Crumblecity Tales

Enno frowned at his traveling partner. Maybe he was just tired, or annoyed that his uniform was slightly tighter than when he had graduated, but he couldn’t help but be irked by their… presence. They were so…

Sammarria cracked open one eye. “Can I help you.” It wasn’t a question. She was stretched out across her bench, propped up against her Bond, her long tail wound up into a pile at the far end. Enno was… being a Drakken, she noted, shifting from foot to foot, something she struggled to relate with. “No, seriously, you look like you need help.”

  “I do not need help, but I’m also not going to… just lay out, like this. We’re on official business, Scout Sammarria,” Enno whispered at her, wringing his hands, which made raspy noises that annoyed Sammarria to no end.

“So?” Sammarria just stared at him, and he just stared back. She blinked her inner eyelids, and he looked away, which made her laugh to herself. Outwardly, she rolled her eyes then closed them again, leaning back into her Bond’s pillowy softness. “It’s literally an 8-hour flight, Enno, what are you worried about. Sit down. The mana source isn’t going anywhere, I’m sure, and we’ll be done with this business sooner if you just relax.”

Enno looked around the near-empty cabin again, nervously. “You can’t just… you can’t say those- this is a mission!” his voice worked up a notch, “We don’t have to tell everybody- we only have two weeks, and you’re just… just… laying there!” he spluttered, waving his hands, tail swishing in agitation.

Sammarria sighed and shifted to sit up, pulling her coiled tail closer. Serpentians never fit well on the benches built for other races, and she hated to sit so unnaturally. “Look, uh, Enno, was it? Engineer Enno? I’m here to help you with the information stuff. We are, that is,” she said, patting her Bond. It had originally unnerved Enno, when she first summoned it. It was a single, massive eyeball standing atop a thick, fleshy-looking stalk of tendrils. The eye freely swung about, not connected to anything, and did so non-stop. It looked far slimier than it was. “I owe Glenn a huge favor, so, while me and Vissero are at your disposal, I’m not under your command, do you understand?” she said, ignoring Enno’s muttered ‘Engineer Glenn’ correction. Instead, she glared, with her bond, Vissero, the giant eyeball, doing the same. He was good at that.

“I… er… never intended, to say… that,” Enno mumbled under the burning observation, “just, that I think we should look… I don’t know, professional… when traveling in the name of Company 2’s board…”

Sammarria couldn’t help but roll her eyes again, why were Drakken always like this. “Keeping a low profile is also important, not that it’s possible with you wearing, uh, that hat.”

Enno gaped, grabbing at the tips of his hat and pulling it down. “It showcases my success at the Academy as an honorable graduate! It’s… it’s, uh…” he glanced around, but the other five people in the cabin were either napping or staring listlessly. It was early, far too early to be traveling, and Enno had yet to sleep at all. He and Glenn had stayed up making plans all night, and Sammarria had been called in last-second, but she was used to that, or so she said. Enno suddenly felt exhausted.

“It’s special,” Enno finished feebly. His hat was a leather cattleman hat, with special embroidering to resemble a book, complete with the honorable graduation star. The Academy created unique headwear for the top graduate of every class, and, if Enno was being honest, it reminded him of home, more than anything.

“Well it isn’t going to go undercover anywhere, kind of by design. Wear it if you want, but know it doesn’t help.” Sammarria said, leaning back against Vissero and closing her eyes. “Also, get some sleep, you look as exhausted as you’re being.”

Enno looked around guiltily, before meeting Vissero’s eye, who was staring at him. It continued to, making him feel completely naked despite the hat, as he took the bench adjacent to Sammarria. “You know,” he said, before yawning, “this airship is a Class A personnel ship, but surprisingly comes with a new Glasson Verde-band Mark 2.2 engine. You can tell by the vibration rate-“

“SLEEP, ENNO,” Sammarria groaned, but after a moment of silence her only response was a gentle snore. She looked up at Vissero, who was staring down at her, lidless eye unmoving. “Don’t give me that.” Vissero quickly stared out the window, and she smirked, dozing off again.

**

“Would you look at dat…” said the feathered, black Kenkin, not moving from their leaned back position. “A coll-ege grad-u-ate, Maurice,” he sounded out the words, dripping with toxin. His feathered hands were behind his head as he spotted the… vibrant… Drakken walking down the ramp from the airship to the landing dock. “And all alone, too…”

His partner, a small gray Ratkin, stared nervously, twitching, at the enraptured figure, his toothy mouth dropped open in wonder. Delatryss was perfect for causing that exact reaction, Maurice thought.

Delatryss! One of the oldest cities on the continent, it wasn’t just built on a mountain, it was the mountain. The total mass of buildings, constructed on top of each other for thousands of years, likely far outweighed the mountain it threaded through. The forest below, The Green Sea, was an undulating mass of thick, ropy green, spread out as far as the eye could see, with naught but a few roads dotting through its roiling canopy.

Delatryss! A center of life, politics, and art, an island amongst a deadly forest. It withstood the Dragon’s Rise, weathered the Death of Roses, and flourished even when not two, but three wars ravaged the continent, causing sweeping famine that barely touched it’s evergreen shores.

Delatryss! There was so much to see! And none of it was two men following twenty paces behind.

Delatryss! Absolutely perfect for bewildering and distracting a young graduate Drakken, as he wandered off the docks, and into the packed city streets. Enno couldn’t help but stare- every species, Drakken, Crocodilians, Ratkin, Serpentians, Ango, Kenkin, and more! He wandered through the market street, just outside the docks, and stared at every stall, their owners offering everything from street food to magical artifacts, as they called and crowed to him, trying to fight for his attention and purse.

A Serpentian, with psionic purple arms resembling mechanized claws, had almost convinced him to buy a meticulously crafted watch when Sammarria pulled on his sleeve gently, distracting him and annoying the salesman.

“I hate this city,” Sammarria said, eyeballing the salesman, who seemed to ignore her. ”We should go down there,” she said, idly pointing to a nearby alley, off the main street.

“What, why!?” Enno found himself shouting over the pressing noise of the street. Sammarria was just half slumped, Vissero slithering beside her.

She just shrugged. “I just feel like we should, yeah? Just do it, call it a hunch.”

Enno eyed her but relented. They were here for business… “I… alright, but we’re coming back here later. Or I will, if you just want to stay at the hotel, or whatever. This place is crazy, we don’t have anything like this back where I’m from…”

As they stepped off the main road and into the smaller alley, it wound further down into the mountain. Small manalights glowed faintly, illuminating a poorly-kept path. Rough doors and boarded windows lined alley. “Why down here? Is this the way to the Bronze Coin?” Enno asked, his voice echoing oddly. “It seems odd there’d be such a rundown alley so close to the merchant’s road. I thought Delatryss was supposed to be a wealthy capital…” he found himself chatting idly, feeling his nerves rise. As he rounded a corner, he found himself in near darkness, the stone path moving into darkness. “Sammarria…?” he asked, turning to her, but there was no one there.

He briefly panicked before he heard clicking footsteps echoing from the darkness. “Oh! There you a-“ he paused, heartrate spiking as he remembered something important- Sammarria was a Serpentian. No feet.

A man stepped in the flickering manalight, black feathers seeming to reflect the shadows behind him. He had on loose, dark blue garments, with wraps around his bird-like talons. “Well hello there, grad-u-ate,” he spit. “Fine evening, dat is.”

Enno could hear his heart thundering in his chest but could help but touch his hat. “I… er… yeah… top of my… class. Thank you. I was just looking for my f-“ as he took a step back, he heard smaller, faster footsteps behind him, a short ratkin standing in the alley.

“Well, ‘top of my… class’,” the Kenkin said, his voice creating an exact copy of Enno’s own. Enno could hear how nervous he sounded as the Kenkin parroted him, stepping to put his back to the wall. His self-defense classes from the Academy flew into memory, and he found them… blank. He felt despair mix with his nerves, as he looked around wildly for Sammarria, nowhere to be found. He hadn’t paid much attention to combat classes, he was an Engineer, he wasn’t supposed to be on the front lines, that’s now how this worked!

“If you just leave your lil’… stuff… here, maybe we can be on our way, ‘top of my… class’,” the Kenkin mocked him again, as Enno felt at his belt, the holding bag tied to it. He saw the Kenkin glance at the movement, and step forward with his mouth open in an awkward sort of grin. He pulled out a dagger, longer than Enno’s palm, as he stepped up to the Drakken, nearly a head taller than Enno was. “And leave the hat, too.”

Enno was about to agree as he felt a flash of pain down his arm as a small, vibrant purple lightning bolt bursting from the Bond engraved on his shoulder. It immediately flared- the dark alley brightening to daylight briefly, making the Ratkin and Kenkin step back and cover their eyes. Elio, the lightning elemental, shot towards the Kenkin as he flinched. “A Bonded!” he cried, stepping back lightly to dodge the living electricity. “Well, well, ‘top of my-“ he didn’t finish his sentence as a spear of ice made him lunge to the left. His eyes went wide as stared at the shield of ice forming down the Drakken’s arm, the temperature in the alley starting to drop.

Snow began to form in the air, melting as quickly as it formed, as the lightning creature circled around Enno. He could only hear the hammering in his heart as he felt Iilia form down his arm, the cold biting into his scales. His fear… he was…

“He’s corrupted!” the Ratkin said breathily, hatred in his voice. He drew two small daggers, dancing nervously from foot to foot. “He’s corrupted, Don!”

Silence hung in the air as all three men paused.

“Kill himmm!” screeched the Ratkin, breaking the silence and dashing forward – so fast! Enno barely managed to raise a thin sheet of ice in time along the floor, causing the Ratkin to fumble, his daggers swinging wildly. Despite that, small shards of metal flew from the knives, slicing the bottom of Enno’s coat and pants, drawing blood. Just a nick-

“Suffer,” the Kenkin said, and shadows in the alley stretched, pulling at the wound, and Enno gasped and stepped back, the small cut’s pain flaring as though he lost his leg. The Ratkin lunged again, going for his legs, and he jumped back, directly into the wall. A sheet of ice rose from the floor, sealing his legs to the wall as he felt Iilia shift.

Elio took the offensive, striking with a violent flash and shock, two quick hits against the Ratkin who cried out, his hand going numb as he dropped the dagger. Elio struck again, driving the Ratkin back. “ENOUGH!” the gravely voice echoed down the hall, as Enno saw the shadows leap off the wall, the manalight dimming, and they grasped Elio in a series of black threads. The elemental struggled, but the darkness help him fast, his movements growing panicked as he failed to move, before he finally shrieked and burst into small sparks, which faded quickly.

The only sounds in the alley were Enno and the Ratkin breathing heavily, Enno still sealed with ice against the wall. He couldn’t even run, Iilia was just trying her best to defend him, he knew. Not that it mattered, as he heard the clicking steps approach. The shadows seemed to warp and stretch around Don as he approached, malice lingering in the air with the snow.

“I was just gonna steal from ya,” he threatened, stalking forward. “But a corrupted… you’re worth more dead, aint’cha.” Enno saw the gleam of the dagger, reflecting the dark more than the light, and felt Iilia shift, her cold moving to his torso- to protect his heart, he realized. “And boy do I love ki-“

He was interrupted once again as he twisted, an arrow blooming from his shoulder blade.  He paused, mouth open, staring at it, and Enno heard the Ratkin gasp, scrambling around. He suddenly lunged, and Enno’s heart jumped, but it was just to dodge forward, an arrow clattering down the alley into the darkness. “Another!” the Ratkin exclaimed. “Where?”

“Shit…” was all Enno heard before another arrow missed the Kenkin, who rolled backwards, surprisingly lithe.

“Well, well…” the Kenkin retreated into the shadows quickly, voice echoing in the freezing air. “I guess I’ll see ya later, ‘top of my… class’.”

Enno stared into the darkness, feeling ill. His heart wouldn’t stop. It was… he was… bodies. They were only bodies now. The blood had left them, why had it left them. If only he could…

“Hey you okay?” a voice asked, and Enno gasped, realizing he hadn’t been breathing. He looked around wildly, finally seeing Sammarria in front of him. She was leaned against Vissero, two massive arms behind her holding a bow almost as long as she was. Her psionic limbs- every Serpentian had them, but hers were… odd… they were… they vanished in a puff of mana, the bow along with it. “Sorry about that,” she said. “I kinda wanted to see how you fought.”

Enno tried to say something, but nothing came out, his heart wouldn’t stop. “Urk… me…”

“You didn’t, by the way. Fight, that is. Very, ah, top of your class moves. The hat definitely helped.” She said, smirking, her thin arms crossed over her nondescript leather coat. Her tail flicked idly behind her as Enno regained his breath. She seemed relaxed, which annoyed Enno.
“Th- thank you,” he said, swallowing what little pride he had left. He was wet, his ice elemental’s ice having melted, and his leg hurt, but he was mostly unharmed. He limped and put out a hand, and Sammarria eyed it, warier than she seemed to be about the fight. “For saving me…” Enno explained, and she rolled her eyes, before shaking it. “Where, ah, were you…”

“Right here, actually,” she pointed idly to a doorway nearby. “I… had wanted to see how you dealt with them. They’d been following us since-“
“You WHAT?? I almost died! I could’ve died!” Enno’s temper exploded, burning away the nothing he had left. “What do you mean right there– I can’t- I’m not…!” he spluttered, trying to explain, but Sammarria just stared idly, picking at one claw.

“You were fine, Vissero and I would’ve protected you. It’s what we’re here for, after all. I just wanted to see if you could defend yourself,” she explained as Enno just expressed wordless rage. “You can’t, by the way,” she sighed, “which makes my job harder. Anyway, let’s get to the hotel. It’s this way.”
“You-! You don’t…! What if…” Enno finally felt the anger fizzling off, like a broken manalight. “I… well, thank you.” He just felt empty, his heartrate finally returning to normal. “You, ah, don’t think they’ll be back, do you…?” he said, glancing nervously down the alley, neither Ratkin nor Kenkin in sight.

“Nah, they ran two streets down that way before encountering the Watch- I don’t think we’ll see any more of them for a bit. Anyway, let’s go,” Sammarria said, before striding, er, sliding down the alley.

“How do you know that?” Enno said, catching up to her. He was taller than she was, unless she stretched all the way out, but she moved quicker than his normal gait, which surprised him.

She patted the eye beside her. “Vissero is a vision elemental, so he’s a pretty cool bond.”

Enno stopped suddenly in the alley, the entire encounter forgotten. He could hear the merchant’s street raucous hawking, but he only had one thought. “Did you… did you say vision elemental? Scout Sammarria- S- Sam, can I call you Sam? Those are rare, I never- wait- Sam!”
“Don’t call me Sam!” she said, picking up pace. “And no questions!”
“No- wait, S- Samma- wait!” he chased her, as she wound into the merchant’s street, into the fabric of the city itself.

Delatryss! A city of wonder, a city of ancient mysteries, a city of shadows. A shadow that pointed long- long even in the mid-day sun. A city that, while it may be the height of society today, was once dwarfed by another.

While some stories may end here, in Delatryss, others are just beginning, as the corrupted and the pure will meet for the first time.