Chapter 116

Morning dawned ... well not exactly, but it was morning and I gently woke Arwen from her slumbers from where she’d had a disturbed night.

“I had bad dreams,” she said when we ate breakfast.

“It wasn’t very nice to see,” I agreed.

“So much hunger, so many red eyes...” she sighed, trailing off.

“I know, but I’ve dealt with those for now,” I said, cuddling her in. “How do you feel?”

“I ache.”

“We’ll take it easier, but we still have a little bit of a climb out of here,” I chuckled.

We soon set off and although I chatted with Arwen, trying to keep her cheerful, I kept my thoughts very much to myself about the activities of the carnivores last night. That they had displayed intelligence coupled with magical ability was disturbing and I suspected that they weren’t finished with us yet. So far though, I’d only had to deal with them non-magically, the dampening field would make dealing with them magically far tougher and I’d much prefer not to if I could avoid it.

We finally made it to the top of a set of low hills and I pulled out my binoculars. I could spot some subtle, though not major, changes in the landscape. The morass of vegetation thinned and there were signs of other types of flora growing. Of the carnivores and grazers there was neither sign, nor any indication that they’d been here or where they could hide. The wind had picked up, though the humidity remained constant and the sky remained dark and oppressive with no lightning at all.

“I’m bored,” giggled Arwen.

“Trust me, you don’t want the alternative around here,” I chuckled, feeling my mood lift.

“Tower’s still there, but I still can’t scan it,” she added.

“I still can’t detect it, though I think my vision is getting a little better,” I nodded.

“Like seeing up to the edge of a fog bank?” she asked.

“Pretty much so yes, still a bit like dusk too,” I replied.

“Me too.”

We’d just walked a few hundred metres when the ambush was sprung. Three carnivores burst upwards from the morass where they’d dug in and with incredible speed were upon us. Unfortunately for them that was the only advantage they had as they smashed into a shield Arwen had been maintaining giving me enough time to draw both my sword and rifle. Three shots later it was over with and we moved away feeling more troubled.

“They’re learning,” Arwen stated.

“Yes. They tried to breach the wards last night with magic as well,” I agreed.

“I don’t think they are sentient though.”

“You realise you’ll have to relearn being a little girl when we get back?” I chuckled. “But yes, I agree. Not sentient, just smart and capable of adapting and learning, I suspect a group mind at work,” I added, giving her the information on the bigger ‘smarter’ predators who had tried to bring the ward down.

“Nasty.”

“Very, but so far they appear to be vulnerable to modern weaponry, probably swords too,” I replied.

“Maintaining the shield is easy enough for me. Still, no doubt they’ll try something different next time ... assuming there is a next time,” she nodded.

“I suspect there will be,” I added.

There was. The creatures tried a variety of tactics from a large rush to waiting until we’d virtually stepped on them and from all directions too, including one trying to leap on us as we scrambled through a narrow gap in a series of cut stones that confirmed a civilisation had been here and was buried beneath us. Then they apparently gave up as the attacks ceased and we carried on towards what Arwen could only describe as a tower.

Finally, on the tenth day I could see what she meant. A huge edifice of what appeared to be natural rock speared upwards into the clouds from a broad base littered with fallen boulders and what appeared to be badly worn cut stones.

That however wasn’t the worst of it. Between us and the base were group after group of predators, including the larger types and behind them another group of even bigger ones that I marked as the alpha’s.

“Could be tricky,” I chuckled humourlessly to Arwen.

“Hard to miss though,” she added nervously.

“Think you can hold them off?” I asked as the front ranks bounded towards us.

“Don’t know. The big ones are attacking mentally,” she gasped.

“Let’s see who blinks first then,” I snarled, launching a grenade from the Ferfrans at the largest group and then letting loose on full auto at the approaching creatures.

I managed two magazine changes before the creatures reached the shield Arwen was maintaining before switching to my rapier and trench sword and stepped just outside the shield to start cutting the beasts down as they leapt at me. The shield at least ensured they couldn’t get behind me though I did miss Roisin and her semi-automatic to cover my flanks.

Despite the use of my magic being difficult to bring into use, I was able to enhance my strength and agility to the point where my blades blurred into a double twirling arc of death in front of me.

“Let’s go!” I yelled to Arwen as I began to march forward into a maelstrom of death and butchery with her keeping the shield at my back going by an incredible effort on her part.

Every so often I’d step back into the shield and grab the Ferfrans, usually to load a grenade into the launcher as well as let off a magazine, more often than not at the bigger predators whom I assumed were targeting Arwen. None as yet had gone down, but we were gradually reaching the range where I could reasonably hope to target them. At these times Arwen had to stand still as she wasn’t anywhere near strong enough to push the shield forward against the press of bodies from the predators, but it was clear that their current tactics, such as they were, were not going to stop us reaching the base of the tower.

It was then that the larger creatures charged us and forced Arwen to her knees as even I could now feel the sheer malice along with hunger aimed directly at us. Stepping back and grabbing the Ferfrans I loosed an entire clip at them only to see the bullets deflected away. Throwing caution to the wind I dashed forward and used my rapier to skewer one through its eye whilst using the trench sword to nearly decapitate another. One of the ordinary predators managed to clamp its jaws around my forearm but the armour held and I slammed the pommel of my sabre down on its head to loosen its grip as I swung the trench sword around to punch into the side of the next attacker.

The beast collapsed and I drew my Glock and double-tapped the dazed creature I’d hit with the pommel before letting loose the rest of the clip at the fast approaching other superior predators. This relieved some of the pressure from Arwen and she was able to clamber over the corpse of a predator to join me.

“Could really do with Adsila and her sniper rifle,” I gasped out as the beasts just kept coming, often dodging and feinting. “I’m pretty sure that those big bast ... ones are directing them, hoping to exhaust us.”

Arwen came up to me and placed her hand on the sight of the Ferfrans and concentrated. “Now,” she stated as I aimed and fired a grenade, taking out the entire group save one whom I sent a full clip after.

The large creature left, looking somewhat dazed, suddenly reared and flailed in the air with its massive limbs before collapsing as the rest of the attacking creatures suddenly began running in all directions.

“Thank you,” I said to her.

“You pointed out the obvious, Uncle John. I just guided the grenade to where it would do the most good,” she replied with a beaming smile.

“Let’s go climbing then,” I nodded as we gazed at the tower.

“Wonder how high it goes?”

“All the way to the top,” I chuckled.

“Oh, Uncle John!” she sighed.

“Can you scan high enough?” I asked as I could barely make out there was a tower there.

“No, the effect gets stronger as it gets higher,” she admitted.

“In other words, magic is going to get harder?”

“Yes, Uncle John. I think so,” she nodded.

“Best prepare for the worst then,” I sighed and started pulling out my mountaineering gear, including some magically enhanced, though not magical items.

Soon I was adapting gear for Arwen, essentially shrinking some items as well as making sure her pack held various items that would enable her to keep going if the height of the tower reached over the area where breathing would become difficult as well as temperature changes.

“Let’s go,” I said once we were ready. “We can always hope that there will be some spots where we can rest up.”

“Yes, Uncle John,” she replied solemnly, looking very overloaded with climbing gear, though nothing like what I was carrying.

The first thing we did was walk around the base of the tower; after all, we’d have looked pretty daft climbing it only to discover a staircase on the other side. The base itself was massive, almost a mile in diameter and strewn with fallen objects and so we were very cautious, though nothing untoward happened. There was no staircase, but the far side did look easier to work our way up without excessive ropes and so we set off moving from one ledge to another linked by a safety rope, but usually finding that at this level at least, we could climb and scramble to get to where we wanted too. Yes it was time consuming, but otherwise far, far more dangerous to us than facing the predators in the open, even though we could see them.

“Still can’t scan to the top,” Arwen admitted on one of our frequent rest breaks.

“Assuming there is one,” I chuckled.

“You’re silly,” she giggled.

“Me?” I laughed.

“Yes, Uncle John. You,”

“We’re both going to look pretty silly when we discover there’s a lift running up the middle we could have used,” I replied with a grin.

“Where’s the door?”

“You’re the Seer,” I chuckled.

“I can’t even scan below the surface,” she sighed.

“Me either. So we go onwards and upwards, hoping that there are answers at the top,” I nodded.

It took two days to reach the cloud line and that slowed our progress down immensely. We were still able to use our powers to a very limited extent though my access to my pocket universes was ended, I could still detect them, but no longer open them. Every surface was wet and there were pockets of slime everywhere making the surface treacherous, normal vision was limited but we could still sense things around us. Once a huge flying thing came close, but seemed mostly to be filled with hydrogen and a herbivore at that but still unnerving.

“Hope there’s nothing up here that hunts them,” I chuckled after we had calmed a little.

“I struggle to detect any form of life on this world. It’s all like it’s shielded or cloaked,” Arwen shuddered.

“Does suggest it’s the world the Sidhe side of your people came from,” I nodded.

“Yes, and also why they left,” she giggled.

There was no place to pitch the tent on the side of the tower so I secured us to a ledge to sleep, feeling a touch of cold permeating the humidity for the first time since our arrival. We spent an uncomfortable night, though it was a joint dream that kept us more disturbed than anything else.

I felt the years falling away as I gazed upon a mighty city, beautiful arches, delicate curves, aesthetically pleasing, yet functional too. Everywhere I looked I saw hordes of people living happily together, fairly prosperous and all capable of magic. They walked and flew about their tasks, played and worked and if life weren’t perfect, then at least for the majority there was a measure of happiness. The inhabitants themselves weren’t Sidhe ... that is to say they weren’t the Sidhe that I knew. Though they clearly were related, they had a respect for all life that was only now returning to the Sidhe psyche since the rise of Verenestra.

My eyes were taken suddenly to the sun of this world. The surface seemed to flicker and brighten. Large flares leapt out from its surface and one caught a glancing blow to the planet. Billions died, the largest ocean on the planet vaporised and became a dense cloud covering as the mean temperature of the planet rose, melting the icecaps and sublimating into the atmosphere. Harvests failed and it was only by the strength of their magics that any food could be created, but it was clear that as a species they were doomed unless they could find a way to escape this world and its group of worlds where the same events had happened.

Harsh measures were needed as the people were put to work building the towers that would enable their ‘betters’ to study the stars for a new home. Many of those who had survived now wished they hadn’t and many starved as their powers often weren’t enough to feed them. Riots and rebellions shook the remaining governments, three of the four towers collapsed as the inhabitants revolted successfully, yet died slowly as escape was impossible, merely dragging their tormentors down with them. One tower survived, the elites who now called themselves Daoine, meaning superior, created creatures to defend and prey upon all who threatened the tower and gradually became more remote from those they ruled, choosing amongst the survivors for guards or Sidhe to keep the lower orders in their place.