9 A.L.
Water ran down the glass in a near perfect sheet from high above. Below the ground level of the green it separated from the glass and formed a water curtain. Two stories below, it splashed into a deep pool. A narrow shelf of stone flooring surrounded the water on three sides. The fourth side was hidden behind the waterfall.
Ian looked down at the pool below from his seat on the edge of the floor of the green. Terraces, each filled with a different plant, formed a kind of rough staircase down to the water. On the sides of the waterfall, from both right and left, true stairs lead down to a passage behind the water. Ian walked past this point before and never noticed the passage behind.
With their entire suburb on the march, one of the gatherers stumbled on the waterfall. In their enthusiasm for a tuber on the bottom terrace they ran down those stairs and discovered the passage.
Kyle along with his personal guards, Sophia and Jake, went to explore what was beyond. Ian was on overwatch, keeping an eye on the hunters, gatherers and children. As the highest tier wizard among them, he could do this task with his eyes closed. He was bored and itched for the chance to kill a beast or two. Unfortunately their large group appeared to have scared them all away.
Sophia came back out of the passage and swept her eyes over the workers. She spotted Ian in his high perch. She started up the stairs to join him. Ian forced his boredom back at this new development. Outside of a settlement Kyle very rarely let either of his bodyguards leave his side. Ian was convinced they both pissed when Kyle did.
Sophia settled down next to him. She held a bow across one knee and kept her eyes moving across the forest in the green.
“It’s a square,” Sophia told him. Ian was not that surprised. They found a few before. The waves of animals that were drawn to them made trying to stay in one a costly enterprise. Darien sent a large group of warriors to a square that showed up close to Chicago. After twelve waves three quarters of the men were dead and they were forced to retreat. When Darien sent a new stronger force to try again, there was no sign of the square. It was like it never existed.
“It has a crystal,” Sophia told him. “It is smaller than Londontown’s but larger than anything I’ve seen in a rest.”
“That is interesting,” Ian observed.
“It struck me that this square is rather hard to find, it might be years before someone else locates it. An enterprising person might make some real progress from a secure base like this,” Sophia commented.
“Kyle will report it,” Ian countered.
“I don’t think he will step out of that square again,” Sophia responded. “He will send someone else to report to Darien.”
“You, Jake or I are the most likely messengers. If Kyle does send someone else, there is no way for Darien to know that if we replace them on the way. As long as a messenger arrives we can continue to buy and sell in Chicago.” Ian thought about it for a second. “Maybe it would be easier to elect a new leader now.”
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to deal with all these people’s complaints. Kyle is good at it, I say let him keep the job until he is a real problem,” Sophia offered. Ian nodded his head, conceding that she had a point. Officially Sophia was with Jake, but Sophia and Ian held similar goals. They often worked together to secure real power in this new world, while avoiding the tedious duties that went along with it.
“Kyle wants a few minutes to look things over. I am not certain if he’s ever seen a square,” Sophia commented, delivering her message from the leader.
“I’ll send the hunters out for dinner,” Ian commented. “I’ll keep the rest of them here until the women are done with their harvesting.” Ian gave a whistle calling the hunter’s attention. He gave them the hand signal to bring back dinner. That left the scavengers/warriors on the outer rim keeping watch.
“This is nice,” Sophia said softly. “The sounds of the water naturally mute our voices. We can sit right here in plain sight and have a private conversation.”
“There’s a spell that does that,” Ian commented.
“Of course there is,” Sophia countered. Sophia didn’t use magic. Instead she depended on her skill with the bow and knife. Ian was a wizard, one of the few.
“It reminds me of the western exit out of the first ruined green,” Sophia observed. “Jake almost got himself killed there pulling a boar.”
“But you saved him,” Ian finished the story for her. All her stories ended with her as the hero.
“No,” Sophia said, surprising Ian. “If it was just me he would have died there. I was young and foolish enough I might have followed him. It was Irene that saved him. She nailed that boar with three ice-bolts as neatly as you please.”
“Irene?” Ian said. “I don’t recognize that name.”
“She was in the group I came in from the Speedwell with. She already tangled up with a boar and limped around at about half speed. She is the only other wizard I’ve ever seen that could cast that stun spell you have,” Sophia commented.
“Really?” Ian asked, his interest fully engaged. It was hard to find a wizard that knew anything outside of ice-bolt and fireball.
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“Yeah, I guess she’s my one regret. I should have kept her around,” Sophia observed.
“Did you kill her?” Ian inquired.
“Nothing that dramatic,” Sophia responded. “I pushed Jake to take the position with Kyle even though there was no place for her. She was odd, and I thought we would do better without her. Darien wanted to keep her in Chicago. Those were the early days and any kind of wizard was valuable. What’s funny is I think she knew about Darien. She snuck out of Chicago within days. She was smart that way. I remember we were there less than a day and she told us how Chicago was using the crafters to hold on to the suburbs. How they used the promise of safety to draw in the crafters.”
“If she was so insightful why did you think you’d do better without her?” Ian asked.
“She was too well connected. She worked in the same department as Darien and went to those stick fighting classes on the Speedwell all the leadership reminisces about. Even worse, she was one of the queen’s daughters. Although in those days the queen was still just the healer in Londontown.”
“What happened to her?”
“I have no idea. She probably got herself killed. I haven’t heard anything about her in all these years.” Sophia suddenly laughed out loud, “I remember she carried this black broomstick around like it was a weapon. I used to laugh my ass off at that one. It is still funny today. I saw her crush the skull of a rat with it once. Up until then I thought she might be one of those disconnected assholes in command, but that rat strike showed she held a much more physical job.”
Ian wondered what Sophia would think if she found out he was one of those disconnected assholes in command. He was destined to be the next captain of the Speedwell until it all fell apart. Darien was assigned to engineering. He was put there when he failed out of the command program. Ian admitted Darien worked the position to his own advantage, using the access to the carts and the freedom to move around the settlement to prepare a place for himself in the structure. His spot among the leadership of Chicago was assured long before he stepped into the structure himself.
A woman with a black staff seemed vaguely familiar. Ian could remember seeing someone like that in Chicago, but he couldn’t recall when. A daughter of the queen could be useful. Technically the queen, as a member of the last generation of flight crew, must have eight children. Darien only knew of three before this, and they were all already affiliated with Londontown.
“We’ll tell Darien we found a rest below the green with a close stair,” Ian said. “We’ll tell them the stair access is on the north wall, but closer to the west. Chicago is in that direction so we can intercept any messengers heading our way.”
“That’s good,” Sophia responded. “Messengers never like staying in a small suburb anyway. If we intercept them with a work crew, they’ll take advantage of the situation, drop off their message and head back.”
“Exactly,” Ian commented. “In the long term, we need to report our relocation every so often.”
“Do you think we can keep it secret that long?” Sophia asked.
“I don’t see why not. The tricky part will be keeping travelers from carrying the tale.”
“I know how to deal with them,” Sophia said with a loving caress of the arch of her bow.
“Deal them on the way out, not the way in,” Ian instructed. “I’ll need more men for the plans I have. This honey trap should draw them in.”
When the gatherers finished picking over the terraces, Ian set three of his warriors to watch for the hunters return. He ordered the rest of the group down the stairs and through the passage behind the waterfall. Two of the warriors led the rabble. Ian brought up the rear. He’d seen plenty of squares and they were all the same. Past the training yards was the square proper. The courtyard was surrounded by glass walls that raised three stories to the ceiling above. That made this a small square. Londontown was five stories high, its apartments and balconies packed with people. Its first floor arcade was all rented out as shops. This square was empty.
Kyle was standing on one of the ‘outdoor’ tables in front of the inn, giving an address. He was walking through the basics of renting rooms in the inn or one of the apartments above. The way Kyle spoke about the inn made Ian think the man already purchased the business. Ian wasn’t interested in being an innkeeper, although the position did allow a person to keep tabs on the inner workings of a square. It was a rather smart move for Kyle.
Ian wondered idly if the gatherers possessed enough coin to rent a room. They tried to keep them stripped of coins. He thought four or five of them together could probably scrape together enough coins for a night or two. They would need to switch over to a more coin based society. Ian intended to rent a room in the inn for his public persona, but he would need an apartment or two for his private business as well. He looked up at the balconies above and decided there was no rush. There was plenty of housing for their small group.
Kyle finished his speech with a promise of a feast to celebrate their good fortune. As the group broke up to explore their new home, Ian went over to speak to Kyle.
“I sent the hunters out to catch dinner,” Ian informed Kyle.
“Great,” Kyle responded. “Along with the greens the women gathered we will have the makings of a feast.” Kyle turned serious. “Tomorrow I want you to take two of your best scavengers and report back to Darien. Tell no one but Darien himself of the square.”
“Will do boss,” Ian responded. “I’ll warn my boys not to talk to anyone. It might help if you had a word with them.”
“I’ll speak to your choices on the way out in the morning,” Kyle assured the wizard. “Jake will run our defense while you are gone.”
“Are you afraid another suburb might want to take it from us?” Ian asked, trying to implant the idea that they needed to be leery of strangers.
“No,” Kyle responded. “Not once Darien knows we're here. I worry about those bastards in Londontown. I can believe anything of them.” Kyle possessed a deep seated hatred of Londontown. Ian suspected he suffered some kind of personal betrayal by one of its citizens. Ian needed to think about how he could use Kyle’s hatred to further his own goals.
“When I get back, I’ll set up watch points in the green so the blues don’t come upon us without warning,” Ian suggested.
“Good idea,” Kyle responded. “With a protection crystal we should finally be able to get ahead. We can reduce the guard and start scavenging more. With some luck we can start enjoying some of the fine things the structure has on offer.”
“You won’t get an argument from me,” Ian responded, even as he wondered how a man could be happy with so little. If you weren’t in control anyone could take it away from you without warning. Ian was going to do what it took to climb to the top. It was his destiny to rule, not just one small settlement but all the humans in the colony.
“I am going to call it Redfalls,” Kyle announced. “That should tell those blues they aren’t welcome here.”
“Perfect,” Ian responded, even as his mind worked on how he could use the square to fulfill his destiny.