A dark vehicle rolled toward the heart of Dorvel.
Mounted on its roof was a large box covered by a metal mesh.
Similar contraptions had been installed on the vehicles stationed at each of the town's gates.
People watched them warily.
It wasn't long before they crackled to life.
RRRRRRR... SSSSZLKK
...
"Residents of Dorvel, I am Acrantha Nithwark."
"A Nithwark...?"
"Aren't they from Solax?"
"Why're they here?"
"First the gunshots, now this..."
Uneasy murmurs spread through the crowd.
"And, in simple terms, I will be in charge, effective immediately.
Dorvel falls under the temporary administration of Solax until further notice."
"In charge?"
"What does that mean?"
"What about Chief Ibhrax?"
"The bastards probably killed him."
"A curfew will be enforced from sundown to sunrise.
All firearms and military-grade equipment are to be surrendered by tomorrow evening.
Solax personnel are to be obeyed in the execution of their duties.
Interference or refusal to comply will be treated as obstruction.
Additional directives will be posted throughout the town and enforced as necessary.
Cooperation is expected."
KCARSSHHG
***
"The transmission has ended," a soldier reported, looking up from the monitor.
Acrantha stepped out of the vehicle.
Several soldiers stood nearby, holding up a bound man against the watchtower wall.
She compared his face to the photograph in her hand.
"Is this him?" she asked.
"He's aged rather poorly."
"I'm right here," Jarek retorted.
The soldier beside him didn't appreciate the interruption.
THWACK
A fist slammed into his stomach.
"Hm."
Acrantha turned to the soldier at her right.
"Take some of the men with you. Calm any disturbances in town."
"Yes, ma'am."
They departed, leaving only two soldiers behind.
Acrantha stepped closer to Jarek.
"Why are you here?"
"Ugh... To lie low, obviously. For a Nithwark, you seem rather slow on the uptake."
A soldier drew back his fist.
Acrantha raised a hand, stopping the blow before it landed.
"I don't mean in this town," she said. "I mean here. Bound. Why?"
The soldiers exchanged puzzled glances.
"You have skilled teams of soldiers, Crantha. It only makes sense."
Acrantha's brows furrowed.
"Well over a dozen years ago, you were detained in Solax's Weed Facility, where you escaped, leaving sixteen bodies in your wake and more than twice that number injured. After that, you became a well-known ferryman.
"So, Jarek... or should I say... Ledger."
She stepped forward until only an inch separated their faces.
Her voice dropped.
"What do you gain by returning to Solax?"
Jarek chuckled.
Acrantha stepped back, irritation flickering across her face.
"Little Crantha's all grown up... thinking up unreal theories and all that."
"Do not address me in such a manner," she snapped.
Jarek's expression softened ever so slightly.
"Sorry... but you said it yourself."
"I aged rather poorly."
"Hm."
Acrantha turned away.
"We'll leave it at that, then."
She glanced at the soldiers.
"Don't let your guard down. He has a better track record at escaping than most."
They nodded in unison as she walked away.
***
They drove on for hours, seeing little more than endless stretches of open savannah.
They kept their distance from the larger herds, while smaller animals scattered at the sound of the vehicle's engine.
Faelan's hands remained tense on the steering wheel, gripping it tightly enough to leave faint impressions.
Every slight turn felt like a battle to keep the vehicle steady.
The uneven terrain certainly didn't help.
"You aren't getting any better at this," Ria remarked, resting her head against the door.
"I'd say us not rolling over is good enough," he replied, his eyes fixed on the road.
Then he slowed to a stop.
"Do you see that?"
"You mean the tall grass? What's wrong?"
"We can't drive through it, so we'll have to go around."
"Well... that's going to be a problem."
She climbed out and took a few steps forward.
"It looks like it might be an entire field."
"A field?" Faelan asked skeptically.
They had stopped the moment they noticed it, so he wasn't sure how far it actually stretched.
"How wide does it look?"
"Very."
Faelan let out a sigh.
Niri stirred in Faelan's lap, curling into a more comfortable position, as though sensing it would be a long ride.
Ria climbed back into the vehicle.
"At least drive faster this time."
"I'd like to keep my teeth intact," Faelan replied.
The engine groaned to life.
They drove alongside the field for a long while, searching for a place where they could cut across.
Above them, the sky gradually darkened.
As the last ray of sunlight disappeared behind the clouds, a small rectangle beside the steering wheel flickered to life, glowing a dim yellow.
Faelan frowned.
"What is that?"
"Looks like an indicator."
"An indicator of what?"
"Probably how much power's left. The sun's taking a nap, so it isn't helping us anymore."
Faelan froze.
The sun... helping...?
He looked at Ria.
She didn't seem to be joking.
It made no sense to him.
Other than giving them light, how could the sun possibly be helping?
"What does that mean?" he asked.
"What it does. At least... that's what they usually said."
"Who's they?"
Ria was silent for a moment.
Then she looked out the open side of the vehicle.
"The clouds are really dark."
"The inside's going to get wet if we can't close the windows."
"Why're you talking—"
Faelan paused.
"I'll use my jacket to cover this side, and you use your cloak for the other."
"That could work."
Faelan buried yet another question about the enigma he knew as Asteria.
They drove on in silence.
It didn't take long for the rain to begin.
It started as a light drizzle before growing into a heavy downpour.
Eventually, they had no choice but to stop.
They could barely see what lay ahead.
"Dorvel's a nice town. Strange, though.
For a dictatorship, it's not very... dictating.
Ibhrax is one greedy man, though. Makes my job easier.
It's quiet. Very quiet.
It's been hours. I've seen fewer and fewer beasts.
I can't even find any Tabbir tunnels."
RRHUMB
The rumble followed a streak of lightning that split the sky.
Faelan looked up from Jarek's journal toward the windows.
Their clothing kept most of the rain out, but the cold still crept inside.
Ria rummaged through the bags with no real purpose other than curiosity.
"I found another one. A crooked stone. This one's larger than the last, probably three metres tall.
That explains why there's nothing around here... except the only beasts dumb enough to go near it.
They're actually wearing Grehoyb hide, squatting in the grass as though they themselves were the beasts.
And in a way... they were.
That's good.
I should probably quote myself on that."
"Fae!"
Ria's voice jolted him from the journal.
"What?" he asked, looking over.
"Look, it's a boomball."
She held up a pitch-black sphere, grooves etched into its surface, with a loose silver ring fixed to the top.
"What's a... boomball?" Faelan asked, puzzled.
"A ball that goes boom."
Faelan stared at her blankly.
"A grenade," she clarified.
"I still don't understand."
He couldn't understand why she seemed so excited over a black metal ball.
"I found another one. A crooked stone. This one's larger than the last, probably three metres tall.
That explains why there's nothing around here... except the only beasts dumb enough to go near it.
They're actually wearing Grehoyb hide, squatting in the grass as though they themselves were the beasts.
And in a way... they were.
That's good.
I should probably quote myself on that."
"Fae!"
Ria's voice jolted him from the journal.
"What?" he asked, looking over.
"Look, it's a boomball."
She held up a pitch-black sphere, grooves etched into its surface, with a loose silver ring fixed to the top.
"What's a... boomball?" Faelan asked, puzzled.
"A ball that goes boom."
Faelan stared at her blankly.
"You throw it," she clarified.
"I still don't understand."
He couldn't understand why she seemed so excited over a black metal ball.
"After you throw it, then boom, it goes boom,"
"Sure...?"
He went back to reading the journal.
Ria glanced at him, annoyed... and a little disappointed.
He is surprisingly dumb, she thought to herself.
She continued searching through the vehicle.
A knife with serrated teeth.
A thin metal pipe tucked beneath one of the seats.
A small pack of assorted pills, its label reading:
Don't Die Pills
"Just great...
Shitty luck...
Ragons actually shot at me.
No one tells larger-than-life rumors anymore.
Finally left that field behind."
"Fae," Ria called, this time in little more than a whisper. "Do you hear that?"
Faelan listened.
All he could hear was the rain drumming against the roof of the vehicle.
"Someone's coming," Ria murmured.