Emily, dreaming, 8th rot., 8th night
“Why are we looking at Salicet while sitting on a cloud sofa?" I asked Galt and Giltak.
*Well, because we need to contemplate the destruction of this accursed city,* Galt waved a paw. *It must be spectacular, memorable and so awe-inspiring that it will become a legend that will outlive the rise and fall of entire civilizations on Erdos. My library! Burnt to a crisp! My shrine! Destroyed! My clergy attacked and murdered! Anathema! Sacrilege! Blasphemy! Smog!* He was up off the couch with his paws raised dramatically in the air.
“Smog?” It was the English word. There was no equivalent in Fosk.
Giltak caught my eye and mouthed: “Looney Tunes fan,” pointing at the fluffy cat god.
“You need your spear and magic helmet, Galt, if you want to play Elmer Fudd,” I remarked aridly.
“If Galt is Elmer Fudd, what does that make me? Bugs Bunny?” Giltak asked, grinning.
“I’m Bugs Bunny playing Brunhilda,” I announced. “You, Giltak, are the pudgy pink horse.”
Giltak threw a cloud pillow at me. I know these two were trying to distract and entertain me, but it didn’t make it any less amusing. The Galt and Giltak Show did goofy doofus so well that they were amusing in their calculated vaudeville clumsiness.
"Kidding aside," Galt sat back down, curled up, and tucked his paws in, "Salicet still needs to be flattened."
“The fire and your manifestation of wrath wasn’t the destruction of Salicet?” I didn’t like the sound of this. The top of the city on its hill was a ruin. Galt had hinted that more devastation was on the schedule, but I was hoping for a different outcome.
“The destruction of Salicet will happen three years from now,” Galt flattened his ears. “That’s to give people time to leave. It’s also to give you time to become accustomed to the idea. When you are done, there will be nothing but a crater where once there was a hill.”
“When I am done?" I glowered at Galt, not that it would do any good but it did make me feel slightly better. I didn't like having my name attached to the destruction of an entire city. I still found the concept rather hard on my stomach. "If it's three years from now, why even bring it up now?"
“You’re going to need that much lead time before you commit to this,” Giltak was apologetic. “Try to think of it as a challenging engineering problem. How does one go about blowing up a city without resorting to atomic or nuclear devices? Want some hints?”
“No!” I threw a cloud pillow back at Giltak. “I want nothing to do with this.”
“The geology of this place is quite interesting,” Galt rubbed his head against my arm. “Scratch?”
My eyes rolled themselves. I found the spot under the chin that I knew Galt really liked and scratched it. "Yeah? What's so interesting about it?"
“You’ve already seen the karst caves under the city," Galt half spoke, half purred. "It's an epeiric sea stratigraphy in the shallower rocks punctured by salt diapirs and other mobile salt structures. The hill that Salicet is built on is a salt dome. The mountain in the back of it has injected salt along stratigraphic traps. Both have been extensively mined.”
“Explaining Impotu’s early source of wealth,” I noted, “as all the history books point out. Salt remains one of the empire’s main commodities to this day, blah, blah, blah.”
“Just think of all that space you could pack with your choice of explosive,” Giltak enthused.
“Just stop, for now, you two," I grumped. "No matter what you do or say, I'm going to hate doing this. You should have given this job to someone who likes to kill and maim people and destroy their homes and livelihoods."
"Well, we do have three years to get you used to the idea," Galt half-slurped onto my lap upside down as I scratched. "Oh yes, under the ears please!"
“If the two of you arrange three years of non-stop persuasion visits over Salicet, I may murder you both and I will never give you another scratch, Galt, ever again,” I growled. “All you will do is annoy me. I will never feel any differently about this.”
I stopped scratching, "Tempting me with the science is also a really disgusting ploy. I loathe people who create evil inventions and weapons of mass destruction because they allowed themselves to be seduced by interesting science while ignoring the horror of what they made. Oppenheimer and Feynman were scum and Teller was nothing less than the son of Satan. Teller even had a diagram on his wall of a bomb that would destroy all life on Earth, because it was a neat intellectual exercise for him."
“Yet you gave Aylem the knowledge to create white phosphorus incendiaries,” Galt countered in a gentle voice.
"Both she and I know the horror of that stuff. Do you think I enjoyed that? Do you know why I looked at my victims in Yant? So I would see what my handiwork produced. So I would never forget the suffering I caused. The same goes for the ergot poisoning. At least the sort of mass death Aylem dishes out is painless, and she suffers afterward for it. My version of death is full of pain and agony, and I unfairly suffer not at all. I disgust myself that I have done this."
I didn’t appreciate that Galt had raised this subject. I tried not to think of what I had done with introducing white phosphorus incendiaries and calcium phosphide bombs.
“And all of that, Emily dearest,” Giltak looked upon me with somber approval, “is one of the reasons you are our prophet. The best person to wage war is the one who hates war the most.”
Well, that gobsmacked me. I was left so speechless that my mind was empty. It was that sort of moment.
"You shocked her, Giktak," Sophia Erhonsay said, appearing behind the couch. "It's rare for your mind to be at a standstill, child. May I join you, folks?" She was as poised and polite as Lisaykos.
“Have a seat, fair maiden,” Galt rolled over and freed up space. “Scratch?”
"You are incorrigible," she looked disgusted and amused at the same time. She also went for the sweet spot in the back of his ears. Galt purred. Giltak chuckled.
“So how would you destroy what is left of Salicet, Emily?” Erhonsay was curious.
“It’s not difficult. It will depend on whether I could persuade Aylem to help me,” I admitted.
“If she won’t help?”
“I would have the Building Shrine make me a hundred wagons of calcium carbide. An artificer mage could probably make it using any carbon source plus quick lime. The hard part would be getting it placed underneath the city. That would involve real work. Then, I’d need to convince some Chem shamans to flood the caves with water. Once that was done, any lightning strike would set off the acetylene explosion, and I know a god or two who can use lightning.”
“You really do have an affinity for explosions involving water,” Giltak raised an eyebrow at me.
“What would you do if Aylem will help?” Erhonsay inquired.
“I’d have her strip all the humidity out of the salt dome and the salt layers in the mountain next door. Then, I’d have her split the elements in all the remaining salt and flood the former salt layers with water. That’s all it would take. Doesn’t even need a lightning strike.”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“I had guessed that you might request a volcano, but no, you went for an unusual chemical reaction instead,” Erhonsay smiled.
“A volcano doesn’t give Galt his desired crater,” I pointed out, “unless you could manufacture a maar explosion between groundwater and magma. Aylem could do it, but splitting salt is easier. She wouldn’t have to import any magma if she used the local salt layers.”
“So you already knew how you’d destroy Salicet all this time?” Galt semi-flattened an ear.
“It’s not like it’s hard,” I complained. “You just need enough ingredients. You were so busy trying to convince me to do it that you never asked if I could do it.”
Galt tilted his head and studied me for a moment. Then he sat up. "I have misread you, Emily. That was my mistake. I'm sorry if I offended you with my persuasion plan. I thought I needed it but obviously, I don't. Can you speak to Alyem about helping with the destruction of Salicet soon? You need to know in advance because it will take time to contract with the Shrine of Giltak for calcium carbide if she refuses."
“I can do that but please explain one thing for me,” I conceded. “Why is it necessary to destroy what is left of that poor city?”
“To leave a dramatic example of what can happen when a polity strays too far from the will of the gods. Such reminders work well on a race like the Cosm who were designed to fear and follow the gods.”
“If I can employ any means at my disposal to minimize the loss of life, then can we move the destruction up in time?” I asked. “A crater where Salicet was once located could make a difference in handling the All-Gods Shrine in Mattamukmuk. It might scare them into doing the right thing without bloodshed or an invasion. I was planning on bringing up the problems with Mattamukmuk at the next Convocation.”
“I thought you hated attending Convocation,” the cat god said.
“I do, and I hate destroying Salicet too, but those dislikes won’t prevent me from addressing the issue of the Mattamukmuk black market in charm gems.” I leaned forward and studied the ruin of the library, “Why do I need to destroy Salicet? Why don’t you destroy it yourself directly and just say it was me?”
“You really haven’t figured that out yet?” Galt looked amused. “It’s a form of testimonial advertising.”
“What!?”
"You'll probably figure it out on your own, but if you haven't sorted it out by Coldtide, I'll explain it to you," Galt purred. He liked setting me up with problems to solve on my own. "In the meantime, there is something I need to tell you, or rather, I would like to show you. Your overprotective and worrisome friends at the shrine can't bring themselves to share some news with you, but you need to know about the riots that happened while you were gone."
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Aylem, Healing Shrine, 8th rot., 9th day, morning
“When, do you think?” Imstay asked as I leaned my head against his broad chest, cuddled in his strong arms.
“The timing’s right for when you and Heldfirk came down to cheer me up after Emily disappeared into the river,” I sighed in contentment. “Remember, the night after we took the kids kite flying?”
“That was a good night,” Imstay purred deep in his baritone. “How are things going with Lyappis?”
“I confess, I can’t tell,” I was at a loss to explain how I didn’t feel any different, “but she seems to think there is progress.”
“Well, is there?”
“I don’t know,” I grumped. “Why don’t you ask her?”
“I’m just wondering when I need to send in your staff to start dusting your apartments for your coming home,” he said gently. “I think you’re getting a lot better.”
“You do?” I was astounded.
“When people change, they often do not see it in themselves.”
“Funny, Emily said something very similar.”
“Really? It's probably correct then since great minds think alike and I do have a great mind," he sounded pleased with himself for saying that.
“Oh please,” I groaned, “your mind is many things, but as smart as Emily is not one of them. Maybe those mekaners out of Omexkel are as smart as Emily but none of us here can match her.”
“Huh. Maybe Garki," Imstay was suddenly serious. "Garki is really smart. He works hard at hiding it, too. I have no idea why he hides it, but when he and Emily talk, no one can follow those two. He's exhausted all the math instruction already at the Fated Shrine, so Kamagishi tells me. She's made some sort of deal with Raoleer to borrow one of the math instructors from the Building Shrine for a year just to tutor the boy."
“Really?”
“Yes, so Raoleer sent a Coyn, the one who wrote the explanations in Giltak’s revelation to Emily and the instructions for building your own slide rule. It was a nightmare finding a place for him to stay that wasn’t run-down slave quarters. The little fellow is the Revered Sekoy’s student, of all things, so I couldn’t put him up with the street sweepers and spoot slaves.”
“Roaleer sent Master Artificer Aduda?” I was shocked.
“Yes, that’s his name. You know him?”
“I know of him. I’m surprised Raoleer let him out of her sight. He’s one of her best instructors for her trainees. If he’s here for a year, see if he’ll teach Heldfirk too. We shouldn’t let this opportunity slip past us.”
“He’s that good, eh? He ruined me when he showed up. He walked into my study with a Citadel escort, being all of nine hands high, looks around the room with fish face eyes, and says, 'wow, this place is really huge.'"
“Pfft!" I could see Master Aduda doing just that. Given how the Building Shrine protected its Coyn, he was a bit of an innocent in many ways.
“Imstay, Master Aduda might be the best math brain on Erdos,” I stated. “He’ll be Garki’s match. Where did you find quarters for him?”
“I delegated it to Heldfirk,” Imstay laughed, pleased with himself.
“And?”
“Heldfirk, with a little help from Garki, found housing and board for Master Aduda with the Coyn engravers at the mint, the most pampered slaves in the city.”
I had to laugh again. It was an excellent solution in a place where every Coyn, no matter how pampered, still required an owner. “I hope Garki let our son do most of the work.”
“Garki gave him advice and walked with Heldfirk as our son visited different places, but Heldfirk did all the work. It’s the first real task I’ve ever given him, so he was keen on doing well. Tell me, Aylem, what do you really think of Garki?”
“He’s the most amazing page you have ever hired,” I responded honestly. “He has a good heart and a pleasant personality. He also adores you. In a way, you’ve become the family he lost in the Siege of Capani.”
“But do you like him, Aylem?”
“Yes, there’s a lot to like there. If anything ever happened to you, I would take him into my household to insure his posterity and safety. Besides, he’s the first real friend Heldfirk’s ever had, who wasn’t some son of a snake out to use him to gain an advantage. Garki treats our boy like a little brother. They are sweet together."
“I’m happy you feel that way,” Imstay concluded. “I find that I have become very fond of Garki. What would you think of adopting him?”
Before I could answer, there was a scratching at the door, followed by a voice, “I can hear the two of you talking in there. I have a message for you, Aylem.”
“Is that disreputable griffin now roaming the hallways unsupervised?” Imstay whispered. “Does Lisaykos know?”
“What’s the message from Emily, Asgotl?” I said loud enough to be heard in the hallway.
“She wants to have a private conversation with you, the sooner the better,” Asgotl replied. “She waiting for you right now up on the roof of the dome.”
“When you’re done with Emily, can you send her my way? Kamagishi and I came to consult with her, after all,” Imstay requested. “We want the law done before Convocation meets.”
“What?” That didn’t sound right to me.
"The revised law is what Emily suggested to you. Kamagishi and I have annotated the statutes that will be nullified by the terms of the Mounts Treaty. We have modified others. As suggested by Lord Katsa, I will present the revision to both the Convocation and the Lord Holders as a completed work which I will enforce. It will be the new law. It does not need to be perfect. It just needs to be on the streets as fast as possible.”
“Who lit a fire under you?” I gave him a look of disbelief. “Two years ago, you didn’t even believe a Coyn could converse intelligently with a Cosm. Now you want to consult with one and you worry about housing another lest you insult his standing at his shrine.”
I immediately regretted saying that. I thought Imstay’s face would crack, it was so sorrowful.
“All of my mother’s family, the entire House of Blockit right down to my third cousins, are gone, Aylem. There is no one left. I have paid an extreme price for loving a family that didn’t deserve the favor given to them by the royal house of Foskos. I am lost, adrift in a boat on the river heading for the drop at the Great Black Fall, where I am sure I will drown. If there is anything I have learned in the last two years, it’s that almost everything I thought I knew about the world of Cosm has been wrong.
"Some days, I tell myself that I am fortunate to be the king who will preside over these great changes demanded by the gods. On other days, I feel like my life so far has been futile and I'm only hanging on for the sake of my children's future. Remember what I did to Flavriansha 18 years ago? I just made that a crime worth two years of hard labor in the copper mines and wonder if I should turn myself in. I can’t tell up from down anymore, so much is changing, Aylem.”
He looked as lost as he sounded, and I thought to myself that this might be the first time I'd ever seen Imstay without his play-acting facade.
“Tell Emily I have to get dressed and then I’ll be right out,” I said to the door loudly. Then I gave someone who really needed some reassurance a meaningful hug. “I think making Garki a member of our family would be a wonderful thing to do.”
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