Reff led us over to the giant stone doors, and even after having watched this mountain get closer for all that time, the size was still deceptive. It took us twenty minutes to reach the actual base of the edifice, my mind refusing to take in the sheer size of it.
The doors, which had looked huge before, easily stretched more than a hundred feet up the tower’s side. I could tell as we finally arrived that it seemed to be made from a series of concentric doors, each set smaller than the last.
Turning to Reff I asked, “...Do we need to knock?”
“With patience, there is no need.”
I waited for him to say more, but there was no need. Moments after he finished speaking, the smallest set of doors – this set only ten feet high and wide – opened in front of us, soundlessly and smooth. I looked through the entrance, as my breath billowed out as mist, but could see nobody inside.
Reff walked over to the doors, stopping besides them and gesturing us to enter, one arm outstretched and head bowed. I followed Walker and Aella inside – Walker bowing his head to my giant friend as he passed, while Aella was busy with turning her head in every direction, absorbing as much as possible. As I reached him, I grinned and bowed to his knee.
“Nice place you have here. A little on the small side, but nice.”
“In confusion, the Citadel is in fact very large, Hunter.”
“Really? Didn’t notice.”
Reff stared at me for a moment, uncertainty writ clearly on his face, but I just grinned and walked through the doors, leaving him to follow after.
The interior of the tower seemed to be lit by glowing lines that ran over the walls and floor, illuminating a massive empty chamber. A pillar, wide enough to seem squat, occupied the centre of the room, and I looked around, the silence a little eerie. Behind me, the doors were closing – soundlessly, again – and Reff walked over to us.
As the doors closed, I felt a vibration in the floor, and turned back to the pillar – the glowing lines were moving – sinking down into the floor. After several seconds of this, the pillar became a platform, which in turn sank into the floor, leaving a level surface, with a dozen Reff-sized figures on it.
The figure closest to us – who was holding a spear that had to be fifteen feet long – walked towards us, their pace almost casual, although due to their size they still made quick progress.
As they approached, I saw that they were a woman – or so I had to guess, given their appearance. Standing at the same height as Reff, a solid thirteen feet tall, she had long hair the colour of fresh snow, and the same black eyes as my friend, though her irises were a deep amethyst as opposed to his garnet.
Ignoring Walker, Aella and I for the moment, the purple eyed woman turned to Reff with a shallow bow.
“With respect, Lord Reff, it is good you are back. The illness has spread, though none have died since your sister returned with the Apex of Mending Flesh.
“With suppressed shock, my sister located the Apex?”
“With profound relief, yes my Lord. The Apex has prevented any further deaths; however, she says the illness is still present, and unkillable. She seemed... most vexed by this.”
“In shared relief, that is good. I have brought a cure with me, but I am glad that those afflicted have been preserved until our arrival. Please, let me introduce my companions: This is Walker, the Apex of the Infinite Blades.” The woman’s colourless eyebrows shot up at the mention of another Apex, and she quickly gave my dark mentor a deep bow, which Walker returned. “This is Aella, who was also afflicted with the plague that has been inflicted upon our people. She is a teacher, and a warrior of great skill.” A smaller bow was presented to Aella, which my teacher returned with a nod of her head. “And lastly, this is Hunter, who followed a powerful foe to another world in order to retrieve the cure I spoke of.” At my introduction, the guard looked sceptical, but seemed unwilling to contradict Reff at that moment. She gave me a nod, her eyes suspicious and I bowed back, knowing the story sounded exaggerated all-to-hell.
“With deep gratitude, be welcome to the Blacksand Citadel. Come, I will take you to Lord Raaf, he is with his fellow Apex, with the sick.”
I turned to Walker, and spoke in a low whisper, “Walker, how often do you have three Apex’s in one place?”
“It is quite rare, Hunter. Once the plague is cured, I will need to take the opportunity to discuss the person you described with them. They are much older than I am, perhaps they have encountered such before.”
“They’re older than you are?”
“They are. I am the youngest Apex by a number of decades.” I considered my mentor; he always seemed to knowledgeable, calm and assured – it was difficult imagining him as the baby of the Apexes. I tried to imagine what the others must be like, and I only ended up picturing Vulcans.
Shaking Spock from my mind, I followed the guard and my friends onto the platform. Once we were all in position, without any sort of command or gesture that I could see, the platform began to raise once more, the movement accompanied by only a faint tremor, and like everything else since our arrival there, silence.
*
***
*
The guard – whose name I learned was Tal – led us through strangely curved hallways of the Blacksand Citadel, our path occasionally taking us outside across wide stone balconies. I saw many of Reff’s people, who seemed to make up the majority of the population; most of them ignored out passage, though occasionally some would recognise Reff and stare after us as we walked on.
I looked out over the dark landscape of the Blacksands as we crossed one balcony, and I was struck by an absence that I had not noticed previously.
“Reff, why are there no walls? I know this place is massive and made of stone, but surely walls would still be useful for defence?”
I looked at Aella, given her comments she had made as we approached Outpost 18, but she was too pre-occupied taking in the details of our surroundings. My eyes flicked back to Reff, but despite the fact that my question had been directed at my friend, it was Tal who answered:
“In dismissal, if we require walls, we have the capacity to produce them. Most foes however can be... dissuaded... long before they reach the Citadel proper.”
Her voice sounded like she found the idea of attackers amusing, and I thought about our arrival – we had not been challenged at our approach, but I remained silent, knowing that just because I had not seen anybody, did not mean that there hadn’t been any. My mind went back to seeing the Risen Throne goon appear from nowhere in in Ro’s shop and I looked warily around, conscious that I still really had no idea what people could do, in general. I also refrained from mentioning the person who had introduced the plague here...
It took a couple of hours to reach what was apparently our destination – it would have perhaps been a quicker journey, if not for the winding route we had taken. I had seen hundreds of curved corridors, each intricately carved with geometric patterns, scenes or landscapes but all of them with beautiful artistry and attention to detail, and everywhere we went, the same glowing lines flowed across the stone, their bright gem-like colours the a contrast against the unrelieved black of the mountain we walked within.
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Our destination was a small room illuminated with pale yellow lines curved into the shapes of coiling snakes, and I could see dozens of Reff’s people lounging about in mint-green robes. At their centre sat two people, who were talking and laughing with those in the green robes. One of them looked almost exactly like my Reff, but on an even larger scale, towering above those around him even seated. He wore a black robe that reminded me of Walker’s, though it shockingly seemed to be several sizes too big for this giant-amongst-giants. Beside the titan in the ill-fitting robe sat a woman with hair the same black as the walls but with light grey eyes that seemed to shine like the moon I remembered from back on Earth.
As we entered, both the garnet-on-black eyes of who I assumed was my friend’s brother, and the lambent grey orbs of the woman flicked up to us, and they stood, the room falling silent as they also took in our appearance.
“Raaf, Sonja, it is good to see you.” Walker spoke up and bowed slightly to the pair of Apexes at the room’s centre, and I waited politely.
“A surprise, though pleasant, Walker...” The woman’s voice was breathy, and the last world trailed off, seeming somehow only half-said. In contrast, Raaf’s voice was like the mountain in which we stood, talking. I could feel it in my bones. He stood at least fifteen feet tall, and I had been right about the robe being too big. I knew I would have to find a polite way to ask about it at some point – the ruler of a nation, and one of the most personally powerful beings on the planet did not seem like a likely candidate for wearing hand-me-downs.
“In greeting, welcome once more to the Blacksand Citadel, Walker. And to you, brother.”
“In greeting, it is good to see you once more, brother. I have come with a cure, though it seems it may not be necessary, thanks to the Honoured Apex of the Mending Flesh.” My friend bowed low to both his brother and female Apex.
“Unfortunate, it is, that I have been unable to cure this plague. In stasis, it is held by my presence and healthy is the flesh in which it dwells, but reborn it is, upon eradication...”
“With boundless gratitude, you have prevented the loss of many of my people, Sonja. If my brother speaks the truth and he brought a cure, you have saved those lives in truth.”
Turning to look at Aella and myself, his massive brows pulled tight as his gaze finally settled on me.
“With hesitation, you are Honoured Master Alchemist Ben Won Ro?”
Aella snorted and I winced before dipping a bow to the humungous Apex.
“Sorry, no... Honoured Apex. My name is Hunter, and my involvement is... hard to explain. Master Ro did help us identify the cure, and I have it with me.” Having said that, I reached into my ring and pulled the burning egg out and into my hands.
“Understanding comes, if I comprehend the implications of this? The plague’s resiliency, upon the back of a phoenix is built...?”
“That is correct, Sonja. Hunter retrieved this egg - with great difficulty - from the group responsible for creating the plague.” My mentor’s voice was calm, but I heard a hint of anger in there.
“With grave eagerness, you know the identities of those responsible?” Raaf’s rumbling voice was flat, almost expressionless but he bared his teeth as he spoke and his eyes were opened wide.
“They called themselves the Risen Throne – we found a number of them in Everwood City, though I doubt it is their base of operations. I feel they were merely taking advantage of the city’s expertise in alchemy. I will need to speak to you both, in private, once we have cured those afflicted.” Walker’s voice turned serious and the other two Apex’s shared a glance, before nodding.
“Uh, are all the sick here? I’m not actually sure if it will work if everyone touches it at once, maybe one at a time?”
I looked at Sonja for confirmation and she gave me a slow nod and I went around the room, awkwardly introducing myself to each patient as I invited them to lay their hands on the egg. In each case, it was a repeat of Aella’s own curing – the golden flames spread over their bodies, growing brighter and fiercer with every second and every treatment, until, when I was finally done, the fire around the phoenix egg was a true inferno, standing feet out from its surface and fully encompassing my arms and torso. It was a strange feeling, to be consumed by that subtle warmth, the burning tongues of energy licking over about me without any effect. As I stood, looking over the egg, I thought I felt a small movement within it, but when I paused to check, nothing happened. I stored the egg once more, and looked around at the now empty room. The people, once cured, had all thanked myself and my companions, as well as Sonja, before leaving. I was told that it was the first time in days for, many of them.
“So, as I understand it, this plague was airborne, right?” I directed my question to the now mostly empty room, and it was Reff who finally nodded and spoke, clearly emotional, especially for him.
“With restrained joy, it was airborne, friend Hunter.”
“Right. I need to get this egg back to its parents – somehow – but I think I should stick around for a while, just in case there are any cases we didn’t catch here. Walker, what do you think?”
“It is a good idea, Hunter. It would be most unfortunate if we returned the egg, only for the plague to spring up again. I doubt the phoenix Elder would be willing to part with it again.”
I had a thought at my mentor’s words and a cold dread ran through me, washing away the happiness I felt at having helped these people.
“Shit, what if they have more of this stuff, or what if other people are infected?” I looked from face to face, and I saw that this had already occurred to several of them.
“The egg must be returned, too much would be risked by keeping it. I have hope that this is not widespread – there was no more of the plague stored at the house in Everwood. I believe this to be the test case, to ensure that it could not be simply annihilated by an Apex. I can think of no other reason to target Raaf’s home, when it so obviously invites his wrath.”
“With barely suppressed rage, invited it they have.”
Walker’s words made me feel a little better, but I could not shake the nagging worry that this was not the end of the matter. I thought, perhaps, I could ask the Elder for help – if its egg could cure the plague, surely the Elder could, too?
*
***
*
Aella, Reff and myself sat on a balcony high up the mountain’s side, the air even more frigid than it had been at the base, though it did not seem to bother Reff at all. I had switched to the cold-weather outfit for the first time since I bought it, and was huddled inside the folds of my thick travel robe, the hood pulled up as my breath clouded around me.
Walker, Raaf and Sonja had gone off to talk in private, leaving us to our own devices, so after a brief tour we had made our way here, where we had been informed Sonja’s apprentice would meet us. So far, we had been waiting for over an hour, and while we had started out eager to meet an Apex’s apprentice, that feeling had cooled somewhat with the wait.
“Reff, how long did it take your people to carve this thing? It’s so intricate, it must have taken centuries.” I had been admiring the carving on the stone railing by which we sat – it was carved with a scene from some great battle along its entire length.
“With pride, it took slightly over a year, though it was not carved, but created this way by my brother.”
I stared at my friend, frowning as I tried to process what he had said.
“Your bother... made this place? Like... made it?”
“Hunter, you didn’t know? That is why I wanted to see it. A true wonder, created by the Apex of the Mountain’s Seed.” My teacher’s voice was not mocking, it held only admiration as she ran her hands over the carvings. As she mentioned Raaf’s title, I did recall Reff mentioning it before, but I had not really connected it to any meaning. It seemed that Reff’s big brother literally made mountains. I wondered how he would use that in a fight, and my head filled with images of mountains popping out of the ground to smack into tiny, tiny people.
I almost laughed at the image, but I heard running and turned to see a girl slightly shorter than Reff running across the balcony to wrap her arms around my friend’s neck.
“In excited greeting, brother! You're back! I beat you by so much!” Reff stood, the girl who appeared to be his sister, hanged from his neck, though her feet were only a foot or two off the ground, meaning that while she was shorter than him, she was still almost twice my height.
“In warm greeting, Riffa, it is good to see you once more. I did not expect you to locate the Apex of the Mending Flesh, but I am grateful you did.”
Releasing her brother’s neck, Riffa dropped to the ground and beamed up at him.
“With restrained bragging, it was easy, brother. The Honoured Apex had emerged from seclusion to train an apprentice, and her whereabouts were well known in the Sha Forest.” She turned to gesture behind her, and I turned to see another girl. Standing to greet the new arrivals, I took the girls in. Reff’s sister stood a foot shorter than my friend, maybe slightly more, with the now expected snow-white skin and hair. Her eyes were a deep sapphire on black, and her voice rich. The girl she gesturing to was human by the look of her, though given how close I looked to human, I did not make any assumptions. She was short, especially given the height of some of the people around her, standing at perhaps five feet tall, with short, spiky blonde hair and serious eyes the colour of red jade. She saw me glance over and casually looked me up and down, before twitching an eyebrow in dismissal and turning her glance to my teacher.
“You are the Infinite Blade’s apprentice?”