CJ stirred awake as their wagon tilted up at an uncomfortable angle. He reached out beside him and grabbed his cinched sack before it slid further toward the back of the rickety buffalo drawn vehicle. The wagon carried his and Welma’s bond, Ophy’s bond were driving. Even as CJ tried to figure out what was going on, he could see Alyss and Mae holding supporting posts inside the hood of the wagon and looking out.
They were approaching a city. From their position it was like looking up into the sky, the road into the city may as well have been a giant ski jump. The angle was intense, buildings along the slope were constructed as occasional stopping points for those making the climb. The buildings had a unique style, as if their ground levels were reinforced with metal fixtures around stone or brick, and then the higher levels were built on top of that. Many were several stories all, at least 3 or more.
“This is the place?” CJ asked as he adjusted in his seat to get a better look through the evening light.
Larl answered from the back. He was looking out the back of the wagon, along with Welma and Land. “Yes, this is The Brothers, the largest city in the Shellert Earldom.”
The wagon struggled to head up, but CJ was thankful he didn’t have to go up the incline himself.
“Looks like one big hill,” CJ said.
Ophy, a stocky Hillwoman with sun-browned features and short knobby horns, spoke from the reins. “This is the center road, it splits the Brothers in two.”
They were talking around a fact that CJ already heard before they headed here. The Brothers used to be two cities, massive mining operations that eventually coalesced into one. At a point some 40 years ago, they made the decision to make the brotherhood formal. Now it was just called The Brothers officially.
“Which one are we headed to again?” CJ asked.
A wagon was heading back down the hill past them. Instead of letting it roll down or something, they were using their buffalo to slow the wagon down as gravity did the work. Not a bad plan to let the massive wagon of wrapped and packaged goods push itself out of town.
“Righty,” Welma said from the back. “The dirtier one by far.”
Land, by far the youngest person on the trip with them, seemed surprised by Welma’s suggestion. Land was a little skinny, but was definitely trained in Akahi. He had the quiet loyalty to Mae and was clearly an Emberist.
“I’ve heard the opposite,” Land said. “The Left is a mess.”
Larl snorted in amusement.
“Righty is nothing but bars and old hotels,” Welma said. “We’ll be lucky to make it out with our shoes intact from all the grime, you’ll see little man.”
“You’re really just going to call them Righty and Left?” CJ said as a small bump almost tossed him from his seat.
“Just easier,” Welma said.
Ophy turned back, “I think Right is called Borganhome? Maybe it was Berganholm… I honestly can’t remember. Filthy place.”
“Berg and Holm,” Alyss corrected, though she didn’t sound too sure of the answer.
“Righty it is then,” CJ said.
Larl was waving out of the back of the wagon. There was another wagon right behind them, another of theirs carrying supplies and goods. Officially they were there to deliver lumber for construction efforts deeper in the city.
“Okay,” CJ said, “we get settled and then I need the pillars for each bond to come to my room. We have a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it.”
“Got it,” Welma said.
Ophy made a noncommittal noise, but he trusted she would do it.
Eventually the wagon reached the peak, and CJ heard Mae gasp. By then he had a notebook out and was taking down notes about the city, but he turned to see what she saw. They were overlooking a lighter hill going back down that split into two paths. There were two cities there, both surrounding what looked like dark holes in the ground. That wasn’t quite it, they were extensive mines. From what little CJ knew, the marks meant they had to be doing something like strip mining. Whole chunks of the ground were being taken up and processed. But there were clearly spots that represented elevators to go down into the ground as well.
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All around these twin pits was more city, some areas looking rather grand and others like packed in slums. CJ looked between Left and Righty, and they just looked like two concept arts for the same city.
“Okay, that is a bit impressive.” CJ said as he settled back in. They still had a trip ahead of them to get through the city.
Eventually the wagons stopped, they grabbed their stuff, and left Ophy and the other driver to drop off the wagons. Welma and Larl lead the way to their inn, which CJ’s eye translated as the ‘Shining Son’. He wasn’t sure if that pun was on accident or if he was getting a translated phrase.
They went in and got enough rooms to comfortably hold them all, then many went and grabbed a bite to eat while they waited for the wagon drivers to return. Eventually, it was Larl and CJ in their room. There were two wide beds, a few wooden tables pushed toward the front of the room, and a circular table that CJ had set some chairs around.
CJ was jotting down notes as they waited. “So we are in the 2nd Cross of the Beat?”
Larl took one of the chairs near the edge and sat down, “Just crossed into it. I’m shocked time was so different for you.”
“Days were segmented into 24, not 20,” CJ said. “Otherwise it is mostly the same, just different terms. I think the different division is why everything gets translated for me, otherwise I could just call them hours and you would get it.”
Larl grunted in pain, and when CJ looked he had his eyes closed.
“Right, sorry. I try not to do that, but sometimes the words just slip out.” He was annoying not being able to explain a missing word to them. Maybe it was a precaution. It would be hard for him to talk about say, computers or telephones when all he would do is give everyone a headache and piss them off. It wouldn’t stop him from getting the point across, but it would slow it down.
“It is fine,” Larl said. “How do you plan to explain this all to them? The jobs that is.”
CJ looked to Larl, “Oh that part is easy. I just won’t explain it all.”
Larl tilted his head. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t worry,” CJ said as he closed his notes and reached into a bag for a map. He could feel Mae and Alyss approaching. “It’ll all come out in time. We are going to take it step by step, keep everyone on task.”
The door opened and people started to pile in. They took seats around the table, though Mae and Alyss sat behind him. The last one through the door was Benton. While he didn’t announce himself, he rode in the second wagon. CJ noticed him some hours earlier, but Larl gave him a surprised wave.
“Good to see Cianna loaned you to us after all,” Larl said.
“It is my pleasure, this sounded like the most exciting work available anyway.” He said as he sat at the table.
That made the pillars him, Ophy, Welma, and CJ. CJ unrolled a map of The Brothers on the table. He went over it before they left, but now that he was here he had better context of exactly what it was representing. He stood, and took a deep breath to prepare himself.
“Now that we’re here I can let you all know exactly what we’re here for,” CJ said. Then he pointed to one section of the map. “We’re going to break out Brook the Red Thief.”
Larl didn’t react, but the others in the room all broke into murmurs.
Mae sat forward, “Break out? Didn’t we just get her captured?!”
“Yes,” CJ said with a grin. “Also, if at all possible can we keep our volume down? I don’t know how thick these walls are.”
The murmuring died down.
Welma raised a hand, and CJ pointed to her. “Why?”
Alyss whispered, “Thank you.”
CJ shrugged. “It turns out that once one of the greatest thieves in the region was captured, certain powers didn’t want her to be in Shellert’s custody. They were willing to pay to have her free.”
Ophy shook her head. “Burning it from both ends, the boss never misses a good deal.”
Benton didn’t seem convinced. “I’m not sure in this case. This may not be the capital, but it is the second most secure place in the Earldom. Getting her out won’t be simple.”
“Good news!” CJ said with a smile, “She is up for execution soon.”
“How is that good news?” Alyss asked from behind him.
“It isn’t,” CJ said. “Honestly, it gives us a hard time limit. Oh and the security may be tighter as they plan for her to try an escape.”
Larl nodded, “she is known for her escapes.”
“Then why did you-“ Alyss started, but CJ cut her off.
“But that’s why we are going to prod the holes in the guard, and figure out a way to get her out.” CJ said while spreading his arms out to the other pillars.
Ophy closed one eye, “That makes sense of so many of us being sent out here.”
“You have a plan?” Welma asked.
“I have the building blocks of a plan, we will fill in the blank spaces as we go.” CJ said. “But we have a second job while we’re here.”
Mae sat up straighter. She knew what was coming.
Ophy and Benton sat with varying degrees of patience. Ophy was confused, Benton was intrigued.
“This job is from me, kind of,” CJ said. “There is a faction of priests here in the city, the Brotherhood of the One Flame. We need to check on them and then make contact.”
“The One Flame?” Benton asked with a small grin. “Looking for old friends? Seems dangerous at a time like this.”
“More than you realize,” CJ said. “Look, let me lay out how we are going to break this up. We will want to go unnoticed as long as possible. By the time we go for Brook, we should be able to flee the city.”
He started to pull markers out of his pocket and placing them on the map. It was going to be a long session of explaining, but then they could break up and get started. The more scouting they got done, the sooner he could formulate his final plan.