Chapter 3: The Shimmering Plain

Despite the distance traveled and elevation acquired throughout the day, the thumping had continued to follow them. It started up again several hours past sunset. The three of them had been idly talking for some time when the sound reasserted itself. Refina picked up on the stillness that Nyla and Gwyndolyn shared as they sat around the fire. “The Tochi is still stalking us, isn’t it?” She asked.

Everyone else was asleep. Duncan and Jorpix in their tents and the remaining refugees from Phyldraste in the carriage, each about a rod away from the fire. Even the gnorses on their shortened leads were laying down, legs curled under their bellies, a few feet from their daytime position at the front. Nyla met eyes with the dark skinned old woman and nodded. “Multiple of them.” Nyla said. “Those thumps are them calling to others of their kind.”

Refina closed her eyes and listened for a moment. “Three of them?” She asked.

“I’ve counted four.” Gwyndolyn said, staring off into the middle distance beyond the light of the campfire. If any of the refugees noticed that the cords of firewood stacked in the storage room of the carriage couldn’t possibly last for more than a week or two, they did not voice it. They were intended as insurance against an unseasonable cold snap, not as a nightly expectation. A couple of unlit torches sat next to the fire, ready to be lit in a moment if needed.

“I respect and understand your reluctance to tell us.” Refina said. “Given your demeanor, I assume you are confident in your ability to defend against an attack?”

“Duncan, Gwyn, and I can all handle ourselves in a fight.” Nyla said. “You’ve seen my repeater in action. It’s got a range of about fifty feet, just over three rods. I’ve got a few other tricks, but the repeater is my tool of choice.”

“Ny prefers dealing with things at a distance, so I take care of things that get too close.” Gwyndolyn said, laying a hand on the handle of her weapon beside her. “Grandpappy Blackstone gave me that hammer for my fourteenth birthday. He said that even pretty little girls needed to be able to adjust someone’s attitude in certain situations.”

“And then Duncan has the Quatrine Feldsgar quirk with the prismatic energy blasts. Doesn’t have quite the range as I do.” Nyla said, patting the holster of her repeater. “But the fact that he can’t be disarmed, short of literally being dis-armed, sure is convenient. Being made out of crystal and stone has its advantages as well if things get up close.”

“I see.” Refina said. She looked towards the carriage then asked. “Should I retrieve my spear?”

“I don’t think it’s necessary at this point.” Nyla said. “The thumping hasn’t been getting closer. I’d been hoping that they would break off as we got closer to the Plain.” Nyla turned around and looked north. “Nothing grows on it, and animals avoid it. Plus it’s nearly time that we’ll swap with the guys. You need to get some rest too. Even Elves need a few hours.”

Refina nodded her head in agreement. “Very well.” She said. “You all have seemed very professional in the short time I have spent with you. You were from Sarial you mentioned earlier, the Guillet Heights. What brought you all out here to this cursed land?”

Gwyndolyn stood up. “I’m here for her, so I’ll let Ny fill you in. I’ve got to go visit the ladies shrub.” Gwyndolyn said. She took her hammer and went over to grab the toiletries pack that had been left by the door to the carriage. She gave a wave then went off behind the carriage and out of line of sight.

“How long have you two been together?” Refina asked, turning back to Nyla.

Nyla smiled. “It’ll be eleven years married in the spring, fourteen total.” She said. “I’ve had a fascination with the Shimmering Plain for as long as I can remember. More than a fascination, really. I’d been working towards this for years before Gwyn and I met, and I warned her that this would be part of being involved with me. And now tomorrow, we’ll finally be there, together.”

“What about the Plain fascinates you?”

“Everything.” Nyla said exasperatingly. “The Plain seems different but somehow still connected to the calamity that befell Tidatalan. The few remaining stories tell of the Gnomes retreating to the Plain to escape something. This place was special to them, but they didn’t stay. Why not?” Nyla paused. “I don’t expect to personally find out, but whatever insights I can help provide will help those that come after.”

“I am six hundred and forty eight years old, well maybe more.” Refina said. “I outlived the country that I saw birthed. I applaud you for your long term views.”

“There have only been eight successful expeditions to the Plain that we know of. The most recent was over twenty years before I was born.” Nyla turned again and looked north wistfully. “I fully plan on coming back one day, even if it takes a century.”

“I hope you find the answers you seek, and I again thank Oriart and Alonbu that you were here to save us.” Refina said, referencing the gods of Life and Despair. The former held in high regard by Branchists and the latter the patron of Elves.

“And Vangog.” Gwyndolyn said, coming back around the side of the carriage. “We have two of Luck’s children here. If any of the gods were watching out for us, surely it was them.” She dropped the bag off by the door and came back to the fire and sat down.

“But of course.” Refina said.

Nyla tried to stifle a yawn, but the contagion spread and soon both Gwyndolyn and Refina were joining in. “I guess it’s probably time to swap. I’ll go wake Duncan.” Nyla said, standing up and walking over towards his tent. She kneeled down and pulled at one of the flaps, speaking his name softly.

Duncan awoke easily. “Please tell me you have Mud.” He said, his voice longing and whimsical.

“I left the fixings on the counter in the carriage.” Nyla said, referring to the ground beans, bark, and herbs that brewed up into a bitter beverage the likes of which strong opinions were often formed. “Try not to wake anyone up.”

“Can’t even wake up any traumatized refugees in the middle of the night in this crummy outfit.” Duncan said with a pout as he was putting on his boots.

Nyla stood and turned, seeing Gwyndolyn waiting outside their tent and Refina entering the carriage. Duncan emerged from his tent and said “I’m going to get the Mud brewing before I get Jorpix up.”

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“Probably a good idea.” Nyla said. “The Tochi are still out there.” She added. “We haven’t seen them, but we heard them thumping a bit ago.”

Duncan nodded. “I’ll stay alert. You go on and get to bed. Big day tomorrow.”

“Yea. We’ve got to make the most of the time we’ll have. Two or three days, then we’ve got to get these people out of here.” Nyla said.

“So the plan to attempt to reach the Bastion is off I take it?” Duncan asked as he turned to continue facing Nyla and walked backwards towards the carriage.

“I don’t want to subject them to the crossing.” Nyla said as she herself walked towards the tent that Gwyndolyn had already entered. ”We’ll take rubbings of as many Black Liths as possible and have to be satisfied with that.”

“Understood. Now scoot.” Duncan said, making a flicking gesture with his hands. The motion caused purple flashes to reflect on the ground from the firelight and his crystalline skin. “Sleep well, fearless leader.”

The ridgeline had been reaching higher and higher towards the sky all morning. The dark line they were heading towards was resolving as deep shadows in a narrow pass. Nearly everyone was riding or walking, eager to see the first glimpses of the Plain beyond.

Nyla was on the driving bench, along with Rosie and Russer, and she continued rattling off facts about their destination to the mother and son. “The first known person to reach the Plain was Odessa Taemberant a bit over a thousand years ago.” Nyla said. Russer was sitting between his mother and Nyla, and was hanging onto her every word with rapt attention. “A princess of one of the old kingdoms that has since been forgotten and swallowed up by the Empire, she was exiled for refusing to go along with an arranged marriage. She and her lover, Scarletclaw Raxmis, went west and started exploring the southern edge of the Sniferen Mountains.”

“What were they looking for?” Russer asked.

“They were looking for the Plain. Tidatalan was more myth than mystery back then.” Nyla said. “The old tales talked about how important the Plain was. Odessa believed in the stories, and she and Raxmis thought it might contain something they could use to return to their homeland and reverse the exile.”

“Did they find stuff? Did they go back to their home?” Russer was nearly bouncing he was so excited.

“There is no gold on the Plain.” Nyla continued. “No gems or treasures. It’s nearly featureless, in fact, other than the Black Liths, towering stones inscribed with ancient text, and the Bastion, a massive structure in the exact center.” The carriage was entering the pass. “They found this pass, and the Plain, and spent several weeks exploring it. They didn’t find anything that would let them return to their homeland, but they found purpose. They settled in Nars and taught at what came to be the Imperial College. They lit a fire under the study of Tidatalan and the Plain.” Nyla paused for a moment. “And now, we get to see it as well.”

The narrow pass looked pitch black before entering, but after their eyes had adjusted the light at the terminus seemed nearly blinding. The gnorses slowed, but Nyla flicked the reins to get them moving again. The sightlines opened up as the walls of the pass fell away, and then they were on the Shimmering Plain proper. Dominating the view as far as their eyes could see were hundreds of massive black stones standing upright in the off white ground of the Plain.

“How far are we going Ny?” Gwyndolyn called from her position to the left of the carriage where she was walking with Refina.

“Let’s take a break here, then maybe keep going until lunch before stopping.” Nyla said. She turned to include Duncan and Barl walking on the other side of the carriage. “That sound good with you two? Fifteen minute break now. Then an hour or so more traveling, lunch, and cataloguing Black Liths for the remainder of the day.”

“Sounds good to me.” Duncan said.

Nyla pulled back on the reins to slow and then stop the gnorses. She pulled a lever to set the brakes, then followed Rosie and Russer down from the driving bench to the ground. Duncan had entered the carriage as soon as it had come to a stop, and was coming back out with canteens a moment later. Jorpix and Merph followed behind him, with Peiros still resting from his injuries the previous day. “Congratulations, Nyla.” Jorpix said, looking a little emotional. “We’ll save the celebrations for when we’re back, but simply getting here is still a great accomplishment.”

Nyla blushed. “This was a group effort, Professor. We all deserve credit for this.” She lifted her hands to include Duncan and Gwyndolyn. “I may have been the driving force on this expedition, but we all made and contributed to the journey.” She turned and pointed to a Black Lith half an earshot away. “Would you like to accompany me to that and explain their significance to some of our guests?” She said to Jorpix.

“Certainly.” Jorpix said, taking another drink from his canteen then handing it back to Duncan.

Nyla beckoned to the assembled Halflings and Goblins, with all but Merph falling into line behind her and Jorpix. The group walked the short distance and stood before the towering stone. “They are bigger than they looked from the carriage.” Rosie said, craning her neck as she approached.

“Each Black Lith is identical in their dimensions.” Jorpix said, putting on a voice as if he were teaching a class. “Made from a dense stone that resists damage, they all measure four feet four thumbs to a side and stand seventeen feet tall.” He stepped closer to point to the finer details on the face of the stone. “The text is written in an ancient Gnomish dialect notorious for its unusual grammatical structures.”

“That’s a name.” Russer said, laying his small pale green finger on a bit of text.

“How did you know that?” Nyla asked. She knew he was correct, being familiar with the language and dialect herself. But she didn’t expect a layman, let alone a child, to be able to pick such a detail out.

“I don’t know.” Russer said. “Sometimes I just know stuff.” He looked sheepishly down at his hairy bare feet.

Nyla shot Rosie a questioning look. “Has he shown any other special traits?”

“He’s always been bigger than most of the other children.” Rosie said. Nyla nodded, knowing how she herself had had a similar childhood. “He does seem to pick up on things quickly. He’s a very smart boy.” She ruffled his hair.

“Well that’s right, Russer.” Nyla said. “These are all memorials, of a sort. Each of these names is followed by how they died. They’ve given some hints about what happened, but like Jorpix said, the unusual grammatical structures coupled with a penchant for flowery prose has made determining many specifics…difficult.” She ran her hand along the line of text that Russer had pointed to. “This one, for example. It says something like ‘Aloysius Prembleton Haverant did so trip and fall upon exiting his domicile and was summarily crushed and his life thus extinguished by the weight of the aforementioned domicile as its facade collapsed.’” She looked back at Jorpix. “Did I get that right?”

“You did indeed Nyla.” Jorpix said. “This Black Lith in particular is probably the most well studied of all of them, being so close to the entrance to the Plain. We will be taking rubbings of as many as we can, so we can research and translate when we return home to Sarial.”

Nyla picked up on the downturn in Rosie’s facial expression at the word home. “When we get back to Kruuth we can check the Empire’s records for any friends or family from the diaspora to reunite you with.” Nyla said. “But you all would be welcome in the Guillet Heights with us as well.”

“Thank you, Nyla.” Rosie said, relieved that someone was thinking about the sort of things she had not yet contemplated. “It might be useful to make contact with any other former government officials from the Republic, or see where my constituents settled.”

“Let’s head back now. Put some miles behind us before we break for lunch.” Nyla said, turning and corralling the group. “After we stop we’ll spend the rest of the day on the Liths, then head out in the morning.” She saw Russer hesitating and looking back towards the monument. “Russer, if you’d like, you can help us while we take rubbings of these later.” His eyes lit up and he nodded profusely, eager to be helpful with adult tasks as young children often are.