ellinor
Explorer
36x03
“Either we have walked into the past,” Twiggy suggested, “or you have walked into the future.”
“Or you are spies sent here to trick us.” Tomahura said. “We captured your confederate.”
Our what? Nyoko thought. She saw her comrades looking equally confused. “Please describe this person, so I may Witness it,” she said, improvising.
“Male. Human. Heathen. What more is there to describe? He is your confederate, after all.”
“Lieutenant Commander Tomahura-san, we seek parlay with Adept Wazani,” declared Twiggy. “Under Provision Seventy-Nine of the Most Noble and Holy Codex Governing All Matters of Combat and Opposition.”
Nyoko recognized the name of the Adept that served the first expedition to Sheh lands, and recognized the provision: a historical procedure for negotiating a truce among hostile forces. Nyoko had never heard a tale in which it had been invoked. After all, when hostile forces encountered the Sovereign military, they (a) seldom lasted long enough to invoke anything, and (b) weren’t familiar with obscure Sovereign military procedure. And it made even less sense for the victor to invoke the provision to its bound captive.
It doesn’t make sense, Nyoko thought, but perhaps it will help us find some answers.
Tomahura looked uncomfortable. The idea of a heathen citing Sovereign military code was clearly a departure for her, as well. But after some consideration, she nodded. “If you unbind me and my men, we will honor your parlay.” Twiggy gave a shallow bow in return. Tavi and Kormick untied the Sovereign forces, some of whom grumbled, but all of whom honored the truce.
“Ho-kay,” Kormick said, “where to, Lieutenant…san?”
“It is nearly dusk,” Tomahura said, “and we will not make it to our main garrison by dark. We will camp here and set out at dawn.”
Savina leaned and whispered to Kormick, “—after dawn prayers.” Kormick nodded discreetly.
The parties made camp. At midnight, Lieutenant Tomahura began a simple military prayer. It was of an old style, but Nyoko could follow it, and joined in.
Suddenly, a flash of light burst over a stand of trees in the distance. Then another. “That’s our garrison!” one of the soldiers gasped.
“What have you done?” asked a pikeman.
“Us?” asked Tavi. “Nothing! We’re here with you! What do you think…” The blasts continued. Sparks rose above the trees.
“What’s happening?” Twiggy asked. A loud THUMP sounded in the distance, and the earth shuddered.
“I do not know,” replied one of the soldiers. “But we must return to help our garrison…” he turned to run—
And then he was gone.
All the soldiers were gone. Marshal Tomahura was gone. The fire was gone.
No, Nyoko realized, glimpsing the embers just behind her…no, the fire had only moved.
Everything had moved, Nyoko realized. The whole party had moved. They were in the shelter of a small shale cliff, on a patch of sharp, black, dagger-like grass surrounded by scrubby pines.
Nyoko would have sworn it was a case of déjà-vu… only Adepts did not experience déjà-vu. She really was seeing the same thing again.
They hadn’t just moved. They had returned to their campsite from the night before.
“Have we gone back in time?” Tavi asked.
“No,” Twiggy said, “that can’t be. We were here last night. If we had gone back in time, we would see ourselves from last night.” Twiggy paused. “And that’s if going back in time were possible. Which it’s not.”
“Maybe we’ve just been teleported,” Kormick said.
But it’s exactly the same as last night, thought Nyoko. A teleport wouldn’t do that.
“It’s as if time has been reversed,” Savina offered. “There were explosions in the direction of the Sovereign camp. Could the First Expedition have somehow turned back time to save their own lives?”
“I can’t begin to imagine how,” Twiggy said, but Nyoko could see her analytical brain beginning to try to imagine how.
“The orderly march of time is Kettenek’s law,” Nyoko frowned inwardly. Even if it were possible for the First Expedition to have turned back time, doing so would mean they had strayed as far from Sovereign doctrine as they had from Sovereign civilization. Given that they seemed otherwise committed to tradition, she felt this was unlikely.
Or maybe she just hoped it was unlikely…
“Regardless, we need to figure out what’s happening,” Mena said. “We know we’re back where we were last night, and we know where the Sovereigns ambushed us. Maybe the Sovereigns are back where they were last night. Maybe not. But if time has somehow turned backward, then tomorrow should be just like today. And if it is, then maybe the Sovereigns will be at the same ambush site at the same time tomorrow. If we go there, maybe we’ll learn something about what’s going on. If we leave now, maybe we can even get the jump on Tomahura and her troops.”
“That’s a lot of maybes,” Twiggy noted. “Here’s another. If all that happens, maybe Tomahura won’t remember us, and we can make an—um, a different first impression.”
“And who is this so-called confederate of ours they claim to have captured?” Tavi asked. “What if it’s one of us, from the future? We should stick together, and not send anyone ahead to scout.”
They resolved to set out together into the night toward the gully where they had encountered Lieutenant Tomahura.
As they broke camp, Kormick ripped a leaf from his notebook, drew a smiley face on it, and slid it under a rock. “As an experiment,” he explained.
###
By noon, Twiggy was exhausted. She’d stayed alert through the night, lighting the way for the party, and heaved a sigh of relief when they reached the spot where they’d encountered Tomahura. “Rest,” Savina recommended. “Others will keep watch.” The group hid themselves, and hid their holy symbols and ceremonial weapons in their packs. For hours, they traded watch. Twiggy tried to nap, but couldn’t. The waiting was too tense.
Late in the afternoon, Arden spotted movement—Lieutenant Tomahura’s ambush party, the same as the previous day. Twiggy shook off her exhaustion and crouched behind a small bluff with the rest of the group.
“So the murder-slave goes first, then Mena and I…” Kormick whispered, coiling his muscles for an ambush. “Tavi, you take up the—”
“I have another way,” Nyoko interjected. “Wait here.” Kormick stayed coiled, but stayed still.
“Hail, Lieutenant Commander Tomahura Anaya-san!” Nyoko announced, striding out. “I am Nyoko, Adept of Cauldron.”
Tomahura jumped in surprise. Then she looked confused. “An Adept? …From Cauldron?” Clearly, Nyoko was not what Tomahura expected. “You are far from home,” she observed.
“I and my company are here to find you,” Nyoko explained. “To learn of your progress and share the Witness of Adept Wazani. And I bear an urgent message for the Grand Marshal.”
Tomahura gave a small bow. “Welcome to this corner of the Ketkath. What is your message?”
“I’m afraid it’s for the ears of the Grand Marshal himself,” Nyoko insisted.
Tomahura hesitated, but nodded. “Then…I will bring you to our camp.”
“I am not alone,” Nyoko said. “And if you will permit me to make a strange request, I wish safe passage for my friends. They may seem unconventional, but I assure you they are allies, and essential to my Witness.”
“You have my word,” Tomahura said, puzzled but agreeable. “They will not be harmed.”
Kormick slid his warhammer back into his belt. The party emerged from behind the bluff.
Tomahura’s group reacted with visible discomfort. Twiggy heard more than one whisper something about “heathens,” but they held their fire.
“Well, that went better,” Twiggy whispered to Arden, as the group set out.
“Let’s hope it stays that way,” Arden whispered back.
Together, the party and Tomahura’s troops hiked toward the Sovereigns’ main camp. “It must feel like you’ve been on the road forever,” Twiggy offered some small talk to one of the soldiers, trying to gauge their knowledge.
“It’s only been a couple of weeks,” the soldier replied gruffly. “We’re trained to be away for much longer.”
“Seen any Sheh yet?” Twiggy changed the subject.
“Nope,” the man replied.
He’s not much of a conversationalist, Acorn huffed.
“What brought you out to where you found us?” Twiggy asked.
“Patrol,” he said. “Scouts caught us a Heathen spy.”
“Wow! Where?”
“Dunno. Woods, I guess,” the soldier replied.
“And what did this spy look like?”
“You Heathens all look the same to me. Anyway, I didn’t see him.”
“What did the scouts do with him?” Twiggy asked.
“How should I know?” The soldier replied. Twiggy thought she heard and why are you asking so many questions? in his tone. It was a tone she’d become accustomed to, over the years. She quit the interrogation while she was ahead. From there, they walked in silence.
The walk was long. Hours long, and boring. Twiggy recited formulae to herself to stay moving. She played a game of Go in her head. She counted new species of wildlife. Eleven. Twelve. By the time they reached the main camp, it had been dark for hours. She was sore everywhere.
Chelesta, it’s huge! And so orderly! Acorn cheered when they arrived at the moonlit garrison. He was right—there were dozens of tents in precise rows, housing probably 500 Sovereign troops.
More importantly, Twiggy thought, we get to sit down. The group was ushered into a tent with a woven mat on the ground and a low table in its center. Twiggy sat on the mat with relief. Tomahura left to tell the expedition’s Grand Marshal of their arrival, leaving armed guards outside the tent. Twiggy wasn’t sure whether the guards were there to keep them in, or others out, but she was too tired to give it much thought. It must be almost midnight, Twiggy thought, and we didn’t sleep at all last night . . .
Suddenly, the earth shuddered. A guard screamed. And a massive explosion rocked the tent.
“Either we have walked into the past,” Twiggy suggested, “or you have walked into the future.”
“Or you are spies sent here to trick us.” Tomahura said. “We captured your confederate.”
Our what? Nyoko thought. She saw her comrades looking equally confused. “Please describe this person, so I may Witness it,” she said, improvising.
“Male. Human. Heathen. What more is there to describe? He is your confederate, after all.”
“Lieutenant Commander Tomahura-san, we seek parlay with Adept Wazani,” declared Twiggy. “Under Provision Seventy-Nine of the Most Noble and Holy Codex Governing All Matters of Combat and Opposition.”
Nyoko recognized the name of the Adept that served the first expedition to Sheh lands, and recognized the provision: a historical procedure for negotiating a truce among hostile forces. Nyoko had never heard a tale in which it had been invoked. After all, when hostile forces encountered the Sovereign military, they (a) seldom lasted long enough to invoke anything, and (b) weren’t familiar with obscure Sovereign military procedure. And it made even less sense for the victor to invoke the provision to its bound captive.
It doesn’t make sense, Nyoko thought, but perhaps it will help us find some answers.
Tomahura looked uncomfortable. The idea of a heathen citing Sovereign military code was clearly a departure for her, as well. But after some consideration, she nodded. “If you unbind me and my men, we will honor your parlay.” Twiggy gave a shallow bow in return. Tavi and Kormick untied the Sovereign forces, some of whom grumbled, but all of whom honored the truce.
“Ho-kay,” Kormick said, “where to, Lieutenant…san?”
“It is nearly dusk,” Tomahura said, “and we will not make it to our main garrison by dark. We will camp here and set out at dawn.”
Savina leaned and whispered to Kormick, “—after dawn prayers.” Kormick nodded discreetly.
The parties made camp. At midnight, Lieutenant Tomahura began a simple military prayer. It was of an old style, but Nyoko could follow it, and joined in.
Suddenly, a flash of light burst over a stand of trees in the distance. Then another. “That’s our garrison!” one of the soldiers gasped.
“What have you done?” asked a pikeman.
“Us?” asked Tavi. “Nothing! We’re here with you! What do you think…” The blasts continued. Sparks rose above the trees.
“What’s happening?” Twiggy asked. A loud THUMP sounded in the distance, and the earth shuddered.
“I do not know,” replied one of the soldiers. “But we must return to help our garrison…” he turned to run—
And then he was gone.
All the soldiers were gone. Marshal Tomahura was gone. The fire was gone.
No, Nyoko realized, glimpsing the embers just behind her…no, the fire had only moved.
Everything had moved, Nyoko realized. The whole party had moved. They were in the shelter of a small shale cliff, on a patch of sharp, black, dagger-like grass surrounded by scrubby pines.
Nyoko would have sworn it was a case of déjà-vu… only Adepts did not experience déjà-vu. She really was seeing the same thing again.
They hadn’t just moved. They had returned to their campsite from the night before.
“Have we gone back in time?” Tavi asked.
“No,” Twiggy said, “that can’t be. We were here last night. If we had gone back in time, we would see ourselves from last night.” Twiggy paused. “And that’s if going back in time were possible. Which it’s not.”
“Maybe we’ve just been teleported,” Kormick said.
But it’s exactly the same as last night, thought Nyoko. A teleport wouldn’t do that.
“It’s as if time has been reversed,” Savina offered. “There were explosions in the direction of the Sovereign camp. Could the First Expedition have somehow turned back time to save their own lives?”
“I can’t begin to imagine how,” Twiggy said, but Nyoko could see her analytical brain beginning to try to imagine how.
“The orderly march of time is Kettenek’s law,” Nyoko frowned inwardly. Even if it were possible for the First Expedition to have turned back time, doing so would mean they had strayed as far from Sovereign doctrine as they had from Sovereign civilization. Given that they seemed otherwise committed to tradition, she felt this was unlikely.
Or maybe she just hoped it was unlikely…
“Regardless, we need to figure out what’s happening,” Mena said. “We know we’re back where we were last night, and we know where the Sovereigns ambushed us. Maybe the Sovereigns are back where they were last night. Maybe not. But if time has somehow turned backward, then tomorrow should be just like today. And if it is, then maybe the Sovereigns will be at the same ambush site at the same time tomorrow. If we go there, maybe we’ll learn something about what’s going on. If we leave now, maybe we can even get the jump on Tomahura and her troops.”
“That’s a lot of maybes,” Twiggy noted. “Here’s another. If all that happens, maybe Tomahura won’t remember us, and we can make an—um, a different first impression.”
“And who is this so-called confederate of ours they claim to have captured?” Tavi asked. “What if it’s one of us, from the future? We should stick together, and not send anyone ahead to scout.”
They resolved to set out together into the night toward the gully where they had encountered Lieutenant Tomahura.
As they broke camp, Kormick ripped a leaf from his notebook, drew a smiley face on it, and slid it under a rock. “As an experiment,” he explained.
###
By noon, Twiggy was exhausted. She’d stayed alert through the night, lighting the way for the party, and heaved a sigh of relief when they reached the spot where they’d encountered Tomahura. “Rest,” Savina recommended. “Others will keep watch.” The group hid themselves, and hid their holy symbols and ceremonial weapons in their packs. For hours, they traded watch. Twiggy tried to nap, but couldn’t. The waiting was too tense.
Late in the afternoon, Arden spotted movement—Lieutenant Tomahura’s ambush party, the same as the previous day. Twiggy shook off her exhaustion and crouched behind a small bluff with the rest of the group.
“So the murder-slave goes first, then Mena and I…” Kormick whispered, coiling his muscles for an ambush. “Tavi, you take up the—”
“I have another way,” Nyoko interjected. “Wait here.” Kormick stayed coiled, but stayed still.
“Hail, Lieutenant Commander Tomahura Anaya-san!” Nyoko announced, striding out. “I am Nyoko, Adept of Cauldron.”
Tomahura jumped in surprise. Then she looked confused. “An Adept? …From Cauldron?” Clearly, Nyoko was not what Tomahura expected. “You are far from home,” she observed.
“I and my company are here to find you,” Nyoko explained. “To learn of your progress and share the Witness of Adept Wazani. And I bear an urgent message for the Grand Marshal.”
Tomahura gave a small bow. “Welcome to this corner of the Ketkath. What is your message?”
“I’m afraid it’s for the ears of the Grand Marshal himself,” Nyoko insisted.
Tomahura hesitated, but nodded. “Then…I will bring you to our camp.”
“I am not alone,” Nyoko said. “And if you will permit me to make a strange request, I wish safe passage for my friends. They may seem unconventional, but I assure you they are allies, and essential to my Witness.”
“You have my word,” Tomahura said, puzzled but agreeable. “They will not be harmed.”
Kormick slid his warhammer back into his belt. The party emerged from behind the bluff.
Tomahura’s group reacted with visible discomfort. Twiggy heard more than one whisper something about “heathens,” but they held their fire.
“Well, that went better,” Twiggy whispered to Arden, as the group set out.
“Let’s hope it stays that way,” Arden whispered back.
Together, the party and Tomahura’s troops hiked toward the Sovereigns’ main camp. “It must feel like you’ve been on the road forever,” Twiggy offered some small talk to one of the soldiers, trying to gauge their knowledge.
“It’s only been a couple of weeks,” the soldier replied gruffly. “We’re trained to be away for much longer.”
“Seen any Sheh yet?” Twiggy changed the subject.
“Nope,” the man replied.
He’s not much of a conversationalist, Acorn huffed.
“What brought you out to where you found us?” Twiggy asked.
“Patrol,” he said. “Scouts caught us a Heathen spy.”
“Wow! Where?”
“Dunno. Woods, I guess,” the soldier replied.
“And what did this spy look like?”
“You Heathens all look the same to me. Anyway, I didn’t see him.”
“What did the scouts do with him?” Twiggy asked.
“How should I know?” The soldier replied. Twiggy thought she heard and why are you asking so many questions? in his tone. It was a tone she’d become accustomed to, over the years. She quit the interrogation while she was ahead. From there, they walked in silence.
The walk was long. Hours long, and boring. Twiggy recited formulae to herself to stay moving. She played a game of Go in her head. She counted new species of wildlife. Eleven. Twelve. By the time they reached the main camp, it had been dark for hours. She was sore everywhere.
Chelesta, it’s huge! And so orderly! Acorn cheered when they arrived at the moonlit garrison. He was right—there were dozens of tents in precise rows, housing probably 500 Sovereign troops.
More importantly, Twiggy thought, we get to sit down. The group was ushered into a tent with a woven mat on the ground and a low table in its center. Twiggy sat on the mat with relief. Tomahura left to tell the expedition’s Grand Marshal of their arrival, leaving armed guards outside the tent. Twiggy wasn’t sure whether the guards were there to keep them in, or others out, but she was too tired to give it much thought. It must be almost midnight, Twiggy thought, and we didn’t sleep at all last night . . .
Suddenly, the earth shuddered. A guard screamed. And a massive explosion rocked the tent.
