33. Realm of the Gods: Great Sky Fortress

Korban Iron Eyes and his troop followed their own path back to the Realm of the Gods. When Heris and Cloven Februaren arrived with the Bastard, Heris blurted, “Shee-it, Double Great! They beat us! I’m going to crack some heads! They screwed us, taking all damned winter to get down there to that damned castle.”

“Not really. Be calm. They can’t walk across to our world wherever they want. They have to go there on foot first, from an entry point they already know.”

“Like me with the Construct when I first started.”

“Like that. But, remember, time passes differently here.”

That might be. Iron Eyes had not taken advantage of the differential to clean himself up.

Heris recognized the ascendant instantly—though, in retrospect, that was no prodigy. He was the only unfamiliar non-dwarf. And, even in Asgrimmur Grimmsson form, he radiated a powerful presence. More so while he studied the Bastard, son and grandson of the fragmentary Instrumentalities inside him.

The Bastard did not react to the ascendant. The Bastard was unhappy. Bizarre myth had caught him up, had kidnapped him, and he could do nothing about it.

When the ascendant drew near, though, the Bastard jumped as though pricked.

“He believes it now,” Februaren said.

The Bastard’s gaze rose to the Great Sky Fortress and restored rainbow bridge. “It’s real.”

Februaren responded, “It’s all real. Whatever your beliefs.”

“I believe in Ferris Renfrow. Nothing more.”

Heris asked, “Not even the New Brothen Empire?”

While Februaren said, “Then Ferris Renfrow is true inside the Night, too. Let’s adjourn to the tavern. We’ll get comfortable. Jarneyn and Svavar can fill you in on your family history.”

The ascendant growled. He insisted on leaving Svavar behind.

Februaren had provoked him deliberately, to keep the shattered souls inside from exerting too much influence.

*   *   *

Gallons of excellent Aelen Kofer beer passed through the principals while the Bastard learned. He had heard various stories about Arlensul and Gedanke but insisted that never had he suspected a personal connection. He had bought into the Chaldarean worldview. That old stuff was rustic folklore and discredited mythology.

“Never?” Heris asked, incredulous.

“Not once. It’s too outrageous. And heretical. And when I was young, every charlatan with any magical talent claimed he was the spawn of Arlensul. The most convincing ended up being murdered by the Church.”

“You didn’t suspect even after you knew you had all your power?” Heris had made herself lead interrogator. She had not downed as much beer as the males. And she was intrigued by Renfrow.

“Why would I? Did Februaren think he was the Bastard?”

“Well, he is. For sure. You should try working for him.”

Februaren wasted no time being amused. “Heris!”

The Bastard said, “I suspected a lot of things. That I might be the get of discredited gods wasn’t one of them. Understand?”

The Ninth Unknown swatted Heris on the behind. “Be quiet. We’re trying to save a world, here.”

“You’d better get ready to do it on crutches.”

“Runs in the family,” Februaren told the others. “Her brother …”

Heris interrupted, “I can save the world by myself, no Bastard necessary. Give me a falcon, a ton of firepowder, and two hundred pounds of silver-plated beads. The damned thing just lies there.” She gave Februaren a glare meant to remind him that her brother had no part in this. Especially considering the other hat the Bastard wore.

Februaren nodded, asked, “When did you last visit?”

“Ah. You could be right. It’s been a while. But that option is there and doesn’t require all this stuff with other worlds, lost gods, and cranky mythical people.”

“Watch your tongue, cutie,” Iron Eyes gurgled.

“There is something to be said for solving a problem by hitting it with a really big hammer. Still, let’s focus on what we’re doing here.”

The Bastard drained a flagon. Heris said, “Right there is proof that he’s a supernatural. I’d be destroyed by what he’s put away already. But he isn’t showing a sign.”

Not quite true, but close.

The Bastard said, “I might be what you claim. I can’t figure out how to make it not true. That being the case, let’s get down to the mystical business and get it done. I have obligations back in the real world. People get into mischief when I’m not there.”

Februaren conceded, “An excellent point. I haven’t checked my own folks in much too long. Svavar …”

“Last chance to get it right, old man. Not Svavar. Asgrimmur, if you have to, but not Svavar.”

The Bastard said, “And I prefer Ferris Renfrow. Bastard has unfortunate connotations.”

Februaren glanced at Korban Iron Eyes. The Aelen Kofer shrugged, shoved another tankard into his beard. “I’m just the labor, Son of Man. One of the fetch and carry folk, the Aelen Kofer.”

Februaren did not argue. That was what Iron Eyes wanted. A squabble for entertainment. He and his tribe had not yet surpassed that constituent of the northern thing. The Ninth Unknown said, “Asgrimmur, you have to take charge, now. We got the … the man you needed. He’s here. You know what you did to seal the Instrumentalities up. You know what needs doing to break them out. So now I’m like Iron Eyes. I’m labor, sitting here waiting for instructions.”

The ascendant produced a rumbling from deep within, like something from a much bigger monster. Which could have been. In the Realm of the Gods forms and attributes often existed beyond the visible.

*   *   *

Ferris Renfrow and the ascendant put their heads together. Renfrow mostly listened. Februaren and Jarneyn bickered about something that made no sense to Heris. She had been brought up in the Eastern Rite of the Chaldarean faith and had become Brothen Episcopal by directive after her rescue by Grade Drocker. The dormant mythos of the east did not much resemble that of the north. Which, she suspected, must have confused its own pantheon often enough.

She asked, “Is there any reason for me to stick around here, Double Great? We’ve done our part. We rooted the Bastard out and brought him to the job site.”

“We did. And there probably isn’t much more you can contribute. But you’re walking through living myth. Aren’t you even a little curious about the Great Sky Fortress and what’s inside?”

“Marginally,” she admitted. “But it isn’t going anywhere, is it? I can come back when you’ve gotten it under control.”

“Which might be in just a few outside hours.”

The ascendant and the Bastard concluded that they needed to go up for a firsthand look at the Great Sky Fortress. They had to see what was possible before they decided what to do. The ascendant admitted, “I haven’t been up farther than the foot of the rainbow bridge. I didn’t want to disturb anything without experts handy to fix whatever I break.”

Iron Eyes said, “Aelen Kofer have crossed the bridge to test it but they haven’t gone inside the fortress.”

Februaren suggested, “Let’s all get some rest. We’ll head up there first thing in the morning.”

That was a joke. Only Jarneyn got it. He awarded the effort a scowl.

It was always high noon in the Realm of the Gods.

*   *   *

Heris did not leave. She climbed the mountain.

That was a great fang rearing up all by itself. The view was spectacular. There was more to the Realm of the Gods than a harbor and an Aelen Kofer town. Or had been, once upon a time.

Spring had come to the nearest forests, sprawling out inland. But color faded with distance, green dwindling quickly to the hue of grass long covered by a rock. Farther still, gray ruled, occasionally tainted by shades of pale brown. The ascendant explained, “There wasn’t enough outside power to quicken the whole world.”

Cloven Februaren wanted to add something but was breathing too hard. The climb was killing him but he would not let the Aelen Kofer put him into one of their goat carts.

Aelen Kofer goats were the size of middle-world elk.

Heris said, “Maybe it’s because the magic is thin but everything that isn’t up close looks artificial. Like it’s all a clever painting. Like if you headed out that way, you’d run into a wall with the rest of the world painted on it.”

Iron Eyes nodded. “You’d be right. In a manner of speaking, though not literally. This world does get less real the farther you get from the Great Sky Fortress. That was always true. It’s just more obvious now. If we shut out the middle world entirely, a few thousand years from now nothing would survive but Aelen Kofer artifacts.”

Another dwarf interjected, “We build for the ages!”

They reached the rainbow bridge.

Jarneyn grinned broadly enough for it to show through his thicket of beard. “Here’s where we sort you out.”

The rainbow bridge was just that. Not a huge arc as after a storm, just a curved piece of the arc’s top spanning a chasm a hundred feet wide and a thousand deep, its bottom hidden by mist. The bridge was a bright tangle of brilliant hues. And transparent.

The mist below stirred, visible through the rainbow. The faces of the chasm were basalt knife edges all the way down. Some boasted the bones of giants fallen during one or another of that race’s periodic assaults on the Old Gods, ages gone.

“That’s a reassuring view,” Heris said.

“A fine moat,” Renfrow observed.

Jarneyn said, “Stick to the middle of the bridge. Have faith in what your feet tell you. Your eyes will lie. And don’t think inimical thoughts.” He grabbed the lead of the foremost goat cart and headed out onto the tangle of color.

Cloven Februaren gasped, “My pride is going on the shelf for now.”

“You going to crawl, Double Great?”

“I’m going to get into a cart.”

The Aelen Kofer crossed in single file, enjoying the discomfiture of the humans. Renfrow boarded a goat cart, too, and sealed his eyes.

The ascendant asked, “Heris? Will you take a cart, too?” The implication being that she had best hurry. Opportunities were dwindling fast.

Something in his tone, like a spark of condescension for the weakness of women, irritated Heris. “No. I’ll walk.” She strode forward, following Jarneyn’s advice. Trust feet, not eyes nor instinct. Don’t think inimical thoughts, which she could not have done, anyway. Her entire being focused on her feet.

The ascendant crossed behind her, close enough to catch her if she missed a step. She did not know.

Februaren, after dismounting, waited at the end of the bridge. He caught Heris’s hand as she stepped onto solid footing. “There you go. Now, take a look at Renfrow.” Still in a goat cart and shaking. “Most powerful man in the Grail Empire, maybe. Child of a god. Notice anything?”

“Not really. Unless the point of the lesson is that he’s in a cart.”

“There’s that. And the fact that his eyes are still closed. And his hands are still shaking.”

“So. The lesson is?”

“Don’t let your pride get you killed. You didn’t need to show anybody anything, girl. You needed to get across the gap alive.”

“Uhm?”

“Really. You don’t need to impress Jarneyn and his cohorts.”

Iron Eyes remarked, “She doesn’t, but it was still worth seeing, her walking the rainbow bridge. The list of middle-worlders who have managed is quite short.”

Heris snapped, “Let’s just get on with it!”

Renfrow descended from his cart. “All right. You people have me ninety-eight percent convinced.” He glared at the rainbow bridge.

Februaren said, “Let’s go inside and arm you with total conviction.” He eyed the bridge himself. His voice quavered.

Heris understood, suddenly. He was afraid. The Ninth Unknown was frightened!

Hell! After a studied look around she realized they were all frightened. Even the Aelen Kofer and the ascendant.

“Double Great, you haven’t planned this out, have you?”

“Child?”

“The plan, stated so far, is: You go in there and open the way. And hope these Instrumentalities are going to behave. That they’ll be grateful and cooperative.”

“That’s a little simplistic.…”

“But essentially true. Is there anything in the mythology to make you think they’ll respond the way you want? Aren’t they all vilely self-centered?”

“You’re being too harsh.”

Renfrow interrupted, “She’s right. Dwarf. Iron Eyes. Did you have any plan deeper than what the girl just described? Did you, Asgrimmur?”

The ascendant said, “I intend to make them swear oaths to behave and help in return for their release. Beforehand.”

Uncertain if she ought to resent or appreciate being referred to as a girl, Heris said, “I grew up in a different part of the world. I don’t know the fine details of northern myth. But isn’t one of the prisoners the Trickster? Won’t his very nature compel him to mess with us?”

Iron Eyes grunted unhappily. “You have a point. A definite point.”

Heris said, “Then we ought to have the means to compel him. Or any of the others who don’t want to cooperate.”

“They’re gods, woman. They won’t take to having their arms twisted.”

“I don’t care what they like.”

Iron Eyes shrugged, turned away. “Ascendant. This goes to you, now. Look inside yourself and find an estimate of …”

“Already done. She’s right. Though he might risk eternal imprisonment, the Trickster will try something. But we’ll have the time it takes for the Old Ones to get a read on the present. The others should accept terms for freedom.”

Heris asked, “Do we need the Trickster to handle Kharoulke? Can we just leave him in there?”

The ascendant said, “We’ll need them all. And, given a chance to understand the situation, even the Trickster will behave till the grander threat is gone.”

The Ninth Unknown’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Heris. Girl. You’re scheming something. I beg you. Not against the gods. Not even pagan gods.”

“I won’t do anything stupid. But I want all this to stop. Now. Let’s build a point-by-point operation, absent the influence of beer.”

They were just steps from the tower gate of the Great Sky Fortress.

Iron Eyes announced, “This used to be a hundred times more glorious. Now it’s about as beautiful as a castle in the middle world. Only bigger.”

“Focus, dwarf!” Heris snapped. “That’s irrelevant. We’re here to deal with Instrumentalities.”

Renfrow muttered something to Cloven Februaren, who replied, “Would you believe that three years ago she was scared of her own shadow? I blame my grandson. And her brother, a little.”

“Double Great, you talk too much. Family matters should stay family matters.” Then Heris swore. If Renfrow had not gotten the point from hearing the old man, she had made it plain that he ought to take note.

Renfrow, however, did not seem interested. He was overawed by his ancestral home.

The gates of the Great Sky Fortress were open, as the ascendant had left them. One leaned on a damaged hinge. Korban Iron Eyes said, “We came no farther forward than the end of the bridge. Repairs to the Great Sky Fortress aren’t necessary.”

The ascendant said, “The place gives me the creeps,” as he headed through the gateway.

Inside, the place was dull, gray, lifeless. The power from the middle world had not reached the top of the mountain.

Behind the gate lay a level, open field. To either hand were what had been gardens and orchards. The magic was gone.

The ascendant said, “I don’t remember much. First time round I was a prisoner. What I saw was less colorful than this. Last time, I was too crazy to notice much. The Aelen Kofer will have to guide us.”

Heris stared off to their left, at the bones of an orchard, recalling that it had been sacred to one of the Old Goddesses. The remains of the apple trees were covered with scale and fungi.

Did that bode ill for the larger mission? The gods had depended on that fruit for their immortality. But it looked like the orchard depended on the gods in turn. “Did all that die since you were here?”

The ascendant responded, “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Double Great, this might not be as dangerous as I feared. But let’s take every precaution anyway.”

The old man looked puzzled.

The bulk of the Great Sky Fortress reared ahead, climbing far higher. There was no color in it. Sunlight fell upon it and died.

Heris continued to quiz the ascendant. Who continued to insist, “I was just a prisoner here. I don’t know anything.”

She glanced at Iron Eyes. The dwarf lord shrugged, said, “It’s been a long time. We weren’t invited in much once the place was finished.”

So she snapped at the ascendant, “Parts of you lived here. All of you knew enough to turn the place inside out.”

The ascendant went rigid. Then he began to swell.

And Heris could not hold her tongue.

“Yeah. Go ahead. Get all huffy and pissed off. Turn into something uglier than you already are. That’ll be real productive.” She turned her back. “Double Great, this whole expedition is about to turn sour. We’re just plain not ready, except maybe for Asgrimmur. He’s all set to tremble and shake if the Old Ones won’t cooperate.”

Though she was not behaving well the old man seemed more pleased than troubled. “You keep making the point. I heard it. Now say something useful.”

“We need to make sure there’s no way they can get out without them doing what we want. Meaning all the damned doors better be locked before we open the way. Meaning we have to use up all of whatever magic still exists here. Meaning we have to send the Aelen Kofer home so the Old Ones can’t bully them into engineering their escape into the middle world. I might even borrow some of Gisors’s toys in case we have to enforce an attitude adjustment.”

Februaren grinned. “Darling girl! I think we’ve found our Twelfth Unknown. Clever, that. And I do see your point. Gentlemen. My student has, again, made a powerful argument. We dare leave nothing to chance. We won’t be conjuring everynight demons.”

Eyeing Heris, Ferris Renfrow observed, “The overconfident sorcerer has become a cliché. There’s a reason things become clichés.”

Heris showed him a thin smile. Remarkable. She said, “Iron Eyes. We can adjust to this. With Aelen Kofer help. Come talk to me.” She headed back toward the rainbow bridge.

Cloven Februaren watched. He glowed with pride. He muttered, “She’s coming along just fine.” Then, “Boys, how about we explore this dump while we’re waiting?”