Ascent of the Aliomenti (4 page)

Will reached the spot where the time machine had coalesced into existence in this era, allowing himself a brief moment of recollection of the moment. He’d been shocked to discover that the time machine had vanished into a swarm of nanos which augmented his existing allocation. Much had changed in three years, but his mission had not. He would protect Hope and do everything in his considerable power to ensure that she lived to meet the future, younger Will Stark.

Yes, he’d be setting his wife up with someone else with his blessing and encouragement, for the fortunate suitor was... him. The quirks of time travel were vast.

Will flooded his cells with Energy, willing them to become transparent and weightless, and a moment later he rose into the air. The fields, forests, rivers, and exposed stone were laid out in a variegated pattern below him, a patchwork of colors and textures no human hand could duplicate. He circled high above the forest embraced by the waters of the Ealdor and Halwende Rivers once more, and then turned his attention inward. He needed to locate Hope, and the best method was to trace the pure, flute-like sound her Energy generated within his mind. It was a process he’d perfected over the past few weeks, one he used to initiate the Energy equivalent of a long-distance telephone call. He’d used the approach to track her safe arrival at the remote city with her guide and protector, Richard... and the day before to share the news of the massacre.

He oriented on the sound, which came from the northeast. Will found that interesting; the Aliomenti village was located in the northern parts of what would become modern England, and the weather there in the winter was brutal. Their new location would be even further north, and winter weather would prove just as harsh. He recalled that the future Aliomenti Headquarters was located on a private, isolated island in what modern day cartographers would call the Bermuda Triangle; he could certainly see the appeal of the location for weather reasons.

He flew in the direction of Hope’s Energy signal, accelerating until the wind gusts began to injure him, the sharp winds slicing at his skin and eyes with a viciousness worthy of any assassin. He slowed briefly, and then directed his nanos to shield his body, including transparent goggles to protect his eyes. Once he’d protected himself like a modern superhero, he accelerated to a high rate of speed, and covered the distance to the great city to the north in less than 30 minutes. Given that the women had traveled nearly a week each on horseback to reach their destination, and that he’d used ten minutes touring the Aliomenti forest and figuring out how to set up the nanos to protect against the effects of high-speed flight, he reasoned he’d been flying at several hundred miles per hour. He knew he could travel faster if the distance permitted.

The city shamed the villages, towns, and small cities he’d lived and traded in these past three years. The walls surrounding the city were at least thirty feet high and ten feet thick, and featured knights in armor standing on the precipices, constantly shifting from side to side as they watched for intruders. Will was reminded of his first visit to the city of Richland; these men seemed greatly concerned about a possible attack, much as the guards outside the walls of Richland. Perhaps, like those guards, the knights here had recent evidence that attacks were probable. The words of caution from Eva and Hope reverberated in his mind, and he made a series of circular passes over the city in an effort to find the best location to land and resume tangibility and visibility. He located a small copse of trees, just on the periphery of the visual range of the city, but a mere thirty minute walk to the gates. He’d need to explain how he’d arrived in this area without a horse or evidence of travel, including changes of clothing. He had money; he’d snagged his money bag from the final trip to Richland before he’d left earlier that morning.

With his landing point identified, Will turned and flew back to the city, over the walls, and into the city proper. He hovered well off the ground, committing to memory the layout. The city was roughly square, more than a mile on each side, and Will marveled at the ingenuity, or more likely the backbreaking slave labor, required to build such an impressive structure in an era without heavy mechanical machinery. Or nanotechnology. The interior teemed with activity, with multiple markets featuring vendors selling various vegetables, fabrics, seeds, cuts of meat, jewelry, beads, breads of all types, numerous varieties of wine, and livestock. Housing was squeezed into every available square inch, and Will was again reminded of the planned nature of the now-destroyed Aliomenti village. This city grew haphazardly, mixing housing and iron smelting, food vendors with livestock, and public latrines with the handful of medical service providers. The primitive nature of medical care in the day was graphically displayed; Will’s attention was drawn to a man screaming in agony due to a massive gash to his leg, and he watched as two men covered in dirt restrained the patient, shoving a stick between his teeth, while a third tied a tourniquet around the injured leg and a fourth sharpened an ax.

Will turned away as the ax flashed. He’d seen more than enough sharp blades in action.

His attention focused on a stately woman in the area, a woman with platinum-blond hair and crisp, clean clothing. She was speaking with an older woman, listening as the woman’s mouth and hands explained the ailments she suffered. Will watched, his senses detecting the Energy moving from Eva to the woman, diagnosing the causes of the aches and pains the woman described. After the patient finished her description, Eva nodded, reached into her bag for a handful of herbs, and began mixing them into a small mug full of water, a simple herbal tea. The tea, though, was a mere placebo, providing only temporary relaxation and comfort. The real healing came as Eva pulsed Energy into the problem areas, and as the woman drank the tea, Will could see her pale face regain color and vitality. The woman thanked Eva, her profuse praise drawing the attention of others seeking medical care, and earned the former Trader a handful of copper coins. As the patient left, Eva glanced directly at the invisible Will, and he saw a small smirk form on her face.

He almost laughed. Just scouting the city. I’ll start my formal approach soon.

I think you’re just showing off. Eva’s thought was full of good humor. It will be good to actually see you again. Just... be careful.

After a telepathic nod of agreement, he resumed his tour of the city. It took only a few moments to understand why the city was so heavily guarded. A huge portion of the northern half of the city teemed with knights in armor, tended by pages of varying ages sporting bright colors identifying the man they served. They’d stumbled upon some type of staging area for a massive quantity of warriors, perhaps a local lord’s effort at military defense against invasion, perhaps an invasion force itself. The town and its walls provided secrecy and defense lest any enemy seek to lay siege and decimate the armored warriors. They’d allow private citizens inside, but only those they believed could provide some level of support to the training efforts, or enable the enhancement of the weaponry.

Will had seen enough. He flew back to the copse of trees outside the walls of the city, landed within them, and, after ensuring no other human creatures were in the vicinity, resumed his normal physical, visible existence. His body felt strange and heavy after nearly an hour invisible and weightless, and he took a few moments to acclimate himself to gravity once more. He found a stream nearby, and splashed the cool water on his face before drinking deeply. He then went back into the trees and recharged his Energy, as he contemplated his next steps.

He could certainly pass for a medical professional; he’d served as the village doctor for the Aliomenti, though he’d rarely needed to act in that capacity. Presenting himself as a doctor, though, might raise suspicion in a city prone to such emotion. If Eva, and then Hope, had both arrived with such skills in the past few weeks, and he followed soon after, many might suspect the three of them of some type of malicious intent, infiltrating the city for the purpose of committing some future, unknown misdeeds. He decided it best that he pursue entry with a different profession in mind.

He decided to present himself as a carpenter. Though he’d done little heavy work, he’d spent significant time with Joseph’s team during the construction of the Wheel and aqueduct systems, reaching a sufficient level of skill that he was permitted to work with the tools used to cut, shape, and join wood. He learned quickly, in part because the men and women working in that area tended toward powerful, loud thoughts that he could not close himself off from. He could pass as a carpenter, one who’d fallen victim to a band of thieves who’d relieved him of his horse and tools as he slept, but thankfully had left him – and his money – untouched.

Fully charged and prepared for the trial of entering this massive city, he began his walk.

The thoughts of the knights guarding the gates and manning the tops of the walls revealed that the city was called Abrecan, that about 15,000 people lived there, that the city existed purely to train knights to fight against larger armies, and that word had come of a potential invasion. Such concerns explained the extra security endured by Eva and Elizabeth as they’d entered this city. His initial bafflement at Eva’s choice evaporated; in a city on edge,
everyone
would be under suspicion, whether new arrival or long-time resident. In a city living under such a heightened state of tension, a stranger appearing inside the walls would incite deep fear, and he understood why Eva had discouraged any teleportation into the vicinity. With a potential invasion and a lack of trading opportunities available to outsiders, it was a place where the Traders – and now Arthur – would never think to visit, and thus they’d never run the risk of exposing the fact that Eva and Elizabeth still lived.

Will wondered if they’d struggle more to escape the city, should an attack come, than they would to enter it initially.

He approached the gates and strode toward the guards, putting effort into acting in the proper fashion. He needed to appear confident that he’d be granted access, for to act otherwise would be to invite suspicion. He needed to show evidence that he was no threat, which his weaponless status should provide. And he’d need to be convincing in his need to enter, seeming vulnerable enough to evoke compassion, but strong enough to thrive in this militaristic, walled city.

The pair of knights stood guard at the gates, unmoving. Will could feel their eyes watching his every step, ready to spring into action at any indication that Will was there for nefarious purposes. Heavily-armored hands rested upon swords plunged into the earth at their feet, available to stab and sever upon command.

Will glanced back and forth between the two of them, waiting for them to challenge his approach, to demand to know his purpose here. Neither man spoke. Perhaps it was a test of some kind. Perhaps those who lacked the nerve to request entry were frightened away, leaving in a show of timidity unworthy of a city of warriors in training.

“Good morning, sirs. My name is Will. My home has been lost to a fire which consumed my entire village, and as I set out to find a new home, brigands set upon me during my evening camp, relieving me of my sword, tools, and many possessions. I am able to provide skilled work to any carpenters within.” He opted to ignore his earlier plan. “I have also worked as a doctor in my village, and can provide assistance there as well. I ask entry to the city of Abrecan as a man of honor.” He believed that any single skill in need would help, but admitting to more than one would surely cement his permission to enter.

The knights remained motionless for several moments, as if communicating telepathically, debating the truthfulness of Will’s statement, determining if his words should grant him entry. After several moments, Will wondered if he’d perhaps failed some test, but decided that patience was in order. As a man destined to live many centuries, waiting was a luxury he could afford.

The closer of the two knights finally spoke. “Your words ring true, sir, and your skills will provide value. Entering this city comes with restrictions, however. You may enter now, but know this: these doors open only once each week to allow those desiring egress their opportunity to leave, and those granted entry the opportunity to move inside. The doors open in one hour. Choose well, sir; entry binds you to our fair city for seven days.”

Strange though the rules were, Will found them sensible, given the nature of the city. Frequent turnover of people in the city invited any with ill motive ample opportunity to enter, to bring in supporters, or to smuggle in weapons. Limitations as described would slow down such plans, and enable any security within to ferret out the malcontents before they gained sufficient numbers and armament to carry out their plans.

Will nodded to the knight. “I understand and accept your rules. I will enter this city when the gates open.”

The knights spoke no more, leaving Will to wait in silence, contemplating the contrast with his entry to the Aliomenti village. The walls there were almost decorative in nature. They could slow down a small armed force, or a sufficiently disinterested individual, but they could not withstand anyone with intense interest in gaining access. Will had been able to climb the walls with relative ease, even without using Energy. As he’d stood outside the Aliomenti village, he’d heard nothing. The village was enveloped in a profound silence, for it was empty while the residents completed their morning bathing ritual. Here, outside Abrecan, he’d been greeted by two men heavily armed, and those men were aided by a silent support group atop the walls, watching Will’s every move. The walls themselves were reminiscent of those surrounding his home at De Gray Estates, tall and wide and topped with defensive mechanisms, from armed knights to barbed wire.