Chapter 72: The Peaks

“Fuck!” Ann yelled in frustration, beating a hand into the sand. “Why the fuck can’t I win?”

“You’re pissed and getting sloppy,” Remmi said bluntly. She was leaning against the post she’d driven into the ground, watching Kat and Ann fight. “You’re done for the day. Stretch, cool down, body and mind.

“I’m back at square one!” Ann cried out, unable to escape her frustration. “I’d just gotten used to fighting, and now I’m doing something completely different. Yeah, you’re right. It’s pissing me the fuck off.”

“Yeah. I’d be concerned if you weren’t kinda pissed,” Remmi shrugged. “Means you give a shit and are very aware of how much you need to improve. Stretch. Now,” Remmi commanded.

Ann unhappily sat and began to stretch her arms and legs.

“Kid, you’re getting started. Kat’s an experienced warrior and you have no fucking chance against her. You’ve been fighting Warped, while she’s been trained by people, on people,” Remmi sighed, crouching down next to Ann as she stretched. “You’ll probably be better when you go up against a Warped, but do you think that’s all you’ll be fighting?”

“I sure hope it is,” Ann muttered, leaning to her side.

“Well, thing is, you won’t. Guarantee you’re going to run afoul of some jackass that’ll want to hurt you or someone you care about. Especially considering who you’ve hooked up with,” Remmi cast her eyes towards Kat. “She’s a shield and a target at the same time, and you’ve gone and attached yourself to her. You need to be ready for anything that comes at you, and I want to make sure you’re absolutely ready for that.”

“Shit, I might be a bigger target than she is,” Ann said under her breath.

“How’s that?” Remmi asked.

Ann started, not expecting her mentor to hear the words. “Um… shit. Well, thing is, it’s a secret right now. One sec.” She jumped to her feet and trotted over to Kat. After a brief conversation, she returned.

“Sorry, just had to check. Need to have your word you’ll keep quiet about this for a bit. We’re planning to announce it eventually, but need to have things prepared,” Ann said, returning to her stretching next to Remmi.

“Well, you’re my responsibility, and I’ve got plenty of oaths to hold myself to. As long as it doesn’t go against any of them, I swear,” Remmi promised with confidence.

“My Path is Warrior of Orenous. I’m her Champion by title. That’s why I’m probably a bigger target,” Ann said in a low voice now that she knew Remmi could hear.

“Might want to cover your mouth if you say that in an open space,” Remmi advised. “Lip reading isn’t common, but is a skill people investigating a new person might have. Thanks for sharing. Makes sense, at least about the target thing. It also means you need my training even more.”

“Yeah,” Ann sighed. “Sorry, I just lost my shit there for a minute.”

“You did, but you cooled down. Gotta make sure you focus that anger and frustration into getting better. Plus, it’s not a bad thing to have feelings,” Remmi laughed. “Gods know I get pissed off a lot. Always been one to run hot. Got me in a lot of shitty spots growing up. This body and the Path I’m on? All a result of me getting into fights I mostly started because I couldn’t control my temper. Age’s mellowed me out a bit, though, so now I get to teach pups like you.”

“What is your path?” Ann asked, then blushed, remembering the privacy most people treated the information with. “Sorry, just, if you don’t mind.”

“Eh, you shared yours. Mine’s Punished Pugilist. It revolves around taking hits and hitting back even harder,” Remmi explained. “Won’t go into details on skills, since that’s where strengths and weaknesses get exposed.”

“Ooh, cool,” Ann whistled, finishing her stretching.

“It’s nothing flashy, and can be a dangerous Path to manage, but I’ve made it work. You’ll make yours work too, so keep an eye on the goal. Don’t let your being shit for now get in the way of you being the shit later.”

“Motivational speaking a part of your Path?” Ann chuckled, standing and looking down at her mentor, cocking an eyebrow.

“Nah, but sass seems to be part of yours,” Remmi chuckled. “Good work today. See you tomorrow for another lesson.”

“See ya!” Ann waved, trotting over to where Kat, Bren, and Rosalyn had gathered.

“The bruise has arrived,” Kat teased, elbowing a tender spot in Ann’s side.

“Lay off Katlyn,” Bren sighed. “Can you not see her ego is bruised enough? My magic only heals the body.” As he spoke, he started casting, restoring Ann’s stamina and health.

“You’re doing better than I would,” Rosalyn said, reaching up to hold Ann’s hand comfortingly.

“Thanks, lambchop,” Ann smiled down at her lover, pushing a lock of grey hair out of her face. “So, that’s it. I need to go wipe down, then we’ve got the rest of the day, yeah? Whatever you wanted to do later, right, Kat?”

“Tha’s still a surprise,” Kat said haughtily, winking. “Fer now, go get yer cute arse cleaned. We can hold off on, erm, celebrations until later. See ye in twenty out by the gate?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Ann raced back to their room, quickly wiped down, making sure to get all the sweat and sand off her, before dressing and re-joining her party. It didn’t take long, but gave her some time to think. She was still kind of pissed at how far back she’d slid, skill wise. The progress she’d been making with Kat, figuring out how to defend herself with her sword and get more hits in, was gone. She was back to getting her ass handed to her. Now she also had to deal with a significant range disadvantage.

On the other hand, once she got inside, Kat would have to fight her off from an awkward spot, but that was the difficult part. Getting in. Ann chuckled to herself. Not like she had problems getting in the woman in other ways. She’d just have to work twice as hard, and trust Remmi that she’d have fewer problems with Warped.

Making the final turn before the front courtyard, she spotted her friends speaking with a retinue of guards.

“Hey, what’s the hubub?” Ann asked, stopping short of hugging Kat and ruining any official presence the woman possessed.

“Ah, just news. Me elder sister’s gonna be gettin’ back ‘ere in a few days. Says she needs a break from Thalten, an’ that shite out there’s calm enough to excuse the absence,” Kat explained, waving the guards away. They saluted, turned, and marched off into the city. “Guard’s gettin set up tae receive ‘er. Bein’ the heir, she gets the whole welcome, security, minders an’ servants.”

“Things our dear Katlyn would vehemently refuse,” Bren chuckled.

“Junia, right?” Ann asked, trying to remember Kat’s sister’s name. “What’s she like? Or did you already say?”

“Nae, let’s talk while we walk. I wanna show ye two the lights,” Kat said, gesturing to the others to follow her.

“She is every bit the diplomat Katlyn is not,” Bren began. “Polar opposites, if you would. She shares her father’s interest in politics and lacks all but the barest traces of her mother’s accent.”

“Aye, an’ she’s a nosy cunt, too,” Kat laughed. She didn’t seem to mean any offense by the comment. “I’m expectin’ tae get dragged away tae be interrogated on all o’ this.” She waved in the general direction of Ann and Rosalyn.

“Oh, so she’s a girly girl, huh?” Rosalyn piped up. “The kind who liked dolls and dresses, and makeup. Dancing with boys and the like?”

“Nailed it,” Kat confirmed.

“Knew a couple girls like that back in River’s Crest. They were… very different. I couldn’t really get to know them that well. Not with how much I liked being alone.”

“She look like you?” Rosalyn asked, remembering the striking similarities between her girlfriend and the queen.

“Nae, actually. More o’ me da’ in ‘er. She’s slim, dainty, feckin’ pretty, too. Eyes o’ silver an’ long blond hair. At least, last I saw ‘er. It’s been a few years. Got tha’ whole ethereal look goin’ tha’ other Alfhindur ‘ave. Seems tae ‘ave skipped me ma an’ I.”

Ann’s mind wandered, creating a stereotypical elf with the description as Kat described Junia.

“One thing I do ‘ave on ‘er is height. Always been the tall one o’ the kids,” Kat said, puffing her chest out proudly.

“I am not so sure about that,” Bren hemmed. “Kierran is nearing the time she should get much taller. She is nearing thirty.”

Ann had to re-focus. “I’m sorry, thirty?”

“Aye? Why?”

“Hold on, I think I’ve misunderstood something,” Ann said, holding up her hands defensively. “How does age work for Alfhindur?”

“We’re kids until we hit forty?” Kat said, with a confused lilt. “From there we age kinda slowly until two hundred or so, then start gettin’ old an’ wrinkly.”

“Forty years as a kid,” Ann said under her breath. “Damn, sorry. I kinda thought you’d age like normal and then stop at eighteen to twenty.”

“Is that a concept from the stories of your time?” Bren asked, leaning in.

“Pretty much. Elves were all over the place in how they aged. Some of them just popped up as they were until they died. Some had a quick maturation that fed into an eternal life. It really depended on the author.”

“It sounds like you would be more accurate describing the Bultrong’s life cycle then,” Bren said. “They have a relatively short youth. Their legends have it that they were made to work, and Voltid made it so they could find their purpose as soon as possible. A forge God always wants for extra hands.”

“That sounds in line with what I expect from dwarves,” Ann shrugged. “Are they all like that, though? The busybody, workaholic types?”

“No, of course not,” Rosalyn explained this time. “Just because that’s the legend doesn’t mean all of them fit the mould. Everyone’s their own person and you have plenty of variance. Not just because of the whole mutation things everyone has to deal with, but personality, their circumstances. They’re a race like any other.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. Shit, was that racist?” Ann cringed.

“You come from a place of ignorance. No offense was meant,” Bren waved her off. “Ah, there are the lifts.”

Before them was a small building. It was squat, nondescript, with no windows, and a pretty normal looking door. As they approached, Ann began to note the large number of guards either loitering around or actively keeping watch. If they wanted to keep the place a secret, that wasn’t the best way to do it.

A man in a crisp uniform approached them as they walked towards the building.

“Good afternoon princess,” the man saluted. “Here for an inspection? We did not receive word of your visit.”

“Nae, Sergeant. Just wanted tae show me friends the lenses an’ all tha’. Mind lettin’ us up?”

“I will need to clear the visit with the Captain. Please, wait here,” he gestured to where they stood, and hurried off into the building.

They stood around, watching guards mill about, trying to look casual and failing miserably. Rosalyn started to hum a tune Ann had never heard of, rocking back and forth on her heels.

The Sergeant returned, snapping off a quick salute. “You are clear to proceed, highness. Have a pleasant tour.”

“Dismissed,” Kat said casually, letting the man get back to his day. “All right, we’ve got some cool shite ‘ere. Ever been on a lift?”

“No.”

“Yeah.”

Rosalyn looked up at Ann, confusion in her eyes. “I’ve never been on one ‘cause I lived out in the country. Our buildings only go two stories. When did you get a chance?”

“Erm, back a while ago,” Ann said, trying to talk around her past. “We had really tall buildings and used lifts all the time.”

“Betcha they ain’t nothin’ like these,” Kat laughed proudly.

Entering the building, a soldier at the desk shot to his feet, saluting. “One moment, princess. The last team sent up to inspect the lenses should be on their way back down.”

“Tha’s fine,” Kat said, leaning up against the wall.

The rest of the room was barren save for one other desk and two bookshelves. On the far wall, the outline of two doors was visible in the stone, but Ann couldn’t see any way to open them. Eventually, a soft shuffling sound could be heard, and the doors slid open. Twenty men and women filed out, all in thick, warm uniforms covered in snow.

“Rough day up on the peaks?” Kat asked casually.

“Yeah, it’s tough. Thankfully bright, but Eas must be havin’ fun up there with the winds. Shit’s blowing powder up from all over the mountain.”

“Gods don’t have fun, Jerome,” one of the women chided.

“Sure they do,” Jerome defended himself. “Isn’t that all Orenous is about?”

“Love is serious business,” the woman balked, slugging him in the shoulder. “Don’t let me hear you blaspheming the Goddess you prayed to for your girlfriend.”

Their bickering faded as they left the building, headed back into the city. The doors on the opposite wall stood open, interior unobservable from their point of view.

“Shite, this is gonna suck. Rosalyn, the second ye get a spell tae ‘elp wit’ cold, please?” Kat pleaded, half joking, as she led the way through the doors.

The lift itself was an octagonal room, about forty or fifty feet across, large enough to fit a good amount of people, or larger equipment if needed. Prodding at a plate set into the wall, Kat stood back.

“Be careful not tae touch the walls, an’ ye’re gonna feel yer ears pop. Up we go!”

A rumbling shook the wide stone plate beneath them before they rose. Ann looked around, trying to find the device, but she couldn’t see anything. Soon, light crystals in carved out alcoves sped by them as they ascended the shaft. Looking up, she tracked their progress by how many more lights they had to pass.

“How does this work?”

“Fairly simply,” Bren said, joining her in looking up into the dizzying heights. “We’re on the end of a large stone column. Magic is being used to propel the pillar up the shaft smoothly and mostly consistently. Depending on the weight of the passengers, the trip can be quicker or slower.”

“So there’s a pillar as deep as the mountain is tall under us?”

“More or less, yes.”

“Isn’t that kinda insane?”

“Is it insane if it works?” Bren asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Hardly efficient, but safe, secure, and has been in service for hundreds of years.”

“Huh,” Ann grunted in acknowledgement. “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. I’m gonna fall over if I keep looking up like this.”

“Me too,” Bren laughed with a shudder. “Makes me slightly nauseous. Heights in general, actually.”

“Guess we’ve all got our own things to be scared about. Me? Can’t stand centipedes.”

“Centipedes?” Bren asked.

“Bugs with a hundred legs. They were like that snake thing back in the lake, or whatever the hell Rosalyn described that one time. Now make that mostly flat, covered in armour, with mandibles. I absolutely hate them.”

“They sound like fearsome creatures,” Bren murmured. “How did your people deal with them? Swords? Firearms?”

Ann let out a bark of laughter. “No, no. They were mostly tiny. The largest ones were like, ten inches long or something? You could just squash them with your shoe.”

At that point, the lift slowed, coming to a halt at another set of stone doors that slid open for them. Beyond was another room, much like the one at the base of the lift.

“Your highness,” the woman at the desk called, saluting. “I’d advise wearing a coat out today. There are spares on the hooks over there.”

“Thank ye,” Kat nodded. She and Bren got bundled up and met Ann and Rosalyn at the door. “Ye’re so feckin’ lucky cold doesn’t bother ye,” the Protector grumbled.

Pushing outside, literally, since the wind sought to keep the door shut, they exited onto the side of the mountain Korvas called home. Everyone braced as wind whipped and whistled past them, hair, fur, and ears being tossed around by the gale like toys.

“Ok! I would advise this being a shorter trip!” Bren shouted over the gale.

“I’m cool with that!” Rosalyn yelled back.

They trudged over to a set of structures set into a stone outcropping nearby. As they neared, Ann could see that the outcropping wasn’t natural, but created to surround an indent in the mountain’s top.

“Here is the housing of the primary lens!” Bren explained. “If you get closer to the edge of the hole, you can look down into it!”

Taking his instructions, Ann crept forward. Below her was indeed a lens, clear, brilliant glass reflecting the cold light of the sun overhead. It was about fifty feet in diameter and shone with a brilliance that couldn’t be natural.

“Why’s it glowing like that?”

“Enchantments!” Bren yelled back over a gust that nearly took him off his feet. “The glass workers for this piece enchanted it to draw in all perceptible light and focus it downwards! It is truly a marvel of rune work, but the runes are hidden around the edges embedded in the stone!”

“I’m guessing there are more of these down whatever shaft it’s focusing the light?”

“Correct! Each lens focuses the light downward, only losing a small fraction of the light on each transition. Then it hits one of the diffusers to spread that light over the city!”

“Wouldn’t that make the ceiling bright as fuck?” Another gust forced Ann onto all fours, claws gripping the stone.

“No! More enchantments are used there! A mild illusion affecting the city’s perception! The diffusers are near invisible to the naked eye, but the light they cast over the city is unaffected.”

“That’s fucking cool!” Ann shouted back. “How many of these are there?”

“Twenty! Spread evenly across the cavern’s ceiling and mountaintop!” Bren yelled back. “If the wind was not so wild, you could see a few nearby!”

“Speakin’ of, can we get the feck back inside?” Kat groused. “Me ears are feckin’ frozen even under this hat.”

“Sure, love!” Ann nodded. “Sorry, Rosalyn, doesn’t seem like we picked a good time for birdwatching.”

“It’s fine,” the Druid shouted back. “Mountains, from what I’ve read, are always a temperamental environment and wildlife is at the whims of the weather. I would have loved to see some snow serpents, though.”

They all began trudging back to the stone building. As they approached, Ann noticed that the windward side was absolutely crusted with wind driven snow.

“Snow serpents?” Ann asked. “Wouldn’t they be hibernating or something?”

“No! They’re actually a warm blooded species!” Rosalyn yelled back. “They’re covered with this really soft white fur and have wedge shaped heads that help them move through packed down snow! The diagrams in the books back home made them look really cute!”

They got back inside, the wind slamming the door behind them.

“Guess we’ll have to come back on a calmer day, then,” Ann suggested, shaking the snow and ice from between her paw pads.

“I’m bringin’ warmer clothes if we do,” Kat grumbled. As she took off her hat, Ann saw the raw red colour her ears had turned and winced. That had to be painful for such sensitive areas.

“Let’s get back down and warm up. You still have somewhere to take Ann and I, right?” Rosalyn asked.

“Aye. Bren, if ye wanna go catch up with Alastar, this’d be the time.”

“Then I’ll take my leave at the base of the lift,” Bren said. “I suppose you three will be busy for the night?”

“Aye, then we’ve got Pile tomorrow, then some free time. See ye at breakfast?”

“That sounds fine to me.”

They spent the elevator ride in relative quiet, with Ann and Rosalyn doing their best to warm up their frozen companions.

Reaching the bottom, Bren waved and set off to go meet his friend.

“Well, no sense waitin’. I’m excited fer this one. C’mon,” Kat laughed, grabbing her girlfriends’ hands and tugging them towards the lower portion of the city.