The Brotherhood of the Abyss

CHAPTER V – THE SILVER BOX

A few hours ago Kane, Duncan’s Captain, along with three of his men were sent in the Mirror World to stage a raid. In its vast forest where the trees assume human-like forms and mountains float, Kane stealthily lurks.

     “How many are they Clause,” Kane said. But he is not muttering to himself. Deep in his mind a voice speaks; the voice of Clause who used a powerful enchantment to allow them to communicate with minds.

     “Twenty one Sir, thirteen soldiers and eight crewmen; as Metzger reported, four of the soldiers are stationed on the top deck where they escort five of the crew-members manning the crossbow turrets. The rest of the crews are in the pilot house while the remaining soldiers are huddled in the passenger compartment where I’m hiding.”

     “Can you give me a visual?”

     Clause’s left pupil dilates as he performs a spell to allow Kane to see what he is seeing. When the spell takes effect, Kane could now see the inside of a military vehicle with armed people on board.

     “So this is what their Windsprite looks like,” Kane said then.

     “At least from the inside Sir, this one is a different design. And the men here are up to something,” Clause pointed at the soldiers as he repositions himself quietly to give Kane a better view.

     “So what we heard is true, the Pathfinders are now involved here,” said Kane after noticing how the soldiers are armed. They are lightly equipped, only with suits of mail and leather cuirass. Their helmets have masks that emulate the snarling faces of demons. As what the Order had learned, Pathfinders are soldiers in this world trained in unconventional forms of combats ranging from raids, skirmishes, assassinations and secretive missions. They are lightly armed, only with short swords and crossbows to allow swift movements.

     “And they seem to be guarding something important here,” Clause said, seeing how the soldiers are huddled around a curious silver box the size of a safe.

     Their conversation is then interrupted when the passenger compartment door opens. Cold winds rush in as the men are exposed to the outside darkness.

     “They are about to fire a weapon,” Clause said, for the soldiers are preparing maps and telescopes. One of them, their officer, as the scarlet colour of his cloak indicates is holding the silver box like a hunter aiming a rifle. Its lid creaks open after its complex locking system is disabled.

     It is chaos unleashed.

     A frightening discharge of energy burst out from the inside of the box, making the Windsprite swerve. A shriek like the scream of a thousand pigs echoes and flash of light follows. Hurricane-force winds pound the Windsprite, almost causing it to crash into a nearby ridge. When the lights and noises dies darks shapes sprawl on the floor. The soldiers are swept off their feet by the enormous force of the blast. Their leader struggles to close the infernal box.

     “So this is what it does,” the shocked Clause muttered.

     “Clause, what is the situation there,” Kane said after seeing a beam of light blasting from nowhere and vaporizing a floating mountain above him. A ghostly red halo forms after the mountain got pulverized.

     “Sir, did you see that…”

     “Yes, they opened a box and they almost destroy everything.”

     “And the Windsprite almost crashed!”

     “And you ought to know that a floating mountain just went to pieces here after a beam of light vaporizes it. I’m sure it came from the Windsprite.”

     “You mean from the box Sir.”

     “And the blast just forms a red halo Clause…”

     Kane could feel Clause flinch at those words, for a red halo only appears if the passageway to another World is about to open.

     “This is not good,” Clause muttered.

     “Tell Metzger and Valchurix to be on the ready. Any moment now the Windsprite will cross the ring of floating mountains.”

      And not too soon Kane sees it; his eyes that could see well in the dark spots an elongated shape moving between the clouds. The Windsprite is a menacing sight to behold, a monster the size of a torpedo boat with a sleek armoured body and a fiery battering ram on its nose. Translucent wings, fins and sails enable its beastly form to take to the sky with the grace of a bird of prey. The main deck bristles with crossbow-like weapons sticking out from armoured turrets. Armed soldiers stood guard to provide support.

     “They got cloaked Iron Beasts with them,” Kane said after sensing an escort of invisible Iron Beasts flying in the Windsprite’s wake.

     “Metzger informed me that the Windsprite had a magical searchlight for invisible enemies. The crew also had Seeing Maps”.

     A Seeing Map is an enchanted object that will show what’s around a vehicle, much like radar.   

    “Good, I will distract the crew-members,” Kane replied.

     And Kane disappears into the darkness of the woods.

     “UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT SPOTTED,” the voice of a crewman screams from the pilot house of the Windsprite. The Seeing Map is showing something suspicious moving towards them at great speed. Using the magical searchlight, the crew-members spot a rogue Iron Beast at a distance.

     “IDENTIFY YOURSELF,” the commander of the Windsprite shouted, his voice magically magnified, “YOU ARE NOW CROSSING THE PATH OF THE EMPIRE’S ARMY…”

     As an initial show of warning, the Windsprite shoots a series of red flares.

     “IDENTIFY YOURSELF; WE HAVE AUTHORIZATIONS TO SHOOT DOWN ANY PERCIEVED THREATS,” the commander warned again, and the answer is nothing friendly. A swirling blackball shoots towards them, exploding just meters away from the pilothouse. Dark flame emanates from the blast, disabling the invisibility charm concealing the Iron Beasts escorts.

     “SUBDUE THE INCOMING THREAT,” the commander from the pilot house screams. The Windsprite’s crossbows are singing in unison, illuminating the night sky with streams of fiery bolts. Most flew astray and explodes in the forest below. The enemy is proving to be an elusive target even for experienced crossbow marksmen. The Iron Beasts escorts manage to fly close to the enemy and the pilots see a gigantic humanoid figure with armoured body and spanning wings. This Iron Beast is darker and spikier. It dances in the air without producing noise, and the thing looks alive. And suddenly it swings a scythe-like weapon and generates a tremendous force in a single stroke. The Iron Beasts tumble uncontrollably in the air and the cursed bolts from the Windsprite are blown off course. The crew-members struggle to keep the Windsprite flying in the turbulent wind.

     And Kane’s men make their move.

     With the Windsprite swerving in the wind, Clause, Metzger, and Valchurix leaps out from their hiding places. Valchurix, a proficient stick fighter storms the pilot house and overpowers the crew-members with a pair of clubs. In the main deck, Metzger battles the soldiers with his giant sword the Tempest. It’s an enormous weapon larger and broader than a man, and just a single stroke of its flat is enough to overpower the soldiers. Black smoke then fills the passenger compartment as Clause grabs the soldier’s officer in a chokehold while firing curses. The fight ends with Clause remaining standing surrounded by unconscious bodies.

     The soldiers in the Iron Beasts had no idea what had become of the Windsprite’s crews. Only two of the Iron Beasts are left to fly with one crippled by the enchanted wind the enemy conjured. The soldiers pushed the remaining Iron Beasts to its physical limits, swords naked and wings fully extended. They rush screaming bloodlust and raining curses, even resorting to anything that can be applied in combat from blades to the bare hands of their machines. The enemy Iron Beast evades the wall of curses and deliver a violent swing of its polearm.

     Everything happens so fast.

     The soldiers could now feel their inoperable machines falling limply from the sky. Above them, the enemy watches coldly with the fragments of their Iron Beasts in one hand.

The soldiers are unable to move when they woke up minutes later. Their bodies are rendered immobile by Clause’s powerful enchantment. Remarkably no one was killed; even the soldiers piloting the Iron Beasts sustained only minor injuries. The captured Windsprite lays undamaged a few paces from them. Then something large and human shaped makes a quiet descent above the trees, its wing beats barely making a whisper. The enemy Iron Beast looms over the captives and slowly it begins to transform. The wings retract and its armoured frame shrinks to human size. It reveals an alternative form, and it is Kane.

     “Speak the truth,” Kane turned to their captives, “tell us your true purpose of coming here.”

     “A Pathfinder will share a guarded secret to no one,” the soldier’s officer replied defiantly.

     Kane eyed the men with this penetrating stare that made them look away. Clause then handed him the Silver Box he retrieved from a guarded safe inside the Windsprite.

     “This box,” Kane asked the men again, “what is the use of this object?”

      It is clear that the men are not willing to cooperate, so after receiving no answer Kane resorts to brutal memory extraction. The soldiers watch in horror as Kane gouge out this glistening ball of something from their officer’s head with his fingers. The process is harsh and agonizing yet completely harmless. Kane’s men did the same to the others, employing enchantments for quicker yet equally punishing approach.

     “Valchurix, produce an evidence,” Kane commanded as he administers memory altering charms to their captives. No one will remember what happened. What the men will recall is that the test of the Silver Box resulted in a catastrophic failure and the Windsprite crashed. The Iron Beasts are destroyed by the resulting blast. For this to be more convincing, Valchurix conjures twisted metal fragments. This will serve as fake remains of the Silver Box.

     “Everyone, your attendance,” Kane calls his men, “continue your watch over this world. Report to me any suspicious occurrences that may take place. I will fly back to Velruthiel to report to the Grandmaster.”

     And into the darkness they disperse.

***

A few hours later in the World of Men, Duncan and Simoun are on the run towards this makeshift meeting place Boniface prepared. They received an urgent call from Kane asking them to report for a Mirror Conversation immediately.

     “Mind hurrying up,” Simoun growled at the lagging Duncan as they kicked their way across layers of loose foliage and leaf litters.

     “I’m careful not to damage my Human Skin,” Duncan replied. Human Skins are so well made to mimic the quality of a man’s flesh that constant abuse will damage it. Duncan’s ankles are now bleeding and swollen, supposedly the result if a sprinter managed to run sixty miles per hour. Eventually he discarded his Human Skin and let it disintegrated in the air. Without the Human Skin hindering his movements, Duncan is free to use magic, but both felt that running alone is enough. It took only ten seconds for them to reach the assigned place.

     Boniface had chosen this area obscured by thick forest and heavy mist. The muddy ground is covered with thorny undergrowth. The unwelcoming nature of this wilderness is made to discourage potential stragglers. For additional security the mist is infused with magical properties which will induce brief mental incapacitation and temporary forgetfulness. Then a silhouette of a cloaked man materializes from the mist flanked by two large hounds. A falcon makes a soft landing on his shoulder.

     “So you’re also been told,” he said while lowering his hood to reveal a hardened face adorned with an intricate tribal tattoo on the forehead. He had brazen complexion and sports this short black hair and unshaven goatee.

     “You got the place ready Boniface,” Simoun asked while the hounds sniff his doggy form.

     “How about helping with the housework next time, you left the place unchecked,” Boniface grunted. His eyes swam to Duncan who was standing attentively behind Simoun. And without a word he turned to lead them towards their hiding place. They flit their way through a maze of trees whose leaves are moist with fresh mountain dew before going on a downhill stroll that leads to an ancient vine infested tree. Duncan, who is in lively chat with Simoun, is taken aback by its monumental size that could engulf his whole living room.

     “Watch your step,” Boniface reminded as they negotiate the corners of the snaking vines to reach a man-sized tree hollow. Boniface waves his hand and a funny looking stone wall peers out from the hollow. The wall bears a carved relief of a monstrous creature brandishing a pair of curved swords.

     “The Guardian Wall,” Duncan pointed. And when the Wall sensed their presence, the intricate carved relief slowly wiggles to life.

     “You may pass, for you bear the mark of the Order,” it said politely as it swings aside to let the men in.

     “You know what to do when an intruder walks astray,” Boniface reminded.

     “When his intentions are ill, he will be dealt accordingly,” the Wall proudly growled.

     “Nice work here,” Duncan then said after seeing what is beyond the Guardian Wall. Boniface had transformed the inside of a living tree into a form of hunting lodge. There are beds for four people, a stove, furniture and a meeting table where a large mirror is set.

     “This didn’t hurt the tree does it,” Simoun asked.

     “I just did some enchantments, and that’s it,” Boniface replied while tending the fire in the stove. The men choose their places around the table with Duncan and Simoun taking their seats at the either ends. Simoun prefers sitting on the floor.

     “The mirror,” Simoun said, for the mirror is starting to emit sparks. And Kane’s masked face appeared from the shower of lights.

     “Regards men,” Kane greeted, “and you must be aware why I called you here.”

     The men watch attentively as Kane unrolls several dossiers from a small chest.

     “I have mentioned to Duncan that False Spectres are becoming common nowadays. And as what our sources tell us, it’s all coming from the Mirror World. Yes Duncan, we just confirmed it.”

     After replacing the dossiers in their file chest, Kane continues.

     “The Order sent men to the Mirror World and interestingly they saw the Empire’s soldiers engaging in secretive exercises, often times in remote places.”

     “The military’s affair is always secretive Sir,” Boniface said.

     “But it is worth knowing the nature of these secretive affairs as what Metzger had found out one day. He managed to get close to a small squad of soldiers gathering at this clearing in a remote wilderness. There are forty of them and using magical enchantments he records every detail of their operation and even obtains an aerial photo of their place with an aid of the Order’s bird of prey,” Kane explained as he unrolls a mantle sized picture of an aerial view of the forest and a clearing. The soldiers appear as small dots seated around a glowing object.

     “What is the thing in the middle,” Simoun pointed.

     “Metzger did not found out, for it exploded killing most of the soldiers around. Whatever it is the men are in a desperate attempt to control it. But there are few who are clad in resilient bewitched armour that survived the blast. They are left unconscious yet unharmed by the force of the explosion. From these men Metzger was able to obtain Memories which could give us details about their operation. Metzger also managed to retrieve the copies of the documents littering the blast area,” said Kane to them while brandishing a leather file folder containing partly burned papers.

     “What are those Sir,” Boniface asked.

     “These contains their mission objectives, it gives brief descriptions on what they are doing. Note that these are magically conjured copies; the original ones are left in the blast site for us not to left traces of our presence there. And if this is to be believed, it states that the men are undergoing military exercise. But the Memories Metzger retrieved tells a different story.”

     The mirror blazes in brilliant blue and moving pictures are projected on the table. At first the images are blurred and incomprehensible, but gradually the outlines sharpen until the figures of men are distinguishable. Simoun, Duncan and Boniface could now see a group of soldiers in a desperate attempt to control a glowing orb.

     “This one came from common soldiers,” Kane explained, “this supports what was seen in the air and this is not what one expects from a military exercise.”

      Then the orb flashes and everything goes black.

     “So far this is the only useful thing we can gather from their Memory. Seemingly the soldiers had no knowledge on what they are doing. Yet there is a particular memory Metzger obtained that belonged to an interesting character, their Officer.”

     The mirror again projects another moving image. It now shows a soldier in heavy armour and red mantle performing magical chants along hooded men. They are focusing their enchantment on this glowing orb, the same one they saw in the earlier Memory. Up close, the glass ball contains an unknown object that looks like a burning coal. Sparks starts to issue from the object as its glass container begins to vibrate. Gradually a familiar Red Halo forms, but cracks appeared on the glass container. The men then struggles to control the now raging mass of light.

     “Looks like it is a first testing of that ominous glass orb,” Simoun commented.

     “They are testing if it could produce the Red Halo,” Boniface muttered, “and that explains what the soldiers are doing in the forest.”

     “The so-called military exercise is the final test of the orb, and the soldiers are there to control it,” Simoun added.

     “And they paid a great prize for doing so. Repeated testing must have made it unstable,” Kane said then.

     “Sir,” Boniface asked, “do you think the Empire had something to do with this. They are their soldiers after all.”

     “That is hard to prove. The Empire’s army is renowned for their corruption and they always act on their own.”

     “But did their Memories reveal anything about the people behind these?” Simoun asked.

     “Unfortunately neither the Memory of the Officer and his subordinate offer clues on who masterminded this incident.”

      “And Sir is there anything left of the orb after it exploded? We could figure out what the orb contains by examining the wreckage,” Boniface suggested.

     “Nothing remains of the orb. The explosion vaporized the whole thing. But…”

     Their conversation is briefly interrupted when Kane heaves this silver box on his desk.

     “They found another means of breaching into another World and you are looking at it. This one was confiscated as result of the information we gathered from an intercepted message.”

     “After the incident in the forest, the Order had its eyes on the Empire’s every move. Additional men are brought in to watch their every affair, and one day a suspicious conversation between an anonymous official and an officer of the Pathfinders was uncovered. And through this intercepted message we learned that they will be sending a small band of Pathfinders to do a Windsprite exercise one night. No further details were given, but as we have seen this exercise could mean another thing. The Order then sent us; Me, Valchurix, Metzger and Clause to observe them. And if by any chance another object with a similar capability as the orb is spotted, actions must be taken to confiscate it. No object of such kind must exist for the safety of the many Worlds. As was planned, Valchurix, Metzger and Clause will secretly board their Windsprite. I will stage an ambush if the situation calls for it.”

     And Kane narrates how they witnessed the frightening power of the Silver Box, the airborne duel with the Iron Beasts, the assault on the Windsprite and their successful recovery of the Box.

     “And as was with any case the Pathfinders only knew vague details of their activity. They refused to reveal anything and their Memories are useless.”

     “And the Box Sir,” Boniface curiously asked, “what does it contains.”

     “We are yet to open it. We have seen how unstable these things get and the Order is careful not to lose such important evidence. Later on the investigative team will arrive to help us deduce its mechanism.”

     “Sir,” Duncan, who was very quiet spoke for the first time, “what do these people want with our world anyway?”

     Duncan is wearing this odd sort of expression.

     “That is something we are yet to determine. For now your answer had to wait.”

     Kane is about to ask his men for any question when suddenly they sprang up.

     “Mind telling me what’s going on,” Kane said calmly

     “Someone is here,” Boniface muttered, “we just sensed two Worldly Wanderers straying around the vicinity.”

     “Worldly Wanderers, near human settlements,” Simoun reacted.

     “That’s unusual of them, I thought they are the creatures of the wilderness,” said Duncan coolly though there are sparks flying out of his eyes.

     “Let’s find out then. Simoun let’s go,” Boniface shouted.

     “Wait, I’ll go with you Boniface,” Duncan insisted.

     “You’re on leave Duncan. Just let us handle this.”

     Duncan looks mutinous and Simoun tried to explain to him that this is a violation of his orders. But he saw an odd glint in his eyes, something he only sees when Duncan is in armour and mask.

     “The man only cared about his World,” Simoun thought.

     “Better let our Captain decides,” Boniface suggested.

     Kane let go a deep sigh and said, “Time is fleeting men. Do what you must and don’t do anything stupid out there Duncan.”

     Taking this as a yes Duncan answered, “Understood Sir,” before charging out with Boniface. Simoun is sure he saw a shade of smile on his face.

     “And Simoun, I will be putting you in charge of the city, Duncan won’t be too happy if someone wrecked it,” Kane added.

     “Understood Sir,” he replied.