Armareth's Tower

The layers of the city were dizzying. It changed as they walked from street to street, the decay hiding right behind the colors of the beauty. Zeno used back alleys and hidden routes. He was careful, he had to be. David had seen some of the wickedness in the city. It was startling. In Gaora, David had expected the darkness. It had come out in the open, baring its fangs in his face. Here, everything was hidden under a mask. It was like settling into a good dream only to find monsters and bloody scarecrows.

Where the city was beautiful, it was astonishing. The white stone buildings were in different shapes. Zeno mentioned the Zur-Del nobles being rich in tastes and David could see it in the colored tiled roofs, the clean outer streets, and the clear, polished wood of the taverns, inns, and brothels. The street was packed as the day got darker and lights came on, illuminating the rich parts of the city, leaving its hidden parts in the dark.

It was in one of the dark alleys that Zeno pulled David back to watch as a noble got robbed. The bodies of the noble’s guards were on the floor, dead. Just beyond the old man begging was a street of people moving as if they couldn’t hear or see what was happening.

“Why isn’t anyone helping?” David asked. He could understand crime in a city like this, but one so glaring? It was a shock. Zeno turned to look at him as if he was a simpleton. Some of the shame from losing to David still swirled in his eyes, but the oath mark burned his arm whenever he thought about going against it. David hadn’t even thought about it. He should have. If this was Amareth’s tower, then the tower god should have absolute power here. Which meant invoking Amareth’s power carries a high potency rate. He wondered what would happen if Zeno tried to kill him.

“Zur-Del is ruled by an old monarch who prefers to tax the merchants and fatten himself than rule. Then there are people like us who are just too powerful to control.”

“Like us?” David asked. Zeno nodded and then pointed to one of the men robbing the noble. They were leaving, but David saw what Zeno was trying to show him. The tower rings on the back of one of the men. Four rings. Thick line, but nothing more after that. They wore simple padded armor with minimal weapons, but David knew many of them could simply just summon a weapon.

“Many of us have decided to settle here,” Zeno said. “The ascension city is perfect. It pulls people from all over. And the king leaves us alone. You cut out what you can keep and protect it from the others.”

David frowned, recalling what happened to Tara when they stayed too long in one place, ignoring the tasks. The task was different from that, but he wondered if that applied here. Zeno nudged him to move and they ran to the opposite wall and climbed up into the roof. From that point, Zeno led him from roof to roof, overlooking the rest of the city. It was faster, but as they went higher, David could see the stark disparity. One side of the city glowed with light and buzz and the other side was covered in a large spread of darkness. Whoever the king was, David wanted to beat the crap out of him.

“What about the temple?” David asked. “The temple of Amareth?” He leaped off the ledge of a square roof, dropping just behind Zeno. The man was lithe and graceful, his body moving as if it had laid claim to this kind of life. David tried clumsily to keep up, his breath coming sharp and increasingly heavy.

“What about it?” Zeno asked, not slowing down until he got to a wide gap. He let himself drop down and David almost screamed until he realized the roof wasn’t so high and he did the same. He landed with a grunt, essence boosting his legs as he lowered himself to distribute the impact.

“Aren’t they supposed to help the poor?” David asked. Zeno snorted. They walked down the near-quiet street until Zeno took another turn, pulling David abruptly into a small space between two buildings. There a series of stairs led them down below the ground until they stood before an old wooden door.

“Amareth might be a god, but he’s not necessarily a good one. And you can say the same of his followers. They help when it suits them when they need the numbers.” He knocked on the door. A patterned rasp that David committed to memory. He wasn’t sure he could remember the way to the house, but he paid to keep some things in mind.

The door opened slightly and a face showed up in the slit. A small girl. No other than twelve. She scowled at Zeno and then her eyes found David’s and held it for a moment before she disappeared into the house, locking the door as she left. David heard whispers, and then shuffling. He gave Zeno a confused look and the man waved him away.

Children, Ignis said. David was about to ask what the dragon meant when the door flung open and David found himself staring at something he could only describe as wrong. He could tell it was a woman. Her face was wrapped in blood-stained cloth except for her mouth and eyes. Her lips seemed to slough off and regrow, only for them to slide off again. She turned lidless eyes to David and then stretched her hand to him. He stared at it, the skin mottled with dark scars–some old and many fresh and oozing clear fluid. David took her hand and was shocked by her firm grip.

“Zeno,” She said, her voice coming heavy with her breathing. David saw the pair of eyes behind her. Ignis was right. They were kids. About eight of them. The oldest was the twelve years old girl. The inside was dimly lit so he couldn’t see much of them.

“You owe me some coins, thief,” she said. Zeno took a step back and then cursed. David staggered away from him as he started to choke. He waved at the woman, begging her. “You know what I hate about thieves, Zeno?” The woman asked. Zeno only stared. He couldn’t speak. David was confused for a moment but slowly he sensed the thread of essence. It stretched off her, wrapping around Zeno like a fast-wire. She didn’t even move, only spoke.

“You lot can’t appreciate good,” She continued. “You always want to cheat, even when it does you no good. You can steal, Zeno. I admit, in a city as dark as Zur-Del, there isn’t much else many can do but steal. But you shouldn’t cheat those who wade the sludge with you.” The thread snapped and Zeno fell back hard. He groaned, then started coughing violently. David didn’t know if to be impressed or alarmed. If the woman could do that, then he should be alert.

“You want to know where your siblings are,” she said. It wasn’t a question, David noted. He turned to Zeno, eyes questioning the thief. Zeno shook his head frantically. He was leaning against the back wall of the stairs. His face was hidden in the dark, but enhancing sight was something everyone could do.

“I can see possibilities, David,” The woman said. “ You didn’t think I became like this because I could shoot fire and wage war with chaos, did you” She asked. David’s frown deepened. She knew much about him. That meant he had to be extra careful.

“The thing with seeing is that it blinds the seer,” She said, clasping her hands. She took a step out into the night and the door closed behind her. “Your siblings are in the city. They arrived a couple of days before you. That much I can give you for free because it carries no consequences.” She grinned and a chunk of her top lip peeled off. David looked away. Zeno didn’t. He took a step forward, giving her his hand. She chuckled sweetly, excited.

“You know what you are offering?” The woman asked as she slid her hand into Zeno’s. Zeno nodded. She pulled him closer, her second hand clasping his, and then she closed her eyes. Zeno sucked in a breath in preparation and the woman began. Zeno fell to his knees, his eyes flung open and he let out a choking sound. He arched backward, jerking violently, but the woman held on tight. Then Zeno snapped back forward, crashing into the ground before the woman.

She let go of his hand and sighed. Her lips widened into a smile as if she’d just experienced something euphoric. David noticed her skin was not peeling or falling off anymore. She lifted her hand, the skin on it was almost smooth now, the blisters looking old. She gasped and leaned back on the door to catch her breath before turning to David.

Zeno was out cold. David turned him around and left him on his back. His chest lifted and settled gently, so he was alive.

“He’ll be fine,” the woman said. She was taking out the blood-soaked wrappings. “I had to take enough essence to counter my suffering. Let’s see!” she chuckled. The last of the wrapping fell and David sighed. She was old, but that was about it. Her bald head made her look a little bit younger. She touched her face gingerly as if expecting to find something else. When she was done, she smiled, pushing off the door. She stretched, jumped a bit, and scoffed.

“What did you do to him?” He didn’t care much for Zeno, but the man was the only one he knew in the city. He didn’t want to lose him just yet. The woman waved at his question as if it didn’t matter.

“Essence works differently for me,” She said, then she crouched by Zeno’s snoring form. She touched his pockets, hissed, and walked away from him. “I can see, but the power it takes to see is destructive. It consumes me. And my essence does not soothe these sores. Each person’s essence has a different, but generally healing effect on me. So sometimes they pay in essence transfer or coins. I can’t feed the children with essence after all.”

“A huge price for your gift,” David said and the woman shrugged. “Will you tell me what you know now?”

“Your siblings are with The Brothers. But they are the least of your worries, David. You four are the chosen. The favorites of Amareth. The blessed. Do you know what that makes you?” She asked. David could guess, but he waited for her to speak.

“You are the fat goose,” She said. “Every outworlder in the tower will want you, your essence, your gifts. You and your siblings. Your blessings are a curse here. This city is filled with those who hate the gods, or simply want to feed their greed. And you have four walked right into the den.”

She is not much of a seer, Ignis said. I can feel her essence pattern. It is as ordinary as her sight. Her lack of enlightenment makes her suffering great. But she is not wrong. By picking you and your siblings, Amareth had set you apart.

“How do I get to The Brothers?” David asked.

The woman nodded to Zeno. “He can take you to them. You won’t survive though.”

“You have seen my death?” David asked and she chuckled, knocking on the door just like Zeno had done.

“No, but I have seen The Brothers fight before. I have seen them break men. I know you, David. I know what you carry. It will not be enough. Not for The Brothers or the other monsters that populate Zur-Del.”

The door opened and she slipped in. David heard the girl mutter something, but the woman didn’t respond. He stared at the door some moments more and then knelt beside Zeno. He shook the thief softly and then slapped him across the face. Zeno shot up, hand pulling out a knife in one smooth motion. David looked down at the knife pressed against his neck, surprised by the other man’s fight response. Then Zeno sighed, relief flooding him when he realized who he was looking at.

“That damn bitch,” Zeno said. “She almost killed me.” He let David pull him up and they walked back into the night. “Did she tell you what you wanted?”

“Yes,” David said, his mind trying to come up with some kind of plan. But he knew nothing. “Who are The Brothers?”

Zeno stopped and David did too some steps ahead. When he turned to Zeno, the man was shaking his head.

“No, no,” Zeno said, each word coming out as a scream. “Not them. They are worse than the monsters that roam outside Zur-Del, trust me. They are not the most powerful, but they are the worst.”

“You don’t need to help me fight them,” David said. “I just need to know where I can find them. I need to get my siblings back and get out of here.”

“Leave?” Zeno asked as if this was a surprise to him. “Why would you want to leave? Zur-Del has everything, David. You can stay here forever. Literally forever. You can cut out your own slice of paradise in this damn city and you don’t have to go back out there, to earth where everything is terrible. You understand?”

“There is nothing here for me,” David said. He didn’t want to tell the man that he was wrong. “I have my family out there waiting for me. I have to beat this tower and I won’t be stopping here to join the colorful illusion that I have seen here so far.”

“Then you will die,” Zeno said. He waved his hand when he saw David’s sword in his hand suddenly. “No, I don’t mean by my hands. The Brothers will kill you. If they don’t the others will. Or the Balek folks, or Adrian who people called the tower’s dragon because he holds of those.” Zeno pointed to David’s sword.

“There is a cult of Balek here?” David asked, surprised.

Zeno scoffed.

“There is a temple of Balek here,” Zeno corrected. “The city of ascension is open to anyone, be it god, man, dwarves, or the devil. It is the middle point of the tower.”

David nodded. He remembered what he promised to Ziel. He didn’t know how it was going to work out yet, but he knew he wasn’t staying here, and he wasn’t going to let his siblings be shared like some kind of trinket set. He’d tear this city apart if he had to, and this time he meant it.

“How do I find them?” David asked, his mind determined. Zeno sighed, already regretting his bet that afternoon.