Immanent Ascension

Jad closed the door. “There’s fire in the capital. A lot of it.”

“It’s ten leagues away, so my guess is that you couldn’t make out much else.”

Jad nodded in agreement. “But it’s definitely smoke. Looks like it’s covering the entire capital and everything around it.”

“That’s not much to go on,” Gandash said. He looked back down at the map. “And our destination isn’t the capital. I don’t like the idea of heading across the continent without knowing what’s going on right behind us. But I’m not sure we have a choice. The mission orders specifically say to move toward our destination without allowing for any delays.”

Jad leaned over the map. “There are a few ways down out of these mountains. I bet you’re thinking of taking this path here.” He pointed at a line heading from the Gateway complex and to the east. “Am I right?”

Gandash nodded. “That seems the most direct route to Puabi.”

“It’s direct, yes,” Jad said. “But if we go this way—” he shifted his finger to another line on the map “—it will pass through a village. Can’t remember the name, honestly. But we went through it on the way up here with Purattu.”

Gandash said, “It’s called Urmia.”

“Right. Not far past Urmia, the path veers north and then east. Granted, we’d lose a day or two of travel. But we could get news.”

“At least we’d get an idea of what’s happening in the capital,” Xerxes added.

Gandash stared at the map. “I do like the idea of being informed. Except, after leaving the village, the path has some major downsides. This part here. It’s even labeled on the map. Maker’s Ravine. And here. Atmu Gorge. Also here. Another ravine.”

Xerxes wasn’t sure what Gandash was getting at, and upon looking around the table, he saw that the other mages seemed confused.

It was Kishar who broke the silence. “What does that matter?” she asked.

“They’re the perfect places to ambush a passing force like ours. Lieutenant Xerxes and I experienced something like that not too long ago. Remember that, Xerk?” Gandash looked up at him.

He was expecting to see anger in his friend’s eyes. Instead, Gandash’s expression made it seem like he was asking about a math equation.

“How could I forget?” Xerxes said. “But… we have no reason to believe anything here’s related to the Abhorrent, do we? They—”

“It doesn’t matter whether it's monsters, bandits, rebels, or anything else. If I have the choice between going through multiple bottlenecks where enemies could take potshots at us, or going this way—” he indicated the other path going to the east “—which is safer and quicker, well, I’d rather play it safe while we can. How much sunlight do we have left?”

“Only an hour or so,” Jad said. “Gandash, er… Captain, even if we don’t go down that path, you could always send one of us down there to—”

“I’m aware of that, Lieutenant.” Gandash began rolling up the map. “Since we don’t have time for traveling today, let’s make camp. We’ll start out at first light. You’re all dismissed.”

Outside the tent, Jad muttered, “What an asshole.”

Xerxes didn’t respond.

The Gateway complex itself had only a few rooms for guests. There weren’t enough for all the mages and officers, so Gandash ordered everyone to set up camp outside.

Setting up camp required a lot of work. They had to care for the horses, start fires for cooking, post guards, and tend to other tasks. Not seeing any reason to waste time digging trenches and building dirt mounds, Gandash declined to have them build any fortifications.

After eating an evening meal of lentils and ale, Enusat grumbled, “What’s the point in us being lieutenants if we don’t get better treatment? We don’t even get a better camp position than the Unsighted? Stupid.”

“Randy Gandy’s trying to get the regular soldiers to like him,” Jad said. “That’s all.”

“At least it’s fair,” Kashtiliash pointed out.

“Maybe,” Enusat said.

“Hey, why don’t we go up to the watchtower?” Jad said. “The view’s incredible.”

Xerxes yawned. “Aren’t you tired?”

“You can always catch up on sleep. Who knows when we’ll have another chance to get this view?”

Enusat stood up. “Let’s do it.”

The watchtower was just barely visible through the trees to the west. Jad led them across the camp, past the guards, and up a narrow path. Eventually, they reached the tower, which was made of stone, and looked to be at least fifteen or twenty cubits tall. As Xerxes climbed the ladder and stepped out onto the tower itself, he thought back to Ligish Castle, and the time he, Bel, and Captain Ishi had stood beneath the stars.

He looked up. The night sky was different here, and though he recognized a few of the constellations, most seemed to have slightly different shapes than what he was used to. The moon was different here. It was larger and yellower. Right now, it was a waxing gibbous moon, providing enough light to see some of the basic terrain details around them.

As the wind buffeted his hair, he looked out over the mountains, and the trees that covered them.

Pointing out to the west, Jad said, “The capital’s that way. Can’t really see much now.”

“View’s still good,” Kashtiliash said.

Enusat spit over the edge, then crossed his arms. “I can’t believe Randy Gandy just blew off your idea, Jad. Or rather, I guess I can believe it. That fucker.”

Kashtiliash sniffed. “Don’t say that too loud.”

“Nobody can ‘ear me. We should send someone to that village. What if the entire capital is burning down? What if there’s an Abhorrent invasion?”

“It’s not an invasion,” Xerxes said.

“We don’t know that,” Enusat said.

“Look,” Kashtiliash said.

He was pointing to a spot north of the camp, where a trail was just barely visible in the moonlight.

“That’s the trail,” Jad said. “Follow that, you’ll reach that place I was talking about. Urmia. I remember there’s a little tavern there. A few buildings.”

Enusat chuckled. “A brothel too.”

Jad tsked. “You’re lucky your name doesn’t rhyme with ‘randy.’”

“You should talk to Gandash,” Kashtiliash said, obviously directing his words at Xerxes.

“What do you mean?” Xerxes said.

“About that village.”

“Yeah, good idea,” Enusat said. “‘E might listen to you.”

“Hmm,” Jad said. “It might be worth it. What do you think, Xerk-man? Would you be willing to give it a shot?”

Xerxes hesitated. He still hadn’t talked to Gandash about the incident at the restaurant. Would it be wise to go to him and give unsolicited advice, given the circumstances? That said, he was a first lieutenant, so if he didn’t do it, who would?

“Do it, Xerk,” Enusat said. “Remind him that Jad and I are both from around ‘ere. If the two of us go alone, we could be there and back in an hour or two.”

“Wouldn’t hurt,” Kashtiliash said.

Xerxes looked off into the darkness in the direction of the capital, and thought he could make out the smudge of smoke on the horizon. Then he glanced back at the trail leading away from the Gateway complex.

“Sure,” he said. “No harm in trying, right?”