Broken Lands

The snow globe was the most interesting of the three items, because the lightning from the storm kept striking. The storm repeated when Sophia watched it for long enough, but it took at least ten seconds. “Do you know what that is?”

“I can guess.” Xin’ri stepped forward and picked up the snow globe. She turned it upside down and shook it. The bits of grey wool that sat on the bottom of the globe separated and floated in the sky like storm clouds when she flipped it back over. “I saw some things like this in the market yesterday; there’s apparently a wide range of things that can be captured like this by the World Tree. The merchants I talked to called them Captured Moments.”

Sophia could think of two things that could be. The one that was basically just a three-dimensional photograph seemed a lot less likely. “So it’s a way to save an attack for later? This is an Ability that calls lightning or something?”

“It’s probably natural lightning,” Xin’ri answered with a frown. “That’s why it’s useful; Captured Moments can be things stronger than what the person using them can manage normally. I didn’t buy any because they’re pretty pricey for something that can only be used once, the merchants wanted a full sun for each one.”

Sophia took a moment to remember that suns were the highest denomination of infused aurichalc currency, named after the icon that appeared on the coin. That did seem pretty expensive, but she wasn’t really sure how much things cost. She also didn’t really care; Xin’ri and Dav took care of their money and they said they had plenty for what they needed. “So it’s for emergencies?”

Xin’ri nodded. “Yeah. It makes me feel a bit better to have it; I doubt it would kill the roc, but it might stun it and let us get away if everything goes wrong.”

Sophia blinked. That was probably why it was here, wasn’t it? It was a way out if things went wrong. Some groups probably wouldn’t even find the hidden hatchway unless they were trapped, so it gave those groups a safety net. Groups that were more thorough like Sophia’s would find it whether or not they were trapped, so it was also a reward for searching.

Sophia was pretty sure that the basement of an abandoned rest stop was a place worth searching, so maybe it was supposed to be positive reinforcement?

The reason it was there in the first place was easy to come up with, too: it was a defense for the waystation. Sophia wasn’t sure why it was still there after the place was no longer in use, but maybe one of the books would answer that question.

“I’m trying to decide who should hold it,” Xin’ri continued. “Ci’an, maybe? She’s the one who will be watching for the roc, so she’s the most likely to be able to use the better activation method.”

Sophia’s nod paused for a moment once she processed Xin’ri’s statement. “There are two ways to use it?”

Xin’ri reached out and tapped the top of the snow globe. “Most people release the moment by breaking the glass or the base. The merchants bundled a tool with the purchase to make it easier, or for something like this where breaking it near you would be bad, they said that the globes were relatively fragile; any reasonable attack will break them open once you get them near the target. One of them told me there’s another way, that you can channel mana through it like a wand and direct it that way. It’s slower than a wand and more difficult to direct, plus you can’t really practice with it, so he didn’t recommend it.”

She paused and chuckled. “He did say that empty globes can be sold. He implied they weren’t worth much, because there are relatively few people who can prime them to be able to capture another moment and most Captured Moments come from the World Tree, but I think it’s pretty clear that he knows someone who can do it.”

“Otherwise he wouldn’t have mentioned it.” Sophia could follow the logic that far. “And this is a lightning bolt. Directing it to hit the roc instead of hitting near the roc could make a huge difference. Yeah, I think you‘re right; we’ll give it to Ci’an. If she sees it coming, she should have all the time she needs to do something once we’re ready to move out.”

Sophia knew that wasn’t entirely accurate; it depended on when the roc returned. If it was while they were healing the gryphons, they’d probably just wait for the roc to leave. If it was after they were ready to go, while they were stealing the roc eggs, how quickly the roc noticed the missing eggs could change things a lot. There would probably be enough time; if the roc was slow enough, they might not even need the Captured Moment to escape.

If the eggs hatched while the eggs were being collected, they ought to be able to kill the hatchlings … or simply run while they extracted themselves from the eggs. The process of hatching wasn’t instant, so it shouldn’t be a problem as long as the roc wasn’t there.

Based on what the gryphon said, however, the roc probably would be there and would have been there for several days. That ought to be enough time to heal both gryphons, which simplified the problem immensely. If the roc landed and stayed there, they’d just have to sneak out the other side. Sophia was pretty sure she could get Taika to show up and cast an illusion that would cover them if that was necessary.

If the eggs hatched while they were still healing the gryphons and the roc came during the fighting, all bets would be off. That was really the only case where Sophia thought they might need the Captured Moment; they might be too busy to run and the roc would immediately know something was wrong. Despite that, there should still be time for Ci’an to use the Captured Moment; the roc was going to be visible from a long distance.

Sophia liked their odds.

The next most interesting thing on the table was definitely the key. It was huge and looked to be made of polished brass with extremely detailed blue inlays. Sophia wanted to say that they were lapis lazuli, since that was the right shade, but if that was stone it was some really detailed work; it was easily as likely that it was some sort of bright blue lacquer. Maybe it was a lacquer made using crushed stone? Sophia wasn’t sure if that was a thing or not.

Whatever it was made of, the theme was unambiguously Egyptian to Sophia’s untutored eye, with the key’s base formed like an ankh, though the crossbar looked like wings. It was huge, which meant the lock probably wasn’t very secure unless it was magical … which it definitely was based on the magic Sophia saw hovering around the wardkey. It was entirely likely that the keylike shape was to support the magic rather than being functional, though Sophia knew it could go either way. Some wardkeys had to be turned, others didn’t.

“I have no idea how we’re going to find what this key goes to,” Sophia said as she picked it up. “I doubt it’s the wards on the building, but I should check.”

Sophia reached into the key with her aura. If it was like most other ward keys, the fact that she was holding it was enough. Keys were ways to get on the authorized list to manage the enchantment temporarily, after all; if you wanted to add someone permanently to the list, you’d alter the enchantment itself.

At least, that was how Sophia’s father did it. Of course, he was perfectly capable of altering others’ wards and had taught her to be able to do the same, but that didn’t change the fact that wardkeys were points of vulnerability because all you had to do was get your hands on the key … or fake having a wardkey.

Sophia felt the wardkey recognize her as an authorized user with a soft request for mana to power its functions. Sophia gave it the trickle it requested and felt a slight pull to the left. That was a surprise; if the wardkey affected the building’s wards, it ought to be usable anywhere in the building. That was part of the point of a wardkey.

Sophia shrugged to herself and followed the tug over some of the junk and all the way to a wall. She turned towards Xin’ri with a grin and tucked the wardkey in one of her pockets. “I think the key goes to something somewhere else. Which means we’ve found a clue to our third zone for the Challenge chain.”

“I thought we’d end up finding a new nest for the gryphons,” Xin’ri commented, “But I’m not going to turn down making some aurichalc by finding something neat.”

“That’s a good idea. We might want to do that anyway, so that we’re certain we have three.” Sophia shrugged, then flashed into a cloud of feathers and reappeared next to the table. She still loved being able to effectively teleport anywhere within her aura. “Now, what are these about?”

The three books on the table were identical on the outside. On the flyleaf, each book had a title: Warming Station 3 Inchoate Central Pass Travelers Log, Inchoate Warming Stations Regulations and Duty Register, and Warming Station 3 Inchoate Central Pass Commander’s Log.

Sophia snorted. “Well, I can see why these were left behind. This has to be Warming Station Three.”

She flipped open the Traveler’s log and found a list of names and descriptions with dates that didn’t immediately mean anything to her, so she pushed it to the side. She opened the Regulations and Duty Roster only long enough to be certain that it was what it said it was and wasn’t hiding something important; that was absolutely something some of the dungeons back home would do.

It wasn’t.

She opened the Commander’s Log last because it was the most likely to hold something interesting. As she’d hoped, it seemed to contain regular entries, almost like a diary. The ones at the beginning were short, with the most common update being a note about the weather and how many travelers passed through each day.

Sophia paged to the back of the book and found that the last page was blank. She had to flip back through nearly half of the pages before she found the last entry. It was short, but not nearly as short as the others.

47 Autumn 397

I am the last person here. I expected it, after the last recall, but it is still strange to see this place so empty. There have been only three pilgrims so far this season, and I cannot say I am surprised. I am fully certain I would have been pulled out as well if this were not my retirement station.

I fear I will have to leave soon in any case. The last two supply shipments did not arrive and supplies stretch only so far, even for one. If the next shipment does not come within the next five days, I will begin my trek to the mountain’s base while I still have the food to make it.

This has happened before. With Mimir’s grace, it will happen again.

The last pilgrims said Mimir did not answer the call at the last Arrival celebration; they were headed to Refuge to beseech his attention but did not seem very hopeful. I fear what that means for us all.

May Mimir remember us.

Sophia stared at the entry. The name Mimir was familiar, but it couldn’t possibly be the Mimir her father ran into … could it? The Mimir of Eadsyt still existed and they definitely weren’t here.

Unless it meant the Mimir they got their name from, an ancient knowledge deity of some sort. That was really all Sophia knew, other than the fact that the name also appeared in Norse mythology. That also seemed unlikely but at least it wasn’t impossible. Most of Earth’s myths were based on something real somewhere in the universe.