“The city froze. It was quiet, but unmissable. A hiss struck at everyone’s hearts, no matter where they were or what they were doing. Gripping them like we were all only a moment away from having the fangs of a beast taste our lifeblood. I thought for sure it was our end. It was just as bad as the shatter that destroyed the mountain, only this was close. It was right next to us, and our bodies refused to move.”
Ceph wasn’t sure if she appreciated the exaggeration, but it was clear the unleashed presence of her quarry had send the capital into chaos. So many had believed the Collapse was occurring again. Ceph despised the thought that such a horrid disaster could happen more than once in her lifetime.
“That is… appreciated, but you said you saw the serpent. What can you tell me? How did it move? Where did it go?” Ceph asked impatiently.
“Oh, of course.” The ageing dohrni woman said, and pointed to an alley behind her. “I saw the snake slither down there. It was orange and black, I think, and it definitely seemed to float before it disappeared into the darkness.”
“It wouldn’t happen to have the same colouring as that one there, would it?” Ceph asked, pointing to the very alley the woman had been, where an orange and black prail sat licking its long tail.
“Yes!” the woman said. “It’s exactly-” Ceph sighed before the woman could even finish. “Oh.” The woman’s purple shade darkened slightly in realisation.
Ceph turned away from the waste of time and the feline pest across the street. It was already afternoon, and the longer they took, the harder it would be to find the serpent before it struck again.
The snake had been incredibly subtle in its passage through Meja, and it had made Ceph and her team’s job incredibly difficult. They’d already been on the way to the capital to investigate a loose lead of a few eye witness reports of a disappearing snake. Considering the deaths it left in its wake upon breaking through Kalma’s Pit, Ceph thought the disappearing snake was unlikely to be the creature they were looking for. But she was proven wrong the moment they’d arrived to mass panic.
The entire city’s mercenary division was in full alert. This would have been a good thing… if any of them knew where the snake had gone.
Despite the creature having incited such a reaction, there had been impossibly few deaths. Only a single Sail merc with little more enhancement than a normal soldier. The fact that the Sail even made the attempt to fight showed that they hadn’t known what they were up against.
Ceph returned to Hirsh, where he and her new volan teammates listened to a child shout at them. “It saved them, I swear it. Nixie and Asmis would have died if the snake hadn’t done what it did. Its a portian, I’m sure.”
Hirsh, upon noticing her, rose and left the volan duo to calm the child larger then themselves.
“What’s up with the kid?” Ceph asked.
“Apparently there was an accident,” the tall khirig said. “Says the snake leapt after his friends to help them. Doctor report describes the bite wound of one of the kids as far too vicious to have been anything in line with what the boy is saying. She’s lucky she’ll be able to keep the limb.”
“All portian know the process to distinguish themselves from beasts,” Ceph overheard the volan, Tavi. “If it were one, it wouldn’t have acted as it did.”
Ceph wanted to scream at the one that had replaced Telum. That wasn’t how you consoled a kid. She was just about to storm over and give him a piece of her mind when Hirsh placed an antler on her head to stop her.
“Don’t,” he said. “I have something I need you to do, anyway.”
Ceph glared, but upon seeing the other volan, Fay, push Tavi away and take the reigns of the conversation, she settled down.
“I need you to go speak with Remus. He was there to see the serpent, and if anyone can give a proper analysis of what we’re up against, then he can.”
“Remus? The Remus?” Ceph asked, surprised. He was one of the odd few that was a part of the Mercenary Order and didn’t care to improve his strength, having refused the promotion to Beith for a hundred years after he first met the requirements. “Didn’t you say he was like a grandpa to you? Shouldn’t you be the one to speak with him?”
Ceph was surprised to see Hirsh physically flinch at her words. “I… made a mistake the last time we met. It would be best if we don’t bring up old issues while we’re on a timer.”
Ceph suspected this had something to do with what happened before Hirsh went out of commission for a few months. He’d always been quiet about the reason, but it was obvious it bothered him.
She inclined her body, agreeing. It wasn’t anything she would have trouble with. She might have even enjoyed meeting a living legend… if they didn’t need to hurry their search.
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“Where is he?” she asked, looking around.
“In the upper city,” Hirsh said, but was cut off before he could continue.
“The upper city!?” Ceph spun on him. “Why is he there when such a danger is on the loose? I thought the Remus would stick around in case the beast came back.”
“He’s a busy man, you know.” Hirsh’s brows furrow. “It’s almost exclusively because of his efforts the government hasn’t collapsed after the war.”
Ceph didn’t know. She knew things weren’t good; everyone knew that. But the people involved were never really relevant. Ever since the death of the last queen a decade or so ago, she didn’t know the faces of any behind the running of the nation. It was odd to hear a career mercenary had picked up such a position.
Her eyes turned to face the towering mountain of a city that had been her birthplace. The spiralling walls that curled thrice around the ever increasing height of buildings until it reached the massive castle was almost the same as she remembered.
Almost.
The fissure splitting the castle, and the entire city below it, was not something she would ever become accustomed to.
❖❖❖
The upper city was difficult to traverse. Buildings built upon the ruins of others left the streets narrow and twisting despite the impressiveness of the structures. Only the royal road had remained wide in the region of excessively in-demand real estate.
Ever since the the pact was signed between all the nations between the Titan Alps and the encroaching Empire, Meja had blossomed as the central hub for many businesses. Its central location and stable industry proved ideal for many.
The Mercenary Order was supposed to be an unbiased entity formed with the Pact, but things were never so simple. While the Order’s official headquarters was on a border between three central nations, it was clear to anyone who saw the size of their office here in Meja’s capital where the power truly lay.
The forecourt alone was enough to make Ceph question whether this was a military institute and not a part of the palace itself.
She strode out from one of the many narrow streets into the wide, open space decorated with a lush flower garden and a path bound by statues of important figures. Few of them legendary mercenaries.
Unlike the lower city, vehicles could not navigate the tight spaces. That wasn’t an issue. Ceph, like most enhanced individuals, found the lumps of metal unnecessary, what with their running always being faster. But she did wish they would allow parkour again. It was always easier to find where she need to be when she could avoid the confusing — and often multilevel — streets.
Ceph stepped through the open front of the building into the cooled foyer and approached the concierge.
“Can I speak to Beith Remus,” Ceph asked. “It’s urgent.”
“He said he was expecting you,” the dohrni nods, before gesturing to the main staircase. “Eighth floor. There will be someone to guide you further.”
Thankfully, there was none of the bureaucracy she had to deal with in her last visits. Ceph was given permission, and was guided to Remus’ office without appointment or lengthy identity verification.
For someone as important as Remus, his office was surprisingly small. An entire wall held trays filled with papers and names labelled over the front. His desk, shoved into the other corner, was piled with letters and documents, albeit well organised.
“You’re the one they sent?” Remus said, before looking up at her.
“Yes, we’ve been following it since it broke through the defence at Kalma’s pit.”
Ceph felt like she was nothing but a child again under the gaze of the ancient dohrni. His eyes were kind, smiling, but his body language displayed nothing but seriousness.
“Don’t chase it,” he said, turning back to scribble the last of his letter.
Ceph stood there staring for a moment. Had this legend… just dismissed her? Did he even know anything about her, or had he just assumed she wouldn’t be good enough?
“I’m not about to abandon my responsibilities,” Ceph ground out, trying her best not to show disrespect, while also making it clear she wasn’t about to back down.
Remus sealed the letter with a rare wax inscriber she’d only ever heard about — intended to burn the contents if opened by the wrong person — and tapped a symbol on the wall before turning to Ceph.
“Sorry, I was rude. I simply meant that this isn’t a beast any but the inner circle can deal with. I wouldn’t even try unless I had my full team with me, and even then the presence I felt revealed more strength than it showed.”
He rose from his seat, carrying the letter to the door besides Ceph. The moment he opened the door, there was a hand ready to take the letter. He handed it over, and that was that. Ceph didn’t even see the person’s face before the door was closed.
“There is supposedly an Inner Circle merc coming,” Ceph said. “I need to at least know where the serpent went so they can act immediately when they come… if they come.”
Suddenly the room seemed to chill. Remus stopped before he could reach his desk again, and his eyes fall back on the door. Frost cracked through the wood, before it opened and an albanic walked in.
The woman was tall, and strode like nothing could stop her. That nothing would dare. Frost followed her. The air fell to freezing temperatures anywhere near her. As if her proximity was antithesis to heat itself. Simply standing in the same room as her, Ceph felt her muscles constrict. The cold permeated every part of her. For the first time in a very long time, Ceph felt her body shiver.
Ceph had seen this woman before. She was the Inner Circle ice mage protecting the Mercenary Order official.
“You need not worry about that,” the snow-haired albanic said with a glance to Ceph, before locking onto Remus. “Where is the creature?”
“Beira,” Remus greeted without hiding his distaste. “Eastward. That’s all I know.”
The mage turned and pulled the door shut without so much as a word of acknowledgement, shattering the frozen door-handle as she did.
“Why did it have to be her?” Remus let out an audible sigh. His eyes trailing back to Ceph as he slumped in his chair. “I know with her on the task, you should be free to return to your post… but can I ask that you continue?”
“Didn’t you ask me to do the opposite only moments ago?” Ceph asked, finally shaking off the chill that permeated her body.
Remus glanced at the door. “Yes, but with Beira chasing the snake down, I’m worried. You see, I believe the serpent I faced was intelligent. More than most,” he said. “The smarter ones have a tendency to hold grudges, and yet it left without striking me down. Without leaving the city in ruins.”
“Don’t fight the creature, but if you reach it first — or Beira fails — please, try to communicate with it. I believe it might be one of the rare creatures that can understand.”