Ida’s Awakening

BECOMING MIDDLE EARTH - BOOK 1

TONY CORDEN

Copyright © 2022 by Tony Corden

Tony Corden owns the content in this book and reserves all his legal ownership rights. ‘Ida’s Awakening’ is published for your personal enjoyment. He allows quotations in book reviews and social media posts. In fact, if they are positive reviews, he encourages their use. If you want to use it for another purpose, email him and get his written permission; if you don’t, you may not reproduce or use it.

ISBN 13: 978-1-922336-80-4 (E-book)

‘Ida’s Awakening’ is fiction. Tony isn’t writing about real people and doesn’t intend in any way to point the finger at anyone. If there is a similarity, then it’s unintentional and a coincidence. Some of the places, nations, corporations, institutions, public figures, books, movies and songs Tony mentions are real. Tony has used them in a made-up story (fiction), i.e., IT ISN’T REAL.

Tony designed the cover using Photoshop. Vellum was used to prepare the e-book.

Published by Tony Corden in 2022

You can find out more at www.tonycorden.com or write to Tony at tony@tonycorden.com.

In memory of my grandmother,

Ida Mary Corden.

She would have made an excellent wizard.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Characters

Also by Tony Corden

Writing as Ethan Stand

Chapter One

Everything changed just before ten o’clock on the evening of April 6, 2029, but it took a few weeks for the reality of what had happened to filter down to most people. Even then, they really only understood the particular life and death issue that they had to deal with. I was even slower than most people, and even though I’d witnessed the actual harbinger of our transformation that night, I didn’t realise something was seriously amiss until mid-May.

Being a bit slower to catch on wasn’t that unusual as I was a bit of a recluse and spent most of my time reading or pottering in my small vegetable garden. I’d given up watching or listening to the news fifteen years earlier when they gave as much air time to some airbrushed influencer or flat-earther as they did to someone who was functionally literate. This, coupled with the fact that I lived by myself on ten acres surrounded by small communes of aged want-to-be potters and artists, back-to-nature pot-smoking vegans and others like myself who’d retired too early, or more to the point, with too much optimism.

At the time I didn’t think we were being optimistic; no, I thought we were reaping the benefit of our clean living and wise choices. We’d just turned sixty, we had plenty of superannuation put away, and our two adult children had secure jobs, attentive spouses and had begun to procreate. John and I moved to the hinterlands above the Sunshine Coast, bought acreage that had a pool to entice the grandchildren to visit, and we looked forward to spending time pursuing our hobbies or travelling. By the time COVID-19 had been dealt with, John was finishing his third round of chemotherapy, the children were too busy to visit, and I seriously doubted that any of John’s or my excellent DNA had made it to the following generation, not that I ever got to see them.

That Friday night, I was sitting on the back deck finishing a glass of red wine with my phone in my lap, waiting. The eternal optimist, I’d decided that my loving children had had a busy day and knew I’d still be up late and were waiting for their lives to slow down so they could ring me and wish me a happy eightieth birthday. Looking up, I saw the streaks of fire as a dozen or so small asteroids became meteors and raced across the sky. One seemed to dip toward the earth, and as the others streaked past, it exploded, the airburst spreading space debris far and wide.

From the few pictures taken just before they entered the atmosphere, it turned out that the meteors weren’t your usual bits of rock or ice. They looked like a wrecked and torn apart spaceship or part of one. Whatever it was, and wherever it came from, we’ll never know. What we do know is that something organic was on board and that as each section exploded, those organic bits were spread across the planet. Now, by organic, don’t think of something simple like a strand of DNA. No, whatever this was, it was far more complex and far more resilient.

The aliens’ cells each had a single coiled triple helix which formed a complex spherical polymer with over fifteen trillion nucleotides. Don’t worry, I won’t get into too much of the science, but before I retired, I worked in a university laboratory, and I think it’s important. So, the genetic code dealt with a biochemistry that used both carbon and silicon oligomers and had both glycosylamines and ones using phosphorus. Besides being complex, the small balls of cellar genetic code were hard to destroy. OK, end of the big science words. Either whole or in pieces, the genetic code rained down on the unsuspecting world.

Looking back, I can’t think of anything that hasn’t been changed by those bits of code. Sure, lots of the bits of TSNS became denatured. OK, sorry, but I made up that little acronym, and I’m quite proud of it. It means triple-stranded-nucleotide-spheres. So, those bits which did survive and managed to come in contact with Earth’s biology, they made changes. Some of the changes took months and years to uncover but the most influential, at least for most people, swept across the world within just a few weeks. The TSNS interacted with a whole slew of viruses and bacteria, and these swept across the globe, infecting everything.

By everything, I do mean everything. Within a month, bits of the genetic code were transforming the genetic makeup of insects and leaf litter on the floor of the Amazon jungle and the humpback whales off Tasmania’s coastline. Many of the changes were too drastic for the creature or plant to survive. By mid-April, the news of the devastating pandemics and failing ecosystems filled the airwaves.

I, being an unloved, or maybe an unloving recluse, didn’t hear any of this. The next morning, after ringing my children and kindly, and now that I think about it rather passive-aggressively, reminding them that their aged mother had slipped into her ninth decade, I made my monthly shopping trip into Nambour. The following couple of weeks I was laid low with what I thought was a bad cold. I basically ignored the phone, missing the frantic calls as my children tried to check on me. I didn’t like people leaving messages, so I never heard each of them say goodbye as they headed into the hospital.

Half the world died in those first few months, and over three-quarters of those who survived died in the chaos of the next few years. Those of us who lived, who survived, and maybe even thrived, well, we’re not the same as we were. The changes were hardwired into our DNA. I’ve no idea what the aliens were like, but I figure we were too small to become them. Instead, we took on some of their characteristics, and we didn’t do so uniformly.

Most people were changed when they caught one of the various transformed viruses or bacteria. If they didn’t die, then they were changed in one of three main ways. The most common left them looking pretty much the same as humans had always looked on the outside. They had the same mix of colour and gender, but they’d developed a variety of new organs. Which organs they grew was made evident by a change in either eye or hair colour, and for the more powerful, both.

These organs gave them limited control over the physical world around them; this control was with basic things like light, heat, magnetism, sound, electricity, and gravity. They could light fires, freeze water, hear a heartbeat, lift heavy weights, see in the thermal range and a myriad of other skills they learned to use to help keep themselves alive. They worked best in groups and survived by living in hamlets, towns and small cities. Their basic vulnerabilities were the same as old humans, and they had similar lifespans. The only other difference seemed to be the rate at which they multiplied. Of all the main groups, they were, by far, the most fertile.

Of those that lived, the next biggest group inherited a large group of characteristics that used the silicates and phosphates. Over several years, their bones became larger, harder and more dense to cope with the increased musculature and thick wiry ligaments and tendons. Their skin thickened and gave them added protection without reducing their ability to move, and they could move quickly. No hair grew on their bodies, and new flexible organs that looked like dreadlocks replaced what used to grow on their heads.

Their wide, muscular frames and colourful dreadlocks combined with the ability to shape and move the earth made everyone call them dwarves, although being at least a head taller than most humans kind of gave the word a different meaning. Dwarves came in both genders, and their numbers were slowly increasing, but it was primarily because they were both long-lived and hard to kill. Over time they congregated together and built communities in the mountains where they could mine like the creatures they were named after. Despite the change in their physiology, they had the same intelligence, passion, motivation and dreams as their human forebears.

The third main group were what everybody called the elves. Their bodies were also transformed, but instead of being harder and stronger by adding more, they were given better. Better skin, better muscles, better bones, better eyes, better hearing and the ability to manipulate metal and to control time. OK, that sounds way cooler than it really is. None of them could control all metals, and most needed to be touching the metal to transform it. As for time, at most, they could speed up and slow down their movement to some extent. They couldn’t move back and forth or anything like that.

They were almost as tall as dwarves, and from their hair colour and the shine of their skin, you could make a good guess at what metals they could manipulate. The more powerful elves could use several, and the very best could manipulate some alloys. They were slender, agile and generally, really, really hard to kill. Hard to kill not only because they were tough, but because they all had what John, a psychologist, would have called hyper-competitive disorder. This meant they all had your basic volatile mix of narcissism, neurosis and OCD, combined with a healthy dose of paranoia. They often spent their entire lives improving themselves and ordering everything and everyone around them. For many, this included learning ways to kill and stop being killed.

Dozens of other groups created by the mutated viruses and bacteria littered the countryside, but none had the numbers to challenge any of the main three; yet. They were all given names from the same genre, and there were orcs, goblins, trolls, hobbits, wraiths and so on. It wasn’t just people who were changed, but every single species on the planet had been transformed, and it took time to relearn what would and wouldn’t kill you and what could and couldn’t be eaten. When in doubt, it was a good assumption that it wanted to kill you, could kill you, and was itself probably inedible.

Then, there were the ‘other’, in inverted commas, group of newer beings. These had come in contact with one of the TSNS directly, and there were none of the attenuations that the microscopic intermediary had brought. Their DNA was unravelled and then put back together, cell by cell. Thankfully there weren’t many of these, as while most of these creatures survived, the majority of them, over eighty percent, lost whatever grip on sanity they’d had. With those that had been human, even more lost sight of their humanity. Their range of new abilities covered everything the others had received and more, sometimes much more.

The animals transformed this way were definitely the alpha predators and generally developed a range, and after a few years, most of the humans, dwarves, elves and other transformed humans had either been killed or fled. Those like this who had once been human, both sane and insane, were usually referred to by those names given the most horrible of Morgoth’s peoples, so, Nazgul, Uruk-hai, Balrogs, and Barrow-wights were all represented, and a number of Witch-Kings and Dark-Lords had popped up around the world, shaping the areas around them to whatever sick fantasy was running through their head.

Not many of us transformed this way were still sane. Wow, I slipped that in deftly just in case you were wondering when I was going to get to the point. Yes, this was me. Not only did I have what I considered a reasonably firm grasp on both my intellect and my humanity, but I looked pretty much the same as I had beforehand. Well, way, way beforehand. When I’d been transformed, I was remade cell by cell and had had a complete remodel. I think I looked like a kid, but the reality is I looked like a healthy woman in her mid-twenties.

I was taller than I had been, which was just as well as I was still almost two feet shorter than the average dwarf. Those like me were called wizards, and I dare anyone, anyone, to call me a witch, and while we were either barely tolerated or actively despised, most people kept their opinions to themselves and were very polite around us. I’d missed out on all the physical markings of the new humans and, after a few decades, either wore a wig and some homemade contacts, or I covered up and pretended to be one of them.

The biggest problem was there wasn’t really a great need for wizards that I could see, not sane ones. If we didn’t want to kill everything or rule everything, then there wasn’t all that much for us to do. Even in the literature, they didn’t do all that much except sneak around and meddle. Gandalf, the most famous wizard of all (sorry Harry), wandered around selling fireworks to keep himself in tobacco. Sure, he did save everyone now and again, and he fought the really dangerous bad guys, but most of the time, when he wasn’t visiting his want-to-be girlfriend, Galadriel, or meddling with the lesser races, he was a travelling vagabond.

After the first few centuries, things had sort of settled down, and while I tried not to meddle and had no desire to start smoking, I still liked the occasional glass of wine as I watched the sunset of an evening and preferred a little variety to go with freshly killed game and vegetables from the garden. Often this meant a small trip into one of the local hamlets or towns along the coast. However, at least once every few years, it meant a trip down to what I still occasionally thought of as Brisbane but most recognised as the lands belonging to the elven ruler, High Lady Isabelle.

Chapter Two

Every second year, in the first two weeks of September, High Lady Isabelle hosted the Grand Market. These brought caravans of merchants from everywhere within a thousand kilometres to sell their wares. I used the market to stock up on essentials, but more importantly, to sell my own wares and provide myself with enough loose change so I didn’t have to go door to door selling fireworks. I’d been attending the market almost religiously in one form or another for nearly two hundred years, and I had built up a very dedicated following.

Now, ‘by one form or another’ was my way of saying that not many people, none that I could think of, were aware that I had the same longevity as the elves and the other Maiar, my name for the various creatures like me. OK, it was Tolkien’s name, but as far as I knew, no one else used the term generically in the same way I did. The point is that I’d been careful to change my name and reintroduce myself to people every forty years or so. Even so, I’d still been able to develop a following by giving the impression that I’d taken over from my master after finishing my apprenticeship.

The deception seemed to work by alternating the two characters for several years before killing myself off or retiring. The downside of the deception was finding a way to explain living by myself in the wilds, as not even the elves did this successfully for any length of time, a week or two at best. In the end, people made up their own stories and most believed I was part of a larger community that remained hidden to protect itself and its resources.

The other necessity had been developing the skills to protect myself without seeming to resort to wizardly abilities. So, while my body was more resilient than either the elves or dwarves, I chose to wear protective armour. Instead of using the additional strength and speed to protect myself, I’d learnt to use all sorts of weapons and trained every day to keep these skills as sharp as I could. This came in handy as it not only gave a reason that I was still alive, but it added value to what I made and sold.

To be clear, I still used the other abilities but had worked to hone them so nobody knew when I manipulated metal to sharpen a sword, or when I stepped a little faster through time to move out of the way of a particularly savage attack. No one could see the superconductive neural pathways or the organs which had more power than any of the similar ones found in the new humans, dwarves or elves. My manipulation of gravity to slow an opponent or the smoothing of the ground under my feet was all hidden away from prying eyes.

A week before I planned to head south, I woke early, as I usually did, and went through my morning routine of stretches and practising one of the myriads of hand-to-hand forms I’d picked up over the years. After that was a shower and breakfast. Before the change, I’d always stayed away from too much meat. Still, the new body needed its nutrients and a healthy dose of different proteins, and I rarely had a meal that hadn’t meant some animal or other had needed to be killed. It had taken some experimentation, but I’d recently discovered a way to cure kangaroo so it tasted like bacon.

Now, when I say kangaroo, that is a description of what the animal had started out as. This particular species had been transformed along the lines of the dwarves, and a single leg could easily weigh 750 kilograms. They no longer simply hopped around eating grass and annoying farmers, but they were serious predators who hunted in packs. Most human hamlets had high walls and dug trenches with stakes around the outside to deal with a whole range of pests like them. Anyways, after discovering the recipe, I’d cleared out one of the local mobs and had several tonnes of the bacon to take with me to the market.

After breakfast, I headed downstairs to the range and shot my usual hundred before heading to the workshop to start packing for the trip. When I travelled, I usually carried four handguns, which may seem like overkill, but then that was the point. The two forty-fives were high on my thighs and preloaded for smaller beasts and humans, although I had several magazines filled with more exotic cartridges for elves. The larger seventy-fives were loaded for dwarves and the larger beasts and were placed lower down the thigh and further toward the back. I usually carried ten additional twenty-round magazines of the smaller cartridges and four extra ten-round magazines of the larger ones. When I hunted, I also carried a multi-bore rifle, and I planned to shoot fifty or so at the longer range later in the day.

Each of the firearms was handmade, as were the various cartridges. Again, handmade is a slight misnomer as I was able to manipulate most metals and alloys. Even so, I’d worked hard at fine-tuning my control over the years and could turn out a hundred loaded cartridges in half an hour. Besides making my own weapons, I crafted firearms for humans, dwarves and elves and sold cartridges by the thousands every year. OK, I suppose I was a little like Gandalf; instead of fireworks, I sold their more dangerous offspring, firearms.

I made what looked like lower quality firearms for humans and sold those on and off during the year. When I went to the Grand Market, I took my best work, and while most of the everyday run-of-the-mill dwarves and elves couldn’t afford my best work, there were enough well-to-dos that I usually sold out every visit. Each firearm was crafted using a variety of alloys, and for the elves, I added intricate designs and gems to the final piece. Besides guns, I also made a range of knives, swords, bows and whips and a small stock of protective armour for elves made with alloys most elves hadn’t yet been able to manipulate. I made a range of explosive arrowheads for bows but sold most of these to humans along with the cheaper cartridges.

It took most of the week to double-check each of the weapons and pack them into the massive metal caravan I’d built to protect my investment. The following day I made my way to the nearest hamlet to get four oxen to pull the wagon, and arrived at the outer wall just after lunch. The guard lowered his weapon when he saw who it was, and called out, “Lady Ida, we’ve been expecting you. The oxen arrived a few days ago. Will you be staying or heading off as soon as you can?”

Ida was the latest of my incarnations and was the name of my maternal grandmother. “I’ll head off as soon as they’re ready. Why?”

“Temp wanted another opportunity to convince you to take her with you. I promised I’d ask if you arrived today.”

“I thought your father had finally got her sorted out.”

As he opened the gate and lowered the drawbridge, he said, “Not a chance. She’s worn him down, and I think he’d give his blessing as long as you promise not to bring her back.”

I couldn’t help chuckling. “What about you? Surely you’d miss your littlest sister?”

“Not likely! Besides, she’s pissed off all the possible suitors around here, and dad’s thinking she’ll need to move anyway if she wants a family. His only reservation is she’s one of the best hunters we have and the only gravity worker in the village.”

“I was under the impression that tying herself to a lesser being was the last thing she wanted to do.”

“It’s that very attitude, succinctly communicated, which has ruined her chances with all the boys. Even Ma’s given up trying to tame her. She blames herself for naming her after your old master. I never met her, but Ma says that woman was pricklier than a herd of echidna.”

Whatever humour I’d seen in the situation dried up at the comment. Darin’s mother wasn’t the picture of grace and gentility herself, and if I’d been prickly when she was younger, it’s because she was even more full of herself than her daughter and with far less reason, the harridan. Even though my face was hidden by my protective helmet Darin was astute enough to know he’d unintentionally prodded the bear. He was much smarter than his mother, not that that would have taken much, the bitch.

The oxen were owned by me but usually lived in one of the larger towns closer to the coast. I left them there because they were too much trouble to look after and would’ve been killed within days at my place unless I let them live inside all the time, and that wasn’t going to happen. For most of the year, they were used to plough, and to power either the mill or the irrigation system of whatever town was looking after them, but the deal was they were free whenever I needed them. Not many towns had the massive beasts, and it was a win-win situation for everybody.

Each animal stood eight feet at the shoulder and weighed five or six tonnes. They were one of the animals that were still primarily herbivorous, and these had been trained from birth to be mostly gentle. I’d bought the four of them over fifty years previously. While everyone else was fooled by my disguise, they were well aware that I was the apex predator, and after several deep bellows when they first picked up my scent, they shuffled toward me, their heads low to the ground, meek as lambs.

Temperance, the overly-gifted daughter of the hamlet’s headman, was leading them, and as they got close, she looked up and smiled in my direction. Even as she opened her mouth to greet me, I said, “No.”

“Well, hello, Lady Ida.”

“No.”

“I haven’t asked anything.”

“No. No. No.”

“I can help.”

I knew better than to enter into a discussion or to try reason. “No.”

“Give me one good reason.”

“No.”

“I’ll look after the ferocious four.”

“No.”

“I’ll cook.”

“No. Besides, Darin’s explained your giftedness in that area before.”

She smiled, having got something other than an emotionless response. “I’m teachable.”

Not trusting myself to stay on the monosyllabic script, I ignored the comment and checked each of the oxen, then double-checked their harnesses. Temp, as most people called her, it was a shortening they’d never have got away with when I’d owned the name, had stopped talking and waited patiently until I was finished. She looked up at my mask, searching for something which she didn’t find. She sighed and said, “I’m sorry. It’s just that I want more than this, but I guess I’ll have to find it some other way.”

I forced myself to ignore her and turned away, only to hear her mother call out, “See, even Lady Ida knows you’re worthless. That’ll teach you to think you’re better than us. Now get back to your chores, you useless child.”

It wasn’t the poor parenting, the breaking of the child’s spirit, the harsh tone or any of the more enlightened reasons that made me respond. No, it was the word ‘even’. What made the skinny cow think she could use the word ‘even’ in the same sentence with ‘Lady Ida knows’? Now would be a good time to mention that, like the elves, I had inherited a small, though almost negligible condition similar to the hyper-competitive disorder that they had, and at times like this, it was very close to the surface.

I looked over at Dray, the girl’s father, and said, “If I take her, she’ll not come back, probably not even for a visit. She’ll be tied to me in a way no one else has ever been, and I won’t promise she’ll survive the night, much less succeed to reach whatever potential she has.”

He nodded and gave a rueful smile. “She’s dying a little bit every day as it is. I’ve dreaded the thought of watching her wither and fade.”

Turning to Temperance, I found that she was staring at her father, tears in her eyes. I said, “Walk out of here with me, and there is no turning back. You’ll be walking into a life of servitude, not one of freedom. You’ll become what I want, not what you want. Yes, it’ll be more than this, but it’ll be hard and more than likely, it’ll break you and see you left with nothing.”

Her back straightened, and I could see she’d heard the words and the certainty with which I’d said them. “Lady Ida, I know I don’t really understand, but I would like the chance to be more.”

Breathing out slowly, I shook my head and then reached over and took the rope to lead the oxen. I said, “Keep the clothes you are wearing but leave everything else here for your family. Gather a small bag of things that have some personal value to you but bring no food and no weapons, not even a knife. I’ll wait outside the gate for fifteen minutes. Be there before I leave, or the offer is withdrawn. Go.”

Temperance bowed her head and hurried toward her home. Darin stepped close and said, “Thank you, Lady Ida.”

“Bah, humbug. Open the gate.”

Chuckling softly and yet still moving quickly, he hurried to do as I’d ordered. The oxen followed the lead, and we all stood waiting, looking away from the hamlet. I had almost convinced myself to retract the offer when I heard the gate open, and Temperance stepped up beside me. I checked what she’d brought, then said, “The ferocious four as you call them have names. That is Durin, next is Thorin, then Gloin and finally Gimli. Hop on Durin’s shoulders and be quiet. I’m in no mood for chatter.”

Lessening the gravity around her, Temperance leapt onto the shoulders of the first ox and stared resolutely ahead as we headed along the trail and into the wilds.

Chapter Three

I could feel Temperance flinch as the trail narrowed and the foliage grew overhead in places. None of her hamlet would travel alone this far from the town, and none would wander casually without having their weapons out. I said, “We’ve a distance to travel as my home is on the other side of the caravan route. While I applaud your desire to remain aware of your surroundings, I didn’t bring weapons for you, so leave the worrying to me for the moment. I’ll outfit you tomorrow, and next time you can help keep watch. Feel free to be anxious but keep the movement to a minimum as it will bleed into Durin, and I’d rather you didn’t stress him out.”

After a while, she stopped reacting to every noise, although she remained aware of where she was and the small parts of the wilds she could see. The four oxen had been this way before and plodded after me, only occasionally reacting to the scents of the forest around them. Even then, they only lowed softly or shifted their heads before resuming their steady pace. Still, even their presence didn’t tempt the hundreds of predators who watched our progress into approaching us. Those in what I considered my domain, like the oxen, knew my scent and had some knowledge of what I was, and they were smart enough to hunt elsewhere.

I led the way back up the wider caravan route for a kilometre before pushing through what looked to be a denser part of the undergrowth but opened up quickly into one of the trails which led toward my home. I was pleased Temperance had the self-control to keep quiet as I needed the time to think through how impulsive I’d been. People expected age to bring a certain circumspection, but I suspected I hadn’t been this foolish for several hundred years, and I hoped it wasn’t going to become a habit.

Three or so hours after leaving the hamlet, we approached the base of the cliff into which I’d built my home. Temperance shifted slightly as she saw the massive steel doors which blocked our way. I wasn’t in the mood to play games. I used my ability to manipulate metal to shift the bars which kept it locked, then used my control of earth to remove the lip of rock that held them closed before using gravity to drag them open.

As they closed behind us, I flipped the switch, and the lights came on using the bank of batteries I’d built. I led the oxen into their stalls, and Temperance climbed down and shuffled out into the open area before the wagon, which was mostly ready to go. She lifted her head bravely and said, “Lady Ida, please forgive the question, but what are you?”

I pointed to some fodder I’d prepared and said, “Feed the oxen, then come upstairs, and I’ll tell you some of my story.”

I headed to the circular stairs I used and made my way up to the main living area, suddenly aware that I hadn’t worked out where the girl was going to sleep. In the short time it took her to feed and water the animals, I’d changed out of my armour and slipped on a linen tunic and trousers. I’d poured us both a glass of water and was sitting on the lounge staring out over the forest. Temperance moved around so she could see me and took in my features before saying, “Lady Ida, are you also the bard, Juliana?”

“Sometimes I visit the towns as Juliana. I like singing, and singing to myself isn’t a lot of fun. Sit, have some water, and I’ll set some context. I’m similar to what your people call a Dark-Lord, or a Witch-King, although I despise both names, and if anything, I think of myself as a Wizard. My lack of prudence this afternoon means you are one of only a few who know this, and none of the others are still alive. At the moment, I am Ida. Before that, I was Temperance, and before that, Quinn. My real name is none of your business, and to everyone else you meet, I am Lady Ida, a human gunsmith. I am a maker of weapons who has the gift of manipulating heat.

“I keep my hair short like this and either wear a wig and what are called contact lenses, or I keep myself hidden behind my armour. I have no need of a servant and do not want an apprentice. I’m still not sure what direction our relationship will take. It may be that I’ll leave you in the city to make your own way, but please understand that what I have just shared should never be hinted at, either by your speech or actions.

“This afternoon, I’ll outfit you with some basic armour and make sure you have some suitable weapons for the journey. Tomorrow we’ll leave early as I’ve plans to join a dwarven caravan for the trip to the Grand Market. I’ll probably call you my apprentice, and that will awaken their curiosity. Still, I expect you to do nothing to satisfy any of their inquiries. Now, enough chatter. Finish the drink, then come with me.”

My armour went over an inner linen layer and a leather outer layer. Besides using the occasional bits of chain mail, the armour itself consisted of over two hundred interleaved and handmade sections, which gave me the full range of flexibility while protecting every joint, ligament, tendon, vein and artery. Using my ability to manipulate metal, I could lock pieces together, or simply by twisting a wrist or arm in a particular way, I could achieve the same without resorting to my gifts. Each piece had been designed expressly to achieve a specific purpose, and while some were solid and made of something hard like tungsten, other components were formed from metal which I’d constructed by adding gaseous pores on the inside to help dampen shock and make it lighter.

The current iteration was enamelled using the darker greens and greys of the forest, along with black and the occasional highlight or etching in red or gold. The helmet covered the entire head, and I’d added hardened glass to protect the eyes and a short mohawk of almost iridescent yellow hair to match the image that I was a human who controlled fire. Everything was designed to blend seamlessly, including the designs on my firearms, the knives and that on the two swords I wore in a shoulder holster. If I was outside during a meal, the piece covering my mouth and jaw could be unhooked and shifted to either side where it blended without clashing.

Temperance’s use of gravity gave me some leeway on weight, but I pared down her armour to fifty pieces. I insisted she cut her hair shorter and style it to stick out for several inches along the top, although it could be a little longer at the back. Her helmet still covered her face, but her eyes could be seen, and the mohawk allowed the naturally turquoise coloured hair of a gravity weaver to push through. I added some turquoise etching but mostly kept the same muted greens and greys.

I gave her two firearms which I moulded to her hands and made her shoot off several hundred rounds to get used to them and the additional recoil the more powerful cartridges caused. After the first twenty, I explained how she could adapt her control of gravity to reduce the recoil and increase her accuracy. She’d not learned to use swords in the hamlet, so I changed the attachments on her back to take a compound bow and quiver and made her shoot fifty arrows to get used to the difference from the usual recurve bows that she’d always used. The quiver was half full of pre-formed arrows and half-filled with blank metal shafts. I made her practice drawing a shaft and fit the arrowhead of her choice using a simple motion before knocking the arrow.

As she practised, I finished filling the wagon and made some room for Temperance to sleep inside with me. After dinner, I sent her to sleep on one of the lower levels where I’d cleared out a small storage room and told her we were leaving soon after the sun rose the following day. During the afternoon, she’d been polite and, after thanking me for the gifts, said almost nothing. She washed the dishes without me asking and checked if she had any chores before heading to bed.

Once she’d left, I’d sat staring into the night for an hour before heading to bed myself.

* * *

I was up early and did my stretches and drills while it was still dark. Temperance was up, and I was aware of her watching the moves from the shadow. When I’d finished, I said, “When we get back, I’ll get you started on some basic skills. You can join me for the next part.”

After we’d both shot a hundred rounds, I shot the same number of arrows while she shot fifty. After everything was cleaned away and the magazines reloaded, we headed up for breakfast. After we’d eaten, I told her to get her armour on and meet me at the wagon. Not unexpectedly, Temperance needed help adjusting several parts of her armour. After it was in place I had her help get the oxen connected to the wagon before I opened the door and led them out.

Once everything was locked, I said, “I’m not used to working with someone, so if I ignore you but you can see something you can help with, then step forward or say something. I usually walk, and you can follow suit or sit on the wagon if you want to. It’s heavy, and there are several places before we reach the main trail where I’ll lift it. Your skill isn’t as strong or finely tuned as mine, and for the moment, I suggest you simply try and sense what I’m doing.

“Nothing’s likely to even think of attacking us until we’re about twenty kilometres south of here on the main trail, but it’s always good to be aware of what’s around us. We’ll be with the caravan by then, and I usually let them deal with anything dumb enough to attack us, and I suggest you do the same. I’ll introduce you as Temperance, and everyone will call me Ida, and it’ll be easier if you do the same.

“To them, I’m a gifted human who’s blessed to be accepted into their circle. You’ll need to earn your place, so try not to take offence at anything they say, but on the other hand, don’t put up with them purposefully talking down to you. There isn’t much you can actually do, so ignore them and walk away. If one of them is on their first trip, they might try doing the same to me. I’m usually patient, but every now and then, when someone is a complete idiot, I’ve been known to become a little agitated. Whatever I do or say, ignore it and act as if they’re not even there.”

I took a different path and came out onto the main caravan route several kilometres further south than where we’d crossed it the day before. I unhooked the oxen and let them forage until I heard sounds coming up the trail. I had better hearing than the elves. When I added to that the enhanced human ability to gather sounds, it wasn’t surprising that Temperance hadn’t noticed anything. I wasn’t in any mood to explain why I suddenly moved, but I was pleased that when she saw me step toward the oxen, she moved ahead and helped gather them and hitch them into place.

By the time they were connected, she could see the guards moving ahead of the caravan and hear the lowing of their oxen as they pulled the dozens of heavy wagons similar to mine down the trail. I joined the same group each time they made the trip to Lady Isabelle’s Grand Market and had visited their cave system several times over the centuries, although not in the last fifty years. They let me tag along for the discount I gave them on any ammunition or weapons they bought from me. I was hoping the bacon would provide some added attraction to my presence this year.

Chapter Four

The first dwarves to pass by did nothing more than acknowledge me, and I knew from experience they’d wait until we stopped for the night to greet me properly. As the first wagon approached, it was preceded by the caravan master, an older dwarf eight feet tall and half that across the shoulders. His age was evident in the length of his dreadlock organs, which reached almost to his waist. He stepped aside and said, “Ida, well met. We have a few extra wagons this year, and I’ll have you slot in about two-thirds of the way down. My daughter Kell is on her first trip, and I have her working with Bol. Slot in after her.”

“Will do, Hammer. Anything I need to know?”

“The last five wagons are from a different clan who live further north than where we do. They’ve had some trouble with humans up that way, and they might be a bit mouthy. I’d appreciate it if you kept your temper.”

“I can’t see any reason why I wouldn’t. I’m used to mouthy dwarves.”

“Try and keep a lid on your insults as well. They’re not as easygoing as our clan. This is the first time you’ve had a helper. Are you getting old or something?”

“Nope, just a change is all. It’s the way of the world. Her name is Temperance.”

Turning to Temperance, I said, “Temperance, this is Jack, he leads the caravan. When you get to know him, he might let you call him Hammer. He’s not a clan chief, but most treat him with that level of respect.”

After a few more polite comments, Jack moved on, and I greeted each of the dwarves who passed by and introduced Temperance to the quarter of those I got on best with. When I saw Bol approaching, I turned to Temperance and said, “We’ll slot in after this one. Durin and Thorin know what to do once I get them moving. The aim is to have them merge in slowly, so we don’t make any of the wagons actually stop.”

Bol was the largest dwarf I’d ever met and was over nine feet tall. He was middle-aged, and his dreadlocks reached well past his shoulders. His face lit up in a grin as he approached, and he said, “Ida, I wish I could say how well you were looking, but with the armour, you look the same every year. Hammer said you’d be slotting in behind us.”

He waved at the female dwarf beside him. She was average height for a dwarf at around seven and a half feet, and her dreadlocks were more densely packed and only just reached her shoulders. Bol said, “This is Kell, Hammer’s youngest. Kell, this is Ida, the best weapon smith you’ll ever meet and the biggest cheat at cards I’ve ever seen.”

Kell nodded and gave a weak smile but said nothing. I stepped forward to get the oxen moving before introducing Temperance, then let the conversation die to make sure we merged successfully. The merge took several hundred meters to complete, and then I walked beside Temperance as the caravan wound its way toward Brisbane. We’d been walking for about half an hour in silence when Temperance said, “Ida, is there anything I should be thinking about or trying to learn while we walk?”

“How well do you read?”

“I know my letters, and I helped my father keep the village records.”

“Stay here for a moment while I get a book out of the wagon. It’s one of my journals and it describes the city and has maps which show where everything is. There are lists of the significant elves and their relationships. When I return, go sit on the roof and work your way through what’s there and try and develop a framework that you can slot your own experiences into when we arrive.”

For the rest of the day I was able to walk in silence. I’d prepared packed lunches and ate as I walked. I was thankful for the space to continue working through the possible plans for what to do with Temperance. She’d been an added complication, but I found myself seeing her less as an unwanted burden and looking forward to the newness of the experience with an excitement I hadn’t felt for a long, long time.

* * *

Before dark, we reached a large field that had been cleared of trees numerous times in the past. Each time the caravan camped, Hammer would send ten or so dwarves ahead about an hour before reaching one of the fields they used for camping spots. The dwarves would first use large axes to clear away most of the foliage and any animals that hadn’t been smart enough to escape. Once that was done, they started at the centre, and using their ability to shift earth, they would tear the top layer of dirt and stone away, dragging most of the vegetation with it. This was packed around the edge of the field and added to the mound from the times before. An entrance was left near the trail, and then the dwarves walked around packing the dirt and rocks flat.

Even by the time we made the return journey, less than a month from now, vegetation would have started to reassert its hold over the field. By the end of the year, the undergrowth would be home to insects and animals that could kill unwary travellers. Hammer led the way onto the field and moved around the outer limits where he wanted the caravans to be placed before spiralling inward until his wagon was near the centre and all the wagons were inside the field. Mine was on the outer ring just before the wagons moved inward and was beside the entry point.

Temperance had climbed down as we approached the field, and she was quick to begin getting the oxen unhooked. While she did that, I made sure the wagon couldn’t move, then shifted some of the internal metal rods that locked everything in place and pulled the sides out to double the interior space of the wagon and give Temperance and me room to sleep safely. All the other wagons had similar mechanisms, but the dwarves were too large to sleep comfortably inside. Most had barriers they erected on the roofs. I also had barriers and usually used them to set up a place to relax.

I helped Temperance by driving stakes into the ground for her to use to tie the oxen to so they’d not wander. Bol walked past and said, “I’m getting some fodder for our oxen. Can I get you some?”

“Thanks, I’d appreciate that. Do you want me to cook for you and Kell?”

“Just me. The little princess eats with her friends most nights.”

“Yeah, I saw her disappearing. How did you manage to get her as a partner? You usually work with Jenn, and I thought you and her were getting more than friendly.”

“You have such a delicate way with words. We still are more than friendly, and she actually got pregnant after the last trip. I’ve a daughter now. We picked one of the newer dwarvish names and called her Jenria. Hammer asked me to hire Kell for the trip, but I’ve already told him he’ll have to pay her because she’s doing nothing to earn her place. I’ve seen Temperance do more to help than she has, and we’ve been on the road for over a month.”

“Congratulations on the daughter. Food for one then.”

Temperance asked what she could do to help, and I explained that the dwarves had a roster for keeping watch and that I was never put on it. I usually either chatted with friends or reread one of the books I’d brought. It was possible some of the dwarves would come looking for ammunition or firearms, but most waited until the second night before pestering me. While she used a small axe to peel the bark off several of the large tubers that passed for potatoes, I used some of my yeast starter with some flour and oil to prepare dough to make some flatbread, then sliced five kilograms of the kangaroo bacon.

I pulled heat from the pile of torn up vegetation on the boundary and used it to both heat oil in a pot to fry the potatoes and heat a large skillet to fry the bacon. By the time Bol returned and fed the oxen, there was a stack of chewy half-inch thick dinner-plate-sized rounds of bread, several kilograms of chips, at least as much again in bacon and a bowl of boiled greens and carrots for Temperance and me to share. I’d unfolded a table and set chairs for the three of us.

Bol turned up with a large jug of dwarven ale, a mug, a large dwarven plate and some utensils. He looked at the food then lowered himself into the oversized low set chair. Turning to Temperance, he said, “Ida stays away from my ale and usually drinks what she calls wine but tastes like flavoured water. You’re welcome to have some of the ale, but most of you humans find it a little robust.”

I’d set out some water for Temperance and me after pulling the heat from it to cool it down. I waited as Bol sniffed the bacon. He speared one of the large rashers with a fork and took a large bite. It was several minutes before he said anything, and in that time, he finished the rasher and grabbed another. Finally, he said, “I’ll swap Jenn and my daughter for the recipe. What is it called?”

“I call it bacon after the fabled food of the gods before middle earth. It’s not quite the same process, but it is preserved, and I suspect it will keep for almost a year. I brought several tonnes, and how about I give you a leg to take back as a present for Jenn and Jenria?”

“I’ll accept, but I have no idea how to repay you. How big is a leg?”

“One of the large kangaroo ones, about 750 kilograms.”

Bol reached over and added a dozen rashers to his plate and a kilo of chips. We talked about life in general, although Temperance hardly said anything. We didn’t finish everything, and Bol happily accepted some of the leftovers when I explained how I planned to use them to make sandwiches for breakfast and the next day.

When the change of watch bell sounded, Bol came to his feet. He said, “I can see why you live in this area. We seldom have trouble the day before or after we pick you up. We met more than a few predators on the way south and some of the other wagons are running short on ammunition. A few have even had to resort to axes while on watch. Be warned that the northern dwarves use rifles with an automatic fire option, and they are running low. I know you don’t supply ammunition to those who waste it, so be ready for some aggression.”

“Thanks for the warning. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Temperance watched as he walked away then stood to get the dishes. She said, “I’ll clean up. When do you empty the toilet compartment?”

“Just before we leave in the morning usually. Hammer likes to leave just after sunrise, and everyone is used to having breakfast on the move. I don’t do more than a basic set of stretches in the morning, not outside where everyone watches. When you’ve finished the dishes, come to the roof and tell me what you learned about the city.”

It was clear that Temperance had a sound mind. After helping her recognise some of the deeper implications of what she’d read, I sent her off to bed and sat watching the forest for an hour. Most of the camp was quiet, but there was some loud laughter from around the wagons I knew belonged to the northern dwarves. After the little I heard, I wasn’t looking forward to meeting them the following day. Regardless of what they wanted, I didn’t make weapons that had an automatic fire function, and I didn’t sell ammunition to people who used them.

In the end, though, I decided I might have to bend the rule to keep the peace, but if that became necessary, then I’d increase the price and make them pay for making me relax my principles.

Chapter Five

Before we got moving the next morning, I was reminded that sometimes the decisions we make objectively and dispassionately in the cool of the evening are obviously not applicable when some idiot gets in our face and makes stupid demands. Temperance was harnessing the oxen while I pushed the caravan back to its travelling configuration when I heard Kell yelling at Bol, “I need some ammunition. You are responsible for supplying what I need. Hand some over!”

“No. You haven’t had to fire your weapon, and I gave you a full load when we started out.”

“I need some for my new gun. It’s a gift from Krater.”

“Then ask Krater for ammunition. I won’t supply ammunition for that type of weapon, and you know that. Now, if you yell at me again, then I won’t wait until we get back home to tell you to take a hike. I’ll do it now.”

“Don’t be stupid. My father is head of this caravan, and he makes the rules. You need two dwarves for each wagon. Nothing would please me more than not having to deal with your shit every day, but I’m just as stuck with you as you are with me.”

Hammer had heard the confrontation and arrived before Bol could respond. He turned his back on Kell and said, “Bol, she’s out of line talking to you like that; I accept that. I’ll have a talk with her, and I’ll even see if another wagon will do a swap.”

Bol shook his head, “No one will agree to take her, you know that. I’m sorry, but she’s practically useless, and I’d have already left her behind if she wasn’t your daughter. Face it, you’d have left her bleeding out that first week if she wasn’t yours.”

Hammer sighed then said, “Give me until tonight.”

Bol nodded, then turned to finish harnessing his oxen. Hammer turned to Kell and said, “Kell, Bol has decades of experience and is one of the most skilled wagon leaders you’ll ever meet. You can’t talk to him like that.”

There was absolutely no apology in Kell’s tone as she said, “I need some ammunition, and you told me that it was his job to provide it. Now, is it, or isn’t it?”

I’d seen Hammer lay out an elf for using that tone of voice, so I was shocked when he simply sighed and turned toward me. He said, “Ida, I’d like to buy some cartridges from you.”

“Sorry, Jack, everything is all sealed up for today. I’ll think about it when we stop for the evening. You know how I feel about weapons like the one your daughter is carrying.”

Hammer looked down at the large gun hanging in front of Kell. Except for its size, it looked like one of the guns people in the army used to carry called an assault rifle. Before he could respond, Kell turned and said, “I don’t know who you think you are, but my father leads this caravan, and you’re not even a dwarf. He said he wants some ammunition. It doesn’t matter what you think or who he wants it for, or even what weapon it will be put in. You sell ammunition. Get some. I’d make you hand it out for free for the privilege of travelling with us.”

I forced myself to take the higher ground as there was no point in letting myself fall to her level. So, instead of responding to her, I looked at Hammer and said, “Shit, Jack, are you sure she’s yours? Is she adopted or something? She’s the brains of troll, the work ethic of a goblin, the personality of a wraith and I suspect those are her best qualities.”

Hammer looked up in shock and was slow in reaching for Kell, who threw herself at me without even grabbing a weapon. With her momentum, it was a simple matter to drop low, slip a leg between her knees and lock the metal in place, then twisting so she flailed and landed on her back. Even as she fell, I twisted in the air and landed with one foot and one knee on either side of her head. My right hand held one of the larger pistols, and I had it pushing hard into her right eye. The knife in my left hand was buried about half an inch into the side of her neck, and with a simple twist, I could tear out her carotid or I could push it deeper and sever her spinal cord.

I said, “What’s it going to be, Jack? Three questions I need an answer to. One, do you want to deal with this, or do you want me to? If you do, then I expect it to be appropriate. If I do, then the only thing I promise is I won’t kill her. Two, do we still travel together, or not? If not, then I’ll make my own merry way to the market. Three, do I need to keep looking over my shoulder, or can we put this to bed now? What’s it going to be?”

Jack looked down at Kell and sighed. “She is mine, but I’ve asked myself that same question every now and then. There is no excuse for her behaviour, but I’ve tried dealing with it, and nothing seems to work, so I’ll leave it to you. We’re good to travel together, and as long as she lives, then while you may need to look over your shoulder to see where she is you’ll have no trouble from me or any of the others.”

“Then I want two things. First, take all her weapons from her and put them away.”

Kell opened her mouth to say something, but I pressed harder with the pistol and said, “Don’t speak unless I ask you a direct question. In a minute, I’ll let you up, and then you can have another swing at me if you want. Until then, shut it; losing an eye won’t kill you, and it’ll regenerate eventually.”

Hammer reached down and removed all of Kell’s knives, her axe and her firearms. I said, “Take the jewellery too. It’s made with sharp edges. All she wears is trousers, tunic and boots.”

When he’d done as I asked, I said, “Next, I know you have your rules, and I respect them. I’ll swap your daughter with Temperance while we’re with you. She can help Bol. When we stop tonight, I’ll have Bol bring everything that belongs to Kell over to your wagon. Deal?”

Jack nodded and said, “Deal. Thank you. It’s a good rule. What about guard duty?”

“Temperance is competent. Put her on with Bol. I’ll help out in my own way.”

“OK, Ida, you have a deal. Do you mind if I stay and watch the first lesson? Just to make sure she lives.”

“Sure, no worries.”

In a single move, I removed the knife and pistol and stepped back out of the way as Kell slowly got to her feet. I replaced my weapons and said, “OK, little girl, you wanted to fight. Here is your one chance. I won’t use my weapons, and we’ll keep going until you surrender. After that, you’ll do what I say, and I’ll discipline you without giving you a chance to rebel. Now, do you want to surrender?”

Kell spat on the ground and said, “I made no promises. I will kill you. What about your armour?”

“What about it? I said no weapons. I never said it would be fair.”

She spat again, and this time came in low. Evading her arms, I used her forearm as a pivot point, brought my knees around, and drove them into her ear. As she fell, I landed on my feet and said, “Again. You need to be quicker.”

Kell dove forward, arms wide. I slid low and underneath her, pummelling her as she passed over and then brought my legs up and flipped her before getting to my feet and saying, “Again, you telegraph every move, and you fight like a child. Stop trying to grab me and use your brain if you can find it. You’re heavier and have a solid base. Move more deliberately, and don’t be in such a rush to fall down.”

She snarled even as she did as I’d suggested and kept one hand in defence as the other shot out to strike at me. I evaded the strike and hit her several times on the arm and torso even as I spun away. The next time I let her arm find me, I stayed away from her hand even as she brought me in to put me in a bear hug. I used my hands and slammed them on either side of her head before driving my forehead up into her nose, breaking it. As she let me go, I began raining punches into her sides and front as she stepped back. I kept up until she fell to the ground, wailing.

Ignoring the noise, I said, “Do you surrender?”

“Yes, I surrender. Please stop.”

“Good, get to your feet and go stand with the oxen.”

I waited until she’d done as I said, then moved to the rear of my wagon and collected some thick rope, then climbed on the wagon and removed one of the steel barriers I’d built for the roof. I dropped it off the edge, then climbed down and used the rope to make a harness. Hammer had gone to his wagon and was driving it out the middle and onto the trail, and each wagon made its way into the centre of the spiral and then followed his tracks back onto the path.

I took the rope to Kell and said, “I refuse to call you Kell until you earn the privilege. Instead, I name you Dis because you are a disgrace to your race, you’ve brought dishonour on your family and so far have been nothing but a disappointment as far as I’m concerned. Now, Dis, you’ll pull this alongside the oxen for the rest of the day. I’m going to load it with rocks, and I expect you to work hard and earn your keep. Don’t think anyone will have pity. I heard that Hammer once made one of the wagon helpers who talked back to him drag rocks from the Grand Market back to your caves. He’s the one who gave me the idea.”

Kell opened her mouth to say something, but I said, “Dis, no talking. Each time you speak without being asked a direct question will earn extra rocks. You’d better get the ropes comfortable as we’ll be moving off pretty soon.”

Dis looked ahead and saw the wagon two in front of us was just starting to move. I moved to the edge and carried a rock the size of my head, and placed it on the barrier. Bol’s wagon was next to move, and I saw him talking with Temperance as they started off. I used my whip and cracked it alongside Dis’ ear, causing her to jump. I said, “Move, and keep pace with Durin. He’s the ox next to you.”

As she moved off, I gathered another rock. By the time we were following Bol and on the trail, I’d added almost half a ton to the barrier, and Dis had begun to struggle. I said, “You’re able to lift and shift dirt and stone. Use the skill to help pull the weight. If you don’t, you’ll be worn out by the time we stop for the night.”

Twice during the morning, Dis started to complain, and each time, I used the whip to silence her, leaving a mark on her arms or the back of her legs, then added another rock to the load. As lunchtime approached, I removed the stones one by one and let her lift the barrier onto the wagon while she ate and drank. Once she’d finished, I made her refit the burden, then added weights until I could see she was using her ability to stay in line with the wagon.

By the time we stopped for the night, Dis was exhausted, but I made her unharness the oxen and stake them out, then gather fodder from the foliage on the edge of the field. Bol stepped close and said, “I’ll feed Temperance tonight. What about you?”

“I’m taking Dis for a walk, and we’ll do a bit of hunting and gathering.”

“Ida, it isn’t as safe this far south of where you live. Give me a moment, and I’ll join you.”

“Bol, thank you for your concern, but I’m well aware of what is out there, and we’ll be fine. Temperance can’t unlock my wagon, so she’ll need to get her stuff before I leave. If she’s quick, she may have time to cut you some bacon.”

He grinned but looked back several times as he went to talk with Temperance. I walked to where Dis was and said, “OK, it’s now time to get the meal ready. What have you used to hunt with?”

“I haven’t done much hunting and always used a rifle.”

“Well, no firearms today. Have you ever used a bow?”

“No.”

“Well then, I’ve no time to teach you tonight, so I’ll probably let you do the gathering while I do the hunting. Even so, it’s foolish not to have some weapon. Wait here.”

I ducked into the wagon and returned with a spear. It was one I’d made for elves, but Dis was short enough that it would still work. I handed it to her, then said, “Follow me. Don’t think of using the spear on me because you aren’t skilled enough to hurt me, and I’ll leave you in such pain if you try that you’ll beg your father to let me kill you. Come.”

There was about an hour of light left as I led Dis out of the field and across the trail into the forest on the other side. I heard Jack call out but ignored him, and Dis was more scared of me than anything else and entered the foliage a few steps behind me.

Chapter Six

Since the changes, Earth’s flora had changed as much as the fauna, and most plants tended to grow more quickly and were larger. Their roots grew deeper and were more invasive, their leaves were larger and often had greater defences, their seeds and fruit were also indued with better defence mechanisms. This close to the coast the jungle was an overgrown, dense and complex ecosystem. Over time, through trial and error, with numerous deaths included, people had worked out what was edible and what wasn’t. My own interest in horticulture had made me a keen student, and I decided that Dis would be the beneficiary of my extensive knowledge. Before we got to the dietary aspects, I needed her to be more aware, so she didn’t do something stupid and kill herself.

After a few steps, I pointed toward the forest floor. “If you use the faintest touch of your earth abilities to brush the surface where you are about to put your feet and then a similarly light touch a few inches below that, then you’ll get a picture of what’s under the leaf cover. Most dwarves use their ability to move as much dirt and rock as possible instead of refining the skill to help in everyday aspects of life. I have other skills to detect what’s around, but if you do as I suggested, then you’ll sense a centipede just under the soil about three feet in front of you. It’s about a meter and a half in length, and its bite is poisonous enough to kill humans. Can you sense it?”

Dis’ attempt at the subtle application of her earth ability was less delicate than I’d anticipated, and I had to palm a knife and skewer the creature’s head as it speared toward Dis’ leg. I twisted the blade so the centipede wouldn’t slide off and lifted it so she could see it. “You can eat it, but the flesh is bitter, and at least with humans, it gives them the runs. Keep trying to sense ahead of you and try and be a little less heavy-handed.”

I explained which plants were poisonous to touch and which usually harboured insects that stung, bit or otherwise needed to be avoided. After working our way about fifty meters into the forest, I paused again and said, “You’re still using too much force. I can feel you through the soles of my feet. Don’t try and make it small; just let yourself think about what you want to do. It will take some work, but I suspect you’re always sensing something, and all I want is for you to become aware of it. Those dreadlocks of yours move slightly even when you aren’t trying to do anything.”

To give her credit, she tried to do as I suggested and, after a minute or two, said, “I do get a vague sense of what’s under the ground. I can feel the texture of the soil, and a few movements which I think are insects.”

“Good, let your impressions focus just on the edge of the slightly darker brown section of leaf cover about six feet ahead of us between those two small bushes.”

“The edge feels denser and isn’t soil or rock.”

“Correct, it’s the cover over a spider hole. This is a trapdoor spider, and they keep growing the older they get. The smaller ones aren’t too poisonous, but from the size of the cover, this one has a body that’s probably as large as mine, and I’ve seen them grow to more than twice the size of Durin. They are fast, and this one could overpower you. Its poison would probably kill you. Stay back, and I’ll show you how fast they can be. It already knows we’re here, as the web is sensitive enough to hear prey walking toward it for ten or more meters. Even so, one this size will usually wait until prey steps within a meter of the cover.”

Reaching down, I picked up a small rock and lobbed it to land on the edge of the cover. While it was in the air, I palmed the larger pistol on my right and manipulated the speed I moved through time just enough to place the bullet directly into the spider’s brain which was situated behind the eyes and protected by a hard bonelike cover.

As it crashed to the ground in front of me, I re-holstered the firearm then said, “I used the larger calibre cartridge because these spiders have a thick sponge-like bone that covers their brainstem. You could spray this with a dozen smaller bullets, and all it does is piss it off. One bullet aimed at the right place is always the best option. I won’t do it now, but these can be milked for their venom and used to kill smaller animals by smearing it on the end of an arrow. I also sell a range of frangible cartridges which are filled with the venom and useful when an animal’s nervous system is diffuse instead of concentrated like it is here.”

I led Dis around the dead spider and pointed out the dozen spider eggs that lined the tunnel near the entrance. We moved another eighty meters before I reached the tree I’d been aiming for since we’d left the trail. On the way, I had stopped another three times to kill something that was either waiting for us or had been stalking us. Each time I explained why I had either shot or struck where I had, and why any other wound would have been useless and possibly fatal for the idiot who had wounded the creature instead of killing it.

When we reached the large-leafed tree, which rose several hundred meters above the forest floor and formed part of the upper canopy close to the trail, I used my sword to clear the ring of foliage near the base so we could get at the trunk. I pointed to an irregular series of thorns that protruded from the bark and covered several square meters. “These are the casings left behind by borers. You can see the tracks they made as they descended from higher up. The eggs are laid up near the canopy. The larvae work their way down through the more tender upper parts of the tree and exit about halfway down, then chew their way to the base, eating the harder outside bark and preying on smaller mites and insects which live in the bark.

“When you see these any time after the start of August through until mid-October, you know the larvae have entered into the tree at these points and are chewing away at the layer of living phloem that’s between the outer layers of bark and the inner harder wood of the trunk. Your job is to gather as many of these as you can. Use my axe and cut through the three or four inches of bark in a square around the outside of the spikes; try and keep half a meter of bare bark on the outside of where you see the entry points. When you’re done, you need to start at the top and peel the entire slab of bark off in a single piece.

“There’s no need to be too quick as the larvae aren’t that fast, although they have strong pincers and have been known to cut off the finger of someone who isn’t careful. Pick them out one by one and drop them into a steel mesh bag I’ll be holding. When you’re done, you’ll need to bring the bag and the piece of bark back to the wagon. I’ll show you how to roll it so it can be carried. Tomorrow I’ll show you how you can use the bark to make simple but effective armour.”

Dis needed a few added instructions but managed to do as she’d been asked. Altogether she collected almost a hundred of the foot-long larvae, each nearly an inch in diameter. I kept watch and twice had to shoot at something that tried to attack. One was a ground attack, but the other was a small pack of three-foot-long tree rats that leapt toward Dis from an adjoining tree. I took the opportunity after the rat attack to explain again how killing each rat with a single shot meant all eight were dead, while a spray of bullets might have killed one or two but would most likely have cost both of us our lives.

After showing Dis how to make grooves in the bark so it could be rolled up, I spent a few minutes skinning the rats. While they were nasty to eat, their fur was soft, and although I usually wouldn’t have kept them, I had a servant for a few days who could do the arduous task of cleaning and tanning the hides. Once that was done, I formed everything into a cylindrical pack for Dis to carry then handed her the container of squirming larvae.

“OK, now the gathering has been done, let’s get to the hunting bit, then we’ll head back.”

I could see Dis had a question, and feeling less annoyed than I had been for most of the day, I said, “What is it?”

“I was just wondering what you were planning on hunting?”

“Well, we’ve three options. One is to look for some poor unsuspecting but tasty animal just minding its business, and the other two are almost the same, but we let the animals do the hard work of sneaking. My preference is usually to look for the most appetising option, but we’re later than I’d hoped, and even working quickly, we’ll probably cover the last dozen meters to the trail in the dark. The two animals actively stalking us at the moment are a snake and a wombat.

“The snake is one of the giant pythons and is about twenty meters away. They taste OK, and I have some spices which will help make something that goes with the larvae nicely. The wombat is a bit further away, and I’m pretty certain it’s waiting to see which way we move. I think the snake is the best option, and I hope the wombat is smart enough to move away once I kill the snake. The wombat is a juvenile, and while that means it’s smaller and easier to kill, they’re sometimes too inexperienced to know that if I can kill the snake, I can also kill them.”

Dis looked around, so I pointed to where they were before moving at an angle away from the wombat but bringing us closer to the snake. In the end, I wasn’t very sporting and simply shot it through the leaves before it was ready. Not sporting but much safer, especially with Dis tagging along. The snake weighed over two tonnes, and I changed our job descriptions and took the bundles from Dis so she could use her earth sense to drag it out. I did cheat a little and helped by reducing the gravitational pull around the carcass. As predicted, we made it back to camp just after dark, and I had to kill several predators who took the opportunity to attack from the shadows.

Bol and Jack were waiting near the entrance, and it was pretty clear both had been worried. I ignored Jack but turned to Bol and said, “The snake is larger than I planned. Could I borrow Temperance for a bit to get it skinned and prepared? You’re welcome to share, and if any of the others want some fresh meat, then there is plenty.”

“What else did you get?”

“Dis gathered about a hundred borer larvae. I was going to make a curry with half and use the others to make a nutty type bread for tomorrow.”

“Deal. I’ll get a fire going for some coals. I think you know Sawyer, he wasn’t here last time but was the time before. I’ll see if he’ll help. He has a way of cutting a snake for roasting that is amazing. Is it an open invitation?”

“Curry and bread, no. Snake, I suppose so, although I’m still a little irritable so let’s hope no one too irritating comes.”

Jack had been listening and said, “Ida, the problem is it’s hard to tell when you’re irritated and when you aren’t. We can’t see your face, and your voice doesn’t give enough away.”

Bol smirked then said, “I’ve discovered that with Jenn, the best thing is to assume she’s always irritated. That way, I’m never surprised when she tries to rip my head off, and occasionally I’m pleasantly surprised when she just laughs at some of my little quirks.”

Again, I took the higher ground and turned away to go get things ready without speaking. I wasn’t sure if either Jack or Bol understood my altruism as they both burst into laughter at my departure. Temperance had prepared the larvae before, and I asked her to show Dis how to remove their heads while I prepared the spices for the curry. Bol’s friend Sawyer arrived, and while he and Temperance dressed the snake, I set half the larvae aside and had Dis skin them before mashing them to form a fine paste. To this, I added some of the yeast, a large cup of honey and enough flour to double the mixture. Once Dis had mixed and then kneaded this, I had her set it aside to rise.

While I finished cooking, I had Dis lightly salt each of the rat skins and wrap them to work on in the morning. The snake was roasting on several large fires by the time she started the skins, and I set the table for Bol, Temperance, and myself. When the food was ready, I had to add a chair as Jack arrived. He glanced briefly at Dis, who was sitting on the ground beside the caravan to eat, then said, “It’s weird, I know how to get the best out of anyone else, but since she was a little girl, I’ve never really been able to see her as anything but that.”

I nodded, then said, “To be fair, when her head isn’t up her arse, she’s OK.”

Bol laughed then said, “Ida, I don’t remember you being so free with your observations in the past. What’s brought about this refreshing change?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure, but I think I’ve been a bit disconnected from things for a while. Having Temperance with me has reminded me how having some form of connection to others gives more meaning to things. The problem is it works both ways, and the connections also make some relationships more annoying.”

We chatted for a while but paused when a youngish dwarf I recognised as the leader of the northern group approached the table. He looked down at the table, then turned to me and said, “You must be Ida. I’m Wagon Leader Krater, and I wanted to thank you for the food.”

“You’re welcome.”

He seemed a little annoyed at the brief response but smiled and said, “Those larvae smell good.”

As he finished speaking, he reached over to pick one from the communal bowl, but before he reached it, I said, “They are, but unfortunately, they’re not for sharing.”

His hand stopped short of the bowl, and he slowly brought it back and said, “Well, that’s not very polite. I’d hoped we’d get off to a better start than that, but you seem determined to cause offence.”

“I just wanted to make things clear.”

“Maybe, but it seems things are different down here in the south. This type of disrespect is even infecting the humans up near us, and I’d hoped the southern clans had learnt how to deal with it, but it seems like they’re in an even worse position than us.”

Ignoring the idiot, I reached over with my fork and took another larva before offering them to Temperance and the others. Bol and Hammer declined and seemed uncomfortable, but Temperance took two. No one said anything, and the silence stretched uncomfortably until Krater said, “I also came to get some ammunition. I hear you have a good supply.”

“I do, but I don’t sell to people who use weapons like yours.”

“Crafters like you have no place being picky about who they will and won’t sell to.”

Before I could respond, Hammer stood and said, “Right, I’m off. Krater, Ida has said she won’t sell, and you’ve no right to ask her to change her mind. We’ll have enough until we reach the Grand Market and I’m sure you’ll find what you want there. I’ll walk you back to your wagon.”

Krater stood defiantly for a moment, then allowed himself to be turned around by Hammer. As they left, Bol said, “It’s going to be a long couple of days.”

“Three, three more days.”

“Then there is the return trip.”

“Maybe. At this rate, I might even travel on my own.”

“Don’t. After today I’m OK to think you’ll make it back safely, but then I’ll miss out on all the fun and the food and have nothing to tell Jenn.”

We chatted until Bol and Temperance had to leave for guard duty. Once Dis had cleaned everything, I let her sleep on the roof while I slept inside.

Chapter Seven

I was up early to roast the larvae bread and didn’t make Dis drag the rocks, but had her sit on top of the wagon and clean the animal skins. These took most of the morning, and when she was finished, I had her run from my wagon to the front, then back again, then repeat. As she set off the second time, I saw Temperance set off after her. They kept pace with each other for most of the afternoon and only stopped when we pulled up for the night. As we pulled up to camp for the night, Bol walked over and said, “I think Temperance would appreciate coming with you if you’re going hunting with Kell again. She’s been a great help, and she knew what to do on guard duty, but she’s seriously keen to learn whatever you have to teach.”

There had been no opportunity to teach Dis how to use a bow, but I had Temperance bring hers. We returned just before dark this time, and besides some tubers and a range of edible fruit, I’d let Temperance take the kill shot on a deer that had been stalking us. It was descended from feral Red Deer that had been introduced in the 1800s from England. From the size and number of points on its antlers, I calculated it was over a hundred years old, and it weighed over one-and-a-half tonne. If it hadn’t been stalking us, I’d have left it alone, but I’d discovered early on that I didn’t take well to being considered prey.

To prevent a repeat of the night before, I asked Bol to deliver meat to any friends he thought would appreciate it. What was left over after we’d prepared our meal I had cut up and left to marinate overnight. As we travelled the next day, I set up a portable smoker on the roof and used heat I pulled from the forest to slowly cook it while we travelled. Dis was tasked with cleaning the hides again, and then I gave her a bow which I’d fitted for her and sent her and Temperance to the front of the caravan. They’d shoot arrows until my wagon reached them, then collect the arrows and run ahead to repeat.

That night there was no need to hunt again. Instead, I worked with Temperance and Dis on some basic combat moves without weapons. Krater came and stood at a distance, then, after making some disparaging comments to one of his friends, disappeared. Both girls ignored what was said and continued to repeat the moves and listen when I corrected them. After a meal of smoked venison, bacon, chips and a salad I’d put together from a little bit of foraging during the day, I sat with Bol while Temperance and Dis sat close to the oxen chatting quietly.

Bol said, “Will you keep working with Kell when we reach the city?”

“I haven’t made up my mind. She’s been attentive and respectful since that first morning, so I suppose I’m OK letting her do whatever she’d planned.”

“I’m reasonably sure that’s all changed as far as she’s concerned. She’s had a sheltered life, and I think she’s never really understood either how dangerous the world is or just how inept her skills actually were. You humiliated her that morning, and for most of the first day she was filled with shame, hatred and fear. Then, when you returned from the hunt, she wasn’t the same. Since then, she sees everything in a new way. I think that for the first time in her life, she knows what she wants; she wants to be like you. Temperance is the same.

“I’ve known you for a long time, and I know you have skills, but I have skills too, and honestly, I’d be wary about walking off into the forest on my own. Hammer was worried when we kept hearing shots. When there was a flurry of shots, which was when I suspect you killed that pack of rats, he almost went in after you. He had a talk with Kell, and all she said was you used one bullet for each kill, and you explained how stupid it would be to miss with that one bullet. Krater talks big, and I think that was what she thought she needed to aim for. Now, she’ll stay as long as you’ll have her.”

“I’ll be busy most of the time in the city, but I can have them work on the hand-to-hand and some knife skills. Don’t you normally have work for two while at the market?”

“True, the two dwarves per wagon is more important while we’re in the city. We usually have half on guard duty, and the others are either resting for the evening or selling and buying. If they worked together, they’d be useful as guards. Each wagon is half full of community goods, and the other half of mine is things Jenn and I have either made or agreed to sell on commission. We have a community list of things to buy to take back on the return journey, and I’ll add the things Jenn and I want. By the way, I’ve already set aside space for that leg of bacon.”

“I’ll move it over tomorrow then.”

“Do you need either of them to help you get set up when you arrive?”

“No. The wagon slots into the back of the store and locks in place. The only issue is getting the oxen to where I have them stabled, but I’ll pay someone like I usually do. It’s safer and the stable hands know what they’re doing.”

“I’ve been past that area of the market several times but never loitered for too long. The guards have uniforms, and almost all of them are elves.”

“I don’t blame you. Three-quarters of the clients are high elves, and even some of the stall owners are. The rest, except for me, are a mix of low elves and dwarves.”

“We probably have enough high-quality goods to run a shop there if we combined the items, but most of us like selling our own creations and wouldn’t really trust someone enough to get the best deal for us.”

“Let me think on it. Maybe I could put some items in a display case with a sign saying the seller will be there at a set time to make a sale?”

“I’ll talk with Hammer and see what he thinks. Do you make that much more?”

“I do. Most of the buyers have far too much metal, and if I charged less, they wouldn’t even think of buying from me. They’ll pretend to bargain, but the more I won’t budge, the more they’re convinced it must be worth what I’m asking.”

“How do you stop them cheating you?”

“I don’t take gems, so I only have to deal with the metals. Some come with pre-adjudicated metals, and I find they’re always accurate. I’ve a set of scales and a range of weights. That’s pretty standard, but if it passes that test, I have a graduated container that uses water to measure volume. With that, I can check the density of what they’re giving me. Every now and then, I’m still suspicious, and then I call for an adjudicator, or if the metal is gold, I crush it to double-check it’s pure and hasn’t been doctored.”

“We only take the pre-adjudicated metals. We lose a little by insisting on it, but we’ve found we make just as much in the long run.”

We discussed options for a while but soon had to call it a night as Temperance and Bol headed off to do guard duty. After making sure everything was clean and put away, I sat thinking through the options. I was still undecided by the time I went to bed.

* * *

I was always disappointed on the final part of the trip into Brisbane about how little of the pre-transformation civilisation was visible. After three centuries the forest had reclaimed almost everything. Within sight of the main caravan route, the scavengers had recovered every piece of metal, plastic and glass that could be seen. The caravan trail Hammer used merged with several more significant trails north of the city, and small hamlets and a few larger towns had grown up near the merges and along the wider, more regular routes. As the caravan passed, humans would call out from the small stalls they’d set up, looking to sell food, drinks or basic necessities those in the wagons may have run short on.

Things were usually cheaper than in the city, so I gave Temperance a few small ingots of copper and silver and sent her to the stalls to buy eggs. She was able to purchase several dozen pigeon eggs and a dozen of the smaller mini-chicken eggs. She brought back three of the larger chicken eggs but not too many people kept the predatory birds and preferred the smaller, mostly herbivorous mutation, which gave the fist-sized eggs instead of the large ones that were the size of the old emu eggs.

At one of the merge points, we had to pause for almost twenty minutes before there was a space for us to join the wider path. Hammer sent a runner ahead to book a camping area outside the city and arrange an entrance time for the following day. The closer to the city we got, the larger the human settlements became. These showed a greater distribution of wealth than in the smaller villages, and the squalor in which some of the people were living bothered me in a way that it hadn’t for a long time. I suspect the connections with Temperance and then with Kell had reignited a feeling of common humanity which I’d pushed away for too long.

That morning I’d told Dis to stand on Durin’s shoulders and keep her balance. Once she did this without any trouble, I made her walk back and forth along his back. She then had to step from Durin to Thorin without falling and without making them lose their stride. It had taken some patience, but by the afternoon, she was jumping lightly between them and practising the small combat movements as she did. Temperance had seen what was happening and did the same with the oxen on Bol’s caravan. Every now and then, I would leap onto Durin and show Dis a new move to work into the pattern, and then make my way forward to Temperance and teach her the same thing.

When we stopped for the night, Hammer ate with us, and while I’d set chairs for Dis and Temperance at the table, they moved them aside and chatted by themselves. Hammer said, “Bol discussed what you talked about last night, and I’ll take you up on the offer of the display case if it’s still an option. I can use Kell and Temperance as guards, but I agree with Bol that they’d prefer to be with you. I saw what you had them doing today and understand how it will help them improve.”

“I usually keep my shop front open during all the sessions when the market is open, so the only times I’m actually free are after ten in the evening and before six in the morning. I suspect, though, that you’ll make more use of them in the evenings and nights. What if they came for breakfast and returned before dinner? There is a room-sized space which I don’t use, and I’d be OK to have them train while I’m in the shop. I can move back and forth to give instruction every now and then.”

“That sounds good, but let’s see how the first day goes, and we’ll modify things if we need to.”

I nodded and saw Bol was looking south to where the centre of Lady Isabelle’s empire could be seen shining in a myriad of bright colours. Each year it seemed her tower grew taller. From where we were, almost ten kilometres from the spire, we could easily see the top half and even parts of the dozens or so smaller spires of less influential elves. It was currently over 350 metres high, and looked almost alive as waves of light ran up and down the outside or flared from one of the windows.

Isabelle had always been showy, even as a child. Something of the companionship of the last few days brought back the memories. When I thought about it, almost every preteen birthday, her mother would make her a ‘Princess’ cake. Once she’d ‘blossomed’, she’d been too cool for themes as pedestrian as ‘Princesses’ and instead had chosen themes to do with movies, influencers or whatever sport or fashion was the flavour of the month. John and I hadn’t been invited to any of them since we’d made the mistake of arriving at her fifteenth birthday party without making an effort to dress appropriately in a ‘Steampunk’ costume.

She wasn’t aware I was alive, and I’d been careful the times I’d checked on her that I’d kept far enough away that even without my mask, she wouldn’t have recognised me, not that it would have been likely. While I’d loved her completely, I’d never been sure as she got older that there was any affection the other way, and I can’t imagine she’d even be able to see me in this new face of mine. Even so, I religiously stayed away from my name and hadn’t been in the city without a full mask for two and a half centuries. I, on the other hand, could still see the little girl I loved in the slender, austere, powerful high elf that she’d become.

Chapter Eight

Everyone was slow to get up the following morning as Hammer hadn’t been able to arrange an entry time before nine. By the time we finally got moving, around eight-thirty, we’d not only had breakfast, but Bol had taken charge of one of the bacon legs, and I’d loaded several dozen devices and some well-packed crates of the art that the dwarves spent their time working on when they weren’t carving out new tunnels or digging for gems and metals to sell.

Most of the artwork involved fine glass with a mixture of those same metals and gems. I thought they were at least as talented as what I’d seen in a documentary I once watched on Venetian glassworks. The devices included intricate and beautiful watches, telescopes, microscopes, a few barometers and a stethoscope. I knew there were elves who worked to reproduce some of humanity’s inventions from the past, but most tried to limit anything which might give power to the lesser members of the new society.

Temperance sat with me when we started out, and Kell, as I’d decided she could resume being called, sat with Bol so as not to confuse the guards who watched everything which moved in and out of the greater city. Each wagon entering the city gates had to pay a toll, and then when we reached the grounds of the Grand Market, another toll would be required. I’d given Hammer my portion of the first toll that morning. As we’d be in different parts of the actual market when it was open, I’d pay the second toll when we passed through the entrance. As well as a fee for the wagon, I needed to pay something for each animal and then for Temperance and myself.

There was no trouble entering the outer layer of the city. From the outer gates, it took almost two hours to move the three kilometres to the market grounds. Each wagon was stopped, and fees had to be paid before it was allowed in. When I brought the wagon to a stop, I stepped toward the elf who commanded the entry point. While I’d met him previously, I doubted he’d been interested enough to remember, so I said, “Lord Leyland, good morning. I am Ida, and I have a shop booked in the Emerald section of the fair.”

“Welcome, Ida. Have you your certificate?”

I handed him the booking I’d made two years previously. It showed that I’d also paid the prescribed amount to hire the store for the entire two weeks. He moved to one side where there was a register and checked the details. He paused momentarily, then stepped back and said, “Welcome to the Grand Markets, Ida. Your booking has been changed to a premier location in the Ruby enclosure, and I’m authorised to refund the difference.”

I took back my certificate and said, “Lord Leyland, I’ve had that same booking for over thirty years, and my master held it for almost fifty years before that. I submit that I am entitled to that which was agreed upon.”

“Ida, I see your occupation is listed as a master gunsmith. I assure you that the location you have been assigned is more than suitable for what you offer.”

“Even so, Lord Leyland, I have an agreement with the Grand Market, and I suggest it is required to meet its commitment.”

“Ida, I do understand, but the situation is somewhat complex. One of the Southern High Lords from the Great Bay is attending the market this year with merchandise to sell. When he was shown the various options, he chose the site you are usually offered.”

Despite my ongoing attempts at pleasantries, I decided I’d lord-ed the elf enough times. “Leyland, I submit that he was shown something that was not an option as it was promised to me. Further, it isn’t something merely offered to me; it is the location which I paid for in advance, and the agreement binds both the Grand Market and me to a specific course of action.”

“The decision has been made already.”

“Then unmake it.”

“I do not have that authority. Lord Jaguar made the decision and has authorised that you receive the difference in value.”

“Well, it seems High Lady Isabelle’s reputation is to be besmirched by the elves under her dominion. As those who represent her cannot keep her commitments, I demand a full refund as I shall no longer visit such a dishonourable place. Be quick, as I wish to be well away from this most disreputable place before dark; if such dishonour happens in the light, I shudder to think of what might be done when the sun sets. I’d always imagined the light from the High Lady’s spire might shed some civility upon the greater city. Instead, it seems that darkness breeds within the spire itself.”

Several of the nearby elves had gone still, and their hands were hovering near their firearms. Leyland took a step back and said, “Human, I suggest your tone is unwarranted, and you are in danger of being brought before the magistrate and charged with insurrection against High Lady Isabelle.”

“So we are resorting to brute incivility. Then I submit, Elf, that I welcome such a meeting with a magistrate. This contract is signed and sealed by High Lord Simon as High Lady Isabelle’s representative. She, on the application of his signature and seal, has a commitment to provide a service. Nothing you have said gives any justification for High Lady Isabelle’s failure to meet her obligation. Not only have I foregone the use of a significant quantity of platinum to secure this location, but I have spent two years preparing goods with that particular venue in mind. That I am willing to accept a refund without demanding some recompense for all my lost revenue seems more than accomodating. Now, be quick, so I can leave this honour-less habitation without delay.”

“Pull your wagon forward and over to the side, and I will seek some adjudication from High Lord Simon.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot agree to that either, Lord Leyland. The regulations clearly state that entry into the Grand Markets except with a clear direction to leave immediately signify an acceptance of all fees that will be levied. I cannot leave as you have not agreed to refund my fees, and I cannot enter for the same reason.”

“Ida, I’m afraid it must be done, and my elves will lead you to a waiting area.”

I smiled, then as I used my control of metal to lock the wheels in place, I said, “Durin, Thorin, Gloin, Gimli, sit.”

All four of the oxen lowered themselves to the ground, their legs underneath them. One of the elves stepped forward and tried to get them to stand. When he reached for a knife, I said, “If you harm one of my animals without due cause while on Grand Market business, then I have recourse to either take the value of that beast out of your pay, or I can require you to work in his stead for as long as I’ve owned him. Thorin, the ox you are about to harm, has been mine since he was a small calf. He has worked for me for fifty years. I have no need of your pay and would ask you to serve me should you harm him. You are warned.”

He stepped back, and everyone stood still, waiting. With the sound of the wagons behind me becoming louder as the owners demanded permission to move forward, I wasn’t surprised to see High Lord Simon and a squad of his personal guard approaching at a brisk walk less than ten minutes later. As he approached, he looked up and saw me and stepped in my direction rather than toward Leyland. “Ida, usually I’m pleased to see you arrive. I can’t remember you ever causing a fuss before. What’s the problem?”

I handed the high elf my certificate and said, “High Lord Simon, I also have always looked forward to our meetings. As to the problem, I’m suggesting this document of yours is binding. Still, it appears I’ve been shifted without either consultation or compensation to the Ruby section and offered a partial refund. I suggested that as the Grand Market, you, and your Lady cannot fulfil your contract, I want a full refund. I plan to head home instead of staying somewhere covered with what seems to be a miasma of dishonour. Lord Leyland refused the refund but offered to call you. I also refused to leave the entrance as the regulations do not permit me to wait inside without a financial penalty.”

Simon turned to Leyland and said, “Leyland, this document is binding. Why was Ida moved?”

“Lord Jaguar made the decision as he had given this position to the southern visitor, High Lord Orlando. The High Lord requested the location. Ida is human, and Lord Jaguar considered the Ruby section suitable for her kind.”

“I see.”

Turning to me, he said, “Ida, I shall discuss the matter with Lord Jaguar, but as you have rightly asserted, this document bears the honour of High Lady Isabelle, and it also holds mine as her representative. You are promised a particular corner storefront in the Emerald Section of the Grand Market. If you will accept my word, then I assure you that you shall either receive the particular storefront you have been promised or another similar corner in the same section. If those are for some reason not able to be arranged, then you will have a corner storefront in the Sapphire Section at no additional cost.”

“I have always had the utmost confidence in your honour, High Lord Simon, and in that of your Lady. I shall move forward with the certain assurance that you will do as you have said.”

He indicated to one of his guards and then turned back to me and said, “Wonderful. Please be patient with the knowledge that I shall move as quickly as I can. My guard, Lady Olivia, will accompany you and wait with you near the entrance to ensure you are not bothered.”

He turned back to Leyland and said, “Now, Leyland, please accept Ida’s fees for her wagon, oxen and apprentice for the admittance to the Emerald Section. If she is granted entry to a higher level, I shall make certain you receive the appropriate documentation.”

He nodded politely to me, then turned and walked away. I handed the fees I’d prepared to Temperance and said, “Temperance, please pay Lord Leyland and make sure to receive the receipt. I will greet Lady Olivia and prepare the wagon that we might be away as soon as we have met our obligation.”

I unlocked the wheels as I stepped toward the elven guard. “Lady Olivia, I welcome your assistance. Please excuse me while I discuss the matter with my oxen.”

I stepped away and said, “Durin, Thorin, Gloin, Gimli, stand.”

Olivia chuckled as they came to their feet and said, “Do their names cause problems with the dwarves you travel with?”

“Not at all, Lady Olivia. The dwarves are proud of their strong muscles and think I’ve used that attribute to give these animals such dwarven names. That I might have used stubbornness or some other less admirable quality does not enter into their thinking. I would value it if you did not raise the issue when there are dwarves in the vicinity.”

Suppressing a laugh, Olivia said, “You have my word, Ida.”

When Temperance handed me the receipt, I tapped Durin on the shoulder, and the four stepped off. I walked with Lady Olivia. Temperance stepped back and followed a few paces behind. Olivia said, “I’ve considered your wares several times, but I’ve yet to convince myself they are worth the price.”

“Then I suggest you are wiser than some, Lady Olivia. Most who buy one of my weapons will not get the value they are paying for. So few either take the time to master the weapon or have the opportunity to use it for something other than sport. On the other hand, if you want a firearm that cannot be manipulated by an opponent and that will be as true in conflict as it has been in practice, then I suspect it is worth what I ask and possibly more. For your help today, I would offer that you let me fit a pistol to your hand. Take it and test it in whatever conditions you feel appropriate. When you return, you may choose to leave it with me or offer what you think it is worth. As long as you speak what you believe, then I will let you have it for that price.”

“Those are bold words. When we reach your store, I shall take you up on that offer. I trust you will not need to wait too long.”

“I suspect the wait will be only as long as it takes for the High Lord Orlando to agree to the upgrade to the Sapphire Section. High Lord Simon is aware that such a position is vacant. I think a high lord will appreciate the honour of a free upgrade; even most of them would consider the additional fee excessive. Everyone except Lord Jaguar will be happy. Should High Lord Orlando be an astute business elf, then he will refuse the upgrade. High Lord Simon will then need to see if any other shopfront owners would either pay or be honoured by the offer of an upgrade.

“The others are all regulars like me, and most prefer the clientele of the Emerald Section as those who shop there are willing to part with their metal without being offended that they aren’t given the goods for less than they’re worth because of their station in life. Some who frequent the Sapphire Section are not as agreeable. High Lord Simon will conclude that as I’ve already agreed, it makes sense to give me the upgrade rather than try and convince an elven master to move where they do not wish to.”

“Why then did you accept the High Lord’s offer?”

“He affirmed both his obligation and he upheld the reputation of High Lady Isabelle. He accepted his responsibility and gave me an honourable option. We both understood the risk if the southern high lord has a strong preference for the Emerald Section. High Lord Simon offered to lose revenue either way, but more importantly, from my perspective, he allowed himself to be left open to public censure from the rather elitist merchants in the Sapphire Section. In return, I accepted the possibility of a less than suitable position, an almost certain loss of revenue and two weeks of overt hostility from both elitist merchants and high elves. Either way, High Lady Isabelle retains her reputation. If I had simply taken Lord Jaguar’s offer, then she would have suffered loss in the eyes of everyone who heard what happened. This was not acceptable to either of us.”

“Ida, you have a very logical mind, and you are correct that High Lord Simon will do what he must to uphold the honour of his Lady.”

“As will I. However, am I correct that any difficulty that comes upon High Lord Simon will also be held against High Lady Isabelle by those who seek to lower her in some way?”

“Almost certainly they will look to use it in such a way.”

“Then, I propose that if you discover that I am to be moved to the Sapphire Section before anyone informs me of that decision, that you move quickly and inform High Lord Simon that I insist on being moved to the Sapphire Section. I will formalise this assertion by paying the additional site costs. He will, I think, understand why this must be done.”

Olivia almost paused in her stride but was disciplined enough to do no more than show a minuscule hesitation. She nodded slowly, then said, “It shall be as you say, Lady Ida. It shall be as you say.”

I was shocked at the elf’s use of the honorific and hoped I had hidden it as well as she had. Instead, I changed the subject and began discussing what type of firearm she preferred.

Chapter Nine

We’d been waiting at the entrance to the Emerald Section for less than ten minutes when Olivia recognised one of the guards who was approaching from the direction of the Sapphire Section. She turned to me and said, “Lady Ida, please excuse me for a moment. I see one of my colleagues and would see if he has instructions for me.”

I sighed, then nodded. As Olivia walked away, Temperance stepped up and said, “Ida, I understood what you were saying to Lady Olivia. Is this Lord Jaguar the one in your journal who is the son of one of the High Lords?”

“He is. His father is High Lord Marcus. I suspect he has the skills to be considered a high lord himself but accepted the lesser position to have some influence in the Grand Market. Marcus is powerful, and I think he’ll make a play for High Lady Isabelle’s position sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, he is one of the high elves who give no value to dwarves or humans. Don’t worry too much. I’m pretty sure Simon knows what’s happening and will help keep Jaguar from causing more problems.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine, although I’ll insist you and Kell stay with the other wagons while we’re here. Regardless of what you may think, I can flex if I have to.”

Temperance didn’t respond, but I could feel her disagreement as she stepped back. I ignored it and waited. Olivia returned after almost twenty minutes and said, “Pardon, Lady Ida. High Lord Simon has agreed to your request and has assigned you a corner position in the Sapphire Section of the Grand Market. He insists you pay the additional fees at the entrance and will be waiting with an adjudicator to ensure full payment.”

“Then, Lady Olivia, all is as it should be. If my apprentice might join you, I will step into the wagon and prepare the amount so that neither High Lord Simon nor the adjudicator might be inconvenienced. She has not been here before, and I would appreciate it if you might give her some direction.”

As I stepped away, Temperance stepped forward and, with a tap, started Durin moving. Once inside the wagon, I pulled out a kilogram of platinum and quickly reformed it into one half-kilogram ingot and two quarter kilogram ones. I added two hundred grams of gold and a kilogram of silver. Putting everything except one of the quarter kilogram ingots of platinum in a small wooden box, I headed back outside. I handed the box to Temperance then took her place beside Olivia. When we arrived at the most exclusive part of the market, Simon was waiting at the entrance with an adjudicator.

I had the oxen come to a stop and stepped forward. “High Lord Simon, I appreciate that you were able to find the storefront as I requested. Might I have the account that I can prepare everything before the markets open tomorrow morning?”

“I have what you requested here, Ida.”

He handed me the paper, which tallied with what I’d seen on the board at the entrance. I motioned to Temperance who stepped forward and, after bowing slightly, handed the box to the adjudicator. Once he looked inside, he motioned for one of his assistants to join him. They weighed each piece, and either he or the assistant checked the purity of each ingot using their ability with metal. After he had checked each ingot, he checked the amounts then signed and sealed the account as paid. Simon handed the key to Olivia and said, “Ida, I have arranged for one of the stable workers to come to collect your oxen. Lady Olivia will show you to the assigned storefront. As always, I trust your experience will be profitable to you and those who purchase your goods. If I can assist in any other way, then please let me know.”

Sighing, I said, “Thank you, High Lord Simon. I do have a rather mundane request. My apprentice is fairly new, and I’m concerned she needs more experience before I let her help with clients who avail themselves of this most elite of marketplaces. Is there an expedient way I might have her escorted to the wagons belonging to the dwarf known as Jack Hammer?”

Simon nodded, and it was clear he knew what was likely to happen, so he called two of his guards over and asked them to escort Temperance from the area and deliver her to Jack. After she’d left, he said, “I trust there is nothing else?”

“Thank you, High Lord Simon, everything else is as it should be.”

He nodded rather sadly and left me with Olivia, who led me inside and down one of the alleys which gave access to a block of storefronts. All except one of the stalls were already filled and closed. There was just enough room to pull the wagon inside the empty stall, unhook the oxen and squeeze them back into the alley. A stablehand was waiting and, after giving me a token for each ox, led them away. Olivia handed me the key and said, “This opens each of the locks.”

I pulled the back doors closed and locked them, then said, “Lady Olivia, thank you for your help. Let me select a range of pistols that might suit you, and after you’ve chosen one, I’ll let you out the front.”

“Please, call me Olivia.”

I nodded acceptance of the offer, then opened the door to the shop before going to the wagon and bringing one of the crates into the back room. I then headed back to the wagon for another crate. After four trips, I had what I needed and turned to Olivia and asked if I could see her current pistol. I then had her draw it and show me how she usually held it to fire. Next, I asked to feel her hand and checked its muscle tone and where her bones and each of her calluses were.

Satisfied I knew how she held a weapon, I opened two crates and pulled out grips that suited her. When she’d chosen the ones she liked, I fit them to the pistol I suspected would be best for her, then added a holster and had her draw and hold the firearm several times. When I was satisfied, I said, “Olivia, this fits your hand, and the firearm is the one which I have that best suits the way you draw the weapon and hold it at the moment. I don’t normally say this to clients, but your stance has room for improvement. If you were interested, I think I could help you access your weapon faster. You would find your accuracy would also improve. The slight change would mean a slight alteration in the grip. This will feel strange for a few weeks, but in the long run, it will help you be a better guard and give you greater personal protection.”

“Seriously, you can tell all that from what you’ve done and seen?”

“I believe so.”

“I’m tempted to believe you, but I train with the very best of the elven guards.”

“I understand, and I’ll not be offended if you choose to take the weapon that suits your current action. It will still be an improvement.”

She stared at me for a moment, then shook her head and said, “I’m often accused of being impetuous by High Lord Simon, so I may as well give some truth to his assertion. What do you suggest?”

It took about half an hour to explain and show Olivia what I meant, but by having her holster a little lower and further forward, then holding her wrist a little looser while gripping the firearm using more force from her thumb and three fingers, she had more control of the trigger and was able to aim with greater speed and control. She had to turn her leg out slightly as well. When she put all these together with the change in grip, she agreed it felt strange but could see how it might give better control.

I had her practice the move over a dozen times, then gave her a box of a hundred cartridges and suggested she use them as well as her usual ones to get a feel for what the different options felt like. After handing her a bag with the guns, holsters and cartridges, she looked down at my pistols and said, “Why four?”

“I hunt in the wilds, and if I’m attacked by something like a swarm of possums, then having twenty shots in each hand is the only way to survive. I shoot as well with both hands, and the larger bore is useful when dealing with some of the harder to kill creatures, like a trapdoor spider or a three-tonne goanna.”

“You hunt alone?”

“I’ve been out with Temperance and one of the dwarves, but usually, I hunt alone.”

“One day, I might visit and ask you to tell me some stories of what is out there in the untamed places.”

“It would be a pleasure.”

“I hope everything is different than you expect and that you have a successful time at the market this year.”

“Thank you. I hope the same thing myself.”

I showed her out the front, then after checking what shops were on either side, I expanded the wagon to fill the entire back entrance and locked the pieces in place so it was impossible to get through the back door. I then spent the rest of the day setting up the sample merchandise in the windows and unloading the various crates of weapons, parts and cartridges into the back area.

* * *

I opened the shop early the next morning. Instead of the usual rush of repeat customers, no one had even been in the door by eight even though I could see elves wandering past the window in a fairly constant stream. I checked the clock when I heard the door open, and it was eight twenty-two. One of the customers I usually saw first thing in the morning made his way into the shop. His colouring showed he controlled copper and nothing else. This, by itself, would have kept him from the ranks of the high elves but, when coupled with his lowly occupation as an author of fiction, stopped most from even according him the privilege of being called Lord. He was, however, successful in his chosen field, and therefore had the means to dabble in his favourite hobbies. I liked him, and more for the twinkle it brought to his eye than anything else, always gave him the utmost respect.

Bowing politely, I said, “High Lord Laurence, I’m honoured that you’ve once again come to visit my most humble stall.”

He chuckled as he always did, and said, “Humble? I usually find the Emerald Section a little pricey for my patronage, and now you’ve joined the ranks of those considered fit to serve only the most powerful and their sycophants. I shall need to bathe after I leave here. When those of my standing smell the odour of this place on my clothes, even my friends will mug me to see what treasures I have acquired.”

I had some bacon prepared in a covered container inside the storage area. I quickly stepped inside, and when I returned, I lifted the lid said, “I can understand how they might find the aroma mesmerising, but perhaps this is what they will sense rather than the maliferous odours of the self-appointed nobility.”

Stepping closer, he took a whiff, then took the sterling silver fork I offered him and took a piece. He closed his eyes to fully appreciate the sensation, then took another before saying, “I think that of all we’ve lost since the transformation, perhaps it is the catastrophic loss of both chocolate and bacon that have seen the world slip most into savagery. I don’t know how you have done it, but you may have solved half the world’s problems by this very act. Now, before this delight becomes the muse for some new work of literary greatness, tell me exactly what I am eating.”

“I do call it bacon, but I make it from kangaroo. There are, as with all delights, a mixture of secret herbs and spices, but it will keep for up to a year without spoiling.”

“You never cease to amaze me with your vocabulary. Some of the words and phrases I’ve not heard since before the change.”

“I have an old dictionary and try and learn something new each time I visit so I can continue to amaze you.”

“Ha, we both know the truth of that. Now, I came to see if you have the item I requested. My hope is that you will not add even more to your outrageous prices because of the location.”

“Have no fear. Any new customers will expect my fees to be even more outrageous, and I’ll make certain to meet their every expectation. As for those like yourself who I know from my more humble location, I will almost certainly offer a reduced rate to reimburse them for having to make their way into this section of the markets.”

“Splendid. Now, let me hold that plate of bacon while you find what I ordered. There is no need to hurry.”

Laurence dabbled in a range of genres, but whenever his hero or heroine had some weapon of great power or lineage, he requested a working copy. He was aware enough not to ask for weapons of magic or some technology beyond our current science, but everything else was fair game as far as he was concerned. Two years previously, he’d asked for a double-bladed sword that could be pulled apart to be dual-wielded; it was the weapon of choice of his latest, and greatest, hero. The problem was, each blade was six feet long and between six inches and a foot in width along its length. With the added swirls, serrations, swedges, bevels, bolsters, inlays and gems, it was the most impractical weapon I’d ever seen; a challenge.

It had taken a year for the different pieces to come together in my mind and three months of tinkering to finish the project. The cost was more than he’d ever had to pay before, but he was rich enough to pay what I asked, and I’d done as he wanted and made it functional. The final product used a magnesium-silica alloy as the base material. However, I added several other metals to form the actual edge of the blades and to provide balance so it could be wielded easily. While I would have hated to carry it all the time, I was confident I could survive, if not win, if I had to use it.

The blades I’d packed in a lacquered box, and there was a second matching box that held the shoulder harness. I brought this out and lay it on the bench. Laurence handed me the bacon and wordlessly went to open the box. Carefully he took one of the blades out and checked each of the details before lifting it and making a few practice swings through the air. He was a competent swordsman and smiled at the balance and feel. He lifted the second, but their sheer size made it hard for him to swing them together.

I stepped out and locked the door, then said, “Why don’t you come in the back and I’ll demonstrate?”

Laurence raised his eyebrows and said, “Because you are a human, and these are too heavy.”

“I promise if you don’t say anything, then neither will I.”

He pursed his lips, then nodded. “After the bacon, nothing will surprise me. Lead the way.”

Once we were in the larger cleared area out the back, I reached for each weapon and then went through a twirling routine I’d practised to make sure they worked. As I finished, I brought them together then twirled the twelve-foot monstrosity around my head, shoulders and body before coming to an end with them once again detached and held crossed in a defensive pose.

He said nothing but retrieved the blades, then turned and walked back out to the main part of the shop. He carefully put each blade away in the box. Turning to me, he said, “All I can say is that after that demonstration, I believe the sword is far more versatile than either you or the literary critics gave me credit for. In fact, I am a genius. I may have to find another adventure for my poor hero to be involved in just to get mileage from my brilliance. Now, even though it is clear that I am the creative genius, what are you charging me for your simple smithing?”

I handed him a list of the metals and gems I’d used along with their values. When he’d read the amount, I said, “Seriously, just the value of those metals makes the price ridiculous. If I charged for time, it would possibly be something even the elite up here might baulk at. So, add ten per cent for the crafting, and we’ll call it a deal.”

He nodded, then sighed. “It’s double what I expected, but the end result exceeds all expectations. I’ve no doubt it’s worth every gram, and you know I can afford it. It’s just such a lot when I’ll never be able to use it. I’m actually somewhat enamoured with a lovely lady at the moment, and I’m worried that she’ll consider me a wastrel. All that, though, is my business. You have kept your part of the agreement, and I must keep mine.”

“Don’t be so hasty. We both know I can melt it down and reuse it if you don’t take it. I knew it was more than expected, but it was the only way to make it work.”

“Ida, don’t ever suggest melting down this expression of my genius ever again. No, I will just need to find a way to share its brilliance.”

“Do you trust your Lady?”

“While somewhat impertinent, I will answer. I do, implicitly.”

“Then, if you wish, I will come and demonstrate the sword for her. If you have a similarly trustworthy friend with some skill, I would even be prepared to demonstrate via a small duel.”

“Why would you offer this? Knowledge, regardless of honour, can be dangerous.”

“Because it took me a year and a half to get that to work. It might be your genius, but I invested a lot of time and effort into it as well. Also, I’d hate to have someone you cherish not realise your brilliance.”

“Now, that last sentence is one I can understand. I’ll have the adjudicators bring the payment.”

“Do you want to wear them out of here? I’ll have the boxes delivered.”

I almost laughed at his infectious grin. He hesitated and said, “The problem is, to be authentic, I’d have to take off my tunic.”

“I promise not to look.”

At that, he laughed then said, “You have a deal.”

After he’d given me his details for where to send the boxes, he donned the harness, and I showed him how to release the swords to draw them and how to sheathe them. He said, “Be prepared to be inundated with customers. I plan to walk through the entire market this morning and am meeting my lady for lunch. Not only will I sell enough books to pay for the swords, but your reputation will soar on my coattails.”

I couldn’t help but look out the window to watch the reaction of the others on the street at his appearance. I wasn’t disappointed.

Chapter Ten

Laurence had only been gone twenty minutes when the front door opened again. Two elves who had the colouring of high elves but the clothes of merchants stepped inside. I stepped forward and smiled. “Good morning, my name is Ida. How may I serve?”

The one who’d entered first, most likely able to manipulate steel alloys and gold, said, “Remove your mask.”

This happened occasionally, but rarely with such rudeness and never without some preamble. I said, “I am sorry, but that isn’t one of the options. Can I show you some merchandise, or was there something specific you had in mind?”

“I do not like talking to people when I cannot see them. I insist.”

“I do apologise for not meeting your expectation. There are several other weapons merchants who offer good work. Perhaps I could recommend one of them for you?”

“I am High Lord Matthew, and I have my goods displayed in the store next to this. Your presence is an insult to the character of this precinct, and I suggest you close shop and leave.”

“Thank you for the gift of your name, High Lord Matthew. I hope to see the quality of your goods sometime. Unfortunately, it seems that once again, I cannot meet your expectations. I have an agreement to sell my wares for the full length of the market’s opening. To close early would go against my contract and is not possible.”

“Breaking the contract may be less troubling than staying in this precinct.”

“That is certainly an interesting observation. I’d imagined that, with the number of high elves and those with finer tastes here, there would be a more civilised atmosphere. That here is more dangerous than areas filled with dwarves and humans is, as you say, troubling. I’m surprised those that administer the Grand Market do not employ more guards to protect you.”

The second elf, a worker of silver and copper alloys, looked down at my mask and her voice was cold as she said, “I am High Lady Helen, and I also have goods displayed in a shop adjacent to you. Your merchandise brings down the quality of the precinct. I may consider seeking some compensation.”

“Thank you for the gift of your name, High Lady Helen. If it makes it easier, I am willing to approach the magistrate with you. We could compare what I make this year compared to two years ago and do the same for you. It would help clarify the issue and where appropriate compensation should be awarded.”

When neither responded or moved, I waited for a minute then said, “High Lord Matthew, High Lady Helen, your points have been made clearly, and your threats have been understood. You are aware that I regard your points as pointless and your threats to be just as impotent. Please leave my premises or purchase something. If not, I will call security and have you removed as vagrants. Now, shoo.”

Matthew increased his speed through time and stepped toward me, his hand raised to strike me. He came to a sudden stop with my left pistol pressed up under his chin and pushing back on his neck. My right pistol was pointed at Helen’s forehead. I said nothing, simply waited. We stood like that for a long moment, seemingly frozen. Helen was first to move and stepped backwards toward the door. I pushed gently against Matthew’s neck, and he also stepped back. When they were at the door, I holstered my weapons and said, “Thank you for visiting. While you both lack appropriate weapons, I reserve the right to choose my customers, and please take offence when I say that nothing I have is suitable for the likes of you.”

* * *

It was half an hour before the next visitor, and I wasn’t very surprised to see High Lord Simon. He had two guards with him. He bowed his head briefly in greeting, then said, “Ida, regretfully, several of your fellow merchants have made an accusation that you pulled your weapons on them.”

“High Lord Simon, did they identify which weapons?”

“They did. They said they were the weapons you are wearing. The smaller pistols.”

“If my accusers are available, I think it prudent that they visually identify these weapons. I have many in my shop.”

“Apparently, they have people watching your shop, and you are wearing what you aimed at them.”

“Will they lodge a formal assertion to that effect, so it can not be retracted? It will also help if they describe where we were located.”

Turning to a guard, he said, “Lord Firm, please ask High Lady Helen and High Kord Matthew to join us.”

When Firm returned, he was followed by Helen, Matthew and two more guards. Simon said, “High Lord Matthew, High Lady Helen, to help our investigation, Ida requests you specify the exact weapons she aimed at you and where you were standing. Your statement will be noted as a formal declaration.”

Matthew moved toward the door, and Helen stood by him. He indicated that I was several meters away and near my bench. Helen said, “She pointed the smaller pistol on her right side at my head and the one on her left at High Lord Matthew’s.”

Exercising a modicum of control, I drew both weapons and aimed as directed. No one moved. I said, “So, High Lady Helen, is this how you remember it?”

She nodded slowly, “Yes, you displayed the same coldness of voice when you asked us to leave.”

I re-holstered the guns, then said, “High Lord Simon, are any of your guards familiar with the way a camera works?”

His control was excellent, and I heard no change in his tone, but his eyes twinkled. He said, “I do not know about my guards. I, however, have had some involvement with the devices.”

“Excellent. I do not have access to what I understand was the amazing process used before the time of change. Still, I have a small pinhole variety of camera in the cabinet to my right. The paper at the back has been coated with a solution of silver-nitrate. If you wish, I have the developing solution in the top draw of my display bench. There is a description of how the film can be developed. It will only take a minute and perhaps might be used as further evidence in this investigation.”

Photography had begun to be reintroduced, and while my method was simple, the quality of the picture was not flattering. I’d made sure to keep the two motionless while I waited for the exposure, and there was sure to be some blurring. Even so, within twenty minutes, Simon had a picture with me holding the pistols, one under Matthew’s chin and the other less than a foot from Helen’s face. He showed them to me, then to Matthew and Helen. Turning to me, he said, “While it does bring into question High Lord Matthew and High Lady Helen’s account of what happened, it appears your actions were even more threatening than they suggested.”

“Yes, well, I do understand that. Perhaps, however, there is another possibility. If you note, you can see that High Lord Matthew’s hand is raised as if to strike me. I had no idea what Lady Helen might do and acted only to protect myself. Even so, I submit that the so-called weapons they have identified were merely for show, and I would not have harmed either of them. Perhaps you might draw either at your discretion and fire them in my direction?”

Simon reached down and drew the left-hand pistol. Even before aiming at me, his eyes were twinkling again. The trigger was locked solid, and nothing happened. He tried to eject the magazine, but nothing moved. He then turned the gun and saw that the barrel was blocked across the front and appeared to be solid. He lifted the one on the right and found the same to be true. He showed both weapons to his guards and then to the high elves. As he handed them back to me, he said, “Thank you for being open about what happened. Will you explain why the high lord was planning to strike you?”

“Unfortunately, I was not privy to his motivation. I do, however, have an excellent memory. If High Lord Matthew agrees, I will recite the conversation, and perhaps you will discern his motive. If not, then perhaps one of your guards understands how a phonograph can be used for recordings. I, however, respect the privacy of our conversation and will respect the high lord’s decision.”

Simon turned to Matthew and said, “High Lord Matthew, will you share your motivation, or would you like Ida to repeat the conversation? The other option involves a phonograph, I believe.”

Matthew glared at me, then said, “As Ida has said, I respect the privacy of the words we shared. I propose we let the matter drop.”

Simon shook his head and said, “Unfortunately, I shall need to make a formal report and decide on a course of action. Ida, you have been open, and I recognise you offered no real threat to High Lord Matthew and High Lady Helen. However, it is clear from the photograph that you did pretend violence against two high elves, even while it is clear it was for your protection. I will discuss the issue with a magistrate but suspect you will be fined for your response.”

“I await your finding, High Lord Simon.”

“High Lord Matthew and High Lady Helen, it seems there is more to this than was first brought to my attention by you both. Please return with the guards and me, and we will talk to the magistrate together.”

As they turned to leave, the door opened, and an adjudicator entered, followed by two assistants. Each was carrying a large box. Both had the symbol for platinum on their lids. Simon ushered the others out then said to the adjudicator, “Is there anything here I need to be aware of? That is a lot of platinum.”

The adjudicator said, “It is indeed. However, everything is according to our procedures, High Lord Simon. This is payment for one of the weapons sold by the merchant known as Ida.”

“One weapon?”

I couldn’t keep the smile out of my voice even though I knew he couldn’t see it. “Yes, High Lord Simon, one weapon.”

He glanced toward my pistols and said, “Did it work?”

“All my weapons work, High Lord Simon. A weapon that doesn’t work is just a chunk of metal.”

He looked down at my pistols again, then said, “Have a nice day, Ida.”

“I will, High Lord Simon, I will.”

After he left, I accepted the platinum then locked it away in the wagon before reopening the store. There was a drizzle of customers throughout the day, but all were elves or dwarves I’d worked for before and most had orders they’d commissioned two years previously and wanted to collect. I also arranged to send Laurence the chests and added ten kilograms of the bacon. No new customers had even looked inside, but that was pretty much what I’d expected, so I figured there was no need to get worried just yet.

If I was honest, I had enough put away that I could skip a few markets and still have more than enough to support my appetite for wine. The main problem was I’d been spoilt throughout the last week, and the lack of interaction—which normally would have thrilled me—was starting to irk. After eating my evening meal, I sat and watched the traffic on the street, then sat and read. No one had been in since the sun set, and I was considering closing at eight when the door opened, and an elven couple stepped inside.

The elven longevity made it hard to tell ages, but their faces had that hint of impulsiveness, which made me think they were in their first fifty or so years. Their colouring evidenced abilities with multiple metals, but I suspected they didn’t have the standing yet to warrant a High Lord title. As I’d learned that politeness usually gave the best result, I stepped forward and smiled. “Good evening, my name is Ida. How may I serve?”

The female stared at my armour, then said, “Hello Ida, I’m Fiona, and this is Kieran. We’re really just looking. If I could be bold, why do you wear armour?”

“Welcome, Lady Fiona, Lord Kieran. The armour is probably just one of my quirks. I live in the wilds and never leave home without being ready to protect myself. When I started selling at the markets, I wore it and haven’t seen the need to change. I suspect there are only three people alive who’ve actually seen my face, and I’m one of them. Feel free to have a look, and if there is anything you don’t see, then I probably have it out the back. I also sell armour. The only things you won’t find are weapons which fire multiple bullets when you keep the trigger depressed and explosives designed for more than a single opponent.”

They’d been in the shop for almost fifteen minutes and had checked out a range of pistols and swords and asked a few good questions, and it was the point in any sale when they would ask what they had come for or would leave. They headed for the exit, then just before reaching the door, Fiona turned and said, “Do you have other knives besides the few on display?”

Chapter Eleven

Kieran also turned to listen to my reply, and it was clear, at least to me, that this was their reason for being here. I said, “I do. I have several crates out the back and over five hundred knives of all sorts. Can you be more specific? By that, I mean, what situation do you think you will be in where you will need to use a knife? Will you be protecting yourself against an animal, a human, a dwarf, or an elf? What type of opponent? What experience do you have? Do you want something visible or something hidden? Each of those questions changes the parameters and changes what sort of knife I would suggest you get.”

“Perhaps I could look at some and choose something I like?”

“Lady Fiona, most of the weapon dealers would agree to that, but I’m a bit more careful. I’m not concerned with what you want it for, but I won’t sell you something that won’t do the job. If you want a knife to assassinate someone, then tell me what the constraints are, and I’ll sell you the best I have. I won’t, however, sell you my very best knife if I’ve got no idea if it will do what you want or not.”

Kieran stood a little taller and said, “You’d sell me a knife if I needed to assassinate someone?”

“Yes. I’m not a magistrate or a guard. Now, to be more honest, if it was clear you were a psychopath, then I’d probably tell the guards what you bought and why. Suppose you said you had a vendetta against High Lady Isabelle. In that case, I’d turn you in after selling you a hopeless knife. If you are being unfairly harassed by a powerful elf who won’t stop, then I’ll give you the tools you need.”

Fiona stepped closer and said, “My father is powerful, and I’m always surrounded by guards as there are people who would hurt him through me. It’s nothing but a feeling, but I’ve been troubled lately thinking that one of the guards, and I can’t even tell which it is, but I think one is looking for the opportunity to hurt or kill me. My father thinks I’m over-reacting to the stress, but I can’t get the thought out of my head. Tonight, I convinced my father to let me spend time with Kieran. His guards are watching us, and they’re standing guard outside. They think he wants a knife to show how brave he is. I want something to defend myself with.”

“Do you normally have a weapon?”

“No.”

“Do you have any training with a weapon?”

“No.”

“How competent are you at manipulating your mix of metals?”

Fiona looked a little shocked before saying, “I am considered gifted.”

Thinking about the metals I thought she could manipulate, I said, “Titanium and iron, I suspect, maybe steel. Can you deal with alloys of both?”

“Yes. I can use both with up to ten per cent of various elements, including carbon, vanadium and copper. I can mix them as alloys also.”

“Gifted and powerful. OK, I have a suggestion which I will get to in a moment. Lord Kieran, what about you? What knife is likely to show how brave you are?”

“I don’t really need a knife.”

“You do. You can’t leave here without one, or people will ask what took so long. Lady Fiona will leave with nothing because she needs her purchase to be a secret. Now, what would you use it for?”

“I’m not sure. Sorry, I haven’t thought about it.”

“Would you please ask your head guard to step inside?”

Kieran looked confused, but after seeing I was waiting, he did as he was asked. The guard was a high elf and wore two pistols, a sword and a whip. I said, “Pardon my intrusion on your surveillance. My name is Ida. Lord Kieran has asked for a knife, but I’m concerned that his need is undefined, and he is unable to describe what might be most suitable. If he was to get a knife, what sort could he legitimately wear, and what would you, or one of his other guards, be able to teach him, so it has value? Would it be part of his general defence training, or would something stand alone for a once-off defence be best?”

The guard looked at me for a moment, then looked at Kieran. Finally, he said, “Two bronze knives with titanium cores and steel edges would work. He has control of those with sufficient strength to extend them to a sword. They would be best in a concealed neck sheath. I will teach him to throw them and use them for basic defence. After that, perhaps help combine them with other self-defence moves. One of the other guards will work on his sword skills.”

“If they fit together to extend to a spear or staff, do you have someone who can help with that?”

The guard nodded. “We do.”

“Thank you. I apologise again for taking up your time.”

“No need. I should have thought of it myself. I forget that not everyone had to learn the basics like I did.”

After the guard left, I asked to feel Kieran’s hands and checked his bone structure and had him make some basic moves to show me how he moved. I then excused myself and went to the wagon to get some crates I hadn’t yet unpacked. It took almost twenty minutes to get what I needed and to make a few necessary changes. Simply put, I had pre-made blanks of most metal combinations and had to choose ones that would meet the requirements and fit them together. The knives were straightforward, but I had some difficulty fitting the various blanks together for Fiona. In the end, I had to deconstruct several completed pieces and scavenge parts.

When I’d finished, I returned to the store and handed Kieran a shoulder harness that held the sheaths for the knives. I had to make a few adjustments, then showed him the blades and explained their metallic makeup. I said, “In a moment, we’ll call the guard back in, and I’ll make sure he understands what the knife is composed of and what it will do.”

I walked back to my bench and motioned for Fiona to approach. Under the edge of the bench, I had placed a bracelet and a necklace. The necklace looked to be made of several dozen pearls connected by a patterned titanium net with a floral motif. The bracelet was in the shape of a coiled vine and would cover half her forearm. Along the vine were two dozen titanium alloy leaves.

I said, “I cannot show you out here, but every part of both pieces is made from metals that only you should be able to manipulate. Tonight, practice with the bracelet. You want to have it wind down your arm, and as it comes past your thumb and the first finger, you need to straighten and elongate the vine and turn the leaves so the points are facing away from you. The best strength will be achieved when the tip of one leaf just touches the base of the one in front of it. As the end of the vine reaches your hand, have the small branch spread out like a disc and use it as a guard to give you leverage to thrust with.

“Once you can extend it then bring it back onto your wrist quickly, practice adding an edge to each of the leaves and a point to the start of the vine. You have a small sword that you can use to drive into someone attacking you. Aim for the chest or neck if you can. You can also swing it around to keep them away. The pearls on the necklace are made of a titanium alloy with a steel inner shell and then a titanium core. You need to practice transforming the pearls so they unravel downward to cover your chest. The net is your guide and will help reset the necklace. Practice this until you can have it unravel quickly under your tunic. You want the final vest to consist of the steel sandwiched between the two titanium alloy layers. Is all that clear?”

Fiona nodded, then said, “I will have to practice, but I can see it in my mind.”

“Good. If your feeling of being attacked is getting stronger, then I suspect the attack will happen soon. Don’t sleep tonight until you can make both transformations. Every opportunity when you are alone, take a moment to practice the shifts until they flow almost without thought.

“Now, Lord Kieran, in a moment, you need to call the guard in and have him haggle the price for the knives. Lady Fiona, the bracelet and the necklace are a gift. Anything else would defeat their purpose. I suggest that Lord Kieran be the one responsible for getting them for you and that you spend a small amount of time in a jewellery shop to provide something on which to base that fiction, just in case anyone asks. Ten years from now, when you have the opportunity to revisit my store, then you can buy something you like and pay me more than it is worth.”

Fiona stared at my face for a moment, then said, “Thank you. I will not forget.”

“Then all is as it should be.”

Kieran looked at Fiona and then me. He bowed slightly then went to get the guard. After showing him the knives and explaining what they were designed to do, the guard felt their balance and had Kieran practice the simplest manipulation. He asked what they were worth, and I gave a figure almost double what I would have asked for in the Emerald Section of the market. I’d expected him to be indignant, but he accepted the amount without too much incredulity and then began haggling. In the end, he felt he got the better of me and left after agreeing to have three-quarters of what I’d asked for sent the following day.

They left just before ten, and I closed up shop and went to reorganise the crates with a sense of satisfaction that had been missing earlier. It isn’t that I hadn’t helped people in the past, but more that I’d passed so many opportunities by. For several hundred years, I’d taken refuge in my differences to others instead of finding a way to connect through our similarities.

* * *

That night nothing unusual happened, but after the debacle involving Simon, I wasn’t too surprised. What did keep me awake for a while was trying to decide if the trouble was a simple matter of prejudice or if there was something deeper going on that I’d somehow got mixed up in. It was clear I’d been picked to cause problems for Simon, and therefore, for Isabelle. Still, I doubted Jaguar, or his father, Marcus, had much interest in me as an individual. I was nothing but a pawn to them.

Sure, my actions had foiled their attempt, but it didn’t help them achieve their goal by spending any more attention on me; to think they even cared what happened to me seemed to imply they were petty or vindictive, and I doubted people of their influence spent their time or energy on pettiness. Leyland was that sort of player, but he wasn’t powerful enough to influence the merchants in the elite section of the markets, so that made no sense.

The southern High Lord people had mentioned, Orlando, could have something in play, but again, focusing on me didn’t make any sense. I’d never met him, and there wasn’t much I could do to influence what he did or didn’t do. No, logic kept pointing to the trouble as simple elitist elven prejudice, but I couldn’t help thinking I was a bit like Fiona; something felt off. I didn’t know what it was, but it was there, a nebulous feeling that more was going on beneath the surface. I’d somehow become embroiled in something that was going to reach out and pull me deeper.

Unfortunately, a hidden knife wouldn’t help. I needed to work out if I was going to wait until I was pulled in or if I was going to go on the offensive and get involved on my terms. OK, that wasn’t something I needed to work out. Working out which of those options was a no brainer. I just needed a clue, a thread, a footprint, something to get me started and in the right place to be the predator instead of the prey.

Chapter Twelve

I was up at five, and after a warm shower, took out a newer set of armour that I’d been working on for a while. Even though I’d brought it with me, I hadn’t planned on wearing it, but the comments about my armour the day before had got me thinking. My first thought had been something impolite and aimed at Matthew and Helen. If that had been all, then I probably would have kept wearing what I usually did until it rusted away, and that was highly unlikely to happen any time soon with the various alloys I used. No, it had been Fiona’s simple question about why I wore it. People had commented on my armour for decades. Still, I couldn’t remember the last time an innocent had simply wanted to know why, without them having an agenda; it was simple curiosity.

My answer had been honest and said as a throwaway line, but the more I thought about it, the more it hit me. It really was a quirk, a peculiar little habit, a particular part of my behaviour, something that defined me in some way. Every change over the last week had been because I’d let Temperance see a different me. Maybe my stagnation wasn’t just the isolation, the withdrawing, but perhaps I’d drawn the lines of who I was too tightly around myself. I’d been so worried about what others might find out about me that I’d hidden those very things even from myself.

I’d let my mask become the reality instead of keeping it as a tool. Well, I had to keep the mask, but perhaps I could let it show just a little bit more of me. This was where my new armour came in. It looked much the same, but I’d made dozens of small changes in how the pieces interacted, strengthened the alloys and made hundreds of almost insignificant modifications. It was stronger, more flexible, and more adaptable. The engraving was more refined, the enamel harder, the highlights more, um, well, more cool.

None of that would be readily noticeable. What was a major change was that the inner linen layer and the leather portions were made to be worn without the armour. They had strips of metal woven in them that allowed me to manipulate them and pull the layers into a close-fitting form to fit inside the armour almost instantaneously. I could then step back into the opened armour, and it would wrap around me and be ready for action in seconds. The same metal strips could also be extruded to impale an unsuspecting assailant, but that was simple prudence.

I dressed in the new under layers and then slipped on the partial helmet. It had a metal alloy embedded between leather layers and was shaped so it gripped my skull and couldn’t be pulled off without the metal being manipulated. It still covered my hair and eyes but let people see my ears, nose and mouth. They would see me smile or purse my lips and be able to connect with more of how I felt instead of the emotionless enamelled metal of the armour. After checking how it looked in a mirror, I went through the process of stepping into my armour a few times, then leaving that just inside the storage area, I stepped out and opened the shop, more vulnerable, emotionally speaking, than I had been for a long, long time.

* * *

The first customer entered just after seven, and it was one of my repeat customers. Her name was Cala, and she was from a dwarven community southwest of the city near what had been known as Mount Barney. She opened the door, then stopped and stared for a moment before carefully closing the door behind her. She said, “Ida, OK, I’m in shock. I’ve known you for thirty years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen your mouth. Oh, you have a smile. What is going on? What’s his name?”

I had to laugh before stepping close. “No man. Life is changing, and I realised I’ve kept people distant. Yes, I’ve known you for thirty years, and I think I’ve considered you a friend. I’ve just been reminded lately that friends let each other see when they smile. How is the family?”

“They’re well. I brought my son with me for the first time, and he’s had his eyes opened, but he’s been solid if you know what I mean. I was talking with Hammer, and he mentioned what you’d done with his daughter, and I have to say how impressed I am with the change in such a short time. Now, while I also think of you as a friend, I do need some ammunition. We’ve been getting a lot of the predatory feral pigs coming up out of the west.

“What’s new is they’re hunting in packs, and they’ll actively ignore a kangaroo or juvenile wombat to stalk a dwarf. We’re making our own cartridges, and they work for most creatures, but these pigs have developed skulls that are almost impossible to penetrate. We’ve lost some good competent hunters already, and the only way we’ve found to kill them is to go for the heart, and that isn’t an instant kill. Arrows just bounce off their hide. Even their flesh is different, and we’ve had to throw it away. It’s not just inedible; it’s poisonous. Do you have anything that can help?”

“Did you bring a sample of the skull?”

Cala reached into a pocket and took out a block of bone several inches thick. “Not a whole one. I had this cut out of the front section of one of the pigs we killed.”

Not only was the skull thicker than I’d seen on a pig, but it was denser and almost too uniform. I asked a dozen questions, then locked the front door and brought Cala back into the storage area. I took out a set of tools and did a range of tests on the bone, checking its hardness, how brittle it was, what type of shearing happened. Cala watched in silence and said nothing even when I sat back and stared at the bone. Finally, I stepped into the wagon and returned with a kilo of bacon. Even then, Cala said nothing until it began to sizzle and the smell hit her.

“This must be the bacon that Bol was raving about. It smells amazing.”

I still said nothing until I’d placed two-thirds of the bacon in front of her along with one of the larger emu sized chicken eggs, which I’d fried. I had a smaller egg and the rest of the bacon. When I’d eaten half, I said, “I have some things which might help, but I suspect you have bigger problems than you realise.”

Cala just looked at me, so I continued. “Somewhere west of you, someone or something is making changes to the pigs. It may be a Witch-King or a Dark-Lord, but I haven’t heard of any within a thousand kilometres of you before now and there are no records of new ones being made since the transformation. Humanity had the ability to manipulate genetics before the change. It could be someone who’s found a piece of old technology and decided to play God or even an elf who worked in the field and has decided to set up a sick laboratory. I don’t know.

“I could make a metal to look like this piece of bone, but it would be a complex process and to get the regularity of the structure wouldn’t happen by chance. Someone has designed this and maybe is even growing it specifically to make the pigs harder to kill. My theory would also explain why they hunt you and why you can’t eat them anymore. You’ll need to come up with something more than a way to kill the pigs. Somehow you need to find out who wants you dead.”

It was Cala’s turn to say nothing. She sat staring for almost five minutes, her gaze travelling back and forth between me and the lump of bone, the last bit of her food forgotten and growing cold. Finally, she said, “More than I wanted to hear, but I thank you for not beating around the bush. You said you might have a way to help.”

“Yes. First is a range of arrowheads that explode when they hit something. The one I’m thinking of uses the explosion to fire a titanium dart into the animal. Next, I have a range of extremely potent poisons. I don’t usually give out the formula, but you can have them and if you find one that works, make some more. To be clear, getting the poisons is almost as dangerous as what you’re describing, but if they work, then it might be worth it. Hit the pig and step back to watch them die. I don’t like it, but it might work. I’ll also give you the design for the arrowheads so you can make more if you need to. The hardest part is making the darts, but I’ll provide you with as many as possible.

“I have some frangible cartridges. The inside is filled with a neurotoxin, and I’d expect if you hit close to the heart, it would do enough damage to stop the creature, and the toxin works pretty quickly. I can give you the design, but I’m not confident you’d be able to make them without some fairly specific equipment that isn’t readily available. When I get home, I could make more, but either you’d have to come to get them, or I’d need a way to deliver them.

“Finally are some cartridges filled with what used to be called thermite. The cartridge hits the animal, and the front flares out and makes the cartridge hold tight to the creature. The back of the cartridges pushes through and ignites the thermite, which can burn through almost anything. Again, I don’t have many of these for sale as there are only a few animals I’ve found dangerous enough that I’d be tempted to use the cartridge as the safest and best way to kill them.”

“I’ll take all three options if you have them to spare. Honestly, charge what you want. Bringing back something that works is the most important task I have this year.”

“How many of the larger calibre rifles do you have?”

“I have the one I bought about twenty years ago. Altogether we’ve maybe five of the pistols which take your larger cartridges.”

“What about bows?”

“We have the usual bows dwarves use. If it needs something different, then we’ll get what we have to.”

“Let’s start with the bows.”

I brought out two dwarf-sized compound bows and explained how powerful they were compared to the standard dwarven bows. Next were the longer, more powerful metal shafts for arrows and then a case of the exploding arrowheads designed for the compound bows and shafts. I handed Cala the quote for what these would cost, then said, “That’s what I planned to sell these for. I can drop the price by twenty percent, but that’ll just cover the cost of materials and doesn’t pay for the time to make the weapons or collect the various poisons. If you have the metal, I suggest we split the difference and drop this by ten percent. Don’t answer just yet, as the other bits cost more.”

After dealing with the bows, I brought out a new rifle made for the larger cartridges and said, “It depends on how close you feel safe in getting. I have another one like this which would make the shot from three kilometres. It’s twice as much as this one, and this costs what the two bows and all the arrowheads cost combined.”

Cala took a deep breath, let it out in a long sigh, then said, “I’m not sure I like being able to see your mouth. Usually, I’d think you were holding out, but I can see you mean every word. OK, I’ll need to think some more about it. What else?”

“Do you need more pistols?”

“I’ll take some. Five if you have them. I know you like to fit them to the people who will use them, but my best shooters stayed home to protect the clan.”

Once I’d got five of the larger calibre pistols, I brought out a case of one hundred of the frangible cartridges and one hundred of the thermite ones. “OK, I have another nine cases of the frangible and only one more case of the thermite ones. I’m really not trying to be mercenary, but each cartridge costs as much as a case of my normal ones. I’ll drop the price of all the cartridges to just cover materials and give you the labour for free, but that’s still a lot of metal.”

We sat and added up the various amounts, and I explained why things cost what they did. Finally, Cala said, “Ida, I don’t have much choice. If you’re right, this is only the start of our trouble, and we can’t afford to lose more of the clan. I’ll accept the cartridges at the materials cost and promise we’ll make it up to you when we can. I’ll take the two bows, both rifles, the five pistols, and all the shafts you can spare. Again, I’ll accept the ten percent reduction because I’m desperate. I know you’re actually taking a loss, but I’ll take the charity at the moment. You know that dwarves don’t like being in debt to anyone, but I’m in a bind. Know that you only have to ask, and we’ll meet our debt of honour when we can.”

Part of me wanted to be more generous, but Cala was right about me taking a loss, and I also knew she was feeling humiliated already. I smiled sadly and said, “I do understand, and I’ll keep trying to think on how to help more. Pay when you can, as I suspect you’ve still got things to sell. Now, how will you get this back to your wagon?”

“I’ll pay now. Give me an hour, and I’ll return with the adjudicators and some helpers from the clan. We’ll bring a cart for the crates.”

“Bring a second cart, and I’ll add a leg of that bacon.”

“A cart? How big is a leg?”

“I’ve one that’s 800 kilograms. It’s from a kangaroo.”

“Thank you. I also thank you for letting me see your face. I don’t think I’d have been able to actually accept what you’ve offered if I hadn’t seen how sincere you were about helping. It means a lot.”

I had no response, and even less so when she stepped close and wrapped me in a hug. It was something I hadn’t had since the day the world ended. It was my first real hug in Middle Earth, and it almost brought me to tears. I actually had to bite my lip to stop myself from crying. In the end, I let Cala out without another word, then locked the door and headed to the back section to get everything packed up.

Chapter Thirteen

It took almost an hour to get everything packed into crates, labelled and the designs for the various components copied for Cala to take with her. I unlocked the door and sat looking at the pile, thinking of what might be causing her problems. Every time I went through the bits of information, I came to the same conclusion; this was a deliberate action. When the door opened, it was Simon, followed by Olivia.

He stopped and actually looked a little shocked when he saw how I was dressed. He said, “Ida, every time I visit, you do or have done something which becomes the highlight of my day. I like the new outfit, and I’m stunned not to find some horrible disfigurement but an enchanting smile.”

“Welcome, High Lord Simon. I’m a little worried to be the focus of your attention but thank you, I think, for your kind words. Olivia, welcome. How may I serve?”

Simon lifted a hand and said, “I do have news from the magistrate, but first, if I may, what is that enormous piece of meat?”

“Bacon. It tastes, according to all who have tried it and can remember, like the real thing. It’s made from kangaroo.”

“People say it tastes like the real thing?”

“I’d be honoured for you to try some. If you have a few minutes, I’ll prepare a small amount.”

“While it is unusual, I do see part of my responsibility as occasionally sampling the wares of various merchants. I would appreciate a taste. I assure you that I can still remember what bacon tastes likes, and you will receive nothing but an honest review.”

I stepped through to the wagon, cut a dozen thinner rashers and brought out a frypan which I then set on the bench on a small stand. Pulling heat from the storage area, I cooked the meat while we continued to talk. Simon waited until the pan began to sizzle slightly, then said, “The magistrate reviewed the information provided by you and the other merchants and decided against bringing any action against you. She acknowledged your perceived threat but ruled that you were within the law to use such a threat to protect yourself from almost certain serious harm. I am not at liberty to give details on her ruling against the other merchants. Also, I would suggest that while I applaud your current attire, you might be better served wearing the armour for the rest of your stay.”

“Thank you. I appreciate the warning and assure you I am not without some defence.”

I flipped the bacon, and Simon said, “Olivia, you will not have tasted what we knew of as bacon, but if nothing else, this is the smell it had. I know it has an air of heaviness and perhaps an abundance of oil and caramelisation. Still, the flavour alone brings up a montage of pleasant memories. The only other smell which has similar memories for me would be coffee. Now, I know I sound somewhat elitist, but what coffee we have in this age is only a shadow of what we had before.”

When the bacon was done, I pulled the heat from the pan and handed each elf a fork. Simon had just put some in his mouth when the door opened, and Cala entered with an adjudicator. Simon turned, but before he could speak, Cala said, “High Lord Simon, please don’t spoil the experience by rushing. I had almost a kilogram of that for breakfast, and I’m already craving more. I can’t imagine the real thing tasted better.”

Simon had finished the bite and said, “Cala, welcome. Even after that small taste, I can assure you that this tastes like the original. By your presence with the adjudicator, I suspect this leg is for you.”

“It is, although to be fair to Ida, the leg is a gift. The adjudicator is here with metal for the crates behind it. We can wait outside until you are finished?”

“No, please complete your business. I can leave if you prefer privacy.”

“That’s fine. I just have to gather the goods. The adjudicator has the payment.”

The adjudicator bowed slightly to the high lord, then motioned to some assistants waiting outside. They brought in five large crates and placed them near my bench. The adjudicator handed me a piece of paper and said, “I certify that the metal in these crates matches the balance owed by the dwarf known as Cala Castle.”

I acknowledged receipt of the crates and then waited as some of Cala’s clan removed her purchases and the bacon. She was the last to leave and, after saying farewell to Simon, said, “Ida, thank you. Again, I acknowledge the debt. If you have any other ideas, please let me know.”

“I will.”

She carefully closed the door behind her, and I was left in the room with Simon and Olivia. Simon said, “Cala is usually less sombre. Is everything well with her?”

“I’m sorry, High Lord Simon, but I am not at liberty to share her personal state of mind. I will say that as far as I know, at this time, her concerns involve a situation that exists outside the domains of the market, the City and the area claimed by High Lady Isabelle.”

“My Lady has concern for the wider world.”

“While I am pleased to hear of her selflessness, I have nothing concrete to share, only a theory that needs some refinement.”

“Ida, I understand, but Mt Barney is only a hundred kilometres from here. Could your theory have an impact on the wider city and the communities between here and there?”

“If I am correct, then I’d suggest almost certainly. If Cala cannot contain the problem, it will only get worse. Even so, and please understand that I mean no disrespect, but elves haven’t often shown much concern for any but their own kind. Unlike many, your Lady does not treat the rest of us as ‘less than’, but we are still ‘other’.”

He sighed, then said, “You are correct, and I do not promise that that will change. I will suggest that even two separate and independent approaches to a problem are better than one.”

“Often that is true, although I am certain we can think of situations where that is not the outcome when the final objective is ordered to one’s own benefit rather than for a general solution. Even so, I trust your Lady and would warn her of what I think approaches.”

I explained what Cala had experienced and my conclusions. Simon asked to look at the bone, and I brought it out. He said, “What was in the boxes?”

After I described the various approaches I’d suggested, he said, “I’m glad I trust you not to sell your weapons to those who might use them against my Lady. Even so, I’m tempted to impose a few restrictions for the next market.”

“I don’t sell any of those cartridges to those who live in the city or even close by. They mostly go to dwarves and human communities which live back to back with the wilds. There are still changes happening in the fauna and flora, and some of the animals are developing more elaborate defence mechanisms and are getting stronger and faster. I think it’s more a matter of inherited genes coming to the fore rather than any new infections from the meteors.

“I’d suggest it is like the increased abilities among the younger elves. Some of the younger dwarves have denser dreadlocks and, I suspect, will be stronger and more skilled than their parents. Some humans have more control over their abilities, and I saw one, two years ago, with streaked hair and a small amount of ability in a secondary area. Our increases are smaller, but we breed faster, and over time the accumulated effect might be as great as what we see among the other races.”

Simon nodded his understanding then said, “Ida, again, thank you. I will share this with my Lady. Despite you obviously receiving a significant amount of income, I understand the traffic through your stall is less than a quarter of what you usually get. I hope that with the failure of your neighbours to intimidate you that it might improve, but I can’t guarantee that. Now, I have other matters to attend to, so I must head off.”

“Might I gift you some bacon to take with you?”

“I’d love some, but I’m not allowed to accept gifts from anyone in the market. What do you charge for it?”

“I’ve not sold any yet. So far, I’ve only managed to give it away.”

“Well, when you have a price, please let me know.”

Olivia hadn’t spoken the entire time, but she interrupted and said, “Ida, perhaps you could gift some to High Lady Isabelle? High Lord Simon is permitted to accept gifts for her.”

“That’s a brilliant idea, Olivia, thank you. So, High Lord Simon, would you convey a gift of my bacon to your Lady?”

“That I can do. As it is Olivia’s idea, I’ll let her carry it.”

“I’d suggest a trolley, High Lord Simon. The smallest leg I have in the wagon is half a tonne.”

“You have sufficient for yourself?”

“I’ve four more legs after that. At home, I’ve half a dozen legs being cured. I cleared out a whole mob near my home and didn’t want them to go to waste.”

“One day, I think I’d like to visit this home of yours. I’ll send Olivia back with a trolley. On behalf of my Lady, I thank you.”

* * *

The rest of the day was very quiet. I had a few walk-ins, but no one bought anything, and there were no more repeat customers. I still had several orders that I’d prepared before the market, but there was still over a week and a half to run. Until I knew that the merchants had finished taking direct action, I wasn’t comfortable leaving the shop. I sent a message to Jack and suggested he send someone to collect the things he’d sent with me as it was unlikely any would be sold.

* * *

The next day was much of the same until mid-afternoon, except I had no customers I knew. Jack turned up at three with a trolley, Kell and Temperance. They stayed for almost an hour, and both Jack and Kell commented on my lack of armour. Temperance had seen my face, so said nothing too embarrassing. After they’d left, I felt better and decided to give it another day, and then I’d close the store for a few hours and do some shopping of my own.

As the sun set, which was around five-thirty that evening, the outside lights in the section all came on except the two outside my corner position. I was tempted to put on the armour but decided whoever was watching might change their plans, and I really wanted this to be over. Besides, if they wanted to play in the dark, then I was more than happy to oblige. If no one could see anything, then there was really no need to hide.

Whatever was planned, it seemed they were waiting to see what I’d do, so I moved out from behind the bench and stood in the centre of the room, my hands empty and held out from my sides. Two minutes later, the door opened, and an elf and two dwarves stepped into the room. The elf was a low elf and looked to control iron. The dwarves were both almost as large as Jack and had dreadlocks below their shoulders. I gave my standard spiel, “Good evening, my name is Ida. How may I serve?”

One of the dwarves chuckled then turned as he and his fellow dwarf closed the blinds so no one could see in. The elf locked the door before stepping towards me. I manipulated the metal in the light switches and turned off the room lights even as I extruded the metal from my clothing and sent it out to wrap around the dwarves necks, wrists and ankles, then made it contract inward to bind them in place. The elf had sped up time and drawn an iron sword, but my control of iron was as strong as his, and even as it touched me, it recoiled.

His shock gave me enough time to capture him in a cage made from a few strips of titanium alloy. I pulled the iron from his grasp, and as the dwarves reached into the earth to look for a way to break free, I brought the iron down hard against their dreadlocks, then used it to bind the organs so they couldn’t move. I’d used something like this a few times in the past and knew it caused the dwarves a lot of pain. They both screamed, but I ignored it for the moment and stepped back to the bench and took a small pistol from the drawer. It was loaded with poisoned darts; I shot all three.

The neurotoxin I’d used was potent, and all three were unconscious in less than thirty seconds. I dragged each of them into the storeroom, and after removing their weapons, I checked they were breathing then used a change of gravity to help lift them onto the wagon roof. I manipulated the metal and sealed them, with a few holes for ventilation, in a box. I then turned the store light back on, reopened the blinds and unlocked the door. All that sounds easy, but it would have been more complicated if they’d sent double the number.

I had no real problem killing them but had always found it easier to move the living; dead things made messes and smelled. I wasn’t sure where I’d dump them but wanted it to leave a message that was not likely to point back to me in any way, at least not officially. Whoever had sent them was almost certainly aware they’d failed and was probably wondering what I’d done with them. If it was me, I’d have retreated and left me alone. OK, I might not have, but I wouldn’t have sent three low-end thugs in the first place, at least not to deal with a weapons’ master in their own shop.

Now, they were in a bind. Low rent thugs weren’t good at keeping secrets, and dozens of others would know who had hired them and what they’d been hired to do. If they backed away, people would laugh, not just their peers but all the lowlifes who knew what they’d tried to do. So they had to up their game; the problem was, how high did they need to go? The takedown had basically been public, and everyone would know how easy it had been, so they would expect a serious escalation. That would cost a lot of money. I doubted they wanted to pay for the best, yet they’d be concerned not to fail again.

This was especially true if I made their failure an even more public spectacle. Those watching would be expecting any other failure to also be highlighted publicly, and the merchants, or their sponsor, couldn’t afford the negative press. Hopefully, a public statement would push them to go to their maximum option instead of taking a halfway measure to see if it was enough. Now, what? And where?

I couldn’t aim everything at Matthew and Helen in case they were just the front elves. Besides, it would also officially point to me after their visit to the magistrate. I didn’t want to inconvenience the market too much, in case it bled over to Isabelle, pun intended. Causing an incident between dwarves and elves wasn’t helpful and pointing to human involvement even less so. Causing problems in the Sapphire Section was counterproductive to my own business. The Emerald Section had nothing to do with it that I could think of. No, there wasn’t a simple way forward.

Chapter Fourteen

In the end, I probably overthought it, and it took half the night to get everything organised. First, I had to silence the watchers; I found three, all elves. I didn’t kill them, just shot them with the neurotoxin darts. When they woke in a few days, they’d have a headache for a few months, but I’d been told it eventually faded. I then broke into Matthew and Helen’s shops.

Matthew sold luxury fabrics, and I took a bolt of what I thought was his most expensive fabric. It was a cashmere fabric made from transformed Pashmina goats. Several flocks had been farmed in northern New South Wales and now lived in the flatland wilds west of the old town of Narrabri. One clan of dwarves made a living catching the creatures and harvesting the silky undercoat. The goats stood eight feet tall at the shoulders and had slightly curved horns up to six feet in length. They lived in small groups, preying on smaller lizards, bilbies, bandicoots and wallabies. It was a dangerous occupation, but the hardy fabric was soft as silk and cost triple what gold did for the same weight.

Helen had an antique shop, and by that, I meant she bought and sold pre-transformation goods that had been uncovered in mint condition. Minimal electronic goods survived, and anything made of plastics that had been left in the open had been destroyed by some of the transformed bacteria which dealt with the previously non-biodegradable excesses of civilisation. Every now and then, a sealed vault was uncovered with expensive watches, jewellery, artwork, pens, and accessories.

Elves loved these things and were prepared to pay exorbitant amounts. A mint condition Darby Scott clutch could fetch well over a kilogram of platinum. I was able to find a watch to fit the elf, a beautiful blue Audemars Piguet with a working mechanism. For a clutch, there was a lovely Coomi. Dwarven wrists were too big for watches, but I found some pocket watches to pin to their chests and a matching pair of Prada clutches for them to hold.

I wasn’t the best seamstress when I was rushed, but I managed to make each of my dwarven mannequins a tunic and pair of trousers from the cashmere. For the elf, I fashioned more elegant robes. I was almost certain that High Lord Marcus, Lord Jaguar’s father, was somehow involved. Regardless, I’d never liked his attitude toward dwarves and humans, so I decided to implicate him in the public display. If he was involved, then I assumed his awareness of me would no longer be considered petty after what I intended. He had a hand in many pies, but one of the most lucrative was a metal exchange. Ingots with his device on them were often used as currency in the city. I didn’t have any but had seen enough of them through the years that making a copy wasn’t difficult.

Working on current exchange rates, I made four two-kilogram ingots of silver and added the adjudicator device. Each ingot was the right weight and was one hundred percent pure. I then made two half-kilogram ingots of gold. The inside was lead and sand with a thin plating of gold and Marcus’ device on the top.

It wasn’t easy, but over an hour period, I managed to get the bodies to one of the small stages set around the markets. These were used by performers to present small dramas, play music, perform magic or juggle, to name a few of the options. After breaking in, I set the bodies up using an iron copper aluminium alloy which I doubted very many elves could manipulate; they would need tools to remove the bodies from the frames and to take the frame off the floor of the mini-theatre. The scene showed the two dwarves, dressed like labourers, although in cashmere and with expensive accessories. They were on their knees and offering the elf, dressed in what looked like elegant lordly robes, the fruit of their labour, pure silver. In return, he was handing them some gold. I had the elf standing with one hand behind his back and in it was a brick with some gold dripped over it.

Before I left and headed back to my shop, I gave each of the three ‘actors’ a lethal dose of spider poison. None of the ‘watchers’ had moved, and after having a shower to try and feel clean, I headed for bed.

* * *

I was up at five and, after breakfast, opened the shop at six. Even though I hadn’t left any evidence in the two neighbouring shops, I expected the thefts to be noticed soon after they opened. On the other hand, I suspected the earliest the performances would begin was around eight leaving the discovery of my still-life artwork for later. I wasn’t disappointed, and guards arrived soon after six and two entered my shop at half past the hour. I gave my customary greeting, which they returned politely. The more senior said, “Merchant Ida, the two shops on either side of you were burgled during the night. Have you noticed anything missing?”

“Not at all. I’m not from the city and have my sleeping quarters here on the premises. I suspect most people know this. I trust no one was hurt.”

“Both shops were locked for the evening, and as you surmise, their occupants have residences in the city. The missing items were noted by employees who also live in the city; we are waiting for the owners to arrive. Several unconscious elves have been found on nearby rooftops. Two of these have known connections to criminal elements in the city, and we hope that when they recover, they can shed some light on what happened.”

The second elf waited for a response, but when I said nothing, she said, “Perhaps we might take a look at the rear of your shop?”

“There really is no need as I’m certain nothing is missing. I usually check when I wake each morning.”

“We like to search most places for clues.”

“What sort of clues? I think I would have heard if anyone tried to break in.”

“Well, it would be good to be sure none of the stolen items was there.”

“I see. Well, that does put a different slant on things. Please leave the shop and bring a magistrate’s order if you plan to accuse me of wrongdoing without evidence, especially after I have tried to be of assistance. I shall discuss this with High Lord Simon when I have the opportunity.”

After thanking me for my time, they left.

My estimation on the work ethic of the performers was off, and just after seven, I watched as a dozen guards headed toward the exit to the Sapphire Section. I expected the guards to return with someone more senior. Still, I was surprised when they arrived with a detachment of High Lord Simon’s personal guards, led by Olivia. One of the regular market guards handed me a letter signed by a magistrate asking that I accompany them to the central investigation command.

“Of course, I’m always happy to assist the authorities. Please wait, and I will put on some armour. I understand from the number of elves you brought to invite me to see the magistrate that you are concerned I might resist and will happily leave my weapons here.”

“You do not require armour, Merchant Ida.”

“Require it, no. Desire it, yes. As I understand the city regulations, I am even within my rights to bring my weapons. Perhaps my small compromise is the best option.”

He motioned to one of the female guards and said, “Please accompany Merchant Ida as she dons her armour.”

As I stepped toward the back, Olivia joined the guard and me. I backed into my armour and, pretending to hit a switch, let it close around me even as I tightened the clothing using the metal bands. Once it locked into place, I removed the pistols and knives then said, “All done. I’m ready.”

After locking the shop front, I followed the guards with Olivia walking by my side. She’d said nothing, but I thought I could sense both some humour and some consternation in her silence. When we arrived, I was shown into a large room. A magistrate, several senior guards and High Lord Simon were already there. At one end of the room, my small diorama had been set up, and several elves, without any identification to tell me their function, were standing around it making notes.

I was brought to a stop in front of the magistrate and High Lord Simon. The magistrate said, “Merchant Ida, thank you for making yourself available. Please note that nothing I ask or say should be construed as an accusation. However, this morning’s events could be interpreted as having some connection with yourself and, or, your business. I have asked High Lord Simon to be here as he was the one who first brought you and the issue with the two merchants, High Lord Matthew and High Lady Helen, to my attention.

“Please look at the two dead dwarves and the dead elf in the scene at the other end of the room and tell me if you recognise them.”

I wandered down and looked closely at all three before walking back to where I’d been. I said, “I do not know who they are. I am sorry.”

“It appears they were killed using some form of poison. High Lord Simon said you had a supply of poisons, and I wondered what you could tell me.”

“May I get close to them?”

“Please.”

This time they followed me to the other end of the room. I checked the skin of each corpse, pressed their muscles and tried to move the hands and heads. After about five minutes, I said, “It looks like a combination of poisons; both are neurotoxins, but they attack different areas of the nervous system. I can only see one mark where it is obvious something was administered. That is at the base of their necks, but the discolouration appears to be too small to have been injected into a healthy body. I’d look for something else, maybe in their backs or upper thighs, somewhere near the spine.

“The dwarves dreadlocks show discolouration, which usually occurs when they’re injected with a neurotoxin found in several species of wasps. Hunters distil the toxin and use it when hunting. It knocks out an animal without killing it. It’s what the dwarves use to catch the goats from which that lovely cashmere is made. Like the goats, both dwarves and elves are strong enough for it not to kill them. However, I’ve heard that if they are accidentally poisoned, they can be unconscious for days and usually have side effects for several months.

“If they were poisoned like that, then I suspect the second neurotoxin is one used by a particularly nasty type of trapdoor spider. I suspect this as it tends to lock the muscles in place. Even those who survive the attack can take a year before they regain full control of their muscles. It would explain what I’ve seen. I hope that helps.”

“Merchant Ida, do you have samples of these poisons?”

“Of course. I can let you have some if that will help in your investigation.”

“Will you remove your helmet?”

“I don’t think so. Hiding the horrors of what some of the transformations looked like was something precious to all people after the collapse of the world. I’m not comfortable for anyone to see the ravages of what has been done to me.”

“Do you have the skills to kill two dwarves and an elf?”

“I am proficient in a number of the killing arts. Last week I was attacked by a spider with a body the size of a dwarf and twice as fast. Less than an hour later, I was swarmed by a pack of eight three-foot-long rats. After that, I was stalked by a two-tonne python which I killed. Two dwarves and an elf would last less than a second. I am a very good shot.”

“I did not ask if you could shoot them.”

Rather unhelpfully, at least for my own position, I said, “I did not say that is how they would die.”

The magistrate said nothing as she stared at me. Finally, she said, “Merchant Ida, thank you for joining us.”

“My pleasure. If I can help in any other way, please let me know.”

Simon said, “Olivia, please see Ida back to her shop. This end of the market is closed while we finish the investigation. I would not want Ida to be prevented from reaching her business.”

Olivia said nothing on the return journey until I’d opened the door to the shop. She waited until I was inside then said, “Be careful, Lady Ida.”

“I will, Olivia, I will.”

I locked the door then went to check nothing had been touched.

Chapter Fifteen

The elite section of the market reopened at midday, but I waited until one to open the shop. By then, most of the crowds had dispersed, and I was hoping anyone still there might actually be interested in purchasing something. I’d opened about an hour too early, and while there were up to five customers in the shop at all times, and I had to answer dozens of questions about the weapons, it was clear no one was interested in buying anything. I’d stayed in my armour but added the pistols and knives.

As the crowds dried up, some of the visitors seemed more interested, but I still didn’t manage to sell anything. Just before five, a messenger turned up with a letter for me. It was from Laurence and was an invitation to dinner at his home, including an entry token to get through security. He suggested I arrive around seven and had written directions on how to get there. I sent my acceptance back with the messenger and closed up shop ten minutes later.

I wasn’t surprised at the lack of warning. Laurence had never adopted the elven preference for order, and I suspected he remembered my offer earlier that day or when he’d heard the news of what had happened at the markets. I emptied the shop of merchandise and hurriedly moved everything back into the wagon. It was rushed, but I had a system for whenever I did some shopping, and although I rarely had gone out at night, I was confident no one would touch my things.

After a quick shower, I set traps for whoever tried to break in while I was gone, then sealed the wagon before adding some swords to the back of my armour and double-checking everything was as it should be. Instead of leaving via the front, I shifted through the wagon and then left over the roof. With the market lights focused on the streets and lanes, it was straightforward to stay hidden by staying up high, and I didn’t touch the ground until I was almost at the Emerald Section. Moving across gaps was straightforward when you had control of metal, and the soles of your boots were slightly thicker than necessary. The metal could be extruded over gaps.

Once on the ground, I was seen by some of the shoppers but still managed to stay out of sight most of the time. Entrance in and out of the markets was regulated, but every year I’d seen people using gaps in the perimeter to move back and forth and had kept notes.

Isabelle had built her spire where the southern part of the old Story Bridge had been. The northern edge of the circular spire matched the curve of the river, and the peninsular was set aside for her and the elves who had pledged allegiance to her.

The rest of the elves lived in the shadow of the spire and built their own homes within two kilometres of her tower, which was the Inner City boundary and where she’d had a wall built. This encompassed all of what had been central Brisbane. Nothing remained of the old city as all the earth and metal had been moved to form the walls and the framework of the hundreds of spires. From the lower level of Isabelle’s tower, bridges connected hers to the others. These days, she only insisted on her privacy being enforced in the upper 200 meters, using the lower levels for government business and some of her enterprises.

Her ‘City’, as opposed to the larger conglomerate of peoples who lived around its periphery, had a significantly better security protocol than the markets and while I’d been inside a few times without passing through the official entry points, this time I had an invitation.

Laurence lived on the western edge of the elven enclave, which was a third of the way around the wall from the most direct access from the market. I moved carefully through the streets, but the dwarves and humans who saw me were smart enough to step away. It was fifteen minutes to seven when I carefully approached the main western entry.

The guards checked the token and asked several questions, which targeted things Laurence thought only I would know and were more a double security check. None of the guards was thrilled that I carried weapons. However, Laurence had given my occupation and said it was a business meeting and I was to be allowed through with them. Once inside, the obsessive-compulsive nature of the elves was more evident than even the Sapphire Section of the market. All the elves I’d met so far on this trip were used to working with people of other races, and they were still aware of the world’s essential diversity. Most of the elves in this, their inner sanctum, never went outside the walls.

Every street was straight, or if it curved, it did so according to the golden ratio or some other natural curve that could be measured and replicated. Every tile was placed precisely, and if the grass on a lawn was uneven, then there would be a time of day when the light hit that patch of grass, and the shadows would form a piece of art. Most of the elves inside the wall lived in a tightly controlled and constructed reality of Isabelle’s design. Almost all of them were happy within that reality and neither recognised nor understood the turbulent undercurrents that constantly threatened their way of life.

The currents were stirred up by those like Marcus, elves who had profited from Isabelle’s vision but now wanted to have a say in what that vision would look like in the future. So far, Isabelle had kept a tight rein on her ‘City’, and the undercurrents were deflected or dampened, one by one. The problem was that while she was ruthless, she wasn’t ruthless enough. If someone needed stopping, she marginalised them or took away their influence by appointing others to push them down. She took their tools or privileges away and made alliances to thwart them. She didn’t actually deal with the root cause of their dissent; she didn’t deal with them.

Marcus had been a thorn in her side for at least a century. Still, at least from my perspective, she naively thought her ability to live alongside someone she fundamentally disagreed with was a reciprocated capability. Oh, she could make hard decisions, and she’d had elves killed, but it had always been after they’d stepped way outside the boundary and in such a way that they’d killed those she saw as hers, the elves who lived within her sanctuary.

I understood her reluctance. While she wanted, expected even to be the autarch, the dictator, the sole ruler, the queen, she didn’t want to be a despot and a tyrant. Her totalitarian rule was supposedly based on selflessness, not selfishness. If she hadn’t been blessed with more power and control of metals than anyone else, then she’d have failed. I had a better range and better control at the micro-level than she did, but I had no hope of controlling the sheer amount of metal that she could.

Sure, I could wrap up a couple of dwarves and elves in the blink of an eye or change the crystalline structure in an alloy, but the wall hadn’t been placed where it had by accident. From her tower, Isabelle was connected to and could manipulate the wall itself and every other significant piece of steel and iron within its boundaries. I’d been careful to let none of the alloys I’d used in my suit be ones she was known to be able to manipulate.

While I found her city beautiful, I also found it sterile, artificial and oppressive. By contrast, having to be alert every step of the way when I walked in the wilds made me feel alive. Needless to say, there were very few animals within the wall. Those that they had were all bred in captivity, and I suspected they hated every moment of it. They were like tigers forced to live as pampered pets in some rich, entitled socialite’s apartment. They could smell the blood coursing through their owner’s veins but were forced to live on tofu steaks and carrot sticks.

Fortunately, I reached Laurence’s building before full depression took hold. He lived on the thirtieth floor, and while I could have used the elevator, it was designed for people who controlled metals, and I was a human, supposedly; I took the stairs. As he owned the entire floor, when I exited the stairwell, I was in a small enclosure next to the elevator, and there was a single door to choose from. I knocked and had to smile when he opened the door wearing the swords.

Stepping inside, I said, “So, High Lord Laurence, have you managed to take them off since you left me a few days ago?”

“Impudence toward your host is uncalled for, Ida. Of course I know how to take them off. These magnificent swords are the fruit of my genius. But enough about me, come in and meet my other guests. I would offer to take your coat, but you haven’t got one. That’s the thing about armour, it’s so hard to accessorise for except with some sort of new weapon. But, I do see some differences. Is it a new suit of armour?”

I smiled, not that he could see it and said, “It is. It is also an accessory, so to speak. If you have a small place to leave it, I’ll show you.”

Laurence stepped away, then looked around and pointed to an open area beside the door and said, “You can leave it there.”

I stepped over and then had the suit unfurl, leaving me to step out in the tunic and trousers. His eyebrows rose, and he said, “OK, I like that. I’d have invited you beforehand if I’d known you could do that. That is really, really cool, as we used to say. Wow, you have a smile, and your teeth are straight. I always imagined they were all wobbly and yellow, and that’s why you hid them. Even your nose is straight, and that’s mind-blowing. I’m glad you keep your eyes covered, so there is still something for me to imagine. Please tell me they’re awful.”

“That they are, they’re so disfiguring I know I’ll never be able to bring myself to show you.”

“I’m so pleased. Now, come meet my friends. All of them I trust implicitly, and all of them are dear to me.”

He led the way through to a living area that overlooked the western part of the city and from where I could see out past the wall. Three elves were sitting in lounge chairs and stood when we appeared. Each of them was a high elf, and all three looked able to manipulate alloys as well as multiple metals. Laurence brought me near one of the high ladies and said, “Ida, please meet Jaze; she’s the one I mentioned to you.”

“High Lady Jaze, it is an honour to meet you.”

“And you. Laurence has told me a lot about you, but he said you always wear armour.”

“Every time I’ve met him, I have worn armour. In fact, until this week, I’ve not let anyone see me outside of my armour for many years. Laurence’s kind invitation is one of the reasons for my break from tradition. If he is prepared to be vulnerable, then so must I.”

Laurence made a scoffing sound, then said, “What do you mean vulnerable? My defences are up at every moment.”

“I do apologise, High Lord Laurence. With that bare chest and the sword on your back, I am amazed I ever considered vulnerability to be an appropriate description of your nature.”

“Quite right. Now, these other two are Howard and Bird. It used to be Bernadette, but no one has called her that for centuries.”

“High Lady Bird, High Lord Howard, it is an honour.”

Howard waved to a seat and said, “Please have a seat, Ida. Call me Howard. I know most elves can be a bit precious if we think you’re being dishonourable, but it’s clear you are not that. Besides, Laurence here sees you as his friend, and so will I.”

“Please call me Bird. If Laurence will put his toys away, then I suggest we have our meal.”

“Toys! Bird, my dear, just you wait until after the meal, and then I’ll make you eat those words, yes I will. Even so, I will get changed as it is hard to sit comfortably with six-foot swords strapped to one’s back.”

Jaze stood and led the way to a table set to overlook the centre of the city, then said, “Laurence requested his favourites so Ida could taste them. Also, for Howard and Bird, we have a gift via Ida, and while I want to spoil the surprise, I’ve been made to promise not to do so.”

The meal was enjoyable and the food delicious. It was obvious all four were friends and that Jaze and Laurence really cared for each other. Laurence kept me talking about the wilds and telling stories of creatures I’d seen or killed. Everyone raved about the bacon, and we had cake and ice cream for dessert.

Chapter Sixteen

Halfway through dessert, Howard said, “So, Ida, the news is there were some murders overnight at the market?”

I nodded without conviction, then said, “I think it more accurate to say there were deaths at the market. Murder implies a nefarious reason, and the authorities have yet to say what happened.”

There was a slight lull in the conversation as my comment was one that Laurence would normally have pontificated on. Instead, he was silent and took another mouthful of cake. Jaze said, “Laurence, what aren’t you saying? What do you know?”

He glanced at me, then said, “I’m sorry, I can’t say anything. I’ve suspicions, and I won’t betray anyone’s trust by airing them.”

Howard leant forward and said, “Laurence, are you in trouble?”

“No. I’m not. I’m a paragon of purity.”

Bird laughed then said, “Ida, he looked at you. Is everything alright?”

I nodded and said, “Everything is fine. Laurence is just being a good friend. Some people in the section where I have my store are unhappy with someone like me being near them. They made a few threats and have been keeping people from my shop. Regardless of what people think of Laurence, I’m confident he knows more of what’s happening around the place than almost everyone. He’s not a player; it’s just that he knows people from across every stratum of our complex and convoluted society. He’s met them when he does his research.

“He’s extrapolating what’s happened, and although he’ll never say it, he thinks the people who died tried to hurt me. I’m competent with weapons, and he doesn’t want to even intimate in front of you that he thinks I killed them. He probably even thinks they deserved what they got and can’t say that because he doesn’t want you to extrapolate from his writing that he in any way gets a thrill out of death and mayhem.”

“I do not get a thrill out of death and mayhem. It is simply that I can see where sometimes direct action is better in the long run. Not that that comment is about what happened at the markets, it is a general statement about life.”

His ramble about only the last part of my explanation was his attempt to lighten the mood, but for his friends, it only confirmed what I’d said. Bird said, “Ida, are you safe where you are?”

Finally, Laurence couldn’t help himself and burst out laughing.

He got himself under control then said, “Safe! Bird, my dear, Ida is the most dangerous person you’ll ever meet. Howard here has studied swords for most of his life and knows a dozen martial arts. I’d bet all I have that if I put him and Ida in a fight that he’d lose every time. I know she’s only a weak human and a short skinny one at that with deformed eyes, but I’m a storyteller, and as a storyteller, I usually know when people tell the truth and when they shade it. Ida shaded every one of her tales this evening about the creatures she’s faced.

“Every single time, she made us think she was in danger, but she wasn’t. I bet her heart didn’t even beat faster when that pack of rats descended on her. No, Ida’s safe; I’m not worried about her safety. I’m worried about what will happen if the idiots up their game against her. Three small-time hoods won’t cause a ripple. What if they send a dozen high elf assassins? When they disappear, then people will make ripples; they’ll have to.”

Jaze was staring at Laurence in shock, so I said, “Really, Laurence, do you actually think there is a High Elf Assassins Guild? You put that in one of your books, didn’t you? Your hero had a weapon made of the souls of those killed by the assassins. I’m glad you never asked me to make one of those.”

Everyone laughed, and Laurence nodded and said, “True, that was a step beyond what we can do, yet. Note, I said ‘yet’. Two hundred years from now, and I wouldn’t be too sure. My swords though, my lovely big, really, really expensive swords—they work, you proved it.”

With the conversation back in safe territory, Laurence kept it there without needing any prodding. He carried the conversation into a discussion of his next book, then brought Jaze to the fore and had her share her interest in music. We moved back to the more comfortable lounge chairs and chatted about music until Laurence once more brought Bird’s interest in language and the way it was changing into the discussion. We discussed the way places were being renamed to match the way the world was being transformed.

Finally, after giving time for the food to settle, Laurence said, “Now, to Howard. We’ve discussed everyone’s passions except yours and mine. Mine are often open to both public display and ridicule, and I’ve briefly lauded your own interest in the martial arts. Before discussing that interest, I have a confession to make. I’ve been more than a little dishonest this evening. So, while I’m glad to introduce Ida to you all, I had an ulterior motive. It’s true that I, and I think Jaze as well, consider you and Bird to be our closest friends, but I asked you primarily both because you, Howard, are such a close friend but also because I know you are so good at using swords.

“When I picked up my new toys, as they have been so callously called, I was horrified at the amount Ida was charging me. Not because they aren’t worth their weight in platinum, but because I hated the thought of Jaze thinking me a wastrel. I value her opinion of me, and the thought that she might not see how great the swords are bothered me. Now, Ida, who I suspect just wanted to close the deal, pretended empathy and suggested a solution to my dilemma. She offered to demonstrate how the swords could be used in battle, and she also offered to give a demonstration duel if I knew a competent swordsman.

“I didn’t realise her offer hid a barbarous jab at my own skills until that evening and considered that the best way to return the favour was to beat her at her own game and ask Howard to give her that thrashing. I would say that Ida added two conditions; she asked that the people I asked to be present would be people I trusted and people who would keep quiet about her own skills. So, as we are rested and if you are willing to be both amazed and to keep that amazement to yourselves, can we make our way to an inner room to see how great the swords are? Then, if Howard is willing, we may see a duel worthy of a book, but a book that will live only in my mind.”

Jaze reached over and touched his arm. She said, “Wastrel or not, I’m touched that I almost came ahead of the swords in your affections.”

After everyone laughed, Howard got to his feet and said, “I’m willing. I’ve enjoyed the evening immensely, but I would like to see what the swords can do.”

Jaze and Bird agreed, so I said, “I’ll need to get back in my armour. Those swords are heavy, and it adds strength to what I can do.”

Everyone except Laurence readily accepted my explanation, but he said nothing and led the way to where the suit was standing. I stepped into it and then had to wait while they discussed the way it had seemed to wrap itself into place. Laurence then retrieved the swords and led the way to a room without windows. The ceiling was well over twenty feet high, and he’d cleared it of all the furniture.

The others had all previously had a good look at the swords, so he handed them to me without any preamble and then stepped back against one wall. I said, “OK, regardless of what Laurence said, I was touched by his real concern about what Jaze would think. I know elves are often reticent about their feelings, but he told me he was enamoured by her, and he did seriously consider not buying them so that nothing might come between them. Now, putting that detail aside, the swords were difficult to make, and I had a list of moves that they needed to be able to complete when wielded before I’d accept them as a working model. This was the series of moves which convinced me, in the end, that Laurence isn’t as crazy as he sounded when I read his book.”

When I’d finished, I stepped into the middle of the room and went through an extended routine similar to what I’d done for Laurence previously. With the higher ceilings, I added more of what could be achieved when the swords were joined as a single twelve-foot long weapon. When I’d finished, again in a defensive pose with the swords separated, all four burst into applause, and they all stepped forward to have a turn trying to wield one of the swords.

Laurence turned to Howard and asked if he was interested in a challenge. Howard nodded but said he needed to have a turn with the monster blades first. He had skills but needed more time to practice moving the massive blades around each other. He said, “I’m sorry, Laurence. I loved the book but didn’t even give these the time of day. Ida, you’ve done an amazing job. I’m happy to have a small contest, but by the way you wielded these, I’m pretty sure you can keep me away. I’ll need to keep reforming my swords as these blades will cut them to pieces. Let’s see, though.”

Howard was skilled, but his prediction was spot on. Even with his temporal abilities, he couldn’t quite get in close enough before needing to step or slide away. The swords worked well enough in the dual wield configuration to form a very secure line of defence. He was fast enough, but several times I needed to pull a thrust or swipe; otherwise, he would have been seriously hurt. Even with the swords together, he couldn’t penetrate the defence because of the twelve-foot blade.

He asked to switch places, and I used my swords. After a few minutes, he came to a stop and said, “Ida, I’m good enough to know you’re playing with me. That hasn’t happened to me for two centuries, and while I like you, I am getting annoyed. If you think you can touch me through my defence, then do so, please. Watching you play with me hurts more than being beaten would.”

I nodded, and when he was ready, I attacked again. His moves were fast, but the swords could only move around each other in so many ways, and I was comfortable I’d worked out most, if not all, of them. Within several minutes I’d tapped his wrists, torso and even his cheek with the flat of my sword as I wove through his defence using what looked at times like dance or acrobatic moves. After the tenth touch, he pulled back and shook his head. “OK, Laurence is correct. Ida is very, very dangerous.”

We returned to the lounge area, and after another half hour, I thanked everyone for their hospitality and suggested I needed to get moving. Laurence offered to take me to the ground level on the lift and, after thanking me for coming, watched as I headed back to an exit point at the wall.

* * *

Watchers were in position as I left the inner city. I had been expecting something and noticed the first after moving less than a hundred meters along the street. They were good, very good; their problem was they had nothing on the predators in the wilds and far less cover to move amongst. They played tag as I moved down the street, and while I was watched by someone new, several would use back alleys and rooftops to rush ahead and find somewhere to observe from.

After several kilometres, I was comfortable I’d identified all of them and wondered what the best course of action was. As they weren’t really bothering me, I’d finally decided to let them be when it became clear they were starting, in small increments, to begin the encircling process. Pack hunters used this in the wilds, and it was when the prey had stepped into a set of path options that were all covered. The move was to cut off the possibility of retreat.

Chapter Seventeen

Most of those following were elves, although I had seen a few dwarves. While I’d noticed a few swords, most carried firearms; pistols and assault weapons. All this suggested they’d set up a position somewhere up ahead where the aim was to put me in a kill box; it was unlikely they’d take the opportunity to present me with a range of options. I was impressed with whoever had made the final decision; they’d skipped ahead to a very expensive and professional option. Whoever had done so was also very cold-blooded; they’d made no provision, whatsoever, to remove the general population. The street had humans, dwarves, a few elves who couldn’t make the cut to live within the wall, a small sub-pack of goblins and even an elven family who looked to be heading back to the city after being at the market.

When surrounded like this in the wilds, the best way out, besides simply killing everything, was to go up or down. There was almost no cover advantage moving up the buildings as they had people positioned on rooftops. That meant moving down. While there were no animal tunnels this close to the city, there were sewage tunnels under some streets and a few larger paths made by dwarves to move between the small communities they’d created underground. Even deeper were the warrens built by the few tribes of goblins that lived off the city’s waste. Getting to them was the issue.

Thirty meters ahead was a crossroads, and I was beginning to feel a little cornered when I saw the rusted steel cover which had been placed over what once would have been called a manhole but now was used to help aerate the tunnels below. It had holes for ventilation but was almost certainly fused into position and looked like it hadn’t been removed for decades. It was wide enough to fit a dwarf, and I changed my angle just enough that I’d pass over the centre.

As my foot hit the leading edge, I let myself fall through the metal, reforming it above me as I dropped away from the street. Another, though less substantial, grate covered the exit into the tunnel. I used the edges of the shaft to slow my fall before dropping through the lower grate. The tunnel was one of the dwarven ones and had compressed earth walls. No one was using it at the moment, and despite the holes in the grates, it was pitch black.

Dwarves, goblins, orcs and hobbits all had the ability to see, or something that operated like sight, in these situations. For dwarves, it was associated with their connection to the earth, although most never made the association and just accepted that they knew what was around them. It was this ability I’d hoped to get Kell to tap into when she walked in the forest. Goblins used sound, orcs had some control over temperature and their sight had a thermal component to it. Hobbits had compound eyes and could not only see across a broad spectrum, including infrared and ultraviolet, but, like shrimp and octopus, could sense a whole range of polarised light.

I manipulated the cover over my eyes, and it slid upwards and out of the way. If anyone had been watching, they’d have noticed my eyes which, when viewed in the light, made me look blind as they were completely white; the sclera, iris and pupil all the same shade. Here in the complete darkness, the sclera was a deep red, the iris and pupil, deep ultraviolet; they could be seen by creatures sensitive to both. Combined with my own sense of the earth, I could perceive my surroundings with the same clarity as when walking above ground. I turned and headed west, the system of tunnels becoming clearer in my mind as I heard and analysed the small vibrations and echos set up by the faint thudding of my feet as I ran. It was time to hunt; I really didn’t like being treated like prey.

Moving through several branches of the dwarves’ excavation, I used my ability with earth to tear open a hole and dropped a dozen meters into a goblin warren, packing the soil and rock up into the rupture as I landed in the complex labyrinth of tunnels. Goblins lived in colonies, a bit like ants and bees. Here, near the city, they were generally submissive and existed on the very edges of the new races, feeding on what the others discarded. In the wilds, they’d become more versatile, and while they still preferred to live underground in their burrows, they were effective pack hunters. They still ate carrion if there was nothing else but preferred their meals with a bit of wriggle left in them.

Goblins, if they stood straight, were as tall and slender as elves, but they usually moved hunched over and would use all four limbs like a large cat when they needed to move quickly. They had large ears, just like their namesakes, razor-sharp front teeth and hardened molars that could bite, tear and crush most substances. A colony would eat anything and everything, including the skin and bones of any animal that ended up on their plates, not that they usually used utensils. While they’d lost none of their original human intelligence, their formation into colonies brought with it an ability to communicate without words. Those who’d not been around some of the other races never learned to talk, which made many think they were slow thinkers.

Their warrens seemed haphazard, but I’d been in a few, and they made excellent use of the natural geological makeup, the water table, and with sharper than average, almost claw-like nails, they didn’t keep to gentle slopes and flat pathways. Not only did they build tunnels like ants, but like many insects, their burrows had planned escape routes just in case they were ever infiltrated by a predator. I headed to where I suspected one of these might be and was grateful for the submissive nature of the city goblins as I didn’t have time to stop and explain why I was rushing through their home; I wasn’t terribly keen on killing them either, not when they were basically just minding their own business.

The few I rushed past moved to the side as I approached, and I could sense the vibrations that began behind me; ultra-high-frequency vibrations formed part of their communication ability, and as well as letting me know where they were, it gave a clearer picture of the tunnel system, helping to refine my path to the surface. As I approached an exit, I slowed, flipped my eye covering closed and slid out and into a recess mostly hidden between two human buildings. Keeping low to the ground, I began moving eastward, looking for one of those who’d been after me.

I’d been underground for almost ten minutes, and while I expected some of the people who’d been after me to have either gone underground themselves or slunk away, I was certain some had stayed to watch. If I found one, I was confident they’d lead me to the others. Even professionals liked to debrief, especially when they failed and either had to find someone to blame or a way to explain it to their employer. It took eight minutes to find the first and another twenty to find the six still in the area. Two were still in their original positions overlooking the kill box; they’d been waiting from the beginning, which meant they had some smarts and were in on the planning; I only needed one of these.

Moving back to ground level, I started with the one furthest away and slipped entirely into predator mode. She wasn’t the desired prey, just an obstacle. Prey could be killed with noise and a sudden rush and the tearing of teeth and claws. Obstacles needed to disappear quietly, hidden from view; no bullets in the back of the head, that was too noisy. No, obstacles died quietly from a knife through the brain or a sword through the heart. Using a combination of earth ability and metal manipulation, I used my gloves and the surface of my knees and boots to slink along the wall above her, like a gecko as it slides toward the unsuspecting rabbit or bird perched on a rock; that is, a newer modified gecko, that grew to be as large as alligators and could adapt their skin colour like chameleons.

It took me five minutes to move the last two metres, and then with a single motion, I extended the blade of my knife and drove it through the top of her head and along the back of her spinal column. I changed the shape of the end, so she didn’t simply slide off the knife and lowered her gently to the ground. Next was a dwarf, his assault weapon easily the size of an obese Browning .50 calibre. Dwarves had hard skulls, so he died with my sword up through his left kidney and into his heart, where it mushroomed out to make sure the heart was instantly destroyed. I used the kidney entryway because it sent him into shock and made it easier to control his last moments.

Two more ground-bound elves, and then I moved up the side of the most western building with a sniper in it. I’d chosen this one as the building was higher, and she overlooked the other sniper’s position. The elf was on the fourth floor, and she’d taken over what had been a human apartment; by had been, I mean I’d seen the bodies stacked haphazardly in the main living area when I’d first found where she’d set up. Working at a glacial speed, I slowly pulled loose four large cement blocks, which formed part of the outside wall, and edged my way inside. I carefully inched my way across the ceiling until I was above her, my arms spread wide and pressed behind me, so I was facing downward.

It was hard not to give in to the anger. In the first few decades, there had been times when I’d let myself chase the elusive dream of justice after seeing the things people had done to each other; but how do you make someone pay for killing a family, ending the lives of three children without a thought? I’d discovered it wasn’t possible, not really. Nothing ever brought restitution to something like that; there was no sense of making it right. In the end, there was only retribution, and I’d learned that torture and pain did harm to my soul and did nothing for theirs.

So, my conclusion had been that unwarranted killings like what this elf had done were best ended by a simple, straightforward death. However, as I dropped toward her, the picture of the dead children filled my mind for a second and at the last moment, I shifted the attack and drove my knife between her C5 and C6 vertebrae, severing the cord and leaving her almost certainly a quadriplegic. Elves had exceptional recuperative and regenerative abilities, so I used heat I pulled from the surrounding area and seared her nerve endings, then fused the vertebrae openings shut.

I took out one of the poisoned darts and plunged it into the lower part of her spine. Regardless of the loss of connection to her brain, she’d feel the pain of the toxin for a long time, but she wouldn’t have the privilege of falling into a coma. She hadn’t seen me, but I was reasonably sure she knew who I was. I removed her weapons, then whispered, “Sometimes, death is just too quick.”

After letting myself out the way I’d come, I moved a few buildings away and set myself up where I could watch the last assassin. I chose somewhere which gave me access to a hasty descent if necessary. My watch said it was just after midnight, so I settled down; now, it was just a matter of waiting.

* * *

Over the next two hours, there were moments of agitation around the area as each of the dead assassins was discovered. Each time I was tempted to deal with the ones who’d made the discoveries but stuck with the plan. Soon after two, I had to smile as two more assassins set themselves up to watch the one I was watching. The smile was because I could almost reach out and touch one of them from where I’d set myself in a hollowed-out part of a wall. As tempted as I was to kill them straight away, I did want to follow them back to their base.

At three, the one we were all watching was approached by another elf, who then waved to the two near me. It appeared they’d decided that I’d moved on. I waited until the two had left, then pulled myself inside the building just in case someone was watching, and headed down to follow the elves. I’d only been following for five or so minutes when I realised my hunt was about to hit a roadblock. They were heading toward one of the entrances to the inner city. I double-checked their positions then made a snap decision that I would lose the trail when they reached the city gates. It was best to deal with what I could while I could.

Eight elves were moving toward the wall, and while not as careful as I’d have thought prudent, they were working in pairs and leapfrogging around each other while keeping watch on their surroundings. Plotting their route in my mind, I moved westward three hundred metres and raced ahead as quietly as I could. After eight hundred meters, I began cutting in toward the path they were on and took up a position at the top of a six-story building that overlooked a crossroads on their route.

I waited as the first group of two set up in a position looking west and then as another two looked eastward down the road. As one group moved through the intersection, I leapt out toward the centre of the junction, the larger calibre pistols already drawn, and let myself fall. Eight elves, eight bullets, the larger calibre bullets were overkill, but they all wore armour. I used a touch of gravity to help slow my fall, then moved to each elf and checked they were dead. Satisfied there was nothing more I could do, I walked calmly back toward the market until I passed the first building, and then disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

Both dwarves and elves were watching the entrances to the market, but I had no way of telling who they belonged to. After entering via a different route than I’d used to leave, I made my way back through the market until I reached the Sapphire Section. I re-entered the shop I was leasing the same way I’d left and was somewhat surprised that none of the traps had been sprung. I wasn’t disappointed, just surprised. If I was honest, I hardly had time to get ready to open the shop and having to deal with bodies after the busy night was something I hadn’t been looking forward to.

After removing the traps, I checked everything then, after a shower, had a half-hour nap before getting up and replacing the merchandise in the storage area to get ready for the day. I put on a clean tunic and pair of trousers; these were styled a little differently. I hardly ever bothered to worry about what I wore but was reverting to the practices of my first youth and didn’t want to look the same day in and day out. Everything was ready and in position for me to open on time at six.

Chapter Eighteen

Business was slow for the first couple of hours, but I did make a sale to a walk-in; it was only a knife, but it gave me hope things might turn around. Sales like that kept me busy all day most years, and when they were all added up, they were the basis of over half my profits. After eight, I was visited, one after the other, by three of the most powerful high elves in the city; each one had an invitation for me to join them sometime in the next few days. The first was no surprise, at least with regard to his identity, as he’d already been to the shop several times. Once again, he brought Olivia with him.

As the door opened, I smiled as Olivia stepped in, then came to my feet as Simon stepped through after her. What was disconcerting was the order of their entry. Olivia would only enter first to check if it was safe for her principal charge. As he stepped inside, I said, “High Lord Simon, welcome. How may I serve?”

“Unless you’ve discovered a better coffee, then I’m here primarily to share information and with an invitation.”

“Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to find a good substitute. I’ve roasted an almost uncountable number of beans and grains over the years. Still, I’m no closer to the elusive ambrosia than anyone else.”

“I shall live in hope. May I speak freely?”

“Of course, High Lord Simon, I value perspicuity.”

“I am not surprised, but I’m reminded that perspicuity is not the same as transparency. You were clear when we last met, but your words held many more meanings than were heard by those listening.”

I said nothing but did dip my head to acknowledge his comment. He continued, “The official finding to yesterday’s killings is that there is insufficient evidence at this time to lay the blame for their deaths at the feet of anyone. They were known criminals, and minimal effort will be put into looking any deeper into the situation. Having said that, the universally held belief is that they attacked you and that you killed them. Implicating High Lord Marcus took the focus off your conflict with the merchants, but it put you firmly under his intense and powerful gaze. I’m sure you had a reason, and it was probably logical, but from where I’m standing, it was both foolish and dangerous. Don’t tell me as it would put me in a very difficult situation.

“One consequence, and if this was part of your reason, I thank you but suggest you had no mandate to make such a decision. This consequence is that the deaths are not being connected with the Grand Market. We are being seen as a victim of the killer’s desire to have an audience for their macabre character assassination of High Lord Marcus. For many, this association with Marcus took root this morning when it was discovered that some of his trusted employees were killed during the night. Eight were killed by large calibre bullets a kilometre outside the city wall in a single attack. They were well-armed at the time and looked to have been hunting someone.

“More of his employees have disappeared along with other unexplained deaths outside the city wall. High Lady Isabelle has called for a meeting of her council. She is concerned that we might be on the verge of another time of violence where elves kill elves, jockeying for power. My own view is that Marcus tried to silence someone last night and got his fingers burnt. I could not find the record of where you left the market precinct, but you did meet some friends in the inner city, and there is a record of both your entry and exit. Trying to convince anyone, except perhaps Marcus, that a solitary human somehow evaded and killed almost a dozen highly skilled, prepared, situationally aware elves without being killed or identified, or from the looks of things, even harmed, will be impossible.

“Besides being his employees, those elves were, without exception, from some of the most influential and powerful families in the city. Mostly sons and daughters of his close associates. Whoever killed them has made themselves a dozen powerful enemies, and depending on how Marcus explains what is happening, they will either have strengthened his hold on them or destroyed it. Olivia coming in before me was not an expression of distrust but a signal to those watching that we are not somehow in this together. I have no problem being associated with you. Still, Olivia suggested I do nothing to destroy all your hard work in isolating yourself from my Lady and me. I don’t know what you said to her earlier in the week, but she has become a most astute political advisor.”

When he paused, I turned toward Olivia and gave her a slight nod. Simon chuckled and said, “See, that was perspicuous, but it lacked the detail to be used to form anything except a theory. With that information, I have completed the first of my objectives. The other was to convey my Lady’s appreciation for your gift and to pass on her invitation to morning tea two days from now, in her tower.”

As he finished the sentence, I desperately craved to climb into my armour. No matter what I thought, it would be considered an insult not to be delighted by the invitation, and there were thousands in the city who would kill for the privilege of meeting Isabelle face to face. But that was the issue; I had no plan on meeting her face to face. I needed any meeting to be face to mask. I forced my lips into a smile.

“That is very kind, High Lord Simon. Please express my pleasure at having brought High Lady Isabelle some pleasure. Her invitation to morning tea is a great honour, and I can not imagine anyone not looking forward to meeting her.”

I took a deep breath, and he grinned and said, “I sense a small hesitation, a ‘but’ or a ‘however’ being created in that breath.”

“Neither a ‘but’ nor a ‘however’, High Lord Simon. I will admit to the hesitation. I would not dream of wearing armour into your Lady’s presence nor of carrying a weapon. I am, however, committed to hiding what some might call a disfigurement behind this mask of mine. Perhaps insisting on such might be seen as inappropriate or dishonouring, and I raise the issue for it is important to me.”

“I do understand, and while I cannot think of how even some hideous disfigurement might lower the esteem with which I hold you, I did make it clear to High Lady Isabelle that I suspected this would be your attitude. She asked me to assure you that she will permit this affectation of yours.”

He knew I didn’t want to meet her, but I had no way out, and he also knew that. I could see it by the twinkle in his eye. I said, “Then I would be honoured to accept your Lady’s invitation.”

“Wonderful, I shall pass that on to my Lady. Olivia and some of my guards will be here at nine to escort you. This is for your protection, as I think that whatever is happening will not be dealt with by then. Feel free to wear the armour, but it needs to be removed before seeing High Lady Isabelle. Thank you for your time.”

After my polite reply, Simon and Olivia left the shop. I had to sit back and go through the last part of the conversation several times before finally admitting that I had no other choice.

* * *

Simon had been gone less than ten minutes when the door opened again. I recognised the two guards who entered to check the premises, and I almost stepped away to don my armour as I’d seen them just the night before. They were two of those who’d been following me but had disappeared when I’d gone underground. They made no threatening moves but stepped aside as High Lord Marcus entered the shop. He paused as if expecting some word of welcome, but there was no way I intended asking him how I could serve, so I waited patiently.

After about ten seconds, he took a second step into the room and said, “I take it you know who I am and yet I cannot comprehend why, knowing that, you would seek to anger me further. Step away from the bench and remove your mask.”

While there was nothing to be gained by poking this particular bear, I figured I was already in too deep, so I might as well seize the moment while he was in front of me; I doubted I’d have such an opportunity again. “Indeed, Marcus, I know who you are. Despite your inflated and somewhat delusional opinion of yourself, you have no authority to demand anything of me. Stay and chat if it will make you feel important or if it somehow scratches whatever itch has driven you into my shop. My preference would be for you to leave and take your carrion eaters with you.”

I was rather impressed with the reply and almost grinned as every comment seemed to strike a chord. His agitation was so intense that his usual light golden pearlescent colouring actually shifted to a darker bronze colour. I’d not seen an elf’s complexion be so affected before and wished I had a way of recording the moment. One of the guards almost lost control and took half a step forward. When he paused, I really did grin and decided another small poke was called for. “Control the trolls. You can’t afford to lose any more of them.”

Marcus had to grit his teeth for a moment. He took a breath then said, “I could kill you right now, and no one would lift a finger to accuse me of any wrongdoing. The only thing saving your life is the small possibility such an action would give credence to your insinuation that I was less than honest in my business dealings.”

“Insinuation? Oh, I think whoever did that was making a clear accusation.”

“It seems you do not have the courage of your conviction to make a direct accusation, but even now, you hide behind your words.”

“Marcus, you don’t have courage, period. You send your bottom-feeders to kill innocents while you hide in your tin tower.”

“Innocents! Regardless of what you may think is the rightness of your opinions, you destroyed over two and a half millennia of experience, culture and superior breeding last night. What are your meagre and insignificant fifty years to that? Each of those elves had parents. Five thousand years of memories have been destroyed by your actions. Long after you are dead, their grief will continue. Five hundred years from now, you will not be remembered even by your family, even your name will have been forgotten, and yet those same elves will have experienced over twelve thousand years of grief. The shallowness of your lives removes all sense of guilt or innocence at your passing. You are like the beasts we kill for food, only important for how you bring strength to the greatest of humanity’s offspring.”

There was no doubting his fanaticism. He really believed the nonsense he was sprouting. It called for another poke. “Greatest? More like low hanging fruit. Even after all those two and a half thousand years, your critters couldn’t complete a single designated task without dying. I suspect your species needs the extra time just to learn the basics like how to dress yourselves. I suspect you know this, which is why you sent twenty to deal with one human. How many for a goblin? Ten.”

“Enough. You tempt me to finish you here where the sacrifice of my people will then amount to nothing. I have come to tell you that an invitation will arrive in the next few days for you. You will be invited to an event at one of my properties, it is to a party I hold every year during the market. You will attend. That is what I came to say. You have heard it from my own lips and therefore know both the importance and force of the invitation. My people will not kill you until after we meet again. Goodbye.”

Before I could poke him again, he turned and left. His guards paused to glare at me before following him out. He was insane, or what I considered insane. Still, he’d sounded like he thought I’d have no choice, but I couldn’t see what would make me foolish enough to walk into a trap.

Chapter Nineteen

It was almost an hour before the door opened again. There was no guard, but a high elf stepped in first, followed by someone I did know; I hadn’t made the connection and should have. I needed to update my information on the city. Even though I hadn’t met the high lord previously, I knew who he was. I stepped forward and said, “Good morning and welcome, High Lord Alistair, Lady Fiona. My name is Ida. How may I serve?”

Alistair was one of the top five most powerful elves in the city. Isabelle was first, followed by either Simon or Marcus. Alistair was fourth or fifth depending on if you gave more status to the number of metals or the amount of metal that could be controlled at one time. He didn’t belong to either Isabelle’s faction or Marcus’, although I was convinced his personal belief was closer to Marcus. Instead, he trod his own path while staying inside the lines drawn by Isabelle. He had businesses and contacts outside the city itself. When working outside her established domain, he made no attempt to stay inside the lines Isabelle had drawn.

He took a step closer and said, “Ida, I believe you’ve met my daughter, Lady Fiona. She said you wore armour.”

“I usually do.”

“You have been mentioned often these last few days, and each time, except one, I hear you are a force for chaos in the city and have no respect for elves. Please remove the headpiece; I like to look into a person’s eyes when I am trying to make a judgement.”

“I apologise, High Lord Alistair, but for personal reasons I do not show people my face. I mean no disrespect. I value elves and respect most of what has been achieved in the city. I also both respect and value dwarves and humans. I understand that this might be understood as bringing chaos, but I suggest division, in the long run, is more chaotic.”

“We shall, I think, be forced to accept our views are incompatible. I would discuss, however, your decision to gift Fiona with jewellery. I understand that she made it clear that I did not give credence to her fears, yet you insisted she master the skills even if she had to lose sleep doing so. I would know why you would take this upon yourself?”

“High Lord Alistair, again, I meant no disrespect. After listening to Lady Fiona’s description of her feelings, I understood something that I suggest is outside of your current experience. I live in the wilds, and I’m used to being seen as prey. I doubt you’ve either felt like or been treated as prey for a long time. When prey is being stalked, it often gets a feeling of unease. If the predator is a mature apex one, then it’s learned not to give away even the faint clues which the prey are subconsciously picking up. If the predator is not an expert at its craft, while the target cannot hear, smell or see the predator, it knows something is wrong.

“Most predators attack as soon as they see the prey can feel them. However, some revel in the prey’s discomfort; they tease the prey, waiting until they are almost paralysed with fear. My experience is that many of those we call people get pleasure from seeing the fear and pain on their prey’s face. Lady Fiona described that her sense of danger was increasing. I suspect whoever is planning to hurt her will do so soon. They know she’s feeling their intent, and they are letting her suffer until they are ready. May I suggest that even if you doubt her feelings that you respect them and look for a way to protect her.”

“That does put a different slant on it. Yesterday, just before the evening meal, one of Fiona’s guards, a high elf who has been in my employ for over a century, waited until she was alone with Fiona before pulling her sword and thrusting it at Fiona’s chest. Fiona only survived by doing as you’d explained. Her defence was nothing more than a reflex, but the vest repelled the attack and the sword extended into her attacker’s heart. We found evidence that she’d been paid to kill Fiona to repay me for a business deal that had caused another distress.

“I came to thank you and to look for some way to repay you for my daughter’s life. She explained your refusal to accept payment and your advice, which kept her attacker ignorant of Fiona’s defences. I am in your debt, and I suspect I will need to re-evaluate my position on the place humans and others hold in this new world. Fiona also wanted to thank you and has asked that you be invited to share a meal with our larger family that you might be honoured publicly.”

I sighed and smiled at Fiona. “Lady Fiona, I am so pleased that you are safe. I appreciate the sentiment but knowing that you are unharmed is sufficient thanks. I would suggest that letting your family be publicly connected with me in any way will hurt your father and not benefit your family’s reputation. I truly have no desire for public acclaim and would rather go unrecognised. High Lord Alistair, that your daughter lives is sufficient for me. I would suggest, moreover, that her life can not be given a value, and it is unhelpful to try and give it one.”

Fiona didn’t know how to respond, and Alistair just watched me for a moment. After a time, he nodded, then said, “You are correct. My daughter’s life cannot be assigned a monetary value as if she were a commodity. I would suggest that my honour, and that of my family, can also not be weighed on a balance as if it can be changed by the valuations of others. No, my honour is mine; I decide what will reflect the elf I want to be. I will respect your desire for public anonymity. However, the invitation to dine with me, High Lady Jocelyn and Lady Fiona, still stands. May we expect you to attend our home tomorrow evening at seven?”

I didn’t want to go, but I agreed with his sentiment that his honour was his own, and so I lowered my head in acknowledgement and said, “It would be an honour, High Lord Alistair.”

“Excellent. I shall send a small detachment of guards to ensure you are not bothered on the journey and to provide direction. They will arrive around six.”

He didn’t wait for another reply and turned and left. Fiona stepped forward, gave me a small embrace, and said, “Thank you.”

With that, she turned and followed her father from the shop.

* * *

No one came for the next hour, and I sat and pondered the visits. The last two were easy enough to get my head around. One wanted to thank me and close their open account; the other wanted to kill me, also closing an open account. They had clear motives and expected outcomes. What I couldn’t understand was what Isabelle hoped to gain from meeting me. Even a gift of bacon wasn’t enough for her to actually be told my name. She was aware enough of the politics that associating with someone who killed a dozen high elves was unwise, regardless of a culinary addiction. If she wanted to thank me for helping thwart the plan when I first arrived, then she’d left it too long as I was now a hindrance.

She may have wanted to know how I could kill the elves, but an invitation to morning tea wasn’t the most obvious way to get an answer. In the end, I concluded she wanted something from me. She wanted me to do something for her and had been convinced, probably by Simon, that a direct request would be most likely to get the result she wanted. She could buy all my merchandise without putting a dent in her capital, so it wasn’t a new pistol. The only option that made sense was she wanted more information on what was happening west of Mount Barney. I was her chosen investigator; obviously, I needed to work out my priorities before seeing her.

* * *

The rest of the day was slow, although I’d begun to get a trickle of customers. Two of the orders placed at the previous market were picked up, and several elves wandered in off the street. Just before five, I had a visit from Jack. This time he’d come on his own. The shop was empty when he arrived and after looking around he said, “Are you OK?”

“Yes, life has been busy even if the whole ‘seller of fine weapons’ thing is falling apart.”

“Among those who try and stay aware of what’s happening outside their small sphere of influence, there are suggestions you made use of those most excellent fine weapons last night.”

“You know I try not to listen to hearsay, Jack.”

“Kell and Temperance have heard the rumours and think you should have someone here to watch your back.”

“I trust you’ve explained how stupid that would be.”

“I didn’t use the word stupid. Parents aren’t supposed to use that word with their children.”

“Fair enough, don’t call your child stupid. But what about when they say stupid stuff? Is it OK to say ‘that’s a stupid idea’?”

“Of course not. I took the time and explained that their viewpoint wasn’t optional.”

“Don’t take this wrong, but no wonder Kell had her head in the wrong place. Besides, they don’t need an explanation; the answer is no, I don’t want anyone here.”

“I’ll accept you don’t need them, but I have a vague suspicion you wouldn’t object to some company.”

“Whatever. All that matters is that you keep them away from here. Changing the subject, how have the markets been for you?”

“Good. We’re on target to meet our quotas, and the cost of most goods we’re after is a little less than forecast. Have you been able to get around?”

“Not yet. I’m wary of leaving the shop here without packing things away and setting up some traps. Doing all that for an hour or so to shop for myself seems a waste of energy. If things don’t change, I’ll do it next week.”

“Can I shop for you?”

“Maybe. That might be a good option for me. Do you have the time?”

“Yes, I still have some shopping of my own to do, and I’ll just combine the two. Give me a list and some idea of what you’d been hoping to spend.”

Jack was a good bargainer, and I’d been concerned that even if things died down, I’d be caught with the fallout among even the friendliest of sellers. Notoriety, unless it came with power, rarely translated into merchants giving you a good deal. When it came with a possible entourage of annoyed or homicidal power players, then the best I would have hoped for was paying double the set price. It took an hour to work through the list, and I was in a much better mood after he’d gone.

I closed at eight after seeing only one more person, and they stayed for almost half an hour and left after buying nothing. They’d promised to be back, but we both knew it was a lie. I set some traps in the front area then headed to bed. While I was tired and needed sleep, I struggled with my demons. I’d added one more to their number, and she woke the others. I’d known it was going to happen; I’d counted the cost and made my decision fully aware of the consequences. While I woke the next morning still exhausted, I figured I’d probably make the same choice again. It was the only way I suspected the dead family would stay with me; when I relived my knife being driven through her spine in my nightmares, then I could see each and every one of their faces. I’d given up on whatever God was out there, and I told myself this was the only life after death I still believed in; it was the only way they’d never be forgotten.

Chapter Twenty

After removing the traps, I opened early and was pleasantly surprised to have a small stream of customers throughout the morning. It was the midway point of the Grand Market, and those who planned it had organised several special events to keep the pressure on people to come. While a quarter of those who came through the store were picking up orders from two years previously, the others had succumbed to the advertising and were making a day of it. With the reduced pressure of the other merchants in the Sapphire Section being levied to force people from my store, the lure of what I considered both beautiful and functional weapons drew them in, and a growing trickle of armed elves left the store as the weight of metal in the wagon began to build.

I closed the shop at five and had everything packed away and the traps set by six when High Lord Alistair’s guards arrived to escort me to his home. There were six of them, and while the head guard walked beside me and made a few general light comments, most of the trip was completed in silence. The other five took up station around us, two in the front and three behind. Despite the social aspect of the meeting, I wore my armour and weapons. The guards took a more direct route to the inner city, using one of the ‘elves only’ thoroughfares that spread out from the wall to several smaller elven enclaves and significant locations, like the Grand Market precinct.

Alistair lived on one of the main curves of the Brisbane River as it ran through the city but his tower was on the other side of the river from Isabelle. It was opposite what used to be called Kangaroo Point and rose two hundred metres into the sky. With the higher ceilings favoured by wealthy elves, this translated into forty stories. The private quarters for Alistair’s immediate family took up the top ten stories, and the guards manipulated the private elevator and took me up to the highest level. The lift opened up into a large open living space with a dining table near one edge. Alistair was waiting with Fiona and an elegant elf with the light reddish hue of elves who manipulated gold, silver and copper.

Alistair said, “Merchant Ida, welcome to our home. You have met Lady Fiona; this is her mother, my Lady, High Lady Jocelyn.”

I bowed politely and said, “High Lady Jocelyn, it is an honour to meet you. Please excuse the armour. It is a habit of mine to wear it whenever I’m not safely inside my house. May I leave it somewhere out of the way? It is sturdy enough to stand on its own.”

Jocelyn said, “Welcome, Ida. If you are comfortable, then perhaps beside the elevator?”

Stepping to one side, I moved closer to the wall, then had the armour unfold as I stepped out of it and let my tunic and trousers become loose. Alistair said, “That is an impressive piece of engineering. Do you sell something similar?”

“Nothing quite so detailed. This set has over two hundred interlocking pieces, and each one is handcrafted to fit together to give me as much flexibility as possible. Even making simplifications for an elf’s ability to manipulate metal wouldn’t reduce the complexity that much. The measurements alone would take several days to take down, and the construction time would be over five months. I don’t know anyone, except myself, who would be willing to pay for that sort of investment.

“I do make simpler sets of armour that use more chain mail and some leather-backed scales. It can be adjusted for the buyer and requires three hours of measurements and a day to make the adjustments. Most years, I manage to sell one set, sometimes two, mostly to dwarves who live in the wilds. I have sold one to an elf, but I needed two years to complete the order to meet the metallic composition she requested.”

Jocelyn led the way to a set of four lounge chairs set in a semi-circle and close to a large glass window that overlooked the centre of the city. When we were seated, I commented politely about the view. After a few minutes of polite but rather meaningless conversation, Jocelyn said, “Before we move to the dining area, I wanted to express my appreciation for the compassion and care you showed to Fiona. Alistair explained your reasoning, and it reminded me of those early days after the transformation. I had forgotten the fear and even terror that I felt living without full control of my abilities and the protection of the wall. It was distressing to think that Fiona was forced to go through that within our sanctuary.”

I nodded, then said, “I can understand the distress, and I was pleased to hear of Lady Fiona’s skilled application of the few things we were able to discuss. I suspect that in the long term, you will all look back on the event and find that the overall experience was beneficial. Learning what it means to be someone’s, or something’s, possible prey, brings wisdom and a mindset that prevents even small opportunities for others to purposefully bring danger into our lives.”

Alistair nodded and said, “I think your observation is correct. Awareness of what is, rather than what we want it to be, brings clarity.”

Fiona said, “You talk about the wilds as if you are in almost constant danger.”

“I suppose I do, and while it is true in one sense, it would be better to suggest that the wilds are always dangerous. If I’m not careful, if I’m not aware, if I’m not prepared, I will be in danger. Knowing what is happening around me and having the skills and weapons to deal with the situation usually means I’m not in danger, per se. I have spent years working to hone my skills, and my heart is rarely racing with fear as I look to evade imminent death.”

“How do most humans survive?”

“I hope this does not offend, but they do the same as the other races. Like elves, like dwarves, they congregate together to provide a shared protective cover. They live in walled hamlets and towns. Like a lone dwarf or elf, a lone human is unlikely to last alone for long in the wilds. Most hunt in groups.”

“You think a lone elf would not survive?”

“Not unless they were both skilled and knowledgable. It is not so much a function of power as knowing how to use that power. In fact, I would suggest that the average elf from this city might not last as long as a human who’s grown up near the wilds; they just don’t have the knowledge base to know which plants and animals have what attributes, dangers, weaknesses and skills.”

Alistair said, “You, though, you can survive on your own?”

“For a while. Long term, I still need things that are grown or cultivated by communities. Making my own flour or rice is possible but would take too much time out of my day, and I’d have no time to make what I want. Every few years, I need the Grand Market to provide a large percentage of the raw materials I use to make the weapons. Nobody really wants to simply survive; we want to thrive. What that means is different for everybody.

“For a human father, living deep in the wilds, it might mean seeing his children grow up without having to go hungry. For a dwarf, deep in their cave system, it might be creating a sculpture that fires the imagination of the one they love; for a goblin, it might be finding a warren where they can leave their pups without worrying that they’ll return from a hunt and find them eaten. I’ve no idea what a troll might want as they are very hard to have a conversation with, but I suspect even they want more than just the next meal.”

Jocelyn waited until it was clear there wasn’t an immediate follow-up question, then stood and said, “I believe dinner is ready. Please let us move to the dining area.”

Once we were seated, several low elves entered with bowls and set them before us. It was some form of creamed soup, and the purple colour made me think it was either one of the newer mega-carrots or a tuber, like taro. Both were bright purple after the transformation. Their flavours were deeper, less starchy, and if harvested at the right time, they had a zesty citrus flavour. Harvested too early and they caused dysentery, too late, death.

After a few mouthfuls of what turned out to be taro, Jocelyn said, “We’d hoped to keep tonight’s discussion light and look for some way to express our appreciation. I have no desire to air too much of our family’s personal situation; however, since the meeting with you yesterday, a situation has developed between us that has consumed our discussions and interactions. Alistair has somewhat reluctantly agreed that I can mention the issue and see if your input might help us come to a resolution.

“I am horrified at what happened to Fiona and desire that she be surrounded with guards who will ensure such an attack does not happen in the future. Alistair desires the same outcome but has made it clear that with life’s uncertainties, he wants Fiona to begin self-defence training and suggested we ask you to outfit her with weapons that she can use once she has the appropriate skills. Fiona has a different suggestion, but before we share that, I would appreciate your response to our thoughts.”

I timed the mouthful, so I had a few seconds to think before having to respond. I took a sip of water then said, “As for the suggestions, I think they both have merit. Enemies will hear about how close someone got to her and will see if it can be replicated. More proficient and aware guards with protocols to prevent another attempt is suggested regardless of how competent Lady Fiona might become in the art of self-defence. As she develops a more significant presence in the community, she will need people around her she trusts for those times when she is concentrating on something else.

“My personal view is that at adulthood everyone is responsible, in the end, for their own security. One day, High Lady Fiona will choose her own guards, evaluate their performance and trust them on her own initiative; that is a form of responsibility. Another is to be prepared, as she did this week, to be her own guardian. As for weapons, I would be happy to provide her with weapons but suggest you wait until she develops some proficiency. A weapon, in many respects, is only as good as the person wielding it. I make some basic weapons; I never sell them at the Grand Market but provide them for humans and dwarves in the caves, hamlets, and towns I visit occasionally.

“They are utilitarian, plain, and if a father dies, the daughter can pick up her father’s weapon and keep fighting. In the beginning, Lady Fiona will need weapons like this. They will build up her muscles, her reflexes. She’ll learn how to stand, how to flex, and she will develop her own style. Once she is competent, that is where I step in. At that point, two or more years in the future, that is when I measure her muscles, watch her stance, check the way she holds a sword, look for callouses on her hand and all that goes into designing a sword, whip, or pistol that amplifies her strengths. Sometimes, I’ll show a client how to make a small change in how they hold a sword or pistol to give them even more control or accuracy. Still, it is usually only a tweak of what they’ve already learned.”

Jocelyn looked at Alistair, and I could see her mouth had become thinner and had a look of resignation on her face. Alistair sighed and said, “I think it’s hard for a human to understand the difference a highly extended life makes. There is never a need to hurry, or to make a decision until you are ready. The biological clock doesn’t run down, and physiological changes don’t happen at a speed the body and mind have trouble responding to. Elven children mature slowly, and we’ve adapted our way of life to take account of this. Fiona is almost fifty, and for a human, that would mean that her life is almost over; she would most likely be a grandparent and worn out by the pace and trials of life. As an elf, Fiona is at that in-between age where she’s starting to look for ways to express her growing independence.

“I’ve resisted giving her a great range of choices even though she’s always proven to have a keen mind and the decisions she has made have been mostly wise and each time they’ve been acted upon in such a way that the outcomes achieved are what she wanted and have made us proud. Children rebelling against their parents is uncommon among elves, for we all understand that the essential urgency that drives the ‘I want it now’ call of the hormonal human has no bite for someone who will most likely live for a thousand years, or more; we don’t know. We do know that we don’t seem to age, and our cells rejuvenate exactly, without attenuation or mutation, keeping us always at the optimum age.

“All that to say that I suggested that perhaps Fiona might have a say in deciding a way forward in her self-protection as she’s old enough to be considered an adult and because she made a wise choice in believing in her feelings and finding a suitable way to manage her dilemma. She protected herself and took control of a life-threatening situation even when we had dismissed the need for action. When she heard of your supposed activities yesterday morning, she was distressed at your actions until I described the likely scenario. Her response has been to suggest that we ask if you would consider accepting her as your student or apprentice.”

Stunned doesn’t even begin to describe my reaction; neither does floored, flabbergasted, dumbfounded or stupefied. I literally felt my mouth drop open with a thud, my gaze fixed on Alistair’s face and then slowly shifting to focus on Fiona. After what seemed like an age, I could see in her eyes that my lack of response was being seen as a rejection of her rather than a rejection of the proposal. I forced my mouth closed and gave her a grin.

“Well, I will say that wasn’t what I’d expected to hear. Lady Fiona, I am honoured that you might consider me to help train you. Commenting on your wisdom would make me appear less than humble, so I’ll not even attempt to express my admiration of your sagacity. To be fair to you and your family, I will need time to consider an appropriate response, but there are things that you also need to consider. Please, these are in no order of importance but simply the order that they come to mind.

“If I were to accept your proposal, then it would impact the way you and your parents are seen by the entire elven community. You are a high elf who would be considered part of elven nobility, a scion of your house. I am not only human, but I am, if the reports you heard are accurate, considered an enemy of more than a dozen high elf households. Next, I do not live in the city or even in a semi-protected human hamlet. I live in the wilds, fifteen kilometres from the nearest community and surrounded by over a thousand square kilometres of plants and creatures who would try and kill you every time you left the front door.

“If you did come with me, then you would be away from the city for at least two years. Not only that but you would see and learn things that you would not be able to share, even with your parents. From my own experience, I know that sometimes keeping secrets is necessary, but it can also be divisive. Until recently, I’ve worked alone, but already I’ve reluctantly agreed to accept two apprentices. Honestly, while learning with others would be the most effective way to progress quickly toward mastery, you would need to be comfortable learning with a dwarf and a human.

“Blind obedience isn’t an expectation, but obedience would be. Most of the time, if you didn’t do what I said, you would die, and I suspect you are more used to being given suggestions even while you give others orders. Finally, I’m being particularly polite and nice as I’m a guest in your house. At other times I can be stubborn, irritable, impatient, sarcastic and even violent when rubbed up the wrong way. My own view is that when this happens, people are only getting what they deserve for being abusive, rude, lazy or intentionally ignorant; four things I detest. I think you should consider these things.”

Fiona opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it and took a breath. Finally, she nodded and said, “Thank you for being both open and honest. I was going to say I can accept all that you’ve said, but I agree I need time to understand what the implications would be, not only for myself but also for my parents.”

Alistair said, “I also appreciate what you have shared and agree we need time to discuss the issue to gain more clarity. Perhaps we could turn to other things and let this simmer away in our thinking for a while. Ida, what is the most unusual animal you have seen in the wilds?”

The rest of the evening passed on a much lighter note. While I suspected Alistair and I would always disagree on the relative importance of elves in the universe, I had come to respect the way he met what he considered his obligations. I’d shared I was leaving the day after the market finished, and Fiona had said if she still felt it was what she wanted to do, then she would come to the shop to discuss if it was possible before the market ended.

Chapter Twenty-One

The following day I closed the shopfront half an hour before Olivia was due to arrive to escort me to see Isabelle. I was nervous; I’d seen Isabelle at least a dozen times from a distance but hadn’t been face to face since the change. I needed to remember that I wasn’t dropping in to see the granddaughter I loved passionately but meeting the most powerful elf within a thousand kilometres, if not more. After making sure my clothes and armour were all clean, I set up a few traps in the storage area then showered and dressed.

At nine, Olivia knocked then stepped inside. Seeing I was ready, she said, “Lady Ida, three more guards are waiting outside. It is two less than those provided by High Lord Alistair, but it should be a safer journey during the day.”

From her grin, I assumed she wasn’t so much sending a message that Simon knew where I’d been as warning me that he did. “I should hope so; however, I would have thought the main reason was the quality of the guards.”

“That goes without saying. High Lord Simon assigned another two guards to stand watch outside while you were away.”

“I do appreciate that thoughtfulness, and I’ll be sure to thank him. I would suggest that if they hear several loud sounds inside or even screams, that while they might secure the perimeter, it would be wise not to enter in case one or more of my burglar alarms fails to be tripped.”

Olivia didn’t respond except to step aside to talk with two guards standing several meters away. When she returned, she started a light conversation on everyday things, which we kept up for most of the trip to Isabelle’s spire. Olivia led the way to a private elevator. She explained the meeting was on the sixty-first floor, and there was a space near the exit where I could leave the armour. Isabelle and Simon were waiting further in at a living style area used for more intimate meetings like this.

The plan made sense, so I was surprised when both Simon and Isabelle were waiting several meters from the lift when it arrived at the sixty-first floor. Before we stepped from the lift, Simon said, “Lady Olivia, I do apologise to you and Merchant Ida for this change of plans, but High Lady Isabelle was interested in seeing Ida’s armour.”

I took two steps forward to leave the lift then said, “High Lord Simon, High Lady Isabelle, I am at your service.”

Up close, Isabelle was even more beautiful than I remembered. Time had deepened her features, and while it had added elegance, it had not diminished her flawless complexion and the stunning mix of features she’d got from her parents. If I was to be somewhat boastful, I’d say she had my eyes, which on her was part of a matching suite of components, while on me, they had been my best feature. Isabelle had mastered the art of presenting herself as someone in complete control of herself and everything in her vicinity. She stepped forward and said, “Welcome, Ida. High Lord Simon has suggested your armour does not seem to limit your movement in any way. Without a gymnastic floor routine or a duel, I will just have to let my imagination extrapolate what I can see. Even seeing the several steps you already made has helped, so thank you.”

Simon wasn’t so accomodating, with a grin, he said, “High Lady Isabelle, while I accept that your ability to extrapolate is beyond compare, I’d rather have my words substantiated by facts. So, Ida, have you a gymnastic routine prepared or would you prefer a duel of some kind?”

Someone meeting Isabelle for the first time would not have been able to read her almost nonexistent micro-expressions. However, I’d watched their development through the years, and although she’d learned excellent control, they were still there, muted and transformed, but still there. She wasn’t shocked by his sense of humour, nor his adaptation of the plan without telling her. No, she was shocked that he’d felt free to be like this in front of me, a human. I doubted he was so free even with close associates.

I turned and said, “High Lord Simon, I did not bring the necessary music for my usual floor routine, and even a mock duel leaves me in a somewhat precarious position. I am uncomfortable to even pretend to battle in the presence of High Lady Isabelle, and if I did, then I would not wish to highlight the small deficiencies I might find in the guards you have in place to guard her. However, if I did not do my best, then I might give a lie to your rather welcome evaluation of my skill as an armourer.”

Even though I faced Simon, I was watching Isabelle out of the corner of my eye. Immediately, it appeared I’d once again opened my mouth too quickly and let the words make their way out without enough constraint. Isabelle was as shocked by my response to Simon as she had been by his words to me. I, a human, was subtly mocking her closest friend, her advisor, her paladin—if we were ever to descend deeper into the genre—as well as the one who was her life partner. I was thankful for the armour as the frustration at my lack of self-control might have been visible; there was nothing for it but to press on.

Simon either missed the clues, or it didn’t worry him, the idiot. He said, “Ida, I do understand. If it is easier, I’ll find some music, perhaps an ensemble of wretched guitars and large, noisy drums. The other option is to agree to a simple demonstration of hand to hand combat for points. Without your knowledge, I’ll choose a mediocre opponent just in case you manage to win a point. That way, you can try your hardest, and if you do win a point, I have some way of explaining the lack of expertise to my Lady.”

“The drums and guitars sound splendid.”

Simon said nothing for a moment, then Isabelle said, “Simon, so far this duel is one point to Ida and none to you. I suggest you don’t let me down.”

“I shall up my game, High Lady Isabelle. Ida, well played. Please?”

Becoming an elf hadn’t gotten rid of what I’d always considered one of the male gender’s strongest traits, the ability to remain unaware of undercurrents within a conversation; they were so blithely focused on the words and not all the other clues. Isabelle almost jumped out of her skin at the simple plea. OK, maybe an overreaction on my part, but her left eyebrow had twitched slightly, and I remembered her making the same involuntary action, although with a more significant twitch, just before exhibiting a public knowledge of unsavoury speech when her mother, in front of visitors, inappropriately shared something embarrassing Isabelle had done; she’d been thirteen.

Even Olivia realised Simon was out of his depth. Putting aside a dozen worthwhile comebacks that would have earned me another point in our impromptu contest, I said, “As you wish, High Lord Simon.”

“Splendid, let us go down several floors to one of the guards’ training rooms. Lady Olivia, please arrange for Lord Kadar to prepare himself.”

It was clear, at least to me, that neither Isabelle nor Olivia were surprised at the actual turn of events. This meant Simon had been asked to arrange a demonstration and Isabelle’s frustration, consternation, confusion, had been more at the tone he’d used and the way he’d gone off-script.

* * *

The fifty-eighth floor not only had several areas set aside for sparring but there was also a firing range. As Simon led the way out of the elevator, he said, “Ida, while we’re here, why don’t you show High Lady Isabelle and me the accuracy of your weapons?”

I could think of several reasons, and various creative ways to explain them to Simon, but decided submissive and agreeable was the better option, so I said, “Sure. Whatever.”

After the words had come out, I realised that while they were certainly submissive and agreeable, the tone I’d used could have been construed as sarcastic and even possibly mocking. He hesitated, which made me think I’d overdone it but then he said, “Wonderful. The backstop is foot-thick steel, so nothing will get through. The maximum range length is fifty meters, and the targets are made from a five-millimetre thick copper plate. What range is best for you?”

“Fifty metres is fine.”

When we reached the firing station, I could see a line of eight silhouette targets at the other end; three were human, four dwarves and an elf, one for each of the stalls. They were staggered with no two of the same species beside each other. I said, “I can see all eight. Will that do? Do you want me to use a higher calibre on the dwarves? They have thicker skulls.”

“Certainly, that makes sense.”

As soon as he’d finished speaking, I drew with both hands and fired four shots from each hand. Even as the sound of the eight shots began to reverberate, I’d reholstered the pistols. Each silhouette had a hole through the centre of their foreheads, the ones on the dwarves twice as large. I turned to Simon and said, “High Lord Simon, is that a sufficient test?”

Rather than annoying him, I could see he was both pleased and highly amused. He said, “It is sufficient for me. High Lady Isabelle, do you wish to see any more of Ida’s skill with firearms?”

“No. Thank you, High Lord Simon. Perhaps though, Ida, you might permit me to fire one of your weapons?”

“Of course, High Lady Isabelle. I would suggest that your hand would be better suited to one of those carried by Lady Olivia. She is testing a set for me.”

Isabelle looked toward Olivia, who’d arrived after doing as Simon requested. Isabelle looked down at Olivia’s holsters and said, “Lady Olivia, I must trust you, for I had not noticed the change in firearms. How have you found them?”

Olivia had flicked her eyes at me but then lowered her head politely and said, “High Lady Isabelle, so far, they have been a step above anything I have held in the past. Ida not only lent me the weapons but also helped me adjust my stance and grip. The range master came to watch me shoot yesterday and was most impressed with the pistols and the improvement in both my speed and accuracy.”

“May I use them?

“Of course, my Lady.”

Isabelle looked toward the targets, and all eight reformed as the range master reworked the metal. She took the two pistols from Olivia and then fired eight times. Each shot hit the head of the target she’d aimed for, and half were near the centre. She handed the pistols back to Olivia then said, “Well, it seems I’ve not spent enough time at the range. Thank you, Lady Olivia, Ida.”

Simon said, “Lord Kadar looks to be ready. He is waiting near the central sparring mat.”

When they reached the mat, Simon said, “Lord Kadar, this is Ida. I was hoping to both test her armour and show High Lady Isabelle the quality of her guards. I suspect the armour will protect Ida from your strikes, but perhaps you would limit your speed.”

If I hadn’t been wearing a helmet, Simon might have seen my own eyebrow twitching. I said, “Lord Kadar, feel free to play with time all you like and move as fast as you can. If you hold back, then I’ll feel the pressure to do so as well. Just treat me as a skilled opponent and not simply a weak, delicate, somewhat out of her depth, human play-toy.”

Isabelle’s eyebrow twitched, Olivia chuckled, Simon’s mouth opened slightly in shock, and Kadar turned to look at him, confused. His face somewhat less amenable, Simon said, “Kadar, please show Ida why it is not appropriate to challenge an elf in his own training room. The winner is the first to three points.”

With everyone watching, there was no way I could easily manipulate time myself without it being observed. Still, I had additional neural pathways and would be prepared for what he might do. I’d watched how elves trained in the city generally moved and was confident I could anticipate whatever Kadar could throw at me. As he stepped lightly onto the mat, I wasn’t convinced Simon had been entirely truthful and would have bet money that Kadar was one of their best.

When Simon started the bout, Kadar moved forward quickly but without over-reaching or arrogance. I was pretty sure he thought he was better. Still, he’d probably been beaten once or twice unexpectedly and was wise enough not to purposefully put himself in that position again. He started with a few jabs, which he sped up, but he’d telegraphed the first one. As he adjusted his second to move toward where I’d begun slipping out of the way, he let his torso slightly over-rotate. The hand I’d positioned to block his second jab opened, and I turned the defence move into an attack and, grabbing his wrist and using his over-rotation, flipped him over my shoulder and out of the ring. One, zero.

He didn’t make the same mistake again, and I spent most of the next minute defending until I saw him begin a sequence that ended with a backward spinning kick. I kept to the most accepted pattern of defence until he lost sight of me in that tiny moment as his head swivelled around to check my location for the last adjustments to the planned kick. As his eyes tracked around, they didn’t find me as I’d let my left foot slide forward as my right gripped the mat. I did an almost perfect one-eighty degree split, then with the left foot gripping the mat, brought myself upright well inside the rotating leg and then pulled my punch, less than a hair away from his over-extended neck. Two, zero.

I will admit that he was good, very good. He recognised his weak spots and didn’t make the same mistake twice. The next part of the bout stretched for almost two minutes before as I stepped back, he brought his right foot down in preparation for a right jab and almost screamed as it landed on the sole of my boot which I’d left behind after heating it until it was glowing and had become more than uncomfortably hot. His surprise gave me enough of an opportunity to land two punches to his stomach and one above his heart. Three, zero.

As he hobbled back, I stepped back onto the sole, reattaching it. When I turned, I saw Simon staring at me. I said, “Surely, if he can use time, then I can use my meagre abilities with heat. I think you were wise not to put me up against your better guards. He was superior to what I expected and a very quick learner. I may have been embarrassed by your best.”

Isabelle responded instead of Simon. “Thank you for that demonstration, Ida. You have been most gracious to show us your skills without being warned. Let us head back upstairs for morning tea, and I can express my gratitude for that wonderful bacon.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

When we got back to the sixty-first floor, I stepped to one side and had the suit unwrap; I made sure to make all the metal manipulation look as if it was engineered that way. Neither Simon nor Isabelle said anything but led the way into a large open area with some seats and a low table covered with various treats. After an elven servant brought drinks, Simon said, “Ida, why do you think you’re here?”

“You want me to do something?”

“Do you know what?”

“Well, I’d like to think you want me to outfit your and High Lady Isabelle’s guards with armour and weapons and are prepared to pay an exorbitant price, but I suspect it’s less to do with my skills as an armourer and weaponsmith as it is to do with what you think is my ability to connect the dots. You’re more than capable of connecting the dots here in the city but out there in the wilds, you could use some help, local knowledge, so to speak.”

“If you are correct about what is happening near Mount Barney, then we would prefer it was dealt with outside our domains. Knowing that the dwarves can deal with it would bring peace of mind.”

“I’ve already promised Cala I will consider how I can help her.”

“I know you suggested our interest would be less than altruistic, but if necessary, we might be able to help if it would see an end to the difficulties.”

I turned to Isabelle and said, “High Lady Isabelle, at times, I tend to be a little blunt. Whatever you might hear me say, I trust you will realise that I hold both you and High Lord Simon in the highest regard.”

Turning back to Simon, I said, “High Lord Simon, your sentence shows you are less than altruistic. You will help if it helps you. Now, I expected nothing more, but I suggest if you go see what is happening and walk away, then whatever goodwill you have with Cala and the communities out west will disappear like smoke when their children are killed, and they lose their homes. Even if they destroy whatever approaches, while you will have been spared the attack of an enemy, you will have created another. They will not attack you or bring harm to the city, but I’d be confident that they’ll take their wares to the markets in Perth before coming back here. If you help, then be assured that while they know you have done so for your own sake, they will recognise that they are in your debt.

“I’ll probably head that way in a month or so after putting together some more special cartridges. If I think they will not be able to hold, I will come and tell you. This way, you won’t become an adversary if you decide to do nothing. I’d already decided to help Cala by looking to see if more is happening even further west if that seems useful, and again, if I find something, I’ll let you know. Let me go without any association with you. While the outcome will essentially be the same, you will not open the city up to additional derision by the dwarves and humans west of here if you decide to do nothing.”

“Additional derision?”

“When you look down on someone, they tend to follow suit. It’s hard for most who never interact with elves to differentiate between relatively benign isolationists like yourself and High Lady Isabelle and elf-centric xenomisics like Marcus.”

“Xenomisic?”

“People use the word xenophobe, but that isn’t strictly true. He doesn’t fear what is other; he dismisses it as something with no value, something to be used however he wants. He sees them as contemptible. I’m going so far as to say he hates what is other. I suggest he hates us, therefore xenomisic.”

No reactions had shown on Isabelle’s face at what I said, and when Simon glanced her way, all she did was give a slight nod. He said, “I suspect with regard to High Lord Marcus, you are correct. Perhaps even concerning my own views, you have a point. Even then, I would hope my self-interest would not overcome what I see as my appreciation and recognition of personal honour. Simply using you to mitigate our responsibility to the dwarves merely shifts it to you.”

“Perhaps, except I’m being upfront, and I have no expectations you will take a specific action or actions to help, and my response to help Cala or not will be made independently of what you do.”

“You make us sound shallow.”

“From my perspective, you are. Still, I’ve concluded that from yours, you are simply being consistent with your priorities. While I think you are shortsighted, I don’t think you are wicked. I see your failing as disinterest, or perhaps more correctly, I think you have lost sight of the wider world and your part within it. I understand that Marcus is also being consistent with his priorities; he is not shortsighted. He is wicked. He has not lost sight of the wider world; he seeks to own it, control it, and make it in his own image. You might watch my house burn and do nothing; Marcus would have lit the fire. Many would put you in the same camp; I choose not to.”

“If what you say is your belief, I find it hard that you do not despise us.”

“I do not because I choose not to. I value both you and High Lady Isabelle, and while I hope I am honest enough to see your faults, I choose to honour both of you and judge you for what you have done, not for what you have not. It may seem inconsistent, but it is what I have decided to do. All I hope is you will overlook my many faults and choose to treat me as you have in the past, with respect.”

My cup was empty, and no one said anything while it was refilled and while I got a few pieces of fruit to eat. I’d been far more open than I wanted to be. Still, I knew if they intervened and then did nothing, in the long term it would lead to enmity between Isabelle and the races that surrounded her. It was Isabelle who broke the silence, “Why did you make a choice to honour me?”

“Please forgive me, High Lady Isabelle, but my reasons are personal.”

“You trouble me, Ida. I think I understand your perspective, and in many ways, I think you are correct. Still, I would submit that the survival of all the species formed in the change was best served by forming our separate communities. If we had tried to maintain a diverse community of species, then most assuredly, humans and dwarves would be the slaves that High Lord Marcus sees them as. It was only through forcing each group to prioritise its own agenda that there are communities of humans and dwarves scattered about the region with the option of self-determination.

“We elves would have ruled everything, for our strength would have made us the kings and queens of everything. By isolating ourselves behind this wall, I recognise we have left thousands, even tens of thousands of humans, dwarves and unaligned elves, to languish in poverty, begging for the scraps from our table, even to die in a meaningless scramble just to survive. If we had not, then those who wanted more would not have pushed north, west and south to create their own domains. If we had saved them all, then we would not have let the best of them go free; we would have imprisoned them.

“What you call benign isolationism had a purpose. It freed us from the need for slaves, and it freed many from the certainty of becoming one. Now, please don’t think from what I’ve said that I have a heart much different than you imagined. Our motivation is selfish; we made this decision because we had the opportunity to set the elves on a path that we could live with two thousand years from now. We needed to set the tone for who we would become, not out of any great desire to free the various species.

“High Lord Simon and I have always known the time would come when this isolationism might need to be amended. While we are still the most powerful, we can now make alliances among equals instead of issuing decrees to our minions. Simon thinks the situation that Cala is going through is an excellent first step toward starting this process. However, the main factor driving us to test the waters is not the situation facing the elves but the emergence of a go-between, you.

“Simon and Olivia both admire you, Alistair asked you to tea, Marcus dropped in to threaten you personally, Cala asked you for advice, and you have a reputation with dwarves and humans as honest, fearless and mostly righteous. I don’t want you to go as my representative; I want you to bring my representative. Show him what is there to be seen and let him talk with Cala and some of the other communities out west. The idea is that we will bring something to the table that cannot be brought by humans or dwarves. Suppose an alliance of some form is brought about. In that case, I doubt we would send as many as we would expect the humans to send, but we would ensure we did as much as they did to secure our joint objectives.”

It had taken a level of control I wasn’t sure I possessed for my mouth not to drop open as Isabelle had been speaking. I could see her point, and I chided myself at not connecting all the dots. Not only had Isabelle’s move set a precedent near here, but news of it had spread, and elves in dozens of locations gathered together and formed their communities. This had forced the dwarves to look for places to dig their caves and pushed humans who didn’t want to live in the shadow of the growing cities to push deeper into the wilds.

Several groups overseas had taken different routes, and the news from some was as Isabelle had said, elf-doms had been formed which enslaved everyone else. I wanted to tell her how proud I was of her but got myself under control before losing it and said, “Thank you, High Lady Isabelle, for your explanation. I do apologise if I caused offence. Who is this representative?”

“A high elf. Does the question mean you will accept the role?”

“Perhaps. I have some conditions, and they might not be acceptable to you. I suspect you have some, and both of us will require time to consider the proposal. However, in principle, I think a step toward cooperation between the species is a good one. I trust you, so I have no hesitation taking someone as your representative and asking Cala to listen to any proposal.”

“What are your conditions?”

“I need to return to my home first, and I would prefer to head west from there before cutting down toward Mount Barney. If there is evidence of creatures similar to what Cala is facing, I’ll stay just west of what used to be the D’Aguilar Range but has been claimed by a dwarf clan ruled by a dwarf called Flinch. If I can’t find anything, I’d planned to go further west past the old Biarra Range. It’s been claimed by several goblin clans who keep strangers out. Still, if they’re having similar difficulties, it will let me know how widespread the problem is.

“Whoever you send should plan to leave with me at the end of this week and not expect to be back for three or four months. After I know what is happening, I’ll bring them back through here. I’ve also managed to pick up some apprentices, so I expect they’ll tag along. At the moment, there is a dwarf and a human, although I have discussed with a family the possibility of accepting an elven apprentice as well. Each of those is aware that I have secrets. Your ambassador will need to keep them as well; they are secrets that belong to me and have nothing to do with the situation. I will see them keeping those secrets as a matter of honour, the life and death kind of honour.

“The wilds are more dangerous each year, and whoever you send will need to be able to take orders. I do not live in a human community but in the wilds. The nearest community is over fifteen kilometres away, and every creature and plant near my home, given the opportunity, will try and kill them. If they don’t do what I say, when I say it, they’ll die. Hopefully, they learn quickly, and I can let them make most decisions, but until they understand every creature’s way of killing them, then they’ll be defenceless. If they join the apprentices and me, they’ll need to be a team player. I don’t care too much if they like the others, but I do expect them to fight for them. I can’t think of anything else right now but will think on the matter.”

Simon said, “Thank you, Ida. I’d like an opportunity to discuss what we’ve heard with High Lady Isabelle. I will come to visit you in the next few days if we agree to what you’ve said and to outline our own expectations.”

Understanding this was a dismissal, I came to my feet then said, “High Lady Isabelle, High Lord Simon, thank you for the honour of your company and the trust you have shown me by sharing as you did.”

Simon and Isabelle came to their feet, and Olivia stepped into view. Simon said, “Ida, Lady Olivia will escort you back to the markets.”

After retrieving my armour, Olivia led the way back in silence. As we approached the shop, she said, “If it suits, I’ll also come past in a few days and discuss the pistols you lent me.”

“It would be an honour.”

Once I’d disarmed the traps, I went through the morning several times, then, still unsettled by what had been said, opened the store just after lunch. Nothing unusual happened the rest of that day and the stream of customers steadily increased.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The tenth day of the Grand Market started out at what usually would have been a slow pace, but was almost frantic with respect for this market. By lunchtime, I’d sold a dozen pistols and several rifles. Just before three, two customers were lined up waiting while I finished fitting a pistol for a third when Jack entered the shop. It was clear that he needed to talk, so I excused myself and locked the front door. I then turned to those who were waiting. I said, “I value your business, and if this is your only opportunity, then I’ll serve you as soon as I’ve finished with the customer I’m serving at the moment. If you are willing to come back tomorrow, then I’d appreciate it and give you a thirty percent discount on whatever weapon you might choose.”

One of them left, and the other said they’d prefer to have the service now. I glanced apologetically at Jack, but he understood enough about the business to wait quietly even though he fidgeted. Half an hour later, both customers had gone, and I turned and said, “Sorry, Jack.”

“No, that’s fine. I understand and would have done the same. Krater and his caravans left after morning tea and headed home, or so they said. Bol came to see me an hour ago and said Kell and Temperance weren’t back from the lower markets and wanted to know where they’d been headed. I had no idea they’d gone and said I assumed they were shopping with him. It appears Krater told Bol they’d been sent on an errand by me. He told me they’d gone with Bol. Bol’s headed north after them with five others, but I thought you should know.”

“I’ll get some things and lock up. Can you wait?”

“Yes, my plan is to come with you.”

I grabbed my bow and multi-bore rifle and added a full quiver and a backpack full of cartridges and arrowheads. I set the basic traps and was headed for the door five minutes later. Jack unlocked it then had to step back as two high elves stepped inside. These were the two who’d visited with Marcus. Jack looked at me, but I ignored him. The first one to step inside said, “As Jack here has set the context for you, I bring the promised invitation from High Lord Marcus. Tomorrow evening at five, you will be waiting outside the easternmost exit to the city. You will have no weapons or armour. You will be led to the party he has planned for you. He has no plans to kill you himself but has added you to the list of combatants in a series of games he holds each time the Grand Market is held. Should you not be waiting, your apprentices will be entered into the games in your stead. Very few survive these games. They would not.”

He turned to leave, but I said, “Is Marcus expecting a reply?”

He turned back and said, “No. He expects you to do as you are ….”

He never finished the sentence as the knife I’d thrown with my right hand entered his brain through his right eye socket. The end of my whip was wrapped around the other elf’s neck, and with a quick tug, his head dropped off. I said, “Jack, sorry about the mess, but if he didn’t expect a reply then there was no reason to give them back. Can you get my knife and carry the body into the storage area? Just let me clear a few traps. I’ll clean up when we get back. I’ll just mop up out here quickly; let me grab the head first.”

After pulling the blinds, I picked up the head, hurried to the back, quickly disarmed the traps, emptied a large crate full of rifles, and dropped the head inside. Jack dropped the body on top of the head and went to get the other while I gathered some rags from the wagon and carried them out to lay over the blood. When Jack returned, I said, “That’ll do for now. Let’s go find Krater.”

“Ida, what if Marcus kills them when his elves don’t return?”

I reset the traps, shooed him out of the shop without answering, and only spoke as we moved back through the market. “Jack, I don’t think he will. Well, not yet anyway. Whatever he has planned, he said they would be entered in my place if I didn’t turn up. He’s always had this weird thing about doing what he says, so I suspect he’ll want them for that. Whatever he has going on, I doubt he’s let Krater in on any of the plans, and so he’ll collect them away from this place he has prepared. Krater’s after metal or goods and will want to keep Temperance and Kell until he’s been paid. I suspect once Krater does get paid, then Marcus will kill him, so let’s hurry. I’m not comfortable letting Marcus deal with Krater; he belongs to me. Can you move any quicker?”

“I’m bigger, stronger, and faster than you. Keep up if you can.”

With that, Jack started jogging along the thoroughfare. Well, OK, it was a jog for dwarves, and most humans would have called it running. We had to slow down to sign out of the market but soon we were racing along the thoroughfare toward where we’d camped the last night on the trip south. What had taken over three hours that first morning we covered in less than a fifth of that. As we approached the area where we’d camped, Jack slowed as he saw one of his dwarves, Malor, standing near the entrance.

As we came to a stop, Malor said, “Krater came through here four hours ago. He paid storage and protection fees for his wagons and then headed north with all his dwarves, Kell and Temperance. They are heavily armed, and Bol has taken the rest after him.”

Jack was about to head off but paused as I held up a hand. I said, “Hammer, wait, let me think. Krater doesn’t know the area, and I suspect he’ll stick to the trails. He’s left his wagons here so he’s on his way to meet Marcus. If he’s gone north, then he’ll have to turn east or west to circle around to meet Marcus or his representative. Marcus wanted to meet me on the eastern exit to the city, which is north of the river. If his property is west or south of the city, he’ll have to circle around and cross the river. If it’s north, then he’ll have the same problem Krater has, and that is, there are only two main trails heading in this direction. There is no way he’d be able to hide this competition in this direction as anyone going to watch would be seen, and I’ve never heard of it before. The most logical place is somewhere east of the city.

“Marcus won’t be meeting Krater along this road, so that means Krater will head east and either meet Marcus’ elves somewhere on the smaller coastal trail, or Krater will have to turn and head back toward the south. There are four reasonable trails to the north that head east, and the first is five kilometres from here and isn’t used by dwarves or elves, so I wouldn’t think he’ll take that one. The next is another four kilometres north. It’s wider and used by merchants and a few elves, so I suspect he’ll use that. Either way, he’ll have to travel almost five kilometres east before meeting the coastal trail south.

“I can’t see elves travelling twenty kilometres just to pick up some hostages, so Krater will then come south on the coastal road to meet them. Let’s head east from here and then head north when we reach the coastal road.”

“Ida. Two things; one, you’re guessing, and two, even though it’s close to the city, it is still the wilds.”

“Both true. I’m comfortable with my assumption, but if you head after Bol, we’ll cover all options. I’ll cut through, and if I’m right, I’ll meet you on the coastal route. If I’m wrong, I’ll cut west at the second trail and catch up.”

Hammer almost nodded, then glared at me and said, “I don’t like being played. You get me killed, and I’ll be pissed. Lead the way.”

I was wearing the full armour so he couldn’t see my grin, but I made no attempt to keep it out of my voice when I said, “I’m smaller, weaker, and slower than you. Keep up if you can.”

He swore as he grinned, then told Malor to follow Bol and tell him what we were doing. When he nodded at me, I cut across the campground and, at a human paced jog, headed into the wilds.

* * *

Despite being close to the city and dotted with dozens of human hamlets, the wilds were almost as dangerous as they were up north. They had fewer mature apex predators. Still, even fifty meters off a regularly used track, it was possible to run into a wombat, goanna, snake, wasp, koala, possum, rat, spider, centipede, millipede, ant, cat, dog, pig, deer, quoll, bandicoot, wallaby, fox, echidna, gecko, magpie, and so on. Anything and everything could and would kill if given a chance.

Not much moved quickly through the forest, but that which did generally wasn’t worried by the smaller threats, and this worked in our favour as the smaller animals moved out of the way. The larger ones, for some reason, were annoyed by anything that wasn’t afraid of them and generally preferred the direct approach of killing what annoyed it. After a few meters, I said, “Jack, using your earth ability, send a sharp wedge of rock or soil in front of us. I want you to set off the spider traps, shift the centipedes, cut the vines and move ants and the like out of the way. Anything else, leave to me.”

I’d done this myself a few times but preferred the slower approach as it did less damage to creatures just minding their own business. I could have set the wedge myself but even now wanted to try and keep what was happening semi-believable for Jack. Even as the wedge appeared, I fired, and an eight-meter long red-bellied black snake dropped onto the trail and was sheered in half by Jack’s stone edged wedge. Thirty meters further along I fell into a roll, then used a sword to take off the head of a tiger-sized juvenile house-cat that leapt off a nearby tree to attack. Jack swore as he tripped on the carcass, and the wedge wavered and almost disappeared, but he managed to get it back in place quickly.

An hour later, covered in blood and gore, I stopped a dozen meters from the coastal trail. I’d used over eight full magazines of the smaller cartridge and two and a half of the larger. Jack was breathing heavily, but then he’d worked harder than me with the way he’d moved the dirt and foliage out of the way. I said, “Get your breath, old dwarf, then we’ll move north. The trail is up ahead, so let’s move carefully to see if anything is moving.”

Jack glared at me, and his next two breaths sounded a little like ‘Piss off!’ But again, I took the higher ground and simply chuckled as I slowly moved forward. I couldn’t hear or feel anything along the path and peeked out. Not seeing anything, I stepped out then paused as I noticed the marks on the ground. I said, “They’re ahead of us. It looks like eight to ten elves with a couple of dwarves pulling some heavy carts. How much focus can you bring to your earth sense?”

“Not enough to check more than a few hundred metres along the trail. Do you want to wait and pick them up on the return or follow them?”

“Krater is mine. I’m following them.”

“You’re much more bloodthirsty than I remember.”

“Not really. I’ve never played well with others, and I never liked sharing my toys. It’s just that I’ve been disconnected from most things for some time and not given a damn. I let Temperance in, and then Kell. I’m not saying they’re my toys, but in some way, they did become important to me and I won’t share them with Marcus. Krater took them away, so it’s only fair I get to take out some of my angst on him.”

“What about my prerogative as a father?”

“What about it? You said I could have her till I’d dealt with things. I’m not even close to dealing with her, so step back.”

“When we get back, we’ll need to discuss the whole expected power relationship between dwarves, elves and humans.”

“Your expectations or mine?”

“The generally held expectations.”

“I look forward to it. Do you want to discuss these expectations with guns or swords?”

“I was thinking with words.”

“Sure, we can start with that.”

“Actually, I’m happy to do this your way.”

“That sounds like a very reasonable approach. Use your earth ability to dampen our running; no vibrations. Let’s go.”

I kept the pace slower until Jack had worked out how to dampen our steps, then slowly began picking up the pace. We’d travelled about a kilometre when I held up a hand and pulled off to one side. I said, “I got a glimpse of movement up ahead. They ducked off the trail and into the bushes near the next corner; I think they’re human.”

I started jogging and then slowed near where I could now sense five humans crouched low to the ground just a few metres into the forest. They were wearing leather clothes they’d obviously made themselves, and while they all had homemade bows, only two had pistols; both were decades old. I said, “I apologise for the armour and being hidden behind the mask. We’ve no reason to harm you and will leave you in peace. We’re after some elves and dwarves with a few carts. Have you seen them?”

I had to repeat myself before one of the men, an older man in his late forties, stood and said, “They are about a kilometre ahead.”

“Can you describe the trail? If we can, I’d like to cut ahead of them.”

“It twists and turns a bit, but there isn’t anywhere to get past with their hearing.”

“Is there a straight stretch where if we’re close, we’ll be able to see for three or four hundred meters?”

“You’ll have to move quickly. A section like you describe is about two and a half kilometres ahead.”

“Can you give me a brief summary of what it is like between here and there?”

After he did, I thanked him, then took off my backpack and removed a half kilogram of gold from inside. “After tomorrow, if you visit the Grand Market, go to the Silver Section and ask for the wagons of the dwarf Jack Hammer. He’s the dwarf with me. He will bring you to my shop, and I’ll fit you and all those with you today with weapons of your choice for no cost.”

The man had no idea how to respond, but I nodded to Jack, and he cancelled the vibrations our feet set up as we raced after the elves.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Following the directions, we rushed and came up behind the elves two turns before the long stretch. They were walking quickly and watching the trail on either side, but as they stepped onto each new section, none looked behind. As they turned onto the straight stretch, I used hand signals to let Jack know I’d start with the bow, and that when they noticed what was happening he should join in with his rifle.

I waited until they’d moved eighty meters along, then shifted the arrows in the quiver at my back before lifting the bow. Starting with those at the rear, I began shooting. I kept two arrows in the air at any one time and had killed four before the sound of the arrows and dropping bodies alerted the others. As the first one turned, Jack’s first bullet took him in the side of the head. Two more dropped from my arrows, and then I pulled the heavier calibre pistols. The five remaining elves all managed to draw their firearms, and they were all excellent shots.

Jack sensibly threw himself to one side as bullets tore through where he’d been standing. They also had been aiming at me, but I figured that’s what the armour was for. Well, OK, I did cheat, if that’s what using your skills to stay alive is called. The armour was good, but my metal ability reshaped each bullet as it hit and spread it out over a large surface area, so it thudded against the armour instead of penetrating. Meanwhile, I used the larger pistol to kill the two dwarves pulling the carts and hit one more elf as they dove into the forest.

He hadn’t been killed, but the bullet had blown through his knee, ripping the lower leg away. Racing forward, I waved at Jack to deal with the wounded elf while I listened for those who’d disappeared into the bushes. They weren’t waiting to ambush us but were slowly moving southwest, and I suspected they would head back to the trail soon enough. I fired once and hit one in the back of the head. The other three had enough sense not to scatter but moved deeper into the forest.

Turning to Jack, I said, “There are three left. I’ll deal with them. I’ll try not to be too long.”

He nodded as he finished removing the elf’s weapons. “I’ll chat with this one while you’re gone. I’d like to know what is going on.”

Ignoring the comment, I slid into the bush and disappeared. No matter how hard they tried to be quiet, it wasn’t easy when you are terrified and entirely out of your depth. These were city elves, and no matter how tough they thought they were, the forest would eat them alive if they stayed for long. In their quick dash after the bullet had killed their companion, I suspected they’d gotten turned around as they were headed deeper into the forest. I was tempted to leave them, but they might get lucky and accidentally find their way out.

Their attempt at silence ended when one of them stepped through a web and brought a spider scurrying toward them. They fired a dozen shots before it died, and then it took a minute to cut the elf free. Some of the web had stuck to the bare skin of her face, and before they could pull it loose, she started to scream. The web exuded a strong acid when it came in contact with hot organic matter and, unless diluted quickly, had been known to eat right through a human arm or leg.

I watched them from the branch of a tree about ten metres from where they were. One of her companions had some water and after a minute had washed most of it off, but they had no way to help her as it had burnt through her eye and the flesh was gone from one side of her face. As she groaned, the third elf stepped behind her and drove a knife into her head. He looked at the other one and, in a whisper, said, “There was nothing we could do. We need to move slowly and retrace our steps if we can. You lead.”

The other nodded, turned and headed back the way they’d come. I shook my head but decided not to intervene as he came face to face with an echidna that had been attracted by the noise. Like humans, echidnas had taken on several different forms after the meteorites. One form lived mostly underground and preyed on worms, spiders and anything else it could find. One had taken to the trees, which surprised me until I discovered they were supposedly related to sloths. The third type was still shaped like a ball and covered in spikes, but there was nothing placid about them. They usually hunted in packs when they were younger but continued to grow throughout their lives and became more solitary the older they became.

Without its spines, this one might have been five feet high at the shoulders. With the spines, it was closer to eight feet. It barrelled into the elf, twisting its body as it did and impaling the elf with a dozen spines, each razor-sharp and an inch or two in diameter. The last elf fired a few shots but missed the brain and discovered that an eight-foot ball of spikes, powered by four powerful legs with long foot claws was not something you should irritate.

The echidna barrelled into the last elf and then shook itself. With spines impaled through his torso, arms and legs, the elf was torn apart as the muscles that controlled the spines made them spasm and contract rapidly. The echidna ignored the ripped apart elf and turned back to the first one it had hit. The elf was still alive, but that didn’t bother the echidna too much as it started to feed.

I double-checked the echidna was unlikely to die from its wounds then moved carefully back toward the trail.

* * *

Jack had tied a tourniquet around the elf’s leg, and by the time I got back, he’d stripped the others of weapons and the small ingots they were carrying. As I stepped out of the forest, he said, “I questioned this one and agreed that if he talked, I’d let him go. They had plans to meet up with Krater about five kilometres north of here. The carts are full of titanium. Marcus wasn’t going to kill Krater, as he expected me to do that when I finally caught up with him. The games they talked about have been run during the last seven markets. Besides a hundred of the lesser races, his words not mine, they include animals that have been collected over the last two years.

“Five creatures and twenty ‘contestants’ are put in a large pit while elves with Marcus’ view of the world stand around and watch the carnage. Each of the contestants is allowed to choose a weapon, although no bows or firearms are allowed. The winner of each bout joins in the next bout. After the last bout, if the last one standing is a contestant, they are supposedly set free, but this one says they’re killed. Besides the entry fee, Marcus makes money by running the betting. All the contestants are on display before the bouts and wagers are made.”

“Did you get the location of these ‘games’?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s get moving. We’ll pull the carts past the next turn then move them off the trail. We can pick them up on the way back.”

“What about the bodies?”

“We’ll just move them off the trail.”

“And this one?”

“You said you’d let him go. He can stay and look after his friends.”

The elf looked up and said, “You can’t leave me here.”

“Of course I can. Jack said he’d let you go, but there is no way I’m carrying you anywhere.”

“What about weapons?”

“Don’t worry, the animals won’t need them.”

As Jack followed me up the trail, he said, “You don’t feel bad about just leaving him like that?”

“Not really. He’s involved with Marcus and these games. I’m a little mad I’ve not heard of them before. I knew they’d been held in other places but didn’t think anyone was quite that depraved up here.”

* * *

As we approached the place where the elves had planned to wait for Krater, I slowed, turned to Jack and said, “How do you want to do this?”

“What are the options?”

“There aren’t many, I suppose. Krater has eleven dwarves besides himself, and they’re all armed. I was thinking an ambush, but wanted to know if you thought they were all in on the abduction.”

“I’d think so. Even if they weren’t originally, then they’ve gone along with it. Is your desire for bloody death waning?”

“I don’t have a desire to kill anyone. In fact, I prefer to take the higher ground in matters like this. Don’t forget, I agreed to let the last elf go free.”

“You had blown his leg off and then left him by the side of the trail surrounded with his dead companions, no weapons and a forest full of predators.”

“Minor points which don’t detract from the fundamental truth that he was set free. Still, I knew he was involved with what Marcus was doing. He knew the plans and knew enough of what Marcus had planned to be more than a low-level hanger-on. Some of those with Krater might not have known what was planned until they were heading out of the city.”

“It’ll be hard to tell, and I suspect that unless we go in hard, his first response will be to kill Temperance and then Kell. He really doesn’t like you and blames you for setting my caravan against him and his dwarves.”

“Hard it is. Do we need a distraction to get their attention? They’ll be expecting a bunch of elves, and we didn’t bring any.”

“I can go back and get one.”

“Not enough time. What if I just wait here and be the distraction, and you set up somewhere with your rifle?”

“I noticed your armour somehow dealt with the elves’ bullets, but I’m not comfortable with using you as bait.”

“We could use you as bait.”

“I’m even less comfortable with that option.”

“How stupid is he?”

“Who? Krater?”

“Yes. If I offered to fight him for honour or something silly like that, would he go for it?”

“Honour isn’t silly.”

“It is if he gives up a twelve to one advantage just to try and beat me with his own hands. He’ll know the elves aren’t coming, and he saw me go hunting. He’s heard what happened to the elves in the city. Besides, I just want him to focus on me so you can start thinning the crowd.”

“You want me to attack while you’re talking?”

“Jack, it is called a diversion; it’s designed to give you the opportunity to attack without Kell being hurt. If you do nothing, then it is called an interlude and is rather pointless as I don’t really want to talk to Krater.”

“What if he agrees to a fight?”

“Do you think he’s that stupid?”

“Yes. He’s young and thinks the only thing stopping him is his lack of opportunity. Killing you would give him the momentum he needs to excel.”

“When he loses, will the others surrender quietly?”

“Probably not, but maybe he’d set Temperance and Kell to one side, and it’ll give me a better shot. If they did surrender, what would you do with them?”

“Let them go.”

“Like you did the elf?”

“Yes, but with all their limbs. We’ll share what’s in their wagons as spoils, and they can go home however they want. I’ll give them a knife each.”

“As bad as Krater is, I suspect that most of what they’ve bought they’re taking back for his clan. Without it, the clan will suffer.”

“Actions have consequences.”

“True. Your actions also have consequences.”

“Seriously? You want to put the responsibility for what happens to a dwarf clan I’ve never met on my head?”

“No! What happens to them is on them. They are responsible for making Krater their representative, not you. They are responsible for surviving through the year regardless of whether Krater brings things back from the market or not. You are responsible for what you do. I just want to make sure you can live with putting them in that position. It’s like Kell. She is responsible for her actions and had to live with the consequences of her behaviour. She can’t blame anyone; she had to own it. Still, I’m responsible for letting her turn out as she did. I’m accountable for my parenting mistakes. I have to live with that.

“She’s making good choices, and she can be proud of her resolve. I let her go and handed her over to you; it was the best decision I could have made, and so I’m responsible for the change as well. You beat the shit out of her and then began to teach her how to be an adult. That she’ll be a daughter I’m proud of is because of you. Each of us is responsible for what we do and for the consequences. I know you know this. I’m just reminding you, so you don’t let your anger do things you don’t want it to.”

“Fine. If they surrender, they can keep their wagons. I keep the titanium. You killed one of them so you can have a fourteenth.”

“I ran through the wilds with you and kept you safe. I get half.”

“It was my idea.”

“I got the information from the elf and tidied up.”

“You can have a fifth.”

“You can’t carry it by yourself. I’ll have a third.”

“A quarter, and that’s the final offer.”

“OK, deal. Now, what about Krater?”

“Let’s see how stupid he is. Find somewhere safe to shoot from.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jack set up fifty meters or so in the direction we expected Krater to come from, and I waited on the trail. Twenty minutes after we arrived, Jack signalled that people were approaching and faded out of sight. Three minutes later, I could see the group of a dozen dwarves approaching. Krater was near the middle, and Temperance and Kell were behind him. They had ropes tied around their necks held by two other dwarves, but other than that seemed to have the freedom to move.

The dwarves in the lead slowed as they saw me and raised their assault-style weapons, and while they kept them on me, they were scanning the area around them. All except Krater and those with the ropes connected to Temperance and Kell turned to face the forest around them. The ones holding the ropes on Temperance and Kell stepped forward and put their weapons to the two hostages’ heads as Krater made his way to the front and stared at me.

I called out, “Krater, you’re having a bad day. They aren’t coming. Marcus’ elves are dead, and the titanium is gone. If you ever show your face in the city again, Marcus will kill you. From his perspective, not only did you not fulfil your side of the agreement, but your failure cost him metal and elves. I wouldn’t worry about Marcus though. You betrayed Jack. I’m pretty sure Bol and those with him aren’t far behind you, and while Marcus might kill you because you failed him, the other dwarves see you as a traitor. I know you’ve never achieved much in your short, useless life, but what does it feel like to be a complete loser?”

His eyes had widened, and as I kept talking, he’d raised the rifle and had it up to eye level and pointed at me. He said, “I will kill you.”

“Wow, not only your clan’s most prolific under-achiever but also an idiot. First, shoot me and the titanium is really gone for good. Second, the smarter thing would be to say something like, ‘I’m not a complete loser, Ida. I have you, and Marcus will forgive anything to get his hands on you.’ Lastly, do you think I killed the elves on my own? Jack has his rifle aimed at your head as we speak.”

Krater whipped his head around and stared into the forest that pressed in on both sides. “He won’t do anything that might harm his daughter.”

“Not only a loser and stupid, but you’re also deaf. I said he had the rifle aimed at you. He doesn’t need one of your spray-and-hope-to-hit-something rifles; one bullet, one brainless dwarf. No, wait, one bullet, one dead brainless dwarf. The brainless was true whether you’re alive or dead. I suspect the dwarves with you don’t really like you all that much; I can’t see how they could. So, I’m pretty sure they’ll do nothing to hurt Kell, or they’ll be the next to die.”

He said nothing but turned slowly in a circle, then yelled, “Jack, there is no need for this. Kell is unharmed, and I was never going to give her to Marcus. Why side with the human? Shoot her, and let’s talk about this dwarf to dwarf. We can split the titanium.”

There was silence for a moment, then there was a noise from down the trail. Krater turned, looking for Jack, only to see Bol and the dwarves with him approaching, their rifles raised. I was about to push some more buttons when Jack called out, “Ida, do you have to deal with this, or will you let me? If you do, then I expect it to be appropriate. If I can, then the only thing I promise is he won’t live to regret what he’s done.”

“You can if you want to.”

Jack stepped out of the forest from near the centre of Krater’s group, his rifle aimed at Krater. He said, “All of you, put your weapons down and then release Kell and Temperance. Krater, Ida’s correct; your followers won’t die for you. I know that, and so do you. Maybe if you’d led with honour, they would have, but that’s not what you’ve taught them, so you can’t expect them to respect you. Don’t shoot at Ida, or I’ll blow your crotch off, then watch you bleed out. When you’re all disarmed, I’ll teach you some manners. I was going to let Ida do it as you were the one who took away her toys but then you questioned my honour. You thought I was as dishonourable and mercenary as you are. Honestly, you’ll still die, but you’ll do it as a dwarf.”

I wanted to ask how being stabbed and beaten to death was better than being shot in the head but decided it wasn’t helpful. Besides, Krater thought it was a reasonable argument and started to lower his weapon; he really was a half-wit. Altogether it took a few minutes to disarm the dwarves and release Temperance and Kell. I walked over and gave Temperance a brief hug, then did the same to Kell. I was careful not to say anything to give the impression I’d been worried about them at all.

Bol arranged for the dwarves with Krater to sit on the trail and, after having two of those with him stand guard, walked over and said, “Ida, good to see you. I was expecting blood and mayhem.”

“That’s back down the trail where the elves were. Hammer was the one who wanted this cleaner approach.”

“From what Malor said, I’m surprised you’re letting Jack deal with Krater.”

“So am I. I was going to, and Jack had agreed, but then Krater said some bad things about Jack.”

“I heard. Jack’s asked me to be the judge, so I’d best go as Jack said he wanted to be back at the city before it gets too late.”

I shooed him and he moved to where Jack was standing in the middle of the path, removing his jacket and undershirt. Krater was doing the same several meters away. Bol checked that Jack had no weapons and then checked Krater. Once he was satisfied, he asked Jack to get his favourite knife then had someone guard Krater while he did the same. Bol checked each to ensure they weren’t poisoned and weren’t made to unfold or shoot darts. Satisfied, he gave the order for them to prepare the arena.

Dwarves had developed a ritual for duels, and it involved fighting in a ten-foot deep octagonal pit formed in the ground; two jumped in, one climbed out. Every time I saw it happen, I had to hold back comments about rednecks, bogans, and a dozen other suggestions which might have shown how old I was. Instead, I sighed and stepped away. Temperance stepped closer and said, “Aren’t you going to watch?”

“No. I’ve no desire to watch people kill each other. I understand it has to be done, and if Jack didn’t, I’d have dealt with Krater. The only other options are letting him go or locking him up somewhere, and neither of those is either feasible or appropriate for what he’s done. I can kill if I have to, but I’m weird in that I think watching it turns it into a spectacle. Sometimes I have to watch while someone dies, just to make sure they do. Still, I also worry I’ll find it interesting, and that might reduce the appropriate horror I should feel that someone is dying. He has to die; shoot him in the head and be done with it. For the dwarves, it is a duel of honour, and they watch to validate the winner’s honour. I’ve been diplomatic and never explained that whoever gets out of the pit isn’t more honourable; they’re just a better fighter.”

I turned to where Jack and Krater were facing each other on opposite sides at the top of the pit. Bol walked around and handed each a knife. When he was back at one of the middle sides, he said, “Jack, Krater, no earth ability, this duel is strength, skill and knives only. If you’ve hidden anything or if you cheat, I’ll kill you. When I say go, jump in. The one who climbs out is free to go where they will.”

I turned away and went to look at the weapons Jack had taken from Krater and his dwarves. Kell had been nearby when I had discussed the fight with Temperance, but she was a dwarf and stepped over to watch her father. Temperance paused then followed me. She said, “Thank you for coming after us.”

“No problem. You were only in trouble because of me anyway. I’m sorry I haven’t been around, but there are only four days left, then we can leave.”

“Will Marcus try anything else?”

“Not against you and Kell. You were only pawns in his game. He’ll have to try and kill me some other way to keep his position among his followers. Being beaten by a human will ruin his reputation. I may not wait for him to act, though.”

There was the sound of a brief cheer, and we turned to see Jack pulling himself out of the pit. Temperance said, “Is that what you meant? No matter how bad Krater was, cheering when he’s killed lessens the people watching.”

“That’s how I feel. I would suspect the dwarves would say they were cheering Jack’s honour. I don’t think they’re lying, but I know my own heart would find it hard to differentiate the two.”

Those who’d been watching were responsible for closing the pit over the top of the loser. As they did that, Jack walked over. “It’s going to be dark soon. Bol and the others will take Krater’s team back to their wagons. Bol will keep watch over them through the night and then make sure they head north in the morning. They’ll be given their weapons when they leave. I thought you and I would take Kell and Temperance back to the city and pick up the titanium and elven weapons on the way.”

“That works for me, but I wondered about using the human trail to cross over through to the other path. I suspect Marcus will have people watching this one closer in toward the city. He’ll have people watching both, but more on this one.”

“I’m hesitant enough using this one at night with only four of us; the other will be crawling with animals.”

“So will this one.”

“Like I said, I’m hesitant.”

“Would you prefer Bol wait while we go collect the titanium? We can take the longer route as a larger group.”

“It’ll be longer but a lot safer. I just thought you needed to get back.”

“I do. I’ll leave you guys at the campground and head into the city. The road’s been well travelled this last week, so I’ll be safe enough. That will also let you disguise these carts and allow me to evade any watchers.”

Jack explained what we were doing to Bol then he and I set off with Temperance and Kell. It was dark by the time we reached the place where we’d left the titanium and weapons; several times I had to kill an animal that attacked as we moved past. The return trip was much the same, and then with the number of dwarves travelling, we were pretty much left alone by everything on the walk back to the campsite.

It took Jack some time to talk his way inside the camping area, but he was well enough known that he was finally allowed in. I left them there and ran back toward the city. Everywhere was shut up, and no one was on the trail, but I kept to a jog just in case anyone was watching. As I approached the walls built by the human communities on the outskirts, I moved off the trail and made an effort to stay out of sight. In the end, I didn’t arrive back to the shop area until almost two in the morning and was confident I’d not been seen.

I spent ten minutes searching the area looking for watchers, and though I didn’t find any, I did find the spot where three elves and one dwarf had entered the shop through one of the three places I’d not covered with alloys elves couldn’t easily manipulate. I had an accurate count of how many would-be burglars from when I peeked inside, as I could see their bodies and even though they were in several parts it was easy enough to count the heads.

An elf would have recognised that the metal I’d spread on the ceiling was made of dozens of different metals and the shapes were mostly irregular. What they then did was look for one they could manipulate. Give them one, not an everyday one, but one reasonably common to high elves, and they’d use it to go through the roof; the traps were set so that where they ended up was in a small cleared area devoid of traps. Stepping or moving outside that small area, and things got messy. The four must have all made their way inside before setting the traps off, idiots.

After sealing the roof, I slid down the outer wall and headed inside. It took until four to clean up the various body parts and then clean the floor and the traps. I’d put them up and down several times and decided to leave them in place just in case they were needed again. After making a few adjustments, I was confident I could arm and disarm them with a simple metal manipulation. I’d put one of the elven burglars in with the two from the day before and emptied another crate for the dwarf and second elf. I sealed both boxes with metal and decided to deal with the bodies when I closed for the evening.

By the time I had an hour and a half’s sleep, then finished cleaning my armour and weapons, it was half-past six before I opened the shop. There was a steady stream of customers, including those from the day before who’d agreed to come back. Jack came by before lunch to let me know they’d all got back safely, and everyone who’d come with Krater had headed north. He’d stored the titanium in his wagon and would hand it over on the trip back.

I was pleasantly surprised when Jaze entered the shop after lunch. She waited patiently until I’d finished with a high elf who wanted a set of pistols to match an outfit they’d had commissioned for a party the following week. As they left, she smiled and stepped forward, holding out her hands to clasp mine. As our hands met, I recoiled as the gel that covered hers smeared over my palms. As my hands went numb, her face changed to one of immense sadness, and she said, “I’m so sorry, Ida, they took Laurence.”

The poison was fast-acting, and as my hands dropped to my side, my torso and lower body were already going numb. Reaching forward, Jaze put her hands on my cheeks. Behind her, I could see two elves stepping into the room then turn to close the blinds. As I fell, I reached out with my ability to shift metal and armed the traps. All I could see was a pair of boots getting closer.

Chapter Twenty-Six

I heard a voice say, “Good, you did well. You’ve saved Laurence. Carefully remove the gloves, then go stand by the door. You’ll walk with us until we leave the market and then we’ll take you to get Laurence.”

As she stepped away, I could feel the vibration of her first few footsteps through my skin, but that faded, and then there was no feeling, not even the cold or roughness of the floor, nothing. I tried to speak, but nothing happened. The numbness had become a lack of feeling everywhere, and then my arms began to burn where Jaze had touched me. It felt like they were being held in a fire, and as it raced up my arms I heard the second elf speak. “I’ll just check in the back.”

“Leave it, High Lord Marcus said not to get curious. I’ll get the box and trolley.”

My face suddenly flared with a searing pain where Jaze had touched me, and I screamed only to find I couldn’t make a noise. As the pain increased, I couldn’t help trying to scream again, and while I couldn’t feel anything move and no vibration in my throat, I heard a scream fill the air. It was only as the pain seemed to take my breath away that I realised I wasn’t the one screaming; the elf hadn’t listened and had stepped through into the storage area.

One species of millipedes had a powerful defensive mechanism. When attacked, they would spray a mixture that had sulfurofluoridic acid as the main component. They were difficult to catch without them excreting everything as they died, but it was possible. I had a supply of the potent superacid. As the elf had walked through the door, she’d triggered the trap and been sprayed with a highly corrosive mist of the secretion from the small jets I’d placed along the door frame.

I could hear the other elf rushing in, and if I hadn’t been in agony, I might have chuckled as his voice lost its dispassionate edge and he swore. It didn’t take long for the scream to turn to gurgles, and then there was silence. Trying to push the pain aside, I reached out and tried to manipulate the metal in my tunic, but I had no idea if I was successful or not. I could see Jaze standing by the door. Focusing on her foot I tried to pull heat from the room to set her shoe on fire but couldn’t feel the usual sensations in my mind that let me know how the heat was flowing. There was no reaction from Jaze.

My vision shifted as I was flipped onto my back, and I could see the roof and then the elf who’d first spoken stepped into view and reached down and grabbed the helmet. Even through the pain, it was clear that I’d lost access to the enhanced parts of my sight. I tried to close my eyes as my head was pulled violently upward with the mask, but had no voluntary control of my eyelids. For about twenty seconds, he tried to remove the helmet and failed. He then lifted my head about a foot off the ground and let it fall. From what I could see, it bounced off the floor, but I felt nothing, or maybe I did, but it couldn’t compete with the burning sensation which now covered my entire body and seemed to be sinking into my flesh.

He stepped away; all I could see now was the roof, although I heard the door open and close. When he stepped back into view, he leant down to grab my shoulders. He must have brought someone with him as, from what I could see, I stayed level until he lowered me into a box made of metal. I could see this as my head swayed side to side when they dropped me in. Everything went dark as a lid was placed on the box. Without the abilities I’d used in the goblin warren I found I couldn’t see or feel anything, and the only sense that received any input was my hearing, and even that was muffled. Without knowing where I was or what was happening, my mind focused only on the pain, which slowly overwhelmed any rational thought.

I’ve no idea how long I was in that state, but my awareness returned slowly as I became aware that the pain was receding. Almost as rapidly as it had begun, the pain eased. Still, there was no return of normal sensation, and I felt like a mind dissociated from everything around me. Part of me wanted the pain to return as the complete absence of any stimulation was almost as overwhelming as the pain. Finally, though, I was able to take hold of my frayed emotions and thoughts and put them in order.

Once I was calm, I thought through what had happened and, more than anything, tried to think of what the gel could have been to affect me as it did. My skin, while looking and feeling like that of a human, was almost as hard to penetrate as that of a troll, and my body’s immune system usually dealt with poisons and toxins more efficiently and more effectively than either an elf’s or dwarf’s, and certainly far more than a human’s. From what the elf who’d talked to Jaze had said, it affected elves, making me wonder what this would have done to me if I’d actually been human.

The return of external stimulation began with a clang as the box I was in was dropped on what I imagined was a hard surface and then with a blaze of light as the lid was lifted off. A high elf I hadn’t seen before looked in and said, “It looks like she’s still influenced by the drug. That’s strange for a human. Did you clean the skin where it had been applied as you were told? Having the drug continually being absorbed may have kept her under.”

“I checked but couldn’t see any residue.”

“See it or not, I can’t think of anything else. Being immobilised for this long usually only occurs with the strongest high elves; humans don’t have the same density of neural pathways and theirs are also less conductive. How long until the games begin?”

“Attendees will start arriving to look at the competition and begin the betting in an hour. The first bout is an hour after that.”

“She should be fine by then. Why is she still wearing the mask?”

“It has a titanium alloy that I couldn’t manipulate. It grips tight to her skull. High Lord Marcus wanted her basically undamaged, so I didn’t rip her skin off.”

“Let’s move her to the cage, and I’ll see what High Lord Marcus wants done with the mask. Throw the gladiator uniform into the cage and if I’m not back when she wakes, make her change.”

As the box was shifted through the building we were in, the noise increased until I could hear dozens of voices, along with the screeches and growls from almost as many creatures. I could only see bits through the open top of the box but worked out there were rows of cages. After walking past eight such cages, the elves carrying the box turned and stepped inside one. They lifted me out of the box and lay me on a hard steel floor, then dropped something beside me, which I assumed was the gladiator uniform that had been mentioned. As they left, I suspect from the jarring in my vision that one of them took the opportunity to kick me in the torso or ribs, but I still had no feeling of pain or pressure.

Hearing all the noises gave me some awareness of time, and it was about half an hour from my reckoning before I began to get some feeling in my arms. The recovery was much slower than the onset of the paralysis. It was ten minutes before I dragged myself to one edge of the cage and pulled myself into a sitting position. I was still unsure of standing when the elf who’d gone to talk with Marcus returned. He looked in, saw me sitting and said, “High Lord Marcus said you may keep your helmet, but you need to change into the gladiator uniform.”

I ignored him entirely, and he repeated the command two times before he turned to one of the low elves nearby and said, “Open the door and get her changed.”

As she stepped toward the door, I slowly came to my feet and said, “The score so far is thirty-three to nothing. Step inside, and we’ll see if we can make it thirty-four. If Marcus doesn’t like it, tell him to come to do his own dirty work. I’m sick of killing his minions.”

Honestly, it was all a bit of bravado as I was still struggling to stay balanced and had no luck activating any of my abilities with metal, earth or even the elemental human ones. The elf stopped at the door, then stepped back and said, “High Lord Rath, perhaps one of the security would be better suited for such a dangerous contestant?”

As he started to open his mouth, I interrupted, “Wise choice. What about you, Rath? Want to step inside and do your own dirty work and dying for a change? Put your high elf life on the line, so to speak?”

The last goad was probably too much as he took half a step before stopping and saying, “Never mind. Leave her be. The different clothes will give the others someone to focus on.”

As they walked away, I took the opportunity to look around. I was in a large room with cages like the one I was in on one side in five double rows of ten. I was in the second to last cell. Beside me, in the end cage of the row, was a goblin. He was curled up in one corner and watching me. When he saw me looking, he bared his teeth and hissed. From the response and his heavily scarred body, which I could see through the gladiator clothing he wore, I was reasonably sure he’d been captured from a burrow somewhere in the wilds.

On the other side was a dwarf almost as tall as Bol. As I turned to look at him, he said, “Humans up here must be tougher than the ones we have down south. I’ve not seen an elf back down for one of you, ever. My name is Tobias.”

“I’m Ida. How long have you been here, Tobias?”

“Brought here on a caravan almost two weeks ago. There were ten of us and five animals. We are apparently High Lord Orlando’s contribution to these games. A buy-in of sorts.”

“Orlando. I’ll need to add him to the list of high elves that need some readjustment. Did he bring you here from near Sydney?”

“Another surprise, an educated human. Most of you use the new pretentious name, the Great Bay. Yes. He brought us up from there. He’s built a new satellite city for himself and several thousand followers on what was the North Shore. His mother is one of High Lord Kendrick’s most favoured courtesans.”

“Is he one of Kendrick’s?”

“No. High Lord Kendrick took her when he knew she could have children. He is like the high lord though, he’s ruthless and powerful.”

“He sounds like an arsehole. When you say us, who is that?”

“The goblin on the other side of you. He has two of them. They’re from the same colony, and he keeps them separated and agitated. Two humans, big ones, one’s strong with electricity, the other with sound. Four dwarves, we’re all from different clans; I was taken at a market near High Lord Kendrick’s city. One troll and an orc. The troll is kept with the animals, and the orc is at the end of this row. Both were captured in the wilds.”

“What animals did he bring?”

“An echidna that I suspect is over a hundred years old. It’s the biggest I’ve seen, and I’ve no idea how they caught it. One of the German Shepherd transformations, a massive bitch. She’s pregnant and grumpy; one of the elf handlers was killed by her, and another was seriously injured on the trip up. A taipan, apparently High Lord Orlando raises them, and this one is over eighty years old; it’s mean and has been trained to attack people. They brought a dozen humans and twice that number of goblins to feed it on the trip up; they just toss them into its cage alive. There is a funnel web with a body three times as massive as me and a ferret, one of the smaller vicious ones.”

The most dangerous of these, from my perspective, was the ferret. By small and vicious, he meant about three meters in length and not only strong with razor-sharp teeth and claws but extremely agile; added to this was the elven ability to move through time. If they attacked, I usually used a sword or knife as I’d seen them dodge a bullet. Humans had no chance against ferrets.

Our conversation was cut short by a commotion in the room as dozens of high elves entered and began wandering through, looking at the competitors, as they apparently called us.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

A group of five made their way directly toward the end of the row where I was. I recognised Marcus and his son Jaguar. He was talking with a high elf I decided was probably Orlando from the sense of self he portrayed as he walked and talked; from his perspective, he was at least Marcus’ peer, if not his superior. The others walked more meekly, well, with as much submission as high elves were capable of showing.

They stopped in front of my cage, and while I thought of ignoring them, I decided to see how much I could annoy them; sometimes, it was the small things that helped me get through the day. I turned to the elf with Marcus and said, “You must be Orlando; I’m Ida. Tobias here was just describing your trip up from Kendrick’s domain. As I said to him, you sound like a real arsehole, so I understand why you are friends with Marcus.”

Orlando didn’t respond, but I could see the muscles in his jaw tighten slightly. Marcus said, “Not long now, Ida. All your bravado, impertinence and discourtesy won’t help you in the arena. You were a nothing two weeks ago, and you’ll be forgotten by tomorrow.”

“Marcus, we both know that isn’t true. Even if by some chance you do manage to have me killed, we both know there are almost sixty of your foolish followers who will remember my name as long as they live. I killed their offspring who were trying to carry out your orders. I’ll be a stench on your name for a millennia, that is if you survive. Even now, you’re trying to profit from my death, and they’ll all see that. You don’t care their children are dead as long as you get what you want.”

Rather than becoming agitated, Marcus smiled and said, “Regardless of all that, you’ll be dead. The reality, though, is not what you think. Most of my foolish followers, as you describe them, are even more committed to our plans, having sacrificed their children to the cause. They can see with more clarity the danger of allowing the lesser races to remain unfettered. If anything, they have become even more determined to stop killers like you and those who’ve helped you from destroying more families.”

Several things came together as he was speaking, and I realised there was a lot I’d missed. “What did you tell them? Are they really so gullible that they think their children were killed by a horde of rabid elf-haters?”

“Like everyone, they believe whatever it is that makes it easier to cope with the difficulties life throws at them. That a single human might be able to kill their children is both abhorrent and illogical. On the other hand, if their child died trying to protect their way of life and their death was a selfless sacrifice for the family they loved, then it is both not only palatable and consistent, but it validates their worldview and comforts them in their time of loss. Seeing you torn apart along with other humans, dwarves and lower life forms will bring a sense of vindication for their pain.”

Now to react to the second part of their plan that I’d missed. I turned to Orlando and said, “So, Orlando, this is more than a simple fight club for psychotic and exclusive elven elitists? Kendrick’s decided to make a play for High Lady Isabelle’s assets, and you’re head of the advance team. Marcus is smart enough to know he’s not got a chance against High Lady Isabelle and High Lord Simon, so he’s gone cap in hand to Kendrick for help. You must be powerful. I suspect all your attendants are also stronger than average. What does it feel like to know what a bunch of halfwits you’ll be inheriting?”

“Not all are made to rule. Many of those you call high elves know their place is to support and follow those both gifted and destined to have dominion.”

Turning to Marcus, I said, “And you. I can’t believe you think you’ll have it any better under Kendrick. Did you even listen to Orlando? Kendrick, or Orlando here as his puppet, see themselves as the ones destined to have dominion. You’ll be nothing but a lackey, or worse. You might not agree with High Lady Isabelle, but she hasn’t killed you outright for being a useless jackass. Kendrick will kill you and take High Lady Kerrigan as one of his broodmares the first time you look at him sideways. If you don’t believe me, then ask Orlando where his daddy is.”

That seemed to crack Orlando’s calm, and he stepped closer to the bars and said, “Marcus, let me kill her now.”

“No. Those she calls halfwits need their fill of vicarious vengeance to cement the idea in their brains. Let her rant and rave. No one is listening. My people know their place, and her smug self-righteousness will simply play into the narrative they have accepted as true. Watching the brutality with which the creatures protect their almost worthless lives will hammer the idea home. Come, you must be seen appreciating the gifts brought by others.”

As they walked away, Tobias said, “You’re crazy. I thought they would kill you on the spot.”

“No. They need me to die a failure. If I die an enemy, then I have value, and that defeats their message. However, if I’m seen as a failure, then whatever I’ve done is superseded in people’s minds. It has always been the case—people remember the last thing they hear. It’s why manipulators always try and have the last word. Whatever I think of Marcus’ worldview, he is a master manipulator. Unfortunately for him, he thinks he’s the smartest one in the room and that his skills at reading others and events protect him. Orlando is at least as good and probably better. His request to have me killed sounded so sincere, but it never reached his eyes. He could have made it reach them, but Marcus was watching me, and Orlando wanted me to know I was right and that there was nothing I could do about it.”

“There is nothing you can do about it.”

“Maybe. It depends on how long it takes for my nervous system to recover. I still haven’t quite got my balance back.”

* * *

For the next fifty minutes, I had to endure a string of angry grieving high elves who walked past, berating me and describing how they hoped I died in pain, eaten alive, shredded, mutilated, and a dozen other ideas all aiming to be the most macabre experience they could think of. The abuse ended with the ringing of a bell, and the elves filed out. Even as the last one left, the elf called Rath reappeared and, after looking at me for a minute, said, “What are you?”

“I’m Ida.”

“I didn’t ask your name. I asked what you were.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“I’m pretty sure you do. The gel is something Orlando brought with him. It’s a potent neural inhibitor they collect from the brainstem of only the oldest box-jellyfish they capture down near the Great Bay. Apparently, it isn’t a defensive mechanism but an adaptation that aids in the jellyfish’s regeneration process. In all transformed humans, the gel initiates a complete refresh of the neural system. The more complex the system, the more time it needs to reset. Besides the reset, it reproduces itself within the sentient’s own brainstem and has been known to enhance the system. Only an unbroken and constant application of gel or a more-than-complex neural system would account for the length of time you’ve been affected. If you’d had a constant application of gel for this long, you would be dead. So, what are you?”

“I’m Ida. A human with what is obviously a very complex neural system.”

Rath called to one of the low elves, pointed at me and said, “Watch this thing. I need to get the first group into the arena, then talk with High Lord Marcus.”

Rath stepped away and started directing a team of low elves to move twenty of the cages into position around the edges of the arena. I moved toward the bars and tried to use my metal ability, but it still wasn’t working. The wall of the cage was steel mesh, with each strand a centimetre in diameter. The mesh was formed by elves and showed no welds. Without the ability to manipulate metal, even my increased strength wouldn’t do enough damage to escape; over time, I might be able to, but not with everyone watching.

The cages, which moved on wheels, primarily held humans and dwarves, but there was another goblin, an orc and a lone hobbit, poor thing. The saddest thing from my perspective was the keening sound of deep despair the goblin in the cage beside mine made as the other goblin was rolled past. The sound that was audible to humans was sad enough but the goblin had a range far beyond what they could hear, and apparently, my ability to hear wasn’t totally dependent on the enhanced neurology and the depth of sadness across the total range almost brought me to tears. From their frantic looks, it was clear they were from the same clan, and they knew the last connection they had with their more-than-family group was about to be cut off.

Orcs looked like a cross between those in the Lord of the Rings and the green Martians in Burroughs’ Barsoom novels. They were heavy set and muscular like Tolkien’s orc but had the additional set of arms like the green Martians. Where the neck and head would have been on a human, there was an additional torso, shoulders and set of arms before the neck and head; the upper shoulders were strong and wide like that of the dwarves. Their legs were sturdy and twice as long as a humans’. These orcs were neither the sallow-skinned creatures of Tolkien nor the green of Burroughs, but more the deep red of deoxygenated blood with a faint metallic sheen.

They had a double set of most internal organs, and with their thick skins, carbon fibre enhanced muscles and sharp claw-like nails, they were hard to kill. Their ability to work with temperature was principally used internally. It was used to increase their metabolism as necessary for hunting and to help with their sight. Over the centuries I’d had known several orcs, but their appearance and guttural speech, enhanced by their impressive dentures, caused them to be shunned by most other people. Of those that survived the original transformation, less than two percent were orcs, and their rejection by the others had forced them to form small nomadic tribes that had moved inland away from the densest forests. Increasingly, they looked down on the other species and sought to intimidate or kill. I’d heard of some larger tribes forming out near the centre of Australia but hadn’t been interested enough to go see for myself.

Hobbits were by far the smallest of the human transformations, a fact, which more than anything, contributed to their being called halflings. The only other similarity to those made famous by Samwise Gamgee—sorry Bilbo and Frodo, but Sam was always the best—was their preference to live underground. If anything, they reminded me more of Gollum but without the somewhat redeeming Sméagol-type split personality. Their insect-like compound eyes were evidence of the hive-like mentality with which they operated. In a healthy group or nest, they became a vicious, ravaging pestilence whose only thought was claiming everything for themselves. A lone hobbit, on the other hand, made no sense. Including one in the games served no purpose. Without a connection to the others in its hive, it simply shut down. The one in the cage looked freshly caught, but even so, it was already wasting away.

I’d seen a lot of misery over the years and killed thousands of creatures, but sitting and listening to the screeches, screams and cries that made it out of the arena where it was all being re-enacted for the amusement of Marcus and his kind filled me with an anger I hadn’t felt since the very early years. I closed my eyes and leant my head against the cage as tears made their way down my cheeks; hot, heavy tears filled equally with sadness and rage. I didn’t look up until I heard elves begin to gather the second set of cages. I turned to Tobias and said, “Don’t give them the spectacle they want. Defend, but don’t attack. Work together to protect against the animals but let’s not give them the satisfaction of watching us kill each other.”

He nodded slowly, then moved to share what I’d said to the cells adjoining his. I tried to talk with the goblin, but I suspected he couldn’t understand me; either way, he was lost in his grief. Next, I looked across at the cages opposite and called out the same directions. The sounds of battle and death finally stopped, and then after a lull, resumed in full force. It was only when the second group had begun fighting that Rath returned.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Rath stopped two meters from the cage and said, “High Lord Orlando suggested that if I’m right, then you can only be one thing, and it would be foolish to let your system finish rebooting. High Lord Marcus was more interested in seeing just what you were but has agreed that it isn’t worth the possible repercussions. Your turn in the arena has been brought forward, and you’re up next.”

I stepped close to the edge of the cage. “Rath, if what Orlando and you think is true, then surely I am not a lesser being, but a greater one. Your elitist philosophy would compel you to let me go. Instead, Orlando and Marcus, accepting your suggestion, look to kill me. I suggest this proves their ideology against the other species is nothing more than a subjective and selfish grab for power and dominion. I can see from your expression that you recognise the truth of what I’m saying, but your fear of them outweighs any desire to exhibit some personal integrity of your own. So be it; your fate is now tied to theirs.”

As I’d been speaking, his hand had inched toward his pistol, and I could see the effort it took for him to stop himself simply shooting me. After a long final look at me, he shook himself, then said, “High Lord Orlando said the average human takes twenty minutes to reset, and they are senseless and stunned for half that time. The average dwarf takes forty-five minutes and is out for less than a third of that. A low elf takes an hour and a half, and a high elf takes between three and eight hours, and they’re out for an even smaller proportion of the total time. If I’m correct, then even though you are moving, you won’t reset fully before tomorrow morning, and by then, you will be dead. Whatever the reasons, this is the end.”

As he walked away, I did my own mathematics and almost swore. If the time taken to reset was a simple exponential function based on neural complexity, he actually had no idea what a wizard was. Being very modest, I’d have the abilities back a couple of days after we left the city two days from now. Without exaggerating what I could do, I could be stuck like this for a month, or even more. I seriously hoped my mathematics was wrong or that the reset didn’t follow a simple exponential function.

I gripped the bars of the cage and pulled. Then, as I felt the metal give a little, I stopped and stepped back. OK, I might not have the human elemental skills, no dwarf ability with earth, nor the ability to play with metals or any of the other special skills, but I still had the enhanced skin and strength and the skills I’d built up over the years; they would have to be enough. I took a deep breath, then watched as a group of low elves made their way toward my cell to drag it toward the arena. Both Tobias and the goblin were also being moved.

The cage I was in was pushed into position against a closed metal door. I heard several shots ring out, and then the sound of fighting and people dying on the other side. Beside the cage was a long bench with a variety of whips, knives and swords. A low elf was standing there, and when she saw me looking at the weapons, she said, “Usually contestants are allowed to choose a weapon. High Lord Rath says you are not to be given one.”

“Usually? How many of these games have you stood there and sent people to their deaths?”

“People? Yes, that is the name we sometimes use for sentient lower life forms. This is my third games.”

“I’d think that for a high elf, a low elf could be considered a lower life form. From the looks of things, you can only manipulate copper, and that only in small amounts and no alloys. Be careful you don’t end up in games of your own.”

Smiling at her relatively poor attempt to remain calm and unruffled, I twisted the knife a little. “Actually, I’m fairly sure you don’t have to worry about that. They’re much happier having you as a mindless compliant lackey or slave; me, on the other hand, they respect enough to try and kill.”

I felt petty, but seeing her blush with anger made me feel a little better, so I decided it hadn’t been a wasted comment. Unfortunately, the boost to my mood wasn’t long-lasting as the sounds from inside the arena faded.

* * *

Nothing happened for almost five minutes. Then the metal door opened, and the cage was pushed halfway into the arena. The arena was circular, about a hundred meters in diameter and was fully enclosed, including a roof. I could see cells similar to mine spaced around three-quarters of the circumference with eight large doorways spaced between them; these were still closed. I was about a quarter of the way around the section with cages. I could see Tobias in his cage almost ten meters further around. The area without cages was a blank wall on top of which I could see tiered seating with several hundred high elves. They were behind a steel-framed window that had a grid of metal in front of it to stop anything from getting through.

Against the blank wall, I could see the corpses of the dead contestants and animals, which had all been pulled up against it using what looked like large bars of metal to clear the area. A closer look showed that not all were dead, but it was clear their wounds would remedy the situation soon. Inside the arena was a wounded and very agitated goanna. With its mouth, it was pulling at a sword that had been buried deep in its shoulder. Strewn across the open area was a mix of body parts and gore which had evaded the cursory cleanup.

Marcus’ voice rang out, and a quick look showed him standing in the middle of the raised area, a human female kneeling at his feet and using her skill with sound to amplify his voice. “Contestants, today you are offered the choice to fight for your freedom. In a moment, twenty contestants and five animals will be released into the arena. If one of the contestants is the last creature alive at the end of the night, they will be freed. Those who don’t actively participate will be shot.”

I’m not sure what he said next as I ignored him and yelled to Tobias, “No one is set free. Gather those willing to work as a team and work your way to the pile of dead. We can use them as a barrier against the animals and even against bullets.”

Marcus was still talking. “Your opportunity for freedom begins in thirty seconds.”

He sounded so patronising that I was waiting for a sick comment about the odds somehow being in my favour, but thankfully he calmly sat down, hoping to watch us kill each other. As the front of my cage opened and began withdrawing out of the arena, I sprinted forward, heading straight for the goanna. It wasn’t the largest I’d seen, but it was close and would have weighed almost four tonnes. This made it as large as one of the old elephants, but like the animal it had come from, its legs splayed out to the side, and half its length was tail instead of a trunk. When they chased down prey they could run faster than any human, and their bodies undulated side-to-side as they ran.

As I’d begun racing toward it, it was side-on, but it saw me coming and swivelled to face me. With my stronger muscles and even without the hyper-fast neural connections being fully functioning, I covered the fifty meters in less than five seconds and dove forward under the snapping jaw, rolled, then used a flap of scaled skin on its underarm as a handhold to pull my body around and onto the wounded shoulder. As its head whipped back around to snap at me, I had yanked the blade out and drove the sword deep into its brain through one of the eyes, making sure to wriggle it around to scramble the brain as much as I could; it was the reason I used the larger cartridges when killing goannas, as they not only had thick skulls but could take a lot of damage.

As the goanna crashed to the ground, the first of the animals was sliding from its cage. It was a taipan and matched what Tobias had described had been brought by Orlando from down south. The snake’s transformation had increased its dimensions uniformly, and this one was forty centimetres in diameter and almost twenty-five meters long. Besides being fast, venomous and almost universally irritable, the scales on taipans were hardened by both silica and carbon fibres. I’d spent a decade trying to work them into some armour but hadn’t managed to stop them degrading. It had something to do with how the armour used suspended colloidal silica, which was continually produced by glands within the living snake. As it wasn’t focused on anything yet, I ignored it to check the rest of the arena. 

Tobias was calling the dwarves and humans to himself. The goblin was standing at the entrance of his cell and hissing at a nearby human approaching him with a sword in their hands, the idiot. That is, the human was the idiot, not the goblin. Regardless of what city goblins were like, wilds goblins, when cornered, would destroy a human. Six of the animal sized doors had opened, and from one, a troll was stepping out into the arena. Thankfully he wasn’t one of the larger ones, but still, he was almost five and a half meters tall and built like a dwarf.

His dense carbon and silica bones carried his weight with ease, and despite his size, the superdense muscles gave him a speed equal to that of a human, albeit with a lot more power. His skin was thick and hard, and the few I’d been forced to fight had required me to be up close and personal with swords and knives, which I could strengthen as well as sharpen almost continually. I shook my head at the incongruity of it, but while most trolls were intellectually at the shallow end of the sentient gene pool, unlike their fictional counterparts, they were almost universally both fit and beautiful to look at until they opened their mouths wide and showed off the razor-sharp teeth and let out a roar of challenge.

If I was to be unkind, and I tried hard not to, they followed the less complimentary tropes of the basic jock or cheerleader. They were handsome and beautiful but overly self-absorbed, universally competitive, and vicious when something got between them and what they wanted; usually, the something was either a fight or food. (Author’s note: Those readers who are jocks and cheerleaders are, of course, not to be lumped in with the more vacuous and illiterate of your compatriots.) It wouldn’t have surprised me if he thought his day had just become one full of opportunity to test his skills against a whole range of creatures and with the added benefit of more than he could eat. Thankfully, he was one of those who found clothing acceptable. Some preferred to go au natural, and their finely honed muscles and other features could be distracting.

As he stepped out, he gave a deep-throated roar of challenge which startled the competitors on either side of him and brought out the other four animals, or to be more exact, the other four animal types; although one was the ferret, it lost its number one place as the most threatening of the dangerous creatures as a small mischief of magpies took to the air. By small, I counted about twenty. Each had a three-to-four foot wingspan, and with their knife-like beaks and dagger-like claws, even one would trouble an unwary contestant. Together, they would overcome even the ferret. I’d seen large murmurations of several hundred in the more open plains out west and watched as they destroyed an entire mob of kangaroos.

Third was a wombat jack, and then the funnel web Tobias had mentioned. Even in the time I’d taken for a brief look, the goblin had killed the foolish human and was walking slowly toward the pile of dead. I suspected he wasn’t going to join Tobias but had decided to look for the goblin from his colony. Over half the contestants were running toward Tobias. Those that weren’t were either trying not to do anything to get the attention of the animals or were frozen in fear. The worst of these was a human female who’d stopped in the open when the troll had roared. Unfortunately for her, she was less than ten meters from the funnel web, and it was moving toward her.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

From where I was, the funnel-web was moving side on to me as it approached the woman. After a brief and shameful Marcus-like thought about the pointlessness of the petrified woman’s existence, I leant forward and ran toward the spider, aiming for its rear legs. It saw me coming and whipped itself around, making me change directions slightly to crash into one of the front legs, sword held in both hands. While I succeeded in slicing through the hinge at a junction near the top of the leg, the impact slowed me enough for the spider to get around and score a long furrow down my left shoulder with a fang.

My tougher than usual skin had prevented the wound from being either a puncture wound or debilitating, but I could still feel the burn as venom from the fang entered my bloodstream. What was worse was that the fang got caught in my tunic, and as the spider reacted to losing a leg, I was pulled even more off-balance, then tossed to one side as the fang slipped loose. I landed on my back but used the momentum to roll backwards and came to my feet as the spider struck at me. On my feet and in position with a sword in my hand was enough to give me more than an edge, and moments later, the spider, sans fangs, was curling into a ball with the sword deep in its brainstem. Instead of the burn from the venom remaining localised, I felt it flare briefly across my entire body then almost disappear. It hovered at the edge of my awareness, unlike any venom I’d felt before.

Ignoring the sensation, I let the weapon go, grabbed the woman’s arm then slapped her lightly to get her attention. I grabbed her weapon—which was better than what I had been using, and which, by the way she was holding it, I doubted would do her much good—then pushed her toward Tobias. The troll was striding toward the taipan, and while I suspected they were almost evenly matched, I’d probably put money on the snake. The magpies were feasting on a dwarf they’d killed, and the ferret was heading for the goblin. I was about to head over to help the goblin when the magpies screeched in frustration. A quick look showed that a sheet of metal had unrolled from the arena floor, cutting off access to their kill; I almost swore as frustrating the killer birds was just mean. They took flight and began circling, looking for another target to sate their hunger.

Ignoring them for the moment, I ran toward the ferret. The goblin was fast, but while he’d evaded the snapping jaws of the transformed ermine and scored a few hits with his sword, he’d been scratched several times and was bleeding from a deep cut on the thigh. I arrived just as the ferret’s sweeping tail caught him unaware and knocked him to the ground, causing him to roll several times and lose his sword. Even though I couldn’t reach its head, my sword, neatly positioned in the ferret’s kidney region, interrupted the creature’s planned deadly strike toward the goblin. It was fast, and as it whipped around, it almost pulled the sword from my hand, but I had a firm grip and instead opened a deep wound on the ferret’s side.

This hardly slowed it down, and for the next twenty seconds, I was busy slashing, ducking and weaving as I tried to evade the creature’s attacks myself. I was mostly successful, but without my own ability to move through time, I couldn’t do more than inflict surface wounds, which only seemed to irritate the ferret and increase the ferocity of its attack. In the end, the goblin joining the battle from the side opened the opportunity for me to thrust the sword up and just past the lower jaw to sever the spinal cord. As it fell, I looked to the goblin, nodded my thanks, and then turned to see what was happening.

Tobias and those with him were forming a barricade with some of the bodies, but it looked like everyone else was dead except for the goblin, the troll and I. The magpies had taken down the final lone competitor, and the troll was in trouble. He’d lost his sword, and even from forty meters, I could see he’d been bitten several times, once on the leg and another set of puncture marks on a shoulder. While I doubted he’d survive the bites, I wasn’t content to let a snake Orlando had been raising for eighty years actually survive, so I headed in their direction.

Even as I did, I realised I was being irrational and realised that the funnel-web venom, while neither sufficient nor potent enough to kill or physically incapacitate me, was affecting my decision making process. I suspect this was what people who drank too much experienced as I ignored the voice calling for a more logical and appropriate response, and instead of changing direction, I grinned at the thought of annoying Orlando by killing his snake. I’d only covered half the distance when I heard the screech of the magpies as once again their meal was taken away.

As I approached the snake, it had raised the top half of its body and formed it into a tight s-shaped spring ready to strike once more at the troll. It changed its form slightly as it saw my approach, and as I got within range, it struck. I’d been waiting for the move, and even with my reduced speed, I could change my momentum faster than half a tonne of snake could. As it speared past my right side, I slammed the knife into its neck and braced myself to try and keep hold of the sword while staying on my feet.

The snake began to rear back, only to have the troll’s sword come down with all the force the troll could muster and cut off its head. The troll looked at me and opened its mouth to say something, only to fall backwards as a bullet slammed into his forehead. I threw myself to one side and turned to face the direction the bullet had come, but there wasn’t a second shot. Instead, metal shifted from the floor and covered the snake and troll. I was surprised to find that the goblin was standing several meters away. His eyes moved between the wheeling magpies and me.

I came to my feet and, after a slight nod to the goblin, began walking toward where Tobias and the nine contestants with him were crouched behind and even burrowed under the pile of dead. I’d only moved a dozen meters, the goblin keeping pace several meters behind and to one side of me when the steel in the floor was manipulated, and the dead were pulled away from the living and covered with sheets of steel.

As each of the now exposed contestants came to their feet, Marcus’ voice rang out, “You are here to fight, not to huddle in fear. If you will not fight for the chance to live, then you will be killed to make way for those who would strive to survive.”

I had no idea if he could hear, but I had no way of amplifying my voice without my abilities. Even so, I yelled, “So what? You’ll shoot us from the shadows like the cowardly elf you are? You try and convince your sycophants that we’re the danger, but we’re all happy coexisting and even working together while you kill what you tell them they should be afraid of. We don’t even want to kill elves, and it is you who makes yourselves the enemy and forces conflict where there needs to be none.”

There was a long silence as I finished, and then two sounds rang out in the arena. The first was the discharge of a rifle as the woman I’d saved was shot in the head with a bullet large enough that her head was replaced with a red mist; the second was the cry of the magpies as I became the focus of their attention. I lifted my sword and braced myself, only to find the goblin step close with his back to mine. As the first group of magpies descended, our swords rose together in defence. The goblin wasn’t as agile as I was. Still, it was at least as agile as any elf I’d seen, and not only did he use his sword, but at times his spare hand would grab a leg or wing. He would either slam the bird into the ground or bring his head around and bite through its neck.

We’d dealt with half the magpies and both received a dozen small scrapes and scratches when there was a thump, and what looked like one of the pistols I made landed a meter or so from me, followed by a second. Not bothering to wonder how, I dove forward and as I grabbed them, I flipped on my back and shot the rest of the magpies, then turned to where I’d seen the sniper, only to see the roof of the arena had been torn off. One section had been turned into stairs, and Jack and his dwarves were descending, fully armed. They were followed by High Lady Isabelle, High Lord Simon and another high elf I’d not met before. In front and behind them were dozens of their personal guards.

Through the glass, I could see the elves who’d been watching the spectacle struggling to escape as the steel from the roof was turned to a spear which tore through the mesh and began wrapping each of them in a steel cocoon. As Isabelle and those with her approached, the goblin stepped up next to me and readied himself to fight. I reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder, smiled and shook my head. He tensed at the touch, then snarled at Jack and the others before stepping back half a step.

As Simon and Isabelle’s guards spread out around the arena, the dwarves with Jack, and Temperance, made an open ring around the goblin and me. Simon stepped between Isabelle and the goblin, and the other elf moved, bracketing Isabelle. I bowed my head slightly and said, “High Lady Isabelle, your appearance is most welcome.”

She shook her head slightly and said, “So, Ida, even now, you do not judge me? Even when you find an abomination such as this in my domain?”

“I would, if I thought even for a moment that you knew and did nothing.”

Isabelle nodded. “Even if I cared nothing for any save myself, I would not overlook this. Not only is it a blight on my honour, but it involves many who have declared fealty to me. How could they consider this entertainment?”

“It was more than that, High Lady Isabelle. Marcus was using the games as propaganda and as a precursor to initiate a coup. The elf called Orlando is one of Kendrick’s. He and all those with him are powerful high elves. Orlando brought some of the so-called contestants as well as the beasts. It was his buy-in for the games but also an expression of solidarity with Marcus’ cadre. They must be weaker than I thought, that you hold them so effortlessly.”

Isabelle glanced at Simon, then said, “Marcus and the southern lords are not contained. They escaped as we came in through the roof.”

After mouthing an inappropriate word while in Isabelle’s presence, I looked down at the pistols in my hands and said, “These aren’t mine. These are Olivia’s. They’ll have to do.”

Looking around, I saw Olivia and said, “Mind if I borrow these for a while?”

Before she could respond, Isabelle said, “Ida, High Lord Marcus will face my justice.”

I bowed slightly then said, “With all due deference, High Lady Isabelle, I suggest you hurry then and find him. If I get to him first, there will not be much left for you to put on trial. Just to make it interesting, I’ll go check on the other contestants, then get cleaned up and get my own armour and guns before I start hunting.”

Isabelle looked to where the nine remaining contestants stood near the still-covered pile of dead. She nodded, “That seems fair. Will you agree to have Lady Olivia and another remain with you to help smooth the way during the hunt? I would not wish to reach Marcus first simply because you were embroiled in some form of bureaucracy.”

I grinned at her sense of humour and the realisation that she was still like me in so many ways. “I appreciate your offer, High Lady Isabelle. If I might be bold, could you uncover the dead? I would like to check them.”

Isabelle nodded, then turned and indicated the elf beside her. She said, “Ida, this is High Lord Quade. He is the one we discussed the other day. I will have him join Lady Olivia to give you assistance.”

Quade’s hair was shoulder length and mostly silver in colour with hints of gold and some faint blue highlights. This, coupled with his light, almost white skin colour, meant he was strong in several metals, including tungsten, platinum and aluminium. He wore two pistols and had a sword sheathed in a shoulder harness. He was thin like most elves, but his shoulders were broader than usual for an elf. I bowed carefully and said, “High Lord Quade, I thank you in advance for your help. Now, I must go check on things, and then we hunt.”

I didn’t wait for a response but turned toward the pile of dead and the few survivors; the goblin copied the motion. I turned to him and pointed to myself, and said, “I am Ida.”

He just stared at me then turned to look at Olivia, who was approaching. As she stepped close, his mouth opened to show his impressive teeth in what I took to be a snarl, and the muscles in his sword arm tightened. Once again, I put a hand out to let him know it was OK. Even so, Olivia paused and nodded to the goblin before saying, “I have no intention of harming Ida; she is a friend.”

He took half a step back, and Olivia turned and said to me, “Lead the way, Lady Ida.”

I handed her back her pistols, and with the goblin on one side, Olivia and Quade on the other, I headed toward Tobias without saying anything; Jack and those with him followed.

Chapter Thirty

Tobias stepped out to meet me. I stopped a couple of meters before reaching him. He said, “Ida, it seems that you have friends.”

“I do.”

I turned and called Jack forward, then said, “Tobias, this is Jack. Jack, can you see how we can help Tobias and the others? I need to try and give some dignity to those who died.”

Not waiting for a reply, I stepped toward the pile of dead and reached down to pull one of the bodies from the pile. Temperance reached me first and helped carry the body away to an open, cleared part of the arena. As we lay it down, I said, “Straighten her out and see if you can cover her in some way. I’ll get the next.”

Even as I moved toward the pile, Kell had already begun lifting the next body out of the huge pile and was carrying it to lay beside the first. The goblin didn’t help move bodies but stood at my side, his sword held ready. Until that was, the other goblin was uncovered. I called out to leave it be, then stepped toward it and waited while the one near me looked down at his clanmate. After a moment, I stepped toward the feet and looked toward the head and shoulders, waiting. Slowly, the goblin stepped forward, then reached down and grabbed the dead goblin by the shoulders. Together we carried it to lay it with the others. Once it was in place, I waited until the goblin lifted its head and nodded to me before stepping back to help with the next body.

One human and two dwarves were still alive, although all three had no chance of surviving and only one of the dwarves was conscious; Kell sat with her as she died. Once the bodies were out of the way, I checked each of the animals as even though I would have killed them in the wilds if they’d attacked me, I was disgusted that they’d been killed for sport. All were dead, but as I checked the massive German Shepherd, the goblin touched my arm and pointed to its belly, which was moving.

Remembering what Tobias had said, I realised some of the pups were alive and in distress. I lifted my sword and cut into the abdomen, thinking to end their suffering. Five pups were inside, and after pulling out the membrane that enclosed them, it was apparent three were already dead. The other two were shifting and moving around. I suspect it was the spider venom, but instead of finishing them off, I reached down and began freeing the first one from the membranes it was still encased in. Temperance was standing near and said, “Ida, what are you doing?”

“No idea. Go see if you can find a container so I can collect whatever milk the mother has; her teats look to have something in them.”

“But?”

“Just do it.”

“As you command, Lady Ida.”

“Bah.”

Temperance chuckled as she stepped away to see what she could find. The goblin knelt next to me and helped clean the membrane off the second of the living pups. Temperance arrived with Olivia a minute later, who held a steel bowl she’d formed to meet my requirements. Olivia said, “Lady Ida, I hate to suggest it, but they are not pets.”

“I’m fully aware of how stupid it is to try and save them, but that’s what I plan on doing. Most likely, it’s a result of the spider venom making me less than rational, but at the moment, it is important to me. Now, is that for me?”

Wordlessly Olivia handed it to me. As I reached for it, I saw Quade standing by, simply watching, his face emotionless. I fought the desire to poke my tongue at him and managed to do so, but it took all my willpower. After the brief internal battle, I turned to Temperance and said, “Hold it near the first teat.”

It took a lot of work, but finally, we managed to get a litre or more of milk from the ten teats. I had Olivia make a small funnel, then fed each of the pups half the milk. Each one was as long as my forearm and already had a set of teeth, although their eyes were closed. I looked at the various animals, then said, “Can someone please get the liver from the ferret?”

No one moved for a moment, then Kell and Temperance went to do as I’d asked. When they brought it back, I sliced off the smallest amount and let it rest on the tongue of the pup I was holding. With a slurp, it disappeared, and I fed each of them several hundred grams. Then, holding one while the other was being held by the goblin, I stood and said, “Lady Olivia, I need to get moving but wondered what might be the correct action regarding the other contestants?”

“High Lord Simon is making arrangements to return them to their homes. Five animals are remaining, and he plans to have them killed for food or he will release them. From the goblin’s reaction, he supposed you would be best suited to suggest how to find a place for him.”

“How did you know where I was?”

“Your friend Jack brought some humans to your shop after you were taken. He was surprised to find the door unlocked, and when he looked inside, he saw the dead elf and approached High Lord Simon. I mentioned it was unwise to move deeper into the shop as you had explained there was more than one trap. Jack shared what you and he had learned the day before. High Lord Simon gathered the guards and High Lady Isabelle.”

Turning to the goblin, I studied him briefly, then turned to Temperance and asked if there were some clean clothes anywhere. It took her a minute, but she brought back a clean tunic like those worn by the competitors. I turned back to the goblin and, with my free hand, mimed wrapping the tunic around my leg, then handed it to him and pointed to his wound, which was still oozing blood. He stared at me for a moment, then gave me the pup he was holding and took the tunic, tore it in strips and wrapped it around his wound before holding out his hands to take back the pup.

I turned to point to where Tobias was talking with Bol and then pointed at myself. With a quizzical look on my face, I motioned for the goblin to go with Tobias then motioned for him to come with me. It was clear he thought the offer to go with Tobias was foolish, and he simply looked at me as if suggesting I keep moving. Smiling, I turned back to Olivia and said, “I’ve no idea where we are. Can you lead the way back to the shop?”

“Of course, Lady Ida.”

Turning to Temperance and Kell, both of whom were standing nearby, I said, “I’ll see you in a few days.”

Kell spoke for them both and said, “Can we come with you now?”

“Not now. Stay with Jack for the moment. After your skills improve, you can hunt with me.”

They looked disappointed but had expected nothing else and, after glancing at the goblin, stopped themselves embracing me and walked back toward Jack. I nodded to Olivia, who headed for an exit only to come to a stop when my name was called out. I turned to see Laurence walking toward me. Jaze was standing where he’d come from; she was in one of the openings through which contestants had entered. She looked devastated and had obviously been crying. Laurence stopped a few meters from me and said, “Ida, I’m so sorry. I’ve no idea how Jaze could betray you like that. They had me imprisoned and, after bringing you here, put her in the locked room with me. I can’t believe how cowardly she was to give in to their demands.”

I looked up at him, then shook my head and said, “Cowardly, how was she cowardly? There may have been other things she could have done, but she chose to save you. She knew you might hate her, she knew her honour would be questioned, she knew no one would probably trust her again. Still, she accepted the consequences because, and I cannot fathom why, she loves you. Besides, she was also a prisoner and they held all the cards. I’d like to think I’d have behaved differently, but no one was holding someone I loved over my head. If she’d refused, you’d both be dead, and I suspect they’d have simply found another way to poison me.

“If I’m honest, I’m not sure I want to talk with her right now, but when I’m in my right mind, I expect I’ll sit down and tell her I forgive her. She’s already apologised, and the tears make it clear she’s devastated by what happened. Knowing how couples are, I suspect she already told you how bad she felt and what went through her mind, and you’ve ignored that. Instead, you think she should have overcome her guards and raised the alarm even if it meant you both were killed. If you couldn’t overcome them, then neither could she.

“Now, go tell her she’s forgiven and that you are sorry for not understanding the pressure she was under and then comfort her. On the last day of the market, bring her by the shop, and we’ll talk it out, cry some more and move on. Even if you think what she did was wrong, let it go. I know you care for her deeply. People need to learn that kindness, compassion and forgiveness are appropriate to show even to strangers. They should be shown first, and in even greater measure, to those we love, to those who are close to us.”

Laurence looked back at Jaze, who turned and almost ran from the arena. He nodded and said, “Yes, it seems for once in my almost perfect life I have overreacted. I will see you before you go.”

With that, he hurried after Jaze. I shook my head and looked up to see Quade watching with the same air of apparent disinterest. Something about his almost palpable nonchalance irked me, but I had more important things to do, so I turned and nodded to Olivia. As we headed once again for the exit, Olivia said, “Why are you snarling?”

“I am not snarling.”

“Growling then?”

I glanced toward Quade but said nothing. Olivia chuckled and said, “Ah, I see.”

Wisely, she said nothing else. As we left the arena, I pulled the pup close, trying both to provide it with some heat as well as needing the closeness to help pull my emotions back under my control.

* * *

It took two hours to walk back to the markets, and everything was closed when we arrived. Bol, Kell, Temperance and five other dwarves had caught up before we were halfway, and Bol shared that they needed to relieve the few guards Jack had paid to watch the wagons. I offloaded the pups to Temperance and Kell and told them I would collect them in the morning, but they should be fed milk if it could be found and raw meat like liver or lung if it was chopped up fine. Both started whining as the goblin and I passed them to the others.

Olivia had the key to the shop and said a locksmith would be there in the morning to change it. It took longer to disarm the traps without metal manipulation, but I always designed traps and locks to be undone without using it just in case others were with me. The goblin watched what I did, and then I made them step back as I dropped some alkali base on the puddle of goo the dead elf was lying in. I then found some rags and lay them over the mess. Opening one of the boxes which contained the bodies of those who’d broken in, I started to drop the rags inside, making sure to gather the larger chunks of flesh as I did so.

Looking in the large metal case, Olivia said, “How many bodies do you have in here?”

“Three in this case and three in that one. Two were Marcus’ goons when he kidnapped my apprentices, and four broke in while I was out of the shop rescuing them with Jack. I’d planned to dispose of them tonight, but I’ll seal them and do it tomorrow.”

For the first time since I’d met him, Quade spoke, “Ida, you cannot simply kill elves and dispose of them as you wish.”

For some reason, his arrogant and dismissive tone really rubbed me up the wrong way. “True. However, they were not killed simply. This one was dissolved in a potent acid; that one had his head removed with an expert application of my whip. Those you see who are dismembered were cut with razor-sharp wires which flashed through the room in a precise pattern. I did shoot some, but even then, I aimed for their brains and only missed one as he leapt out of the way. Several I watched as they were killed by animals in the wilds, and I left the one missing a leg piled on some of those I’d shot, knowing the animals would eat him alive.

“Also, I don’t always dispose of them. Some I leave lying on the street, some I set up in interesting dioramas to be found by the guards, some I leave lying near a trail to be eaten by animals. It is only those I kill, here in the shop, which I dispose of as I wish. Now, if there was a central place to dispose of unwanted dead elves and dwarves, I would use it.”

I’d been hoping for a reaction, but he did nothing more than stare emotionlessly at me for a moment then step back out of the way. It took me about ten minutes to unlock the wagon, then I turned to the goblin who’d been standing quietly and watching everything. I mimed eating, drinking and washing to him and was pleased with how quickly he picked up what I was doing. He mimed that he was both hungry and thirsty and had no need for a bath. After laying out some cold rations and a jug of water for him, I took a shower and after wrapping my wounds, dressed in my old armour. It was easier to use without metal manipulation.

Once I was ready, I gathered some clothes, armour, swords, knives and guns the goblin could use and then stepped outside the wagon. Olivia and Quade were in the shop area, although I couldn’t hear them talking. The goblin was waiting where I’d left him. I lay out the clothes and armour I’d gathered, then called him over and, using hand motions, asked if he was interested in wearing it. He looked at me closely then examined the clothing. After pointing at some of the clothes and a metal chest piece, he began to remove his shirt.

I held up a hand, then stepped back into the wagon and brought out a bag of medicines, a bucket and a cloth. I mimed that he should step close and remove the strips of fabric from his wound. When he’d done so, I had him clean his inner thigh before I cleaned the wound. I used a lotion to numb the area, then stitched the wound shut before wrapping it in a clean bandage. He’d been silent for the entire time, his eyes glued to my helmet or watching what I was doing. I emptied the bucket and refilled it, then mimed him washing before putting on the new clothes.

He nodded, and I headed to the storefront to see what the two elves were doing. Olivia said, “So, back in the old armour?”

“For the moment. Where will Marcus run to?”

“He has small businesses scattered around the city.”

“True, but he won’t go to any of them as they’re too close to High Lady Isabelle. She’ll be occupied checking all of them and making sure nothing threatens her domain. He’ll know that and be elsewhere. Does he have somewhere further away, somewhere he might feel confident he has time to either prepare a defence or consolidate his forces for an attack?”

Olivia turned to Quade, who shook his head. When I glared at him, he sighed and said, “I cannot think of somewhere like that, where High Lord Marcus might either have the resources for an attack or where he might make an effective defence.”

“Then we need to ask someone who does. We’ve two real choices. We can ask another high lord, or we can descend into the underbelly of the city and ask the criminals. Both suit me. Quade, which would you prefer?”

“Ida, I would prefer you maintain some dignity in the way you talk both of and to others.”

“Oh, so you can call me, Ida, but I’m supposed to call the traitor Marcus, High Lord Marcus? And you expect me to do the same for you? Go back to High Lady Isabelle and explain that an elf with an inflated ego like yours is not someone best suited for the role of ambassador to anything but another elven city. Ask if she can find one of you whose sense of self doesn’t require the constant bolstering by meaningless honorifics.”

Ignoring both his and Olivia’s reaction, I said, “I think we’ll go into the underbelly. Olivia, let me get the goblin and we’ll be off. High Lord Quade, show yourself out.”

With that, I turned to see if the goblin needed any help.

Chapter Thirty-One

The goblin had changed into the trousers and tunic he’d chosen and put the armoured chest piece over his head. I stepped toward him, then after asking using actions and words if I could touch the chest piece, I made a few alterations so it fit him better. Next, I laid out the swords, knives and firearms and stepped back, signalling he could choose what he wanted. He stared at me, then stepped close and checked each of the edged weapons before setting aside two knives and a sword. He looked at the pistols but didn’t even pick them up. Looking over to me, he mimed holding a spear.

I ducked back into the wagon and grabbed a spear his size, sheaths for the sword and knives, a serrated whip and a bow. When I returned, I moved the pistols out of the way and lay down the bow and whip before handing him the spear. I moved the lower part of my helmet out of the way so he could see my mouth and then pointed to myself and said my name; I then pointed to the spear and said, “Spear.”

He looked at me and mouthed my name with his lips, then said, “I-a.”

The ‘d’ was mostly missing, and in its place, I heard a high-frequency whistle which I was certain no human ears would ever have picked up. I repeated the word, and as I managed to replicate what he’d said, it seemed that speech, like hearing, were not controlled by the complex neurology that was offline. I then repeated it without the high-frequency addition. He tried again, and while the ‘d’ was more pronounced, the high-pitch in the centre of the word remained. I smiled then pointed to him.

He looked at me strangely for a moment, then pointed to me and said, “Ida.” Again, there was the high pitch in the middle. He then pointed to himself and shook his head. That goblins might not have names was something I’d never considered, and I wondered how it worked. Perhaps they had something more complex they used as an identifier, or maybe they found their identity in their clan. As if reading my mind, he pointed to me again and said my name, then pointed to himself and said, “Ida.”

I noticed the difference but doubted even the elves with their exceptional hearing would have. The high pitched sound in the centre of the word was slightly different. It seemed that from his perspective, we were both now from clan Ida, and we were to be identified by the particular high note added to the word. I knew he’d connected himself to me, and without understanding how he thought, there was no way to push him away until I understood what it would mean from his perspective.

Considering the options, I called out for Olivia, who entered with Quade a step behind her. After scowling at the arrogant, uptight, self-important elf, I turned and smiled at Olivia, then said, “Can you tell the difference between these two names?”

I pointed to myself and said my name with the high pitch in the centre and then to the goblin, speaking my name but with the different note in the centre. Olivia shook her head and said, “They sounded the same.”

I nodded, then turned to the goblin and sounded the two high notes and mimed that Olivia couldn’t hear them. He stared at her for a moment, then without seeming to move his mouth, I realised that I hadn’t seemed to either when I made the high notes, he sent a range of high pitch noises at Olivia. She must have understood something was happening as she said, “I didn’t hear anything, although I did feel myself getting a little irritated as the goblin was looking at me.”

If the high pitched noises irritated elves, it was no wonder they weren’t keen on having goblins around. Turning to the goblin, I pointed to myself and said my name with the high pitched note. Then changing the lower audible sound slightly, I pointed to him and inserted his high pitched identifier as I said, “Yda.”

He frowned for a moment, then looked at Olivia. It was clear that goblins had lost none of their intelligence as he shook his head then said my name, but instead of just one high tone, there were five, with the tone he’d given for me set in the middle. He then pointed to himself and used the same tones at the beginning and end with his high pitched note in the centre. I pointed to Olivia and mimed she couldn’t hear the higher notes. Once again, he pointed to me and said my name with the five pitches, then pointed to himself and, as well as the high notes, said, “Yda.”

Turning to Olivia, I said, “Olivia, this is Yda. It isn’t his actual name but has agreed to use it as what he uses to identify himself is in a frequency too high for you to hear.”

Quade said, “How then can you hear it?”

I turned and said, “I thought I was clear you could head back to your spire.”

“High Lady Isabelle tasked me with giving you assistance, and that is what I shall do.”

“Then assist me by disappearing.”

Olivia said, “Ida, might I talk with you in private for a moment?”

“Of course.”

I then waved at Quade to disappear; after staring at me with his blank, emotionless look for a moment, he headed back to the storefront. Olivia said, “Ida, what is wrong with you? You’re not acting normally toward High Lord Quade. Is it this spider venom you spoke of?”

“Probably. In the arena, some venom from a funnel-web got into my system. Normally, such a small dose wouldn’t do anything to me, but I’m still recovering from the toxin they used to capture me. I suspect the two are interacting in some way and playing with my self-control and emotions. Something about the way Quade does the whole superior elf thing irks me. Usually, I ignore it, and with those like you who I know, it seems I can still control the irritation, but his overbearing hubris is getting up my nose, and I’m not able to ignore it at the moment. I’m not even sure if I want to.”

“I see. Ignoring the fact that you think I also have this superior elf thing, you need to be more polite to High Lord Quade. The thing is, High Lord Quade has led a somewhat sheltered life, and I suspect this is possibly the first time he’s been outside the inner city walls. His interaction with dwarves and humans has been even more limited. Those he has met would have been most deferential and been irrevocably tied to his family. His education has been very extensive, and he is both intelligent and well-informed. Also, he is easily as skilled in martial arts as Kadar is. While his view of the races is the same as High Lady Isabelle’s, he has no experience of anyone actually treating him as an equal, nor as a burden or irrelevant. No one except his parents has ever called him anything except High Lord Quade.

“High Lady Isabelle has given him a dual task; one is to stay with you, and the other is to do as you suggest. Honestly, he isn’t really arrogant as much as simply acting as he always has. Your behaviour is very confusing for him, and he’s trying to process what you say and do and is having some difficulty.”

Regardless of the venom in my system and the toxin resetting my neural architecture, there was nothing wrong with my ability to put information together; I looked at Olivia in horror. Just in case she couldn’t pick up my expression by only seeing my mouth, I said, “No, no, no, no, no. Actually, hell no. Take him home. I will not be responsible for their child.”

Olivia raised her hands to calm me down, but before she could say anything, Quade reappeared and said, “Ida, I am not a child.”

I turned to him and said, “Olivia asked for a ‘private’ conversation, which means don’t listen in. As it is too late, I suggest that even if you’re eavesdropping, it’s advisable to listen to the actual words people use. I didn’t say you were ’a child’, I said, ‘their child’. Besides having no idea how they kept it a secret for so long, there is no way I’m taking you on a hunt. It’s dangerous, and regardless of what Olivia says, you’ve no experience of actual fighting or conflict. You heard me say I was poisoned, and it was affecting me, and there is no way I’m prepared to be responsible for your safety until it’s worked its way through my system.”

“There is no way you are responsible for my safety. I am perfectly capable.”

I drew both pistols, and while Olivia got her hand to hers, Quade hadn’t moved. My right was aimed at his forehead and the left at Olivia’s. Neither moved. Quade turned his head slightly as Yda’s spear rested against the side of his neck. Just as rapidly, I returned the weapons to the holsters and waited until Yda had stepped back before saying, “You are an elf and can change time itself, but you’ve no idea of real combat. It isn’t the sanitised play fighting you are used to. No one pulls their punches, and sword fights don’t last for minutes. Usually, it is all over in a second, and there is no concept of fairness.”

I’d been watching for his reaction and was moving even as he subconsciously telegraphed his intention. His hand flashed toward his pistol, but I still beat him, and before he’d drawn his weapon, he was once more looking down the barrel of mine. Yda had been just as watchful, and this time the spear had drawn blood. Quade carefully released his weapon and took his hand away. I said, “Both Yda and I are slower than you. You telegraph your moves, and if you do that with someone who knows what they’re doing, you will die no matter how technically perfect you are. You don’t stop a stroke to let your opponent know they lost; you make sure it cuts deep into their body and kills them. In a real battle, I’ll kick you in the gonads or gouge your eye or even kill you when you lose your weapon and are defenceless. Go home and tell High Lady Isabelle to find someone else.”

There was a flicker of vulnerability in his gaze, but it disappeared as he gained control. He did need to take a deeper breath than normal, then he said, “I cannot. To be honest, I should say I will not. For the first time in my life, I am free of all the pandering and protection, and I will not go back willingly to wait for some other opportunity that may not arrive for fifty years or so. I understand you have worked out who my parents are, and while I love them, I live always within their shadow. They have prepared me for this my whole life, and to return home a failure simply because of your assessment rather than some objective reality will ruin me.”

“A goblin putting a sword in your neck is an objective reality.”

“I did not expect that. It will not happen again.”

“No one expects the sword through the heart or the bullet through the brain; there is no, ‘let’s try that again, I think I have it now’ option. I don’t want to be the one who tells your parents you might have lived, but something unexpected happened.”

Before he could respond, Olivia said, “Ida, please?”

I looked at her, then back at Quade and asked, “How old are you?”

“Eighty-four.”

His vulnerability and Olivia’s earnest plea played with my emotions, and I felt myself wavering. I fought the feelings, but like much of what had happened since the battle, my self-control was swept away. Gritting my teeth in frustration, I nodded. “Fine. You die, and it is on you. Even so, you will wear some armour whether you like it or not. How many spare magazines have you got for those pistols?”

“Four.”

“Wait here.”

I headed back into the wagon to get some things. It took longer than I wanted, but if I had to take Isabelle’s son into battle, I’d wrap him in as much cotton wool as I could. What on earth was she thinking? Without my ability to manipulate metals, it took longer to put the pieces together. Still, finally I gathered what I had and stepped outside. It took almost half an hour to fit Quade with some basic protection on his head and chest. I’d chosen metals he could manipulate and had him make his own adjustments until I was happy everything was as good as I could make it at short notice.

As I worked on Quade’s armour and weapons, I carried on a somewhat stilted conversation with Yda. It consisted of me pointing to things and using the English, or maybe if I wanted to move deeper into the genre, I would say, the common tongue, while Yda shared the sequence of tones his clan had used, a sequence I hoped was used by other goblins as well. I then fit Olivia with a basic set of armour, and we were ready to head out by three in the morning. Besides armour, I gave Olivia a rifle and had Quade add a bow to what he carried then added a medium-sized backpack to what I was carrying. It was shaped to fit on the outside of my other weapons and could be detached easily with a catch on the front if I needed the extra flexibility.

Chapter Thirty-Two

As we left the shop, Olivia asked, “Where to?”

“Like I said, the underbelly. That’s all I’ll say for now. What you need to remember is that whatever you hear or see isn’t to be shared. Even if you tell High Lady Isabelle or High Lord Simon, then let them know I expect them to take no action because of the information.”

“I can’t tell them to do nothing.”

“Agreed, just tell them that I expect them to do nothing.”

Ignoring her look, I led them out of the markets and through the almost empty streets. Yda moved ahead of me, and after a few times turning to check which way to move, I learnt the tones for right, left and straight ahead and would call them out to direct him. He walked hunched over and moved as I expected he did in the wilds, very carefully, his senses working overtime. I took them west and then moved south until we were almost exactly northwest of Isabelle’s spire and four kilometres away.

It had been over a hundred years since I’d openly been into the particular maze of tunnels to which I was heading. They were ruled by a dwarf called Carrick. He was seven feet tall and wider than any other dwarf I’d met. The last time I’d seen him, he’d been missing an eye, and his left hand had been cut off in a duel. I wondered if either had regenerated. I suspected they would have, but I was sure he wouldn’t have forgotten the lesson and only hoped I didn’t have to get his attention so dramatically this time.

When we arrived at the alley I’d been headed for, I stepped ahead of Yda, then paused and said, “Let me do the talking and please don’t say anything unless you’re asked a direct question. Keep your questions until we leave, and even then, prepare to be disappointed by the answers as I’ll probably ignore whatever it is you say.”

With that, I headed to the end of the alley and reached down to lift the grate embedded in the stone base. It creaked as if it was hardly used, but I knew from experience, although that was a century old, that it was a commonly known entry into Carrick’s domain. Whistling for Yda to move down the straight tunnel which descended deeper underground, we headed into Carrick’s lair, so to speak. I was confident we were being watched and expected guards to be waiting at the next large junction. Oh, ‘Whistling’ was what I’d decided to call the communication Yda and I shared using the high-tones.

Olivia whispered, “I can’t see.”

“Put one hand on the wall to your left and walk at a steady pace. Yda can navigate the corridor, and I suspect we’ll be met at the next junction.”

Quade said, “Can you see?”

“I said not to speak unless asked a direct question.”

“You answered Lady Olivia.”

“I like her. Now, be quiet.”

The truth was I couldn’t see, but I remembered how it used to be and could hear the goblin’s feet as he walked ahead of us. We’d moved almost three hundred paces when, sensing the dwarves ahead of us, Yda began slowing down. I put my hand out to slow Olivia but let Quade walk into the back of her. Strangely, I didn’t do this because I was affected by the spider venom, but I hoped if I annoyed him enough, he’d choose not to come with me.

The three dwarves at the junction lifted the cover of a small, mostly blacked-out lamp, and one said, “Turn around and head back to the surface. This isn’t somewhere the likes of you are welcome.”

Trying to keep a lid on the sarcastic and sometimes caustic side of my personality, I said, “I need to speak with Carrick. Please take us to him.”

That I knew his name had each of them placing their hands on their firearms. The one who’d spoken said, “On the way out, I suggest you forget that name and never speak it again. Now, turn around.”

“Don’t be silly. If I have to turn around and then use one of the other entrances, I’ll get annoyed. Besides, if I head back, I’ll yell Carrick’s name from the rooftops. I’m sure all the high elves would love to know what name to give to the one who steals most of the trinkets that go missing from their enterprises in the city. No, I think the best and most prudent thing is for you to take us to him. If you’ve forgotten where his chambers are, I can lead the way. I’ve been there before.”

The dwarf thought through his options then said, “Hand over your weapons, take your helmet off and I’ll lead you to him.”

“No deal. My helmet stays on, and I promise not to touch my weapons, but I won’t give them up.”

“If you want to see him, then you don’t have much ch….”

He paused before finishing his sentence when he realised he was looking down the barrel of my pistol. The other was pointing at one of the other dwarves, Olivia covered the third; I was pleased with how much faster she was with the new stance and grip. I reached over and took the pistol out of his holster. Even as I did, Yda relieved the other two of their weapons. After laying them all on the ground, I re-holstered mine. I said, “Please understand that taking those was not a hostile act, but simple prudence as you all looked a little excitable.”

I reached out and took the lantern, and after handing it to Olivia, I waved the dwarves toward the left-hand corridor and said, “Lead the way.”

Despite the seemingly upper hand, I was aware that our movements were being tracked and observed by those who worked for Carrick. Besides dwarves, who were the only true members of Clan Carrick, Carrick controlled hundreds of humans and goblins in his various enterprises, along with a much smaller number of elves and orcs. It was his use of human women and children, without their consent and without remuneration in several of his enterprises, that had been the point of conflict in our previous meeting. Each time I visited the Grand Market, I would spend at least one night checking that he kept to our agreement. Since that one meeting, I had not found any evidence that he’d ever dabbled in such practices again.

The guides made the first few turns correctly, but I needed to correct their fourth change of direction. The lead dwarf had turned as I directed without comment, and I hadn’t been required to do so again. After navigating almost a kilometre deeper into the tunnels, we exited into a large cavern to find a dozen dwarves waiting. All except one had weapons out and aimed at us. The dwarf without her pistol out had dreadlocks to her waist and was standing in the centre of the others. She said, “We don’t like uninvited guests, and we really don’t like ones who think they can just waltz in and make demands.”

I took half a step forward, and all the pistols were lifted slightly. I said, “Nadia, no one likes uninvited guests, and I only made demands after my polite request was refused. We’ll wait while you double-check if Carrick is free.”

Nadia’s eyes narrowed at the use of her name, and she said, “You know too much.”

“Oh, that’s nothing. I know where you keep all your knives, and the last time we met, I took them all off you and gave you a nice scar which you could only see with a mirror. I suspect that after all this time, it’s faded or even disappeared, but I imagine you know which one I mean.”

Her eyes widened. “That isn’t possible.”

“Sure it is. Now, I need to talk with Carrick. Please send someone to see if he’s free.”

Nadia turned to one of the dwarves on her left and said, “See if Carrick is free to talk with a human called Enid? Tell him they’ve met before.”

Enid was the name I’d used before being Quinn. Nadia had the others lower their weapons. “Why bring the goblin and the elves?”

“Yda, that’s the goblin, has sort of adopted me. The elves need some education on what really happens in their city. I’ve told them they aren’t to share anything they see with anyone except two other elves who need to understand. I’m certain the other two already know about what happens down here, so it’s just a small tutorial for these two.”

“How do you get adopted by a goblin?”

“Honestly, I’m still trying to work that out.”

That brought an end to the pleasantries, and we stood watching each other in silence for fifteen minutes. The dwarf Nadia had sent returned and nodded to Nadia. “He’ll meet them in the small hall near his office.”

Nadia sighed and said, “Keep your hands off your weapons and follow me.”

Indicating two dwarves should go in front of her, she led the way out of the cavern and along a wider tunnel on the other side. Five minutes later, we were shown into a large octagonal cavern with a small raised dais at one end. Carrick was sitting in a large rock-hewn chair shaped like a throne. He’d been the boss of the criminal activities under the city for almost two centuries and was clearly in the last few years of his life. While they extended past his waist, his dreadlocks lacked the vitality of those that could be seen on younger dwarves. Most dwarves faded rapidly once their dreadlocks began to droop. His eyes were dull. A younger dwarf stood by his side but didn’t look like he was waiting to help Carrick, but more as if he was the one in charge.

I said, “You’ve looked better.”

Carrick chuckled, and his eyes seemed to brighten a little. “So, Enid, I doubted it was really you, but you’re probably one of the only people I know who would tell me the unvarnished truth right here in the centre of my power. It’s been a long time.”

“It has. There was no need to return; you kept the agreement.”

“I did, and that makes me wonder what’s brought you back into my tunnels?”

“I need some information.”

“My experience is that you already seem to know too much.”

“I’m in a bit of a hurry, and I don’t have the time to spend days searching for what I need.”

The dwarf standing beside Carrick said, “What do you want?”

I ignored him and waited for Carrick. I could see the younger one getting agitated and was reasonably sure Carrick was drawing the silence out just to goad the younger dwarf. Finally, just as the younger one looked ready to explode, Carrick said, “Enid, meet Grond. He’s waiting not so patiently for my demise. He’s skilled and ruthless and will take over the clan when I die, but I still have enough respect in most of my people’s hearts that he can’t just kill me off as they would tear him to bits. He’s getting impatient as I’ve been holding on for several years. He has a lot of plans, and they’re on hold until I die. Some of them are the sort that would have got your attention. Now, what do you need to know?”

It was hard not to smirk when the dwarf was named Grond, so after a smirk at the young dwarf, I turned back to Carrick and said, “High Lady Isabelle put a stop to Marcus’ games, and he fled. Where would he have gone?”

“Well, I’m glad she stopped them, but me selling out Marcus isn’t what I’d call smart. When he found out, I’m sure Grond here would inherit everything almost immediately. Believe it or not, I’m warier of him than I am of you. He’d cut off more than just my hand.”

Grond went stiff at Carrick’s comment and made to speak, but I beat him to it. “He won’t. I don’t plan on being as gentle with him as I was with you.”

This time it was Grond who beat Carrick to start speaking. He said, “You aren’t the one who cut off his hand. You’d have to be several hundred years old, and humans don’t live that long.”

I sighed and said, “True, they don’t. Think of me as the incarnation of the one who cut off his hand. This current incarnation is called Ida. I know everything that happened, and I have all the skills that Enid had and more. Now, Grond, and I’m sorry for smiling when I say your name, but it is really, really weird to think that’s what your parents called you. While it’s been unpalatable meeting you, I need the information, so we’ll have to chat later. We will chat, as Carrick suggested you wanted to change the deal I have with your clan; it’s just we haven’t got the time right now, so let the adults talk. Carrick, where would he flee to?”

Carrick opened his mouth to speak, but again Grond interrupted. “No. It would be foolish to make one of the high elves an enemy. I’m sorry, Carrick, but I’m going to insist that you abide by this. When they kill you, we’ll still have to deal with the fallout for decades or longer. We’d be smarter to give Ida here to Marcus.”

Carrick shook his head then said, “Grond, I’ve told you time and again that you need to think before you speak and not let your mouth run away with you. If you’d stopped after insisting I say nothing, I’d probably have agreed, albeit grudgingly. Your reasoning was sound, and Enid would have probably accepted it as she isn’t unreasonable and has so far always shown an appreciation of someone’s right to make their own informed choices. Then you had to threaten her. Even if this isn’t the same Enid, I would suggest she’s close enough that she’ll now insist on you doing whatever she wants, regardless of what you want to do, just to let you know she’s the one in control here.”

“She’s outnumbered.”

“It looks like that, I know. I once thought like you do, but I learnt the hard way that my supposed unassailable position was a fantasy when it came to Enid.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Not having my abilities was almost as frustrating as not being in complete control of my emotions. I took several deep breaths then said, “OK, Grond, let’s have that talk now. When you take over from Carrick, you can run your clan how you like, but you are not to use slaves, and you may not use children as prostitutes. If you don’t abide by these simple rules, I will come and change the leadership of the clan.

“Carrick here wasn’t happy that I could make such statements, and we decided our differences by combat. I won, and he lost an eye, a hand and a dozen or so clan members. I don’t want to kill anyone except Marcus, a few high elves and maybe you, so let’s make it a duel between you and me. If you win, I’ll be dead, and you can crawl to Marcus and lick his boots if that’s what you want. If I win, I won’t kill you, but you’ll be missing at least an eye and a hand, and you’ll both agree to my conditions about slaves as well as tell me where Marcus is.”

Instead of checking if Grond agreed, I turned to Carrick and said, “How does that sound, Carrick? Will you abide by that?”

Carrick looked at Grond, then nodded and said, “Aye, I’ll agree, and so will Grond and the clan. Just so you don’t think badly about all dwarves in my clan, I will tell you that he chose his own name. Grond, agree to the conditions, or I’ll ask Enid to kill you so I can put someone more reasonable in your place.”

Grond stared at Carrick defiantly, then nodded and began taking off his jacket. He said, “I agree to the duel and the conditions. Remove the armour. There’s no need to prepare a pit as that honour is only for dwarves.”

I turned to Olivia and said, “Stay out of it. I haven’t got my nice under-armour clothing on and will need to take off more layers than I’m comfortable with. Remind Quade to keep whatever he sees to himself.”

After removing my armour, I peeled off the leather and cloth padding until I was standing in my underwear. I’d detached the part of my armour that covered my eyes and fit it on my head which I’d covered with some cloth I tore from the padding. My underwear wasn’t skimpy and was more like what might have been worn to a gymnasium before the asteroids, but it was more undressed than I’d been around someone in a long, long time. Fortunately, none of them was even vaguely the same species, so I shouldn’t have been that embarrassed, but I’d always been a bit body shy, and with my emotions all over the place from the toxins, I’d have preferred something less revealing. Turning to Yda, I motioned that he should step back and mimed that he should stay out of it, then grabbed a knife and stepped toward the centre of the room where Grond was waiting, shirtless and with a knife of his own.

From the beginning, it was clear that Grond was a gifted brawler and knife fighter and was strong, fast and fit. As far as I saw it, his problem was that he was used to fighting people like himself and had little experience with someone who, besides being faster than him, was more agile and was trained to react to their opponent. In the first minute, I’d cut him a dozen times on his arms and legs and once on his cheek. Instead of working on his defence, his attacks became more determined and left him increasingly out of position.

As the second minute ticked over, I decided I’d played with him enough, and it was time to end it when, as I evaded a violent slash by bending out of the knife’s path, I heard a small explosion and felt the blade slam into my right chest, just under my breast. He’d used an explosive blade and fired it as I let it pass in front of me. The blade penetrated less than it would have on most creatures, but it still slammed into my ribs. I was thrown backwards but managed to keep my feet when I heard a second explosion, and Grond’s head snapped back as a bullet from Carrick’s pistol hit him in the forehead.

Part of me wanted to thank Carrick, but instead, I said, “Damn it, Carrick. He was mine.”

“You’re welcome.”

Reaching down, I went to pull the knife loose but paused after the first small movement. The few times I’d been stabbed in the past, I’d used my metal ability to smooth the exit, and while I couldn’t sense the metal, I could feel that the knife was either caught on the rib or, more likely, from experience, the tip had been bent as it hit the rib and pulling it out meant tearing the flesh. I didn’t pause for long as there was no way I was asking for help from the elves, so I had to twist it to pull it free, trying not to wince as I tore the triangular point through the membranes, muscle and skin. I stepped toward my armour and reached for the armour padding.

Olivia put out a hand and said, “Let me check that first.”

“It’ll be fine. It hit a rib but nothing major.”

“At least let me wrap it to stop the bleeding.”

Gritting my teeth in frustration, I said, “Olivia, it’s fine. The bleeding will stop soon enough.”

Olivia was opening her mouth to argue when Yda said, “Ida.”

I turned and saw him with his hand toward me with a strip of cloth he’d torn from Grond’s jacket. He was still enough of a mystery that I thanked him, then let Olivia lift the bottom of my self-made sport style bra. When she saw the tear, she glanced at the knife in my hand, then shaking her head in either frustration or confusion, folded one piece of cloth a dozen times and pressed it to the freely bleeding wound before using another to hold the cloth in place. She tied it without saying anything and helped me into the padding. I then finished putting the armour on.

When it was on, I turned to Carrick and said, “OK. As I was saying, thank you.”

“Besides that being different from your first comment, I didn’t do it for you. He dishonoured me by cheating after agreeing to the duel. Either way, you won. Marcus has a compound almost twenty kilometres south of here. It’s heavily protected, and I’ve never had anyone get inside. I suspect if he’s running from Isabelle, then he’d head there. He’ll be able to hide out until Isabelle calms down.”

“I think he’s finally stepped over the line this time.”

“I doubt it. His games don’t hurt elves, so she’ll forgive him in the end, you know what she’s like. Face it, the rest of us mean nothing to her. That’s why I’d rather you keep my name out of it. She’ll strip him of some authority for a bit, then bring him back into the fold. I’d give it a year, and then he’ll just set up the games somewhere else. They’re a big pull for those who think like him. They like living in the safety the city provides. Watching the violence is their way of feeling superior to the savagery of the rest of the world. For some reason, they imagine they’d survive if dropped in the arena and leave feeling big and brave.”

Quade took a step forward and said, “It is treasonous to speak like that against High Lady Isabelle within her domain. She has said that High Lord Marcus would face her justice.”

Carrick stared at Quade for a moment, and I turned and said, “Step back. I told you to be quiet and say nothing. I should leave you here with Carrick to learn a few things about the city, but I have a high lord to kill and don’t want to come back and pick up what’s left of you.”

Turning back to Carrick, I said, “Sorry about that. He’s led a sheltered life, and while I’m trying to educate him on the real world, it’s not easy. Now, where exactly is this compound?”

“You’re going to kill Marcus?”

“That’s the plan. I’ve a sort of competition going with High Lady Isabelle. You’re wrong about her this time, and we’re in a race to see who gets him first. I figure she’ll work her way around his haunts here in the city and give me time to deal with him before she even knows where he is.”

Carrick looked around the room and, after beckoning to one of the dwarves who was standing guard, said, “This is Nook. She’s one of the best I have for work outside the city. She’s been near his compound a few times and knows the way. Nook, go with Enid and show her the compound. Stay back, so you don’t get caught.”

I nodded my thanks, then said, “Honestly, I think you’re better off without Grond.”

“For sure, but he’d put the work in to get to the top and me liking him had nothing to do with his skill set to lead.”

“Sure it did. His arrogance and attitude would have torn your clan apart within months. You value the clan almost as much as you enjoy being the leader, and that’s what holds it together. Sure, they’re scared of you and know you are a mean, violent, cheating, homicidal bastard who lives off their hard work, but they also know you have their back if necessary. He lived only for himself and would have had to resort to violence to keep control. The clan would have fractured into various groups fighting each other, and you know that’s the truth if you’re honest with yourself.”

Carrick nodded slowly, then said, “Well, he’s no longer a problem. I suspect I won’t see you again, and I’ll impress on whoever does take over that they keep our agreement, otherwise they’ll get a visit from you. Oh, there’s no need to kill Marcus too quickly.”

Before we left I asked Nook to describe the compound to make sure I had everything we might need to get inside. Almost everything I had, but I asked to borrow some knotted rope and a grappling hook. The cable I had was thin and when I used it to climb I affixed it with a special arrowhead and usually had the option of manipulating the metal fibres to give me a good grip.

* * *

Nook led us on a different route out of Carrick’s tunnels which brought us into the centre of a small hamlet just outside the walls of the larger city. It was just after five, and even though sunrise was over half an hour away, the sky was already beginning to lighten. Nook said, “Carrick owns the hamlet, so we can wait here until the sun rises.”

Shaking my head, I said, “Not likely. We’ll leave now. Marcus already has a head start of over six hours.”

“Enid, while it’s the main route south, it’s still unwise to travel until there is full daylight.”

“Nook. Enid was a previous incarnation; call me Ida. Trust me, I’m aware of the dangers, but I’m more concerned about Marcus realising how much danger he is in and fleeing even further south. I’ve things to do and really don’t want to have to chase him all the way to the Great Bay. Now, have them open the gates.”

That little voice I’d been ignoring since being scratched by the spider was yelling to get my attention, but I studiously disregarded it. I was well aware that my abilities were still offline. Still, I was confident that even without them, I had enough experience to deal with whatever decided to get in between Marcus and me. The voice started throwing a tantrum at the stupidity of taking Quade into the wilds, and after listening for a few seconds, I turned my metaphorical back and put my metaphorical fingers in my ears as I watched Nook order the guards to get the main gate open.

As they inched open, I looked toward Yda, who was well aware of who we were hunting and seemed as committed as I was to the chase. Olivia and Quade were standing quietly with the annoying elven stance of supposed disinterest in everything around them. Still, I could sense Quade’s nervousness, and that brought a smile to my face. Olivia, on the other hand, seemed concerned, and I caught her glance at Quade a few times as well as at me. Her glance at me wasn’t focused on my helmet but my chest. Looking down, I saw that blood had oozed through the links in the armour.

There wasn’t much I could do about it, and besides, I was reasonably sure my body would already be working on closing the tear. Looking up, I saw that Olivia had noticed my glance. I shrugged, then as the opening in the gate became wide enough for me to get through, I stepped through and began jogging south.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Well, to be fair, Nook and the elves were the only ones who looked like they were jogging. At the speed I was moving, my human-shaped anatomy made me look like I was running. Yda had moved his weapons so they lay along his sides and shifted his ligaments and bones as goblins did, then began loping alongside me like a cat. His skull had reconfigured to set his eyes where they could look forward without limiting his neck movements, and his jaw adjusted to give him a greater bite.

I understood his reasoning as my own body could make a similar transformation. It not only increased the speed with which I could move, but the realignment of the different anatomical structures increased the ability to both detect and respond to external stimuli. If I’d been able to use my metal manipulation ability, my armour could be transformed to work with my feline shape. The biggest reason I used the form so rarely was it restricted the use of firearms and usually forced me to kill using teeth and claws; I wasn’t a huge fan of the taste of fresh blood. Having said that, given the right circumstances, I might just appreciate ripping Marcus’ throat out.

We’d travelled less than two hundred meters before being attacked by several sugar-gliders. These possum-like creatures were nothing like their rather cute nocturnal forebears, but were now almost a meter in length and had claws that could tear through metal. Their preferred hunting method was to glide through the canopy and drop unobserved onto their prey, ripping through their quarry’s jugular then feeding on the pulsating blood before tearing into the flesh. They often attacked in small family groups of three or four and preferred hunting at night.

I picked them up as they left the tree line, and from their general flight path, I suspected they would aim to drop on either Quade or Olivia, the two who’d shifted to the rear of our small group. Yda’s motion made it clear he’d seen them but had decided they weren’t a threat to him or me; he left them for the ones behind to deal with. The less rational part of me was tempted to see how they dealt with the silent predators. It took a deliberate act of will to push off hard with my next step and twist my body into what looked like a high jump movement, so I was facing upward and almost horizontal as I shot all four of the creatures out of the air before twisting to land on my feet and keep running.

The surprised and rather inappropriate exclamations by Nook and the two elves as the headless creatures rained down on them was everything my uninhibited self could have hoped for, and I almost wished they could see the massive grin that formed on my face as I increased my speed slightly to come back level with Yda. Next to attack us was an Eastern brown snake. Unlike many of the animal modifications whose transformation had been along the lines of the dwarves, larger with better claws and fangs, this one had the less common elven transformation.

While still larger than its pre-Middle-Earth counterpart and now almost four meters in length, it was also better. The scales were harder, the muscles denser, the fangs sharper and as far as I’d been able to determine, unbreakable, the toxin beyond deadly. It was curled just off the edge of the trail on Yda’s side, and I had begun reaching for my pistol when I saw the change in his stride, which showed he’d seen the snake and was prepared for the strike.

Like many of the creatures with the elven-type alterations, the snake was able to twist the temporal continuum slightly to give it an advantage. Yda was prepared and did something I’d never considered nor seen before. As the snake began its attack, Yda emitted a burst of high-frequency sounds. This not only completely seemed to disorient the snake but made the two elves stumble; they just managed to catch themselves from falling. Ignoring the sound of their stagger, Yda’s hand caught the snake behind its head. He brought it down hard on the ground as his hand continued his running motion, the claws of his foot coming down beside his hand, ripping off the head. As his hand came forward, he tossed the head to one side; he hadn’t missed a stride.

Nothing was said as we moved forward, but once again I was grinning, this time with the joy of learning something new. My toxin-affected thought processes hoped there was a similar attack on my side of the trail. Unfortunately, from my perspective anyway, each new attack was best dealt with by a bullet. After half an hour, we’d covered what I estimated as about ten kilometres and slowed, then brought everyone to a stop. The sun was bright enough that it was unlikely we’d be attacked without warning. With the number of hamlets that existed this close to the city, the road would have sufficient movement to keep all but the most desperate predators at bay.

Turning to Nook, I said, “How much farther?”

“The trail to the compound is about three kilometres more, and it is set five hundred meters back from the trail. They keep a cleared zone of one hundred meters around the walls. They used dwarves to pack the earth for foundations, and metal spikes were driven along the entire circumference to a depth of ten meters; we’ve not been able to make a tunnel without it being discovered. We’ve never been closer than thirty meters to the wall.”

“What about sentries?”

“Usually, they ignore anything outside the cleared area, and I think they’ve no active surveillance even along the trail. When Marcus or one of his top-level followers are there, then they have a viewing tower that can see along the length of the access trail, and they’ve been known to shoot anything that moves along it.”

“If they position someone at the start of the trail, how close can we get before being seen?”

“If they have someone on the main trail, we’ll not get within two hundred meters of the turn-off.”

I had Nook use her earth ability to form a scale map of the area, then pointed to a curve in the road almost five hundred meters from the trail beginning and said, “Lead the way to here. Stop just before the turn. If I was Marcus, and even saying that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but if I was him, I’d have people spaced out along the trail, and I doubt we’ll get closer than that before being seen.”

Turning to Olivia and Quade, I said, “Marcus will have made the compound out of alloys that Isabelle can’t manipulate. How far out will you need to be to see if the metals used are something you can work with?”

Olivia looked at the map and said, “I need to be within eighty meters to sense the type of metal but I need to be within a half-a-metre to actually transform the material, so I can’t help. High Lady Isabelle’s range is an extreme outlier.”

I nodded and said, “I realise that, but don’t forget she’s hampered by her difficulty in working with even basic alloys and you are aware that sensing to eighty is also an outlier; most have to be within a few meters and they need to be touching metals to manipulate them. What about you, Quade?”

He said nothing for a moment, caused by what I assumed was either a reluctance to share or from indignation at my reference to Isabelle’s limitations. Without letting his thoughts change his tone, he said, “I do not have High Lady Isabelle’s range but will be able to sense the walls from just over five hundred meters. I need to be within three meters to transform materials. When touching them I can manipulate them almost one hundred meters.”

I nodded as if I’d expected something like that, but said nothing so I wouldn’t let him know how impressed I was. Sensing metal at half-a-kilometre was also an outlier, an extreme one at that, especially with the types of metal he could work with. I doubted he’d be able to manipulate the wall unless Marcus had used aluminium or one of its alloys. Besides, I assumed the strong high elves with Marcus could use the metal, and they were much closer. I’d seen a few elven fights between those with the same affinity, and they usually were decided by a bullet or some other weapon as even a powerful high elf struggled to overcome a low elf when they used the same metal; the power to manipulate metals was inversely proportional to their distance from the wielder. 

* * *

When we reached the spot I’d indicated, I motioned for the others to stay out of sight and then, using my hands, I had Yda set himself to watch over the two elves. Before moving off the roadway and stepping into the forest, I said, “Don’t follow me. I’m going to check ahead.”

Nook was the only one who moved as if to question what I was doing, but even she settled back to watch the forest around her as I disappeared. On my back were a bow, a rifle and two swords. I reached behind and pulled one of the swords and took a knife from a sheath near my waist, then moved carefully toward one of the large trees whose branches were close to overhanging the trail.

Without my earth sense, I had to depend on other clues to look for predators, and I found myself grinning at the rush of adrenaline that I hadn’t felt for a long, long time. I knew my armour would probably protect me if I missed something, but my heart still beat faster than usual as I moved steadily forward. The rush helped me focus, and so I was already moving even as the ground under my feet heaved, a dozen long vines contracting upward, flailing around, looking to catch hold of whatever had walked over them, inch long fibrous thorns unravelling as the vines came free of the earth.

I’d noticed several white flowers around the edge of the small glade even as my foot had come down on one of the vines. Instead of moving forward, I’d pushed backwards off the shifting ground, leaping high to stay away from the long spiky succulent tubers that belonged to one of the new species of carnivorous plants. Most animals, when startled, rushed forward through what looked like a clear glade and deeper into the area covered by what had been known as a Pale Sundew. Before the transformation, it had used secretions to capture insects in its basal rosette of leaves. Now, it used its larger, longer underground tubers to catch prey and bring them to the multiple larger rosettes of leaves which I could see lifting out of the leaf litter around the edge of the glade.

Usually, I would have moved around the glade, but that could mean moving thirty or forty meters as the sundews often thrived within a larger complex community of plants, and I was aiming for the tree straight ahead of me and only twenty meters past the glade. I changed the knife for a second sword, then took a few deep breaths before inhaling and holding the air in as I moved forward and sliced through two of the still visible tubers. This set up a wave of movement, and several deeper roots or vines burst through the soil. I’d studied the plants before, so I stepped forward confidently, slicing through the vines and dealing with the deeper ones that appeared. I held my breath to stop the vapour that I knew the rosettes around the glade would have excreted to anaesthetise whatever creature had been caught in the web of vines.

Three minutes later, I was through the glade and moving toward the tree. I waited until I was at least ten meters from the cleared area above the sundew vines, and under the foliage of the tree I was aiming for, before exhaling and carefully taking a breath. I was extra cautious as I had no idea how my not-yet-reset neural system might react with the aerosol neural inhibitors the plant emitted. I didn’t feel or smell anything different, so refocusing on the tree, I made my way cautiously toward the trunk and made my way to its upper branches.

Besides the tree’s own defence mechanisms—a variety of insects and several dangerous epiphytes—which I moved around carefully, the only danger I had to deal with as I climbed were several large possums and a snake. About three-quarters of the way up the tree, I found a sturdy branch that overlooked the next section of the main trail. After double-checking the surface of the branch for possible dangers, I reached back for my rifle before slowly slithering along the bough.

Once I could see along the trail, I got in position, and after a third and then fourth survey of my surrounds, I looked through the rifle’s scope to see if Marcus had watchers on the road. It took ten minutes to quarter the area to make sure I didn’t miss anyone. Even then, half my time was spent rechecking the area around where I was to make certain nothing was creeping up on me. In the end, I found three spies, so to speak. All three were elves. They weren’t all that hard to find as they stayed on the edge of the trail and spent half their time nervously watching the bushes near them.

After making slight adjustments for distance and my height above the trail, I centred the furthermost elf in the scope and, slowly exhaling for a second, paused, then fired. Moving quickly, I sighted and fired at the second elf even before she had time to respond to the sound of the first shot. The closest elf made my job easier by flattening himself into the trail instead of fleeing. The bullet hit him in the back of the neck and exploded out his chest and into the hardpacked soil at the edge of the roadway.

The possums and the snake were already being devoured by smaller animals and insects as I descended from the tree, but except for a ladybug the size of my hand, they ignored me. Before the bug could settle on my arm, I used a knife to slice it in half, making sure to keep any of the splatter from hitting my suit. The bugs had developed a potent defence mechanism and had small glands behind each of their tibial claws filled with a highly caustic alkaline liquid which it released when attacked.

Once I reached the forest floor, I retraced my path. I moved quietly and doubted any except Yda was ready for me when I suddenly stepped back onto the trail several meters from where I’d entered. My smirk was hidden behind my mask as Quade made a slight motion toward his firearm when he saw me. I struggled to keep my reaction from my voice and said, “Let’s move to the next corner. Marcus had three watchers.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

Whistling for Yda to move ahead, I set off at a run. I was certain the sound of the shots would have carried to Marcus’ compound and wanted to be in place in case anyone showed up to check on the elves he’d left to watch the trail. He must have had everything prepared to investigate as we reached the turnoff at the same time as two of his elves. Both Yda and Nook had felt them coming, and when I heard Yda’s whistle of warning, I unsheathed one of the katanas, which is not as easy to do as it sounds when you’re running.

Yda leapt at the first elf using teeth and claws, and I engaged the second with the sword. The seeming ease with which I’d killed the dwarves and elves over the last two weeks wasn’t a fair indicator of their prowess. Besides my enhanced wizardly qualities, I’d generally killed them from a distance or from the shadows. These two were up close and prepared. Yda managed to drag his elf to the ground, but before he could finish the attack, he’d been tossed aside, allowing the elf to roll to his feet.

The second elf had a rifle in her hands and was skilled enough to deflect my initial attack with the barrel. Before I could bring my sword around, she’d manipulated the rifle’s barrel into a sharpened scythe shaped blade which she swept upward, hoping to catch my torso. Missing my ability to manipulate metal, I rolled toward her, which kept the blade from tearing into my stomach but brought me inside the closing loop of her weapon, which she shortened and added spines that arced in toward my back. As I brought myself close to her body, I drove one of the sharpened steel alloy knives from my chest sheath through her armour and deep into her shoulder joint. The shock from that allowed me to complete the turn and remove her head with the katana.

Despite being dead, my opponent still had momentum, a momentum I’d added to by both stabbing her and removing her head. As she fell, she dragged me with her; the spines of her rifle embedded slightly in my armour. I was mostly polite as I refused Quade’s help to get free; why on middle-earth he thought I needed help to unhook myself, I’ve no idea. As I came to my feet, I saw Yda drive his spear through the elf’s heart then thrust himself forward to tear out the side of his elf’s neck with his jaws; I suspect that the final bite was either a symbolic gesture, or Yda was hungry. Yda’s armour had several scratches, and blood was dripping from a deep cut on one forearm.

I turned to Olivia and Nook, who were both standing near the edge of the trail but nowhere near where Yda was. I said, “Yda’s wounded. Next time feel free to help. This isn’t an exercise in sparring, and there is no rule that says fights need to be fair.”

Olivia shook her head and said, “We understand, Lady Ida. However, Yda made it clear that he desired no assistance. In fact, he expressed his desire more politely than when you refused High Lord Quade’s helping hand. He only snarled and bared his teeth.”

Ignoring what I saw as a slight rebuke of my manners, I disregarded the last part of Olivia’s response and simply acknowledged that I understood why Olivia and Nook hadn’t helped. Stepping back to the elf I’d killed, I quickly removed her weapons and checked her body for ingots. She had several silver ingots and one small gold ingot in an outside pocket for everyday use. Checking her belt, I found a strip of larger gold and platinum ingots threaded through a pouch running the length of the belt. As I pulled them free, Quade said, “Ida, is it necessary to steal from the dead? Is not taking her life sufficient? Why lower yourself to being nothing more than a common bandit?”

As I checked her boots and jacket for extra ingots and weapons, I said, “Well, besides the obvious existential question of whether or not a dead person can own something, I’d have to say that, of course it isn’t necessary. It is, however, prudent. She doesn’t need them and whatever animal drags her into the bushes to munch on her has no way of using the weapons or spending the metal. If I don’t take them, then they’re wasted. Now, if I were a common bandit, I would have killed her solely for her weapons and metal. That’s not the case here. I killed her because she works for a stuck-up, murderous, elitist high elf who tried to kill me last night, and she was trying to kill me so I couldn’t kill him; the metal is just a bonus.”

Not waiting for a reply, I moved to the three I’d shot earlier. Ignoring the smaller insects who’d already begun to feast, I quickly checked each and gathered their weapons before going through their pockets. They each had a small duffle bag, and a quick look showed they’d come prepared with food and extra magazines for their weapons. Sliding their weapons into one of the bags, I moved the magazines to that bag, then turned and asked if anyone needed breakfast.

Quade stared at me, managing to express both disapproval and indifference simultaneously. Olivia sighed, Nook shook her head, and Yda just glanced in my direction, then looked back down the trail. I whistled his name then pantomimed eating. As he turned around to recheck the trail, he whistled what I knew was agreement. Grabbing one of the prepared packages, I rose and handed it to him, then grabbed one for myself. I wasn’t really hungry but decided it was a good teaching point for Quade. There were no servants to bring food out in the wilds. If you had nothing, then usually you had to kill something. The elves were already dead and using what they had meant something else lived. It was conservation in action.

I kept watch down the trail as I ate half the package, then checking the others were also watching; I turned to Quade and said, “Quade, are we close enough for you to sense metal within the compound?”

“Not quite. I can sense the outer wall but not much beyond that.”

Turning to Nook, I said, “How deep is the compound? I want to be close enough so Quade can sense the back wall.”

“The compound is a square with eighty meters on each side.”

“Nook, could you map the trail and the compound?”

Nook knelt, placed both hands on the ground, and closed her eyes. The ground in front of her first flattened, and then the trail appeared with the wilds appearing as spikes. In a flattened square at one end of the trail, she formed a three dimensional model of the compound.

When Nook opened her eyes, I asked, “How do you usually get close to the compound?”

“There are a few trails we’ve scratched through the wilds. We clear them every month or so. It’s still dangerous, but it keeps us clear of most ground attacks.”

“Can you mark them on the map?”

Once she’d done that, Nook said, “The only problem is dealing with the other predators. The elves within the compound will hear the shots and be ready.”

“That’s fine. They already know we’re here, so there is no real need to sneak up on them. In some ways, I’d rather they know we’re coming. It’ll annoy them. Thank you for getting us this far. I suspect Carrick would rather you stay back and leave this to us.”

“He would, but he’ll understand if you want me to confuse them a little.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I’ll stay here and fire the odd shot in their direction just to give them something to think about.”

“I’d hate for you to get shot.”

“I’ll move a mound of earth in front of me. If I walk it slowly toward the compound, it’ll get their focus. We have a trail that comes off this one about halfway to the compound. If I get that close, I can always escape through the forest.”

Nook’s offer added options I’d not considered and gave me a way of keeping Quade further away from the danger. “That will work, but I’m not happy you going through the forest alone. I’ll leave Quade and Olivia with you. They can help keep the compound distracted, and if the compound attacks you directly, they’ll give you the firepower to retreat behind the earthen wall.”

Neither Quade nor Olivia was happy with the change of plans, but that was more of a bonus than a concern. Explaining what I wanted Quade to do took longer than expected as even though he was seriously gifted, he’d not yet learned all the devious things he could do with those gifts. I was surprised that he’d never worked out how he could use his skill to identify where people were in relation to himself; that was until I remembered that all except the most powerful high elves couldn’t sense anything from more than a few metres, and his tutors might not have seen all the possibilities.

Either that or they saw them and decided not to share; even so, he should have been able to work it out if he wasn’t such a goody goody. I wondered, privately and theoretically, if it would be beneficial or not to share some anecdotes of Isabelle’s teenage rebellious activity; while it would almost certainly help round out his own emotional and psychological development, and his self-identity, I knew it would complicate my life too much. Still, it was fun to imagine how much it would annoy Isabelle.

Back to Quade’s education in metal manipulation: my armour was made from alloys that I’d yet to find elves who could sense or manipulate them at a distance. If they could have, they could not only use it against me if I was unwary, but more importantly, they could track me. Once you knew where someone was, it was easier to kill them. Before giving Quade a bow from my wagon, I’d checked that Quade had the requisite skills. Sensing where someone was, not only gave Quade a target, but because his metal sense was involved, my experience was that his accuracy with the bow would be enhanced.

Much to Quade’s chagrin, I explained for the second time how the various arrowheads functioned but simply handed Olivia several additional boxes of cartridges that I’d brought. I inwardly smirked at his frustration, then realised that annoying him had become a habit, and I could no longer lay the blame entirely on the venom. For a moment I considered apologising, but the moment ended without a clear decision being made, so I shrugged and decided it was best not to confuse him.

When everything was ready, I handed Quade two small aluminium ingots and asked him to make shapes he would recognise for both Yda and myself. It had to be something he would be able to identify at the edge of his sensory range; I didn’t want him dropping an arrowhead filled with neurotoxins on either of us. Whistling to Yda, I showed him the path I planned to take through the wilds and pantomimed my expectations. Once he understood, he whistled his agreement, and we moved back to the main trail and headed south; our path through the wilds branched off it about eighty meters further along.

The trail Carrick’s clan had forged would have seemed indistinguishable from the rest of the wilds to most who travelled along the main road south. For Yda and myself, it was clear even as we approached. Clear in the same way that a walking trail would have been visible to hikers in the days before the change. Yda whistled a query as to who would take the point. I replied with the five high notes that represented me, and he slowed slightly. After looking both ways along the main thoroughfare, I drew both katana and stepped past him onto the dwarven trail.

Nook had shared that each time the dwarves used the track, they were responsible for pulling earth from the edge and adding it to the trail’s already compacted surface. It was clear from the feel under my feet and the sound the soles of my armoured boots made that it was as hard and dense as rock underfoot. I changed my stride to take account of the density of the track; this lessened the sound and changed the type of vibrations my running would create. Without my earth ability working, I couldn’t remove the vibrations, so I factored into my thinking the most likely creatures and plants that would be attracted by what was produced and kept an eye out especially for those.

The map had shown that the trail I’d chosen was just over two kilometres long, and it came out toward the southernmost rear corner of Marcus’ compound. Even with the amount of work the dwarves had done, the forest had begun the process of reclaiming the intrusion. Vines grew across it, and even with the packed earth, roots had pushed up and even cracked the pathway in several sections. Despite this, I was able to ignore the danger of being attacked from underfoot and concentrate almost entirely on what was overhead and at the edges; as a result, I was able to almost jog along the track.

Yda and I worked well together, and using some basic whistles to warn of danger or to let the other know we would deal with an attack, we maintained a reasonably constant pace and reached the open area around the compound ten minutes later. I stopped just inside the edge of the forest, and while Yda kept watch, I looked out over the cleared area and reconnoitred Marcus’ hideout. There was no ditch around the wall, but the wall itself was ten metres high, which was enough to stop kangaroos and other predators. The wall was made of metal, which must have been ruinously expensive if it was an alloy that would keep Isabelle at bay. It was both shiny and smooth, so no purchase points.

I could see a guardhouse on each end. Nook had said they were usually manned, or ‘elved’ might be a better word, with two guards in each. They wore armour and looked out through several thin horizontal spaces filled with glass embedded with fine metal mesh. After I’d surveyed what was there, I changed places with Yda so he could have a look. Just after changing positions, I heard the boom as Olivia started our attack. If she’d kept to the script, and it sounded like she had, she’d used one of the large thermite cartridges. No matter how powerful, most elves struggled to manipulate molten metals, even those they had an affinity for. Several thermite cartridges in the same place, and Olivia would have an opening through which to fire several of the more exotic rounds.

As the guards at the front of the compound began returning fire, I reached back for my bow and made sure the quiver was in place and each of the arrowheads I wanted was within reach. Then, I pulled the knotted rope and grappling hook from my backpack and handed them to Yda. I waited until Quade began lofting arrows into the compound before firing three of my own. The first arrow had an explosive charge and blew a hole through one of the glass panels in the closest tower. The second was filled with corrosive acid, and the third with a potent neurotoxin. Even while the third was in the air, I’d whistled a warning to Yda, then left the forest and ran toward the closest part of the wall.

Chapter Thirty-Six

I stopped at the base of the wall. Then, while Yda swung the grapple, I fired several arrows at the furthest sentry tower I could see. A whistle from Yda let me know when the rope was in place. Slinging the bow over my shoulder, I headed up the rope after my goblin. Or was I his human? Either way, I reached the top of the wall moments after he did. Neither of us hesitated and dropped into the compound. Even as I fell, I drew one of the heavier gauge pistols and killed the one elf I could see. The sound of the shot echoed within the compound. It gave me two more targets, who rather foolishly, at least from their rather short-lived perspective, stuck their heads out to see where the noise had originated from.

While I paused to see if there were any other imprudent elves, Yda moved cautiously forward. I had no idea how many elves were likely to be in the compound, but Nook had shared that Marcus usually kept a force of twenty at the facility, and Carrick thought he might have kept some of his treasures on-site as well. I expected the number of elves might have doubled with Marcus and Orlando onsite, so forty.

‘Why?’ You might ask, did the number matter? Besides keeping me focused on the objective, I knew that being elves, both Quade and Olivia would be keeping score; it was something their hyper-competitive disorder would compel them to do. As long as I could account for at least twenty, then I wouldn’t have to put up with their silent and smug sentiments of superiority. My target number depended if the nine I’d already killed could be counted. Well, if they ignored the ones who were outside the compound, and I expected them to, then I’d killed five; two in the guardhouse and three on the ground. Either I had five out of forty, which left me needing sixteen, or I had nine out of forty, and Yda had one, which left me needing eleven. So, sixteen to be on the safe side.

A whistle from Yda refocused my wayward thoughts. We were approaching an open area between several buildings, and his whistle suggested elves on both sides. I whistled for him to pause and added the notes that signified a question; then, using my hands, I queried whether or not he wanted to take the higher ground. He glanced upward toward the roofs of the buildings six meters on either side and whistled both agreement and a question. I put my hands together and signed I would throw him up. Since I’d helped him with the ferret, he’d made it clear he was with me. Now, for the first time, I sensed some doubt on his face, but it disappeared immediately, and he whistled agreement then stepped toward me, aiming his foot at where my hands were clasped near my knees.

As he pushed down, I pushed up. From the height he achieved, I suspect neither of us wanted this to be a failure. He easily cleared the edge of the right-hand roof by two meters. As I heard the sound of his landing, I dove into the open space facing to the left and caught two elves looking upward, to where they could hear Yda’s claws scraping on the metal roof. Two shots, fourteen to go. As I completed the turn to deal with the elves on the right, a bullet hit my armour where all humans had their hearts and where mine used to be; more on that later. The armour stopped the bullet, but it still pushed me out of position spoiling my aim.

Before I could rectify my mistake, Yda dropped on the elf. As she crumbled, I got a glimpse of Rath peeking out the doorway of a building behind her. My bullet passed between Yda’s legs even as Rath pulled his head back. If I’d been aiming for Rath’s head, I would have been disappointed at missing two shots in a row. As it was, I grinned as he lost two fingers off the hand with which he’d gripped the edge of the doorway; sure, they would regenerate if he lived long enough, and that was highly unlikely. Also, as Yda had killed the elf he landed on, I now only needed thirteen.

If all my abilities were online, so to speak, I would have had no trouble finding the next target. Not wanting to waste time, I pulled one of the prepared arrows from my quiver and shot it almost vertically; the wind was blowing gently eastward, and I tried to account for the small changes it would make. It was the only arrow of its type I’d brought, and I didn’t want to go hunting for it. It gave off a loud shriek as it moved through the air. It was the signal for Quade to drop several exploding arrowheads where the greatest concentrations of elves were. Each explosion gave off a coloured smoke. Even before Quade could respond, someone shot my arrow out of the air, silencing it. Besides being a brilliant marks-elf to have made the shot, it gave me a target to hunt while I waited for Quade.

The shot had come from the most northwest sentry tower. I had two arrows in the air headed in its direction when what had to be Olivia’s first shot broke through the outer layer just moments before her second, one of the acid-filled ones, exploded inside. I could hear the screams just before my arrows arrived, and it was the screams that pointed to the fact the cartridge had been acid-filled. Unfortunately, those sounds made it reasonable to conclude that even without my assistance, the elves would have died eventually, so rather reluctantly, I added them to Olivia’s scorecard. Three softer explosions rang out as Quade’s response pointed us in the right direction. All three buildings were northeast of where Yda and I were.

Although Rath was west of me, I didn’t hesitate in leading Yda toward the closest building Quade had identified; Marcus and Orlando had precedence, and I doubted they would be in a building that had at most the fourth greatest number of elves. Approaching buildings made of metal that were filled with metal-manipulating elves wasn’t usually the smartest of moves. To be more accurate, it was never the smartest of moves, and it was even less astute given the current unavailability of my wizardly capabilities.

Having said that, Marcus was most gifted working with platinum and gold, and I suspected when making the compound he’d been more concerned in not giving Isabelle weapon material than in making what was basically a shed into a ridiculously expensive weapon for himself. Orlando’s colouring looked to be that of someone skilled in steel, cobalt and possibly sodium, although it was very rare for elves to manipulate Group 1 metals. Regardless of metal type, the best option was to get the elves to leave their sanctuary.

Another point worth noting was that most buildings, in fact, any place people saw as protection, were set up to protect against attackers using the chosen entry and exit points. Very few rooms, caves, or burrows made more than token efforts to provide shelter against someone coming through a wall, floor or roof. I changed the magazine in one of the higher calibre pistols to thermite cartridges, and changed the magazine in the other to one I’d prepared to spice things up—it was loaded with a mixture of explosives, frangibles, neurotoxins, acids, and incendiaries. When loading a clip like this, it was important to remember the sequence and then complete each sequence. If you weren’t careful, then the acid could destroy the neurotoxin, or the incendiary could neutralise the acid.

While I’m giving useful advice, I should mention that despite the lesson in defensive planning I would give the inhabitants of the building, I was confident they would not have enough time to consider applying it to their situation. In other words, they would try and escape through the designated doorways or tunnels rather than making a hole somewhere random that I couldn’t prepare for. Hence, I whistled for Yda to watch the far exit, then fired a group of five thermite cartridges into the wall of the building, followed by an explosive cartridge into the centre of the grouping.

The thermite weakened the metal sufficiently that the explosive cartridge opened a hole. Next was a frangible cartridge. Creatures, regardless of species, usually turn to look at a noise, and the sharpened needles moved faster than droplets of acid or toxin; the usual result was blind and bleeding defenders. Next, in this first sequence, was a superacid. Screams of pain are, like voices and fingerprints, mostly unique, and it is unheard of for people in agony to mimic the cry of someone else’s distress. Only two elves were damaged from what I could hear, although I heard another two voices. The most likely reason for those numbers was the inside of the building had partitions.

In situations like this, there are usually three options. Firstly, and I suspect the most commonly taken path is to look for another room to attack. The second is to protect limited resources, use the planned entry points, and go hunting, clearing the building room to room. While both those options are valid and, in many situations, possibly the best ones, I chose the third way. If you are precise, you can use the hole already made to penetrate deeper into the building to whatever was used as the common access conduit in the building; usually a corridor or larger common room.

Five more thermite cartridges, another explosive one and then I mixed things up a little; a cloud of coloured neurotoxin, a pause, and then another frangible. This time they’ll expect the needles and protect their eyes and tender bits. Instead, they hear the shot, wait, turn and see a cloud of gas and then the needles. Not only do they get a needle in an eye or ear, but even if it only hits an elbow or somewhere not that vital, it is poisoned. Three screams and then another two as the neurotoxin starts to work.

Yda whistled a warning followed by the number two. As I hadn’t heard anything, I suspect he felt the vibrations as the elves moved toward the exit, something I usually felt. While I’d been trying to flush the elves out, Yda had positioned himself beside the exit and had shifted his anatomy to set his muscles like those of a crouching cat, the fibres primed and ready to pounce. The door blew outwards. There was a spray of bullets covering the full one-hundred-and-eighty-degrees, then two elves dove through the opening. They’d increased their speed through time and faced in opposite directions to cover the areas not visible from inside.

The one facing Yda and myself either didn’t see Yda or dismissed him as irrelevant, as both his pistols tracked toward me. Without my access to the same abilities, he was faster, and his first shot hit my right shoulder. His second missed because Yda’s high-pitched burst of sound broke through the temporal bubble he’d created and startled him. Yda pounced on the elf facing the other direction even as I fired. Once mine was dead and I was certain Yda’s elf was dealt with, I did some mental arithmetic at the same time as I unhooked the right arm of my armour, followed by the piece which covered the upper part of my chest. The bullet had pushed in the panel, and it had locked my armour so I couldn’t move my arm.

Flipping the panel over, I fired a regular bullet from one of the smaller pistols at the offending part. My personal bullets had hardened titanium alloy tips, and the shot not only removed the obstruction but tore a hole through the panel. When the armour was back in place, I checked Yda, who had cut some cloth from the elf’s tunic to wrap around what looked like a long, but shallow cut on his forearm. His armour had deep scratches across his torso, and toward the end of one, some blood was oozing through.

The elf he’d killed had been a high elf who controlled iron and copper. He’d worn iron gauntlets with spikes. He’d manipulated these after losing his firearms into razor-sharp claws which extended past his fingers. From the way they had gouged through the armour, I suspected the spikes were tungsten carbide. I both made and wore armour and jewellery that was similar. Yda saw my look and whistled a question asking if I wanted him to lead. While he’d somehow decided we were together and looked in some way to me for leadership, he was clearly telling me he was not incapacitated and had no intention of letting me baby him.

Honestly, I was a little surprised he was still alive. It’s not like I’d purposefully brought him on a suicide mission, but I had expected to be helping more often. Yda had disposed of three elves on his own, and while he’d caught them by surprise, they should still have won; instead, he’d only been wounded. I’d fought elves in the past, and so far, the attack had been pretty run of the mill, and I assumed we were yet to meet those who’d escaped with Marcus and Orlando. None, so far, had been good enough to be close to Marcus, either as employees or associates, so I assumed I had already dealt with his top echelon of fighters over the last week. Rath was a close associate but more of a gifted and intelligent lackey instead of a real fighter.

If nothing else, it meant that neither Marcus nor Orlando had been in the building we’d just emptied, so I whistled for Yda to lead the way to the next building Quade had identified. As he turned and crouched down, one of Quade’s arrows exploded on impact five metres in front of where we were heading; yellow smoke almost filling the alleyway. Now, assuming Quade hadn’t somehow gotten the arrowheads mixed up, then things were about to get interesting. The arrow meant the elves had left the buildings and were either heading for an exit or hunting for the intruders, Yda and me. Either way, staying on our path wasn’t recommended; if it had, then we’d have seen green smoke. Whistling for Yda to follow, I turned and headed the other way, pausing as I approached the next intersection to listen for directions.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Nook had shown the compound set out in a regular pattern of streets and alleys. I’d told Olivia that when she started directing, I would go left at the first intersection, then right, then straight ahead, and then repeat. My default action each time would be looking for Marcus and the others. Her job was to change the default if there was a better way forward. A single shot as we approached an intersection indicated one of the directions was the best for hunting. If after three seconds there was no shot, then it meant the direction I was already planning to take would bring us into contact as we advanced. One shot after the three seconds meant the next option to the right was best for hunting; two shots meant the next option to the left was. A shot three seconds after the second grouping emphasised we would have contact when we took the alternate direction.

Olivia’s other option was to start with a double shot. This meant that one or more of the directions should be avoided. The second grouping was similar to when directed to hunt. A third group was to be used if there was a second direction to avoid. Three shots as we approached were a warning that there was no safe way forward and we should retreat. Quade had more arrows, and I’d asked that he use them to distract the enemy as possible, especially when we came in contact with them or if the situation we faced hadn’t been covered in the basic setup.

Approaching the intersection, there was a single shot from the rifle I’d given Olivia. There was no second group, so I whistled to Yda that we were turning left, and there were elves. I crouched low and slid the end of one of my pistols into the alleyway, only an inch off the ground. At the end of each pistol was a small sliding portion that hid a mirror. Two elves were moving along the alley thirty metres away, on the other side of the next intersection. After whistling directions, I had moved less than six inches into the alley when I fired the first bullet from my right larger calibre pistol. The second bullet was from the same gun, followed by the third from the left firearm almost immediately with the third from the right.

Without the additional wizardly skills, the time between the first two bullets was about a twentieth of a second. Each travelled the thirty metres at twelve hundred metres per second. These elves were much better than the last lot. Most humans who survived had reaction times of less than a fifth of a second. Elves generally responded about four times faster. Unfortunately for the first elf, he reacted even as my first bullet penetrated his helmet at the open point over his right eye. His partner, however, reacted even before I pulled the trigger the second time.

I’d discussed the options with several elves over the years, and almost without exception, they trained themselves to speed up their movement through space-time rather than slowing down the relative velocity of the bullet. Wizards, and maybe one-in-a-hundred elves, could do both. It was clear she was well trained as her reaction was a reflex. I suspect she was also one of the one percent. Knowing she could see and calculate the trajectory from the position of each pistol, I’d aimed the bullets at her breasts. Whichever way she moved, she had to deal with at least one of the bullets. Not only did she get a shield up and angled to deflect the one aimed at her right breast, but she had drawn her left firearm and sent a bullet toward me even as she shifted to her left.

I generally used the larger calibre cartridges when dealing with armoured elves; instead of the bullet being completely deflected, it ploughed through part of her shield and deflected into her shoulder armour. Fortunately for me, it had enough momentum to throw off the aim shot from her left. It was now a question of attrition; would her speed and skillset overcome my greater firepower and stronger armour? With the speed at which she adapted her shield to account for the increased weight of my projectiles, it was evident that if nothing changed, the answer was almost certainly, ‘Yes’.

The solution was to decrease her response time. Even if my neural pathways were still being reset, my skin and muscles were unchanged; I was stronger and tougher than an elf. My second shot was fired two meters closer to the elf than the first. By the fifth shot from my right-hand pistol, I’d halved the distance, and although I’d been hit three times, my armour had held. The sixth set of double shots, my left and right pistols together, both partially got through her defences. The seventh set killed her. As I slid to a stop, I moved back against the wall of the closest building and restocked the magazines on my armour from my backpack. I loaded more of the exotic charges and decided I might have bitten off more than I should have if the others with Marcus and Orlando were as good as the last one.

Even as I had that thought, Yda whistled for me to focus in the direction the elves had come from. He, on the other hand, faced the opposite direction, looking toward the intersection we’d crossed in my run to get close with the elf; he then looked up. I’d made the same movement to glance at the roof as I also heard the faintest sound of movement. Olivia and Quade hopefully knew more, because Olivia signalled for us to move left at the next intersection and to prepare for contact. Deciding to trust Olivia’s directions, I whistled for Yda to follow me, then moved across the alley toward the intersection.

As I reached the corner, there was an explosion on the roof and, moments later, another one around the corner in the direction we were heading. This time it was Quade I decided to trust, and without pausing to take a peek, I stepped around the corner, weapons at the ready. Three elves were less than ten meters away. Quade had used one of the coloured smoke arrowheads, impacting the wall above the elves. The chemical reaction initiated on impact released a heavy, pungent, acidic, green vapour.

Only one of the elves had looked away; the other two had their own firearms out and prepared for my attack. Six shots rang out almost simultaneously. As the two formed shields to protect themselves and shifted slightly to minimise their exposure, I dove to the side. In most situations, I would not advise diving to lie prone on the ground. You not only give away your mobility, but you almost cut your firepower options in half, and you become an easy target. This situation was slightly different because the green vapour was highly flammable, explosive even, and my first cartridge, aimed at the elf who wasn’t paying attention, was a thermite cartridge. I hoped to dodge the attacks, and when they were distracted by the explosion, I should have time to turn the dive into a roll and finish them off.

Everything worked as planned except the part where I successfully dodged the bullets. Maybe it would be better to say that it almost worked as planned, and I dodged half the bullets. The middle elf was Orlando, and it happened that I’d accurately picked his skillset. He manipulated steel, cobalt and sodium, and while it seemed he couldn’t manipulate them in significant quantities, his level of control was probably better than mine, not that I’d ever tried what he did, well, not yet. The two bullets he shot, when I checked afterwards, were made of cobalt hardened steel with fine veins of pure sodium running lengthways along the bullet. As it left the barrel, Orlando kept it connected to the firearm via a wire less than a tenth the width of a human hair.

Through the wire, Orlando reformed the bullet’s shape into a longer, thinner needle. He then used the veins of sodium to form small vanes along the length of the barrel to shift the flight path. Unfortunately for them, the pure sodium reacted strongly with the vapour. The resultant heat set off the explosion before my thermite cartridge covered five meters. With the vapour falling from above, the explosion began on the upper edge of Orlando’s bullets, and while it separated them from Orlando’s control, it also meant they were pushed downwards. Their trajectory matched that of my falling body; one punched through the rerebrace over my biceps, and the other penetrated the layer of overlapping scales that made up my faulds and protected my waist and hips.

The explosion wasn’t enough to kill the elves, but it did drive them into the ground, shredding their concentration. The thermite cartridge, which should have hit centre mass, ploughed into the side of the elf’s head; it wasn’t very pretty. My second cartridge, aimed at Orlando, shattered his elbow as he was thrown sideways by the blast.

As for the ones that hit me, whatever was happening with my neural pathways, it didn’t stop the pain but seemed to pick it up and amplify the effect which ran through to the back, then up my spine. It must have been the sodium or something produced in the reaction, as when Grond had hurt me, this hadn’t happened. The longer needle shape had penetrated through my armour, puncturing the scales and then pierced almost two centimetres through the skin. The sodium reacted almost immediately with the moisture in my blood. In desperation, I reverted to the pain management technique of my youth, repeating a string of unsavoury words, which in context would have been highly offensive to both Orlando and Marcus had they had been privy to what was said.

Orlando was close enough, but during the first rather profane sentence, I shattered his right knee with a bullet that spiralled in and tore out his femoral artery and vein; it wasn’t sufficient to kill an elf, but it would keep him occupied long enough for me to remedy that. I’d been aiming for his neck, but the fire in my bicep threw my aim off. The last elf wasn’t so lucky or unfortunate—it depends how you viewed his immediate demise—as my bullet went through his underarm and exited through his neck.

As I worked to unhook the two pieces of armour to get at the bullets, Yda walked slowly over to Orlando and knelt beside him. After removing Orlando’s weapons, Yda began what I would have called a song if it had been in the usual human audible range. I didn’t understand the meaning, but I assumed he was repeating a litany of names with the constant repetition of a sequence of tones. Whatever it was, it didn’t take long, and then without warning, Yda drove his knife through Orlando’s ear. Two to me, one to Yda. I wasn’t sure how many Quade and Olivia had killed. Still, with what I did know, I calculated I only needed one more to save me from their species’ often conspicuous, yet consciously concealed, competitive-caused condescension, assuming, that is, that there were only forty here.

My calculations were another effort to deal with the pain. Removing the bullets was straightforward. It was the small pieces of sodium, a soft metal, that had either broken off on their way in or as I pulled the projectiles out that were not. Either way, they continued their exothermic reactions inside me, and there was little I could do except repeat some of the more scurrilous claims concerning Marcus’ ancestry as the fire ran up and down my spine. A scraping noise from the roof suggested that while Quade’s response had successfully removed the threat to Yda and me, it had not been sufficiently lethal. The noise also reminded me that Marcus was still breathing. By now, Isabelle would have discovered he wasn’t in the city, and I suspected she was already on her way and doubted she’d stand back and wait just because I’d arrived first.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The noise gave focus to Yda as well. He whistled the sounds for up, followed by those for a question. I whistled agreement, and as before, I gave a helping hand. Moments after he landed, I heard the sound of him finishing off someone and then a whistle calling me to come up. The building looked about six meters high, and knowing it was made by an elf, I was fairly certain it was probably precisely six meters. Using my feet to engage part of the armour, I extended spikes under the feet, then ran at the opposing wall and jumped as high as possible before using it as the springboard to get to the roof where Yda was.

There were three dead elves on the roof, and from the injuries, Quade had used one of the frangible arrows with a neurotoxic core. I took one off Yda’s score and gave it to Quade as the elf would have died anyway, although I doubted Yda was keeping count. I turned to look where he was looking and saw a breach in the outer wall and, through it, a group of eight elves headed toward the edge of the cleared area, moving toward the forest. It was hard not to grin, so I let the smile form. I’d expected Marcus to make a stand. Instead, as he was in the middle of the group, it looked like he was fleeing. As I watched, an elf stepped through the breach, which began to fill with metal as he turned to look back. My bullet slammed into the top of the wall, missing him; the wall had risen faster than I’d expected.

Taking a few steps to gain momentum, I crossed to the next building and continued toward the wall. I could hear Yda following. He’d shifted his body to run on all fours and had no difficulty moving from one roof to another. As I approached the wall, I shifted my stride slightly then leapt outwards and up. I landed with my feet, spikes extended, gripping the wall a meter below the top and my hands, claws extended, gripping the top of the wall. Looking back, I saw Yda had stopped. I whistled for him to jump at me. Without hesitation, he ran and pounced, his hands gripping my feet as he hit the wall. Reaching up, he climbed over me, then slid over the wall and jumped down.

As he landed, there was a shot from the edge of the cleared area, which missed Yda as he had dropped to all fours and flattened himself against the ground. I returned fire as I levered myself over the wall and dropped to the ground myself. Several bullets hit my armour as I fell. The sound of them being fired gave me enough of a direction that my return fire was semi-accurate and forced them either to get their heads down or retreat; I doubted I’d hit them.

There was no point in waiting out in the open, so I headed toward the path the fleeing elves had made at a run, both of my smaller guns throwing bullets ahead of me; Yda ran behind. When we reached the edge of the forest, I paused to listen. I could hear someone running away and fired several shots in their direction before stepping into the bushes that had been shredded by the bullets. One almost dead elf was lying spread out on the ground at the beginning of a trail that had been cut through the forest by a sharp blade, forged by what I assumed was manipulated metal from one of the elves with Marcus. Either the blade or a different manipulation had pushed the broken foliage out of the way.

As I stepped onto the trail, a bullet slammed into my chest plate and drove me backwards. Once again, my armour had stopped most of the bullet. This time I was able to pull it loose to prevent it from pushing in hard against my skin. I kept my head low and peered through the foliage, considering my options. Without all my abilities, Marcus could move faster through the untamed wilds than I could. Following behind him would be even slower with the elves he could set up to watch their backtrail. I needed to get ahead of him. Whistling for Yda, I headed for one of the trails Carrick’s group had created.

This time, with Marcus almost certainly moving toward the southern trail, I pushed the pace we moved along the track to the limits of what I thought was safe. Twice during the run toward the main caravan route, we’d been forced to evade some attack that we’d not been prepared for. Still, I’d managed to deal with both without suffering anything beyond a few scratches to my armour. Reaching the main trail, I began running south. We’d only run a kilometre when I slowed; I’d heard the muffled sound of a firearm being discharged off to our left, perhaps three or four hundred meters away.

A little over four minutes later, there was another shot. They were headed toward the trail at an angle and, if nothing changed, would come out about two hundred meters south of us in about fifteen minutes. They were moving about a quarter of the speed they’d started out with, and I suspected they’d probably lost a few members. The wilds were very unforgiving of even the slightest mistake, especially if travelling through them was a novelty.

Both Yda and I were wounded; while his injuries were worse and it was clear he was exhausted, I was not only missing my usual advantages, but while the sodium had long since stopped reacting with my flesh, the flaring pain it had sent flashing through my body continued to resonate along my spine with occasional bursts travelling to my extremities. While I would have loved to blame the spider’s venom for my next move, I doubt I would have done anything differently even if I’d been in complete control of my decision-making processes. Without checking with Yda, I stepped off the trail and into the forest.

The first fifty metres were relatively clear of predators, and I suspected most of the ones who would typically be interested in a couple of trespassers would have been drawn to the sounds of Marcus’ flight. Yda whistled several warnings of what was underfoot, and we had to deal with several millipedes and several smallish spiders. Above ground, there were more insects than normal. While they and the smaller animals were predominantly moving toward the sounds, like the larger predators, most took any opportunity to attack when the opportunity was presented to them. I suspect it was the smell of fresh blood on both Yda and myself that attracted a few of the smaller predators.

Despite the constant need to swat, cleave, or eviscerate our attackers, we were in position to one side of the elves’ path eight minutes later. There were five of them left. Yda stepped back and disappeared. All, except the one at the front, were wearing armour. Whatever metal he had, he was using it as a sharp scythe which he moved back and forth to create a path through the wilds. It was clear that his strength was waning, and the width of the track he cut was less than a third of that I’d seen him make back at the compound. The constant changing of direction, coupled with pushing the cut material out of the way, was a waste of energy. This was why I used a wedge when I needed to clear a path through the wilds. If he’d asked for advice, I would have also suggested that his path was still too wide for the number of travellers.

Thankfully he hadn’t asked for instruction, and I had a clear view of all five elves. As he brought the scythe away from me, I shot an arrow that severed his spine at C2. I stepped back even as the elf at the rear screamed when Yda’s spear punctured her right lung on its way through her body before becoming stuck on the inside of her breastplate. Marcus and one of the others fired their automatic assault-style weapons to spray the area where the arrow had come from; not that I’d stayed in the same position, that would have been foolish. The other turned and searched the forest, looking for Yda.

I was interested to see what Marcus would do. He was powerful and could manipulate large amounts of metal. The problem was that he didn’t have much with him, and neither gold nor platinum was that useful when attacking others. Regardless, he should have at least manipulated small amounts to search the forest for dangers, but it seemed like he had never considered what to do if lost in the wilds. He was supposedly an excellent swordsman, but I suspected he had been relying on others for too long.

When nothing spectacular happened, I used the large calibre pistols and shot the last of Marcus’ companions. Marcus’ response was immediate, and as well as firing his weapon, fine filaments of gold and platinum speared into the area around where I was. Hundreds of fine threads found me, and they began to wrap themselves around me. My armour had sharpened edges on each of my limbs and with my strength, escaping was a simple matter of twisting and pulling away. Instead, I let the threads form into cords that shifted to bind my hands and ankles; with a pull, Marcus brought me tumbling to the ground. Yda queried what was happening, but I whistled for him to wait, then let Marcus pull me through the bush until he was staring down at me.

The next move belonged to Marcus. If it was me, knowing what I knew he knew, then I’d have shot me point blank with everything I had. I was prepared, sort of, for that, yet I doubted that even after everything that had happened, he respected me enough to consider me a serious threat. His view of life saw frailty and impotence everywhere except within himself. Whatever failures those around him had made, in Marcus’ mind, if their circumstances had been reversed, he was convinced he would have succeeded. The only person he feared was Isabelle, and I suspect he’d run because somehow he’d discovered she was on the way.

Marcus shook his head and said, “Well, Ida, it seems that all your so-called skills are inconsequential in the end. As I promised, you will die a nothing and a nobody. I’ll leave you here to rot, forgotten. In the larger scheme of things, you’ve only postponed my plans for a short time. I’ll return soon enough and deal with Isabelle. Kendrick understands that it is Isabelle’s weakness in dealing with the lesser races which keep this part of the world from progressing at the same rate as the Great Bay.”

I could see Marcus getting a little agitated by Yda’s and my high-frequency whistles. Yda’s were becoming insistent. I said, “High Lord Marcus, nothing has quite gone the way I wanted it to in the last few weeks. Even now, here, at the end, it seems my plans are to be thwarted once again. You see, I wanted to be the one to kill you, but instead, I suspect it is your own hubris that will end your life. Well, that and possibly a passel of possums.”

As Marcus looked up, he was hit in the chest by several of the vicious fifty-kilogram pack-hunters. Two landed on me, using their claws to try and rip through my armour as I began forcing my hands apart. I succeeded faster than expected as the metal practically disappeared as Marcus used it to flail into the mutated marsupials. As I rolled away, I used my knives to kill the few which attacked me. Several followed me into the bushes but most had leapt at Marcus. He had excellent control of the gold and platinum. Regardless of the relative weakness of the metals he manipulated, he used them to good effect.

While Marcus survived with only a few scratches, his armour had several large tears, which disappeared as he reformed the gold and platinum on the outside of the titanium alloy frame. With what sounded like a snarl, he sent metal filaments out in the direction I’d gone. This time I swept away the few that came close, cutting away the metal and depriving him of it. The part of the filaments still connected to him thickened as he sought to imprison me again. I kept moving and cutting away those fibres that found me; it wasn’t long before Marcus pulled the metal back.

Yda suggested several times that I end this, but I ignored him, watching and waiting. Marcus searched the bodies near him, gathering weapons and whatever metals he could. When he finished, he looked around, then slowly entered the dense jungle and headed toward the trail. Yda had rejoined me, and together we moved almost parallel to Marcus, with me just keeping him in sight. He disturbed one of the trapdoor spiders with his metal filaments, and although he killed the spider, its fangs had pushed through his armour.

Now, not counting my brush with the spider the day before, I had been bitten before, and I thought Marcus’ reaction was overly dramatic until I remembered that my system was more effective in dealing with the flesh-eating toxins than what an elf would have. Whether it was the pain Marcus was suffering or a matter of simple practicality, it doesn’t matter, but as Marcus stumbled to his feet, Yda whistled my name and the sound for a query. I looked over and could see what looked like disappointment written on his face. Sighing, I drew the large calibre pistols and shot Marcus through the head and the heart.

Yda nodded slowly, then took up his position behind me and to my left. Carefully, we worked our way out to the trail. With Marcus already being munched on, we needed to be more careful of the predators who’d been stalking him.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

By the time we got back to the turnoff to the compound, it was clear that Isabelle had arrived. The gates had been torn away, or more accurately, a wedge of steel had been thrust between them, then expanded to crush them against the posts. Isabelle rarely travelled without a significant amount of steel, just in case.

I ignored the elven guards and headed for the centre of the compound, where I could see the edge of the giant eyesore that Isabelle used for travel. I’d seen it used several times and considered it practical but rather ugly. No, ugly was the wrong word; it was utilitarian and plain and had none of the flourishes I’d come to expect from elves. More to the point, it looked somehow, out of place, in this new reality. Isabelle had positioned her carriage at the centre of an enormous wheel. She moved it using her skill with metal, and its sheer bulk ensured she had sufficient material to work with if she needed it.

Quade stood between Isabelle and Simon, talking quietly, while Olivia stood to one side. Nook was nowhere to be seen. As Yda and I approached, Quade stopped speaking, and all three elves looked up, their faces expressionless. Simon acknowledged me with a short bow of the head and said, “Ida, High Lord Quade has been detailing your actions since we last met. When we did not find High Lord Marcus, or yourself, we assumed you had followed him into the forest. Is it safe to assume that he and his followers have perished?”

I shrugged my shoulders and said, “He and eight others fled into the forest. One died at this end, and there were only four with him when Yda and I caught up with them. I assume the other three died, but I can’t say for certain. If I might be bold, how many remained behind in the compound?”

“There were thirty-one dead and six living.”

As he spoke, he glanced to one side where I saw six elves on their knees being guarded by some of Isabelle’s security forces. I didn’t see Rath among them and said, “What of the dead?”

“For their crimes, they will be denied a place in the crypt of remembrance. When we return to the city, they will be buried outside the wall among those who fall with dishonour.”

“If it is permitted, I would like to check their faces. During the assault, I was distracted and didn’t kill one of the elves I wanted to. I know he wasn’t in Marcus’ group, and he isn’t among the living. I’d like to make sure he’s dead.”

“I know the names of all those who fell. Who do you seek?”

“Rath.”

“High Lord Rath was not among the dead.”

“Could he be hiding somewhere?”

Spears of steel unravelled from the wheel and looked to flow across the ground, headed for each building. The sound of metal tearing could be heard around the compound as Isabelle drove the steel through the floors and deep into the ground, searching. Finally, after almost ten minutes, she said, “High Lord Rath is not hiding on the compound. I did find several caches of stored metal but none of High Lord Marcus’ followers. Rath did not exit the compound after we arrived.”

I was glad my face was hidden as I gritted my teeth in frustration. Hopefully, letting none of that show, I attempted a polite segue hoping to change the topic and find a way to leave. “High Lady Isabelle, thank you for checking. If he managed to escape, then I suspect I’ll hear of it. If that happens, I shall rectify my oversight. I thank you for lending me Lady Olivia and High Lord Quade. Without their assistance, I suspect you might indeed have reached Marcus first.”

Isabelle nodded her head at my expression of gratitude. With a slight grin, Simon, divining my purpose, said, “I am glad they were able to help. Won’t you rest with them while we conclude matters here? My lady’s guards can then provide security for us all as we travel back to the city.”

“Thank you for the offer, High Lord Simon. As it is still before noon, I’m confident we will be safe enough.”

Still grinning, yet speaking in his expressionless tone, he said, “Ida, I must insist. I suspect you have forgotten about your share of what was left behind by the traitors. If we assume High Lord Rath has escaped and accept that the forest claimed the three unaccounted for, then that left behind is divided into forty-eight shares. My lady claims six, High Lord Quade claims five, Lady Olivia claims three. The rest is yours.”

Quade and Olivia had included the five killed before we reached the compound. Knowing there was nothing to be done except accept the help to carry whatever could be claimed back to the city, I said, “I claim twenty-eight, Yda claims five and I cannot determine who the extra one belongs to. As for the share of the spoils, I think it is more appropriate to split it equally. Each played a vital part in finding and dealing with Marcus and his followers.”

Simon bowed his head slightly to acknowledge the comment, and it was clear he’d expected the response. He gestured toward Yda and me, then said, “Both of you are wounded. One of those with us is skilled in medicine. I suspect we will return to the city within the hour and suggest you let him check the wounds.”

I had no intention of letting an elven doctor check me over but didn’t want to discuss that in front of everyone. “Thank you, High Lord Simon, please point us in the right direction. I suspect my injuries are minor, but Yda has some deeper cuts which will need closing.”

Olivia was tasked with leading us to the doctor. As we walked away, Quade followed us with his eyes then resumed his conversation with his parents.

* * *

By the time the doctor had stitched and bound Yda’s wounds, I had managed to clean and bind my own. It was clear the doctor wanted to double-check my injuries, but Olivia backed me up when I insisted I was fine. After the doctor left the small room where he’d worked on Yda, I thanked Olivia. She said, “Lady Ida, it is clear that you are more than you make out to be, but I’ve come to trust you and therefore will respect your privacy. Having said that, I am concerned that you may be more hurt than you suggest.”

“Thank you. I value your trust. My wounds are minor, and I will heal quickly. I have some ongoing issues from the toxins Marcus and the spider poisoned me with, but I doubt there is anything to be done except wait and see. Besides, I need to get back to my shop and get things cleaned up. The market is only open for another two days, and I still have over three-quarters of my stock unsold, and I need the space to carry my own purchases.”

“It looks like we will be leaving soon. May I escort you to High Lady Isabelle’s carriage?”

“Thank you, but I think not. I mean no disrespect, and although I understand its usefulness and the security it provides for High Lady Isabelle, I find her carriage to be an eyesore. I will make my own way to the city. Please thank High Lady Isabelle for the invitation.”

Olivia left to convey my decision to Simon. I turned to Yda then whistled to ask if he was ready to return to the city. I had to use my hands to make the question clear, but there was no hesitation from Yda, and he stepped out first to make sure it was safe before whistling I could exit. It was tempting to tell him I would lead the way, but there was not the same compulsion to prove a point as there would have been if either Quade or Olivia had done as he had. Besides, I realised that if I’d moved first, he would have expected me to let him know if it was safe or not.

No one stopped us as we headed for the exit to the compound, although I was aware of Isabelle and her family’s silent scrutiny as we walked past them. We’d not even made the main trail when we were joined by both Olivia and Quade. Quade, as usual, said nothing. Olivia said, “Lady Ida, High Lord Simon suggested your trip might be expedited with some assistance. Apparently, not all of those with High Lord Marcus’ perspective were involved in yesterday’s games. As they were not in rebellion against High Lady Isabelle, they continue to hold their positions within the city. While it is unlikely they will seek to further his objectives so soon after his rebellion, High Lord Simon did not want you to be placed in the position of needing to cull even more of the city’s illustrious citizens.”

I silently acknowledged the comment, and nothing more was said as we made our way toward the city. We’d only travelled three kilometres when the rumble of Isabelle’s wheel could be heard approaching. After moving off the trail to let it past, Yda somehow picked up on my impatience; he shifted to his cat form and began loping after it.

* * *

When we arrived back at the city, I headed for Jack’s. I not only wanted to check that Temperance and Kell were OK but more acutely felt the need to check on the pups. As we approached Bol’s wagon, I could hear their whines and whimpers—noises from the animals, that is, not the apprentices. Someone had found a crate and laid down a bed of soft furs for them to lie on. The skins looked suspiciously like the furs I’d had Kell make from the tree rat pelts. Temperance was sitting beside the crate, holding one of the pups and feeding it a slurry of blood and what looked like diced liver and kidney.

The pup in Temperance’s arms detected our approach first and began mewling loudly, ignoring the food. Yda was obviously more observant than me in some things. He stepped forward to take the animal, holding it close and making several high pitched sounds that calmed the dog down. By then, the other one had also picked up our scent, and I reached in to pick it up. By the way, a quick check showed that it was a ‘her’. As I brought her close, her whimpering stopped for a moment until she discovered she wasn’t able to burrow close. Handing her to Temperance, I removed the armour from my left arm. When I held her close this time, she pushed in against my elbow and was quiet.

Temperance said, “I am glad you two are back. Obviously, I’m glad you’re alive, but these two have been worse than any baby. They’re always hungry and haven’t stopped whining except when they’re asleep. Even then, they stir at every strange smell.”

As she’d been speaking, she had had the opportunity to look us over. She said, “Lady Ida, you’ve been shot. Here, let me hold her.”

I waved her away and said, “It’s fine. The wounds are shallow and didn’t even need stitching. Yda was hurt more than me.”

Temperance looked over at the goblin, and I realised I’d not introduced them. Altogether it was an hour before Olivia and Quade led the way to the Sapphire section. Yda and I were next, carrying the pups. Behind us were Temperance and Bol. Bol was carrying the crate. I’m not entirely sure how the decision had been made, but Temperance had insisted either she or Kell come to help with the puppies. After the two apprentices disappeared for a minute, Temperance was the one who returned smiling.

Two elven guards were stationed outside the shop, and after I’d opened the doors, Olivia sent for several trolleys. When I asked what was happening, she said, “High Lord Simon suggested that it would be more appropriate if his guards disposed of the bodies in your shop rather than them being discovered in the early hours of tomorrow morning in some strange location displayed in a macabre diorama.”

I’d forgotten about the boxes of body parts and asked Olivia to thank Simon for me. Bol left after promising to bring Kell in the morning. After explaining to Olivia how care needed to be taken with the acid on some of the bodies, she and Quade left. Quade bowed slightly as he left, and I grudgingly did the same after realising I’d probably have to meet him or his parents sometime in the next two days.

Even though it was only mid-afternoon, I decided not to open the shop until the following day and spent the time getting everything clean. Everything included me, Yda, our armour and the weapons. I refilled each magazine and spent time with Yda working through a more comprehensive set of weapons for him. Our blood-stained and sweat-soaked clothes came in handy as bedding for the puppies and meant we didn’t have to hold them all the time. It turned out that both puppies were female, and I was glad Temperance was there as they were hungry every few hours. With our rather offensively scented laundry wrapped on her arm, they would let her hold them to be fed.

Like most goblins, Yda initially showed little preference for what he wanted to eat and was prepared to share what Temperance had brought for the dogs. Instead, I convinced him to wait while I prepared, with Temperance’s help, some bread, greens, eggs and bacon for our dinner. Neither the bread nor greens received much praise. He ate the egg, but I think he would have preferred it raw. Bacon, on the other hand, he devoured; I have no idea what the whistles meant, but he gave the cured meat a name with almost a dozen notes. I double-checked the locks before heading to bed but wasn’t too concerned that we would be disturbed, as guards in Isabelle’s colours were roaming the streets. Temperance and I slept in the wagon. Yda chose to sleep on the floor of the storage area, the puppies curled up against his side.

Despite being exhausted, sleep didn’t come quickly. Marcus might be dead but I still had to decide on how to deal with Fiona and Quade, not to mention finding a way to help Cala. No, life was suddenly more complex than it had been for a long, long time. Perhaps it had always been this complex but I’d not realised it. Well, come what may, I was now awake and ready to meddle.

* * *

End of Ida’s Awakening

Becoming Middle Earth—Book One

Characters

Name - Mentioned by name in Ida’s Awakening

Name in Bold - A significant role in Ida’s Awakening

* * *

Alistair - High Lord Alistair is a powerful elf, his life partner is High Lady Jocelyn, and he is the father of Lady Fiona.

Bernadette (Bird) - High Lady Bernadette is an elf. She usually goes by the name Bird and is a good friend of Lord Laurence.

Bol - Bol is a dwarf and a member of the caravan to the Grand Market. His partner is Jenn, and he is the father of Jenria. He is exceptionally tall, even for a dwarf.

Cala Castle - Cala is a dwarf whose clan lives west of the city near Mt Barney. She is one of Ida’s regular customers and also a friend.

Carrick - Carrick is a dwarf and leads the criminal dwarf clan under Isabelle’s city.

Darin - Darin, a human, lives in a settlement near Ida’s home. He is Temperance’s older brother.

Dray - Dray is Temperance’s father and chief of the village closest to Ida’s home.

Fiona - Lady Fiona is an elf who manipulates titanium, iron, steel and their alloys. She is the daughter of High Lord Alistair and High Lady Jocelyn.

Grond - Grond is a dwarf in Carrick’s criminal clan and works as a high-level enforcer.

Helen - High Lady Helen is an elven antiques’ merchant who had a shopfront next to Ida’s in the Sapphire Section of the Grand Market.

Howard - High Lord Howard is an elf. He is a good friend of Lord Laurence.

Ida - Ida is one of those transformed by a TSNS and considers herself one of the Maiar, a wizard. Both a weapons’ master and weapons’ maker. Previously she has used the names Enid, Quinn and Temperance.

Isabelle - High Lady Isabelle is the elven ruler of what was Brisbane. She is powerful and manipulates iron and basic steel. She is Ida’s granddaughter. Her life partner is High Lord Simon, and their son is High Lord Quade.

Jack Hammer - Jack is a dwarf and the caravan leader to the Grand Market. He is the father of Kell.

Jaguar - Lord Jaguar is an elf and the son of High Lord Marcus and High Lady Kerrigan.

Jaze - High Lady Jaze is an elf. She is Lord Laurence’s beloved.

Jocelyn - High Lady Jocelyn is an elf; she is High Lord Alistair’s life partner and the mother of Lady Fiona.

Kadar - Lord Kadar is an elf and a weapons’ master working for High Lady Isabelle and High Lord Simon.

Kell - Kell is a dwarf and a member of the caravan to the Grand Market. Her father is Jack Hammer, and she becomes Ida’s second apprentice.

Kendrick - High Lord Kendrick is the elven ruler of what was Sydney and is now called, The Great Bay.

Kerrigan - High Lady Kerrigan is an elf; she is the life partner to High Lord Marcus and the mother of Lord Jaguar.

Kieran - Lord Kieran is a young elf who manipulates titanium, basic steel and bronze. He is a friend of Fiona’s.

Krater - Krater is a dwarf who belongs to one of the northern tribes. He and five wagons joined Jack Hammer’s caravan to the Grand Market.

Laurence - Lord Laurence is an elf who manipulates copper. He is the beloved of High Lady Jaze, a friend of Ida’s, and is an author of fiction.

Leyland - Lord Leyland is an elven toll guard at the entrance into the Grand Market.

Malor - Malor is a dwarf and a member of Jack’s caravan.

Matthew - High Lord Matthew is an elven high-end fabric merchant who had a shopfront next to Ida’s in the Sapphire Section of the Grand Market.

Marcus High Lord Marcus is a powerful elf, life partner to High Lady Kerrigan and the father of Lord Jaguar. He can manipulate gold and platinum.

Nadia - Nadia is a dwarf in Carrick’s criminal clan and works as a high-level enforcer.

Nook - Nook is a dwarf in Carrick’s criminal clan and works as a high-level enforcer.

Olivia - Lady Olivia is an elven guard who works for High Lord Simon.

Orlando - High Lord Orlando is the emissary of High Lord Kendrick to High Lord Marcus. He manipulates steel, cobalt and sodium.

Quade - High Lord Quade is the son of High Lady Isabelle and High Lord Simon. He manipulates tungsten, platinum and aluminium.

Rath - High Lord Rath is an elf who works for high Lord Marcu.

Sawyer - Sawyer is a dwarf and a member of Jack’s caravan.

Simon - High Lord Simon is an elf who oversees the Grand Market. He is the life partner of High Lady Isabelle and the father of High Lord Quade.

Temperance - Temperance is a human who can control gravity. She is from a settlement near Ida’s home and is Ida’s first apprentice.

Tobias - Tobias is a dwarf from near Sydney (The Great Bay). He was brought to Brisbane by High Lord Orlando for the games hosted by High Lord Marcus.

Yda - Yda is a goblin from near Sydney (The Great Bay). He was brought to Brisbane by High Lord Orlando for the games hosted by High Lord Marcus. He is a self-proclaimed member of Ida’s tribe.

Also by Tony Corden

The Stork Tower Series

Book 1 - Nascent

Book 2 - Odyssey

Book 3 - Change

Book 4 - Rescue

Book 5 - Ipseity

Book 6 - Contest

Book 7 - Resurrection

Book 8 - Skirmish

Book 9 - War (coming soon)

Weaves of Empire Series

Book 1 - The Way of Sacrifice

Book 2 - The Way of Justice

Book 3 - The Way of Courage (coming soon)

Writing as Ethan Stand

THESE ARE ALL ONGOING SERIES WITH SHORT STORY LENGTH EPISODES

The Hive

Infection / Elude / Distract / Respite

Plans / Defend / Extricate / Dodge

Draconis

Pulsar / Inform / Warrant / Proem

Armour / Blizzard

Prepared

Vapour / Delay / Privacy

Pandemic

Outbreak

Liberty

Duty / Moving / Surveil / Alibi

Family 9