Shadow - Monsters, Machines and Mad Scientists!: Episode CVIII

Riverwatch was both very similar to what Sarah had come to expect of Shadow so far and also completely differently. Architecturally it was very similar to Crystalvale, with many wooden and stone houses in what she thought of as the European style and indeed, apart from the signs of habitation, there was no clear demarkation between the small district and the city ruins which marched down the slopes of Riddlepike. What made it stand out however, were two details. Firstly, it was not only inhabited, it was thriving. Though the whole valley couldn't have held more than a small town in Earth terms, this was a busy place, just like any district in London, Paris or New York. She realised that, unlike Ashvault and Riddlepike, it must have strong connections to other parts of the city, and indeed there was plenty in the central market square to suggest that heavy merchant traffic made their way to and from Riverwatch. The second detail which set it apart, however, was the fortress. It rose up out of the trees which lined (and occasionally interrupted) every street like a miniature mountain of its own. Very soon the bustle of the district and the various strange wares on sale and services offered at the sides of the streets seemed uninteresting in comparison to the blocky hill of stone which, it became clear, was to become their next destination.

"I thought we were 'just passing through'," Sarah inquired of Dimsun quietly, trying not to catch the attention of the disgruntled militiamen who marched to either side of them, "so why are they taking us to their castle?"

The blond-haired young man named Jansen must have been listening in very intently, for, before Dimsun could utter a word in reply, he interrupted, "That fortress contains the only bridge across the river in this valley. If you want to pass through Riverwatch, you have to pass through the Rock." He sounded grimly satisfied as he said it, as if expecting they would not be allowed to do any such thing.

Sarah stared at the imposing fortress with dismay. There as no reason to suggest that Jansen was wrong. Major Harcourt's compliance was their only guarantee of safe passage and once inside the Rock, that could vanish like dew in the morning sun.

The streets of Riverwatch widened as they approached the Rock. Streets and alleys converged into an enormous thoroughfare which was almost more plaza than street. Militiamen could be seen corralling traders and pedestrians alike to prevent blockages as they made their way in slow-moving lines towards the cavernous maw of the fortress. Here it was possible to judge the true scale of the building itself, straddling the river like some monstrous stone troll who had misunderstood what his roll was supposed to be in the whole bridge-crossing enterprise. Slightly narrower at the base than at its midpoint, with two massive limbs stretching across the river and more turrets and flying buttresses above than Sarah could count, it actually bore a surprising resemblance to a gigantic petrified tree.

They had been drawing attention since they first entered Riverwatch and Frostfire and Dimsun in particular had received the full brunt of the populous' suspicious glares, but here in the crowd before the Rock it was clear that tensions were rising higher and higher. Sarah could hear some of the things people were saying, and she doubted they would be any more repeatable once they began to be shouted.

Harcourt was far from oblivious to the hurled insults and jostling commoners. His militiamen were forced to close in around them, forming a living shield to protect them.

"We'll need to get you to the front of this queue," he said, "I don't want you in this district any longer than you had to be."

It was a sensible plan, and, of course, he had his own reasons for wanting rid of them, but Sarah couldn't help but notice that as they pushed through the lines of impatient people towards the entrance to the Rock, the crowd was only getting more restless. It was one thing to see those you perceived as your enemies paraded through town, it was another entirely to think they might be getting preferential treatment.

Of course what the crowd thought of Sarah, as the only non-militia Human in the group, it was harder to tell and, truth be told, she wasn't sure how she should categorise herself either. This whole 'adventure', if that was the right word for it, was not something she felt she had much control over. Like Dimsun had said and like she had told the Major, she knew she could leave at any time, but what she would be leaving to was another matter entirely and it seemed to her that as long as she was with someone who knew what they were doing then she was safer than on her own, regardless of the company.

And then there was the mess of experiences she had had in Riddlepike - from discovering what Frostfire had had done to her to seeing the suffering of the Stoneskins at the hands of Humans. It made everything so confusing. The only thing she knew for certain is that every step she took she took because she chose to. That was a very little thing to cling to, but, surrounded by the baying crowds, it seemed to be all she had.

They reached the open mouth of the Rock and the militiamen hurried them all inside passed the angry queues. A series of checkpoint gates were opened specially for them and then, suddenly, they were inside.

Ahead of them stretched a long lamp lit thoroughfare through which passed a mix of merchant wagons and pedestrians, much like those outside, albeit in a lower concentration, which explained the lengthy lines. To the side were numerous doorways and spiral staircases which, Sarah assumed, led into the fortress proper.

“Watch your step,” Jansen advised, directing his attention entirely towards Sarah, as if the other two did not exist, “the bridge is old and not very well maintained. There are parts which have fallen through completely, see?” he pointed to a small hole in the floor through which could be seen the raging river. “I don’t advise you take a dip in the Icerush at this time of year,” he added.

Sarah nodded and made sure to keep as far away from the holes in the floor as she could. Fortunately there weren’t many, but some of them were quite large and through one she could see what appeared to be the rusted remains of some kind of vehicle scattered across a jagged rock. She noticed too that the river seemed aptly named since, even though the air in the valley was quite mild, she could see fragments of ice in the current.

Somewhere near the middle of the bridge, not far from a large wrought iron gate which apparently led into a grand indoor courtyard and from thence into some official part of the fortress, no doubt, they were met by another officer of the militia, younger even than Jansen and doing her best not to hop about anxiously from foot to foot, judging by the expressions she was pulling as they approached.

“Major Harcourt! Major Harcourt, sir!” the young officer called out.

Harcourt halted their march immediately and called the young woman over.

“What is it corporal?” he demanded, “can’t you see I’m escorting prisoners here?”

“I apologise, sir, but it’s urgent, there’s been a call for you.” She glanced around at the assembled militiamen, Stoneskins and Sarah before adding sotto voce, “it’s your wife, sir.”

“Oh, by Lakhma’s gangrenous little tentacle, what does she want now?”

“I believe it was something to do with a thing in the bathtub, sir!”

Harcourt shook his head in disbelief and then, as the men around him began to stifle giggles he gave them all a long, hard stare. Finally he turned to Jansen.

“Sergeant, please continue to escort these miscreants without me. You know how Deirdre gets about these things. Last time I had to talk her down from the chandelier, although gods know why I bothered.”

“Yes, sir!” Sergeant Jansen replied, just barely hiding a smile.

“Now we’re safely in the Rock,” Harcourt continued, ignoring his subordinate, “I think we can safely take them up to the-”

Frostfire coughed loudly and fixed the Major with as icy a stare as Sarah had yet seen.

“-up to the edge of Blizzardale,” Harcourt corrected, hurriedly. Jansen scowled. “Anyway, I leave them in your capable hands, Jansen.” The Major turned back to the officer who had brought him the message and, sighing as he did so, asked her to lead the way.

“I don’t know what you have on the Major,” Jansen said quietly once Harcourt was well out of earshot, “and I don’t want to know, but I’m not going to disobey a direct order whatever the circumstances. We’ll take you up to Blizzardale and then you’re on your own.”

“Fine,” Frostfire said, sounding completely satisfied, “lead the way, Sergeant!”

Jansen scowled again, before corralling the rest of the militiamen back into a circle around them and marching ahead along the bridge. He took a decidedly more brisk pace than the Major had and they were out into daylight on the other side in no time.

Sarah glanced up and saw the formidable snow-capped mountains once more. They seemed especially bright after the darkness of the Rock.

“It’s all uphill from here,” Dimsun said to her, “but don’t worry, Frostfire knows his way through Blizzardale. We won’t get lost.”

“I didn’t know that was even likely,” she replied.

“Oh,” Dimsun, said, sounding suddenly dismayed, “well, try not to think about it.”

And so Sarah thought of nothing else for the rest of their unpleasant walk through Riverwatch.