Still Falling: Book 1: Solstice 31 Saga (31 page)

“Leave it.” Po began leading her to the gatehouse. Ann was speechless but went without protest. Po and Ann entered without knocking. Barcus was at the hearth, refilling his mug from the kettle there.

Po literally pushed her down into one of the overstuffed chairs. Barcus turned towards her as Po walked up to stand beside him.

“Barcus, I will make this conversation easier. Please correct me if I say anything that isn't true.” She turned to Ann with hands on hips as if she was about to scold her.

“Within these walls, no one will touch you without your leave. Ever. No beatings, no beddings, not so much as a tug on your braid to get your attention.” She savagely tugged her own braid to prove the point.

Barcus sipped his tea.

“Not the Keeper. Not Barcus. No. One. Would. Dare.” Her voice was fierce.

She looked at Barcus then. He simply nodded.

“She has figured out that Ulric was sleeping alone,” Po said to Barcus.

The realization dawned on Barcus then.

“You are a very good Tracker, Ann. Perhaps the best I have ever met,” Barcus said. “I have no idea how you managed to get so close to us without detection. Well done. How long has Pyke been with you?”

She averted her eyes and replied, “We have been teamed for three years now, my Lord.” She looked surprised and a bit sad with this answer.

“Barcus, easy,” Po said, knowing Ann's “my Lord” would chaff.

Ann looked older at that moment as if the weight of some sadness aged her just then.

“You were with another Tracker before then?” Po asked.

“Yes, mum. For twenty-two years. He taught me everything I know,” Ann replied, her sadness evident.

“What happened?” Barcus asked.

Ann looked up then. It was as if she had made a decision. “He was defending me. It cost him a trip to the anvil. His name was Brice.” She stood and walked the few steps to stand right before Barcus. “All for the vanity of a Lesser Keeper.”

It was as if she expected to be struck. What Barcus did had a far more devastating impact. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke.

“I am so very sorry for your loss...” His faced showed that he meant it.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

The Audience

“Major data loss occurred during this temporal segment.”

--Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: Emergency Module Digital Forensics Report. Independent Tech Analysis Team.

<<<>>>

Olias came skidding into the gatehouse without knocking, and with his usual complete unawareness of things that were happening that he was interrupting.

“Barcus, Keeper Ulric is awake and waiting in the main hall.” It was in rapid common. Em’s subtitles helped so much.

“Oh really?” Barcus raised an eyebrow.

“Shall I get Pyke?” Olias asked.

“Yes, please. We shouldn't make the Keeper wait,” Ann said.

Olias was gone in a flash, and Ann was looking down at her clothes.

Barcus looked at Po and shrugged with his eyes. “Po, please wait here with Pyke and Ann. I will go to the Keeper to find out what he would like to do this morning.”

***

Barcus left the gatehouse and crossed the courtyard to climb the steps up to the main hall. He entered the vestibule and then the main hall. Grady was busy lighting the last of the fires in the six fireplaces.

Ulric sat on the throne of the dais. The bags under his eyes were deep, and there was an uncharacteristic look of seriousness on his face. His head was recently shaved, but his beard was tangled, which gave him a slightly crazed, intense look.

“Ulric, what are you doing?” Barcus said, as he slowly began to climb the steps to the dais.

“Barcus, you need to send these Trackers on their way. Today. Now,” he stated.

“Why? Do you know them?” Barcus asked.

“They work for Ronan, the Keeper of the East Isles.” He pointed to the floor map, and Em highlighted it for Barcus. “People go to the East Isles and are never seen again. His Trackers are more than Trackers.” His voice was escalating in panic. “They are probably assassins and spies. How did they find this place? We need to get them out of here!”

“We will.” Barcus was approaching Ulric like he was a spooked horse, palms open and moving slow. Ideas were forming in his head. “Keeper Ulric,” he said formally, “I will bring our guests before you and you can best send them on their way by offering assistance - horses and supplies.” His words were calm as he stopped on the top step. “I recommend that you do not engage in any other topics. You are a busy man. You owe them no other explanations. Let us do the rest.”

These words reassured Ulric. He relaxed a bit in his chair. Barcus chanced a glance at Grady, who was not far away. He gave no reaction, but his face was lined with concern.

“Bring them. Let's get this over with. I need a drink,” Ulric said.

***

Ulric waited in High Seat, trying not to look at her. She sat on the steps halfway down to the left. She spoke to him without looking up.

“They must go,” she said. He nodded. He could not speak to her with Grady watching him.

“Tell them to take the old road directly south until they find the unfinished tunnel.” She got up and turned to him. Her eyes had flames behind them. “They will make their own way around the mountain to the other side. There is the other sides tunnel entrance there as well. It was never completed.”

She was walking up the stairs now, her eyes still burning.

“Directly south of there, two days more, and they will find the road to the Salterferry Bridge.”

She was close enough now for him to see the flames in the back of her throat as she spoke.

“Today.”

Just then, the doors opened at the bottom of the hall on the right. Grady walked in, leading a man and a woman.

When had Grady gone?

They paused at the bottom of the dais steps. The woman knelt and pressed her forehead on the lowest step, her hands at the base of her spine. The man stepped up two stairs and took a knee, his head bowed.

“My Lord, I present Tracker Pyke of the Eastern Isles.” He ignored Ann completely.

Ulric began, “What do you want? Never mind, I know what you want. Tell me if I am far off. You came to Greenwarren for the lumber, only to find Greenwarren destroyed.”

“Yes my Lord.” He was nervous.

“Why the bloody hell did you come here?” Ulric was yelling.

Pyke was visibly shaken by his yelling.

“Forgive me, my Lord. I had no idea you were here. We were tracking...something.”

“You are fortunate you didn't find it or it find you.

“What do you want?” Ulric asked.

Pyke opened his mouth too slowly

“No. Let me tell you what you want.” Ulric pointed a shaking finger as he began to speak. “You want to get away from here as fast as possible. You will have horses and supplies and directions, and if you are still here come sundown, I cannot guarantee your safety. Grady will show you a map. The old road will take you south to the unfinished tunnel.”

“Thank you, my Lord. We can get to Langforest Keep from there,” Pyke said with his head bowed.

“No! Do not thank me. Go quickly, and be well away from here by dark if you value your hide.” Spittle flew from Ulric's lips as he visibly controlled himself from sliding into a rant. “Tell your Keeper he will need to find his masts elsewhere. Tell him only death waits above the gorge. He'll know what that means.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Pyke backed down the steps. Ann began to rise.

“Now, go.” Pyke bowed. Ann never raised her eyes as she turned to follow Pyke out.

“I was very sorry to hear about Brice,” Ulric said sadly to their backs as they began to walk out. They stopped at his words. Ann turned her head and looked up at Ulric for the first time. Their gaze met and held a moment. No words passed.

When Pyke began to move again, Ann followed, breaking the gaze.

“Grady, go and see to their needs,” Ulric said.

They all left, leaving Ulric to himself. A minute later he spoke to the empty hall.

“I've done what you asked, now please, leave me alone.” Ulric put his face in his hands.

***

Barcus watched the entire audience in his HUD as it happened. He was taken aback at Ulric's final words.

Does he know I am watching? Barcus thought.

Ulric continued to sit on the High Seat with his elbows on his knees, one hand on his forehead.

Grady knocked and opened the gatehouse door. Pyke and Ann followed him in with Olias now in tow as well. “He thinks they should leave as soon as possible. We are to provide provisions and even horses.”

“Olias, saddle up two horses and prepare a third for provisions. Use your best judgment on which ones. Work with Ann on the provisions. It's at least a week to Langforest,” Barcus said.

“I'm sorry we can't stay longer, Barcus,” Pyke said.

“Did you say Langforest?” Po came through the curtain asking.

“Yes. Volk is the closest Keeper that can contact Ronan for us. Why?” Po noticed that Pyke was very comfortable answering a question from her, a woman.

“I lived there once. Please, send my regards to the Smith for me.” She hesitated before adding, “Tell him I am well.”

“Yes, mum,” Pyke replied.

“Our Keeper would rather keep it quiet that we have taken up residence in this ruin,” Barcus added. “His reasons are his own. But we shall count on your discretion.” Barcus held his gaze. “You are always welcome back if you do.”

Two windows opened just then in his HUD, the familiar tactical map and a surveillance window showing Ann talking with Olias in the storeroom.

Barcus smiled then and cuffed Pyke on the shoulder. “Do you always get so much done so early in the morning?”

“Barcus.” Pyke didn't know how to say it, so he just did. “We tracked a demon here, maybe more than one. Maybe you should come with us.” His concern was genuine.

“This may be the root of why we are here. Please, speak no further on this, to anyone.” Barcus added guiltily, “To speak of them will draw them to you.” He said it low and had no idea that it would have such impact on the boy.

***

After a flurry of activity to collect horses, gear and provisions, Barcus found himself alone in the main hall, watching the fires burn down.

“Would you like a full status?” Em was casually sitting on the throne, with one leg over an armrest. She activated all the status screens in his HUD all at once. They were floating in fixed positions all around the room.

Barcus was watching the two camera views that showed Pyke and Ann as they rode wordlessly to the south. “How far can the BUGs follow them and still transmit back to you?”

“Well, the search pattern was already moving toward Langforest Manor, so we will have connection all the way there via routing relays, but if they get on a shuttle and fly out of range, we will lose them. The BUGs will still be active but in autonomous mode. If we ever crack the comms, they will come on-line.”

Barcus looked at the tactical map and could see that Ash was following them in the forest at a distance. “How far will Ash shadow them?”

“It all depends on their conversation when they are alone. I will keep you informed.” Em sat on the steps. Her face was even with Barcus as he stood below.

“What is going on with Ulric?” Barcus was worried.

“I will try to find out. I'll keep an eye on him. He's back in bed now,” Em said.

“By the way, how did Grady find them before you? I thought you had the entire facility under observation. They were right under our noses.” Barcus let a bit of his anger slip into his voice.

“I am sorry, Barcus. I never detected them via motion or heat signature. I have already increased the number of static observation points.” Her voice actually sounded sincere. “I think Grady detected them because of their footprints. I am trying to develop an algorithm now to detect and access footprint evidence. Can you do me a favor?”

“A favor?”

“Grant me compile authority to create new advanced, binary-tree based, analytic, control algorithms. New ones only. No mods made to or by any foundation systems. Otherwise, all the advanced math has to be done via sequential scripts via the interpreter.”

“Okay, okay... permission granted.”

“Sorry, Barcus. But you have to say the whole thing to do an admin control change. Here, just say this...” A plain text box opened in his HUD that he read out loud.

“Grant the Emergency Module compile authority to create new advanced, binary-tree based, analytic, control algorithms and subsystems. New ones only,” Barcus said. The text box disappeared.

“Thank you, Barcus. This will allow me to keep you safer.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Langforest

“Barcus had no idea what he just did. He granted limited admin control to the AI itself.”

--Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: Emergency Module Digital Forensics Report. Independent Tech Analysis Team.

<<<>>>

The skies remained heavy gray and overcast for the week that followed the Trackers’ departure.

Po cleaned and cooked and spent time reading at an increasing pace. She made all their lives easier, seemingly without effort. She slept in Barcus’s bed, moving as he moved, resting deeply as he did. She gained weight, mostly muscle, but still filling out her sharper places, hiding her bones. She would talk to Olias in common and laugh. He increased his antics specifically to amuse her. Po would read to Olias and study the Plate applications that Em would teach them.

Olias made more salvage runs. He ate more than Barcus thought possible. His health increase was evident. He ran everywhere. He constantly asked questions of everyone, Par most of all, while on their salvage runs.

Grady hunted and wandered. He seemed to spend a lot of time just remaining still and watching for something that never seemed to happen. Barcus learned that he had placed a trap line and brought rabbits for stew, as well as deer for the meat locker and smokehouse that Grady put back in service. He helped Barcus with repairs that would better weatherize the occupied sections of the keep.

“I'm worried about Ulric, Barcus,” Em told him during the daily status update on the morning of the eighth day after Pyke and Ann had left. “All he seems to do is wander the abandoned sections of The Abbey and talk to himself.”

“I know. He seems to be looking for something,” Barcus said.

“He doesn't sleep at night. If the STU were here, I would do a full medical scan on him.”

“Grady says he's been worse. I can't imagine,” Barcus said. “Keep a close eye on him.”

“Any priority items today?” Barcus knew he didn't need to ask.

“Actually, Pyke and Ann arrived at Langforest yesterday. They are very cautious. They remain hidden and are observing the manor. I have begun a full site survey. There are over a hundred people there. The caste system Po mentioned is evident there, very evident. There is a small village to the west of the manor compound.”

Barcus was studying the maps. “Will the Keepers’ comms help Stu with the decryption efforts?”

“Perhaps. We will have detailed temporal and communications activity logs for comparative analysis. It all depends. There are too many variables to predict.”

“When he uses his Plate, I want to see it, real-time.”

“Acknowledged,” Em replied.

“When will Ash be back?” Barcus asked absently. He was surprised that Em had him gone so long.

“Do you require him for tasking?” Em asked. “He will likely assess a few farms on the way back. I'll keep you informed.”

“No. No need to rush. He rips up everything if he rushes. That is what makes his path easy to follow.” Barcus moved on to the standard task list priorities.

Barcus found himself watching Po as she worked. He had come to recognize how ordered and systematic she ran her days, her weeks.

Her time got divided between what she did as daily work, projects that improved life in The Abbey and personal time spent studying. It was very disciplined, and she was very disciplined. Systematic even. Barcus was proud of her. Barcus could only help with projects. But he was always better off finding his own.

This week, he would finish the wall after Ash got back. For now, he would continue to explore the remaining denied spaces.

***

“Before we finish this lesson, Olias, I'd like to show you one more important item in the medical kit.” The case lay open on the table in the gatehouse. Olias had his Plate in front of it as Em walked him through the basics. “Located here in the lower left compartment are small items that look like this.” An image of a small tube with a series of small icons on it was displayed. “Take one.”

Olias found the device and lifted it from the case. It was labeled “DBI Assessment and Repair Unit.”

“Set that one aside, close the case up, and stow it now,” Em instructed.

Olias did exactly that.

“What does 'DBI' mean?” he asked.

“It stands for 'Deep Brain Implant' and is an acronym. Do you remember what an acronym is, Olias?” Em asked.

“Yes. The first letter of each word. DBI is Deep Brain Implant,” Olias said proudly even though it was still common tongue.

“Put the DBIARU in your pocket,” Em said, and he did it without question. “Take your Plate and go to Ulric's suite.” He picked up his Plate and left the gatehouse with his head held high. He was trying to look like a young Keeper.

***

Barcus was in the lowest level that was just about directly below the main hall. He knew from the map in his HUD that there was a large space behind these cells that made no sense. The communal bath was below the main hall to his right as he looked into the last cell. He shifted his vision through various modes without thinking. His training had showed him that this could reveal anomalies that could provide the information he needed.

Sure enough, a spectrum analysis view showed him traffic patterns on the floor that led into this cell and through the back wall. A simple push caused the entire wall to swing right.

It revealed a large room that contained rack after rack of weapons.

Some of the weapons had obviously been there when Olias had found the space. Many were corroded and dried up, but some were still serviceable. They had been cleaned and set aside for new swords, daggers, axes and crossbows – dozens of crossbows, hundreds maybe. Thousands of arrows and bolts were stored, point down, in small barrels.

Barcus smiled. All was forbidden.

It occurred to him that it was also a good idea to collect them to simply deny them to his enemies. Nodding his head with approval, he moved farther into the long room.

He didn't hear the well-oiled door slowly close, on its own well lubricated angled hinges.

Barcus wondered what inventory list and report this was all detailed within, that he had not read.

***

Olias entered Ulric's suite without knocking, on Em's recommendation. His feet were silent on the thick carpets.

On the way over to his rooms, Em explained, “I think that Ulric is very sick. The DBIARU will help make him better, clearer. Do you remember how the injector works?”

He replied, “Yes. Just gently hold this end to the skin over a large muscle group and press this button.”

Olias almost laughed out loud when he passed through Ulric's outer room to his bed chamber. Ulric was face down on his bed, his nightshirt up around his armpits. The late morning light from the balcony windows was bright on his bare buttocks.

Olias tiptoed up and softly pressed the tube against his left butt cheek and depressed the button. A small hissing snap sounded, and Ulric reacted as if a mosquito had bitten him in his sleep.

Olias tiptoed at a run out of the suite. Em told him to drop the disposable injector into the middens.

As with many other things Em asked him to do, he never mentioned it to anyone.

***

Po was setting about the business of lunch when Ulric basically staggered into the kitchen. “Keeper, are you all right? You look...” she didn't finish her comment before he spoke.

“Thirsty,” was all he croaked out.

She held up a pitcher she had just filled for lunch. “Would you prefer water or some hot tea?”

Without a word, he took the pitcher from her with both hands and drank deeply directly from the side of the container. After gulping down nearly half the pitcher, he lowered it and said, “Tea would be very nice. Thank you.” He wiped his mouth on his sleeve before continuing to drain the vessel.

Shaking her head, she filled a large mug of steaming hot tea for him and set it on the kitchen table.

“I am so hungry. When will breakfast be ready? Am I the first one up?”

“Sit. I am about to make the midday meal.” He sat. “Start with this.” She set bread and butter in front of him and then a bowl of apples. Ulric tore into the food.

“You found the clean tunics I left for you, I see,” Po noted.

Through a mouth full, he said, “Yes. Well done. I will never know how these things get done out here in the wilderness.”

Po rolled her eyes and then paused. She looked around at what they had accomplished. She looked at Ulric eating like Olias. Absently, her hand sought the branding scar above her left breast. She traced the raised portions.

Her smile faded.

***

“Barcus, would you like a quick status update on our brief visitors?” Em asked the next morning as Barcus was studying the main gate mechanism for the huge portcullis.

“Sure,” He said without pausing, trying to figure out why the counterbalance weights were jammed.

“Pyke entered the Manor and was granted an audience with Keeper Volk. He made a 40-second call to Keeper Ronan, and Pyke was dismissed. The entire interaction took less than two minutes. I have a solid relay network set up all the way to Langforest Manor in hopes that we can learn more.” There was concern in Em’s voice.

“What's bothering you, Em?” Barcus asked.

“Four hours later, a shuttle arrived to pick up the Trackers. They left the horses with Volk,” Em Replied.

Barcus knew it wasn't about the horses.

“Four BUGs stayed with the Trackers and were out of range in no time,” Em said.

“You expected that,” Barcus noted.

“It isn't that. That evening, Volk's carriage returned to the Manor without a driver, and Volk was dead inside. The household staff believes the driver feared he would be blamed and has fled,” Em said.

“How does any of this matter? Frankly, it's one less filthy Keeper that I have to kill,” Barcus growled.

“It's the deplorable conditions of the people that live there. The household staff is planning to loot the estate and flee,” Em said.

“So?” Barcus was still focused on an amazing set of gears.

“After the funeral, the High Keeper is planning on sending troops. They are going to destroy Langforest Keep and all of its people now that Volk is dead. Somehow the house staff knows this,” Em said.

Barcus stopped and stood.

“Isn't this where Po...” Barcus began.

“Yes.”

A BUG window opened. It was an old, yet very muscular man. He was bald, and his face and head were heavily scarred. One of his eyes was ruined, clouded over. A label appeared below the image: Smith. The vid was of him standing in front of a fat, weasel faced, man that brought a rattan cane down on Smith’s shoulder as he was being screamed at. Smith didn't even flinch. The scars were in that moment explained to Barcus.

“Tell Ash to stay there, and stand by, hidden for now,” Barcus ordered.

He brushed his hands off. “Get everyone together. We are going on a little trip.”