Chapter 265: Land of the Setting Sun

Chapter 265: Land of the Setting Sun

Your hands are glowing, said Jenny. Whatever you thought of my group, one thing you couldnt deny was their total dedication to stating the obvious.

Yes, I said, because I was in the group, too. I raised my hands in front of me and turned them over, like there might be an off switch on the back, or maybe instructions.

Is it safe? asked Jenny, reaching out her own hand, which wasnt a smart thing to do if it turned out not to be safe.

Of course theyre safe. I pulled my hands away and hid them behind my back, making my proclamation seem somewhat disingenuous. I didnt think there was any danger from my glowing handsother than to myselfbut I still didnt want Jenny too close. They could spit out fire or give her cancer for all I knew.

Cant you use the gem to turn them off? she said, trying to reach behind me. Her tone was very neutral, not nagging or pestering, but I could see she was holding back her concern. Left unchecked, the energy I was using up would eventually kill me. At least, that was what the Elder had told me.

The dwarfstone had absorbed the light from my hands last time. I didnt know what that meant, whether I could use that captured energy somehow, but at least it provided a safety valve.

In a minute, I said. I just want to figure out what turned them on in the first place. I looked around. There was a large mushroom cloud blooming behind us, my hands had gone radioactive, and we were flying east on a dragon, so pretty much an average day. There were also faint lines I could only just make out connecting things.

The sun was ahead of us, hardly dropping as we chased it across the sky. There wasnt much to see up here, but between us and the dragons flying in formation behind us, I could just about make out the tendrils that bound everything together. If I looked down, it was as if someone had painted cobwebs over the ground.

Maurice stood up and bent down to take a closer look at my hands. If what the Elder said was true, you must have created a decent size gap between what you love and what you hate.

I dont feel any different about anything, I said. Im exactly the same as I was before this. I held out my hands again. They were covered in a yellow light.

That cant be true, said Maurice.

He had a pointif it required a change in intensity of my feelings to produce magic, and my hands were lit up like novelty light bulbs, then clearly my feelings had changed. But as the person who owned those feelings, I was in a unique position to confirm or deny. And I denied.

The Elder had told me how magic worked, but he could be wrong. Or lying. Or it could work differently for different people. What I needed was proof. A mentor who could show me how to get a starship out of a swamp.

Ah think he secretly likes us more than he lets on, said Flossie. She had left the piloting to Vikchutni, which I always found disconcerting.

Not necessarily, said Maurice. He held up both hands, a finger pointing up on each. If you think of liking as positive and hating as negative, then the distance between them is what allows him to make magic. He moved his fingers apart to demonstrate. He doesnt need to increase the positive as long as he increases the negative. He kept one finger stationary and moved the other one further away.

Flossie frowned as she considered this information. After a couple of seconds of intense deliberation, she smiled again. No, he likes us. Ah know it.

I didnt agree with either of them. My strongest emotion was ambivalence, which was why the whole magic being bound to feelings seemed suspect to me. The things I liked and the things I disliked werent all that different to me. The good guys and the bad guys werent two sides of the same coin, they were the same side of the same coin. Just on different days.

It would have been a waste of energy trying to explain that to Flossie, so I didnt. Let her think what she wanted.

My hands flickered and went out.

How did you do that? said Jenny. She grabbed my hands with hers before I had a chance to snatch them out of her reach.

I dont know, I said, enjoying her touch as she explored my hands for injury. At least, I think thats what she was doing.

What were you thinking when they stopped glowing? asked Maurice.

I was thinking how it wasnt worth trying to explain anything to you bunch of gormless idiots. What? He asked.

So, it was a sort of giving up? said Maurice.

I guess.

They were loaded with goods and there were plenty of people sitting on them or running around trying to keep their animals in check or putting back things that fell off. The goods varied from panniers of grain hanging off the sides, to giant baskets of fruits ready to topple off at any moment. Each train was a dozen or more animals roped together and travelling head to tail. The people were wrapped up in sheets like Bedouins, their faces also covered with only their eyes showing.

Ah think thats a camel, said Flossie, pointing at what did look vaguely like a camel, but bigger and with tusks. Most of its face was hidden by a long, beaded veil that nearly reached the ground and swung from side to side with each ponderous step. It could just as easily have been a hairy elephant.

Now would have been the perfect time to strike up a conversation, pick up some useful information on the city. None of us felt so inclined. Everyone was so busy with what they were doing, it felt like a huge imposition to distract them.

The city gates formed a bit of a bottleneck, and the caravans were backed up quite a way. There didnt seem to be any restrictions to getting in, just the problem of getting everyone in through the same entrance.

We walked past the plodding behemoths towards the gates. There were no guards that I could see. Just walk in and go about your business. There was, however, a danger you might get trampled by some kind of pachyderm or crushed under a falling crate.

As we stood to one side trying to get a sense of when would be the best time to enter, two men approached us. They were dressed identically in grey robes and carried wooden bowls. Beggars, was my first thought, although they looked clean and well groomed. Both had long beards and shaved heads.

Brothers, sisters, said the first one. Am I correct in thinking you are new to Gorgoth?

Yes, said Claire, boldly jumping in. Is there a safer way to enter?

Indeed. There is a smaller entrance on either side. The harvest has come in and the main entrance is currently used by tradesmen and farmers.

Now that he mentioned it, there was an archway further along the wall. We couldnt see into it from this angle and it looked like it might have been decorative, but it did seem to lead into the wall. We probably would have noticed it ourselves if anyone had been using it.

Thank you, said Claire.

Wait, before you go, said the second man, perhaps we can interest you in an even greater city. The city of heavenly beauty, where nature is lush and beautiful, and the gods grant your every whim.

The first man nodded enthusiastically, indicating he thought this was an excellent idea.

No, I said, you cant. I started walking towards the archway, but quickly realised I was alone. I stopped and turned around.

Are you a priest? Maurice asked the first man. The others had gathered around him to be supportive of his daring attempt to speak to another person.

No, no. I am a druid.

As am I. We believe in the beauty of nature. Of balance and love and trees.

I could see the upside of talking to these Hare Krishna hippie dipsticksthey would be able to give us some information on the citybut I felt like there would be other chances to do that. Hopefully with people who werent so full of shit.

But Maurice had seen an opportunity and gone for it.

And what else do you believe in? asked Maurice, leaving the door wide open. If I didnt do something, theyd all be inducted into a tree-hugging cult and be forced to eat lentils for the rest of their lives. On the plus side, it would mean more free time for me.

I am Brother Dereel, this is Brother Deneel. We are followers of the One True Faith. Allow me to

Wait, hold on, I said, walking back. One True Faith? Do you follow the One True God?

They both looked shocked and horrified by the suggestion.

No, certainly not, said Brother Dereel. He was a heretic who was cast out. We only believe in nonviolence and kindness to all the creatures of the gods.

For all I knew, he was Joshaya in disguise. One True God, One True Faith it seemed too much of a coincidence to have just bumped into these guys. Perhaps these two were worth talking to, after all.