Bound Evil

Emily walked in front as they broke into the clearing at the bottom of the valley. The trees nearby had all been uprooted long ago to leave a wide unobstructed view of the surrounding land. Snow covered the field from the night before, but as Emily glanced around she didn’t notice any fields nearby.

Emily pushed the thought to the back of her mind as they approached the keep's entrance.

Right now the early morning sun was still casting the trees as long tortured shadows, but as they approached the looming wall, Emily saw a gate of sorts. She spotted several more scattered along the length of the structure, seemingly at odd intervals. However, each led off to a different road.

The main gate was a large metal affair that could have easily accommodated a school bus, but from the looks of things, there was a smaller personal door they were heading to now.

When they got there Emily spotted a guard station embedded into the wall. Slatts had been left in the metal to allow people to see the outside world. As they got closer a voice called to them and Emily could just make out a form sitting at what looked like a counter.

“Well, good morning ma’am, sir. We don’t get a lot of travelers arriving this close to the night hours. I was just about to get off shift. Please wait there a moment.”

Emily didn’t know what to expect but a couple seconds later the door they had arrived at opened on its own.

Emily looked at Alex and he nodded. So shrugging she stepped through the door with Alex and Ashe hot on her heels.

They’d arrived in a small room with a door at the other end. At the midpoint, Emily noticed a pane of glass set into the metal wall, along with a tiny metal slot beside it.

When she got there she could see it was probably the same man that had just spoken to them. It looked like this was merely an extension of the same room they had seen before.

The man was dressed in comfortable leather armor and had stripes of red cloth sticking out like plumage from a bird.

The man held himself similarly to those at the barricade, trained yet relaxed. Remembering where she was, Emily dug through her bundle and extracted the letter Claire had given her, but before she could hand it over the guard spoke.

She saw a scowl flash across his features, but he plastered a casual smile on his face and turned to look at Alex behind her.

“What brings you this far north sir?”

Alex readjusted Ashe on his back and pressed his lips together.

“We’re here to deliver my sister to her partner. Unfortunately, we had some trouble on the way and one of our numbers was hurt. Do you know where we could find a Healer?”

The guard looked at Ashe as if seeing her for the first time, but the way he looked at her was familiar to Emily. It looked like how Claire had glanced at them through her monocles. As though he were seeing something they weren’t

“She’s a Mage, is she suffering from source exposure?”

It was then that Emily realized that instead of a monocle he was using the pane of glass in front of them. The guard had to be a Spyglass.

His next sentence though made Emily pause.

“By the looks of it she's gone volatile, I can’t let her in if that's the case. I’ll have to call a Healer in, and at this hour that’ll cost you quite the sum.”

Alex frowned.

“How much?”

The man’s smile increases by a degree.

“Factoring in your monthly entry fee for three adults, plus a Healer, you’re looking at a six tri”

Alex’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re messing with me. I know for a fact a monthly fee for all three of us won’t even come to a single tri. And to call out a Healer is no more than two. So, will you take the three tri or should I take this up with someone else?”

The guard didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed. He just laughed and scratched the back of his neck.

“Normally that's the case but I see you have a ‘clipped’ by your side. The cost goes up because of her.” his smile dropped.

Alex flinched when the guard said this and looked at Emily with worry and a hint of shock.

The meaning of the word escaped her, but Emily could tell by the context this man was insulting her. As a matter of fact, the moment he’d seen her through the glass he’d stopped even addressing her.

The appropriate response would be to break this window, drag the man out kicking and screaming, and beat him until he couldn’t do much of either. However, she knew this was probably the only place for kilometers where she could get a bed and possibly hot water.

The smile that appeared on Emily’s face was vibrant, but it never reached her eyes.

“Well, Mr guard man, I want an employee review card so I can like to leave you a scathing comment or two.

The look of confusion and the beginnings of a scowl began to cross the guard's face but Emily didn’t give him a chance to respond.

“Oh, you don’t have those here? Figures. You know what I have a letter for you from the blockade a day's travel from here. This will explain my situation.”

The guard's eyes narrowed dangerously and he seemed ready to kick them out on their asses, but he paused when he saw the seal on the letter Emily had.

Opening the slot, she shoved the course envelope through to him.

He paused but then cracked the seal and read the letter, gaining a thoughtful expression.

“...I’ll get you that healer but the price remains firmly at four tri from the trouble.”

Emily pulled out the only square coin she had and dumped it down the slot, the guard paused before collecting it, his mouth remaining fixed shut.

Once he was done he pushed the change back through the slot along with four slips of waxy paper, and cleared his throat.

“Right, take that door through to the next room, the Tollminder will give you your stamps. Once you’re through wait there for the Healer.”

Emily glanced back at Alex who seemed to be pleading for her not to cause a scene.

To which Emily shrugged and walked away from the counter without another glance at the man.

When she pushed on the door it opened and Emily walked through into a similar rectangular room.

The difference here was an old woman sitting in the corner in a simple wooden chair, she was resting up against the wall and using a cane to hold herself in place.

“Come to me youngins, I need to see your passes”

Emily stepped forward and showed her the four scraps of paper. The elderly lady took three of them and hummed when she looked at the fourth.

“Oh, I’m so sorry your friend is hurt, I hope she heals well. Please show me your wrists please.”

Emily pulled up her sleeve and the woman grasped her arm in her gnarled hands. Her fingers were black with ink stains and Emily didn’t expect the little old lady to suddenly pull out a needle and prick her. Emily’s first reaction was to punch the old bat, but Alex grabbed her wrist before she could.

“Relax! It’s just a toll stamp” he hissed into her ear.

Emily's body was like a taunt wire as the woman brought the needle down again and again. She’d have expected the process to hurt more, but even with her shaking arms, Emily could see a display of skill that very few could match in her old world.

She was done in under thirty seconds and then she did Alex and Ashe.

Once she was finished the woman waved them towards a third doorway, wiping her calloused hands off on a rag as they stepped through the door.

Looking down Emily saw she had a small tattoo of a sphere gripped in by four large talons. It was no bigger than a centimeter across but hurt less than she thought it would.

Alex leaned over and lowered his voice.

“The stamp will fade after a month and if one wants to continue staying in the city they need to pay for another. More importantly, what in the five, is a ‘employee review card’?”

Emily's lip tugged upward.

“Meh, nothing that really works, but he was pissing me off, and my gramps always used to say, ‘If you can't afford to kill someone, confuse 'em’.”

Alex squinted his eyes at Emily as though he was trying to piece things together but failing abysmally.

“But more importantly, how did you know he was ripping us off? Have you spent time here?”

At the question, Alex backed off and shook his head.

“...No, not really. That's just a fair price.”

Emily squinted at Alex but she shrugged.

Looking around at the room they were in, she could see this one was much larger than the other two and carried the airs of a government waiting room. Chairs were lining the walls and a large set of doors had guards posted nearby.

Alex said they could normally just go straight through but they were waiting for the Healer.

Which in Emily's opinion took far too long. Alex lay Ashe down on one of the chairs and Emily had another look at her.

The rocks were creeping up her neck at this point, and Emily wasn’t sure how much longer the woman could hold on.

Ten minutes later a man entered through a side door and glanced about. They were the only ones in here so he headed in their direction.

“Hello, my name’s Healer Zeth, I’m here to help by the Hand’s request. Can I see the patient?”

Emily wanted to blink at the strangeness of the man’s features, he looked normal enough if you consider everything as a whole, but his left arm was completely missing from the shoulder down along with spiraling blemishes at crept up from beneath his clothes and wrapped over his face.

Emily stepped aside and let the man forward. Zeth frowned the moment he saw her and then he placed his hand on her forehead and closed his eyes.

He opened them a moment later and looked towards them.

“It's severe but she is within my ability to treat. Unfortunately, it will take a while, and we’ll need to head somewhere more private. They don’t allow healing in here unless it's a true emergency.”

Alex nodded.

“Right then, we’ll find an inn. Let's go.”

They made their way to the door, and the guards on either side pushed it open for them. Emily hadn't known what to expect, but stepping out onto a bustling thoroughfare was completely unexpected.

The street was paved with the same red brick as outside. Grey stone buildings flanked the road set into the walls of the structure, and people hurried about their business. Some argued with hawkers or entered the nearby buildings, while others led winter mules pulling carts loaded with supplies. There were no children, but Emily noticed several teenagers lingering at the edges of walkways eyeing passers-by. This lively scene took place in a large corridor that branched off in multiple directions, leading deeper into the mountainous structure. Near the ceiling, birds flitted around glowing lanterns, waiting to descend on dropped morsels, their chirps blending with the clamor of people.

Even as the doors closed behind them Emily could feel the everpresent cold of outside fade. Draughs of warm air seemingly originating from deeper in the keep. Right away her thick winter clothes felt out of place as the people here wore thin layers as if amid summer. Causing a sea of multicolored fabrics to unfold in front of them. Unfastening her cloak Emily bundled it up and tied it to her pack. Alex was already off with Ashe in his arms and Zeth in tow. He’d barely taken a moment to absorb the sights before he headed straight down the main road. Emily walked after him but spared more than a glance to take in the alien land. She passed some stalls nearby that carried a strange collection of fruit, most of which she couldn’t even tell if they were edible. A plump man manning the stall beckoned her forth but she waved him off and caught up with the group.

Sign boards stuck out of the gray buildings, images denoting a hairdresser, tailor, and a bar of some kind. They passed several signs that looked like they had beds expertly painted on them but Alex seemed to just pass them by, eventually, he selected a building with a sign of a field mouse lying in a bath with a large pillow behind its head. There was even some writing on it but Emily couldn’t make it out. Alex pushed his way into the sleepy-looking inn and Emily followed last taking one last look out onto the chaotic street filled with life. So much of it was new and open to her, there was just one more thing to do, but even still excitement burned in her chest.