Under a Starless Sky novel Chapter 53

TL retrieved an orb from her bag, illuminated it, and sent it forwards through the portal. She smiled, nodded, and proceeded forwards. Arne allowed Loxy her custom and followed. The party consisted of Shen, Loxy, Arne, Yaffa, Torny, Jerica, Tane, and Erico. A dozen others came carrying supplies, and took back goods that had Arne’s shipmates had collected near the gate.

The ship was a Knarr, christened the Aslog-flyer, and in sight of the gate. It was tied to a stone dock. It was one of a dozen docks, all stone. The docs themselves met a landing, and stairs up led to the portal. In the distance was an abandoned city, all of stone.

“Wow,” Shen said.

“Isn’t it a sight?”

Orton met Arne at the gate. Shen noticed Orton was a little upset, but thought it wasn’t his business. He walked away to stay out of it, TL following him.

“Can you determine how long it’s been abandoned?”

“I cannot,” TL said. She sent her scout-orb out to explore the city.

“Can you teach me that?” Torny said.

“I cannot,” TL said. “But I will share the info.”

TL sat down on the ground and began drawing the city from an aerial view. Arne stormed past her, headed into the city. Erico slowed only to tag Torny with an invite.

“Come on, Torny. The fools went into to town, and haven’t been seen since,” Erico said. “Shen, you and Loxy wait here.”

“Go with, Shen,” Loxy said. “I got you.”

Shen followed Arne and his party. When Arne realized Shen was with him, he confronted him.

“Go back to the boat, Brother,” Arne said.

“I intend to walk with you,” Shen said.

“My men disobeyed a direct order to remain by the boat,” Arne said. “They’ve been gone for over a day. That means danger. You don’t fight. I don’t have time to rescue your ass while saving others. Go back.”

“Don’t rescue me, then,” Shen said.

Arne pointed.

“You’re not telling a grown ass man where to go, are you?” Shen snapped.

Arne shook a closed fist, turned and stormed off into the direction he was traveling. Erico gave a shrug of eyebrows and moved on. They spread out.

“You really should stay back,” Torny said.

“I face what you face,” Shen said.

Shen stopped. Whatever it was, it was tangible, and likely he was more sensitive to it due the sensors in his uniform.

“What?”

He closed his eyes and stepped back. Torny whistled to get the others’ attention. Shen grimaced. “Don’t do that?” He kept his eyes closed, stepped back further, raised a hand as if following something. He went in a new direction, eyes closed, Arne and company following him. He touched an invisible wall. He felt sick at his stomach. He walked sideways.

“What is he doing?” Erico asked.

“He’s lived with ghost,” Jerica said. “Maybe he is sensitive to something we can’t see.”

“Giants?” Tane said.

“There are no such things,” Torny said.

“You keep saying that and yet we keep finding shit,” Erico said. “No such things as Siren, we find Sirens. No such things as ghost, we’ve seen ghosts…”

“Shen?” Arne said.

Shen opened his eyes and proceeded forwards at a quick pace as if he was determine to meet something. He stopped just shy of what looked like a miniature Roman aqueduct. There was water in the upper trough, he could discern that with the orb TL was flying. To get into the city proper, one had to pass through the arches that supported the water way. He stopped their progress.

“Don’t move,” Shen said. “Definitely, don’t go under the arches.”

At each of the columns were circular stepping stones. Two for each column, or two for each arch, and coming towards the arch at an angle revealed stepping stones on the other side. In light of his understanding of the gates of Midelay, he had concerns.

“We’re wasting time,” Erico said.

Shen picked up a rock and threw it through the arch. The rock disappeared.

“Fuck me,” Torny said. “Gates!”

Jerica lit up her staff, the whole of the gateway was suddenly illuminated blue. The edges of it flared. Every portal reflected blue light back.

“They’re all on,” Yaffa said.

“Where do they go?” Tane said.

“Loxy, I need the sentinel,” Shen said.

The orb was suddenly by his side, descending from a height.

“Is there a way around?” Arne asked.

“This aqueduct encircles the inner city,” Shen said. “It branches off and runs straight to the mountain. It’s fed by a spring.”

“You know how much power it takes to run all these gates?” Yaffa asked.

“No,” Shen said.

“Well, it’s a lot… And these are just full time on?” Yaffa asked.

“Where do the gates lead?” Tane said again.

“I don’t know,” Shen said.

“Different places in the city,” Jerrica said. “Short cuts.”

“Or away from the city,” Torny said. “A great way to keep invaders out, send them somewhere else.”

“These pedestals might be locks,” Shen said. “A master stands here, turns off the portal, we go in, two Master on other side allows the last one in.”

“Unless it’s the other way around,” Jerica said.

“Doesn’t matter,” Arne said. “They wouldn’t have known that. They would have just gone through.”

“Sentinel, I need you to pass under the arch, please,” Shen said.

The sentinel proceeded through the arch. It disappeared. Shen frowned.

“What?”

“We lost contact with it,” Shen said. “It either ceased functioning or it is so far from us we can’t connect. In the event of the latter, it will autopilot back home. I will learn more when I go back home.”

“So, we pick one and go through, or we all go through one,” Tane said.

“Loxy, would a telescope work?” Shen asked.

“Try it,” TL said, in his ear only.

Shen suddenly had a long, thin telescope in his hands.

“What is this?”

He gently probed the gate. To his relief touching the field didn’t suck him through, and if he pulled it out, he retrieved the whole of it back. He then stuck the wide end through, and looked through the eye piece. Nothing. He pulled it out and looked back at the boat to make sure it was working. It was. He picked another gate and tried to see on the other side. Nothing.

“What do you see?” Torny asked.

“Nothing,” Shen said. “Light must not be able to pass back through the event horizon.”

“What?”

Shen tossed the telescope down. Tane picked it up. On examining it, it became his favorite new tow. Shen magically retrieved rope from his bag, secured it to a nearby statue, tying the other end around his waist.

“You’re not doing that,” Arne said.

Loxy was now with them. “What Arne just said.”

“Someone’s got to. You can pull me back,” Shen said.

“We don’t know that,” Loxy said.

“If we assume a straight line from here to the boat, they probably picked one of these gates. We’ll take turns. I will take this one. You count to 20, then pull me back. Then we will try another one and see if the places are the same or not.” Privately he told her, ‘you know it has to be me. If I get into trouble, I can fly away.’ ‘Assuming the suit isn’t disabled.’ ‘This is not the same level of portal as the other.’ ‘I concur, but, this is dangerous.’

“I will take the first one,” Arne said.

“No, I am secure and ready to go,” Shen said.

“These are my people,” Arne said.

“I know,” Shen said, and rushed the gate.

Arne chased but Loxy blocked him. “You’re the compass for your people. He’s right.” Arne clearly struggled in his deliberation, but he conceded.

“He won’t fight, but he will risk his life for a people he doesn’t know?” Erico asked.

“Yeah,” TL said.

“Shouldn’t we be counting?” Tane asked.

“Fuck twenty. Pull him back now,” Arne said.