whole of the western city, for miles and miles. You get used to them after a while.”
“What are they?” Nyad asked, and he could hear her breathing a little faster now that they were on foot. “I assume they pre-date the human settlement here, and they don’t look like sewage tunnels.” She sniffed. “Or smell like them.”
“Good guess,” Cyrus said with a small smile. “The sewers actually run above these tunnels for the most part. These tunnels are so well sealed there’s no leakage. And you’re quite right; they were not built by the Confederation or by Reikonos. Presumably the ancients left them behind, along with the portal …” he turned a corner, and the tunnel opened into a massive, open space, more than large enough to hold the Sanctuary army that stood within it, “… here.”
“Huh,” Nyad said, staring down into the slight bowl formed out of the rock. “Kind of a funny place to put a portal.”
“I suppose,” Cyrus said with a shrug. He could see the faint glow of the portal in the center of the room, over the heads of the army surrounding it. “I have a feeling there are some things about the ancients that we just won’t ever understand.” He stepped over the threshold into the circular room and looked up to see stone buttresses holding up a sort of dome overhead. The air down here was stale, as though it hadn’t moved in an age. Just like I remember it from childhood .
Cyrus moved through the gathered army, looking around him to confirm that what he had ordered had been carried out. It was roughly a thousand of Sanctuary’s finest, with a bevy of spell casters at their command and more than enough rangers and warriors to hold off a line of offense if necessary.
He cut his way through the crowd toward the center and broke through to an open space near the portal. On the other side of the space he found Arydni waiting, her head in her hands, dark hair flowing over her fingers like falling water over a cliff face. She looked up to see him, and her pointed ears almost seemed to twitch at his presence. “I had hoped you would see reason and bring less.”
“I’m not that reasonable where the safety of my people is concerned,” Cyrus said with a breath of the dank air. “I prefer to be quite unreasonable by erring on the side of survival in those cases.”
“Well, you’ve got the unreasonable part down,” Arydni muttered, so low he nearly missed it.
“Your army awaits, General,” Odellan said, emerging from the small cluster of officers standing just in front of the portal. Cyrus scanned them quickly to see Vaste and Curatio, with Vara standing coolly off to the side, her arms folded across her chest.
“All right,” Cyrus said, “get them in formation, Odellan, lined up and ready to march in. You may have to snake the line somewhat to fit them in the room.”
“I was already planning it,” Odellan said with a nod, and he broke off, shouting orders at the army to form up. His strident voice echoed off the dome overhead, the rich baritone given additional resonance from the acoustics of the room.
“What can we expect on the other side of the portal?” Cyrus asked, taking Arydni gently by the arm and steering her toward where Curatio, Vaste and Vara stood.
“Furious guardians, mostly likely,” Arydni said, completing the small circle as she stepped next to Cyrus.
“Excellent,” Vaste said, “I do so enjoy a good fight in the morning, especially if it’s against an evil goddess’s guardians.”
“Vidara is hardly evil, even to you, troll,” Vara said with a quiet sort of reproach. “Stop trying to be ridiculous; this is not the moment for it.” Cyrus watched her as she spoke; it was the most she had said in his presence for months.
“Is the other side of the portal still an open field laid before a thicket of hedgerows?” Curatio asked. Cyrus could hear a certain tension in his words.
“It is,” Arydni said, locking onto the healer. “You …
“What are they?” Nyad asked, and he could hear her breathing a little faster now that they were on foot. “I assume they pre-date the human settlement here, and they don’t look like sewage tunnels.” She sniffed. “Or smell like them.”
“Good guess,” Cyrus said with a small smile. “The sewers actually run above these tunnels for the most part. These tunnels are so well sealed there’s no leakage. And you’re quite right; they were not built by the Confederation or by Reikonos. Presumably the ancients left them behind, along with the portal …” he turned a corner, and the tunnel opened into a massive, open space, more than large enough to hold the Sanctuary army that stood within it, “… here.”
“Huh,” Nyad said, staring down into the slight bowl formed out of the rock. “Kind of a funny place to put a portal.”
“I suppose,” Cyrus said with a shrug. He could see the faint glow of the portal in the center of the room, over the heads of the army surrounding it. “I have a feeling there are some things about the ancients that we just won’t ever understand.” He stepped over the threshold into the circular room and looked up to see stone buttresses holding up a sort of dome overhead. The air down here was stale, as though it hadn’t moved in an age. Just like I remember it from childhood .
Cyrus moved through the gathered army, looking around him to confirm that what he had ordered had been carried out. It was roughly a thousand of Sanctuary’s finest, with a bevy of spell casters at their command and more than enough rangers and warriors to hold off a line of offense if necessary.
He cut his way through the crowd toward the center and broke through to an open space near the portal. On the other side of the space he found Arydni waiting, her head in her hands, dark hair flowing over her fingers like falling water over a cliff face. She looked up to see him, and her pointed ears almost seemed to twitch at his presence. “I had hoped you would see reason and bring less.”
“I’m not that reasonable where the safety of my people is concerned,” Cyrus said with a breath of the dank air. “I prefer to be quite unreasonable by erring on the side of survival in those cases.”
“Well, you’ve got the unreasonable part down,” Arydni muttered, so low he nearly missed it.
“Your army awaits, General,” Odellan said, emerging from the small cluster of officers standing just in front of the portal. Cyrus scanned them quickly to see Vaste and Curatio, with Vara standing coolly off to the side, her arms folded across her chest.
“All right,” Cyrus said, “get them in formation, Odellan, lined up and ready to march in. You may have to snake the line somewhat to fit them in the room.”
“I was already planning it,” Odellan said with a nod, and he broke off, shouting orders at the army to form up. His strident voice echoed off the dome overhead, the rich baritone given additional resonance from the acoustics of the room.
“What can we expect on the other side of the portal?” Cyrus asked, taking Arydni gently by the arm and steering her toward where Curatio, Vaste and Vara stood.
“Furious guardians, mostly likely,” Arydni said, completing the small circle as she stepped next to Cyrus.
“Excellent,” Vaste said, “I do so enjoy a good fight in the morning, especially if it’s against an evil goddess’s guardians.”
“Vidara is hardly evil, even to you, troll,” Vara said with a quiet sort of reproach. “Stop trying to be ridiculous; this is not the moment for it.” Cyrus watched her as she spoke; it was the most she had said in his presence for months.
“Is the other side of the portal still an open field laid before a thicket of hedgerows?” Curatio asked. Cyrus could hear a certain tension in his words.
“It is,” Arydni said, locking onto the healer. “You …
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