrets of their creation would be worth it. They were one of the most successful models, based on unit to performance ratios.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “So… you want these ancient animants to study them?” the colonel said, scribbling something down.

  “It could change how animants are manufactured forever. It could change the trajectory of my family’s fortune, and… well, the wars.” Madrisi said, rubbing his hands together. He wasn’t sure what the Colonel’s angle was, and he didn’t know if he was matching it either.

  Colonel Deverio set his pen back down in the bottle, then sat back. “So it’s for money then?” Deverio asked. “You want me to send you with my people into the most dangerous place in all of Yenzuz so you can make a little extra money?”

  “Well, to be fair, I’d be putting my own life in danger too. I’m not asking you to do anything I wouldn’t do myself.”

  The colonel sighed, then laced his fingers together in the middle of the desk. “Yes, but the only reason we bring people with us on these expeditions is because we’re already going into the city. Why should we divert our path for your expedition? What is so special that you need to impede us to get it done?”

  Madrisi fidgeted with the loose button on the bottom of his vest. It had been threatening to come off since it caught on the side of his wagon on the way in, but for now, he twisted it between his fingers while the colonel glared at him. He felt an awkward silence begin to stretch out. Almost as if the colonel expected him to actually reply to that question.

  “Well.. er- It’s not just money, really. Money is a language that everyone speaks, of course, but this technology is… it could save us all if we could build better animants. What sort of world will I be leaving behind if I can’t make it safer?”

  “So it’s a charity quest then? All for the greater good? You aiming to be a saint, or do you just need to check a few boxes? The underworld takes all types, you know.”

  Madrisi let out a puff of forced laugher, then gave an anxious smile. “Well, you know… my… I don’t know if-” he paused, then took a deep breath. This wasn’t working. If he really wanted to get the watchers’ help, he would need to lay on the charm.

  Madrisi stood up and started pacing about the room, gazing at the decor and trying to find the words. There were buckles, charms, pelts, broken bronze knives, and four demonic skulls about twice the size of a man’s. Plaques with etched plates describing hunts without number littered the walls, and several tools, whetstones, and devices sat on shelves. Bottles of Vile Ash were labeled with Scorn names where the horrors of the city had been conquered time and time again. Generations of watchers had been here in this room, and thousands of people had come through it seeking their aid. When Madrisi turned back to Deverio, he fixed him with his eyes.

  Honesty. No one could turn down an honest man.

  “My father, Gilviren Mendoso, was a great inventor. Automata were his purview, of course, but he invented other things as well. Do you know what the crowning jewel of his accomplishments was?”

  Colonel Deverio shook his head. “I can’t say I’m at all familiar with your father.”

  “He crafted the Jeximion model Animant in just five years of development. You’ll never have a more human-like companion than that particular member of the line…. But do you know what it amounted to?”

  “Well, the Jeximion are… not exactly common. They are.. Quite expensive and have a tendency to… wake up?… faster than other Animants, so…”

  “Exactly. My father wasted decades of his life designing and repairing new automatons just so his greatest creation could bankrupt him, and leave him to die with his hand on his pencil at the drawing board… but not from lack of trying or lack of brilliance. I have tried for the past sixteen years to follow in his footsteps, but honestly, if that’s where the footsteps lead, I’m not sure I want to go anymore.”

  “And you think going into the city to die is going to fix that? Grief is a powerful thing, but-”

  “My father died five years ago, Colonel Deverio. I have done my grieving. It is my uncle who concerns me now. He says that I am destined for the same fate as my father… but he’s wrong. I have something that my father did not.”

  Deverio grinned and shook his head, “Go on, I’m listening.”

  “I can take risks.”

  “What do you know about risks? You haven’t even set foot in the city yet. As far as I know, you might run away at the first sight of trouble. What does a noble know about putting their own neck on the line?”

  Madrisi tapped his temple. “Telvenni doesn’t know it, and I hope you will not tell him… but my uncle wouldn’t finance the trip.”

  Deverio nodded, slightly amused.

  “I had to take out a loan for the expedition, and even then, I needed help. I’m doing whatever it takes to finish this. If that means I die in the city, then that’s what it takes…” he said, before turning toward the door. “I will do what my father could not. If your people won’t help me, then I’ll find mercenaries who will. I have the funds now, and I don’t need anyone’s permission…” Madrisi set his jaw, then turned back around to place his hands on Deverio’s desk.

  “Your lot seem like they enjoy a challenge, and they’re definitely the best equipped to perform the task at hand. The question is… Are you?”

  Telvenni wiped the grime off of the table with a rag, but he wasn’t sure if that made it any cleaner. The watchers all stood or sat about in the common area, save for the wyrmblood, who was sound asleep on an old silk cushion in the corner.

  The musician was already banging away at his dulcimer again, and the others were gathered around the fire as the cold wind screeched against the jagged stone outside. A distant peel of thunder rumbled under the humming chords, and the butler sniffed the bowl of… soup? He had been offered. It nearly made his eyes water, but he took up the spoon all the same. If he was going to be living with the watchers for a few weeks, he would need to be able to eat what they ate, including… whatever this is.

  “It’s a little on the hot side, I’ve learned.” the huge easterner said just before the spoon met his lips. She had a broad mouth, a narrow forehead, and an engraved quill running through her nostril as well as a dark brown padded raiment trimmed with fur and metal studs, implying staggered plates of interlocking metal beneath - a brigandine by the brass toggles in the front, Telvenni reckoned. “I’m Lihada, by the way. I’m the resident hunter and survival expert. Although, Eruun and Vandasa are just as good to have around. You are?”

  Telvenni swallowed, then wiped the moisture from his forehead. “I’m Telvenni. I used to serve the Blue Crown in the Grand Army of Indaal, and now I serve His Lordship, Madrisi Mendoso, as his personal butler and bodyguard.” He sipped the broth, then bit into a dumpling.

  “The blue crown? You’re an awful long way from home.” Lihada said. “I haven’t met anyone from the west coast in probably.. Three, four years? It’s good that you have experience though. Any experience helps with a thing like this.”

  “Truthfully, it’s not my first trip to the dead city. I didn’t stay very long the first time, though.” Telvenni considered for a moment, then settled on flattery. Just like officer training, he had to ingratiate himself with the soldiers. “You know, if you always cook like this, I daresay you’ll have to show me the sights.”

  Lihada smiled, then clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m keeping this one!” she shouted, and a few of the others cheered.

  Telvenni stared at the thin layer of lichen and dust covering the stonework of the wall, pondering what he had just signed up for.

  Kluataal, on the other hand, was already a pint deep into an evening that hadn’t turned out too bad, all things considered. Noriah sat next to him, dozing with her back against the bricks, and that musician, Constan, was playing a familiar tune. He tapped his fingers and nodded his head to the notes almost instinctually until he realized what song he was playing.

  “Constan.. Are you from Indaal?” Kluataal said

  “Can’t say I am, brother.” he said, without missing a note.

  “Where did you learn ‘Where Stars Lie’? I swear I haven’t heard that song since I left home.”

  “Oh, I learned it from a friend at Cadnod’s Refuge before I transferred from there about six years ago.”

  “You were stationed by the rift?”

  “I was. Tell you what though, why don’t you sing along? If you’re gonna talk, you might as well stay on tune.”

  “I don’t know the words.” Kluataal lied.

  “-were he a son of mine…” Noriah said, stirring from her spot.

  Constan’s face shifted into a satisfied grin while the other watchers glanced over. Kluataal stared at her as she waited for the next stanza to begin.

  “This is our night -

  We can sleep in for hours-

  This is our night -

  It’s killed all the flowers.

  Our gift and our plight-

  It scathes and scowers.

  We have naught but time-

  And all of our powers

  Couldn’t brighten the sky-

  In the Land Where Stars Lie”

  Constan played the next few notes, and Noriah hummed along, renewed. When the song finally ended, there was a mixture of clapping before the pale vitrian woman took a seat next to Noriah and put a hand on her shoulder.

  “That was breathtaking. What’s it about?” Vandasa asked.

  “Home.. well, my home at least. If you go south far enough, the sun doesn’t shine - sometimes for months. In Indaal, the dark only lasts for a few weeks.” Noriah said, flatly.

  “Really? That sounds beautiful. You know, the Sapril Trail used to be constantly bathed in lunar night before the Wild Hunt moved on to greener pastures. That’s where I met Seigmoor.” Vandasa said.

  “Really? What's the Sapril Trail?” Noriah asked.

  “It’s a famous Dolmen Path. A bridge between the lunar courts and our world. One of many, but also one of the largest. Imagine an endless forest that’s as much real as it is arcane- full of cast off guardians and warriors with no master to serve. A lunarian without a Lunarch is like an unkept fire.” Vandasa said before sipping from her mug.

  “So they’re dangerous?”

  “Very. I’ve had to kill a few of them with my Cadre.” Vandasa stared off into the fire for a moment, embers sparkling in her wide, dark eyes. Then, she glanced back at Noriah. “-but that was then. Watcher prey is far more elusive than a roaming mob of lunarians. My Cadre won’t be returning to the trail unless the Wild Hunt does, and even then, I’m a watcher now..”

  “Do you miss it?”

  “Not often. Do you miss the south?”

  “All the time. I think I might go back around the bloom when it’s warm enough to swim by the sea.”

  “You should take me with you. Or at least bring back a strapping young southlander… preferably one in the market for… mature women.” Vandasa said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Noriah couldn’t tell if the huntress was joking or not, so she pointed to Kluataal.

  “I mean, he’s from the south. He hasn’t really talked about his preferences, but he’s definitely strapping. I suppose if you.. Wanted to-” she stumbled over her words as she saw the grin of diabolical smugness on Kluataal’s face.

  “Point taken.” Vandasa whispered.

  The door to Colonel Deverio’s office swung gently open as Madrisi led him out, map in hand.

  “So, all I’m proposing this week is that we establish what’s still above ground, and we can start the real work next week. The complex is… enormous… or at least… it was, so finding it shouldn’t even be all that difficult-”

  “I understand what you’re proposing, but we can’t go out with any real strength this week. We have an investigation to conduct and only a few days to capitalize on our findings.” the colonel said, cutting him down.

  “What if I left Telvenni here to help you with your investigation?”

  “Lord Mendoso.” he began, eyeing him down squarely, and speaking like he would if he were scolding a small child. “The foundry will still be exactly where it is next week - my lead will not be. I already told you, the earliest we can start is the end of next week. That’s assuming we aren’t still neck deep in it by then.”

  “I have pull, and I came with an imperial merchant. I could ask the county for a couple of investigators. There are other options that you haven’t bothered to explore yet-”

  The colonel stopped, then stared at the ceiling for a moment only a couple of strides from his office - from Madrisi. Everyone was watching the two of them except for Entivi, who was still sleeping, and Jonas, who was intently filing the burs off of a rough-cut metal piece.

  “When I step out of my office, Lord Mendoso, the conversation is over. Have a drink, sit down, and for the Four’s sake, stop talking about business. We can talk more tomorrow if we must, but I really need you to sleep on this and think about how you’re acting right now.”

  “I just want it resolved, that’s all.” Madrisi said. “What about the other watchers? What do they think?”

  “It doesn’t matter what any of us think. The objective comes first, and we can help you after.” Deverio said, turning to leave.

  Madrisi hesitated, then half shouted “If you’re afraid to go into the city, just say that, but you could at least let the others speak for themselves. Maybe one of the other watchers in this room has a spine.”

  Deverio swiveled back around, and the air went still. All the color seemed to drain out of the room, and only the faintly crackling firewood had anything to add.

  “Now - hear me, and make NO mistake. I need the other watchers for my investigation, end of story. The Watchers of the Rift are counting on us to do a job, and that job is to keep an eye on the Dead City.” Deverio grabbed Madrisi by the collar and yanked him off his feet, snarling and pinning him to the wall. “There is NOTHING more important to our mission than rooting out the rot around that festering wound in the fucking ground. Now, I suggest you have a DRINK, and sit DOWN. Another word about your fucking expedition, and I’ll take you into the city and feed you to the fucking Hole, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”

  Mendoso’s eyes were as wide as saucers as the colonel stared up at him. Madrisi nodded his head, and Deverio let him down, then carefully unclenched his shaking fists.

  The colonel took a step back, glanced about at the room. He saw the gaping faces as he straightened his coat. Then, he turned back to Madrisi, blinking. Deverio huffed, then reached back up to fix the lordling’s collar.

  “We uh… get deliveries from a couple different breweries. You should try the Mountain Flower lager. It’s a bit mild for my tastes, but I suspect the flavor is quite good with Lihada’s dumplings.” he mumbled before clearing his throat, patting Madrisi on the shoulder, and walking swiftly toward the front door.

  “Where is he going?” Kluataal asked the others.

  “Out. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” Deverio responded before opening the door and slipping out into the rain.

  “Will he be coming back tonight?” Madrisi asked.

  The black haired ranger, Eruun, huffed. “Did he grab an odd little knife out of his desk drawer?”

  “He did.” Madrisi said.

  “He’ll be back probably sooner - unless he goin’ to the creek to find a piece of driftwood. Then, he might actually be a couple hours.” Eruun replied, reclining back in the old cracked leather chair in the corner.

  Madrisi’s heart had finally started to slow down, and he collapsed onto the bench by the table. He took a deep breath, and as he glanced around, he realized everyone else had slowly started going back to whatever they were doing before. When he looked at Telvenni, his butler was staring off into the corner.

  “Telli.” he whispered, but he didn’t look back at him.

  “Telli.” he said again before patting him on the shoulder. The butler came-to with a sudden deep breath.

  “Are you alright, Telli?”

  “Sorry sir, I was… miles away.”

  Madrisi nodded at him. “Well, just, um.. Let me know if you need anything.”

  Telvenni glanced at him, then gave half a smile. “No sir. You let me know.”

  The first notes on the dulcimer came as something of a shock, but by then the tension was well broken anyway. He couldn’t venture into the city without a guide, but he also couldn’t wait for one either. It was an unenviable position to be in, for certain, but not one he couldn’t figure out. All he needed was the right angle.