Still Falling: Book 1: Solstice 31 Saga (6 page)

“Wait. What is your name?” The suit stopped but didn't turn around.

The suit seemed to pause and consider the question. “I have no name.” And it was gone, fading into the deeper black.

A minute later, Olias was there with the horses. They spoke rapidly in a language that sounded familiar, but Barcus could not understand. Po pointed into the darkness where the suit had gone. He understood a single phrase as she talked: “the demon with no face and no name.”

Just then, another barn collapsed, but this time it fell across the road into the buildings on the opposite side. Olias looped the rope over the pommel of the horse Po held for him, and they left the village, Po towing the single pack horse and Olias with two rows of well-disciplined horses. If they rode all night, they would be there by noon the next day.

“What will they tell them?” Em asked.

“The truth,” Barcus replied.

***

Barcus and Em began to move once again into the forest. The tactical display showed them moving away from the ruined village north as Po and Olias moved east.

The tactical display showed they were moving to the point they had called The Abbey.

Without prompting, Em said, “I think the BUGs have found a good place to shelter.”

It also showed the village where the survivors were headed.

“By horseback, it would be about seven days from that village to The Abbey. Even then, there are no direct routes.”

“Are we officially calling it 'The Abbey' then?”

“You started it.”

Is she teasing me?

“Real names are easier to remember,” Em said.

Barcus could feel himself crashing. So much adrenaline followed by nothing but burning coals of anger.

“Em, What do we know about this Citadel?” Barcus asked.

“Nothing at this time,” she replied coldly.

“Make it a priority to find out.” His anger was bleeding though.

“What are you planning?” Concern was hinting in her voice.

“I don't know, just do it,” Barcus barked at Em.

The tactical display became transparent as they resumed a stealthy pace toward the point called The Abbey. They walked for almost the entire night in a creek that flowed shallow now but had indications it flowed fast and hard in the spring.

The beast with no name shadowed the survivors a half a kilometer into the forest on the north side the entire night. There was no need to get any closer. BUGs fed info back to Em, who was driving the suit herself via remote.

It wasn't long before the adrenaline crash finally came. Barcus slept deeply for the second night in a row. Em kept the ride smooth. As Barcus slept, Em closed the windows that followed Po and Olias but left their icons on the tactical to show that they had gotten safely to the eastern village. She didn't show how the southern portion of the village eventually burned to the foundations. She didn't show what Po told the elders of that village. She didn't show that Trackers were dispatched that found the story to be true. They also found the tracks of the “Faceless Beast” and followed them back to an overlook above their own village.

Em had the suit turn to climb into the mountains to lose the Trackers. These Trackers were good. It took the beast much longer to evade them than he thought. It eventually required some chasm leaps and waterfall drops and river runs to lose them. They were brave and relentless.

They didn't follow the spider tracks. Em didn't know if they simply didn't recognize them or if their bravery only went so far.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Abbey

“This is where the data shows that Em began to know far more than she conveyed. The hostile environment module has complex higher functions. It sorted and used the data at an amazing rate.”

--Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: Emergency Module Digital Forensics Report. Independent Tech Analysis Team.

<<<>>>

After Barcus had waked, they stopped by a long, narrow scenic lake.

Barcus decided that he’d had enough power bars and set up a camp kitchen to make some real food. “Real” may have been the wrong term. He still used survival rations but kicked it up a notch. He decided on eggs with onions and cheese with potatoes, toast, fruit, coffee and orange juice.

Em supplied the water, already boiling hot, and soon Barcus was perched on a camp stool eating a hearty breakfast overlooking a beautiful lake.

Em's image had not been in evidence this morning until Barcus asked her, “Did Po and Olias make out okay?”

She seemed to walk from behind a rock as she said, “Yes. They were welcomed and taken in immediately. Po, by the inn keeper’s wife, Olias by the blacksmith. Olias was apparently already a blacksmith apprentice. Bringing the horses was a really good idea.”

“For some reason, neither of them mentioned you. I will keep an eye on them. It will be useful. I have learned several things already.”

“Oh, like what?”

“There is a complex caste system in place here. What you do, how you act, your entire role in society is based on your place in that system. There are many 'ladders' in the system as well. I hope to refine my understanding of it as time passes. This was not evident in that first small, remote, forest village we encountered.”

“Why could she understand me?”

“Standard English is known as the High Tongue here. Only the highest castes use it. Not everyone speaks it, but they all recognize it. The lower castes don't speak it at all. The language they are using is a derivation of English which has become so colloquial and accented that it bears little resemblance to English and is quite difficult to understand.”

Their conversation paused a moment.

“Do you understand them yet?”

“I'm getting close. In a few more days, I will have a basic understanding, so if we encounter anyone else, I can translate for you.

Barcus finished his breakfast as Em gave him this update.

“I have had the BUGs exploring The Abbey in great detail. I believe that it will be perfect for our long-term needs. Oh, and I have discovered something new about The Abbey.”

“Anything unusual?” Barcus sipped his coffee, trying to focus.

“Yes, actually. The outer wall is too perfect to be made by hand. I believe it is actually a Colony Redoubt structure. The outer wall is exactly 91.44 meters in diameter and doesn't vary even a centimeter except where the wall was destroyed.”

“What does that mean? I vaguely remember something about Colony Redoubts from elementary school.”

“Early Colony ships were equipped with large machines called Makers - single function AI Bots that built Redoubts. One of the standard Redoubt Designs was 100 yards in diameter. We will know more when we get there. The BUGs can only go so many places.”

“Didn't Makers use local materials, like sand and water and fibers to make foamcrete buildings? That and the volcano were the most popular science fair projects. I made a Maker myself.”

Em's shoulders were shaking as if she were laughing.

“What?” Barcus said over a mouthful of toast.

“Elementary school? You built a Maker?”

“Never mind that. What else did you find out about The Abbey?”

Em shook her head and sat on a rock. A translucent ghost in the full sun.

“It has not been occupied for decades. The road that once led to it was reclaimed by the forest. It's about a week away from the nearest populated town or village, and no one goes there ever. Not even Trackers or hunters.”

“Trackers? Hunters?”

“They are the only ones, as far as I can tell, that wander and use abandoned villages or other places.”

***

Barcus finished his coffee, cleaned up after his meal and headed out. It took them a few more days to reach the ruins because they went slowly so as to leave less of a trail.

The suit had rendezvoused with them the day before they reached the Abbey. It was noticeably cooler there. The elevation was higher. The leaves were in full autumn glory.

They made their initial approach to The Abbey from the side where the wall was destroyed. Then, they circumnavigated the fortress. The walls were bleached white upward for the first ten meters. Above that there was gray cut block for another two meters and then battlements above that. As they continued around, they found there was a huge main gate and tower with a bridge on the north end. There wasn't a moat there, just a deep ditch with a sharp rocky bottom. Water might flow there in the rainy season, but it was currently dry. The portcullis and huge doors were closed. If the gates had been opened, two carts could cross the bridge at the same time, four horses abreast. It quietly amused Barcus that he used that as his mental measurement.

“This bridge seems also to be an aqueduct,” Em said, indicating on the HUD the path the aqueduct followed from the north for just over one kilometer to a mountain river. It was running even now in what Em believed the driest part of the year. “The intake is about 90 meters higher than we are at this point, supplying water to The Abbey year round. Clever.” She indicated the bridge on the HUD.

“We need to test the wood decking before we use it. The door works have also been destroyed from the inside. They must have been trying to keep someone out.”

“Shitload of good it did them,” Barcus said as they rounded the last turn again to the broken wall and rubble.

The stony ditch had prevented some but not all of the forest from encroaching. It continued almost all the way around. A few small, brave trees tried to find purchase there.

The spider climbed the rubble easily. The wall had been breached about halfway up. Barcus had Em pause at the top so he could have a look. The wall itself was about two and a half meters thick. At the top, where the materials changed, it looked like there had been a square, meter-sized tunnel going in both directions, surrounded by gray block. The one on his left side was dry, but the one on the right side had water running in a steady stream out of it that got lost in the rubble.

“I think that water is coming from the aqueduct. Before the wall was destroyed, this probably held water for the entire Abbey.”

“I estimate that the Abbey itself, in its prime, housed about 300 people, Barcus. There were stables, kitchens, barracks and a hall.”

“What the hell happened?”

From their vantage on the wall, they could see that the main sanctuary of the cathedral had suffered massive damage.

“It looks like an explosion just to the side here.” The HUD rendered a roof where it might have stood, then performed a slow-motion simulation of what Em thought would have caused this amount of destruction.

“The roofs of the perimeter buildings were impacted by flying debris, here, here and here.” The HUD indicated the damage. “The buildings on the southernmost part of The Abbey were least affected.”

“There must have been an assault of some kind after the explosion. All but a few inner doors have been destroyed. The rest are burned or torn from the hinges.”

Em slowly began to descend the ramp of rubble, which continued right to the foundations of the cathedral and down further into the basement and even the crypts below. Water was running here, and a pool filled the lowest part. The floor of half of the cathedral was still there, creating an overhang above rubble and deep shadows. Em walked directly in, her legs neatly straddling the large pool of water. As Barcus was walking into the darkness, his personal HUD automatically used light amplification. The far end of the cathedral was evenly cast with rubble and debris. The flat of the flooring could be sensed below the layer of stone rubble. At the far end, a staircase climbed up into the base of the tower that was still standing straight.

“This will make an excellent garage for the spider, Em.”

“Maybe after we tidy up a bit,” Em quipped.

Barcus looked over at the other seat to see that she was smiling at him.

“I want to get out.” Barcus had stood before Em replied. The spider rotated so that the front of the module aimed out toward the opening. Only the far collapsed wall was visible, touched by a corner of sunlight.

Barcus stepped out of the hatch and the spider rose, leaving him standing on the debris-strewn floor. He moved toward the steps that were also scattered in rubble until he reached the first landing. He looked up and could see more winding stairs that climbed far into the shadows. They were each about a meter wide and had no railing at all. He climbed the way to the top, emerging in the belfry quietly and the sunlight. The massive bell lay on its side in the corner opposite the stairs opening. The view was spectacular.

To the south, Barcus could see an overgrown willow tree in a courtyard at the exact opposite end of The Abbey. It was higher than the wall and completely filled the courtyard; it had seen better days.

The buildings to either side of it looked in very good condition. “Em, have you assessed those buildings?”

“Yes. I believe they are our best bet for long-term shelter.”

Barcus could see to his right that one of the courtyards had a great mountain of ash and charcoal. He made a mental note of that and after looking around in all directions began his descent.

At ground level the tower made up one side of the main gate. If enemies entered the main gate, they were forced to do so directly below the tower, and they were funneled around to the left, exposed to battlements above on both sides. It was a classic kill zone.

He began to explore the desolate, abandoned place. It felt so empty.

The main hall was above a reception courtyard. A wide staircase ran up about two meters to enter the hall - another obvious line of defense. Visitors could be both welcomed with hospitality and easily contained. The roof here was damaged. Inside, decades of rain and bird habitation had taken their toll. The far end had a dais and a stone throne. Doors behind the dais were off their hinges.

Inner courtyards were segregated by beautifully crafted stone walls. All the courtyards were overgrown with trees. All the gates and doors between these spaces were off the hinges.

Finally, Barcus made it the willow tree. It stood in the center of a dry fountain in the middle of this courtyard at the south end of the keep. The courtyard was paved with large flat slate flagstones, fit together expertly like a puzzle, and only two saplings had found purchase between the slabs of paving stones.

The back gate remained on its hinges but stood ajar. There was just enough room to squeeze through. The black iron hinges were frozen. Without prompting, Em spoke.

“I think the doors and gates that were not destroyed were open at the time of the attack 50 or 60 years ago.”

This gate and its archway through the wall, was big enough for a single cart to enter and drive around the fountain. To the left of the open gate, an archway showed where the stables had been. To the right was the gatekeeper’s guard house through another arch. The door was closed.

Barcus tried the latch, and it opened easily. There were two rooms about five meters square and a loft over the room in the back. Each room had a hearth and fireplace. The windows in the back room were gone. Leaves had collected in all the corners as the wind blew in the window and down the spiral stairway in the corner of the back room.

The door slammed suddenly.

Barcus jumped. Em quickly chimed in. “That must be why the door stayed closed.”

He went up the spiral stairs to find an entrance to the loft that was thick with old bird droppings. Up another level, and another open but functional door led to the battlements. The last level went up to the gate tower. This tower was much smaller than the north tower.

A mirrored stair led down on the other side to barracks above the stables and the tack room below. The open balcony all along the inside had let in a lot more weather and evidence of animals.

Crossing the courtyard, he returned to the gatehouse. Em was leaning against the mantel. She said, “Welcome home.”

Barcus spent the rest of the day exploring The Abbey. The gatehouse remained the best option for a residence. Most of the furniture had been removed or destroyed decades ago. The large pile of ash and charcoal was mostly furniture, tools, materials and sadly, there was also evidence of books. Whoever did this wanted to render this place difficult to occupy again. There were even signs that they had attempted to burn the only wood in the structure - the heavy wood beams for the roofs.

He found a strong three-legged stool and a narrow cot, and he made a table out of a door and two empty ruined casks. His favorite find was a straw broom.

In short order, the cobwebs, dust, and leaves were swept out of the gatehouse. Barcus knew it would need a good scrub later, but there would be plenty of time for that.