Ellis' ears were ringing. The air was filled with the stone dust. His eyes stung, his lung cried out for clean
air. Ember's light had gone out and the
chamber seemed to have fallen into a murky twilight. The sound of crumbling masonry still rumbled
on, distant and muted, then at last, all fell silent.
The Former Baron was in front
of him. He appeared to be shouting, but
all Ellis could hear was the high-pitched whistle in his ears and a vaguely,
Former Baron-esque timbre, devoid of all meaning. He gestured to his ears, to which the old
Philosopher seemed to tut, followed by a shrug, and then he grabbed hold of Ellis'
shoulders and spun him around on the spot so that he was facing the exploded
doorway. A shaft of light cut through
the hanging dust, which was even now starting to settle across the stone slabs
of the floor. Beyond, silhouetted
against this backlight, stood a lone figure, familiar in her cut-out shape,
long, strong legs, rounded hips, a short, slightly flared jacket patched with
rags and, of course, her trusty tricorn hat.
It could only be Siren. Others
appeared behind her, began to march into the room, shading their eyes and
covering their mouths and noses as they searched for those they expected
within.
And then sound rushed into
Ellis' world with all the suddenness of a tsunami. He could hear someone coughing, Gulliver,
perhaps and people were shouting, calling their names. Ellis wondered why they couldn't see them,
then realised that, from the light side of the doorway the chamber must have
seemed to be totally dark. He stepped
forward, felt, rather than saw the others following him, and then Siren's gaze
fell upon him and she smiled.
It took a few minutes to
gather everyone together on the far side of the now non-existent doorway. A couple of stray crewmembers who had gone in
eagerly, hoping for a moment to shine with their heroics, had had to be rescued
from a near-death experience with the edge of the pit, and it had taken a while
before Gulliver had been able to stop coughing from all the stone dust, but
eventually everyone was accounted for, hale and hearty and the part who had
been inside the chamber related all that had happened there, with the help of
some slightly more metaphysical explanations from Ember.
Of particular interest was his
report on the locations of the other Obelisks.
Firstly, he was able to confirm the research The Former Baron, Lord
Blood Dragon and Miss Barkcastle had performed in the library of Varokh Vehr
and pinpoint the exact locations of the other four known obelisks. As for the sixth: "I haven't been able
to determine it yet, but I have narrowed it down considerably."
"Oh, really?" the
Former Baron asked, eyebrows twitching, "To where, exactly?"
"To the North East of
here, somewhere in the vicinity of Shalereef and the Borough."
"But that's-" Ellis
began.
"Not where I had expected
it to be. You see the other obelisks
form a pattern around the mostly spheroid planet which Shadow covers. Each part of the weapon is essentially
perpendicular to all the others, so that the six obelisks together radiate out
across the whole planet, which I believe is necessary for them to form their
function."
"I was just going to say
that's where we just came from, actually, but what you're saying now is much
more significant. That's hardly any
distance away at all - how can the obelisk be there if it's supposed to fit
this globe-spanning pattern you're describing."
"I believe it may have
been moved."
"Does that mean it won't
work?" Gulliver asked.
"Not in its current
location, no, but if we find it, perhaps we can move it back."
Gulliver's shoulders sagged,
"And I wonder who will get the back-breaking labour in that hour of
need?"
"It's something to worry
about when we find it," the Former Baron said, clearly wanting to move the
discussion on, "the more important thing for now is getting to, and
activating, the obelisks we're sure about, and as soon as possible, I'd
say."
"I agree," said
Ember, "and so I have a suggestion."
Everyone looked at him in
silence, Lord Blood Dragon nodded.
"I think we should split
up, sending different groups to different obelisks and completing the task much
more quickly than we would otherwise."
"But we only have the one
means of transportation," Harker objected, "and you're asking us to
travel all over the city!"
"And what about all those
Lakhmaspawn things. If we split up we'll be much easier targets!" moaned
Gulliver.
"My strength is back to
full," Ember replied, suddenly losing his appearance of calm and seeming
instead authoritative and full of power.
"I can transport each team to their objectives, or nearby and then
I can continue my search for the final obelisk."
“And if we get ambushed?”
Gulliver persisted.
“I will remain in touch.”
Gulliver let out a moan of
despair, but the Former Baron stepped forward.
“I do not think we have any
choice in the matter. Ember is correct,
time is running out. If we try to make
it to all of these places together, by whatever means, it will take too
long. Lakhma will find a way to disrupt
us, or to foil our plans altogether. If
we act quickly, however, there is a chance we can dispose of him/her before
he/she figures out a way to stop us.
Now, my dear Gulliver, I know it might seem hard, impossible even, but
it is really any more difficult than what we set out to do in the first place? No, no, no, I say, no, no, no!”
“Tho how do you propothe
thplitting uth up?” Lord Blood Dragon asked, looking at the Former Baron, but
the old Philosopher demurred, directing his gaze at Siren.
“I think that is a decision
for our captain,” he replied, “who has been listening to this all with great
interest, I am certain, and already has a fair idea who she wants to go and
where.”
Ellis glanced at Siren - his
girlfriend, his captain - and saw that what the Former Baron had observed, and
what he had been totally oblivious to, was completely true. Siren was smiling, just slightly, and there
was a glint of something solid in her eyes, something just a bit like
certainty. She took a step forwards and
went in an instant from silent observer to commanding officer.
“Yes, Franck. I do already know, but I don’t want to take
the reins here if I’m not the one everyone wants to follow. I need to know whether, after everything I’ve
just lead you all through, put you through – after all the bodies we stowed
below decks on the Absolution – that you
still want me as your leader here, now.”
There were murmurs from the
assembled crew but Siren put up her hand to silence them.
“This isn’t a crisis of
confidence, or a cry for help. I’ve had
that, I’ve had my moment and I’m passed it, okay? This is about ensuring you have the right
person leading you into this, whatever it turns out to be. I want you to be sure that I am that person,
and then, if you do decide that, I
want you to be damned sure you listen to everything I say and do it well. That’s the deal. Is everyone happy with that? If you’re not, now’s the time to say so, and
to pick someone else.”
There was only silence. Siren glanced about the room, almost as if
she were only surveying the ruined masonry around them, then, when no one had
spoken up she said,
“Alright. This is how we’re going do this:”
And the pieces of the plan
began to fall into place.
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